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Oil Prices Are Higher Again. Russia-Ukraine Pressures Aren't Going Away. | Dreamstime.com
Oil prices rose Wednesday after Moscow said peace talks with Ukraine were at a “ dead end ”, raising concerns of continued risk of supply disruptions in the oil market.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that, without an agreement acceptable to the Kremlin, Russian forces would continue their military operation in Ukraine.
Futures for global oil benchmark Brent rose 0.4% to above $ 105 a barrel, with U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude futures 0.4% higher and holding below $ 101.
The International Energy Agency ( IEA)
cut its forecast
for global oil demand this year, after China introduced “ severe ” new lockdown measures amid surging Covid cases in the country.
Weaker-than-expected demand in OECD countries at the start of the year added to the decline, the IEA said in its monthly oil report on Wednesday.
As a result, the agency lowered its estimate for world oil consumption this year by 260,000 barrels a day, with demand now expected to average 99.4 million barrels a day, up by 1.9 million barrels a day from 2021.
“ The stringent lockdowns in China have led us to further revise down our estimate for oil demand in 2Q22 and for the year as a whole. In addition, more complete demand data for 1Q22, especially in the U.S., was sharply lower than preliminary estimates, ” the IEA said.
Write to Lina Saigol at
lina.saigol @ dowjones.com | business |
John Lee formally enters the race to become Hong Kong’ s new chief executive | Hong Kong’ s former number two official John Lee said he had formally registered his candidacy in the election for the top job after securing 786 nominations to enter the race.
Mr Lee, who resigned as chief secretary last week before declaring he would run for chief executive, is the only candidate formally entered so far for the May 8 vote.
He is considered Beijing’ s favoured candidate and a sign of the central government further tightening its control over the territory.
Mr Lee’ s 786 nominations are well over 50% of the 1,454-member Election Committee that will select the next chief executive.
The nomination period ends on Saturday and the committee will elect the winner by absolute majority.
“ It is not easy, as I have been working very hard to explain to various members what my election platform will be like, ” Mr Lee told reporters.
He reiterated that he will focus on a results-oriented approach to solve problems, keeping Hong Kong competitive and setting a firm foundation for the development of Hong Kong.
Current Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam is not seeking a second term, following a rocky five years in power that spanned the Covid-19 pandemic, a crackdown on political freedoms and Beijing’ s rapid and growing influence over the territory.
Hong Kong’ s leader is chosen every five years, although the selection process is carefully orchestrated behind the scenes by Beijing.
The four chief executives selected since Hong Kong’ s handover have all been candidates seen as favoured by Beijing.
Mr Lee told reporters that enacting Article 23 of the Basic Law, which stipulates that Hong Kong enacts its own security law, will be a “ priority ”.
Enacting such a law was temporarily shelved after mass protests against the government in 2003. | general |
Takeover-driven resurgence fails to materialise for biotech | Those hoping for a string of buyouts to tempt investors back into biotech will be disappointed by the opening months of 2022. Transaction volume fell to a five-year low in the first quarter, while the sums involved were only rescued by two big joint-venture deals in the biosimilars space.
True, a couple of deals emerged today, with Glaxosmithkline's move on Sierra Oncology showing that big pharma is still shopping. But large public buyouts have been notable by their absence in 2022 so far, with only three of the 21 company acquisitions recorded by Evaluate Pharma in the first quarter concerning a listed developer.
One of those, Eagle’ s buy of the distressed group Acacia, was struck at a 30% discount – hardly the transaction to get investors ' pulses racing.
The dearth of takeouts shows that depressed valuations should not be considered a driver of M & A. Such theories are wishful thinking and, as the Acacia situation shows, the outcome of deals struck in more difficult times can be disappointing, particularly for those left holding the bag.
As the chart above shows, M & A deals other than full company takeouts dominated in the first quarter; this `` other deal type '' category incorporates majority and minority stake purchases and business unit buys.
This analysis does not concern licensing deals, or transactions not involving therapeutics; companies involved in medtech or digital health are not considered, for example.
It was two biosimilars joint-venture deals that moved the needle in the first quarter: Biogen’ s sale of its 49.9% stake in Samsung Bioepis to the other party in the joint venture, Samsung Biologics, and Biocon’ s buyout of certain biosimilar assets from Viatris.
UCB’ s move on the US biotech Zogenix, for its rare epilepsy drug, was the most notable full company takeover of the quarter.
The question for investors is what might be holding buyers back. Access to capital is never a problem for the world’ s largest developers, a group that will buy desired assets pretty much regardless of wider market conditions. Indeed, an influx of Covid cash has driven expectations for an uptick in buyouts.
And the closing of Pfizer’ s acquisition of Arena without any apparent antitrust interference might have calmed the worst fears of a tightening stance from anti-competition regulators.
Perhaps the answer lies more on the other side of the negotiating table. Targets will be disinclined to sell up while valuations are so low, and for now much of the sector remains cashed up and able to resist low-ball approaches. But the funds raised while the going was good will not last for ever. | general |
Brazil Retail Sales Beat Forecasts as Omicron Wave Fades Away | The information you requested is not available at this time, please check back again soon.
( Bloomberg) -- Brazil’ s retail sales rose more than forecast on gains in categories such as fuels, clothing and electronics, as cases of the omicron variant of the coronavirus plunged.
Sales rose 1.1% in February from the month prior, more than the 0.3% median estimate from analysts in a Bloomberg survey. At the same time, January’ s increase was revised higher to 2.1%. From a year ago, retail rose 1.3%, the national statistics agency reported on Wednesday.
Retail demand in Latin America’ s largest economy has been helped by the unwinding of pandemic restrictions and greater mobility. On the other hand, high borrowing costs and inflation, propelled by more expensive raw materials, have weighed on spending. Consumer-price increases represent one of voters’ top concerns as President Jair Bolsonaro seeks reelection later this year.
Canada joins U.S., U.K. in diplomatic boycott of Beijing games
Trudeau weighs auto-content rules as next U.S. trade flashpoint
As rates go up, so will the stress test: Ratehub.ca | general |
WHO experts insist Covid still a global emergency | Hi, what are you looking for?
The WHO’ s emergency committee on Covid-19 on Wednesday unanimously affirmed that the virus remains a major public health danger
By
Published
The WHO’ s emergency committee on Covid-19 on Wednesday unanimously affirmed that the virus remains a major public health danger and insisted that countries must stop dropping their guard.
With many nations relaxing public health and social measures, and drastically reducing testing for the virus, the World Health Organization’ s group of experts said the pandemic was far from being at an end.
“ Now is not the time to let our guard down — on the contrary, and this is an extremely strong recommendation, ” committee chair Didier Houssin told a press conference.
“ The situation is far from over with regard to the Covid-19 pandemic, the circulation of the virus is still very active, mortality remains high and the virus is evolving in an unpredictable way, ” the French doctor warned.
“ Now is not the time for relaxation on this virus, nor weakness in surveillance, testing and reporting, nor laxity in public and social health measures and no resignation when it comes to vaccination. ”
The committee meets every three months to discuss the pandemic and reports to WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
It concluded that the pandemic still constitutes a public health emergency of international concern ( PHEIC) — the highest level of alert that the WHO can sound.
– ‘ Middle’ phase of pandemic –
The committee declared the Covid-19 outbreak a PHEIC on January 30, 2020, when, outside of China, fewer than 100 cases and no deaths had been reported.
Though it is the internationally-agreed mechanism for triggering an international response to such outbreaks, it was only Tedros after describing the worsening situation as a pandemic on March 11 that many countries woke up to the danger.
“ The committee unanimously agreed that the Covid-19 pandemic still constitutes an extraordinary event that continues to adversely affect the health of populations around the world, poses an ongoing risk of international spread, ” it said in a statement Wednesday.
Globally, in the week to Sunday, the number of new Covid-19 cases and deaths continued to decline for a third consecutive week, with more than seven million cases and over 22,000 deaths reported.
This was the lowest number of Covid deaths since the early days of the pandemic.
However, some countries are still witnessing serious spikes in cases, which is putting pressure on hospitals, said Tedros, adding that the world is “ still in the middle of the pandemic ”.
“ This virus has over time become more transmissible and it remains deadly especially for the unprotected and unvaccinated that don’ t have access to health care and antivirals, ” he said.
Tedros urged people to get vaccinated and continue wearing masks, especially in crowded indoor spaces.
The WHO said the Omicron variant accounted for 99.2 percent of samples collected in the last 30 days that have been sequenced and uploaded to the GISAID global science initiative, with the previously-dominant Delta variant now less than 0.1 percent.
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.
That’ s the real danger. Nobody trusts Russian judgment anymore.
The UN refugee agency UNHCR says 4,656,509 Ukrainians have fled since Russia invaded on February 24 - Copyright AFP FARJANA K. GODHULYRobin MILLARDMore than...
President Joe Biden for the first time accused Vladimir Putin's forces of committing genocide in Ukraine.
AI, facial recognition, and biometrics can help the world get back to work.
COPYRIGHT © 1998 - 2022 DIGITAL JOURNAL INC. Digital Journal is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more about our external linking. | general |
Google to invest $ 9.5 billion in U.S. offices, data centers this year | Google said the investment will create at least 12,000 full-time jobs in 2022 and focus on data centers in several states including Nevada, Nebraska and Virginia.
The company will open a new office in Atlanta this year, and expand its data center in Storey County, Nevada, it added.
`` It might seem counterintuitive to step up our investment in physical offices even as we embrace more flexibility in how we work. Yet we believe it's more important than ever to invest in our campuses..., '' Google said in a statement.
Google has been trying to bring back its employees to some of its offices in the United States, the UK and Asia Pacific by mandating working from office for about three days a week, a step to end policies that let employees work remotely because of COVID-19 concerns.
Google will continue to invest in offices in its home state of California and support affordable housing initiatives in the Bay Area as part of its $ 1 billion housing commitment.
Last year, Google helped provide $ 617 billion in economic activity for U.S. businesses, creators and developers, according to its 2021 economic impact report.
( Reporting by Maria Ponnezhath in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich) | business |
BofA projects ongoing strong demand for CBOs | BofA Securities credit market researchers project that 2022 issuance levels for collateralized bond obligations ( which are fixed-rate, hybrid CLOs containing larger proportions of CCC-loan and high-yield bond buckets than traditional CLOs offer) will slightly surpass 2021 volume, driven by managers compiling discounted loans and bonds during market sell-off periods earlier this year.
Only one new-issue hybrid deal has priced so far this year: the $ 368 million Rockford Tower Credit Funding 1 CBO, arranged by GreensLedge Capital Markets for collateral manager Rockford Tower Capital Management, BofA stated.
But forthcoming investor demand is likely to support approximately $ 4 billion of this issuance in 2022, slightly above the 2021 mark of $ 3.8 billion, says BofA's global research team in an April 10 CLO Weekly report ( `` Hybrid CLOs – High Mileage thus far, what's next? ``).
“ Despite the spread expansion since the start of 2022, hybrid CLO AAA tranches are currently the cheapest asset class in the securitized AAA universe on a both spread and yield basis, ” the BofA report stated.
Note that LCD reports on CBO pricings but excludes CBO volume from its CLO Databank of broadly syndicated and middle-market CLOs.
One other CBO transaction to price this year, arranged by GreensLedge and Natixis, was a partial refinancing of FDF V Ltd., a 2019-vintage deal managed by an affiliate of Fortress Investment Group.
New-issue CBO deals that are currently ramping up for issuance `` will benefit from purchasing both loans & bonds at significant discounts '' earlier this year, the report stated.
BofA noted that outstanding CBOs have suffered a 2-bps decline from their initial market value to start the year, with `` some pressure on [ m ] edian market values '' as a result of HY bond sell-offs earlier this year amid the lowest returns of BB-rated HY loans since the economic impact of the COVID-19 outbreak in early 2020.
The four-week rolling average of HY fund flows slightly moderated in recent weeks to negative $ 702 million as of April 7, rebounding from a low-point of negative $ 3.09 billion in outflows through Feb. 16.
The average purchase price of bonds in CBOs declined to $ 95.8 from $ 96.9 in December, the report stated, as asset managers increased their net holdings of bonds by $ 400 million year-to-date to $ 4.9 billion, taking advantage of the widening spreads that ensued.
“ HY spreads widened by +52 bps YTD with the largest YTD widening of +117 bps seen in mid-March on the back of broader macro vol., '' the report stated.
The average proportion of bonds in CBO portfolios has increased to 38%, from 35% in December 2021.
The average share of CCC rated loans and bonds in CBOs is 12%. While that far exceeds the 7.5% cap on most BSL CLO deals, the CBO average is `` well within concentration limits '' of 15-17.5% that investors allow in those deals. `` Currently, no Hybrid CLO deal is failing its Jr. OC test, '' the report stated. | business |
Santander launches electronic lockbox for businesses | The enhanced product offering allows customers to automate their revenue cycle, saving them time, reducing costs, and optimizing more resources to help support the core needs of their organizations. “ The launch of our comprehensive Santander eLockBox service is a great solution for clients who are ready to simplify their electronic payment processes, ” said Ken Deveaux, Head of Santander Transaction Banking. “ Santander eLockbox is a prime example of our ongoing investment in technology to further digitize our banking solutions and create a more convenient, accessible and simplified experience for our customers. ” The solution works by providing an option for clients to be paid electronically instead of by paper check. Santander eLockbox combines payments from a company’ s online banking or other electronic payment service into one electronic payment data file to facilitate posting and reconciliation, along with a single, streamlined Automated Clearing House ( ACH) daily deposit for all collected payments.With Santander eLockBox, companies are able to access funds faster than with a traditional lockbox service. The process eliminates manual data entry, reducing risks and overall operating costs. Santander eLockBox also aggregates payment transmissions from network connections to the consumer bill-payment service providers and financial institutions. As a completely digitalized process, Santander eLockBox takes paper out of the process entirely, and complements Santander’ s environmental, social and governance ( ESG) goals which include achieving carbon neutrality in its operations.The launch of Santander eLockBox comes on the heels of a growing urgency for a more digitized, contactless payment process that has only become more apparent due to the COVID-19 pandemic. | tech |
SPOTLIGHT: BNPL Firm Smartpay Supports Japanese Merchants With E-Commerce Investment | However, not all Japanese merchants were prepared for the rapid e-commerce transition during the pandemic, according to payments firm and buy now, pay later ( BNPL) platform Smartpay, with many small businesses needing support to digitally transform their businesses, as well as drive more of their sales online.
Smartpay’ s research has previously identified that Japan has one of the world’ s highest e-commerce cart abandonment rates of more than 80 per cent. While Japanese merchants say they want to sell more on their own websites versus just on platforms.
To support merchants in Japan, Smartpay is investing JPY500,000,000 over the next three years to improve their e-commerce business skills. It has launched a free online training programme – The E-Commerce Growth Academy – in partnership with Japan tech entrepeneur Hiroyuki Nishimura, industry body Japan Omni Channel Association and bank SMBC VC.
Hosted on the Smartpay website, the online three-module training programme – worth JPY1,000,000 per merchant – will cover e-commerce best practices to drive conversions and revenue, build best practice user experience and build foundations of loyalty. It will also include seminars and coaching opportunities.
Smartpay will also provide a JPY10,000,000 prize for the merchant that shows the greatest improvement in e-commerce conversions after completing the course within 2022.
Naoya Otsubo, country manager for Smartpay, says: “ Many merchants were hit hard by Covid and were not ready for the swift e-commerce transition it caused, but we are here to help. All parties of the partnership deeply care about merchants in Japan and what they mean to our country’ s economy, jobs, growth and community. ”
Hiroyuki Nishimura, a best selling author and renowned tech and social leader in Japan with 1.4 million YouTube subscriptions and 12 1.4 million Twitter followers, is supporting the iniative by becoming a shareholder in Smartpay as well as an ambassador for merchants and customers. He will share perspectives on enhancing the e-commerce industry in Japan, and provide feedback and insight on new products/services.
He explains: “ I am so proud to be investing back into Japan’ s e-commerce industry to help our country’ s retailers get back on their feet by giving them the tools they need to help their shoppers with a new payment experience they haven’ t seen before in Japan. Fintech success has always been achieved when you build with a win/ win mentality for both the shopper and merchants. ”
Merchants that complete the course will be presented with an official certificate from Smartpay accredited by the Japan Omni Channel Association, and signed by Hiroyuki.
Yasuhiro Suzuki, chairman of the Japan Omni Channel Association, adds: “ We are very excited that Smartpay is investing in local merchants to grow their e-commerce business at a time when e-commerce is growing exponentially. We are extremely proud to partner with Smartpay, Hiroyuki, and SMBC VC to launch this free world-class training programme. ”
At the end of 2022, Smartpay, co-founded by Pieterjan Vandaele and Sam Ahmed, unveiled a series of BNPL innovations for consumers and merchants in Japan. It is the first BNPL company in Japan to integrate with Shopify, EC-Cube, Visa, Mastercard, Google Pay and Apple Pay, backed by multiple acquirers.
While its single-click checkout BNPL service lets consumers checkout in as little as 10 seconds with payments structured on three equal installments over eight weeks. According to Smartpay, its solutions help e-commerce merchants improve sales conversion by more than 10 per cent over a 12-month period.
Ahmed says: “ As a fintech company that has already achieved a number of ‘ firsts’ in Japan for consumers, including being the only BNPL firm to be completely free for consumers with no charges and no late fees, we also have a passion for Japanese merchants and wanted to invest heavily in helping them succeed.
“ If you look at successful businesses, especially in technology, it is the companies that build and invest, and value their ecosystem as partners. We believe in investing in the Japanese ecosystem whether that’ s through training and improving conversions for merchants or supporting consumers by not charging them late fees and charges. That’ s our investment and that’ s our belief. ”
Claire works across print and online as Editor for The Fintech Times.
The Fintech Times is the world’ s first and only newspaper dedicated to fintech.
Published Bimonthly, the Fintech Times explores the explosive world of financial technology, blending first hand insight, opinion and expertise with observational journalism to provide a balanced and comprehensive perspective of this rapidly evolving industry.
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'The weight of this debt is crushing ': I 'm 74, and a retired speech-language pathologist with a student-loan debt of $ 200K. Am I obliged to pay it off? | Dear Quentin,
I have not seen anyone address student-loan debt for people over 70 years of age. I am a 74-year-old retired speech-language pathologist with a student-loan debt of $ 200,000.
I’ m on a fixed income, and the weight of this debt is crushing even with income-based repayment. I have no hope of ever repaying this debt. Shouldn’ t there be an age at which student-loan debt is canceled?
I’ m sure there are more people in a situation similar to mine.
Looking for a Solution
Dear Looking,
Social Security can garnish up to 15% of retirement and disability benefits, but it can not garnish your Supplemental Security Income, nor can it leave you with less than $ 750 in monthly benefits.
The average amount of student-loan debt in households headed by a person age 50 or older hovers at $ 36,421, according to the Federal Reserve Survey of Consumer Finances. They accounted for 22% of student debt, totaling $ 336.1 billion.
As the AARP
states
: “ Student loan debt was never meant to last a lifetime or become a threat to retirement security. Yet today, borrowers frequently wind up carrying it into retirement, long beyond their working years. ”
The student-loan debt is discharged if the borrower dies or if you become
totally and permanently disabled
, says Mark Kantrowitz, the author of
“ How to Appeal for More College Financial Aid ”
and
“ Who Graduates from College? Who Doesn’ t? ”
“ A senior citizen can qualify for a total and permanent disability discharge if a doctor is willing to certify that the borrower is unable to engage in substantial gainful activity due to a physical or mental disability, ” he says.
The fact that you are in an income-driven payment plan will help keep the repayments low, as the money you pay is based on your income and not on how much money you owe. That’ s something to hold on to. Stick with that.
“
The fact that you are in an income-driven payment plan will help keep the repayments low, as the money you pay is based on your income and not on how much money you owe.
”
If your income is less than 150% of the poverty line, the loan payment is zero, Kantrowitz adds. If your sole source of income is Social Security, your student-loan payments might actually be very low, even if the amount owed is high.
“ Income-driven repayment plans can be negatively amortized, meaning that the payment is less than the interest that accrues. Deferments and forbearances can also be negatively amortized, ” Kantrowitz says.
There are other options for older borrowers who are shouldering student loans, he adds. The economic hardship deferment, unemployment deferment and general forbearances are each available for up to 3 years, for a total of 9 years.
“ If a borrower consolidates the loans after the deferments and forbearances are exhausted, the consolidation loan will be eligible for its own set of deferments and forbearances, as it is a new loan, ” he says. “ That gets the borrower another 9 years. ”
“ Income-driven repayment plans can be negatively amortized, meaning that the payment is less than the interest that accrues, ” Kantrowitz says. “ Deferments and forbearances can also be negatively amortized. ”
Depending on the type of income-based repayment plan you’ re on, you may also be able to have
the outstanding balance on your loan
forgiven after 25 years in most cases.
The Public Service Loan Forgiveness program is an
option for others
struggling with student debt. You work in public service for 10 years, pay your student loans during that time and have the balance canceled at the end of that period.
This may not be the exact answer you were hoping or praying for, but looking at the overall picture may provide you with some relief, given that you are probably unlikely to repay the $ 200,000 during your lifetime.
Yo
u
can email The Moneyist with any financial and ethical questions related to coronavirus at qfottrell @ marketwatch.com, and follow Quentin Fottrell on
Twitter.
Check out
the Moneyist private Facebook
group, where we look for answers to life’ s thorniest money issues. Readers write in to me with all sorts of dilemmas. Post your questions, tell me what you want to know more about, or weigh in on the latest Moneyist columns.
The Moneyist regrets he can not reply to questions individually.
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Read more:
It put everyone in a weird position’: Our waitress said a 20% service fee was added to cover benefits and health insurance, but that it was not a tip. Is this normal?
‘ They said we need to give them money’: My husband’ s family wants him to pay for a new car — and they call ME a gold digger! How do we stand up to them?
Do I resist refinancing my $ 160,000 federal student loan at a lower rate in the hope there will be loan forgiveness? What are the chances it will happen? | business |
U.S. extends transit mask mandate through May 3 amid COVID uptick | Industry groups and Republican lawmakers want the administration to immediately end the 14-month-old mask mandate. The latest extension would keep the requirements, which had been set to expire April 18, in place through May 3 amid an increase in COVID cases.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC) first issued a public health order requiring masks in interstate transportation and at transit hubs, including airplanes, mass transit, taxis, ride-share vehicles and trains effective in February 2021. The Transportation Security Administration ( TSA) issued a security directive to enforce the CDC order.
The CDC said Wednesday the extension was prompted by a rise in cases and to `` give it time to assess the potential impact of the rise of cases on severe disease, including hospitalizations and deaths, and healthcare system capacity. ''
White House press secretary Jen Psaki cited the case increase in explaining the extension.
`` So what they're trying to do is give a little bit more time to assess its potential impact the rise of the cases had on severe disease, including hospitalization and deaths and healthcare system capacity. '' She added `` at the end of that two weeks they can determine what's next after that. ''
The TSA said on Wednesday it would extend the order through May 3 after the CDC `` continues to monitor the spread of the Omicron COVID-19 variant, especially the BA.2 subvariant that now makes up more than 85% of U.S. cases. ''
Both the CDC and TSA mask requirements have been repeatedly extended.
Airlines for America, a trade group, on Wednesday in a letter continued to urge Biden's administration `` to lean into science and research, which clearly support lifting the mask mandate. It makes no sense to require masks on a plane when masks are not recommended in places like restaurants, bars or crowded sports facilities. ''
The group said airplane air is among the safest indoor environments `` due to the superior ventilation and hospital grade filters. ''
Delta Air Lines Chief Executive Officer Ed Bastian told CNBC earlier Wednesday it was time to end the mask mandate and that people need to `` make their own decisions and take personal accountability for their health onboard our planes. ''
The group cited the CDC's guidance that nearly all Americans live in counties where they can avoid wearing masks indoors. The CDC in February eased its guidance for face coverings.
The U.S. Senate voted 57-40 last month to overturn the public health order requiring masks on airplanes and other forms of public transportation, drawing a veto threat from Biden.
Republican Senator Roger Wicker said Wednesday the administration `` continues to force unnecessary and contradictory mask mandates on the public, '' while Democratic Senator Ed Markey applauded the extension `` given the recent rise in COVID-19 cases. ''
The mask requirements have resulted in friction sometimes on U.S. airplanes. The Federal Aviation Administration said that since January 2021, there have been a record 7,060 unruly passenger incidents reported - and 70% involved masking rules.
Transport Workers Union President John Samuelsen, which represents 65,000 airline workers, said the union respects the CDC mask decision `` but we can not ignore that the mask mandate has driven an unprecedented rise in assaults by unruly passengers against airline workers. ''
Separately, the Biden administration on Wednesday renewed the government's COVID-19 public health emergency, allowing millions of Americans to keep getting free tests, vaccines and treatments for at least three more months.
The administration is also considering lifting requirements that international visitors get a negative COVID-19 test within a day of travel, as many countries have dropped testing requirements, but is not taking any immediate steps. The United States requires foreign air travelers to be vaccinated.
( Reporting by David Shepardson in Berkeley, California; Editing by Will Dunham, Chizu Nomiyama and Bernard Orr)
By David Shepardson | business |
Nurses most likely clinicians to leave jobs, new KLAS survey shows | Research from KLAS this week found that compared to other clinical backgrounds, nurses are the most likely to have plans to leave their organizations in the next two years – but workers more satisfied with the electronic health record are more likely to stay.
`` Clinician turnover is high, staffing costs have risen, and even when organizations are able to hire new providers and staff, the need to train them can strain existing employees, '' said researchers in the report published Tuesday.
`` These challenges result in overburdened clinicians, millions of additional dollars spent by healthcare organizations, and, ultimately, a diminished capacity for patient care, '' they said.
As with other issues in healthcare, the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated existing problems with clinician burnout.
Starting in early 2020, KLAS began asking clinicians about the likelihood of leaving their organizations in the next two years. More than 59,000 have responded to date, with numbers changing over time.
In the first quarter of 2021, 26% of nurses signaled their intentions to leave their jobs.
`` This spike could be attributable to a number of factors, including the increase in acute COVID-19 cases at the time, more prevalent cultural and political antagonism toward healthcare, and the resulting strain on healthcare workers, '' said researchers.
And although nurses are consistently the most likely to report wanting to leave their jobs, physicians and allied health professionals in the third quarter of 2021 had near-equivalent rates of departure plans.
Burnout, perhaps unsurprisingly, is the strongest indicator of clinicians likelihood to leave their organization.
`` Attrition could also be lowered by preventing clinicians from becoming severely burned out in the first place – while clinicians who are completely burned out are most likely to leave, attrition likelihood grows rapidly beginning with those who report definite symptoms of burnout, '' said researchers.
Low trust in organization and IT leadership were also associated with the likelihood of leaving.
Interestingly, users who are satisfied with the EHR are more likely to stay onboard – and the inverse is also true.
`` Those who are very dissatisfied with the EHR have almost three times the proportion reporting they are likely to leave compared to clinicians who are very satisfied with the EHR, '' said researchers. `` When clinicians feel the EHR is a help rather than a hindrance, they are more likely to want to stay at their organization. ''
The report pointed to after-hours charting and duplicative charting as factors in contributing to low morale.
`` Just because a clinician has learned the EHR’ s functionality does not mean they will be successful or satisfied with the EHR, '' observed the KLAS team.
Other research has also raised the alarm about nurse attrition. One report from this past month found that a staggering 90% of nurses are considering leaving the profession altogether.
Many pointed to administrative burden and manual tasks as key drivers of burnout, with poor processes and inefficient workflows hampering progress.
And the EHR doesn't always help: A study published this past April found that more favorable EHR useability scores are associated with lower odds of burnout, but that nurses gave EHR useability an `` F. ''
`` To design and implement technology that better meets nurses’ needs, it will be necessary to include input from and amplify the voice of nurses to better understand how technology can better meet their needs, '' said the study.
`` When clinicians feel the EHR is a help rather than a hindrance, they are more likely to want to stay at their organization, '' said the KLAS report.
`` Healthcare leaders should focus on improving the areas of EHR satisfaction with the most room to improve, '' it added.
Kat Jercich is senior editor of Healthcare IT News.Twitter: @ kjercichEmail: kjercich @ himss.orgHealthcare IT News is a HIMSS Media publication. | tech |
Lockdown Financial Aid in China Leaves Households Behind | The information you requested is not available at this time, please check back again soon.
Residents take part in a round of Covid-19 testing in a neighborhood placed under lockdown in Shanghai, on April 12, 2022. Photogorapher: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg, Bloomberg
( Bloomberg) -- China’ s government is channeling its Covid-related financial aid toward businesses rather than households, an approach that’ s increasingly being challenged as consumers struggle to cope under stringent lockdowns.
Officials say the support for firms aims to preserve jobs, but many households required to stay at home for weeks on end are battling to pay rent and other living costs, according to social media posts and charity workers. A total of 45 Chinese cities are now imposing partial or total lockdowns, according to Nomura Holdings Inc., restricting the movement of some 370 million people.
“ I haven’ t received my salary, I can’ t pay rent and pay my credit card, ” Shanghai resident Li Zixi wrote on Weibo, China’ s equivalent of Twitter. In the northern city of Changchun, Weibo user jeemoon wendy wrote: “ I don’ t have any income, how about sending some unemployment benefit? ”
Some prominent state-linked economists are now calling for direct handouts, as seen in the U.S. and developing countries like Brazil. That would require a shift in thinking from China’ s government, which has argued that supporting business is the best way to preserve jobs while handouts could lead to welfare dependency.
Five large cities which have imposed full or partial lockdowns in the past month have offered tax cuts and subsidies to businesses worth 330 billion yuan ( $ 52 billion), state-media reported. Local governments have delivered food packages to households, but coverage has been patchy, with residents in Shanghai and other cities spending hours each day scouring online food services for top ups.
The business-focused policies extends a divide between China and other major economies that emerged in 2020, when Beijing declined to increase welfare payments as the coronavirus first rippled across the world.
“ China has had a very different way of thinking, ” said Jacqueline Rong, deputy chief economist for China at BNP Paribas SA. “ It aims to ensure people’ s income via preserving job providers. ”
Business aid generally means cutting value added tax and corporate income tax and suspending a requirement for employers to pay into social security plans. Shanghai’ s were reported as the most generous at 140 billion yuan, including a three-month rent holiday for some businesses -- a figure which doesn’ t include low-interest loans from state-owned banks. Companies which demonstrate they haven’ t laid off workers can receive refunds of last year’ s tax payments.
It’ s unclear how effective the measures have been at preserving jobs. China is yet to release employment data for March, but the purchasing managers index for employment contracted, while online searches for “ unemployment ” have increased in the last four weeks, according to search engine giant Baidu Inc.
Chinese workers can apply for unemployment benefits, which reach up to 2,000 yuan per month in Shanghai. But only about a third of the working-age population participates in the insurance program. Most likely to be excluded are the roughly 280 million Chinese who migrate between cities to work, often without formal contracts.
“ Some migrant workers in suburban districts can not work and their income has been cut off. They have no money to buy food, and because they live on the outskirts of town, they don’ t receive deliveries easily, ” said Yolanda, a charity worker in Shanghai who asked not to use her full name due to the sensitivity of the matter. “ So their lives have become hard. If they could receive some cash that would be a big help. ”
Banks in Shanghai and some other cities under lockdown have said households can delay mortgage and commercial loan payments, but there isn’ t yet a national policy. A bank in the western province of Gansu refused a mortgage payment extension to a welder who hadn’ t received any income for a month due to coronavirus policies, state-media reported on Sunday.
The recent lockdowns, which have compounded a sluggish recovery in household income growth since the pandemic began, has led a growing number of economists to call for payments to households.
Zhang Bin, deputy head of the Institute of World Economics and Politics at state-run think tank the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told Bloomberg News that he advocates such subsidies. He called in February for a year-long income subsidy for low-income households in response to the pandemic.
Lu Feng, an economist at the National School of Development at Peking University in Beijing, said payments to households are “ necessary and desirable. ” Yao Yang, dean of the school, wrote in an article last month that every citizen could receive 1,000 yuan in the form of electronic money that would expire if not spent, and could be funded through bond sales.
China has the fiscal room to step up subsidies for households, Tianfeng Securities Co analysts including Sun Binbin wrote in a note this month. The government has more room to increase borrowing than households or the corporate sector, they said.
Some cities are experimenting with direct aid, but the payments are small: the city of Changchun, in a tightening lockdown for most of March, handed its 46,000 poorest households a once-off payment of 200 yuan.
President Xi Jinping called for a “ common prosperity ” agenda last year, including equalizing access to government services. But senior officials who explained the concept warned against what they called “ welfare-ism, ” described as an excess reliance on state payments that could reduce incentives to work.
“ Since the government support is conditional on lockdowns, there should be no concerns of “ welfare-ism, ” said Gan Li, director of a research center on household incomes at China’ s Southwestern University of Finance and Economics. Payments of at least 680 yuan per month per person could be made through mobile phone apps, he added.
In the longer-term, the lack of government support tends to increase households habit of saving.
Partially state-owned media Phoenix Media this week profiled Zhao Lei, a 32-year-old migrant worker in Shanghai who entered lockdown with just two boxes of instant noodles and a dozen bottles of water. He survived mostly on rice and vegetable handouts from neighbors and volunteers. “ My ideas about consumption have changed. I won’ t spend quickly like I did before, ” he said. | general |
Video-enabled tablets could help prevent veteran suicides | A study published this past week in the Journal of the American Medical Association Network Open found that receipt of video-enabled tablets during the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with more psychotherapy visits and reduced emergency department use among veterans.
The study, which was led by researchers from VA Palo Alto Healthcare System in Menlo Park, California, examined nearly 500,000 rural veterans who had a history of mental healthcare use.
`` To our knowledge, this study was the largest evaluation of a health system intervention to distribute video-enabled telehealth tablets to patients with access barriers and mental health needs, '' wrote researchers.
As the researchers noted in their piece, U.S. veterans are experiencing a mental health crisis, with a suicide rate 1.5 times higher than non-veterans.
Veterans in rural areas are also more likely to die by suicide than those in urban areas.
And the COVID-19 pandemic has only worsened factors such as isolation and reduced interactions with healthcare professionals.
During the pandemic, the Department of Veterans Affairs intensified existing efforts to distribute video-enabled tablets to veterans facing barriers to care.
For this study, researchers included all rural patients with at least one VA mental healthcare visit in the year 2019, examining the outcomes for veterans who received tablets between March 16, 2020 and April 30, 2021.
They found that tablets were associated with increased psychotherapy visits across all modalities and a decrease in the likelihood of emergency department visits, including those related to suicide.
`` These results reinforced a previous finding that tablets improved continuity of mental health care, and extended prior work by showing tablet-associated reductions in ED visits and suicide behavior, '' wrote the researchers.
They noted that the scope of the study was limited, given that they couldn't examine `` all potential mechanisms through which tablets may reduce suicide behavior and ED visits. ''
`` Future studies should examine the range of mechanisms and outcomes tablets can influence, as well as tablet-associated program and utilization costs, '' they said.
`` As these results may not readily generalize to non-VA settings, studies examining device-enabled virtual care outside the VA are also needed, '' they added.
The VA has continued to ramp up its telemedicine efforts for patients around the country during the pandemic.
In September 2021, it offered a billion-dollar contract opportunity aimed at procuring remote patient monitoring and telemedicine devices to be distributed at VA facilities.
Such initiatives are displaying results: Just this week, another VA study showed the potential benefits of telehealth when it comes to stroke patients.
`` This cohort study of the VA’ s distribution of video-enabled tablets to rural veterans during the COVID-19 pandemic suggests that tablet-receipt was associated with increased video mental health service use, increased psychotherapy visits, reduced suicide behavior and reduced ED visits, '' said researchers in the JAMA Network Open study.
`` These findings suggest that the VA and other health systems should consider leveraging video-enabled tablets for improving access to mental health care via telehealth and for preventing suicides among rural residents, '' they said.
Kat Jercich is senior editor of Healthcare IT News.Twitter: @ kjercichEmail: kjercich @ himss.orgHealthcare IT News is a HIMSS Media publication. | tech |
Boris Johnson’ s position as Prime Minister untenable, says Tory MP | UK prime minister Boris Johnson has so far resisted calls for his resignation. File Picture: PA
The idea that Boris Johnson can survive as UK prime minister after receiving a fixed penalty notice for attending a birthday party in breach of Covid rules is “ just impossible ”, a Tory MP has said. | general |
China’ s Central Bank Likely to Cut Interest Rate for Second Time | The information you requested is not available at this time, please check back again soon.
Pedestrians wearing protective masks walk past the People's Bank of China ( PBOC) building in Beijing, China, on Tuesday, March 17, 2020., Bloomberg News
( Bloomberg) -- China’ s central bank is expected to cut its key policy interest rate for the second time this year on Friday and reduce the reserve requirement ratio within days to help bolster a faltering economy under strain from Covid lockdowns.
Fifteen of the 20 economists surveyed by Bloomberg predict the People’ s Bank of China will lower the interest rate on one-year policy loans -- 11 of them forecast a 10 basis-point reduction to 2.75% and four expect a 5-point drop. The rest see no change.
The PBOC is also likely to reduce the RRR -- the amount of cash that banks must hold in reserve -- after the State Council, China’ s cabinet, hinted strongly of a cut on Wednesday, saying it would lower the ratio “ at an appropriate time. ” The two previous RRR cuts, in July and December last year, came days after a similar signal from either the State Council or Premier Li Keqiang.
Growth projections for China are being steadily downgraded and senior officials have given repeated warnings about the outlook, highlighting the seriousness of the situation. The government has pledged more fiscal and monetary stimulus to boost the economy as its growth target of around 5.5% looks increasingly precarious.
“ A rate cut should be considered the minimum help for the economy, ” said Iris Pang, chief economist for Greater China at ING Groep NV.
Lockdowns and other virus control measures have led to logistics bottlenecks and shutdowns of factories owned by Volkswagen AG, iPhone maker Foxconn Technology Group and others. Spending on tourism and car sales have plunged, while food prices are rising. Economists now predict economic growth will slow to 5% in 2022.
The State Council said Wednesday it will “ step up financial support to the real economy, especially industries and small businesses that have been hit hard by the pandemic. ”
The central bank lowered the rate on one-year policy loans -- the medium-term lending facility -- by 10 basis points in January.
The PBOC’ s easing is in stark contrast to the U.S. Federal Reserve, which has turned more hawkish recently to combat surging inflation. That divergence means the PBOC will quickly run out of time to cut rates, making an April move likely, many economists say. Aggressive rate hikes from the Fed would reduce foreign investors’ appeal for Chinese assets, fueling capital outflows and putting pressure on the yuan.
The yield premium of China’ s 10-year government bond over Treasuries already vanished earlier this week for the first time since 2010.
“ This could be the last chance for China to have a monetary easing move in the near term before the Fed’ s potential balance sheet shrink, ” said Bruce Pang, head of macro and strategy research at China Renaissance Securities Hong Kong Ltd. “ China may have RRR cuts soon. ”
The PBOC also has the opportunity to give banks a cash boost on Friday during its monthly liquidity operation. A total of 150 billion yuan ( $ 23.6 billion) of one-year MLF funds will mature this week. The central bank is likely to net inject 100 billion yuan of liquidity on top of rolling over the maturing amount, according to the median estimate of nine economists polled by Bloomberg.
“ We expect the MLF injection in April to be in excess to accommodate a likely acceleration in local government bond issuance and to help boost credit supply, ” said Wang Jingwen, macro analyst at China Minsheng Bank’ s research unit.
A stronger pickup in credit and faster inflation in March won’ t prevent the central bank from easing policy, economists say. The Covid outbreak may have further dampened the real economy and weakened credit demand in April, requiring more monetary easing, according to Citigroup Inc. economists led by Jin Xiaowen.
Those who predict no change in the policy rate, however, argue that the PBOC will prefer using other measures to boost growth.
“ Monetary easing is more likely to come in the form of credit policy easing, as the PBOC evaluates the capital outflow risks amid Russian-Ukraine conflicts and the Fed’ s accelerated rate-hike cycle, ” said Jian Chang, chief China economist at Barclays Plc.
Domestic stagflation pressure from the global energy shock and supply bottlenecks is also a concern, Chang added.
Hours after delivering the biggest interest-rate hike in 22 years in Canada, Tiff Macklem had a message for investors: There’ s no reason to worry about inflation getting out of hand.
Canada's big banks didn’ t waste much time following the Bank of Canada’ s lead, announcing Wednesday afternoon they will raise their prime rates half a percentage point to 3.2%, effective Thursday.
The Bank of Canada raised its interest rate by half a percentage point in its biggest hike in 22 years and said rates are poised to move significantly higher as it moves aggressively to wrestle inflation down from a three-decade high.
It’ s decision time for the people who control the fate of one of Canada’ s biggest-ever mergers. | general |
Apple laptop-maker joins growing Covid plant closures in China | A medical worker conducts Covid-19 tests in Shanghai, China. The lockdown there and in other Chinese cities is having a big impact on supply chains. Picture: AP | general |
U.S. Bank Supports Nonprofit, Helping Women Business Owners | Originally published at usbank.com. U.S. Bank ranked No. 18 on The DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity list in 2021.
Soon after starting up her own notary business last year, Angelica McClure heard about the Women’ s Business Center of Charlotte through social media and checked out the nonprofit’ s website.
McClure discovered numerous seminars for new business owners and signed up for “ anything and everything ” she could. She also applied for a free QuickBooks training course, sponsored by the U.S. Bank Foundation, that teaches business owners the ins and outs of the bookkeeping software.
“ I was so excited when they sent me the notice that I was accepted into the class, ” McClure said. “ It’ s really made a difference for my business. ”
The Women’ s Business Center of Charlotte ( WBCC) is a nonprofit organization that helps women-owned businesses start and grow. It aims to empower women business owners by offering one-on-one counseling, seminars, feedback on business plans, loan preparation assistance, networking and much more. This assistance became even more important as small businesses battled the economic challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
McClure, a 32-year-old mother of two, grew up in Charlotte and worked in medical administration and customer service roles before deciding to take a community college course to become a notary, an official who verifies the signing of documents. She became the first person in her family to start a business.
“ I definitely take pride in that, ” she said. “ I have to give myself a pat on the back. ”
McClure said the two-month QuickBooks class, which was held virtually with about a dozen participants, helped jumpstart her business. The program taught her how to structure her finances, track payments and send invoices. She also was able to network with other business owners.
She is enjoying being a notary because she can help people, like in past customer service jobs, while getting a chance to be her own boss. “ It’ s something I can do for myself, ” she said.
U.S. Bank teamed up with the Women’ s Business Center of Charlotte as part of its efforts to provide more technical assistance and resources to support new and growing women-led businesses within the Charlotte area. It tapped the Foundation’ s Community Possible Grant Program, which supports organizations that focus on economic and workforce advancement, safe and affordable housing and communities connected through arts and culture, to secure the necessary funding for this effort.
