Hello ladies and gents!
This guide is going to be geared towards the new player. It is one thing for us to point you at a Tier 10 and say "this is going to be perfect as your first Tier 10". What I want to do is point out the 'Icons of WoT' that you will find along the way.
These tanks are icons for a myriad of reasons. Unique Mechanics. Real world history. They could be a ton of fun to play. Sometimes, they are just so bad, you need warned ahead of time.
I will be presenting to you each nation, and giving you 3-5 tanks from each that you, as a new player, should try to experience playing - or in some cases - avoid playing at some time in your playing career. I will be using the following criteria in my choices:

Must be at lowest Tier V, and at highest Tier IX. While there are several fun tanks at tier IV and lower, and many iconic Tier X's, tier V to IX is where you will spend the majority of your time in game, so this is where I am concentrating on.
They must currently be in the tech tree. Yes, there are many fun/unique tanks that are now collector tanks in the collector store (you have to have a tank of the same nation/tier unlocked to get access to these tanks). There are even many awesome and fun premiums out there. But for the purposes of this guide, I am going with tech tree only.
I will describe why they are icons and why I believe you should experience playing them or even keeping in garage.
I am human and can't keep my opinions fully out of this. So in that stead, I hope that our community can also chime in and add in their opinions on some iconic tanks that they think I overlooked.

These will be in no particular order. These are just tanks that are iconic. Hopefully, once you play them, you will find out why!
*****
USA

Tank	Comments
M4A1	A classic vehicle. The M4 Sherman is one of the most well known tanks in history. In game, it is quite decent in its historical setup with the 76mm. However, this tank comes into its own with the 105mm howitzer mounted. No, you will not always have great games in it. However, it is rare to come away from a match without at least 1 laugh from a massive damage roll when a HE round from your howitzer hits and penetrates your enemy. This is a fun one to keep around for occasional credit grinding or random low/mid tier lols.
T29	While only a test-bed in real life, this tank has become a monster in this game. Even from the earliest days of WoT, this has been very powerful. The turret is nigh impenetrable frontally by anything it can face. It has a good 'stock' configuration with the 90mm from the M6 Heavy the tier before. Fully upgraded, this is one of a handful of tanks in this game that you can single handedly control the match in, even when bottom tier. Good in a beginner's hands. Monstrously overpowering in a good player's hands. This heavy will almost assuredly help you appreciate learning the art of hull-down.
T49	There are some amazing scouts in this game. This is not one of them. There are amazing combat lights in this game. This is not one of them. There is only 1 King of Derp. This is not him. Let me introduce you to the Prince of Derp. This is one of the tanks where it isn't the best at anything other than being a rush of excitement and fun almost every time you take it out in a match. The ability to speed along side of and/or behind an opponent, then tick off 1/2 or more of their health in a single hit? Evaporate enemy light tanks in a single shot? That is what this is about. Far from the best scout. However, easily one of the most fun light tanks you will ever play. Well worth keeping in garage just for the lol-factor alone.
T95	There are many TD's that are technically 'better' vehicles. There are, however, none more intimidating. Affectionately known as "The Doom Turtle" for good reason. You can solo hold a flank against insurmountable odds, because people are afraid to push you. You are nigh invulnerable frontally and will laugh as enemies donk shot after shot into you as you absorb it all without losing a single HP of damage. Yes, it is slow. Yes, it has weaknesses. In relation to WoT, it is still probably the most iconic TD in this game. This is a TD that you will learn to be cautious of, as the first time you make the mistake of wondering in front of one in a match, you will learn a very painful lesson.
M44	Who said I couldn't call an arty iconic? You want to be hated? You want to be cursed at? You want people to tell you how they hope that you and all your family die of aids, cancer, being raped, or name-your-terrible-end? This is the vehicle for you. Great at earning credits. Often called one of the most OP/broken vehicles in the game. Whether you love arty, hate arty, or just don't care either way, you have to admit, this one stands out.

GERMANY

Tank	Comments
Rhm.-B. WT	There are some really iconic TD's in the German tree; almost all of them for historical reasons. However, for gameplay reasons, this one takes the strudel. A tissue in a hurricane has more armor. What makes this one stand out is the turret and 2 great gun choices. You can't go wrong with either gun, but my personal opinion is to use the 15cm for the lols. It is worth keeping in your garage. It is very powerful in the right circumstances, and it is rare that the 15cm gun won't give you at least 1 smile per match.
Tiger I	In a tree full of historically significant tanks, one of them has to stand out. While not well armored compared to its peers, it has one of the best DPM's tier-for-tier in the game. It has an amazing ability to whittle away tons of health before the enemy even realizes it is gone. One of the first tanks people often admit to grinding to because of how famous it was from WW2. Don't expect the armor to save you. If you can keep safe while letting the gun sing - you should have some memorable matches before you move up to the recently buffed big brother Tiger II.
E-50	A tree full of historically significant tanks, and I go with a tank that is at best a paper concept? You can keep your Panther's and Tiger's. I - and many others in the game before you - take a sick and twisted joy out of ramming an enemy to death. One of the 3 or 4 best tanks for ramming in the game, you will find yourself grinning savagely as you slam into the enemy and do 500, 600, 700, even upwards of 1k damage on a lightly armored opponent. It doesn't happen very often, but the opportunity will arise, you will take it, and you will love it.
VK 100.01 P	A heavy tank that isn't the Tiger 2, or other historical icon? No. This is a proto-Maus. It has absurd amounts of armor. Properly angled, it can even shrug off Tier 10's like they are nothing - if they are guilty of auto-aiming. It is slow as molasses. The stock gun works surprisingly well, and the top gun is beastly when top tier. When top tier against VI's and VII's, you are practically unkillable. Yes, people want the Maus because of how absurdly armored it is. However, this one is more absurd, considering the amount of armor it has against the opponents it gets to face.
Leopard PT A	'German Accuracy' is a meme in this game. However, this is the tank that defines it. What used to be a tank nobody wanted, WG buffed it and it suddenly became a mobile murder-mobile. Great gun handling, great mobility, all tempered a bit with armor that is about tough as a soft, fluffy pillow. Even after recent nerfs to undo what WG felt to be an overbuff, it is still considered by many to be one of the best, if not the best, mediums at tier 9 in the game.

USSR

Tank	Comments
KV-2	Average armor. As quick as an one-legged cheetah. As stealthy as an elephant with bad gas. The KV-2 just doesn't care. Top or bottom tier. Open or city map. If there is ever a tank that I believe that every single player in this game should have in their garage, it is the KV-2. Once you fully research this out, you will start to realize why there are so many videos from content creators that feature the tank we lovingly call "The King of Derp". It is nearly impossible to play this tank and be mad. If you ever need a pick-me-up - KV-2 is here for you.
T-34-85	Based on a variation of one of the most famous tanks of WWII, this medium tank will captivate you and have you begging for more. If there was ever a perfect introduction to medium tank play, this is it. Mobility is high. It has armor that can work in the right situations. Gun choices galore. Even better? This leads to many of the most beloved high tier mediums in the game. If you want a medium tank branch to go down first - choose this, and you will likely be 100% satisfied
T-54	From an icon of WWII to an icon of the Cold War. In the beginning of WoT, this was known as the UFO - the netcode was so bad, that this tank appeared to 'teleport' around the battlefield. Now, it is easily one of the most dominant - in a good player's hands - tanks in the entire game. High mobility, good armor, and gun choices that will leave you satisfied. There are many who keep this in garage with a good crew, even after unlocking the Object 140 at tier X. It is absolutely a keeper.
IS-3	In a tree full of memorable and iconic heavies, it is hard to be more memorable than this. Trollish armor. Powerful Gun. Decent mobility. This is a heavy many folks will tell you they enjoyed - and for good reason. This one will likely give you a lot of fond memories as you work your way up to Tier X.
S-51	Another arty? Has Private_Public gone mad? Nay, I say! Nay! After changes to SPG's over the years, this is not the dreaded and fearsome armageddon machine it used to be. It no longer 1-shots even Tier 10's with impunity. However, for many players, this is the first SPG where you cross the 200mm size mark with a gun. It is slow, with terrible gun handling. You play this for one reason only - the splash radius and damage potential can cause grins for you, and many curses flung your way post-match.

Tank	Comments
Black Prince	The UK tree has some really great and memorable tanks that are great fun to play. This one is an icon for a different reason. It is almost universally agreed upon as one of the worst heavy tanks tier for tier in the game. I personally loved it (then again, I'm daft in the head and love bad tanks). The mobility is bad. The armor only sort of works when top tier. The gun will have you crying many salty tears for how anemic it is. However, it is definitely all worth it, as Tier VIII+ in this branch are all good-to-great.
Conqueror	The Centurions are icons for historical reasons, so it is hard to keep them out of this list. This is an icon because of gameplay reasons. Years ago before changes to the tree, this was a rough stock grind. Now, this is one of the easiest stock grinds at Tier IX. Fully upgraded, this heavy is more powerful than many Tier X tanks. It also includes a British mainstay - HESH rounds (HE rounds with high pen) that lets you do nasty things to tanks that have light armor or if you catch them in the side/rear. Take what you have learned about playing hull down and abuse it, here. You will find it pays off as you bounce shot after shot.
ALL UK Lights Tier 5+	I have a soft spot for the Covenanter in my heart. I still find it fun to play. But my goodness, is the rest of the branch made of rotten haggis. Some people will defend the Tier X as being "OK" and fun to play. However, the rest of the line to get there will have you hating yourself and wondering why WG would ever purposely try to ruin an entire tech tree with the stench of a single branch this bad.
Tortoise	In a line full of heavily armored TD's with high DPM, this is easily the highlight. Tough enough to brawl up close with heavies. Accurate enough to snipe from range. 2nd highest DPM in the game. After buffs to this TD, it has become a gem that many people come to highly appreciate. While the Badger a tier up is more of the same, it just doesn't quite have the same magic.
Cromwell	I would be remiss to leave this off the list. Have you ever heard of the concept "spray and pray"? This tank epitomizes that concept. It has a selection of guns that have such bad soft stats, it can't hit a target while on the move, with the target taped to the end of the gun barrel. The real joy in this tank comes when played in platoons of 3. You can swarm an enemy at close range with high mobility. With 3 guns and a high right of fire, you will be draining enemy HP so fast, they are back to garage before they can blink. Good alone. A monster in a platoon.

FRANCE

Tank	Comments
AMX 65T	I hated this tank. Everyone else who has played this tank hates it. You will hate it. If there was an award for 'worst tank in the game', this is surely it. This is a heavy tank with no armor, no mobility, and turrets that don't make up for it. It has gun handling that makes you want to gouge your eyes out with spoons made of sandpaper. If this tank had good mobility, it would be fine. If this tank had the armor to back up the poor mobility, it'd be fine. Without either, this is the most putrid tank in this entire tree, and possibly, the entire game. However, the tier IX and X past it are both definitely good.
Lynx 6x6	Until this point, the wheeled lights in this tree haven't been anything of note other than having an awesome anti-scout HE round. This is where you first get access to the high-mobility mode you will come to learn to both love and curse as you play up the tree. This will give you taste of what is to come.
AMX 13 90	When I first obtained this vehicle, it was a Tier VII light. Through the years (and expansion to the trees), it has seen time at tier VIII and now tier IX. It is far from the best scout. However, mid-late game, it is probably one of the most dangerous, as you suddenly become capable of possibly removing multiple tanks from the field in a single clip. In this tank, you are able to quickly turn the tide for your team in a tight match.
AMX 50 100	It is not a great heavy. It has no armor. It is large. It has a very slow clip load time. However, what this tank excels at is teaching you to conserve your HP, and to be careful on your trades. If you play your cards right, you are now one of the most deadly tanks in the game in the late match. With the ability to do 1800 damage in just a few seconds, you can in a single clip remove 2, 3, 4, or more tanks so quickly, that a tight match is suddenly blown wide open. Be cautious at the start of the match, go wild late match. A good tank to learn an appreciation for how powerful autoloaders can be in 'crunch time'.
AMX M4 51	How do you follow up possibly the worst tech tree tank in the game? The WG way - one of the best heavies in the game. Extremely strong frontal armor. 2 good guns that give 2 playstyles - brawling action, or aiming for overmatches on highly angled turret roofs or Swedish TD's. While many do not like the Tier X nearly as much, this heavy proves that the French are the best lovers. It will treat you right every time you take it out for a date.

CZECHOSLOVAKIA

Tank	Comments
Skoda T 25	Pretty quick. Turns about as well as yak with a rocket stuck to it's back. The autoloader, along with the extremely fast reload, make this a great credit grinder in a good player's hands, and a very deadly opponent on the battlefield. Unfortunately, to get to the next good tank in the tree, you have to put up with some terrible times.
TVP VTU	Speaking of terrible times, this is it. While the Tier VII is bad in its own right, this one is takes the bad to a new level. While I liked it (I tend to like 'bad tanks' as it is fun for me to find something positive about them), I'm the oddball here. Take the Tier VI premium Skoda T40. Stick it at Tier VIII with a slightly better gun. That is all you need to know.
Skoda T50	Sometimes, the grind is bad and there is never a payoff. In this case, there is a massive pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. While buffs to other medium tanks have curtailed enthusiasm for this medium tank some, it is still considered one of the most powerful mediums in the game. It is highly mobile, has very quick damage burst with its autoloader, and quickly reloads its clip, allowing you to keep up the pressure. If you are willing to put up with tier VII and VIII being terrible, then your payoff is 100% worth it.

JAPAN

Tank	Comments
O-I	There is a King of Derp. There is a Prince of Derp. This is the cheap Japanese Imitation Derp. It is massive. It is slow. It is heavily armored. Just like the KV-2, it just doesn't care what match it is in. Also, you will likely be using the same 15cm howitzer up to Tier VIII, so get used to it. You also will learn to get used to seeing your hit-log in match be full of premium rounds, as people just do not bother searching for your weak spots.
Chi-Ri	A medium tank larger than many heavy tanks in the game. Decent mobility. Armor that couldn't stop a butterfly from penetrating if it lands too hard. Despite all of this, many who play it fall strangely in love with it. It has one of the more unique guns in the game: a 3 shot autoloader that does low damage, but that loads extremely quickly. I personally never understood the thrill, but many swear by it. Maybe you too, will one day play this tank and fall in love.
Type 4 Heavy	Armor that works until it doesn't. That is often the kindest thing people say about this heavy tank. If you are top tier against Tier VII's and VIII's, you are probably going to have a good time. Against Tier IX and Tier X? You are an XP Piñata. More frustrating than fun to play. However, those rare good games may just keep you coming back for more.

