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Our briefing for Monday, November 8, 2021:
Nov 8, 2021 4:04:40 PM
- On Monday, the United States reopened the land border with Canada allowing fully vaccinated Canadians to travel southward for the first time since the pandemic began in March 2020. Travelers wishing to enter the United States are once again able to drive across the border, provided they have had 2 doses of a Covid-19 vaccine. Long wait times are expected as the two nations get used to the new regulations at crossings. Each Canadian is required to take a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) before re-entering the country, which will cost between $150 to $300, paid for by the individual traveler. The United States is not requiring that Canadians show proof of a negative covid test before entry. As of Monday, Canadian air-travelers entering the U.S. are required to show a negative PCR test that has been taken no less than 72 hours before entry, while American nationals who are unvaccinated will be required to show proof of a negative test that has been taken no more than 24 hours before re-entry.
- Experts in Canada and the United States are suggesting that the costly polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test to re-enter Canada from the United States is not necessarily the best policy for stopping cross-border infections. The PCR tests which are to be paid for by the individual traveler are more effective when it comes to detecting the virus, however, rapid antigen tests are quicker, less expensive and could be done at the border crossing. Amesh Adalja, an infectious disease physician and a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security in Baltimore says that the antigen tests may be a more viable way to screen for illness at the border, “[travelers] can get one done in 15 minutes or even faster” he says, “rather than a 72 hour-old [PCR] test that's sometimes logistically difficult [and] expensive to get.”
- As hospitalizations are on the rise among the elderly in the United Kingdom, on Monday, U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is encouraging anyone eligible to receive a third vaccine as more shots become available. The U.K. has opened bookings for a 3rd dose starting one month before they become widely available, only those who have been double vaccinated for 6 months will initially be eligible. “Sadly, the Covid-19 jabs do wane," Johnson said on Monday, “It's (booster) a wonderful thing. People get 95% more protection.” So far in the United Kingdom, nearly 9 million people have received their third dose or three out of five people over the age of 50. At present there is still some confusion over who is eligible for their third and fourth doses of the vaccine, including the immunocompromised, with reports suggesting that some people have had their shots mislabeled as boosters, making them ineligible for further doses as intended.
- Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the country hit a “magnificent milestone” on Saturday as the country reached its target of 80 per cent of the population now vaccinated. However, that vaccination rate is concentrated to more populous areas of the country with rural states still sitting well below the target numbers. The country has recently opened their international borders, allowing Australians to travel outside of the country for first time since the early days of the pandemic, and states like New South Wales and Victoria have essentially opened their borders to each other, yet some internal borders will remain closed until higher vaccination rate is reached. “This has been a massive Australian national effort and the work doesn’t stop here.” Said Morrison on Facebook. “We are on track to have one of the highest vaccination rates in the world.”
- In China, the government is accelerating their lockdown measures as the country faces the worst spike in cases since the pandemic began. The sudden surge in cases, according to Chen Zhengming, an epidemiology professor at the University of Oxford, suggests that China will not reopen its borders until next year. "China's vaccination rate is very high, but most are vaccinated with an inactivated shot" says Zhengming, “without adequate coverage of boosters and a significant change in outbreaks elsewhere, I think the chance of China reopening and giving up Covid Zero is small.” He continued that even though it is unlikely, China is one of the few countries that may be to remain isolated from the rest of the world for the next three or four years due to their self-sustainability. Yanzhong Huang, a senior fellow for global health at the New York-based Council on Foreign Relations says that the Chinese government is unlikely to make any immediate changes to their restrictions. “it's very unlikely they could win the trust of their people when changing the policy abruptly."
