Big businesses will prosper and everyone else will suffer, thanks to the pandemic.
That’s the view of Jim Cramer, the irascible CNBC host of “Mad Money.”
The business lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic led to “one of the greatest wealth transfers in history,” Cramer says.
Large essential big-box retailers, like Walmart, were allowed to stay open during the lockdown. These big-box retailers continuing to operate through the lockdown has had a tremendous impact on the stock market.
“The bigger the business, the more it moves the major averages, and that matters because this is the first recession where big business … is coming through virtually unscathed, if not going for the gold.”
What’s more, don’t expect things to get better just because the stock market is up again.
“I think we’re looking at a V-shaped recovery in the stock market, and that has almost nothing to do with a V-shaped recovery in the economy,” Cramer said.
In fact, Cramer believes another stimulus package will have to be passed by Congress to make sure small businesses will survive the pandemic.
The American Bankruptcy Institute reported that U.S. Chapter 11 bankruptcies in May rose by 48% compared to a year ago.
Going forward
The retail numbers for May are out and to say that they are incredible doesn’t even begin to tell half the story.
Retail sales jumped by 17.7% in May, after having fallen by 14.7% in April.
Though these numbers are great, National Retail Federation CEO Matthew Shay is stressing that we can’t leave medium and small businesses behind in this rally.
“They get hit harder, and they get hit first, and so we need to bring them back quickly,” said Shay. “The big question will be what happens to those small, independent, those mid-sized companies.”
“Keeping the economy open, I think, is going to be the best relief for these small businesses.”
Whether or not small businesses will be allowed to stay open is now the question. Dozens are states are seeing rising COVID infection rates and their governors are tapping the brakes on reopening in response.
Some bars in Florida are shutting down again after being open just for a week due to a rapid rise in COVID-19 cases.