CHINA

Tank	Comments
WZ-132	In a game where 'traditional' light tanks are falling by the wayside, this one still holds its own. A better medium tank than the equal tier medium of the same tree. When the light tanks got an overall general nerf, this one was barely touched. It is a good light tank. While you may never go past it in the branch, you will probably appreciate it for what it is capable of. One of the more powerful combat lights in the game.
WZ-111 1-4	People tend to ignore the Chinese tree because of 'copycat syndrome'. I believe that is a mistake. This is one of my personal favorite heavies in the game, and a favorite to many who play it. Mobile, hard hitting, and a decent turret. A heavy that you can play like a medium, and out-slug those same mediums you raced to face. It is a bit of a grind to get there, but the 130mm gun on this heavy turns you into a deadly anti-medium.
T-34-2	In a tree of forgettable tanks, this one gives the AMX 65T of the French tree a run for its money as worst tank in the game. On paper, it is attractive. It is mobile. It has decent armor and a great turret. It has good guns with a lot of alpha damage. In reality once you play it, it all falls apart. This is one of the worst grinds in the game. With upcoming buffs to this branch, things might change.

POLAND

Tank	Comments
25TP	Fully upgraded, this should be a good tank. It is mobile and has a good gun for the Tier. This problem is, to get there, you have to put up with one of the worst stock grinds in the game. If you are a new player, you won't have a bank of free xp built up to help unlock modules. One of the most frustrating grinds in the game, with a payoff being an OK, but not great, tank.
B.U.G.I.	This is a tank that shouldn't work. It is awkward and on paper, just doesn't look good. In practice, this is one of the more fun tanks you can play in this game. With a choice of a normal gun (with high alpha for a medium of the tier) or a howitzer for derp action - you will find a way to play it that works for you. While the rest of the mediums are considered 'blah' aside from the Tier X, this one might just find a new home in your garage.
50TP	Another one that on paper, just doesn't look exciting. However, fully researched, this is a hidden gem. Heck, Tier VIII and up on this branch are all hidden gems that people overlook because of the horrible grind to get here. The armor won't save often. However, when it does work, it works amazingly well. The top gun allows you to Hulk Smash enemies. Definitely worth the grind. The 60TP that follows has quickly become my personal favorite Tier X heavy tank.

SWEDEN

Tank	Comments
UDES 03	Want to be a Norse Ninja? Want to be able to drive backwards faster than most tanks in the game can drive forwards? Want a gun so good, you almost never have to fire premium ammo, even at tanks 2 tiers higher? Want a unique mechanic that only a handful of other tanks in the game have? This TD is for you. While a MBT in real life, in game, this tank acts more like a tank destroyer (thus the designation as such). Both tanks following it are improvements on this vehicle. However, first loves stick with you as more memorable than your 2nd and 3rd loves.
Emil II	Want to be a heavy tank that is smaller than some light tanks in the game? Oh, want to add in invincible frontal turret armor, 10+ degrees of gun depression, and an autoloader to it? Look no further. While not a great heavy tank in its own right, when you get the chance to play hull down, you go from average to becoming Thor himself.
IKV 103	At the same time both the best and worst tier 5 TD in the game. When it works, it works. However, when it doesn't, oh boy does it not. It is also unique in that the best gun on it only fires HEAT. No AP. No HE. Only HEAT. If you can make it work and learn to aim for solid armor and not spaced armor, then the top gun lets you do silly things.

ITALY

Tank	Comments
P.43	This is a medium tank that acts like a heavy. It brawls like a heavy. It hits hard like a heavy. It is as slow as a heavy. While not a great tank, as Shrek told Donkey "That'll do."
P.43 ter	Tier VII is usually pretty awkward. This tank is no different. However, the moment you unlock the top engine and mount it, you go from a middle-of-the-road medium to a hard hitting and very mobile medium. It may not be the best medium in the game, but it surely is up there for how much a simple tech upgrade can change the way you play/view a tank.
P.44 Pantera	Auto-reloader mechanic. That is all. Wait, you want me to say more? Seriously, the auto-reloading mechanic puts regular auto loaders to shame. You can play as a single shot medium and maintain DPM. You can dump your clip for a quick burst of damage. Fully upgraded, this medium is mobile, extremely versatile, and secretly, a good rammer. Even if you go no further in this tree, you will probably love this tank - especially if you like regular autoloaders.

Kaiserreich Beta 0.13 - ‘A King and his Captain’

Continuing our pattern of smaller, more focused updates we are delighted to bring you the Romanian rework! Of course we haven’t been idle in other places; many other nations, notably Serbia, have received changes as well. In addition, we are very pleased to give you one of our greatest performance improvements to date as a result of our new division limit and our totally rewritten annexation decisions; details for both can be found below. We hope you enjoy this update!
- The KR4 team
Changes
New Systems
Division Limit:
A new mechanic has been added to all nations; the division limit. It represents the total number of divisions that a country can safely support. The AI will simply not build past this limit. Players can build past this limit, but they will be notified when they’re over it (via a flashing alert on their Recruit & Deploy tab) and will receive a malus that increases the more they go over that limit.

Why do this? One of the biggest complaints about Kaiserreich is lag, particularly late game lag which can make playing into the 1940’s almost unbearable. Having a cap on the total number of units (particularly the number of units that smaller countries can field) is the biggest way we can help with this. We also apply it to the player for balance reasons: if the AI has division limits but a player doesn’t, the difference in difficulty (particularly for major nations) is profound.
What if I don’t like this anyhow? We’ve added a custom game rule option if you want to shut it off, either for the player only (meaning the player experiences no malus if they go over the limit, and is not informed when they’re over it, but the AI will still obey the limit) or entirely.
How is the limit calculated? At its base, the limit is the number of factories (after trade) multiplied by a factor established by your current Economy Law - with an upper cap also established by the Economy Law. Some countries with very high manpower but few factories (like China or India) or who own lots of states (like Russia) will have a lower-end cap on their limit that is higher than that provided by factories, but if they build enough factories they too can raise it higher. The limit never goes below 5 units, and some countries receive special bonuses (usually temporary) which add to that final total. If you hover over the limit field at the top right of your Recruit & Deploy tab, you’ll see a tooltip that explains exactly how the limit is calculated.
I like the limit, but I feel it’s unfair to country X! Kaiserreich has a lot of content, and while we’ve done testing it’s more than possible there are special situations we haven’t yet noticed, or old content (like units being spawned) which never took into account the possibility of a division limit and which haven’t yet been adjusted. If you come across such, please report it to us on our GitHub issue tracker and we’ll fix it as quickly as we can.
A bit of adjustment is required for this system, we know, but it really does affect game speeds as the game goes on, and we hope you’ll bear with us in the interim as the kinks are worked out.

Other Notable Additions

Annexation missions (the decisions you see which pop up after you gain territory, which allow for the release of puppets) have been reworked so they are now triggered. What does that mean? It means that there are no longer hundreds of decisions being evaluated every game day to see if those missions are valid (for many users, resulting in a slight pause at the end of each game day as the game evaluates all those triggers). Instead, the conditions are checked after any annexation or after territory is gained, and at no other time. This doesn’t totally rid of that daily pause, but it does lessen it significantly, though your mileage will vary as with all performance changes
Austria now joins the Reichspakt when they intervene in the 2WK, and leave it afterward
Japan can now only call its allies into its wars if it’s losing or at war with a major

Reworked/Expanded Focus Trees

Romania
Serbia
Poland
Combined Syndicates of America

New Events

Romania
Serbia
Bulgaria
Belgrade Pact
Combined Syndicates of America
Legation Cities
Union of Britain
Ireland
Mongolia

New Decisions

Romania
Serbia
Combined Syndicates of America
Poland

New Custom Country Paths

Union of Britain
Romania
Halifax Conference
Ireland

New Game Rules

Division Limits: limits can be disabled for players only or entirely
Peacetime Demobilization: the mission that requires countries to reduce their Economy and Mobilization laws during peace can be disabled, either for the player only or for all countries
Faction Diplomacy Buttons: several patches ago, the faction-related buttons on the diplomacy interface were removed, since all faction creation/joining is done via decisions and events in Kaiserreich. Some players, however, use the console to allow use of those buttons for their own purposes, so we’ve added a rule which allows the restoration of the buttons if the user so wishes. Restoring the buttons does not give them any more functionality than they had previously.

GFX

New Adrian helmet icon for infantry battalions for nations throughout the Mediterranean

New portraits for:

Burma: Myat Paya Lat, Aung San, Ba Maw, Ne Win, U Saw, Maung Gyi, U Nu, Smith Dun
Commune of France: Marcel Deat, Lucien Lacaze, Henri Tanguy, Vincent Auriol, Leon Jouhaux, Jacques Duclos, Emile Muselier
Denmark: Frederick IX, Frode Lund Hvalkof, Erik Leschly, Hjalmar Rechnitzer, Prince Aage, Hans Rolsted
Ireland: Cathal Brugha, Eamon De Valera, Eoin O’Duffy, Jim Larkin, JJ O'Connell, Liam Lynch, Tom Maguire, Peador O’Donnell, Tom Barry
Serbia: Draza Mihailovic, Ljubomir Davidovic, Milan Nedic, Nikola Uzunovic, Petar Vukcevic, Peter II, Petar Zivkovic, Milan Stojadinovic, Slobodan Jovanovic
USA and splinters: Douglas MacArthur, Richard Russell Jr., John C.H. Lee, Arthur Bristol, Samuel Murray Robinson, Lloyd Fredendall, Arleigh Burke, Alfred Price, David Worth Bagley, Frank Fletcher, Edwin Harding, Leslie McNair, John McCain Sr., Harvey Overesch, Walton Walker, William Hood Simpson, Evans Carlson, William Furlough
White Ruthenia: Kanstancin Jezavitau, Timokh Khvedashchenya, Frantisek Kusal, Hasan Kanapatski, Mikalaj Janicki, Paval Vent, Vital Kazlou
Others: Ephigênio Ferreira de Sales (AMA), Iven Mackay (AST). Joseph Jacquemotte (BEL), Jari Gomez (BRA), Euclides Zenóbio da Costa (BRA), Ivan Variklechkov (BUL), Aleksandar Stamboliyski (BUL), Prince Kyril (BUL), Tsar Boris (BUL), Thomas Cubitt (CAF), Eustace Fiennes (CAF), Clotario Blest Riffo (CHL), Jorge von Marees (CHL), Carlos Labarca (CHL), Antonio Ramos Caiado (GOY), King Alexander (GRE), Alexander Bustamente (JAM), Povilas Julius Labanauskas (LIT), Antanas Kaskelis (LIT), Ibrahim I Johor (MLY), Urzhin Garmaev (MON), Francisco Sequeria Moreno (NIC), Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar (PRF), Azam Jah (PRF), Mikhail Drozdovsky (RUS), James Craig (ULS), Saunders Lewis (WAL), Auguste Buisseret (WLL), Fernand Dehouse (WLL), François Bovesse (WLL), Zhu De (YUN)
Introducing additional equipment GFX variations such as colonial/tropic version used by Mittelafrika and German East Asia, or the now different motorized and mechanised equipment used by all 2ACW participants
Around 80 new terrain GFXs added for Europe, Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Russia

Music Mod

Changed the Main theme to Imnul Regal
For Algeria: Ahlen Bikoum
For Ethiopia: - Ere Ye Agerie Lidj, Eyquel, Fano, Gum Gum, Humming Song, Medinanna Zelesegna, Yeemebetatchen Selamta
For Kenya/Tanzania: Aichi na Wawee, Arabian Conga, Furaha Ya Kanu, Napenda, Tela, Nambanda, Tom Tom
For Libya: Saadaoudi
For Liberia: Domagbe
For Madagascar: Anio No Mba Hisoka, Mpanjakan'ny NY Lisy
For Morocco: Aytat Mulay Ibrahim, E Zzine Emlih Yamana, El Djinat el Kheil, Ghina Loziq, Moshh Zman, Ma Thama Zine, Ma Thama Zinek, Salamou Aleikom, Ya Fatma
For Ireland: The Auld Orange Flute and The Sash My Father Wore
For South Africa: Swaziland
For Somalia: Guelabiessi, Maolid
For Tunisia: Enna Nehou
For Zanzibar: Comic Sketch
For Romania: Aprinde o Tigara, Cararue, du ma Ia, Imnul Regal
For India: O Pardesi Musafir, Dunia Walay, and the Punjab Regimental March
For the Netherlands and Dutch East Indies: Mars van het Regiment van Heutsz
Mittelafrika will now play some African songs of its integrated colonies like Tanganyika!
Adjusted some scripted effects

Mapping

Increased the province density in Nigeria, Tanganyika, South Africa and Angola
New states for Nigeria, Tanganyika, Angola, Central Asia and the Amazon
Gilgit state removed in northern India, Patiala state added in central India
Tweaks to East Prussia, Sichuan and Dairen

