Reviewing major stories of 2020 and how they affected the major asset class performance
COVID Stocks versus Reopening Basket
To analyze impact of major COVID developments, I created two baskets of stocks. Each is a simple equally-weighted 20-stock basket with 5% allocation to every company. I chose the stocks subjectively and tried to represent various “angles” of the COVID trade without having too many airlines, online retailers or medical plays.
COVID Impact On Company Fundamentals
There were 38 companies in the S&P 500 with Q2 revenue decline of 50% or more. It makes sense that concerts, cruise operators, hotels/casinos, airlines and travel sites are heavily represented. There was very little activity in those areas in April, May and June. Energy sector is also featured prominently.
Arizona Vital Statistics With a COVID Twist
I’ve been following Arizona’s COVID numbers very closely and decided to do some analysis on the state’s baseline vital statistics to put this epidemic in perspective.