Opinion

On November 28, 1940, police were called to investigate a shot heard at the Sherry Netherland Hotel in Manhattan.  A man was dead, a suicide who had written an eight-page note which was found alongside him.  The police didn’t know it at the time, but the deceased was a Wall Street legend, one of the very best stock traders ever. 

Even if a cure for the coronavirus were found immediately, it would still be the story of the year and probably the story of the decade.  In addition to the terrible suffering and toll on human lives, trillions of dollars have been lost in the markets in the U.S. and abroad, and trillions more in lost business.  Add to this the emergency costs of caring for those who have become ill and the preventative measures that need to be taken, and the impact of these will hurt businesses for months, if not years.

While investors are trying to decide whether this is the time to buy, sell, or hold stocks, some people are trying to make money in a very different way: They are using the coronavirus crisis as an opportunity to exploit, swindle, cheat, and rip off people with clever and deceitful schemes.  These individuals represent the worst of human nature.  Nevertheless, they make a great deal of money by duping and tricking others.

Does the name Nouriel Roubini ring a bell?  If you live on Main Street, probably not. But on Wall Street, everyone has heard of this influential economist.

Even as the coronavirus is making people panic, Wall Street wither, and shuls and schools shut down, Israeli scientists have done it again.  They have developed the world’s first vaccine against this epidemic, and if all goes as planned, it will be ready for testing in less than three months.

Everybody knows that drinking wine is healthful, but Israeli scientists have even greater expectations for it.  That’s why they are trying to produce the world’s first “super” wine, a product with the same taste and color as ordinary wine that would also provide mega health benefits.