“ At U.S. Bank, our purpose is to power human potential, which perfectly aligns with the mission of the Women’ s Business Center of Charlotte, ” said Jeff Gatica, U.S. Bank’ s community affairs manager for Charlotte. “ WBCC is helping women start new businesses and grow existing ones so they can reach their full potential. ”
Over its five years, WBCC, a program of the National Institute of Minority Economic Development, has served more than 3,500 clients, helped 70 businesses get started, hosted 484 events and provided 81,243 training hours, among other accomplishments. With the support of U.S. Bank, it will hold another QuickBooks course this spring to help more entrepreneurs like McClure, said Rocio Gonzalez, WBCC’ s executive director.
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New COVID-19 nasal spray outperforms current antibody treatments in mice: A single inhaled dose treated or even prevented infection by COVID-19 and its variants -- ScienceDaily | Designed computationally and refined in the laboratory, the new protein therapies thwarted infection by interfering with the virus ' ability to enter cells. The top protein neutralized the virus with similar or greater potency than antibody treatments with Emergency Use Authorization status from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ( FDA). Notably, the top protein also neutralized all tested SARS-CoV-2 variants, something that many clinical antibodies have failed to do.
When researchers administered the treatment to mice as a nasal spray, they found that the best of these antiviral proteins reduced symptoms of infection -- or even prevented infection outright.
The findings were published yesterday ( April 12) in the journal Science Translational Medicine.
This work was led by Northwestern's Michael Jewett; David Baker and David Veesler at the University of Washington School of Medicine; and Michael S. Diamond at WashU.
To begin, the team first used supercomputers to design proteins that could stick to vulnerable sites on the surface of the novel coronavirus, targeting the spike protein. This work was originally reported in 2020 in the journal Science.
In the new work, the team reengineered the proteins -- called minibinders -- to make them even more potent. Rather than targeting just one site of the virus ' infectious machinery, the minibinders simultaneously bind to three sites, making the drug less likely to detach.
`` SARS-CoV-2's spike protein has three binding domains, and common antibody therapies may only block one, '' Jewett said. `` Our minibinders sit on top of the spike protein like a tripod and block all three. The interaction between the spike protein and our antiviral is among the tightest interactions known in biology. When we put the spike protein and our antiviral therapeutic in a test tube together for a week, they stayed connected and never fell apart. ''
Jewett is a professor of chemical and biological engineering at Northwestern's McCormick School of Engineering and director of Northwestern's Center for Synthetic Biology. Andrew C. Hunt, a graduate research fellow in Jewett's laboratory, is the paper's co-first author.
As the SARS-CoV-2 virus has mutated to create new variants, some treatments have become less effective in fighting the ever-evolving virus. Just last month, the FDA paused several monoclonal antibody treatments, for example, due to their failure against the BA.2 omicron subvariant.
Unlike these antibody treatments, which failed to neutralize omicron, the new minibinders maintained potency against the omicron variant of concern. By blocking the virus ' spike protein, the new antiviral prevents it from binding to the human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 ( ACE2) receptor, which is the entry point for infecting the body. Because the novel coronavirus and its mutant variants can not infect the body without binding to the ACE2 receptor, the antiviral also should work against future variants.
`` To enter the body, the spike protein and ACE2 receptor engage in a handshake, '' Jewett said. `` Our antiviral blocks this handshake and, as a bonus, has resistance to viral escape. ''
In addition to losing effectiveness, current antibody therapies also come with several problems: They are difficult to develop, expensive and require a healthcare professional to administer. They also require complicated supply chains and extreme refrigeration, which is often unavailable in low-resource settings.
The new antiviral solves all these problems. As opposed to monoclonal antibodies, which are made by cloning and culturing living mammalian cells, the new antiviral treatment is produced large-scale in microorganisms like E. coli, making them more cost-effective to manufacture. Not only is the new therapy stable in high heat, which could further streamline manufacturing and decrease the cost of goods for clinical development, it also holds promise for being self-administered as a one-time nasal spray, bypassing the need for medical professionals.
The researchers imagine that it could be available at the pharmacy and used as a preventative measure to treat infections.
This study, `` Multivalent designed proteins neutralize SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern and confer protection against infection in mice, '' was supported by The Audacious Project at the Institute for Protein Design; Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation ( OPP1156262, INV-004949); Burroughs Wellcome Fund; Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Program; David and Lucile Packard Foundation; Helen Hay Whitney Foundation; Open Philanthropy Project; Pew Biomedical Scholars Award; Schmidt Futures; Wu Tsai Translational Investigator Fund; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, including a fellowship from the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation; Department of Defense ( NDSEG-36373, W81XWH-21-1-0006, W81XWH-21-1-0007, W81XWH-20-1-0270-2019, AI145296, and AI143265); Defense Advanced Research Project Agency ( HR0011835403 contract FA8750-17-C-0219); Defense Threat Reduction Agency ( HDTRA1-15-10052, HDTRA1-20-10004); European Commission ( MSCA CC-LEGO 792305); National Institutes of Health ( 1P01GM081619, R01GM097372, R01GM083867, T32GM007270, S10OD032290); National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases ( DP1AI158186, HHSN272201700059C, R37 AI1059371, R01 AI145486); National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases ( R01DK117914, R01DK130386, U01DK127553, F31DK130550); National Institute of General Medical Sciences ( R01GM120553); NHLBI Progenitor Cell Biology Consortium ( U01HL099997, UO1HL099993); National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences ( UG3TR002158); United World Antiviral Research Network; Fast Grants; T90 Training Grant; and with federal funds from the Department of Health and Human Services ( HHSN272201700059C). | science |
London traders lose first round of negative WTI antitrust case | A group of eight London-based commodities traders have lost their bid to end US antitrust litigation in Chicago over claims they participated in a $ 500 million scheme to rig oil futures markets when the price of WTI briefly fell into negative territory, reported the Bloomberg Law website late Tuesday.
However, the report said that the company the traders are affiliated with, along with several colleagues, are `` off the hook ''.
Judge Gary Feinerman let part of the case move forward in a ruling made public early Tuesday, saying the allegations make it plausible that traders at Vega Capital London Ltd. conspired to drive oil prices negative for the first time in April 2020 and subsequently concealed their market manipulation.
`` There may be explanations for the correlated trading that do not involve collusion, '' but those defences are for later in the case, Feinerman wrote.
As an initial matter, `` the high degree of correlation '' among the traders makes the `` allegation of parallel conduct eminently plausible, '' he said.
The lawsuit, filed in August 2020, targeted Vega, its owner, and a dozen traders there who reportedly made $ 500 million in a single day when WTI crude oil futures dropped by $ 56/b on 20 April 2020 to close at - $ 37/b on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The suit accuses Vega and its traders of dumping May 2020 oil futures contracts at a loss in a coordinated scheme to drive down the price of 'trade at settlement ' ( TAS) contracts pegged to the closing price that day, of which they 'd bought `` a large volume '' beforehand.
The proposed class action, led by coin collector Mish International Monetary Inc., alleges violations of antitrust laws and the Commodities Exchange Act.
Vega and the traders, meanwhile, insist they did no more than observe the market signals forecasting a `` once-in-a-century storm '' caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
In the ruling, Feinerman cited incriminating communications among eight of the traders, who made statements like `` you 've just got to keep selling, '' `` I wan na see negative '' prices, `` we fucking blitzed it boys, '' and `` please don't tell anyone what happened today lads. ''
He also noted that `` a significant portion of the record price decline '' that day took place when the traders `` increased the quantity, rate, and manipulative quality of their selling, '' including the sharpest price drops, which `` occurred when their allegedly manipulative trading was at its peak. ''
Among the eight traders implicated by the suspicious chat logs, trading activity that day allegedly showed a 91.9% to 99.7% correlation, Feinerman said.
He found that the parallel trades and `` statements reflecting real-time trade coordination '' are enough for the case to advance.
But the judge tentatively dismissed claims against four traders who weren't involved in those conversations, saying there wasn't enough to tie them to the alleged conspiracy.
He also let Vega and its owner out of the case, saying the suit `` does not allege parallel conduct as to Vega or its owner, Individual A, '' or `` any conduct '' at all by them on the day in question.
The structure of Vega's contracts with its traders doesn't support an inference of collusion, Feinerman found.
In May 2021, the traders won the right to anonymity, although their names and profiles were widely reported in the UK and international press in the weeks following the trading coup.
The senior traders within the group were reported as former IPE traders who remained active in oil trading after parent-company ICE closed the London IPE floor down in 2005. The negative WTI oil prices came at the height of global lockdowns after the initial wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, slashing oil demand and rapidly filling up storage depots worldwide, including Cushing, which is the delivery point for NYMEX WTI. At the time of the negative WTI price, several regional US crude grades had already traded in negative territory, with producers essentially forced to pay refiners to take oil as a temporary measure rather than completely shut down production fields and risk permanent closure or huge restart costs. | general |
Mask mandate for air travel and public transportation is extended again | The mask mandate for air travel and public transportation has been extended once again, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday. The mandate, which was set to expire on April 18th, will be extended another two weeks as officials continue to monitor the number of COVID-19 cases across the country. The mandate was previously extended last month.
All airline passengers and public transportation riders will be required to wear a face covering at least through May 3rd after the Transportation Security Administration told the CDC they would be extending the mandate, NBC reports.
Airplanes and public transportation are some of the last places where Americans are still required to wear masks. Most states have lifted their requirements for schools and other public places, and the CDC’ s new guidelines say that masks aren’ t necessary in areas with a low risk for transmission.
On his first day in office, President Joe Biden signed an executive order requiring masks on airplanes and public transportation after his predecessor Donald Trump had blocked the CDC from issuing a similar order in 2020.
Throughout the pandemic, public health officials have uniformly recommended the wearing of masks to curb the spread of COVID-19, particularly in crowded, poorly ventilated areas. On its website, the CDC “ strongly recommends ” wearing masks on transportation to reduce the chance of getting and spreading the virus.
Airline passengers are two to three times more likely to catch COVID-19 on a plane since the emergency of the highly contagious omicron variant, medical professionals have warned airlines. Many carriers have installed high-powered, hospital-grade air filters on passenger jets as a way to mitigate the risk.
The requirement to wear masks on airplanes has led to a huge spike in passengers behaving aggressively toward flight attendants. Since the beginning of this year, the Federal Aviation Administration said it has received more than 3,200 reports of unruly behavior by passengers, roughly 75 percent of which stem from passengers who refuse to comply with federal mask mandates.
| tech |
Coronaviruses evolve to recognize glycans of their host species -- ScienceDaily | Sialic acids are negatively charged, nine-carbon sugar molecules that cap the ends of sugar chains attached to proteins on the cell's surface. In vertebrates, N-acetylneuraminic acid ( Neu5Ac) and N-glycolylneuraminic acid ( Neu5Gc) are the most common forms of sialic acids. Enzymes can add acetyl groups to various places on these molecules, making more than 10 molecular variants of each. Geert-Jan Boons and colleagues wanted to characterize the repertoire of sialic acid variants recognized by two viral proteins, the receptor binding domain ( RBD) of the spike protein and hemagglutinin-esterase ( HE), from several animal and human coronaviruses.
The researchers used chemical and enzymatic treatments to prepare a complete library of acetylated Neu5Ac and Neu5Gc variants. They printed these molecules onto a glass slide to produce a microarray. Next, the team used a fluorescent antibody detection system to determine whether the RBD and HE from bovine, rabbit, equine and canine coronaviruses bound to specific spots on the microarray. Because human coronavirus HEs have lost the ability to bind sialic acid-containing carbohydrates, they tested only the RBD from the human coronavirus OC43, which typically causes mild cold-like symptoms. The researchers found that HE from each species bound less to Neu5Gc than Neu5Ac variants. The RBDs from each species bound to both Neu5Ac and Neu5Gc variants, but with different patterns. The results revealed that coronaviruses have fine-tuned their specificities to adapt to the sialic acid variants of their host. This information could provide important insights into the factors driving cross-species transmission, helping scientists to predict and prevent future outbreaks, the researchers say.
The authors acknowledge funding and support from the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research, the Human Frontier Science Program Organization, the Council for Chemical Sciences of the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research and the China Scholarship Council. | science |
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The war between Russia and Ukraine is yet another example of why emerging market countries should not be viewed as one homogenous group. More recently we have seen a trend of investors starting to disaggregate the individual country constituents of emerging markets and invest on a more nuanced country-by-country basis.
Since Jim O'Neil created the term BRIC in 2001, the annualised returns of Brazil, Russia, India, and China have been 7.8%, -42%, 11.2% and 8.2% respectively.
The differing drivers of performance and volatility for these markets over time has been clear.
More recently we have seen Brazil suffer the Lava Jato crisis starting in 2014, China faces a real estate crisis that is still playing out, and now Russia is being removed from many EM indices ( reflected in the annualised underperformance highlighted above). India, meanwhile, had repeated periods of underperformance but has shown decent returns more recently, especially after the covid crash in early 2020.
There are structural reasons why investors have been increasingly interested in disaggregating emerging market exposures.
We have seen this move with China, a market that represents approximately 30% in broad EM indices. This is no surprise as China is the second largest economy in the world and a giant in almost every other sense as well. As a result, investors have been incentivised to increasingly carve out their China allocation from their broader emerging market exposures. This is due to a mix of increased risk appetite as investors seek yield, structural changes which have opened Chinese markets to foreign investors, and further diversification within the Chinese economy.
China is the most prominent example. However, there is also a case to be made about the differing risk-return profiles in emerging markets more generally. Drivers for risk and return in emerging markets have changed and diverged significantly over the past two decades.
Take the two contrasting examples of Brazil and Taiwan. Brazil stands to be a beneficiary of the war in Ukraine due to a surge in commodity prices and its position as a key commodity exporter. There are some headwinds for Brazil as an agricultural exporter, which means it could face higher fertiliser and energy costs as supply from Russia is curtailed by the conflict.
The geopolitical backdrop for Taiwan is a country whose location and history puts it at risk from China's increased military prowess and assertiveness on the global stage. At the same time, paradoxically, Taiwan's location may also be its life insurance and greatest intangible asset. With China watching the West's reaction to the Ukraine-Russia conflict, there is heightened focus on the future of Taiwan's security.
Undoubtedly, disaggregating an allocation into smaller blocks requires additional time to research and monitor the new strategy.
However, the varying performance data and risk-return drivers of emerging markets, highlighted again over the last few weeks, may make disaggregating EM allocations a worthwhile endeavour.
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China's Q2 met coal supply seen limited, coking sector's stocks dip: sources | In this week's Market Movers Americas, presented by Jeff Mower: * US Gulf of Mexico offshore output...
China's metallurgical coal supply is expected to remain limited in the second quarter of 2022, as coking sector's inventories deplete and Mongolian coal suppliers face logistical hurdles, industry sources said April 13.
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As of April 8, met coal stocks held by key Chinese independent coking producers reached 11.028 million mt, down 384,000 mt, or 3.4%, on the week, latest data from Hunan-based research firm Goldtrust Futures showed.
Industry analysts see relatively lower seaborne met coal shipments reaching China in Q2 than Q1 due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Meanwhile, some Mongolian coal shipments got stuck at Northwest Inner Mongolian land ports, as authorities flagged fluorine content in coal not in compliance with standards, resulting in several containers accumulating at the land ports of Erlian and Ganqimaodu, according to Shanxi-based information services company Fenwei.
This has hindered Mongolian coal trade into China, Fenwei said, quoting traders.
As a result, Ganqimaodu's efforts to step up daily coal haulage into China and raise the number of trucks to 300 remain a distinct possibility for now, according to investment bank Founder CIFCO Futures.
Also, China has adopted strict measures to contain the coronavirus outbreak, a development that would keep operations at the Ceke land port closed, CIFCO said.
In the near term, daily Mongolian coal haul to China is expected to remain steady at around 200 trucks, according to CIFCO.
At one point in 2020, the number of trucks hauling Mongolian coal into China reached more than 2000.
Batnairamdal Otgonshar, vice-minister at Mongolia's Mining and Heavy Industry Ministry, recently told S & P Global Commodity Insights that the country was ramping up its met coal exports to China.
Mongolia aims to ship 36.7 million mt of met coal to China in 2022, the minister said. That will take 2022 volumes 161% higher from the last year level.
China is prioritizing thermal coal demand, leading to capping of domestic met coal output growth in January-February, while limited Mongolian coal haul has squeezed met coal supplies further, investment consultancy Haitong Futures said.
More met coal supplies from Mongolia and Russia are only expected by the third or fourth quarter of this year, according to Goldtrust.
While met coal stocks at coking producers were down, stocks at key Chinese ports were also at lower levels.
As of April 8, met coal stocks at six Chinese ports were at 2.02 million mt, according to Goldtrust data.
China's February met coal imports fell 45.8% on the month, or 7.44% lower on the year, to 2.99 million mt, latest customs data showed.
This is the lowest import level in two years, according to the data.
China traditionally buys coal from Australia, but Australian coal suppliers have been facing an unofficial ban since December 2020.
While customs data showed imports of Australian coal in January-February improved, industry analysts said these were volumes going through customs clearance at ports and were not new orders.
Meanwhile, China's Q2 coking coal supply and demand both are seen weak from the previous quarter, according to investment bank Haitong Futures.
Judging from the seasonal changes in China, Q2 is a destocking period for the steel sector, Haitong said.
As the current level of coking coal stocks is not high, the upcoming destocking activity would not have much impact on met coal prices, according to Haitong.
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TransUnion Finds Credit Score Checking Has Risen 30% Amid Cost of Living Crisis | The Consumer Credit 2022 white paper, an in-depth look at the current financial landscape and changing consumer habits, points to a greater understanding of credit information and the importance of its role, as the cost of living crisis deepens.
Satrajit “ Satty ” Saha, CEO at TransUnion in the UK, commented: “ Our research shows how keenly consumers are feeling the impact of the cost of living crisis. Six in 10 say rising costs will make it harder for them to improve their financial position in the coming year, with food and energy bills being the areas of greatest concern. Finance providers must take note and ensure they are supporting consumers appropriately, and to do that they need actionable, data-led insights. ”
TransUnion’ s research affirms the continuing financial polarisation that has been driven by the pandemic, meaning some consumers will be better positioned than others to deal with pressures on household budgets.
Whilst nearly half ( 45 per cent) expect to be in a better financial position than before the pandemic, a similar number ( 40 per cent) are postponing any major spending due to concerns over their financial future.
Empowering consumers to be proactive in monitoring and managing their credit information will be key in helping them to access the finance they need and to protect their financial wellbeing. Previous data shows that 53 per cent of customers report a credit score increase within the first six months of self-monitoring.
Kelli Fielding, managing director of consumer interactive for TransUnion in the UK, explains: “ It’ s really encouraging to see consumers engaging more with their credit information, with more than one in three ( 35 per cent) now checking their credit report and score at least once a month. With a quarter now using credit monitoring services to learn about how credit scoring works, we’ re also seeing a much better level of understanding in terms of how this information is used. ”
According to TransUnion’ s research, almost half ( 47 per cent) of consumers pay their bills on time with their credit score in mind – recognising the impact a late or missed payment could have – whilst over a quarter ( 26 per cent) are currently taking action steps to improve their credit score.
Kelli Fielding continues: “ The pandemic really brought home the role that credit information plays in our daily lives. As consumer finances are squeezed further, it’ s going to be more important than ever for individuals to keep an eye on their credit report and score to help them access finance, should they need it. ”
TransUnion’ s research confirms that trust remains the number one priority when selecting a finance provider – cited by four in 10 ( 43 per cent) UK consumers.
“ At TransUnion, our goal is to make trust possible between businesses and consumers by providing data and insights to support informed decisions, ” said Saha. “ As we navigate further financial uncertainty, maintaining and building trust will be essential for finance providers in helping to deliver the best outcomes for their customers. ”
Trust in financial services has grown since the start of the pandemic, with the sector having rallied in the face of the COVID-19 crisis – supporting consumers with tailored accommodations whilst swiftly evolving their processes to embrace the shift towards online transactions.
As a result, trust in traditional banks is now even stronger than before the pandemic at 84 per cent, up from 81 per cent at the end of 2019, whilst one in three ( 31 per cent) now consider their bank to be their main source of financial information.
Digital challengers, such as digital-only banks or apps, also saw an increase in levels of consumer trust, reaching 63 per cent, up from 57 per cent in 2019, as they continue to close the gap with their high street counterparts.
Polly is a journalist, content creator and general opinion holder from North Wales. She has written for a number of publications, usually hovering around the topics of fintech, tech, lifestyle and body positivity.
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Crude stable as negotiations between Russia and Ukraine hit dead end | Center-South Brazil's crop officially started on April 1, and although more than 70% of the expected...
Puerto Rico has all but stopped importing refined products from Russia and the Baltics since...
Gas-fired power burn in the Lone Star State has averaged its lowest level in more than a decade this...
Crude oil futures were stable in mid-afternoon trade in Asia April 13 as market participants assess the impact of the Ukraine war after Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed to continue his offensive.
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At 3:30 pm Singapore time ( 0730 GMT), the ICE June Brent futures contract was down 4 cents/b ( 0.04%) from the previous close to $ 104.60/b, while the NYMEX May light sweet crude contract was 7 cents/b lower ( 0.07%) at $ 100.53/b.
In a public address April 12, President Putin said peace talks with Ukraine had hit a dead end, asserting that his troops would win, according to media reports.
`` This raises the specter of continued risk of supply disruptions in the oil market. Europe, Russia's major customer of its crude exports, has been reluctant to implement sanctions due to its heavy reliance on the fuel, '' ANZ Research analysts said in an April 13 note.
The Energy Information Administration April 12 lowered its outlooks for both global oil production and consumption. This comes on the back of reduced expectations of petroleum production in Russia and lower expected consumption in China owing to current COVID-19 curbs.
Despite the lower forecast for oil consumption, EIA expects consumption to increase going into the summer. `` We forecast that rising consumption, falling oil production in Russia and the risk of supply outages amid global inventory levels will support crude oil prices in the coming months, '' the EIA said in its latest Short-Term Energy Outlook.
While a massive release of the strategic petroleum reserve by the US and other IEA member countries to combat rising oil prices may have brought momentary relief in energy prices, analysts said this may prolong the misbalance in demand-supply by depleting reserves.
`` As crude oil is traded on future expectations, the high prices today may be the new normal ahead, '' Avtar Sandu, senior manager commodities at Phillip Futures, said in an April 13 note.
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6 key drivers shaping China’ s steel market amid latest COVID-19 surge | Center-South Brazil's crop officially started on April 1, and although more than 70% of the expected...
Gas-fired power burn in the Lone Star State has averaged its lowest level in more than a decade this...
The Permian Basin's Waha Hub spot gas has gained nearly 50 cents in the last three trading sessions...
Markets have been highly anticipating steel demand recovery and more economic stimulus in the coming months, driving China's steel prices up since mid-March. However, the latest wave of COVID-19 infections in the country poses more challenges to domestic steel demand than steel production.
China's steel production is expected to rise in April, but supply chain disruptions and logistics hurdles across may parts of the country could continue to undermine end-user steel demand.
Here are six things to watch in China's steel sector at a time when the market remains over-optimistic about demand recovery.
The resurgence of COVID-19 infections in China that started around mid-March and spread across several provinces has not weighed on the country's steel production prospects in April.
China Iron & Steel Association estimated China's daily crude steel output in March 21-31 to have increased by 4.9% from mid-March to 2.788 million mt/day. Daily crude steel output in March increased to 2.709 million mt, up 1.2% from the average level in January-February despite Tangshan's city-wide lockdown since March 19.
Market sources said the uptrend in China's steel production will continue in April, especially as Tangshan, China's steelmaking hub, gradually eased city-wide lockdown since March 28. Tangshan fully lifted social restrictions on April 11, and its steel production is now expected to resume an upward trend, adding extra momentum to China's steel output growth.
`` If it were not for the COVID outbreaks, China's crude steel output in early April should have already reached the level [ 3.26 million mt/day ] of a year ago, '' one source said, adding the uptrend in China's steel output could accelerate in the coming months.
Over January-March, China commissioned eight new blast furnaces with a combined 16.64 million mt/year pig iron making capacity, through capacity swaps.
But as some replaced blast furnaces have been closed years ago, the commissioning of these new facilities has still led to a net capacity growth of around 6 million mt/year.
Due to strong export order bookings received in March amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict, China's finished and semi-finished steel export volume were expected to rise in March from February's 3.91 million mt, market participants said. In April, those export volumes are expected to see a much sharper growth, jumping to around 7 million-8 million mt.
But even with the improvement in overseas demand, overall steel exports in April would be just around the level seen a year ago, providing limited upward momentum to the domestic market. In April 2021, China's overall steel exports were at 7.97 million mt.
Moreover, export orders for June shipments have dwindled, as rising Chinese prices have become less attractive and European buyers have now purchased sufficient inventories.
The latest lockdowns in the COVID-19-affected cities and regions have compounded China's supply chain and logistical challenges: transportation has been disrupted, workers remain in isolation, and construction activities have been either halted or reduced. This situation is likely to continue as China is adhering to a zero-Covid policy.
In northern China's Beijing and southern China's Guangdong province, some local sources said transactions of construction steel in early April were just about 80% -90% of the levels of a year ago.
With the ongoing city-wide lockdown in Shanghai, the year-on-year decline in steel transactions in eastern China could only be greater than that in Beijing and Guangdong.
Market chatter indicated China might cut reserve requirement ratio or even interest rate in April, but as the zero-Covid policy continues, restrictions on mobility and transportation could reduce the effect of new stimulus.
This was clearly reflected in March when the manufacturing activity contracted for the first time in four months due to the pandemic.
Even without the COVID-19 outbreaks, the slowdown in China's property sector was already pinching the country's overall steel demand and it was expected to weigh throughout 2022.
More than 60 cities have largely eased restrictions on home buying in early April, but some sources believe property sales were unlikely to bottom out at least until after the first half of this year, and new home starts in 2022 could drop by as much as 20% -30% on the year.
Some of the sources also said due to lack of traditional infrastructure projects and high local government debt, the growth rate of China's infrastructure investment in 2022 was likely to be just at low single digit, far from enough to offset the slowdown in property steel demand.
China's excavator sales in the domestic market, an indicator of construction activity for upcoming months, dropped 63.6% on the year in March, deteriorating from a 30.5% year-on-year drop in February, data from China Construction Machinery Association showed April 8.
Despite more favorable polices expected to aid steel demand, factors such as rising steel production in hubs like Tangshan, uncertainty around pandemic-related restrictions and a lackluster improvement in the property sector will remain key indicators of what could be in the store for steel markets in the upcoming months.
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Dr Simon Eccles steps down from CCIO role at NHS England | Dr Simon Eccles has announced he is leaving his role as chief clinical information officer ( CCIO) at NHS England and NHS Improvement to return to his clinical roots.
In an email seen by Healthcare IT News, Eccles said he would be resuming his position as an emergency-medicine hospital consultant at Guys and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust in London, following four years as CCIO for health and care.
Eccles departs after helping to set up NHSE’ s new transformation directorate, which aims to bring together digital and operational improvement teams within NHSE and NHS Improvement, with the aim of continuing the rapid transformation achieved during the COVID pandemic.
“ After extending my secondment from Tommy’ s in order to help with the transition from NHSX to the transformation directorate, my secondment has now come to an end, ” Eccles wrote in the staff email.
“ I first got involved with the national programme for IT 17 years ago with a remit to help put EPRs [ electronic patient records ] into every hospital. That still resonates with the learning from the Wachter review to guide us, ” he added.
Interim arrangements were recently revealed for the new transformation directorate, which will incorporate both NHSX and NHS Digital. NHSX chief executive officer ( CEO) Matthew Gould will remain national director for digital transformation and as a director general within Department of Health and Social Care ( DHSC) with oversight of the joint digital policy and strategy team.
Eccles said: “ It has been a real pleasure to work with you as we led digitisation across health and care, developed the clinical informatics profession, established our pandemic clinical care processes, delivered digital primary care, expanded our digital channels, and described the transformation approach for digital child health, maternity care and national screening. ”
Tim Ferris, director of transformation, NHS England, said: “ Simon has been a strong advocate of digital tools’ power to help patients and clinicians and he has made a big difference, particularly in helping set up national COVID-19 testing capability during the pandemic. Simon brought his clinical experience to every discussion, helping the team understand the potential impact of different approaches on both patients and clinicians. ”
Alex Crossley, chief of staff for digital transformation, NHS, said: “ Simon was a constant source of advice to me when I joined the NHS; he has been instrumental in building NHSX; he set up our clinical workstream during the pandemic; he led the customer experience for Test & Trace, playing a key role in establishing the national testing capability; and he has helped lay the foundations for the transformational directorate.
“ There is much to be proud of, and Simon’ s work in digital transformation for the NHS will be felt for years to come. The work he and his teams have done have touched the lives of millions of patients throughout this country. ” | tech |
SCE Customers Get $ 59 Credits on April Bills Thanks to State Program for Fighting Climate Change | Joining residential customers, SCE small business accounts will also begin seeing credits on their bills twice each year
ROSEMEAD, Calif. -- ( BUSINESS WIRE) -- Southern California Edison’ s residential customers will receive a $ 59 California Climate Credit on their April and October billing statements. For the first time since the credit’ s inception in 2014, most of SCE’ s small business customers will receive the credit on their statements as well.
Previously, the twice-a-year credit ranged between $ 29 and $ 40 for SCE residential customers. Recent direction from the California Public Utilities Commission led to small business customers of the state’ s investor-owned utilities also receiving the credit twice annually. About 500,000 of SCE’ s small business accounts are eligible, as well as the company’ s 4.3 million residential accounts.
The funding for the California Climate Credit comes from the state’ s Greenhouse Gas Cap and Trade Program, which aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from power plants, natural gas distributors and other large industries.
“ It’ s great to see that this year’ s credit is the most generous to date, ” said Lisa D. Cagnolatti, SCE’ s senior vice president of Customer Service. “ With rising consumer prices creating challenges for many Californians, SCE welcomes any opportunity to help customers with their electric bill. That’ s why SCE offers customers a range of short-term and longer-term bill assistance options. ”
Earlier this year, SCE distributed more than $ 205 million in debt relief from the California Arrearage Payment Program to help customers with past-due energy bill balances accrued during the first 16 months of the COVID-19 pandemic. About 260,000 eligible SCE residential customers received one-time credits on their February or March electric bills to partially reduce their energy debts. | general |
Argan, Inc. Reports Year-End and Fourth Quarter Results and Announces Increase to Share Repurchase Program | ROCKVILLE, Md. -- ( BUSINESS WIRE) -- Argan, Inc. ( NYSE: AGX) ( “ Argan ” or the “ Company ”) today announces financial results for its fiscal year and fourth quarter ended January 31, 2022. For additional information, please read the Company’ s Annual Report on Form 10-K, which the Company intends to file today with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ( the “ SEC ”). The Annual Report can be retrieved from the SEC’ s website at www.sec.gov or from the Company’ s website at www.arganinc.com.
Summary Information ( dollars in thousands, except per share data)
January 31,
2022
2021
Change
For the Fiscal Years Ended:
Revenues
$
509,370
$
392,206
$
117,164
Gross profit
99,732
62,067
37,665
Gross margin%
19.6
%
15.8
%
3.8
%
Net income
$
38,244
$
23,851
$
14,393
Diluted per share
2.40
1.51
0.89
EBITDA
53,837
29,544
24,293
Diluted per share
3.38
1.87
1.51
Cash dividends per share
1.00
3.00
( 2.00)
January 31,
As of:
2022
2021
Change
Cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments
$
440,498
$
456,726
$
( 16,228)
Net liquidity ( 1)
284,257
270,133
14,124
RUPO ( 2)
397,023
552,531
( 155,508)
( 1)
Net liquidity, or working capital, is defined as total current assets less total current liabilities.
( 2)
The amount of remaining unsatisfied performance obligations ( “ RUPO ”) represents the project backlog related to active contracts with customers, as determined under revenue recognition rules.
“ For the year, we were pleased to see increases in our business at all of our subsidiaries, resulting in an increase of 30% in our consolidated revenues year over year, ” Rainer Bosselmann, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Argan, said. “ We are working hard to continue winning new projects to replace certain of our major projects expected to be completed this year. While it was difficult to see a few of our identified EPC project developments become unsuccessful, and for us to record certain impairments and writeoffs, we still believe there are a number of meaningful projects that will start this year for each of our subsidiaries. Since year end, our business in Ireland already has received two limited notices to proceed with early activities related to the construction of new gas-fired power plant facilities near Dublin. Also, we continue to be pleased with the current execution on all of our major projects despite the well-publicized global supply chain disruptions and current inflationary challenges.
Delivering value to our customers and stockholders is our top priority. We are committed to a disciplined capital allocation strategy that balances returning capital to our stockholders and investing in our business and people. With this in mind, our Board of Directors approved an increase in the Company's existing share repurchase program, from $ 50 million to $ 75 million. We look forward to building on our Fiscal 2022 successes with a strong Fiscal 2023. ”
Fiscal Year 2022 Results
Consolidated revenues for the year ended January 31, 2022 ( “ Fiscal 2022 ”) were $ 509.4 million, which represented an increase of $ 117.2 million, or 29.9%, from consolidated revenues of $ 392.2 million reported for January 31, 2021 ( “ Fiscal 2021 ”). Revenues of the power industry services business increased by $ 78.7 million, or 24.7%, to $ 398.1 million for Fiscal 2022 compared to revenues of $ 319.4 million for Fiscal 2021. The revenues of this business represented 78.2% of consolidated revenues for Fiscal 2022 and 81.4% of consolidated revenues for the prior year. The primary drivers for the strong performance by the power industry services segment were increased revenues associated with the construction of the Guernsey Power Station and the Maple Hill Solar energy facility.
The revenues of industrial fabrication and field services increased by $ 32.6 million, or 50.0%, to $ 97.9 million for Fiscal 2022. Revenues for this segment for Fiscal 2022 and 2021 represented approximately 19.2% and 16.6% of corresponding consolidated revenues, respectively. The improvement in the current year business of this segment, which occurred primarily in field services, reflected increased project activity for several customers due to, in part, reduced COVID-19 challenges.
The amount of consolidated gross profit increased by 60.5% to $ 99.7 million for Fiscal 2022, or 19.6% of corresponding consolidated revenues, from the consolidated gross profit amount of $ 62.1 million reported for Fiscal 2021, which was 15.8% of corresponding consolidated revenues. The year-over-year improvement reflected the favorable impacts of the higher consolidated revenues and favorable gross profit contributions from all reportable business segments.
Selling, general and administrative expenses for Fiscal 2022 and Fiscal 2021 were $ 47.3 million, or 9.3% of corresponding consolidated revenues, and $ 39.0 million, or 10.0% of corresponding consolidated revenues, respectively. Additionally, as previously disclosed, due to the unsuccessful project development efforts by the Company’ s consolidated VIE, we recorded an impairment loss related to capitalized project development costs in the amount of $ 7.9 million during the fourth quarter of Fiscal 2022, of which $ 2.5 million was attributed to the non-controlling interest.
Due primarily to the consolidated pre-tax book income reported for Fiscal 2022 in the amount of $ 47.1 million, we reported income tax expense in the amount of $ 11.4 million for the year. For Fiscal 2021, we reported consolidated pre-tax book income of $ 24.9 million and recorded income tax expense in the amount of $ 1.1 million, which amount is net of a $ 4.4 million net operating loss carryback benefit.
For Fiscal 2022, our improved overall operating performance resulted in net income attributable to our stockholders in the amount of $ 38.2 million, or $ 2.40 per diluted share. For Fiscal 2021, we reported net income attributable to our stockholders in the amount of $ 23.9 million, or $ 1.51 per diluted share.
As of January 31, 2022, cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments totaled $ 440 million and net liquidity was $ 284 million; furthermore, the Company had no debt. The Company’ s consolidated amount of RUPO was approximately $ 0.4 billion as of January 31, 2022.
Fourth Quarter Results
Consolidated revenues for the quarter ended January 31, 2022 were $ 125.6 million, which represented an increase of $ 8.4 million, or 7.2%, from consolidated revenues of $ 117.2 million reported for the three months ended January 31, 2021. The primary drivers of revenues for the three months ended January 31, 2022 related to the construction of the Guernsey Power Station, the Maple Hill Solar energy facility and new Atlantic Projects Company projects. Gross profits increased slightly by $ 0.1 million to $ 22.2 million during the three months ended January 31, 2022 from $ 22.1 million for last year’ s fourth quarter. However, our gross profit percentage for the current quarter declined to 17.7% of corresponding consolidated revenues, from 18.8% of corresponding revenues for last year’ s fourth quarter, primarily due to a decrease in gross profits in our industrial fabrication and field services business.
Selling, general and administrative expenses for the three months ended January 31, 2022 and 2021 were $ 15.5 million and $ 10.2 million, respectively. The $ 5.3 million increase primarily reflected certain write offs and liability accruals associated with business development investments and other activities and with increased incentive compensation and other personnel costs. Additionally, we recorded the aforementioned impairment loss during the three months ended January 31, 2022.
As a result, our net income attributable to our stockholders for the three months ended January 31, 2022 declined to $ 2.2 million, or $ 0.14 per diluted share, compared to $ 9.6 million, or $ 0.60 per diluted share, for the prior year quarter.
Share Repurchase Program
Yesterday, the Company’ s Board of Directors approved an increase in the existing program to repurchase shares of the Company's common stock from $ 50 million to $ 75 million. To date, the Company has repurchased 969,831 shares of common stock at a cost of approximately $ 37.5 million under the program.
The Board’ s authorization permits the Company to make purchases of its common stock from time to time in the open market or through privately negotiated transactions, subject to market and other conditions, up to the aggregate authorized amount. The authorization of the Board of Directors allows the repurchase of shares through January 2024.
About Argan
Argan’ s primary business is providing a full range of services to the power industry, including the renewable energy sector. Argan’ s service offerings focus on the engineering, procurement and construction of natural gas-fired power plants and renewable energy facilities, along with related commissioning, operations management, maintenance, project development and consulting services, through its Gemma Power Systems and Atlantic Projects Company operations. Argan also owns The Roberts Company, which is a fully integrated fabrication, construction and industrial plant services company, and SMC Infrastructure Solutions, which provides telecommunications infrastructure services.
Certain matters discussed in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Reference is hereby made to the cautionary statements made by the Company with respect to risk factors set forth in its most recent reports on Form 10-K, Forms 10-Q and other SEC filings. The Company’ s future financial performance is subject to risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to, the successful addition of new contracts to project backlog, the receipt of corresponding notices to proceed with contract activities, the Company’ s ability to successfully complete the projects that it obtains and the resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic due to the spread of various variants. The Company has several signed EPC contracts that have not started and may not start as forecasted due to market and other circumstances beyond its control. Actual results and the timing of certain events could differ materially from those projected in or contemplated by the forward-looking statements due to the risk factors highlighted above and described regularly in the Company’ s SEC filings.
ARGAN, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF EARNINGS
( In thousands, except per share data)
Three Months Ended
Years Ended
January 31,
January 31,
2022
2021
2022
2021
REVENUES
$
125,570
$
117,235
$
509,370
$
392,206
Cost of revenues
103,339
95,150
409,638
330,139
GROSS PROFIT
22,231
22,085
99,732
62,067
Selling, general and administrative expenses
15,508
10,214
47,321
39,041
Impairment losses
7,901
—
7,901
—
( LOSS) INCOME FROM OPERATIONS
( 1,178)
11,871
44,510
23,026
Other income, net
983
145
2,552
1,859
( LOSS) INCOME BEFORE INCOME TAXES
( 195)
12,016
47,062
24,885
Income tax expense
( 128)
( 2,465)
( 11,356)
( 1,074)
NET ( LOSS) INCOME
( 323)
9,551
35,706
23,811
Net loss attributable to non-controlling interests
( 2,538)
—
( 2,538)
( 40)
NET INCOME ATTRIBUTABLE TO THE STOCKHOLDERS OF ARGAN, INC.
2,215
9,551
38,244
23,851
Foreign currency translation adjustments
( 642)
685
( 1,370)
35
COMPREHENSIVE INCOME ATTRIBUTABLE TO THE STOCKHOLDERS OF ARGAN, INC.
$
1,573
$
10,236
$
36,874
$
23,886
NET INCOME PER SHARE ATTRIBUTABLE TO THE STOCKHOLDERS OF ARGAN, INC.
Basic
$
0.14
$
0.61
$
2.43
$
1.52
Diluted
$
0.14
$
0.60
$
2.40
$
1.51
WEIGHTED AVERAGE NUMBER OF SHARES OUTSTANDING
Basic
15,590
15,697
15,715
15,668
Diluted
15,713
15,880
15,913
15,825
CASH DIVIDENDS PER SHARE
$
0.25
$
1.25
$
1.00
$
3.00
ARGAN, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
( In thousands, except share and per share data)
January 31,
2022
2021
ASSETS
CURRENT ASSETS
Cash and cash equivalents
$
350,472
$
366,671
Short-term investments
90,026
90,055
Accounts receivable, net
26,978
28,713
Contract assets
4,904
26,635
Other current assets
34,904
34,146
TOTAL CURRENT ASSETS
507,284
546,220
Property, plant and equipment, net
10,460
20,361
Goodwill
28,033
27,943
Other purchased intangible assets, net
3,322
4,097
Deferred taxes, net
457
249
Right-of-use and other assets
4,029
3,760
TOTAL ASSETS
$
553,585
$
602,630
LIABILITIES AND EQUITY
CURRENT LIABILITIES
Accounts payable
$
41,822
$
53,295
Accrued expenses
53,315
50,750
Contract liabilities
127,890
172,042
TOTAL CURRENT LIABILITIES
223,027
276,087
Other noncurrent liabilities
4,963
4,135
TOTAL LIABILITIES
227,990
280,222
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
Preferred stock, par value $ 0.10 per share – 500,000 shares authorized; no shares issued and outstanding
—
—
Common stock, par value $ 0.15 per share – 30,000,000 shares authorized; 15,788,673 and 15,706,202 shares issued at January 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively; 15,257,688 and 15,702,969 shares outstanding at January 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively
2,368
2,356
Additional paid-in capital
158,190
153,315
Retained earnings
188,690
166,110
Less treasury stock, at cost – 530,985 and 3,233 shares at January 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively
( 20,405)
( 33)
Accumulated other comprehensive loss
( 2,451)
( 1,081)
TOTAL STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
326,392
320,667
Non-controlling interests
( 797)
1,741
TOTAL EQUITY
325,595
322,408
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND EQUITY
$
553,585
$
602,630
ARGAN, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Reconciliation to EBITDA
( In thousands) ( Unaudited)
Three Months Ended
January 31,
2022
2021
Net ( loss) income, as reported
$
( 323)
$
9,551
Income tax expense
128
2,465
Depreciation
807
917
Amortization of purchased intangible assets
190
227
EBITDA
802
13,160
EBITDA of non-controlling interests
( 2,538)
—
EBITDA attributable to the stockholders of Argan, Inc.