Miscellaneous

Justification and guaranteeing now requires at least 50% world tension
BUR country tag has been replaced with BRM, NAM country tag has been replaced with NMB
Removed the American puppet path for Honduras as it did not work
Austria can request puppet divisions after completing its status quo focuses
Added Austro-Hungarian news events
Jabal Shammar now gets a claim on the Trucial States if it wins against the Saudis.
Reduced some of Canada's starting factories and state slots
Loosened the requirements for the Treaty of Novosibirsk.
Russia starts with 4 research slots
Russia gets Ukrainian generals, admirals and the navy when annexing Ukraine in the Treaty of Pereyeslav
Converted most of the Polish foreign policy into decisions
Transamur can get their voting rights on the Legation Council restored
Added events to show what the decisions to prosecute the criminals actually mean
Colombia can now only choose Crusade Against Syndicalism if led by Pinilla (the decisions only worked for him anyway)
Shortened the time between the USA's trial focus and the trial events
Luxembourg can now be granted to an allied France or Germany
Other Italian states are now more likely to agree to peaceful annexation
Italian faction-joining and war declaration decisions are now instant
Italian AI will now wait 30 days after peace before joining a faction
Belgrade Pact members will now never refuse to join
Afghanistan will now lose claims on Indian territory after losing to Delhi
Removed events allowing France to event-annex Belgium mid-war
Acting against Black Monday is no longer costlier than doing nothing
Changed the layout of the Chinese faction alignment chart
Perez’s Venezuela can now join any faction the US is part of
Japan can no longer build a reactor in 1940
Transamur isn’t a Japanese puppet at game start anymore
Russia can now seize Greater Armenia when the Ottomans collapse
A socialist coup in the Netherlands will now disband the BeNeSam
The Carlists don’t sack the royal palace in the news event if they take Madrid
Added annexation missions for Estonia and Latvia
Qing can no longer join the Reichspakt
Brazil can choose to join the Entente in exchange for East Guyana
Egypt now releases puppets in former Ottoman lands if they chose to do so in the conference
If Fengtian rebels, Japan now installs Tang Shaoyi as leader of the Reorganized Government of the Republic of China instead of annexing China
The CSA can now join the Internationale if at war with an Entente PSA
Canada will no longer intervene in the ACW if the Deal with the Devil is active
Removed Swift Mobilisation focus for BUL
SocDem Brazil can now support the CSA in the ACW
Puppet Hannover has been renamed to the North German Federation
Serbia can no longer drag Russia into a war with Austria before the WK2
Fixed Canadian MarkLib government not being switched to SocLib when Mackenzie King dies
Reshuffled Irish generals roster, swapped some focus icons and removed Sean Murray, Betty Sinclair, Padraic O’Maille, Jonathan King, and numerous unused portraits
When Collins disbands parliament he won’t lead a radical christian party.
The child king of Ireland now has a more appropriate portrait for a man in his mid-30s
Irish elections and parties electable have been changed
Added some flavour events to the UoB and Ireland
Overhauled all British Isles annexations and partitions
Russian Britain is no longer possible, goodbye child king of Britain
Bulgaria reconciling with its Balkan neighbours now removes most of the negative opinion modifiers which were applied during the Balkan war
Greek surnames have now been split into male and female versions
Eroding an occupied Italian country’s legitimacy can now only be performed by an enemy Italian country or a non-Italian country which actually occupies one of its states
Reducing one’s Economy or Mobilization law in peacetime (via the decision) now refunds a portion of the PP which was spent to acquire the law.
Two Sicilies and Italy cannot call each other into a war against SRI until and unless they’ve lost ground to the SRI
The Greek AI will now hold off on deciding whether to go New Expansionism in its focus tree until after the referendum or after it’s become a non-democracy
France no longer annexes Flanders-Wallonia mid-war.
Greece’s ‘Fight for Macedonia’ is now a decision activated by the focus
Greece can no longer start the monarchy referendum until after the 1938 elections, at minimum
Revamped the annexation missions throughout Southern Europe
Added separate annexation missions for Scotland and Wales
Reworked the Serbian-Bulgarian union event chain so it is no longer a trap for Serbia. Serbian allies are now given the option of simply pulling out of the alliance or attacking (or to react at all), and Serbia is given a chance to back down. Attacking Bulgaria and retaking them after the end of the chain allows Serbia to establish cores via decision on Bulgarian core lands
Added alternate effects for RUS Okhrannoye Otdeleniye ideas so they are more useful to non-La Resistance owner
Siam finally gets its own balancing adjustment (read: "nerfed hard across the board")
Redone localisation for a majority of Mongolia’s early events
Zhang Xueliang’s demands to Japan will now be delivered immediately

Fixes
Notable Fixes

Reformgruppe African puppets are now puppets of Germany, not Mittelafrika. This fixed a lot of issues in the area, especially around peace conferences/events. For other modders out there, we strongly suggest you avoid puppets of puppets at all costs
Long Yun couping the LKMT in Yunnan is no longer locked out of his focus tree
Mexico will now warn CEN before invading it, and the timer for them to invade has been increased from 14 days to 30 in order to give the Central Americans a bigger window to prepare

Other Fixes

Fixed Jabal Shammar being locked out of its political tree
Can now actually release Chinese regional tags in annexation decisions
Ukrainian Generals are no longer in Socialist Russia
Fixed a double-firing event in National France
Fixed Mindaugas leading the Lithuanian revolt
Fixed a puppet Switzerland causing its overlord to peace out with France
Finland will now leave Mitteleuropa when appropriate
Japan now loses the Mantetsu idea if they lose control over Manchuria
Olson now gets a higher starting popularity to account for the new ideology
Syria is now only called Syria, not Syrian or Syriac on the map
Fixed Central America joining the Entente while at war with Canada
Fixed Southern Slovakia and Bucovina not being correctly transferred on release
Albania can no longer attack other countries if in faction with Austria
Fixed some missing Austrian localization
Fixed the JOR Disorganised Revolt ideas being added multiple times
Fixed the Russian release of Romania giving parts of Transylvania and blocking the mission
Ukraine cannot attack Romania in 1937
If all the member countries die, LEC returns to China
Reworded a Finnish event to account for Ukraine possibly being socialist
The West Indies will now have their socialist tree unlocked upon being released as a puppet
Fixed the inverted Sichuan-Tibet peace deal outcomes
Recoded general transfers in Central America
Fixed Iraq and Arabia being released as each other
Fixed Poland being able to occupy a dead Germany
Fixed the Mitteleuropa events having the wrong title and firing for the wrong countries
Panamanian Profit idea now removed if PAN is hostile or non-existent
German East Asia can no longer declare war on a dead Legation Cities
Removed La Plata mentions
Five Eyes Programme focus for the UK now works properly for non-LaR owners
Guy Hallifax has had his name fixed
Greater Germany no longer gets cores on Italian and Slovenian lands
Fixed a case of a CUB flag not being set and locking the focus tree
The Netherlands will no longer release Insulindia or go into exile twice
Fixed HOL becoming socialist and breaking the Insulindian Revolution (again)
Iceland now leaves Mitteleuropa when leaving Mitteleuropa
The event for the king being captured will no longer fire for a puppet or socialist Canada/Australia
Fixed the Irish volunteers not disbanding after the end of the ACW
Fixed the USA attacking Puerto Rico during the Ceasefire
You can no longer lease factories or lend guns to a non existent Nanjing Clique as German East Asia
Yunnan capitulates really fast now if it’s in its civil war to avoid spooky behaviour
Another country besides Uruguay can now win the World Cup
Fixed an ideology change in Lombardy’s monarchist tree
You can now play as Shan or Kachin without having to use the console! You have to start as Yunnan and make them rebel to play their limited content
Ireland’s doctrine bonuses have now been reassigned to the correct path
Irish election events have been altered
If the Germans and Entente fall to invasion, the Ottomans no longer have to pay their debts back to their governments in exile anyway just to be a good sport
Mexico can no longer invade CEN if it’s a puppet
Patagonia’s starting focus no longer sets you to War Economy, instead you’re given an idea to buff you instead
The Kingdom of Spain and CNT-FAI trees have been nerfed
The “Rally the Country” event should no longer fire for any country after the British king has been captured
Peace event for Bulgaria to win the Balkan war can now still fire even if Serbia is not capitulated last, and another Belgrade Pact country currently is leader
Fixed a rare instance where the war between Hungary and Austria could be invalidated, leading to an independent Hungary and no resolution to the Ausgleich event chain
Sweden can no longer drag the Reichspakt or the Third Internationale into wars with their faction-joining decisions
If the UK demands return of colonial lands from a puppet, that demand is now forwarded to the puppet’s overlord instead
The Greek rebel state is now auto-annexed by Greece if the war has been caused to somehow invalidate through outside interference
The LEP should no longer capitulate with Qing while together in a faction

We hope you enjoy playing Kaiserreich as much as we did making it!
- The KR4 Team: Alpinia, Arvidus, Augenis, Blackfalcon501, DSFDarker, Carmain, Dr. Njitram, Drozdovite, Edouard Saladier, Éloïse, Eragaxshim, Fbruchmueller, Flamefang, Fort, Gideones, JazzyHugh, Jeankedezeehond, Jonjon428, Jonny BL, Krco, Liegnitz, Maltesefalcon, Matoro, NukeGaming, OperationsManagementDecisions, PPsyrius, Pietrus, Rei VL, Rylock, SPQR, Starguard, Telcontar101, The Alpha Dog, Thomahawk2k, Vidyaország, WordZero, Yard1, Zankoas and Zimbabwe Salt Co.

The biggest stock market crash could be coming

[Review] Christmas Banner

Yo. Since Christmas banner is around the corner, might as well just outright say what's on every veteran's minds in this game.
First of all, let me make this clear:
There is powercreep in this game. But it's the powercreep of convenience. You clear faster or more consistently in auto with the meta characters, so that means you get stats faster. You get stats faster, you can finish stuff quicker. It's basically like FGO with Skadi cheesing. You only do it to save time.
Welfares do work, but you put in more time because... well, they don't clear as fast on auto for obvious reasons. Even recent welfares have awful statlines, awful passives and even awful skills in all general. There is a reason why "K" streams his attempts. It shows his dedication towards trying to make that welfare run work. And sometimes it takes 3 hours of absolutely no progress.
Even then, you guys want to save time efficiently, don't you? Some (not all) of you guys playing have lives and want to take it casually, so you are here in this game. You guys want progress to be smooth as butter? Buckle up, because you're going on a ride.
Disclaimer: This is a FULL Meta analysis of the banner and how it will reflect on your teams further in. Powercreep comes? Update your kits. Such things like that. You see things you need and you grab them to optimize team setups more and more.
No, I'm not making a tier list because this game really is "play it by ear". I need Cold DPS? 1st Anniversary comes? I pull SS Liz. After, I need wind? I pull SS Byunei on Spring Festival. Look at your team, look at who needs an update and who isn't carrying their weight as much. Replace the rusty parts with better efficient parts with newer stuff like Weakness Advantage IV, Fired Up V or new skills.
These posts won't be for "everything works as long as you try" discussions.
It's for "you want fast auto team clears to get stats to get up to speed on Robin Cup, Ultra Hard, Back Dojo, Spiral Corridor and Romancing difficulty?". You listen to the advice here.
Disclaimer 2: Flux in the Discord has made a SS Style database for JP players with translations. This resource is meant for the casual player who just wants to find out about a character.
Link to source: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1AUquzPB0vDKYxOHC1uU4G7CNrNSNwLr89MOTWjQBNu0/edit?usp=sharing
To rerollers who are starting out:
I suggested rerolling (if you do it because it's easy) to at least start with SS Blue. Yeah, I hear SS Azami all the time but I think SS Albert and SS Blue makes a lot of stuff a joke later down the line also in general. Sun's ridiculously stupid in terms of vs. Undeads.
If you reroll during XMas, reroll for Christmas Monica then either SS Albert, SS Blue or SS Azami. I honestly think these four should be the best "gunpowder" units to get your account growth exploding just right. Especially when Monica, Julian, Azami and Windie will have a 2x stat drop event during the XMas event.
tl;dr:
The Global me says:
If you are full metagaming, then I'd suggest you go to another banner. This banner's completely a dumpster fire if anything due to how most of these characters lose basically almost all reason to be used after 0.5-1.0 Anniversary over others.
The ones you want to save for are these if you want auto consistency:

White Rose Princess (Ability to full heal almost consistently with currently in JP being able to heal any character to full HP and cleanse easily)
0.5 Anniversary Asellus (Ability to 4BP -INT Debuff stack constantly).

These were the notable characters in the first six months that are limited.
There are other runner-ups like Roc, Koumei and Cordelia but they're normal pool and not limited.
The Japan server me said:
Santa outfit Monica looks cute... Wait, I got Julian.
Oh.
Ooh, Christmas Ginny, going for that. She's cute.

Round 1: Christmas Monica, Christmas Julian, Christmas Azami, Christmas Windie, Christmas Snowman

SS Christmas Monica is probably the prize out of anyone.
Pros: Southern Cross turn-1 with a 2 turn BP cycle of constantly using a A-power skill at max awakening in her second skill. Personally, I don't like the critical damage bonus, but it's fieldable compared to Hardy Wallop (which is gone the instant a monster gets out an AOE). The most important part is still the 85% DEX Multiplier, which ends up giving her a much better DPS potential then Fat Robin.
Cons: However... She's kinda subpar besides a 2-turn cycle and damage potential via Fired Up IV and Fighting Spirit II (DEX). The only reason you would use her is for just needing a solid Pierce-attribute specialist that'll get you plenty far... But Selma does a much better job then that later down the line. This doesn't include how the 3rd Award ceremony Monica blows this Monica out the water.
Even then, 3rd Award Final Empress does so much of a better job then SS Christmas Julian ever will.
SS Christmas Julian is... uh... a stunner, I guess.
Pro: Julian has a 2-turn BP Cycle A-Power stun and can also decrease stun resistance. Besides that, he also has a chance to debuff WIL (Edit: well then, whoops). So he's not really that bad in terms of Jammer stuff. Really could be worse by making the debuff AGI.
Con: If you are going to get a stunner, just save for Summer Jamil. There are two major problems for Julian.

Stuns only work if you attack first.
It's scaled by INT.

With his low growth rate in AGI, Julian ends up struggling to make a splash and requires being carried for his stat gains. This means that you basically end up needing a carry team to begin with. Besides that, his low INT isn't doing him any justice when Jamil walks in during Year 1 Summer with 21% more INT. I would not recommend pulling for Julian unless you like his outfit.
S Azami/A Windie/S Snowman
If you are going to pull for Azami for Submission, go just wait for Summer Azami. She has Submission and has a better multiplier set overall. Edit: Can't even coin pity her. A shame.
A Windie's entire schtick is that she has a Support skill that grants someone mitigation. Sadly, I don't think it's enough to really make her stick out that amazingly.
Welfare: I freaking love S Snowman. Hope to Entrust I (when ko'd, heal party), heal, heal enhancement. The only problem is that heals scale by SP/Elemental attack, which does not drop for maces until you get to VH7 and beyond. However, with that weapon, he ends up being a very solid secondary healer pick next to SS Sophia.

