Elias watched his portfolio value evaporate. To many, "Viernes Negro" was about discounts at stores, but for investors, the "discount" felt like a trap. The fear wasn't just about a virus; it was about the unknown. Would the borders close again? Would the supply chains, already strained like a piano wire, finally snap?
Elias reached for his mouse to sell, his finger hovering over the button. But then, he paused. He looked at the charts. This wasn't 2020. The world had vaccines now; it had systems. He watched the "Fear & Greed Index" peg itself into extreme terror. He didn't sell. Instead, he closed his laptop.
The date was November 26, 2021. In the world of high finance and cryptocurrency, it wouldn’t be remembered for door-buster deals on televisions, but for a different kind of "Black Friday"—a market bloodbath that sent shockwaves through global exchanges. Viernes Negro (2021)
"It’s happening again," Elias whispered to his empty room.
Outside his window, the streets of the city were actually busy. People were carrying bags from Zara and El Corte Inglés, hunting for the usual Black Friday bargains, oblivious to the billions of Euros vanishing into the digital ether. It was a strange duality—the physical world was shopping, while the financial world was shivering. Elias watched his portfolio value evaporate
"Everything is on sale," he mused, "if you have the stomach for it."
By midday, the panic was tactile. Travel stocks like IAG and Amadeus were being sold off as if planes would never fly again. Oil prices were cratering, seeing their biggest one-day drop since the start of the pandemic. Would the borders close again
News of a heavily mutated COVID-19 variant emerging from South Africa had hit the wires overnight. For a world trying to crawl out of the shadow of 2020, it was the ultimate "ghost of Christmas past."