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Our briefing for Thursday, December 9, 2021:
Dec 9, 2021 3:56:57 PM
- In the United States, Wall Street firm Jefferies has asked staff to return working from home, stop virtually all travel, and cancel social events. The news comes as multiple media outlets have reported the investment bank has experienced nearly 40 new COVID-19 cases since the start of the month, with ten cases reported on Tuesday alone, causing nearly 50 employees to quarantine until they test negative. Jefferies are based out of New York, but have nearly three dozen offices around the world, including London and Hong Kong. CNN reported the company didn’t specify where the infections occurred, other than to say the numbers reported are a global figure, and Jefferies pointed out that 95% of its employees are fully vaccinated and 100% of those who entered their offices were vaccinated.
- For Canada, it was a case of good news-bad news as the country ranked fourth in the Global Health Security (GHS) Index’s 2021 report on the world’s preparedness for the next pandemic. While ranking fourth out of 195 countries is impressive, the GHS notes not a single country is ranked in its top tier (at least 80 out of 100), which means all countries remain dangerously unprepared to meet future epidemic and pandemic threats. The Index is broken down into several categories that are scored individually to mark preparedness and include: Prevent, Detect, Respond, Health, Norms, Risk and Overall. The United States ranked first overall with a 75.9 rating (out of 100), followed by Australia (71.1), Finland (70.9) and Canada (69.8).
- In the United Kingdom, scientists were left shaking their heads after Boris Johnson’s government is facing a review into staff parties that were in defiance of COVID-19 rules, including one in which the prime minister is believed to have attended. The investigation, led by Simon Case, the cabinet secretary, was initially unveiled on Wednesday to be only looking at a party held at 10 Downing Street on December 18th, 2020, following video footage of staff members joking about it. However, they are now looking at another party held November 27th, 2020, reported to be a leaving event for a staff member at which Prime Minister Johnson spoke at. Scientists say the timing of this news couldn’t be worse as it undermines efforts to control the COVID-19 pandemic, deepening mistrust of citizens in their government, and exacerbating a sense of “us vs. them” just as the government has invoked its plan B restrictions.
- Austria plans to impose fines of €3,600 on people who openly disregard a coronavirus vaccine mandate it aims to produce in a couple of months. The mandate – set to take place as of February – is the first of its kind in any European country and was put into motion with draft legislation occurring in recent weeks that has received backing from the two of the three opposition parties in parliament. The mandate will be for anyone over the age of 14 with only a few exemptions – pregnant women, people who can’t get vaccinated for medical reasons and anyone who has recovered from COVID-19 in the past six months. Neighbouring Germany is considering similar laws but have yet to draw up legislation and officials stating they will let lawmakers vote according to their conscience rather than along party lines.
- The world is watching South Africa as the Omicron variant first detected there last month begins to take hold. Early indications seemed to be mixed. While the variant is definitely contagious – cases have surged by 255% in the past seven days; there is mounting anecdotal evidence that Omicron is producing milder symptoms than in previous waves. According to World Health Organization (WHO) Africa official Thierno Balde on Thursday, only 6% of South African intensive care beds are occupied by COVID-19 patients. The WHO said Africa accounts for 46% of reported Omicron cases globally and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has criticized many Western nations for imposing travel bans on the country.
- The World Health Organization (WHO) is again calling on richer nations spooked by the Omicron variant to not hoard COVID-19 vaccines. The global health organization is concerned many Western nations moving forward with aggressive booster programs will once again strain global vaccine supplies, complicating efforts to stamp out the pandemic. For instance, while many Western nations are looking to give their citizens a third shot, just 7.5% of Africa’s one billion population have had their initial vaccine jab. “What is going to shut down disease is for everybody who is especially at risk of disease to become vaccinated,” said Dr. Kate O’Brien, head of WHO’s department of immunization, vaccines and biologicals. “We seem to be taking our eye off that ball in countries.”