$
3,340
$
13,160
Years Ended
January 31,
2022
2021
Net income, as reported
$
35,706
$
23,811
Income tax expense
11,356
1,074
Depreciation
3,367
3,715
Amortization of purchased intangible assets
870
904
EBITDA
51,299
29,504
EBITDA of non-controlling interests
( 2,538)
( 40)
EBITDA attributable to the stockholders of Argan, Inc.
$
53,837
$ | general |
Coronavirus tally: Omicron now accounts for 99.2% of all COVID cases as world passes half a billion confirmed cases | The World Health Organization said Wednesday that the omicron variant of the virus that causes COVID-19 accounted for 99.2% of cases sequenced in the latest week, the latest sign of how dominant it has become. In its weekly epidemiological update, the agency said that while vaccine effectiveness wanes against omicron for all disease outcomes following primary vaccination, it remains strong for severe disease, making it more important that the unvaccinated get their shots. `` Despite a reduction in SARS-CoV-2 testing observed since the beginning of 2022 in many Member States, the COVID-19 pandemic continues with intense...
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Xi Says China Must Persist With Covid Zero Even as Costs Mount | The information you requested is not available at this time, please check back again soon.
( Bloomberg) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping says his government will stick to its zero-tolerance approach to Covid even as public anger simmers in Shanghai and economic costs mount.
“ Prevention and control work can not be relaxed, ” Xi said during a trip to the island province of Hainan, the official Xinhua News Agency reported late Wednesday. Officials implementing Covid Zero need to adhere to the principle of “ people first and life first, ” Xi said. “ Persistence is victory, ” he added.
Xi -- who is likely to seek a third five-year term during a Communist Party congress later this year -- is facing one of the biggest tests of his tenure. The lockdown of tens of millions in the city of Shanghai and the northeastern province of Jilin has fueled widespread criticisms of his government’ s response to the highly-infectious Omicron variant.
Residents short of groceries, medical care and patience have been making a rare display of pushback as they’ ve been barred from leaving their homes. While there have been a few signs of easing, such as allowing Shanghai, Guangzhou and six other cities to cut quarantine times for some people people, senior officials have also publicly argued that China must stick to its Covid zero approach.
That strategy has involved mass testing, long quarantines and mostly closed borders. In addition to the social cost, the economic damage has been similarly substantial with factories forced to shut and supply chains clogged.
Premier Li Keqiang has repeatedly warned of risks to economic growth, and the central bank is expected to cut its key policy interest rate for the second time this year on Friday and reduce the reserve requirement ratio within days to help bolster the economy.
Covid Zero has also added to tensions with the U.S., which this week ordered all non-emergency staff at its consulate in Shanghai to leave the Asian nation, prompting a spokesman at the nation’ s Foreign Ministry to accuse Washington of “ attacking and smearing ” China.
Canada joins U.S., U.K. in diplomatic boycott of Beijing games
Trudeau weighs auto-content rules as next U.S. trade flashpoint
As rates go up, so will the stress test: Ratehub.ca | general |
The confusion over inflation | JPMorgan Chase posted quarterly profits of $ 2.63 per share, slightly below expectations. However, revenues topped analysts ' forecasts. Meanwhile, BlackRock reported Q1 earnings of $ 9.52 per share, beating the $ 8.75 consensus. Revenues were in line with expectations.
Today were published producer prices, which jumped a record 11.2% in March on an annual basis. On a monthly basis, it advanced 1.4%, exceeding the 1.1% estimate from economists polled by Dow Jones.
This comes after yesterday's inflation figures. Price increases were about as impressive as expected between February and March, and even more so on an annual basis, but it is the underlying component ( called `` core ''), i.e., stripped of the most volatile elements, that marked an inflection.
The overall price increase reached 8.5% over one year in the United States, including a 1.2% increase in one month. But excluding energy and food, the annual increase was `` limited '' to 6.5% and the monthly change to 0.3%. Skeptics have noted that it is the used car market that has finally slowed down, as well as education costs. For the rest, it is still overheating.
Investors initially focused on the lower-than-expected core inflation, hoping that the peak has passed or was very close, so that the Fed would not be forced to be too aggressive with rate hikes. U.S. central bank vice-president Lael Brainard did indeed find the numbers encouraging after they came out. But she also reminded us that one month does not make a trend, and that – in any case - the Fed will have to implement a more restrictive monetary policy.
In the end, Wall Street ended lower yesterday, after starting the session with a bang. A small decline, around 0.3% for the three indexes. It seems that appetite for risk has diminished a bit in the last few weeks. Once again, the bond market seems to have had the most rational approach. The yield on 10-year US debt, which had exceeded 2.8% the previous day, returned to around 2.7%, a sign that the market has incorporated a slightly less aggressive price increase and therefore a move in key rates.
A few words on geopolitics. On the Ukrainian front, if the consensus scenario is true, Moscow is preparing its weapons for an assault in the south of the country. Meanwhile, Joe Biden accused Russia of genocide and called on American industrialists to strengthen the Ukrainian arsenal. Vladimir Putin, for his part, stressed that peace talks are at a standstill and that his country's determination is intact. These statements have contributed to the rise in the price of oil.
Economic highlights of the day:
March UK inflation, February European industrial production and March US producer price index are the three main indicators of the day.
The dollar inches up 0.1% to EUR 0.9247. Gold is back in trend at USD 1976. Oil rallied with North Sea Brent crude at USD 106.1 per barrel and U.S. WTI light crude at USD 102.1. The yield on 10-year US debt is down from the previous day at 2.74%. Bitcoin is trading around USD 40,000 a unit.
On markets:
* Blackrock reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit on Wednesday. The group also plans to launch its first ETFs in the Chinese market later this year and has started hiring staff to do so, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters. The share is up 0.4% in pre-market trading.
* Delta Air Lines reported a smaller-than-expected net loss on Wednesday on strong travel demand, sending the stock up 6% in premarket trading.
* Alphabet - Google's parent company announced Wednesday it plans to invest about $ 9.5 billion in its U.S. offices and data centers this year, up from $ 7 billion a year ago. The stock is up 0.8% in pre-market trading.
* Former Twitter shareholders filed a lawsuit against Elon Musk on Tuesday, claiming they missed out on the recent rise in the share price due to a late disclosure of the Tesla boss's stake in the social network.
* Russian users of Netflix have launched a class action against the American video streaming platform because of its departure from Russia following the war in Ukraine. They are demanding compensation of 60 million rubles, the RIA news agency reported Wednesday.
* Sierra Oncology - Glaxosmithkline announced the acquisition of the American laboratory on the basis of a valuation of 1.9 billion dollars. Sierra's share price soared 37% in pre-market trading.
* Deutsche Telekom announced that it has acquired additional shares of T-Mobile US from Softbank for $ 2.4 billion, moving closer to its goal of securing direct control of the U.S. telecom operator.
* Blackstone - The Benetton family and U.S. private equity group Blackstone are working on a bid for Atlantia that includes a premium of about 30 percent on the average price over the past six months and could unveil their proposals on Wednesday, according to three sources close to the matter.
* Phillips 66 announced Tuesday that it has promoted Mark Lashier, its current deputy chief executive, to the rank of chief executive of the oil group, replacing Greg Garland, effective July 1.
* Walmart announced Tuesday that it has hired John Rainey, the current CFO of PayPal Holdings, to serve in the same role at the U.S. supermarket chain effective June 6.
* Novavax shares gain 2.4% in pre-market trading after Switzerland approves the company's COVID-19 vaccine in adults.
* AMC - The movie theater operator is up 0.8% in premarket trading after announcing it will double its presence in Connecticut with the acquisition of seven locations in the state.
Analyst recommendations: | business |
Global Genetic Testing Markets Forecasts, Applications and Technologies Research Report 2022 - ResearchAndMarkets.com | DUBLIN -- ( BUSINESS WIRE) -- The `` Genetic Testing. Global Market Forecasts for Applications and Technologies. Updated for COVID-19 Pandemic impact With Executive and Consultant Guides '' report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.
Make investment decisions and valuations with confidence using the latest data with five year market forecasts.
Is genomic cancer testing bouncing back? What has happened to Direct to Consumer testing? Will all newborns receive Whole Genomic Sequencing at birth?
The role of genetics in health and disease is just now being understood. This new knowledge, combined with lower pricing is driving the Genetic Testing industry to record growth. New drugs may only work for people with a certain genetic makeup, and this too is driving the Genetic Testing Industry.
The traditional genetic testing market is growing in volume and growing in the breadth of tests creating new life, and new problems for the industry. The report includes detailed breakouts for 14 countries and 5 regions.
Predictive Diagnostics? Pharmacogenomic Testing? Direct to Consumer? Find out about the technology in readily understood terms that explain the jargon. What are the issues? Find the opportunities and the pitfalls. Understand growth expectations and the ultimate market forecasts for the next five years.
This research will make you the expert in your organization. Get the research team working for you by ordering all, or a portion, of this comprehensive report.
Key Topics Covered:
Market Trends
Factors Driving Growth
Factors Limiting Growth
Instruments Key to Market Share
Diagnostic Technology Development
Genetic Testing Recent Developments
Profiles of Key Companies
Market Overview | general |
Ohio Coatings Company, an Esmark and TCC Steel JV, Appoints David Luptak New CEO | David Luptak will become CEO of Ohio Coatings Company, effective June 1, 2022. OCC is a joint venture between Esmark, Inc., and TCC Steel. ( Photo: Business Wire)
David Luptak will become CEO of Ohio Coatings Company, effective June 1, 2022. OCC is a joint venture between Esmark, Inc., and TCC Steel. ( Photo: Business Wire)
SEWICKLEY, Pa. -- ( BUSINESS WIRE) -- Ohio Coatings Company – a joint venture between Esmark, Inc. and TCC Steel – today announced it has appointed David Luptak, current Esmark Industrial Group CEO, as the CEO of Ohio Coatings Company ( OCC), effective June 1, 2022. Luptak succeeds Jim Tennant, who will retire after a successful 40-year career on May 31, 2022.
Luptak joined Esmark, Inc. in 2006 when Esmark acquired Wheeling Pittsburgh Steel. At that time, and for several years as part of the Esmark enterprise, he served as president and chief operating officer of Wheeling Pittsburgh Steel. Later he served as Executive Vice President of Mill Operations for Esmark, Inc., before being named Esmark Industrial Group CEO and Chief Legal Counsel.
“ Dave has been a valued member of the Esmark team for more than 15 years. His extensive experience in mill operations, legal counsel, and management will benefit OCC as we continue to pursue our goals to reduce costs and increase production, ” said James P. Bouchard, Chairman and CEO of Esmark, Inc.
As CEO of Esmark Industrial Group, Luptak oversaw the purchase and expansion of Excalibur Machine Company, increasing the number of employees at its three locations and investing in new equipment and facilities.
Prior to joining Wheeling Pitt Steel and Esmark, Inc., Luptak held various positions at United States Steel Corporation over the course of 21 years. In 2000, he was named General Counsel of European operations and was promoted to Assistant General Counsel at the company’ s Pittsburgh headquarters in 2004. The following year, Luptak took over operations of the U.S. Steel’ s Edgar Thomson plant in Braddock, PA. He is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh School of Law.
Tennant was named President of OCC, an Esmark, Inc. subsidiary located in Yorkville, Ohio, in 2005 and helped the company grow into a leader in tin plate production technology and a worldwide supplier of electrolytic tin plate used in end products such as sanitary food cans and aerosol cans. He guided the company through periods of great transformation and upheaval, including ownership changes and supply chain challenges stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic.
His lengthy career includes more than 40 years of experience in executive leadership and manufacturing accounting. He joined OCC as Chief Financial Officer in 1998. Previously, Tennant worked for Wheeling-Pittsburgh Corporation, serving in positions from internal auditor to general manager of accounting and control. He holds a degree in accounting from Ohio University. | general |
Africa’ s Long Post-COVID Climb by Hippolyte Fofack | While Africa shared in last year’ s global economic upswing, a growing array of risks threatens to derail the region’ s progress in 2022. The crucial question is whether the world’ s leading central banks can pursue price stability without choking off the incipient global recovery.
CAIRO – Despite the many lingering negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the world economy bounced back in 2021, recording one of the strongest and most synchronized post-recession recoveries in decades. But while Africa shared in this upswing, an increasing array of risks threaten to derail the region’ s economic progress in 2022.
The global economy grew by 5.9% last year, and in January the International Monetary Fund forecast 4.4% growth in 2022. Africa rebounded well in 2021 from its first recession in a quarter-century, with aggregate output increasing by 5.1%. The IMF predicts regional GDP growth of 3.9% in 2022.
In a sign of post-crisis normalization, tourism-dependent economies are likely to be Africa’ s fastest growing in 2022. The island states of Cabo Verde, Mauritius, and the Seychelles are each expected to grow by more than 6%; the Seychelles forecasts Africa-leading 7.7% growth.
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Cryptocurrencies and blockchain-based technologies are here to stay. But what will their next chapter look like?
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Writing for PS since 2020 9 Commentaries
Hippolyte Fofack is Chief Economist and Director of Research at the African Export-Import Bank ( Afreximbank).
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Before Russian President Vladimir Putin’ s attack on Ukraine, Europe’ s recovery from the damage wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic was solidifying. But now European policymakers have exactly zero control over whether their economies ' rebound continues.
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| general |
E * TRADE from Morgan Stanley Study Reveals Drop in Bullishness as Inflation Fears Take Hold | Amid high inflation and geopolitical tensions, investors are feeling more “ Dazed and Confused ”
( Graphic: Business Wire)
( Graphic: Business Wire)
ARLINGTON, Va. -- ( BUSINESS WIRE) -- E * TRADE from Morgan Stanley today announced results from the most recent wave of StreetWise, its quarterly tracking study of experienced investors. Results reveal a drop in positive sentiment following a volatile first quarter:
“ A lot has shifted in the last year—inflation went from transitory to persistent, supply chain concerns pivoted to oil constraints, we entered a rising rate environment, and geopolitical tensions reached a tipping point, ” said Mike Loewengart, Managing Director of Investment Strategy at E * TRADE from Morgan Stanley. “ Amid this backdrop, it’ s not surprising to see cracks in investors’ bullishness. In fact, this type of volatility is normal as we enter a new era of monetary policy. So while investors seem to be bracing for more, it’ s important to remember that sticking to a diversified investment strategy is likely to serve most well over the long-term. Translation: Resist the urge to panic sell or buy when you see account balances fluctuate. ”
The survey explored investor views on sector opportunities for the second quarter of 2022:
About the Survey
This wave of the survey was conducted from April 1 to April 11 of 2022 among an online US sample of 913 self-directed active investors who manage at least $ 10,000 in an online brokerage account. The survey has a margin of error of ±3.20 percent at the 95 percent confidence level. It was fielded and administered by Dynata. The panel is broken into thirds of active ( trade more than once a week), swing ( trade less than once a week but more than once a month), and passive ( trade less than once a month). The panel is 60% male and 40% female, with an even distribution across online brokerages, geographic regions, and age bands.
About E * TRADE from Morgan Stanley and Important Notices
E * TRADE from Morgan Stanley provides financial services to retail customers. Securities products and services offered by E * TRADE Securities LLC, Member SIPC. Investment advisory services offered by E * TRADE Capital Management, LLC, a Registered Investment Adviser. Commodity futures and options on futures products and services offered by E * TRADE Futures LLC, Member NFA. Banking products and services are offered by Morgan Stanley Private Bank, National Association, Member FDIC. All are separate but affiliated subsidiaries of Morgan Stanley. More information is available at www.etrade.com.
The information provided herein is for general informational purposes only and should not be considered investment advice. Past performance does not guarantee future results.
E * TRADE from Morgan Stanley, E * TRADE, and the E * TRADE logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of E * TRADE from Morgan Stanley. ETFC-G
ETFC
© 2022 E * TRADE from Morgan Stanley. All rights reserved.
E * TRADE engages Dynata to program, field, and tabulate the study. Dynata provides digital research data and has locations in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific. For more information, please go to www.dynata.com.
Referenced Data
And when it comes to the current market are you?
Q1’ 22
Q2’ 22
Bullish
59%
51%
Bearish
41%
49%
What stage of the business cycle do you believe we are currently in?
Q1’ 22
Q2’ 22
Peak ( Economic growth reaches maximum limit, inflation takes hold, economic factors slow or stop)
30%
32%
Recession ( Economic growth decreases)
24%
31%
Expansion ( Economic growth is steady and economic factors increase)
28%
17%
Recovery ( Economy growth reaches lowest level and begins to move back into positive territory)
10%
10%
Trough ( Negative economic growth)
8%
10%
If you had to pick a movie title that best describes how you personally feel about the market this quarter, which would it be?
Q1'22
Q2’ 22
Dazed and Confused
23%
29%
Easy Rider
21%
17%
Singin’ in the Rain
16%
11%
Jackass
6%
10%
Raging Bull
13%
9%
Pulp Fiction
10%
9%
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
7%
8%
Apocalypse Now
4%
7%
Over the next quarter, do you think volatility will...
Q2’ 22
Top 2 Box
64%
Greatly increase
18%
Somewhat increase
46%
Stay the same
29%
Somewhat decrease
7%
Greatly decrease
--
Which of the following risks are you most concerned about when it comes to your portfolio? ( Top four)
Q3’ 21
Q4’ 21
Q1’ 22
Q2’ 22
Inflation
35%
52%
58%
56%
Russia/Ukraine conflict
--
--
--
45%
Recession
17%
38%
35%
38%
Market volatility
27%
41%
47%
37%
Supply chain constraints
--
38%
36%
30%
US trade tensions
17%
28%
29%
28%
Coronavirus and other pandemic concerns
23%
38%
44%
25%
Current presidential administration
16%
31%
29%
24%
Economic weakness abroad
12%
31%
25%
22%
Gridlock in Washington
14%
30%
24%
20%
Fed monetary policy
12%
24%
26%
20%
Commodity prices
--
--
--
18%
Job market
15%
24%
24%
17%
The yield curve
7%
13%
13%
11%
None of these
3%
3%
3%
2%
Other
1%
1%
1%
1%
What industries do you think offer the most potential this quarter? ( Top Three)
Q1'22
Q2’ 22
Energy
37%
48%
Information technology
43%
38%
Health care
46%
37%
Real estate
32%
34%
Utilities
24%
28%
Financials
30%
24%
Consumer staples
22%
22%
Materials
17%
20%
Communication services
21%
18%
Industrials
17%
18% | general |
Flowserve to Provide Equipment for European Open-Source Carbon Capture and Storage Initiative | DALLAS -- ( BUSINESS WIRE) -- Flowserve Corporation ( NYSE: FLS), a leading provider of flow control products and services for the global infrastructure markets, today announced it has been awarded a contract to provide control valves for a portion of Norway’ s first cross-border and open-source carbon capture and storage facility. With an estimated 2024 completion, this facility will be the first of its kind and will help further enable the acceleration of decarbonization in Europe.
Flowserve will provide its Flowtop and Mark One control valves for the facility’ s onshore site in the Bergen region, which will facilitate carbon capture before it is ultimately transported to an offshore terminal and stored permanently below the seabed. Once completed, the facility will have the ability to potentially store an estimated equivalent of 1,000 years of Norwegian emissions.
Globally, there is a growing need to limit – or even reduce – the world’ s carbon emissions. “ We recognize that governments and corporations around the world are increasingly focused on efforts to minimize climate change and are making investments to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. Flowserve is uniquely positioned to capitalize on the flow control aspect of decarbonization, where today, our products and services can be utilized in many aspects of our customers’ carbon reduction efforts, ” said Scott Rowe, Flowerve’ s president and chief executive officer. “ Our strategy to diversify, decarbonize, and digitize – or the 3D growth strategy – supports and aligns directly with Flowserve’ s long-standing purpose statement, to provide extraordinary flow control solutions to make the world better for everyone. Our laser focus on, and dedicated resources for, the 3D strategy throughout the organization is intended to accelerate our growth, create a substantial installed base in this emerging marketplace and fulfill our purpose. ”
As businesses aim to meet energy demands while also striving to reduce carbon emissions, Flowserve will continue to be a leading provider of products and services which support and enable our customers to meet their carbon reduction goals.
To learn more about Flowserve’ s commitment to new and existing customers through the energy transition, visit https: //www.flowserve.com/en/energy-transition/energy-transition-in-motion/.
About Flowserve: Flowserve Corp. is one of the world’ s leading providers of fluid motion and control products and services. Operating in more than 55 countries, the company produces engineered and industrial pumps, seals and valves as well as a range of related flow management services. More information about Flowserve can be obtained by visiting the company’ s Web site at www.flowserve.com.
Safe Harbor Statement: This news release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, which are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. Words or phrases such as, `` may, '' `` should, '' `` expects, '' `` could, '' `` intends, '' `` plans, '' `` anticipates, '' `` estimates, '' `` believes, '' `` forecasts, '' `` predicts '' or other similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, which include, without limitation, earnings forecasts, statements relating to our business strategy and statements of expectations, beliefs, future plans and strategies and anticipated developments concerning our industry, business, operations and financial performance and condition.
The forward-looking statements included in this news release are based on our current expectations, projections, estimates and assumptions. These statements are only predictions, not guarantees. Such forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict. These risks and uncertainties may cause actual results to differ materially from what is forecast in such forward-looking statements, and include, without limitation, the following: the impact of the global outbreak of COVID-19 on our business and operations; a portion of our bookings may not lead to completed sales, and our ability to convert bookings into revenues at acceptable profit margins; changes in global economic conditions and the potential for unexpected cancellations or delays of customer orders in our reported backlog; our dependence on our customers’ ability to make required capital investment and maintenance expenditures; if we are not able to successfully execute and realize the expected financial benefits from our strategic transformation and realignment initiatives, our business could be adversely affected; risks associated with cost overruns on fixed-fee projects and in taking customer orders for large complex custom engineered products; the substantial dependence of our sales on the success of the oil and gas, chemical, power generation and water management industries; the adverse impact of volatile raw materials prices on our products and operating margins; economic, political and other risks associated with our international operations, including military actions, trade embargoes, epidemics or pandemics or changes to tariffs or trade agreements that could affect customer markets, particularly North African, Russian and Middle Eastern markets and global oil and gas producers, and non-compliance with U.S. export/re-export control, foreign corrupt practice laws, economic sanctions and import laws and regulations; increased aging and slower collection of receivables, particularly in Latin America and other emerging markets; our exposure to fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates, including in hyperinflationary countries such as Venezuela and Argentina; our furnishing of products and services to nuclear power plant facilities and other critical processes; potential adverse consequences resulting from litigation to which we are a party, such as litigation involving asbestos-containing material claims; expectations regarding acquisitions and the integration of acquired businesses; our relative geographical profitability and its impact on our utilization of deferred tax assets, including foreign tax credits; the potential adverse impact of an impairment in the carrying value of goodwill or other intangible assets; our dependence upon fourth-party suppliers whose failure to perform timely could adversely affect our business operations; the highly competitive nature of the markets in which we operate; environmental compliance costs and liabilities; potential work stoppages and other labor matters; access to public and private sources of debt financing; our inability to protect our intellectual property in the U.S., as well as in foreign countries; obligations under our defined benefit pension plans; our internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements because of its inherent limitations, including the possibility of human error, the circumvention or overriding of controls, or fraud; the recording of increased deferred tax asset valuation allowances in the future or the impact of tax law changes on such deferred tax assets could affect our operating results; our information technology infrastructure could be subject to service interruptions, data corruption, cyber-based attacks or network security breaches, which could disrupt our business operations and result in the loss of critical and confidential information; ineffective internal controls could impact the accuracy and timely reporting of our business and financial results; and other factors described from time to time in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. | general |
Washington Federal Announces Quarterly Earnings Per Share Of $ 0.70 | SEATTLE -- ( BUSINESS WIRE) -- Washington Federal, Inc. ( Nasdaq: WAFD) ( the `` Company ''), parent company of Washington Federal Bank ( `` WaFd Bank ''), today announced quarterly earnings of $ 49,359,000 for the quarter ended March 31, 2022, an increase of 10.0% from $ 44,871,000 for the quarter ended March 31, 2021. After the effect of dividends on preferred stock, net income available for common shareholders was $ 0.70 per diluted share for the quarter ended March 31, 2022, compared to $ 0.56 per diluted share for the quarter ended March 31, 2021, a $ 0.14 or 25% increase in fully diluted earnings per common share. Return on common shareholders ' equity for the quarter ended March 31, 2022 was 9.80% compared to 8.17% for the quarter ended March 31, 2021. Return on assets for the quarter ended March 31, 2022 was 0.98% compared to 0.93% for the same quarter in the prior year.
President and Chief Executive Officer Brent J. Beardall commented, `` This was the first full quarter since our exit from the 2018 Bank Secrecy Act ( `` BSA '') Consent Order and we are grateful for the hard work of WaFd bankers throughout our eight western states that made these results possible. In the last year, net loans grew by $ 2 billion, or 16%, which is even more impressive when you consider that for the majority of that period loan prepayments occurred at record levels. Couple the record loan growth with increasing customer deposits by $ 1.6 billion, or 11%, over the last year and we see tangible results from the ongoing investments we are making in our bankers, technology and processes. Importantly, our net interest margin improved this quarter and credit quality continues to improve with decreases in non-performing loans, delinquencies and yet another quarter of net recoveries from previously charged off loans.
`` While our operating results are strong there are macro-economic factors that give us reason for concern. Inflation is at a 40-year high and it appears the Federal Reserve’ s initial assessment that inflation was transitory was incorrect. As a result, interest rates are surging, with the average 30 year mortgage rate increasing to above 5%, up from 2.75% a year ago. This will likely cause mortgage refinancings to dwindle to a fraction of what they have recently been and unfortunately, will exacerbate the housing affordability issues we are facing as a country. In addition, there is the geopolitical risk of the war in Ukraine and impact of related sanctions on commodity prices.
`` While one never hopes for a credit cycle, we are realistic that they will periodically occur. It has been twelve years since the last credit cycle so it is just a matter of time. As of March 31, 2022, 83% of our loans are secured by real estate and, based on the significant increase in real estate values over the last two years, we believe we have substantial protection should values decline and borrowers experience financial difficulty.
`` Our goal is to operate WaFd Bank in a way to be prepared for the next credit cycle, so we can once again be a source of strength to our clients if needed. Based on everything we know today we are optimistic that we are well positioned to withstand potential market volatility and continue our organic growth. ''
Total assets were $ 20.6 billion as of March 31, 2022, compared to $ 19.7 billion at September 30, 2021, primarily due to the $ 1.3 billion increase in loans receivable funded by continued growth in customer deposits ( noted below) and cash. Investment securities decreased by $ 293 million since September 30, 2021.
Customer deposits totaled $ 16.4 billion as of March 31, 2022, an increase of $ 849 million or 5.5% since September 30, 2021. Transaction accounts increased by $ 1.0 billion or 8.5% during that period, while time deposits decreased $ 183 million or 5.3%. The shift in deposit mix has been the result of a deliberate deposit pricing and customer growth strategy. The focus on transaction accounts is intended to lessen sensitivity to rising interest rates and manage interest expense. As of March 31, 2022, 80.2% of the Company’ s deposits were transaction accounts, up from 77.9% at September 30, 2021. Core deposits, defined as all transaction accounts and time deposits less than $ 250,000, totaled 97.0% of deposits at March 31, 2022.
Borrowings from the Federal Home Loan Bank ( `` FHLB '') totaled $ 1.72 billion as of March 31, 2022, unchanged since September 30, 2021. The weighted average interest rate of FHLB borrowings was 1.55% as of March 31, 2022, an increase from 1.51% at September 30, 2021.
The Company had strong loan originations of $ 2.23 billion for the second fiscal quarter of 2022, compared to $ 1.98 billion of originations in the same quarter one year ago. Largely offsetting loan originations in each of these quarters were loan repayments of $ 1.54 billion and $ 1.55 billion, respectively. Commercial loans represented 78% of all loan originations during the second fiscal quarter of 2022 and consumer loans accounted for the remaining 22%. The Company views organic loan growth funded by low-cost core deposits as the highest and best use of its capital. Commercial loans are preferable as they generally have floating interest rates and shorter durations. The weighted average interest rate on the loan portfolio was 3.44% as of March 31, 2022, a decrease from 3.47% as of September 30, 2021, due primarily to payoffs of loans at higher than current market interest rates and new loans originated at current market rates.
Credit quality is being monitored closely as economic stimulus comes to an end. As of March 31, 2022, non-performing assets remained low from a historical perspective and totaled $ 47.2 million, or 0.23% of total assets, compared to 0.22% at September 30, 2021. Delinquent loans were 0.30% of total loans at March 31, 2022, compared to 0.31% at December 31, 2021 and 0.19% at September 30, 2021. The allowance for credit losses ( including the reserve for unfunded commitments) totaled $ 201 million as of March 31, 2022, and was 1.13% of gross loans outstanding ( 1.14% when excluding PPP loans for which it was determined that no allowance was necessary due to the government guarantee), as compared to $ 199 million, or 1.22% of gross loans outstanding, at September 30, 2021. Net recoveries were $ 473 thousand for the second fiscal quarter of 2022, compared to net recoveries of $ 2.5 million for the prior year same quarter. The Company has recorded net recoveries in 33 of the last 35 quarters.
The Company recorded a $ 500 thousand release of allowance for credit losses in the second fiscal quarter of 2022, compared to no provision or release in the same quarter of fiscal 2021. The release of allowance in the quarter ended March 31, 2022 was primarily due to improvements in the credit quality of certain loan portfolios related to strong real estate markets and collateral conditions mostly offset by growth in loans receivable.
The Company paid a quarterly dividend on the 4.875% Series A preferred stock on January 15, 2022. On February 18, 2022, the Company paid a regular cash dividend on common stock of $ 0.24 per share, which represented the 156th consecutive quarterly cash dividend. If the Board declares a cash dividend on common stock at its May 10, 2022 meeting as anticipated, the record date and payment date are likely to be May 20, 2022 and June 3, 2022, respectively. During the second fiscal quarter of 2022, the Company repurchased 4,684 shares of common stock ( related to tax withholding on employee equity awards) at a weighted average price of $ 34.65 per share and has authorization to repurchase 3,728,320 additional shares. The Company varies the size and pace of share repurchases depending on several factors, including share price, lending opportunities and capital levels. Since September 30, 2021, tangible common shareholders ' equity per share increased by $ 0.96, or 4.1%, to $ 24.23. The ratio of total tangible shareholders ' equity to tangible assets was 9.29% as of March 31, 2022.
Net interest income was $ 135 million for the second fiscal quarter of 2022, an increase of $ 11.1 million or 8.9% from the same quarter in the prior year. The increase in net interest income was primarily due to average interest-earning assets increasing by $ 861 million or 4.77% from the prior year while average interest-bearing liabilities increased $ 374 million or 2.63%. Average noninterest-bearing deposits grew by $ 619 million over the same period. The change in net interest income was also impacted by a 6 basis point decline in the average rate earned on interest-earning assets while the average rate paid on interest-bearing liabilities declined by 21 basis points. Net interest margin improved to 2.90% in the second fiscal quarter of 2022 compared to 2.87% for the quarter ended December 31, 2021 and 2.75% for the prior year quarter.
Total other income was $ 15.7 million for the second fiscal quarter of 2022 compared to $ 14.5 million in the prior year same quarter. The increase in other income was primarily due to loan fee income being $ 1.6 million higher in the quarter ended March 31, 2022 due largely to fees collected on loan early repayments.
Total other expense was $ 88.4 million in the second fiscal quarter of 2022, an increase of $ 6.7 million, or 8.2%, from the prior year's quarter. Compensation and benefits costs increased by $ 3.5 million, or 8.0%, over the prior year quarter primarily due to annual merit increases, higher bonus compensation accruals related to strong deposit and loan growth and investments in top talent and contract staff to support strategic initiatives. The Company’ s efficiency ratio in the second fiscal quarter of 2022 was 58.7%, compared to 59.0% for the same period one year ago.
Income tax expense totaled $ 13.6 million for the second fiscal quarter of 2022, as compared to $ 11.9 million for the prior year same quarter. The effective tax rate for the quarter ended March 31, 2022 was 21.60% compared to 21.24% for the year ended September 30, 2021. The Company’ s effective tax rate may vary from the statutory rate mainly due to state taxes, tax-exempt income and tax-credit investments.
WaFd Bank is headquartered in Seattle, Washington, and has 214 branches in eight western states. To find out more about WaFd Bank, please visit our website www.wafdbank.com. The Company uses its website to distribute financial and other material information about the Company.
Important Cautionary Statements
The foregoing information should be read in conjunction with the financial statements, notes and other information contained in the Company’ s 2021 Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K. This press release contains statements about the Company’ s future that are not statements of historical or current fact. These statements are “ forward looking statements ” for purposes of applicable securities laws, and are based on current information and/or management's good faith belief as to future events. Words such as “ anticipate, ” “ believe, ” “ continue, ” “ expect, ” “ goal, ” “ intend, ” “ should, ” “ strategy, ” “ will, ” or similar expressions signify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements should not be read as a guarantee of future performance. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve inherent risk and uncertainties, including the following risks and uncertainties, and those risks and uncertainties more fully discussed under “ Risk Factors ” in the Company’ s 2021 10-K, which could cause actual performance to differ materially from that anticipated by any forward-looking statements. In particular, any forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties related to ( i) the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting governmental and societal responses; ( ii) current and future economic conditions, including the effects of declines in the real estate market, high unemployment rates, inflationary pressures, and slowdowns in economic growth; ( iii) financial stress on borrowers ( consumers and businesses) as a result of an uncertain economic environment; ( iv) global economic trends, including developments related to Ukraine and Russia, and related negative financial impacts on our borrowers; and ( v) fluctuations in interest rate risk and market interest rates, including the effect on our net interest income and net interest margin. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement.
WASHINGTON FEDERAL, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION
( UNAUDITED)
March 31, 2022
September 30, 2021
( In thousands, except share and ratio data)
ASSETS
Cash and cash equivalents
$
1,947,504
$
2,090,809
Available-for-sale securities, at fair value
1,909,605
2,138,259
Held-to-maturity securities, at amortized cost
301,221
366,025
Loans receivable, net of allowance for loan losses of $ 171,384 and $ 171,300
15,094,926
13,833,570
Interest receivable
51,440
50,636
Premises and equipment, net
247,166
255,152
Real estate owned
9,509
8,204
FHLB and FRB stock
78,873
102,863
Bank owned life insurance
236,024
233,263
Intangible assets, including goodwill of $ 303,457 and $ 303,457
309,501
310,019
Federal and state income tax assets, net
3,821
3,877
Other assets
370,689
257,897
$
20,560,279
$
19,650,574
LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY
Liabilities
Transaction deposits
$
13,139,606
$
12,108,025
Time deposits
3,251,042
3,434,087
Total customer deposits
16,390,648
15,542,112
FHLB advances
1,720,000
1,720,000
Advance payments by borrowers for taxes and insurance
39,426
47,016
Federal and state income tax liabilities, net
—
—
Accrued expenses and other liabilities
218,504
215,382
18,368,578
17,524,510
Shareholders’ equity
Preferred stock, $ 1.00 par value, 5,000,000 shares authorized; 300,000 and 300,000 shares issued; 300,000 and 300,000 shares outstanding
300,000
300,000
Common stock, $ 1.00 par value, 300,000,000 shares authorized; 136,243,712 and 135,993,254 shares issued; 65,306,928 and 65,145,268 shares outstanding
136,244
135,993
Additional paid-in capital
1,683,578
1,678,622
Accumulated other comprehensive income ( loss), net of taxes
71,478
69,785
Treasury stock, at cost; 70,936,784 and 70,847,986 shares
( 1,590,082
)
( 1,586,947
)
Retained earnings
1,590,483
1,528,611
2,191,701
2,126,064
$
20,560,279
$
19,650,574
CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
Common shareholders ' equity per share
$
28.97
$
28.03
Tangible common shareholders ' equity per share
24.23
23.27
Shareholders ' equity to total assets
10.66
%
10.82
%
Tangible shareholders ' equity to tangible assets
9.29
%
9.39
%
Tangible shareholders ' equity + allowance for credit losses to tangible assets
10.29
%
10.42
%
Weighted average rates at period end
Loans and mortgage-backed securities
3.37
%
3.37
%
Combined loans, mortgage-backed securities and investments
2.93
2.80
Customer accounts
0.24
0.23
Borrowings
1.55
1.51
Combined cost of customer accounts and borrowings
0.36
0.35
Net interest spread
2.57
2.45
WASHINGTON FEDERAL, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION
( UNAUDITED)
As of
SUMMARY FINANCIAL DATA
March 31, 2022
December 31, 2021
September 30, 2021
June 30, 2021
March 31, 2021
( In thousands, except share and ratio data)
Cash
1,947,504
1,880,647
2,090,809
2,251,958
2,318,447
Loans receivable, net
15,094,926
14,592,202
13,833,570
13,467,997
13,035,423
Allowance for credit losses ( `` ACL '')
201,384
201,411
198,800
198,284
199,153
Available-for-sale securities, at fair value
1,909,605
1,946,139
2,138,259
2,292,656
2,438,902
Held-to-maturity securities, at amortized cost
301,221
326,387
366,025
415,748
494,089
Total assets
20,560,279
19,973,171
19,650,574
19,649,509
19,533,581
Transaction deposits
13,139,606
12,550,062
12,108,025
11,700,467
11,228,666
Time deposits
3,251,042
3,351,984
3,434,087
3,537,891
3,590,755
FHLB advances
1,720,000
1,720,000
1,720,000
1,950,000
2,150,000
Total shareholders ' equity
2,191,701
2,149,126
2,126,064
2,227,240
2,332,953
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
Common shareholders ' equity per share
28.97
28.33
28.03
27.74
27.82
Tangible common shareholders ' equity per share
24.23
23.59
23.27
23.30
23.59
Shareholders ' equity to total assets
10.66
%
10.76
%
10.82
%
11.33
%
11.94
%
Tangible shareholders ' equity to tangible assets
9.29
%
9.35
%
9.39
%
9.92
%
10.53
%
Tangible shareholders ' equity + ACL to tangible assets
10.29
%
10.38
%
10.42
%
10.94
%
11.56
%
Common shares outstanding
65,306,928
65,263,738
65,145,268
69,472,423
73,084,591
Preferred shares outstanding
300,000
300,000
300,000
300,000
300,000
Loans to customer deposits
92.09
%
91.76
%
89.01
%
88.38
%
87.96
%
CREDIT QUALITY
ACL to gross loans
1.13
%
1.18
%
1.22
%
1.26
%
1.30
%
ACL to non-accrual loans
598.66
%
447.99
%
626.16
%
582.40
%
498.44
%
Non-accrual loans to net loans
0.22
%
0.31
%
0.23
%
0.25
%
0.31
%
Non-accrual loans
33,639
44,959
31,749
34,046
39,955
Non-performing assets to total assets
0.23
%
0.27
%
0.22
%
0.23
%
0.25
%
Non-performing assets
47,243
54,790
43,625
45,650
48,943
WASHINGTON FEDERAL, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
( UNAUDITED)
Three Months Ended March 31,
Six Months Ended March 31,
2022
2021
2022
2021
( In thousands, except share and ratio data)
( In thousands, except share and ratio data)
INTEREST INCOME
Loans receivable
$
139,260
$
132,757
$
277,769
$
266,428
Mortgage-backed securities
4,659
6,696
9,451
13,926
Investment securities and cash equivalents
6,919
7,301
14,058
14,222
150,838
146,754
301,278
294,576
INTEREST EXPENSE
Customer accounts
8,225
10,729
16,686
24,839
FHLB advances and other borrowings
7,525
11,991
15,368
25,189
15,750
22,720
32,054
50,028
Net interest income
135,088
124,034
269,224
244,548
Provision ( release) for credit losses
( 500
)
—
—
3,000
Net interest income after provision ( release)
135,588
124,034
269,224
241,548
OTHER INCOME
Gain ( loss) on sale of investment securities
—
—
81
—
Gain ( loss) on termination of hedging
—
14,110
—
14,110
Prepayment penalty on long-term debt
—
( 13,788
)
—
( 13,788
)
Loan fee income
2,475
872
4,396
3,264
Deposit fee income
6,282
5,960
12,725
11,986
Other Income
6,902
7,323
17,138
12,775
15,659
14,477
34,340
28,347
OTHER EXPENSE
Compensation and benefits
47,115
43,632
94,540
86,355
Occupancy
11,788
10,473
21,878
20,065
FDIC insurance premiums
2,100
3,755
5,200
7,018
Product delivery
5,044
4,401
9,765
9,338
Information technology
11,722
10,696
23,143
22,527
Other
10,648
8,789
23,504
17,853
88,417
81,746
178,030
163,156
Gain ( loss) on real estate owned, net
129
34
691
( 415
)
Income before income taxes
62,959
56,799
126,225
106,324
Income tax provision
13,600
11,928
26,585
22,502
Net income
49,359
44,871
99,640
83,822
Dividends on preferred stock
3,656
2,722
7,312
2,722
Net income available to common shareholders
$
45,703
$
42,149
$
92,328
$
81,100
PER SHARE DATA
Basic earnings per common share
$
0.70
$
0.56
$
1.41
$
1.07
Diluted earnings per common share
0.70
0.56
1.41
1.07
Cash dividends per common share
0.24
0.23
0.47
0.45
Basic weighted average shares outstanding
65,301,171
75,354,765
65,253,991
75,576,288
Diluted weighted average shares outstanding
65,445,206
75,393,464
65,397,601
75,582,426
PERFORMANCE RATIOS
Return on average assets
0.98
%
0.93
%
1.00
%
0.88
%
Return on average common equity
9.80
8.17
9.96
7.91
Net interest margin
2.90
2.75
2.89
2.75
Efficiency ratio
58.65
59.02
58.65
59.79
WASHINGTON FEDERAL, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
( UNAUDITED)
Three Months Ended
March 31, 2022
December 31, 2021
September 30, 2021
June 30, 2021
March 31, 2021
( In thousands, except share and ratio data)
INTEREST INCOME
Loans receivable
$
139,260
$
138,509
$
137,039
$
134,193
$
132,757
Mortgage-backed securities
4,659
4,792
5,294
5,488
6,696
Investment securities and cash equivalents
6,919
7,139
7,253
7,767
7,301
150,838
150,440
149,586
147,448
146,754
INTEREST EXPENSE
Customer accounts
8,225
8,461
8,568
8,906
10,729
FHLB advances and other borrowings
7,525
7,843
9,062
9,937
11,991
15,750
16,304
17,630
18,843
22,720
Net interest income
135,088
134,136
131,956
128,605
124,034
Provision ( release) for credit losses
( 500
)
500
( 500
)
( 2,000
)
—
Net interest income after provision ( release)
135,588
133,636
132,456
130,605
124,034
OTHER INCOME
Gain ( loss) on sale of investment securities
—
81
14
—
—
Gain ( loss) on termination of hedging derivatives
—
—
—
—
14,110
Prepayment penalty on long-term debt
—
—
—
—
( 13,788
)
Loan fee income
2,475
1,921
1,887
1,748
872
Deposit fee income
6,282
6,443
6,499
6,201
5,960
Other Income
6,902
10,236
10,603
5,262
7,323
15,659
18,681
19,003
13,211
14,477
OTHER EXPENSE
Compensation and benefits
47,115
47,425
45,910
43,841
43,632
Occupancy
11,788
10,090
9,820
9,725
10,473
FDIC insurance premiums
2,100
3,100
3,450
3,900
3,755
Product delivery
5,044
4,721
5,092
4,075
4,401
Information technology
11,722
11,421
9,814
10,396
10,696
Other
10,648
12,856
11,577
11,703
8,789
88,417
89,613
85,663
83,640
81,746
Gain ( loss) on real estate owned, net
129
562
993
( 151
)
34
Income before income taxes
62,959
63,266
66,789
60,025
56,799
Income tax provision
13,600
12,985
14,418
12,603
11,928
Net income
49,359
50,281
52,371
47,422
44,871
Dividends on preferred stock
3,656
3,656
3,656
3,656
2,722
Net income available to common shareholders
$
45,703
$
46,625
$
48,715
$
43,766
$
42,149
PER SHARE DATA
Basic earnings per common share
$
0.70
$
0.72
$
0.72
$
0.61
$
0.56
Diluted earnings per common share
0.70
0.71
0.72
0.61
0.56
Cash dividends per common share
0.24
0.23
0.23
0.23
0.23
Basic weighted average shares outstanding
65,301,171
65,207,837
67,227,280
71,795,157
75,354,765
Diluted weighted average shares outstanding
65,445,206
65,350,174
67,235,846
71,901,068
75,393,464
PERFORMANCE RATIOS
Return on average assets
0.98
%
1.02
%
1.07
%
0.97
%
0.93
%
Return on average common equity
9.80
10.12
10.36
8.71
8.17
Net interest margin
2.90
2.87
2.88
2.82
2.75
Efficiency ratio
58.65
58.64
56.75
58.98
| general |
Angelika Film Center and Sony Pictures Classics Launch “ Bring A Friend Back To The Movies ” Initiative for ‘ The Duke’ Starring Jim Broadbent & Helen Mirren | Angelika Launches Free Membership Program
Initiatives to launch April 2022 to encourage moviegoers to return to theaters
NEW YORK -- ( BUSINESS WIRE) -- Angelika Film Center ( an affiliate of Reading International, Inc. ( NASDAQ: RDI)), with operating theaters across the nation in New York City, Texas, Washington, D.C., California and Virginia, and Sony Pictures Classics announced today a special `` Bring A Friend Back To The Movies '' initiative timed to the April 22, 2022 release of the upcoming Sony Pictures Classics dramatic comedy, The Duke starring Jim Broadbent and Helen Mirren. In addition, Angelika Film Center announced that the Angelika Membership program will be launching on Friday, April 29, 2022.
