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Our briefing for Friday, March 4, 2022:
Mar 4, 2022 4:09:46 PM
- In the United States, officials announced on Thursday their intentions to share technology with low and middle-income countries that might be used to prevent Covid-19. While under pressure from activists and WHO officials to do more to share the pharmaceutical industry with other countries, Biden’s new policy will aim to help poorer nations manufacture inexpensive vaccines that are developed in the United States. Officials did not specify exactly what the technology would be. The announcement was made by President Biden’s health secretary, Xavier Becerra, and his top medical adviser for the coronavirus, Dr. Anthony Fauci after they met with health ministers from around the world.
- In Canada, the government of Ontario announced that they may drop the province’s mask mandate by the end of March. The province’s chief medical officer of health made the announcement on Thursday, though he would not commit to a firm date. “We can only mandate masking for so long,” Dr. Kieran Moore said in his first update since the province scrapped vaccine passports. “As long as the risk is decreasing, we’ll make a decision together as a province to remove them.” Moore also told reporters that he anticipates the BA.2 variant to take over as the dominant strain by mid-March.
- In the United Kingdom, the National Health Service (NHS) has scrapped free flu shots for people over 50 and school-aged children. The letter published on the NHS website confirms that the flu program for the next year will only be offered to patient groups who align with “pre-pandemic recommendations.” This includes people 65 and over, people deemed high-risk, and very young children. The decision is expected to affect around 10 million people aged 50 and over, and around 4 million school-aged children. The guidance was given in line with advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation and the Department of Health and Social Care.
- France will lift its vaccine passport requirements and remove its mask mandate by March 14, Prime Minister Jean Castex announced. From March 14, masks will only be needed on public transit and the vaccine passport will only be needed to access long-term care centers. The announcement comes one month before the country’s presidential election, where French President Emmanuel Macron says he will run again for a second term. Macron says he’s seeking a mandate to lead the country out of the world’s crises, like the Covid-19 pandemic. If he succeeds, he will be the first French leader for two decades to win a second term.
- South Korea’s Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum has tested positive for coronavirus, officials said on Thursday. The news comes as the country’s infections continue to rise, with some restrictions easing despite case numbers reaching unprecedented levels. Kim has begun receiving treatment at home and will pass the country’s anti-virus meetings off to other officials for now. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency reported 186 deaths in a 24-hour period, shattering the previous day’s record of 128 deaths. On the same day, officials announced that the curfew for restaurants, movie theatres, bars, and other indoor venues, would be extended from 10 PM to 11 PM, citing pandemic fatigue as the reason for the decision.
- Western Australia has finally ended its border closure, one of the world’s longest. The state, which covers one-third of the nation’s land area, closed its borders in March 2020 to stop the spread of Covid-19. The border was closed for 697 days, becoming the last Australian state to reopen. Travellers will need to be fully vaccinated and have a travel pass if they want to enter, they’re also required to take a rapid test within 12 hours of arrival and report any positive results to authorities. Unvaccinated returning Australians will still be required to go through hotel quarantine.
Covid-19 – Due Diligence And Asset Management
JPMorgan Hands Out Cash to Hong Kong Staff to Boost Morale
Brief: JPMorgan Chase & Co., the first Wall Street bank to offer a quarantine subsidy in Hong Kong, is now handing out HK$1,800 ($230) to each of its employees as the city grapples with its largest outbreak of infections during the pandemic. The cash payment will allow staff to treat themselves and their families to a meal once the current restrictions are lifted, a Hong Kong-based spokeswoman said. She wouldn’t provide the bank’s total headcount in the city. The city has closed schools, bars and evening dining, and is planning a mass testing drive coupled with a lockdown to gain control of an outbreak that has overwhelmed its health-care system even as most of the world returns to normal. Banks are now facing a potential exodus of expatriate staff who are fed up with the city’s draconian measures, which also include a two-week quarantine for incoming travelers and a potential isolation in government run facilities.
Climate Groups Press Banks, Asset Managers to Sever Russian Ties
Brief: A coalition of more than 75 climate change-focused nonprofits want the biggest names in banking and fund management to “stop propping up Putin’s illegal war on Ukraine” by severing all financial ties with Russian energy companies. The organizations, which include Sierra Club and Rainforest Action Network, have requested 100 financial institutions — a group it’s calling the “Putin 100” — put an end to the financing, investing and insuring of companies in Russia's coal, oil and gas industries, and to divest from existing holdings. The letter was sent to firms including JPMorgan Chase & Co., BlackRock Inc and Citigroup Inc.Financial firms are scrambling to respond to Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, the worst military conflict on the European continent since World War II, as sanctions pile up and a growing number of companies walk away or distance themselves from Russia.
£1bn Janus Henderson property fund may face wind up
Brief: The £1bn Janus Henderson UK Property fund may be facing closure as Nuveen has reportedly hired CBRE to independently value the assets in the fund. The fund, which launched in June 1999, is currently co-managed by Marcus Langlands Pearse and Ainslie McLennan. The fund was suspended in March 2020 as the pandemic hit the UK, before lifting ten months later as the economy returned to normal. Since the suspension was lifted, £1bn has been withdrawn from the fund. The fund is a Property Authorised Investment Fund (PAIF) and considers location, tenant strength, lease length and structure, building quality and sustainability considerations when investing. Oli Creasey, property research analyst at Quilter Cheviot, said that if the fund was wound up, "it would come as something of a surprise, as the fund has made it through the difficult period in 2020 when it was forced to close by new FCA rules and has since produced good returns."
February worst month for European equities since July 2020
Brief: February was the worst month for equity funds since July 2020, as capital flowed out of products in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to the latest Calastone survey. Investors abandoned the region, while there was a slight increase in sellers, and inflows fell to £42m over the month, 96% lower than the average monthly inflow over the last year, representing a 79% month-on-month drop compared to January. According to Calastone, funds had inflows of £646m up until 23 February, though as Russia invaded, investors withdrew £604m during the last three days of trading. Head of global markets at Calastone, Edward Glyn, said: "Investors have a lot to worry them at present. Stock markets have certainly fallen since the Russian army invaded Ukraine, but the falls have not indicated a rout."
What’s next for Pfizer, Moderna beyond their projected $51 billion in combined Covid vaccine sales this year
Brief: Pfizer and Moderna expect $51 billion in combined vaccine sales in the coming year, even as the omicron wave dramatically subsides in many parts of the world and both companies believe the pandemic is shifting into an endemic phase where the virus will be less disruptive to society. Pfizer expects $32 billion in Covid vaccine sales for 2022, while Moderna is forecasting at least $19 billion in sales, the companies said in their fourth-quarter earnings statements released last month. Those are minimum sales, reflecting contracts that have already been signed by nations across the world anticipating their need for the year. But they could be far higher, depending on the trajectory of the virus. Pfizer just raised its 2022 Covid vaccine sales guidance by $1 billion from its previous forecast given to investors in the third quarter while Moderna upped its guidance by $2 billion. The companies’ 2022 expectations come after booking bumper revenues during the the first full year of the Covid vaccine rollout.
