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China must eventually learn to live with the coronavirus | AN OUTBREAK OF covid-19 on the scale China is experiencing would barely register in most countries. Much of the world has decided to live with the virus. Not China, though. So far in March it has recorded around 27,000 new local symptomatic cases—and each one is viewed as a threat to the government’ s “ zero-covid ” policy. For two years China has smothered outbreaks using mass-testing, strict lockdowns and by tracking its people in ways that would make Mark Zuckerberg blush.
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Chinese leaders think their policy a huge success. The Economist estimates that the country’ s death rate from covid is 5% of America’ s. The Chinese economy has expanded by 10.5% in the past two years, compared with 2.4% in America and 0.4% in advanced economies generally. China’ s covid controls “ demonstrate the advantages ” of the Chinese Communist Party’ s leadership and the socialist system, boasts Xi Jinping, the president. All the signs are that his people tend to agree.
Yet the party hid the start of the pandemic, and seemingly failed to anticipate the difficulty of crushing a highly transmissible variant like Omicron. China’ s leaders have acted as if they could close off their country until covid went away. Instead, sketchy preparation for an Omicron-type outbreak has put China at risk of a catastrophe.
The experience of Hong Kong shows what could happen. Like the mainland, Hong Kong once boasted a very low case-count. But Omicron has overwhelmed the city, which now has the highest daily death-rate in the world from the virus. Hospitals have left patients waiting in loading bays and car parks. The vast majority of the dead have been unvaccinated old folk. When the outbreak began, around 65% of over-80s had not been jabbed.
The risks are similar on the mainland. Among those 80 and older, only 51% have received two jabs, and less than 20% have had a booster. Many Hong Kongers were given Western vaccines. The Chinese government, apparently for political reasons, refuses to allow these on the mainland. Three doses of the home-grown kind do offer some protection against severe disease and death, but it seems to wane more quickly than the protection provided by Western vaccines.
For now, China has little choice but to stick with its covid controls. The problems go beyond vulnerable old people. China’ s skimpily funded health system is ill-equipped to handle a big wave. Using Hong Kong’ s mortality rates as a guide, a large outbreak on the mainland would result in millions of deaths. The lingering trouble is that Chinese officials lose their jobs if an outbreak occurs on their watch. Fear of the sack creates incentives to invent sometimes cruel and irrational local rules.
In the longer term, though, change is inevitable. More transmissible variants like Omicron make the cost of enforcing zero-covid very high. Today tens of millions of people are locked down. Morgan Stanley, a bank, thinks China’ s GDP may not grow at all this quarter compared with the last. That could affect the global economy. Restrictions in Shanghai and Shenzhen, accounting for more than 16% of China’ s exports, raised alarm once again about supply chains.
China needs to help its people live with covid. It has made a start by allowing at-home tests, and sending patients with mild symptoms to isolation centres, not hospital. Mr Xi has urged officials to cut the economic impact of covid controls. More must be done. The elderly and vulnerable need vaccinating and boosting, fast. China has approved an antiviral pill, Paxlovid, from an American firm, Pfizer: why not use Western vaccines, too?
But Mr Xi still seems attached to zero-covid in the longer term. Having staked its legitimacy on keeping cases near zero, the party is loth to change strategy. Soon it will have no choice. Even if China succeeds in seeing off this wave, another will follow. The government needs to devote as much energy to charting a path out of the zero-covid policy as it has to enforcing it. ■
Published since September 1843 to take part in “ a severe contest between intelligence, which presses forward, and an unworthy, timid ignorance obstructing our progress. ”
Copyright © The Economist Newspaper Limited 2022. All rights reserved. | business |
Journal of Credit Risk Volume 13, Number 4 ( December 2017) | The transition from LIBOR to RFR has brought challenges for structured products. There are still legacy IBOR products to consider and at the same time the pricing and risk systems need to be upgraâ¦
To ease the pain associated with meeting compliance targets, global institutions are exploring ways to become more efficient by integrating regulatory and business initiatives.
Wire payment fraud is a major growing risk for financial institutions in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. These cases of fraud donât just hurt finâ¦
Asia Risk is proud to present Asia Risk Live, a face-to-face event in Hong Kong and Singapore. An opportunity to reconnect in person to learn and exchange new ideas.
View our latest in market leading training courses, both public and in-house.
The Energy Risk Awards recognise the leading firms in energy risk management. Corporates, financial players, technology and data firms, consultancies, brokers and exchanges are all welcome to submit â¦
The Asia Risk Awards recognize best practices in risk management and derivatives use by banks and financial institutions around the region.
Take a look at the wide variety of events and training on offer.
This eBook is based on the 2021 industry research by Acuiti, as well as the FIS Readiness Report. Youâll find plenty of support for a move to AI-powered cloud computing, a modular approach that ensurâ¦
Maximising value from better risk management and deal efficiency This Risk.net survey and white paper, commissioned by SS & C Intralinks, assesses the outlook for the CMBS market in the US and Europe, â¦
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Edited by Bill Coen and D. R. Maurice
The December issue of The Journal of Credit Risk contains three papers, covering corporate ratings, large loan portfolios, and investment.
The December issue of The Journal of Credit Risk contains three papers, covering corporate ratings, large loan portfolios, and investment.
This paper considers whether the rating agency attempts to mitigate the feedback effect through its rating actions. Using Moody’ s issuer ratings over 1982–2009, the paper shows that firms with greater external financing constraints are less likely to be…
This paper proposes a latent variable credit risk model for large loan portfolios. It employs the concept of nested Archimedean copulas to account for both a sector-type dependence structure and a copula-dependent stochastic loss given default ( LGD).
This paper considers an entrepreneur who has no assets in place but possesses an option to invest in a project incurring a lump-sum investment cost, of which a fraction must be financed by entering into an equity-for-guarantee swap.
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Journal of Energy Markets Volume 9, Number 1 ( March 2016) | The transition from LIBOR to RFR has brought challenges for structured products. There are still legacy IBOR products to consider and at the same time the pricing and risk systems need to be upgraâ¦
To ease the pain associated with meeting compliance targets, global institutions are exploring ways to become more efficient by integrating regulatory and business initiatives.
Wire payment fraud is a major growing risk for financial institutions in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. These cases of fraud donât just hurt finâ¦
Asia Risk is proud to present Asia Risk Live, a face-to-face event in Hong Kong and Singapore. An opportunity to reconnect in person to learn and exchange new ideas.
View our latest in market leading training courses, both public and in-house.
The Energy Risk Awards recognise the leading firms in energy risk management. Corporates, financial players, technology and data firms, consultancies, brokers and exchanges are all welcome to submit â¦
The Asia Risk Awards recognize best practices in risk management and derivatives use by banks and financial institutions around the region.
Take a look at the wide variety of events and training on offer.
This eBook is based on the 2021 industry research by Acuiti, as well as the FIS Readiness Report. Youâll find plenty of support for a move to AI-powered cloud computing, a modular approach that ensurâ¦
Maximising value from better risk management and deal efficiency This Risk.net survey and white paper, commissioned by SS & C Intralinks, assesses the outlook for the CMBS market in the US and Europe, â¦
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Edited by Bill Coen and D. R. Maurice
For the first issue of this year, the papers in The Journal of Energy Markets span a range of important topics in which the journal has been establishing substantial research impact. They cover electricity, gas and oil markets, together with the interaction of energy commodities and international capital markets.
In our first paper, `` A method of forecasting wholesale electricity market prices '' by J. Maisano, A. Radchik and I. Skryabin, the authors adapt a fundamental principle of classical mechanics known as the least-action principle to model the complex relationship between expected load and expected price in electricity spot markets. They focus on markets that feature a centralized electricity dispatch system that optimizes grid parameters to determine minimum spot nodal prices. Using the example of the Australian National Electricity Market and a calibrated stochastic demand model, they develop a mathematical approach that determines the price evolution, including intraday and seasonal features. The demand-price relationship is complex, and it includes generator constraints such as maximum limits and ramping rates.
The second paper in the issue also involves operational details. In `` Ex post payoffs of a tolling agreement for natural gas-fired generation in Texas '', Yun Liu, Chi-Keung Woo and Jay Zarnikau explore the problem of insufficient investment incentives for natural gas-fired generation in the Electricity Reliability Council of Texas ( ERCOT) market. They use a large sample of over 134 000 fifteen-minute observations in the fifty-six-month period of 2011-14 to estimate the effects of several fundamental drivers on the ex post payoffs of three hypothetical tolling agreements by heat rates. The assumed heat rates reflect those of a new combined cycle gas turbine, a new combustion turbine and an old combustion turbine. The fundamental drivers are postulated to be the natural gas price, regional loads, nuclear generation and wind generation. They find that rising natural gas price and non-West regional loads tend to increase the agreements ' ex post payoffs. These payoff increases, however, were reduced by rising West regional loads, nuclear generation and wind generation. In addition, the authors find a substantial payoff decline due to large-scale wind generation development in Texas, lending support to the recommendation for ERCOT's transition from an energy-only market to an energy-and-capacity market.
The issue's third paper, by Akbar Shahmoradi and Anatoliy Swishchuk, returns to a common theme in this journal: option pricing in energy derivatives. In `` Pricing crude oil options using Lévy processes '' the authors compare jump diffusion, variance gamma and other models for the distribution of crude oil returns, where fat tails and skewness are common features. They use the fractional fast Fourier transform to calibrate parameters in an optimization setup, using European-style options data on crude oil futures from the New York Mercantile Exchange for a settlement date in 2015. The results indicate that these Lévy processes have very good out-of-sample results compared with benchmarks.
Finally, in `` A dynamic conditional correlation between commodities and the Islamic stock market '', Tarek Chebbi and Abdelkader Derbali focus on the dynamics of the correlations between commodities and Islamic indexes. From a methodological viewpoint they examine the approaches of EC-GARCH and DCC-GARCH, over 2010-14. Their empirical evidence supports the view that the volatilities of commodity returns are strongly correlated with those of Islamic indexes, but that they are time varying. This paper contributes importantly to the empirical literature dealing with the links between commodity and stock markets and to the very topical theme of the `` financialization '' of commodity markets.
This paper employs the least-action principle to model the complex relationship between expected load and expected price in electricity spot markets.
This paper explores the problem of insufficient investment incentives for natural gas-fired generation in the ERCOT.
This paper employs the fractional fast Fourier transform to calibrate parameters in an optimization setup.
This paper focusses on the dynamics of the correlations between commodities and Islamic indexes.
© Infopro Digital Risk ( IP) Limited ( 2022). All rights reserved. Published by Infopro Digital Services Limited, 133 Houndsditch, London, EC3A 7BX. Companies are registered in England and Wales with company registration numbers 09232733 & 04699701.
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Varying responses from defined benefit pension schemes as TCFD requirements come into force | Wire payment fraud is a major growing risk for financial institutions in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. These cases of fraud donât just hurt finâ¦
Asia Risk is proud to present Asia Risk Live, a face-to-face event in Hong Kong and Singapore. An opportunity to reconnect in person to learn and exchange new ideas.
According to a survey conducted by Accenture, 77% of risk leaders believe that complex, interconnected new risks are emerging at a more rapid pace than ever before. Most risk leaders are satisfiedâ¦
Todayâs financial crime threats are dynamic and fast-moving. Financial criminals continue to up their game and itâs critical for firms to move even faster than the speed of crime. With many regulaâ¦
View our latest in market leading training courses, both public and in-house.
The Energy Risk Awards recognise the leading firms in energy risk management. Corporates, financial players, technology and data firms, consultancies, brokers and exchanges are all welcome to submit â¦
The Asia Risk Awards recognize best practices in risk management and derivatives use by banks and financial institutions around the region.
Take a look at the wide variety of events and training on offer.
This eBook is based on the 2021 industry research by Acuiti, as well as the FIS Readiness Report. Youâll find plenty of support for a move to AI-powered cloud computing, a modular approach that ensurâ¦
Maximising value from better risk management and deal efficiency This Risk.net survey and white paper, commissioned by SS & C Intralinks, assesses the outlook for the CMBS market in the US and Europe, â¦
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Edited by Bill Coen and D. R. Maurice
This year, the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures ' ( TCFD's) reporting requirements come into force for defined benefit ( DB) pension schemes with £5 billion or more in assets under management ( AUM). These schemes are gearing up to full reporting, while remaining schemes with between £1 billion and £5 billion in AUM will benefit from overall industry experience as they come into scope at the end of this year.
Moody’ s Analytics recently won Buy-side ALM product of the year at the Markets Technology Awards 2022 for its PFaroe DB platform. The judges were most impressed with the addition of TCFD reporting to support pension plans in meeting the current climate reporting challenges. Zoi Fletcher speaks to Simon Robinson, director of product management at Moody’ s Analytics, about how the industry and DB pension schemes are responding to the TCFD's recommendations.
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© Infopro Digital Risk ( IP) Limited ( 2022). All rights reserved. Published by Infopro Digital Services Limited, 133 Houndsditch, London, EC3A 7BX. Companies are registered in England and Wales with company registration numbers 09232733 & 04699701.
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Big data news and analysis articles | The transition from LIBOR to RFR has brought challenges for structured products. There are still legacy IBOR products to consider and at the same time the pricing and risk systems need to be upgraâ¦
To ease the pain associated with meeting compliance targets, global institutions are exploring ways to become more efficient by integrating regulatory and business initiatives.
Wire payment fraud is a major growing risk for financial institutions in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. These cases of fraud donât just hurt finâ¦
Asia Risk is proud to present Asia Risk Live, a face-to-face event in Hong Kong and Singapore. An opportunity to reconnect in person to learn and exchange new ideas.
View our latest in market leading training courses, both public and in-house.
The Energy Risk Awards recognise the leading firms in energy risk management. Corporates, financial players, technology and data firms, consultancies, brokers and exchanges are all welcome to submit â¦
The Asia Risk Awards recognize best practices in risk management and derivatives use by banks and financial institutions around the region.
Take a look at the wide variety of events and training on offer.
This eBook is based on the 2021 industry research by Acuiti, as well as the FIS Readiness Report. Youâll find plenty of support for a move to AI-powered cloud computing, a modular approach that ensurâ¦
Maximising value from better risk management and deal efficiency This Risk.net survey and white paper, commissioned by SS & C Intralinks, assesses the outlook for the CMBS market in the US and Europe, â¦
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Edited by Bill Coen and D. R. Maurice
In this paper, we propose a conceptual framework that links the technical and business benchmarks in the domain of clearing houses and securities exchanges.
Use cases for new tech are piling up – from CVA to VAR. But so are the obstacles
Big data, data mining, machine learning and artificial intelligence have revolutionised how industry manages and mitigates risk. In light of the Covid-19 pandemic, what impact has this had on financial crime, what risks does remote working pose and how…
Amid a global push towards green policies, the reality of overhauling how industries worth trillions of dollars operate is causing concern. A forum of market participants and sponsors of this report discuss the levels of awareness of climate risk and its…
Banking regulators remain focused on expanding and developing the range of stress-testing regimes across the globe to maintain stability, monitor emerging risks and avoid another financial crisis. Here, a forum of industry leaders discusses the evolution…
Despite being introduced over six years ago, there is still no market consensus on how to calculate funding valuation adjustments. One point of contention is whether to use the same funding curve for borrowing and lending ( symmetric funding) or to use…
© Infopro Digital Risk ( IP) Limited ( 2022). All rights reserved. Published by Infopro Digital Services Limited, 133 Houndsditch, London, EC3A 7BX. Companies are registered in England and Wales with company registration numbers 09232733 & 04699701.
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Wells Fargo news and analysis articles | The transition from LIBOR to RFR has brought challenges for structured products. There are still legacy IBOR products to consider and at the same time the pricing and risk systems need to be upgraâ¦
To ease the pain associated with meeting compliance targets, global institutions are exploring ways to become more efficient by integrating regulatory and business initiatives.
Wire payment fraud is a major growing risk for financial institutions in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. These cases of fraud donât just hurt finâ¦
Asia Risk is proud to present Asia Risk Live, a face-to-face event in Hong Kong and Singapore. An opportunity to reconnect in person to learn and exchange new ideas.
View our latest in market leading training courses, both public and in-house.
The Energy Risk Awards recognise the leading firms in energy risk management. Corporates, financial players, technology and data firms, consultancies, brokers and exchanges are all welcome to submit â¦
The Asia Risk Awards recognize best practices in risk management and derivatives use by banks and financial institutions around the region.
Take a look at the wide variety of events and training on offer.
This eBook is based on the 2021 industry research by Acuiti, as well as the FIS Readiness Report. Youâll find plenty of support for a move to AI-powered cloud computing, a modular approach that ensurâ¦
Maximising value from better risk management and deal efficiency This Risk.net survey and white paper, commissioned by SS & C Intralinks, assesses the outlook for the CMBS market in the US and Europe, â¦
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Edited by Bill Coen and D. R. Maurice
US legislative tweak was meant to prevent banks from using their own capital models too liberally. It’ s now something different
Stock buybacks and dividends hit $ 117.7 billion last year
The Covid-19 pandemic has induced a kind of schizophrenia in loan-loss models. When the pandemic hit, banks overprovisioned for credit losses on the assumption that the economy would head south. But when government stimulus packages put wads of cash in…
© Infopro Digital Risk ( IP) Limited ( 2022). All rights reserved. Published by Infopro Digital Services Limited, 133 Houndsditch, London, EC3A 7BX. Companies are registered in England and Wales with company registration numbers 09232733 & 04699701.
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Risk-weighted assets ( RWAs) news and analysis articles | The transition from LIBOR to RFR has brought challenges for structured products. There are still legacy IBOR products to consider and at the same time the pricing and risk systems need to be upgraâ¦
To ease the pain associated with meeting compliance targets, global institutions are exploring ways to become more efficient by integrating regulatory and business initiatives.
Wire payment fraud is a major growing risk for financial institutions in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. These cases of fraud donât just hurt finâ¦
Asia Risk is proud to present Asia Risk Live, a face-to-face event in Hong Kong and Singapore. An opportunity to reconnect in person to learn and exchange new ideas.
View our latest in market leading training courses, both public and in-house.
The Energy Risk Awards recognise the leading firms in energy risk management. Corporates, financial players, technology and data firms, consultancies, brokers and exchanges are all welcome to submit â¦
The Asia Risk Awards recognize best practices in risk management and derivatives use by banks and financial institutions around the region.
Take a look at the wide variety of events and training on offer.
This eBook is based on the 2021 industry research by Acuiti, as well as the FIS Readiness Report. Youâll find plenty of support for a move to AI-powered cloud computing, a modular approach that ensurâ¦
Maximising value from better risk management and deal efficiency This Risk.net survey and white paper, commissioned by SS & C Intralinks, assesses the outlook for the CMBS market in the US and Europe, â¦
You are currently accessing Risk.net via your institutional login.
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Edited by Bill Coen and D. R. Maurice
Measures to remedy internal model deficiencies added £14.8 billion RWAs overnight
Move from Pillar 2 to Pillar 1 for unhedged FX risk adds $ 6.8bn of RWAs
US legislative tweak was meant to prevent banks from using their own capital models too liberally. It’ s now something different
© Infopro Digital Risk ( IP) Limited ( 2022). All rights reserved. Published by Infopro Digital Services Limited, 133 Houndsditch, London, EC3A 7BX. Companies are registered in England and Wales with company registration numbers 09232733 & 04699701.
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Commodity derivatives news and analysis articles | The transition from LIBOR to RFR has brought challenges for structured products. There are still legacy IBOR products to consider and at the same time the pricing and risk systems need to be upgraâ¦
To ease the pain associated with meeting compliance targets, global institutions are exploring ways to become more efficient by integrating regulatory and business initiatives.
Wire payment fraud is a major growing risk for financial institutions in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. These cases of fraud donât just hurt finâ¦
Asia Risk is proud to present Asia Risk Live, a face-to-face event in Hong Kong and Singapore. An opportunity to reconnect in person to learn and exchange new ideas.
View our latest in market leading training courses, both public and in-house.
The Energy Risk Awards recognise the leading firms in energy risk management. Corporates, financial players, technology and data firms, consultancies, brokers and exchanges are all welcome to submit â¦
The Asia Risk Awards recognize best practices in risk management and derivatives use by banks and financial institutions around the region.
Take a look at the wide variety of events and training on offer.
This eBook is based on the 2021 industry research by Acuiti, as well as the FIS Readiness Report. Youâll find plenty of support for a move to AI-powered cloud computing, a modular approach that ensurâ¦
Maximising value from better risk management and deal efficiency This Risk.net survey and white paper, commissioned by SS & C Intralinks, assesses the outlook for the CMBS market in the US and Europe, â¦
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Edited by Bill Coen and D. R. Maurice
Cross-border clash threatens contracts cleared at Ice Clear Europe and LCH.Clearnet
Today, regulation is a fact of life for OTC commodity derivatives traders. But in April 1994, it was somewhat novel, as Energy Risk reported at the time
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Journal of Computational Finance Volume 19, Number 3 ( March 2016) | The transition from LIBOR to RFR has brought challenges for structured products. There are still legacy IBOR products to consider and at the same time the pricing and risk systems need to be upgraâ¦
To ease the pain associated with meeting compliance targets, global institutions are exploring ways to become more efficient by integrating regulatory and business initiatives.
Wire payment fraud is a major growing risk for financial institutions in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. These cases of fraud donât just hurt finâ¦
Asia Risk is proud to present Asia Risk Live, a face-to-face event in Hong Kong and Singapore. An opportunity to reconnect in person to learn and exchange new ideas.
View our latest in market leading training courses, both public and in-house.
The Energy Risk Awards recognise the leading firms in energy risk management. Corporates, financial players, technology and data firms, consultancies, brokers and exchanges are all welcome to submit â¦
The Asia Risk Awards recognize best practices in risk management and derivatives use by banks and financial institutions around the region.
Take a look at the wide variety of events and training on offer.
This eBook is based on the 2021 industry research by Acuiti, as well as the FIS Readiness Report. Youâll find plenty of support for a move to AI-powered cloud computing, a modular approach that ensurâ¦
Maximising value from better risk management and deal efficiency This Risk.net survey and white paper, commissioned by SS & C Intralinks, assesses the outlook for the CMBS market in the US and Europe, â¦
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Edited by Bill Coen and D. R. Maurice
In this first 2016 editorial for The Journal of Computational Finance, I am delighted to introduce two new members of our editorial board. Luis Ortiz Gracia, from the Centre de Recerca Matemàtica in Barcelona, Spain, is an expert on wavelets and their use in financial derivatives pricing as well as in risk management. At the same time, he works on so-called conditional Monte Carlo methods. This latter research topic is also one of the many competencies of the second new member of our editorial board: Duy-Minh Dang, from the University of Queensland, Australia. In addition to Monte Carlo methods, he is highly skilled in numerically solving linear and nonlinear partial differential equations. I wish Luis and Duy-Minh a warm welcome to our editorial board!
This issue is one containing diverse papers. We start with a paper by Johannes Vilsmeier that deals with `` Updating the option implied probability of default methodology ''. Based on a stable objective function for the estimation of the risk-neutral density, a recent implied probability of default ( iPoD) approach is improved upon. Unlike the original approach, this alternative procedure for the estimation of the iPoD, based on Lagrange multipliers, produces reliable results.
`` Efficient solution of backward jump-diffusion partial integro-differential equations with splitting and matrix exponentials '' is the title of Andrey Itkin's contribution. A unified approach for solving jump-diffusion partial integro-differential equations is proposed. The technique is based on second-order operator splitting, with a dimensional splitting for the diffusion operator appearing. The jump integral term is treated as a pseudo-differential operator. Appropriate first- and second-order discrete approximations to these operators are presented, resulting in an unconditionally stable time discretization and a preservation of the solution's positivity.
Automatic differentiation ( AD) is the theme of the issue's third paper: `` The efficient application of automatic differentiation for computing gradients in financial applications '' by Wei Xu, Xi Chen and Thomas F. Coleman. In finance, the use of reversemode AD allows the computation of gradients in the same time required to evaluate an objective function itself. Memory requirement may, however, make reverse-mode AD expensive in some cases and slower than expected. The authors show that many functions in calibration and inverse problems exhibit a natural substitution structure. Significant speedup is achieved compared with common reverse-mode AD.
`` B-spline techniques for volatility modeling '' by Sylvain Corlay is this issue's final paper. The use of B-splines is advocated for volatility modeling within the calibration of stochastic local volatility models and for the parameterization of an arbitrage-free implied volatility surface calibrated to sparse option data. Shape-constrained B-splines are used, for example, for the estimation of conditional expectations. A B-spline parameterization of the Radon-Nikodym derivative of the underlying risk-neutral probability density with respect to a roughly calibrated base model provides smooth arbitrage-free implied volatility surfaces.
All these topics are highly relevant in contemporary computational finance inacademia as well as in industrial practice. I wish you very enjoyable reading of this issue of The Journal of Computational Finance.
Cornelis W. OosterleeCWI - Dutch Center for Mathematics and Computer Science, Amsterdam
This paper updates the option implied probability of default ( iPoD) approach recently suggested in the literature.
Automatic differentiation is the theme of this paper. The authors show that many functions in calibration and inverse problems, exhibit a natural substitution structure. A significant speedup is achieved compared with common reverse-mode AD.
In this paper the use of B-splines is advocated for volatility modeling within the calibration of stochastic local volatility ( SLV) models and for the parameterization of an arbitrage-free implied volatility surface calibrated to sparse option data.
A unified approach for solving jump-diffusion partial integro differential equations is proposed.
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European Systemic Risk Board ( ESRB) news and analysis articles | The transition from LIBOR to RFR has brought challenges for structured products. There are still legacy IBOR products to consider and at the same time the pricing and risk systems need to be upgraâ¦
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This eBook is based on the 2021 industry research by Acuiti, as well as the FIS Readiness Report. Youâll find plenty of support for a move to AI-powered cloud computing, a modular approach that ensurâ¦
Maximising value from better risk management and deal efficiency This Risk.net survey and white paper, commissioned by SS & C Intralinks, assesses the outlook for the CMBS market in the US and Europe, â¦
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Edited by Bill Coen and D. R. Maurice
Central bank funding accounted for 14.5% of Greek banks’ liabilities in September
Top banking groups are short €146.5 billion of MREL-eligible instruments
Real GDP projected to contract –4.3% over three-year scenario horizon
0.25% surcharge the lowest of nine CCyBs across member states
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Risk magazine Feb 2022 | The transition from LIBOR to RFR has brought challenges for structured products. There are still legacy IBOR products to consider and at the same time the pricing and risk systems need to be upgraâ¦
To ease the pain associated with meeting compliance targets, global institutions are exploring ways to become more efficient by integrating regulatory and business initiatives.
Wire payment fraud is a major growing risk for financial institutions in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. These cases of fraud donât just hurt finâ¦
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The Asia Risk Awards recognize best practices in risk management and derivatives use by banks and financial institutions around the region.
Take a look at the wide variety of events and training on offer.
This eBook is based on the 2021 industry research by Acuiti, as well as the FIS Readiness Report. Youâll find plenty of support for a move to AI-powered cloud computing, a modular approach that ensurâ¦
Maximising value from better risk management and deal efficiency This Risk.net survey and white paper, commissioned by SS & C Intralinks, assesses the outlook for the CMBS market in the US and Europe, â¦
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Risk.net’ s guide to the world’ s leading quant master’ s programmes, with the top 25 schools ranked
US legislative tweak was meant to prevent banks from using their own capital models too liberally. It’ s now something different
Stock buybacks and dividends hit $ 117.7 billion last year
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European Central Bank ( ECB) news and analysis articles | The transition from LIBOR to RFR has brought challenges for structured products. There are still legacy IBOR products to consider and at the same time the pricing and risk systems need to be upgraâ¦
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The Asia Risk Awards recognize best practices in risk management and derivatives use by banks and financial institutions around the region.
Take a look at the wide variety of events and training on offer.
This eBook is based on the 2021 industry research by Acuiti, as well as the FIS Readiness Report. Youâll find plenty of support for a move to AI-powered cloud computing, a modular approach that ensurâ¦
Maximising value from better risk management and deal efficiency This Risk.net survey and white paper, commissioned by SS & C Intralinks, assesses the outlook for the CMBS market in the US and Europe, â¦
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Regulatory audit greenlit 0.5x cut in multiplier following bank’ s overhaul of VAR approach
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Sberbank news and analysis articles | The transition from LIBOR to RFR has brought challenges for structured products. There are still legacy IBOR products to consider and at the same time the pricing and risk systems need to be upgraâ¦
To ease the pain associated with meeting compliance targets, global institutions are exploring ways to become more efficient by integrating regulatory and business initiatives.
Wire payment fraud is a major growing risk for financial institutions in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. These cases of fraud donât just hurt finâ¦
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The Asia Risk Awards recognize best practices in risk management and derivatives use by banks and financial institutions around the region.
Take a look at the wide variety of events and training on offer.
This eBook is based on the 2021 industry research by Acuiti, as well as the FIS Readiness Report. Youâll find plenty of support for a move to AI-powered cloud computing, a modular approach that ensurâ¦
Maximising value from better risk management and deal efficiency This Risk.net survey and white paper, commissioned by SS & C Intralinks, assesses the outlook for the CMBS market in the US and Europe, â¦
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Edited by Bill Coen and D. R. Maurice
Also: Copper trader buys $ 36m of worthless bricks; big lenders hurt in $ 400m mortgage fraud. Data by ORX News
Despite the RWA increase, the bank's CET1 capital ratio rose 20 basis points, to 11.6%
Moscow court’ s ruling in $ 1.1bn dispute sends “ very positive signal ”, but fears of similar cases remain
Bankrupt financial services group Refco has failed to sell its foreign exchange brokerage, and its securities broking arm has been ordered to pay $ 122 million compensation to a Russian customer.
The Savings Bank of the Russian Federation ( Sberbank), Russia's largest bank, has selected Egar Technology’ s Focus product for its trading, treasury, operations and risk management needs. Egar Technology, a New York-based supplier of trading and risk…
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Journal of Investment Strategies Volume 10, Number 3 ( September 2021) | The transition from LIBOR to RFR has brought challenges for structured products. There are still legacy IBOR products to consider and at the same time the pricing and risk systems need to be upgraâ¦
To ease the pain associated with meeting compliance targets, global institutions are exploring ways to become more efficient by integrating regulatory and business initiatives.
Wire payment fraud is a major growing risk for financial institutions in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. These cases of fraud donât just hurt finâ¦
Asia Risk is proud to present Asia Risk Live, a face-to-face event in Hong Kong and Singapore. An opportunity to reconnect in person to learn and exchange new ideas.
View our latest in market leading training courses, both public and in-house.
The Energy Risk Awards recognise the leading firms in energy risk management. Corporates, financial players, technology and data firms, consultancies, brokers and exchanges are all welcome to submit â¦
The Asia Risk Awards recognize best practices in risk management and derivatives use by banks and financial institutions around the region.
Take a look at the wide variety of events and training on offer.
This eBook is based on the 2021 industry research by Acuiti, as well as the FIS Readiness Report. Youâll find plenty of support for a move to AI-powered cloud computing, a modular approach that ensurâ¦
Maximising value from better risk management and deal efficiency This Risk.net survey and white paper, commissioned by SS & C Intralinks, assesses the outlook for the CMBS market in the US and Europe, â¦
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Edited by Bill Coen and D. R. Maurice
Welcome to the third issue of the tenth volume of The Journal of Investment Strategies.
The first two papers in this issue focus on multifactor investment strategies. The cross-sectional approach to performance attribution is a simple and flexible tool that provides an intuitive and accurate explanation of portfolio returns in the context of multifactor investing. A tremendous amount of academic research has been published on multifactor investment strategies. It has been shown that, in the long term, a few factors have historically earned excess returns above the market. These two papers revisit the cross-sectional approach and address some practical approaches.
In our first paper, titled “ Performance attribution for multifactorial equity portfolios ”, Frederic Abergel and Thomas Heckel address the performance analysis of multifactor investment strategies. They reevaluate the cross-sectional approach to the performance analysis of multifactor investment strategies. Their main contributions are
The proposed method has several advantages over other time-series-based or general cross-sectional regression models: it reflects the current state of the investment portfolio, it is parsimonious in the number of explanatory variables, it leads to an approximation of the portfolio returns that has a small residual error, and it provides a straightforward interpretation of the portfolio performance in terms of the factors it is designed from. Abergel and Heckel first present and explain the method in detail and then discuss its applications to multifactor equity strategies.
In the issue’ s second paper, “ A practitioner’ s view of the long-term and recent performance of multifactor investment strategies ”, Ding Liu studies the performance of factor investment strategies from a practitioner’ s point of view. First he creates a multifactor portfolio called the factor-tilted benchmark ( FTB) using risk parity factor allocation. The FTB is created without practical considerations. Liu then examines the impact on historical performance by adding practical constraints to the FTB, such as no short selling, low portfolio turnover and low tracking error to the market capitalization benchmark and a limited number of portfolio holdings. He shows that, in the long term, multifactor portfolios in major equity markets still earn excess returns above those of the market with these practical constraints net of transaction costs. Liu then focuses on the recent disappointing performance of factor investing by estimating the probability of experiencing the recent performance or worse outcomes given prior history. While both the FTB and factor portfolios with practical constraints have fallen short of delivering their historical long-term outperformance in the last few years, factor portfolios with constraints have shown smaller performance slippage, and their recent performance looks more probable than the FTB based on prior history. Liu supports setting performance expectation on factor investment strategies using factor portfolios with practical constraints.
In “ Forecasting volatility and market returns using the CBOE Volatility Index and its options ”, the third and final paper in this issue, Spencer T. Stanley and William J. Trainor Jr. examine the CBOE Volatility Index ( VIX) and its options. The VIX is the implied volatility calculated from short-maturity option prices on the Standard & Poor’ s 500 ( S & P 500) stock index. Stanley and Trainor’ s findings demonstrate that VIX overestimates average volatility by approximately 3% but explains 55% of the S & P 500’ s proceeding month’ s volatility and 20% of its return. The smirks calculated from the VIX options’ implied volatility add additional explanatory power for the S & P 500 returns. None of the variables help predict the tail risk, skewness or kurtosis values.
A simple trading rule based on buying S & P 500 – whether VIX, the implied volatility from the options on the VIX or the VIX options’ volatility smirk decline – results in an additional 0.96% above the S & P 500 return in the following month. This only occurs approximately 10% of the time and would not beat a buy-and-hold strategy, but it could be used to adjust asset allocations at the margin. Buying equities only when the VIX decreases, which occurs approximately 50% of the time, outperforms a similar 50/50 stock/bond risk portfolio.
On behalf of the editorial board, we would like to thank our readers for their continued support and keen interest in our journal, and we hope you have been doing well throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. We look forward to sharing with you the growing list of practical papers on a wide variety of topics on modern investment strategies that we continue to receive from both academics and practitioners.
This paper revisits the cross-sectional approach to the performance analysis of multifactor investment strategies.
In this paper the author studies the performance of factor investment strategies from a practitioner’ s point of view.
This paper examines the CBOE VIX, the VIX options’ implied volatility and the smirks associated with these options.
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Tail risk news and analysis articles | The transition from LIBOR to RFR has brought challenges for structured products. There are still legacy IBOR products to consider and at the same time the pricing and risk systems need to be upgraâ¦
To ease the pain associated with meeting compliance targets, global institutions are exploring ways to become more efficient by integrating regulatory and business initiatives.
Wire payment fraud is a major growing risk for financial institutions in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. These cases of fraud donât just hurt finâ¦
Asia Risk is proud to present Asia Risk Live, a face-to-face event in Hong Kong and Singapore. An opportunity to reconnect in person to learn and exchange new ideas.
View our latest in market leading training courses, both public and in-house.
The Energy Risk Awards recognise the leading firms in energy risk management. Corporates, financial players, technology and data firms, consultancies, brokers and exchanges are all welcome to submit â¦
The Asia Risk Awards recognize best practices in risk management and derivatives use by banks and financial institutions around the region.
Take a look at the wide variety of events and training on offer.
This eBook is based on the 2021 industry research by Acuiti, as well as the FIS Readiness Report. Youâll find plenty of support for a move to AI-powered cloud computing, a modular approach that ensurâ¦
Maximising value from better risk management and deal efficiency This Risk.net survey and white paper, commissioned by SS & C Intralinks, assesses the outlook for the CMBS market in the US and Europe, â¦
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Edited by Bill Coen and D. R. Maurice
This paper reports a method for analyzing the influence of the tail in calculations of distortion risk measures.
This paper revisits the procyclicality issue in risk-based margin models and provides additional insight on procyclicality mitigation techniques.
The quality of a tail model, which is determined by data from an unknown distribution, depends critically on the subset of data used to model the tail. Based on a suitably weighted mean square error, the authors present a completely automated method that…
This paper examines the relationship between portfolio size and the stability of mutual fund risk measures, presenting evidence for economies of scale in risk management.
In this paper, we explore the procyclicality of initial margin requirements based on VaR volatility models.We suggest procyclicality can be reduced using a three-regime model rather than using ad hoc tools.
This paper provides practical recommendations for the validation of risk models under the Targeted Review of Internal Models ( TRIM).
In this paper, the authors investigate the applicability of semi-parametric approaches for estimating expected shortfall.
This paper examines strategy performance from an investment practitioner perspective. Using long-term data from the Standard & Poor’ s 500, the authors show that these strategies offer an improvement in risk-adjusted return compared with a buy-and-hold…
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Variance news and analysis articles | The transition from LIBOR to RFR has brought challenges for structured products. There are still legacy IBOR products to consider and at the same time the pricing and risk systems need to be upgraâ¦
To ease the pain associated with meeting compliance targets, global institutions are exploring ways to become more efficient by integrating regulatory and business initiatives.
Wire payment fraud is a major growing risk for financial institutions in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. These cases of fraud donât just hurt finâ¦
Asia Risk is proud to present Asia Risk Live, a face-to-face event in Hong Kong and Singapore. An opportunity to reconnect in person to learn and exchange new ideas.
View our latest in market leading training courses, both public and in-house.
The Energy Risk Awards recognise the leading firms in energy risk management. Corporates, financial players, technology and data firms, consultancies, brokers and exchanges are all welcome to submit â¦
The Asia Risk Awards recognize best practices in risk management and derivatives use by banks and financial institutions around the region.
