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Digital Pathology Presents a Great Opportunity for India | Pathology is a specialized field not much changed since its beginning.1 Most pathologists still use analog microscopes to view slides and report their findings.2 Such outdated practices not only create bottlenecks, but also hinder improvements in efficiency due to the non-use of digital tools.3 However, recently the Covid-19 pandemic has forced an acceleration in the speed of innovation in healthcare; even pathology has increased its use of more modern technology.4 In a country like India, both the pandemic and the renewed emphasis on tech have created a unique opportunity to leapfrog gaps in healthcare services and establish something better.
India has started its march on an interesting digital journey, marked by the launch of the National Digital Health Mission ( NDHM) in September 2021.5 It is this foundation of digital infrastructure that will enable the running of different integrated digital, unified health-related programs. It is a centralized system, one that should contribute to better data integration and also help uncover macro and micro trends in the overall Indian population.6
Diagnostics, as an important aspect of clinical medicine, will also benefit from this system, which ensures that it is advantageous to have a longitudinal medical record of patients. Not only does this reduce the duplicity of diagnostics tests like pathology reports, but it also helps to gain a comprehensive understanding of patients’ conditions, even when they move to another part of the country. Improved access to digital health data also helps push modernization and widespread use of cutting-edge technologies like Artificial Intelligence ( AI) and Machine Learning ( ML) in care management.
Copyright © 2021-2022 The Yuan All Rights Reserved. | tech |
U.K. Banks Plan Sharp Cut in Mortgage Lending, BOE Survey Finds | The information you requested is not available at this time, please check back again soon.
A pedestrian wearing a protective face mask passes an estate agents in Colchester, U.K., on Friday, Feb. 26, 2021. The housing boom reflects pent-up demand following the first lockdown in the spring, a temporary tax cut for buyers and an increased preference for family homes with more outside space, a shift brought about by changing work patterns during the pandemic., Bloomberg
British banks plan a sharp cut in mortgage lending over the next three months amid fears that borrowers will start to default on their debts.
The Bank of England’ s quarterly credit conditions survey showed lenders plan to reduce the supply of mortgages at the fastest rate since the start of the pandemic in early 2020.
Excluding the Covid crisis, the rate of contraction expected was only steeper in one three-month period in 2014 and in the immediate aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis.
The BOE survey, which was conducted in the three weeks shortly after Russia’ s invasion of Ukraine, provided no explanation for plans to tighten lending on property. Banks have warned that they expect defaults to rise in the coming three months.
“ The net percentage balance for changes in default rates on secured loans to households was expected to increase in the second quarter, ” the survey said.
Households are facing a tight cost of living squeeze just as interest rates are rising to tackle soaring inflation, which has hit a 30-year high of 7%. Higher interest rates make mortgages more expensive to service.
The decision to reduce residential property lending also follows 18 months of booming house price growth, which last month hit a 17-year high, according to Nationwide Building Society.
Despite plans to reduce the supply of lending, banks still expect demand for mortgages from households to increase in the coming three months.
Mortgage lending has been fiercely competitive, with the margin made by banks on the products narrowing in the first quarter, the BOE survey also found.
While property lending is tightening, banks still plan to step up provision of unsecured debt like personal loans and credit card debt.
Both demand for and supply off unsecured credit have been increasing for the past year and are expected to continue to rise rapidly in the next three months.
Elon Musk has made a “ best and final ” offer to buy Twitter, saying the company has extraordinary potential and he will unlock it.
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.
Stocks and government bonds were mixed as investors focus on corporate earnings and the European Central Bank’ s meeting later on Thursday for cues on the path of monetary policy.
Oil declined after a two-day rally that pushed prices back above US $ 100 a barrel as investors digested a raft of factors including the continuing fallout from Russia’ s invasion of Ukraine and China’ s latest round of virus lockdowns. | general |
U.S. Oil Production Holds at 2022 High; IEA Says Covid Cuts Global Demand Outlook | 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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Demand for petroleum products dropped last week amid lofty prices while U.S. producers held output at the highest level so far in 2022, the U.S. Energy Information Administration ( EIA) said Wednesday.
