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Our briefing for Tuesday, September 21, 2021:
Sep 21, 2021 4:05:19 PM
- In the United States, President Joe Biden will ease travel restrictions beginning in November for foreign nationals who are fully vaccinated. White House Covid-19 Coordinator Jeff Zients announced the new policy on Monday, explaining that all foreign travellers flying into the U.S. will have to demonstrate proof of vaccination before boarding, as well as show a negative Covid-19 test taken within three days of the flight. Unvaccinated Americans travelling outside of the country will now be required to take a test upon departure as well as after they return. Fully vaccinated travellers will not be required to quarantine, Zients said.
- In Canada, Pfizer says it plans to provide Health Canada with the data to demonstrate that their vaccine is effective for children. On Monday they pointed to research that shows their product generated an immune response in five-to-11-year-olds in their clinical trials. “These trial results provide a strong foundation for seeking authorization of our vaccine for children five to 11 years old, and we plan to submit them to the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) and other regulators with urgency," Pfizer Chief Executive Albert Bourla said in a news release. Health Canada says there are several studies being conducted by vaccine manufacturers around children, and that it anticipates they will provide data in the coming months.
- In the United Kingdom, 36,100 new coronavirus cases were reported in the last 24-hour period, and 49 more deaths. Hospitalizations are currently at 7847, the first time in weeks that they’ve fallen below 8000. Prime Minister Boris Johnson says he hopes to avoid lockdowns during the colder months but hasn’t ruled out any possibilities. Last week he laid out the government’s plans for managing the pandemic throughout the autumn and winter, which include jabs for 12-15-year-olds and a booster program. The National Health Service announced that about 1.5 million people will be contacted this week as they’re now eligible for booster shots.
- Germany will likely make a Covid-19 vaccine available for children under 12 beginning early in the new year. Health Minister Jens Spahn says he also expects a recommendation from the Standing Committee on Vaccination to follow. “I am assuming that the approval for a vaccine for children under 12 years of age will come in the first quarter of 2022," Spahn told Funke media group. "Then we could protect the younger ones even better." The European Medicines Agency has said that they cannot speculate around a possible timeline for approval.
- New Zealand announced greater fines for those who breach coronavirus restrictions, as they try to contain their current outbreak in Auckland. "Our success has been really based on the fact that people by and large have been compliant," Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told media. “However, there has been the odd person that has broken the rules and put others at risk.” Fines for people who intentionally fail to comply with Covid-19 measures will increase from NZ$4000 to NZ$12,000 and could also come with six months imprisonment. The changes will take effect in November if the Covid-19 Public Health Response Amendment Bill passes.
- In Australia, violence broke out in the city of Melbourne as more than 1000 demonstrators took to the streets to oppose vaccine mandates and Covid-19 restrictions. Authorities said they arrested more than 40 people and at least three officers were injured. Police used pepper balls, smoke bombs and rubber bullets as crowd control measures. The protests came after the state government announced the forced shutdown of the construction industry for two weeks, citing concerns about poor compliance with public health orders. Victoria state reported 603 new coronavirus cases and one death in the past 24 hours.
Covid-19 – Due Diligence And Asset Management
Middle-Market PE Firms Successfully Weather the Pandemic Storm
Brief: Middle-market private equity sponsors have made a remarkably smooth transition during the pandemic, according to research by New York Life Investments Alternatives, an investment advisor, and Coalition Greenwich, a consulting and research firm. Their success is reflected in a stellar performance in deal volume this year, according to data from PitchBook. Middle-market PE sponsors have closed 1,721 deals in the first half of the year for a combined $264.6 billion, putting 2021 on track to break the prior annual record of $416.3 billion in 2019. “Companies that have shown resiliency through 2020 and into 2021 are tracking very, very high values,” said Chris Taylor, head of NYLIA. “And I don’t see that changing anytime soon.”
Ratings Companies Reacted Slowly to Covid Crisis, Research Shows
Brief: Ratings companies reacted slowly to the Covid-19 crisis, raising questions about the reliability of creditworthiness scores and their impact on financial stability, according to the first study into the effect of the pandemic on sovereign ratings. The paper, to be published by the International Review of Financial Analysis, shows the largest three rating agencies (S&P Global Ratings, Moody’s Investors Service, and Fitch Ratings) only reviewed sovereign scores when they were scheduled for regulatory purposes rather than as a fast response to the global spread of coronavirus. Regulations permit the companies to conduct reviews ahead of schedule when circumstances require. The lack of fast movement on ratings “is very worrying because sovereign debt accounts for a large amount in investment portfolios and is clearly not being assessed in a timely manner,” said Patrycja Klusak, a lecturer in banking and finance at the University of East Anglia, one of the authors of the paper.
Virgin Atlantic, British Airways Bookings Jump on U.S. Reopening
Brief: Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd.’s U.S. bookings surged more than 600% overnight Monday from a week earlier after the Biden administration moved to allow most fully vaccinated foreigners to fly there again. New York saw the biggest surge in demand, the U.K. airline said Tuesday, while leisure destinations also performed well. Sales to Orlando, Miami and Las Vegas soared. British Airways said its vacation division saw an almost 700% increase in searches week-on-week to destinations including Los Angeles and Boston. The shares of European airlines and other travel-related companies gained for a second day following the U.S. decision. British Airways’ parent IAG SA led the way with a 7% advance after an 11% gain Monday. Deutsche Lufthansa AG rose as much as 5% and Air France-KLM as much as 3.8%.
Germany Trims Planned Debt Sales as Pandemic Impact Recedes
Brief: Germany cut planned debt sales in the fourth quarter by 4 billion euros ($4.7 billion), suggesting the surge in borrowing triggered by the coronavirus pandemic is receding. The federal government will raise 1 billion euros less in 15-year bonds, and trim sales of short-term discount paper by 3 billion euros compared with a plan published at the end of last year, the Federal Finance Agency said Tuesday. That means that total debt issuance for 2021 will work out at 500 million euros more than projected, it added. The pandemic brought years of German frugality to an abrupt end, with tens of billions distributed to offset the impact of the disease on the economy and borrowing climbing to a record in 2020.
Fifth of UK investors' "knocked off course" by Covid
Brief: Over a million UK investors feel Covid-19 threw their finances off track, according to research by Capital Group.The investors said they were either not on track with their financial plans, or completely thrown off course.The research indicated that one in five investors was knocked off course by the pandemic and that it could take them at least five years to restore their long-term financial plans back to health. In total, 1,003 retail investors aged over 45 years with £50,000 or more in investments were surveyed. The survey was designed to give results that were nationally representative. Findings included that more than a third (37%) of those without a financial adviser lacked confidence in the performance of their investments over the next 12 months, compared to only a fifth of those with an adviser (21%).