Take a look at the wide variety of events and training on offer.
This eBook is based on the 2021 industry research by Acuiti, as well as the FIS Readiness Report. Youâll find plenty of support for a move to AI-powered cloud computing, a modular approach that ensurâ¦
Maximising value from better risk management and deal efficiency This Risk.net survey and white paper, commissioned by SS & C Intralinks, assesses the outlook for the CMBS market in the US and Europe, â¦
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This paper demonstrates applications of automatic differentiation with nested dual numbers in the diffusion operator integral variance-reduction framework originally proposed by Heath and Platen.
The author presents four methods to estimate the sample variance of the accuracy ratio and the area under the curve.
In this paper, the author uses the mean–variance hedging criterion to value contracts in incomplete markets.
After a difficult 2018, investors are increasingly wary of risk premia, concerned that factors leading to underperformance might be a recurring problem. Imene Moussa, executive director at UBS, clarifies this issue
In this paper, the authors construct a Heath-Platen-type Monte Carlo estimator that performs extraordinarily well compared with the crude Monte Carlo estimation.
The authors of this paper aim to demystify portfolios selected by robust optimization by looking at limiting portfolios in the cases of both large and small uncertainty in mean returns.
When dealing with nonsmooth functions – such as a combination of a nonsmooth density and a payoff – spectral filters can be applied to deal efficiently with the so-called Gibbs phenomenon. The simplicity and effectiveness of classical filtering…
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Canada news and analysis articles | The transition from LIBOR to RFR has brought challenges for structured products. There are still legacy IBOR products to consider and at the same time the pricing and risk systems need to be upgraâ¦
To ease the pain associated with meeting compliance targets, global institutions are exploring ways to become more efficient by integrating regulatory and business initiatives.
Wire payment fraud is a major growing risk for financial institutions in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. These cases of fraud donât just hurt finâ¦
Asia Risk is proud to present Asia Risk Live, a face-to-face event in Hong Kong and Singapore. An opportunity to reconnect in person to learn and exchange new ideas.
View our latest in market leading training courses, both public and in-house.
The Energy Risk Awards recognise the leading firms in energy risk management. Corporates, financial players, technology and data firms, consultancies, brokers and exchanges are all welcome to submit â¦
The Asia Risk Awards recognize best practices in risk management and derivatives use by banks and financial institutions around the region.
Take a look at the wide variety of events and training on offer.
This eBook is based on the 2021 industry research by Acuiti, as well as the FIS Readiness Report. Youâll find plenty of support for a move to AI-powered cloud computing, a modular approach that ensurâ¦
Maximising value from better risk management and deal efficiency This Risk.net survey and white paper, commissioned by SS & C Intralinks, assesses the outlook for the CMBS market in the US and Europe, â¦
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Edited by Bill Coen and D. R. Maurice
Market RWAs increased by C $ 13.9 billion over the three months to end-July
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Options Clearing Corporation ( OCC) news and analysis articles | The transition from LIBOR to RFR has brought challenges for structured products. There are still legacy IBOR products to consider and at the same time the pricing and risk systems need to be upgraâ¦
To ease the pain associated with meeting compliance targets, global institutions are exploring ways to become more efficient by integrating regulatory and business initiatives.
Wire payment fraud is a major growing risk for financial institutions in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. These cases of fraud donât just hurt finâ¦
Asia Risk is proud to present Asia Risk Live, a face-to-face event in Hong Kong and Singapore. An opportunity to reconnect in person to learn and exchange new ideas.
View our latest in market leading training courses, both public and in-house.
The Energy Risk Awards recognise the leading firms in energy risk management. Corporates, financial players, technology and data firms, consultancies, brokers and exchanges are all welcome to submit â¦
The Asia Risk Awards recognize best practices in risk management and derivatives use by banks and financial institutions around the region.
Take a look at the wide variety of events and training on offer.
This eBook is based on the 2021 industry research by Acuiti, as well as the FIS Readiness Report. Youâll find plenty of support for a move to AI-powered cloud computing, a modular approach that ensurâ¦
Maximising value from better risk management and deal efficiency This Risk.net survey and white paper, commissioned by SS & C Intralinks, assesses the outlook for the CMBS market in the US and Europe, â¦
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Total initial margin held by the OCC's default fund stood at $ 114.4 billion in Q1
Exchange-traded derivatives hub cleared 7.5 billion contracts in 2020
Cleared options contract volumes hit 1.9 billion in Q3
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Get cycling to fight obesity, urges Sir Chris Whitty as he applauds “ imaginative ” active travel schemes during pandemic | Like this site? Help us to make it better.
Sir Chris Whitty, the government’ s chief medical officer for England, has urged people to get cycling to fight obesity, saying that “ the idea that the UK is a country you can't actually do cycling is clearly incorrect. ”
He also applauded what he described as the “ imaginative ” ways in which local authorities throughout the country sought to encourage active travel during the early months of the coronavirus pandemic, reports Mail Online.
Speaking yesterday at the annual conference of the Local Government Association and the Association of Directors of Public Health, Whitty, who became a household name through his appearances in government Covid-19 briefings on TV, said that levels of obesity had increased since the pandemic began.
According to data from NHS England, one in four children aged 10 were classified as obese during 2020, up from one in five the previous year, as were three in four adults.
Underlining that exercise is among the “ most effective ways of improving health, ” Whitty said that people should be encouraged to incorporate active travel, such as walking or cycling to work, into their daily lives to help combat obesity.
“ I think there's often a feeling that it's going to be very hard work to get people to, for example, take up cycling, ” he said.
“ But if you went back to the’ 50s and’ 60s there were extremely high rates of people cycling for work as well as recreationally across the country. ”
He said that data from the Department for Transport showed that in 2019, people in England cycled a combined total of 5 billion kilometres – less than a quarter of the 24 billion kilometres collectively ridden in 1949.
Whitty said that the data from 70 years ago demonstrated that “ the idea that the UK is a country you can't actually do cycling is clearly incorrect. ”
Speaking about the increase in levels of obesity during the pandemic, he said that some aspects of public health have “ trodden water or gone backwards over the last two year and we do need to quite seriously address them. ”
He said: “ One of the things that is the most effective ways of improving health – whether it's cardiovascular, cancer or mental health – is physical exercise.
“ And active transport is a particularly important way to do this because it builds it into people's normal routines of daily life, rather than being seen as something that is separate. ”
“ What happened during the Covid crisis is that we saw many local authorities being extremely imaginative in the way that they made it easier for people to walk and cycle to work, to shops as well as recreationally – largely as a way of trying to get people off public transport where they could pass on or acquire Covid, ” Whitty added.
“ But what this demonstrates is what can be done and there's a lot that could be done in every area of the country. ”
The role cycling can play in combatting obesity is well documented, with Chris Boardman, now the interim head of Active Travel England, having previously said: `` Cycling is the miracle cure we discovered years ago.
`` It treats obesity, a hundred inactivity-related diseases, air pollution and mental ill-health, and it helps the young and the elderly stay mobile.
“ From HSBC UK-British Cycling research, we know that 14 million of us would like to cycle more often. So let’ s make space on our roads and streets and give more people the chance to choose cycling. ”
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Simon has been news editor at road.cc since 2009, reporting on 10 editions and counting of pro cycling’ s biggest races such as the Tour de France, stories on issues including infrastructure and campaigning, and interviewing some of the biggest names in cycling. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, his background has proved invaluable in reporting on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, and the bike industry. He splits his time between London and Cambridge, and loves taking his miniature schnauzer Elodie on adventures in the basket of her Elephant Bike.
The alternative name for an ostrich is an African Rhea ( there's also 3 species of rhea)
Well the right wing seem to have largely taken an anti-cycling stance. So if you aren't anti-cycling, you aren't right wing - therefore you are...
Lucky buggers!...
Let's hope he still has the ear of the government.
Owt's better than nowt.... | general |
In a crucial year politically, Xi Jinping wants stability | NO DATE HAS been set for it yet, not even a month. But for every official, the orders are clear. Their work must focus on making sure that a crucial Communist Party congress, to be held in the second half of the year, goes smoothly. The conclave is widely expected to herald the start of at least another five years of rule for Xi Jinping. From the police to economic policymakers, all are trying to minimise untoward events that might overshadow his moment of political glory. “ The word ‘ stability’ is the key, ” leaders intone about the coming year at official gatherings.
It will be a far bumpier ride than they would like. In recent weeks the rapid spread of Omicron, a highly transmissible variant of the virus that causes covid-19, has posed an unprecedented challenge to China’ s much-vaunted “ zero-covid ” policy. Widespread lockdowns have added to the wobbles of an already shaky economy. Just this month Mr Xi contrasted the party’ s rule with “ Western chaos ”. He was referring, in part, to China’ s two years of success ( after a botched initial response) at crushing covid. If officials relax the policy to protect the economy they would risk a surge of cases that could overwhelm China’ s fragile public-health system.
Russia’ s invasion of Ukraine is another severe headache. The war began less than three weeks after Mr Xi and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, signed a joint statement in February declaring “ no limits ” to the two countries’ friendship. Chinese diplomats are now struggling to balance a desire to preserve what they see as this crucial relationship against a risk of even greater tension between China and the West, which could compound China’ s economic difficulties.
Public opinion is hard to gauge, but there is little sign that the party’ s policies on covid, Ukraine or the economy are widely resented. Many Chinese express support for the tough zero-covid approach. On social media, however, some grumbling circulates—despite censors’ efforts to stifle it. Even in the state-controlled press there have been occasional hints of disagreement over the party’ s economic strategy, which last year included a regulatory clampdown on tech firms and a call by Mr Xi for “ common prosperity ” that scared entrepreneurs by raising the spectre of big redistributive schemes. Intriguingly, the prime minister, Li Keqiang, mentioned common prosperity only once in his state-of-the-nation speech to the national legislature on March 5th.
Among China-watchers, there is much speculation about the extent of opposition to Mr Xi within the elite, and the impact it might have on his political grip. But there is no convincing evidence that his plans could be derailed for the party congress and a meeting immediately afterwards of the Central Committee, which will announce the leadership line-up ( including his own likely appointment to a third term as party chief, violating recent norms). Indeed, history suggests that for all the party’ s preoccupation with stability in the build-up to party congresses, which normally are held every five years, the power of paramount leaders can survive enormous buffeting.
Mao Zedong, for example, ruled China for nearly 27 years, despite the deaths of millions in a famine of his own making, bitter political struggles within the party and at least one attempted coup. Deng Xiaoping retained authority well after his retirement, despite public resentment of his bloody suppression of the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 and open criticism of his policies by conservatives in the party who saw them as a catalyst of the unrest. Similarly Jiang Zemin, who had overseen mass lay-offs from state-owned firms ( angering millions of workers as well as conservatives), wielded much power long after he retired from his last post in 2004.
Mr Xi’ s bid for an extension of his rule must anger some in the party. Cai Xia, a former academic at the party’ s most prestigious training centre for officials ( she now lives in America), has accused Mr Xi of forcing the party to “ swallow dog-shit ” by ordering the Central Committee in 2018 to approve a constitutional revision to facilitate his bid. But there is little sign today of the kind of turbulence in elite politics that marked the build-up to Mr Xi’ s anointment as party chief in 2012. That year saw near-open feuding involving a prominent political rival, Bo Xilai, a member of the Politburo whom Mr Xi later accused of being involved in a plot to seize power.
Purges have continued. An 18-month “ rectification ” campaign of the domestic security forces ended late last year, aimed in part at rooting out those disloyal to the party and Mr Xi. Its most powerful targets included a deputy minister of public security, Sun Lijun, who was accused of leading a “ political cabal ” within the police ( he was formally charged with corruption in January), as well as Fu Zhenghua, a former minister of justice. On March 21st it was announced that a former vice-president of the supreme court, Shen Deyong, was under investigation for unspecified crimes.
But there is no sign of any open campaigning for power of the type that Mr Bo engaged in. Mr Xi’ s relentless onslaught against corruption—sometimes a smokescreen for attacking his political enemies—has sown such fear within the party hierarchy that it is hard to imagine any such challenge today. Barriers to organising against him are “ near insurmountable ”, wrote Richard McGregor and Jude Blanchette in a report on post-Xi succession scenarios that was published last year by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Washington and the Lowy Institute in Sydney.
On his management of the pandemic, Mr Xi is showing no sign of wavering. “ Perseverance is victory, ” he said at a meeting on March 17th of the Politburo’ s seven-member Standing Committee. He called for a “ step-up ” in mobilisation and “ unremitting efforts ” to combat the current wave of outbreaks. Mr Xi also said that “ maximum ” effort should be made to minimise harm to the economy and society. But similar phrases have been used by officials before over the past two years.
Crucially, there has been little sign of any let-up in the punishment of officials for letting covid spread on their watch. The South China Morning Post, a newspaper in Hong Kong, has counted more than 70 who have been sacked or reprimanded during this wave. The experience of Hong Kong may encourage mainland officials to stay vigilant. The number of cases detected daily in that city far surpasses the total on the mainland. Daily deaths in Hong Kong have risen to about 200 compared with a handful, if that, in the rest of China. As they see it, Hong Kong’ s plight is the result of not pursuing a zero-covid policy thoroughly enough. They note that it lacks the kind of manpower the mainland deploys to ensure compliance.
At this month’ s parliamentary meeting Mr Li, the prime minister, admitted the going would be tough. This year, he said, China faced an “ obvious increase in dangers and challenges ”. But he ended his speech with his usual injunction: “ We must unite ever closer around the party centre with Xi Jinping at its core. ” It would take daring to do otherwise. ■
They like to be seen in pretty shops. They might even buy a coffee
They like to be seen in pretty shops. They might even buy a coffee
Published since September 1843 to take part in “ a severe contest between intelligence, which presses forward, and an unworthy, timid ignorance obstructing our progress. ”
Copyright © The Economist Newspaper Limited 2022. All rights reserved. | business |
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Exclusive remedy for COVID-19 claims hangs in the balance in California case | A lawsuit pending in a California appeals court threatens to upend a more than century-old workers compensation provision that legal experts say could subject employers to potentially unlimited tort liability and trigger an avalanche of litigation. In the case of Matilde Ek v. See’ s Candies Inc., the worker alleges she contracted COVID-19 while working on the packing line at a See’ s Candies Inc. distribution plant in Carson, California, in March 2020 and that she later exposed her 72-year-old husband to the novel coronavirus, which killed him one month later. Ms. Ek alleges that the plant lacked sufficient safeguards against infection, ultimately causing Mr. Ek’ s death. In response, See’ s Candies invoked the “ exclusive remedy ” rule, which bars such negligence suits as part of the grand bargain of the workers comp system in California. Litigators say the exclusive remedy rule has shielded employers from civil court liability lawsuits for over 100 years. But a trial court in Los Angeles in April 2021 allowed the case to continue, issuing a ruling that an opposing coalition of state and national employer groups argued in an amicus brief “ flies in the face of the derivative injury rule ” — a workers comp provision that prohibits injured employees from suing their employer for injuries that are collateral to or derivative of a compensable workplace injury. In opposing See’ s Candies’ objection, the judge cited a 2016 mesothelioma case, Kesner v. Superior Court, in which the California Supreme Court ruled employers have a “ duty to exercise reasonable care to prevent the spread of pathogens, conditions, contaminants, toxins to foreseeable third parties. ” The case allowed an employee’ s spouse to proceed with a civil claim where it was alleged that the spouse developed mesothelioma from inhaling asbestos fibers on the employee’ s clothing. In the See’ s Candies case, the trial judge held that the COVID-19 transmission was similar and was grounds to allow the case to move forward. CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE
A lawsuit pending in a California appeals court threatens to upend a more than century-old workers compensation provision that legal experts say could subject employers to potentially unlimited tort liability and trigger an avalanche of litigation.
In the case of Matilde Ek v. See’ s Candies Inc., the worker alleges she contracted COVID-19 while working on the packing line at a See’ s Candies Inc. distribution plant in Carson, California, in March 2020 and that she later exposed her 72-year-old husband to the novel coronavirus, which killed him one month later.
Ms. Ek alleges that the plant lacked sufficient safeguards against infection, ultimately causing Mr. Ek’ s death. In response, See’ s Candies invoked the “ exclusive remedy ” rule, which bars such negligence suits as part of the grand bargain of the workers comp system in California. Litigators say the exclusive remedy rule has shielded employers from civil court liability lawsuits for over 100 years.
But a trial court in Los Angeles in April 2021 allowed the case to continue, issuing a ruling that an opposing coalition of state and national employer groups argued in an amicus brief “ flies in the face of the derivative injury rule ” — a workers comp provision that prohibits injured employees from suing their employer for injuries that are collateral to or derivative of a compensable workplace injury.
In opposing See’ s Candies’ objection, the judge cited a 2016 mesothelioma case, Kesner v. Superior Court, in which the California Supreme Court ruled employers have a “ duty to exercise reasonable care to prevent the spread of pathogens, conditions, contaminants, toxins to foreseeable third parties. ” The case allowed an employee’ s spouse to proceed with a civil claim where it was alleged that the spouse developed mesothelioma from inhaling asbestos fibers on the employee’ s clothing. In the See’ s Candies case, the trial judge held that the COVID-19 transmission was similar and was grounds to allow the case to move forward.
In a brief filed with the appeal in California’ s 2nd District Court of Appeal, the employer coalition argues that the trial court’ s ruling violates the provisions of the derivative injury rule in such a way that “ a large swath of COVID-related claims stemming from workplace conduct would be placed outside the scope of the workers compensation system. ”
Workers comp and employment attorneys in and outside of California echoed these concerns.
“ The fear is it's going to create just a flood of potential lawsuits, ” said Jeffrey Adelson, general counsel, Adelson McLean APC in Newport Beach, California. “ The concern I have with this case is it is hinging on a very thin wire; it's basically the interpretations of words. What is collateral or derivative of a workplace injury? ”
And it’ s not just about COVID-19, Mr. Adelson said.
“ At what point does it stop? There could be a never-ending chain of regression if this exception is taken away. ”
Davis Walsh, partner at McGuireWoods LLP in Richmond, Virginia, and lead editor of the book, Infectious Disease Litigation: Science, Law, and Procedure, said the “ duty of care ” provision cited in the asbestos case has pros and cons. But in the face of breakthrough infections, vaccine opposition and speculated booster guidance, eliminating liability risk for employers will be difficult if such a case is won by the worker.
“ The consequence of this is that businesses, regardless of the actions they take to prevent the spread of COVID in the workplace, are going to get sued — some being found liable, ” Mr. Walsh said.
“ Thus far, outside of the workers comp world, we’ ve generally seen a very limited number of lawsuits related to tracking COVID. Now that the courts have allowed these cases to proceed, I think that's going to change — we're going to see more of those types of lawsuits, ” Mr. Walsh added.
Gregory Grinberg, managing partner of Gale, Sutow & Associates APC in Cypress, California, said that, if the decision stands, industrial COVID-19-transmission deaths could mimic asbestos liability litigation.
“ If the court allows this, employers will likely find themselves facing liability in both the civil tort arena as well as before the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board, ” Mr. Grinberg said.
In turn, Mr. Grinberg said, a second-hand implication of the ruling may be an uptake in different lines of liability coverage, “ so that an early settlement of a workers compensation claim does not prejudice the defense of a civil tort claim. ”
The case is pending in the appellate court and as of late September, oral arguments have not been scheduled.
In a 31-page amicus brief filed Aug. 31, a coalition of state and national employer groups — the U.S. and California chambers of commerce, California Restaurant Association, National Federation of Independent Business, National Association of Manufacturers and California Workers’ Compensation Institute — contested the trial court ruling in See’ s Candies Inc. v. Superior Court of Los Angeles, citing violations of the state Workers’ Compensation Act and arguments on its potential implications.
“ Because plaintiffs’ claims would not exist in the absence of the employee’ s workplace injury, they are barred from the courts and must proceed, if at all, under the workers’ compensation system. The trial court nevertheless erroneously allowed plaintiffs to proceed with their negligence and premises liability claims against the employer on the theory that plaintiffs’ alleged injuries were somehow ‘ independent’ of the employee’ s workplace injury.
“ The trial court’ s ruling, if it is sustained, could subject employers across the state to potentially unlimited tort liability for alleged workplace injuries that the Legislature intended to be addressed in the workers’ compensation system. ”
The brief continues, “ In enacting the WCA, the legislature … sharply departed from ( it), inventing a COVID-19 exception for injuries that derive from employees who allegedly contract the virus in the employer’ s workplace and then infect their family members. ”
The trial court’ s ruling, the coalition writes, “ violates that well-established principle by judicially legislating a COVID-19 exception to the longstanding derivative injury rule. ” | general |
Why it costs so much to move goods around Africa | IF TIME IS money, then Beitbridge must be a most expensive place. Late last year lorries carrying, among other things, cobalt from Congo, copper from Zambia and tea from Malawi snaked for miles as they waited to cross the Limpopo river into South Africa. Many were there for days. Some drivers bribe their way to the front; 1,000 rand ( $ 68) is the going rate. Others can not. In 2020 four drivers are said to have died in their vehicles while waiting.
African politicians say they want to end such bottlenecks. The African Continental Free Trade Area ( AfCFTA), so far ratified by 41 of Africa’ s 55 countries, could boost the region’ s economies by making it easier to trade among them. In 2020 just 18% of exports were to other African countries ( see chart), lower than the equivalent shares in North America ( 30%), Asia ( 58%) or Europe ( 68%). More trade within the region could lead to more jobs, higher wages and less poverty.
The AfCFTA pledges to grease the wheels of trade in two ways. The first is by reducing tariffs, especially between countries in different regional blocs, such as the Southern African Development Community and the East African Community. This could boost intra-African trade by 15-25%, reckons the IMF. But double that effect would come from reducing “ non-tariff barriers ”, the grit that really gums up trade.
Poor infrastructure is one such barrier. Africa’ s land area is big enough to accommodate China, India, the contiguous United States and much of Europe. Yet its railway network is not very much bigger than France’ s and Germany’ s combined. Many lines were built by colonial companies to link mines to ports, rather than countries to one another. And existing tracks are struggling. South Africa’ s state network operator was eviscerated by corruption under Jacob Zuma, a former president. Newer Chinese-built railways in Kenya and from Djibouti to Ethiopia are under-used, either because they struggle to compete with road freight or because they lack ancillary infrastructure such as storage yards.
Ports are small and slow. Cargo waits for more than two weeks on average, as against less than a week in Asia, Europe and Latin America, says CDC Group, a British development-finance institution. Handling costs are around 50% higher than in other parts of the word, reckons the African Development Bank ( AfDB).
Some 80-90% of freight goes by road, of which there are not enough. Road density is among the world’ s lowest. And just 800,000km of the total of 2.8m in sub-Saharan Africa are paved, says a report from 2018 by the Export-Import Bank of India. Many roads are badly placed. Some duplicate colonial railways; too many are built in the areas of powerful ethnic groups.
The IMF reckons that if the quality of Africa’ s infrastructure were brought up to the global average this would increase continental trade by 7%. Surprisingly, though, even bigger gains could be made by improving how trade flows—unblocking the existing pipes, if you will, rather than installing bigger ones. It reckons that if the quality of Africa’ s logistics rose to the global average, it would mean a boost of 12%. The gains are large because the cost of logistics in Africa is three to four times higher than the world average, notes a recent paper by Patrick Plane, a French economist. Such costs can add 75% to the price of goods, estimates the AfDB. So long as this is the case, Africans will not feel the full benefits of globalisation and freer trade.
Why are logistics so costly in Africa? Partly it is because of a paradox. Those who want to move merchandise complain that they can not find lorries. Those with lorries moan that their vehicles spend too long sitting idle. One reason for this is that African countries typically buy more goods than they sell. It can cost twice as much to send cargo from the South African port of Durban to Lusaka than the other way, says Mark Pearson, a consultant based in the Zambian capital. This is because the transporter can not assume a “ backhaul ” journey. So he charges double. Others wait around. Lorries taking goods from Lagos to Kano, in the Nigerian north, can spend weeks until there are enough cattle or vegetables to pay for the return journey. When they do head south they often overload the vehicle, damaging the truck and the roads.
Small fleets make things worse. Roughly 80% of transporters own fewer than five lorries. These microbusinesses depend on the cash from one trip to fund the next and can be crippled by a punctured tyre. Sigma Feeds, on the outskirts of Nairobi, once organised its own lorries. No longer. It was too stressful. “ Drivers who needed money for school fees might siphon off fuel to sell, ” says Vandan Shah, the CEO.
Another problem is a lack of information. In much of the world large firms can buy space on trains or lorries in logistics spot markets. But in Africa, where these do not exist, miners or brewers have to sign long-term contracts with larger logistics firms such as Bolloré or South Africa’ s Imperial Logistics, in which they agree to pay for capacity, whether they use it all or not. “ There is no visibility between supply and demand, ” explains Wale Ayeni of the International Financial Corporation, the private-sector arm of the World Bank.
Startups such as Lori Systems, founded in Kenya, and Kobo360, a Nigerian rival, hope to solve this problem by matching traders and transporters in digital marketplaces. This promises not only to reduce wasted journeys, but also to reduce the price-gouging power of trucking cartels. Startups also check paperwork, vet drivers, provide cash upfront to truckers and help with maintenance in case of breakdowns. “ If a tyre falls off a driver can go on our app and order a new one, ” points out Ife Oyedele, a co-founder of Kobo360.
“ Infrastructure is still a massive headache, ” says Uche Ogboi, the boss of Lori Systems. “ But our mentality is that this is a government thing and we will have to deal with it until they fix it. ” Lori, she reckons, can help to improve more than half the obstacles that lead to high transport costs, such as by enabling drivers to forward paperwork to border posts.
“ A big part of business in Africa is reliability, ” says Mohammed Akoojee, the boss of Imperial, which last year bought a stake in Lori. His clients would rather pay more to know that their goods will arrive on time than for journeys to be cheaper and late. Imperial hopes to use Lori’ s software to develop spot markets for freight.
The deal is part of a broader trend of consolidation in African logistics. This month DP World, a Dubai-based port operator, bought Imperial, which should create a ship-to-shop company across much of Africa. Last year DP World and CDC Group teamed up to develop African ports, including in Egypt, Senegal and Somaliland. Another firm, Arise Ports & Logistics, incorporated in 2020, is partly owned by an investment fund affiliated with Maersk, a Danish shipping giant, and Olam, a Singaporean trader. And Chinese entities are involved in the running or building of at least 46 ports in sub-Saharan Africa, according to CSIS, an American think-tank.
Logistics firms, as well as the businesses with goods to move, hope that the long-mooted idea of “ trade corridors ” will come to fruition. These are a mix of hard and soft infrastructure linking countries. Corridors would allow a container sealed in Shanghai to reach Lagos or Mombasa, with its paperwork all approved for it to travel right on to, say, Niger or Uganda.
The AfCFTA is meant to encourage such trade-easing efforts. This year it helped start a scheme to allow traders in one country to pay for goods in another using their domestic currency, rather than dollars, thus cutting foreign-exchange costs. But in general progress has been slow. Though the AfCFTA has had more launches than NASA, no trade has actually happened under the terms of the deal. “ There is a lack of urgency, ” says David Luke of the London School of Economics ( LSE).
The current stumbling block is over rules of origin, the foundations of any trading area. In contrast to the EU, where large countries such as Germany and ( pre-Brexit) Britain were advocates of liberalisation, Africa’ s largest economies—Egypt, Nigeria, South Africa and, to a slightly lesser extent, Kenya—are all run by governments with protectionist leanings. Outsiders do not help either: the EU has many different types of trade deals with African countries, making it harder for those countries to harmonise their own rules.
Disputes between countries can clog up trade for months. Rwanda and Uganda closed their border for three years, only opening it recently. For most of last year Kenya banned imports of Ugandan chicken and eggs because its farmers complained about their neighbours’ prodigiously productive poultry. In 2020 a dispute between transport unions in the Gambia and Senegal made it difficult to get goods from Banjul to Dakar. And so on.
Stalled talks over rules of origin have also stopped progress on other issues. Many countries still rely on paper customs forms. Few border crossings have “ one-stop windows ”. Truckers need to queue separately for immigration, customs, car tax and covid tests. Such things add to the costs of getting things across borders; it is $ 2,000 to ship a container from China to Beira in Mozambique, but a further $ 5,000 to ship it 500km inland to Malawi.
The political obstacles within countries can be just as tough as those between them. Overhauling ports and border posts is difficult partly because of vested interests. African states often rely heavily on customs duties to fill their state coffers, a practice going back to the extractive model of colonial regimes. An individual inspector at the port of Toamasina in Madagascar, for instance, is responsible for collecting 1.3% of all taxes in the whole country.
Such power opens the door to rent-seeking and corruption. Sandra Sequeira and Simeon Djankov, both of the LSE, found that about 15 years ago more than half of shipments going through Maputo, and more than a third via Durban, involved bribes. Digitisation and higher wages do not seem to reduce corruption. When Ghana raised salaries for police controlling borders, bribe-taking increased.
Businesses are far from blameless, adds Gaël Raballand of the World Bank. Powerful oligopolies can collude in corruption, whether to get their goods moving or, as odd as it may seem, to keep them in port—a way to raise the costs of entry for would-be competitors, notes Mr Raballand.
“ The problem is still at the borders, ” grumbles a Kenyan fleet owner. Even if drivers send paperwork in advance, they can still wait behind others who do not. “ We pay for drivers to skip the lines. You have to. This is Africa. ” ■
Many people have no jobs. Others, nose jobs
Many people have no jobs. Others, nose jobs
Published since September 1843 to take part in “ a severe contest between intelligence, which presses forward, and an unworthy, timid ignorance obstructing our progress. ”
Copyright © The Economist Newspaper Limited 2022. All rights reserved. | business |
Ohio asked to OK additional $ 5B comp dividend | Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine requested that the Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation release $ 5 billion in dividends to ease the continued financial impact on the state’ s employer from the COVID-19 pandemic, his office said in a statement Wednesday. The BWC’ s board of directors issued a notice Thursday that the board will meet virtually on Friday morning to discuss the governor’ s proposal. If approved and distributed, the BWC will have paid out nearly $ 8 billion in dividend dollars this year. Private and public employers in Franklin County would receive approximately $ 559 million, followed by Cuyahoga County at $ 528 million. The city of Columbus would receive nearly $ 64 million, marking the largest single dividend check issued in this distribution if approved. “ We’ ve never issued three dividends in the same year, let alone any for this much, but unprecedented times call for unprecedented actions, ” said Stephanie McCloud, BWC’ s administrator and CEO in a statement. “ Even so, the state insurance fund is well positioned to cover our injured workers for years to come. ” In April, the BWC approved a $ 1.6 billion dividend; the agency’ s board approved an additional $ 1.5 billion dividend in September. A $ 5 billion dividend is approximately four times the total premiums the BWC collected from policyholders in 2019, according to the statement. More insurance and workers compensation news on the coronavirus crisis here.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine requested that the Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation release $ 5 billion in dividends to ease the continued financial impact on the state’ s employer from the COVID-19 pandemic, his office said in a statement Wednesday.
The BWC’ s board of directors issued a notice Thursday that the board will meet virtually on Friday morning to discuss the governor’ s proposal. If approved and distributed, the BWC will have paid out nearly $ 8 billion in dividend dollars this year.
Private and public employers in Franklin County would receive approximately $ 559 million, followed by Cuyahoga County at $ 528 million. The city of Columbus would receive nearly $ 64 million, marking the largest single dividend check issued in this distribution if approved.
“ We’ ve never issued three dividends in the same year, let alone any for this much, but unprecedented times call for unprecedented actions, ” said Stephanie McCloud, BWC’ s administrator and CEO in a statement. “ Even so, the state insurance fund is well positioned to cover our injured workers for years to come. ”
In April, the BWC approved a $ 1.6 billion dividend; the agency’ s board approved an additional $ 1.5 billion dividend in September. A $ 5 billion dividend is approximately four times the total premiums the BWC collected from policyholders in 2019, according to the statement.
More insurance and workers compensation news on the coronavirus crisis here. | general |
Wales name side for opening Women's Six Nations clash with Ireland | Ireland Women's Rugby Squad Training Head coach Greg McWilliams and assistant coach Niamh Briggs Mandatory Credit ©INPHO/Evan Treacy
Wales have named their side to face Ireland in their opening game of the TikTok Women’ s Six Nations at the RDS on Saturday.
This will be the first Six Nations in which Wales can call on professional players. Ten of head coach Ioan Cunningham’ s starting XV became full-time athletes in January with a further four on retainer contracts.
Captain Siwan Lillicrap has recovered from Covid-19 to lead the side. Sioned Harries is named among the replacements having won the last of her 58 caps in 2019 while Sisilia Tuipulotu is in line for a debut.
Former captain Carys Phillips will make her first Six Nations appearance in two years. Kayleigh Powell slots in at full-back in what will be her first Test since last year's Six Nations, while hooker Kelsey Jones is back in the matchday squad after missing the autumn internationals.
Elinor Snowsill is back to full fitness to partner club team mate Keira Bevan in the half-backs.
`` We feel we have a good balance in the side with plenty of experience alongside some exciting young players, '' said Ioan Cunningham.
`` It's good to have players like Kayleigh, Kelsey and Sioned back in the squad at the start of this tournament.
`` Sisilia has settled in well to the training environment after taking up a retainer contract and she fully deserves to make the next step to international rugby. The more exposure we can give her at this level, the more comfortable she will be. | general |
France news and analysis articles | The transition from LIBOR to RFR has brought challenges for structured products. There are still legacy IBOR products to consider and at the same time the pricing and risk systems need to be upgraâ¦
To ease the pain associated with meeting compliance targets, global institutions are exploring ways to become more efficient by integrating regulatory and business initiatives.
Wire payment fraud is a major growing risk for financial institutions in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. These cases of fraud donât just hurt finâ¦
Asia Risk is proud to present Asia Risk Live, a face-to-face event in Hong Kong and Singapore. An opportunity to reconnect in person to learn and exchange new ideas.
View our latest in market leading training courses, both public and in-house.
The Energy Risk Awards recognise the leading firms in energy risk management. Corporates, financial players, technology and data firms, consultancies, brokers and exchanges are all welcome to submit â¦
The Asia Risk Awards recognize best practices in risk management and derivatives use by banks and financial institutions around the region.
Take a look at the wide variety of events and training on offer.
This eBook is based on the 2021 industry research by Acuiti, as well as the FIS Readiness Report. Youâll find plenty of support for a move to AI-powered cloud computing, a modular approach that ensurâ¦
Maximising value from better risk management and deal efficiency This Risk.net survey and white paper, commissioned by SS & C Intralinks, assesses the outlook for the CMBS market in the US and Europe, â¦
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Edited by Bill Coen and D. R. Maurice
Loan-loss provisions for 2020 totalled €5.7 billion
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Monetary Authority of Singapore ( MAS) news and analysis articles | The transition from LIBOR to RFR has brought challenges for structured products. There are still legacy IBOR products to consider and at the same time the pricing and risk systems need to be upgraâ¦
To ease the pain associated with meeting compliance targets, global institutions are exploring ways to become more efficient by integrating regulatory and business initiatives.
Wire payment fraud is a major growing risk for financial institutions in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. These cases of fraud donât just hurt finâ¦
Asia Risk is proud to present Asia Risk Live, a face-to-face event in Hong Kong and Singapore. An opportunity to reconnect in person to learn and exchange new ideas.
View our latest in market leading training courses, both public and in-house.
The Energy Risk Awards recognise the leading firms in energy risk management. Corporates, financial players, technology and data firms, consultancies, brokers and exchanges are all welcome to submit â¦
The Asia Risk Awards recognize best practices in risk management and derivatives use by banks and financial institutions around the region.
Take a look at the wide variety of events and training on offer.
This eBook is based on the 2021 industry research by Acuiti, as well as the FIS Readiness Report. Youâll find plenty of support for a move to AI-powered cloud computing, a modular approach that ensurâ¦
Maximising value from better risk management and deal efficiency This Risk.net survey and white paper, commissioned by SS & C Intralinks, assesses the outlook for the CMBS market in the US and Europe, â¦
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Financial crime is a fast-growing problem for Asia‑Pacific financial services firms. Working with outmoded systems and patched-up processes to detect, monitor and eliminate potential threats, banks are spending millions on sophisticated new solutions to…
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War in Ukraine rattles auto parts industry | Hi, what are you looking for?
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Ukraine’ s car parts industry, which supplies many vehicle manufacturers in western European, has taken a battering since the Russian invasion one month ago.
Factories are at a standstill, cable production has slumped and there are concerns about neon supplies.
Ukraine saw its domestic car production industry nosedive when the Soviet Union collapsed but successfully reinvented itself in the early 2000s as a major producer of automotive parts.
The country’ s proximity to the European Union, its skilled workers and low labour costs have attracted a string of Western manufacturers, particularly from German groups like Bosch, Kostal and Prettl.
By 2021, they were employing 60,000 workers in 38 Ukrainian plants, according to government figures.
The factories produce electronic components, car seats and, crucially, electric cables.
A maze of cables known as a wire harness runs through every vehicle and constitutes its central nervous system. A large SUV like the Porsche Panamera contains several kilometres ( miles) of these cables.
Before the Russian invasion on February 24, Ukraine was one of Europe’ s biggest manufacturers of electric cable.
Last year it supplied 760 million euros ( $ 835 million) worth of cables to the EU’ s automotive and aeronautics industries, according to the European Association of Automotive Suppliers ( CLEPA).
Some 45 percent of Ukrainian harnesses go to Germany and Poland.
Every vehicle has a “ specific wire harness ”, which requires 10 to 15 hours of manual labour and is produced on a just-in-time basis, two to three days after order, Volkswagen boss Herbert Diess explained in early March.
Most of the parts factories are located in western Ukraine, which has been somewhat spared the worst of the war, and employ mostly women.
The plants are seem to be working to “ a certain extent ” but shipping parts out to Western Europe is “ equally challenging ”, according to CLEPA secretary-general Sigrid de Vries.
– Domino effect –
At the Polish border, the Bosch factory in Krakovets has slowly resumed production of starter motor parts “ at the request of 180 employees who want to get back to work ”, the world leader in car parts told AFP.
“ We continue to apply the strictest security measures for workers on site, ” Bosch continued, adding that it had paid workers “ several months of wages in advance ”.
