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Our briefing for Tuesday, September 28, 2021:
Sep 28, 2021 3:55:05 PM
- In the United States, the daily pace of Covid-19 vaccinations has slowed, according to data available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The seven-day average rate of people getting their shot at the beginning of September was 836,359, while as of September 23, it was 683,329, a drop of about 18%. The numbers are far below their peaks in April, when the country saw millions of shots administered per day. On Monday President Joe Biden received his coronavirus booster shot on camera, continuing his effort to push all Americans to get their vaccines. So far about 55% of the U.S. population is fully vaccinated.
- In Canada, the province of Saskatchewan reported 289 people in the hospital with Covid-19 on Monday, breaking a record set the previous day. Federal Health Minister Patty Hajdu told the Canadian Press that the federal government is ready to assist the province with whatever it may need, including staff. Unlike the province of Alberta, Saskatchewan has not yet made a formal request for assistance, but Premier Scott Moe says the province won’t rule out the idea if cases fail to peak. The federal government is currently assisting Alberta with airlifting of Covid-19 patients and staffing, after the province made a formal request for help.
- In the United Kingdom, the government has eased coronavirus rules for hospitals in an effort to deal with patient waiting lists. Health Secretary Sajid Javid accepted three key recommendations for elective care on Monday, all are effective immediately. The recommendations include cutting down on social distancing, eliminating the need for patients to isolate before operations, and downgrading cleaning standards to average levels. The changes are expected to help enable medical staff to see more patients. The numbers of patients requiring elective care has grown, with 5.6 million people waiting for treatment according to the National Health Service.
- France will soon stop providing free coronavirus tests for non-medical reasons, Prime Minister Jean Castex confirmed on Sunday. Currently Covid-19 tests are free for everyone in France, regardless of vaccination status or the reasons for taking the test. Beginning on October 15, only tests for genuine medical reasons will continue to be reimbursed. Unvaccinated individuals will have to pay for all tests unless they have a doctor’s prescription. Vaccinated people will only have to pay for tests when they’re taken for non-medical reasons, such as for travel. Tests for children will continue to be free.
- India will resume direct passenger flights to Canada as a months-long ban gets lifted. Transport Canada said in a post on Twitter that flights from India can land in Canada with additional health measures put in place. "Travellers must have proof of a negative COVID-19 molecular test from the approved Genestrings Laboratory at the Delhi airport taken within 18 hours of the scheduled departure of their direct flight to Canada," the department said. They added that airlines will be checking to confirm whether vaccinated travellers have uploaded their information to the ArriveCAN mobile app or website.
- In Australia, unvaccinated residents in Sydney will have a tough time even after stay-at-home orders lift in December. New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian says unvaccinated residents could be denied entry to shops, restaurants and other venues even after December 1 because many businesses won’t accept them. Pubs, cafes, gyms and hairdressers are set to reopen to fully vaccinated people by October 11, with more restrictions expected to be eased at the end of the month. New South Wales reported 863 new coronavirus infections, up from 787 a day earlier.
Covid-19 – Due Diligence And Asset Management
Market makers take centre-stage in European liquidity provision during Covid-19 pandemic
Brief: The ability of independent market making firms to provide essential liquidity to Europe’s pension funds and other asset managers during the Covid-19 financial crisis has accelerated their recognition as a vital part of the European capital markets eco-system. A new research report surveying European buyside participants reveals for the first time how market makers stepped up to help the asset managers when some of the traditional providers of risk capital partially withdrew from certain market segments in Europe in the early stages of the pandemic. As asset managers – particularly small and mid-size funds -- were seeking additional sources of liquidity the independent market makers were able to step up. This was made easier as the increasing electronification of the markets enabled asset managers and market makers to engage whilst working from home.
U.S. pandemic fraud crackdown yields first case against bank employees
Brief: U.S. prosecutors have brought what is believed to be the first case against bank employees who allegedly exploited multi-billion dollar programs aimed at helping small businesses survive the COVID-19 pandemic. In a case unsealed in Brooklyn federal court on Friday, prosecutors say Anuli Okeke, a former branch manager at Popular Bank in New York, conspired with other bank employees and tax preparers to apply fraudulently for more than $3 million in pandemic relief loans overseen by the U.S. Small Business Administration. Alex Moncion, a spokesperson for Popular Bank, which was not named in the complaint, said on Monday that the bank had alerted law enforcement and bank regulators to the conduct and terminated the employees involved.
Boeing Predicts Travel Back at 2019 Levels in Two or Three Years
Brief: Boeing Co. forecasts that commercial aviation should be back to 2019 levels in two to three years, buoyed by a strong domestic recovery in China and parts of Europe, the U.S. planemaker’s China head said. Various countries’ vaccination rates and differing quarantine requirements will pose some hurdles but “we’re anticipating in the next two to three years that the aviation market will fully recover to 2019 levels,” Boeing China President Sherry Carbary said on the sidelines of Airshow China 2021 in the southern city of Zhuhai on Tuesday. Carbary also said that Boeing was working very closely with the Civil Aviation Administration of China as it waits for its 737 Max model to be cleared by Chinese regulators. China -- the first to ground the Max following the jet’s second fatal crash in Ethiopia in March 2019 -- still hasn’t lifted its ban, though a test flight was conducted in the country in August. Other markets in Asia including India and Singapore have cleared the model to fly in recent months.
Investors’ Preference for Later Stage Tech Deals During the Pandemic is Expected to Continue
Brief: During the pandemic, investors hedged their risks by putting money into more mature technology start-ups, but the trend is expected to endure well beyond Covid-19. The growing interest in later stage funding rounds that started last year as a hedging tool amid Covid-19 also comes as tech companies stay private longer and as so-called moonshot companies blow through capital. Companies developing self-driving cars, for example, require huge amounts of money for multiple years of research and development, according to a technology report from Bain & Company, the global management consulting firm. The number of late-stage deals grew 165 percent from the first quarter of 2020 to the first quarter of 2021, according to Bain & Co.
Senators call for governments to craft a grand post-pandemic plan to grow economy
Brief: A group of senators is calling on the federal government to strike a grand economic plan with provinces, territories, businesses and civil society to drive growth coming out of the pandemic. The report includes calls to rethink how to deliver skills-training programs, to streamline the regulatory system to encourage entrepreneurs and for companies to invest in themselves. The document also says the federal government must come up with a more credible plan to manage the nation's burgeoning debt through new rules to guide budgetary decisions. Senators say the Trudeau Liberals must consider finding more new sources of revenue and suggest the government increase the value of federal sales tax. The report made public today is the culmination of work that started last November and included interviews with some 70 domestic and international experts about how Canada could avoid another era of low economic growth.
