.png?width=200&height=78&name=CH%20Diligence%20(thicker%20line).png "CH Diligence (thicker line).png")
Our briefing for Wednesday, March 16, 2022:
Mar 16, 2022 4:07:53 PM
- In the United States, the White House is desperately trying to persuade Congress that the country needs more money for Covid-19 relief. The first cuts to pandemic aid will be felt as early as next week, the Biden administration outlined in a letter to congressional leaders sent on Tuesday. Beginning next week, uninsured Americans will be unable to submit claims for tests and Covid-19 treatments. In two weeks, claims to cover vaccinations will also end. Earlier this month, the administration requested $22.5 billion, later revising the request to $15 billion before it was dropped entirely from the latest funding bill.
- In Canada, Ontario’s top doctors will keep their masks on even after the province lifts mask mandates next week. Premier Doug Ford has said he will continue to wear a mask in the legislature for a few days following the end of the mandate, though he says anyone who wants to continue to wear a mask for longer is welcome to. Vaccination rates for school-aged children jumped following the decision to end mandatory masking in schools. According to the Ministry of Health, there was a 23% increase in the number of Covid vaccine appointments over the previous week for children aged five to 11 after the announcement.
- The United Kingdom will end all remaining Covid-19 travel rules, effective Friday at 4 AM. This includes passenger locator forms and the requirement for unvaccinated people to get tested for Covid-19 before and after their arrivals. Transport Secretary Grant Shapps made the announcement on Monday, explaining that it will mean “greater freedom for travellers ahead of the Easter holidays.” The decision was welcomed by the travel industry, where some airlines have said they’re considering dropping mask requirements as well. Last month, Prime Minister Boris Johnson significantly reduced all remaining Covid-19 restrictions, including the requirement to isolate after a positive test.
- Italy will soon make the move to end its “Super Green Pass” requirement and other coronavirus measures. The government is set to make the announcement on Thursday following a meeting of cabinet ministers, local media are reporting. The government announced the end to Italy’s state of emergency will be on March 31 and confirmed the end to the Super Green Pass would come gradually from April onwards. The same decree is expected to outline the plans for ending mask requirements. The gradual change is expected to result in most venues and businesses requiring just a Basic Green Pass (which can be obtained with a negative test) instead of a Super Green Pass (which requires proof of vaccination or recovery).
- India has reached an agreement with the U.S., the European Union and South Africa on an intellectual property waiver for Covid-19 vaccines, Reuters is reporting. The proposed agreement still needs formal approval from all parties before it can become official. The document authorizes use of “patented subject matter required for the production and supply of COVID-19 vaccines without the consent of the right holder to the extent necessary to address the COVID-19 pandemic". The document also says Intellectual Property rights would be waived for ingredients and processes needed for Covid-19 vaccine manufacture.
- In New Zealand, borders will reopen sooner than originally planned, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced. Australian travellers will now be allowed to enter from April 12, and travellers from other visa-waiver countries will be welcomed back from May 1. Tourists must be fully vaccinated and test negative on departure and arrival. "I know from visiting tourism operators, and talking to their staff, how tough these past two years have been," Ardern said. "And not only because of the massive loss of tourism revenue, but because we lost something we derived so much of our identity from."
Covid-19 – Due Diligence And Asset Management
Credit Agricole Trader Says Pandemic WFH Cost Him His Job
Brief: An ex-Credit Agricole trader, fired for not flagging major volatility in the gold market, accused the bank of failing to set up proper working from home arrangements early in the coronavirus pandemic. Samuel Yang, who joined the bank’s precious metal desk in 2011, sued the lender in London under whistle blowing and race discrimination rules. He said he was “scapegoated” by Credit Agricole after it didn’t give clear guidance on how to manage risk while working remotely and accused it of “side-stepping” regulatory scrutiny, according to documents prepared for a London employment tribunal. The case is one of the first U.K. working from home in the pandemic employment tribunal to make it into the public domain.
China Criticizes Foreign Media’s Use of Locals in Covid Coverage
Brief: China blasted foreign media organizations’ use of Chinese staff to report on issues such as Covid-19 and Xinjiang, in an apparent escalation of Beijing’s efforts to restrict critical coverage of the world’s second-largest economy. The official Xinhua News Agency criticized “Western media” for recruiting Chinese nationals “as pawns to propagate their China-bashing rhetoric” in a commentary Tuesday, without naming the media outlets or providing specific examples. The piece cited their involvement in coverage on the origins of the first known Covid-19 outbreak in Wuhan and criticism of Beijing’s rigid “Covid Zero” policies. “Manipulating these journalists to misrepresent China and stir up ideological bias against the country has once again revealed that so-called ‘press freedom’ touted by the Western media is just a handy tool to advance a narrow political agenda,” the commentary said.
Pandemic Erased Over 9 Million Jobs in Southeast Asia, ADB Says
Brief: The coronavirus pandemic obliterated 9.3 million jobs in Southeast Asia as lockdowns hit the region’s traditional engines of growth such as hospitality and tourism, according to the Asian Development Bank. This pushed 4.7 million people to extreme poverty last year, measured as living on less that $1.90 a day, the ADB said in a report Wednesday. Inequality also widened as movement restrictions hit hardest the retail and informal sectors, where women, young people and unskilled workers are typically employed. “The pandemic’s impact on poverty and unemployment will likely persist as inactive workers become de-skilled and poor people’s access to opportunities further deteriorates,” the ADB said. “When this happens, the deterioration in inequality could transfer across generations.” Green shoots are emerging though, with close to 60% of Southeast Asia’s population vaccinated and public mobility rebounding.
HSBC to close 69 more bank branches as Covid speeds shift online
Brief: HSBC is to shut a further 69 branches, on top of the 82 it axed last year, claiming the pandemic has accelerated the shift to digital banking. It is the latest in a line of banks to announce it is reducing its network in response to changing customer habits. Consumer organisation Which? said the number of closures during the last few years was “alarming” and that millions of people were not yet ready or able to go fully digital. Early last year HSBC had 593 branches, but the latest round of closures – scheduled to take place between mid-July and early October – will take that down to 441, of which 96 are described as “full service” outlets offering a comprehensive range of services.The 69 branches that are closing are spread across the UK, from Inverness in the Scottish Highlands to Falmouth in Cornwall.
This Private Equity Sector Had a Stellar 2021 — But Don’t Expect Record Activity This Year
Brief: U.S. middle-market private equity firms experienced a year of strong dealmaking and exit activity in 2021. The road ahead may not be quite as smooth, however. Last year, middle-market PE firms closed 4,121 deals, accounting for a combined total of $602.6 billion — an all-time high for the sector, according to PitchBook’s PE middle-market annual report, released on Monday. The previous record for dealmaking activity in PE middle markets came in 2019, when total deal count reached 2,775 for a combined total value of $400.4 billion. PitchBook defines a middle-market deal as one in which a U.S.-based company is acquired through a buyout transaction valued between $25 million and $1 billion, with a fund size of $100 million to $5 billion. It doesn’t include growth equity deals.
