The economic and equity market environment investors find themselves operating in today are different and more challenging than any environment they have likely faced in their lifetime. The steep market contraction from the February high was swift, i.e., declining 33.9% over a short 22 trading days, the fastest on record. With a nearly global economic shutdown due to mandatory stay at home orders, the economic growth rate, or should I write, contraction, is turning out to be severe.
The CBO's estimate of U.S. second quarter GDP is for a contraction of nearly 40% at an