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Our briefing for Tuesday, November 16, 2021:
Nov 16, 2021 3:58:16 PM
- The United States’ top infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci acknowledged that political divides are impacting the country’s pandemic response. Speaking with Dr. Bill Frist in an online interview, Fauci referred to the gap in vaccine rates among Republicans and Democrats without actually mentioning the political parties. “You should never have, looking at a map, and seeing that people who are vaccinated fall heavily into one group and people who are unvaccinated fall heavily into another group,” Fauci said. “That is so antithetical with what public health should be, which should be a concerted effort on the part of the entire population.”
- In Canada, federal employees who have not been vaccinated were placed on unpaid leave from Monday, unless they were granted an exemption. Over 3000 people of the approximately 267,000 federal employees have requested accommodations. A recent poll shows that almost 70% of Canadians surveyed support the dismissal of those employees who refuse vaccines, including for airline staff, teachers, police officers, paramedics, firefighters and medical professionals. About 64% said restaurant staff should also be laid off. The Angus Reid poll was conducted online and surveyed more than 1000 Canadians between November 3-7.
- The United Kingdom’s economy is showing strong signs of recovery despite the ending of a government wage subsidy program. The Office for National Statistics said employers added 160,000 employees to payrolls in October, and as the Guardian reports, job vacancies hit a new record of close to 1.2 million in the three months from August to October, almost 400,000 more than before the pandemic. The unemployment rate fell to 4.3% in the three months to September and rests at only a slightly higher rate than pre pandemic levels.
- In the Philippines, many students returned to school for the first time in 20 months after classes were cancelled due to the coronavirus. About 100 public schools in low-risk areas will run a two-month pilot of in person classes, with class sizes reduced to half and only vaccinated teachers and staff allowed to interact with students. Following the end of the pilot, the reopening of more schools will depend on vaccination rates and whether there is a decline in Covid-19 cases. The education ministry said in a statement that they recognize the value of in person learning in social development.
- India opened its borders to fully vaccinated foreign travellers on Monday for the first time in nearly two years. Tourists entering the country must be fully vaccinated, follow all of the Covid-19 protocols and test negative for Covid-19 within 72 hours of their flight. This is the first time tourists on commercial flights have been allowed to enter the country since March 2020. Fully vaccinated tourists on chartered flights were allowed to enter from last month. So far about 79% of India’s population have had one dose of vaccine, while 38% are fully vaccinated.
- In Australia, the government of New South Wales (NSW) will extend the use of Covid-19 emergency powers through to March 2023. Health Minister Brad Hazzard put the proposal through cabinet on Monday, which came out of a recommendation from Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant. The emergency powers would grant the health minister the authority to restrict movement, enact mask mandates, impose curfews and lockdowns. The news comes as NSW passes the 90% double dose vaccination rate, with curbs being eased for vaccinated people at the 70% and 80% marks.
Covid-19 – Due Diligence And Asset Management
Bankers and Traders Are Poised for Their Biggest Bonuses Since the Financial Crisis
Brief: Banks are poised to hand investment bankers and traders their biggest bonuses since the financial crisis, with hopes the cash will stem the high levels of turnover sweeping across Wall Street. Equity and debt underwriters will be the biggest winners, with a jump of as much as 35% from a year earlier, according to a report Tuesday by compensation consultant Johnson Associates Inc. Equity traders and M&A bankers may see a 25% increase. Fixed-income traders could be the lone losers, with their bonuses potentially sinking as much as 5%. “Our clients are going to pay people well” amid concern about employee turnover, Alan Johnson, managing director of Johnson Associates, said in an interview. “The business results are terrific so there’s no holding back.” The Covid-19 pandemic was a boon for Wall Street, first with a trading surge on wild market swings and then a dealmaking boom.
It is time to pick winners amid the Covid weakness
Brief: As economies reopen following months of disruption, economic uncertainty remains. Interest rate rises loom, China's economy slows, and concerns grow about mounting inflation. Headlines also warn of perfect storms, black swans, and bottlenecks. While disruption to global supply-chains is serious, the news stories bely the recovery of sectors worst affected by Covid-19: sports, hospitality, and entertainment. Hotspots within these sectors present attractive opportunities for investors to start positions in solid structural winners during a moment of short-term weakness. The 'empowered consumer' investment theme offers a way to identify these opportunities, as it recognises the influence consumers have on the companies they buy from, the use of data and technology by these companies, and the vertical business models that provide a substantial barrier to entry for competitors.
JP Morgan chief skips quarantine as he jets into Hong Kong
Brief: JP Morgan’s billionaire leader govt Jamie Dimon used to be allowed to skip Hong Kong’s strict 21-day resort quarantine laws as a result of he runs “an overly large financial institution” with “key industry in Hong Kong”, the territory’s leader govt, Carrie Lam, stated on Tuesday. Dimon flew into Hong Kong on Monday on JP Morgan’s non-public jet, turning into the primary Wall Side road financial institution boss to seek advice from the territory or mainland China for the reason that pandemic started. Wondered about why Dimon used to be allowed to go into the territory with out complying with coronavirus laws, Lam stated: “The justification is said to financial system, as it is a very large financial institution with key industry in Hong Kong. He had to come and paintings for roughly an afternoon in Hong Kong. However there are restrictions, together with restrictions over his itinerary, so the chance is totally manageable.”
Ethical Hackers Reduce $27 Billion in Risk During COVID-19 Vulnerability Surge
Brief: Bugcrowd, the world's first crowdsourced cybersecurity platform for multiple solutions, today released its annual Inside the Mind of a Hacker '21 report, which provides CIOs and CISOs valuable insight on ethical hackers and the economics of security research. New findings indicate a startling shift in the threat landscape with 8 out of 10 ethical hackers recently having identified a vulnerability they had never seen before. This comprehensive annual study offers an in-depth look at ethical hackers to reveal how they reduce risk, which industries leverage their expertise most, and what organizations are doing to attract high-performing security researchers to their programs. It also indicates the growing geographic disparity in crowdsourced cybersecurity investment, with continental Europe allocating 79% less budget to ethical hacking than North America.
How hedge funds can navigate Brexit and Covid-19 trade upheaval
Brief: The sweeping changes and far-reaching trade upheaval brought about by Brexit and Covid-19 heralds sizable investment opportunities for hedge fund managers, according to a new study by IG Prime. The report – ‘An Analysis of Post-Brexit Economies’ – examines the impact of Brexit on international trade, gauging potential growth areas in specific sectors, and considers the broader trends unfolding from evolving international trade patterns as a result of the UK’s decision to leave the European Union. Specifically, the report probes the UK’s main exports prior to Brexit – such as precious metals, vehicles, and pharmaceutical products – as well as the main exporters of those same products in the EU and Singapore, in order to determine which countries may be set to increase exports. It also looks at the impact of the Covid-19 impact on trade over the course of 2020.
