.png?width=200&height=78&name=CH%20Diligence%20(thicker%20line).png "CH Diligence (thicker line).png")
Our briefing for Friday, August 27, 2021:
Aug 27, 2021 3:59:19 PM
- In the United States, the Biden administration’s temporary ban on evictions has ended, as the Supreme Court’s majority said that they may continue, even despite the pandemic. The moratorium on evictions first ended on July 31, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reimposed it on August 3. The courts have argued that the CDC did not have the authority to reimpose the moratorium without congressional authorization. Census Bureau data shows that about 3.5 million people in the U.S. could face an eviction in the next two months.
- In Canada, pressure is mounting in the province of Ontario for the introduction of a vaccine passport. Local health groups have said they are considering developing their own system if the province continues to resist. Ontario’s government has repeatedly said they will not introduce any sort of vaccine certificate program beyond vaccine receipts. In B.C., the announcement of a vaccine passport has led to an increase in the number of people booking their shots. The government announced that there was about a 200% increase in the number of people registering for their vaccines since Monday.
- In the United Kingdom, the government made a few updates to their traffic-light system that will come into effect on Monday. Seven countries were moved to the green list, including Canada, Denmark and Finland. The Azores, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Lithuania were also added to the green list, while Thailand and Montenegro were downgraded from amber to red. Green list countries mean travellers do not have to quarantine when they return to the U.K., even despite their vaccination status. Most countries are on the amber list, meaning fully vaccinated travellers do not have to quarantine on return but they must have tests upon arrival and departure.
- In Denmark, all Covid-19 restrictions will be dropped as of Sept. 10, as the government deems it no longer considers the virus “a socially critical disease.” The high vaccination rates in the Scandinavian country have largely contributed to the decision. “The epidemic is under control. We have record high vaccination rates,” said Health Minister Magnus Heunicke in a statement Friday. “We can drop some of the special rules we had to introduce in the fight against COVID-19.” Some 80% of the adult population in Denmark has been fully vaccinated, according to Heunicke.
- New Zealand reported 70 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total number to 347 since the outbreak began. The country will remain in lockdown until midnight on Tuesday, with Auckland likely remaining in a “level 4” setting for another two weeks. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says the country will make an announcement on Monday, but that Auckland will likely remain locked down. “This is so we can get Delta under control and reopen fully and safely. We simply can’t do that if we still have a lot of Delta circulating in the community. To move safely down, we will need to be confident we have stamped it out and have cases contained and isolated,” she said.
- In Australia, New South Wales reported 882 new cases, down slightly from the record of 1029 on Thursday. State Premier Gladys Berejiklian says she will be focusing largely on vaccination rates and hospitalizations as the situation unfolds. "They are the two things that will matter even when we start to live life more freely at 70% and then obviously at 80% ... we are starting to make that mind change in New South Wales," Berejiklian said during a media conference. Neighbouring Victoria state reported 79 new local cases, 26 of which had unknown origins.
Covid-19 – Due Diligence And Asset Management
Exit game: Central banks' shift from crisis policies gathers momentum
Brief: While the financial world waits for the Federal Reserve to start reversing its ultra-loose policy stance, recent moves by a clutch of other central banks signal the days of pandemic-era accommodation are already numbered even as COVID-19 continues to impede smooth economic recoveries around the world. South Korea's central bank on Thursday raised its benchmark interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point to blunt rising financial stability risks posed by a surge in household debt, becoming the first major monetary authority in Asia to do so since the coronavirus broadsided the global economy 18 months ago.Even before the rate hike in South Korea, though, central banks in Latin America and eastern and central Europe had begun lifting interest rates this year to beat back inflation that is building on the back of currency fluctuations, global supply chain bottlenecks and regional labor shortages.
Powell: Delta variant stifles tapering despite strong progress towards maximum employment
Brief: The Federal Reserve continues on its path towards tapering its quantitative easing programme, but rising uncertainty resulting from the Delta variant has stifled economic confidence. Speaking at the Jackson Hole symposium, Fed chair Jerome Powell said the strong monetary policy employed over the past 18 months had led to a "vigorous but uneven recovery", one which stands as "historically anomalous". He referenced the July meeting of the Fed, in which he and his fellow bankers suggested the tapering of its QE programme "could be appropriate", however despite continued progress towards maximum employment, the uncertainty of the Delta variant had left "much ground to cover". Powell highlighted lessons learned from the period of the 1950-80s in which stabilisation policy enacted too soon in response to transitory inflation had created a negative effect as evidence for the current policy.
U.S. Consumer Sentiment Remains Depressed in Late August
Brief: U.S. consumer sentiment remained weak in late August amid ongoing concerns over inflation and the coronavirus pandemic. The University of Michigan’s final sentiment index fell to a near-decade low of 70.3 during the month from 81.2 in July, data released Friday showed. The figure was in line with the preliminary reading and just below the median estimate of 70.8 in a Bloomberg survey of economists. “Consumers’ extreme reactions were due to the surging Delta variant, higher inflation, slower wage growth, and smaller declines in unemployment,” Richard Curtin, director of the survey, said in a statement. “The extraordinary falloff in sentiment also reflects an emotional response, from dashed hopes that the pandemic would soon end and lives could return to normal without the re-imposition of strict Covid regulations,” he said.
Bankers in the Basement as U.K. Lender Rolls Out Hybrid Offices
Brief: Some two dozen Metro Bank Plc office staff got an early taste of what hybrid working will look like this week as they trialled their firm’s new approach to office life. Hovering outside the lender’s Moorgate branch in the City of London until it opened at 8:30 a.m., colleagues on the bank’s financial crime team greeted each other in person on Thursday after a year and a half of remote work. Walking into the branch, they turned left and passed through a glass gate before descending into a newly opened basement office below the store.The new space is part of a sweeping overhaul of the bank’s estate as the firm adopts a hybrid work model. It has vacated its standalone office building and redeveloped 78 of its branches to create office space above -- and in some cases below -- its branches. The bank, which employs about 3,000 office workers, has 1,100 desks under the new hybrid system. From Sept. 13, teams will have access to offices via a bookings system that allows staff to book a desk in their neighborhood up to six weeks in advance.
Emerging Asia and Russia lead emerging markets through global reopening
Brief: Emerging Markets (EM) hedge funds, led by funds investing in India, Russia, China, and the Middle East, extended strong gains through mid-year 2021 as EM hedge fund capital eclipsed another record, with performance again topping gains in EM regional equity markets and complemented by volatile cryptocurrencies. The HFRI Emerging Markets (Total) Index has returned +8.1 per cent YTD 2021 through July, led by the HFRI Emerging Markets: India Index, which surged +33.3 per cent, while the HFRI Emerging Markets: Russia/Eastern Europe Index vaulted +16.3 per cent YTD, as reported today with the releases of the HFR Asian Hedge Fund Industry Report and the HFR Emerging Markets Hedge Fund Industry Report from HFR. The investable HFRI 500 Fund Weighted Composite Index, which includes funds across all regions in both Emerging and Developed markets, has gained +8.8 per cent YTD 2021 through July.
