Where we are now — VietEcon

Sorry, but I am going to have to be short today. I was busy with me real job. {Actually maybe let’s call it my real-ish job, anyway I was busy.)

Basically all I can think about is COVID-19, so I wanted to do a quick check on where we are:

1) The number of cases in Vietnam is now 203. All updates here.

2) There are two main clusters. The Buddha Bar and Grill in HCMC, and the Bach Mai hospital in Hanoi. The latter reminds me of Italy and China, both of which suffered because sick people went to the hospital (in their initial fears) and spread it in those systems. Both countries probably need more primary care facilities.

3) Case 17 is going home, along with many other patients. That’s great news!

4) The markets are crap, at least in Vietnam. VN-Index down almost 5%, HNX-Index down almost 4%. The US is up, surprinsingly. JP Morgan called the bottom.

5) GDP growth in the first quarter was just 3.82%, the lowest in the past decade. That’s not as bad as I expected it to be, to be honest. Although I don’t really understand how they can have a reading when the month and quarter are not over yet.

6) This just amuses me, but this interview with Richard A. Epstein in the New Yorker is amazing. The guy owns himself so hard. He continues to pump out a lot of “information” about how bad quarantining and social distancing is, based on Darwinian economics, whatever that is. A good takedown of him here.

More tomorrow.