Several Western manufacturers have taken the radical option of creating duplicates of entire factories in countries neighbouring Ukraine.
A few days before the war started, Ireland’ s Aptiv moved cable production to mirror sites in Poland, Romania and Serbia.
“ ( Cable production) isn’ t that complicated to relocate. They’ re relatively straightforward pieces of equipment, ” explained Alexandre Marian of consulting firm AlixPartners.
But de Vries cautioned that “ it’ s easier said than done ” as the auto parts industry is labour intensive.
“ It’ s very specific to a certain model. It needs time and careful reflexion on what to do, ” she said.
Car plants in eastern Europe employ many Ukrainians and a number have gone back home to fight, as have Ukrainian lorry drivers, who make up a significant proportion of the transport workers shipping parts to western Europe.
As a result, Volkswagen, BMW and Renault have all had to suspend production at certain factories.
Ukraine, a major steel producer, is also the world’ s top exporter of neon, which is essential for manufacturing semiconductors.
While the manufacturing process has adapted since Moscow annexed Crimea in 2014 and there are adequate stocks of neon, “ there could be a problem in the medium term ”, AlixPartners’ Marian said.
However, any Ukrainian shortage would be less consequential than the scarcity of Russian raw materials, he added.
– ‘ Weak link’ –
More widely, it is the rocketing prices of energy — gas, oil, and electricity — that worry the sector the most.
The war has worsened the prospects of a vehicle market already struggling from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the semiconductor shortage, logistical costs and the rise in the price of raw materials.
Global sales are expected to fall a further two percent in 2022, particularly in Europe. Standard & amp; Poor’ s ( S & amp; P) had hitherto forecast a rise of four to six percent.
And although carmakers have succeeded in putting up prices and protecting their margins, parts manufacturers have to find “ a delicate balance ” between rising supply costs and cautious clients, S & amp; P’ s Vittoria Ferraris pointed out.
“ Some automakers and parts manufacturers are going to find themselves in trouble, ” Marian predicted. “ There has to be a weak link in the ( production) chain somewhere. ”
With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency. AFP provides fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives.
The plane has been chartered by Swiss millionaire Guido Fluri.
India has abstained on UN resolutions censuring Russia and continues to buy Russian oil and other goods.
Mexican President López Obrador is critical of the U.S. for its quick action in approving aid to Ukraine.
The key innovations with electric vehicles are being driven by a series of startups, which are listed here.
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Journal of Risk Model Validation Volume 10, Number 2 ( June 2016) | The transition from LIBOR to RFR has brought challenges for structured products. There are still legacy IBOR products to consider and at the same time the pricing and risk systems need to be upgraâ¦
To ease the pain associated with meeting compliance targets, global institutions are exploring ways to become more efficient by integrating regulatory and business initiatives.
Wire payment fraud is a major growing risk for financial institutions in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. These cases of fraud donât just hurt finâ¦
Asia Risk is proud to present Asia Risk Live, a face-to-face event in Hong Kong and Singapore. An opportunity to reconnect in person to learn and exchange new ideas.
View our latest in market leading training courses, both public and in-house.
The Energy Risk Awards recognise the leading firms in energy risk management. Corporates, financial players, technology and data firms, consultancies, brokers and exchanges are all welcome to submit â¦
The Asia Risk Awards recognize best practices in risk management and derivatives use by banks and financial institutions around the region.
Take a look at the wide variety of events and training on offer.
This eBook is based on the 2021 industry research by Acuiti, as well as the FIS Readiness Report. Youâll find plenty of support for a move to AI-powered cloud computing, a modular approach that ensurâ¦
Maximising value from better risk management and deal efficiency This Risk.net survey and white paper, commissioned by SS & C Intralinks, assesses the outlook for the CMBS market in the US and Europe, â¦
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This issue of The Journal of Risk Model Validation presents, as usual, four papers, two of which discuss that hardy perennial, value-at-risk ( VaR). It is extraordinary, after all the research that has been done, that one can find new and interesting things to say about VaR. In my view, the authors here have succeeded in doing so. The other two papers are both welcome contributions in examining different features of debt modeling and validation.
In the first paper, titled `` Value-at-risk estimation with the Carr-Geman-Madan-Yor process: an empirical study on foreign exchange rates '', Sun-Yong Choi investigates whether the Carr-Madan-Geman-Yor ( CGMY) distribution is appropriate for describing the fat tails of the distribution of foreign exchange rate return. VaR is estimated for this model and for a number of others, and attractive properties are found for the distribution.
In `` Research on equity release mortgage risk diversification with financial innovation: reinsurance usage '', the second paper in this issue, Kuo-Shing Chen looks at equity release mortgages and provides fair value pricing based on Brownian motion assumptions and recognition of the options structure. Risk validation is carried out via some numerical calculations. This is one of the very few papers in this area that we have published and it is of considerable general interest.
Our third paper, `` Testing value-at-risk models in emerging markets during crises: a case study on South Eastern European countries '' by Nikola Radivojevic, Nikola V. Curcic, Dragana Milojkovic and Vuk S. Miletic, contains further discussion on VaR. The authors carry out a case study of South Eastern European countries to see if VaR can be applied to emerging markets. They conclude that the most popular VaR models do not perform all that well in this context and suggest refinements to address this.
The issue's fourth paper, by Mark Rubtsov and Alexander Petrov, is called `` A point-in-time-through-the-cycle approach to rating assignment and probability of default calibration ''. Here, the authors propose a methodology for constructing through-the-cycle rating grades and assessing the resulting degree of point-in-time-ness. The models are calibrated and the results are used to understand validation tests. The authors give an example using a portfolio of corporate customers; other applications are possible.
Looking at the overall health of the journal, I am pleased to reveal that we are now receiving a regular supply of good submissions, and there are other indicators of good publishing health. Risk model validation continues to be of significant importance and is likely to become more, rather than less, important going forward.
This paper examines the risk diversification of ERMs via the reinsurance strategy.
This paper examines the applicability of a wide range of VaR models in emerging markets, focusing on South Eastern European countries.
This paper investigates the performance of the CGMY distribution in estimating the risk of FX rates.
This paper proposes a methodology for constructing TTC rating grades and assessing the resulting degree of PIT-ness.
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Journal of Operational Risk Volume 17, Number 1 ( March 2022) | The transition from LIBOR to RFR has brought challenges for structured products. There are still legacy IBOR products to consider and at the same time the pricing and risk systems need to be upgraâ¦
To ease the pain associated with meeting compliance targets, global institutions are exploring ways to become more efficient by integrating regulatory and business initiatives.
Wire payment fraud is a major growing risk for financial institutions in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. These cases of fraud donât just hurt finâ¦
Asia Risk is proud to present Asia Risk Live, a face-to-face event in Hong Kong and Singapore. An opportunity to reconnect in person to learn and exchange new ideas.
View our latest in market leading training courses, both public and in-house.
The Energy Risk Awards recognise the leading firms in energy risk management. Corporates, financial players, technology and data firms, consultancies, brokers and exchanges are all welcome to submit â¦
The Asia Risk Awards recognize best practices in risk management and derivatives use by banks and financial institutions around the region.
Take a look at the wide variety of events and training on offer.
This eBook is based on the 2021 industry research by Acuiti, as well as the FIS Readiness Report. Youâll find plenty of support for a move to AI-powered cloud computing, a modular approach that ensurâ¦
Maximising value from better risk management and deal efficiency This Risk.net survey and white paper, commissioned by SS & C Intralinks, assesses the outlook for the CMBS market in the US and Europe, â¦
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Edited by Bill Coen and D. R. Maurice
Welcome to the first issue of Volume 17 of The Journal of Operational Risk.
These are surely interesting times for an operational risk manager. Cryptocurrencies have seen an increase in popularity and now make up a significant share of investment portfolios, particularly for younger investors. This rise in popularity is pushing central banks to develop their own digital currencies and also to consider the best way to regulate this new industry. Cryptocurrencies bring significant operational risk challenges, eg, money transfers happen beyond the supervision of central banks and financial authorities, and transfer mistakes are most likely irrecoverable. As The Journal of Operational Risk is the leading publication in operational risk in the banking industry, we are planning a special issue on the subject to show what practitioners are doing to manage cryptocurrency risk.
We are also interested in receiving more papers on other subjects. Operational risk resilience is one of the key topics of interest in the industry right now, and we would welcome more submissions relating to it. In addition to resilience, we would also welcome more papers on cyber and IT risks – not just on their quantification, but also on better ways to manage them. We would also like to publish more papers on important subjects such as enterprise risk management and everything this broad subject encompasses, eg, establishing risk policies and procedures, implementing firm-wide controls, risk aggregation and revamping risk organization. As I have said before, analytical papers on operational risk measurement are still appreciatively received, and papers in forthcoming issues will focus on stress testing and actually managing these risks.
These are certainly exciting times! The Journal of Operational Risk aims to be at the forefront of discussions on such subjects and we would welcome papers that shed light on these topics.
In this issue we have four very interesting research papers. We present two interesting papers from teams from Greece, who use local public data to propose models to assess internal audit quality and to detect fraud, respectively. The other two papers are more technical and propose a new model to assess backtesting quality and a two-step approach to model g-and-h distributions.
In the issue’ s first paper, “ Revisiting the linkage between internal audit function characteristics and internal control quality ”, Iakovos Michailidis, Kiriaki Alexandridou, Michail Nerantzidis and George Drogalas investigate the relationship between the characteristics of the internal audit function and internal control quality by using the responses of 48 chief auditing executives from Greek listed companies to consider a random polynomial-kernel, metabolized regression model that builds on the MATLAB approach presented in a 2018 paper by Oussii and Taktak. They demonstrate that the proposed random polynomial model is a valid, reliable and appropriate method for assessing internal control quality, and that its estimation performance is three times better than that of a linear regression model. Their findings suggest that their proposed model can serve as a starting point for companies and practitioners to improve internal control quality level through the assessment of certain independent variables. On that basis, their study offers insights to regulatory bodies, auditors and scholars in perceiving the contribution of the internal audit function’ s constituents to internal control quality. Their approach is expected to inspire conclusive follow-on research on internal control quality assessment in other countries with similar settings.
In our second paper, “ Preventing the unpleasant: fraudulent financial statement detection using financial ratios ”, Michail Pazarskis, Grigorios Lazos, Andreas Koutoupis and George Drogalas investigate financial fraud in companies listed on the Athens Stock Exchange between 2008 and 2018. Pazarskis et al applied several statistical tests to both the primary and control samples to create a model that uses 30 different financial indicators as “ forecasts ” to detect possible fraud. The data used in the research were obtained from the financial statements of the listed companies, from reviewing auditors’ reports and from the data and information available from the reports of the Athens Stock Exchange. The proposed model achieves an accuracy of 78.4% in correctly classifying the total sample, showing that the model works effectively in detecting fraudulent financial statements when the economy is operating in crisis conditions. This model, with the use of financial ratios, signals red flags in the audit process and could be used as an effective tool by the banking system, internal and external auditors, tax authorities or other government authorities.
In the third paper in the issue, “ Evaluation of backtesting on risk models based on data envelopment analysis ”, Grigorios Kontaxis and Ioannis E. Tsolas compare different value-at-risk ( VaR) models, which are used to measure market risk, under different estimation approaches, and they backtest them using an alternative strategy. The methodologies examined include filtered historical simulation, extreme value theory and Monte Carlo and historical simulation. Autoregressive-moving-average ( ARMA) and generalized-autoregressive-conditional-heteroscedasticity ( GARCH) models are used to estimate VaR. Selected VaR functions, marginal distributions and different horizons are combined over a set of extreme probability levels using time series of the Financial Times Stock Exchange Index ( FTSE 100). Data envelopment analysis, which investigates the efficiency of VaR models using a number of different parameters, is carried out in lieu of standard backtesting techniques such as Kupiec’ s test and the Basel traffic light test. A model that seems to be perfect under certain settings is commonly outperformed by another model when the parameters change, and no model is superior under all configurations. Thus, the standard data envelopment analysis model is used by Kontaxis et al to evaluate several market risk models over different sets of probability levels and horizons. They find that, for short horizons, some approaches underestimate VaR. However, a sufficient number of models present violation estimates that almost converge to the desired ones. Surprisingly, aside from historical simulation and some extreme value theory models, overlapping returns tend to yield conservative 10-day VaR estimations for most models; in the cases of nonoverlapping returns, the results of the data envelopment analysis are satisfactory.
In the issue’ s fourth paper, “ Modeling multivariate operational losses via copulabased distributions with g-and-h marginals ”, Marco Bee and Julien Hambuckers propose a family of copula-based multivariate distributions with g-and-h marginals. After studying the properties of the g-and-h distribution, they develop a two-step estimation strategy and simulate the sampling distribution of the estimators. Their methodology is used for the analysis of a seven-dimensional data set of 40,871 operational losses. The empirical evidence suggests that a distribution based on a single copula is not flexible enough, so Bee and Hambuckers model the dependence structure by means of vine copulas and show that the approach based on regular vines improves the fit. Moreover, even though losses corresponding to different event types are found to be dependent, the assumption of perfect positive dependence is not supported by their analysis. As a result, the VaR of the total operational loss distribution obtained from the copula-based technique is substantially smaller at high confidence levels than that obtained using the common practice of summing the univariate VaRs.
This paper revisits the linkage between internal audit function characteristics and internal control quality and proposes a random polynomial model for assessing ICQ.
In this paper, the authors investigate financial fraud in companies listed on the Athens Stock Exchange during the period 2008–18 and propose a model to detect fraudulent financial statements.
In this study, different value-at-risk models, which are used to measure market risk, are analyzed under different estimation approaches and backtested with an alternative strategy.
In this paper, the authors propose a family of copula-based multivariate distributions with g-and-h marginals.
© Infopro Digital Risk ( IP) Limited ( 2022). All rights reserved. Published by Infopro Digital Services Limited, 133 Houndsditch, London, EC3A 7BX. Companies are registered in England and Wales with company registration numbers 09232733 & 04699701.
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Petter E. de Lange | The transition from LIBOR to RFR has brought challenges for structured products. There are still legacy IBOR products to consider and at the same time the pricing and risk systems need to be upgraâ¦
To ease the pain associated with meeting compliance targets, global institutions are exploring ways to become more efficient by integrating regulatory and business initiatives.
Wire payment fraud is a major growing risk for financial institutions in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. These cases of fraud donât just hurt finâ¦
Asia Risk is proud to present Asia Risk Live, a face-to-face event in Hong Kong and Singapore. An opportunity to reconnect in person to learn and exchange new ideas.
View our latest in market leading training courses, both public and in-house.
The Energy Risk Awards recognise the leading firms in energy risk management. Corporates, financial players, technology and data firms, consultancies, brokers and exchanges are all welcome to submit â¦
The Asia Risk Awards recognize best practices in risk management and derivatives use by banks and financial institutions around the region.
Take a look at the wide variety of events and training on offer.
This eBook is based on the 2021 industry research by Acuiti, as well as the FIS Readiness Report. Youâll find plenty of support for a move to AI-powered cloud computing, a modular approach that ensurâ¦
Maximising value from better risk management and deal efficiency This Risk.net survey and white paper, commissioned by SS & C Intralinks, assesses the outlook for the CMBS market in the US and Europe, â¦
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Edited by Bill Coen and D. R. Maurice
Petter E. de Lange is associate professor at the Department of International Business, NTNU. He is former chief economist at Sparebank1 SMN and former investment manager at DnB Life Insurance.
In this paper the authors propose a semi-parametric, parsimonious value-at-risk forecasting model based on quantile regression and readily available market prices of option contracts from the over-the-counter foreign exchange interbank market.
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Prudential Regulation Authority ( PRA) news and analysis articles | The transition from LIBOR to RFR has brought challenges for structured products. There are still legacy IBOR products to consider and at the same time the pricing and risk systems need to be upgraâ¦
To ease the pain associated with meeting compliance targets, global institutions are exploring ways to become more efficient by integrating regulatory and business initiatives.
Wire payment fraud is a major growing risk for financial institutions in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. These cases of fraud donât just hurt finâ¦
Asia Risk is proud to present Asia Risk Live, a face-to-face event in Hong Kong and Singapore. An opportunity to reconnect in person to learn and exchange new ideas.
View our latest in market leading training courses, both public and in-house.
The Energy Risk Awards recognise the leading firms in energy risk management. Corporates, financial players, technology and data firms, consultancies, brokers and exchanges are all welcome to submit â¦
The Asia Risk Awards recognize best practices in risk management and derivatives use by banks and financial institutions around the region.
Take a look at the wide variety of events and training on offer.
This eBook is based on the 2021 industry research by Acuiti, as well as the FIS Readiness Report. Youâll find plenty of support for a move to AI-powered cloud computing, a modular approach that ensurâ¦
Maximising value from better risk management and deal efficiency This Risk.net survey and white paper, commissioned by SS & C Intralinks, assesses the outlook for the CMBS market in the US and Europe, â¦
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Edited by Bill Coen and D. R. Maurice
Measures to remedy internal model deficiencies added £14.8 billion RWAs overnight
Move from Pillar 2 to Pillar 1 for unhedged FX risk adds $ 6.8bn of RWAs
Arming a business in preparation for robust operational resilience measures is not a one-step solution – it continues to evolve. The key to strengthening defences against all events – especially the unlikely but plausible – is to build business agility…
In a Risk.net webinar convened in collaboration with Fusion Risk Management, an expert panel delved into best practices for businesses to elevate systems to the next level of prediction, preparation and protection
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Journal of Computational Finance Volume 21, Number 2 ( September 2017) | The transition from LIBOR to RFR has brought challenges for structured products. There are still legacy IBOR products to consider and at the same time the pricing and risk systems need to be upgraâ¦
To ease the pain associated with meeting compliance targets, global institutions are exploring ways to become more efficient by integrating regulatory and business initiatives.
Wire payment fraud is a major growing risk for financial institutions in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. These cases of fraud donât just hurt finâ¦
Asia Risk is proud to present Asia Risk Live, a face-to-face event in Hong Kong and Singapore. An opportunity to reconnect in person to learn and exchange new ideas.
View our latest in market leading training courses, both public and in-house.
The Energy Risk Awards recognise the leading firms in energy risk management. Corporates, financial players, technology and data firms, consultancies, brokers and exchanges are all welcome to submit â¦
The Asia Risk Awards recognize best practices in risk management and derivatives use by banks and financial institutions around the region.
Take a look at the wide variety of events and training on offer.
This eBook is based on the 2021 industry research by Acuiti, as well as the FIS Readiness Report. Youâll find plenty of support for a move to AI-powered cloud computing, a modular approach that ensurâ¦
Maximising value from better risk management and deal efficiency This Risk.net survey and white paper, commissioned by SS & C Intralinks, assesses the outlook for the CMBS market in the US and Europe, â¦
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Edited by Bill Coen and D. R. Maurice
Before we describe the contents of the current issue of The Journal of Computational Finance, let me say a few words. For two years we have been managed and assisted by Incisive Media Journals Manager Dawn Hunter, who did her work with great accuracy and care. She helped us take our first steps into the e-paper handling system in April 2015. She has now left Incisive Media, and we wish her all the best for her future career. Dawn, thanks for the accurate handling of all your work and for your cooperation!
That being said, in front of you is the September 2017 issue of The Journal of Computational Finance. In the following four research papers, four different numerical techniques are advocated for a variety of applications in finance, for which efficient computations are mandatory. Interestingly, the underlying asset dynamics appear to be based on Lévy processes in three of the papers in this issue.
The title of Geng Deng, Tim Dulaney, Craig McCann and Mike Yan’ s paper, the first in this issue, is self-explanatory: “ Efficient valuation of equity-indexed annuities under Lévy processes using Fourier cosine series ”. An efficient version of the COS method is proposed for pricing equity-indexed annuities, which are deferred annuities that increase in value over time according to crediting and realized index returns. The value of the contract is based on a series of terms containing characteristic functions, so the COS method can be applied to calculate the contract’ s present value as well as annuity market sensitivities.
“ A generalized risk budgeting approach to portfolio construction ” written by Martin Haugh, Garud Iyengar and Irene Song is the issue’ s second paper. In a generalized budgeting approach to portfolio construction, assets are bundled into overlapping subsets, and a risk budget is allocated to each bundle. The aim is to find an optimal risk–return front. Two solution approaches are proposed, one based on semidefinite programming and another based on the Markov chain Monte Carlo method. The generality of the second approach is emphasized.
J. Lars Kirkby is the author of the third contribution to this issue: “ Robust option pricing with characteristic functions and the B-spline order of density projection ”. As in the first paper, the characteristic function of the asset price process is known and, based on this, the so-called PROJ method is defined. This is a wavelets-based technique, based on B-splines. The method’ s applicability extends to discretely monitored exotic options under exponential Lévy dynamics. Three different implementations are compared: one is a Hilbert transform-based technique, which particularly offers control over errors.
The issue’ s final paper is “ European option pricing under geometric Lévy processes with proportional transaction costs ” by Haipeng Xing, Yang Yu and Tiong Wee Lim. The authors propose a computational algorithm for the European option pricing problem under transaction costs, where the asset dynamics follow a geometric Lévy process. The approach adopted is based on maximization of the expected utility of terminal wealth, where the option-pricing problem is transformed into a stochastic optimal control problem. A coupled backward induction algorithm is developed to solve the resulting formulation.
I wish you very enjoyable reading of this issue of The Journal of Computational Finance.
Cornelis W. Oosterlee CWI – Dutch Center for Mathematics and Computer Science, Amsterdam
This paper proposes an efficient algorithm to value two popular crediting formulas found in equity-indexed annuities – APP and MPP – under general Lévy-process-based index returns.
This paper proposes a generalized risk budgeting approach to portfolio construction.
This paper extends and refines the method of option pricing by frame projection of risk-neutral densities to incorporate B-splines.
This paper considers the problem of European option pricing in the presence of a proportional transaction cost when the price of the underlying follows a jump–diffusion process.
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Journal of Credit Risk Volume 8, Number 2 ( June 2012) | The transition from LIBOR to RFR has brought challenges for structured products. There are still legacy IBOR products to consider and at the same time the pricing and risk systems need to be upgraâ¦
To ease the pain associated with meeting compliance targets, global institutions are exploring ways to become more efficient by integrating regulatory and business initiatives.
Wire payment fraud is a major growing risk for financial institutions in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. These cases of fraud donât just hurt finâ¦
Asia Risk is proud to present Asia Risk Live, a face-to-face event in Hong Kong and Singapore. An opportunity to reconnect in person to learn and exchange new ideas.
View our latest in market leading training courses, both public and in-house.
The Energy Risk Awards recognise the leading firms in energy risk management. Corporates, financial players, technology and data firms, consultancies, brokers and exchanges are all welcome to submit â¦
The Asia Risk Awards recognize best practices in risk management and derivatives use by banks and financial institutions around the region.
Take a look at the wide variety of events and training on offer.
This eBook is based on the 2021 industry research by Acuiti, as well as the FIS Readiness Report. Youâll find plenty of support for a move to AI-powered cloud computing, a modular approach that ensurâ¦
Maximising value from better risk management and deal efficiency This Risk.net survey and white paper, commissioned by SS & C Intralinks, assesses the outlook for the CMBS market in the US and Europe, â¦
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Edited by Bill Coen and D. R. Maurice
In this issue of The Journal of Credit Risk we present two full-length research papers and two technical reports.
The first paper, `` Two models of stochastic loss given default '', is by Simone Farinelli and Mykhaylo Shkolnikov. The paper proposes two structural models of stochastic loss given default ( LGD) for modeling portfolio credit losses. The first model suggests random parameters for beta distribution with matching mean LGD, and the second model utilizes fixed parameters with a symmetric density support around mean LGD. A calibration methodology is also provided and applied to the historical data.
The second research paper is `` Double exponential jump diffusion processes: a structural model of an endogenous default barrier with a rollover debt structure '' by Binh Dao and Monique Jeanblanc. The authors present a new and useful structural model of debt that includes jumps and that therefore allows for nonnegligible credit spreads at short maturities, as opposed to what is predicted in the seminal papers of Merton, Longstaff and Schwartz, Leland and others. This model allows many stylized features of real-world markets to be recovered.
A technical report describes a particular practical technique and enumerates situations in which it works well and others in which it does not. Such reports provide extremely useful information to practitioners in terms of saved time and minimizing duplication of effort. The contents of technical reports complement rigorous conceptual and model developments presented in the research papers.A technical report can be a useful survey article as well.
The first technical report, `` Impact of factor models on portfolio risk measures: a structural approach '', is by Marcos Escobar, Tobias Frielingsdorf and Rudi Zagst. This is an interesting comparison paper in which several factor models are compared on their capability to capture heavy-tailed phenomena in the computation of risk measures like value-at-risk ( VaR) and lower tail dependence. The authors compare linear and nonlinear factor models, like the Gaussian factor model, the double Student t model, the normal inverse Gaussian factor model, the stochastic correlation factor model and the simple Student t factor model. The models are unified, in the sense that the same covariance matrix is used for all models. Furthermore, they are calibrated, after which the VaR and lower tail dependence are computed for a portfolio consisting of three companies rated Aa, Baa and Ba.
The second technical report is `` Modeling exposure at default and loss given default: empirical approaches and technical implementation '' by Bill Huajian Yang and Mykola Tkachenko. The paper briefly surveys current modeling methodologies and then proposes some empirical approaches and provides technical insights into their implementation.
© Infopro Digital Risk ( IP) Limited ( 2022). All rights reserved. Published by Infopro Digital Services Limited, 133 Houndsditch, London, EC3A 7BX. Companies are registered in England and Wales with company registration numbers 09232733 & 04699701.
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Journal of Investment Strategies Volume 3, Number 4 ( September 2014) | The transition from LIBOR to RFR has brought challenges for structured products. There are still legacy IBOR products to consider and at the same time the pricing and risk systems need to be upgraâ¦
To ease the pain associated with meeting compliance targets, global institutions are exploring ways to become more efficient by integrating regulatory and business initiatives.
Wire payment fraud is a major growing risk for financial institutions in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. These cases of fraud donât just hurt finâ¦
Asia Risk is proud to present Asia Risk Live, a face-to-face event in Hong Kong and Singapore. An opportunity to reconnect in person to learn and exchange new ideas.
View our latest in market leading training courses, both public and in-house.
The Energy Risk Awards recognise the leading firms in energy risk management. Corporates, financial players, technology and data firms, consultancies, brokers and exchanges are all welcome to submit â¦
The Asia Risk Awards recognize best practices in risk management and derivatives use by banks and financial institutions around the region.
Take a look at the wide variety of events and training on offer.
This eBook is based on the 2021 industry research by Acuiti, as well as the FIS Readiness Report. Youâll find plenty of support for a move to AI-powered cloud computing, a modular approach that ensurâ¦
Maximising value from better risk management and deal efficiency This Risk.net survey and white paper, commissioned by SS & C Intralinks, assesses the outlook for the CMBS market in the US and Europe, â¦
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Edited by Bill Coen and D. R. Maurice
Welcome to the fourth issue of the third volume of The Journal of Investment Strategies. In this issue you will find four papers that cover a diverse set of topics: behavioral finance, portfolio optimization, systematic momentum strategies and credit trading.
In the first paper of the issue, `` Quantifying irrational sentiment '', Todd Feldman introduces us to an area of behavioral finance research related to irrational sentiment detection: this represents a first for our journal. What I find most interesting here is that Feldman apparently succeeds in constructing meaningful and intuitive indexes for rational and irrational content in aggregate investor behavior, using the same widely available sets of data that most of us have been using for years. By looking at the statistical patterns that are peculiar to the loss-aversion and recency biases, he is able to construct rational and irrational sentiment indexes for the broad US market. He then argues that by looking at the gap between the two indexes one can detect periods in which behavior is particularly irrational ( either irrationally fearful or irrationally exuberant). It is interesting that these indexes are apparently better at catching episodes of irrational fear, but it is also remarkable that they catch the irrational optimism that was present just before the major equity market crashes of 1987 and 2008. I like the fact that this paper demonstrates a very pragmatic and useful avenue for bringing insights from behavioral finance into quantitative finance, and perhaps even into the world of systematic strategy construction. I find this a promising area of research and hope that we will have more papers like Feldman's in our journal in the future.
In the issue's second paper, `` The stochastic-volatility, jump-diffusion optimal portfolio problem with jumps in returns and volatility '', Floyd B. Hanson provides a rigorous treatment of the optimal portfolio problem in continuous time with significant generalizations allowing for jumps in returns and volatility. Continuing the line of work that started with Merton in the log-normal jump-diffusion setting, and that many researchers have both corrected and broadened for various relaxed assumptions, Hanson gives a quick summary of the literature on this well-studied topic and proceeds to show where new results can be obtained: in particular, when allowing jumps in volatility ( volatility jumps are, as we know from empirical research, a very prominent feature of markets). The paper proceeds to derive the optimal allocation and consumption solutions under the constant relative risk aversion utility function, which allows the author to treat special cases including power- and log-dependence of the utility function ( the latter corresponds to the Kelly criterion). The paper also offers specific computation methods for numerically solving the optimality equations with various constraints.
The third paper in this issue, `` Momentum strategies with the L1 filter '' by Tung-Lam Dao, offers another view on systematic trend-following strategies, a topic that has already received well-deserved attention from our journal in the past. The paper considers, in particular, a specific method of trend detection and strategy construction, called L1 filtering, that allows detection of not only the long-term trends but also short term deviations from them. The remarkable aspect of this paper compared with many others in the area is that both the mathematical methodology of trend detection and the computational techniques used to obtain numerical results are very rigorous and give researchers a solid foundation for deriving a robust strategy. Of course, rigor of a purely mathematical nature is not enough to ensure that historical backtests of systematic strategies will withstand future market challenges, but the absence of mathematical rigor is usually enough to ensure the opposite. As in any such model, there remain a number of calibration parameters, and their choice affects the model performance. One would therefore hope that the selection of these parameters can be done from first principles, rather than purely by optimization, in order to avoid possible overfitting that can occur in such complex and data-sensitive procedures.
The issue's fourth paper, `` Hedging iTraxx credit default swap index trading on an intraday basis: an empirical study '' by Cheng-Ran Du and Tim Brunne, gives a rare glimpse into the world of credit derivatives trading from a systematic perspective. Moreover, the authors are interested in the intraday trading risks of the iTraxx CDS index, which is itself a topic that not many people have addressed in the literature. The authors'approach is very pragmatic: they try to identify a set of liquid exchange-traded derivatives contracts ( futures) that could potentially offer a risk-reduction potential to the iTraxx position. Considering DAX and EuroStoxx futures, as well as Bund futures, the authors find that the DAX based hedging is most efficient for iTraxx, but that the efficiency of the hedge remains fairly low. I think that these findings are both intuitive and ( probably) robust, even if practical use of such hedging is, at best, limited. Still, in certain situations when an over-the counter trader is stuck with a large risk position and finds himself in a turbulent market, even a modest reduction in risk can be very welcome.
As we draw the third volume of The Journal of Investment Strategies to a close, on behalf of the editorial board I would like to thank our readers and contributing authors for their continued support and interest.We are confident that future volumes will provide you with even more compelling reasons to keep reading and writing.
We discuss various implementations of L1 filtering in order to detect some properties of noisy signals.
In this paper we examine the effectiveness of intraday hedging models for credit default swap index trading by means of more liquidly traded exchange-based futures contracts.
The author uses behavioral finance theory to create a measure that detects when stock markets become irrational.
The risk-averse optimal portfolio problem is treated with consumption in continuous time for a stochastic jump-volatility-jump-diffusion ( SJVJD) model for both the risky asset and the volatility.
© Infopro Digital Risk ( IP) Limited ( 2022). All rights reserved. Published by Infopro Digital Services Limited, 133 Houndsditch, London, EC3A 7BX. Companies are registered in England and Wales with company registration numbers 09232733 & 04699701.
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Default fund contribution news and analysis articles | The transition from LIBOR to RFR has brought challenges for structured products. There are still legacy IBOR products to consider and at the same time the pricing and risk systems need to be upgraâ¦
To ease the pain associated with meeting compliance targets, global institutions are exploring ways to become more efficient by integrating regulatory and business initiatives.
Wire payment fraud is a major growing risk for financial institutions in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. These cases of fraud donât just hurt finâ¦
Asia Risk is proud to present Asia Risk Live, a face-to-face event in Hong Kong and Singapore. An opportunity to reconnect in person to learn and exchange new ideas.
View our latest in market leading training courses, both public and in-house.
The Energy Risk Awards recognise the leading firms in energy risk management. Corporates, financial players, technology and data firms, consultancies, brokers and exchanges are all welcome to submit â¦
The Asia Risk Awards recognize best practices in risk management and derivatives use by banks and financial institutions around the region.
Take a look at the wide variety of events and training on offer.
This eBook is based on the 2021 industry research by Acuiti, as well as the FIS Readiness Report. Youâll find plenty of support for a move to AI-powered cloud computing, a modular approach that ensurâ¦
Maximising value from better risk management and deal efficiency This Risk.net survey and white paper, commissioned by SS & C Intralinks, assesses the outlook for the CMBS market in the US and Europe, â¦
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Edited by Bill Coen and D. R. Maurice
IM for futures and options hit $ 152.3 billion at end-December
CCP added ¥2.4 billion to cover commodities contracts
Cleared options contract volumes hit 1.9 billion in Q3
Peak initial margin call was $ 9.9 billion in Q3
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Financial markets news and analysis articles | The transition from LIBOR to RFR has brought challenges for structured products. There are still legacy IBOR products to consider and at the same time the pricing and risk systems need to be upgraâ¦
To ease the pain associated with meeting compliance targets, global institutions are exploring ways to become more efficient by integrating regulatory and business initiatives.
Wire payment fraud is a major growing risk for financial institutions in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. These cases of fraud donât just hurt finâ¦
Asia Risk is proud to present Asia Risk Live, a face-to-face event in Hong Kong and Singapore. An opportunity to reconnect in person to learn and exchange new ideas.
View our latest in market leading training courses, both public and in-house.
The Energy Risk Awards recognise the leading firms in energy risk management. Corporates, financial players, technology and data firms, consultancies, brokers and exchanges are all welcome to submit â¦
The Asia Risk Awards recognize best practices in risk management and derivatives use by banks and financial institutions around the region.
Take a look at the wide variety of events and training on offer.
This eBook is based on the 2021 industry research by Acuiti, as well as the FIS Readiness Report. Youâll find plenty of support for a move to AI-powered cloud computing, a modular approach that ensurâ¦
Maximising value from better risk management and deal efficiency This Risk.net survey and white paper, commissioned by SS & C Intralinks, assesses the outlook for the CMBS market in the US and Europe, â¦
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Edited by Bill Coen and D. R. Maurice
There is still a lot to do ahead of the Libor cessation deadline, and predicting the story’ s closing chapter is not easy. This webinar explores what is left to prepare, who’ s ahead, what they’ ve done and how they’ ve done it.
This paper develops a copula-GARCH-MIDAS model to estimate the joint probability distribution of multivariate variables, and then derives CoVaR-type risk measures.
This study analyzes the impact of cryptocurrencies on the function and position of financial markets.
The events of 2020 have propelled liquidity and collateral management to the top of the priority list for many buy-side organisations. A recent survey by Risk.net and Eurex explores how derivatives strategies are changing in response
The Asia ETF Forum 2020 concluded with stimulating discussions among participants from the exchanged-traded funds ( ETFs) industry. In this article, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited summarises the topics covered in the forum, including…
For capital market professionals, better understanding the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on trading and investment portfolios has become even more critical. It’ s no easy task to predict market movements and their impact on the profit and loss of a…
The lessons learned from the pandemic so far, and how risk professionals are continuing to manage risks as the Covid-19 situation remains untamed.
Here, we address the more general problem of how shock propagation dynamics depend on the topological details of the underlying network. To this end, we consider different realistic network topologies, all consistent with balance sheet information…
Nobody knows what will happen to Libor at the end of 2021, but the market has to be ready for anything – including the benchmark’ s demise. This continues to be the message from regulators, despite the havoc caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. The coming…
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'China's Fauci ' calls for protecting 'normal life ' in Omicron fight | Hi, what are you looking for?
Zhang’ s comments may indicate officials’ growing tolerance for those questioning zero-Covid as patience with draconian lockdowns wears thin.
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A top doctor in China’ s pandemic fight who came under pressure last year for questioning the country’ s zero-Covid policy has called again for balancing anti-virus measures with maintenance of normal life as China struggles with an Omicron surge.
Shanghai infectious disease expert Zhang Wenhong — who has been called “ China’ s Fauci ” after US disease expert Anthony Fauci — also said in a blog post that the city’ s medical resources were becoming “ strained ” as cases climb, but he expects the metropolis to turn the corner soon.
Zhang’ s comments may indicate officials’ growing tolerance for those questioning zero-Covid as patience with draconian lockdowns wears thin.
“ In the future pandemic fight, maintaining normal life should be placed in a position of equal importance with ( virus screening), ” Zhang posted on China’ s Twitter-like Weibo platform Thursday.
“ We hope that we can minimise the impact on our lives as much as possible. ”
The post was liked, reposted or commented on more than two million times by midday Thursday.
China is experiencing its worst Covid-19 outbreak since the start of the pandemic more than two years ago, with Shanghai, the country’ s biggest city, an epicentre.
More than 4,800 new cases were reported nationwide Thursday — a figure that while minuscule compared to other countries, has frustrated Beijing’ s zero-Covid strategy of keeping cases low through targeted lockdowns, mass testing and travel restrictions.
While some northeastern Chinese cities have imposed full lockdowns on millions of people, Shanghai has sought to minimise disruption with targeted neighbourhood quarantines and mass testing of the roughly 25 million people.
But residents have expressed alarm online as cases rise, and have complained of difficulty accessing hospitals that have imposed tight restrictions to prevent the virus from spreading inside.
Criticism of the government’ s zero-Covid policy has met political backlash in the past.
Similar comments last year by Zhang, head of infectious diseases at a leading Shanghai hospital, drew attacks from nationalists who accused him of “ pandering to foreign ideas ”.
China’ s doctors have had to weigh their comments carefully since the virus’ emergence in Wuhan in late 2019 when a group of medical workers in the central city came under police pressure for trying to raise alarm.
But the highly transmissible Omicron variant appears to be softening official attitudes.