Round 2: Christmas Ginny, Christmas Albert, Christmas Cat, Christmas Tatyana, Christmas Sophia

SS Ginny
Pros: SS Ginny comes with a few perks. Being one of the few who can debuff WIL with a skill (only SS Strife, SS Award White Rose Princess and SS Judy can debuff WIL). This is pretty much as best as it will ever get due to how Ginny's strength is the ability for her to choose her debuffs for the fight. Onsen style brings out INT debuffs to nail some magic AOE spamming sonuvabitch while Fire Guardian variant brings out the STR debuffs alongside Bonebreaker to twist the arms off of a couple of sword-spamming bosses like Golden Lion Princess or 30th SaGa World Raid Noel later on.
Cons: SS Christmas Ginny's biggest problem is the same as SS Christmas Julian's.
My first gripe is: She has way too good styles later on that will basically almost never let her field stuff from her Christmas or Release styles. Onsen Style constantly has to use her 2BP INT debuff while Fire Guardian variant constantly spams Bonebreaker. However, unlike Julian, SS Christmas Ginny does give Onsen and Fire Guardian Ginny the option to work with either an AOE (Ground slam) starter should she want it. Remember the stun doesn't really do much for the skill since Onsen and Fire Guardian Ginny have low INT.
My second gripe is: If the cost of Water Moon was 13BP instead of 14BP, she would be much, much more celebrated and end up being recommended the most in general. 10BP for a amazing WIL debuffing starter. Sadly, White Rose and Judy's got that covered at this point.
SS Albert
Pro: Albert's pretty weird in general. He has a AGI buff, turn-1 Multiway alongside a kit that shows that he's meant to be some kind of off-tank who is meant to eat only AOE attacks.
The best way to play him is as an DPS. Inherit the B-power attack from S Albert that you get from Garuda alongside awakening Multi-way to 10BP gives him a solid 2-turn B-Power cycle with a starting Multiway. Granted, this will be outdone by many characters later but Albert is able to make up for that in the beginning by have "Hope to Entrust".
Con: Albert is REALLY weird to field. To this date, people are confused on what he wants to do.
You don't have much room to use his specialization because Parry and his aggro reduction passive really counteracts with each other. So it ends up being pretty counterintuitive to put him inside a high aggro formation spot because it defeats the purpose of one of his passives. To fix that, you would need to not go level 30, but that hurts his potential a lot in terms of stats. So in terms of potential, buff-tanking is not the way with him.
Also, do remember: Hope to Entrust is a double-edged sword. If your character is KO'd, they are still KO'd and cannot join in the DPS. Your party can fall pretty easily if you cannot do enough DPS or start losing members again and again, so it should be paramount that you should have focus in characters who only decide to DPS and nothing else (AKA Ellen has become amazing because of this reason, being only solely about damage). Albert's high END/WIL multipliers in level 50 also kind of counteract with Hope to Entrust because if 2-3 party members are down and Albert goes down, he's healing so little of the party left.
Albert's in a weird field where his passives are fieldable, but they still have the downside of "this could be replaced for more damage and be fielded much better in some situations or be fielded for other options and be better in some situations" kind of trouble that comes with jack-of-all-trades characters.
S Cat/A Tatyana/S Sophia
S Cat almost works in the same principal as S Azami. Both have a solid inheritance option but also ends up later with a much better SS Style. Unlike Azami, though, Cat's better SS style (which has better AGI/STR and solid INT) is a normal pool character released later. Even then, release SS Cat has access to Submission inherently so this S style is not too groundbreaking besides giving your SS styles for Cat some AOE capabiltiies.
A Tatyana's main perk is that she grants Bonebreaker to her later SS Variant, which is a huge boon considering Bonebreaker is hard to find. A type-killer with B-Power (making it basically A-Power against skeletons) with 6BP cost. Amazing since almost every Skeleton has physical attacks. As if that wasn't good enough, she also has Brainsplitter, a 9BP INT Debuffing skill that later gets to be upgraded from A-Rank damage to S-Rank damage thanks to the Skill Scrolling system introduced in 1.5 Anniversary. If you want to use SS Tatyana later as a debuff fielder at Wagnas banner, I suggest you grab this style if you can.
I want to reiterate that I think going all-in for S-A styles is not a good idea without the 9000/3000 coin pity in the banner coin shop. Still, if you do like Ginny and Albert enough to go for this banner, getting either of these will help the other styles of these characters a lot. (Edit: A Tatyana can be farmed)
Welfare: S Sophia comes in with a solid option of inheritance for SS Sophia as a AOE damage starter. It causes stun, but the main purpose of this is to just act as helping out in wave clears more then anything. For boss fights, you will be still using Bonecrusher most of the time due to how rare the skill is to find even in JP to this date.

Market Analysis: Focusing on what is "baked into" the future with high probability

Hi All,
Like many other investors, I rapidly became overwhelmed with the uncertainty in the future. Consequently I decided to focus in on what we know now with high probability. Essentially this is assuming all fiscal / monetary policies as currently enacted and consensus estimates on COVID-19 mitigation (i.e. gradual resumption of normal commerce after mid to late Q2). See more detailed assumptions later.

Some facts going into the analysis:

2019 saw a ~30% gain in the S&P 500, however corporate earnings were nearly flat. Consequently, the 30% rise in the S&P 500 was due almost entirely to increases in valuation, i.e. stock investors paying more for future earnings
The OECD had projected in September 2019 3.0% Global GDP growth and 2.0% for the US. This was already a deceleration of global growth from 3.6% worldwide in 2018 and 2.9% in the US.
US Manufacturing, according to the ISM and IHS Markit surveys, weakened through most of 2019 (although showed a slight rebound near the end of year)
US Business investment also declined through much of 2019, potentially due to the "trade war" between the China & the US
US Consumer spending remained robust throughout 2019, although also appeared to decelerate near the end of 2019 / early 2020.
US households had modestly de-leveraged as a % of GDP since 2008, and the debt servicing costs (due to lower interest rates) were at historic lows at the end of 2019. It’s worth noting the changing composition of household debt, with strong increases in student loan and auto debt while mortgage debt decreased. Housing debt peaked at ~$10 trillion in 2008, compared to slightly less than ~$10 trillion at the end of 2019. However, non-housing debt peaked at ~$2.7 trillion in 2008, while by 2019 non-housing debt stood at $4.2 trillion
US Corporate debt stood at record levels as compared to GDP: ~75%. This debt had also deteriorated in ratings with the largest percentage in history rated as slightly above junk (BBB)
The US deficit for fiscal year 2019 was estimated at ~$1 trillion pre-COVID
The bulk of net inflows from 2016-2019 into US equities have been driven by stock buybacks. Since 2009, companies have spent ~$5 trillion in share buybacks

In short, my analysis is that the US economy entered 2020 with modest to low growth prospects. While consumer spending and household debt servicing costs remained bright spots, modest wage gains coupled with high housing, education, and healthcare costs presented a mixed picture. Both business investment and manufacturing activity were subdued, although hopes for a "Phase 1" trade war seemed cause for modest optimism.

With those facts as background, here are my baked in assumptions for the following analysis:

The OECD nations + major developing countries (China, etc.) modestly resume normal economic activity in mid to late Q2
There is no vaccine or "miracle drug" until late 2020 / 2021
Stimulus from major central banks globally prevents an immediate financial crisis or severe market distortions (e.g. the corporate credit market seizing up)
Additional fiscal stimulus measures, while substantial, do not exceed the original stimulus bills (e.g. the $2.2 trillion US bill)
The COVID-19 lockdown contributes to a severe recession in Q1/Q2 2020 in most countries, but the easing of lockdown measures + stimulus leads to modest to substantial recovery in Q3 2020.

Alright, onto the main event. Here is what I think is "baked" into the future assuming the above events:

Dramatic increases in sovereign debt levels. The US alone is estimated to run a deficit of ~$3-4 trillion depending on the severity and duration of the recession. With global debt levels already at records highs, it is unclear what effect these substantial debt levels will have (deflation, inflation, stagflation, no effect?)
Severe budget deficits in US state & local governments. Increased spending on unemployment insurance and healthcare expenditures coupled with decreased revenues will force states to significantly cut their budgets. These cuts will include layoffs of non-essential employees.
Increased pressure on Euro zone economies, particularly Italy. Italian economic growth remained anemic in 2019 at 0.3%. With the complete lockdown of the Italian economy (which began in the economic engine of Northern Italy), Italy will likely face dramatic declines in GDP and correspondingly large government deficits. Northern Eurozone countries will be faced yet again with difficult choices with regards to Italian debt. Pressure from northern Eurozone countries on Italy risk furthering inflaming public opinion and leading to a separatist backlash.
Negative to zero growth in US consumer spending in 2020. Despite the enhanced unemployment insurance, stimulus checks, and corporate / small biz loans I believe it is unlikely that consumer spending will rebound in 2020. Consumers will prioritize on paying off debts, rebuilding savings, etc. due to the economic uncertainty. Furthermore there is permanent demand destruction in certain sectors, e.g. consumers are unlikely to replace all of their canceled vacations, restaurant visits, shopping excursions, etc. The "wealth effect" will work in reverse as many high income households see drops in both their investments accounts as well as variable compensation: bonuses, pay raises, RSUs, stock options, etc.
Unemployment will remain substantially elevated over its early 2020 low of ~3.5% through 2020. As in 2009, many corporations will "do more with less" in lieu of hiring during uncertain times. Small and medium sized businesses will face substantial revenue losses in 2020 and will focus on cutting costs to remain solvent.
Manufacturing and business investment will remain weak in 2020. Manufacturing will continue to stagnant due to sluggish demand for automobiles, aircraft, and other durable goods. Businesses will focus on preserving cash, paying down / refinancing debts, etc. due to weak global demand
The US Federal Reserve will continue to support markets with QE and other monetary policy measures.
Increased likelihood of a change in US presidential administrations. In early 2020 the Democratic party appeared poised to nominate a progressive, divisive candidate in Bernie Sanders. By April 2020 Joe Biden, a center-left candidate, had secured the nomination. At the same time, the US economic outlook had substantially deteriorated. While the economy is likely to improve in the June-November timeline, it is unclear if this recovery will be substantial enough to allow President Trump to run on a message of economic recovery. The increased likelihood of a Democratic presidential administration is a corresponding decreased likelihood of further US corporate tax cuts.
Dramatic decrease in stock buybacks in 2020. Companies will focus on preserving cash and reducing debt levels.
Significant deployment of "dry powder" from cash rich corporates and private equity firms (which have ~$2+ trillion in unallocated funds). These funds will look for opportunities in distressed credit, M&A, and other opportunistic areas
Continued low oil prices in 2020. While a modest recovery is possible, the magnitude of demand destruction for oil, the unraveling of Opec+, and the continuing impact of American shale drillers will contain price growth.
Continued China - US tension. There is little sign of a thaw in relations, and a hard line against China is one of the few popular bi-partisan issues in US domestic politics. Initial discussions to suspend Chinese tariffs during the crisis seem to have stalled.
Emphasis on supply chain resiliency / diversification. Between the US - China trade war and the COVID-19 outbreak, OECD companies will face both investor and political pressure to diversify their supply chain away from China. This will bolster the slow and gradual shift that was already underway due to increasing Chinese labor costs and the perception of an opaque, unfair legal regime. In the short term this will drive up costs (China is a manufacturing hub for many reasons beyond cheap labor) which will either compress corporate profits or raise consumer prices.
Unlike 2009, there does not appear to be a new global engine of growth. China seems justifiably concerned about exacerbating their debt situation with massive fiscal stimulus. India was already experiencing a recession, and other major economies like Nigeria, Indonesia, etc. do not have the per capita purchasing power to stimulate global growth. Many of these countries are also suffering from the collapse in commodity prices and the flight from emerging market bonds / equities.

I hesitate to forecast the future, because obviously there is significant uncertainty. However, my personal base case is that an immediate "V-shaped" recovery in asset prices is unlikely. For asset prices to reach or exceed 2020 levels would require corporates to either substantially increase earnings in mid to late 2020 AND investors to value future earnings at the same high levels of 2020. However, it is worth noting that the record low interest rates (and corresponding bond yields) and monetary easing could in theory drive investors into equities, real estates, private equity, etc. as the only option for positive returns. My personal base case is a sluggish recovery in mid to late 2020 with asset prices remaining volatile to shifts in sentiment. With the Fed stabilizing markets, a widespread global depression seems unlikely but could occur if high global debt levels trigger widespread corporate bankruptcies or some form of "stagflation". Another unlikely, but possible case is that the world emulates Japan after the early 1990s and experiences a long period of slow asset price decline as corporates deleverage, credit availability declines modestly, and no new global engines of growth emerge.

Thoughts?

Edit #2: Adding in how to know I'm wrong
One thing that occurred to me is that since this analysis is slightly bearish, I should proactively offer some data points that would indicate I'm wrong / overly pessimistic:

Rapid recovery in US consumer spending in Q3 / Q4 2020 to pre-COVID levels
Rapid return to pre-COVID employment, ~3.5%, by Q4 2020
Increased US business investment / manufacturing activity in Q3 / Q4 to supplement or replace consumer spending
The rapid return of the US corporate debt market which enables large stock buybacks in Q4 2020 onward
Corporate earnings growth compared to late 2019 (i.e. not simply quarter on quarter comparisons against the likely awful Q1 / Q2 numbers)
Massive US government infrastructure projects / other stimulus programs that generate demand and boost US household incomes

Edit #3: Some people have correctly pointed out that India was not in a recession in 2019. Apologies, I should have said that growth had decelerated over 2019, with Q4 2019 growth estimated at ~4.7% compared to GDP of ~7% in 2018. I think my larger point stands that India's economy did not appear to be trending in a positive direction, and given their per capita income of ~$1700 4.7% is not sufficient to dramatically improve global growth.
Sources:

Edit: My first gold and silver, thank you kind strangers!

