As I write this column (March 8, 2020), long before you will see it, we are all trying to predict what is going to happen with the COVID-19 virus epidemic and the effects of the response to it. In China, it was eventually taken very seriously, with draconian measures taken to stop its spread. Did those measures blunt the spread and limit the outbreak to the quarantined regions? Similar measures were taken in Japan and some European countries. In others, and in the United States, almost all preventive measures until now (March 8, 2020) have been voluntary despite cases being reported in most states. Although the stock market has taken a serious hit, the effects on the economies are just beginning to be felt.