The `` Bring A Friend Back To The Movies '' initiative will provide one complimentary ticket to anyone who purchases a ticket directly from the Angelika website, app, or in theater to see the upcoming film, The Duke, during the first week of its release. The goal is to bring audiences back and remind them that nothing beats seeing a film on a big screen with a friend. Sony Pictures Classics will release the film in theaters in New York and Los Angeles on April 22, 2022, before expanding to additional cities over the following weeks. The Duke premiered at the Venice and Telluride Film Festivals in 2021 and is certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes at 95%. We invite you to share the trailer, which you can find HERE.
“ We are thrilled that the Angelika has joined forces with us for The Duke to ‘ Bring A Friend Back To The Movies,’ ” said Sony Pictures Classics’ co-president, Tom Bernard. “ The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on theaters and the moviegoing experience, but with people being able to get vaccinated and boosted, as well as increased health and safety protocols at theaters like the Angelika, going to the movies is as safe or safer than going to a bar or a crowded restaurant. We know that people are finally ready to get back into their seats and Roger Michell's The Duke, starring Helen Mirren and Jim Broadbent, is the ideal film to remind viewers and their friends of their fondness for the movie theater viewing experience. ”
The Angelika Membership program, which will be free to join, launches April 29, 2022, and offers exclusive rewards and benefits for film lovers. Rewards and benefits will include: earning points on movie tickets, food and drinks; free surprise screenings every month; free popcorn for you and a guest on your birthday; select free streaming on the Angelika’ s curated platform, Angelika Anywhere; half-off tickets every Tuesday; and member discounts on online food and drink orders and merchandise.
Ellen Cotter, President and CEO of Angelika, said, “ We’ re honored to be partnering with Sony Pictures Classics on ‘ Bring A Friend Back To The Movies.’ Being able to bring a friend for free to the Angelika to see The Duke, a heartwarming and hilarious gem, is the perfect way to celebrate the magical experience of watching films in a theater with an audience. ” Cotter continued, “ And, with the launch a week later of our new free Angelika Membership program, enjoying the magic of movies at the Angelika has never been more rewarding for our guests. ”
In acclaimed director Roger Michell’ s ( Notting Hill, My Cousin Rachel, Blackbird) final feature film before his passing in 2021, The Duke is the first film to tell the extraordinary true story of 60-year-old taxi driver, Kempton Bunton ( Jim Broadbent), who stole Spanish artist Francisco Goya's portrait of The Duke of Wellington from the National Gallery in London; the only painting ever stolen from the National Gallery in its 196-year history. | general |
Best's Market Segment Report: AM Best Revises Outlook to Negative for Spain’ s Life Insurance Market | AMSTERDAM -- ( BUSINESS WIRE) -- AM Best is maintaining its negative outlook on Spain's life insurance segment.
Premium levels for the segment rebounded in 2021, reflecting Spain's economic recovery. However, this followed a double-digit decline in premiums in the previous year as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and government-mandated lockdowns, and has demonstrated the vulnerability of the segment to a deterioration in economic conditions and consumer sentiment.
A new Best’ s Market Segment Report, “ Market Segment Outlook: Spain Life Insurance '', also notes that interest rates are expected gradually to increase to help combat the threat of rising inflation exacerbated by the Russia-Ukraine crisis. Gradually rising interest rates in the context of high inflation should mean that, while investment returns should improve over time as rates increase, higher inflation could also lead to lower premium growth and increased lapse risk.
Moderating these negatives are the segment's sustained profitability, despite market volatility, and a shift to capital-light products supported by innovative technology-based solutions.
To access a complimentary copy of this special report, please visit http: //www3.ambest.com/bestweek/purchase.asp? record code=319080.
AM Best is a global credit rating agency, news publisher and data analytics provider specialising in the insurance industry. Headquartered in the United States, the company does business in over 100 countries with regional offices in London, Amsterdam, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Mexico City. For more information, visit www.ambest.com.
Copyright © 2022 by A.M. Best Rating Services, Inc. and/or its affiliates. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Giannina Carbajal Ortiz Financial Analyst +31 20 308 5428 giannina.carbajal @ ambest.com
Mathilde Jakobsen Director, Analytics +31 20 308 5427 mathilde.jakobsen @ ambest.com | general |
Government must 'be open ' to reviewing supports for pig sector as situation evolves | This fresh round of supports come as farmers battle soaring prices for inputs. Picture: Finbarr O’ Rourke
Rocketing feed input costs have created an “ unbridgeable gap ” between production costs and pig prices the producers have warned.
This comes as the Government announced a fresh package of measures to support farmers including €13m in funding for the pig sector, along with €2.8m in support for the horticultural sector.
It amounts to about €70,000 for each pig farmer and approximately €100,000 for horticultural growers.
The Government also announced on Wednesday that excise reductions on petrol, diesel, and green diesel will also be extended to Budget Day.
This fresh round of supports come as farmers battle soaring prices for inputs.
Industry and farmer representatives appeared at the Oireachtas joint committee on agriculture, food and the marine on Wednesday, saying that the Government must “ be open ” to reviewing supports for the pig industry as “ circumstances evolve ”.
Cormac Healy, senior director of Meat Industry Ireland ( MII), said fuel price inflation is driving on-farm costs, as well as at processing level in terms of energy, packaging, transport, and deep-sea shipping rates.
“ Over recent years, the sector has faced a series of challenges including Brexit, African swine fever outbreaks in the EU, the Covid pandemic, and a turbulent Chinese market, ” MII’ s Philip Carroll said in the opening statement to the committee.
“ In Q4 of 2021, producers were already contending with rising feed costs pushing them into a loss-making position.
“ However, since the onset of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, we have witnessed an unprecedented and rapid escalation in grain and protein prices which has crippled the sector.
“ Additional shipping costs further increase feed prices in Ireland compared to the continent. ”
MII said that while this sector has always endured cyclical economic fortunes, the sector “ can not withstand the level of losses it is now encountering ”.
“ Significant stabilisation and liquidity support is urgently required from Government. ”
Acknowledging the package announced by Agriculture Minister Charlie McConalogue this week to support pig farmers along with the previously announced €7m Pig Exceptional Payment Scheme, MII believes this is “ insufficient to save the sector from serious long-term damage ”.
Despite the challenging market environment, the processing industry has delivered prices to Irish producers “ well ahead ” of EU average and prices in the main EU pig producing member states over the last year, MII said.
“ Depressed prices were exacerbated by rising feed costs over last autumn. Since September, the Irish pig price has been 10% above the EU average price and overall 15% ahead of the price across the seven member states that account for 80% of total EU pigmeat production.
“ Processors have done everything possible to support their producer suppliers over this period.
“ Pig price in recent weeks has increased by approximately 20c/kg to 170c/kg. Unfortunately, this does not bridge the gap between feed costs and market price, and more support is needed to help bridge this gap through an unprecedented price cost squeeze. ”
Irish pig prices have remained the same this week as last with farmers receiving quotes of €1.60c/kg up to €1.64 or €1.66–€1.70/kg.
The Irish Farmers’ Association market report notes that farmers will “ urgently ” need more “ significant upward movement ” for the price they receive for their pigs from the marketplace.
The European market is continuing to improve with pigmeat prices moving upward. The UK and France have passed the €2.00/kg and Spain looks likely to follow suit with its current price of circa €1.98/kg. The average European price is circa €1.80c/kg.
Speaking at the Oireachtas meeting this week, IFA president Tim Cullinan said that the sector is in the “ midst of a crisis, the likes of which it has never experienced before ”.
To prevent the demise of the sector, the IFA, MII, and the Irish Grain and Feed Association are proposing the immediate establishment of a pig stability fund.
Their proposals include the establishment of a state-administered fund to provide an immediate cash injection to pig farmers.
The fund would be jointly funded by a State contribution along with a long-term fund sourced by way of a new statutory levy.
The statutory levy of 90c/pig would be on all pigs slaughtered in the Republic of Ireland or exported to Northern Ireland which, based on 2021 output, would generate a revenue stream of circa €3.6m per annum.
Based on a 14-year payback period, this constitutes a direct farmer contribution of circa €50m, Mr Cullinan said. | general |
Boris Johnson appears to survive partygate fine fallout for now | Prime Minister Boris Johnson delivering a statement at his country residence Chequers in Buckinghamshire. Picture: Marc Ward/PA
Boris Johnson looked set to avoid an initial fallout from becoming the first prime minister to be hit with criminal sanctions while in office over a birthday bash held for him in Downing Street against Covid rules.
Mr Johnson, his wife and the Chancellor all apologised on Tuesday and confirmed they had paid fines imposed by the Metropolitan Police over a party held on June 19 2020 to mark Mr Johnson’ s 56th birthday.
Mr Johnson said it “ did not occur ” to him that the gathering might be breaching Covid rules, while Rishi Sunak said he understood that “ for figures in public office, the rules must be applied stringently in order to maintain public confidence ”.
But although both politicians said they now accepted the rules had been broken, neither appeared to be considering their positions, as they said they wanted to get on with the job.
UK cabinet ministers tweeted in support of Mr Johnson, praising his leadership during Covid and Brexit and also pointing to the war in Ukraine.
Even the his critics appeared to accept that now was not the right time for a leadership contest.
However, Mr Johnson did not rule out the prospect he could be fined again for further events.
He is reported to have attended six of the 12 under investigation.
Speaking to broadcasters at Chequers, Mr Johnson said: “ There was a brief gathering in the Cabinet Room shortly after 2pm lasting for less than 10 minutes, during which people I work with kindly passed on their good wishes.
“ And I have to say in all frankness at that time it did not occur to me that this might have been a breach of the rules. ”
He added: “ I now humbly accept that I was.
“ But I think the best thing I can do now is, having settled the fine, is focus on the job in hand. That’ s what I’ m going to do. ”
Asked if he thought more fines were coming his way, he said the media would be among the first to know.
Mr Sunak said: “ I offer an unreserved apology.
“ I understand that for figures in public office, the rules must be applied stringently in order to maintain public confidence. I respect the decision that has been made and have paid the fine.
“ I know people sacrificed a great deal during Covid, and they will find this situation upsetting. I deeply regret the frustration and anger caused and I am sorry.
“ Like the Prime Minister, I am focused on delivering for the British people at this challenging time. ”
A spokesperson for Carrie Johnson said: “ Whilst she believed that she was acting in accordance with the rules at the time, Mrs Johnson accepts the Metropolitan Police’ s findings and apologises unreservedly. ”
The latest fines came in a further tranche of fixed penalty notices ( FPNs) announced by Scotland Yard in relation to Operation Hillman, which is probing possible Covid breaches in Downing Street and Whitehall.
More than 50 fines have been referred to the Acro Criminal Records Office since the inquiry started. | general |
Inflation and EPC finance: Another case of history repeating? | “ History doesn't repeat itself, but it often rhymes, ” said Mark Twain, or if he didn’ t he should have. Are there lessons to be drawn by EPC contractors from past inflationary shocks a century and 50 years ago?
Engineering, Procurement and Construction ( EPC) contractors are already facing the ripple effects of the Ukraine crisis and sanctions on the back of the COVID-19 pandemic. “ We were very actively following a serious prospect in Ukraine for a new ring round around Kyiv before the invasion and UKEF were on board. Ukraine will come back again eventually but sadly in a very different way as a major infrastructure rebuilding programme will be needed, ” says Chris Perrins, senior director EMEA finance, at the US civil engineering company Bechtel. Even at this early stage, estimates for damage and reconstruction range from $ 220 to $ 540 billion.
But the secondary impact of the crises has been inflationary pressures in supply chains. “ We’ re seeing cost inflation for engineering projects for EPCs, and the ripple effect is hitting Europe in particular too, ” says Gabriel Buck, managing director at GKB Ventures. But what are EPC contractors actually seeing in terms of increasing costs within their supply chains? `` There are going to be inflationary costs of equipment, ” Buck says. “ Even in the clean technology space, how much energy is needed to make a turbine is significant and this could skew calculations for the energy transition. ''
It’ s exactly 100 years this week since the Genoa conference which discussed the economic reconstruction of central and eastern Europe and tried to explore ways to improve relations between Soviet Russia and European capitalist countries. The 1922 conference papers were specific, such as “ facilities and guarantees for the import and export of commercial products, ” and designed to be preparations for future prosperity and not Versailles reparations for past deeds.
There was also a movement towards the resumption of the gold standard, which would last in some form for 50 years until suspended by US President Richard Nixon in 1971. ( Gold is back in the headlines this week as Russia attempts to fix its currency with the metal. This, however, as history does show, has not ended well.)
Worldwide domestic inflation in the 1970s and an expensive war may have forced Nixon’ s hand. Conventional wisdom is that inflation can be tamed by raising interest rates – a nice convention in closed economies, but not with globally traded commodities. The oil price shock of the 1973/4 OPEC oil crisis crippled the world economy and major exporting industries in the 1970s. Export subsidies were banned but preferential export financing ( insurance ‘ dough’ with ‘ sprinkles’ on top) proved ruinously expensive too and the costs prompted the evolution of the OECD Consensus in 1976 in response to export subsidy ‘ dumping’ and which became the Arrangement in 1978.
Back in the world of modern EPC contractors, there is differential inflation in their inputs ( think lots of small things such as the bolts to go into a big thing such as a turbine or a ship) ranged against the trend general increase in interest rates. Those different supply chain pressures today have big implications for tendering. This can be summed up as time lag tendering and selective tendering.
Certainly, inflation will impact the time value of contracts. As Andreas Back, senior manager, financial services at Wartsila told TXF. “ Many companies these days have challenges in maintaining the traditional way of offering to grant a certain price and a certain delivery time for the offer period. That is getting shorter and more difficult to maintain over a long time period. ” He adds: “ When you put in a proposal the gap in terms of costs for what you actually can offer to deliver is now shorter. Those costs can be impacted unless we are mitigating them in the offering stage. Indicative offerings have been here for many years, but now indicative offerings have more disclaimers stating things like, ‘ due to the global situation…’ That means unless we sign within the foreseeable future, guaranteeing strict timetables is a challenge. ”
With EPCs facing increases in energy, equipment costs and even for the clean technology space, is cost-push inflation hitting their pricing? Says Back, “ It's fair to say that there's global inflation on all levels and also the sub supplier levels. That's directly or indirectly affected by these two things, depending on the work, because you have some suppliers that may be sourcing from a country that is having to reroute from Ukraine for instance. Essentially, prices are affected for anything from global commodity prices or, for instance, battery storage – that’ s on the manufacturing side, on some supplies or raw materials side.
“ Therefore, it's very hard to maintain or predict price levels for a long time. Of course, if we make an offer today, we are able to sign it today and we're able to sign it tomorrow and the day thereafter. But if somebody comes back after the six months and said, “ hey, you made me this offer, ” it would be different. ”
Perrins at Bechtel emphasises selective tendering. He continues to be busy with other prospects ( he’ d just come back from Tirana when he spoke to TXF). “ We closed a deal in Serbia last year, North Macedonia is interesting and also Poland, ” he says. “ The challenge for EPCs is backing the right horse and not getting into too many heavily competed tenders as you are not going to win every one and the sunk costs can be huge. We try to pursue more niche opportunities but it is a fine line of course because many funding institutions either require or expect to see transparency around bidding and value for money auditing and the governments we work with invariably need all the funding there is. “
Inflation is a reality. “ Prices are forever going up, ” says Perrins. “ You just have to build in a mechanic to allow for that. Fixed pricing is a fool's game and always ends badly. ”
“ Energy security is a real priority for the governments we are speaking to currently and we see a key role for ECA financing to support. The sovereign bond pricing in the Balkans for example has spiked by around 150 basis points since the Ukraine invasion, so the gap between ECA and other funding sources has widened markedly. That is before you add in the longer tenor and reduced negative carry benefits, ” Perrins notes.
Are energy security needs going to see some ECAs and governments taking feet off the pedal on their environmental concerns too? “ For environmental, too soon to say really but I am not sensing that there will be relaxation. It's just such a thorny issue now and nobody wants adverse publicity, ” Perrins says.
Become a subscriber today to access the best export, trade and commodity finance analysis available. Email [ email protected ] to find out moreExclusive subscriber-only content published last week;
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TXF and the TXF: Trade and Export Finance logo are registered and owned by TXF Limited, a company registered in England and Wales with company number 08421624. | general |
Why are Social Security disability rolls declining? | A colleague was looking into doing a project on Social Security’ s Disability Insurance ( DI) program, so it forced me to take a look. If you listened to conversations on DI, you would get the impression that the problem is out of control and the highest national priority is getting these people off the rolls and back to work.
Indeed, for most of the last 35 years, the disability rolls were soaring. Three factors explain the steady increase.
First, legislation passed in 1984 broadened the definition of disability and provided applicants and medical providers with greater opportunity to influence the decision process.
Second, the population was aging, so the baby boom generation ‘ aged into’ the higher incidence rates following the 1984 reforms.
Third, the secular rise in female labor force participation increased the fraction of women eligible by their work history for disability benefits and they, too, aged into the higher incidence rates.
These factors behind rising rolls are not likely to occur again. The aging of the workforce has slowed with the baby boom moving into retirement, and women’ s labor force participation has levelled off.
Indeed, recent data suggest that the trajectory of the program has shifted. After peaking in 2014, the stock of beneficiaries has been declining ( see Figure 1). Note, we’ re not talking about percentages here; these data refer to the absolute number of people. Fewer people are receiving DI benefits today than in 2014.
The total number on the rolls consists of those already receiving benefits and new awards. The increase in life expectancies continues to put some upward pressure on the number of beneficiaries, but in recent years that pressure has been more than offset by the declining incidence rate ( see Figure 2). ( The incidence rate is the number of new beneficiaries as a percentage of the disability insured population.)
No one quite knows why the incidence rate has declined. The list of possible factors include:
business cycle factors;
easier access to health care in the wake of the Affordable Care Act;
a shift away from more physically demanding industries;
the closing of some field offices, even before COVID; and
new policies and procedures.
Some evidence suggests that the latter may be important. Beginning in 2009, the Social Security Administration implemented a number of changes in the training of the Administrative Law Judges who decide the DI applications. New monitoring focused on judges with allowance rates or denial rates far from the average; a “ How Am I Doing? ” tool allowed staff and judges to track their performance; and fewer cases per judge allowed more time for consideration. In the wake of that initiative, the allowance rate – the percentage of applications approved – has trended down from 57% in 2009 to 49% in 2019 ( see Figure 3).
Add on top of all this, Social Security offices closed for COVID in 2020 and are just reopening this month.
Perhaps, at this point, the appropriate concern should be whether those who need the help are getting it, rather than trying to get those on the rolls off. | business |
Factbox-Who are the contenders for the Fed's top regulation job? | Raskin failed to garner enough support from moderate Democrats to be confirmed. Most notably, West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin said he would not back her, citing worries she would discourage banks from lending to oil and gas companies.
The Fed Vice Chair for Supervision role is one of the most powerful banking regulators in government, and the next official is likely to take on a sweeping portfolio including climate finance risk, fintechs, and fair lending.
Here are the candidates likely to be in the mix, according to analysts and Washington insiders.
MICHAEL BARR, FORMER TREASURY OFFICIAL
Michael Barr, currently a professor at the University of Michigan Law School, was a central figure at the Treasury under President Barack Obama when Congress passed the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial reform law.
As assistant secretary for financial institutions, Barr helped shape the Wall Street overhaul and now is a leading candidate to be nominated for the Fed role, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
Barr had previously been in the mix for another bank regulatory post, heading up the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. But opposition from some progressives, who cited his work with some fintech firms after leaving government, helped sink his consideration.
Barr did not respond to a request for comment.
RAPHAEL BOSTIC, ATLANTA FED PRESIDENT
With his appointment as president of the Atlanta Fed in 2017, Bostic became the first Black person to hold a regional Fed president role. He has been outspoken on racial diversity and economic inequality issues, both of which are key policy priorities for the Biden administration.
An economist by training, Bostic previously held roles at the U.S. central bank in Washington, where he won praise for his work on community lending rules, and at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
However, Bostic represents a bit of an unknown regarding financial regulation, analysts said. Even so, some banks were keen on Bostic for the role when his name was first floated last year, according to two industry executives.
A spokesperson for Bostic did not immediately provide comment.
NELLIE LIANG, TREASURY UNDERSECRETARY
Liang, a former Fed official who is now Treasury's undersecretary for domestic finance, was instrumental in building the regulatory framework after the 2007-2009 recession and financial crisis. She spent decades at the Fed as a staffer, ultimately becoming the first director of the central bank's Division of Financial Stability.
She left the Fed in 2017 to join the Brookings Institution think tank, where she criticized Republican efforts to trim capital and liquidity requirements for large banks, among other changes.
Liang was nominated for a seat on the Fed's Board of Governors during the Trump administration, but she withdrew in 2019 after Republicans blocked her nomination over worries she would be too tough on Wall Street.
However, some progressives are unhappy that Liang has not taken a tougher stance on cryptocurrencies, `` so it is unclear whether she would be in any future conversation about this role, '' Isaac Boltansky, policy director for brokerage BTIG, wrote in a note on Monday.
A spokesperson for Liang did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
MICHAEL HSU, ACTING COMPTROLLER OF THE CURRENCY
Currently acting comptroller of the currency, Hsu previously led big bank supervision at the Fed. In his current role, he has pushed Democratic priorities, including climate change risk and has warned banks against `` over-confidence '' coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic.
While he would be a good fit for Fed supervision, Washington insiders said, it's unclear if his stance on climate financial risk would be palatable to Manchin, a moderate who represents coal-producing West Virginia in the Senate.
A spokeswoman for Hsu did not immediately respond to a request to comment.
FORMER TREASURY UNDERSECRETARY MARY MILLER
A new name floated on Monday was Mary Miller, who was at the Treasury from 2010 to 2014. She recently served as the interim senior vice president for finance and administration at Johns Hopkins University.
During her stint at the Treasury, Miller was responsible for Treasury debt management, fiscal operations, and the recovery from the financial crisis. She played a central role in implementing the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial reform law, helping agencies write complex regulations like the `` Volcker Rule '' and standing up the new Financial Stability Oversight Council.
Miller could not immediately be reached for comment.
RICHARD CORDRAY, FORMER HEAD OF THE CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU ( CFPB)
A former Ohio attorney general, Cordray served as the first director of the CFPB.
Under his leadership the agency took an aggressive stance in going after abusive mortgage and payday lenders, earning praise from progressives and criticism from Republicans who said he was overstepping the agency's statutory remit.
After leaving the agency, Cordray ran unsuccessfully for Ohio governor. He currently runs the Education Department's federal student aid programs. Cordray was in the running for the supervision post late last year, Reuters reported.
Cordray did not respond to a request for comment.
( Reporting by Pete Schroeder)
By Pete Schroeder | business |
XP Inc. Reports 1Q22 KPIs | SÃO PAULO -- ( BUSINESS WIRE) -- XP Inc. ( Nasdaq: XP), a leading, technology-driven platform and a trusted provider of low-fee financial products and services in Brazil, announced today its 1Q22 KPIs. The Portuguese version of this release can be accessed in the Press Release section on the IR website.
1. Investments
Assets Under Custody ( in R $ billion)
* Concentrated custodies are custodies greater than R $ 5 billion per client/economic group. These custodies are more volatile by nature.
Total AUC was R $ 873 billion as of March 31, up 22% year-over-year and 7% quarter-over-quarter. Year-over-year growth was driven by R $ 207 billion of net inflows and R $ 49 billion of market depreciation.
Total Net Inflow¹ ( in R $ billion)
¹Concentrated custodies are custodies greater than R $ 5 billion per client/economic group. These custodies are more volatile by nature.
Despite a very challenging conjuncture with a new Covid peak in Brazil, the Russo-Ukrainian conflict, and the seasonal weakness of the first quarter, total net inflows were R $ 46 billion on 1Q22 vs R $ 48 billion on 4Q21, 5% lower sequentially. Adjusted by concentrated custodies, net inflows were R $ 30 billion, reinforcing the resilience of our business model amid the challenging scenario.
This environment weighed mainly on capital markets and client activity, which bottomed in January. Since then, a quick improvement of operating trends took place, with stronger performance in March across all our channels and businesses. Our long-term purpose is stronger than ever as we continue to improve peoples ' lives and disrupt the Brazilian financial industry, of which we represent less than 2% of the total revenue pool.
Active Clients ( in ‘ 000)
Active clients grew 17% and 3% in 1Q22 vs 1Q21 and 4Q21, respectively, totaling 3.5 million.
IFA Network ( in ‘ 000)
Our IFA network comprised a total of 10.7 thousand IFAs in 1Q22, up 4% quarter-over-quarter and 24% year-over-year. We intend to maintain our current leadership and further develop the IFA profession in Brazil over the long run, as we estimate that the total number of IFAs in the country could more than triple in the upcoming years.
Retail Daily Average Trades² ( million trades)
²Daily Average Trades, including Stocks, REITs, Options and Futures
Retail DATs totaled 2.3 million in 1Q22, down 28% year-over-year and 7% quarter-over-quarter. Aligned with market trends, the decrease in DATs reflected the year-over-year increase in Selic coupled with the challenges faced in 1Q22.
NPS ( Net Promoter Score)
Our NPS, a widely known survey methodology used to measure customer satisfaction, was 76 in March 2022, vs 74 in March 2021, reflecting our ongoing efforts to provide superior customer service at a lower cost. Maintaining a high NPS score remains a priority for XP since our business model is built around client experience. The NPS calculation as of a given date reflects the average scores in the prior six months.
2. New Verticals
Pension Funds
Total Pension Funds AUC³ ( in R $ billion)
³Total Pension Funds AUC includes AUC from XP Vida e Previdência and from third party funds distributed in our platform.
As per public data published by Susep, XPV & P continues with roughly 59% market share in net new money for pension funds in 2022 up to February. Despite our consistent growth, we still represent only 3.2% of the total market, as of February 2022.
Total Pension Funds AUC was R $ 50 billion in 1Q22, up 45% year-over-year and 5% quarter-over-quarter. The digital’ s account rollout will enhance and benefit pension inflows with a much smoother experience.
Cards
Credit Card TPV ( in R $ billion)
Total TPV reached R $ 4.5 billion in 1Q22, versus R $ 0.5 billion and R $ 4.4 billion in 1Q21 and 4Q21, respectively. The normalized pace of growth reflects seasonality seen in 4Q21, driven by Black Friday and end of year celebrations.
Active Cards ( in ‘ 000)
Total active cards surpassed 308 thousand in 1Q22, a growth of 27% quarter-over-quarter and 316% year-over-year. The recent increase in active cards relates to our decision to lower the threshold for credit card eligibility to a minimum of R $ 5,000 invested within XP’ s platform in early December, democratizing access to Visa Infinite cards to most of our clients in XP brand.
These results are helping us to confirm how important investments are as a differentiator for cross-selling lower switching-cost products, such as credit cards. Based on client’ s data and assumptions, we estimate that over 50% of our cardholders have XP’ s card as their primary one. On top of that, we see cardholders with a 4x lower churn.
Credit
Credit Portfolio4 ( in R $ billion)
Our Credit portfolio reached R $ 11.5 billion as of March 2022, expanding 12% quarter-over-quarter and 142% year-over-year. The average maturity of our credit book was 3.2 years, with a 90-day Non-Performing Loan ( NPL) ratio of 0.0%.
4This portfolio does not include Intercompany and Credit Card related loans and receivables
Non-GAAP Measures
This release includes certain non-GAAP financial information We believe that such information is meaningful and useful in understanding the activities and business metrics of the Company’ s operations. We also believe that these non-GAAP financial measures reflect an additional way of viewing aspects of the Company’ s business that, when viewed with our International Financial Reporting Standards results, as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board, provide a more complete understanding of factors and trends affecting the Company’ s business. Furthermore, investors regularly rely on non-GAAP financial measures to assess operating performance and such measures may highlight trends in the Company’ s business that may not otherwise be apparent when relying on financial measures calculated in accordance with IFRS. We also believe that certain non-GAAP financial measures are frequently used by securities analysts, investors, and other interested parties in the evaluation of public companies in the Company’ s industry, many of which present these measures when reporting their results. The non-GAAP financial information is presented for informational purposes and to enhance understanding of the IFRS financial statements. The non-GAAP measures should be considered in addition to results prepared in accordance with IFRS, but not as a substitute for, or superior to, IFRS results. As other companies may determine or calculate this non-GAAP financial information differently, the usefulness of these measures for comparative purposes is limited.
About XP | general |
European School Furniture Industry to 2027 - Featuring Herman Miller, HNI and Knoll Among Others - ResearchAndMarkets.com | DUBLIN -- ( BUSINESS WIRE) -- The `` Europe School Furniture Market: Industry Trends, Share, Size, Growth, Opportunity and Forecast 2022-2027 '' report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.
The European school furniture market reached a value of US $ 1,430 Million in 2021. Looking forward, the publisher expects the market to reach US $ 2,020 Million by 2027, exhibiting a CAGR of 5.68% during 2022-2027.
Companies Mentioned
Keeping in mind the uncertainties of COVID-19, they are continuously tracking and evaluating the direct as well as the indirect influence of the pandemic. These insights are included in the report as a major market contributor
School furniture represents a catalyst in transforming classrooms from static physical spaces into dynamic learning environments. School furniture should be designed in a way which is not only considered productive for human use but also beneficial for physical and mental health
Good furniture has a positive impact on both the student's health and their classroom development. The development of portable technologies and mobile furniture also allows institutions with a flexible learning space. Moreover, in school environment, ergonomics is important for student's interaction within the classroom. Inadequate school furniture can bring about negative consequences, leading to health issues due to pain and discomfort caused by the traditional furniture.
With ergonomic furniture, students have a better posture, are more concentrated during classes and obtain better results. Various other factors such as increased focus on aesthetics, rising focus on environment-friendly furniture, rising number of schools, changing teaching methods, rising use of advanced materials, etc. are also expected to have a positive impact on the market
Key Question Answered in this Report
1. What is the impact of COVID-19 on the Europe school furniture market?
2. What was the Europe school furniture market size in 2021?
3. What will be the Europe school furniture market outlook during the forecast period ( 2022-2027)?
4. What are the Europe school furniture market drivers?
5. What are the major trends in the Europe school furniture market?
6. What is the Europe school furniture market breakup by product?
7. What is the Europe school furniture market breakup by material?
8. What is the Europe school furniture market breakup by distribution channel?
9. What are the major countries in the Europe school furniture market?
Key Topics Covered:
1 Preface
2 Scope and Methodology
3 Executive Summary
4 Introduction
4.1 Overview
4.2 Key Industry Trends
5 Europe School Furniture Market
5.1 Market Overview
5.2 Market Performance
5.3 Impact of COVID-19
5.4 Market Breakup by Product
5.5 Market Breakup by Material
5.6 Market Breakup by Distribution Channel
5.7 Market Breakup by Country
5.8 Market Forecast
5.9 SWOT Analysis
5.10 Value Chain Analysis
5.11 Porters Five Forces Analysis
6 Market Breakup by Product
7 Market Breakup by Material
8 Market Breakup by Distribution Channel | general |
Exelixis Announces Charles Cohen, Ph.D., to Retire from Board of Directors | ALAMEDA, Calif. -- ( BUSINESS WIRE) -- Exelixis, Inc. ( Nasdaq: EXEL) today announced that Charles Cohen, Ph.D. has notified the company of his decision to retire from the Exelixis Board of Directors. Dr. Cohen will not stand for re-election to the Board at the company’ s 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, which has been tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, May 25, 2022; his resignation from the Board will take effect that same day.
“ Charlie’ s contributions throughout his long tenure with Exelixis have been invaluable to the Board and the Exelixis executive leadership team, all of whom have benefitted from his extensive experience, wise counsel, and passionate commitment to helping the company achieve its mission to help cancer patients recover stronger and live longer, ” said Stelios Papadopoulos, Ph.D., co-founder of Exelixis and chairman of the Exelixis Board of Directors. “ We are grateful for his decades of service and partnership and wish him the very best. ”
Dr. Cohen, an independent investor and former biopharma chief executive officer, is a co-founder of Exelixis and has served as a member of the company’ s Board of Directors since November 1995. During his nearly 27 years as a director, he has helped to guide the company as it evolved from an early-stage, research-focused company to a leading innovator of oncology therapies with a flagship molecule, cabozantinib, that generated 2021 U.S. net product revenue in excess of $ 1 billion. In particular, as a longtime member and chair of the Exelixis Board’ s Compensation Committee, Dr. Cohen has provided important stewardship essential to the company’ s ability to grow, scale and maximize the opportunities made possible by its team and pipeline.
“ The opportunity to be part of a biopharmaceutical success story and to play even a small role in bringing a transformative therapy like cabozantinib to the market is not a common event. I am honored to have been part of Exelixis’ journey, ” said Dr. Cohen. “ I move on from my role as a director with full confidence that the Exelixis Board and leadership team will continue on the road to additional success, not only in expanding the cabozantinib opportunity but also in bringing additional transformative therapies to the patients who need them. ”
About Exelixis
Founded in 1994, Exelixis, Inc. ( Nasdaq: EXEL) is a commercially successful, oncology-focused biotechnology company that strives to accelerate the discovery, development and commercialization of new medicines for difficult-to-treat cancers. Following early work in model system genetics, we established a broad drug discovery and development platform that has served as the foundation for our continued efforts to bring new cancer therapies to patients in need. Our discovery efforts have resulted in four commercially available products, CABOMETYX® ( cabozantinib), COMETRIQ® ( cabozantinib), COTELLIC® ( cobimetinib) and MINNEBRO® ( esaxerenone), and we have entered into partnerships with leading pharmaceutical companies to bring these important medicines to patients worldwide. Supported by revenues from our marketed products and collaborations, we are committed to prudently reinvesting in our business to maximize the potential of our pipeline. We are supplementing our existing therapeutic assets with targeted business development activities and internal drug discovery — all to deliver the next generation of Exelixis medicines and help patients recover stronger and live longer. Exelixis is a member of the Standard & Poor’ s ( S & P) MidCap 400 index, which measures the performance of profitable mid-sized companies. For more information about Exelixis, please visit www.exelixis.com, follow @ ExelixisInc on Twitter or like Exelixis, Inc. on Facebook.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements related to: the anticipated date of Exelixis’ 2022 Annual Meeting of stockholders and the concurrent resignation of Dr. Cohen from the Exelixis Board of Directors; the future potential for Exelixis’ business, including expanding the cabozantinib opportunity and also bringing additional transformative therapies to the patients who need them; and Exelixis’ plans to reinvest in its business to maximize the potential of the company’ s pipeline, including through targeted business development activities and internal drug discovery. Any statements that refer to expectations, projections or other characterizations of future events or circumstances are forward-looking statements and are based upon Exelixis’ current plans, assumptions, beliefs, expectations, estimates and projections. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results and the timing of events could differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements as a result of these risks and uncertainties, which include, without limitation: the continuing COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on Exelixis’ clinical trial, drug discovery and commercial activities; the degree of market acceptance of CABOMETYX and other Exelixis products in the indications for which they are approved and in the territories where they are approved, and Exelixis’ and its partners’ ability to obtain or maintain coverage and reimbursement for these products; the effectiveness of CABOMETYX and other Exelixis products in comparison to competing products; the level of costs associated with Exelixis’ commercialization, research and development, in-licensing or acquisition of product candidates, and other activities; Exelixis’ ability to maintain and scale adequate sales, marketing, market access and product distribution capabilities for its products or to enter into and maintain agreements with third parties to do so; the availability of data at the referenced times; the potential failure of cabozantinib and other Exelixis product candidates, both alone and in combination with other therapies, to demonstrate safety and/or efficacy in clinical testing; uncertainties inherent in the drug discovery and product development process; Exelixis’ dependence on its relationships with its collaboration partners, including their pursuit of regulatory approvals for partnered compounds in new indications, their adherence to their obligations under relevant collaboration agreements and the level of their investment in the resources necessary to complete clinical trials or successfully commercialize partnered compounds in the territories where they are approved; complexities and the unpredictability of the regulatory review and approval processes in the U.S. and elsewhere; Exelixis’ continuing compliance with applicable legal and regulatory requirements; unexpected concerns that may arise as a result of the occurrence of adverse safety events or additional data analyses of clinical trials evaluating cabozantinib and other Exelixis products; Exelixis’ dependence on third-party vendors for the development, manufacture and supply of its products and product candidates; Exelixis’ ability to protect its intellectual property rights; market competition, including the potential for competitors to obtain approval for generic versions of Exelixis’ marketed products; changes in economic and business conditions; and other factors discussed under the caption “ Risk Factors ” in Exelixis’ Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ( SEC) on February 18, 2022, and in Exelixis’ future filings with the SEC. All forward-looking statements in this press release are based on information available to Exelixis as of the date of this press release, and Exelixis undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements contained herein, except as required by law.
Exelixis, the Exelixis logo, CABOMETYX and COMETRIQ are registered U.S. trademarks of Exelixis. | general |
Cell Therapy Technologies Market Outlook, 2030 - ResearchAndMarkets.com | DUBLIN -- ( BUSINESS WIRE) -- The `` Global Cell Therapy Technologies Market Outlook Outlook 2020-2030 '' report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.
The global cell therapy technologies market is estimated to garner a revenue of around USD 45750 Million by the end of 2030, up from a revenue of over USD 12900 Million in the year 2020.
Cell therapy technologies facilitate the transplantation of human cells to replace or repair damaged tissue and cells. The global cell therapy technologies market is anticipated to grow with a CAGR of 13.6% over the forecast period, i.e., 2021 - 2030.
Factors such as the growing incidences of chronic diseases around the globe, followed by the rising geriatric population, and therefore the concern for diseases amongst this age groups, are some of the major factors anticipated to drive the market growth.
Moreover, factors such as the growing research and developments in the field of cell-based immunotherapies, such as CAR-T therapy, and the rising need for newer, better therapies for diseases, such as cancer and cardiovascular diseases ( CVDs) among others, are also expected to drive the market growth during the forecast period.
The global cell therapy technologies market is segmented into numerous segments, which include segmentation by product, process, cell type, end-user, and by region. By product, the market is segmented into consumables, system & software, and equipment.
Amongst these, the consumables segment is anticipated to garner the largest revenue of near to USD 17890 Million by the end of 2030. Additionally, the segment generated a revenue of close to USD 5160 Million in the year 2020.
Geographically, the global cell therapy technologies market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America and Middle East & Africa.
Amongst these, the market in North America region is anticipated to garner the largest revenue of more than USD 19950 Million by the end of 2030, up from a revenue of around USD 5800 Million in the year 2020.
Some of the prominent industry leaders in the global cell therapy technologies market that are included in our report are Lonza Group Ltd., Sartorius AG, Danaher Corporation, Becton, Dickinson and Company, Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., Avantor, Inc., Eppendorf SE, Miltenyi Biotec B.V. & Co. KG, and others.
Key Topics Covered:
1. Introduction
1.1. Market Definition
1.2. Market Segmentation
2. Assumptions
3. Research Methodology
3.1. Research Process
3.2. Primary Research
3.3. Secondary Research
4. Executive Summary - Global Cell Therapy Technologies Market
5. Market Dynamics
5.1. Market Drivers
5.2. Market Trends
6. Key Market Opportunities
7. Major Roadblocks for the Market Growth
8. Regulatory and Standards Landscape
9. Industry Risk Analysis
10. Pricing Analysis of Cell therapy Technologies Market
11. Value Chain Analysis
12. Impact of COVID-19 on the Cell Therapy Technologies Market
13. Market Share Analysis Based on Therapy
14. Competitive Positioning
15. Competitive Landscape
15.1. Market Share Analysis, 2020
15.2. Competitive Benchmarking
15.3. Company Profiles
15.3.1. Lonza Group Ltd.
15.3.2. Sartorius AG
15.3.3. Danaher Corporation
15.3.4. Becton
15.3.5. Dickinson and Company
15.3.6. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.
15.3.7. Avantor, Inc.
15.3.8. Eppendorf SE
15.3.9. Miltenyi Biotec B.V. & Co. KG
16. KOL Mapping
17. Bioreactors Market Analysis w.r.t. Product, Region, and Year
18. Future Forecast of the Manufactures and Startup Companies | general |
Best's Market Segment Report: AM Best Revises Outlook to Negative for Spain’ s Non-Life Insurance Market | AMSTERDAM -- ( BUSINESS WIRE) -- AM Best is revising its outlook for the Spanish non-life insurance segment to negative from stable.
