Springfield Business Journal_2020-06-15

by Mike Cullinan · mcullinan@sbj.net The June 5 announcement of the na- tional unemployment rate falling to 13.3% in May provided an unexpected shot in the arm for the stock market. According to the U.S. Bu- reau of Labor Statistics, 2.5 million jobs were added to the economy, the largest monthly increase since at least 1939. In response, the Dow Jones Industrial Average exceeded 27,000 points for the first time since early March. “It surprised most everybody, including me, which is why I don’t forecast,” said Steve Mul- lins, professor of economics at Drury University. “All forecast- ers and every economist I know thought we were going to see another month of job losses and the unemployment rate getting as high as 20%.” Mullins said that doesn’t mean the econ- omy has turned a corner, as there’s still tens of millions without jobs in the country. More than 44 million have filed initial unemploy- ment claims over the past three months, ac- cording to the Labor Department. But the recent Dow jump – nearly 1,000 points on June 5 from June 4 – is the latest in a series of rises for the stock market. As the coronavirus pandemic impact began to be widely felt in the United States in March, the market was reeling. The Dow crashed March 23 to 18,591 points. But it’s been a consistent in- cline for the market since then. On June 8, the Dow finished at 27,572, reducing its 2020 losses to 3.3%. That’s a rebound of roughly 48% from its March low.  “Whether or not it’s going to be sustain- able is really hard to say because I just don’t know if anyone knows for sure how the pandemic is going to pan out,” Mullins said. “The market clearly is betting that the pan- demic is not going to be as bad in the future as everyone initially kind of thought.” Taking advice Ken Homan, senior vice president and senior portfolio manager at Central Trust Co., said he was proactive in March and anticipated clients would be nervous when the virus arrived. But he said their concerns turned out to be more for physical health rather than financial. Homan said clients took his advice to not panic about the stock market drop and stood pat with their investment portfolio.  “The market doesn’t like uncertainties, and we had more uncertainties than ever,” he said. “There was room for angst about what lay ahead in the equity markets, par- ticularly.” However, the stock market should be viewed as a long-term investment, said Joe Froehle, managing director of invest- ments with Wells Fargo Advisors LLC. It’s $2.00 · SBJ.NET JUNE 15-21, 2020 · VOL. 40, NO. 47 S t a r t re a d i n g o n p a g e 9 JESSICA ROSA Protestors gather downtown June 6 to support a widespread call for an end to racism and social injustice following the recent death of George Floyd. Businesses respond to ‘racism pandemic’ by Kathryn Hardison · khardison@sbj.net Thousands gathered downtown June 6 to join demonstrations nationwide to elevate a message: “Black Lives Matter,” read the signs. The protests are in response to recent events that have spurred a widespread call for an end to racism and social injustice, pin- pointed by the alleged murders this year of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor. Protestors weren’t alone in their call for systemic change in Springfield, as several business- es supported the demonstration. Civil Kitchen, The Coffee Ethic, The Golden Girl Rum Club, Mudhouse Coffee, Book- Marx and Harbell’s Grill & Sports Bar are among down- town businesses that remained open during the protests to show support by passing out water, masks, sunscreen or of- fering protestors a place to escape the early summer heat. Clothing shop SGFCO distributed signs to participants with statements “End Police Brutality” and “No Justice No Peace.” Others have turned to social media with statements of solidarity, including Empow- er: abilities and Springfield Regional Arts Council. CoxHealth and Mercy also posted photos on Facebook of physicians kneel- ing for eight minutes and 46 seconds – the length of time prosecutors say Floyd was pinned to the ground under a Minneapolis police officer’s knee before he died. As the U.S. continues into not only a public health pandemic but also a racism pandemic – as declared by the American Psychological Association – the question is: What’s next? Toni Robinson, president of the Springfield NAACP, said calls for justice have to go be- yond public protests. “The protests might last a few weeks, but what are we doing af- ter that?” Robinson said. “More than anything, this should push us to build relationships. I would encourage businesses to have those relationships to be pro- moting black and brown busi- nesses all the time.” Wes Pratt, chief diversity of- ficer at Missouri State University, said the business community has a role in promot- ing fairness, justice and addressing issues of systemic racism. It starts with cultural con- sciousness, he said. “We have these aha moments and people wring their hands, but they have to go beyond See RESPOND on page 45 See STOCKS on page 50 W ill t he s t ock marke t ’s resilience cont inue? Joe Froehle: Investors should focus on the long term and not act on emotion. .NET Toni Robinson : Business leaders should find ways to support black- owned companies.