Covid-19 – Due Diligence And Asset Management
Griffin says Florida can Reposition itself for Talented Workers
Brief: Florida has the chance to reinvent itself as a destination for talented workers after a portion of the finance industry relocated to the state during the pandemic, Citadel founder Ken Griffin said. “Right now Florida has an opportunity to capture a new moment in America,” the 53-year-old hedge fund billionaire said Thursday at a luncheon hosted by the Palm Beach Civic Association at the Florida city’s Four Seasons hotel. “There is a chance for Florida to reposition itself as a destination for talent in a way that forever changes the state.” During the Covid-19 pandemic last year, Citadel Securities -- the trading portion of Griffin’s empire -- largely left its Chicago and New York offices and took over the Four Seasons Palm Beach, moving dozens of employees and their families, and building a temporary trading floor complete with rows of monitors supporting staff and interns.
World Economic Forum in Davos set to go ahead Next Month
Brief: The World Economic Forum scheduled for next month in Davos is set to go ahead even as Europe and Switzerland grapple with a fresh wave of coronavirus infections. Multiple countries have implemented new restrictions, including Switzerland, which this week said anyone entering the country must present a negative PCR test and do a second test four to seven days after arrival. The government also expanded the use of masks and covid certificates and urged people to work from home. The event “will provide a key platform for global health leaders to meet with government and business at the highest level to move forward,” a WEF spokesman said in an emailed statement. “Switzerland is open to international travel and events, conducted under sensible and strict public health measures.” Switzerland on Wednesday recorded more then 12,000 new infections within 24 hours. The government on Tuesday decided to call in the armed forces to assist hospitals with patient care, transport and vaccinations.
Blackstone’s Schwarzman says Pandemic, Stimulus Pushed Money into Private Equity
Brief: More money has flowed into the private equity industry amid the Covid-19 pandemic and Federal Reserve stimulus efforts, Blackstone Inc. co-founder Steve Schwarzman said. “When the government prints enormous amounts of money, it has to go someplace,” Schwarzman said at the Goldman Sachs U.S. Financial Services Conference on Wednesday. “It’s coming to our alternative assets area generally, and, for our firm, we’re increasing share everywhere.” Private markets investing has gotten “much more popular” recently, he added. Blackstone has $731 billion in assets and is the world’s largest alternative asset manager.
2022 will mark the end of the Pandemic and a Full Economic Recovery, JPMorgan says
Brief: After nearly two full years of Covid-driven chaos, JPMorgan Chase is predicting 2022 will usher in a return to normalcy and a full healing of the economic wounds caused by the health crisis. "Our view is that 2022 will be the year of a full global recovery, an end of the global pandemic and a return to normal conditions we had prior to the Covid-19 outbreak," Marko Kolanovic, JPMorgan's (JPM)chief global markets strategist, wrote in a note to clients on Wednesday. "This is warranted by achieving broad population immunity and with the help of human ingenuity, such as new therapeutics expected to be broadly available in 2022." America's biggest bank expects progress on the health front will spark a "strong" recovery in the economy, marked by a return of global mobility and robust spending by consumers and businesses. JPMorgan is forecasting continued growth for the stock market, albeit at a slower pace. The bank set a year-end target of 5,050 for the S&P 500, up by 8% from current levels.
Hedge Funds Suffer Sharpest Monthly Drop Since the Start of the Pandemic
Brief: In November, hedge funds saw the largest single-month decline since the beginning of the pandemic, according to data from Hedge Fund Research, a hedge fund data provider. The HFRI Fund Weighted Composite Index, which aggregates the performance of funds of all sizes, fell 2.2 percent. The index hasn’t seen a decline of that magnitude since a 9.1 percent drop in March 2020. “November was an interesting month. It marked a reversal of October trends,” said Kenneth Heinz, HFR president, in a virtual press conference on Wednesday. “In the final days of the month, you saw a reversal of the post-quarantine, post-pandemic, and inflation-positive trades that have [defined] the last few months.” The index increased a modest 1.3 percent in October before slowly rolling over in November. Heinz said the bulk of the decline occurred in the last three trading days of the month, during which concerns over the spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant induced panic and sharp declines in the financial markets.
