As the COVID-19 pandemic spreads, its impact is increasing. T.C. Riley, host of Diving into Data, looked at the numbers to share data about the current and projected economic impact of the pandemic. Some of the main economic hits so far include the stock market and the sports industry.

Within the past week, a massive 10-12% drop in the stock market resulted from concern over COVID-19. The U.S. stock market also lost about $4 Trillion in a week, tanking value and creating panic. “When consumer spending drops…just about everything downstream is going to have issues,” Riley pointed about the businesses and the rest of the economy.

In the same time frame, OPEC held a meeting about the status of the oil industry that suggested there may be trouble in the market. Two key players in the oil industry, Saudi Arabia and Russia, are at odds. Saudi Arabia is threatening to produce more oil and sell it for less, which may immediately benefit consumers but create rampant instability in the global economy. As an indicator of this shift, Riley highlighted that the price of crude oil dropped about 40% in a month.

The key term of this week’s podcast, in light of the instability in the stock market due to COVID-19 and issues in the oil industry, is “rolling recession.” Riley defined this as a recession in which “Different areas of different countries will be hit at different times”. This is not the same as a global recession, which is the worst case scenario.

On a related but unique note, Riley also discussed the impact of COVID-19 on sports. The Tokyo 2020 Olympics, for example, is in about 4 months. Although decisions about the event have been made yet, Japan has a lot at stake as the host. The estimate of what Japan will spend on the Olympics is $12.6 Billion dollars. Other events, like the NHL and NBA playoffs, the Masters Tournament, March Madness, and more are likely to be affected by the pandemic.

Learn more about the data of COVID-19 by tuning into T.C. Riley’s discussion. For the latest news, videos, and podcasts in the Sports & Entertainment Industry, be sure to subscribe to our industry publication.

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