Covid-19 – Due Diligence And Asset Management
Real-estate brokers brace for ‘flood’ of wealthy buyers from overseas as travel restrictions lift
Brief: Wealthy real-estate buyers from overseas are expected to descend on the nation’s luxury housing markets Monday, giving a second boost to demand for high-priced apartments and mansions. The U.S. will lift the travel ban on about 33 countries for vaccinated visitors, easing restrictions that prevented most foreign real-estate buyers from entering the country to view and buy properties. Buyers from Europe, China, Brazil, and India will now be able to enter the U.S. for the first time in 20 months. Brokers in cities popular with the overseas wealthy — New York, Miami, Los Angeles — say they have a long list of showings scheduled in the coming weeks from buyers who have been anxious to invest in U.S. property. “This represents another upside in demand that just didn’t exist over the last two years,” said Jonathan Miller, CEO of Miller Samuel. “It will be especially beneficial to the high-end and luxury market.” Sales data suggests the wave of overseas buyers could generate tens of billions of dollars in added sales. Foreign buyers spent $267 billion on U.S. real-estate in 2018 and $183 billion in 2019, before the pandemic, according to the National Association of Realtors.
Singapore introduces more ‘vaccinated travel lanes’ to include Malaysia, Sweden and Finland
Brief: Quarantine-free travel between Singapore and neighboring Malaysia will start from Nov. 29 for vaccinated travelers, the two countries announced Monday. Sweden and Finland will also be included in Singapore’s so-called “vaccinated travel lanes” from Nov. 29, the health ministry said separately in a press release Monday. Instead of serving quarantines, inoculated travelers from these countries will take Covid-19 tests to ensure they are not infected with the coronavirus. Singapore and Malaysia’s prime ministers said in a joint statement that Covid border restrictions have separated families in both countries for many months. “It is timely to progressively resume cross-border travel between both countries, in a safe manner,” the two leaders said. Singapore has already launched vaccinated travel lanes with at least 12 nations including Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States. The city-state will start its joint vaccinated travel lane arrangements with South Korea on Nov. 15.
FTSE Edges Lower, Economy Seen Facing Hit From Covid-19, Brexit
Brief: The U.K. economy faces inflation remaining above the Bank of England's 2% target and weaker growth next year, Deutsche Bank says. "The combination of supply shocks because of Covid and Brexit, alongside lower supply via weaker migration/lower participation and investment, should see the U.K. economy experience above-target inflation for almost all of next year at the same time as economic momentum slows materially," Deutsche Bank economist Sanjay Raja says. "We continue to see U.K. GDP coming in around 7% this year but slowing to under 4% next year."
China Struggles With Worst Covid Outbreaks Since Wuhan Origin
Brief: China is resolutely sticking with its zero-tolerance approach to COVID-19, even as the delta variant continues to penetrate its formidable defenses. Officials are implementing increasingly aggressive measures -- ranging from internal travel restrictions and snap lockdowns to mass testing of millions -- in an attempt to rein in the virus. Yet more parts of the country are grappling with outbreaks than at any time since the deadly pathogen first emerged in Wuhan in 2019. Hundreds of locally transmitted infections have been found in about two thirds of its provinces. The last of the major Covid Zero holdouts, China is becoming ever more isolated, and its unpredictable curbs are beginning to disruptthe world's second-largest economy. How long can the vast nation maintain its strategy as the rest of the world learns to live with Covid, and what factors might force the country to re-open? Jason Brady, chief executive officer and fund manager with Thornburg Investment Management, said the policy gap between greater China and the rest of the world "is going to become more and more stark." As the reality of endemic coronavirus sets in, "investors need to cast their minds forward to what's the world going to look like six months from now."
UAE real estate has potential to attract up to $450b investments
Brief: The UAE looks set to become a global economic centre of gravity in post-Covid era because of its successful strategy to handle the pandemic and quick rolling out of vaccination drive and it has a potential to attract up to $450 billion investments in real estate sector, according to experts at the Cityscape Summit. Sultan Butti bin Mejren, director-general of Dubai Land Department, on Sunday inaugurated the latest edition of the summit at Expo 2020 site where government, industry and thought leaders descended to take part in a number of topics defining the current and future real estate landscape from across the region and beyond. Ian Goldin, Professor of Globalisation and Development at University of Oxford, shared his thoughts about the future of the world economy and the implications for Dubai and its property sector. Identifying the Urban 2040 Plan and recent amendments to property and visa laws, Goldin believes there are very few places on earth that have achieved what the UAE has in the last 60 years.