[Megathread] Wuhan viral outbreak

This Megathread has been superceded by Megathread #3. Please share all articles and information pertaining to the viral outbreak that originated in Wuhan in that thread instead.
January 30:

Center for Mathematical Modeling of Infectious Diseases - "Effectiveness of airport screening at detecting travellers infected with 2019-nCoV" - https://cmmid.github.io/ncov/airport_screening_report/airport_screening_preprint_2020_01_28.pdf
CNN - "7,000 people held on cruise ship in Italy as Wuhan coronavirus fears spread" - https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/30/asia/wuhan-coronavirus-update-china-spread-intl-hnk/index.html

January 29:

CNN - "Airlines around the world are suspending flights to China as the coronavirus spreads" - https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/29/business/british-airways-coronavirus/index.html
Caixin - "Wuhan Virus Latest: Beijing Warns of Person-to-Person Spread" - https://www.caixinglobal.com/2020-01-29/wuhan-virus-latest-china-reports-second-pneumonia-linked-death-101505300.html
Singapore Ministry of Manpower - "Precautionary measures for employers and employees travelling to and from Mainland China and known affected countries in response to increase in cases of Wuhan coronavirus (Wuhan virus)" - https://www.mom.gov.sg/wuhanvirus
BBC - "Coronavirus: Australia plans island quarantine as foreigners leave Wuhan" - https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-51290312
CNN - "Number of Wuhan coronavirus cases inside mainland China overtakes SARS, as virus spreads worldwide" - https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/28/asia/wuhan-coronavirus-update-jan-29-intl-hnk/index.html

January 28:

Independent - "Coronavirus: Japan and Germany confirm patients who caught disease did not visit China" - https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/coronavirus-china-japan-latest-outbreak-bus-driver-wuhan-death-toll-a9305406.html
CNA - "Wuhan virus: First confirmed case in Germany also Europe's first human-to-human transmission" - https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/world/wuhan-virus-case-confirmed-in-germany-bavarian-health-12360060
Reuters - "Confusion and lost time: how testing woes slowed China's coronavirus response" - https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-health-testing-insight-idUSKBN1ZQ21K
BBC - "Coronavirus: Foreign Office warns against 'all but essential travel' to China" - https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-51288672
CNBC - "3M CEO: ‘We’re going 24/7’ to ramp up production of masks to meet coronavirus demand" - https://www.cnbc.com/2020/01/28/3m-ramps-up-production-of-masks-to-meet-coronavirus-demand.html
CTV News - "B.C. confirms province's first presumptive positive case of new coronavirus" - https://bc.ctvnews.ca/mobile/b-c-confirms-province-s-first-presumptive-positive-case-of-new-coronavirus-1.4786706
Reuters - Hong Kong suspends some rail, ferry links with China mainland to curb virus spread: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-health-hongkong/hong-kong-suspends-some-rail-ferry-links-with-china-mainland-to-curb-virus-spread-idUSKBN1ZR0VC
Washington Post - As deadly coronavirus spreads, U.S. to expand screening of passengers from China at 20 airports: https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/as-deadly-coronavirus-spreads-us-to-expand-screening-of-passengers-from-china-at-20-airports/2020/01/27/deb0fb78-412e-11ea-aa6a-083d01b3ed18_story.html
Kyodo News - Japan bus driver infected with virus after driving Chinese tourists: https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2020/01/e8f47252a245-urgent-japan-sees-1st-coronavirus-case-not-linked-to-recent-travel-to-china.html

January 27:

Thailand Medical News - "Reasons For China’s Unreliable Death And Infected Statistics Finally Revealed-Insufficient Test Kits, Also Cambodia Reports First Case" - https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/reasons-for-china’s-unreliable-death-and-infected-statistics--finally-revealed-insufficient-test-kits,-also-cambodia-reports-first-case
Axios - "UN aviation agency blocks critics of Taiwan policy on Twitter" - https://www.axios.com/as-virus-spreads-un-agency-blocks-critics-taiwan-policy-on-twitter-e8a8bce6-f31a-4f41-89e0-77d919109887.html
Nikkei Asian Review - "World braces for economic impact of Wuhan coronavirus outbreak" - https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Coronavirus-outbreak/World-braces-for-economic-impact-of-Wuhan-coronavirus-outbreak
South China Morning Post - "Amid Wuhan virus fears, Asia-Pacific countries weigh economic hit of restricting Chinese travelers" - https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3047821/amid-wuhan-virus-fears-asia-pacific-countries-weigh
CNBC - "Op-ed: We need to prepare for US outbreak of Wuhan coronavirus" - https://www.cnbc.com/2020/01/26/op-ed-we-need-to-prepare-for-us-outbreak-of-wuhan-coronavirus.html
Science Magazine - "Wuhan seafood market may not be source of novel virus spreading globally" - https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/01/wuhan-seafood-market-may-not-be-source-novel-virus-spreading-globally
Business Insider - "A Chinese official warned of a shortage of protective masks and suits amid the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak" - https://www.businessinsider.com/chinese-official-protective-mask-and-suit-shortage-wuhan-coronavirus-2020-1
The Telegraph - "Chinese premier Li Keqiang in Wuhan to lead emergency efforts as coronavirus deaths in China rise to 80" - https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/01/27/chinese-premier-li-keqiang-wuhan-lead-emergency-efforts-coronavirus/
Medium - "Coronavirus: Using Tinder To Speak To People In Wuhan" - https://medium.com/@mediavsreality/coronavirus-using-tinder-to-speak-to-people-in-wuhan-e2735f2caa63
The Wall Street Journal - "Wuhan Mayor Says Beijing Rules Partially Responsible for Lack of Transparency" - https://www.wsj.com/articles/chinas-premier-tours-virus-epicenter-as-anger-bubbles-at-crisis-response-11580109098?mod=hp_lead_pos2
The Wall Street Journal - "Coronavirus Hits Hong Kong as Economy Reels From Protests" - https://www.wsj.com/articles/virus-hits-hong-kong-as-economy-is-still-catching-its-breath-after-unrest-11580113183?mod=article_inline
South China Morning Post - "China coronavirus: Hong Kong medical experts call for ‘draconian’ measures in city as research estimates there are already 44,000 cases in Wuhan" - https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3047813/china-coronavirus-hong-kong-medical-experts-call
South China Morning Post - "China halts stock trading in extended holiday as deadly virus outbreak spreads, sends country into lockdown" - https://www.scmp.com/business/markets/article/3047765/hong-kong-markets-open-normal-amid-wuhan-coronavirus-fears-bourse
South China Morning Post - "Africa on alert for first case of Wuhan coronavirus" - https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/3047810/africa-alert-first-case-wuhan-coronavirus

January 26:

Imperial College - "Report 3: Transmissibility of 2019-nCoV" - https://www.imperial.ac.uk/media/imperial-college/medicine/sph/ide/gida-fellowships/Imperial-2019-nCoV-transmissibility.pdf
WorldPop - "Preliminary risk analysis of 2019 novel coronavirus spread within and beyond China" - https://www.worldpop.org/events/china
The Guardian - "Coronavirus: 100,000 may already be infected, experts warn" - https://www.theguardian.com/science/2020/jan/26/coronavirus-could-infect-100000-globally-experts-warn
ROT2K - "Why contagious diseases keep emerging in China, and why it’s so hard to stop them: a brief history of medical care under CCP rule" - http://rot2k.com/why-contagious-diseases-keep-emerging-in-china-and-why-its-so-hard-to-stop-them-a-brief-history-of-medical-care-under-ccp-rule/
South China Morning Post - "5 million residents left Wuhan before lockdown, mayor reveals, as 1,000 new confirmed cases expected in city" - https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/3047720/chinese-premier-li-keqiang-head-coronavirus-crisis-team-outbreak
Wired - "Scientists Predict Wuhan's Outbreak Will Get Much Worse" - https://www.wired.com/story/scientists-predict-wuhans-outbreak-will-get-much-worse/
The New York Times - "Effects of Coronavirus Begin Echoing Far From Wuhan Epicenter" - https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/25/world/asia/china-wuhan-coronavirus.html
The Straits Times - "Wuhan virus: Current estimate is 20% of patients will become severely ill, says Singapore infectious diseases expert" - https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/current-estimate-is-20-of-wuhan-virus-patients-will-become-severely-ill-says
Quartz - "How artificial intelligence provided early warnings of the Wuhan virus" - https://qz.com/1791222/how-artificial-intelligence-provided-early-warning-of-wuhan-virus/
Caixin - "Wuhan Virus Latest: Number Infected Exceeds 2,000 in China" - https://www.caixinglobal.com/2020-01-27/wuhan-virus-latest-china-reports-second-pneumonia-linked-death-101505300.html
CNN - "Third US case of coronavirus confirmed as China warns people can spread the virus before realizing they're ill" - https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/26/us/coronavirus-orange-county/index.html
CNA - "China scrambles to contain 'strengthening' virus" - https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/wuhan-virus-pneumonia-china-spread-12346462
Sonja K. Eliason (Harvard evolutionary biology researcher) - "More Than A Hundred Years Later, Is Coronavirus The Next Spanish Flu?" - https://sonja.bio/posts/is-coronavirus-the-next-spanish-flu
The Straits Times - "Wuhan virus: Several China cities including Shanghai and Beijing to ban long-distance buses" - https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/third-chinese-city-to-ban-long-distance-buses-over-virus-concerns

January 25:

Foreign Policy - "The Wuhan Virus: How to Stay Safe / 新冠病毒来袭：如何自我防护" - ENG: https://perma.cc/HAG9-REZQ CN: https://perma.cc/NJ3F-7NVU
China Daily - "Beijing to suspend interprovincial road transport starting Sunday" - https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202001/25/WS5e2c30fea310128217273397.html
Global News - "Doctor treating Paris coronavirus patients says virus ‘less serious’ than SARS" - https://globalnews.ca/news/6461923/coronavirus-sars-french-doctoamp/
Bloomberg - "Canada Reports Its First Case of Coronavirus" - https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-01-25/canada-reports-first-case-of-coronavirus-in-toronto-traveler
Sky News - "Coronavirus: President Xi warns of 'grave situation' as China infection spreads" - https://news.sky.com/story/coronavirus-president-xi-warns-of-grave-situation-as-china-infection-spreads-11917542
Xinhua - "China's Wuhan to ban motor vehicles to prevent coronavirus outbreak" - http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2020-01/25/c_138733529.htm
Wall Street Journal - "Relatives Wonder Why Pneumonia Deaths Not in Coronavirus Tally" - https://www.wsj.com/articles/relatives-wonder-whether-pneumonia-deaths-were-tied-to-coronavirus-11579915630
CNBC - "Hong Kong leader declares citywide virus emergency over coronavirus, first cases appear in Australia" - https://www.cnbc.com/2020/01/25/hong-kong-leader-declares-citywide-virus-emergency-over-coronavirus.html
The Guardian - "Coronavirus outbreak: doctor in Wuhan hospital dies as army medics flown in" - https://www.theguardian.com/science/2020/jan/25/coronavirus-outbreak-doctor-in-wuhan-hospital-dies-as-army-medics-flown-in
Wall Street Journal - "U.S. Plans to Evacuate Citizens From Epidemic-Stricken Chinese City" - https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-plans-to-evacuate-citizens-from-epidemic-stricken-chinese-city-11579951256

January 24:

Mirror - "Third coronavirus case confirmed in Europe after patients tested in France" - https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/breaking-europes-first-coronavirus-confirmed-21354783
Ary News - "First coronavirus case diagnosed in Pakistan: sources" - https://arynews.tv/en/first-coronavirus-case-diagnosed-in-pakistan/
The BMJ Opinion - "Coronavirus: The psychological effects of quarantining a city" - https://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2020/01/24/coronavirus-the-psychological-effects-of-quarantining-a-city/
medRxiv (academic) - "Novel coronavirus 2019-nCoV: early estimation of epidemiological parameters and epidemic predictions" - https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.01.23.20018549v1
South China Morning Post - "China coronavirus: second US patient tests positive as health officials investigate 63 more suspected cases" - https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/3047615/china-coronavirus-us-health-agency-says-second-patient-tests
Japan Times - "Face masks and hand sanitizers in short supply across Asia amid deadly virus panic" - https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/01/24/business/face-masks-hand-sanitizers-asia-coronavirus/#.Xiskc25FyUk
The Guardian - "Coronavirus: UK universities issue quarantine warning to Chinese students" - https://www.theguardian.com/science/2020/jan/24/coronavirus-uk-universities-issue-quarantine-warning-china-chinese-students-in-slugs
The Guardian - "Coronavirus: Chinese hospitals in chaos as lockdown spreads to affect 33m people" - https://www.theguardian.com/science/2020/jan/24/coronavirus-chinese-hospitals-in-chaos-as-lockdown-spreads-to-affect-25m-people
Shanghaiist - "Parents allegedly abandon kids at airport after one is stopped from boarding with fever" - http://shanghaiist.com/2020/01/24/parents-allegedly-abandon-kids-at-airport-after-one-is-stopped-from-boarding-with-feve
BBC - "Coronavirus: Life as a foreigner in Wuhan" - https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-51226494
South China Morning Post - "China coronavirus: 26 dead, while eight cities on lockdown" - https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/3047453/china-coronavirus-first-fatality-reported-outside-epicentre
South China Morning Post - "China coronavirus: Wuhan medical staff being infected at much faster pace than reported as national death toll hits 26" - https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/3047441/wuhan-medical-staff-being-infected-virus-much-faster-pace
Beijing News Express - "105 New Pneumonia Cases Infected by New Coronavirus in Hubei Province" - https://translate.google.com/translate?depth=1&nv=1&rurl=translate.google.com&sl=auto&sp=nmt4&tl=en&u=http://www.bjnews.com.cn/news/2020/01/24/678795.html&xid=25657,15700022,15700186,15700191,15700256,15700259,15700262,15700265,15700271,15700301

