Coronavirus sure doesn’t seem ‘very well under control’

[Bloomberg]( Follow Us //link.mail.bloombergbusiness.com/click/19543777.44702/aHR0cHM6Ly90d2l0dGVyLmNvbS9ib3Bpbmlvbg/582c8673566a94262a8b49bdB83bfc250 This is Bloomberg Opinion Today, a securitization of Bloomberg Opinion’s opinions. [Sign up here](. Today’s Agenda - Trump has left the government [unready for a pandemic](. - It’s [too soon to BTFD]( in the stock market. - It’s probably OK if our [presidential candidates are old](. - Boeing is [still moving too slowly](. CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield tries to clear things up. Photographer: Samuel Corum/Getty Images North America Coronavirus Confusion All of the following things happened in the past 24 hours: - U.S. stocks [tumbled]( by more than 3% on coronavirus fears. - Stocks rebounded overnight because that’s what they do. - President Donald Trump called the virus “very well under control in our country.” - He [added](, “We’re very close to a vaccine.” - The White House said, no, whoops, Trump meant a vaccine for Ebola, not coronavirus. - People realized we already have an Ebola [vaccine](. - The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [said]( coronavirus is coming to America and “might be bad.” - U.S. stocks [tumbled]( another 3%. The end result is an inescapable sense that this thing is pretty far from “very well under control.” One huge problem for reassuring both markets and the general public is that Trump has spent his term [stripping]( America’s pandemic-response apparatus for parts. He keeps trying to gouge the CDC’s budget, has defenestrated whole teams of experts, hasn’t bothered to name a coronavirus “czar” and may be seeking too little money for a response. Add to this his generally chaotic style of government, his special relationship with honesty and his lack of any other apparent motivation than self-help, and you have a recipe for [what could be an epic botching]( of a pandemic response, writes Jonathan Bernstein. Not that China’s Xi Jinping, at the epicenter of the outbreak, has been much better, writes Shuli Ren. He and local officials have issued [a long series of confusing pronouncements]( and lurching policy flip-flops that have drained confidence in their handling of the situation. Trump seems mainly motivated by a desire to make the stock market — his BFF until about 24 hours ago — forget this whole virus thing ever happened. But the disease is a one-two gut punch to the global economy. First, it shuts down travel, shopping and other activities as people are quarantined. Then, it disrupts supply chains in China and elsewhere, halting production. These webs of commerce are [more fragile than you probably realize](, writes Tyler Cowen, and can collapse with stunning speed. Containing the disease, officially known as Covid-19, will probably take [more aggressive measures]( than we’ve seen so far, writes Mark Buchanan. That’s good for human health, not so great for economic activity. This presents [a conundrum for the stock market](, writes John Authers. An economic slowdown will push the lever for more cheap central-bank money, which markets crave. (And the Fed probably [isn’t far from suggesting a rate cut](, notes Bill Dudley.) But cheap money isn’t an effective treatment for the damage the virus will do. And we [don’t know just how far or deep]( that damage will go, writes Mohamed El-Erian. We don’t even know very much about the disease itself yet. Then there are the other dominoes waiting to fall, including shaky credits in China and elsewhere. For now, the confusion just keeps multiplying. Further Virus Reading: - Shutting national borders is [the wrong virus response]( for Europe. — Lionel Laurent - Iran’s craving for closer China ties [left it exposed to the virus](, and now its economy is in even deeper trouble. — Esfandyar Batmanghelidj - [Pandemic bonds]( make civilization stronger. — Aaron Brown Age Ain’t Nothing But a Number Because we’ve gone almost an entire week without one, we’ll get another Democratic presidential [debate]( tonight. This is the last debate before Saturday’s South Carolina primary and Super Tuesday. By the next debate, on March 15, it could be too late to keep Bernie Sanders from the nomination. So tonight’s brouhaha will be a game of Get Bernie. The other thing you may note is that four of the six candidates on stage are septuagenarians. Three of them — Sanders, Joe Biden and Michael Bloomberg (founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP) — would be the oldest presidents ever from Day One, notes Justin Fox. Trump would break the record in 2024. Here’s the thing, though: It [probably doesn’t matter as much as we think](. Despite some issues — cardiac for Bloomberg and Sanders, dietary for Trump — all of these candidates should live a while longer: Further Politics Reading: Highly motivated Hispanic voters could vote Trump out, but [they support him in unusually high]( numbers. — Francis Wilkinson Boeing Is Still Barely Off the Runway For a company making giant machines that fly hundreds of miles an hour, Boeing Co. sure moves slowly. First, there was its lethargic response to the 737 Max problem. Now, it’s cleaning up its act a bit with a couple of board moves swapping tenure for expertise. That’s helpful, but [still not the full overhaul Boeing needs](, writes Brooke Sutherland. The same can be said of Boeing’s extra conditions for CEO David Calhoun to earn a special $7 million bonus. They’re fine, but it’s still not clear why he needs the bonus to basically do his job. Telltale Charts India can grow its economy and rescue its housing market and banks by [encouraging people to move to its cities](, writes Noah Smith. Home Depot Inc. [bucked the retail sector’s holiday gloom](, notes Andrea Felsted, but risks abound. Further Reading Although they didn’t run the table, prosecutors were smart in [how they charged Harvey Weinsten](. — Noah Feldman Central banks keep looking for an edge, but [they’re in a game they can’t win](. — Mohamed El-Erian Germany’s long dedication to [centrism is in danger](. — Andreas Kluth By ostracizing e-cigarettes, we’re [depriving adults of a safer alternative]( to smoking. — Joe Nocera We’re closer to a sensible HP Inc.-Xerox Holdings Corp. deal, with [HP as the acquirer](. — Alex Webb You can [securitize people]( now. — Matt Levine ICYMI [Hot Pockets heiress]( is caught up in the college admissions scandal. Coronavirus panic is [hurting Chinatowns]( around the world. Congress looks to [shut barn door]( after horse escapes. Kickers A rare Central Park duck is [gagging to death on plastic](. (h/t Alistair Lowe) Night owl or early riser? A [biological clock may decide]( which you are. Musicians use an algorithm to generate [every possible melody](. Baseball faces its [worst disgrace since the Black Sox]( scandal. Note: Please send Hot Pockets and complaints to Mark Gongloff at mgongloff1@bloomberg.net. [Sign up here]( and follow us on [Twitter]( and [Facebook](.  Before it’s here, it’s on the Bloomberg Terminal. Find out more about how the Terminal delivers information and analysis that financial professionals can’t find anywhere else. [Learn more](.  You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Bloomberg Opinion Today newsletter. [Unsubscribe]( | [Bloomberg.com]( | [Contact Us]( Bloomberg L.P. 731 Lexington, New York, NY, 10022