Authorities on Wednesday urged the public not to spread rumours that cause “ panic ”, after a surge in orders for groceries and basic supplies by anxious consumers fearing continued lockdowns.
Zhang said he had made his rounds in Shanghai’ s viral hotspots and acknowledged that the rolling, localised lockdowns had imposed public hardship and that medical resources were “ strained ”.
The city’ s battle against Covid-19 was at a “ stalemate ” and faced “ great difficulties, ” he said.
But Zhang added that screening measures were beginning to turn up fewer cases in previously untested neighbourhoods, indicating that the Omicron-fuelled surge could be waning.
With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency. AFP provides fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives.
The plane has been chartered by Swiss millionaire Guido Fluri.
India has abstained on UN resolutions censuring Russia and continues to buy Russian oil and other goods.
Dozens of mourners trudged through the snow in a Siberian village to pay last respects to Sergei Sokolov, a young Russian serviceman killed in...
Mexican President López Obrador is critical of the U.S. for its quick action in approving aid to Ukraine.
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Premarket stocks: Russia is breaking market rules left and right | A version of this story first appeared in CNN Business ' Before the Bell newsletter. Not a subscriber? You can sign up right here. You can listen to an audio version of the newsletter by clicking the same link.
The latest: Russia's stock market reopened on Thursday after it was shuttered for a month. Under normal circumstances, there wouldn't be much demand for shares in Russian companies considering they do most of their business in an economy that some expect to contract by more than 20% this year.
But, surprise! The benchmark MOEX index surged by as much as 10% in early trading. The index was up roughly 5% in afternoon trade in Moscow.
Here's why: Russia's stock market isn't operating under normal rules. The central bank has blocked foreign investors from selling their shares and banned short selling. Only 33 stocks were allowed to trade on Thursday.
Context: Foreign funds held more than 80% of shares trading on the Moscow Exchange in the first half of 2021, according to Reuters. The United States and Canada accounted for 54% of the total, with 22% from the United Kingdom and 21% from the rest of Europe.
The Biden administration wasn't very impressed with the `` reopening. ''
`` Russia has made clear they are going to pour government resources into artificially propping up the shares of companies that are trading, '' deputy national security adviser Daleep Singh said in a rare White House statement on another country's financial markets.
`` This is not a real market and not a sustainable model — which only underscores Russia's isolation from the global financial system, '' added Singh.
Preventing foreign investors from selling stocks isn't the only way Moscow is breaking traditional market rules. President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that `` unfriendly '' countries would have to pay for Russia gas in rubles.
That's not going to go down well with countries and companies that have contracts stipulating they will pay for gas in euros or US dollars. The German government has argued that any demand to pay for gas in rubles would represent a breach of contract.
`` It's unclear how Western countries will be able to access sufficient rubles to fund gas imports, or even whether they 'd be willing to pay in rubles, '' said Liam Peach, emerging Europe economist at Capital Economics.
It's not the first time that Moscow has suggested that it will ditch its financial commitments. Russian finance minister Anton Siluanov said earlier this month that Moscow will repay creditors from `` countries that are unfriendly '' in rubles until the sanctions are lifted — even if contracts call for payment in dollars.
Big picture: Credit rating agencies have responded to Moscow's apparent willingness to disregard the rules by downgrading the country's debt rating. Fitch has warned that a default is `` imminent. ''
Preventing foreign investors from selling shares and attempting to rewrite contracts will further isolate Russia, according to analysts.
`` The longer-term implication is that [ this ] accelerates Russia's strategy of de-dollarisation and reinforces the idea that Russia will continue to drift towards autarky, '' said Peach.
Good news for the economy can be found in these stocks
Here's a promising sign from Wall Street: Transportation stocks are leading the market this year. That could bode well for the broader economy, reports my CNN Business colleague Paul R. La Monica.
The Dow Jones Transportation Average, a group of 20 stocks that includes major railroads, truckers, airlines and freight companies, is up about 7% this month and is flat for the year.
Meanwhile, the more widely known Dow Jones Industrial Average, which includes blue chips like Apple, Coca-Cola and Disney, is down 5% in 2022, as investors grow nervous about rising interest rates and inflation.
When the Dow transports outperform the rest of the market, that is often viewed as a positive macroeconomic indicator.
It means consumers are buying lots of stuff from Amazon and Walmart that needs to be shipped to warehouses and retailers. And it's a sign that people are traveling again, for both leisure and business.
Rental car firm Avis Budget, railroad Union Pacific, trucking company JB Hunt and the airlines Alaska Air, Southwest and JetBlue are among the top transportation stock performers this year.
The strength in transportation stocks is even more remarkable given the surge in energy prices. Oil has soared more than 50%, to around $ 115 a barrel in the United States.
Potential problems remain for the sector, of course. They include supply chain woes, trucker labor shortages and the resulting need to raise wages and a recent surge in Covid cases.
Meme stocks are back
Shares of GameStop and AMC, two companies beloved by traders on Reddit and other social media platforms, are surging again.
Shares of GameStop rose more than 30% on Tuesday and were up another 16% on Wednesday. AMC soared 15% on Tuesday and gained 20% on Wednesday.
GameStop popped after the company's board chairman Ryan Cohen, co-founder of online pet supplies retailer Chewy, bought another 100,000 shares. `` I put my money where my mouth is, '' he tweeted Tuesday. His RC Ventures now owns 9.1 million shares, an 11.9% stake in the retailer.
Cohen is hoping to turn GameStop around with investments in NFTs and other cryptocurrency and blockchain initiatives. He has brought in two former Amazon executives to be the new CEO and chief financial officer.
AMC is also benefiting from some executive chatter on Twitter.
The theater chain's CEO, Adam Aron, tweeted Tuesday about his excitement for the upcoming spring and summer movie slate and defended the company's purchase of a more than 20% stake in miner Hycroft.
`` So amusing. Narrow-minded call our Hycroft investment...'stupid '... 'idiotic. ' AMC so understands how to raise cash and stretch out debt, '' Aron wrote, referring to his company's recent plans to refinance.
`` Tons of crow eating ahead, and it won't be by me! '' the CEO added.
Both GameStop and AMC have fallen this year, along with the broader market. AMC shares are still down nearly 20% in 2022, despite a nearly 45% surge in the past five days. GameStop's stock has fallen about 3% this year, even after skyrocketing 65% in the past week.
Up next
Darden Restaurants, TD Synnex and NIO report earnings on Thursday.
Also today:
US unemployment claims at 8:30 a.m. ET.EIA data on natural gas inventories
Coming tomorrow: US pending home sales data and consumer sentiment from the University of Michigan. | business |
Ethiopian Airlines appoints new CEO | Hi, what are you looking for?
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Ethiopian Airlines, the biggest carrier in Africa, has appointed a new CEO to replace Tewolde Gebremariam who left the company for medical reasons, the company announced Thursday.
The board of directors accepted Tewolde’ s request for early retirement and decided to appoint Mesfin Tasew to replace him, chairman of the board Girma Wake told a news conference in Addis Ababa.
Mesfin, a former chief operating officer of Ethiopian Airlines, is the CEO of ASKY, a pan-African airline based in Lome, Togo.
Ethiopian Airlines, a 100 percent state-owned company that prides itself on being the only profitable airline on the African continent, has achieved a turnover of $ 3.51 billion ( 3.19 billion euros) for the fiscal year 2020-2021.
In an aviation industry stricken by the Covid-19 pandemic, the airline is one of the few in the world to have managed to stay afloat without a public bailout and without laying off permanent staff.
The jewel of the economy of Africa’ s second most populous country, it turned to cargo freight when passenger traffic fell, including converting some of its passenger aircraft to transport cargo.
“ We will have growth that goes with the market conditions, but definitely we want to continue growing… Vision 2035 is about growth, ” said Girma.
“ Because of the war ( in Ukraine), the price of fuel has shot up, plus the availability of fuel is sometimes a problem. This is really going to be a challenge, ” he added.
The airline announced Wednesday that Tewolde would be stepping down after 11 years at the helm, saying he had been undergoing “ medical treatment in the United States for the past six months ” and had requested early retirement.
With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency. AFP provides fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives.
The plane has been chartered by Swiss millionaire Guido Fluri.
India has abstained on UN resolutions censuring Russia and continues to buy Russian oil and other goods.
Mexican President López Obrador is critical of the U.S. for its quick action in approving aid to Ukraine.
The key innovations with electric vehicles are being driven by a series of startups, which are listed here.
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The sustained revival in oil demand that Asia has been witnessing may face fresh setbacks following news of COVID-19 outbreaks in China and other countries in the region, but the possibility of a sharp pull back in consumption appears remote, analysts told S & P Global Commodity Insights.
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With the global oil market having factored in the fallout from the Russia-Ukraine conflict, analysts said the market was now focused on watching whether any of the top Asian oil consumers, such as China and South Korea, will resort to more lockdowns to stem the spread of the pandemic.
`` Asia's oil product demand has been hit by a double whammy of high oil prices and a resurgence of COVID-19, '' Lim Jit Yang, advisor for Asia-Pacific oil markets at S & P Global Commodity Insights, said. `` Aviation remains the most vulnerable component of oil demand due to travel restrictions, even though most countries are pushing toward the reopening of economies. ''
According to Lim, high frequency indicators, such as the Apple mobility index, seemed to have remained robust so far, but will likely ease with rising retail fuel prices. `` Furthermore, the outbreak of omicron in China is likely to have a bigger impact on oil demand as restrictions on movement are widely implemented in cities across 20 provinces and municipalities with quasi-lockdowns, '' he said.
S & P Global Commodity Insights, in its latest projections for Asia, has revised its 2022 Asian oil demand growth down 334,000 b/d from a month ago to 1.1 million b/d.
After recording a steady fall in new cases since February, the world is seeing new clusters of infections in China, South Korea, Vietnam and Hong Kong.
Daily infections in Asia exceeded 1 million cases for the first time around mid-March, and averaged more than 760,000 over the first three weeks of March, more than double the level a month ago.
But governments are cautiously optimistic on the impact and have resisted announcing severe lockdown restrictions, while encouraging basic precautionary measures. With the exception of China that is rigorously following its zero COVID policy and imposing lockdowns, none of the other countries have announced any new restrictions to personal mobility or economic activity.
COVID controls in eastern China, where most of the country's refining capacity is located, have had less impact on refinery and port operations as these regions have adopted more targeted controls to minimize the impact on the economy, refiners in Shanghai, Shandong and Jiangsu provinces have told S & P Global.
China's President Xi Jinping has pushed for `` swift containment '' of the outbreak, but at minimum cost, to reduce the socioeconomic impact as much as possible.
On the other hand, South Korean oil refiners said they were more concerned that rising pump prices would sap oil demand more than surging COVID-19 cases.
`` Local refiners are concerned about the surge in COVID-19 cases, but the bigger concern they face is sharp increases in retail oil prices that would weaken oil demand and refining margins, '' an official at the Korea Petroleum Association said.
Gasoline and diesel pump prices in South Korea have surged to the highest in 9 1/2 years despite a 20% temporary cut in oil taxes from November last year.
The International Energy Agency on March 18 urged OPEC+ countries to boost output, adding that the global oil market faced a 2.5 million b/d supply shortfall as a result of the Ukraine crisis.
`` We expect crude prices to strengthen in the coming months as the threat of sustained lockdowns due to new COVID variants remains low, and supply issues will continue to persist -- not only in Russia, but also the inability and disinclination of OPEC to enhance production, '' Rajat Kapoor, managing director for oil, gas and chemicals at Synergy Consulting, Inc said.
The group, consisting of OPEC, Russia and several other allies, has been gradually rolling back the record production cuts it instituted during the market crash of 2020 in 400,000 b/d monthly increments, but the US, India, Japan and other crude customers have criticized the pace as far too slow.
However, some economists are not too pessimistic on the impact of new COVID-19 outbreaks on Asia.
Priyanka Kishore, head of India and South East Asia Economics at Oxford Economics, said that for some Asian countries, the financial outlook could be thrown into turmoil if energy and commodity prices keep surging, raising concerns about the macro stability of emerging markets.
`` On the positive side, the pandemic's drag on economies is fading. China's situation is different, owing to its continued zero-COVID approach. To date, however, the combination of this strategy and the spread of omicron across the rest of the world has not led to the scale of disruption that some feared a few months ago, '' she added.
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China's prolonged COVID-19 battle curbs oil products demand while India's races ahead | Center-South Brazil's crop officially started on April 1, and although more than 70% of the expected...
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Disparate pandemic approaches by two Asian economic giants in recent weeks has given rise to vastly different rates of oil product demand in China and India, highlighting the uncertainty the former faces on consumption levels while economic revival in the latter is likely to further boost demand in the leadup to summer.
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While China has implemented lockdowns to curb COVID-19 outbreaks before, sources suggest the latest restrictions could have the greatest impact on demand for oil and products.
Restrictions imposed across 20 provinces and municipalities have sent nearly 30 million people into lockdown, with the epicenters of the latest outbreak accounting for around 30% of China's oil consumption in 2021, according to S & P Global Commodity Insights Analytics.
`` The COVID resurgence in China is bad. Not sure this time; macro situation is bad as well, '' a crude oil trader in Singapore said.
The country's refiners are also grappling with high crude oil prices resulting from supply pressures fueled by the Russia-Ukraine conflict, traders said.
The fear of sanctions on Russian crudes has scared Chinese national oil companies and private refiners and made purchasing much-wanted grades such as ESPO Blend a tricky affair, the Singapore-based trader said.
The reticence to purchase cargoes could lead to refinery run cuts in China as product margins take a beating.
`` Margins for private refiners are bad, '' a trader with a Japanese trading house said.
Meanwhile India is seeing higher demand for oil and products in March as pandemic movement restrictions were viewed as a thing of the past, refinery sources said.
`` There is no COVID fear [ in India ]. Things have become quite OK for now, '' an Indian refinery source said, adding: `` Transportation fuel [ demand ] is healthy, [ domestic ] tourism is booming. ''
As India's economic activity chugs towards normalcy, the hunger for oil and products will only move higher, sources said.
According to S & P Global estimates, China's COVID-19 induced lockdowns could result in oil consumption loss of around 650,000 b/d in March and 400,000 b/d in April.
Chinese gasoil exports hit multi-year lows in January and February at 220,000 mt and 200,000 mt, respectively, data released March 18 by the General Administration of Customs showed, amid tight export quotas and a robust domestic market.
Against higher export margins in recent weeks, the drop in local demand and higher stockpiles could translate to gasoil outflows of more than 500,000 mt in March.
Industry sources said outflows from China could continue in April, despite an earlier request by the country's National Development and Reform Commission to suspend gasoil and gasoline exports.
`` As domestic demand slows down, it looks less necessary to keep all oil product barrels at home, '' a Beijing-based analyst said.
China's Sinochem is likely to export at least 80,000 mt of gasoil in April from its Quanzhou Petrochemical refinery in Fujian and ChemChina's refineries in Shandong, market sources said. Sinopec's Tianjin Petrochemical also plans to export 40,000 mt of gasoil in April, while other refineries under Sinopec have mostly planned jet fuel exports.
The domestic demand situation for jet fuel is similar to gasoil, with sources saying that flight schedules across the country have been disrupted by pandemic-related curbs. This has resulted in lower domestic demand for aviation fuel, prompting the country to export its surplus volumes.
China's jet fuel exports totaled 560,000 mt and 670,000 mt in January and February, respectively, the GAC data showed. This was despite China's jet fuel output falling 18.4% on year to 5.56 million mt over January-February, National Bureau of Statistics data showed. China's jet fuel exports are expected to remain steady in March from February.
India's domestic gasoil consumption is expected to rise in coming months amid peak summer demand season and a steadily recovering industrial sector, resulting in state-owned refiners keeping more barrels in the country to meet domestic requirements.
With refineries already running at maximum operational capacities, higher domestic gasoil consumption will lead to less supply availability for export, sources said.
`` India is now effectively COVID-free, and with school vacations, marriage season and festivities coming up, diesel consumption is set to rise domestically, but it also depends on retail prices, '' a South Asia-based trader said.
India's gasoil consumption in February recovered from a four-month low to reach 6.51 million mt, up 2.21% on the month, while domestic jet fuel consumption fell 4.4% over the same period to 435,000 mt, latest Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell data showed.
Industry sources said there are high hopes that India's jet fuel demand will pick up speed in the near term, especially following the resumption of international commercial flights from March 27, marking the first time that India has allowed unrestricted international flights since the pandemic began in 2020.
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Tourism boss revives calls for oil rig museum in Aberdeen | Aberdeen has been urged to cash in on European oil capital status, emulating the likes of Texas, Berlin, Viborg and Istanbul by opening a national energy museum.
The suggestion, by a senior figure at Visit Scotland, has reignited hopes for a visitor attraction, based at the city’ s new south harbour, on a decommissioned North Sea oil rig.
Rob Dickson, the tourist board’ s director of industry and destination development, lamented the lack of an energy centre as a “ missed opportunity ”.
Across the Atlantic Ocean in Galveston, Texas, the retired Ocean Star rig was parked in the city’ s harbour and converted into a museum, detailing the history of the oil and gas industry.
In Bjerringbro in Viborg, Denmark, tourists can visit the energy museum – formerly the electricity museum – to learn about the history of energy and the green transition only a stone’ s throw from the country’ s largest hydropower plant.
An old power plant, the first to be commissioned by the Ottomon Empire, provides the setting for Istanbul’ s energy museum on a university campus which also includes an amphitheatre, library and concert hall.
The bright sparks at Berlin’ s Elektropolis offer a similar experience at the German city’ s energy museum.
And so, the backers of an oil rig museum ask, why shouldn’ t Aberdeen make more of its storied past with the oil and gas industry, as it sits on the cusp of the net zero carbon transition?
Aberdeen should use decommissioned oil platform as ‘ first class tourist attraction’
Arriving in Aberdeen, senior Visit Scotland official Mr Dickson revealed he was struck by how little has been made of the Granite City’ s status in the global industry.
Mr Dickson, who joined the Scottish tourism quango last May, said north-east hopes in attracting tourists after coronavirus depended on establishing “ a very clear narrative ” about the area.
“ Why does Aberdeen and the north-east not have a national energy centre or museum? The area has led the way for many decades in terms of energy, ” he said.
“ Your future is in energy in such a significant way that I think there is a story – a different story – to tell.
“ The discussion around the energy transition is fascinating and, as the father of teens just starting secondary school, their future is one that is challenged by climate change.
“ It seems to me that Aberdeen has a phenomenal history around energy and will play a massive role in the future.
“ And yet, as I looked while travelling north on the train from Edinburgh, there’ s not much about that. ”
Mr Dickson was visiting to speak at a council-organised conference looking at the way forward for Aberdeen.
And he urged political leaders elected in May to seriously consider the idea of the museum, believing tourism needed to be “ cemented ” in the regional economy for the north-east to thrive after oil.
Ideas have flowed recently for new museums in Aberdeen, as city chiefs look to capitalise to a staycation boom.
Earlier this month, council officials were tasked with looking at opening a north-east branch of the Natural History Museum in the former John Lewis building at Norco House in George Street.
Aberdeen oil tourism plan could be ‘ resurrected’ with new rig concept, says business leader
However, it has since been reported current tenants NHS Grampian have their own plans for the site, which is being presently being used as a Covid vaccination centre.
Meanwhile, veteran doctors hope a medical museum in the old Woolmanhill Hospital could prove a “ goldmine ” for the local economy.
It was Oldmeldrum architect George Simpson who first brought forward plans for an oil rig tourist attraction, which he wanted to be built in Rubislaw Quarry in 2018.
He originally planned for the visitor centre, complete with underwater restaurants and diving bell trips, to also celebrate the heritage of Aberdeen’ s granite excavation, which gave the city its famous moniker.
The idea came after his stint in the oil and gas industry came to an end – without him making it to an offshore platform.
He told us: “ It never happened and I just wonder how many people in Aberdeen have actually managed to get to a rig.
“ To me, the idea of having an energy museum on an oil rig is a very good one.
“ Some are more keen on it being in the harbour, like it is in Texas.
“ It could be anywhere but it is going to be essential for Aberdeen and just has to be looked at. ”
Mr Simpson has himself come around to the idea of the decommissioned installation being near the new harbour, which it’ s thought would be a European first.
The prospect of 245 flats on the northern edge of Rubislaw Quarry is a contributing factor to his change of heart – while others, including 30-year oil veteran Bill Skidmore, believe, for authenticity’ s sake, North Sea oil rigs “ belong in the sea ”.
Vocal city campaigner Mr Skidmore previously suggested the likes of the now-dismantled Brent Alpha platform for attraction, which he thinks should be off Aberdeen beach.
His idea of a North Sea museum would include the potential for access by survival craft, meals in the mess hall and even the chance of overnight stays.
A spokesman for Aberdeen Harbour Board did not directly address that prospect when asked for comment.
Chief executive Bob Sanguinetti was another panellist at the Transforming Aberdeen event where Mr Dickson urged action.
His spokesman did tell us the port organisation thought the city would be the “ ideal location ” for a national energy museum, given its “ rich heritage and exciting future ahead ”.
“ There is a significant opportunity to increase tourism to Aberdeen and north-east Scotland and our port expansion project will be able to accommodate larger cruise vessels visiting the region, ” he added. | general |
McDermott delivers largest subsea project in Asia Pacific for India's ONGC - News for the Energy Sector | US engineering giant McDermott has delivered the first ever pipe-in-pipe flowline for production in India as part of Oil & Natural Gas Corporation’ s ( ONGC)’ s KG-DWN 98/2 project in the Krishna Godavari ( KG) basin off India’ s eastern coast. Significantly, the development is the largest and one of the most complex subsea projects in Asia Pacific, involving major subsea infrastructure installation in ultra-deepwater.
McDermott is delivering two gas systems for ONGC’ s gas fields—U-Field and R-Field. The project is being executed in a consortium, with Larsen & Toubro Hydrocarbon Engineering ( L & T HE) manufacturing the structures in India.
Deploying more than 2,000 crew members, McDermott successfully navigated both the challenges of COVID-19 and an active monsoon season to deliver a gas field, known as the U-Field, for ONGC’ s KG-DWN 98/2 Block project, the US construction firm said yesterday.
“ Completing this season of the Bay of Bengal campaign to deliver the gas field for ONGC, combined with our previous achievement of early first gas in 14 months, demonstrates McDermott’ s ability to deliver complex subsea projects in challenging circumstances, ” said Samik Mukherjee, McDermott’ s Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer.
Upon completion, the gas field is expected to significantly increase domestic production, helping meet India’ s increasing energy demands while lowering reliance on imports. The project was delivered by a large, India-based project team, embracing the Indian government’ s Make in India initiative, said McDermott.
“ The opening of the U1-B ( GX-06) well in the DWN-98/2 block is a major milestone that we can all be immensely proud of, ” said Subramanian Sarma, Whole-time Director and Senior Executive Vice President ( Energy), L & T, CEO and MD, L & T HE. “ That we managed to achieve this despite extremely difficult project terrain and weather conditions even as a global pandemic raged on, speaks volumes of the resolve of the project teams. A testament to the combined synergies of all the consortium partners, this achievement will go a long way in ensuring project success and realising ONGC’ s vision of harnessing India’ s rich energy reserves. ”
The U-Field is now connected to ONGC’ s Vashishtha subsea infrastructure, a project McDermott was recognised for in 2019 as EPC Contractor of the Year by the Federation of Indian Petroleum Industry.
McDermott’ s vessels, including Derrick Barge 30, Derrick Lay Vessel 2000, the North Ocean 102 and Lay Vessel 105 ( LV105) installed hundreds of miles of pipeline, 37 miles ( 60 kilometers) of umbilicals and nearly miles ( 16 kilometers) of flexible pipes.
“ This is the fourth gas production milestone McDermott has delivered on the east coast of India in the last 18 months, ” said Mahesh Swaminathan, McDermott’ s Senior Vice President, Asia Pacific. “ The company’ s diverse fleet brought significant efficiencies and achieved notable firsts during the offshore campaign. This campaign marked the first use of pipe-in-pipe insulation technology in an offshore India project. The LV105 also installed the first pipe-in-pipe production flowline in India as part of this campaign. ”
McDermott has achieved five million work hours without a lost-time injury on the project to date. The next phase of the project is scheduled to be executed in 2022. | general |
'Excessive wrinkling ' on young man's hands turned out to be rare condition | Live Science is supported by its audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more
By Nicoletta Lanese published 24 March 22
The odd symptoms were triggered by contact with water.
A man in his 20s developed `` excessive wrinkling ''; bright, white bumps; and patches of thick skin on his hands whenever he immersed them in water. Doctors initially thought the condition might be a symptom of chronic eczema, but they later determined that the wrinkling was caused by a rare skin disease, according to a new report of his case.
The disease, known as aquagenic syringeal acrokeratoderma ( ASA), mostly occurs in young women, according to the report, which was published Wednesday ( March 23) in the journal JAMA Dermatology. It's also fairly common in people with cystic fibrosis, a genetic disorder that affects hormone-producing glands in the body and causes mucus-producing organs to produce abnormally thick, sticky mucus, according to the Genetic and Rare Diseases Information Center ( GARD).
People with cystic fibrosis carry two defective copies of the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator ( CFTR) gene, but even people who have just one copy of this gene and who don't have cystic fibrosis are prone to the condition, which hints that ASA may be partially caused by a genetic mutation. That said, the exact cause of ASA is unknown, but theories suggest that the condition may have something to do with abnormal sweat glands, according to GARD.
In the case of the young man with wrinkly hands, he reported to the dermatology department at The First Hospital of China Medical University in Shenyang after having experienced this condition for three years. The skin of his hands would become thick, swollen, wrinkly and scaly after being in water, and these changes would be accompanied by an itchy, burning sensation.
Related: 27 oddest medical cases
`` It is easy to misdiagnose ASA as eczema when the clinical features first appear, '' the man's doctors noted in the report. Previously, at a different clinic, the man had been diagnosed with chronic eczema and intermittently treated with topical tretinoin ointment, which is often used to treat fine wrinkles, dark spots and acne; he saw little improvement with this treatment, the report notes.
Although the ASA symptoms initially affected only his hands, the man noted that, in the past year and a half or so, the condition had also spread to his wrists and elbows. `` He attributed these changes to the need for washing hands frequently in the period of the COVID-19 epidemic, '' doctors wrote in the report. Upon closer examination, the doctors determined that the sweat glands and pores on the man's hands would become unusually large and dilated after exposure to water.
`` The patient's clinical process was quite interesting, '' the authors of the new report wrote. `` The lesions only appeared after immersion in water, disappeared about 30 minutes after drying, and no lesions occurred with the absence of water contact. '' These short-lived symptoms are a telltale sign of ASA known as `` hand in the bucket sign. ''
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ASA usually affects the palms of the hands, but the man had an unusual case in that his palms were spared, `` which, to our knowledge, has previously not been reported, '' the authors noted.
The patient was treated with topical hydrocortisone urea ointment, which is both a corticosteroid and a moisturizer, and he was told to avoid unnecessary contact with water. `` The symptoms had greatly improved after one month, and he is still in follow-up as of this writing, '' according to the case report.
Other common treatments for ASA include the common acne medications salicylic acid ointment and tazarotene gel, which encourage skin cell turnover, and aluminum chloride, which is used to control excessive sweating, according to the report. And `` in most cases, it does not need any treatment and resolves spontaneously, '' according to GARD.
`` The COVID-19 pandemic outbreak has brought changes in lifestyle, including long-term glove wearing and frequent hand washing, causing longer duration of water contact, '' the case report concluded. `` So dermatologists should be more aware of the prevalence of ASA and help to prevent and diagnose this condition during the pandemic period. ''
Originally published on Live Science. | general |
Sebastian Vettel facing race against time to be fit for Saudi Arabian Grand Prix | Sebastian Vettel missed the first race in Bahrain ( Bradley Collyer/PA)
Sebastian Vettel is facing a race against time to be fit for Sunday’ s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
The four-time world champion’ s Aston Martin team confirmed he has yet to return a negative Covid-19 test after he was ruled out of Formula One’ s opener in Bahrain last weekend with the virus.
Nico Hulkenberg, who deputised for the 34-year-old Vettel in Bahrain, is on standby.
| general |
U.S. economy revs up as businesses hire more workers -- - but inflation still a big worry | The numbers:
The U.S. economy sped up in early March as Covid-19 restrictions eased and companies were able to hire more people to try to meet pent-up demand, a pair of business surveys show.
The S & P flash U.S. services PMI rose to an eight-month high of 58.9 in March from 56.5 in the prior month.
The flash U.S. manufacturing PMI, meanwhile, climbed to a six-month high of 58.5 from 57.3.
Numbers above 50 signal growth and anything above 55 is seen as exceptional.
The surveys have been rebranded after S & P acquired IHS Markit. The results are based on polls of senior executives in charge of buying supplies for their companies.
Big picture:
The so-called flash readings signal an uptick in the U.S. economy in March after as slow start early in the year.
Executives said supply-chain bottlenecks that have contributed to high U.S. inflation grew less severe in March. Businesses were also able to hire more people and boost production.
Companies have plenty of demand. What’ s been holding them back are ongoing supply shortages and a tight labor market. Price rose again and executives say inflation is still a big problem.
What remains to be seen is how much the economy is affected by the war in Ukraine or a major coronavirus outbreak in China. Business leaders said the events were “ exacerbating supply-chain strain. ”
Market reaction:
The Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA,
+0.40%
nd S & P 500
SPX,
-0.27%
rose modestly in Thursday trades. | business |
Azerbaijan confirms 21 more COVID-19 cases, 91 recoveries | Azerbaijan has detected 21 new COVID-19 cases, 91 patients have recovered, and two patients have died, Trend reports citing the Operational Headquarters under Azerbaijani Cabinet of Ministers.
Up until now, 791,604 people have been infected with coronavirus in the country, 781,394 of them have recovered, and 9,672 people have died. Currently, 538 people are under treatment in special hospitals.
To reveal the COVID-19 cases, 2,806 tests have been carried out in Azerbaijan over the past day, and a total of 6,676,788 tests have been conducted so far. | general |
Organisation: Inner City Helping Homeless | A COMPREHENSIVE SERIES OF ARTICLES ON THIS TOPIC
comment-analysis
court and crime
court and crime
news
politics
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Wed, 22 Sep, 2021
Sat, 18 Sep, 2021
Sat, 11 Sep, 2021
Sun, 05 Sep, 2021
Sat, 04 Sep, 2021
Sun, 29 Aug, 2021
Wed, 18 Aug, 2021
Fri, 13 Aug, 2021
Mon, 14 Dec, 2020
Mon, 15 Jun, 2020
Mon, 01 Jun, 2020
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Wed, 01 Apr, 2020
Fri, 27 Mar, 2020
Thu, 26 Mar, 2020
A homeless agency says they are seeing an “ influx ” of prisoners who have been released early in order to prevent the spread of Covid-19 in overcrowded jails.
Tue, 24 Mar, 2020
Inner City Helping Homeless chief executive Anthony Flynn says they are currently `` inundated '' with requests from volunteers looking to support their efforts.
Wed, 18 Mar, 2020
A Dublin homeless charity is calling on the government to implement an emergency plan for the homeless following the confirmation of Covid-19 as a worldwide pandemic.
Thu, 12 Mar, 2020
The latest figures issued by the Department of Housing showed there were 10,271 people in emergency accommodation in January.
Thu, 27 Feb, 2020
A special Dublin city council meeting will be held tonight to replace any of the members who were elected to the Dáil during the general election.
Mon, 24 Feb, 2020
Much of Ireland's homeless accommodation would be `` closed down overnight '' if it faced similar quality checks to the country's hospitals, according to a prominent homelessness activist.
Thu, 16 Jan, 2020
A young homeless woman has died in emergency accommodation in Dublin.
Thu, 16 Jan, 2020
Latest homelessness figures show there were 10,448 people living in emergency accommodation last November, including 3,752 children.
Sat, 04 Jan, 2020
Latest homelessness figures show there were 10,448 people living in emergency accommodation last November, including 3,752 children.
Fri, 03 Jan, 2020
The Simon Communities of Ireland have said that though there is a drop in family homelessness for the second month in a row, it is worrying that 2019 came to a close with nearly 10.500 people in emergency accommodation.
Fri, 03 Jan, 2020
Inner City Helping Homeless is calling for the government to immediately tell the public how many people will be homeless this Christmas.
Mon, 23 Dec, 2019
The record numbers of homelessness reported by the Department of Housing are just scratching the surface, according to charities in the sector, who have warned that the reality is far worse.
Thu, 31 Oct, 2019
The Housing Minister is being urged to activate the Cold Weather Initiative for the homeless and for rough sleepers.
Mon, 21 Oct, 2019
An investigation has been launched following the sudden death of a man in Dublin.
Sun, 20 Oct, 2019
On Monday night, ICHH observed 238 people sleeping rough in Dublin, the highest number ever recorded.
Thu, 29 Aug, 2019
A Dublin-based charity has highlighted the struggle many families face when sending their children back to school.
Tue, 27 Aug, 2019
There has been a 64% increase in the number of people sleeping rough in Dublin since January this year.
Fri, 26 Jul, 2019
A charity has called on Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy to resign after the latest data from his Department shows that the number of people officially recorded as homeless remains above 10,000.
Fri, 28 Jun, 2019
There are nearly 900 young people aged 18-24 now homeless according to figures from Focus Ireland.
Sun, 23 Jun, 2019
The body of the 33-year-old man, who is understood to have been from Poland, was discovered at Ravenswell in Bray at around 11.55am yesterday, gardaí confirmed.
Fri, 10 May, 2019
There has been another slight rise in the number of people staying in emergency accommodation.
Tue, 30 Apr, 2019 | general |
Varadkar proposes new income tax rate amid fears price rises could last two years | Some 200 complaints have been received by the CCPC about fuel pricing in the past fortnight.
The Tánaiste has floated a new middle rate of income tax as he warned that high inflation could go on for another two years.
Leo Varadkar has asked Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe to examine a 30% rate of income tax in a bid to help ease the rising cost of living for middle-income earners.
“ One thing we should take a look at, and I have asked Minister Donohoe to look at the pros and cons of it, is whether we should have a middle rate of 30% because you do suddenly go from 20% to 40%, ” Mr Varadkar told the Institute of International and European Affairs ( IIEA).
There might be a case for having a middle rate of 30% for people on middle incomes so that you wouldn’ t maybe get to that highest rate of 40% until you earn a little bit more.
“ We are a low-tax economy in the round, but we are not low-tax when it comes to income tax, particularly for people on middle incomes, those who earn more than €38,000, couples who earn more than €60,000 or €70,000, '' he said.
Mr Varadkar said the current level of inflation has not been seen since the early 1980s, but said he agreed that `` the spike in inflation is not temporary. It could go on for two years or more. ''
It comes as a new survey has found that households will be, on average, €2,000 less well off this year as soaring fuel and food prices eat into their spending power.
Consumer confidence is plummeting at the fastest rate since the onset of the Covid pandemic two years ago, according to the latest KBC Bank survey.
We estimate the economy-wide hit from higher inflation could be over €4bn or about €2,000 per household, '' said Austin Hughes, chief economist at KBC.
Most consumers say they plan to cut back spending this year, with almost half suggesting they will cut back their household spend significantly.
The survey findings come as TDs and senators were warned that motorists will spend €680 more on petrol and €700 more on diesel than in 2020. The AA's Tom McIlduff told the Oireachtas transport committee that fuel prices are up 62c and 70c, respectively, compared to two years ago. | general |
IVORY COAST: Local content bill tabled after Vitol, BP and Kosmos have bolted | The drastic reduction in air and sea trade caused by the Covid-19 pandemic has had a huge impact on the distributors of fuel for aircraft and boats. [... ]
The development of BP's Pala, Ástrea and Juno fields at Block 31, which are seen as the assets most likely to yield an increase in its Angolan output, will not be on the cards until early 2022. [... ]
According to our information, late last year the Swiss trader Vitol was forced to give up its CI-202, CI-523 and CI-525 offshore blocks, the licences for their exploration having expired. [... ]
The debt-ridden American junior oil firm, whose share price has been in a slump for the past year, has had to lower its exploration goals. [... ]
After a wait of five years, the decree providing for greater local company involvement in the oil industry is set to come into force at a difficult time, with the country still in the throes of the Covid-19 crisis. [... ]
The British oil major is looking to drastically reduce its investment in field development and exploration in Africa. Here are our revelations. [... ]
Ivorian oil minister Abdourahmane Cisse is looking for feedback on a draft bill on local content in the hydrocarbons sector. [... ]
Ex-minister and former oil trader Alan Duncan has reteamed with his old employer Vitol. He is also working as an adviser to the King family's International Group, which operates in emerging markets. [... ]
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Journal of Computational Finance Volume 22, Number 3 ( December 2018) | The transition from LIBOR to RFR has brought challenges for structured products. There are still legacy IBOR products to consider and at the same time the pricing and risk systems need to be upgraâ¦
To ease the pain associated with meeting compliance targets, global institutions are exploring ways to become more efficient by integrating regulatory and business initiatives.
Wire payment fraud is a major growing risk for financial institutions in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. These cases of fraud donât just hurt finâ¦
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The Asia Risk Awards recognize best practices in risk management and derivatives use by banks and financial institutions around the region.
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Edited by Bill Coen and D. R. Maurice
It is a pleasure to introduce to you the December 2018 issue of The Journal of Computational Finance. As ever, it covers a broad mix of novel and imaginative computational strategies for hedging, pricing and asset allocation.
Donatien Hainaut and Franck Moraux examine the hedging of options with self- exciting market shocks; Yaxiong Zeng and Diego Klabjan demonstrate the performance of reinforcement learning for the optimization of portfolios of American options; Fabien Le Floc’ h analyzes adaptive methods to evaluate the integrals that arise in standard pricing formulas for the Heston model; and J. Lars Kirkby discusses extensively a unified framework for pricing exotic and early exercise options via recursion of the value, density or characteristic function under Le´vy dynamics.
In addition, I am delighted to welcome three new members to the editorial board. Christa Cuchiero from the University of Vienna is a leading expert on the modeling of financial markets with affine and polynomial processes as well as on stochastic portfolio theory, and she has recently made groundbreaking contributions to the calibration of models with neural networks. Athena Picarelli, currently at the University of Verona, is known for her work on stochastic optimal control problems, their numerical realization and their applications to hedging, portfolio optimization and risk management. Adil Reghai, head of quantitative research for equities and commodities at Natixis, brings with him many years of experience in developing and implementing cutting-edge models within the financial industry.
