Dow down 1900 in two days; Corona virus prediction?

[Chris Kern]

To offset any investment losses at these precarious times, I'd recommend to sell your airline stocks and buy the 3M company.  3M has ramped up testing and production of single-use N95 respirator masks.

Unfortunately, Gojo Industries, the Ohio company that manufactures Purell hand sanitizer, is privately owned.  The usually ubiquitous goop is sold out everywhere here in the States, even on Amazon―except for a few "Amazon Marketplace" suppliers who are offering small quantities at outrageous prices.

To date, however, both soap and water appear to be in plentiful supply.  So there doesn't yet seem to be a good market play in the sudsy-water sector.

[LesPalenik]

Not sure if this is related in any way to fighting coronavirus, but it happened in northern Italy.

People living in a small village near Modena, in the northern region of Emilia-Romagna, got a surprise on Wednesday when they turned on their kitchen taps and got wine instead of water.

https://www.thelocal.it/20200305/italian-village-residents-find-lambrusco-wine-coming-out-of-their-taps

[John Camp]

Not sure if this is related in any way to fighting coronavirus, but it happened in northern Italy.



https://www.thelocal.it/20200305/italian-village-residents-find-lambrusco-wine-coming-out-of-their-taps

The Second Coming?

[Alan Goldhammer]

Unfortunately, Gojo Industries, the Ohio company that manufactures Purell hand sanitizer, is privately owned.  The usually ubiquitous goop is sold out everywhere here in the States, even on Amazon―except for a few "Amazon Marketplace" suppliers who are offering small quantities at outrageous prices.

To date, however, both soap and water appear to be in plentiful supply.  So there doesn't yet seem to be a good market play in the sudsy-water sector.

DIY

Here's a list of required ingredients to make your own hand sanitizer:
•   2/3 cup of rubbing alcohol
•   1/3 cup aloe vera gel
•   5-10 drops of essential oil (optional)
•   Mixing bowl
•   Spoon
•   Funnel
•   Two-ounce spray bottle or liquid soap container
•   Masking tape and pen or marker for labeling the container (or adhesive labels)

Directions: Pour the alcohol and aloe vera in a bowl and stir until blended. Add several drops of essential oil and stir to help mask the smell of alcohol. Use the funnel to pour the eight ounce mixture into containers, then affix the strips of marked masking tape (or adhesive labels) to identify the bottles' contents.

[Alan Klein]

American government passes $8.3 billion Coronavirus legislation.  More money down the tubes.


https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/05/senate-passes-8point3-billion-coronavirus-bill-sending-it-to-trumps-desk.html

[Chris Kern]

Here's a list of required ingredients to make your own hand sanitizer:
•   2/3 cup of rubbing alcohol
•   1/3 cup aloe vera gel
•   5-10 drops of essential oil (optional) . . .

According to a newspaper article I read today, one may optionally use vodka (sic) in place of the rubbing alcohol.

[Slobodan Blagojevic]

According to a newspaper article I read today, one may optionally use vodka (sic) in place of the rubbing alcohol.

Best used internally 

Then again, in Russia, they use rubbing alcohol instead of vodka - internally too 

[Alan Goldhammer]

According to a newspaper article I read today, one may optionally use vodka (sic) in place of the rubbing alcohol.

Buy what ever is cheaper!!!  However, you need to have the alcohol content in the sanitizer needs to be a least 60%.  Alcohol proof is twice the % of alcohol by volume and most vodkas are 80 proof, only 40% by volume so it's not a good replacement here.  You can get rubbing alcohol that's 91 or 99% by volume which means that recipe dilution gets you the 60% by volume alcohol.  I always knew my PhD in chemistry would come in handy!

[Alan Klein]

Buy what ever is cheaper!!!  However, you need to have the alcohol content in the sanitizer needs to be a least 60%.  Alcohol proof is twice the % of alcohol by volume and most vodkas are 80 proof, only 40% by volume so it's not a good replacement here.  You can get rubbing alcohol that's 91 or 99% by volume which means that recipe dilution gets you the 60% by volume alcohol.  I always knew my PhD in chemistry would come in handy!

