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Our briefing for Tuesday, August 3, 2021:
Aug 3, 2021 3:07:18 PM
- In the United States, President Biden has achieved his Fourth of July vaccination goal one month late, as 70% of adults in the U.S. have received at least one shot. The 70% goal was initially set by Biden in May and was seen as an important step to achieving herd immunity. Despite the surge in cases and hospitalizations, the U.S. has seen an uptick in vaccinations over the past few days. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported Sunday that 816,203 shots were administered, making it the fifth consecutive day that the agency recorded over 700,000 shots in arms.
- In Canada, the nation’s top doctor has warned that the country could be headed for a fourth wave if restrictions are lifted too soon. Dr. Theresa Tam told reporters on Friday that the delta variant could be responsible for another surge of infections, especially if vaccine rates don’t pick up quickly enough. She referred to an updated national model for the pandemic trajectory. "While some resurgence is expected as measures are eased, this updated model shows that if we maintain current levels of community-wide contacts, we would expect to see a modest increase in cases,” she said.
- In the United Kingdom, travel restrictions were eased on Monday for fully vaccinated travellers from the U.S. and the E.U. Arrivals from amber list countries no longer need to self-isolate for up to 10 days. Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government was considering adding another category to its traffic light system for overseas travel, which would have alerted travellers to when a country was at risk of shifting from amber to red. But sources have recently said no new categories will be added. The travel industry responded positively to the decision, saying the rules for travel should be clear and consistent.
- In Germany, booster shots will be offered in September, and it will be easier for 12-17-year-olds to get a vaccine, government officials have said. Health Minister Jens Spahn said that the elderly and those at-risk should be offered a booster shot, as concerns about the delta variant continue to rise. Doctors will be able to give the booster shots to anyone who qualifies. The ministry has also said it will make the vaccines more available to 12-17-year-olds. Currently the country’s vaccine regulator only recommends vaccines for 12-17-year-olds if they live with people who are high risk.
- In Japan, coronavirus cases are surging as the Olympic games continue, Tokyo reported another record high of 4,058 new cases on Saturday. To date, there have been 294 positive cases among people who are connected to the Olympics, including 25 athletes. The majority of people testing positive are contractors or third-party personnel. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and Olympic organizers have both said there’s no link between the Olympic games and the rise in cases, although medical experts have said the games created confusion around stay-at-home orders. Just under 30% of the population of Japan is fully vaccinated.
- In Australia, the state of Queensland extended a lockdown in Brisbane, reporting 13 new Covid-19 cases in 24 hours. This was the state’s biggest one-day jump in cases for over a year. Brisbane’s lockdown was scheduled to end on Tuesday but will now be extended at least until Sunday. Meanwhile, in New South Wales, Sydney remains under their sixth weekof lockdown, as the state reported 207 new Covid-19 cases in 24 hours. Military personnel began door-to-door visits on Monday, to ensure that people who tested positive are self-isolating at home.
Covid-19 – Due Diligence And Asset Management
Global Banks’ $170 Billion Haul Marks Most Profitable Year Ever
Brief: Never mind banker burnout, return-to-office headaches, and new pandemic waves. A simple reality stands out for the biggest global investment banks: they’re minting money like never before. As the dust settles over earnings season, a total profit of more than $170 billion from a dozen of the biggest firms in the past four quarters shows how far the industry has come from the frazzled early stages of the pandemic. JPMorgan Chase & Co. was the standout, earning the equivalent of $131 million a day. A string of trading wins certainly helped the sector in the early days of Covid-19, and as last year’s market volatility faded, investment bankers were ready to fuel the boom in takeovers and fundraisings via special purpose acquisition vehicles.
Clorox Plunges Most Since 2000 as Pandemic Boom Fades Away
Brief: Clorox Co. plummeted the most in more than two decades after forecasting a sales decline in 2022 as pandemic-fueled demand for its cleaning products wanes. The maker of disinfecting wipes and Glad trash bags posted fourth-quarter sales of $1.8 billion, missing the lowest analyst estimate. With consumers reallocating spending amid a reopening economy, Clorox expects organic sales to decline by 2% to 6% in the current fiscal year. The stock fell 11% at 9:55 a.m. in New York on Tuesday, the biggest drop since 2000. The shares had already declined 10% in 2021 through Monday’s close. Clorox’s guidance is a warning to investors about the bumpy road ahead for consumer-products companies that enjoyed a boom during the onset of the pandemic. The forecast reflects consumers’ new priorities, which now more closely resemble pre-pandemic trends as they spend less time at home and offices and businesses reopen.
Looking for New Investment Talent? You Could Buy a Whole Team
Brief: Laura Pollock’s Third Street Partners launched its lift-out business 18 months ago, just before the pandemic began. “The pandemic has created an opportunity for individuals to reflect on what do they want their career to look like,” Pollock told Institutional Investor. With that comes opportunity for an executive search firm like Third Street. Its lift-out business involves facilitating an entire investment team’s next career move. Third Street acts as a “professional matchmaker,” as Pollock puts it, finding teams that would be good fits for existing asset managers — or that would do well if they spun out on their own.
Two days in the office will be ‘new normal’ after pandemic
Brief: Two days a week working from the office is expected to become the new normal as businesses adapt to the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic. With millions of employees already working from home, big firms are adopting a three days at home, two days in the office approach, reports the Mail Online. Several employers have already agreed the changes, while the Institute of Directors said two thirds of business leaders will allow remote working to continue. The institute’s director of policy Roger Barker said the pandemic had led to changes to the working week “greater than radical reform or regulation ever could have”. A recent YouGov survey found just one in five bosses will ask all staff to come in five days a week after the pandemic.
Delta variant surge will crush reopening stocks, longtime market bear David Rosenberg suggests
Brief: Investors may want to start August by lightening up on the reopening trades. Longtime market bear David Rosenberg warns surging Covid-19 delta variant cases paired with the culmination of fiscal stimulus will crush stocks tied to the economic recovery. “We have to be prepared here for the economy to sputter in the next several months,” the Rosenberg Research president told CNBC’s “Trading Nation” on Friday. “You don’t have to basically abandon the stock market, but I definitely would not be in the value reflation cyclical trade.”