Their expertise will help shape The Journal of Computational Finance in the abovementioned areas, and we particularly encourage your submissions in any of these.
I wish you an inspirational read and all the best for the coming year.
This paper analyzes the efficiency of hedging strategies for stock options in the presence of jump clustering.
In this paper, the authors construct strategies for an American option portfolio by exercising options at optimal timings with optimal weights determined concurrently.
In this paper, the author describes a simple adaptive Filon method that performs better and more accurately than various popular alternatives for pricing options under the Heston model.
This paper develops a general methodology for pricing early exercise and exotic financial options by extending the recently developed PROJ method.
© Infopro Digital Risk ( IP) Limited ( 2022). All rights reserved. Published by Infopro Digital Services Limited, 133 Houndsditch, London, EC3A 7BX. Companies are registered in England and Wales with company registration numbers 09232733 & 04699701.
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To use this feature you will need an individual account. If you have one already please sign in. | general |
100 people on trolleys in Limerick amid fears doctor exodus will worsen crisis | University Hospital Limerick. File Picture.
As the country deals with record numbers on trolleys, with 100 patients without a bed in University Hospital Limerick yesterday alone, there are fears the health crisis will worsen as many doctors consider leaving the country.
Dr Niamh Humphries, senior lecturer in the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland's Graduate School of Healthcare Management, told the Oireachtas health committee that the country should be `` fearful '' about high levels of doctor emigration post-Covid, due to poor working conditions.
She said 391 doctors applied for Australian work permits last year, and there is no guarantee they will return.
She warned this will get worse when the pandemic ends, as Irish-trained doctors are in high demand abroad.
Dr Humphries carried out research that found conditions actually improved temporarily when extra staff were deployed to crisis points.
One doctor's response to her survey was: `` And all of a sudden we had a working healthcare system…. now that Covid is ‘ over’, which it obviously most definitely isn’ t, we’ ve gone back to the crisis … and everyone is tired and burnt out again ''.
Dr Humphries told the committee the number of vacant roles is “ terrifying ” and said hospitals are “ running on temps ”.
The Irish Hospital Consultants Association said: “ These doctors are not returning to Ireland, which is leaving our patients without access to the care they need. ”
The IHCA, along with the Irish Medical Organisation, are in negotiations with the Government about a new contract, but the committee heard doctors do not feel the proposed contract addresses the challenges they are facing on the frontline.
The warnings come as the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation has demanded direct ministerial intervention to tackle the trolley crisis. | general |
HSE'really struggling ' as 23,125 Covid cases reported | As of March 14, the Covid-19 incidence rate nationally was 1188.5 cases per 100,000 people.
Hospitals are being told that they can cancel elective procedures as Covid takes a grip of the country again.
This afternoon, the Department of Health reported a further 23,125 cases of Covid-19.
There were 8,910 cases confirmed by PCR test while 14,215 people registered a positive antigen test result through the HSE online portal.
As of Thursday, 1,425 patients are in hospital with the virus, a figure which has jumped by 30. Of these, 53 are in intensive care - down two since yesterday.
The number of patients in hospital with the virus has been continually trending upward since March 17.
In the seven days from March 16 to March 23, there were 47 further deaths related to Covid-19. The total number of lives lost now stands at 6,638.
Meanwhile, local elective area data is showing the incidence rate is rising in many parts of the country, with Sligo the worst hit.
Strandhill has an incidence rate of 2636.2 per 100,000 population while Drumcliff has an incidence rate of 2387.6.
As of March 14, the incidence rate nationally was 1188.5.
In Cork, Cobh had the highest incidence rate with 1324.9 with the area seeing 452 cases of the virus in the two weeks up to March 14.
Nenagh in Co Tipperary was showing one of the highest incidence rates in Munster with 1572.1, while Ennis in Co Clare was showing an incidence rate of 1517.3.
The incidence rates are based on PCR testing — not at-home antigen tests.
The figures may rise due to the jump in cases over the St Patrick's Day weekend.
Almost 64,000 Covid cases — from both PCR and antigen tests — were recorded over the St Patrick's weekend.
Covid cases have been rising while hospitalisations due to the virus have reached levels not seen since February last year.
' A last resort '
The HSE’ s chief operations officer Anne O’ Connor said a recommendation to hospitals to cancel elective procedures was `` a last resort '' for the health service.
There were 1,338 patients in hospital with Covid at 8pm on Wednesday night — an increase of 29% over the past seven days, she told RTÉ radio’ s Morning Ireland. | general |
Consumer sentiment drops as 'households face €2,000 hit from surging prices ' | Shoppers on Cork's Oliver Plunkett St. Picture: Eddie O'Hare
Consumer confidence is plummeting at the fastest rate since the onset of the Covid pandemic two years ago, as households face an average hit of €2,000 to their living standards from soaring energy and food prices, a major survey has unveiled.
The findings of the KBC Bank survey adds to evidence that living standards face an extraordinary challenge as fears grow that the Russian invasion of Ukraine will lead to inflation getting out of control.
We estimate the economy-wide hit from higher inflation could be over €4bn, or about €2,000 per household, ” said Austin Hughes, chief economist at KBC.
Most consumers say they plan to cut back spending this year, and almost half suggest they will cut by a large amount.
Mr Hughes said the latest drop in consumer confidence here was the largest since April 2020, when swathes of the economy were shut down during the first of the Covid lockdowns.
The prices of many goods have fallen in the past decade, but consumers are now undergoing something of “ a sea change ” in their expectations.
The Irish consumer is probably punch drunk after the financial crisis, Brexit, Covid, and now war in Ukraine, ” said Mr Hughes.
The sentiment survey “ signalled a marked change in thinking and suggests a material downgrade of the economic and financial outlook by Irish consumers ”, according to KBC. | general |
EY Announces Global Alliance With Infosys to Help Organizations Accelerate Their Transformation Journeys | EY announces a new global alliance with Infosys, a global leader in next-generation digital services and consulting, to support organizations in their end-to-end business transformation and growth. The alliance takes the current successful relationship of teaming and go-to-market efforts between EY and Infosys forward to effectively deliver tech-enabled transformation ( TET) programs.
The EY Transformation Realized Framework is an approach to business change, centered on helping clients realize their business transformation goals through the power of people, technology and innovation.
The EY-Infosys Alliance combines EY functional and industry-specific consulting services with Infosys technology assets and platforms to form a compelling vision to get organizations future-ready. This approach leverages sector-specific platforms and solutions through emerging technologies such as cloud, internet of things ( IoT), blockchain and artificial intelligence ( AI). The Alliance applies to TET programs such as business integration, systems integration and post-implementation guidance and support. The two organizations will collaborate on helping drive client value by leveraging technology assets and services. The Alliance will focus on building services around Infosys’ market-leading and sector-specific platforms, co-developing solutions around Infosys’ existing cloud assets and solutions, and co-creating new assets and solutions to address emerging opportunities and challenges that are top-of-mind for boards and the C-suite.
“ The COVID-19 pandemic has forced many organizations to accelerate the pace of their digital transformation to meet changing customer and market demands. They need to leap-frog from their current legacy business to new models enabled by cloud and powered by disruptive technologies. To achieve this, they will need to draw on a diverse set of external skills and expertise from across the vendor ecosystem. The EY-Infosys Alliance is designed and positioned to help businesses explore the impact of digital on their strategy, products, services, customers and employees, and assist to unlock maximum value to gain competitive advantage. Through the Alliance, businesses can rapidly leverage the complementary skills of EY and Infosys to navigate their own digital transformation journey to effectively build a better working world. ”
“ Enterprises globally are investing in becoming ‘ digital-ready’ organizations today to stay relevant and competitive. Digital technology has evolved, and its significant impact can be seen in most industries. There is now an increasing need for organizations to embrace digital technology than ever before, and we are delighted to collaborate with EY on this journey to enhance client value and help clients mitigate challenges that come with legacy transition. ” | tech |
Theta Lake Attracts $ 50 Million in Series B Funding to Fuel Expansion | Theta Lake, the leader in unified communication security and compliance solutions tailored to today’ s new, increasingly digital and distributed world of work, announced a $ 50 million series B funding round led by Battery Ventures. The round also includes investments from existing investors such as Lightspeed Venture Partners, Neotribe Ventures and Cisco Investments, as well as new investments from RingCentral Ventures, Salesforce Ventures, and Zoom Video Communications, Inc. The new investment brings the company’ s total funding raised to date to over $ 70 million.
Leveraging certified integration partnerships with the world’ s leading unified-communication and online-meeting providers, Theta Lake is helping organizations manage increasingly complex security and compliance issues across new video, voice, chat, and document platforms that are quickly augmenting or replacing older technologies, like traditional e-mail and intranets, as well as in-person meetings. The latest funding round is a validation that the workplace has become increasingly digital since the COVID-19 pandemic, and organizations need new tools to stay compliant and avoid damaging outside cyber threats.
“ Theta Lake’ s proven, cloud-native technology is gaining traction in the market amid tectonic shifts in the way organizations work, both online and offline, ” said Dharmesh Thakker, a Battery Ventures general partner who is joining Theta Lake’ s board. “ The company’ s value proposition is clear: Its technology helps customers avoid costly regulatory missteps and potentially devastating data breaches—mistakes and threats that might not be caught with legacy, email-centric security and compliance technologies. I am so impressed with the Theta Lake team and look forward to helping them continue to scale, and to execute on its broader vision. ”
“ At Theta Lake, we are rearchitecting compliance with integrated security for the modern communication and information sharing platforms of today’ s workforce, ” said Devin Redmond, CEO and Co-founder of Theta Lake. “ We have seen tremendous adoption of our platform and it is inspiring to see customers using our solutions to unlock more collaboration and productivity for their end-users. Modern compliance and security should be a strategic enabler and we are proving that it can be. The addition of Battery Ventures, along with so many of our strategic integration partners, coupled with our existing investors, will drive our ability to innovate and deliver value to our customers at even a more global scale. ”
Theta Lake’ s category-defining technology and design leverages patented machine and deep learning ( ML and DL), natural-language processing ( NLP), and enhanced user experience to capture, archive, detect, and surface risks across video, visual, voice, chat, document, and email content. This includes seamless, truly certified integrations and partnerships with the industry’ s leading unified-communication, video-meeting, asynchronous-video, and collaboration suites. These include Webex by Cisco, Microsoft 365 and Teams, RingCentral, Salesforce, Symphony, Verint, Vidyard, Zoom, and many more.
Theta Lake has an industry agnostic platform, currently servicing customers across verticals including financial services, the public sector, healthcare, technology and others to unlock the collaboration-first workplace. By adding advanced security and compliance coverage across what is shared, shown, spoken, and typed, Theta Lake increases the efficiency and effectiveness of compliance and risk teams, while reducing the cost of security and compliance.
In addition to having a “ 100% would recommend rating ” from customers in the Enterprise Information Archiving market via Gartner Peer InsightsTM, Theta Lake received an honorable mention in the 2022 Gartner Magic QuadrantTM for Enterprise Information Archiving1. The “ Strategic Planning Assumptions ” for the 2022 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Information Archiving2 are:
With the industry’ s first patent for risk detection in video communication, Theta Lake is built for the world of video, voice, and workstream collaboration with partner integrations and now, strategic investments from many of the key leaders in the video meeting and workstream collaboration space.
Cisco Investments: “ Cisco Investments and the Cisco Collaboration team are excited to continue as investors and collaborators with Theta Lake, ” said Abhay Kulkarni, Senior Vice President, General Manager, Webex, Cisco. “ We have seen global customers significantly expand the depth of their usage of Webex Meetings and Messaging by using the integrated solution. That includes hundreds of millions of meetings, messages, and shared file content archived and scanned for compliance, data exposure, and security risks. The ability to bring integrated advanced compliance and security capabilities to Webex customers globally has proven tremendously successful and creates a foundation for our ongoing collaboration. ”
RingCentral Ventures ( NYSE: RNG): “ At RingCentral Ventures, we are excited by the positive impact the Theta Lake integration into our platform has had for our customers, ” said Kira Makagon, Chief Innovation Officer of RingCentral. “ Leveraging compliance and security to increase collaboration adoption is a compelling value proposition. As a RingCentral Premier Partner with tightly integrated technology, we now have integrated customers with Theta Lake in over three countries and across more than four industry verticals. We are happy to invest in Theta Lake’ s ability to continue innovating and delivering value for RingCentral customers. ”
Salesforce Ventures ( NYSE: CRM): “ Salesforce Ventures is very excited to expand our relationship from ISV partner to an investor in Theta Lake’ s continued growth, ” said Eran Agrios, SVP and GM of Financial Services at Salesforce. “ Salesforce and Slack have a vision of enabling the digital HQ, along with integrating the compliance and security technology advancements that Theta Lake continues to deliver for modern communications. ”
Zoom ( NASDAQ: ZM): “ At Zoom, our accelerated pace of innovation addresses customers’ needs quickly and securely, which is why we understand the value of security and compliance for the modern collaboration stack that Theta Lake enables, ” said Oded Gal, Chief Product Officer at Zoom. “ As one of the earliest integration partners for Theta Lake, we are excited to invest in their future success and drive more joint innovation around integrated security and compliance across the Zoom communications platform. ”
“ We have been a believer in the vision of Theta Lake as an ‘ N-of-one’ security and compliance player for modern communications since leading the Series A, ” said Arif Janmohamed, Partner at Lightspeed. “ Its accelerating global success has been tremendous, and we continue to be excited in fueling that growth. ”
“ Since leading the company’ s seed round, we’ ve been amazed by the team, technology, and market opportunity, ” said Swaroop “ Kittu ” Kolluri, Founder and Managing Partner Neotribe Ventures. “ Although not a given, the successful execution of its plan to-date is certainly no surprise, and we are thrilled to invest in accelerating that success out of our new growth fund. ” | tech |
Nintex Named a Leader in The Aragon Research Globe for Digital Transaction Management, 2022 | Nintex, the global standard for process intelligence and automation, today announced it has been named a leader in The Aragon Research Globe for Digital Transaction Management, 2022 based on a review of 20 major providers in the market by the independent research and advisory firm.
In the report, Aragon recognizes the increasingly important role of digital transaction management in helping enterprises successfully navigate the COVID era. With many employees still working remotely, the firm says, “ Paperless transactions are the way that business gets done, and DTM providers have been a key reason for enterprise success during this time. ”
“ Meeting the digital demands of customers and employees to transform the way people work is just as critical today as it was at the start of the pandemic, ” said Nintex CEO Eric Johnson. “ Nintex is honored to be named a Leader for the second consecutive year, and our ongoing commitment is to help the global Nintex community of customers and partners turn paper-based and repetitive processes into fully digital experiences with our easy-to-use, intelligent automation platform. ”
Within the report, Aragon Research examines the complete capabilities of the Nintex Process Platform to eliminate paper and automate end-to-end processes. With Nintex’ s acquisition of DTM market leader AssureSign® in June 2021—now integrated into next-generation Nintex Workflow Cloud and leveraging advanced document automation capabilities in Nintex Drawloop DocGen® for Salesforce—customers can automate the assembly and digital distribution of documents across various industries and use cases.
“ As a leader in The Aragon Research Globe for Digital Transaction Management 2022, Nintex is well positioned to sustain its growth trajectory, ” said Aragon Research Lead Analyst, Jim Lundy. “ Now with nearly $ 300 million in annual revenue, Nintex continues to add solutions and capabilities into its suite of process intelligence and automation tools that Center of Excellence ( COE) groups need to consider. ”
Nintex’ s most recent acquisition in February 2022 of process discovery innovator and RPA leader Kryon® will further Nintex’ s position in the intelligent process automation market and as the process system of record for commercial enterprises and government agencies.
Industry leaders like Zoom, AstraZeneca, and Coca-Cola Beverages Florida, LLC, as well as government agencies and municipalities like the City and County of Denver and the City of Garland, Texas, all report significant results and customer/stakeholder satisfaction leveraging Nintex to easily manage, automate and optimize simple to complex business processes and workflows. | tech |
Zixi Highlights High Performance Live Video Delivery Enhancements at Nab | Zixi, the industry leader for enabling dependable, live broadcast-quality video over any IP network, announced it will be returning to NAB 2022 after a two year Covid interruption. Zixi will be showcasing a broad range of product updates and new service launches at this year’ s conference.
Beginning on Sunday, April 24th and running through Wednesday, April 27th, Zixi will be hosting private one-on-one meetings designed to educate audiences on the SDVP, the most comprehensive platform for delivering live video over any IP network, any protocol, any cloud provider and any edge device. Along with individually scheduled meetings and demonstrations, the Zixi team will present opportunities for participants to learn from Zixi leadership, integrated partners and top media companies that are using the SDVP to address the challenges of workflow, network, and operational virtualization.
NAB PANEL DISCUSSIONS: Zixi leadership will be presenting or moderating a number of in-depth industry discussions on topics ranging from the increased use of AI/ML in broadcast operations to the impacts of 5G and cloud driving new business initiatives across media and entertainment. | tech |
Interview with Michael Bublé: The Modern King of Contemporary Pop Music | Hi, what are you looking for?
Grammy winner Michael Bublé chatted with Digital Journal about his upcoming studio album “ Higher, ” which will be released on March 25.
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Four-time Grammy award-winning music superstar Michael Bublé chatted with Digital Journal’ s Markos Papadatos about his upcoming studio album “ Higher, ” which will be released on March 25, 2022, via Warner Records/Reprise Records.
U.S. Army general and former Secretary of State Colin Powell once said: “ A dream doesn’ t become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination, and hard work. ” Michael Bublé is an artist and individual that epitomizes this wise quotation.
“ Higher ” is comprised of three Bublé-penned songs and several standards such as Barry White’ s “ You’ re the First, the Last, My Everything, ” a cover of Paul McCartney’ s “ My Valentine ” ( produced by McCartney), Bob Dylan’ s “ Make You Feel My Love, ” “ Smile ” ( where he is accompanied by a gospel choir), “ Crazy, ” where he collaborates with Country Music Hall of Famer Willie Nelson, and his own distinct rendition of Sam Cooke’ s “ Bring it on Home to Me. ”
On the song selection approach for his new LP, Bublé said, “ I approached it with great difficulty and a lot of love. The truth is that the common thread in this record is my voice, but more than anything, is the fact that I don’ t just like these songs, I love these songs and I could not wait to be able to sing them for this record and for the rest of my life. ”
Regarding his personal favorite tunes on this album, Bublé remarked, “ I am going to be honest, this is a record where I am astounded by the depth of it. I really am. I am so grateful to all of the people I worked with, and for the universe coming together. My favorites are ‘ Bring it on Home to Me’ and I love ‘ Crazy,’ the duet with Willie Nelson. Also, from the pop songs I’ ve written, I would say that ‘ Higher’ is my favorite. ”
Bublé extolled the songs “ My Valentine ” for being “ so beautiful, ” and “ Smile ” for being “ very ambitious ” respectively. “ Logistically, ‘ Smile’ was a very difficult song to put together. It wasn’ t about just having a great arrangement and having a great concept being executed, it was the ability to put 130 people in a room with COVID protocols. There were only a few places where we could do that and we found the Fox Newman Scoring Stage here in Los Angeles, and they allowed us to put that many people in a room, ” he said.
His latest studio offering “ Higher ” was produced by Greg Wells and Bob Rock along with Alan Chang, Jason “ Spicy G ” Goldman, and Sir Paul McCartney. This marks his first studio album in three years and it follows his very successful sold-out two-year world tour “ An Evening With Michael Bublé. ”
Producer Greg Wells described Buble as a “ great dance partner. ” “ Michael gives me lots of credit but I credit him for opening up his trust to working with a new team. He’ s a phenomenal hitmaker, ” Wells said complimenting Bublé.
“ Since I’ ve worked with him, this was the most focused and inspired Michael has been, ” producer Bob Rock added. “ He understood the record he wanted to make. He had a clear vision. As soon as we started, he stuck his neck out to make each song get to the place that he was hearing it in his head. ”
“ Higher ” also follows the 10th year of the massive success of his seminal “ Christmas ” album, which continues to sell and stream in the millions and billions. As a result, Bublé’ s resonant voice has become synonymous with the winter holiday season.
Speaking of his most recent tour, “ An Evening With Michael Bublé, ” it was seen by well over one million fans around the globe.
As a performer, Bublé has enjoyed tremendous commercial success these past two decades as one of the most exciting global touring artists out there with sold-out shows in over 30 countries.
His first single, “ I’ ll Never Not Love You ” finds the multi-award-winning hitmaker at the peak of his vocal and creative powers. Bublé co-penned the song with Michael Pollack. It was produced by Greg Wells, and engineered by Joe Chiccarelli and Wells; moreover, it was subsequently mixed by Serban Ghenea.
Bublé delivers his love letter to the movies in a charismatic cinematic video for his latest No. 1 most-added mainstream AC single “ I’ ll Never Not Love You. ” The video, directed by Andrew Donoho, features Bublé and his wife, Argentinian actress Luisana Lopilato, lovingly evoke key love scenes and classic moments from several popular films.
The “ I’ ll Never Not Love You ” music video is the sequel to his earlier music video for his biggest No. 1 hit “ Haven’ t Met You Yet ” and shows Bublé once again daydreaming in a supermarket.
“ This video was a labor of love, and again, that was ambitious, ” Bublé said. “ Everything about this record was ambitious, they were not easy ideas to execute. I was so excited to make a video with my wife, and I was so excited to tell the story of our life. ”
“ It was very romantic for me to have fallen in love with this incredible lady 15 years ago, and to make that video 14 years ago, and to create a cinematic universe in where we get to surprise people with a sequel. Many people didn’ t know this was the sequel to the ‘ Haven’ t Met You Yet’ video. On top of that, it was a wonderful opportunity for us, and a really cool way to announce that we are expecting our fourth child, ” he explained.
“ I’ ll Never Not Love You ” is available on digital service providers by clicking here.
On the title of the current chapter of his life, Bublé revealed, “ Contentment. ” “ Being content, fearless, and I can breathe again, ” he said.
On being an artist in the digital age, Bublé said, “ I feel like things have always changed. When I started as a musician at 16, I was still listening to cassettes, and before that, it was records and 8-tracks. Then, of course, the big CD came and that was fun, and then it became the digital age. ”
“ I think the digital age has shown us that there are different ways of consuming the music but the hunger to consume the music has only grown. It is harder to make albums because people don’ t listen to albums as much but it’ s interesting that the actual album is coming back. It’ s the fact that I think people still want to have something to hold in their hands, ” he acknowledged.
“ One of my favorite things about having a new record come out was the pictures, the package, and the liner notes. Having all of those beautiful things to read, ” he added.
Bublé listed Kelly Clarkson, Teddy Swims, Ed Sheeran, and Bruno Mars, as his dream duet choices in the music industry. “ I think Kelly Clarkson is an amazing vocalist. I am a huge fan of hers, ” he said.
“ Teddy Swims is also one of my favorite vocalists and he is a beautiful guy too. Ed Sheeran is a good friend and a wonderful artist, ” he added.
“ I’ ve had my dreams come true. I’ ve sung with Cécile McLorin Salvant, and I’ ve had the chance to sing with Celine Dion, Mariah Carey, Mary J. Blige, and Barbra Streisand, ” he said.
Bublé praised dancer, choreographer, and multifaceted entertainer Derek Hough, who appears in his music video for “ I Believe In You. ” “ I like that song. As a matter of fact, I was in the hospital with my son and at the time, I didn’ t even know I had a music video for that song. I was so moved and so impressed by Derek that I actually called him and we became friends. I asked him to write, direct and choreograph the music video for ‘ Higher.’ Wait until you see it, he is unbelievable and the music video is unbelievable, ” he shared.
“ Truthfully, I think Derek is one of the most talented humans in America right now, ” he added.
In his personal life, he is the proud father of three children: Noah, Eli, and Vida ( and his latest music video for “ I’ ll Never Not Love You ” revealed that a fourth child is on the way). Bublé loves hockey, fantasy football, TikTok, and singing. “ Now, I am on TikTok and I am having fun with it. I discover the most beautiful voices on there. Some of these people you come across on TikTok are a true gift, ” he said.
Bublé started singing at the age of four in his family home in Burnaby, Canada, and he hasn’ t stopped ever since. His eponymous breakthrough studio album was released back in 2003 on Reprise Records.
A series of multi-platinum, chart-topping albums followed including “ Call Me Irresponsible, ” “ Crazy Love, ” “ To Be Loved, ” and “ Christmas. ” His previous album “ Love ” debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 all-genre charts. Bublé has sold over 75 million albums during the course of his illustrious music career.
On his career-defining moments, he responded, “ I don’ t think there is a moment that hasn’ t helped define me: my failures and my biggest successes. The truth is I think that the more personal moments in my life have defined me and those have transitioned into me as an artist. ”
“ My family and I have been through a lot, ” he admitted. Every person in this world is going to go through adversity, and they are going to go through pain and loss. The one thing it does give us is perspective, and that perspective has given me the ability to be grateful. Honestly, I am grateful for my life and I hope that comes out in my music, ” he added.
For young and aspiring singer-songwriters, Bublé said, “ If you have fallen in love with music, you have already won. There is no loss in having the greatest romance in the world. Your passion, love, and marriage to music will never hurt you and it will never let you down, you are never alone. ”
“ It is actually a wonderful way to work through the greatest and the worst things that happen in your life. I am excited for anyone who has enough passion to make music their life. I think that’ s a wonderful gift, ” he added.
If he were to have any superpower, he noted that it would be “ the power of healing. ”
On his definition of the word success, the crooner said, “ Being true to yourself, and being able to go to sleep at night, and have the lights turned out, and be really honest with yourself, and still feel that you have respect for yourself. It’ s a tough thing to do, it’ s tough to be honest with yourself. ”
For his fans, Bublé remarked about “ Higher, ” “ I made this album for the fans. The truth is 20 years and 70 million records, and I don’ t want to say I’ m micromanaged but every note you’ ve ever heard is me, ” he said.
“ Even though I am so proud of those records, I wanted a chance for the listener to have a really fresh take on Michael Bublé. I didn’ t want to change styles, I just wanted them to get a very fresh take. I went out and worked with brand new producers and Paul McCartney, Bob Rock, Greg Wells, Alan Chang, and Spicy G, and I worked with writers that I had never written before and I used different arrangements, ” he elaborated.
“ I wanted to give the audience a fresh take on my music but what ended up happening was that I got a fresh take too, ” Bublé concluded.
His new album “ Higher ” is available for pre-order by clicking here.
To learn more about global music star Michael Bublé and his new music, visit his official website, and follow him on Facebook and Instagram.
Markos Papadatos is Digital Journal's Editor-at-Large for Music News. Papadatos is a Greek-American journalist and educator that has authored over 17,000 original articles over the past 16 years. He has interviewed some of the biggest names in music, entertainment, lifestyle, magic, and sports. He is a six-time consecutive `` Best of Long Island '' winner, and in the past three years, he was honored as the `` Best Long Island Personality '' in Arts & Entertainment, an honor that has gone to Billy Joel six times.
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A worker inspects piles of tin ingots at Thailand Smelting & Refining Co. Ltd. in Phuket, Thailand. Tin prices have been volatile in the wake of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.Source: Dean Conger/Corbis via Getty Images
Tin prices hit record highs March 8 but quickly gave up their gains, mirroring the volatility in the broader commodities market amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Tin, an essential metal for soldering electronics that has applications in solar panels and batteries, had a meteoric rise over the past year that echoed that of other metals key to global decarbonization efforts. Prices rose even further after Russia invaded its neighbor on Feb. 24, triggering fears of global supply problems.
The three-month price closed at $ 49,500 per tonne on the London Metal Exchange and the cash price for 99.85% tin closed at $ 48,865/t on March 8 — a record for both, according to S & P Global Market Intelligence data.
Futures experienced a drastic correction the next day, falling more than 20% at one point in after-hours trading, and closed March 22 at $ 41,400/t and $ 41,534/t cash.
The trigger for tin's drop `` appears to have been a combination of profit-taking at highs of $ 51,000/t and risk reduction related to problems in the LME nickel market, '' James Willoughby, the England-based market analyst for the International Tin Association, or ITA, said in a March 10 note.
A frenzy of nickel trading at the LME led to nickel trades being suspended March 8, the same day tin reached its price record.
Small production increases or decreases can cause a dramatic price impact in commodities like tin, where inventories are `` extremely thin, '' Peter Arden, founder of research firm Groundwork Pty. Ltd., told Commodity Insights.
`` There has been absolutely no metal available. That's why the price has been driven up as much as it has, '' Arden said. `` Tin prices had run [ hot ] in 2021, but this year they also got caught up in the Russian invasion which has definitely had an effect in all commodity markets. ''
The ITA, a trade group for tin producers, considers Russia a `` relatively significant '' tin producer, but not a major one, Willoughby said.
Russia was expected to have contributed just 3,500 tonnes of the 300,000-tonne world total of mined production in 2021, according to the U.S. Geological Survey's latest annual report.
The invasion has had `` almost no direct impact '' on tin prices but does appear to have had knock-on effects on tin, the ITA said.
`` Indirect impacts include increased oil and gas prices globally ( but particularly in Europe), as well as some shipping delays, '' Willoughby told S & P Global Commodity Insights in an email interview. `` Other markets are being impacted, which are in turn impacting tin. ''
The S & P GSCI index, which tracks 24 commodities, reached its highest point since 2008 on March 8 but has receded as fears of supply disruptions eased.
A new wave of COVID-19 in China is expected to hurt demand for tin, and global inflation could slow the overall economy, suggesting tin prices `` will face correction pressure in the short term, '' the ITA's Beijing-based market analyst, Daniel Xia, told Commodity Insights in an email interview.
At the same time, tin production in Indonesia and Malaysia rose in recent months. Malaysian production has recovered since the world's third-largest refined tin producer, Malaysia Smelting Corp. Bhd., lifted its COVID-19-related force majeure on Dec. 20, 2021, Andrew Radonjic, managing director of Australian tin developer Venture Minerals Ltd., told Commodity Insights.
Consensus forecasts project a decline in tin prices, according to Market Intelligence data, but Xia, Arden and Radonjic are all optimistic on tin's long-term prospects as demand continues to outpace supply.
`` It will be like what happened during the early stages of the pandemic, when most commodities fell initially then bounced back, '' thanks to government stimulus, Radonjic said.
S & P Global Commodity Insights produces content for distribution on S & P Capital IQ Pro. | business |
Sinopec Shanghai lowers crude stocks to control cost impact from oil price fluctuation | In this week's Market Movers Americas, presented by Jeff Mower: * US Gulf of Mexico offshore output...
Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical has reduced its crude inventories by 100,000-150,000 mt from normal levels in an effort to control the cost impact from international crude price fluctuation, Wu Haijun, the company's chairman, said March 24.
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The 14 million mt/year ( 280,000 b/d) Shanghai Petrochemical is Sinopec's only listed refinery, and its plans are typically representative of China's state-owned refineries.
`` Wide volatility of crude prices this year have been a big challenge to the company's operation, '' Wu said during a conference call to discuss the company's 2021 financial results.
The plant's daily throughput is about 40,000 mt, a company source told S & P Global Commodity Insights,. which means the reduction is equivalent to about two to four days of throughput.
China's National Development and Reform Commission requires refineries to keep crude inventories at a level equal to at least 15 days of throughput when crude prices are below $ 130/b and at least 10 days of throughput when prices cross over the level.
Other refineries could follow Sinopec's lead, which would eventually caps China's crude imports at a time when crude prices are fluctuating at high levels. The country's crude inflows in the first two months of 2022 fell 4.9% year on year to 10.58 million b/d, data from the General Administration of Customs showed.
Shanghai Petrochemical aims to process 13.65 million mt of crude oil in 2022, down 0.8% from 13.76 million mt in 2021. The plant's throughput stood at 14.67 million mt in 2020, according to CFO Du Jun.
The lower throughput levels in 2021 and 2022 were due to scheduled maintenance. The plant shut its 6 million mt/year crude distillate unit and connected facilities last year for the works, while the 8 million mt/year CDU will undergo maintenance this year this year, Wu said.
In addition, Wu said the plant has no plan to take Russian crude or Iranian crudes yet.
In 2021 Shanghai Petrochemical received 77.3% of its crude supplies from the Middle East, down from 82.39% in 2020.
It cracked more crudes from Europe, Africa and North America, with the proportion rising by 2.6-4.2 percentage points, according to the company's 2021 report.
Although profit margins for its petrochemical products declined in 2021 while oil product profit margins rose, Sinopec Shanghai is continuing to cut its oil product yield in 2022, according to its report.
In 2022 the company aims to produce 7.57 million mt of gasoline, gasoil and jet fuel with a combined product yield of 55% in 2022, down from 7.97 million mt in 2021 with a 58% product yield.
`` Domestic gasoline demand will soon peak while gasoil demand has stopped growing, '' vice general manager Huang Fei said.
Meanwhile, Beijing plans to cut oil product exports by slashing gasoline, gasoil and jet fuel export quotas by 56% year on year in the first batch allocation for 2022. This may force refineries to cut output.
Shanghai Petrochemical was previously a leading gasoil exporting refinery with outflows of 150,000 mt/month, but it recently suspended sending gasoil cargo to overseas.
As a result, it has slashed its gasoil output target for 2022 by 12.6% year on year to 2.96 million mt.
At the same time, it plans to lift jet fuel production by 10.6% to 1.31 million mt.
`` The target is more likely a reflection of Shanghai Petrochemical's expectation earlier in the year of a recovery in domestic aviation when COVID-19 is controlled in China, '' a Hong Kong-based analyst said.
`` But with the current wave of the virus, added to Eastern Airlines ' aviation disaster, I think jet fuel demand will continue to be under pressure. ''
China Eastern Airlines flight 5735 crashed in southern China Guangxi province on March 21 with no survivors.
2022 target 2021 2020 Crude throughput 13.65 13.76 14.67 Gasoline 3.30 3.40 3.27 Gasoil 2.96 3.39 3.98 Jet fuel 1.31 1.18 1.12
2021 2020 Middle East 10.63 12.09 Europe 1.29 0.75 Latin America 0.92 1.64 Africa 0.40 0.05 North America 0.39 0.00 China Offshore 0.13 0.15
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Iran reveals COVID-19 data for March 24 | As many as 1,345 people have been infected with the coronavirus ( COVID-19) in the past 24 hours in Iran, reads the statement of the Ministry of Health and Medical Education of Iran, Trend reports.
In addition, 63 people have died from the coronavirus over the past day.
At the same time, the condition of 1,753 people remains critical.
So far, more than 48.9 million tests have been conducted in Iran for the diagnosis of coronavirus.
In total, over 146 million doses of vaccines have been used in Iran so far. A total of 63.7 million doses have been used on the first stage, 56.6 million doses - on the second stage, and 25.7 million doses – on the third stage.
Iran continues to monitor the coronavirus situation in the country. According to recent reports from Iranian officials, over 7.14 million people have been infected, and 139,865 people have already died.
Meanwhile, over 6.84 million people have reportedly recovered from the disease. The country continues to apply strict measures to contain the further spread of the virus.
Reportedly, the disease was brought to Iran by a businessman from Iran's Qom city, who went on a business trip to China, despite official warnings. The man died later from the disease. The Islamic Republic announced its first infections and deaths from the coronavirus on Feb. 19.
The outbreak in the Chinese city of Wuhan - which is an international transport hub - began at a fish market in late December 2019.
The World Health Organization ( WHO) on March 11 declared COVID-19 a pandemic. Some sources claim the coronavirus outbreak started as early as November 2019. | general |
SOCAR Turkey’ s subsidiaries win Stars of Exports award | STAR Refinery and SOCAR Petrol Ticaret, subsidiaries of SOCAR Turkey, one of Turkey's largest foreign direct investors, won Stars of Export Awards of Istanbul Chemicals and Chemical Products Exporters Association, Trend reports with reference to Turkish media.
Reportedly, SOCAR Petrol Ticaret ranked first in the Mineral Fuels category, while STAR Refinery came in second.
SOCAR Turkey group companies continued to achieve successful results, even though the way they do business changed in 2021 with the COVID-19 pandemic. Thanks to the integrated structure of STAR Refinery and Petkim, production and sales continued uninterruptedly. The companies continued to support exporting domestic industrialists as well as direct exports.
SOCAR Turkey, one of the most deep-rooted global oil and natural gas companies, initiated its business operations in Turkey upon acquisition of 51 percent of the shares of Petkim from the Privatization Administration in 2008.
Drawing attention with its giant projects realized one after another which will have a total investment value of $ 19.5 billion once completed, SOCAR Turkey encompasses the best-in-breed companies such as Petkim, TANAP, STAR Refinery, SOCAR Terminal, Petkim RES ( Wind Power Plant), Bursagaz, Kayserigaz, Enervis, SOCAR Enerji Ticaret, Millenicom, SOCAR Ticaret and SOCAR Depolama. | general |
The year the regulators meet the microbiome | Recurrent Clostridioides difficile infections are a huge problem for healthcare systems, and effective solutions have been a long time coming. A phase 3 failure from Pfizer earlier this month makes it unlikely that a vaccine will arrive any time soon, and this means that microbiome approaches could reach the market first.
Ferring has already filed its enema-delivered proposition in the US, and Seres is due to follow with an oral, Nestlé-partnered project in the coming months. Full rights to the latter asset, SER-109, were secured in a substantial deal last year, though it is probably fair to say that the microbiome is still considered something of a fringe area for more traditional biopharma.
That perception could shift if another player, Destiny Pharma, manages to hook a better-known name in drug development for its phase 3-ready asset. The UK company’ s chief executive told Evaluate Vantage that he is confident a deal would be delivered by the end of year ( Destiny's date with a partner, 24 March, 2022).
All the microbiome approaches in development for C difficile infection are based on the same idea. Toxic strains of C difficile can proliferate in the gut after antibiotic use and sometimes cause recurrent and very serious illness or death; C difficile is also incredibly infectious. Through the administration of “ good ” bacteria, these unwanted strains can be suppressed, allowing a patient’ s natural gut microbiome to be restored.
