In late January, the world of public health, the folks who protect us, were in high alert because of virus coming out of China. In an interconnected world, where flights to get to anywhere are relatively inexpensive and demand for flights continues to grow, every once in a while something happens. The news from China is they are trying to shut down the country at a time, given the Lunar New Year demands for travel. One of the beliefs of the Chinese is the value of ancestry which includes once a year, you go back to your hometown. This has meant China has the most advanced infrastructure system in the world and on this holiday most of the country is on the move.

China is also the second largest economy in the world after the US, the virus affects their economy and it affects China’s economy, it affects the world’s economy. Given this is written in late February, hopefully the solution to the virus is settled and the world has gone back to normal.

If you are interested in other virus – there are good books and movies about the Black Plague and how the world reacted to the virus.

Linking to dividend paying stocks, most of us are optimistic in nature, but there are news events that affect the markets. If you listen to Ray Dalio of Bridgewater Associates be diversified, it is good advice to advice to listen to. If you are reasonably diversified with different streams of income, you should be okay but remember the streams of income include dividends.

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions.