Financially Forward: Gerald Harris

They’re called giant sparrow hornets, Asian giant hornets, and murder hornets.  Their bright black, yellow, and orange colors are eye-catching, but don’t let their colorful appearance lull you into a feeling of safety. These hornets are the world’s largest, and some grow to nearly three inches long. Their stingers are three quarters of an inch long. And they are much more aggressive than their US counterparts. 

On November 28, 1940, police were called to investigate a shot heard at the Sherry Netherland Hotel in Manhattan.  A man was dead, a suicide who had written an eight-page note which was found alongside him.  The police didn’t know it at the time, but the deceased was a Wall Street legend, one of the very best stock traders ever. 

On April 20, the price of oil crashed, dropping to the lowest level ever recorded and plunging into negative territory for the first time in history.  By the close of trading, oil had dropped to -$38/barrel; that meant that sellers had to pay buyers nearly $40 to take a barrel of oil off of their hands. Traders and speculators watching the market had to rub their eyes to make sure they were seeing the numbers correctly.

While investors are trying to decide whether this is the time to buy, sell, or hold stocks, some people are trying to make money in a very different way: They are using the coronavirus crisis as an opportunity to exploit, swindle, cheat, and rip off people with clever and deceitful schemes.  These individuals represent the worst of human nature.  Nevertheless, they make a great deal of money by duping and tricking others.

In the last two months, all of us were shocked by the stock market crash - but that was not the only blockbuster story to come out of Wall Street. The price of oil also crashed, and so did interest rates.  Will the next banner headline be about silver? 

Even as the coronavirus is making people panic, Wall Street wither, and shuls and schools shut down, Israeli scientists have done it again.  They have developed the world’s first vaccine against this epidemic, and if all goes as planned, it will be ready for testing in less than three months.