, Columnist
Coronavirus Stock Sell-Off Isn’t a Repeat of 2008
Equities are less expensive than they were before the financial crisis.
There's a lot less room for disappointment.
Photographer: Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images
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During the global stock market sell-off in early 2016, there were widespread fears of a 2008-style crisis. I wrote at the time that while systemic breakdowns are never out of the question, there was far less potential for mayhem because, unlike 2008, global stock prices appeared to have mostly digested the risks.
With renewed fears that the coronavirus will spark an economic shock echoing the global financial crisis without urgent action, as European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde warned late Tuesday, it’s worth pointing out again that this is not 2008.