The coronavirus is nothing if not persistent. With Delta and overall cases seeming to have peaked, along came the Omicron variant to spoil our Christmas plans. The markets reacted predictably with government bond yields falling dramatically. Fortunately, the very preliminary news is that the symptoms of Omicron infection are no more severe than those produced by “regular” COVID-19. But many countries are already restricting international flights, and the fear is that Omicron will proliferate as people gather indoors in the cold winter months. The new variant could prove to be nothing out of the ordinary, or the trigger for another global economic shutdown. The reality is likely somewhere in the middle, as it often is.