U.S. production for the week ended April 8 held even with the prior week at 11.8 million b/d — after hovering around 11.6 million b/d through most of February and March.
Output, however, remains more than 1 million b/d below pre-pandemic highs and may struggle to climb in the near term, given mounting demand uncertainty caused by geopolitical strife and a resurgence of the coronavirus pandemic.
[ Want to know how global LNG demand impacts North American fundamentals? To find out, subscribe to LNG Insight. ]
Total U.S. petroleum demand for the latest EIA period declined 5% week/week, led lower by lighter consumption of distillate fuel and other oils, EIA’ s latest Weekly Petroleum Status Report showed.
Crude prices have proven choppy in recent weeks but have generally held at lofty levels near or above $ 100/bbl amid supply threats in the wake of Russia’ s invasion of Ukraine. High prices have begun to impact demand, yet threats fester against global supplies.
Steep Western sanctions against the Kremlin in protest of the war, including a U.S. ban on Russian imports, have cut into global supplies. Russia is the second-largest oil exporter in the world behind Saudi Arabia.
U.S. companies have been under pressure to increase output to offset the Russian impact. But producers are grappling with inflation themselves, including high labor costs, that have made it difficult to ramp up quickly.
Additionally, they are hesitant to move too fast, given a rebound of coronavirus cases in China and parts of Europe. Strict lockdowns in China have this month cut deeply into demand, according to Rystad Energy. Shanghai, China’ s largest city, has largely been shuttered in recent weeks as cases soared. The city of about 26 million reported record daily infections earlier this week.
“ Both gas and oil demand is expected to be negatively affected ” as long as case counts remain exceptionally high, Rystad analyst Vinicius Romano said.
The International Energy Agency ( IEA) on Wednesday updated its outlook to account for similar concerns.
“ Severe new lockdown measures amid surging Covid cases in China have led to a downward revision in our expectations for global oil demand in 2Q2022 and for the year as a whole, ” IEA researchers said in their monthly oil market report.
As a result, the Paris-based agency lowered its estimate for global oil demand by 260,000 b/d for the year versus its previous report in March. Demand is now expected to average 99.4 million b/d in 2022, still up by 1.9 million b/d from 2021.
IEA said it expected Russia’ s output to drop by 1.5 million b/d in April, reflecting fallout from the war and sanctions. The decline could accelerate to 3 million b/d in May, the agency said, as global buyers voluntarily boycott Kremlin-controlled supplies on top of sanctions.
“ Despite the disruption to Russian oil supplies, lower demand expectations, steady output increases from OPEC-plus members along with the U.S. and other non OPEC-plus countries, and massive stock releases from IEA member countries should prevent a sharp deficit from developing, ” the researchers said.
IEA expects global demand to be balanced with supply in the second quarter at 98.3 million b/d.
The United States and allied countries in the West committed to releasing 240 million bbl of oil from strategic reserves this year to offset the impacts of sanctions against Russia.
OPEC-plus, an extension of OPEC, recently agreed to extend monthly production increases of about 400,000 b/d into May. This has been policy since August 2021.
OPEC researchers on Tuesday lowered their forecasts for both global oil demand and production in 2022, citing lighter economic growth and the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The cartel said consumption this year would grow by 3.7 million b/d to 100.5 million b/d, though that was about 500,000 b/d lower than its outlook last month.
The researchers said supplies from outside of OPEC-plus would rise by 2.7 million b/d this year. However, that was about 300,000 b/d lower than the prior projection. They said the war had cut into supplies in the wake of sanctions but also exacerbated inflation to a point that demand is tapering in some corners of the world.
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FDA authorizes first breath test to detect COVID-19 | WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday issued an emergency use authorization for what it said is the first device that can detect COVID-19 in breath samples.
The InspectIR COVID-19 Breathalyzer is about the size of a piece of carry-on luggage, the FDA said, and can be used in doctor’ s offices, hospitals and mobile testing sites. The test, which can provide results in less than three minutes, must be carried out under the supervision of a licensed health care provider.
Dr. Jeff Shuren, director of the FDA’ s Center for Devices and Radiological Health, called the device “ yet another example of the rapid innovation occurring with diagnostic tests for COVID-19. ”
The FDA said the device was 91.2% accurate at identifying positive test samples and 99.3% accurate at identifying negative test samples.
