The final earnings season of the decade has been anything but dull. Half of the S&P 500’s companies have reported 19Q4 earnings, with 69.5% beating analyst expectations. As a result, Y/Y earnings growth expectations for the quarter have turned positive (1.6%) from an expected decline of 0.3% on January 1, 2020. However, much of the good news has been upstaged by a coronavirus outbreak in China and fears that the virus may impact multi-national earnings next quarter. Exhibit 1: S&P 500 % of Revenue from China & Hong Kong by Industry Group In aggregate S&P 500 companies generate 60.5% of

Over the past two years, retailers and conglomerates have been concerned about the Chinese trade war. As the new decade starts, however, a new threat has emerged as the coronavirus spread in China during its New Year holiday. The World Health Organization has declared a global health emergency, as officials said the virus had killed more than 425 people and sickened nearly 20,000 as of the beginning of February. The vast majority of the cases have been located in China. Fear of economic disruption due to the virus has been weighing hard on global stock markets, the travel industry and