Finance Monthly March 2020 Edition

BUSINESS & ECONOMY - CORONAVIRUS 27 www.finance-monthly.com The spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus has brought China to a standstill and has already harmed the global economy. Global stock markets fell in the last week of February as the coronavirus virus outbreak reached Europe and continued to affect factory output and international trade. Nigel Green, Founder and CEO of deVere Group, has warned that coronavirus, paired with the heightening geopolitical and trade tensions, could drive the world to the brink of a global recession this year. He said: “Investors have largely been caught off-guard by the serious and far- reaching economic consequence of the coronavirus. This, despite major multinational organisations already lowering their profit guidances, and many more likely to do so in coming weeks. Clearly, this will hit global supply chains, economies across the world and ultimately government coffers too. “However, it does seem that the world is waking up to the reality of the situation as the containment of coronavirus hasn’t yet materialised and confirmed cases soar in different countries. Until such time as governments pump liquidity into the markets and coronavirus cases peak, markets will be jittery triggering sell- offs”, Mr Green notes. Investors around the world must take action if they want to safeguard their wealth in the current volatile environment and they must take precaution about the stocks they want to put their money in as the coronavirus outbreak is disrupting the supply chains of many companies. Here is Finance Monthly’s list of the top 5 stocks that are likely to weather the storm, which will hopefully help you with handling your portfolio in light of the coronavirus news.