There has historically been a direct relationship between Spain’ s real gross domestic product ( GDP) development and non-life premium growth in the country. In recent years, sustained economic growth has supported the development of the non-life insurance segment.
However, a new Best’ s Market Segment Report, “ Market Segment Outlook: Spain Non-Life Insurance '', notes the country’ s growth prospects remain subject to significant uncertainty.
In addition to the potential emergence of COVID-19 variants, the threat of further inflation and supply chain disruption following Russia’ s invasion of Ukraine ( and the international sanctions imposed on Russia) could also undermine the economic rebound and consumer confidence, and reduce the growth prospects for non-life insurers. At the same time, increasingly volatile weather conditions and rising inflation could cause underwriting challenges, according to the report.
Moderating these negatives are the segment's good underwriting fundamentals: Spain’ s non-life insurance segment benefits from strong underlying technical performance and has been resilient through past challenging macroeconomic conditions. It is also one of the most profitable non-life segments in Europe.
AM Best notes that the segment’ s good underlying fundamentals provide a buffer to absorb some volatility from both increased climate risk and inflation.
To access a complimentary copy of this special report, please visit http: //www3.ambest.com/bestweek/purchase.asp? record code=319066.
AM Best is a global credit rating agency, news publisher and data analytics provider specialising in the insurance industry. Headquartered in the United States, the company does business in over 100 countries with regional offices in London, Amsterdam, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Mexico City. For more information, visit www.ambest.com.
Copyright © 2022 by A.M. Best Rating Services, Inc. and/or its affiliates. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Giannina Carbajal Ortiz Financial Analyst +31 20 308 5428 giannina.carbajal @ ambest.com
Richard Banks Director, Industry Research – EMEA +44 20 7397 0322 richard.banks @ ambest.com | general |
Shields Health Solutions to Participate in Session at the Alliance for Health Policy’ s Annual Signature Series | Chrissy Kendrick, Kristen Ditch to speak on how integrated specialty pharmacy can impact mental health care
STOUGHTON, Mass. -- ( BUSINESS WIRE) -- Shields Health Solutions ( ShieldsRx), the premier specialty pharmacy accelerator in the country, announced today that Chrissy Kendrick, SPHR, senior director of human resources, and Kristen Ditch, PharmD, BCCCP, manager of clinical outcomes at ShieldsRx, will participate in a Thought Leadership Discussion hosted by The Alliance for Health Policy as part of its annual Signature Series on Thursday, April 14.
Mental health in America is the theme for this year’ s Signature Series and the Thought Leadership Discussion is an invitation-only, interactive session for leading thought leaders, experts and policymakers from across the healthcare ecosystem. The Alliance will explore the breadth and depth of U.S. mental health across three major themes: innovation, delivery, and access while examining health equity implications across all domains.
Employers in the health care sector face new challenges in providing mental health benefits and services to their employees, who have experienced increased stress and isolation working in virtual environments, additional stress from the COVID-19 pandemic, and exposure to loss and grief. “ The Thought Leadership Discussion is an excellent opportunity for ShieldsRx to contribute to and learn from a diverse audience of decision influencers and policymakers on mental health policies, ” said Tanya Menchi, JD, vice president of policy at ShieldsRx. “ We look forward to sharing details about the role of integrated specialty pharmacy in comprehensive patient care, the pandemic’ s impact on the mental health of pharmacists and pharmacy staff, and the increasing importance of employer awareness regarding the mental health of their employees. ” | general |
NMB Financial Corporation/New Millennium Bank Announces Proposal to Acquire Noah Bank and Potential US Treasury ECIP Investment Into NMB Financial Corporation | FORT LEE, N.J. -- ( BUSINESS WIRE) -- NMB Financial Corporation ( “ NMB ” or “ Company ”) ( OTC Pink: NMBF) a bank holding company and parent of New Millennium Bank ( “ Bank ”), announced that a Letter of Intent has been sent to the Board of Directors of Noah Bank, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania ( “ Noah ”) related to a cash acquisition of Noah. The Letter of Intent provides for the cash acquisition of all outstanding shares of Noah at 100% of Noah’ s tangible common equity as of March 31, 2022, less any transaction expenses over $ 2 million. Based upon publicly available information on Noah as of December 31, 2021, and assuming the transaction expenses are at or below $ 2 million, and there are no issues identified in normal due diligence, the value that would be delivered to Noah shareholders, using December 31, 2021 financial information, would be approximately $ 6.95 per share, based upon Noah having 4.235 million shares outstanding.
US Department of Treasury Emergency Capital Investment Program Investment into NMB
NMB is on its way to receive $ 75.1 million investment through the US Department of Treasury’ s Emergency Capital Investment Program ( “ ECIP ”). NMB is one of 186 community development financial institutions ( “ CDFI ”) and minority depository institutions ( “ MDI ”) that are eligible to receive $ 8.7 billion in capital through the ECIP. It is anticipated that the Department of Treasury will be investing $ 75.1 million in preferred stock of NMB Financial Corporation, with the investment expected to close at the end of May 2022.
The investment by the US Department of Treasury is part of the Federal Government’ s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The ECIP was designed to provide direct funding to CDFIs and MDIs, as these types of financial institutions focus their efforts on increasing access to capital in traditionally underserved markets such as minority communities and other targeted populations.
Hong Sik Hur, Chief Executive Officer of NMB, stated, “ I am delighted at the prospect of receiving this historic investment into NMB by the Department of Treasury, and it is a transformational, and a significant game changer for NMB. ” NMB plans to put the capital to work by increasing its lending to minority owned small businesses and low- to moderate-income customers as well as the targeted populations and communities that NMB serves. With this increase in capital, NMB will be able to grow its assets well in excess of $ 1 billion and provide additional products and services to customers within its footprint.
NMB Proposal to Acquire Noah
NMB plans to utilize a portion of the capital received to undertake the acquisition of Noah, which will increase the total assets of the surviving entity into the $ 1 billion range and provide the capital necessary to support future growth. NMB is only one of two Korean-American, MDI financial institutions in the United States that will be receiving the ECIP funds, and it is a testament to the work that has been done by NMB in building its banking franchise in New Jersey, New York, and Georgia. With the acquisition of Noah, if completed, NMB would also expand into Pennsylvania, and total assets of the combined entity would approach $ 1 billion.
James S. Ryu, Chief Corporate Officer of NMB, stated, “ I am confident in accomplishing a seamless acquisition of Noah, a neighboring community bank, which is also a MDI and a CDFI. As one, we will be able to far more effectively serve the targeted populations, underserved communities, and low- to moderate-income individuals, families, and communities throughout the Eastern United States and beyond, which is our core mission. ”
NMB is aware that Noah is under an agreement with a group of private investors concerning a common stock investment to acquire control of Noah, which would increase the capital account, but would not result in any liquidity to Noah shareholders. If the acquisition of control of Noah is completed by the private investors, which is expected to be at a significant discount to Noah’ s existing book value per share, Noah’ s existing shareholders could realize a significant dilution to their book value per share at the same time that majority control is transferred to the private investor group.
Alternatively, the combination of NMB and Noah would create a significant Korean-American banking franchise on the East Coast and is anticipated to provide significant cash value to Noah’ s existing shareholders.
Noah shareholders have not had the opportunity to vote on the sale of control to the private investors and may not be aware of the dilution that could take place. NMB believes its offer to acquire Noah based upon the tangible common equity as of March 31, 2022 is a superior proposal, providing much needed liquidity for Noah shareholders. Also, the anticipated blending of the two organizations will allow the combined institution to provide additional products and services available to customers and provide continued employment opportunities for Noah employees.
As part of the Letter of Intent, NMB has notified the Board of Directors of Noah that it has communicated with the regulatory agencies of its desire to move forward with the acquisition and deliver a definitive agreement, as well as complete due diligence, in 30 days or less upon the execution of the Letter of Intent. The transaction does not require the approval of the NMB shareholders but would require the approval of two-thirds of the outstanding shares of Noah. The transaction is also subject to regulatory approval and normal and customary closing conditions. The Boards of Directors of NMB have unanimously approved moving forward with the Letter of Intent and it is hopeful that the acquisition can be completed in third quarter of 2022.
About NMB | general |
Super SGHC: Investor Presentation, April 2022 | 2021 Earnings Review
April 2022
Disclaimer
Forward-Looking Statements This presentation contains forward-looking statements as defined in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, that involve significant risks and uncertainties. All statements other than statements of historical facts are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements include information about our possible or assumed future results of operations or our performance. Words such as `` expects, '' `` intends, '' `` plans, '' `` believes, '' `` anticipates, '' `` estimates, '' and variations of such words and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward looking statements. Although we believe that the forward-looking statements contained in this presentation are based on reasonable assumptions, you should be aware that many factors could affect our actual financial results or results of operations and could cause actual results to differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements, including but not limited to: ( i) the ability to implement business plans, forecasts and other expectations, and identify and realize additional opportunities; ( ii) the ability to maintain the listing of Super Group ( SGHC) Limited's ( `` Super Group '') securities on a national securities exchange; ( iii) changes in the competitive and regulated industries in which Super Group operates; ( iv) variations in operating performance across competitors; ( v) changes in laws and regulations affecting Super Group's business; ( vi) Super Group's inability to meet or exceed its financial projections; ( vii) changes in general economic conditions, including as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic; ( viii) changes in domestic and foreign business, market, financial, political and legal conditions; ( ix) future global, regional or local economic and market conditions affecting the sports betting and gaming industry; ( x) changes in existing laws and regulations, or their interpretation or enforcement, or the regulatory climate with respect to the sports betting and gaming industry; ( xi) the ability of Super Group's customers to deposit funds in order to participate in Super Group's gaming products; ( xii) compliance with regulatory requirements in a particular regulated juri sdiction, or Super Group's ability to successfully obtain a license or permit applied for in a particular regulated jurisdiction, or maintain, renew or expand existing licenses; ( xiii) the technological solutions Super Group has in place to block customers in certain jurisdictions, including jurisdictions where Super Group's business is illegal, or which are sanctioned by countries in which Super Group operates from accessing its offerings; ( xiv) Super Group's ability to restrict and manage betting limits at the individual customer level based on individual customer profiles and risk level to the enterprise; ( xv) the ability by Super Group's key executives, certain employees or other individuals related to the business, including significant shareholders, to obtain the necessary licenses or comply with individual regulatory obligations in certain jurisdictions; ( xvi) protection or enforcement of Super Group's intellectual property rights, the confidentiality of its trade secrets and confidential information, or the costs involved in protecting or enforcing Super Group's intellectual property rights and confidential information; ( xvii) compliance with applicable data protection and privacy laws in Super Group's collection, storage and use, including sharing and international transfers, of personal data; ( xviii) failures, errors, defects or disruptions in Super Group's information technology and other systems and platforms; ( xix) Super Group's ability to develop new products, services, and solutions, bring them to market in a timely manner, and make enhancements to its platform; ( xx) Super Group's ability to maintain and grow its market share, including its ability to enter new markets and acquire and retain paying customers; ( xxi) the success, including win or hold rates, of existing and future online betting and gaming products; ( xxii) competition within the broader entertainment industry; ( xxiii) Super Group's reliance on strategic relationships with land based casinos, sports teams, event planners, local licensing partners and advertisers; ( xxiv) events or media coverage relating to, or the popularity of, online betting and gaming industry; ( xxv) trading, liability management and pricing risk related to Super Group's participation in the sports betting and gaming industry; ( xxvi) accessibility to the services of banks, credit card issuers and payment processing services providers due to the nature of Super Group's business; ( xxvii) the regulatory approvals related to Super Group's contemplated acquisition of Digital Gaming Corporation ( `` DGC ''); ( xxviii) the integration of the DGC business; and ( xxix) other risks and uncertainties indicated from time to time for Super Group including those under the heading `` Risk Factors '' in our Shell Company Report on Form 20-F filed with the SEC on February 2, 2022. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this presentation. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements contained herein, to reflect any change in our expectations with respect to such statements or any change in events, conditions or circumstances upon which any statement is based.
Use of Projections This presentation contains projections, including EBITDA, EBITDA Margin, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA Margin, Gross Gaming Revenue and Net Gaming Revenue. Our independent auditors have not audited, reviewed, compiled, or performed any procedures with respect to the projections for the purpose of their inclusion in this presentation and, accordingly, have not expressed an opinion or provided any other form of assurance with respect thereto for the purpose of this presentation. These projections are for illustrative purposes only and should not be relied upon as being indicative of future results. The assumptions and estimates underlying the projected information are inherently uncertain and are subject to a wide variety of significant business, economic and competitive risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the projected information. Even if our assumptions and estimates are correct, projections are inherently uncertain due to a number of factors outside our control. Accordingly, there can be no assurance that the projected results are indicative of our future performance or that actual results will not differ materially from those presented in the projected information. Inclusion of the projected information in this presentation should not be regarded as a representation by any person that the results contained in the projected information will be achieved.
Non-IFRS Financial Measures This presentation includes certain financial measures not presented in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards or International Accounting Standards issued or adopted by the International Accounting Standards Board ( `` IFRS ''), including, but not limited to, EBITDA, EBITDA Margin, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA Margin, Gross Gaming Revenue and Net Gaming Revenue, in each case presented on a non-IFRS basis, and certain ratios and other metrics derived therefrom. These non-IFRS financial measures are not measures of financial performance in accordance with IFRS and may exclude items that are significant in understanding and assessing our financial results. Therefore, these measures should not be considered in isolation or as an alternative to net income, cash flows from operations or other measures of profitability, liquidity or performance under IFRS. You should be aware that our presentation of these measures may not be comparable to similarly-titled measures used by other companies.
We believe these non-IFRS measures of financial results provide useful information to management and investors regarding certain financial and business trends relating to our financial condition and results of operations. We believe that the use of these non-IFRS financial measures provides an additional tool for investors to use in evaluating ongoing operating results and trends in and in comparing our financial measures with other similar companies, many of which present similar non-IFRS financial measures to investors. These non-IFRS financial measures are subject to inherent limitations as they reflect the exercise of judgments by management about which expense and income are excluded or included in determining these non-IFRS financial measures.
This presentation also includes certain projections of non-IFRS financial measures. Due to the high variability and difficulty in making accurate forecasts and projections of some of the information excluded from these projected measures, together with some of the excluded information not being ascertainable or accessible, we are unable to quantify certain amounts that would be required to be included in the most directly comparable IFRS financial measures without unreasonable effort. Consequently, no disclosure of estimated comparable IFRS measures is included and no reconciliation of the forward-looking non-IFRS financial measures is included.
Trademarks and Trade Names We own or have rights to various trademarks, service marks and trade names that we use in connection with the operation of our businesses. This presentation also contains trademarks, service marks, trade names and copyrights of third parties, which are the property of their respective owners. The use or display of third parties ' trademarks, service marks, trade names or products in this presentation is not intended to, and does not imply, a relationship with us or an endorsement or sponsorship by us. Solely for convenience, some of the trademarks, service marks, trade names and copyrights referred to in this presentation may be listed without the TM, SM, ( C), ( R) or TM symbols, but such references are not intended to indicate, in any way, that we will not assert, to the fullest extent under applicable law, their rights or the right of the applicable owners, if any, to these trademarks, service marks, trade names and copyrights.
Our Vision
To provide first-class entertainment to the worldwide betting and gaming community
Our Winning Hand
World-wide focus …to reach as many customers as possible
Global sports brand and multi-brand casino
…to drive global awareness
Data-driven
…to make the best possible decisions in real time
Culture
…customer centric and responsible
2021 Super Group Overview
Providing first-class entertainment to the worldwide betting and gaming community for over 20 years
Single-brand online sportsbook
• Global footprint & market share
• Strategic partnerships with teams and leagues worldwide
• Profitable and high-growth sports betting offering
Multi-brand online casinos
• Established market leadership in high-growth markets
• Data-led digital and affiliate marketing campaigns
$ 1.5bn
Net Gaming Revenue1
49/51
Betway / Spin Net Gaming
Revenue
$ 358m
Adjusted EBITDA1
24%
Adjusted EBITDA Margin
24
70+
•
Robust free cash flow with potential for further upside
Licensed Jurisdictions
Betway Brand
( excl. USA)
Partnerships
1.
Euros is the functional and reporting currency of Super Group. 2021 NGR and Adjusted EBITDA equivalent to €1.26bn and €302m respectively. Converted at the average daily exchange rate ( blended 2021FX rate of 1.18).
Executing on Our Growth Strategy
Strong Q4 Operating and Financial Performance
Continued Engagement with Key Brand Partners
Positive Regulatory Momentum
Launched in More International MarketsNow Live in Six U.S. States
Continued Investment in Technology and Data Analytics to Drive Outsized Performance
This is an excerpt of the original content. To continue reading it, access the original document here.
Attachments
Disclaimer
SGHC Limited published this content on 13 April 2022 and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 13 April 2022 11:44:04 UTC. | business |
KBRA Assigns Preliminary Ratings to Logan CLO III, Ltd. | NEW YORK -- ( BUSINESS WIRE) -- KBRA assigns preliminary ratings to three classes of notes issued by Logan CLO III, Ltd. ( Logan III), a cash flow collateralized loan obligation ( CLO) backed by a diversified portfolio of broadly syndicated corporate loans.
Logan III is managed by Elmwood Asset Management LLC ( “ Elmwood ” or the “ collateral manager). The deal will have a 4.9-year reinvestment period. The legal final maturity is on April 21, 2035. The ratings reflect initial credit enhancement levels, excess spread, and coverage tests including overcollateralization ratio and interest coverage tests.
The collateral in Logan III will mainly consist of broadly syndicated leveraged loans issued by corporate obligors diversified across sectors. The total portfolio par amount is $ 500.0 million with exposure close to 300 obligors. The obligors in the portfolio have a K-WARF of 2301, which represents a weighted average portfolio credit assessment of approximately B. KBRA has also considered the potential for near to medium term negative portfolio credit deterioration and the transactions sensitivity to macroeconomic shocks like that seen during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Elmwood Asset Management LLC ( “ Elmwood ”) is owned by funds managed by Elliott Investment Management L.P. and its affiliates and Elmwood’ s management. Incorporated in May 2018, Elmwood has $ 9.9 billion of assets under management across 17 U.S. CLOs as of March 2022. Elmwood focuses on long-only investment strategies in performing credit with an emphasis in the broadly syndicated loan market.
The preliminary rating on the Class A Notes considers the timely payment of interest and ultimate payment of principal by the applicable stated maturity date, while the preliminary ratings on the Class D and E Notes consider the ultimate payment of interest and principal.
KBRA analyzed the transaction using the Structured Credit Global Rating Methodology, the Global Structured Finance Counterparty Methodology, and the ESG Global Rating Methodology.
Click here to view the report. To access ratings and relevant documents, click here.
Disclosures
Further information on key credit considerations, sensitivity analyses that consider what factors can affect these credit ratings and how they could lead to an upgrade or a downgrade, and ESG factors ( where they are a key driver behind the change to the credit rating or rating outlook) can be found in the full rating report referenced above.
A description of all substantially material sources that were used to prepare the credit rating and information on the methodology ( ies) ( inclusive of any material models and sensitivity analyses of the relevant key rating assumptions, as applicable) used in determining the credit rating is available in the Information Disclosure Form ( s) located here.
Information on the meaning of each rating category can be located here.
Further disclosures relating to this rating action are available in the Information Disclosure Form ( s) referenced above. Additional information regarding KBRA policies, methodologies, rating scales and disclosures are available at www.kbra.com.
About KBRA
Kroll Bond Rating Agency, LLC ( KBRA) is a full-service credit rating agency registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as an NRSRO. Kroll Bond Rating Agency Europe Limited is registered as a CRA with the European Securities and Markets Authority. Kroll Bond Rating Agency UK Limited is registered as a CRA with the UK Financial Conduct Authority pursuant to the Temporary Registration Regime. In addition, KBRA is designated as a designated rating organization by the Ontario Securities Commission for issuers of asset-backed securities to file a short form prospectus or shelf prospectus. KBRA is also recognized by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners as a Credit Rating Provider.
Analytical Contacts
Jerry Jurcisin, Associate Director ( Lead Analyst) +1 ( 646) 731-2457 jerry.jurcisin @ kbra.com
Steven Zheng, CFA, Associate Director +1 ( 646) 731-3379 steven.zheng @ kbra.com
Sean Malone, CFA, Managing Director +1 ( 646) 731-2436 sean.malone @ kbra.com
Eric Hudson, Senior Managing Director ( Rating Committee Chair) +1 ( 646) 731-3320 eric.hudson @ kbra.com
Business Development Contact
Jason Lilien, Managing Director +1 ( 646) 731-2442 jason.lilien @ kbra.com
Analytical Contacts | general |
White House pushes back on view that $ 2 trillion fiscal package caused inflation | White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Wednesday pushed back after a reporter asked if President Joe Biden takes responsibility for
high U.S. inflation
because last year he signed a
$ 1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package into law
that economists such as
Larry Summers said at the time wasn’ t needed
. `` Well, the alternative would have been that we would have gone into a massive economic downward spiral, and many Americans would have not had enough food to put on the table. So we chose the other path, '' Psaki said during a press briefing. | business |
New York shooting update: Mayor Eric Adams says 'we got him ' | “
‘ My fellow New Yorkers, we got him.’
”
That was New York City Mayor Eric Adams discussing the Wednesday afternoon
arrest of Frank James
, a suspect in the
Brooklyn subway shooting
that left 10 people injured, half of them critically, early Tuesday.
Due to his recent COVID-19 diagnosis, a quarantining Adams was speaking via video link at a press briefing with law-enforcement officials.
“ I can not thank the men and women of the New York City Police Department enough, as well as our federal agents, our state police, our first responders, from our 9/11 operators to the various men and women from our medical professions. We got him, ” said Adams, a former officer with the NYPD and, previoulsy, the New York City Transit Police.
“ We are going to protect the people of this city and apprehend those who believe they can bring terror to everyday New Yorkers, ” Adams said.
James was taken into police custody at St. Marks Place and 1st Avenue in Manhattan, according to NBC. He was reportedly involved in a separate stabbing incident.
Of the five gunshot victims in critical condition, all were expected to survive,
police said
. | business |
Amazon to charge merchants 5% surcharge for fulfillment services as fuel costs rise | It is Amazon's first such surcharge and follows months of higher wage and labor-related expenses that have chipped away at the online retailer's profit.
Effective April 28, Amazon will charge an average 24 cents more per unit it stores and ships through its Fulfillment by Amazon ( FBA) service. The surcharge, which is not permanent, is `` a mechanism broadly used across supply chain providers, '' Amazon wrote in a message to merchants, which it shared with Reuters.
`` We have experienced significant cost increases and absorbed them, wherever possible, to reduce the impact on our selling partners, '' the message said. `` In 2022, we expected a return to normalcy as COVID-19 restrictions around the world eased, but fuel and inflation have presented further challenges. ''
So far, Amazon has only announced a surcharge in the United States, its biggest market. While sellers can avoid the higher cost by shipping goods to customers directly, many rely on FBA for eligibility in Amazon's fast-delivery club Prime.
Amazon said its fulfillment service `` continues to cost significantly less than alternatives. ''
( Reporting by Jeffrey Dastin in Palo Alto, California; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Leslie Adler) | business |
JPMorgan's Dimon downbeat as profit drops 42% | JPMorgan Chase & Co's Chief Executive Jamie Dimon warned of economic uncertainties arising from Russia's invasion of Ukraine and soaring inflation, after first-quarter profits at the largest U.S. bank slumped 42%.
JPMorgan had reported record profit during the first quarter last year, benefiting from a dealmaking boom after the Federal Reserve pumped liquidity into capital markets to mitigate the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
This year, however, investment banking revenues declined as companies delayed takeovers and stock market listings amid a surge of volatility in equity markets. The bank also set aside $ 902 million to cover potential loan losses.
JPMorgan is seen as a bellwether for the U.S. economy and its lackluster results set the tone for first-quarter earnings from Wall Street banks as the Fed looks to rein in inflation and the trading bonanza banks enjoyed during the pandemic tapers off.
`` Inflation and Ukraine are powerful forces that threaten the economy, '' Dimon said on a call with media, underscoring a change in his bullish outlook for the U.S. economy.
`` The Fed needs to try to manage this economy and try to get to a soft landing, if possible. ''
Pressed on whether the U.S. could face a recession, Dimon said: `` I am not predicting a recession. Is it possible? Absolutely. ''
JPMorgan shares were down 2.8% in afternoon trading. Other bank stocks also fell. Citigroup and Bank of America were both down 0.9%.
JPMorgan's Common Equity Tier 1 ( CET1) ratio, a key measure of financial strength, fell to 11.9% from 13.1% in December. That could hamper its ability to buy back shares, analysts said.
The bank will buy back less stock this year than in 2021, Chief Financial Officer Jeremy Barnum told analysts.
Questioned by analysts about the broader outlook for the current year, Dimon said there were `` storm clouds on the horizon, '' including the war in Ukraine, which Russia calls a '' special military operation. ''
`` Usually wars don't necessarily affect the global economy in the short run. But there are exceptions to that. This may very well be one of them, '' he said.
Dimon's tone on the economy was less optimistic than in the past and that weighed on the stock, said Christopher Marinac, research director at Janney Montgomery Scott.
`` Jamie is one of those people who will tell you what you need to hear, not necessarily what you want to hear, '' he said. `` A lot of people want to hear that everything is fine and he's not telling you that. ''
INCREASED VOLATILITY
Trading was better than anticipated, analysts said, but still down 3% on a record quarter last year.
Dimon warned of increased volatility ahead, which bankers have said could be good for Wall Street trading desks.
`` There is almost no chance you wont have volatile markets, that can be good or bad. But I think people should be prepared for that, '' he said.
JPMorgan reported a 28% drop in investment banking revenue for the first quarter, dragging net revenue down 5% to $ 30.72 billion. The fall also reflected markdowns related to Russia-linked derivatives.
Investment banking fees plunged 32% to $ 2.01 billion, driven by a 69% decline in equity underwriting fees. The number of deals where JPMorgan acted as a bookrunner declined 39% compared with last year.
UP AGAINST INFLATION
The big U.S. banks are reporting results at a time of surging inflation, which could lead the Fed to hike interest rates more aggressively this year.
While that can benefit big lenders by increasing what they earn from loans, rapid rate hikes could slow the economy and scupper a nascent recovery from the pandemic.
Net interest income from JPMorgan's core banking businesses, excluding the markets business, increased 9% from a year earlier. That figure is expected to be more than $ 53 billion for 2022, the bank said, roughly in line with its February guidance.
JPMorgan reiterated its full-year expenses would increase nearly 10%.
Markets revenue came in stronger than had some had feared, falling 3% to $ 8.8 billion, with fixed income trading down only 1% compared to exceptionally strong levels last year.
Other large U.S. banks including Citigroup and Goldman Sachs will report results on Thursday. ( Additional reporting by Niket Nishant and Sweta Singh in Bengaluru; Writing by Matt Scuffham; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and Nick Zieminski) | business |
'Bully ' given five months to compensate best friend for 'haymaker ' assault in Cork | The events of that night that happened just before the beginning of the Covid pandemic have been replayed at Cork District Court. File photo: Larry Cummins | general |
U.N. says effects of Ukraine war threaten to devastate many poor nations | UNITED NATIONS — Russia’ s war on Ukraine threatens to devastate the economies of many developing countries that are now facing even higher food and energy costs and increasingly difficult financial conditions, a U.N. task force warned Wednesday.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres released the report saying that the war is “ supercharging ” a crisis in food, energy and finance in poorer countries that were already struggling to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change and a lack of access to adequate funding for economic recovery.
“ We are now facing a perfect storm that threatens to devastate the economies of many developing countries, ” Guterres said at a news conference. “ As many as 1.7 billion people — one-third of whom are already living in poverty — are now highly exposed to disruptions in food, energy and finance systems that are triggering increases in poverty and hunger. ”
Rebeca Grynspan, secretary-general of the U.N. agency promoting trade and development who coordinated the task force, said those people live in 107 countries that have “ severe exposure ” to at least one dimension of the crisis — rising food prices, increasing energy prices and tightening financial conditions.
In these countries, the report says, people struggle to afford healthy diets, imports are essential to meet food and energy needs, and “ debt burdens and tightening resources limit government’ s ability to cope with the vagaries of global financial conditions. ”
The report says 69 of the countries, with a population of 1.2 billion people, face a “ perfect storm ” and are severely or significantly exposed to all three crises. They include 25 countries in Africa, 25 in Asia and the Pacific, and 19 in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Before Russia’ s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, prices were already on the rise, “ but the war has made a bad situation worse, ” Guterres said.
Thirty-six countries rely on Russia and Ukraine for more than half their wheat imports, including some of the world’ s poorest countries, he said, and wheat and corn prices have risen 30% just since the start of the year.
Russia is also the world’ s top natural gas exporter and second-largest oil exporter, and Russia and neighboring Belarus export about 20% of the world’ s fertilizers. Guterres said oil prices have increased more than 60% over the past year, natural gas prices have jumped 50% in recent months, and fertilizer prices have doubled.
The task force said the world is “ on the brink of a global debt crisis. ” Grynspan, who heads the U.N. Conference on Trade and Development, pointed to Sri Lanka’ s default on a debt payment Tuesday and said other countries are asking for help.
Guterres said the world can act to tackle the “ three-dimensional crisis ” and “ cushion the blow. ”
The task force calls on countries to ensure a steady flow of food and fertilizer through open markets, lift export restrictions, and direct surpluses and reserves to those in need. Guterres said this would help keep a lid on food prices and calm volatility in food markets.
On energy, the task force urges governments to refrain from hoarding, immediately release strategic petroleum stockpiles and additional reserves, and reduce the use of wheat for biofuels. Guterres urged countries to use the crisis as an opportunity to accelerate the transition to renewable energy.
On finance, the task force issued “ an urgent call for prompt and swift action from the international community ” to help developing countries avoid another decade of lost economic development, “ a generalized debt crisis, and social and political instability. ”
The task force says international financial institutions should provide emergency concessional financing to countries experiencing social and economic distress.
It calls on the International Monetary Fund to increase limits for rapid financial assistance, suspend interest rate surcharges for two years, and explore the possibility of providing more liquidity “ through special drawing rights or special measures targeted at the vulnerable and most affected countries. ”
Guterres said the upcoming spring meetings of the IMF and the World Bank on April 18-24 are “ a crucial moment ” for decisions on many of these issues. He said it is crucial that their members understand the need to use money that is available to alleviate the suffering of people around the world.
The U.N. chief said political will is key, and announced that he has asked six leaders — the presidents of Senegal and Indonesia and the prime ministers of Germany, Barbados, Denmark and Bangladesh — to mobilize political leaders to ensure that developing countries in crisis get the help they need. | business |
WHO says omicron variant now accounts for 99.2% of global COVID cases and warns that people are still developing severe disease and dying | The omicron variant of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 accounted for 99.2% of all cases sequenced in the latest week, according to the World Health Organization, further cementing its dominance over other variants.
In its
weekly epidemiological update,
the agency said that while vaccine effectiveness wanes against omicron for all disease outcomes following primary vaccination, the vaccines retain strong protection against severe disease, making it important that the unvaccinated get their shots.
“ Despite a reduction in SARS-CoV-2 testing observed since the beginning of 2022 in many Member States, the COVID-19 pandemic continues with intense transmission and high levels of death primarily among unvaccinated at-risk populations, ” the WHO warned in its update.
The new BA.2 Omicron variant has public health experts worried about potential new Covid-19 surges. WSJ’ s Daniela Hernandez explains what you need to know about this new, more transmissible Covid variant. Illustration by: Adele Morgan
The speed with which omicron, and especially its BA.2 subvariant, have spread across the globe is not just because it’ s highly infectious, but also because of the relaxation of public health and social measures in many places and a general waning of immunity following vaccination and/or prior infection, said the agency.
“ The recent detection of emerging recombinants of the delta-omicron and omicron descendant lineages requires ongoing close monitoring, ” said the update.
From the archives ( March 2022):
New variant dubbed ‘ deltacron’ detected in Europe
The WHO cautioned that just because hospitalizations and deaths are declining during the most recent omicron wave, data still show that unvaccinated people are at higher risk of severe disease or death from an omicron infection and should not drop their guard.
“ Despite the reduction in severity, the massive increases in cases with omicron have led to large numbers of hospitalizations, putting further pressure on healthcare systems, and in some countries, similar or higher numbers of deaths when compared to previous peaks, ” the update said.
The pattern is evident in U.S. numbers with cases now ticking up again nationally after steep declines following the January peak. The U.S. is averaging 1,567 cases a day,
according to a New York Times tracker,
up 8% from two weeks ago.
Cases are rising again in 28 of the 50 states and have more than doubled over that two-week span in Rhode Island.
The country is averaging 14,870 hospitalizations a day, down 15% from two weeks ago, and still the lowest since the first weeks of the pandemic. The daily death toll has fallen below 600 to 533, but that’ s still an unbearably high number as most of those are unvaccinated people dying a preventable death.
The Biden administration will extend for two weeks the nationwide mask requirement for public transit as it monitors an uptick in COVID-19 cases, according to a person familiar with the matter,
the Associated Press reported.
Omicron can also cause long COVID, which continues to leave some patients with dire symptoms months after being infected.
The
Coronavirus Update:
MarketWatch’ s daily roundup has been curating and reporting all the latest developments every weekday since the coronavirus pandemic began
Other COVID-19 news you should know about:
• U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Chancellor Rishi Sunak have so far weathered calls for them to resign their roles after they were fined by the police for breaching lockdowns, according to media reports from papers
including the Guardian.
Members of their own party, the Tories, have joined opposition leaders in saying their positions are untenable after fines related to the “ partygate ” scandal, in which government officials were found to have attended parties in large numbers without face masks or distancing during periods of strict lockdown.
• Shanghai released 6,000 more people from the central facilities where they were under medical observation to guard against the coronavirus, the government said Wednesday, though the lockdown of most of China’ s largest city was being maintained in its third week,
the Associated Press reported.
About 6.6 million people in the city of 25 million were allowed to leave their homes Tuesday, but some were restricted to their own neighborhoods. Residents have shown their frustration at China’ s “ zero COVID ” strategy and footage has shown them screaming on balconies and raiding supermarkets for food.
See now:
Philadelphia becomes first big U.S. city to reinstate face masks, as U.S. daily COVID cases climb 10% from two weeks ago
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson apologized after being fined by U.K. police for breaking Covid-19 lockdown rules. When asked if he would quit, Johnson said he wanted to tackle the problems the country currently faces. Photo: Tayfun Salci/Zuma Press
• New Zealand is allowing Australian visitors again as the first group of foreign travelers allowed in since the start of the pandemic, creating scenes of joy in cities including Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch,
Sky News reported.
The border will open to countries that don’ t require a visa to enter, such as the U.K. and U.S., on 2 May.
• Sexually transmitted diseases, including gonorrhea and syphilis, spiked during the first year of the pandemic,
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday.
In a new report, the agency said STDs fell during the early months of 2020, before a surge later in the year. The decline early in the year may have had more to do with a lack of testing and screening during lockdowns, said the report.
See:
CDC, stung by criticism of its handling of the pandemic, announces review and revamp
Here’ s what the numbers say
The global tally of confirmed cases of COVID-19 topped 501.2 million on Wednesday, after breaching the half-billion mark on Tuesday. The death toll rose above 6.18 million,
according to data aggregated by Johns Hopkins University
.
The U.S. leads the world with 80.5 million cases and more than 986,630 fatalities.
The
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’ s tracker
shows that 218.5 million people living in the U.S. are fully vaccinated, equal to 65.8% of the total population. But just 98.9 million are boosted, equal to 45.3% of the vaccinated population. | business |
Brexit contributes to horse trials cancellation | Joseph Murphy and Fernhill Frankie at the horse inspection prior to the 2015 Camphire International Horse Trials, Cappoquin, Co Waterford. The trials were not held in 2020 and 2021 due to the Covid-19 restrictions, but there were hopes it would be staged again this year. Picture: Louise Murphy.
Brexit is being partially blamed for the cancellation of an International Horse Trials event in west Waterford.
The event attracted Olympic and other competitors and thousands of visitors from Ireland and abroad each year. It was due to take place during July 28-31 on the Camphire estate near Cappoquin in the Blackwater Valley.
But the organisers decided, after much deliberation, that the financial risks were too great to run the trials this year. It is the third successive year that the SemaLease Camphire International Horse Trials and Country Fair has been cancelled.
The trials were not held in 2020 and 2021 due to the Covid-19 restrictions, but there were hopes it would be staged again this year. However, a statement from the organisers pointed out that a significant percentage of Camphire’ s competitors are international but since Brexit the costs of bringing their horses to Ireland are high.
“ These costs, combined with the current high fuel costs and continuing uncertainties around Covid, mean there is a real risk of the event being financially unviable in 2022. As a result, we have taken the difficult decision not to run the event this year, ” it added.
Event Director, Paul Brady said the decision was not taken likely. Camphire sets itself hugely high standards. All those involved deserved the accolade of Irish International Horse Trials.
It is a hugely important event for the Irish equestrian community and for the local economy as well as for the many international competitors and Olympians who travel so far to take part.
“ But we simply don’ t have the financial reserves to sustain a possible reduction in numbers, or in quality.
“ Our preference, therefore, is to put all our effort into finding ways of recreating the Camphire we wish to have and running a successful event in 2023.
“ We sincerely hope some of the issues around charges on horses coming into Ireland for a week to compete will have been addressed by then, ” he said, announcing that the 2023 event will be held over the July 27-30 Bank Holiday weekend.
Mr Brady said the news will be a deep disappointment to riders, owners, spectators and volunteers alike, for whom the event is a much-loved annual showcase for the sport and for Irish horses.
“ We had desperately hoped that we would be able to pull off the event this year because we know how much everyone was looking forward to it, and I am so grateful to all those that have offered support and encouragement.
“ We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our competitors, owners, volunteers, sponsors, traders, suppliers and supporters for your unwavering commitment to Camphire during these difficult times.
“ We are particularly grateful to all our sponsors, particularly our title sponsor SemaLease, who have been so understanding and supportive throughout this period. We look forward to welcoming you all back to this great event in 2023, ” he said.
Eventing Ireland, the umbrella body for the sport, said it will try to fill this international date with an alternative venue. | general |
Wholesale prices surge to 11.2% rate and point to high U.S. inflation through spring | The numbers:
The cost of wholesale goods and services jumped 1.4% in March largely because of more expensive gasoline and food, signaling that U.S. inflation is likely to stay near a 40-year high through the spring.
Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had forecast a 1.1% gain.
The increase in wholesale prices last month was the largest since the government reformulated the index in 2009 and likely one of the biggest since the early 1980s.
Over the past year wholesale prices have climbed 11.2%,
the government said Wednesday
, up from 10% in the prior month. That’ s also the highest level since the early 1980s.
The increase in so-called core wholesale prices, meanwhile, rose a sharp 0.9%. Wall Street had expected a 0.5% advance. The Federal Reserve views the core rate as a clearer window into inflation trends because it strips out volatile food and energy prices.
Yet the steep increase in March — suggesting inflationary pressures are still high — disappointed investors. In February, the core rate rose by the smallest amount in 15 months.
The higher core rate also takes some of the shine off
a surprisingly small increase in a similar core measure in the better-known consumer price index
published Tuesday.
Consumer prices rose at 8.5% pace in the 12 months ending in March
, reflecting the biggest increase in U.S. inflation since 1981.
Trends in wholesale prices often offer clues on the path of inflation more broadly — what consumers end up paying for goods and services. The PPI reflects what companies pay for supplies such as grains, fuel, metals, lumber, packaging and so forth.
Big picture:
Inflation may be at or near a peak
, economists say, but prices are likely to keep rising at an uncomfortable pace at least into early next year.
The Fed plans to move more rapidly to raise low U.S. interest rates to try to squelch inflation. Yet higher rates take a while to have an effect, especially when they have been so low for so long.
What’ s complicating matters is the war in Ukraine and
massive Covid lockdowns in
China.
The Ukraine conflict has contributed to higher prices for oil and food while the disruptions in China could worsen already strained global supply chains. U.S. businesses get a lot of materials and finished products such as cell phones from China
Key details:
The wholesale cost of goods jumped 2.3% last month, with more than half of the increased tied to energy. The cost of oil jumped to a 13-year high in March after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The good news is, price rises have leveled off in April and offered businesses and consumers a small amount of relief.
The wholesale cost of food rose 2.3% in March, the largest increase in a year. Prices at the grocery store have climbed at the fastest pace since 1981
,
a separate survey of consumer inflation shows.
Food cost rises might not level off for a while. Russia and Ukraine are two of the world’ s biggest producers of grains such as wheat, corn and barley, whose supplies have been interrupted by the war. Ukraine’ s grain production could fall as much as 40%.
The cost of services rose 0.9% in March.
The cost of partly finished goods and raw materials, meanwhile, both advanced in March. These prices have jumped around a lot lately but remain extremely high, offering little sign of an imminent and rapid slowdown in inflation.
Raw-material prices, for example. are up 41% in the past year.
Looking ahead:
“ Producer prices are an early warning sign of what households can expect in terms of consumer price inflation, ” said senior economist Kurt Rankin of PNC Financial Services.
“ Producer prices rose briskly even outside food and energy, showing increases are not limited to impacts from the Russian invasion.
“ Not good. Higher than expected, with strong upward trends in food, energy, trade services, and transportation and warehousing, ” said chief economist Scott Brown of Raymond James. ” Gasoline prices are off their peak in April, but this report shows broad-based inflation at the wholesale level. ”
Market reaction:
The Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA,
+1.01%
and S & P 500
SPX,
+1.12%
were rose in Wednesday trades after a negative start. Stock prices declined on Tuesday. | business |
What Is China’ s COVID Endgame? by Nancy Qian | For two years, China's policy of doing everything possible to stamp out COVID-19 outbreaks proved effective in achieving its stated aim. But, because this approach can not be sustained indefinitely, the country's political leaders need to start thinking about an exit strategy.
CHICAGO – For most of the past two years, China’ s “ zero-COVID ” strategy was seen as a drastic but effective way to maintain impressively low infection rates. The Chinese government locked down millions of people at a time, ordering them to stay in their homes – or even in schools and office buildings. Last winter, the city of Xi’ an was locked down for an entire month. All of its 13 million residents were confined to their homes, where they had minimal access to necessities such as food.
Although this extreme strategy has had negative unintended consequences – including restricted medical care for other illnesses, separated families, and various other economic and social disruptions – it did keep COVID-19 infection rates low. Most people in China, and many observers elsewhere, viewed the costs as a worthwhile price to pay for sparing the broader population of 1.4 billion from the high mortality rates seen in countries like the United States.
The apparent success of the zero-COVID strategy has been a source of pride for the Chinese people, and the country’ s leadership has touted it as a sign of China’ s superiority. Ironically, however, the government’ s political stake in the strategy’ s early success has become a barrier to recovery. China’ s political leadership has found it very difficult to shift to a more moderate strategy, because that would invariably lead to more COVID-19 infections and deaths. Though the total numbers might never get as high as in the US, an increase of deaths into the thousands would be hard for people to accept now that they have been led to expect zero.
