NEW YORK: Alex Manzara’s normal routine involves helping clients prepare for what’s coming next in markets.
This week, however, the veteran derivatives broker at R.J. O’Brien & Associates found himself making a different kind of calculation: how much food to stockpile in case the swiftly spreading coronavirus triggers a run on Chicago-area grocery stores like it has in Hong Kong and Italy.
"If you have food for three weeks, you’re OK, ” he concluded, assessing his stash of canned goods, rice, pasta and a case of three-liter cans of olive oil.