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Our briefing for Wednesday, September 22, 2021:
Sep 22, 2021 4:18:32 PM
- In the United States, President Joe Biden is expected to announce that the country is doubling its purchase of Pfizer’s Covid-19 shots from half a billion to one billion, for the sake of sharing with the world. The purchase reflects the country’s commitment to the goal of vaccinating 70% of the global population within the next year. Biden will make the announcement at a virtual vaccination summit that he is leading as part of the United Nations General Assembly. Biden’s plan is to use the summit to push other developed nations to ramp up their vaccine sharing plans. The U.S. global response has been criticized as being too modest, however the U.S. has donated around 160 million shots, more than the rest of the world combined.
- In Canada, Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling for unity as the province’s vaccine passport system comes into effect. The premier says the issue is one that has caused emotions to run high during the federal election, as he knows many are concerned about the policy impeding on their civil liberties. Ford’s government reversed course and brought in a vaccine passport system for the province after saying for months that they would not do so, due to a surge in cases caused by delta. Although the system has come into effect, the government’s app for scanning QR codes won’t be available for another month.
- In the United Kingdom, travel guidance has been amended to include the Indian-made version of AstraZeneca as an approved vaccine. India’s Covishield, which was developed in the U.K. and manufactured in India, was initially not recognized as an approved vaccine by the U.K. under their new travel rules. The rules that come into effect next month would require Indians visiting Britain to quarantine for 10 days even if they are fully vaccinated by Covishield. Britons who have been vaccinated with the same Indian-made doses do not have to quarantine. The policy sparked outrage in India, with authorities calling it “racist” and “highly discriminatory.” Although the travel guidance has since been amended to include Covishield, It is unclear whether Indians travelling to the U.K. will still have to quarantine.
- Brazil’s health minister has tested positive for Covid-19 after attending the United Nations General Assembly in New York. According to a statement provided by the Brazilian president’s office, Health Minister Marcelo Queiroga is “doing well,” and the other members of the Brazilian delegation have tested negative. Queiroga said last week that he’s been vaccinated with the Chinese-made CoronaVac vaccine, although he did not say when he received it. He told CNN that he will be quarantining in New York for 14 days and won’t be leaving with the rest of his delegation.
- South Korea will receive one million doses of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine as part of a swap deal with the U.K. South Korea will return the same number of doses to the U.K. by the end of the year, according to the U.K.’s Department of Health and Social Care. The extra doses will help South Korea reach their target of having 70% of the population fully vaccinated by the end of October. South Korea is aiming to step up its vaccination campaign amid the country’s worst wave of infections.
- Australia is planning to open its borders by Christmas at the latest, according to the country’s minister for tourism, trade and investments. "I do empathize with the Australians who have been denied the opportunity to travel overseas this year," said Minister Dan Tehan."It's another reason why everyone should get vaccinated and we have to stick to the national plan that will see our international border open up -- at this rate by Christmas at the latest." Australia’s plan is to reopen its borders once the country reaches an 80% full vaccination rate. So far about 38% of Australians have been fully vaccinated.
Covid-19 – Due Diligence And Asset Management
U.K. Job Creation During Pandemic Concentrated in High-Pay Roles
Brief: U.K. job creation was concentrated in high-skilled, high-pay roles during much of the pandemic, while job destruction occurred mostly among low-paid, low-skilled roles. That’s according to a report published Wednesday by the Institute for Public Policy Research. Noting that the decline in employment has been unevenly spread across sectors, the research group warned that most people who lost their jobs during the crisis are likely to lack the skills and training required to be hired in a the newly created role. The government should “boost it like Biden,” with a stimulus that would mean “employers compete for workers, rather than workers competing for jobs,” IPPR Executive Director Carys Roberts said.
Pandemic Boosts U.S. Demand for Cloud Solutions as Companies Seek Greater Agility
Brief: U.S. demand for cloud-based solutions has continued to grow during the COVID-19 pandemic, as companies recognize they can better prepare for major disruptions by subscribing to software and infrastructure as services, according to a new report published today by Information Services Group (ISG) (Nasdaq: III), a leading global technology research and advisory firm. The 2021 ISG Provider Lens™ Enterprise Application-as-a-Service Platforms report for the U.S. finds the pandemic led to more cloud adoption as companies raced to implement remote work and improve their customers’ digital experience. Cloud applications was the only segment of IT spending that did not decline due to the pandemic, and it continues to grow, ISG says.
Moody's chief economist: US debt default would cost economy $15trn
Brief: The United States could wipe out 6 million jobs and about $15trn in household wealth if Congress fails to raise the debt ceiling, according to new analysis. Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics, warned of a "catastrophic" fallout that Congress has weeks to avoid if it cannot come to an agreement on whether to raise how much the US government can borrow. While the report notes that shutting down the government would not immediately cause a recession, estimates of the previous 2018-2019 government shutdown put the cost to the US economy at $11bn. The true danger to the economy comes when the Treasury exhausts its funds and defaults on its debt, which the report states would happen around 20 October. If the limit is not lifted by mid-October, the economist predicts gross domestic product falling by nearly 4%, with the unemployment rate rising from 5% to 9%.
Paris Airports Need More Than U.S. Reopening to Recover Traffic
Brief: The reopening of transatlantic flights to the U.S. is “great news” for Paris, but it won’t bring air traffic back to where it was before the pandemic, according to the operator of the city’s airports. Paris serves as a hub to connect various continents, and “as long as Asia is closed, notably China,” all incoming traffic to Paris that normally goes to China from Africa, Latin America or North America is being slowed down, Aeroports de Paris Chief Executive Officer Augustin de Romanet said during a media event at Paris Charles de Gaulle airport on Wednesday. “As long as this stickiness exists, we fear we may not return to 2019 levels of traffic,” he said. Romanet said he still expects pre-pandemic traffic to return between 2025 and 2027. For this year, he predicts between 30% and 40% of 2019 levels. ADP will most likely deploy more staff for the expected increase in passengers once flights to the U.S. resume to minimize waiting times, he said.
Asia below pre-pandemic levels as variants slow rebound
Brief: Developing economies in Asia will likely grow at a slower pace than earlier expected due to prolonged COVID-19 outbreaks and uneven progress in vaccinations, the Asian Development Bank said in a report Wednesday. The regional lender lowered its outlook for economic growth to reflect renewed coronavirus outbreaks as variants spread, prompting fresh pandemic precautions. The Manila, Philippines-based ADB expects 7.1% growth in 2021, falling to 5.4% in 2022. The forecast in April was for 7.3% growth this year and 5.3% in 2022. Most regional economies will remain below their pre-pandemic levels into 2022, and some of the losses from the crisis will be permanent, ADB economists said.