January 23:

RTHK - "Tearful Wuhan residents call for support, supplies" - https://news.rthk.hk/rthk/en/component/k2/1504407-20200123.htm
Yahoo - "Some China coronavirus victims didn't even have a fever" [temperature screening may not work] - https://sg.news.yahoo.com/some-china-coronavirus-victims-didnt-even-have-a-fever-091332191.html
Business Insider - "Wuhan, China, and 5 other cities have been quarantined as China attempts to halt the spread of the coronavirus. That's about 23 million people on lockdown." - https://www.businessinsider.com/wuhan-coronavirus-officials-quarantine-entire-city-2020-1
South China Morning Post - "China coronavirus: first fatality reported outside Hubei province as man dies in Hebei near Beijing, while eight cities now on lockdown" - https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/3047453/china-coronavirus-first-fatality-reported-outside-epicentre
The Globe & Mail - "'This time I’m scared’: SARS virologist warns Wuhan virus is far worse, as China moves to restrict travel in more cities" - https://www.theglobeandmail.com/world/article-this-time-im-scared-sars-virologist-warns-wuhan-virus-far-worse/
Khou 11 - Texas A&M Student may have 2019 novel coronavirus, university says - https://www.khou.com/article/news/health/possible-case-of-coronavirus-in-brazos-county-health-department-confirms/285-c0fb43c0-6c58-4011-bc1d-7ccfa329169f
RTHK - Beijing closes Forbidden City over virus fears - https://news.rthk.hk/rthk/en/component/k2/1504509-20200123.htm
The Guardian - "Coronavirus: panic and anger in Wuhan as China orders city into lockdown" - https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jan/23/coronavirus-panic-and-anger-in-wuhan-as-china-orders-city-into-lockdown
StraitsTimes - "Singapore confirms first case of Wuhan virus" - https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/singapore-confirms-first-case-of-wuhan-virus
YouTube - UNCONFIRMED audio of Chongqing officials saying they have "tens" of cases - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCrpFa6VaQk&feature=youtu.be
TheBeijinger - "Temple Fairs Canceled, Local F&B Venues Step Up Safety Practices in Response to Coronavirus" - https://www.thebeijinger.com/blog/2020/01/23/temple-fairs-canceled-safety-practice-stepped-up-coronavirus
Express - Coronavirus outbreak - China seals off SECOND major city, 18m people on lockdown - https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1232244/coronavirus-outbreak-china-Huanggang-Wuhan-coronavirus-spread-latest
StraitsTimes - "Wuhan virus: China locks down Huanggang, imposes tough travel restrictions in 3 other cities, after Wuhan lockdown" - https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/china-locks-down-two-more-cities-huanggang-and-ezhou-after-wuhan
RTHK - "Some Wuhan residents 'escape' before lockdown" - https://news.rthk.hk/rthk/en/component/k2/1504364-20200123.htm
RTHK - Tearful Wuhan residents call for support, supplies - https://news.rthk.hk/rthk/en/component/k2/1504407-20200123.htm
South China Morning Post - "China coronavirus: crowds and confusion on the hospital front lines of outbreak" - https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/3047248/crowds-and-confusion-hospital-front-lines-chinas-coronavirus
Caixin - "武汉凌晨宣布交通封城部分市民游客选择连夜出城" - http://www.caixin.com/2020-01-23/101507541.html

January 22:

ROT2K - "Wuhan Virus: systemic and procedural issues inhibiting transparency and efficacy" - http://rot2k.com/226-2/
SCMP - China coronavirus: travel ban issued for residents of Wuhan - 01/22/2020 https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/3047263/china-coronavirus-travel-ban-issued-residents-wuhan
CCTV: Wuhan city bus and subway have been suspended from 10 o'clock today - Jan 23, 2020 -- http://m.news.cctv.com/2020/01/23/ARTIW8nDZOFyhQQquAoMKqlR200123.shtml
KrASIA - How Chinese tech companies are responding to the coronavirus outbreak - 22 January 2020 -https://kr-asia.com/how-chinese-tech-companies-are-responding-to-the-coronavirus-outbreak

January 21:

Beijing Youth Daily - Wuhan pneumonia survivor: my 22 day battle against the novel coronavirus - Jan 21, 2020 - Original: https://news.sina.com.cn/c/2020-01-21/doc-iihnzahk5654462.shtml Translated: https://www.reddit.com/China_Flu/comments/es21aq
Reuters - CDC confirms first U.S. case of China coronavirus - Jan. 21, 2020 - https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-health-usa/cdc-confirms-first-u-s-case-of-china-coronavirus-idUSKBN1ZK2FF
Reuters - CDC expects more U.S. cases of China coronavirus - Jan. 21, 2020 - https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-health-usa/cdc-expects-more-u-s-cases-of-china-coronavirus-idUSKBN1ZK2IQ
South China Morning Post - Wuhan virus: a visual explainer - Jan. 21, 2020 https://multimedia.scmp.com/infographics/news/china/article/3047038/wuhan-virus/index.html
The Guardian - Coronavirus: Chinese hospitals not testing patients, say relatives - Jan 21., 2020 - https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jan/21/coronavirus-chinese-hospitals-not-testing-patients-say-relatives
South China Morning Post - China coronavirus: WHO to hold emergency meeting as Sars-like virus spreads in Asia - Jan. 21, 2020 - https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3046924/china-coronavirus-who-hold-emergency-meeting-sars-virus-spreads

January 18:

Business Insider - A mysterious and deadly virus from China could have infected 35 times more people than official totals, scientists warn - 2020-01-18 - https://www.businessinsider.com.au/new-china-virus-likely-infected-1723-not-45-scientists-2020-1

December 31, 2019:

RTHK - "Mainland reports suspected SARS outbreak" - https://news.rthk.hk/rthk/en/component/k2/1500301-20191231.htm?spTabChangeable=0

----
Selected social media and video posts - NOTE: MOST ARE UNOFFICIAL AND UNVERIFIED: information may not be accurate or true:

"Chinese people in the US right now": https://i.imgur.com/a7qNDKn.gifv
Legal announcement for school teachers in China: https://www.reddit.com/China/comments/esvvfd/megathread_wuhan_viral_outbreak/ffqb9et?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x
Expats in Wuhan shop for groceries and discuss city's status: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luztqxUBvZo
Chen Qiushi, human rights lawyer, reports on situation in Wuhan hospitals (ENG translation): https://www.reddit.com/China/comments/esvvfd/megathread_wuhan_viral_outbreak/ffldiyj/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x
Chinese postal employees continue to work so medical supplies can be delivered: https://i.redd.it/2qjxrgqe31d41.jpg
CCTV propaganda video of how life continues in Wuhan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nluHe8jStxE
Impassioned criticism of government response by Wuhan resident (ENG subtitles): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEkIdGht-S8
1200+ Military medical personnel being airlifted to Hubei: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MfYvaJUdV8
Street interviews with people in Guilin (ENG subtitles): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6R3P8Ra8KA
Chen Qiushi, human rights lawyer, reports from Wuhan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwB3v6XTr90
Wuhan Hospital #5 update (ENG translation): https://www.reddit.com/China/comments/esvvfd/megathread_wuhan_viral_outbreak/ffg2l05?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x
Medical staff social media posts (ENG translation): https://www.reddit.com/China/comments/esvvfd/megathread_wuhan_viral_outbreak/ffg6cls?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x
Nurse estimating over 90,000 have been infected: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQnMM-YNJw8
Doctor desperately asking superiors for more support: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29m8nyvBCTM
Hospital staff crying: https://twitter.com/vantillian/status/1220725602283675649?s=21
Wuhan hospitals asking for mask and medical supply donations: https://imgur.com/a/izRAEES
Medical equipment worker's social media post (ENG translation): https://www.reddit.com/China/comments/esvvfd/megathread_wuhan_viral_outbreak/ffeytmy?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x
Armed guards in hazmat suits: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8Wv2KlJuXs
People lining up outside of Wuhan hospital: https://www.reddit.com/China/comments/et0s8i/wuhan_4_hours_ago_god_bless/
Possible insider info (ENG translation): https://imgur.com/a/m91RAOz#HwRWrxo
Allegedly dead bodies left in Jingdian Hospital as patients are treated alongside the corpses: https://twitter.com/ezracheungtoto/status/1220641000063848448/video/1
Ambulance picking person up from the street: https://twitter.com/badiucao/status/1220374770308374528?s=19

----
Humor:

Eating with a mask on: https://www.reddit.com/China/comments/eu5h1n/when_youre_eating_with_friends_in_china_but_tryna/
Wuhan-based expat's reaction spawns series of memes: https://imgur.com/gallery/vkqp828
That’s Shanghai - 20 Coronavirus Memes So You Can Laugh in the Face of Death - Jan. 22 - https://www.thatsmags.com/shanghai/post/30637/xx-coronavirus-memes-so-you-can-laugh-in-the-face-of-death

Previous megathread(s):

Megathread #1: The original megathread has been approved by Reddit admins after being removed for an unknown reason.

Overseas students in Japan face bleak job outlook due to pandemic

Abigail Foundation, a value catcher on the highland

Wall Street Week Ahead for the trading week beginning March 2nd, 2020

Good Saturday morning to all of you here on stocks. I hope everyone on this sub made out pretty nicely in the market this past week, and is ready for the new trading week and month ahead.
Here is everything you need to know to get you ready for the trading week beginning March 2nd, 2020.

Stock rout may deepen in the week ahead as coronavirus impact starts to show up in economic data - (Source)

Stock investors just experienced one of the nastiest weeks in history that recorded the S&P 500′s fastest correction on record, but hold on tight, the market might have more room to fall as the coronavirus damage starts to creep into upcoming economic data, analysts warned.
Major U.S. stock averages suffered their worst week since the financial crisis as fears about the coronavirus disrupting the global economy scared investors away from risk assets. However, stocks might still be searching for a bottom next week when investors grapple with a slew of economic data potentially dragged down by the outbreak.
The Institute for Supply Management will release its manufacturing gauge on Monday. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve will publish its latest Beige Book on Wednesday, which will detail anecdotal information on current economic conditions. Many expect U.S. manufacturing to have taken a hit from the coronavirus.
“Look out for ISM surveys and Beige Book for early signs of COVID-19 impact,” Michelle Meyer, Bank of America’s head of U.S. economics, said in a note Friday. “It will take time for the ‘hard’ economic data to show the impact but we are already seeing evidence in early economic indicators.”
Weekend action? The outlook for the week could be changed this weekend by coronavirus headlines or by some sort of intervention by central banks. Expectations are rising on Wall Street that there could be some potential move from the Federal Reserve to get ahead of what could be another rough week.
Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said Friday the central bank is monitoring the coronavirus and pledged action if necessary. Meanwhile, former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh recommended the Fed act as quickly as Sunday before the markets reopen. The market is already pricing in a 100% chance of at least one rate cut at the Fed’s March policy meeting.
Jim Paulsen, chief investment strategist at the Leuthold Group, is worried about the cascading effect of coronavirus hitting upcoming economic data points. “ISM manufacturing is going to be widely scrutinized,” he said.
The ISM manufacturing index rose to a reading of 50.9 last month, the highest level since July (Any reading above 50 signals expansion.) Bank of America expects ISM manufacturing to pull back to 50.0 and said Fed Beige Book may provide “early insight” into the U.S. economic impact from the deadly virus.
Cutting forecasts Next week, investors will also likely grapple with more warnings from major companies about broken supply chains and easing demand due to the outbreak.
Apple, Microsoft, Nike and United Airlines have all sounded alarms that they will not meet their earnings and revenue guidance because of the virus.
Wall Street strategists this week were quick to slash their forecasts on corporate earnings and the stock market. Barclays sees the S&P 500 to end the year at 3,000, down from a previous forecast of 3,300. The bank also expects a 2% drop in profits this year. Meanwhile, Goldman said it sees zero earnings growth for American companies in 2020.
To be sure, some believe the steep stock rout has gone too far too fast, betting on at least a small rebound.
“The level of panic has become very extreme and the level of downside price movement is pretty extreme. All of that is to me more of a sign that we are getting closer to the beginning of the end of it,” Paulsen said.
Another source of support could come from the Trump administration, where officials are discussing tax cuts, among other economic reactions, as one option to make up for the economic impact of the coronavirus, the Washington Post reported Friday.
Still, investors will have to be on edge for a while now with more virus headlines, as well as the key Super Tuesday Democratic primaries. Some notable investors including “bond king” Jeffrey Gundlach blamed the rise of Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders for helping accelerate massive sell-off.

This past week saw the following moves in the S&P:

(CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL S&P TREE MAP FOR THE PAST WEEK!)

Major Indices for this past week:

(CLICK HERE FOR THE MAJOR INDICES FOR THE PAST WEEK!)

Major Futures Markets as of Friday's close:

(CLICK HERE FOR THE MAJOR FUTURES INDICES AS OF FRIDAY!)

Economic Calendar for the Week Ahead:

(CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL ECONOMIC CALENDAR FOR THE WEEK AHEAD!)

Sector Performance WTD, MTD, YTD:

(CLICK HERE FOR FRIDAY'S PERFORMANCE!)

(CLICK HERE FOR THE WEEK-TO-DATE PERFORMANCE!)

(CLICK HERE FOR THE MONTH-TO-DATE PERFORMANCE!)

(CLICK HERE FOR THE 3-MONTH PERFORMANCE!)

(CLICK HERE FOR THE YEAR-TO-DATE PERFORMANCE!)

(CLICK HERE FOR THE 52-WEEK PERFORMANCE!)

Percentage Changes for the Major Indices, WTD, MTD, QTD, YTD as of Friday's close:

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

S&P Sectors for the Past Week:

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

Major Indices Pullback/Correction Levels as of Friday's close:

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!

Major Indices Rally Levels as of Friday's close:

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

Most Anticipated Earnings Releases for this week:

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

Here are the upcoming IPO's for this week:

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

Friday's Stock Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades:

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART LINK #1!)

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART LINK #2!)

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART LINK #3!)

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART LINK #4!)