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Writing for PS since 2021 15 Commentaries
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Nancy Qian, Professor of Managerial Economics and Decision Sciences at Northwestern University’ s Kellogg School of Management, is Founding Director of China Econ Lab and Northwestern’ s China Lab.
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Before Russian President Vladimir Putin’ s attack on Ukraine, Europe’ s recovery from the damage wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic was solidifying. But now European policymakers have exactly zero control over whether their economies ' rebound continues.
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Delta Air Lines Stock Is Flying After Earnings. Profitable Travel Is Taking Off. | Delta is the first major U.S. carrier to report quarterly results this earnings season.
James D. Morgan/Getty Images
Delta Air Lines
stock took off on Wednesday, after the company reported a return to profitability in the month of March and outlined an upbeat outlook for revenue across the next three months.
Delta ( ticker: DAL) shares soared 5% in U.S. premarket trading after the group notched a loss of $ 1.23 a share, on an adjusted basis, on total revenue of $ 9.3 billion in the first three months of 2021. Total passenger revenue was 75 percent recovered from 2019 levels, the company said.
The financial results beat out Wall Street’ s expectations. Brokers estimated that Delta would report a loss of $ 1.27 a share on sales of $ 8.8 billion, based on the consensus estimates of analysts surveyed by FactSet. Shares in the airline have fallen 4% so far this year as of Tuesday’ s close, compared with an 8% loss for the wider
S & P 500
index over the same period.
“ With a strong rebound in demand as Omicron faded, we returned to profitability in the month of March, ” said Delta CEO Ed Bastian in a
statement
. “ We are successfully recapturing higher fuel prices, driving our outlook for a 12 to 14 percent adjusted operating margin and strong free cash flow in the June quarter. ”
more airline news
American Lifts Revenue Outlook
Travel Roars Back. Are Airlines Ready?
The company said that consumer demand accelerated through the first three months of the year, highlighted by strong performance in the spring break period. In addition, offices reopened and restrictions were lifted as the latest surge in Covid-19 cases faded, which boosted demand from business travelers and led to a stronger fare environment.
Delta expects revenue to be between 93% and 97% of 2019 levels in the current quarter ending in June, with capacity 84% restored to where it was prepandemic.
The speed of recovery far outpaces what Wall Street was hoping for.
“ Investors’ revenue expectations have been steadily increasing over the past
few weeks, but guidance still exceeded that ever-increasing bar, ” said Conor Cunningham of investment group MKM Partners in a note. “ Delta is having no issues pushing price as demand has surged back with leisure, corporate, and international all improving. ”
Cunningham
also highlighted Bastian’ s focus on double-digit margins and free cash flow as “ an encouraging sign that management views the demand recovery as a sustainable one and not just driven by the spring/summer season. ”
Delta is the first major U.S. carrier to report quarterly results this earnings season, setting the stage for
United Airlines
( UAL) and
American Airlines
( AAL) to follow next week.
The industry has faced
turbulence this year
as the travel sector simultaneously sees a firm rebound from the depths of the pandemic—which also brings challenges—and faces new headwinds.
The first quarter of 2021 certainly proved eventful. It began with one of the worst weeks in terms of cancellations in the past decade as a result of bad weather and staff shortages linked to the Omicron variant of the coronavirus that causes Covid-19. Volatility in oil prices as a result of the Russia-Ukraine war only complicated the outlook for the sector amid the prospect of higher fuel costs.
But strong demand among travelers for the spring and summer season led to consistent
increases in revenue forecasts
this quarter from carriers, and Delta is flying into the current quarter with tailwinds from March.
The company not only returned to profitability last month, but also saw revenue on an adjusted basis grow from 2019 levels for the first time since the start of the pandemic. Growth has been boosted by its loyalty program as well as the cargo business, Delta said. Business travelers are helping, too: Domestic corporate sales recovered 50% relative to 2019 in the last quarter, rising to a 70% recovery in March.
Delta reported adjusted net debt of almost $ 20.9 billion as of the end of the quarter, less than the $ 22 billion in debt it had forecast as of the end of 2021.
“ During the March quarter we generated free cash flow, continued to pay down debt and finished the quarter with nearly $ 13 billion in liquidity, ” said Dan Janki, the group’ s chief financial officer. “ Reducing debt is our top financial priority as we target investment-grade metrics and $ 15 billion of adjusted net debt by the end of 2024. ”
Write to Jack Denton at
jack.denton @ dowjones.com | business |
Air Travel Is Back and Tickets Are Expensive | Airlines say demand to fly is taking off.
Stefani Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images
The pandemic compensated intrepid travelers with cheap fares. That’ s over.
Delta Air Lines
and other carriers are bringing cheer—to investors, at least—with earnings reports citing surging demand. So the higher fares they’ re charging for summer flights look like they will stick.
Fuel surcharges and a cautious expansion of seating capacity have caused airfares for the coming summer to soar as travel demand returns to pre-Covid levels. A July round trip from Atlanta to Maui will cost at least $ 1,500.
Asked on Wednesday morning’ s earnings call if Delta ( ticker: DAL) was seeing any pushback against higher fares, president Glen Hauenstein said: “ Absolutely not. ”
The travel price-comparison site Kayak says that the cost of domestic flights has jumped 38% since the year began, while international fares have risen 28%. Kayak suggests that travelers book early and avoid flying Sundays and holiday weekends.
“ We’ ve been trying to catch up with this robust demand, ” Hauenstein said. “ We haven’ t seen a lot of resistance to the price points that we have in market. ” Travelers looking for lower fares will need to be flexible about the days they will travel. Like Kayak, he advised consumers to reserve early.
Travel has been cheap and no one can begrudge the airlines’ charging what the market now bears. It has been an awful two years for the airline industry, said John Grant, chief analyst at the airline data firm OAG Aviation Worldwide. And the jump in oil prices has raised jet-fuel costs in North America by 158% over last year, he says.
Fuel surcharges are adding $ 340 to $ 400 per flight on trans-Atlantic routes between the U.S. and the U.K., said the analyst. Airlines on either side of the ocean have been able to pass the cost along in their fares. But carriers in Asia have been less willing to raise prices because travel in that region is still trying to get out from under Covid-19.
Although carriers have brought more jets out of mothballs as Covid cases ease in North America, the industry is being cautious in adding capacity, Grant said. Each jet adds hundreds of seats to a route, making it hard for an airline to balance yield—that is, flying with filled seats—with revenue maximization.
One development that could unleash more demand to visit the U.S., noted Grant, would be if federal regulators decide to drop the requirement for travelers from abroad to test negative for Covid within 24 hours of their departure. That decision will come by April 18.
The OAG analyst thinks North American demand, and airfare prices, will remain strong through September. “ I suspect we are going to have a very strong summer for the airline industry, ” he said.
Write to Bill Alpert at
william.alpert @ barrons.com | business |
'We got him. ' Frank James, suspect in Brooklyn subway shooting, arrested in NYC | Frank R. James, the man who New York City
officials say was responsible
for the Tuesday-morning shooting aboard a Manhattan-bound N train, has been arrested.
NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell said that James, 62, was taken into custody at St. Marks Place and 1st Avenue in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan just before 2 p.m. on Wednesday in response to a tip to the NYPD’ s Crime Stoppers hotline.
“ My fellow New Yorkers, we got him. We got him, ” NYC Mayor Eric Adams said while speaking remotely at a press conference. The mayor is still isolating after testing positive for COVID-19 earlier in the week.
“ I can not thank the men and women of the New York City Police Department enough, ” he said.
James was named a suspect on Wednesday morning. He is believed to have donned a gas mask and set off a smoke bomb before opening fire just before 8:30 a.m. local time. A van, believed to have been rented by James, was at the center of the investigation Tuesday afternoon, after the shooting.
The gunman sent off smoke grenades in a crowded subway car and then fired at least 33 shots with a 9 mm handgun, police said. Five gunshot victims were in critical condition but all 10 wounded in the shooting were expected to survive.
At least a dozen others who escaped gunshot wounds were treated for smoke inhalation and other injuries. The shooter escaped in the chaos, but left behind numerous clues, including the gun, ammunition magazines, a hatchet, smoke grenades, gasoline and the key to a U-Haul van.
That key led investigators to James, a New York City-area native who had more recent addresses in Philadelphia and Wisconsin.
James “ had posted several rambling, conspiracy-laden YouTube videos, railing against the city’ s mental health services, complaining about race issues and speaking violently against people who he believes wronged him, ”
according to a report
from the New York Post.
The NYPD got a tip Wednesday that James was in a McDonald’ s in the East Village. He was gone when officers arrived, but officers soon spotted him on a nearby corner.
Sewell said that the authorities “ were able to shrink his world quickly. ”
“ There was nowhere left for him to run. ”
James was awaiting arraignment on a charge that pertains to terrorist or other violent attacks against mass transit systems and carries a sentence of up to life in prison, Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said.
–
With additional reporting from Associated Press | business |
Corporate profit is at a level well beyond what we have ever seen, and it's expected to keep growing | The level of profit that large corporations experienced in 2021 was unparalleled in American history, as consumers faced the worst price inflation the U.S. has seen in decades
Even as top executives warn about the effects of inflation on their bottom lines, profit margins are expected to grow larger still this year and beyond.
Companies in the S & P 500 index
SPX,
+1.12%
reported a record collective net profit margin of 12.18% in the past 12 months of financial reports, which largely correlates with the 2021 calendar year, according to a Dow Jones Market Data Group analysis of FactSet data based on generally accepted accounting principles, or GAAP. That number is far higher than any previously recorded: Annual net profit margins for the index show only three years since 1999 in which the S & P 500’ s profit margin managed to hit double digits —2006, 2018 and 2019 — and margins in those years stayed lower than 11%, with a high of 10.75% in 2018.
Bureau of Economic Analysis data shows that there are no historical parallels to that type of profitability from corporations before 1999, either. Records dating back to the late 1940s show that after-tax corporate profits in relation to gross domestic product are at all-time highs.
Wall Street still expects a higher net profit margin for the S & P 500 this year, and the next two after that. On average, analysts predict that the S & P 500 index will produce a 13% net profit margin in 2022, according to FactSet, as they prepare for a wave of first-quarter numbers in the coming weeks, with similar projections for 2023 and 2024.
This sudden jump in profit margins was elevated to the halls of Congress this week, where the Senate Budget Committee heard testimony about whether the dual increases in corporate profits and inflation were interrelated.
In a hearing titled “ Corporate profits are soaring as prices rise: Are corporate greed and profiteering fueling inflation?, ” former U.S. Labor Secretary Robert Reich testified Tuesday that one big contributor is a decrease in competition — since the 1980s, he said, two-thirds of all industries have become more concentrated.
“ They’ re passing these costs on to consumers in the form of higher prices. Why? Because they can, ” Reich, who is now the chancellor’ s professor of policy at the University of California, Berkeley, said. “ And they can because they don’ t face meaningful competition. If markets were competitive, companies would keep their prices down to prevent competitors from grabbing away customers. ”
The smaller number of competitors is obvious in a number of industry sectors, where profits have grown slowly but steadily through the years. Big Tech, for example, is a small group of companies that dominate online commerce, which became even more essential during the COVID-19 pandemic. Other industries where this plays out include banking, oil and gas, and consumer staples.
Read:
$ 1.4 trillion??? Big Tech’ s pandemic surge produces mind-boggling financial results
Other experts see the jump as an effect of the extraordinary circumstances of the pandemic, which helped lead to a wave of inflation, a shortage of workers and supply-chain difficulties. Large companies such as
Starbucks Corp.
SBUX,
+1.42%
and
Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc.
CMG,
+3.74%
have raised prices multiple times in the past year, while noting it was because of increased costs of acquiring goods from a damaged supply chain and rising salaries for employees. It is possible that those costs have taken longer to show up on corporate balance sheets than the price increases that were felt immediately, which would produce a fatter bottom line in the short term, and that consumers were willing to spend freely after spending much of the previous year under shelter-in-place orders.
“ One of the big reasons you saw profits go up was such a huge earnings recovery from the COVID lockdowns, ” said John Butters, senior earnings analyst at FactSet. “ We had some of the highest earnings growth rates we have seen in quite some time. ”
If this were a temporary effect caused by a rebound from COVID woes and a delay in rising costs companies expect, it would logically follow that profit margins would be forecast to decline ahead. That is not happening, though, at least not beyond the round of financial reports that are beginning to land. Analysts’ current average estimates for 2023 and 2024 suggest both will have higher profit margins than 2021 — 12.98% and 13.38%, respectively — and despite some
high-profile
for
ecast misses in the most recent
earnings season
and a pullback in equity prices so far this year, they have increased their expectations for 2022 so far this year.
Related:
A dozen S & P 500 stocks just had their worst quarter ever, as tech stocks sloughed off nearly $ 2 trillion in value
Analysts reduced their overall earnings estimates for the first quarter by 0.7% as results rolled in during the first three months of the year, the first time that has happened since the COVID-19 pandemic struck in the second quarter of 2020, according to Butters. However, before the pandemic, it was common for Wall Street to bring down earnings estimates as analysts received guidance during the quarter, and the 0.9% decline was well lower than the average decline over five years ( 2.5%), 10 years ( 3.4%) and 20 years ( 4.8%).
Additionally, while analysts reduced their first-quarter estimates, they actually raised their forecasts for the subsequent three quarters and the full year, as companies pointed toward the potential for better returns later in 2022. Analysts increased their full-year estimates by 2%, which is aberrant: They typically bring down average annual expectations during the first quarter, by an average of 0.4% over the past five years and 2.9% over the past 15 years, according to Butters.
That is one reason why the current earnings season will be a crucial one for the markets. Investors will be watching for a downtrend in the reported numbers, but more crucially eyeing guidance for the second quarter and the rest of the year for signs that profit margins are on the descent. Currently, the full-year forecast for profit margins for the S & P 500 is about the same growth rate as for 2022, Butters said, but that data of course is likely to change as companies begin to report and talk to the Street.
“ We know companies are facing all sorts of costs, higher energy costs, labor shortages, ” Butters said. “ Seventy-four percent of companies that had conference calls [ last quarter ] cited inflation and supply chain. These are big topics. Some can raise prices, some can offset it. It will be interesting to watch, and see what companies say about their ability to raise prices to offset costs. ”
There are also industry-specific dynamics that are skewing the larger sample. Much of the boom in profit came from specific sectors that have not slowed down, including semiconductors and the five Big Tech companies, while any decline in other segments of the economy are likely to be papered over by expected gains for the energy sector as oil and gas prices rise during Russia’ s invasion of Ukraine
The semiconductor industry is a prominent example. Amid a shortage of chips that affected varied industries including automobiles and other consumer products that now rely on electronic brains, prices spiked. The overall net profit margin in the Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment subsector hit 27.79% in 2021, 2 percentage points higher than at any point in the previous decade, and is expected to near 30% in 2022.
For more:
Chips may be sold out for 2022 thanks to shortage, but investors are worried about the end of the party
That semiconductor performance combined with sudden surges in margins for the Software subsector, where Microsoft Corp.
MSFT,
+1.97%
played a big part in margins rising to 32.28% in 2021 despite not touching 30% in the previous decade; and Hardware, Storage & Peripherals, where a boom in sales of personal computers and related equipment, along with Apple Inc.’ s
AAPL,
+1.63%
massive profits, pushed the average margin from 16.19% in 2020 to 21.59% in 2021.
The end result was that the Information Technology sector of the S & P 500 — which comprises those subsectors along with three others, and had produced profit margins in a consistent range from 16.6% to 19.5% over the past decade — soared to a net margin of 23.3% in 2021. Analysts currently expect that margin to rise again in 2022, to 24.9%.
MarketWatch has already detailed the large margin gains for Big Tech
, which collectively produced $ 320 billion in profit and $ 1.4 trillion in sales in 2021. Those companies and their astounding financial results are not all included in the Information Technology sector, however: Google parent company Alphabet Inc.
GOOGL,
+1.71%
GOOG,
+1.49%
and Facebook parent company Meta Platforms Inc.
FB,
+0.40%
are included in the Communications Services sector, which jumped from 12.2% margins in 2020 to 16.1% in 2021.
Amazon.com Inc.
AMZN,
+3.15%
is included in the consumer-discretionary category, which was seemingly helped by government subsidies meant to stimulate consumer spending. That sector saw margins grow from 4.98% in 2020 to 7.46% in 2021.
See also:
The pandemic PC boom is over, but its legacy will live on
The most astounding increase may have occurred in the Financials sector, however, as the net profit margin increased from 12.97% in 2020 to 21.76% in 2021. That performance is far out of line with the previous decade, when margins ranged from 9.95% to 16.18%.
Shiva Rajgopal, a professor of accounting at Columbia Business School in New York, said that the actions to lower interest rates by the Federal Reserve since the financial crisis of 2008-’ 09 have made money so easy in the markets that all financial institutions and Wall Street investment banks are riding high. The Banks subsector, which had not topped a 22.44% margin in the previous decade, rose to 30.49% in 2021, while the Capital Markets subsector jumped from a then-decade-high of 21.19% in 2020 to 26.25% in 2021.
“ Mostly because of the Fed, it’ s probably not surprising that financials have gone up, ” Rajgopal said, adding that the fees business was robust as well, from the previous SPAC boom and other deal-making activities.
Financials is one of the few sectors expected to see margins shrink in 2022, as the Fed plans to increase interest rates. Analysts estimate it will drop to 18.93% this year, with Banks falling to 25.85%, though both of those numbers are still higher than historical norms. The Capital Markets margin is expected to increase again, to 27.55%. | business |
Oil's Comeback: Signs Emerge That U.S. Producers Are Ready to Drill More | The most recent Baker Hughes rig count showed that 16 rigs were added in the lower 48 states, the second-largest addition in three years.
Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images
When it comes to drilling new wells, most U.S. companies have taken a vow of abstinence for the past two years. With oil prices holding above $ 100 a barrel, those vows get harder to keep.
Last week’ s rig count showed a large jump in rigs in the U.S., and new data on permits in one key U.S. basin show that activity is ramping up.
The apparent shift is notable because it could signal that an increase in production is coming in the second half of the year and 2023, which would weigh on oil prices, and possibly on stocks. Prices were up on Wednesday, with West Texas Intermediate crude futures rising 2.3%, to $ 102.86 a barrel, though they have declined from highs above $ 130 in the early days of Russia’ s invasion of Ukraine.
Rystad Energy published an analysis on Wednesday that showed a surge in permits in the Permian Basin, an area spanning Texas and New Mexico that is the most productive oil basin in the United States.
Permit data since March 7 shows “ an unprecedented period of high activity that pushed the four-week average to 210 for the week ending April 3, a record for horizontal permit approvals in the core U.S. shale patch over four weeks, ” according to Rystad.
Private operators, who normally make up just one-third of production, have accounted for more than half of the permits. Publicly traded companies remain hemmed in because they have made commitments to shareholders to pay down debt and raise dividends. A recent survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas showed that many say
they will stick to those commitments regardless of prices
.
“ The surge in permitting activity positions the industry for continuous rig count additions in the second half of 2022 and foreshadows a significant increase in supply capacity from early 2023, ” says Artem Abramov, Rystad Energy’ s head of shale research.
In addition, the Baker Hughes rig count released last Friday showed momentum in the same direction. Sixteen rigs were added in the lower 48 states, the second-largest addition in three years, according to EBW Analytics Group.
“ Over the past six months, the rig count has now soared by 101 oil rigs ( 23%) and 43 gas rigs ( 44%), adding evidence for a likely production surge in the second half of this year, ” EBW notes.
That said, the numbers include important caveats. Permits don’ t always lead to drilling. And another measure of how much equipment is out in the field, known as the Primary Vision frac spread count, “ continues to flounder ”, EBW says.
Josh Young, founder of hedge fund Bison Interests, said that the recent rise in rigs comes after months of very low activity and does not indicate that large production gains are on the horizon. Labor and supply constraints continue to hamper the energy industry, and should keep oil prices high.
“ What we saw last week in that rig count is essentially a little bit of a catch-up, ” he said in an interview. If prices were to fall, it would most likely happen because of a drop in demand because of factors like the Covid lockdowns in Shanghai—not because supply is rising.
Write to Avi Salzman at
avi.salzman @ barrons.com | business |
Anna Delvey’ s Artwork Was Copied and Sold at an Art Show | We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we love. Promise.
The biggest surprise? Not only did Anna know but she approved the “ pre-authorized forgeries ” herself.
On a discreet corner wall at a small pop-art gallery in New York City’ s Lower East Side, down a narrow hallway packed with people ( a woman in fishnets, a man with cigarettes pierced through his lobes), many of them smoking ( tobacco, weed), hung five of con artist Anna Sorokin’ s drawings. But it was the first drawing—snug above a couch with loungers sipping canned Modelo beer—that first caught my attention. I’ d seen the simple pencil sketch of a lone woman on a raft of ice before... right here in Cosmopolitan magazine.
Better known by her preferred name Anna Delvey, the fake German heiress whose cons were recently dramatized in the Netflix series Inventing Anna had sent me the political sketch titled “ Anna on ICE, ” referencing her current detention by U.S. immigration officials, while I was working on a story about her for Cosmo.
As a crime reporter, I had followed her case—and her drawings about it—since covering her Manhattan trial and conviction for financial crimes for the New York Times in 2019, and we had met at Rikers several times for interviews during her incarceration. From her cell in Goshen, New York, and without access even to an eraser, Sorokin had drawn Cosmo her first published sketch since being detained by those authorities for overstaying her visa in March 2021.
With limited supplies, she made just one test drawing, completing it in a day: “ I was still finishing the shadings when the mail officer called for me to fill out the mailing forms, ” Sorokin recalled, adding, “ I made her wait a little bit. ”
The original ICE sketch now lies on my desk in the priority mail envelope she’ d sent to me in February, complete with $ 26.95 of postage. But I wouldn’ t have known the difference between the drawing she made for Cosmo and the larger 22 '' -by-30 '' version framed before me at the pop-up gallery had a man scooting around the exhibition in a chair with wheels and his feet covered only in socks not said to me, slyly: “ I recreated the artwork for her. ”
“ So you forged Anna Delvey? ” I clarified.
He raised his arms in a dramatic shrug: “ I thought you’ d find that funny. ”
The man in the wheely chair introduced himself as Alfredo Martinez, and he immediately told me, “ Just google my name and it will answer all your questions. ” ( Upon googling, I found that Martinez is a celebrated artist who himself spent time behind bars in the early 2000s for charges related to earlier forgeries of graffiti artist Jean-Michel Basquiat.)
Faced with a man who potentially forged the works of a famous scammer, I did the obvious—I went straight to Anna via text and asked her about the fakes myself.
Initially, she had messaged me about the show’ s opening less than 45 minutes before it began: “ BTW there is an art show about me tonight—everyone will be there if you feel like stopping by. ” She had added: “ Lmk how the show goes. ” So I texted her about the dupes. She acknowledged the drawings as “ pre-authorized forgeries ” —i.e., reproductions made by Martinez with Sorokin’ s permission—each on sale for $ 10,000.
Sorokin, who sketched copiously throughout her trial, tended to insert humor into her earlier drawings, poking fun at the legal system that has kept her behind bars for some four years. But the sketch she sent Cosmo was different: There’ s a coldness in the drawing that supersedes the icescape. Often, her earlier self-portraits depict her communicating with the outside world—on a jailhouse phone call, messaging through a prison kiosk—but in this one, she was all alone, surrounded by ice, with nothing but books to keep her company.
And despite the real deal sitting in my own apartment, the “ pre-authorized forgery ” still sold. Martinez’ s recreation of “ Anna on ICE ” was officially purchased on Monday by collector Patrick James Peters III, a partner of Founders Art Club, which is producing Sorokin’ s upcoming solo exhibition. Peters, an artist who got COVID-19 in April 2020 and was isolated for months during a difficult recovery, said the solitary drawing resonated with him.
“ It just hit me in a way that as a collector I knew I needed to have it, ” he said. “ Anna is somewhat of an alchemist: able to translate her story from this very negative experience behind bars into a positive one. If you look at how diamonds are formed, there’ s an extreme amount of pressure that is applied. I believe that her art is a direct representation of turning a negative into a positive. I’ m looking to be a part of that. ”
Currently, Sorokin is the only woman detained by ICE at Orange County Correctional Facility in Goshen, New York, she told me. “ Every single ICE girl that comes here gets bail and gets out, ” she said, adding that she has stayed longer than any other woman she met at the facility. Sorokin, who completed her minimum sentence in February 2021, spent six weeks out from behind bars in Manhattan before immigration authorities detained her again. “ It’ s harder to rectify my current isolation from society since the New York State Board of Parole decided to release me on merit, ” she said, noting the lengthy review process before she was released, “ only for ICE to overturn that decision six weeks after my release without noting any apparent changes in my circumstances. ” According to ICE, Sorokin overstayed her visa.
Meanwhile, the “ pre-authorized forger ” Martinez, whose prison art sold out exhibitions in Paris and New York while he was still incarcerated, says he actually wanted to help Anna while she was behind bars... which is why he ultimately reached out to her first to float the idea of “ forging ” her work. Why do this? Well, the partnership was mutually beneficial because Anna could not mail original drawings that fit specified large gallery dimensions due to the correctional facility’ s strict rules. Instead, she and Martinez together selected five of her iconic drawings to replicate from her Instagram page.
Sorokin said she thought the popularity of her sketch of her “ ICE adventures ” came from people’ s interest in her current circumstances, which were only briefly noted at the end of the Netflix series. Unlike criminal charges, people detained by ICE are not provided free legal counsel, and with Netflix-level resources, Sorokin said she was among the few who were able to afford a lawyer. She believes that some immigration lawyers at her ICE center are really scammers pretending to be immigration lawyers “ preying on clueless immigrants, especially the ones who don’ t speak English, ” taking their money and facing no consequences as the victims were simply deported anyway. “ Immigration is a whole different/wilder story than criminal, apparently, ” she added.
Over the course of her detention, she met a Honduran woman who spoke little English and was trying to regain contact with her child. Sorokin said she called 10 agencies—three times each—from a list of numbers posted on a wall at the facility on behalf of the woman. No one called back. “ The main purpose of my sketches is always to capture the moment, and I think the ICE drawing succeeded in that, ” Sorokin said. “ And if it also ends up bringing awareness to other people’ s struggles with immigration, that is definitely a plus. ”
Of course, with Anna, even dire circumstances need a little glitz and glamour. She said the whole “ ice ” for ICE thing is a play on words... upon a play on words: “ It’ s also a riff on rap lyrics, ” Sorokin texted me. “ ‘ Ice’ standing for diamonds lol. ”
You know, like Saweetie rapped: “ It’ s very unlikely my wrist ain’ t looking icy / Charging by the minute’ cause my time is very pricey ”; Master P: “ The ice on my wrist shine like a light / I can brighten up your day even at night. ”
Sorokin dashed off a few more example songs, one with lyrics so explicit that she substituted an asterisk for the vowel so the message would still process through the jail’ s automated monitoring system.
But perhaps that last one shouldn’ t be added to the list, she noted. After all: “ We don’ t want to make the good Cosmo readers blush. ” | general |
Ukraine says it damaged Russian flagship, crew evacuates | Ukrainian forces said they struck and seriously damaged the flagship of Russia’ s Black Sea fleet, dealing a potentially major setback to Moscow’ s forces as they try to regroup for a renewed offensive in eastern Ukraine after retreating from much of the north, including the capital.
Russia said Thursday the entire crew of the Moskva, a warship that would typically have 500 sailors on board, was forced to evacuate after a fire overnight and also reported it was badly damaged. It did not acknowledge any attack, which would also deal a major blow to Russian prestige seven weeks into a war that is already widely seen as a historic blunder.
The Moskva, a Slava-class guided missile cruiser, was involved in the attack on Ukraine’ s Snake Island in the early days of the war, where it was one of two ships demanding the surrender of the Ukrainian garrison, who responded:
“ Russian warship, go f— yourself. ”
The Moskva is the second major Russian warship lost in the war so far; in late March,
a Ukrainian missile struck the landing ship Orsk
in the Azov Sea port of Berdyansk, Ukraine.
The reported ship attack came hours after Ukraine’ s allies sought to rally new support for the embattled country. On a visit with leaders from three other countries on Russia’ s doorstep who fear they could next be in Moscow’ s sights, Lithuania’ s President Gitanas Nauseda declared that “ the fight for Europe’ s future is happening here. ”
Meanwhile, U.S. President Joe Biden, who called Russia’ s actions in Ukraine “ a genocide ” this week, approved $ 800 million in new military assistance to Kyiv. He said weapons from the West have sustained Ukraine’ s fight so far and “ we can not rest now. ”
The news of the flagship’ s damage overshadowed Russian claims of advances in the southern port city of Mariupol, where they have been battling the Ukrainians since the early days of the invasion in some of the heaviest fighting of the war — at a horrific cost to civilians.
Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj.-Gen. Igor Konashenkov said Wednesday that 1,026 troops from the Ukrainian 36th Marine Brigade surrendered at a metals factory in the city. But Vadym Denysenko, adviser to Ukraine’ s interior minister, rejected the claim, telling Current Time TV that “ the battle over the seaport is still ongoing today. ”
It was unclear when a surrender may have occurred or how many forces were still defending Mariupol.
Russian state television broadcast footage Wednesday that it said was from Mariupol showing dozens of men in camouflage walking with their hands up and carrying others on stretchers or in chair holds. One man held a white flag.
Mariupol’ s capture is critical for Russia because it would put a swath of territory in its control that would allow its forces in the south, who came up through the annexed Crimean Peninsula, to link up with troops in the eastern Donbas region, Ukraine’ s industrial heartland and the target of the coming offensive.
Moscow-backed separatists have been battling Ukraine in the Donbas since 2014, the same year Russia seized Crimea. Russia has recognized the independence of the rebel regions in the Donbas.
But the loss of the Moskva, which satellite images show was at the port of Sevastopol in Crimea a week ago, could set those efforts back.
The governor of the Odesa region, Maksym Marchenko, said the Ukrainians struck the guided-missile cruiser with two Neptune missiles and caused “ serious damage. ”
Russia’ s Defense Ministry said ammunition on board detonated as a result of a fire.
It was not clear if the ship was totally disabled, but even serious damage could be a major blow to Russia, which already saw its tank carrier Orsk hit late last month.
Hours after the attack was reported, Ukrainian authorities said on the Telegram messaging service that explosions had struck Odesa, Ukraine’ s largest port which lies on the Black Sea, as does Sevastopol. They urged residents to remain calm and said there is no danger to civilians.
Russia invaded on Feb. 24 with the goal, according to Western officials, of rapidly seizing Kyiv, toppling the government and installing a Moscow-friendly replacement. But the ground advance stalled in the face of strong Ukrainian resistance with the help of Western arms, and Russia has lost potentially thousands of fighters. The conflict has killed untold numbers of Ukrainian civilians and forced millions more to flee.
A U.N. task force warned that the war threatens to devastate the economies of many developing countries that are facing even higher food and energy costs and increasingly difficult financial conditions.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the war is “ supercharging ” a crisis in food, energy and finance in poorer countries that were already struggling to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change and a lack of access to funding.
The war has also unsettled the post-Cold War balance in Europe — and particularly worried countries on NATO’ s eastern flank that fear they could next come under attack. As a result, those nations have been some of Ukraine’ s staunchest supporters.
The presidents of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia traveled Wednesday to war-ravaged areas in Ukraine and demanded accountability for what they called war crimes. They met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and visited Borodyanka, one of the towns near Kyiv where evidence of atrocities was found after Russian troops withdrew to focus on the country’ s east.
“ There are no doubts that they committed war crimes. And for that, they should be accountable, ” Latvian President Egils Levits said.
Nauseda of Lithuania called for tougher sanctions, including against Russian oil and gas shipments and all the country’ s banks.
In his nightly address, Zelenskyy noted that the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court visited the Kyiv suburb of Bucha, which was controlled by Russian forces until recently and where evidence of mass killings and more than 400 bodies were found.
“ It is inevitable that the Russian troops will be held responsible. We will drag everyone to a tribunal, and not only for what was done in Bucha, ” Zelenskyy said late Wednesday.
He also said work was continuing to clear tens of thousands of unexploded shells, mines and trip wires left in northern Ukraine by the departing Russians. He urged people returning to homes to be wary of any unfamiliar objects and report them to police. | business |
China Won’ t Let Hong Kong Cut Seven-Day Quarantine, Tien Says | The information you requested is not available at this time, please check back again soon.
( Bloomberg) -- Hong Kong can’ t reduce its one-week quarantine for incoming residents until Beijing moves past Covid Zero, a deputy to China’ s top legislature said, showing the constraints facing the financial hub to further opening up internationally.
“ For us to cut it down to seven, already the mainland is unhappy and feels they can not connect with us, ” Michael Tien, a National People’ s Congress deputy and city lawmaker, said in an interview. “ So to go any lower than seven, forget it. If we go lower than seven, they may even ban Hong Kong people from going into Shenzhen. ”
Chief Executive Carrie Lam slashed quarantine for incoming travelers to seven days from 14 and lifted blanket flight bans on countries including the U.S. and U.K. last month, after the city’ s curbs triggered outcry from international business leaders and saw thousands of expats flee. That move also allowed most infected residents to quarantine at home.
China, by contrast, has stuck with strict lockdowns like the one in Shanghai, where 25 million residents have been largely restricted to their homes for nearly two weeks. President Xi Jinping pledged his government’ s commitment to Covid Zero on Wednesday, saying prevention and control systems can not be relaxed.
China is using the world’ s strictest border curbs, mass testing drives and city-wide lock downs to stamp out the infectious omicron variant. Bloomberg reported on Wednesday that China is shortening quarantine periods 10 days from 14 in eight cities as part of a trial that could lead to more widespread changes.
Another Hong Kong politician, who asked not to be identified due to sensitivities around virus policy, said the city’ s drift from the mainland’ s strategy was so sensitive that it wasn’ t talked about at last month’ s NPC meeting. He agreed Hong Kong could not further reduce quarantine until China shifts its policy away from Covid Zero.
Tien said easing the week-long flight ban on any route that imports three or more Covid cases was one way Hong Kong could mend some global ties. Unpredictable operating conditions have seen Virgin Atlantic and British Airways suspend operations in Hong Kong.
Reducing the ban to three days would “ strike a balance ” between loyalty to the mainland’ s strategy and restoring global links, he said. The other politician advocated for scrapping the ban, saying it no longer served a purpose with the city still logging more than 1,000 daily local infections.
Tien and the other politician agreed it was unlikely Hong Kong’ s border with mainland China would open this year, with the latter saying the city should focus on its international ties as worries increase over the state of the economy. Previously, Lam said the China border was the city’ s priority over international travel.
Connecting with the mainland depends on two things, according to Tien.
“ One is whether we can get down to zero cases for a long time, which I doubt, ” he said. “ The other is whether mainland will change its policy, which I doubt. ”
Canada joins U.S., U.K. in diplomatic boycott of Beijing games
Trudeau weighs auto-content rules as next U.S. trade flashpoint
Unused to volatility, young investors may dread a downturn. Here's how to prepare | general |
The Carbon Price Solution by Ben Meng & Anne Simpson | The net-zero transition requires the rapid development at scale of new technologies, energy-efficient infrastructure, and carbon capture and storage. A carbon price, together with the elimination of fossil-fuel subsidies, would give investors powerful incentives to finance these and other imperatives.
SAN MATEO, CALIFORNIA – The quest for carbon neutrality has begun in earnest. More than 70 countries, including the world’ s biggest polluters, have set net-zero targets for carbon dioxide emissions, with hundreds of cities, companies, and investors committing to complementary strategies. But a successful net-zero transition will require a fundamental transformation of the real economy. Russia’ s invasion of Ukraine, which has roiled global energy markets, has reawakened concern with energy independence. Now is the time to put a price on carbon as it is essential to drive the shift from our current overwhelming dependence on fossil fuels.
By allocating society’ s savings, financial markets shape the economy. Investors’ choices depend on two factors: information and incentives. It is only when investors have both that financial markets can do what they do the best: allocate capital toward its best and highest use.
To understand this dynamic, consider the evolution of investors’ understanding of risk, an ambiguous concept until 1952, when Harry Markowitz defined it as volatility, which has mathematical properties and is thus quantifiable. In 1964, William F. Sharpe built on this contribution to create his capital asset pricing model, which describes the relationship between systematic risk and expected returns, thereby putting a price on market risk. Together, Markowitz and Sharpe revolutionized how investors analyze investment risks and opportunities and thus how financial markets allocate capital.
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Cryptocurrencies and blockchain-based technologies are here to stay. But what will their next chapter look like?
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Writing for PS since 2021 2 Commentaries
Ben Meng is Executive Vice President of Franklin Templeton.
Writing for PS since 2022 1 Commentary
Anne Simpson is Global Head of Sustainability at Franklin Templeton.
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There is nothing wrong with use of fossil fuels. What is wrong are the people who make poor decisions to cut-costs for essential anti-pollution systems. Well designed coal systems are in deed a reality, Problem is private investment leaders as corporate entities and individuals are only focused on short term gains while jeopardizing the eco-systems, and especially the air and water, and soils that everyone has to use to sustain any present and future populations of real human beings.There is a point in time where money is really worthless. Human beings can not survive on pretend water, air and food.A current example is the poor planning in the routing of the tar oil line through Nebraska. Common sense and reasonableness does not allow for putting an extreme high risk contaminant fuel line over one of the most critical water aquifers of the central United States. The pipeline needs to be re-routed. Sometimes starting from a common sense and logical choice is more effective and productive in the long run. There is no excuse for poor-planning by so-called and labelled experts. Deception is deception.
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Before Russian President Vladimir Putin’ s attack on Ukraine, Europe’ s recovery from the damage wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic was solidifying. But now European policymakers have exactly zero control over whether their economies ' rebound continues.
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| general |
Turkish, Italian officials discuss ties, situation in Ukraine | Turkish Presidential Spokesperson Ibrahim Kalın and Secretary-General of Italy's Foreign Ministry Ettore Sequi on Tuesday discussed bilateral ties, the situation in Ukraine war and developments in Libya, Trend reports citing Daily Sabah.
In a meeting in the capital Ankara, the two officials talked about the latest developments in the war in Ukraine.
According to a statement released by Ankara, the reflections of the war on food security, energy security and the global economy were evaluated.
As the war between Russia and Ukraine sent energy and food prices soaring, Oxfam warned that fallout from the conflict, growing inequality and the COVID-19 pandemic could push more than a quarter of a billion people into extreme poverty this year.
Concern was expressed about the increasing number of Ukrainian refugees, the statement also added. | general |
Exclusive: BlackRock plans first China ETF product this year -sources | The world's largest money manager, which thrives on the rise of passive investing with 70% of its $ 10 trillion global portfolio in ETFs and index funds, will be the first wholly owned foreign fund manager to tap the onshore Chinese ETF market.
Currently, the U.S. firm manages overseas assets of a handful of China's large state-backed investors such as the country's sovereign wealth fund and national pension fund via offshore units, as all products sold are foreign-domiciled.
The first BlackRock ETF product launch is scheduled for the fourth quarter, said the people, which will add to 6.8 billion yuan ( $ 1.07 billion) worth of assets BlackRock manages through two mutual funds with investments in Chinese and Hong Kong stocks.
Several index providers have started talks with BlackRock but the fund manager is yet to decide which index to track for the first ETF product, the people said.
Options under consideration include a carbon neutrality-themed index composed by China Securities Index Co, one of the people said. China has seen dozens of environment-linked ETF launches in the last two years betting on buoyant new-energy stocks.
`` BlackRock is committed to helping more Chinese investors achieve their financial goals by bringing them a broader suite of investment products and solutions, including ETF and index investments, '' the company said in a statement to Reuters.
It said it is `` investing in more local talent '' to support its `` growth priority ''.
China Securities Index did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
BlackRock's planned foray into the fast-growing Chinese ETF market comes against the backdrop of continued opening up of the financial market in the world's second-largest economy.
The move will also bolster the fund manager's presence in China, after it became the first global asset manager licensed to start a wholly owned onshore mutual fund business in the country last year.
BlackRock's ETF operation in China is set to open doors to local institutional as well as retail investors.
LUCRATIVE MARKET
China's nascent $ 220 billion ETF market with over 600 products as at the end of 2021 has only in recent years started contributing meaningfully to a global passive fund boom that catapulted the sector beyond $ 10 trillion in value.
Assets in China's onshore ETFs expanded 30.5% in 2021, almost on a par with the 31.9% growth rate of U.S. ETFs, but better than European peers ' 24.7% growth, showed data from the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.
BlackRock's iShares, which `` remained a significant growth driver '' in 2021, according to Chairman and Chief Executive Larry Fink, drew in $ 306 billion assets last year, accounting for 57% of new money into all of the firm's active and passive offerings.
For its China ETF foray, BlackRock is recruiting for roles across ETF portfolio management, operations and focused marketing, said the two people. The firm initially plans to form a team of five to six employees, they said.
Measures to stop the spread of COVID-19 have largely curbed business activity in Shanghai, with candidate interviews being moved online, one of the people said.
BlackRock's Shanghai office currently has at least 70 staff, showed fund association data, and is set to recruit over 15 more, excluding the ETF hires, company job adverts showed.
Since China allowed fully foreign-owned fund units in 2019, a flurry of foreign fund houses, including U.S.-based ETF specialist VanEck, has applied for licences to operate in the local fund market.
Most of the equities ETFs in China charge a 0.5% management fee per annum, higher than 10 to 20 basis points charged by managers of such products in the U.S. and Europe, making it a lucrative market for foreigners.
The country's 10 largest ETF providers, most of them local players, control over 80% of market share.
( $ 1 = 6.3656 yuan)
( Reporting by Selena Li; Editing by Sumeet Chatterjee and Christopher Cushing)
By Selena Li | business |
England’ s littlest learners need help to catch up | HAPPY TODDLERS munch macaroni at Puddleducks nursery in north London. Upstairs, children study at miniature desks. The airy pre-school, with its mud-pie kitchen and subdued “ sensory room ”, is running much as it did in early 2020, before England’ s first lockdown forced it to shut for two and a half months. But Balal Arshad, the manager, says some of the children are not speaking as fluently as expected for their age. Some are finding it harder to get along with others. The number of children his staff think would benefit from extra attention has doubled since covid-19 reached Britain two years ago.
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A report published in early April by Ofsted, the schools inspector, revealed similar concerns in many nurseries and pre-schools. Staff told inspectors that babies are failing to respond to “ basic facial expressions ” and were a bit less mobile than usual. Children seem to need more help with sharing and turn-taking, and their behaviour is worse in general. That affects how much they learn.
Ofsted’ s findings echo experimental data collected by the Department for Health, which suggest that slightly fewer two-year-olds than usual are meeting expected standards in walking, problem-solving and similar feats. Similarly, researchers at Brown University in America report that children aged between three months and three years are scoring lower than expected on tests of early learning. LENA, an American non-profit, has found that babies born nine months into the pandemic babbled less in the first months of life than children before them.