Developers claim that the projects moving through the clinic are a lot more like drugs than the faecal matter transplants that originated this approach. This is correct to some extent, although differences in the purifying and manufacturing processes, and the raw ingredients used, make it truer for some groups than others.
The three companies to have made it into phase 3 – including Finch as well as Seres and Ferring – are working on projects derived from stools donated by healthy individuals. Screening and purifying steps are taken to isolate the consortia, or collections, of bacteria to be delivered to the patients, and to inactivate potential pathogens.
The rigours of these approaches have not always impressed regulators, however. Last month the FDA slapped a clinical hold on Finch’ s phase 3 Prism4 trial on concerns that its donor screening protocols might be insufficient to rule out transmission of the Covid virus.
This is where projects further back in the pipeline from Destiny and Vedanta could have an advantage. These contain defined microbial species from clonally isolated bacteria, rather than from donors. While Vedanta’ s VE303 contains eight types, Destiny is relying on just one bacterial strain.
These simpler approaches might be more appealing to regulators, if only from a safety perspective. Production costs should also be lower. But neither of these projects have yet entered phase 3, and it will be the consortia products from Seres and Ferring that regulators, specifically the FDA, will evaluate first.
The FDA is already reviewing Ferring's RBX2660, but the exact status of the submission is unclear. The private Swiss group told Vantage that it “ acknowledges the submission of a BLA ” but would not give any updates on the filing's timing or status.
The project, comprising mixed bacterial consortia, was originated by Rebiotix, a US biotech that Ferring bought in 2018. A large open-label study is still ongoing.
Seres is waiting for results from its own open-label trial, which are needed to complete the required safety database for a filing of SER-109. The company expects its single phase 3 trial to provide sufficient evidence of efficacy. SER-109 contains live, purified spores produced by Firmicutes, a naturally occurring `` good '' bacteria.
With phase 3 data only available on these two projects, it is hard to know whether different bacterial compositions will make a big difference on efficacy. So far, SER-109 seems to have the edge, although important differences in trial design make direct comparisons imperfect.
For example, the Ecospor 3 trial of SER-109 selected for a highly refractory population, with patients having suffered at least three recurrent C difficile infections in the previous 12 months, while almost half had four. In the Punch CD3 study of RBX2660, subjects only needed one or two recurrences.
The highly refractory setting that Seres targeted is a smaller commercial opportunity than first recurrence – it has orphan drug status – but given the mortality and morbidity burden it is considered a very high need. This could shift the risk/benefit calculations for regulators.
Interestingly, however, SER-109’ s open-label trial does include some individuals with a first recurrence. It would be a big win for Seres and Nestlé if a broad label for recurrent C difficile, encompassing earlier-stage patients, were granted.
The fact that Ferring's ‘ 2660 is delivered via enema is likely to be a major commercial disadvantage, of course, and in a further blow for the company a follow-on oral project is stalled. An “ unexpected issue ” with third-party supplies has delayed the start of the project’ s pivotal Restore 3 trial, Ferring told Vantage, with the company denying that poor safety or efficacy were at the root of the problem.
Finch should be next to yield pivotal data, with Prism4 due to read out in the first half of next year. With the clinical hold still in place, however, this timeline looks certain to slip.
The private group Vedanta has pledged to move its candidate into pivotal testing by the end of the year. However, only a high dose succeeded in phase 2, where patients had to take 10 capsules a day for 14 days, clearly a big burden. No details have emerged of the phase 3 trial yet so perhaps the dosing schedule has been improved. The group has secured up to $ 77m in Barda funding to bring VE303 to market.
Finally, Destiny Pharma claims to have the simplest project in NTCM-M3, which contains only one strain of bacteria. But the company needs a partner to push forward.
Recurrent C difficile infections are thought to cause thousands of deaths a year and keep many millions in hospital, so there is clearly room for several products. Despite the undeniable need, though, this feels like a market that will face the same issues as novel antibiotics, which despite being life savers have never got support for the sort of pricing seen in cancer, for example.
Presumably this is why Seres chose to target a super-refractory setting, where arguments for a higher price could be easier to win. So while the science behind these approaches still needs proving, lack of pricing power could actually be a bigger barrier to making the microbiome mainstream. | general |
eSports days to uncover local developer, gaming talent | Wits University’ s Tshimologong Digital Innovation Precinct, in partnership with Ekasi Esports, will this weekend kick-off the first of monthly gaming and eSports events.
Known as Ekasi Esports Days, the free-to-attend events target aspiring local game developers and eSports fans, with the aim to put them in touch with the people they need to take their games further.
In a statement, Tshimologong says the inaugural eSports Day, hosted on 26 March, will be the first of many to be held every last Saturday of the month.
“ Tshimologong is helping transform Joburg from a minerals-based to a mind-based economy. On the same day we are launching our first collaboration with the Precinct, there are events dedicated to robotics, coding and more on the same street, ” says Perfect Zikhali, MD of Ekasi Esports.
“ The Tshimologong monthly Ekasi Esports Days will contribute towards the growth of locally-developed games by providing a platform for local developers to showcase their games to a live audience and receive immediate feedback. ”
Aside from showcasing games in development, tournaments, round tables and industry-focused discussions led by many local gaming and eSports movers-and-shakers will take place in Braamfontein this weekend, according to the statement.
“ Ekasi is a collective committed to furthering township youths’ presence in the virtual world. Key to this is establishing visibility in the brick-and-mortar world. In this regard, we are pleased to be really ramping up our real-world activities in 2022, ” adds Zikhali.
eSports is the fastest growing sport globally, with a current valuation of $ 1 billion and projections showing this number will almost double by the end of 2022.
The launch of the eSports events follows the recent Ekasi Esports and Western Cape Department of Health collaboration, where they partnered to host eSports pop-up tournaments to promote COVID-19 vaccination awareness and education among the youth.
In the Western Cape’ s Khayelitsha Township, a series of back-to-back gaming tournaments were hosted that featured the pro-vaccination message.
Mobile eSports and gaming is well-suited to SA, allowing township gamers, in particular, to compete or entertain themselves without requiring additional hardware, notes the statement.
The Free Fire mobile game, for example, has more than 100 million daily active users worldwide and is free to download via the Android and Apple Store. Mobile gaming, where competitors are virtual, also respects the current need to keep safe.
“ In South Africa, gaming can be a force for good and a powerful way to create educational and employment opportunities, and most importantly, hope for the future, ” Zikhali concludes.
Click here to register for the free event. | general |
Gender should not matter but, unfortunately, it does | The conversation about gender equality has been pushed to the forefront in recent years, sparking positive changes across multiple industries and igniting greater awareness about gender bias. But despite these improvements, huge gaps remain. A McKinsey study: “ COVID-19 and gender equality ” showed that women were more vulnerable to COVID-19 economic effects, with female job loss rates about 1.8 times higher than male job rates globally. Additionally, female jobs were more at risk than male ones due to disproportionate representation of women in sectors negatively affected by the COVID-19 crisis.
However, we know that better gender balance in organisations makes good business sense. Companies that have gender diversity are 21% more likely to have above-average financial returns, according to market research company Forrester. Keeping in mind the known economic benefits and the potential to drive innovative growth opportunities from both a social and economic standpoint, striving for gender balance is a clear necessity.
In an annual study produced by the World Bank: “ Women, Business and the Law 2021 ”, the gender inequality amid the global COVID-19 pandemic is explored looking at eight key pillars. The pillars are mobility, workplace, pay, marriage, parenthood, entrepreneurship, assets and pension. The report analyses laws and regulations affecting women’ s economic opportunities in 190 countries and shows promising results.
Results show that despite the difficulties of the global pandemic, many economies have made gender equality a priority. The results are reassuring, with every region surveyed improving its average score.
It’ s encouraging to see that South Africa achieved an overall score of 88.1 where a score of 100 means that women are on an equal standing with men across the areas measured. This compares favourably with the global average of 76.5. It’ s also interesting to note that South Africa has been selected by the Women, Business and Law team to participate in research into the motivations for legal reforms that countries have undertaken over the past 50 years.
At Dell Technologies we have accountable goals: 2030 Progress Made Real
Dell Technologies’ 2030 Progress Made Real report is built on ‘ advancing sustainability’, ‘ cultivating inclusion’ and ‘ transforming lives’. As part of our Progress Made Real plan to drive societal change by the year 2030, we have set ambitious measurement targets for gender representation, pledging that by 2030, 50% of our global workforce and 40% of our global people leaders will be those who identify as female. Also, by 2030 our goal is to ensure that 95% of employees receive training on crucial topics such as unconscious biases, harassment, micro-aggressions and privilege.
Beyond our own internal workforce, we are aiming to ensure that within the next decade, 50% of the beneficiaries of our philanthropic programming are women, girls, those who identify as being female and underrepresented groups.
Workforce: Growing female workforce talent to contribute to socio-economic growth in the long term is key
Once women have completed their STEM ( science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education, they should be able to enter the workforce without bias or exclusion and this needs to be ensured through equitable recruitment. As women and minorities continue to enter the workforce, they are facing several barriers driven by unconscious bias. For instance, businesses that hire for ‘ team fit’ may think they are building a cohesive company culture, but in fact they are only making themselves less innovative and more homogenous. From exclusionary language in job postings to culturally prescribed notions of what ‘ male’ and ‘ female’ positions entail, unconscious bias works in subtle ways – and it carries a heavy price tag.
Is it the challenge of returning to work?
The gender problem persists the higher we go up the seniority funnel, where women returning to work after taking leave for childcare tend to drop out of the workforce and too often, do not return. Gaps in their CVs of anywhere between three and 10 years makes rehiring after a work hiatus a significant challenge, especially in the technology sector, which is often disrupted by huge advances.
Corporations are often too risk-averse to hire someone without specific experience, no matter their background. But leaders and employees can change this pattern. Companies can also partner with organisations and social enterprises that offer training programmes and support women in getting back into the workforce. Apart from improving the male-to-female ratio, these partnerships expand companies’ access to a huge and valuable talent pool, especially for industries that so often face talent shortages.
Once women have entered into the workforce in the technology field they should be empowered to apply their skills and grow. This can be done through mentorship and internal development programmes. Dell Technologies opens doors through initiatives like Dell Career Re-Start, which is a sustainable re-entry programme focused on bringing educated and successful professional women ( from STEM and non-STEM backgrounds) back into the workforce. And there’ s also our Diversity Leadership Accelerator Programme that ensures women at every stage in their careers can build their tech and business acumen – whether they are re-entering the workforce after taking time away or looking to take on a management role.
Concluding remarks
Gender parity is not a zero-sum game, where one group wins and the other loses. While South Africa has made many significant advances to drive gender equality through laws and regulations, there is still more to be done. Organisations need to recognise the crucial role they play in bringing about change. It’ s a journey and if we work together, we can help transform the region’ s gender parity landscape for the better. | general |
2022 annual workplace predictions from The Workforce Institute at UKG | The Workforce Institute at UKG today released its annual predictions of the top trends that will impact the global workforce in 2022:
1. Employee expectations challenge employer capabilities as the shifting labour market creates ripples across the talent pool.
2. Increasing employee apathy motivates business leaders to invest even more in a people-centric experience.
3. Manager training – including emotional support – and mentorship programmes become critical in the fight to retain great talent.
4. Navigating a steep compliance curve: organisations that proactively stay ahead of the pending legislative “ catch-up ” come out on top as employers of choice.
5. ESG emerges as a make-or-break asset for business stability and growth.
“ It’ s hard to believe that we’ ve been grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic for two years now — and even harder to believe that we’ ve withstood the frustration, grief and turbulence that came along with it, ” said Dr Chris Mullen, PhD, SPHR, SHRM-SCP, executive director at The Workforce Institute at UKG. “ Months of talking about the importance of resilience, engagement and leaning in to succeed despite the struggles have fed workplace burnout and emotional apathy that leaders must address in 2022. We’ ll also watch as pandemic-era changes – from the regulatory impact of hybrid work and safety mandates to renewed workplace expectations and a shift in the employee-employer power dynamic – catch up with us in the new year and create an added layer of business disruption. As we move away from the 'great reset ', amid the 'great resignation ' and into the 'great unknown ', let us take time to reflect on what has and hasn’ t worked, respect our unique boundaries and balance of life and work, and reimagine a truly employee-centric future of work. ”
Top Workplace Predictions of 2022
Employee expectations challenge employer capabilities as the shifting labour market creates ripples across the talent pool
Between March and April 2020, one-third of shifts worked at US businesses evaporated almost overnight, and the International Labour Organization estimated an 18.7% drop in hours worked worldwide from April to June 2020. Over the course of 2021, employers worked hard to resume pre-pandemic levels of business operations – yet the global labour market shift is far from over. 2022 will bring continued uncertainty and fluctuation in light of increased retirements, changing career paths and a plateauing labour-force participation rate.
As employees leverage the power of choice, employers need to be even more creative with the benefits and programmes they offer in order to win the war for talent. Higher wages, schedule flexibility, hybrid working opportunities, competitive time-off plans and family-related leave and care benefits will be necessary to attract and engage office and frontline workers alike. This means business leaders and HR departments will need to have honest and transparent conversations about what they can feasibly afford to offer in order to meet – and ideally exceed – employee expectations.
New labour-resourcing strategies, such as deploying employees across several locations or upskilling workers to do different types of jobs, will also emerge to retain, maximise and inspire the current workforce. Mobile technology that gives frontline employees more schedule autonomy, workplace independence and access to relevant business information will be key to unlocking an empowering employee experience that keeps workers throughout the year and beyond.
Increasing employee apathy motivates business leaders to invest even more in a people-centric experience
People aren’ t built to be resilient for years on end – but, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has forced us all to grapple with continuously interrupted personal lives, career pathing and planning for the future. Constant resilience gives way to apathy as employees prioritise personal preservation and self-care over professional passions and performance.
As this workplace apathy will impact millions of people and fuel continued job-hopping, the frontline workforce reaches its breaking point as ever-changing business operations and inflated consumer expectations and poor behaviour clash with prolonged health concerns and burnout.
The importance of listening to employees and acting on their feedback will take centre stage as business leaders and people managers work to grow engagement, respect personal and professional lives, and ultimately boost brand loyalty. By establishing necessary support mechanisms, employers will be better poised to build a caring culture where people can enjoy meaningful work.
This means the life component of life-work balance will take precedent. Employers will foster a culture of compassion and respect to support employees through their uniquely challenging circumstances. More than ever before, people leaders will value and enable the holistic health and well-being of the whole employee, including physical health, mental and emotional support, and financial wellness.
Manager training – including emotional support – and mentorship programmes become critical in the fight to retain great talent
If 2021 was the year of the HR department, attracting and hiring top talent to meet growing consumer demand, then 2022 is the year of the people leader, retaining and training a rearranged workforce to bolster business growth. Employee movement amid pandemic-related business closures, re-openings and the ongoing 'great resignation ' will drive a renewed focus on retaining great leaders – so they can retain great people – resulting in more comprehensive and applicable training programmes to better educate and empower people managers.
Strong, people-oriented managers who prioritise intentional leadership – and the productivity and performance it brings – will be an invaluable piece of the post-pandemic workplace puzzle. Winning organisations will improve support systems for people managers, empower people-first decision-making skills and find new ways to cultivate a manager experience built on trust, transparency and care.
This emphasis on training and development must also extend beyond managers to the entire workforce, particularly entry-level workers. Gen Z – the most at risk for getting lost in the shuffle of hybrid and remote environments – will crave mentorship programmes, skip-level meetings and other opportunities to learn critical workplace lessons and career-pathing advice. As part of this effort, people leaders will devote time and resources to connect with, educate and engage the newest generation of workers.
Navigating a steep compliance curve: organisations that proactively stay ahead of the pending legislative “ catch-up ” come out on top as employers of choice
Remote work. Minimum wage. Family leave. Vaccination mandates. Workers’ rights. Data protection. AI usage. The list of disparate rules and regulations for employers to know, track and account for is ever-growing and constantly changing across country and county lines. The challenge of compliance has only been exacerbated as compensation plans, tax codes, family leave policies and more are up in the air as employees have switched companies, moved fully remote or physically relocated due to changes in work.
Legislation will catch up with pandemic-driven organisational and business changes and the hybrid desires of workers, steepening the compliance curve around workforce practices and workplace regulations. In 2022, employers across the globe must reconcile these international regulatory challenges to support the choices of their employees, meet continued customer demand and ensure compliance throughout their organisation. Unified and AI-powered workplace technology platforms will become a strategic priority for employers, particularly global corporate entities looking to automate the process of compliance adherence.
And regulatory change is far from over. Political fluctuation, ongoing healthcare mandates and the fight to curb global climate change will continue to impact business operations. Employers must anticipate these changes and stay ahead of the curve. Organisations that move more quickly than the government and proactively respond to regulatory and compliance-related situations will be better prepared to manage the global workplace challenges that inevitably come their way.
ESG emerges as a make-or-break asset for business stability and growth
In a world that seems to be increasingly politicised and divisive, employers continue to navigate difficult and highly nuanced – but extremely important – discussions in the workplace on everything from vaccination mandates and safety protocols to racial justice and gender equity. Many employers made important commitments relating to diversity, equity and social justice over the past two years. 2022 will bring revitalised employee expectations and public accountability for chief executives and business leaders to take firm action on the issues most meaningful and relevant to them, their people and their business.
People leaders and HR departments will use surveys, team newsletters and other feedback channels to gauge internal alignment and perspectives on key focus areas. This will drive corporate social responsibility ( CSR) and environmental, social and governance ( ESG) efforts of employers to evolve from a nice-to-have to business necessity. In the face of global social activism, growing concerns around environmental impact, and fair and equitable business practices, corporate stakeholders – including employees, customers and investors – will expect organisations to publicly set goals, track and report on annual progress.
Explore the full report to view, download and share our annual workplace predictions.
Supporting resources | general |
Local PMO Forum events return to provide PMO leaders and execs with industry insights | Project Management South Africa ( PMSA), with the support of Project Portfolio Office, a project and portfolio management ( PPM) tool and solutions provider that is committed to growing the project management profession, has officially kicked off its Gauteng and Western Cape PMO Forums again for the first time since COVID-19 closed down face-to-face events in early 2020.
The virtual forum, which combined local and international members, saw recent PMO Global Alliance ( PMOGA) 2021 Africa PMO Leader of the Year award winner Marion Baxter provide practical advice to the more than 100 PMO leaders and executives in attendance on being successful in the digital age.
Baxter, a seasoned PMO leader with solid experience in leading multiple strategic competency centres, is also head of Sanlam Group Technology’ s ( SGT) Project Management Office ( PMO).
Key attributes for world-class PMO leaders
Baxter explained that there are several essential traits for successful PMO leaders: the consistent delivery of value that matches the business’ objectives; having the correct team behind you; and taking care of these team members.
“ It is critical to stay close to the heart of the business and be aware of its challenges, opportunities and aspirations, promoting stakeholder-led decision-making. Here a thorough understanding of the portfolio you’ re delivering on is essential. Be clear on the outcome, but flexible on how you get there, and always promote innovation.
“ Next, hiring the suitable resources and surrounding yourself with the right people is key, and even more so is ensuring that you look after the PMO team and empower members to make decisions. This team will help you to look after the business after all, alleviating the pressure on you as leader, ” she added.
How does your PMO get away from an administrative perception and ensure a seat at the strategy table?
“ If your PMO is not afforded the opportunity to sit with the business’ strategic leaders, the first question to ask is whether having a PMO is strictly necessary. Why not have an admin officer and manager in place instead? ” Baxter asked.
Unfortunately, she said, PMOs that are seen only to have administrative capabilities are not considered as adding value and helping to deliver on the strategic goals of the business.
“ It could be said that there is a disconnect between what the admin-focused PMO is doing – for instance too strong a focus on processes and practices, or making sure that they tick the governance and audit boxes – instead of what they should be doing, which is delivering value for the business. ”
The first step to overcoming this view, in Baxter’ s opinion, is to ascertain what problems the PMO should be addressing. “ Is it going to tackle resourcing challenges? Demand or pipeline issues? Prioritisation or practices perhaps? Will it be a hub of talent? It is important to have the strategic conversation, underlining what the PMO is here for and what the value is that it can deliver.
“ Without making these decisions you won’ t be able to formulate a roadmap that will organically help you to evolve and deliver to the business. So, make sure that there’ s buy-in from the business for your roadmap – that there’ s skin in the game for your executives – and show the value of your roadmap on a quarterly basis.
“ From the perspectives of delivery, people, processes and tooling, you must be realistic in showing where the PMO will be able to make a difference. Have conversations with the right people and ensure that you show them how their needs will be addressed. Don’ t be hung up about governance – be hung up about outcomes and value. ”
The impact of the pandemic on the PMO
All PMOs have weathered varying levels of strain over the past two years, needing to prove resilience time and again, Baxter stated. “ For instance, today’ s remote way of working has led to team members losing that direct connection with one another and a skewing of the work/life balance has seen many people suffering from burnout. ”
She continued that while the Sanlam PMO’ s productivity had increased by 200% over the period, there has been a serious focus on looking after team members to ensure that this is sustainable. “ The pandemic accelerated many organisations’ digital transformation plans and this was no different in Sanlam’ s case. In fact, one collaboration project was brought forward from our planned timeframe of one year to two weeks. We did manage to do this successfully by introducing new ways of working, but key to this achievement was networking with other teams and ensuring that we pulled in all the necessary resources. We also put a heavy focus on change management, expanding on these capabilities over this period to assist in delivering a lot of the big changes and to ensure that the changes made were accepted.
“ The introduction of work/life balance processes and best practices, which were continually reinforced, and an employee wellness programme was key in that it helped to provide great support for our teams. ”
Is it all about agile?
Many PMOs are being asked to deliver in a more agile or hybrid way and it can be difficult for some to make sense of this. And with so many delivery frameworks existing out there, Baxter was asked how a PMO should decide what the most suitable options are to deliver a specific project?
“ A few years ago, it was said that there’ s no longer any need for project managers or leaders, just scrum managers and product owners, and that the focus was no longer on projects, only delivery. While there is some truth to this, and every PMO should have an agile delivery culture, scaled agile can be big and disruptive.
“ What we mustn’ t lose sight of is that the programme in place has a vision that the team is delivering to, one that is aligned to the needs of the organisation. Businesses might love agile approaches as they can see the change happening quickly, but the project manager keeps the end-to-end project and product delivery going. Hence it is important to find the middle line and what will work for your organisation, delivering on goals in more of a hybrid form. ”
PMOs starting out and moving forward
Baxter’ s advice for companies just starting out with project management is that the PMO must be positioned as an integration hub, one that can help businesses that have felt the pain and need help to resolve those challenges.
“ The starting point must be to do an as-is GAP analysis and see how value can be delivered without causing too much disruption within the company, ” she recommended. “ Establish why the PMO is needed and talk the business’ language – have the conversations and engagement with leadership. Grow your network and get support in establishing your project-oriented culture through communities like the PMO Forums, from a lessons learned perspective.
“ Start small and evolve – practices, processes should grow with your business. You might not be receiving the budget to roll out a maturation plan or to organically improve practices and processes, but as you’ re able to demonstrate bigger value and funds become available, they will be more likely to come your way. ”
What does the future hold for PMOs?
According to Baxter, the future for PMOs is very positive both locally and at a global level. “ But, as mentioned, you must secure the PMO’ s position within the business, building yourself as the trusted brand of the organisation.
“ Fortunately, there are platforms available for you to elevate what your PMO is doing, which can assist here. “ For example, the South African PMO Awards gives recognition to those PMOs that deliver and add value continuously. This is important as we’ re then able to draw on each other’ s best practices, share knowledge and continuously learn, elevating ourselves, ” she concludes.
PMO leaders and executives from Africa and beyond that would like to join our growing community of like-minded individuals committed to advancing the project management profession are welcome to sign up here. | general |
DRC: Grandson of ex-governor of Belgian Congo plans new hydroelectric dam | Mining subcontractor NB Mining, some of whose ownership is contested by former Katanga governor Moïse Katumbi, has warned FC Saint-Eloi Lupopo it might not be able to finance the club's infrastructure due to an unpaid debt owed by the state-owned Gécamines. [... ]
Newly established in the DRC, the insurance subsidiary of Frontier Services Group, headed by private security magnate Erik Prince has won a contract from Chinese conglomerate CNMC, which has extensive interests in the Copperbelt. [... ]
Having completed work on their new processing plant, the bosses of China's CATL group and its partner Putailai are now waiting only for the Covid-19 crisis to ease to officially launch operations at the Luisha South mine in Katanga, which is crucial to their development plans in DRC. [... ]
Electricity, or the lack thereof, is a prickly topic in Katanga, and the root of a heated debate between miners and local authorities. Neither side wants to pick up the slack for costly power imports. [... ]
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Exclusive Interview with Mayank Singh, Co-Founder & CEO at Campus 365 | Join Our Telegram Channel for More Insights. Join
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While recent years have seen hyper digitization of schooling online, there is still a severe lack of management systems that encapsulate the management experience online. This realization and a joint passion for the Indian Education System and to make an all-encapsulating system has been the vision behind Campus 365. Analytics Insight has engaged in an exclusive interview with Mayank Singh, Co-Founder & CEO at Campus 365.
Navigating school can be hard, no matter who you are. While recent years have seen hyper digitization of schooling online, there is still a severe lack of management systems that encapsulate the management experience online. This realization and a joint passion for the Indian Education System and to make an all-encapsulating system was brought the three friends together to make Campus 365.
With the use of the most emerging technologies and current trends in the world of education, we’ ve leveraged several systems to make an ERP so functional and powerful that the user needn’ t open another browser for their school management need. The service is made for anyone in the system, this includes students, teachers, administration, and parents.
The founders of the company bonded over their concerns about student safety, this is how Campus 365 started as a student tracking software. Since then, we’ ve branched further into education and spreading the word of mental health amongst students, while meeting the standards of several educators and administrations all across the globe.
Since 2017, we’ ve worked tirelessly to provide the most cutting-edge technology to students to enhance performance and learning. Since then, we’ ve been awarded a few titles, namely:
Edtech Global Awards Top 20 Start-ups ( 2019), and many more.
Mr. Mayank Singh, The CEO of the company, has 8 years of experience in building products and technologies for large-scale deployments. His passion for education has kept him focused on the EdTech industry for the last 7 years.
He has elevated Campus 365 from a start-up to an enterprise catering to schools, colleges, coaching institutes across India, as well in international countries like the USA, UK, South Africa, Nepal, Ghana, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Bangladesh, and Australia. He is the driving force behind all the technological innovations towards making learning more personalized and engaging and schooling more automated, leading to better learning outcomes for the learners. He aims to democratize excellent learning by transforming schools and institutes in Tier II, III, and IV cities where the majority of India resides.
He firmly believes that every child, irrespective of economic background or location of birth, should have access to an excellent education.
It was quite a challenge to make a uniform decision on how we wanted to use AI in our service. Information and big data are a slippery slope when it comes to any service that involves younger kids and minors. In 2019, a massive information leak played as one of our biggest case studies on information security.
Our hesitance evolved into a careful understanding of how to use AI to elevate student experience, so we found a simple and user-friendly way of staying in touch with students and knowing how they’ re doing. Our main purpose in using this AI is to know how students are feeling and how specific moods and feelings can affect their grades and overall mental health.
Our AI operates to ensure students are doing well in terms of mental and physical health. To simplify the use for younger students, we ask them how they’ re feeling with a mood-based system ( eg: angry, sad, pensive, etc.) and the system records their moods to predict how their patterns have been in juxtaposition with their performance. This information is entirely confidential and only disclosed to parents if they choose to know. We also keep this information confidential from students in order to not attach and stigmatize their mental health.
The major challenge which we faced mainly was the acceptance of the ERP system in the institutes of T3/T4 cities, but when Covid stuck the term ERP was quite common among them and has helped us scale at a tremendous level.
We are building an ecosystem where our academic expert team will help the schools to become fully digital and in line with international standards.
We’ ve had a long and successful run in India and plan on rolling several new features that are specifically catered to student needs. We also plan to expand our business in other countries like the USA, Canada, the Middle East, and a few other African and Asian, etc.
Our main USP is that we respect the work of each institute and the flexibility of our product exactly fits like a missing piece of the puzzle. Another one of our major advantages is that we offer a budget-friendly solution to the administration. Finally, we have excellent customer and post-sales service in this space. We have almost every imaginable communication medium for the customers to connect & get their queries answered.
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UGANDA: Museveni's NRM torn apart by battle for deceased speaker's chair | Weapons, industry, research, agriculture... Yoweri Museveni wants to pick up the pace on his plans to boost Ugandan industry. Many of those in charge of the entity driving his proactive policy, the Ugandan army's commercial army, the National Enterprise Corp, have been supporters of the president from day one. [... ]
By appointing Ruth Ssentamu as energy and mineral development minister, the Ugandan president has put this key post in the hands of a trusted and devoted collaborator. With her highly political, non-technical profile, she will have the job of dealing with opposition calls for greater transparency over oil contracts. [... ]
Before she was appointed vice president, Jessica Alupo had been in the political wilderness, serving as a member of parliament without even having the backing of the presidential party. Despite this, she kept up her close personal links with Yoweri Museveni. [... ]
Behind Judge Simon Byabakama, the very embodiment of the Uganda Electoral Commission, it is its secretary Leonard Mulekwah who is laying down the rules for the 14 January presidential poll and Covid-19 campaign restrictions hated by opponents Bobi Wine and Patrick Oboi Amuriat. [... ]
Africa Intelligence uses cookies to provide reliable and secure features, measure and analyse website traffic and provide support to the website users.Apart from those essential for the proper operation of the website, you can choose which cookies you accept to have stored on your device.Either “ Accept and close ” to agree to all cookies or go to “ Manage cookies ” to review your options. You can change these settings at any time by going to our Cookie management page.
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A pioneer on the web since 1996, Africa Intelligence is the leading news site on Africa for professionals. | general |
MOROCCO: Minor league Rahhal Chriqi gains major construction favour with gendarmes and army | Finance Minister Mohamed Benchaâboun has secretly instructed his favourite investment banks, Upline Corporate Finance and Attijari Corporate Finance, to structure the €4bn Mohammed VI Investment Fund which aims to revive Morocco's economy in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. [... ]
The ministry helped Rahal Boulgoute win construction contracts in Gambia and Guinea Bissau. Now the businessman wants to build a luxury diplomatic quarter in Rabat. [... ]
Akdital Holding healthcare group, founded by Rochdi Talib, has set up a new subsidiary to develop partnerships with the Moroccan state. [... ]
The Royal holding company Al Mada is looking to team with Vinci to manage the country's second airport. The Covid-19 pandemic may hasten the deal. [... ]
France's foreign trade minister Franck Riester introduced French construction giant Eiffage to the Moroccan property giant Palmeraie during his visit to the kingdom, which has launched its post-Covid recovery plan. [... ]
FNBTP, Morocco's national building and public works federation, wants to train the country's future construction professionals. On 21 May it decided to set up its own educational body. [... ]
The Covid-19 crisis has done nothing to dampen Mohamed Bouzoubaa's real estate ambitions. On 6 March, the head of construction giant TGCC set up a property development company called BFO Office. [... ]
A year after Mohammed VI called before parliament for the launch of `` public-private partnerships ( PPP) in the social domain '', the national construction market leaders TGCC, Jet Contractors and SGTM, which rely heavily on public sector orders, are looking forward to [. [... ]
Lalla Soukaina, daughter of Princess Lalla Meryem ( Mohammed VI's sister) [... ]
Italian defence group Leonardo is set to score a hat-trick in the Maghreb. Already on the offensive in Algeria ( MC 1276) and Tunisia ( MC 1282), where it is trying to sell its spy planes and transport helicopters to the security [. [... ]
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A pioneer on the web since 1996, Africa Intelligence is the leading news site on Africa for professionals. | general |
Heart-rate wearables data may be less accurate for people with darker skin | In a first-of-its-kind study, research to be presented at the American College of Cardiology’ s 71st Annual Scientific Session found that wearable-device data on heart rate and rhythm may be less accurate for people with darker skin tones.
Researchers reviewed 10 previously published studies involving 469 participants.
`` People need to be aware that there are some limitations for people with darker skin tones when using these devices, and the results should be taken with a grain of salt, '' said Dr. Daniel Koerber, the study's co-lead author and resident physician at the University of Alberta.
`` Algorithms are often developed in homogeneous white populations, which may lead to results that are not as generalizable as we would like, '' Koerber added.
The research team looked through 622 scientific papers and identified ten reporting heart rate and rhythm data for consumer wearable technology according to a participant’ s race or skin tone.
Four of those studies found that heart rate measurements were significantly less accurate in darker-skinned individuals when compared with either lighter-skinned individuals or with measurements from other devices, such as chest strap monitors or electrocardiograms.
Some research found that although there was no difference in heart rate accuracy, wearable devices recorded significantly fewer data points for people with darker skin.
According to the American College of Cardiology, the study is the first to compile data from multiple studies to specifically examine this research question – although it is limited by the relatively small number of relevant published studies and the variability of outcomes, devices and populations.
Generally, wearables use photoplethysmography – which consists of shining a bright light through skin and tissue – to measure heart rate and blood flow.
However, the study results suggest that the process may not work as well for those with darker skin.
`` There are a lot of claims that these devices can detect heart rhythm issues like tachycardia, bradycardia and even atrial fibrillation, '' said Koerber.
`` We want to be able to inform healthcare providers about whether these are reliable sources for collecting data in all patients, regardless of skin tone, '' he continued.
He noted that ascertain wavelengths of light are more accurate for people with a variety of skin tones.
`` It is important to explore alternative options to make sure we can create a more equitable solution in health care and not just in the consumer industry, '' he said.
Increasing attention has been paid in recent years to the effect of bias on artificial intelligence and machine learning. As Koerber noted, insufficiently trained models can be less effective for certain populations – which in turn can heighten health risks.
For instance, a December 2020 study found that pulse oximeters, which are often used to track oxygen saturation levels in COVID-19 patients, may be less accurate for Black individuals than for white ones.
Just a few months prior, an article in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association had flagged the danger of under-developed models, warning that they might worsen COVID-19 disparities for people of color.
`` Ongoing research and development of these devices should emphasize the inclusion of populations of all skin tones so that the developed algorithms can best accommodate for variations in innate skin light absorption, '' said Koerber.
Kat Jercich is senior editor of Healthcare IT News.Twitter: @ kjercichEmail: kjercich @ himss.orgHealthcare IT News is a HIMSS Media publication. | tech |
Bam CEO Theo Cullinane to step down from role | Theo Cullinane, a chartered engineer has worked with BAM for 43 years - 13 as CEO.
The chief executive of civil engineering giant BAM’ s Irish operations is to retire this summer.
Theo Cullinane, a chartered engineer, has worked with BAM for 43 years, 13 as CEO and chairman of Royal BAM group’ s operations here.
During his time at the helm, he oversaw delivery of some of the largest road, bridge and hospital projects in the state, as well as building offices and hotels for the private sector.
They include the hi-tech HQ campus at Leopardstown, the huge visual control tower at Dublin Airport, the Boland’ s Quay development in Dublin’ s South docklands for Google, the Navigation Square development on Cork’ s south docks and the HQ project, including the Dean Hotel on the north docks, and the refurbishment and restoration of the city’ s criminal courts complex on Anglesea St.
BAM was also involved in the N25 New Ross public private partnership ( PPP) scheme which features the longest extradosed bridge of its type in the world.
The company, which had a turnover of €461m in 2020, has also been embroiled in controversy over the costs associated with the National Children’ s Hospital in Dublin and with the stalled Cork event centre project.
BAM won the bid for public funding for the 6,000-capacity event centre in 2014 but not a single brick has been laid yet.
Detailed design work finally got underway last November and the government later approved an extra €7m in public funding to cover inflation and Covid delays in addition to the €50m already pledged.
A source close to the process said Mr Cullinane’ s retirement should not affect the project’ s current timelines, which forecast a 2024 completion date. | general |
HHS Again Urged To Use March-In Rights To Cut Drug Costs | A slew of advocacy groups levied more pressure on the Biden administration Thursday to use existing executive powers — including taking over the rights of drug patents — to lower the cost of medications like Pfizer's COVID-19 pill and insulin.The groups, spurred by the Make Medicines Affordable campaign, lodged a petition with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services outlining steps the administration can take to immediately lower the cost of seven drugs while Congress keeps working on a drug pricing proposal. The petition is the latest development in a growing debate over the bounds of what the administration... | general |
Airbnb SA hosts raked in R2bn during 2021 | South African hosts listed on home-sharing platform Airbnb earned a total of R2 billion in 2021, as travel and tourism recovered from the economic repercussions of the pandemic lockdown.
This is according to a report compiled by Airbnb, which provides insights on hosts’ earnings and the company’ s contribution to the tourism industry in SA and globally, from 1 January to 31 December 2021.
According to the report, as borders re-opened and travel began to return, local hosts listed on Airbnb earned more money than before the lockdown.
The highest earning hosts were those based in Theewaterskloof Municipality in the Western Cape, who earned around 65% more last year, compared to 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic – when travel across the world came to a halt as a result of lockdowns, notes the report.
“ In the face of a challenging year for travel in 2021, our community of hosts really rose to the occasion, adapting to the burgeoning domestic travel market, and doubling down on making sure all guests felt happy and safe on their travels, ” says Velma Corcoran, region lead for MEA at Airbnb.
“ And with borders re-opening and travel back on the agenda for many, looking back at last year proves there is a real opportunity for our hosts to welcome guests into their local communities. With the rising costs of living, the extra income could prove to be a real lifeline for many. ”
During SA’ s lockdown in 2020, Airbnb had questioned why it was excluded from president Cyril Ramaphosa’ s plans to incrementally open travel during advanced level three lockdown.
This, after the local tourism sector was given a lifeline with government unbanning essential international and domestic travel under strict conditions – with the exception of Airbnb.
However, at the end of the same year, the home-sharing platform revealed travel services on Airbnb contributed more than R8 billion to SA’ s economy and supported around 22 000 jobs, despite 2020 being a crisis year.
Hosts around the world earned a total of $ 150 billion since 2010, with hosts based in SA earning almost R12 billion in the same time frame, notes the latest report.
Summer holidays drove huge demand for travel in 2021 and resulted in millions of rands for hosts in SA.