Gauging Potential Economic Impact of Covid-19

The coronavirus outbreak—or Covid-19 —has caused significant market volatility over the past week. Our approach as always is to focus on economic fundamentals first, but the uncertainty around the scope of the outbreak has made it very difficult to assess potential impact. The situation clearly is unsettling for investors as more cases are reported across Europe and Asia, and the first case of community transmission has been reported in the United States. As this was written, the S&P 500 Index was 10% below its February 19 all-time high.
“The Covid-19 outbreak continues to significantly disrupt economic activity in China and throughout Asia,” said LPL Financial Senior Market Strategist Ryan Detrick. “Given that China is such a big component of many global supply chains, we will almost certainly see weaker economic data globally over the next several months.”
Even as the situation remains fluid and very uncertain, we want to provide some sense of the potential U.S. and global economic impact.
China: If virus containment holds in China, which is our base case, we could see something like a 3–4 percentage point impact to Chinese economic growth in the first quarter—possibly 2–3% gross domestic product (GDP) growth rather than 5–6%—followed by a much more modest hit in the second quarter. We think we would see a return to trend growth by the third quarter of 2020. This scenario would put China’s 2020 GDP growth below the current 5.6% Bloomberg-tracked consensus, shown in the LPL Chart of the Day, and the Chinese government’s previous 6% annual target. In other words, China’s GDP growth in 2020 could end up closer to 5% than 6%.

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)
United States: At this point, our base case is that any economic disruption in the United States may be modest and short-lived, as we expect domestic efforts at containment to be more successful and have less economic disruption than in China. The outbreak may trim 0.25–0.5% from U.S. GDP over the next couple of months due to global supply chain disruption, falling export demand, and decreased tourism. If evidence emerges over the next month or so that the virus is being contained successfully, as we expect, the economic impact would likely be at the better end of that range (0.25%). In that scenario, damage to business and consumer confidence would be limited, setting the stage for a potential second-quarter rebound. We believe our 1.75% U.S. GDP growth forecast may still be achievable.

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)
Global: In the short-term, the collective hits to global GDP from China, South Korea, Japan, and Italy—the countries where the outbreak impact has been greatest to date—may comprise 0.2–0.3% of global GDP. Our latest global GDP forecast of 3.5% from our Outlook 2020 publication is probably a bit too high in light of the latest news. We expect to update or reaffirm our economic forecasts once we have more clarity around Covid-19 impact in the weeks ahead.

Can the Market Bottom on a Friday?

It's often said that equity markets can't bottom on a Friday. One of the reasons for this line of thinking is that during a market downturn, no one wants to hold onto or bid up equities into a weekend for fear of further bad news. It may just be a matter of semantics, but based on that line of reasoning, the more accurate way to phrase it would be that markets can't bottom on a Thursday or rallies can't begin on a Friday. However you want to think about it, the chart below shows the number of times the closing low of a 10%+ correction has occurred on various weekdays.
Of the 97 S&P 500 corrections since 1928, the day of the week that has marked the low close of a 10%+ decline the least frequently is actually Wednesday with only 10. Behind Wednesday, Friday has been the second most infrequent day of the week for a bottom (15), and Thursday is the only other day of the week where the S&P 500 has made a low on a closing basis less than 20 times. The days of the week where the S&P 500 most frequently bottoms are Monday and Tuesday with 26 and 28, respectively.

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)
Regarding bear markets (20%+ declines), the trend is very similar. Bear markets have been the least likely to end on a Wednesday or Friday and most likely to end on a Tuesday.

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

Dividend Stock Spotlight: S&P 500's Highest Yielders From The Sell-Off

Given the lower prices of stocks, dividend yields have been on the rise over the past couple of weeks. The dividend yield of the S&P 500 now stands at 2.12% which is the highest since June 3rd of last year when it reached the same level, but only stayed there for a single day. Prior to that, yields were only higher during the Q4 2018 sell-off through February of 2019. At the beginning of the current sell-off on February 19th, the S&P 500's yield was 26 bps lower at 1.86%.

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)
Of the individual stocks in the index, there are now 81 stocks that have dividend yields of 4% or more. That compares to only 64 at the beginning of the sell-off. In the table below, we show the 25 highest yielders of the S&P 500 as well as the price change and change in the dividend yield since the 2/19 record high. As shown, there is only one stock, Macy's (M), that yields over 10% at the moment. This major retailer has fallen out of favor in the past few years but the stock has gotten crushed since the 2/19 market peak having fallen just under 21% in that time. That decline has raised the dividend yield by 2.44 percentage points, but there is one other stock that has seen its yield increase by even more. That stock is Occidental Petroleum (OXY), the second-highest yielder in the index (9.93%). Being an Energy name, OXY has fallen the most dramatically (-29.05%) since 2/19 of all the highest yielders.

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)
While there is a lot of overlap, in the table below we show the stocks that have seen their dividend yields rise the most as stocks have declined since 2/19. Again OXY and M top the list. While no other stocks have seen their dividend yields increase by more than 2 percentage points, there are another 17 who have risen by at least 1 percentage point. Notably, two cruise line stocks, Carnival (CCL) and Royal Caribbean (RCL) find themselves on this list. Carnival (CCL) now yields 6.28% while Royal Caribbean (RCL) yields 4.05%.

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

The Biggest Losers (and a few winners)

It is no secret that energy stocks have gotten crushed this year, and the list of the 25 worst-performing stocks in the Russell 1000 since the previous record close on February 19th is a prime example of this. Seven energy stocks find themselves on this list, two of which, Chesapeake Energy (CHK) and Kosmos Energy (KOS), take up the number one and two spots having fallen 45.73% and 41.95%, respectively since 2/19. CHK had already been weak headed into the broader market sell-off with a YTD loss on 2/19 over 40%; the past week has added fuel to the fire as it is now down 68.5% YTD. Continental (CLR), Centennial Resource Development (CDEV), Transocean (RIG), and Apergy (APY) are other energy stocks that were down 20% or more on the year headed into this sell-off, and each one has fallen another 20%+ since the 19th. While most of the other biggest losers since 2/19 had already been down on the year, there are some that have seen their gains in 2020 get erased due to this sell-off like Nutanix (NTNX), Qurate Retail (QRTEA), Anaplan (PLAN), Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Chemours (CC), and CommScope (COMM). Some other notable losers of this group have been those heavily reliant on travel like American Airlines (AAL) and the cruise line stocks like Norwegian (NCLH) and Royal Caribbean (RCL).

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)
Given how breadth has been over the past week, it may not come as any surprise that since the February 19th high there are only 18 stocks of 1000 in the Russell 1000 index that are higher. Four of those are up less than one percent. In the table below we show all of these stocks. Given the sell-off has centered around coronavirus fears, it is sensical that a coronavirus vaccine developer Moderna (MRNA) is the best performing stock since 2/19. What is amazing is there was not much momentum with this name headed into the sell-off. As of 2/19, the stock was actually down 3.27% year to date, but as the Covid-19 saga has moved along it is now up well north of 30% on the year. A few other health care names like Regeneron (REGN) and Gilead (GILD) have also benefited from the coronavirus.

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)
The histogram below shows the distribution of performance of Russell 1000 stocks since 2/19. As mentioned above, there are very few stocks in the index that are up since the 2/19 high. The highest share of stocks are down between 10% and 15% while the next highest share are down between 5% and 10%. Of the worst decliners, there are 75 stocks that have fallen over 20%.

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)
Looking at the individual sectors, again Energy was extremely weak even before equities sold off. On 2/19, the average Energy stock in the Russell 1000 in that sector was down 15.6% YTD. While they hadn't tipped into the red yet, Consumer Staples were only up 1 bp.

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)
Since the 2/19 high for the US equity market, the average stock in the Russell 1,000 is down well over 10%. The average Energy stock is down the most at -21%, followed by Communication Services and Technology at -13%. Consumer Staples stocks have performed the best with an average decline of 8.9%.

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)
This leaves every sector down year-to-date. Utilities have generally outperformed only falling 2.3%, but the sector is sitting on a loss nonetheless. Of the worst sectors, Industrials, Consumer Discretionary, Materials, and of course Energy have fallen 10% or more.

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

Global Equity Benchmarks Distance From YTD Highs

The recent equity sell-off has clearly been global in nature as concerns of a global pandemic rise. Perhaps the most surprising aspect of the way equities have sold off recently is that the country that has been hardest hit by the virus is closer to its YTD high than any other major global equity benchmark. The chart below shows the distance that each major global equity benchmark has declined relative to its YTD high. China's Shanghai Composite is down just 4.45%, which is better than any other country shown. Sure, you could argue that the Chinese government is manipulating the market and prohibiting investors from selling, but even the ETF that tracks the CSI 300 (ASHR) is down less than 6%, so anyone could go in and trade at these levels. Manipulated or not, the numbers are the numbers.
At the bottom of the list, Brazil's Ibovespa index is down more than any other country at 11.6% and that country has only reported one confirmed case so far. With respect to US indices, the Russell 2000 is down the second most of any major global benchmark (-9.19%), while the Nasdaq is down the fourth most at 8.68%. Even the S&P 500 is down close to 8%. These weak US readings come in a backdrop where there have only been 57 confirmed cases and all but a couple are instances where Americans contracted the virus outside of the United States and have been brought to the US under quarantine. Join Bespoke Premium to access Bespoke's most actionable stock market research and analysis.

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

Just Four S&P 500 Stocks Up This Week

There's still another day left in the week, but unless things improve on Friday this will go down as one of the worst weeks for US equities in history. Since WWII, there have only been four other weeks where the S&P 500 was down more than 10% in a given week. On a related note, there are also only four stocks in the entire S&P 500 that are positive for the week! Leading the way higher, Regeneron (REGN) is up a healthy 7.1% while Gilead (GILD) is up just over 4%. Behind these two, the only other stocks that are higher now than they were at last Friday's close are Clorox (CLX) and CME Group (CME).

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)
On the downside, there are a lot more losers, but in the interest of space, below we have only listed the 17 stocks in the S&P 500 that are down over 20% this week alone. Looking through the names on the list, the cruise lines are well represented with Royal Caribbean (RCL), Norwegian Cruise Lines (NCLH), and Carnival (CCL). Besides these names, American Airlines (AAL) is down 26%, while Live Nation (LYV) is down 22.2%.
One thing we've heard a number of people argue the last few days is that some of the weakness this week is related to the increasing likelihood that Bernie Sanders wins the Democratic nomination. If that's the case, why is not a single one of the worst-performing stocks from the Health Care sector, and why is the Health Care sector the third best performing sector this week and one of just four that is not down 10% so far this week?

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

Here are the most notable companies (tickers) reporting earnings in this upcoming trading week ahead-

$TGT

$PLUG

$JD

$ZM

$COST

$TLRY

$AZO

$KSS

$SPLK

$DLTR

$VEEV

$XRAY

$SE

$MRVL

$FOLD

$KR

$OKTA

$STNE

$BLDP

$BURL

$CIEN

$ALBO

$MAXR

$ANF

$ITCI

$FNKO

$JWN

$EPRT

$VIPS

$GTT

$CORE

$BNFT

$LVGO

$EVRG

$ROST

$EGRX

$AOBC

$TGLS

$ATRS

$HPE

$NWN

$WVE

$WSC

(CLICK HERE FOR NEXT WEEK'S MOST NOTABLE EARNINGS RELEASES!)

(CLICK HERE FOR NEXT WEEK'S HIGHEST VOLATILITY EARNINGS RELEASES!)

Below are some of the notable companies coming out with earnings releases this upcoming trading week ahead which includes the date/time of release & consensus estimates courtesy of Earnings Whispers:

Monday 3.2.20 Before Market Open:

(CLICK HERE FOR MONDAY'S PRE-MARKET EARNINGS TIME & ESTIMATES!)

Monday 3.2.20 After Market Close:

(CLICK HERE FOR MONDAY'S AFTER-MARKET EARNINGS TIME & ESTIMATES!)

Tuesday 3.3.20 Before Market Open:

(CLICK HERE FOR TUESDAY'S PRE-MARKET EARNINGS TIME & ESTIMATES!)

Tuesday 3.3.20 After Market Close:

(CLICK HERE FOR TUESDAY'S AFTER-MARKET EARNINGS TIME & ESTIMATES!)

Wednesday 3.4.20 Before Market Open:

(CLICK HERE FOR WEDNESDAY'S PRE-MARKET EARNINGS TIME & ESTIMATES!)

Wednesday 3.4.20 After Market Close:

(CLICK HERE FOR WEDNESDAY'S AFTER-MARKET EARNINGS TIME & ESTIMATES!)

Thursday 3.5.20 Before Market Open:

(CLICK HERE FOR THURSDAY'S PRE-MARKET EARNINGS TIME & ESTIMATES!)

Thursday 3.5.20 After Market Close:

(CLICK HERE FOR THURSDAY'S AFTER-MARKET EARNINGS TIME & ESTIMATES!)

Friday 3.6.20 Before Market Open:

(CLICK HERE FOR FRIDAY'S PRE-MARKET EARNINGS TIME & ESTIMATES!)

Friday 3.6.20 After Market Close:

([CLICK HERE FOR FRIDAY'S AFTER-MARKET EARNINGS TIME & ESTIMATES!]())
NONE.

Target Corp. $103.00

Target Corp. (TGT) is confirmed to report earnings at approximately 6:30 AM ET on Tuesday, March 3, 2020. The consensus earnings estimate is $1.66 per share on revenue of $23.49 billion and the Earnings Whisper ® number is $1.68 per share. Investor sentiment going into the company's earnings release has 74% expecting an earnings beat Consensus estimates are for year-over-year earnings growth of 8.50% with revenue increasing by 2.23%. On Friday, February 28, 2020 there was some notable buying of 3,641 contracts of the $100.00 put expiring on Friday, March 20, 2020.

