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Jim O’Neill: Markets are not pricing in disaster — but maybe that is wise

A disaster scenario in which Covid-19 vaccine trials fail and the pandemic spins out of control would expose the ongoing equity rally — but the worst-case scenario isn't necessarily the most likely

Jim O’Neill: Markets are not pricing in disaster — but maybe that is wise
Photo: Getty Images

In an April commentary about the wild gyrations in financial markets during the February-March phase of the Covid-19 pandemic, I noted that the behaviour of equity markets had been as bewildering, complex, and fascinating as ever.

Still, I suspected that a weird logic was at work, and argued that markets might continue to rally despite the collapse of the world economy. And so they have. Will that change?

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