Last week was a good week for doomsayers. With financial markets plunging amid fears of the coronavirus epidemic spreading across more geographies, the predictions of folks like economist Nouriel Roubini seem to be playing out very precisely.

The New York University professor, who gained acclaim for correctly predicting the 2008 global financial crisis, wrote last week that the supply shock resulting from the spread of the disease would not be easily fixed with economic stimulus. He also reckoned - not surprisingly - that this crisis will spill over and result in a global disaster.