Business and the economy have been ever-evolving since the advent of the monetary system. For centuries we have been involved in the continuous and steady cycle of the business. There has been some kind of movement whatever the situation is but this has been the first time that the whole world is at standstill. Right now the time we publish this article, 2.6 billion out of 7.8 billion world population is in absolute lockdown; i.e. 1/3rd of the total population and the other 2/3rd is in partial lockdown. Not only does this come to us at a huge economic cost but also a moral and social cost.
The businesses at the small and medium level are the ones that are suffering the most. With little or no capital and cash in hand, it has become a situation of deep concern for the authorities to compensate for the losses and the survival of the bourgeois. Looking at it from a different perspective; Businesses are still spending on the salaries and the other fixed expenses like interest on loan and mortgages; while on the other hand no income is being generated. This situation is what we term here as double grinding – losing money on both ends.
According to the United Nations (UN), the slowdown in the global economy caused by the coronavirus outbreak is likely to cost at least $1 trillion in 2020. The repercussion faced will last till 2022, study says. The major Stock Exchanges in the world saw their biggest one day fall ever since its inception. Stock Indices like FTSE, Dow Jones, S&P 500 Index, NASDAQ Composite, Nikkei 225, and BSE Sensex are all struggling to gain momentum after a major blowback from multiple directions (lockdown playing the major part). The UN has also stated that the World economy will go into recession with the likely exception of India and China. While on the one side Bank of America says the recession is already here: ‘Jobs will be lost, wealth will be destroyed’ on the other hand job losses could go as high as 47 million, according to a Federal Reserve estimate.
The other facet to the game could come from this unemployment which might go unnoticed. These unemployed people are no more an asset to the economy and thus reduce the overall spending, causing a loss of potential business for all the small, medium and large enterprises. Although UK lockdown could be relaxed in weeks, says top govt. adviser but keeping the 6-month long lockdown in mind, the country could lose all its year’s business with hampered revival and growth in the coming years. Australia as a country can be put forth as a perfect example of how grave the lockdown caused by the pandemic is – Australia has never been in a state of recession for the past 28 years, even surviving the 2008 global recession but now it is struggling to keep up its economy and business alive.
Overall the lockdown has created an omnipresent impact on the business all over the world. Time, a precious jewel is getting wasted with no value addition to the world economy. According to the Fitch Rating Agency – the world economic activity could contract by 1.9 %( with Europe up to 4%) leaving a mere insignificant growth for the financial year 2020. The coronavirus as a pandemic has destroyed the business for all the people like a blow from a sword.
