Walt Disney's theme parks may be closed, but that hasn't stopped investors from going on one heck of a roller-coaster ride over the past six weeks. Since peaking on Feb. 19, the stock market posted its fastest descent into bear market territory in history, with the 123-year-old Dow Jones Industrial Average logging its worst quarter to begin a new year of all time.
At the heart of these struggles is the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a respiratory illness that's now responsible for over 846,000 confirmed cases worldwide and approximately 41,500 deaths as of March 31. COVID-19 is of special concern to Americans given that the U.S. is now the epicenter of the outbreak, with 181,099 confirmed cases, according to Johns Hopkins University.
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