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Our briefing for Tuesday, January 4, 2022:
Jan 4, 2022 3:11:32 PM
- The United States reported a record number of new coronavirus cases on Monday, with over 1 million new infections, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. With many Americans relying on take-home tests and not reporting their results to government authorities, the record number is still an underestimate. The new daily numbers bring the country’s total cases since the beginning of the pandemic to 56,189,547, with the surge in cases driven by the infectiousness of the Omicron variant and the busy holiday season. According to the latest available data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Delta variant made up 41% of cases, while Omicron accounted for 58.6% for the week ending on December 25.
- In Canada, the province of Ontario implemented new Covid-19 measures as they deal with rising case numbers and overwhelmed hospitals. Schools will move to remote learning for at least two weeks, restaurants will temporarily close indoor dining and social gathering limits will be reduced to five people indoors and 10 outdoors. Premier Doug Ford made the announcement at a news conference on Monday, explaining that he is deeply concerned about the rising case numbers. "Our public health experts tell us we could see hundreds of thousands of cases every day," he said. “If we don't do everything possible to get this variant under control, the results could be catastrophic. It is a risk I cannot take."
- In the United Kingdom, Prime Minister Boris Johnson suggested there will be no new coronavirus measures, despite warning that hospitals will be strained in the coming weeks due to a surge in infections. The prime minister said on Monday that the “Plan B” measures put in place are working and urged people to get their booster shots. At the same time, he ruled out the possibility of any further restrictions for England. “I think the way forward for the country as a whole is to continue with the path that we’re on. We’ll keep everything under review,” he said. “The mixture of things that we’re doing at the moment is, I think, the right one.”
- South Korea has reported their first death related to Omicron. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said on Monday that a person in their 90s was posthumously found to have contracted the variant, they were living in a nursing home and had received a second dose of vaccine in October. Since the case was first reported, 21 others in the nursing home have tested positive, three of them with the Omicron variant. South Korea has 1318 confirmed cases of Omicron, experts predict that it will soon overtake Delta to become the dominant strain in South Korea.
- India began rolling out vaccinations for teens aged 15 to 18 on Monday, as the country braces for another wave of coronavirus infections. State governments administered the shots in schools, hospitals and special vaccination sites, as the country confirmed over 33,000 cases in 24 hours. Many states including the capital city of New Delhi have imposed curfews and banned large public gatherings. So far India has partially vaccinated about 90% of its eligible population, while about 64% have had both doses. From next week, the government will begin offering booster doses to people more than 60 years old.
- Australia will move forward with plans to reopen the economy despite hitting a record number of Covid-19 cases. Case numbers reached over 47,000 on Tuesday, up about a third from Monday’s number which was also a record. Hospitalizations in the state of New South Wales also rose 10% from Sunday. “We have to stop thinking about case numbers and think about serious illness, living with the virus, managing our own health and ensuring that we're monitoring those symptoms and we keep our economy going," Prime Minister Scott Morrison told Channel Seven.
Covid-19 – Due Diligence And Asset Management
Morgan Stanley Bets on NYC With Lease for BlackRock Headquarters
Brief: Morgan Stanley is betting on offices in New York City. The New York-based bank has signed a deal to take over space that houses the headquarters of BlackRock Inc., according to people familiar with the matter. The 15-year deal is for roughly 400,000 square feet (37,000 square meters) at Park Avenue Plaza, at 55 E. 52nd St., one of the people said. BlackRock is leaving the space and moving west to Hudson Yards in 2023. The office market in Manhattan has been battered by the pandemic, though there were positive signs in the final months of 2021 as leasing picked up. The deal comes as a surge in Covid-19 cases pushes Wall Street firms, including Goldman Sachs Group Inc., to adjust their return-to-work plans.
Rokos Capital Management made over GBP900m during early pandemic turbulence
Brief: Macro hedge fund firm Rokos Capital Management made more than GBP900 million in profits during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a report in the Financial Times. The firm generated returns of 44 per cent in 2020 – its best annual performance to date – generating GBP914 million in profit in the 12 months to 31 March, 2021. According to a filing with Companies House, the income is available to be divided up among the hedge fund's partners with manager Chris Rokos, formerly a co-founder of Brevan Howard, eligible for the largest share of the gain, some GBP509 million.
Goldman Strategists Bet on Tourism-Linked Currencies in Recovery
Brief: Goldman Sachs Group Inc. strategists expect a tourism revival in the second half of 2022, with the Thai baht, New Zealand dollar and Egyptian equities among their top bets. The firm predicts that the manufacturing-led economic recovery will shift to one driven by leisure and tourism as foreign visitors return to beaches and mountains after enduring nearly two grueling years of the coronavirus pandemic. “We think you’re going to see a transition to a recovery driven by services and travel, and leisure would be an important part of that once the latest omicron wave fades,” Kamakshya Trivedi, Goldman’s co-head of global foreign exchange, rates and emerging-market strategy research, said in an interview.
Wall Street’s Hopes for Return to Office Dashed Again by Covid
Brief: Wall Street’s push to refill office towers across the country has been derailed again. This time it’s the highly transmissible omicron variant of the Covid-19 virus that’s forced executives to rethink their plans. A record 10 million people were diagnosed with Covid-19 in the seven days through Sunday, almost twice the pandemic’s previous weekly high, though weekly deaths continued to drop. “Realistically, we do not foresee us all having a safe opportunity to be together in our offices until at least Monday January 31,” Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Chief Executive Officer Richard Handler said in a memo on Instagram. “We are encouraging everyone to work remotely unless there is a very good reason to be in our office.”
Jefferies staff to go remote until end Jan, financial offices empty out
Brief: U.S. investment bank Jefferies Financial Group has asked staff to work remotely until Jan. 31, according to an Instagram post on Monday from its Chief Executive Officer, in another sign that New York's banking offices looked set for an empty start to the year as the Omicron variant spreads. Banks and financial firms have been grappling with how to react to the latest variant and how to communicate to staff and retain workers amid the uncertainty. A number of other banks have asked staff to work remotely for the beginning of the year due to the latest surge in cases. "Realistically, we do not foresee us all having a safe opportunity to be together in our offices until at least Monday, January 31st," Jefferies CEO Richard Handler said in the message.