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

Plug Power, Inc. $4.34

Plug Power, Inc. (PLUG) is confirmed to report earnings at approximately 7:00 AM ET on Thursday, March 5, 2020. The consensus estimate is for a loss of $0.06 per share on revenue of $90.15 million and the Earnings Whisper ® number is ($0.05) per share. Investor sentiment going into the company's earnings release has 66% expecting an earnings beat. Consensus estimates are for year-over-year earnings growth of 25.00% with revenue increasing by 50.70%. Short interest has increased by 29.2% since the company's last earnings release while the stock has drifted higher by 59.6% from its open following the earnings release to be 39.8% above its 200 day moving average of $3.10. Overall earnings estimates have been revised lower since the company's last earnings release. On Friday, January 17, 2020 there was some notable buying of 2,010 contracts of the $5.00 put expiring on Friday, March 20, 2020. Option traders are pricing in a 20.0% move on earnings and the stock has averaged a 4.1% move in recent quarters.

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

JD.com, Inc. $38.51

JD.com, Inc. (JD) is confirmed to report earnings at approximately 5:00 AM ET on Monday, March 2, 2020. The consensus earnings estimate is $0.44 per share on revenue of $23.81 billion and the Earnings Whisper ® number is $0.47 per share. Investor sentiment going into the company's earnings release has 76% expecting an earnings beat. Consensus estimates are for year-over-year earnings growth of 1,000.00% with revenue increasing by 21.41%. Short interest has decreased by 9.9% since the company's last earnings release while the stock has drifted higher by 9.9% from its open following the earnings release to be 19.4% above its 200 day moving average of $32.25. Overall earnings estimates have been revised higher since the company's last earnings release. On Wednesday, February 12, 2020 there was some notable buying of 8,001 contracts of the $38.00 put expiring on Friday, March 20, 2020. Option traders are pricing in a 11.5% move on earnings and the stock has averaged a 5.3% move in recent quarters.

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

Zoom Video Communications, Inc. $105.00

Zoom Video Communications, Inc. (ZM) is confirmed to report earnings at approximately 4:05 PM ET on Wednesday, March 4, 2020. The consensus earnings estimate is $0.07 per share on revenue of $176.36 million and the Earnings Whisper ® number is $0.10 per share. Investor sentiment going into the company's earnings release has 82% expecting an earnings beat The company's guidance was for earnings of approximately $0.07 per share on revenue of $175.00 million to $176.00 million. The stock has drifted higher by 63.4% from its open following the earnings release to be 29.0% above its 200 day moving average of $81.40. Overall earnings estimates have been revised higher since the company's last earnings release. The stock has averaged a 12.1% move on earnings in recent quarters.

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

Costco Wholesale Corp. $281.14

Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST) is confirmed to report earnings at approximately 4:15 PM ET on Thursday, March 5, 2020. The consensus earnings estimate is $2.06 per share on revenue of $38.34 billion and the Earnings Whisper ® number is $2.10 per share. Investor sentiment going into the company's earnings release has 75% expecting an earnings beat. Consensus estimates are for year-over-year earnings growth of 2.49% with revenue increasing by 8.32%. Short interest has decreased by 9.0% since the company's last earnings release while the stock has drifted lower by 4.6% from its open following the earnings release to be 1.6% below its 200 day moving average of $285.72. Overall earnings estimates have been revised higher since the company's last earnings release. On Thursday, February 27, 2020 there was some notable buying of 1,125 contracts of the $285.00 put expiring on Friday, March 20, 2020. Option traders are pricing in a 8.2% move on earnings and the stock has averaged a 3.8% move in recent quarters.

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

Tilray, Inc. $14.43

Tilray, Inc. (TLRY) is confirmed to report earnings at approximately 4:05 PM ET on Monday, March 2, 2020. The consensus estimate is for a loss of $0.34 per share on revenue of $55.35 million and the Earnings Whisper ® number is ($0.40) per share. Investor sentiment going into the company's earnings release has 51% expecting an earnings beat. Consensus estimates are for earnings to decline year-over-year by 3.03% with revenue increasing by 256.38%. Short interest has increased by 25.9% since the company's last earnings release while the stock has drifted lower by 32.1% from its open following the earnings release to be 49.5% below its 200 day moving average of $28.57. Overall earnings estimates have been revised lower since the company's last earnings release. On Wednesday, February 26, 2020 there was some notable buying of 2,011 contracts of the $15.00 call expiring on Friday, April 17, 2020. Option traders are pricing in a 26.7% move on earnings and the stock has averaged a 8.5% move in recent quarters.

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

AutoZone, Inc. -

AutoZone, Inc. (AZO) is confirmed to report earnings at approximately 6:55 AM ET on Tuesday, March 3, 2020. The consensus earnings estimate is $11.87 per share on revenue of $2.58 billion and the Earnings Whisper ® number is $12.01 per share. Investor sentiment going into the company's earnings release has 73% expecting an earnings beat. Consensus estimates are for year-over-year earnings growth of 3.31% with revenue increasing by 5.28%. Short interest has decreased by 7.1% since the company's last earnings release while the stock has drifted lower by 16.7% from its open following the earnings release to be 7.3% below its 200 day moving average of $1,113.49. Overall earnings estimates have been revised higher since the company's last earnings release. Option traders are pricing in a 8.3% move on earnings and the stock has averaged a 5.1% move in recent quarters.

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

Kohl's Corporation $39.15

Kohl's Corporation (KSS) is confirmed to report earnings at approximately 7:00 AM ET on Tuesday, March 3, 2020. The consensus earnings estimate is $1.92 per share on revenue of $6.80 billion and the Earnings Whisper ® number is $1.91 per share. Investor sentiment going into the company's earnings release has 40% expecting an earnings beat. Consensus estimates are for earnings to decline year-over-year by 14.29% with revenue decreasing by 0.34%. Short interest has decreased by 2.6% since the company's last earnings release while the stock has drifted lower by 19.7% from its open following the earnings release to be 19.9% below its 200 day moving average of $48.86. Overall earnings estimates have been revised lower since the company's last earnings release. On Monday, February 24, 2020 there was some notable buying of 809 contracts of the $40.00 put expiring on Friday, March 20, 2020. Option traders are pricing in a 11.7% move on earnings and the stock has averaged a 9.5% move in recent quarters.

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

Splunk Inc. $147.33

Splunk Inc. (SPLK) is confirmed to report earnings at approximately 4:00 PM ET on Wednesday, March 4, 2020. The consensus earnings estimate is $0.96 per share on revenue of $783.94 million and the Earnings Whisper ® number is $1.00 per share. Investor sentiment going into the company's earnings release has 91% expecting an earnings beat The company's guidance was for revenue of approximately $780.00 million. Consensus estimates are for year-over-year earnings growth of 31.51% with revenue increasing by 26.02%. Short interest has increased by 2.1% since the company's last earnings release while the stock has drifted higher by 9.1% from its open following the earnings release to be 10.8% above its 200 day moving average of $132.95. Overall earnings estimates have been revised lower since the company's last earnings release. On Wednesday, February 26, 2020 there was some notable buying of 2,414 contracts of the $155.00 call expiring on Friday, March 6, 2020. Option traders are pricing in a 13.0% move on earnings and the stock has averaged a 8.6% move in recent quarters.

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

Dollar Tree Stores, Inc. $83.03

Dollar Tree Stores, Inc. (DLTR) is confirmed to report earnings at approximately 7:30 AM ET on Wednesday, March 4, 2020. The consensus earnings estimate is $1.75 per share on revenue of $6.39 billion and the Earnings Whisper ® number is $1.75 per share. Investor sentiment going into the company's earnings release has 61% expecting an earnings beat The company's guidance was for earnings of $1.70 to $1.80 per share. Consensus estimates are for earnings to decline year-over-year by 9.33% with revenue increasing by 2.98%. Short interest has decreased by 7.1% since the company's last earnings release while the stock has drifted lower by 13.3% from its open following the earnings release to be 17.9% below its 200 day moving average of $101.15. Overall earnings estimates have been revised lower since the company's last earnings release. On Wednesday, February 26, 2020 there was some notable buying of 3,974 contracts of the $85.00 call expiring on Friday, March 20, 2020. Option traders are pricing in a 9.0% move on earnings and the stock has averaged a 7.9% move in recent quarters.

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

DISCUSS!

What are you all watching for in this upcoming trading week?
I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and a great trading week ahead stocks.

Overview: In August 2020 Japan exported ¥2.53T and imported ¥2.45T, resulting in a positive trade balance of ¥83.7B.Between August 2019 and August 2020 the exports of Japan have decreased by ¥-3.61T (-58.7%) from ¥6.14T to ¥2.53T, while imports decreased by ¥-3.84T (-61.1%) from ¥6.29T to ¥2.45T. Cheaper wine and cheese for Japan, cheaper cars for the EU - part of what the EU-Japan trade deal, now in force, means. The world's biggest such deal, it covers nearly a third of global GDP and ... What Happened: Japan is reportedly pushing the United States to grant auto concessions that would be on a par with provisions in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement in exchange for opening Japan's market for U.S. agricultural products, Japan Today reported April 26. This would entail a rapid drawdown of U.S. tariffs on auto parts as well as the full removal of car and light truck ... Japan Partner is one of the leading used/damaged cars exporters that exports not only RHD cars (Right Hand Drive cars) but also a great number of LHD cars (Left Hand Drive Cars) Sign in. Sign in. Stay signed in. Lost password? Sign in. Or. If you don't have an account yet, please create a new account. Create account. Contact Us. japan partner japanese used car exporter since 2003. Used cars ... Japan incurred an overall -$15.2 billion trade deficit for 2019, increasing by 49.6% the -$10.2 billion in red ink one year earlier. As defined by Investopedia, a country whose total value of all imported goods is higher than its value of all exports is said to have a negative trade balance or deficit. It would be unrealistic for any exporting nation to expect across-the-board positive trade ...

Residents living permanently in Japan's cyber-cafés - Lost ...

Jerry updates talks about the future impact of the Japan situation reviews the 2011 BMW 528i. Street Food in Bangladesh is AMAZING! Check out https://ExpressVPN.com/thefoodranger for 3 months free w/ 1 year pack and 49% OFF! Today, we’re tasting some ... Amazing video footage i took at the world trade center from the ground, observation deck and roof in the summer of 2001. I hope you like it and thanks for wa... There has been a massive decline in Japan's birthrates over the recent years. Why is Japan as a nation finding it so hard to find a sexual relationship? Webs... Subscribe to Caters Clips: http://bit.ly/CatersClipsSubscribe Subscribe to StoryTrender: http://bit.ly/StoryTrenderSubscribe ID: 1557326 A man has been dubbe...

Japan Aims to Shift Auto Parts Production Out of China Due ...

Tour de WoT - Tech tree icons for new players

Kaiserreich Beta 0.13 - ‘A King and his Captain’

The biggest stock market crash could be coming

[Review] Christmas Banner

Round 1: Christmas Monica, Christmas Julian, Christmas Azami, Christmas Windie, Christmas Snowman

Round 2: Christmas Ginny, Christmas Albert, Christmas Cat, Christmas Tatyana, Christmas Sophia

Market Analysis: Focusing on what is "baked into" the future with high probability

[Megathread] Wuhan viral outbreak

Overseas students in Japan face bleak job outlook due to pandemic

Abigail Foundation, a value catcher on the highland

Dig into the automotive supply chain

Have a global perspective and continue to gain value

Wall Street Week Ahead for the trading week beginning March 2nd, 2020

Stock rout may deepen in the week ahead as coronavirus impact starts to show up in economic data - (Source)

This past week saw the following moves in the S&P:

(CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL S&P TREE MAP FOR THE PAST WEEK!)

Major Indices for this past week:

(CLICK HERE FOR THE MAJOR INDICES FOR THE PAST WEEK!)

Major Futures Markets as of Friday's close:

(CLICK HERE FOR THE MAJOR FUTURES INDICES AS OF FRIDAY!)

Economic Calendar for the Week Ahead:

(CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL ECONOMIC CALENDAR FOR THE WEEK AHEAD!)

Sector Performance WTD, MTD, YTD:

(CLICK HERE FOR FRIDAY'S PERFORMANCE!)

(CLICK HERE FOR THE WEEK-TO-DATE PERFORMANCE!)

(CLICK HERE FOR THE MONTH-TO-DATE PERFORMANCE!)

(CLICK HERE FOR THE 3-MONTH PERFORMANCE!)

(CLICK HERE FOR THE YEAR-TO-DATE PERFORMANCE!)

(CLICK HERE FOR THE 52-WEEK PERFORMANCE!)

Percentage Changes for the Major Indices, WTD, MTD, QTD, YTD as of Friday's close:

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

S&P Sectors for the Past Week:

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

Major Indices Pullback/Correction Levels as of Friday's close:

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!

Major Indices Rally Levels as of Friday's close:

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

Most Anticipated Earnings Releases for this week:

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

Here are the upcoming IPO's for this week:

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

Friday's Stock Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades:

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART LINK #1!)

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART LINK #2!)

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART LINK #3!)

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART LINK #4!)

Gauging Potential Economic Impact of Covid-19

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

Can the Market Bottom on a Friday?

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

Dividend Stock Spotlight: S&P 500's Highest Yielders From The Sell-Off

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

The Biggest Losers (and a few winners)

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

Global Equity Benchmarks Distance From YTD Highs

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

Just Four S&P 500 Stocks Up This Week

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

(CLICK HERE FOR NEXT WEEK'S MOST NOTABLE EARNINGS RELEASES!)

(CLICK HERE FOR NEXT WEEK'S HIGHEST VOLATILITY EARNINGS RELEASES!)

Monday 3.2.20 Before Market Open:

(CLICK HERE FOR MONDAY'S PRE-MARKET EARNINGS TIME & ESTIMATES!)

Monday 3.2.20 After Market Close:

(CLICK HERE FOR MONDAY'S AFTER-MARKET EARNINGS TIME & ESTIMATES!)

Tuesday 3.3.20 Before Market Open:

(CLICK HERE FOR TUESDAY'S PRE-MARKET EARNINGS TIME & ESTIMATES!)

Tuesday 3.3.20 After Market Close:

(CLICK HERE FOR TUESDAY'S AFTER-MARKET EARNINGS TIME & ESTIMATES!)

Wednesday 3.4.20 Before Market Open: