Chris Hopkins of Barnett & Company discusses the longer-term financial fallout from Covid-19

Chris Hopkins of Barnett & Company discusses the longer-term financial fallout from Covid-19

What about let's chat everyone, we are talking right now about financial impact from coven 19 and 20th now is chris hot and wet.

He is the vp at barnett an company good morning chris how are you okay good morning are you this morning we're hanging in there chris.

Let's talk a little bit about and unemployment here in chattanooga versus the rest of the country.

What are we seeing right now ... well, we expect a unemployment number should be really bad.

I think that's a surprise, but nationwide, we may see in excess of 20% on ointment for april of problem is economy like chattanooga were much more heavily dependent on service industries, tourism, etc.

So chattanooga can be harder hit the rest of the country.

It would not be so rising to see unemployment in april in chattanooga, a between 25 between 2530 is a temporary number, obviously, but we're gonna get it harder than the average city in the nation chris what economic damage can we expect to see over the next two or three quarters will expect that you ... april and may and june are to be terrible to see here economic growth in the neighborhood of 30 here economic growth in the neighborhood of 3040% annualized rate of decline.

Nothing like that since the great russian.

However, we know this is an and infestation is temporary, we could have expected to take maybe a year to 18 months for unemployment to get back down i the in the 67% range, so we do expect some longer-term impact do expect this ring back.

But obviously this can be some permanent changes in the economy.

So we really can't anticipate an immediate spring back in recovery but just anticipate that unemployment is can stay in double digits, probably for the other part of the next certainly 9 to 12 chris allison pack small business as well.

This forced many of them the club is no doubt about it, really beginning to see evidenc of that.

No course government passed the hero protection plan which is aimed at trying to help us more businesses to modal short-term assistance certainly to help or use of payroll but no many small companies operate on of this kind of damage to their revenues, they just starting to be able to survive is no question that they'll be be casualties.

Certainly you disproportionately among small business segments and unfortunate outcome of your go because of it infestation, but the it's a sad reality present situation right now little bit about the food supply chain problems and how it can impact the economy as well.

You will observe the meeting impacts wer read.

First we could get toilet paper.

That of course there are certain foodstuffs we could get a hold of the restorative eggs and so forth, and the irony her is that in some cases there are shortages in the grocery stores.

There is a surplus of the wholesale level so you're seein this ironic situation of grocery stores out of which they run short on eggs.

Egg producers are destroying their product will i being.literally because the supply channels just can't absorb this kind of disruption.

So the next thing you see, i'm afraid, is to be a spot shortages of meat and poultry.

Mr. course as a result of the of the outbreak of the virus in certain meat processing plants.

So as a result of having to close several of the nations largest to the producing aware like to see a 2025% decline in the out of meat and that is is also leading to shortages in th grocery store so these things will correct over time.

You can't shift immediately.

Let's say for example your day reduce or which you so involve the restaurants, you're not set up to package a dozen eggs at a time in a styrofoam container so these things will correct over time.

It doesn't happen overnight, so expect to see additional spot shortages of of meat produce certainly over the next two or three more crests.

How will the economy let differently once a coven 19 is no longer around.

It's a great question glycerol trying to suggest how this can play out.

So i think there's there's pluses and minuses.

Obviously something is going to change semi-permanently.

There can be changes in the travel industry for example, were all learning that we don't prefer it if there's things we could do on skype runs you from our from ou offices who will reduce business travel.

The site is recent great opportunities arise.

Certainly some technological applications were good to see some know some businesses that it really from the longer-term shift in how we do business and how we tend not to travel as much when i do congregate quite as closely together, at least for the seeable future, but no with every every crisis comes opportunity to were trying to remain positive.

A look at wher will the economy and workers benefit from these longer-term shift, so expect to see.

Obviously some damage longer- term.

Some industries some sectors that really tremendous opportunity enough press for joining us and giving us an inside this morning always get to cl.

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