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Our briefing for Friday, December 3, 2021:
Dec 3, 2021 4:15:03 PM
- In the United States, the government narrowly avoided a short-term shutdown after they passed a spending bill on Thursday. The new measure will keep the federal government funded through to February 18. The bill passed despite some Republican senators threatening to block the process as a way to take a stand against the Biden administration’s vaccine mandates. The bill was approved in the senate by a vote of 69-28, and in the House by a vote of 221-212, with the Republican leadership urging members to vote no. The Biden administration announced the vaccine mandates for businesses with 100 or more employees back in September. Republican state attorneys general, some conservative groups and trade unions have sued over the mandates, and so they have since been put on hold by court rulings.
- Canada’s National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) released new guidance on Covid-19 booster shots as the country prepares to deal with the omicron variant. The government recently made an urgent request to NACI for new advice on booster eligibility. NACI now strongly recommends everyone over 50 should have a booster shot, while those ages 18-49 may be offered them based on individual risk. Boosters were previously recommended by NACI for people ages 80 and over, people who live in long-term care homes and people who are immunocompromised. Most provinces have already pushed ahead with their own booster programs; Alberta has even gone as far as to offer them to any adult who wants one.
- In the United Kingdom, experts say the threat posed by omicron is still unclear. Professor Neil Ferguson, head of the disease outbreak analysis and modelling group at Imperial College London, told MPs on Wednesday that the evolution of virus strains so far has trended towards greater severity, pointing to the examples of alpha and delta. “It’s too early to say whether omicron is going to be more or less severe than previous variants, but what we have seen so far is, alpha has been more severe than the previous strain, a little in terms of severe outcomes counterbalanced by the fact that we have treatments, and delta was more severe again,” Ferguson said. “The trend we have seen so far is toward greater severity, not lesser severity, thankfully countered by better treatments … that mean people have a much better chance of surviving severe Covid today than they did at the outset of the pandemic.” It will likely take at least three to four weeks to gain an understanding of how transmissible omicron is, and how effective vaccines are against it, Ferguson said.
- France has identified nine cases of the omicron variant across different parts of the country. Health authorities are now making every effort to isolate those cases, Bloomberg reports. French Health Minister Olivier Veran said in a radio interview that the government will accelerate its booster program and review possible new restrictions on Monday, although Veran did not elaborate on what the new restrictions might be. Jean-Francois Delfraissy, who heads the government’s scientific advisory council, said the country will do everything they can to avoid lockdowns, but they remain “a tool” should the situation worsen.
- The Philippines is considering extending the expiration date of some Covid-19 shots, after losing thousands of AstraZeneca doses because the original expiry date passed. Health Canada made the same move earlier this year, extending the expiry date of AstraZeneca vaccines by a month based on scientific evidence. Earlier this week, the Philippines launched a mass vaccination drive, aiming to vaccinate nine million people against Covid-19 in three days. They fell short of their target, administering only eight million vaccines in the timeframe, but another mass vaccination drive will be planned for mid-December.
- In New Zealand, the country’s largest city of Auckland finally saw restrictions lifted, ending a lockdown that has been in place since August. Bars, restaurants and gyms can now reopen, but there are limits on capacity and proof of vaccination is required. The government recently switched the country to a new traffic light system, in which green, red and orange designations determine the level of restrictions put in place. Auckland is currently at a red designation, but the government hopes to move it to orange soon. About 87% of New Zealanders over age 12 have been fully vaccinated, with the rate over 90% in Auckland.
Covid-19 – Due Diligence And Asset Management
BOE’s Saunders Sees Benefit to Waiting for Omicron Data
Brief: The Bank of England’s leading inflation hawk said there could be advantages from waiting for more data on how the omicron variant of the coronavirus will impact the U.K. economy before raising interest rates. Michael Saunders said omicron will be a key issue at the BOE’s next meeting on Dec. 16, adding to speculation the central bank may delay a move until next year as it awaits more news on the new strain. Markets pared bets on a December hike after his speech on Friday. Investors now anticipate a 33% chance of such a move, down from 56% on Thursday. Last month, markets signaled that tightening this month was all but certain.
Google Delays January Office Return After Omicron Spread
Brief: Alphabet Inc.’s Google is once again pushing back the date it will require employees to return to U.S. offices on renewed concern after cases of the Covid-19 omicron variant have been confirmed, executives told employees on Thursday. Google had set Jan. 10 as its return date, asking a bulk of its workforce to come in three days a week. Chris Rackow, a Google vice president of security, emailed U.S. staff on Thursday that the company was “going to wait until the new year to assess” a full return, according to a message viewed by Bloomberg News. CNBC earlier reported the news. The Mountain View, California-based company has committed to a “hybrid” system, allowing certain employees to switch offices or work remotely, but encouraging most to return. “At present, given the new omicron Covid variant has only been detected quite recently, there could be particular advantages in waiting to see more evidence on its possible effects on public health outcomes and hence on the economy,” Saunders said.
Omicron Triggers Biggest Outflows From European Stocks in More Than a Year
Brief: During a period of volatility triggered by the emergence of the omicron variant, investors dumped European stocks to the benefit of U.S. peers, maintaining one of the main themes of this year’s market rally. The region’s equity funds experienced $2.8 billion outflows in the week through Dec. 1, the most since October 2020, Bank of America Corp. strategists said, citing EPFR Global data. By contrast, their U.S. counterparts had the largest inflows in four weeks at $10.2 billion. The flows are borne out by market movements. The MSCI Europe Index has fallen about 5% since a record high on Nov. 17, double the drop of the S&P 500 over the same period.
Bank Bonuses in Canada Rise 18% on Boom-Time Battle for Talent
Brief: Canada’s biggest banks shelled out 18 per cent more for bonuses, unleashing the biggest increase in data going back nine years as the firms battled for talent to take advantage of a boom time in capital markets. The country’s six largest lenders set aside $19.1 billion for performance-based compensation in their 2021 fiscal year. The increase trounced the 6.3 per cent average for the past decade. Except for Toronto-Dominion Bank, all of Canada’s other six largest lenders increased bonuses by the most in data going back to 2013. Canada’s banks are riding high on almost two years of torrid activity in capital markets, starting with an early-pandemic increase in trading that gave way to a surge in equity and debt financings and more recently a flood of mergers and acquisitions. That boom, and expectations that it will continue next year, have heightened the competition among banks to attract and keep top talent.
Dip buyers scoop up hard-hit shares in wild week on Wall Street
Brief: Stocks notched their biggest advance since October as dip buyers scooped up some of the hardest-hit shares during a two-day selloff. Treasuries retreated. Companies that stand to benefit the most from economic growth drove gains in the S&P 500, with small caps and travel stocks surging. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed almost 2%, led by aerospace giant Boeing Co. Tech shares underperformed. The U.S. is inching ahead on efforts to boot Chinese firms off stock exchanges for not complying with disclosure requirements. Volatility has gripped financial markets this week, stirred by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s hawkish tone and the spread of the omicron coronavirus strain. The turmoil may offer investors a chance to position for a trend reversal in reopening and commodity trades, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co. strategists. While it’s likely that the variant is more transmissible, early reports suggest it may also be less deadly, they added