Dates in December make up 100% of the top 10 days – with the biggest host pay-out day being Tuesday, 28 December.
On Christmas Eve, 24 December 2021, South African hosts earned almost R32 million, making this another lucrative day for hosts, it says. | general |
Journal of Computational Finance Volume 15, Number 4 ( June 2012) | The transition from LIBOR to RFR has brought challenges for structured products. There are still legacy IBOR products to consider and at the same time the pricing and risk systems need to be upgraâ¦
To ease the pain associated with meeting compliance targets, global institutions are exploring ways to become more efficient by integrating regulatory and business initiatives.
Wire payment fraud is a major growing risk for financial institutions in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. These cases of fraud donât just hurt finâ¦
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Edited by Bill Coen and D. R. Maurice
On April 18-21, 2011 a Lorentz workshop on `` Quantitative Methods in Financial and Insurance Mathematics '' took place in Leiden in the Netherlands, with almost seventy participants from many different countries. The main purposes of the workshop were:
( 2) to bring together experts using different numerical techniques ( Monte Carlo, partial differential equations, quadrature) in order to inform each other about the latest advances and, in particular, to exchange information about cross fertilisation of these methods.
These topics were discussed in twenty-six scientific presentations by international experts from quantitative finance and insurance mathematics. This special issue of The Journal of Computational Finance gives some highlights from the very interesting work presented during the week in Leiden. We have enough material for two special issues related to the workshop and five further papers will appear in the next issue of the journal. In this issue, the focus is on advances in modeling and numerical techniques.
The first paper, `` Efficient and accurate log-Lévy approximations of Lévy-driven LIBOR models '' by Antonis Papapantoleon, John Schoenmakers and David Skovmand, considers a Lévy-driven LIBOR model and introduces effective higher-order approximation schemes for the interest rate dynamics.
In the second paper, `` An equity interest rate hybrid model with stochastic volatility and the interest rate smile '', Lech A. Grzelak and Cornelis W. Oosterlee develop an equity-interest rate hybrid model based on the Heston stochastic volatility and LIBOR market models and demonstrate its highly efficient calibration using Fourier-based techniques.
In the third paper, `` Calibration and Monte Carlo pricing of the SABR-Hull-White model for long-maturity equity derivatives '', Bin Chen, Lech A. Grzelak and Cornelis W.Oosterlee consider a hybrid SABR-Hull-White model and propose a projection formula and Monte Carlo techniques that allow for a fast calibration and pricing of exotic derivatives.
The fourth paper in the issue, `` Numerical valuation of basket credit derivatives in structural jump-diffusion models '' by Karolina Bujok and Christoph Reisinger, discusses the effective pricing of basket credit derivatives in a multivariate structural jump-diffusion model using Monte Carlo finite difference discretization of the resulting stochastic partial differential equation.
In the fifth paper, `` Sato two-factor models for multivariate option pricing '', Florence Guillaume defines a Sato model for multiasset option prices and shows, through numerical examples, that this model both provides a good fit to univariate option surfaces and can adequately reproduce market-implied correlations. We hope you enjoy reading these papers.
Karel J. In 't Hout - University of Antwerp
CornelisW. Oosterlee - CWI/Delft University of Technology
Lech A. Grzelak and Cornelis W. Oosterlee
Bin Chen, Lech A. Grzelak and Cornelis W. Oosterlee
© Infopro Digital Risk ( IP) Limited ( 2022). All rights reserved. Published by Infopro Digital Services Limited, 133 Houndsditch, London, EC3A 7BX. Companies are registered in England and Wales with company registration numbers 09232733 & 04699701.
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Hong Kong Urged by Major Airlines to Drop Covid Tests for Crew | The information you requested is not available at this time, please check back again soon.
Staff members walk through group pick up area in the arrivals hall at Hong Kong International Airport in Hong Kong, China, on Monday, Nov. 29, 2021. Airlines face a return to the uncertainty of shifting rules and public-health developments that threw customer plans into chaos and undermined demand earlier in the pandemic. Photographer: Chan Long Hei/Bloomberg, Bloomberg
( Bloomberg) -- A coalition of leading passenger and cargo airlines is calling on Hong Kong to scrap pre-flight and on-arrival Covid-19 tests for aircrew, saying they are a key reason to avoid flying to the city.
Hong Kong is the only jurisdiction in Asia that requires such tests, which lead to delays and the risk of staff being sent to isolate at government quarantine facilities, the group wrote in a March 23 letter to the city’ s leader Carrie Lam seen by Bloomberg News. The procedures are disrupting operations beyond what airlines can endure, the letter said.
“ Hong Kong’ s restrictions are now an outlier globally and, importantly, at odds with best practices ” established by the International Civil Aviation Organization, representatives from 11 airlines including FedEx Corp., United Airlines Holdings Inc. and British Airways Plc wrote in the joint letter.
Lam announced Monday that some rules on travel will be relaxed in April, including the lifting of flight bans on nine countries, among them the U.S., and halving the amount of time incoming travelers have to stay in mandatory hotel quarantine to seven days.
Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. said their ability to increase flights would still be hampered by a rule that sees air routes suspended for carrying too many infected Covid passengers. The government responded by saying it was looking into how the issue could be addressed without compromising border-control measures, a key feature of the city’ s Covid Zero approach.
Cathay said earlier this month that its crew took more than 230,000 Covid-19 tests in 2021, returning only 16 positive cases.
In their letter, the airlines said Hong Kong should align some procedures for aircrew with those of mainland China, which runs so-called closed-loop systems for cargo operations. That would enable foreign carriers to resume layovers in Hong Kong by separating perceived high-risk flight staff from the public, and to operate flights normally.
A representative from Lam’ s office and other top officials who were sent the letter, including Hong Kong’ s chief secretary, financial, health and transport secretaries, didn’ t respond to requests for comment.
“ We seek a return to normal flight operations in Hong Kong, in which the city can once again serve as an aviation hub, ” said the letter, which was also signed by representatives from Air Canada, Japan Airlines Co., Air New Zealand Ltd. and United Parcel Service Inc., or UPS. | general |
Covid-19: Daily cases in India below 2,000-mark for 5th day, positivity rate slips to 0.29 pct | India on Thursday registered less than 2,000 new Covid cases in 24 hours for a fifth consecutive day, even as several countries witnessed a worrying surge in caseloads. The health ministry said 1,938 new Covid-19 cases had been reported and that the active caseload had now dropped below the 22,500-mark, or 0.05 per cent of the nation's cumulative caseload.
Over the last 24 hours, 67 Covid-related deaths were also registered, taking the total number of lives lost to around 5,16,672. The death rate remains at 1.20 per cent.
As many as 2,531 people were said to have'recovered ' from the infection in the last 24 hours. The national'recovery rate ' is now 98.75 per cent.
The daily positivity rate has dropped to 0.29 per cent and the weekly positivity rate slipped to 0.35 per cent on Thursday. On Monday, the daily positivity rate stood at 0.40 per cent on Monday.
182.23 crore vaccine doses have been administered so far under Nationwide Vaccination Drive, of which, 31.8 lakh were administered yesterday. 7.2 lakh children between the age group of 12-14 have also received their first dose since the drive opened for children.
Meanwhile, several nations are facing a spike in the number of daily Covid-19 cases accelerated by the emergence of the more-transmissible BA.2 omicron strain. In Europe, France, UK and Germany are witnessing a fresh surge.
China has stepped up its coronavirus restrictions in a bid to tackle the spread of the disease. The Chinese mainland reported 2,010 locally transmitted Covid-19 cases on Thursday, ANI reported quoting the National Health Commission.
About one-in-three Covid-19 cases in the United States are now caused by the BA.2 Omicron sub-variant of the coronavirus. | general |
Portugal extends COVID-19 alert situation until April 18 | The Portuguese government announced on Wednesday the extension of the COVID-19 pandemic `` alert situation '' until April 18, according to a statement from the Council of Ministers, Trend reports citing Xinhua.
This is the lowest level of alert for disaster situations, according to the Portuguese Basic Law for Civil Protection, and was scheduled to renew on March 30.
According to the resolution decided Wednesday, `` the measures currently in force remain unchanged '' to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.
Among the measures in force is the mandatory use of a mask in public indoor spaces, health services and transport.
For those who do not have the booster dose of the vaccine against COVID-19, the negative test for the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus remains mandatory in visits to homes and health facilities. | general |
Azerbaijani businessmen show interest in co-op with Uzbekistan in construction | The cooperation with Uzbek businessmen has been successfully developing for many years, Vice-president of the National Confederation of Entrepreneurs’ ( Employers’) Organizations of Azerbaijan Vugar Zeynalov, who together with a group of Azerbaijani businessmen, is taking part in the first Tashkent International Investment Forum, told Trend.
“ The forum enables to strengthen cooperation between businessmen from Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan, as well as other countries, ” Zeynalov added. “ I would like to stress that Uzbekistan’ s economy has greatly changed recently. There are very great prospects for fruitful cooperation in all sectors. ”
The vice-president said that many Azerbaijani companies cooperate with Uzbekistan.
“ There are their representative offices and production facilities here, ” Zeynalov said. “ Our delegation consisting of 10 people represents various Azerbaijani companies that are interested in developing business between the businessmen of our countries beginning from agriculture and ending with the construction sector, in implementing the most significant projects and exchanging experience. ”
“ I would like to stress that despite the COVID-19 pandemic, trade and economic relations between our countries have expanded over the past three years, ” the vice-president said. “ The trade turnover in the food industry, electronics and agriculture has increased by 30 percent. ”
The first Tashkent International Investment Forum is being held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan from March 24 through March 26.
The heads and representatives of official structures, big investment, financial and economic organizations and the companies from foreign countries, including Azerbaijan, interested in integrating into the dynamically developing market of Uzbekistan are taking part in the event.
Tashkent International Investment Forum is a new platform for the Central Asian region, in the format of which Uzbekistan’ s investment potential will be presented to international investors and businessmen.
The conditions created in Uzbekistan for the development of business, transport infrastructure, green energy, the financial market, as well as benefits and preferences for attracting investments in tourism, production of building materials, textile and leather products, agriculture, etc. are being discussed at the forum. | general |
Moderna to seek regulatory approval for COVID shot for very young children | Moderna Inc ( MRNA.O) said on Wednesday it will ask regulators to authorize its COVID-19 vaccine in children younger than 6 years old based on data showing it generated a similar immune response to adults in its clinical trial, Trend reports citing Reuters.
The Omicron variant of COVID-19 was predominant during Moderna's pediatric trial, and the drugmaker said two doses were around 38% effective in preventing infections in 2 to 5 year olds and 44% effective for children 6 months to under 2 years old.
It said these figures were consistent with the lower effectiveness against Omicron seen in adults who had received two doses of its vaccine.
Moderna's vaccine could be the first authorized shot for children under the age of 5 in the United States, and many parents of young children have been waiting on a vaccine. | general |
KENYA: Vinci selected to build the Ruiru 2 dam - 27/02/2015 - The Indian Ocean Newsletter | Only the very few projects that are backed by foreign loans have survived the Covid-19 pandemic. Congo's worn-out government has simply stopped paying all other construction firms. [... ]
The French president is due to lay the cornerstone of [... ]
Active in Niger for 50 years in its legacy businesses [... ]
The number of French firms operating in Kenya has more [... ]
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Report: 90% of nurses considering leaving the profession in the next year | Shawn Sefton, RN, has experienced first-hand the operational, staffing and scheduling challenges that plague the U.S. nurse workforce, having worked as a nurse and in various nurse leader roles for decades.
She spent her early career as a frontline ED and perianesthesia nurse in various hospitals. Then she served as manager of presurgical services and anesthesia at Boston Medical Center, and as clinical specialist nurse ( perioperative projects) and clinical director at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital-Needham.
Sefton followed those years up as a director at PriceWaterhouseCoopers ' health advisory practice, where she led operational and financial improvement engagements at a number of health systems. Today she serves as chief nursing officer and vice president of client services at Hospital IQ, a vendor of predictive hospital operations automation software.
Healthcare IT News sat down with Sefton to get her expert and insider views on the findings of a recent Hospital IQ survey of U.S. hospital nurses.
She discussed how technology can help solve some of the problems unearthed in the survey, told what she's been hearing from the field when it comes to burnout and turnover – and described some key actions are that hospital and health IT leaders can take now to address some of those challenges and increase nurse satisfaction and retention.
Q. What were the big findings of the November 2021 Hospital IQ survey of U.S. hospital nurses?
A. Hospital IQ surveyed more than 200 registered nurses working in U.S. hospitals to gain better insight into, and a deeper understanding of, the nursing shortage and the impact it's having on frontline nurses, hospitals, care delivery and patients. As one might expect given the breadth of the current healthcare staff crisis in this country, the results were both alarming and illuminating.
Q. How can health IT help solve some of the problems unearthed in the survey?
A. The systemic operational, procedural, coordination and technological issues that were raised in the survey are nothing new. While the COVID-19 pandemic served as the final straw for the industry and brought awareness to new heights, these problems plaguing the nurse workforce have been mounting for years.
For leaders across hospitals and health systems, we 've reached a point where there is no other choice left but to respond with action, and swiftly, to solve the operational problems contributing to mass burnout and turnover.
It's no secret that improving operational performance at hospitals helps to improve staff productivity, morale, care quality and patient outcomes. For most, the best place to start is with the administrative, manual, burdensome tasks and processes bogging down already overwhelmed nurses.
Nurses want better processes for communicating along with coordinating and scheduling staffing, which requires hospitals and health systems to streamline and automate manual workflows.
Outdated, inefficient and manual workflows and communications processes consume too much of nurses ' time and attention and make it nearly impossible to achieve effective and efficient coordination of care across units and teams.
Believe it or not, many hospitals still rely on phone calls and paper lists to assign staff or coordinate patient discharges. Easing these burdens on nurses will allow them to spend more time on what they do best, which is caring for the patient at the bedside.
Focusing on health IT strategies that align patients, beds and staff to optimize productivity and flow is critically important for U.S. hospitals trying to navigate an influx of patient needs and a shortage of staff – which, in extreme circumstances, can lead to bed closures and worsened capacity shortages for hospitals. This is where better utilization of operations management, predictive data analytics and real-time insights come into play.
Proactive suggestions and real-time information are just a few ways that hospitals can gain greater value from their own data, enabling unit and staffing leaders to gain early visibility into the current and future state of the enterprise to support strategic, informed decision-making.
With AI-enabled operations and staffing technology solutions, unit leaders can see nurse staffing needs weeks in advance. Forecasting patient census, as one example, allows hospitals to attain more balanced workloads by leveraging data-driven predictions so that staffing assignments are made and updated based on actual demand and need.
This level of foresight is allowing unit leaders and nurses to identify the hospital units that are most likely to be impacted due to capacity and bandwidth challenges to allocate more support, along with which patients should be priority for discharge to streamline patient flow.
Not only does this use of proactive insights help to protect hospitals from reaching an overcapacity of patients, but it also empowers leaders to pinpoint exactly where and when nurses are most needed for more strategic staffing decisions, and where resources should be utilized for the greatest value.
Q. In your position as a chief nursing officer, what have you been hearing from the field when it comes to burnout and turnover?
A. This isn't the first time we 've experienced nursing shortages. It's been cyclical in the '70s, '80s and early '90s. The difference is, we were always able to restock the supply with nursing school graduates.
But another trend we 've seen over the decades is the nursing staff being a constant target for cost reductions. Almost every efficiency project or consultants ' report looks around the hospital for redundancies and possible efficiencies before they eventually land on cutting nurses as an answer.
The problem is, decades of this approach have taken any available slack out of the line. As we 've seen over the past couple of years with the just-in-time supply chain we 've built for meat or packaged goods, any unplanned disruption of the chain can lead to outsized effects and empty shelves.
Decades of thinking about nurses as commodities – and not people with irreplaceable institutional knowledge - has led to empty shelves in hospitals and nursing schools.
Not only have licensed RNs been downsized over and over, but acute care settings have also decreased their ratios of professional to non-licensed staff, forcing nurses to practice with fewer resources in diverse healthcare settings.
As inpatient settings find a higher acuity level of patients receiving care from leaner workforces, many experts believe we're just at the start of a new wave of shortages that will be more critical than those of the past. Factor in increased competition for decreasing resources and we 'll also see experienced nurses jumping from job to job, taking experience and inside knowledge with them.
Overwhelming workloads, over-scheduling and extended shifts, and the stress of providing care amid a pandemic, has pushed nurses to the brink. While many once envisioned a life-long career in the field, the effects of the pandemic compounded with years and years of systemic procedural problems have forced many to leave the profession they once, or still, love.
Overall, there are a handful of primary messages coming from the field about the current state of mass burnout, turnover, and the diminishing U.S. nurse workforce. All of which are centered on more support, both emotionally and operationally, better processes to make day-to-day workflows easier, and more insight into strategic staffing processes.
Q. What are some key actions hospital leaders and health IT leaders can take now to eliminate some of the key problem drivers and increase nurse satisfaction and retention?
A. As I noted, many of the manual, inefficient operational and staffing challenges that contribute to burnout and turnover can be alleviated with more strategic, intelligent use of technology. Most notably, AI-enabled operations management, staffing solutions and proactive analytics.
The core goal for hospital and health IT leaders right now should be to elevate and optimize nurses ' abilities and day-to-day experience through the use of technology. Enterprise-wide visibility, predictive insights and better care coordination has been detrimental for hospitals navigating the pandemic demands, but furthermore, predictive staffing will have a significant impact on nurses ' work environment and satisfaction long past the pandemic.
In addition to technology, fostering an environment in which nurses feel heard, supported and valued is hugely important. Leaders share in the responsibility of recognizing the signs and symptoms of burnout, which requires them to learn them first.
Additionally, nurses and staff must feel safe and comfortable in communicating feelings of burnout to leadership, which means it is up to leaders to foster an open, supportive environment and create opportunities to get this feedback.
For example, setting up educational sessions about burnout and ways to alleviate its impact is one way to spur better awareness and understanding around the topic. And by providing nurses with an avenue where they can share these feelings – whether a digital communication channel or recurring check-in meetings – leaders can ensure nurses feel supported and seen, while actively identifying root causes and opportunities for improvement.
Leaders can't ignore burnout any longer. With nurses halfway out the door, they must listen to nurse's needs, respond with direct action, and implement clear solutions to alleviate the drivers of burnout.
Leaders must make nurses feel supported, but they also have to show them that they actually are supported, and that comes from a combination of improved processes and management soft skills such as listening and empathy.
Twitter: @ SiwickiHealthIT Email the writer: bsiwicki @ himss.org Healthcare IT News is a HIMSS Media publication.
Laura Lovett is Managing Editor of MobiHealthNews where she covers the intersection of healthcare and technology. She is also a contributing editor to Women in Healthcare IT at Healthcare IT News. Before coming to MobiHealthNews she worked for Gatehouse Media, where she earned a New England Newspaper Association award. Most recently Lovett won a Umass Medical Media Fellowship. Lovett was educated at the University of East Anglia, the University of Massachusetts and Oxford University.
Susan Morse is Managing Editor of Healthcare Finance and Women in Health IT contributor. You can follow her at @ susanmorseHFN
Kat Jercich is the Senior Editor at Healthcare IT News. Her writing has appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post, The Advocate, and others. Previously, she was Vice President and Managing Editor at Rewire.News.
Bill Siwicki is Managing Editor of Healthcare IT News. Bill has 33 years of experience in journalism, with 20 years in healthcare IT and healthcare finance, along with extensive expertise in mobile technology. | tech |
The Great Resignation Is Beginning to Reverse Course. | When the pandemic first hit, Celeste Lyons quit her job at a law firm in Connecticut and started to hunker down at home, living off retirement savings and an inheritance from her parents as she tried to avoid getting sick. She wanted to work again eventually, but nearly two years went by before Lyons, 63, started a new gig as a real estate analyst—a position that allows her to work from home when Covid cases spike.
“ I got tired of spending my retirement money. I thought, ‘ I’ ve got to pad my account,’ ” Lyons says of her decision to return to work. Plus, she adds, during all that time at home, “ I just got bored out of my skull. ”
Lyons is among millions of Americans
who dropped out of the labor force
amid the coronavirus pandemic and spent months grappling with whether and how to return to work as fears of the virus abounded, the country’ s child-care system collapsed, and the ad hoc nature of work-from-home policies sparked a nationwide reckoning over what type of work—and pay—people were willing to accept. Generous federal stimulus and unemployment benefits, at the same time, were providing a bonus source of income for many.
But with Americans’ fears of the coronavirus falling, schools returning to in-person instruction, and surplus savings dwindling, some of the most significant factors fueling what has become known as the Great Resignation are starting to ease. The result is a small but significant bump up in the labor-force participation rate over the past six months and a slowdown in the share of Americans quitting their jobs—two dynamics economists expect to accelerate as the labor market, like much of U.S. society, lumbers toward a postpandemic normal.
After months of barely any improvement,
the labor-force participation rate has been rising since the fall
and even more quickly in recent months, climbing 0.4 percentage point in the three months ended in February as 1.87 million people rejoined the labor force. That’ s triple the 621,000 who returned in the three months prior.
Perhaps the most prominent official indication that the tides may be shifting was the recent release of Labor Department data showing the percentage of workers who quit their jobs in January had slowed to 2.8%, down from 3% in each of the two previous months.
And that trend likely continued into February as well, according to data from Gusto, a payroll processor that works with more than 200,000 companies and releases data on monthly “ quits ” faster than the government can. Among workers on Gusto’ s cloud-based platform, the share who quit their jobs slowed 0.6 percentage point between January and February to 3.1%, the data show, matching the same rate as February 2020, just before the pandemic hit.
“ We’ re kind of at this point where the resignation is a continued presence in the economy, ” Gusto economist Luke Pardue told
Barron’ s
, “ but it isn’ t likely going to be a much larger presence in the coming months. ”
Improvement in labor-force participation and the country’ s quits rate will be due in no small part to the pandemic itself fading, at least for now, bringing down Americans’ concerns over catching Covid along with it. Three in four Americans say they are ready for the country to open up, an
Ipsos
poll from mid-March found, and more than half say they have either returned to their normal routines already or will do so within the next six months. And the share of Americans who see the virus as a “ severe ” local risk is down to a record low of 17%, the polling firm Morning Consult found.
That helps clear the way for Covid-cautious Americans like Lyons to return to work as they start to feel safer on their commute or in the office.
“ It does feel—at least psychologically—like Omicron was just this breaking point for many people, where it feels like you can’ t avoid ” the virus, says Nick Bunker, economic research director for North America with the job-search site Indeed. “ There’ s this re-engagement period. ”
Schools are reopening for in-person teaching, too, as Covid case numbers fall and restrictions are lifted, a shift that has allowed more working parents—and particularly mothers—to return to work full time.
As of September, the employment rate for mothers of young children was 3.4 percentage points below its prepandemic level, while the same rate for women without younger children was 2.3 percentage points below. But mothers have been returning to work since then faster than their peers, according to Bunker’ s analysis of Labor Department microdata, and their recovery rate now stands roughly equal to that of men and women without younger children. Continued improvement there would boost overall participation while signaling that the barriers holding back the return to work for many Americans are easing.
Accelerating the return as well is the spending down of excess savings, which had ballooned during the pandemic but which, for households in the lower 40% of the income distribution, are likely now gone, at the same time that the cost of living is soaring. A
Moody’ s
analysis in January estimated those households had close to $ 350 billion in excess personal savings—but forecast those would be gone by the end of this month. “ The financial pressure to return to work will be strong, ” wrote Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’ s Analytics.
For wealthier Americans, recent volatility in the stock market may have dealt the heavier blow, hitting investments and 401 ( k) accounts while
testing the resilience of the new crop of day-traders
, who had been supplementing their incomes with apps like
Robinhood
.
The share of retired workers returning to work has risen sharply in the past two months, a possible indication of Americans looking to bolster their retirement savings.
Related Reading
With Omicron Waning, Americans Are Ready for the Re-Reopening
The Workers Won’ t Be Coming Back, Covid or Not. Here Are Theories on Where They Went.
Where Are the Workers? Millions Are Sick With ‘ Long Covid.’
Covid Drove Workers to Quit. Here’ s Why From the Person Who Saw It Coming.
Scott Williams left his government job working in aviation out of Jacksonville, Fla., in February of last year, cashing out $ 50,000 worth of stock and planning to retire early while he hung out with his children and played golf. But within six months Williams, now 50, found himself growing tired of the quiet, and his old colleagues started asking him to come back. His stock portfolio, meanwhile, “ started just going downhill, downhill, ” he says, and he returned to his post almost exactly a year after he’ d left.
Retirement isn’ t all it’ s cracked up to be, Williams says. “ It’ s nice not having to go to work—but what are you going to do? ”
Perhaps most simply, after a record 48 million Americans quit their jobs last year, the Great Resignation may be starting to slow because the workers who most wanted to head for the exits have already left, economists say. While 29% of workers are actively looking for a new job, according to a Grant Thornton workforce survey to be released in April, that’ s down from 33% who were actively looking in October.
“ Some of the shuffling is over—people made their moves and found better jobs and better pay, ” says Zandi, the Moody’ s economist. “ I don’ t think they want to move every six months or a year. I think they’ ll settle in. ”
Write to
Megan Cassella at
megan.cassella @ dowjones.com | business |
Moderna now has $ 21 billion in signed deals for its COVID-19 vaccine in 2022 | Shares of Moderna Inc.
MRNA,
-7.66%
gained 0.4% in premarket trading on Thursday after the company said it's now signed $ 21 billion in advance purchase agreements for 2022 for its COVID-19 vaccine. That's up from $ 19 billion in signed agreements at the end of February. Moderna has not yet signed a new purchase agreement with the U.S.; in the news release, it confirmed that discussions for 2022 and 2023 agreements are going with several countries, `` including with the U.S. '' Moderna's stock is down 29.6% so far this year, while the S & P 500
SPX,
+0.51%
has declined 6.5%. | business |
Australia's private hospital operators warn costs of proposed cybersecurity law could cause ICU closures | The cost of complying to the Australian government's proposed new cybersecurity obligations could lead to some hospitals closing their intensive care units, a parliamentary inquiry has heard.
The government is seeking to strengthen the defences of the nation’ s critical infrastructure by imposing cyber obligations, but private hospital operators claim they simply can't afford them.
The proposed Security Legislation Amendment ( Critical Infrastructure Protection) Bill 2022 will require organisations, including hospitals with ICUs, to develop a `` risk management programme '' to detect and defend against attacks, including threats of foreign interference to supply chains. High-risk employees who could engage in corporate espionage and sabotage will also need to be identified.
In evidence to a public hearing into the bill, Toby Hall, Group CEO of Catholic Health Australia, the nation’ s largest non-government provider of healthcare services, said robust cybersecurity was already in place and called for the government to pay for costs generated by the legislation.
`` Our member hospitals can not meet the prescriptive requirements of this bill without financial support from the Commonwealth Government, '' Hall said.
Based on government data, Catholic Health Australia claims the cost to larger hospitals in its 75 strong network would total around $ 120 million over the next four years.
`` Catholic hospitals have played a significant role in the COVID-19 response over the past two years at substantial cost, '' Hall said.
`` Hospitals have also faced increased costs resulting from additional PPE, social distancing in care settings and staff furloughs. All this at a time of significantly curtailed revenue resulting from restrictions on elective surgeries. ''
Hall said while public hospitals will receive government support to implement the changes, private hospitals will be left to pay $ 8.5 million in initial costs, then $ 6 million per annum per hospital.
As a result, St Vincent's private hospital in Toowoomba may be forced to close its ICU, placing more pressure on the public system.
`` It's a regional hospital, it actually makes no profit. We operate it from a mission point of view, '' Hall said.
`` [ The bill ] creates such a cost impost that it would actually take a hospital to a point where it's losing money to operate with an ICU. So you 'd take the choice just to take the ICU out. ''
UnitingCare’ s Group Executive Michael Krieg said the organisation was aware of the vital importance of cybersecurity.
But private hospital operators had been `` blindsided '' by the bill, according to Krieg, and although the impact on a local community of closing ICU beds can be `` significant '', some smaller and independent hospitals may have no alternative.
`` The decision may be to close the intensive care unit because you can't justify maintaining an intensive care unit if you're going to have an additional level of cost to achieve compliance, '' Krieg said.
`` The majority of private hospitals right now are certainly impacted by COVID in a variety of forms, if not running at a loss. So any cost impost is more than we can afford to bear right now. ''
Christopher Neal, Group CISO at Ramsay Health Care, said the new measures fail to take into account the existing cybersecurity defences in place and that networks of hospitals contain facilities of varying levels of size and sophistication.
`` We invest heavily in cybersecurity and risk management, and we continue to do so, '' Neal said.
`` But in the case of Ramsay Health Care, where we run a large network of hospitals, it would be more costly for us to run differential controls and maintain that effectively across different levels of hospital, rather than run common controls across all hospitals. '' | tech |
'It's a trillion-dollar question ': Saule Omarova ponders a 'Fannie Mae ' for climate change | “
‘ It’ s a trillion-dollar question. If I knew how to sell [ this ] effectively to politicians, I would have done it by now.’
”
Saule Omarova, President Joe Biden’ s onetime controversial pick to run the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, a major watchdog of the banking system, is no longer be headed for that role, but she’ s not shying away from progressive thinking for new-look financing needed to potentially save the world.
Omarova is a fellow at the Berggruen Institute and a Cornell law professor. On Thursday, she released
a 100-plus-page proposal to create a new federal agency
, the National Investment Authority.
Such an agency would, among other things, direct public money and cushion private money meant for renewable energy and climate-friendly infrastructure projects. These efforts are moving too slowly by conventional means, such as Department of Energy loans, or private-equity projects whose drivers are too profit-focused, by her judgement.
In many ways, Omarova wants to create — or at least further the discussion for — a “ Fannie Mae ” for climate change. Just like that quasi-governmental agency buys up private mortgages in order to cut the cost of such borrowing for qualifying homeowners, the National Investment Authority could scoop up private green investments and package them into securities, essentially deepening markets.
She’ s essentially saying the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department, for starters, are not designed to meet this unprecedented burden — climate change.
“ The COVID-19 crisis brought into sharp relief many of our nation’ s deepest and thorniest socio-economic and political problems. The pandemic made it impossible to continue ignoring the existential threat posed by global climate change, growing inequality, erosion of domestic industrial capacity, and other structural faults in the
foundation of American society, ” she wrote in setting up the paper.
“ It necessitates a strong institutional platform: a federal entity with democratic accountability, broad legal authority, and in-house capacity to identify long term economic development goals and to translate them into specific investments, ” she wrote. “ Congressional paralysis and partisan battles over federal budget deficits render the U.S. Treasury incapable of leading a real infrastructure reconstruction program. The Federal Reserve has not been able to step into the resulting gap,
primarily because of its legal mandate focused on conducting monetary
policy, and the lack of an institutional apparatus for direct capital allocation. ”
She said reliance on these institutions put the United States as an outlier in industrialized economies, most of which have some form of development institution.
The paper has long been in the works but also hits at a time when concerns are heightened for the future of energy markets
BRN00,
-0.41%
after Russia’ s invasion of Ukraine. In addition, post-COVID supply-chain bottlenecks have triggered a rethink of the merits of globalization by well-known market voices,
including BlackRock’ s Larry Fink
, which could push the U.S. to raise its competitiveness domestically.
Read:
Biden and allies expected to announce greater shipments of U.S. natural gas to Europe on Friday, in bid to reduce continent’ s reliance on Russia
What’ s more, the Securities and Exchange Commission just this week
is drawing ever closer
to demanding that companies reveal to investors the emissions their business creates, even indirectly.
“
‘ The pandemic made it impossible to continue ignoring the existential threat posed by global climate change, growing inequality, erosion of domestic industrial capacity, and other structural faults in the foundation of American society.’
”
The thrust of Omarova’ s thinking is similar to a proposal from the Bipartisan Policy Center. It has suggested creation of a
Clean Energy Deployment Agency
, independent of partisanship. CEDA is imagined as “ a business-driven federal financing agency with access to a diverse set of tools [ that ] could better leverage private investment to accelerate the deployment of clean energy technologies developed in the United States. ”
But Omarova is also keenly aware of how new thinking on energy, finance and most market institutions can divide the country.
Read:
Banks are still working with oil and gas companies, despite joining climate pledge
“ It’ s a trillion-dollar question, ”
she told Axios
.
“ If I knew how to sell [ this ] effectively to politicians, I would have done it by now. ”
Late last year, she stood for early-round congressional questions for her nomination but ultimately withdrew from consideration for the banking regulator post amid pressure from lawmakers worried she’ d dismantle the banking system.
Some of the attacks included outright suggestions that the Kazakhstan-born U.S. citizen held “ communist ” views. Moderate Democrats grew increasingly nervous that her progressive writings would make confirmation challenging in the closely-divided Senate. | business |
Fed official doesn't think housing market is headed for a crash: ' I am trying to buy a house here in Washington and the market is crazy ' | Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller has no doubt about how competitive today’ s housing market is.
“ Trust me, I know it is red hot because I am trying to buy a house here in Washington and the market is crazy, ” Waller said in a speech at a housing conference.
But even as home and rental prices have soared over the past couple years, he is not concerned that the housing market is poised for a repeat of the crash that occurred in the mid-2000s and ultimately triggered the Great Recession.
His reasoning has to do with the forces that are contributing to the run-up in housing costs. “ My short answer is that unlike the housing bubble and crash of mid 2000s, the recent increase seems to be sustained by the substantive supply and demand issues, ” he said, and “ not by excessive leverage, looser underwriting standards or financial speculation. ”
Waller also noted that mortgage borrowers’ balance sheets were stronger heading into the COVID-19 pandemic, meaning they were more resilient. And banks have proved capable of withstanding downturns in recent stress tests from regulators.
In his speech, Waller outlined the many forces he believes are contributing to the rising cost of housing across the country. On the demand side of the equation, many households sought out larger homes to accommodate remote work and school. There has also been an increase in household formations over the course of the pandemic, reducing vacancy rates across the country for both renter- and owner-occupied homes.
“
‘ Unlike the housing bubble and crash of mid 2000s, the recent increase seems to be sustained by the substantive supply and demand issues.’
”
— Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller
Those pandemic-era changes further magnified the demand-related issues that were pushing housing costs higher before the pandemic. Prior to COVID-19, there was a shift toward urban living, as people sought high-paying jobs in major cities. While the pandemic may have prompted some of these people to flock to the suburbs and exurbs, it’ s too soon to tell whether people will return to their offices and reinvigorate demand for city living.
“ The supply side has been pushing in the same direction — towards tighter housing markets and more expensive shelter, Waller said. Home builders face multiple challenges, including the rising cost of materials such as lumber, a tight labor market and strenuous land-use regulations. These have slowed the pace of home building, worsening the supply-demand imbalance.
Though Waller may not be concerned about the potential for a burst housing bubble, he did signal that the cost of housing is becoming a bigger concern for monetary policy.
“ With housing costs gaining an ever-larger weight in the inflation Americans experience, I will be looking even more closely at real estate to judge the appropriate stance of monetary policy, ” Waller said. At the same time, he
echoed recent research
that has suggested that measures such as the consumer price index likely underestimate the true scale of housing inflation.
Economists have suggested that housing inflation will only continue to grow in the coming months, given that there is typically a lag between when housing and rental costs rise and when those increases are recorded in the surveys that are used to produce inflation measures.
The
recent run-up in interest rates
could change the equation, though. February data on new and existing home sales showed some weakness, and many economists believe that higher mortgage rates
will begin to constrain home-buying demand
as affordability challenges mount.
On that front, Waller said that he was “ hopeful that at least some of the pandemic-specific factors pushing up home prices and rents could begin to ease in the next year or so. ” | business |
BlackRock says Russia's war in Ukraine is the end of globalization | BlackRock CEO Larry Fink told shareholders in a letter on Thursday that Russia's `` decoupling from the global economy '' following its assault on Ukraine has caused governments and companies to examine their reliance on other nations.
`` The Russian invasion of Ukraine has put an end to the globalization we have experienced over the last three decades, '' Fink wrote.
The CEO, whose company manages $ 10 trillion in assets, predicted that Russia's isolation will `` prompt companies and governments worldwide to reevaluate their dependencies and reanalyze their manufacturing and assembly footprints. ''
But some countries could benefit from focusing on building up their domestic industries, as companies onshore or `` nearshore '' their operations, he said.
Fink said that the coronavirus pandemic had already set these wheels in motion.
Early in the pandemic, countries struggled to secure desperately needed personal protective equipment made in China. When economies reopened — and demand surged — supply-chain bottlenecks helped push inflation up to levels not seen in decades. A shortage of semiconductor chips, in particular, has plagued industries over the past year, from carmakers to tech companies.
And now Russia's assault on Ukraine — followed by swift and punishing Western sanctions and a raft of company exits — has disrupted international export markets. The price of Brent crude, the global benchmark, surged above $ 139 a barrel in early March as buyers feared supply shocks, though oil has since come down.
`` Energy security has joined the energy transition as a top global priority, '' Fink said.
While Fink anticipates that coal consumption may increase over the next year as Europe and Asia try to wean themselves off Russian oil and gas, soaring energy prices will likely make renewables more competitive, he said.
`` Longer-term, I believe that recent events will actually accelerate the shift toward greener sources of energy in many parts of the world, '' Fink wrote. | business |
Not just NFL: How diversity goals get stifled by boys ' clubs and box-checking | When former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores filed a lawsuit against the National Football League and three football teams alleging racial discrimination that included an apparent sham interview, Jorge Caballero could empathize.
As a Mexican-American doctor and engineer, Caballero said he has had his share of sham interviews.
“ You get a very motivated or rushed recruiter that’ s trying to get you in the door, ” he said. When he asks how many others have been interviewed for a position, he added, “ the number indicates you’ re at the tail end of the process. ” That possibly allows a company or organization to say they checked the box and considered a diverse slate of candidates, he said.
In his
lawsuit filed last month
, Flores said some teams were using the NFL’ s Rooney Rule, which requires them to interview candidates of color for coaching positions and senior football-operations jobs, as a smokescreen.
Flores said teams would interview Black coaches like him, but would already have a preferred white candidate. He presented as evidence a text message in which New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick mistakenly congratulated Flores on getting a head-coaching job before Flores was even interviewed, then realized he had the wrong Brian.
