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Our briefing for Wednesday, April 6, 2022:
Apr 6, 2022 3:22:18 PM
- In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration said in a statement that a Covid-19 antibody treatment by Vir Biotechnology Inc. and GlaxoSmithKline Plc will no longer be authorized, because of the dominance of the BA.2 Omicron subvariant. The subvariant now accounts for three out of every four Covid-19 cases in the country, according to the latest government data. The treatment, known as sotrovimab, was found to be ineffective against BA.2. The move comes as a blow to the companies, who only a few months ago saw high demand for sotrovimab after it was shown to be one of the few treatments that worked against the Omicron strain. Shares of VIr Biotechnology fell more than 10%, while Glaxo shares fell less than 1%.
- In Canada, provinces are preparing to offer second boosters after the National Advisory Committee on Immunizations (NACI) made an official recommendation on Tuesday. NACI recommended that boosters be offered to people between 70 and 79, and to people from First Nations, Metis and Inuit communities, in addition to those aged 80 and over and those in long-term care homes. The committee is still reviewing whether or not a second booster is needed for younger adults and adolescents. “Preliminary data indicate that a second booster dose provides additional protection, including against severe disease,” the committee said on Tuesday.
- In the United Kingdom, cases reached their highest level since the beginning of the pandemic in March, because of the infectiousness of the Ba.2. subvariant and waning immunity in older adults. According to data from Imperial College London's latest React-1 study, the average prevalence of Covid across England between March 8 and 31 was 6.4%, the highest level in the pandemic. This is compared to 4.41% in January. The study also found that while cases are plateauing in younger age groups across England, they are still rising for people aged 55 and over. It also suggests that hospitalizations have gone up and will continue to rise because of the prevalence of cases in older adults.
- Brazil’s health regulator Anvisa has issued a new set of rules for international travellers, with a cautious easing of coronavirus restrictions. Under the new rules, fully vaccinated travellers will no longer have to present a negative Covid-19 test upon entry, they will only have to show proof of vaccination. "In general, the new rules confirm vaccination as the basis for national border policy for all modes of transportation," Anvisa said in a statement. "Complete immunization is mandatory for all individuals eligible for vaccination and who intend to enter Brazil." Foreigners who do not reside in the country and are not fully vaccinated remain barred from entering the country.
- Funeral services in Hong Kong are becoming overwhelmed as they deal with the fifth wave of coronavirus infections. Public mortuaries have had to borrow space from other public facilities like nursing homes and charities and the six crematoriums are running around the clock, performing nearly 300 cremations a day which is double the usual number. There is also a backlog of paperwork, which has caused delays and forced some bereaved residents to have to wait to collect bodies. Since the beginning of the fifth wave in Hong Kong, more than a million Covid cases and over 8,000 deaths have been reported.
- In Australia, three non-profit groups have combined forces to fund an inquiry into the country’s handling of the pandemic, an inquiry they describe as non-political. Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest’s Minderoo Foundation, the Paul Ramsay Foundation and the John and Myriam Wylie Foundation will provide a report by September, with the inquiry being led by a former top public servant, Peter Shergold. “This is not intended to be a politically partisan hatchet job. It is trying to say, there will be future pandemics, there will be future health crises, and what can we learn from this experience over the last two years?” Shergold said.
Covid-19 – Due Diligence And Asset Management
Janus Henderson: Global government debt to hit record $71.6trn in 2022
Brief: Global government debt is set to soar by 9.5% to a record $71.6trn in 2022, according to the second annual Janus Henderson Sovereign Debt Index. The $6.2trn increase in debt will primarily be driven by the US, Japan and China, but every country across the world is likely to see its borrowing levels increase, Janus Henderson stated. In 2021 alone, global government debt jumped to $65.4trn, an increase of 7.8% year-on-year, as every country increased borrowing amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, the global interest burden is set to grow by around one seventh on a constant-currency basis to $1.16trn this year. Janus Henderson stated that the biggest impact here will likely be felt in the UK due to rising interest rates, the impact of higher inflation on the large amount of UK index-linked debt, and the cost of unwinding the country's quantitative easing programme. This is because "significant" fiscal costs come with unwinding QE as interest rates rise.
BNP Allows Staff in Europe to Work From Home Half the Time
Brief: BNP Paribas SA reached one of the most comprehensive work-from-home deals among major banks, with as many as 132,000 employees given the option of doing their jobs from home for up to half the week. Staff in 22 countries across the region can decide to work from home every week for as much as 2.5 days or to adopt a more flexible rhythm, the lender said in a statement Wednesday. Employees will need to be in the office at least one day per week. The deal, which runs until 2024, extends a framework that was already applicable in France as lenders in the region adopt flexible arrangements to boost morale and save costs. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA said last month it will permanently allow employees to work from home as much as 40% of their time, though that deal only covered about 12,000 employees in Spain. The push for more flexibility contrasts with Wall Street, where firms increasingly push for a full return to office.
Bank of America to bring workers back to office by June 1 -Bloomberg
Brief: Bank of America told staff earlier this week that it plans to bring workers back to offices by June 1, including those who are not vaccinated, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday. Staff will return in a series of stages, although workers have already begun returning to offices in some cities, including in New York, according to Bloomberg. The bank has been encouraging workers to get vaccinated and boosted for months, and previously only allowed vaccinated employees into the office.The bank is now proceeding with its return to office plans because COVID-19 cases are low or falling nationwide, and it will not require staff to get the COVID-19 vaccine or boosters, according to Bloomberg.
Ex-Bank of America Bankers Are Among 6 Banned by Fed Over Covid Loan Fraud
Brief: The Federal Reserve banned six former bankers, including two formerly at Bank of America Corp.’s wealth management unit, from the industry for fraudulently obtaining loans designed to provide economic relief to small businesses during the pandemic. The Fed on Tuesday announced the penalties for Autumn Jordan and Manuel F. Pinazo, who previously worked at Merrill Lynch Wealth Management, along with Dedryck O. Carson, Wendy Rodriguez Legon, Michael T. Lemley, and Tracy L. Mallory, who were at Regions Financial Corp. The regulator said all six applied for assistance under one of the government’s Covid-19 relief programs “based on false and fraudulent representations and used the funds for unauthorized personal expenses.” The former employees obtained funds through the Small Business Administration’s Covid-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan program, according to the Fed. Authorities have been trying to crack down on abuses of that federal effort and others.
HP is betting that hybrid work is here to stay
Brief: HP (HPQ) announced it would buy office headset-maker Poly (POLY) for $3.3 billion last week. It’s a big-ticket deal for a company that’s on the lookout for its next chapter. In recent memory, dealmaking has been inextricably tied to the old guard tech giant and its prospects but when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, everything changed. In 2020, Xerox (XRX) withdrew its offer to buy HP after a months-long, TV-worthy drama that involved threats of a hostile takeover, a poison pill plan, and activist investor Carl Icahn. HP has since pursued its own deals, some of which have been bets on hybrid work. In July 2021, HP bought remote computing software provider Teradici. In the release at the time, HP touted hybrid working-related projections by Fortune Business Insights, which estimated that the remote desktop software segment will grow at a “17% compound annual growth rate through 2028.”