Parents of small children suffered more distress than most other British adults at the start of the pandemic, according to a study by academics drawn from eight universities, hospital trusts and research groups. Their anxiety may have affected how they interacted with their offspring. Babies and toddlers have spent much less time outside their homes, because of government restrictions and their parents’ desire to keep them safe. In particular, they have spent less time in pre-schools.
At the end of 2021 attendance was still only about 80% of what it had been before the pandemic. Poorer families are making less use of state-funded pre-school places. Last year about two-fifths of eligible families did not use the 15 hours a week that is available at no cost to disadvantaged two-year-olds, up from about one-third in 2019.
Some parents might be keeping children out of nurseries because they worry about the coronavirus. Others may have discovered that remote working means they can manage with less formal child care—a useful saving when prices are rising overall. In some parts of the country, supply seems to be a problem. The number of local authorities saying that their area offers enough pre-school places is falling, according to a survey published in March by Coram, a children’ s charity. Only 63% think local providers have “ sufficient ” capacity to meet demand from parents of two-year-olds, down from 72% in 2021.
For many years nurseries have struggled to recruit staff who are willing to work for salaries that hover around the minimum wage. And workers must now face being “ bitten and kicked ” by children who are less prepared than usual for pre-school, reckons Neil Leitch of the Early Years Alliance, an industry group. Four-fifths of nurseries surveyed by his organisation in October reported that hiring was a struggle; about half said they had limited or reduced the number of places they offer as a consequence. Mr Arshad at the Puddleducks nursery says it has become common for job advertisements to attract not a single suitable candidate.
Nurseries, preschools and child-minders are seeing little of the cash that has been set aside to help children of all ages recover from the pandemic. A £153m ( $ 199m) pot announced last year—much of it to be used for training nursery staff—amounts to only about 3% of all the public money earmarked for educational recovery. The government appears to be gambling that the catch-up programmes it is running in the first few years of primary school will be enough to fill in learning that has been lost before it. For some children that could prove a costly wait. ■
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 |
Thank the elderly for keeping Europe’ s extremists out of power | IF EMMANUEL MACRON, the youngest-ever president of France’ s Fifth Republic, gets to keep his job he will have its oldest voters to thank. Had only the ballots of those under 60 been counted in the first round on April 10th, Mr Macron would have come third—leaving France to pick between extremists of the left and right in the run-off a fortnight later. Across Europe, many mainstream leaders owe their jobs to a grey-haired ( and no-haired-at-all) electoral bulwark loyally trudging to the polls. They will not be around for ever. Either today’ s youngsters will have to mellow into the middle ground as they age, or Europe will drift away from the predictable centrism it has comfortably espoused for decades.
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In Europe as elsewhere, voters’ preferences were supposed to follow a predictable pattern as they aged. Brimming with idealism and compassion their parents apparently lacked, younger citizens tended to lean left. As they got older, took out a mortgage and discovered the pleasures of income taxation, the right’ s appeal became more obvious. But this ideological drift often took place within the same political party. “ Big tent ” affairs like Germany’ s centre-right CDU, or PSOE on Spain’ s centre-left, contained factions that could accommodate just about everyone from bleeding hearts to the fiscally righteous. ( Americans and Brits will also be familiar with, in essence, two-party systems spiced up by the occasional and usually marginal interloper.)
Many European countries today consist of two superimposed polities. Voters in their 70s are hanging on to the big tents, American-style. German pensioners are turning out for the CDU and its rival SPD, parties their own parents might have recognised. Doddering Irish stick with Fine Gael or Fianna Fail, near-centenarian political stalwarts. Their Italian counterparts are more likely to cast a ballot for the Democratic Party or Silvio Berlusconi’ s Forza Italia; the Spanish for their rough equivalents and so on.
For the young, in contrast, centrist big tents are merely one option among many. Ties that might have bound their parents to a party—belonging to a church, say, or to a trade union—often no longer apply. Their resulting political adventurism has helped launch new movements across Europe: a slew of Green parties, the odd ( sometimes very odd) nationalist one, a few liberal splinter groups. Some outfits that have emerged as a result are quirky, like the Five Star Movement in Italy, a shape-shifting party that got a higher share of votes from younger voters than older ones in Italy’ s most recent elections. A few have nasty histories, like Sinn Fein in Ireland: once a terrorist-adjacent group, among the young it is now polling at well over the combined tally of the erstwhile Fine/Fianna duopoly. In Spain both liberal parties and demagogues have sprung up on the far right and left. Outright xenophobes like Jobbik in Hungary and the Sweden Democrats, now both somewhat reformed, got their breakthroughs from young voters before establishing wider bases. In Germany AfD, another migrant-bashing party, has been held back by voters over 70, who are only half as likely as the wider electorate to support it.
The most successful of these political insurgencies can morph into their own big tents. The En Marche! movement that propelled Mr Macron to power in 2017 did so with roughly as many young as old voters. Five years later, having become part of l’ establishment ( and having pillaged the most recognisable talents from the Socialists and Republicans, France’ s old mainstream parties), Mr Macron has baby-boomers to thank for his success. Around 36% of French voters aged 60 or above backed him, nearly twice the rate of the under-25s. Given that turnout increases with age, it was this ballot bonanza which won him a clear first-round victory.
Why the generational divide? Young and old people think of politics differently. Pensioners are loth to ditch parties that helped secure the peace after a war they might remember, or decades of subsequent economic growth. But all that millennials and those in generation Z, from first-time voters to 30-somethings, have lived through are two economic crises since 2008, with covid-19 curfews to boot. The extreme left doesn’ t seem so threatening to those who do not remember the cold war. To older French voters Jean-Luc Mélenchon, a lefty firebrand, is alarmingly reminiscent of crusty French communists who showed fealty to all things Soviet. Younger ones merely like his plan to soak the rich.
Plenty of youngsters rightly feel that mainstream politicians mollycoddle senior citizens, who bought their homes before prices boomed, enjoy inflation-proof pensions and leave behind high public debts and an environmental mess. The class warfare of old has been replaced by a generational divide. The boomers have their political parties; later generations have theirs now too—radical new ones, increasingly. Conventional wisdom once held that youngsters, having sown their electoral seeds, would mature into big-tent voters as they aged. That seems ever more doubtful. The slide of the centrist electoral mastodons has continued for well over two decades now.
Sticking to a dominant duo of entrenched parties is no guarantee of moderation: look at America’ s Republicans. Nor is fragmentation a sure path to extremism. France ditched its two big tents in favour of more centrism, not less. In Belgium and the Netherlands, a dozen or so parties now sit in parliament. Elections are a mere starting gun for the building of arcane coalitions that can take months or even years. Parties on the fringes sometimes shore up governing coalitions, but thus far have not controlled them.
The fragmentation of politics prompted by the young has injected competition into the public sphere. Good. But the old parties that dominated European politics at least did a decent job of forcing extremists to fit their centrist mould or struggle for relevance. A new model is gaining ground. It will include a place for those whom older voters are currently keeping on the sidelines. ■
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 |
Women of Color Remain Among the Most Poorly Paid of All US Workers | It’ s no secret that women in the American workforce earn significantly less money than their male counterparts. Despite ongoing legislation efforts and movements such as “ Equal Pay Day ” to create equity between all workers, the Department of Labor still estimates that the average woman earns just 81% of what a man doing the same job is paid.
A new study from the independent anti-poverty group Oxfam paints an even more dire picture of wage inequality in the U.S. According to the group’ s calculations, roughly one-third of all American workers are currently earning less than $ 15 an hour. And women — Black and Hispanic women in particular — are much more likely to fall within that group than their white, male counterparts.
To compile its report, Oxfam analyzed data from the U.S. Census Bureau’ s most recent 5-year American Community Survey along with its ongoing Current Population Survey. The organization then used that information to create a model showing average wage rates across the country by various populations.
The biggest overall takeaway from the group’ s research: approximately 31.9% of the U.S. workforce earns sub- $ 15 an hour wage. And within that group, there also remains a number of broad racial, gender and geographic disparities. For example, the report calculated that despite ongoing increases in salaries and even minimum wage in some areas, a remarkable
Forty percent of working women still earn less than $ 15 an hour. In contrast, just 25% of men in the workforce are paid that same rate.
Disparities among racial and ethnic groups in the Oxfam data were also striking. While 26% of white workers earn less than $ 15 an hour, the group said that 46% of Hispanic workers and 47% of Black workers are paid at that rate. And among working women of color, more than half make less than $ 15 an hour.
As with most matters related to pay across the country, the Oxfam study confirmed that where a worker was employed could have a dramatic impact on her overall earning potential. Not surprisingly, states with the best and most effective minimum wage laws also tended to have the lowest number of workers earning sub $ 15 an hour wage.
For example, in Washington, D.C. — which is the only area in the country where the minimum wage currently tops $ 15 an hour — just 9% of workers were paid less than $ 15 an hour, according to Oxfam calculations. ( By race, those figures break down to 13% of Black workers and 15% of Hispanic workers.)
But in even a high-performing location like Washington, D.C., gender disparities still persist. An estimated 12% of female workers in the District of Columbia are still making less than $ 15 an hour, and 17% of working women of color in the district have salaries below that figure, according to Oxfam.
Similar numbers, and gender and racial disparities, were found in Washington state and California, which are the second and third best paying states in the country. ( In Washington, the current minimum wage is $ 13.69 per hour. In California, it’ s $ 13 per hour.)
In contrast, Oxfam found that the largest overall low-earning workforce was in Puerto Rico, where an astonishing 76% of all workers are paid less than $ 15 per hour. After that island territory, the two worst paying states on the mainland were Mississippi and New Mexico.
Oxfam researchers calculated that in the Magnolia state, 45% of all workers are paid less than $ 15 per hour — likely because Mississippi has no statewide minimum wage and instead follows the federal minimum pay rate of $ 7.25 an hour. ( Among those low-paid workers in Mississippi, 63% are Black and 70% are working women of color.)
In New Mexico, 44% of workers are paid less than $ 15 an hour, Oxfam said.
In terms of the overall population, among the massive workforce in Texas, approximately 5.7 million workers are paid less than $ 15 an hour, while in sunny Florida, that figure tops more than 4 million. California has more than 3 million workers earning less than $ 15 an hour, and New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, Georgia, Michigan and North Carolina each come in with more than 2 million workers toiling at a near-poverty rate.
Oxfam isn’ t the only group to recently examine just how poorly women in the country are paid, and what that disparity can mean over time. In March, the National Women’ s Law Center looked at pay inequality between the sexes in the U.S and calculated that the average woman would need to work an additional twelve years to match the average American man’ s earnings.
The group also pointed out that over the last year, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, women’ s progress in the workplace had fallen dramatically, with the loss of nearly 1.5 million net jobs. ( An estimated 70% of jobs lost overall because of the pandemic were among female workers.)
Public and corporate awareness initiatives help, but they likely aren’ t enough to dig the country out of a problem that’ s persisted for decades. Oxfam has several policy recommendations it hopes could help to raise working wages across all groups and among women of color. These include federal Congressional passage of the “ Raise the Wage Act, ” which would create a universal national, local and state passage of similar laws if the country’ s top governing bodies can’ t come to an agreement on a minimum wage policy, as well as an increase in the subminimum wage for tipped workers from $ 2.13 ( which was set in 1991) to the full federal minimum wage.
In addition, Oxfam suggests the government could also help in the fight against low working wages by subsidizing childcare working wages and by supporting companies that have shown they pay their workers fair and equal wages.
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Activist investor Blackwells criticizes new Peloton CEO, urges sale | Blackwells Capital, which owns nearly 5% of the company, said Peloton has failed to deliver on promises to transform the business and that too many insiders, including co-founder John Foley, continue to control its moves.
Peloton, a market darling during the COVID-19 pandemic as people flocked to its bikes, treadmills and popular streamed workouts, hired former Netflix executive Barry McCarthy as CEO in February to replace Foley who was named executive chairman.
In a presentation published on Wednesday, Blackwells said the new management team has failed to make `` meaningful changes '' and that shareholders have lost nearly $ 2 billion of value since McCarthy was hired.
Peloton's stock price, which had come under pressure as people returned to gyms as the pandemic eased, has fallen nearly 40% since McCarthy arrived. The company is now worth $ 7.8 billion, down from nearly $ 50 billion at its peak during the pandemic. The stock price climbed 5% to $ 24.91 after the presentation was published.
Peloton said it appreciates investors views and has `` acted, and will continue to act, in the best interest of all Peloton shareholders. ''
Blackwells ' founder, Jason Aintabi, said the $ 800 million expense reduction plan does not appear to go far enough and that there was room to `` further rationalize the business. ''
Aintabi also criticized Foley's decision in February to sell roughly $ 50 million in Peloton stock to Michael Dell's MSD Partners at a 12% discount. The move exacerbates `` misalignment with other shareholders, '' the presentation said.
Aintabi again said Peloton should be sold. It could bring at least $ 75 a share in a sale and companies like Apple, Amazon, Google, Netflix and Nike have complementary businesses that would mesh with Peloton, Aintabi said.
`` For Peloton to garner a similar share price would likely take years through the acquisition of millions more subscribers, '' the presentation said.
( Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss; Editing by Will Dunham, Kirsten Donovan)
By Svea Herbst-Bayliss | business |
FM: Azerbaijan promotes regional, global peace | Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov has stated that Azerbaijan promotes both regional and global peace, the ministry reported on April 13.
Bayramov made the remarks at a Baku-based Model UN conference dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the UN-Azerbaijan partnership, the report added.
“ We actively contribute to sustainable development and engage at all levels in a wide-reaching UN agenda. We promote peace in our region and beyond, develop our bilateral and multilateral cooperation with other countries, participate in the UN peacekeeping operations, fight the COVID-19 pandemic and respond to humanitarian appeals, ” Bayramov stressed.
He emphasized that Azerbaijan is a strong proponent of multilateralism and an active advocate of intercultural communication.
Since joining the United Nations in 1992, Azerbaijan has made every effort to preserve and promote strict adherence to the UN Charter's aims and values as a responsible member of the international community, Bayramov said.
Bayramov recalled that Azerbaijan's assumption of the Non-Aligned Movement ( the world's second-largest political organization) chairmanship coincided with one of the most important global concerns of the time - the COVID-19 pandemic.
“ We managed to transform the new challenges into cooperation opportunities. Multilateralism received a new boost through several significant initiatives of global scale put forward by His Excellency President Ilham Aliyev as chair of NAM, ” the minister stressed.
Highlighting the importance of the NAM, Bayramov said that besides the ongoing pandemic, mankind is facing challenges such as the international security system is being tested by aggressive tactics from various sides. The rising disparities underline the Non-Aligned Movement's legitimacy and historical significance, he stressed.
The minister noted that Azerbaijan’ s chairmanship encouraged global youth cooperation and led to the formation of the NAM Youth Network in October 2021. The network brings together young people from NAM member countries to promote the organization’ s goals and principles, which are nearly identical to those contained in the UN Charter.
“ Motivated by the Model UN simulation experience, for the first time in the 60 years-long history of NAM, we developed the Model NAM Simulation Exercises. In February this year [ 2022 ] at this very university we have inaugurated the first-ever in-person NAM Model Simulation Conference, ” Bayramov emphasized.
The minister appreciated the importance of the simulation exercises in terms of improving young people’ s practical skills to become real leaders in the future. The simulation games provide opportunities for young participants to test their abilities in dealing with difficult global problems, he said.
“ The ADAMUN Simulation Conference will enable the young participants to gain relevant experience in understanding the working methods and principles of various UN bodies. It will help the participants to get acquainted with the political dynamics of the United Nations and to strengthen their negotiation and problem-solving skills. It will also enable the participants to better understand the interests, concerns and sensitivities of individual UN Member States related to the global agenda issues, ” Bayramov underlined.
Furthermore, Bayramov thanked the UN Country Team in Baku led by Vladanka Andreeva for their commitment to promoting Azerbaijan-UN cooperation, as well as organizing the conference.
“ Together with the UN Country Team in Baku we organize a series of events to celebrate this remarkable anniversary. The Simulation Conference that we are inaugurating today is one of those events that bring together promising young minds, ” he said.
Bayramov also expressed his gratitude to ADA University, volunteers and support team members for their contribution.
Addressing the event UN resident coordinator in Azerbaijan, Vladanka Andreeva said that the organization will further cooperate with Azerbaijan on peace-building issues.
`` Contribution to peace-building is one of the main principles of the UN, and we hope to continue further successful cooperation with Azerbaijan in this area, '' she said.
She emphasized that the United Nations and Azerbaijan are working together to accomplish the Sustainable Development Goals.
Andreeva highlighted the importance of 2022, as it marks the 30th anniversary of the Azerbaijan’ s admission to the organization.
“ In this regard, various events will be held throughout 2022, one of which is today's conference, ” Andreeva said.
Furthermore, the resident coordinator discussed global challenges such as food shortages and unemployment, which she believes are main topics in reaching the Sustainable Development Goals.
ADA University hosts a Model UN conference dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the UN-Azerbaijan partnership on April 13.
The conference was co-organized by the UN Office in Azerbaijan, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry, ADA University and ADA Model United Nations ( ADAMUN).
The opening ceremony is attended by over 120 government and UN officials, as well as academicians, civil society and media representatives.
On April 12, President Ilham Aliyev outlined the significance of Azerbaijan-UN relations.
“ First of all, an international event has recently been held in Shusha under the UN auspices - an event dedicated to the 30th anniversary of Azerbaijan’ s membership in the UN. It was a very significant event. It showed yet again that the UN is a body that fully recognizes the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, ” he said.
Azerbaijan has been a UN member since March 2, 1992, when the UN General Assembly admitted the country during its 46th session.
In May 1992, the country established its Permanent Mission in New York City. Azerbaijan applied to the UN General Assembly for membership on October 29, 1991, shortly after gaining independence from the Soviet Union.
Azerbaijan was elected as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for 2012-2013.
The country reached out to the international community, particularly Europe, through the United Nations. Azerbaijan improved its relations with the United Nations by collaborating with UN agencies and bodies such as the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the World Food Programme, and the financial institutions of the United Nations. | general |
Why China is turning away from English | WHEN CHINA made English a compulsory primary-school subject in 2001, the same year it joined the World Trade Organisation, it was taken as a sign that the once-insular country was opening up. The education ministry said the new language requirement was part of a national strategy to “ face modernisation, face the world and face the future ”.
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Two decades on, amid a surge of nationalism, English seems to be falling out of favour. Metro-riders in Beijing, the capital, will notice that the language has been removed from some station placards and maps ( often replaced with pinyin, the romanised form of Mandarin). Some smaller cities, such as Taiyuan and Shenyang, are making similar changes. The province of Hainan has launched a campaign to “ clean up and rectify ” kindergarten names by purging a variety of words, including “ world ”, “ global ”, “ bilingual ” and “ international ”.
Other moves have served to downgrade English teaching. During last year’ s legislative meetings a government adviser proposed removing English and other foreign languages from schools’ core subjects and university entrance exams. The Chinese, he claimed, spend too much time learning English—and too few go on to use it. Anyway, machine translation technology will soon obviate such needs, he said. Officials in Shanghai share these doubts. The city has long tried to downplay the importance of English as an exam subject.
China’ s leader, Xi Jinping, wants his country to show more “ cultural confidence ”. A darker side of that campaign was revealed in 2013, the year after he took power, when the Communist Party circulated “ Document Number Nine ”, a leaked policy paper brimming with paranoia about foreigners who fetishise constitutionalism and universal values, and who seek to “ infiltrate China’ s ideological sphere ”. It called for vigilance against foreign diplomats, journalists and scholars. Some Chinese intellectuals believe the anti-English measures are part of this drive for ideological purity.
The pandemic has sharpened China’ s inward turn. Its borders have been largely closed for over two years. Last month Chinese scholars were barred from attending a conference on Asian studies in Hawaii. That was no surprise, given China’ s strict covid controls. But, bizarrely, officials cited the same covid restrictions when keeping the scholars away from online sessions.
On social media some have questioned the anti-English moves. In doing so, they might invoke the Party’ s own words. Just a few years ago, its official mouthpiece, the People’ s Daily, made an impassioned argument online in favour of multilingualism: “ Foreign language learning has become a tool for Chinese people to take the initiative to go to the world and understand the world. ”
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 |
Country registers 16 new COVID-19 cases, 41 recoveries | Azerbaijan registered 16 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, Operational Headquarters under the Cabinet of Ministers reported on April 13.
Some 41 patients have recovered and 1 patient has died in the reported period.
So far, 792,305 COVID-19 cases have been registered in the country. Some 782,416 patients have recovered, and 9,704 people have died. Currently, 185 people are under treatment in special hospitals.
Over the past day, 4,343 tests were conducted in Azerbaijan to reveal coronavirus cases.
In general, 6,755,203 tests have been conducted in Azerbaijan so far.
So far, some 13,567,201 COVID-19 vaccines have been provided to Azerbaijani citizens. In the past 24 hours, some 8,233 citizens have been vaccinated against COVID-19. | general |
UK Fintech News Round-up: The Latest Stories 13/04 | The Bank of England ( BoE), the central bank for the United Kingdom, saw its data scientist payroll quadruple after Covid-19 hit, splashing on data staff to oversee data operations involving Covid loans.
The data, retrieved via the Freedom of Information Act ( FOI) and analysed by the Parliament Street think tank, revealed the number of data scientists and data analysts employed by the Bank of England, alongside the total payroll for these roles each year between 2017 and 2021. In total over the period, the bank spent a grand total of £2,994,785 on data scientist and data analyst roles.
The most significant increase came between 2019 and 2020, amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, when the BoE’ s total payroll for data scientists rose from £224,579 to £914,472, an increase of 307 per cent. Whilst during that year data analyst spending also grew sharply from £195,031 to £474,303.
BlueSnap, a global payment orchestration platform committed to helping B2B and B2C businesses accept and optimise payments around the world, has launched its Embedded Payments and Payfac-as-a-Service offering for software platforms looking to scale their customer base globally.
Ralph Dangelmaier, CEO of BlueSnap, said: “ The traditional development cycle for payments processing infrastructure and global licensing takes up to three years in-house. This extended time to market puts software companies at risk of falling behind competitors and losing traction with customers. BlueSnap is on a mission to help empower platforms to reach customers globally and profit from a key, but often overlooked, part of the customer journey – payments.
“ That’ s why we’ ve developed three tailored solutions for businesses so that they can crawl, walk, or run on their journey to become payment facilitators – choosing the best option for their growth cycle and the unique needs of their company. ”
Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield ( URW), owner and operator of Westfield shopping centres across the US, the UK and Continental Europe, has announced the expansion of its international brand partnership with Clearpay, a provider in “ Buy Now, Pay Later ” payments.
Clearpay will become URW’ s “ Buy Now, Pay Later ” brand partner with a programme of consumer advertising and experiential activity at the brand’ s London flagship centres, Westfield London and Westfield Stratford.
Grace Charge, Head of Brand Experience and Partnerships, Europe at Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield said: “ We are delighted to welcome Clearpay to Westfield London and Westfield Stratford City bringing a new way to shop in store to many retailers whilst offering customers increased choice and flexibility in how they shop. Through our international partnership, Clearpay will now be able to engage with almost half a billion Westfield customers across our network of centres in the US and UK, combined. We look forward to developing more innovative and exciting experiential activity with Clearpay in the UK and beyond. ”
Volt, an open payments gateway has recruited payments veteran Matt Komorowski as its new Chief Revenue Officer ( CRO).
Matt joins Volt after almost a decade with PayPal, where for the past three years he has been leading the payments giant’ s channel partnership business across APAC, LATAM, and MEA. Previously, Matt was instrumental in PayPal’ s record growth in a variety of senior commercial and leadership roles across Northern, Central, and Eastern Europe.
Matt’ s role at Volt will ensure that the open payments powerhouse continues on its path to hypergrowth and drives the adoption of open banking with merchants and PSPs worldwide
Zilch, the London-based fintech Unicorn, announced it has taken another major step forward in innovating its technology to measure affordability through its latest partnership with Experian, the global information services company to begin reciprocal reporting of Buy Now Pay Later credit information.
Through this new partnership, Zilch will connect the comprehensive database of insights into what its 2 million customers can afford, which in turn will assist its active decision-making processes. Zilch uniquely makes use of open banking data and its own proprietary data to assess customer affordability on each transaction and adding this to that mix will strengthen Zilch and Experian’ s ability to drive customer value responsibly.
Philip Belamant, Zilch Co-Founder & CEO, said “ Our mission at Zilch is to provide people with the most ubiquitous and rewarding way to pay for anything, anywhere. This partnership is one of many technology alignments that we are leveraging as we scale in order to create the most comprehensive view of a customer’ s affordability all while ensuring performance is fed back to partners allowing others in the space to take responsible decisions too. ”
Digital Isle of Man, part of the Isle of Man Government’ s Department for Enterprise, has announced that Blackfridge SC Limited ( “ Blackfridge ”) has become the first GBP pegged stablecoin business to be licensed in the British Isles. It follows their entry into the Isle of Man Financial Services Authority’ s regulatory sandbox, which was established to allow products to be tested in a live environment while reducing the potential risk to consumers.
This comes as the Isle of Man Financial Services Authority has granted a financial services licence to Blackfridge to undertake payment services and issue electronic money. Blackfridge is to soon launch its stablecoin product, “ poundtoken ”, the first e-money instrument constituted as a GBP pegged stablecoin issued in the British Isles.
Lyle Wraxall, Chief Executive of Digital Isle of Man, commented: “ We are delighted that Blackfridge has entered the Isle of Man Financial Services Authority’ s Sandbox and become the first GBP pegged stablecoin issuer licensed in the British Isles. Blackfridge is a cutting-edge business, and we’ re pleased to have played a part in their journey as they reach this regulatory milestone ahead of the launch of their stablecoin. The Island welcomes innovative technology and is focused on supporting more businesses through the regulatory process, giving them the ability to best use this transformative technology. ”
Polly is a journalist, content creator and general opinion holder from North Wales. She has written for a number of publications, usually hovering around the topics of fintech, tech, lifestyle and body positivity.
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Global renewable power prices soar on heavy demand, chaotic supply chain | Contract prices for renewables jumped 28.5% in North America and 27.5% in Europe in the last year, according to a quarterly index by LevelTen Energy that tracks the deals, known in the industry as power purchase agreements ( PPAs).
In the first quarter alone, prices rose 9.7% in North America and 8.6% in Europe, LevelTen said.
Economic, logistical and labor market disruptions during the coronavirus pandemic have worsened since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, reversing a decade of cost declines for the renewable energy sector.
There is a risk higher costs could slow demand growth at a time when the United Nations has called for clean energy to expand more rapidly to avoid the worst effects of a warming climate.
`` We still need keep the foot on the gas here, '' Rob Collier, vice president of LevelTen's energy marketplace, said in an interview.
Aggravating challenges in North America, the sector is uncertain whether U.S. lawmakers will extend tax breaks for renewable energy facilities, part of President Joe Biden's climate change agenda. Developers also are worried about a U.S. Commerce Department investigation initiated this year that could result in tariffs on solar panel imports from Asia, pushing up costs.
`` There's just intractable problems right now with our supply chain, '' Reagan Farr, chief executive of U.S. solar developer Silicon Ranch, said in an interview.
In Europe, the war in Ukraine has led governments to try to reduce dependence on natural gas from Russia, further boosting robust demand for renewables.
The war has been `` the last straw for a market where there was already a lot of price tension, '' Oscar Perez, a partner at Spain-based fund manager and renewable energy developer Q-Energy, said in an interview.
Higher costs for renewables in Europe, along with the continent's aggressive climate policies, should boost the appeal of pricier technologies like green hydrogen and biofuels, according to Raymond James analyst Graham Price.
For now, soaring prices have not slowed demand, LevelTen said. In a poll the company conducted of 21 sustainability and energy advisers, 75% said their clients have accelerated or maintained procurement plans, according to the report.
`` It's not about demand, '' Luigi Sacco, head of PPA origination at Milan-based Falck Renewables, said. `` Demand is there but supply is struggling a bit in several markets. ''
One factor luring buyers to renewables is the soaring cost of fossil fuels.
`` The ready alternative to renewable generation right now is gas, and gas prices are up 100% as well, '' Farr said. `` So you pick your poison. ''
( Reporting by Nichola Groom in Los Angeles and Isla Binnie in Madrid; Editing by David Gregorio)
By Nichola Groom and Isla Binnie | business |
EMEA Morning Briefing: Stocks to Track Wall Street Lower | MARKET WRAPS
Watch For:
UK producer prices, Inflation figures; Ifo Joint Economic Forecast of German economic research institutes; updates from Galp Energia, Tesco, Electrocomponents.
Opening Call:
European stocks could open lower Wednesday tracking losses on Wall Street. U.S. stock futures were pointing higher on hopes that the curbs on U.S. interest rates may moderate after new data showed signs of slowing inflation. The dollar was flat in early Asia trading. 10-year Treasury yields edges higher in Asia. Oil was buoyed by China's decision Tuesday to lift some Covid-19 restrictions in Shanghai. Gold was steady.
Equities:
European stocks are set to open lower tracking a lower close on Wall Street.
Stocks ended slightly lower on Wall Street after investors weighed the inflation data for March, although overall it remained at its highest level in 40 years. Some analysts urged caution.
`` `` The fact remains that pricing pressures are still elevated at its highest level in 40 years and the near-term outlook for an aggressive tightening of policies to cool demand stays unaltered. Comments from Fed Governor Lael Brainard overnight, who has been a well-known dovish voice in the Fed, continued to reveal a firm stance in getting inflation down, `` said Yeap Jun Rong, market strategist at IG in Singapore.
Asian shares were mostly higher as Regional optimism was lifted by the easing of a COVID-19 lockdown in Shanghai.
`` The good news is that China will begin to come out of lockdowns at some point, and there will be an injection of stimulus of some form by the authorities to reboot communities and the economy. The light at the end of the tunnel is reasonably bright for China, '' said Clifford Bennett, chief economist at ACY Securities. But added: `` Do not expect a return to rampant growth however. ''
Stocks to watch:
Tesco investors are likely to eye any news on shareholder returns in the U.K. grocer's full-year results on Wednesday. UBS said it expects `` strong '' group retail pretax earnings before interest of GBP2.65 billion and retail free cash-flow of GBP2.1 billion.
`` We expect Tesco to take the opportunity to provide a view on annual capacity for regular buybacks and potentially to move to GBP750 million for the year ahead, which with the dividend points to 7-8% capital returns, '' the Swiss bank said.
-- -
LVMH has started 2022 with a strong set of results, Bernstein said, after the French luxury-goods group once more beat consensus expectations with its first-quarter revenue.
Group sales were up 23% organically on year at just above EUR18 billion, driven by a comfortable beat of 30% growth at the core fashion division, Bernstein notes.
Other divisions were more in line, but overall growth remains rapid and `` normalization must wait, '' the brokerage added. Bernstein has an outperform rating and a EUR781 target on LVMH stock, which closed ahead of the print 1.8% higher at EUR630.90.
Market Insight:
The World Trade Organization forecasts world GDP at market exchange rates to grow by 2.8% in 2022, down from its earlier forecast of 4.1% growth and compared with the 5.7% increase in 2021. Output growth, the WTO said, should pick up to 3.2% in 2023.
The WTO also cut its merchandise trade volume forecast, citing the Russia-Ukraine conflict in addition to pandemic-related restrictions that are disrupting seaborne trade and adding to supply-chain challenges.
It now expects merchandise trade volume to increase by 3% in 2022, down from its earlier view of 4.7%, and 3.4% in 2023.
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Investors ' expectations of global growth hit a record low in April on the back of the likelihood of swift interest-rate increases by the Federal Reserve, Bank of America's monthly global fund manager survey shows. Investors remain positive on equities despite a deteriorating profit outlook, while fewer investors consider the dollar to be overvalued. Read more here.
Forex:
The U.S. dollar was flat in early Asian trading. Karl Schamotta at Corpay notes consumer prices hit another four-decade high last month, which he attributes in part to the Ukraine war sending energy costs soaring.
`` Jumps in gas, shelter, and food were -- again -- the largest contributors to the increase, with gasoline alone responsible for more than half of the headline growth. But underlying demand showed signs of softening, '' the chief market strategist said in a note.
He added: `` implications for the Federal Reserve's near-term trajectory are limited, but 10-year Treasury yields are falling and the dollar is trading on a weaker footing as investors lower long-term rate expectations. ''
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The ECB could signal that it will withdraw stimulus at a faster pace at Thursday's meeting but this is unlikely to provide much relief to the euro, BMO Capital Markets said.
The ECB could set the end of June as the formal cut-off for asset purchases or flag the potential for purchases to wrap up even earlier, BMO forex strategists said in a note.
It could also indicate that interest rates will rise very soon after asset purchases end, they said. `` While we still think the EUR is broadly a sell on rallies, we would not be heavily adding to short-EUR exposures ahead of Thursday's ECB policy announcement. '' Short positions bet on an asset price falling.
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Asian currencies are mixed against the dollar in the morning Asian session as market participants digest signs of easing U.S. core inflation, rising oil prices and loosening of some Covid-19 restrictions in China.
However, the future path of aggressive Fed tightening appears unaltered, said IG market strategist Yeap Jun Rong in an email, noting Fed governor Brainard's overnight comments where she remained firm for the central bank to move expeditiously to bring down inflation.
Bonds:
Two- and 10-year Treasury yields had their biggest declines in weeks on Tuesday as investors focused on details of March's consumer price index report that suggest U.S. inflation may have peaked.
Early Wednesday, the yield on the 10-year Treasury note was spotted at 2.740% from 2.724% Tuesday.
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JPMorgan expects an abrupt reduction in corporate bond purchases by the ECB in the three months to September.
`` We have not yet seen any reduction in ECB corporate bond purchases, despite an almost halving in total Asset Purchase Program plus Pandemic Emergency Purchase Program purchases over the past five months, '' analysts at the U.S. investment bank said.
As a result, `` tapering in our space is likely to be more of a 'cliff edge ' in the next quarter. '' The ECB has been buying corporate bonds since 2015 and in 2020 launched the Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme to support companies across the continent and prevent an expected wave of defaults.
Energy:
Oil was higher in the early Asian session, buoyed by China's decision Tuesday to lift some Covid-19 restrictions in Shanghai in neighborhoods where no new infections have been reported over the past two weeks.
There's optimism toward rebounding demand as there are signs that China's lockdowns are easing in some areas, said CMC Markets analyst Tina Teng in an email.
Traders believe the ongoing Ukraine war has had a material impact on global energy supply, with peace talks in stalemate, Teng added.
Metals:
Gold was trading steadily in the early morning Asian session, supported by prospects that U.S. inflation may have peaked.
Although inflation surged to a new four-decade high in March from the same month a year earlier, Wall Street is breathing a sigh of relief that inflation wasn't scorching hot, said Oanda senior market analyst Edward Moya in an e-mail.
Also, core consumer price increases are slowing and investors are hoping this could mean that the Fed may not need to maintain an aggressive monetary stance beyond the summer, he added.
TODAY 'S TOP HEADLINES
Fed's Barkin Says Economy May Be Shifting to Higher Inflation Regime
The Federal Reserve may be facing more persistent inflation pressures that could mean interest rates will be higher than in recent years, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Thomas Barkin said Tuesday.
`` There are a few reasons to think we may face more headwinds when it comes to containing inflation going forward, '' Mr. Barkin said in a speech text.
U.S. Inflation Accelerated to 8.5% in March, Hitting Four-Decade High
U.S. inflation surged to a new four-decade high of 8.5% in March from the same month a year ago, driven by skyrocketing energy and food costs, supply constraints and strong consumer demand.
The Labor Department on Tuesday said the consumer-price index-which measures what consumers pay for goods and services-last month rose at its fastest annual pace since December 1981, up from the 7.9% annual rate in February. Rising prices have been unrelenting, with six straight months of inflation above 6% that is well above the Federal Reserve's average 2% target.
Grocers Push Through Inflation, Passing Higher Prices to Shoppers
Rising food prices are helping boost sales and profits for U.S. grocery chains, as some retailers said that consumers so far are accepting higher prices.
Supermarket operators including Albertsons Cos., Kroger Co. and others are reporting rising sales, driven by increasing food prices and consumers continuing to prepare many meals at home. Profits are rising for grocery chains too as they raise prices of many products rather than absorb all increases, though some executives have said that inflation is starting to alter consumers ' shopping habits.
Soft 'Core ' Inflation Reading Hands Bonds a Reprieve
U.S. government bond yields fell Tuesday after new data showed some tentative signs of easing inflation pressures.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note settled at 2.724%, according to Tradeweb, compared with 2.779% Monday, its highest close since early 2019. The yield is up from 1.496% at the end of 2021.
Federal Budget Deficit Narrowed 71% in March From Year Earlier
( MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires
04-13-22 0031ET | business |
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Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs in the reversible jersey at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, on March 23. Photographer: Claus Andersen/Getty Images, Photographer: Claus Andersen/Getty Images
Justin Bieber and the Toronto Maple Leafs have the top-selling jersey style in hockey.
A collaboration between the Canadian pop star and the National Hockey League franchise has been the most popular purchase among fans over the last three weeks, outpacing all others across the league’ s e-commerce and retail stores, according to the NHL.
The new formula involves the kind of streetwear hype normally associated with brands like Yeezy and Supreme, with the design first leaked by Martha Stewart at a party in early March a few weeks prior to release. One side of the reversible Adidas jersey is black and blue — an alternate color scheme for the Leafs on the ice. The other is black and yellow with the smiley face signature of Bieber’ s Drew House fashion label.
The NHL has been trying to drum up interest among young fans in recent years. It’ s getting players to become more active on social media and has built up a presence on TikTok. The league also created a youth advisory board made up of teenagers. This season, the NHL began a seven-year media rights arrangement with ESPN and Turner Sports, which brought games to streaming platforms ESPN+ and Hulu.
Bieber, who’ s from Ontario, and the Maple Leafs have had a few link-ups before, including a song about his hometown hockey team and a limited-edition offer of hoodies and shirts last year. Sales of the new alternate jerseys were surely boosted by Bieber promoting the products extensively to his 230 million Instagram followers.
“ It’ s phenomenal and we’ re so pleased, ” Shannon Hosford, Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment’ s chief marketing officer, said in an interview. She added it was the first time the team has involved a celebrity in jersey creation, calling it “ a big change for our brand. ”
Many sizes for both men and women are sold out and the majority of buyers are new customers for the Maple Leafs, said Hosford. The jerseys, which were for team’ s annual youth-focused Next Gen games, will appear occasionally over the next two seasons and both sides are now discussing another potential project.
While getting your work done from a beach or a café in Europe might sound appealing, it’ s emerging as a potentially contentious subject between bosses and employees in the era of remote work.
Ontario’ s cannabis distributor says the number of pot shop openings is still growing but at a slower pace than previously seen.
Oil notched a weekly gain as traders weighed a global supply deficit, a potential ban on Russian oil from the European Union, and and China’ s latest virus lockdowns.
Peloton is slashing prices for its three major hardware products while boosting the cost of its subscription, part of a comeback plan that centers on generating more recurring revenue.
Hours after delivering the biggest interest-rate hike in 22 years in Canada, Tiff Macklem had a message for investors: There’ s no reason to worry about inflation getting out of hand.
TD Bank’ s chief executive says the corporate tax rate increase targeting financial institutions announced in last week’ s federal budget `` could lead to unintended consequences. ''
Stocks fell as Treasury yields climbed on speculation the Federal Reserve will boost rates aggressively to contend with decades-high inflation. The expiration of options potentially amplified equity-market moves on Thursday.
The International Energy Agency cut its forecast for global oil demand this year after China reimposed lockdowns to contain the spread of a resurgent coronavirus.
Feds target property flippers, more supply in $ 10.1B housing plan
Canada's big banks didn’ t waste much time following the Bank of Canada’ s lead, announcing Wednesday afternoon they will raise their prime rates half a percentage point to 3.2%, effective Thursday.
The Federal Reserve will roll back pandemic policy support in a way that will help cool the hottest inflation in decades but still support economic growth and jobs, Bank of Cleveland President Loretta Mester said.
GFL Environmental says it has reached a deal with the Competition Bureau, which had challenged the company's purchase of Terrapure last year.
New data from Statistics Canada shows multiple-property owners held between 29 and 41% of the housing stock in Ontario, British Columbia, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick in 2019 and 2020.
Citigroup delivered-better-than expected trading results amid volatility sparked by Russia’ s invasion of Ukraine -- even as the same turmoil crimped the bank’ s profits by nearly US $ 2 billion.
Manufacturing sales rose 4.2% in February as auto manufacturers ramped up production even as the industry faced protests blockading the Ambassador Bridge between Canada and the U.S. as well as an ongoing chip shortage.
An analyst who covers Canada’ s banks is warning of choppy waters ahead and is urging clients to take a more defensive approach as economic uncertainty threatens to send shares sharply lower.
Goldman Sachs traders soared past analysts’ estimates as war-induced volatility helped the firm score an earnings beat as well.
Porsche deliveries fell during the first quarter after outbreaks of coronavirus in China shut dealerships and a number of vehicles were lost at sea when a cargo ship caught fire and sank.
Shopify announced a number of proposed changes to its governance and share structure on Monday.
Canadian lobster exports reached a staggering $ 3.26 billion last year, beating the previous record of $ 2.59 billion, set in 2019, by more than 25 per cent.
Ottawa plans to spend more than a half-billion dollars to fix supply chain issues, but experts say it falls far short of the kind of comprehensive strategy needed to address longstanding problems.
The Bank of Canada raised its interest rate by half a percentage point in its biggest hike in 22 years and said rates are poised to move significantly higher as it moves aggressively to wrestle inflation down from a three-decade high.
The federal government is taking sharper aim at real estate investors and property flippers in a bid to help halt the country’ s long-standing – and worsening – housing affordability problem.
U.S. retail sales picked up in March, helped by a surge in gas station receipts that masked mixed results in other large spending categories as consumers contend with decades-high inflation.
“ Yes, we do think there will be a need for the policy rate to get up closer to a neutral rate. From there, we probably need to be more humble, ” Macklem said | general |
China's widening COVID curbs threaten global supply chain paralysis | While some factory owners try to tough it out through `` closed loop '' management that keeps workers isolated inside, some said that is becoming harder to sustain given the extent of local COVID-19 curbs aimed at heading off the Omicron variant, complicating efforts to procure materials or ship products.
Foxconn Interconnect Technology, a unit of Taiwan-based Foxconn that makes data transmission equipment and connectors, has kept a plant open in Kunshan, which borders Shanghai, in a closed loop but is only able to run at 60% of capacity, a person familiar with the matter said.
Foxconn did not respond to a request for comment.
On Wednesday, more than 30 Taiwan companies, many making electronics parts, said that COVID-19 measures in eastern China had led them to suspend production until at least next week.
