What's going on?

WPP has taken the old adage �there�s no such thing as bad publicity� a bit too literally: the PR and ad agency cut its growth outlook on Thursday, and its shares tumbled by their most since 1992.

What does this mean?

WPP�s revenue fell 1.6% in 2019, and the company admitted it�s not expecting that to rebound this year. It�ll apparently be too busy trying to fend off competition from tech powerhouses like Google and Facebook, which are taking up more and more of the advertising market. Oh, and WPP�s unsatisfying 2020 outlook doesn�t take into account the potential impact of the coronavirus outbreak, either.

The epidemic is on AB InBev�s mind too, and not just because it owns the unfavorably named Corona brand: the world’s largest beer-maker warned on Thursday that its first-quarter sales will fall by 10%, with China�s nightlife grinding to a halt and the company shutting its breweries in the country. The tediously named Standard Chartered, meanwhile, also acknowledged the virus will hit its 2020 profit: the British bank � already struggling with a recession in Hong Kong � makes almost 70% of its revenue in Asia.

Why should I care?

For markets: Think of the children!
Shares of all of the above dropped heavily after their announcements on Thursday. But herein lies a valuable lesson: when investors are selling off heavily � as they have been all week � try not to throw the baby out with the bathwater. Electronics retailer Best Buy just reported fourth-quarter results that exceeded investors� expectations, but its shares initially fell on Thursday too.

Zooming out: Checkout.
Clearly, tumbling stock markets don�t exactly make for an ideal environment for an initial public offering. That could be why retail giant Walmart announced earlier this week that it�s thinking about selling its stake in UK supermarket Asda to private equity investors, rather than pressing ahead with its plan to float the grocer on the stock exchange.