The
lawsuit
accuses the league of racial discrimination, which it says the statistics reflect: While 70% of NFL players are Black, there are zero Black team owners. Only one head coach, Mike Tomlin of the Pittsburgh Steelers, is Black, and the numbers of Black assistant coaches are low. ( Since Flores filed the lawsuit, the Steelers have hired him as an assistant coach.)
The NFL said in its response to the lawsuit that “ diversity is core to everything ” it does and has vowed to defend itself against the claims, which it said are without merit.
Lauren Tucker, the founder of an inclusion consultancy in the Chicago area, said NFL owners, executives and white sportscasters need to get past their old way of thinking that Black players can’ t be smart quarterbacks or coaches, because they have been proven wrong.
“ Flores’ s claim of experiencing sham interviews is as unsurprising as it is central to the Black experience in America, ” Tucker said. “ For years, white corporate leaders hid behind the old chestnut, ‘ We only hire the best talent.’ How would they know? ”
Research throughout the years shows
that companies and organizations may think they are making hiring decisions based purely on merit, but biases and sometimes stereotypes play a role.
“ The streets of corporate America are littered with the failures of companies that did not, in the end, have ‘ the best talent, ' ” Tucker said.
After all, the NFL isn’ t the only industry failing to turn its diversity pledges into meaningful change. Other industries, like tech, have been accused of making promises they haven’ t kept. Even when companies and organizations make progress that includes hiring people from underrepresented groups, they sometimes struggle to retain them for various reasons.
The same goes for Hollywood — though the entertainment industry has seen some notable gains in diversity in the past couple of years, at least by some measures.
Old boys’ clubs everywhere
“ The NFL is an old boys’ club, ” said Bhaskar Chakravorti, the dean of global business at Tufts University’ s Fletcher School. “ Sadly, that is true in a lot of other industries as well: It’ s a club. I see that in academia. ”
So does Caballero, who was on the residency-selection committee at Stanford Medicine. He resigned last year after he said his outspokenness on diversity issues led his colleagues and superiors to withdraw their support for him at the departmental and institutional levels. That made it tough for him to secure research grants and advance beyond an entry-level faculty appointment, he wrote in an opinion piece in the San Francisco Chronicle.
A spokeswoman said Stanford Medicine does not comment on personnel matters, and that Stanford Health Care and the School of Medicine are “ committed to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion. ”
In both medicine and academia, Cabellero told MarketWatch, “ there are public overtures and lip service to diversity and inclusion with a lack of substantive commitment at the institutional level. ”
Pamela Newkirk discusses that type of lip service in her 2019 book, “ Diversity, Inc.: The Failed Promise of a Billion-Dollar Business. ” Newkirk, a New York University journalism professor, says corporations have “ created a bloated apparatus that seems more concerned with optics of diversity than the realization of diversity. ”
She cited a 2019
study
by an executive-search consultancy that found most chief diversity officers don’ t have access to their companies’ demographic data.
“ If you can’ t even see under the hood, you can’ t fix the problem that has metastasized in the organization, ” Newkirk said.
And even when there is diversity data, like in the tech industry, it doesn’ t automatically mean progress will follow, or that it will be meaningful or sustained.
Almost a decade ago, tech became the first industry to begin to regularly disclose its workforce demographics. But the industry continues to have mostly low-single-digit percentages of Black and Latino employees and leadership. The lack of Black employees is “ up and down the system, with almost no Black CEOs, ” said Chakravorti.
Black STEM ( science, technology, engineering and math) graduates are teaching or working in academia and starting small businesses at higher rates than STEM graduates from other racial groups,
research
by Tufts’ Fletcher School shows — and not working in the more lucrative tech sector at the same rates as white and Asian STEM graduates.
Tech giant Google, whose diversity initiatives inspired
backlash in the form of a manifesto
from a since-fired white male engineer, has had its share of controversial departures of Black female employees. And late last week, former recruiter April Curley filed a lawsuit seeking class-action status, alleging the company fired her in 2020 after she “ began to question white-dominant policies at Google, especially at the recruitment level, ” she said during a news conference Monday.
The lawsuit contends there is a high attrition rate among Black Google employees because “ of the racially discriminatory and hostile environment at Google, as well as the underpayment and denial of advancement. ” ( Google did not return a request for comment on the lawsuit.)
“ We’ re talking about tech geniuses who can’ t come up with a way to fix the problem, ” Newkirk said.
Read more:
‘ There’ s a diversity grift right now’: Employees at center of racial controversies at tech companies speak out
Sometimes, the focus on diversity feels forced and can be a red flag for job candidates. Arianna, a woman from Washington state who requested that her last name not be used, is biracial — Black and white. She turned down a project management job at a tech company after feeling like the managers talked too much about wanting to diversify their workforce during the interview process.
“ You want to have conversations and bring people in who have different experiences than those who are in your current talent pool, ” she said, adding that managers should learn how to ask those questions with more skill. “ It needs to be conversations about the work. The vibe I got was you check off this box. ”
She continues to look for a job.
Hooray for Hollywood?
As for the entertainment industry, a recent study by the University of Southern California’ s Annenberg Inclusion Initiative that examined diversity among film directors showed that even though the industry continues to be dominated by white male directors, there have been some gains over the years for women and directors from underrepresented racial groups.
The study found that white women and men of color directors saw their highest representation in the top-grossing films in 2020 and 2021, respectively. The study’ s authors found, though, that women of color directors remain significantly underrepresented, making up less than 2% of the top-grossing directors from 2007 to 2021.
That’ s not to say there aren’ t plenty of efforts at inclusiveness in Hollywood. In 2015, lawyer April Reign tweeted # OscarsSoWhite, which went viral, sparking changes in the entertainment industry and changing the course of her life. Reign now advocates full-time for diversity in entertainment, and she’ s optimistic about a couple of key things.
One is the inclusion rider, which started off as a way for influential actors to demand diversity within a production both in front of the camera and behind it. In addition, she said, “ what gives me hope is seeing actors, actresses and others in the film industry no longer waiting for their seat at the table, but forming their own production companies. ”
That includes actors like Michael B. Jordan, who is Black and whose production company, Outlier Society Productions,
was among the first
to adopt the inclusion rider. The production company Pearl Street Films, which is owned by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, has also adopted the inclusion rider.
Damon famously got diversity-related backlash after a 2015 episode of “ Project Greenlight, ” on which he served as an executive producer, after he suggested diversity only matters in front of the camera, not behind it.
In that episode of the reality show about aspiring filmmakers being given a chance to direct a movie, Damon was shown talking to Effie Brown, a Black producer, about her advocating for choosing a directing team made up of a white woman and a Vietnamese-American man. He told her, “ When we’ re talking about diversity, you do it in the casting of the film, not in the casting of the show. ” She replied, “ Wow. ” ( Damon later
apologized
for his comments causing offense and said he believed “ deeply ” in creating greater diversity among filmmakers.)
Fanshen Cox, a co-author of the inclusion rider, told MarketWatch, “ I work at Pearl Street because of Matt Damon’ s Effie Brown moment. ”
Cox said she “ grew up with Matt and Ben ” in Cambridge, Mass., where residents of the city thought of themselves as progressive. After that episode of “ Project Greenlight, ” she said, she “ had a very important and transparent conversation with Matt and Ben. ”
Now a Pearl Street project and one of Affleck’ s upcoming movies, “ Hypnotic, ” has adopted an inclusion rider — and one of its executive producers, James Portolese, said the star will be surrounded by a diverse cast. Portolese said the team did its best with the rest of the production, but COVID-19 made things tough: Last summer, as case counts declined, the entertainment industry rushed into productions while there were no lockdowns.
“ It was the Wild West, ” he said. “ I couldn’ t hire an accountant to save my life. ” What that meant, at times, was “ we couldn’ t be as mindful for underrepresented groups because we were so desperate for bodies. ”
Portolese said productions are back at a normal pace now, and he thinks it will be easier to be more inclusive and mindful of diversity. “ I want a rider on all of our projects, ” he said. “ I love having really diverse heads of departments and crew, and giving people a shot who might not always have it. ”
Another big production that has adopted an inclusion rider: This year’ s
Grammy Awards
, which are scheduled to air next month.
The inclusion rider involves four parts, Cox said: diversifying the hiring pool, setting targets, collecting data and urging a production to make “ a meaningful contribution ” where it falls short of its targets, such as to organizations that help gaffers or crew members, or nurture storytellers.
The rider can be adopted and adapted by other industries, she said: “ It got its start in Hollywood, but this is common-sense practice. ”
NFL ‘ feeling the heat’
The Flores lawsuit is only one of the NFL’ s race-related controversies. Former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who started kneeling during the national anthem at football games in 2016 to protest racial injustice and police brutality, wasn’ t signed by another NFL team the following season and hasn’ t played professional football since.
Last year, the league
agreed to stop use of “ race-norming ”
in awards of a $ 1 billion settlement of concussion claims. The practice assumed Black players started out with lower cognitive function, making it more difficult for them to show they’ re suffering from any mental deficit as a result of playing football.
The NFL did not return a request for comment for this story.
Add the Flores lawsuit to those and other controversies, and the NFL is “ feeling the heat, ” author Newkirk said. She pointed to the Super Bowl halftime show this year, which featured mostly Black artists.
“ They care enough to try to appease the public, ” Newkirk said. “ But they know the halftime show isn’ t going to be enough. ” | business |
5 reasons to look forward to traveling this summer | This
article
is reprinted by permission from
NerdWallet
.
For most Americans, summer 2020 entailed camping, getting away from crowds in a remote vacation rental or skipping travel completely and opting for a quarantine staycation. Then there was summer 2021, which was supposed to be the “ hot vax summer. ” That was until the
COVID-19
delta variant put the kibosh on people’ s big vacation plans.
For many, the days of dusting off your passport, heading abroad and traversing a foreign country on a summer escapade haven’ t happened since at least 2019.
But it’ s now 2022. Many states have axed mask requirements, and several countries with
strict entry requirements
have eased them. Americans who want to have had ample time to get a
COVID booster shot
. New coronavirus cases are down from their mid-January peak, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And with vacation season on the horizon, it’ s looking like the third summer of COVID might be the charm.
Here are five reasons to be optimistic about your vacation plans in summer 2022.
Why travelers should look to summer 2022 with optimism
1. People are planning more ( and longer) trips
The majority of travelers said they expect to travel more in 2022 than they did in 2021, according to the State of Cheap Flights 2022 report from travel deal site Scott’ s Cheap Flights. That report, which surveyed more than 800 members at the end of January 2022, found that 75% of respondents intend to take more international trips in 2022 than they did in 2021.
And trips are set to be bigger, and likely better. Of the respondents, 63% said they expect their international trips will be longer, while 84% said they’ re planning to spend more than they did in 2021.
Meanwhile, only 15% of people are concerned about COVID as a barrier to travel, versus the 31% who were concerned in 2021.
Read:
As COVID cases climb in Europe, experts worry that new waves in the U.S. have typically followed within weeks
2. Remote work enables more travel opportunities
The work-from-home trend continues. According to responders to Gallup’ s September 2021 update of its monthly employment trends, 45% of full-time U.S. employees worked from home in at least some capacity. What’ s more, about a quarter of respondents said they now can work remotely all of the time. And with remote work typically comes the ability to travel more.
“ Laptop-lugging leisure travelers are taking more trips, and adding days and dollars to those trips, ” according to the Deloitte 2022 Travel Outlook, citing data from its 2021 holiday travel survey of about 6,500 Americans.
The survey also found that more than half of people who can work remotely also said their vacations were at least three days longer than usual since they could also work remotely on vacation.
3. Business travel is coming back
Speaking of work, official business travel is coming back as well. Almost 75% of business travelers said an increase is very or extremely likely this year, according to a January 2022 survey of 1,000 U.S. business travelers by travel company SAP Concur.
And many experts agree that an uptick in business travel is good for leisure travelers, too. Because business travelers tend to spend more on expenses like flexible airfares or first class upgrades, the extra revenue typically subsidizes costs for leisure-focused products ( like economy seats).
Plus, business travelers generate more demand overall, which typically benefits vacationers. For example, leisure travelers may have more favorable flight routes to choose from due to the increase in demand.
4. Sustainability is getting renewed interest
The sharp reduction in 2020 travel shed a spotlight on travel’ s often detrimental environmental impact. Happily, it looks like that passion for sustainable travel has, well, sustained. According to the Traveler Value Index 2022 Outlook conducted by Expedia
EXPE,
-2.48%
in November 2021, which surveyed 5,500 adults worldwide, almost 60% of travelers said they are willing to pay more to make a trip more sustainable.
That could entail carbon offset contributions. Or it might simply mean taking fewer yet longer trips, enabling travelers to maintain the same number of vacation days as in past years but without the extra flights. It could also mean more thoughtful consumption of everything from hotel towels to refillable water bottles.
Check out:
7 off-the-radar places worth stopping on a California road trip
5. Travelers will be kinder
All that, and it seems that people will be a bit more patient and a lot more generous. Expedia’ s report also found that 21% of travelers said they intend to tip more than normal this year. Another 38% said they will deliberately spend at locally owned restaurants and businesses, which could help travel destinations retain their unique characteristics and help the local economy recover from the loss of tourism.
And people will likely be less pushy at airports, as 43% of travelers said they plan to add in extra time for transit this year. This could lessen the odds of grouchy people complaining about
long airport lines
, or relieve the extra stress of passengers running to their gates.
Read
:
Some say it’ s time to establish a ‘ no-fly’ list for unruly passengers
The bottom line
Increased thoughtfulness toward fellow travelers ( and the environment) could be a warm fuzzy-inducing, positive omen. Willingness to spend more could help provide the revival the travel industry needs. And if money talks, then it’ s saying that a relatively normal summer vacation ( by pandemic standards) is ready to materialize.
More From NerdWallet
Travel Is Back, in Case You Missed It
How to Maximize Paying Taxes with a Credit Card for Points
4 Cheap Ways to Be an Eco-Conscious Traveler
Sally French writes for NerdWallet. Email: sfrench @ nerdwallet.com. Twitter: @ SAFmedia. | business |
The Federal Reserve's big policy shift points to good times for bank stocks | The start of what may be a stream of rising interest rates as the Federal Reserve fights high inflation has stock investors jittery, and rightly so.
The more bond yields rise, the more likely income-seeking investors will move money out of the stock market.
But this is also the part of the interest-rate and economic cycles during which banks’ profits rise. And bank stocks’ valuations to earnings have been declining. That sets up a potentially fruitful scenario.
In an interview, Sam Peters, a portfolio manager at ClearBridge Investments, outlined the case for buying bank stocks. ClearBridge is based in New York and has about $ 208 billion in assets under management. Peters co-manages the ClearBridge Value Trust
LMNVX,
+1.50%
and the ClearBridge All Cap Value Fund
SFVYX,
+1.43%
.
He is based in Baltimore.
Peters pointed to increasing loan demand, improving profitability as interest-rate spreads widen and a decline in bank stock valuations so far this year.
The Fed provides a tailwind
Let’ s begin by looking at interest-rate spreads. Banks’ main funding source is deposits, and their best way of making money is by lending out the money. If a bank can’ t make enough loans, it will buy bonds. The problem with bond portfolios in the current environment is that as interest rates rise, bonds’ market values decline, and resulting markdowns reduce banks’ profits.
But on the loan side, rising interest rates have benefits in a strong economy:
Payments on loans with adjustable rates increase.
Commercial loans, which tend to have relatively short maturities, are renewed at higher interest rates.
Meanwhile, in its fourth-quarter
Banking Profile
, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said loan volume was growing across “ most major loan types. ” Looking ahead, Peters expects commercial borrowing to increase with the end of federal stimulus programs that propped up the economy during the coronavirus pandemic.
Banks keep deposit rates low
The Fed made its first move last week, increasing the target federal funds rate to a range of 0.25% to 0.50% from its previous target of zero to 0.25%.
You may have seen some headlines about a flat Treasury yield curve or even an inverted yield curve, as an advance signal that a recession is coming. It may even take an eventual recession to tamp down inflation sufficiently for the Fed to achieve its 2% target for price increases in the U.S.
At the end of business on March 23, the yield on 10-year U.S. Treasury notes
TMUBMUSD10Y,
2.365%
was 2.32%, which was the same as the yield on three-year notes
TMUBMUSD03Y,
2.367%
,
according to the Treasury Department’ s
daily yield curve
. The curve was indeed inverted with yields of 2.34% on five-year notes
TMUBMUSD05Y,
2.390%
and 2.37% on seven-year notes
TMUBMUSD07Y,
2.415%
.
But for the banks, the situation is completely different.
In a world that continues to be awash with cash, banks don’ t need to pay much for deposits. Peters said a good proxy for banks’ spread between their cost of deposits and loan rates is a comparison between yields on three-month Treasury bills
TMUBMUSD03M,
0.502%
and two-year Treasury notes
TMUBMUSD05Y,
2.390%
.
Here’ s how those rates have moved over the past six months, according to data compiled by FactSet:
FactSet
At the end of March 23, the yield on two-year Treasury notes was 2.11%, while the yield on three-month T-bills was 0.50%. That’ s a spread of 1.61%. Back on Sept. 23, the spread was only 0.23%, as the two-year yield was 0.26% and the three-month yield was a 0.03%.
Considering the current spread, the real situation is even better, as few banks are paying 0.50% for deposits.
Bank valuations have declined this year
So far this year, stocks in the S & P 500 banking industry group have pulled back by a weighted 4.5%, compared with a 6.5% decline for the full S & P 500
SPX,
+1.43%
,
excluding dividends. Now take a look at this year-to-date chart showing the movement of the banks’ combined forward price-to-earnings ratio, based on earnings-per-share estimates among analysts polled by FactSet, for a rolling 12-month period:
FactSet
Two favored bank stocks
Now let’ s review data for the two banks Peters discussed — Wells Fargo & Co.
WFC,
+0.41%
and Signature Bank of New York
SBNY,
+1.85%
.
To simplify, in the following table forward price-to-earnings ratios are based on consensus EPS estimates for 2022:
Bank
Ticker
Price/ cons. 2022 EPS estimate – March 23
Price/ cons. 2022 EPS estimate – Dec. 31, 2021
Cons. 2022 EPS estimate – March 23
Cons. EPS estimate – Dec. 31, 2021
Change in 2022 EPS estimate
Wells Fargo & Co.
WFC,
+0.41%
12.9
12.8
$ 3.97
$ 3.75
6%
Signature Bank
SBNY,
+1.85%
15.0
18.6
$ 19.94
$ 17.41
15%
Source: FactSet
You can click on the tickers for more about each bank.
Click
here
for Tomi Kilgore’ s detailed guide to the wealth of information available for free on the MarketWatch quote page.
Wells Fargo’ s stock has risen 7% during 2022, excluding dividends. But its forward P/E has increased only slightly to 12.9 as its 2022 consensus EPS estimate has risen 6%.
Here’ s how the rest of the “ big four ” U.S. banking club compare:
Bank
Ticker
Price/ cons. 2022 EPS estimate – March 23
Price/cons. 2022 EPS estimate – Dec. 31, 2021
Cons. 2022 EPS estimate – March 23
Cons. EPS estimate – Dec. 31, 2021
Change in 2022 EPS estimate
JPMorgan Chase & Co.
JPM,
+0.65%
12.4
13.1
$ 11.26
$ 12.05
-7%
Bank of America Corp
BAC,
-0.05%
13.2
13.9
$ 3.26
$ 3.20
2%
Citigroup Inc.
C,
+0.12%
8.0
7.6
$ 7.03
$ 7.94
-11%
Source: FactSet
EPS estimates for 2022 have declined for JPMorgan Chase & Co.
JPM,
+0.65%
and Citigroup Inc.
C,
+0.12%
,
while increasing only 2% for Bank of America Corp.
BAC,
-0.05%
.
Citi’ s P/E valuation remains very low, and the stock is the only one here trading below tangible book value, reflecting investors’ long-term discomfort with a company that has been in turnaround/restructuring mode for decades.
Leaving aside 2021, when banks’ earnings were inflated from the release of loan-loss reserves that turned out not to be needed during the pandemic, let’ s take a look at EPS projections for the five banks mentioned above through 2024:
Bank
Ticker
Cons. 2022 EPS estimate
Cons. 2023 EPS estimate
Cons. 2024 EPS estimate
Expected 2023 EPS increase
Expected 2024 EPS increase
Projected two-year EPS CAGR
Wells Fargo & Co.
WFC,
+0.41%
$ 3.97
$ 4.90
$ 5.71
24%
17%
20%
Signature Bank
SBNY,
+1.85%
$ 19.94
$ 25.57
$ 34.82
28%
36%
32%
JPMorgan Chase & Co.
JPM,
+0.65%
$ 11.26
$ 12.62
$ 14.04
12%
11%
12%
Bank of America Corp
BAC,
-0.05%
$ 3.26
$ 3.84
$ 4.35
18%
13%
15%
Citigroup Inc.
C,
+0.12%
$ 7.03
$ 7.84
$ 8.59
11%
10%
11%
Source: FactSet
All five banks are expected to have their earnings per share increase at double-digit compound annual growth rates over the next two years. But those projections are much higher for Wells Fargo and Signature Bank.
Wells Fargo continues to operate under a regulatory consent order preventing it from increasing its total assets. The estimates reflect analysts’ expectations for the order to be lifted.
Peters described Wells Fargo as “ incredibly asset-sensitive, ” referring to a balance sheet featuring loans expected to reprice much more quickly than deposits, as interest rates rise.
He believes Signature Bank is also “ extremely levered to this dynamic. ”
While Peters favors Wells Fargo and Signature Bank, he holds shares of Bank of America in the ClearBridge Value Trust.
A stronger industry after the financial crisis
Peters stressed that the U.S. banking industry had learned hard lessons from its lending excesses during the housing boom that preceded the financial crisis of 2008 and said the Dodd-Frank bank reform legislation of 2010 had “ worked ” to strengthen the banks years before the pandemic.
While the Federal Reserve’ s cycle of policy changes to combat inflation may eventually lead to a recession or difficult credit conditions for banks, Peters believes we are nowhere near that cycle and that stock investors may still have difficulty believing the banks are much safer than they were during the pre-2008 bubble.
“ Right now it is all about short rates going up ” and banks’ earnings increasing, he said. He added that although the industry’ s loan quality now is very strong, over the long term, investors in bank stocks need to monitor credit.
Don’ t miss:
Stock market investors are in the danger zone. This all-weather investing strategy offers protection | business |
It's the beginning of the end of globalization, say BlackRock's Larry Fink and Oaktree's Howard Marks | “ The magnitude of Russia’ s actions will play out for decades to come and mark a turning point in the world order of geopolitics, macroeconomic trends, and capital markets. ”
That was Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock
BLK,
+0.25%
,
in his a
nnual letter to shareholders
that published Thursday. And in our
call of the day
, he closed the door on decades of global economies connecting.
“ I remain a long-term believer in the benefits of globalization and the power of global capital markets, ” said the head of the world’ s biggest asset manager. “ But the Russian invasion of Ukraine has put an end to the globalization we have experienced over the last three decades. ”
That disconnectivity between people, nations and companies got a head start from two years of the pandemic. “ It has left many communities and people feeling isolated and looking inward. I believe this has exacerbated the polarization and extremist behavior we are seeing across society today, ” he said.
And now Russia’ s aggression against its neighbor and decoupling from the global economy will lead companies and governments worldwide to “ re-evaluate their dependencies and reanalyze their manufacturing and assembly footprints – something that COVID had already spurred many to start doing, ” he said.
While dependence on Russian energy is in the spotlight, we’ re also likely to see companies and governments bring operations either onshore or close to home, which could benefit Mexico, Brazil, the U.S. or Southeast Asia.
And that means higher costs and margin pressures are ahead. “ While companies’ and consumers’ balance sheets are strong today, giving them more of a cushion to weather these difficulties, a large-scale reorientation of supply chains will inherently be inflationary, ” said Fink.
Also weighing in on globalization was Oaktree Capital Management founder Howard Marks, whose own letter to investors discussed the “ pendulum ” swinging back toward local sourcing. “ Rather than the cheapest, easiest and greenest sources, there’ ll probably be more of a premium on the safest and surest, ” he said. That could impact investors as globalization has boosted worldwide GDP, but may also boost domestic manufacturing jobs.
Fink made a couple more points, such as the possibility of the war in Ukraine speeding up digital currencies as countries reconsider dependence on traditional ones. “ A global digital payment system, thoughtfully designed, can enhance the settlement of international transactions while reducing the risk of money laundering and corruption, ” he said.
And while near-term progress toward net zero now faces a setback amid the tumult, the global shift to green energy may get a boost. “ Higher energy prices will also meaningfully reduce the green premium for clean technologies and enable renewables, ” he said.
The buzz
President Joe Biden is
meeting with NATO and Europe allies
, with more Russia sanctions expected. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has
called for citizens all over the worl
d to show support for his country on Thursday, as battles continue, with his forces claiming to have
destroyed a Russian ship
.
Russia’ s stock market
gained on the first day of trading in weeks
, but under fairly stiff conditions, with just 33 companies trading, no selling by foreigners or short sellers.
North Korea has fired what Japan claims is an
interballistic missile test into the ocean.
The chief executives of 10 airlines, including Delta
DAL,
+2.87%
and American
AAL,
+3.15%
,
are asking Biden to
end pandemic travel precautions
. That’ s as the World Health Organization warns that COVID vaccinations have
ground to a halt
since war broke out in Ukraine.
Uber
UBER,
+4.96%
shares are jumping on a report the ride-share company will add all New York taxis to its app.
Nikola
NKLA,
+5.69%
stock is soaring towards a 2 1/2 month high after confirming production of an electric truck late Wednesday.
Delivery-app company Instacart is
expanding software offerings
to grocers that want to compete with Amazon
AMZN,
+0.15%
,
as Wall Street waits for the IPO.
Spotify
SPOT,
+0.46%
stock is up after the streaming music provider announced deal with Alphabet’ s
GOOGL,
+2.38%
Google for an
alternative in-app payment method
.
Weekly jobless claims dropped to the lowest level since 1969, while durable goods orders fell more than expected. Still to come are manufacturing and services purchasing managers indexes. We’ ll also hear from Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari, Feb Gov. Christopher Waller and Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic.
The markets
Stocks
DJIA,
+1.02%
SPX,
+1.43%
COMP,
+1.93%
are gaining, as oil
CL00,
-0.63%
is slipping. Gold
GC00,
-0.15%
and the dollar
DXY,
-0.06%
are rising as well. Bond
TMUBMUSD10Y,
2.365%
yields are also higher.
The tickers
These were the top-searched tickers on MarketWatch as of 6 a.m. Eastern Time.
Ticker
Security name
GameStop
AMC,
-2.46%
AMC Entertainment
TSLA,
+1.48%
Tesla
NIO,
+0.50%
NIO
MULN,
-3.54%
Mullen Automotive
AAPL,
+2.27%
Apple
BABA,
-1.78%
Alibaba
IMPP,
-14.76%
Imperial Petroleum
BBIG,
+4.04%
Vinco Ventures
CENN,
-1.88%
Cenntro Electric
Random reads
Fornite publisher Epic Games
said it’ s raise
d $ 50 million for Ukraine relief.
Paleontologists rejoice as
$ 31.8 million mystery buyer
of Stan the T-rex revealed.
Need to Know starts early and is updated until the opening bell, but
sign up here
to get it delivered once to your email box. The emailed version will be sent out at about 7:30 a.m. Eastern.
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The Barron’ s Daily
, a morning briefing for investors, including exclusive commentary from Barron’ s and MarketWatch writers. | business |
These Are Extraordinary Times for Stocks. How to Profit From the Fear. | Traders at the New York Stock Exchange.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
Anyone who predicted that a pandemic would be followed by events that might spark World War III is probably in direct communication with the Creator or the Devil.
Just as we thought the Covid-19 crisis was ending, Russia invaded Ukraine, and militaries that have long focused on battling terrorism might now be drawn into a land battle in Eastern Europe between a superpower and a smaller, but fierce, nation.
Meanwhile, China, the world’ s second-largest economy, is
being hit with Covid outbreaks
that might once more rattle the global supply chain. Inflation is surging everywhere, and the world’ s central banks, which have long embraced easy-money policies that have also boosted stock prices, are raising interest rates. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell just said he was open to raising rates by half a point at each of the next two meetings
if circumstances dictate it
.
For investors, these are truly extraordinary times, perhaps the most treacherous since the 2007-09 financial crisis. But this time, the Fed is in exactly the spot that many feared: confronting rising inflation and geopolitical risks while normalizing monetary policy. The
so-called Fed put
has expired, and the full contour of the bank’ s tools is unclear.
In the absence of a direct connection to celestial or subterranean power ( s), we turn to Oppenheimer’ s Michael Schwartz. The dean of Wall Street’ s options strategists, he has been in the options market since 1965.
Schwartz said that his experience has taught him, time and time again, that investors should use fear and volatility to their advantage as often as they can.
“ Look at Warren Buffett, who has been at this longer than almost anyone. He was quiet for so long, but now he’ s
active and buying companies
and investing when so many others are worried about what comes next, ” Schwartz told
Barron’ s.
Schwartz said that investors should watch the
Cboe Volatility Index
,
or VIX, and wait for it to spike higher. If that happens, it would be a sign not only that the stock market is sharply lower—but also that investors are afraid of what comes next.
The VIX has plummeted since the Fed’ s March meeting, suggesting that some calm has returned, but trading patterns in the stock and options markets are erratic and held hostage by the next news cycle out of Ukraine or some economic report.
Proactive investors should create a list of dividend-paying blue-chip stocks they would be willing to buy at lower prices. Similarly, Schwartz says investors should review stocks they own and identify those that they are willing to sell higher to secure profits.
“ Volatility often scares people, but it can be one of the best friends that a long-term investor can have, ” he says.
By
selling puts
when VIX is surging—a level of 35 or higher would denote real fear—investors can monetize the fear premium and get paid by the options market to buy stocks at lower prices. Similarly, by
selling calls
on stocks that an investor already owns, it’ s possible to monetize the erratic rallies that often inflate call premiums.
Structuring options strategies is a bit of art and a bit of science. Most investors sell puts and calls that expire in one to three months and have prices that are about 10% away from the associated stock’ s price.
The risk to selling cash-secured puts is that a stock plummets far below the put strike price. The risk to selling calls is that the stock surges above the call strike price.
“ It’ s impossible to time the markets, ” Schwartz says, “ but anyone can use volatility like a rubber band to help hold together their portfolios or to help them make buy and sell decisions. ”
Steven M. Sears is the president and chief operating officer of Options Solutions, a specialized asset-management firm. Neither he nor the firm has a position in the options or underlying securities mentioned in this column.
Email:
editors @ barrons.com | business |
Russia-Ukraine War Could Accelerate Use of Digital Currencies, Says Larry Fink | Larry Fink, chief executive officer of BlackRock
Simon Dawson/Bloomberg
BlackRock’ s Larry Fink said the Russia-Ukraine war could accelerate the use of digital currencies to enhance international transactions and warned the conflict has marked the end of globalization.
Writing in his
annual chairman’ s letter
to shareholders that was published Thursday, Fink said: “ A less discussed aspect of the war is its potential impact on accelerating digital currencies. The war will prompt countries to re-evaluate their currency dependencies. ”
BlackRock
( ticker: BLK) is the world’ s largest asset manager controlling more than $ 10 trillion of funds and Fink is one of the most powerful people in global finance.
Fink said BlackRock has been studying digital currencies, stablecoins and the underlying technologies and added: “ A global digital payment system, thoughtfully designed, can enhance the settlement of international transactions while reducing the risk of money laundering and corruption. ”
“ Digital currencies can also help bring down costs of cross-border payments, for example when expatriate workers send earnings back to their families. ”
He also used his letter to issue a stark warning on the future of globalization, predicting companies and governments will be looking more broadly at their dependencies on other nations, and future supply chains.
Fink wrote: “ The Russian invasion of Ukraine has put an end to the globalization we have experienced over the last three decades. We had already seen connectivity between nations, companies and even people strained by two years of the pandemic. ”
He warned many communities and people have been left feeling isolated and looking inward.
“ I believe this has exacerbated the polarization and extremist behavior we are seeing across society today, ” he warned. “ Russia’ s aggression in Ukraine and its subsequent decoupling from the global economy is going to prompt companies and governments worldwide to re-evaluate their dependencies and re-analyze their manufacturing and assembly footprints — something that Covid had already spurred many to start doing. ”
Write to Rupert Steiner at
rupert.steiner @ dowjones.com | business |
Airline CEOs Urge Biden to End Mask Mandate and Testing Requirement | Airline executives have called for an end to the federal mask mandate.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Airline executives of some of America’ s largest carriers urged President Joe Biden in a joint letter to end the mask mandate and pretravel testing requirements.
The letter, signed Wednesday by top executives of 10 airlines and cargo carriers, praised Biden’ s leadership throughout the Covid-19 crisis but called for an end to a “ patchwork of now-outdated regulations. ”
“ Now is the time for the Administration to sunset federal transportation travel restrictions — including the international predeparture testing requirement and the federal mask mandate — that are no longer aligned with the realities of the current epidemiological, ” the
airline executives wrote
.
They added that with hospitalizations and death rates steadily declining the country has entered a different phase of dealing with the virus, supporting Biden’ s view that “ Covid-19 need no longer control our lives. ”
“ The high level of immunity in the U.S., availability of high-quality masks for those who wish to use them, hospital-grade cabin air, widespread vaccine availability and newly available therapeutics provide a strong foundation for the administration to lift the mask mandate and predeparture testing requirements. We urge you to do so now, ” they said.
The letter was signed by the chief executives of
Alaska Air Group
( ticker: ALK),
American Airlines
( AAL),
Atlas Air Worldwide
( AAWW),
Delta Air Lines
( DAL),
FedEx
Express Aviation ( FDX),
Hawaiian Airlines
,
JetBlue Airways
( JBLU) and
United Airlines
( UAL). The chairman of
Southwest Airlines
( LUV) and the president of
UPS
Airlines ( UPS), as well as the CEO of trade association Airlines for America, also signed.
The executives added that enforcing the regulations for two years was a burden on thousands of airline employees tasked with enforcing them, noting that it has taken a toll on their well-being.
A number of the largest U.S. airlines boosted revenue forecasts for the current quarter earlier this month,
signaling strong demand
heading into the spring and summer.
Write to Callum Keown at
callum.keown @ dowjones.com | business |
Lloyd’ s of London sees major claims from Ukraine war | BI’ s Article search uses Boolean search capabilities. If you are not familiar with these principles, here are some quick tips.
To search specifically for more than one word, put the search term in quotation marks. For example, “ workers compensation ”. This will limit your search to that combination of words.
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( Reuters) — Lloyd’ s of London faces major claims this year related to Russia’ s invasion of Ukraine, but this will not lead to solvency issues, the commercial insurance market said Thursday.
Lloyd’ s is asking its member syndicates to give details of their exposure to the conflict, Chairman Bruce Carnegie-Brown told Reuters, adding it was too soon to estimate the size of the loss.
Lloyd's has around 100 members that underwrite complex risks such as planes, ships and oil rigs.
The aviation insurance market is seen as particularly exposed to the impact of what Russia has described as a “ special military operation ” and of the West's subsequent sanctions.
Global leasing companies face an imminent sanctions deadline for the repossession of more than 400 jets worth almost $ 10 billion from Russian airlines. Analysts say legal wrangling between airlines, lessors and insurers could last a decade.
Lloyd's said business underwritten in Ukraine, Russia and Belarus accounted for less than 1% of the market's total business.
“ In terms of our direct exposures, they're quite low. So this is much more about second-order impacts, of which aviation will clearly be one and will end up being significant, ” Mr. Carnegie-Brown said.
Some insurance policies kick in as a result of a war, while others do not cover war, making exposures hard to calculate, he said. Policyholders have notified insurers of likely claims but have yet to file them, he added.
The COVID-19 pandemic hit Lloyd's hard in 2020, but the market recovered last year after it raised premium rates and excluded the virus from policies.
It posted a 2021 pre-tax profit of £2.3 billion ( $ 3.04 billion), following a £900 million loss in 2020.
“ The market’ s underwriting discipline will enable sustainable profitability in the years to come, coupled with a balance sheet that can support our ambition to grow profitably, ” Chief Executive John Neal said in a statement.
1. FM Global, Allianz receive poor grades for Russia response
2. Lockton recruits cyber leader from AIG
3. Lloyd’ s of London sees major claims from Ukraine war
4. Zurich North America announces promotions
5. Alliant names Arkley president of retail property/casualty
6. Lakers can proceed with COVID property case against Chubb unit | general |
Program of reforms in Uzbekistan covers all spheres of life | The program of reforms adopted in Uzbekistan covers all spheres of life, President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev said at the opening ceremony of the first Tashkent International Investment Forum, Trend reports.
“ Uzbekistan is located in the center of the Central Asian region, which connects North and South, West and East with main transit corridors due to its geographical location, ” the president said. “ While adopting a strategy of action, we chose the path of large-scale democratic reforms five years ago. ”
President Mirziyoyev added that this program of reforms covers all spheres of life of Uzbekistan and society, including such important spheres as ensuring the rule of law, development of competition, and resolute fight against corruption.
The president stressed that first of all, Uzbekistan began to create favorable conditions for entrepreneurship by removing all obstacles that previously prevented investors from entering the Uzbek market and freely conducting the activity there.
“ We introduced free conversion of the national currency - the sum and removed all restrictions on the repatriation of foreign investors ' profit in 2017, ” President Mirziyoyev said. “ We have introduced a visa-free regime for citizens of 90 foreign countries when entering Uzbekistan to ensure a policy of openness. ”
The president stressed that citizens of about 60 countries were able to obtain a visa in a simplified manner.
“ Uzbekistan, according to these indicators, has reached the status of the most open country in the region, ” President Mirziyoyev said. “ The trials caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the current difficulties in the economy and other problems that the whole world has faced in recent years teach us to make non-standard decisions, work in new conditions and achieve concrete results. ”
The president said that even in today's difficult situation in the world, Uzbekistan is recognized as a peaceful and safe place to live and work and no one can deny this.
“ We will further intensify our efforts to create the most comfortable and attractive conditions for investors, ” President Mirziyoyev added. | general |
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