Red Heart Rum 151 proof.  I think Smirnoff makes rum at that proof also.  Have a double and you won't notice you're sick.  Of course if you use it to clean your hands, don;t get stopped by the cops while you;re driving. 

[Chris Kern]

Red Heart Rum 151 proof.

That's certainly nothing to sneeze at!

[armand]

Soap and water works fine, just less convenient and you have to be more thorough.

[Rob C]

Buy what ever is cheaper!!!  However, you need to have the alcohol content in the sanitizer needs to be a least 60%.  Alcohol proof is twice the % of alcohol by volume and most vodkas are 80 proof, only 40% by volume so it's not a good replacement here. You can get rubbing alcohol that's 91 or 99% by volume which means that recipe dilution gets you the 60% by volume alcohol.  I always knew my PhD in chemistry would come in handy!

I certainly can in Spain at the chemist's, but I think that in Britain you can't because it would get used by alcoholics.

I use it for cuts and scratches and to clean filters. (Just a tiny dab on the tissue.)

Rob

[Alan Goldhammer]

Red Heart Rum 151 proof.  I think Smirnoff makes rum at that proof also.  Have a double and you won't notice you're sick.  Of course if you use it to clean your hands, don;t get stopped by the cops while you;re driving. 

My first summer job after my freshman year was in a Polynesian restaurant.  I was in charge of checking all the deliveries and making sure the three bars were stocked with all their needs.  I became friendly with some of the cocktail waitresses and was told by one of them that if they suspected a big tipper they would ask the bartender to make the Mai Tais or Singapore Slings with 151 proof rum so that the patron would get inebriated faster and hence be more generous with the tip.

[Slobodan Blagojevic]

... the cocktail waitresses and was told by one of them that if they suspected a big tipper they would ask the bartender to make the Mai Tais or Singapore Slings with 151 proof rum so that the patron would get inebriated faster and hence be more generous with the tip.

I knew there must be a secret to AOC success

[armand]

Going to work with a common cold or flu is a time-honoured American tradition. That's what the employers expect.

Some traditions are just stupid. Go sick with a relatively high contagious disease so that everybody goes down.


I half watched the news and I see the administration still didn't get their wake up call and try to make this about politics and how they were not wrong and their response is the best possible, etc. This is just irresponsible, they need to stop minimizing this and try to go in damage control; it's not their fault it got here but it will be their fault if they focus on proving it's not their fault instead of dealing with it.

[LesPalenik]

It's also baffling that CDC wasted a whole month before they decided to make the test kits.

[Alan Goldhammer]

I knew there must be a secret to AOC success

I would not be surprised!!!

[armand]

An example of better handling the coronavirus epidemic: https://www.inkstonenews.com/health/south-koreas-aggressive-coronavirus-testing-gives-clues-fatality-rate/article/3073945

[Alan Klein]

An example of better handling the coronavirus epidemic: https://www.inkstonenews.com/health/south-koreas-aggressive-coronavirus-testing-gives-clues-fatality-rate/article/3073945

Better than who?  How do you know?  The virus hit there first. They have more cases than any other country except China.  So naturally they're working hard.  And longer.

Anyway, here are some statistics by country.
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

[armand]

It's about the initial approach and the commitment to get a control on the situation.

Here we started with "it's a hoax perpetrated by democrats", "it's just a cold", "don't worry, we have the best team ever", and so on.
Because of trying to minimize the situation (probably because the response has been mostly politic or controlled by politic) we are very far behind where we should be in testing capacity and concrete plans.
The right thing was to acknowledge it will spread and try to control that part. Burying your head in the sand will do nothing.
I'm quite pissed off this administration because they tried to make it about them first. And god forbid that the people who know what they talk about say something that goes against the supreme leader, while some democrats were trying to spin this for political gain.

This will affect everybody and that's why the control should have been left to apolitical institutions, as it is clear the political parts cannot come together for the greater good.