A day earlier, German auto parts giant Bosch said it suspended output at sites in Shanghai and Changchun, while putting two other plants under `` closed-loop '' operation. Also on Tuesday, Taiwan's Pegatron Corp, which assembles Apple Inc iPhones, halted operations in Shanghai and Kunshan.
Sven Agten, Asia Pacific CEO of Rheinzink, a German maker of zinc construction materials, said logistical challenges make a closed-loop unworkable at his Shanghai warehouse and manufacturing facilities, and expects to have zero sales during April and possibly May.
`` We need somebody in the warehouse and the manufacturing facility to do the work, and we need a truck and a driver. These are the two key components, and both are impossible, '' he told Reuters.
GRAPHIC - Container vessels crowd off key ports near Shanghai
China's zero-tolerance approach to COVID-19, despite low case numbers and even as the rest of the world tries to live with the coronavirus, is proving unwieldy given the extreme infectiousness of the less-deadly Omicron variant.
The zeal to cut-off virus transmission chains means localised curbs extend far beyond virus hotspots Shanghai and Jilin province in the northeast. An April 7 study by Gavekal Dragonomics found that 87 of China's 100 largest cities by GDP have imposed some form of quarantine curbs.
On Saturday, electric vehicle maker Nio said it had to suspend production at its Hefei factory - even though there were no local-level curbs - because suppliers from other areas had stopped work.
TRUCKERS ' BLUES
Truck transport has been especially hard hit, causing long queues and delays and driving up prices. The normal rate to book a truck from Shandong province to Shanghai had more than quadrupled from 7,000 yuan ( $ 1,100) to 30,000 yuan, said an executive at a trucking firm who declined to be identified.
`` It has become extremely difficult for our company to find available trucks near Shanghai in the past two weeks as many truck drivers were either stuck on the highways or locked down in the cities, '' he said, adding that he was subcontracting orders - at a loss - to keep goods moving.
The city of Xuzhou, a logistics hub, on April 8 began requiring truck drivers to produce negative PCR test results taken within 48 hours to take more tests upon arrival. They can not exit their trucks.
Some drivers have become stuck on highways after visiting areas like Shanghai, which meant their smartphone health codes were automatically invalidated. Last week, state media reported on a truck driver who lived in his truck for seven days after traveling to Shanghai.
CLOGGED PORTS, GLOBAL IMPACT
Foreign business groups have been especially vocal about their concerns, with the European Chamber of Commerce in China sending a letter to the government last week noting that about half of German firms in the country were experiencing supply chain problems.
China has tried to cushion the impact of the curbs by keeping ports and aiports running and encouraging closed-loop manufacturing.
But the number of container vessels waiting off Shanghai - the world's busiest container port - and nearby Zhoushan has more than doubled since the start of April to 118, nearly three times the number a year ago, Refinitiv data showed.
GRAPHIC - Container congestion worsens off key ports along Eastern China
Danish shipper Maersk on Monday recommended to clients that they divert from congested Shanghai port to other Chinese destinations.
Economists have cut growth forecasts for China on the back of such disruptions, with Beijing's official growth target of around 5.5% this year seen as increasingly difficult to reach.
ING last week downgraded its GDP forecast for China to 4.6% from 4.8% previously.
On Wednesday its chief economist for China, Iris Pang, warned that China's COVID crisis could impact growth rates around the world.
`` A problem in China could be a problem for the global economy, '' she said.
Chen Xin, who runs a family-owned embroidery and garment painting factory in Guangdong province, said that since late March he has been unable able to ship roughly 70-80% of orders because customers can't receive them.
`` The current situation is, the impact of the policy is greater than the epidemic, '' he said.
( $ 1 = 6.3651 Chinese yuan renminbi)
( Reporting by Zhang Yan and Josh Horwitz in Shanghai, Martin Quin Pollard in Beijng and Yimou Lee in Taipei, Additional reporting by Gavin Maguire in Singapore; Writing by Brenda Goh; Editing by Tony Munroe and Kim Coghill) | business |
The Treason of the Conservatives by Jan-Werner Mueller | By championing Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his model of venal “ conservative ” rule, Western critics of liberalism have clarified where they really stand. When the chips are down, they would be more than willing to sacrifice democracy and sanction industrial-scale theft.
BUDAPEST – The global far right is gloating. After recent setbacks, one of their standard-bearers, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, won an overwhelming victory in this month’ s parliamentary election. While figures like the Italian nationalist politician Matteo Salvini have appeared to pay a price for their past adulation of Russian President Vladimir Putin, neither Marine Le Pen, the runner-up in the first round of the French presidential elections, nor Orbán ( Putin’ s closest ally in the European Union, and also a servant of China) most certainly did not.
Assorted post-liberal, illiberal, and anti-liberal intellectuals have long celebrated Orbán’ s Hungary as a nationalist-conservative Disneyland ( where men are still men and women are still women). Now, they are hailing him as the true leader of the West, whose electoral victory must be seen as a decisive popular rejection of liberalism. But their willingness to justify even the most unsavory aspects of Orbán’ s rule demonstrates something that was already evident during Donald Trump’ s one-term presidency in the United States: they will pay any price for their illiberal policy preferences to be realized, even accepting authoritarianism and kleptocracy.
The Hungarian election was free but not fair, because it was held under a system that international observers have rightly described as electoral autocracy. Those falling for Orbán’ s self-advertising as an “ illiberal democrat ” have bought into the idea that democracy is real so long as the ruling party does not openly stuff the ballot boxes. But democracy requires more than fraud-free elections; it also requires the effective use of essential rights, not least a free media environment in which parties can make their case to citizens.
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Jan-Werner Mueller, Professor of Politics at Princeton University, is a fellow at The New Institute, Hamburg and the author, most recently, of Democracy Rules ( Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2021; Allen Lane, 2021).
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Before Russian President Vladimir Putin’ s attack on Ukraine, Europe’ s recovery from the damage wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic was solidifying. But now European policymakers have exactly zero control over whether their economies ' rebound continues.
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| general |
U.S. extends transit mask mandate through May 3 | The move comes amid a recent uptick in COVID-19 cases, and would keep the requirements in place through May 3.
Citing the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the order was needed to monitor the recent rise of cases, and the spread of the COVID-19 subvariant BA.2, making up 85% of U.S. cases:
``... what they're looking at is that since early April, there's been an increase in the seven-day moving average of the cases in the United States. So what they're trying to do is give a little bit more time to assess its potential impact. The rise of the cases have on severe disease, including hospitalizations and deaths and the health care system capacity... ''
Industry groups and Republican lawmakers want the administration to immediately end the 14-month-old mask mandate.
While Airlines for America, a trade group, on Wednesday in a letter urged Biden's administration `` to lean into science and research, which clearly support lifting the mask mandate. ''
Last month, the U.S. Senate voted 57-40 to overturn the public health order requiring masks on airplanes and other forms of public transportation, drawing a veto threat from Biden.
The CDC first issued a public health order requiring masks in interstate transportation and at transit hubs in February 2021 - the Transportation Security Administration then enforced that order. | business |
U.S. mortgage interest rates top 5%, buyers look to lock in rates | The average contract rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage increased to 5.13% in the week ended April 8 from 4.90% a week earlier. It is up more than 1.5 percentage points since the start of the year as the Federal Reserve has begun to tighten financial conditions to cool demand in the economy amid high inflation.
Fed policymakers now anticipate a series of swift interest rate hikes until the end of this year at least as they seek to bring down inflation, after they raised the benchmark overnight lending rate last month for the first time in three years.
Investors see the Fed bringing its federal funds rate to 2.5% -2.75% by the end of 2022, up from the current target range of between 0.25% and 0.5%.
Officials are also expected to start culling the central bank's portfolio of $ 8.5 trillion of U.S. Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities as early as next month, a stash of assets that had also helped keep consumer borrowing costs - for mortgages in particular - low throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
Those expectations for Fed tightening actions have led to a surge in Treasury yields. The yield on the 10-year note, which acts as a benchmark for mortgage rates, has reached its highest since 2018, and the average 30-year mortgage contract rate has shot up by 1.8 percentage points since the start of the year, the fastest climb in home-financing costs in decades.
The rise in borrowing costs, which has dampened demand for mortgage applications overall since the start of the year, caused a small bump in activity last week as homebuyers rushed to lock in rates before they move even higher.
The MBA said its Purchase Composite Index, a measure of all mortgage loan applications for purchase of a single-family home, increased 1.4% on a seasonally adjusted basis to 261.8, while the refinance index fell 4.9%.
The MBA's latest economic forecast was also released on Wednesday, with mortgage originations seen declining 35.5.% in 2022 from a year earlier to $ 2.58 trillion.
Purchase originations are still seen rising and are expected to increase 4% from last year to a record $ 1.72 trillion in 2022.
( Reporting by Lindsay Dunsmuir; Editing by Mark Potter and Will Dunham) | business |
China backlog, rising dwell times pose threat to Port of Los Angeles rebound | The issues loom as cargo volumes are rising at the port, with more imports on the way.
LOS ANGELES — Rail issues, rising container dwell times and a backlog of ships in China pose threats to continuing supply chain improvements at the Port of Los Angeles. Still, port and union leaders expressed confidence on Tuesday in their ability to handle a potential surge.
Cargo volumes were already slightly up in March, with 958,674 TEUs crossing the piers. That's a slight increase from last year, and the port ended Q1 with volumes up 3.5% YoY.
The increase in cargo was unexpected, coming off a strong March 2021, Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka said during his virtual monthly briefing. He attributed the rise in volumes to better fluidity on the docks and improved labor availability with fewer dockworkers out with COVID-19.
`` We 've been working at this for a long time, and it's paying off, with fewer vessels waiting in the queue and more velocity on the terminals, '' he said, later adding: `` Past performance does not guarantee future results. We 'll be working hard at this every day. ''
About 495,000 TEUs of imports moved through the Los Angeles port last month, Seroka reported. The port handled nearly 112,000 TEUs of exports, a 9% drop YoY and the 37th decline in the past 41 months.
`` The 30-day rolling number on cargo output from the port into the interior of the United States continues to be at elevated levels, '' Seroka said. `` Cargo density on the docks is not bad, although it's [ crept ] up over the last month. ''
The Los Angeles port has been working for months to encourage shippers to increase their usage of its on-dock rail. Those efforts paid off with a six-fold increase in rail volume in March, Seroka reported.
But congestion further inland is disrupting rail operations at the port, leading to longer dwell times and contributing to a rise in on-dock cargo density. Many shippers had shifted their cargo to other ports or to truck after railroads suspended some inland service last year.
Around 20,000 containers dwelled nine days or longer in March, up from 8,800 in the previous month.
`` We're working diligently with C-suite partners and the administration in Washington to reposition rail cars and get containers into the U.S. interior, '' Seroka said.
Shippers and analysts have also warned that lockdowns in China and and upcoming labor negotiations at West Coast ports could exacerbate congestion just as companies replenish inventories. But Seroka remained confident in the port's ability to handle potential disruption.
Hundreds of ships waiting for cargo at ports in China will `` more than likely '' lead to short-term lulls in cargo flow, followed by a quick bounce-back in purchase orders, Seroka said.
`` I don't see this getting out of control at this point, '' he said.
Seroka also noted that bargaining with ILWU is progressing ahead of the union's contract expiration July 1. Willie Adams, ILWU International President, and Frank Ponce De Leon, ILWU Coast Committeeman, joined the port executive in a pre-recorded, waterside interview, which rolled during the briefing.
Both union leaders praised their membership, more than 40 of whom have died of COVID-19 during the pandemic. They encouraged onlookers concerned about the bargaining to let the negotiations unfold.
`` Everybody out there, just tone it down and stop all the rhetoric, '' Adams said. `` We have been negotiating — the ILWU and our employers — since the 1930s. There's adults on both sides of the table. It's called the process. ''
Topics covered: logistics, freight, operations, procurement, regulation, technology, risk/resilience and more.
Retail supply chains have transformed into a complex web of goods movement and technology, with more touchpoints to the consumer than ever before.
The retailer's acquisition of a middle- and final-mile carrier as the COVID-19 pandemic took hold has allowed it to take more control over its delivery process.
Topics covered: logistics, freight, operations, procurement, regulation, technology, risk/resilience and more.
Topics covered: logistics, freight, operations, procurement, regulation, technology, risk/resilience and more.
Retail supply chains have transformed into a complex web of goods movement and technology, with more touchpoints to the consumer than ever before.
The retailer's acquisition of a middle- and final-mile carrier as the COVID-19 pandemic took hold has allowed it to take more control over its delivery process.
Topics covered: logistics, freight, operations, procurement, regulation, technology, risk/resilience and more. | general |
Making remote work, work | How do we address the challenges of remote work? Lessons from both sides of the Atlantic.
For people who want to go back to the old way of work, the train has left the station. COVID-19 has given a huge impetus to working from home for those jobs that can, where more individuals are able to choose when and where they are most productive, and companies can choose what they want remote work to look like.
Giuseppe Porcaro is joined by J.Scott Marcus and Lisette Sutherland to explore remote work on both sides of the Atlantic. Together they discuss work-life balance, gender gaps, skill acquisition, modernisation of workflows, technology adoption, managerial culture and flexibility enhancement.
Relevant publication: COVID-19 and the accelerated shift to technology-enabled Work from Home ( WFH), J. Scott Marcus, Georgios Petropoulos and Antonio Aloisi
This podcast was produced within the project “ Transatlantic expert group on the future of work “, with the financial support of the European Union. Its contents are the sole responsibility of Bruegel AISBL and The German Marshall Fund of the United States and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.
A live podcast on energy sanctions on Russia following the EU ban on Russian coal.
Sergei Guriev joins us to discuss how the Russian invasion of Ukraine will affect the economies of Russia and the world.
Oleg Ustenko, Economic Advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy joins us to discuss the situation in Ukraine.
A special episode of the Sound of Economics Live on China-Russia relations in the context of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. | business |
Inflation, Scarce Labor Among Challenges Facing Midcontinent, Rockies Producers | Sign in to get the best natural gas news and data. Follow the topics you want and receive the daily emails.
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Oil and natural gas producers in the Midcontinent and Rockies are generally bullish on commodity prices but face challenges including labor scarcity, supply chain issues and drilling cost inflation, according to the latest Tenth District Energy Survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.
The Kansas City Fed, as it is better known, conducts the quarterly survey to gauge upstream activity levels and sentiment around oil and natural gas pricing in the Tenth Federal Reserve District. The district includes all of Kansas, Colorado, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Wyoming, along with the western third of Missouri and the northern half of New Mexico.
Labor scarcity and investor pressure to maintain capital discipline ranked as the top two factors constraining growth for exploration and production ( E & P) firms in the region, the survey found. Respondents also cited price uncertainty and supply chain issues/lack of materials among the top reasons.
[ Want today’ s Henry Hub, Houston Ship Channel and Chicago Citygate prices? Check out NGI’ s daily natural gas price snapshot now. ]
Despite these challenges, respondents said on average they plan to increase production 7.5% by the fourth quarter of 2022. Firms were contacted from March 15-31.
Oil price expectations surpassed survey records, said the Kansas City Fed’ s Chad Wilkerson, vice president, who oversees the central bank’ s Oklahoma City branch office. Respondents were asked what they expected oil and natural gas prices to be in six months, one year, two years and five years.
The average expected West Texas Intermediate ( WTI) oil prices for those intervals were $ 96/bbl, $ 89, $ 83 and $ 84, respectively. The corresponding Henry Hub natural gas price predictions were $ 4.45/MMBtu, $ 4.32, $ 4.29 and $ 4.74.
Survey participants said they expect continued volatility in oil and natural gas prices, given current global events.
“ The world oil price is currently in turmoil due to the Russian war on Ukraine, the negotiations with Iran and other outages and factors such as Covid resurgence in China, ” one respondent was quoted as saying. “ We expect higher prices until some clarity is reached on several of these issues. Expect high volatility to continue. ”
A respondent said the biggest factor impacting natural gas prices going forward “ is global demand and the ability for the U.S. to continue expanding liquefaction capacities. If progress is made on that front, higher prices could be in order. ”
Asked what prices were needed for drilling to be profitable across their portfolios, firms on average said $ 62 for oil and $ 3.72 for natural gas.
The Kansas City Fed also asked firms to indicate what prices would be needed for a substantial increase in drilling to occur on their respective upstream assets. The average oil price needed was $ 86, with a range of $ 45-150. The average gas price needed was $ 4.53, with responses ranging from $ 3.00- $ 6.50, Wilkerson said.
“ Overall, firms reported the highest prices needed to be profitable and increase drilling in survey history ( since 2014), ” said Wilkerson.
One respondent explained that “ the rising cost to drill and complete have operators reevaluating this cost to justify drilling. Smaller independents are having a difficult time attracting new investors. ” The oilfield services segment has been battling the same supply chain and inflation challenges, translating to higher costs for producers.
Another participant said, “ The extended years of low crude oil prices [ have ] killed the drilling business. ”
Energy activity in the Tenth District increased moderately during the first quarter, researchers found, with indexes for employment, wages and benefits, and access to credit reaching their highest levels since the survey began in 2014. “ The index for profits also remained elevated, while the pace of growth for revenues slowed slightly and supplier delivery time declined, ” Wilkerson said.
The year/year drilling and business activity index dipped from 74 to 52, indicating a moderate decline in year/year growth.
Future activity is set to remain strong, Wilkerson said, as “ expectations for future employment, capital spending, wages and benefits and access to credit continued to increase. ”
A majority of firms ( 52%) reported a slight increase in U.S. well productivity over the course of the pandemic, Wilkerson said, with nearly 30% of firms reporting slight or significant decreases and over 18% reporting no change.
In recent years, “ technology in fracturing keeps becoming more efficient, ” one respondent was quoted as saying. “ We are beginning to drill and complete our second-tier locations, with a bit of trepidation. I do not believe we will see the big percentage increase [ in well productivity ] year-over-year as happened this past decade. ”
Looking ahead, 14% of firms said they expected a significant increase in productivity, and 48% predicted a slight increase. Another 24% expected no change while 14% of respondents predicted a slight decrease.
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One day removed from choppy price action along the Nymex natural gas futures strip, May prices forged ahead midweek. With traders looking ahead to a smaller-than-normal increase in storage inventories, the prompt-month contract soared to a $ 7.005/MMBtu intraday high before settling Wednesday at $ 6.997, up 31.7 cents on the day. June futures rallied 33.3 cents…
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As oil refiners worldwide seek to distance themselves from Russian crude imports, a consultancy recently predicted a “ rebalance ” in the global crude oil trade.
The shift would occur via “ ‘ crude swapping’ between ‘ self-sanctioning’ advanced economies and developing markets, ” said Wood Mackenzie’ s Alex Sun, managing consultant.
After the United States imposed sanctions on Russian crude oil following the invasion of Ukraine, European companies followed suit with curbs that have displaced up to 1.2 million b/d of Urals crude, Wood Mackenzie stated. Urals is Russia’ s most common export crude grade.
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Similar actions taken by crude buyers in Japan and South Korea caused Eastern Siberia Pacific Ocean ( ESPO) crude oil export volumes to drop sharply in late March, but ESPO volumes have since recovered, the consultancy added.
Sun said buyers in the European Union, Japan and South Korea “ could ‘ swap’ about 650,000 b/d of Russian crude oil…with similar grades and volumes predominantly from the Middle East procured by China and India. ”
Wood Mackenzie’ s estimated breakdown of Russian crude grades comprises 400,000 b/d of Urals, 170,000 b/d of ESPO and 80,000 b/d of East Russian lights.
“ This reshuffling is attractive at current Urals discounts but in the near term, refiners face challenges with contractual obligations with Middle Eastern producers, ” said Sun.
Thanks to pipeline links and waterborne delivery access, China’ s state-owned and private refineries are key destinations for Russian medium crudes such as ESPO and Urals, Wood Mackenzie noted. Moreover, it stated the steeply discounted Urals price represents an opportunity for China to fill its declining strategic oil reserves.
“ The Russia-Ukraine conflict has made Russian grades commercially attractive, but as we have observed in recent weeks, auctions have been canceled due to few participations, ” said Sun. “ Also, we did not see China take up European Urals cargoes. Even for eastern grades, a number of transactions have now gone private. ”
Wood Mackenzie cited three likely reasons why China has not bought large Urals volumes since Russia’ s invasion: double the shipment time compared to Middle East crudes, Chinese refiners’ existing long-term contracts with Middle East suppliers, and sanctions-driven freight cost increases and payment and insurance challenges.
China and India collectively process about 5 million b/d of Middle East medium crudes, comparable in quality to Urals, on long-term contracts, said Wood Mackenzie. The firm added that both markets would need to displace crude imports from Africa and the United States to accommodate larger Russian volumes.
“ While expiring term contracts with Middle Eastern suppliers will open the door to additional Asian purchases in the coming months, the quality of Urals crude and the freight costs associated with the long transit time will be an impediment for many refiners in Asia, ” data, analytics, and technology firm DTN’ s Troy Vincent, senior market analyst, told NGI.
Vincent said the swap scenario that Wood Mackenzie laid out “ would help cushion the blow to the global oil market from a loss of Russian barrels. ” However, he added the potential 650,000 b/d of swapped volume “ would still fall severely short ” of 2-3 million b/d of Russian crude expected to soon be displaced on the global market.
It “ therefore still points to a scenario where Russia will have to shut in production amid slowing exports and brimming storage, ” he said.
B. Riley Advisory Services’ Jon Donnel, Houston-based managing director for energy, told NGI the crude swap likely would have minimal impact on U.S. producers and refiners.
“ These displaced barrels are very unlikely to end up in North America, ” particularly after Congress’ recent vote to officially ban Russian energy imports, he said. “ On the margin, this is additional supply dislocation which should push prices higher, but headlines related to the situation in Ukraine, Iran nuclear deal, stock releases, etc. will have a larger impact on near-term prices. ”
Last Friday, President Biden signed the Russian energy import ban into law, according to the White House.
“ That those barrels continue to supply the global marketplace is the key, no matter where they are going, ” Texas Alliance of Energy Producers’ Karr Ingham, petroleum economist, told NGI, referencing the market rebalance noted by Wood Mackenzie. “ Losing those barrels entirely would clearly continue to put additional upward pressure on prices. ”
In that vein, more developed oil-importing countries “ can stand by their sanctions, but their consumers don’ t have to bear the full brunt of those lost barrels, ” he said.
Ingham added that “ crude oil prices paid to U.S. operators won’ t be as high as it would be if those barrels were entirely removed from the market, but U.S. producers are not complaining about price either way right now. ”
He added the swap could displace U.S. crude exports to China and India, possibly diverting those cargoes to Europe.
“ Again, though, at least for that 650,000 bbl the size of the total pool is unchanged, it just goes to different places, meaning at least in theory price is generally unaffected, ” Ingham said.
Alluding to higher freight costs and other factors, he added, “ That won’ t be the case entirely, because this clearly introduces some inefficiencies into that trade scenario. ”
Given the extent of sanctions, which affect considerably more than 650,000 b/d of Russian crude, Ingham said the global oil market will remain undersupplied, providing an incentive to ramp up U.S. oil production.
He said that Permian Basin producers in Texas and New Mexico, accounting for about 45% of total U.S. crude production, “ are the most viable options for near-term supply growth. The Permian has recovered all production lost during Covid and is producing at record levels now. Texas will move into record production territory later this year. So it is happening here, but it needs to happen faster. ”
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One day removed from choppy price action along the Nymex natural gas futures strip, May prices forged ahead midweek. With traders looking ahead to a smaller-than-normal increase in storage inventories, the prompt-month contract soared to a $ 7.005/MMBtu intraday high before settling Wednesday at $ 6.997, up 31.7 cents on the day. June futures rallied 33.3 cents…
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Ken Paxton’ s bid for re-election is a test of Texas Republicans’ values | IN 2013 A little-known state senator passed through the security check at a courthouse in Collin County, Texas, and noticed a few pens that had been left behind. He pocketed one of them, a $ 1,000 Montblanc. Later, the pen’ s rightful owner asked officials to review video footage, which revealed they had been grabbed by Ken Paxton, the state senator who would soon be elected Texas’ s attorney-general. After a sheriff’ s deputy called Mr Paxton, he returned the Montblanc and said it was a mistake.
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The incident was minor enough not to attract much attention, but Mr Paxton has since become a prominent symbol of red-state resistance to Democratic policies. He has sued the federal government 25 times since President Joe Biden was inaugurated in January 2021, on issues such as immigration enforcement, covid-19 restrictions, guns, energy policy and the minimum wage. His pugnaciousness, and devotion to Donald Trump, have endeared him to the Republican base.
On May 24th Mr Paxton will be in a Republican primary run-off for attorney-general against George P. Bush, Texas’ s land commissioner and a nephew of George W. Bush, a former governor and president. Both candidates competed for Mr Trump’ s endorsement, which is high-octane fuel in Texan Republican primary-voter circles. Although his father, Jeb Bush, was insulted by Mr Trump during the Republican presidential primary in 2016, on the campaign trail George P. Bush handed out beer koozies with a quote from Mr Trump: “ This is the only Bush that likes me…I like him. ” In the end, Mr Paxton won the endorsement, probably thanks to his willingness to use his office to challenge the 2020 election results of four swing states in court on Mr Trump’ s behalf.
Will Republican voters care whether the supposed protector of laws follows them himself? Mr Paxton’ s resilience so far suggests they won’ t. In 2014 the Texas State Securities Board fined Mr Paxton $ 1,000 for violating securities laws in soliciting investments three times without registering as an investment adviser. Voters shrugged and elected him as attorney-general anyway. A few months after assuming office in 2015, he was indicted on three securities-fraud charges, including allegedly encouraging people to invest in a technology startup without revealing he was being compensated. ( Mr Paxton denies wrongdoing.) The federal charges were dismissed by a judge, and the state’ s case has yet to proceed due to wrangling over lawyers’ fees and jurisdiction. Even some efforts to help protect Mr Paxton have raised eyebrows. Soon after his wife, Angela, became a state senator in 2019, she proposed a bill to modify Texas’ s securities laws so that it would no longer be a felony for individuals to act as investment advisers without registering ( one of Mr Paxton’ s alleged offences) and granting greater control to the attorney-general’ s office to oversee consumer fraud.
Bigger allegations followed. In September 2020, eight of Mr Paxton’ s deputies reported him to the FBI, accusing him of “ criminal bribery, tampering with government records, harassment, obstruction of justice and abuse of office ”. The deputies, several of whom filed a lawsuit under the Whistleblower Act, said the attorney-general used his office to benefit a campaign donor, Nate Paul, who had allegedly hired a woman with whom Mr Paxton had an extramarital affair. According to their complaint, Mr Paxton intervened improperly in a federal investigation into Mr Paul ( who has also denied any wrongdoing).
Mr Paxton has rejected the whistleblowers’ claims, accused them of being “ rogue employees ” and has even argued that the Whistleblower Act should not apply to him as attorney-general. His own office released a 374-page report in an attempt to clear him. But a federal investigation is reported to be ongoing.
Mr Paxton’ s resilience tells a broader story about politics in Texas today. A recent poll found that only 11% of Republicans had an unfavourable view of him, and 75% a favourable one. A different poll gives him a 42-point lead over Mr Bush. This is due not least to Mr Trump’ s continued support. Although Texas helped to send its former governor to the White House, the run-off election for attorney-general is likely to result in “ the imminent end of the Bush dynasty ”, argues Mark Jones, a professor at Rice University. The Bushes are considered too establishment these days.
Mr Trump has also helped Mr Paxton in a less direct way. By shaking trust in institutions, such as the media and law enforcement, Mr Trump has conditioned voters not to believe what they hear. It’ s all “ fake news ”, as Mr Paxton is happy to claim. This has helped him sail through his scandals. He can accuse whistleblowers of being rogue, partisan employees, without primary voters questioning whether people who had worked in his office for years would really turn on him for political reasons. Those who reported him were his deputies and allies, not his enemies.
Democrats have not won a statewide office in Texas since 1994. The election in November for attorney-general should, in theory, be their best shot. Everything will hinge on whether a Democratic candidate can woo independents and Republicans who dislike Mr Trump and acolytes like Mr Paxton. The party would have to offer a moderate candidate to fit Texan tastes. Joe Jaworski, an ex-mayor of Galveston and grandson of the former Watergate special prosecutor Leon Jaworski, would be the most electable Democrat statewide, although among Democratic primary voters he is currently polling behind the progressive candidate, Rochelle Garza. Some Democrats are hoping that Mr Paxton may be indicted after the primary but before the general election, giving them an edge.
Whatever happens, the race for attorney-general will not just be a test of Republican primary voters’ values but of Democrats’ priorities and standing too. If they can not win against Mr Paxton, Democrats’ dreams of soon turning Texas blue seem as improbable as finding an orphaned $ 1,000 pen. ■
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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 |
'We will get an agreement ': ILWU leaders express confidence in upcoming contract talks | Labor leaders minced no words in their conversation with Seroka. The message?
`` Everybody out there, just tone it down and stop all the rhetoric, '' Adams said. `` We have been negotiating — the ILWU and our employers — since the 1930s. There's adults on both sides of the table. It's called the process. ''
Adams emphasized that the collective bargaining process takes time. The union needs to get its demands together, as does the marine terminal employer association. And sometime in May, the two sides will begin negotiating. The current contract between the two parties expires July 1, 2022.
Ponce De Leon added the two sides have a history of successful bargains, pointing to labor negotiations that took place during the pandemic.
`` If people just look [ at ] what we 've done over the last past few years, we sat down and collectively bargained agreements to get through COVID, '' Ponce De Leon said. `` We sat down and bargained an agreement to keep moving, to keep people safe to make sure our ports were open. We didn't close any of our ports up and down the whole West Coast. ''
Still, shippers are keeping an eye on the talks as they look to mitigate upcoming supply chain risks.
The National Electrical Manufacturers Association, for example, last month wrote a letter to President Joe Biden and Labor Secretary Marty Walsh, asking them to help jump start negotiations and avoid a protracted dispute.
`` Having ports shut down even for a limited time would result in substantial additional supply chain disruptions, '' the association wrote.
Topics covered: logistics, freight, operations, procurement, regulation, technology, risk/resilience and more.
Retail supply chains have transformed into a complex web of goods movement and technology, with more touchpoints to the consumer than ever before.
The retailer's acquisition of a middle- and final-mile carrier as the COVID-19 pandemic took hold has allowed it to take more control over its delivery process.
Topics covered: logistics, freight, operations, procurement, regulation, technology, risk/resilience and more.
Topics covered: logistics, freight, operations, procurement, regulation, technology, risk/resilience and more.
Retail supply chains have transformed into a complex web of goods movement and technology, with more touchpoints to the consumer than ever before.
The retailer's acquisition of a middle- and final-mile carrier as the COVID-19 pandemic took hold has allowed it to take more control over its delivery process.
Topics covered: logistics, freight, operations, procurement, regulation, technology, risk/resilience and more. | general |
In praise of the Internal Revenue Service | “ NOW YOU may only see a pile of receipts. But I see a story. I can see where this story is going. It does not look good. ” These lines, spoken by an Internal Revenue Service agent in “ Everything Everywhere All At Once ”, a dark sci-fi comedy now showing in cinemas, is perfectly calibrated to strike fear into the hearts of Americans ahead of their tax-filing deadline on April 18th. The agent has a paper trail neatly arrayed on her desk as she conducts an audit. Reality is more frightening, for the exact opposite reason. “ Paper is the IRS’ s kryptonite, ” Erin Collins, a watchdog within the IRS, recently told Congress. “ The agency is buried in it. ”
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The IRS entered this tax season with a backlog of 24m returns, 20 times worse than normal, as it struggled to recover from pandemic disruptions. Good luck to anyone wanting help by phone: just one in nine callers reached an agent last year, according to Ms Collins. Now in the midst of a hiring drive, the IRS thinks it can clear the backlog by the end of 2022. But it will be up to two years late in processing many returns. “ It’ s a crisis, ” says Mark Everson, former head of the IRS. “ Millions of people and businesses who were due tax refunds don’ t have that money yet. This is very detrimental for compliance. ”
Even without the pandemic, the IRS was struggling, the victim of chronic underfunding. Spending on the agency has declined by nearly 20% since 2010. At the same time, the number of tax returns has increased by 20%. The backbone of the system, a nationwide taxpayer database, is built on top of a 1960s computer language rarely taught in schools. One major element of President Joe Biden’ s legislative programme is a funding boost for the IRS. Yet that is stalled, along with much of the rest of his agenda.
It is hard for lawmakers to summon enthusiasm for the IRS. Who enjoys paying taxes? Even for those who recognise the social value, the act of filing tax returns is a hassle. The 1040 form, the basic document for personal-income-tax reporting, came with just one page of instructions when introduced in 1913. This year’ s version has 230 pages of instructions when counting all the branches added to it, reckons Demian Brady of the National Taxpayers Union Foundation, an advocacy organisation.
Like any good story, though, there is also a plot twist. Despite its awful backlog, the IRS has, from another perspective, had a very good pandemic. It has played a critical role in delivering support to Americans. And it has been surprisingly efficient at it. For each of the three rounds of stimulus payments, the IRS was the conduit. Within two weeks of Mr Biden’ s signing of the stimulus bill in March 2021, for instance, it sent out $ 325bn via 127m separate payments, mainly by direct bank deposit. Some people fell through the cracks and cheques took longer. But most got the money quickly. The IRS operated at even greater frequency in making child-tax-credit payments every month.
Along with doling out vast sums of cash, the IRS also took less in. The government gave the unemployed tax breaks on their benefits and gave businesses tax breaks for retaining workers. It also expanded the earned-income tax credit, a subsidy given to low earners, one of America’ s biggest anti-poverty programmes. Putting it together, a poor family with two young children could expect $ 20,000 from the IRS last year, double what they would normally receive. In all, the agency paid out more than $ 600bn in pandemic-related support in 2021, equivalent to about two-thirds of Social Security spending in the federal government’ s budget. “ We have seen a substantial share of what used to be the social safety-net migrate from the public-expenditure side of the federal ledger to being run through the tax code, ” points out Gordon Gray of the American Action Forum, a think-tank.
By the agency’ s own count, Americans spend about 13 hours doing their taxes on average—mostly condensed into one frantic spring weekend. In fact this is an improvement: in 2010 the estimate was 18 hours. Increased use of software such as TurboTax, made by Intuit, has sped up the filing process. More could be done: the IRS provides a free-software option for poorer Americans but does a bad job advertising it ( the Federal Trade Commission is suing Intuit for allegedly attracting customers in the belief that filing would be free, only to charge them). There are also perennial calls for the IRS to collect tax via withheld pay, allowing many to avoid filing returns altogether, as is common elsewhere, including Britain.
That, however, misses the point about the IRS as a welfare provider. It needs a range of information from taxpayers in order to assess their eligibility. “ We don’ t look at stores like Walmart and say, oh, it’ s so complicated. We say, hey, that’ s convenient. A similar thing should apply to some extent to the income-tax system, ” says William Gale of the Brookings Institution, another think-tank. Using the 1040 form as the gateway to multiple social programmes and tax credits means that people do not have to go to a series of different agencies for each payout.
Eventually, the IRS will hack its way through the pandemic backlog. That, however, will do nothing to fix another serious problem: the degradation of its auditing abilities. About a fifth of agency staff are eligible for retirement, and many have taken covid as the moment to leave. “ We’ re losing exactly the kind of people we need to be able to maintain enforcement scrutiny, ” says a senior Treasury official. The IRS audited 0.3% of corporate tax returns filed in 2018, down from 1.6% in 2010. The number this year may well be lower. Charles Rettig, who leads the agency as its commissioner, has estimated that the government loses about $ 1trn in tax revenues annually because of cheating. The agency is “ outgunned ” against big companies, he says.
The answer to so many of the IRS’ s woes—antiquated tech systems, congested phone lines, threadbare enforcement—is more funding. It stands as one of the few federal agencies that would generate a large and nearly immediate return on investment were the government to spend more on it. The hope for the harried tax agents is that the highs and lows of IRS performance during the pandemic will have earned it grudging support in Washington, demonstrating that it is both overstretched and indispensable. ■
For more coverage of Joe Biden’ s presidency, visit our dedicated hub and follow along as we track shifts in his approval rating. For exclusive insight and reading recommendations from our correspondents in America, sign up to Checks and Balance, our weekly newsletter.
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 |
Bespoke economic miracle: Aliyev's steadfast line yields results | There have not been, are not, and will not be in the history of the world, states that have not encountered difficulties of various kinds, ranging from wars in which they are involved to internal political and economic cataclysms. In this regard, this year is an extremely difficult one for the world community as a whole. The world had not yet recovered from the problems it faced because of the coronavirus pandemic and the conflict between Russia and Ukraine began in the heart of Europe.
In one way or another, the whole world became involved in it. The world economy is such that any military conflict, especially between such large countries as Russia and Ukraine, affects the entire planet. And here the only question is which states will be most ready, adapted to the new challenges. This, in turn, depends on the ability of the leadership of this or that country to foresee and prevent, if possible, the negative consequences of global negative trends in this country.
In this regard, the statements made by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev at the meeting devoted to the results of the first quarter of this year are extremely important. The head of state said that Azerbaijan's GDP increased by 6.8 percent. This is indeed a great achievement in the current, extremely difficult conditions, at a time when even the economies of the world's leading powers are facing problems.
See for yourself. The Council of Economic Experts under the German government has significantly lowered its economic forecast for the current year due to the events in Ukraine. The experts suggest that the gross domestic product of Germany in 2022 will grow only by 1.8 percent. In November 2021, they expected growth of 4.6 percent. And this is a significant correction of the economic indicators of the leading European country.
Let's go further. According to the analysis conducted by the World Trade Organization, the Russian-Ukrainian conflict may reduce global economic growth this year by 1.3 percentage points. The study was published on April 12, ahead of the presentation of the WTO's annual forecast for global trade growth.
As it follows from the model calculations, the global gross domestic product in 2022 will grow only by 3.1 - 3.7 percent. The reasons, the organization pointed out, would be rising food and energy prices, as well as a decline in exports from Russia and Ukraine.
`` Poor countries will be most at risk because they spend more of their income on food than richer countries. This could have implications for political stability, '' the report said.
Speaking about Azerbaijan, of course, the country's economy has been and will be influenced by all those political and economic processes that are taking place in the world. But, in this regard, the more valuable are the merits of the Azerbaijani leadership, which, even in such difficult conditions of global instability, manages to demonstrate high indicators of economic development.
What is particularly important, is the development of the non-oil sector. President Ilham Aliyev stated that the country’ s non-oil economy has grown by more than 10 percent. The growth of non-oil production has exceeded 18 percent. The economy is diversifying, and the country’ s dependence on the oil and gas sector is decreasing, both its share in GDP and its share in exports.
It is worth emphasizing all this because for many years foreign and local experts of various levels have stated the assertion that the oil sector is the reason for the rapid economic growth in Azerbaijan. They have all been proven wrong. Azerbaijan, while maintaining its status as a proven, reliable producer and exporter of `` black gold '' has also secured its place as a state that plays a critical role in providing natural gas to Europe.
In addition, in general, there is industrial growth, the food security of the state, and its ability to provide itself with everything it needs is strengthening. This is what is needed today and tomorrow.
Speaking of tomorrow, another important point is that Azerbaijan’ s external public debt has shrunk.
`` If we compare it to April of last year, then our external public debt was 18 percent of GDP, and now it is only 12.5 percent. We managed to reduce our external debt by more than $ 600 million in one year, '' President Ilham Aliyev said.
Moreover, Finance Minister Samir Sharifov added that the work continues to bring Azerbaijan's external debt to GDP ratio to 10 percent. At a time when the world's leading powers have a three-digit external debt to GDP ratio, it is an incredible success. This is an indicator of the care of the Azerbaijani leadership and the president for the future generations of the country. They will not have the burden of enormous debts hanging over them.
This is something that none of the states of the former Soviet Union can boast of. And Azerbaijan also spends huge amounts of money to restore the liberated territories, and build airports and roads. How, given such huge expenditures and such an incredibly unfavorable global political and economic situation, it is possible to reduce the foreign debt and show enviable rates of economic growth? The answer to this question is known only to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, under whose leadership truly incredible successes are achieved. | general |
Underestimated newcomers: mid-cap biotech companies | You are currently accessing Investment Week via your Enterprise account.
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Many investors think biotech is not a particularly attractive place to be at the moment. The Nasdaq Biotechnology index, the bellwether index for the biotechnology industry, has fallen nearly 20% over the past 12 months.
Although a few sector heavyweights such as Moderna or Regeneron have made considerable gains, most small and mid-cap biotech stocks are trading sharply lower than they were a year ago. This trend is reflected in the 40% drop in the value of the S-Network Medical Breakthroughs index ( PMBI) and the S-Network Healthcare Innovation index ( PHIX). Both indices include only biotech and pharma stocks in the small- and mid-segments that have at least one drug in Phase II or III FDA clinical trials.
Sector rotation in the wake of rising rates of inflation is to blame for the aforementioned downward trend. Investors have been rotating from growth into value and this rotation has been fairly indiscriminate in the biotech sector.
Biotech companies that are not yet generating any sales from approved products that they can use to finance their R & D activity have been marked down the most. As interest rates point higher, the discount rates analysts use in their valuation models have climbed as well, which lowers the present value of a company's future earnings streams. That explains the sweeping sell-off of the biotech sector.
However, many small and mid-cap biotech stocks today have strong funding profiles over a mid- to long-term horizon and much bigger cash piles than in the past.
From a fundamental standpoint, small and mid-sized biotech companies could benefit the most from a broad recovery in biotech stocks.
According to a study by the IQVIA Institute for Human Data Science, 65% of all active ingredients in clinical development worldwide in 2021 were being investigated by biotech companies with less than $ 500m in annual sales and an annual R & D budget of less than $ 200m. As recently as 2016, less than 50% of all clinical trials were being conducted at such companies, which are classified by IQVIA as Emerging Biopharma Companies.
Another statistic in the IQVIA's report indicates just how much these companies have matured in their business development: they filed 76% of their regulatory approval applications in 2021 on their own. That is clear proof that these companies have obtained a high degree financial independence and are in a position to commercialise their products on their own without a partner, which translates into higher potential earnings.
Within the overall biotech industry, small- and mid-caps are becoming better and better at commercialising their discoveries as the leading pioneers of next-generation therapies. Prime examples include cell and gene therapies, gene editing and mRNA technology, which made its big breakthrough with the Moderna and BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines.
With some 800 clinical candidates currently attributable to such novel approaches, small and mid-sized biotechs are fundamentally well positioned. The kind of topline news likely to drive stocks higher is abundant too, with plenty of clinical trial results and approval decisions expected this year in areas including oncology, neurology, and rare genetic diseases.
As positive announcements from the biotech sector grow in number, investor interest in the sector is likely to pick up again. Sentiment is already starting to slowly shift in favour of the biotech sector as a whole. According to a recent investor survey by RBC Capital Markets, 66% of the survey respondents expect biotech to outperform this year.
In the latter half of 2021, the percentage of respondents who considered biotech stocks to be undervalued was 49%; now it is 64%. And 58% of the respondents said they were planning to increase their exposure to biotech.
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