“ InspectIR expects to be able to produce approximately 100 instruments per week, which can each be used to evaluate approximately 160 samples per day, ” the agency said. “ At this level of production, testing capacity using the InspectIR COVID-19 Breathalyzer is expected to increase by approximately 64,000 samples per month. ” | business |
Microsoft: We 've just disrupted this ransomware-spreading botnet | Microsoft takes control of ZLoader's botnet infrastructure, which is used to spread malware and ransomware.
Liam Tung is a full-time freelance technology journalist who writes for several Australian publications.
Microsoft has carried out another legal-technical takedown against cyber criminals, this time to dismantle the ZLoader botnet's infrastructure.
ZLoader malware has infected thousands of organizations, mostly in the US, Canada and India, and is known to have distributed the Conti ransomware.
These certifications can help you enter an industry with a high demand for skilled staff.
Microsoft has now received a court order from the US District Court for the Northern District of Georgia that allowed it to seize 65 domains the ZLoader gang had been using for command and control ( C & C) for its botnet built from malware that infected businesses, hospitals, schools, and homes.
SEE: Clueless hackers spent months inside a network and nobody noticed. But then a ransomware gang turned up
Those domains now direct to a Microsoft sinkhole, outside of the control of the ZLoader gang.
Microsoft also gained control over the domains ZLoader used for its domain generation algorithm ( DGA), which are used to automatically create new domains for the botnet's C2.
`` Zloader contains a domain generation algorithm ( DGA) embedded within the malware that creates additional domains as a fallback or backup communication channel for the botnet. In addition to the hardcoded domains, the court order allows us to take control of an additional 319 currently registered DGA domains. We are also working to block the future registration of DGA domains, '' said Amy Hogan-Burney, general manager of Microsoft's Digital Crimes Unit.
Microsoft led the action against ZLoader in partnership with researchers from ESET, Lumen's Black Lotus Labs, and Palo Alto Networks Unit 42. Avast also assisted in Microsoft's DCU European investigation. According to ESET, Zloader had about 14,000 unique samples and more than 1,300 unique C & C servers.
Microsoft acknowledges ZLoader is not finished and is also working with ISPs to identify and remediate infections on infected systems. It's also referred the case to law enforcement.
Microsoft in 2020 used a similar legal-technical approach to taking down the Trickbot botnet.
Microsoft in its technical analysis of ZLoader notes that the group used Google Ads to distribute Ryuk ransomware, allowing it to bypass email security and have it appear in the browser instead. Malicious ads and email were its primary delivery mechanisms. Each campaign impersonated known tech brands, including Java, Zoom, TeamViewer, and Discord.
`` The actors would purchase Google Ads for key terms associated with those products, such as `` zoom videoconference. '' Users who performed Google searches for those terms during a specific time would be presented with an advertisement that led to the form grabbing malicious domains, '' Microsoft explains.
For email delivery, the group often used Microsoft Office attachments and abused macros to infect machines. The lures to trick victims into opening a document and enable macros included COVID-19 alerts, overdue invoice payments and fake resumes.
It is probably not the end of the story yet, though. `` Our disruption is intended to disable ZLoader's infrastructure and make it more difficult for this organized criminal gang to continue their activities. We expect the defendants to make efforts to revive ZLoader's operations, '' Microsoft said.
Clueless hackers spent months inside a network and nobody noticed. But then a ransomware gang turned up
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Oil posts a weekly gain as EU considers a ban on Russian oil | The information you requested is not available at this time, please check back again soon.
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.
West Texas Intermediate settled near US $ 107, rising 8.8 per cent for the week. Oil rallied Thursday afternoon after a report that the European Union is moving toward adopting a phased-in ban on Russian oil. President Vladimir Putin vowed to continue the invasion of Ukraine earlier this week, pointing to a prolonged disruption of Russia’ s energy exports. Additionally, the International Energy Agency said in a report that OPEC+ members provided only 10 per cent of their promised supply increases last month.
In the U.S., crude stockpiles jumped more than 9 million barrels last week, with over a third of the build attributed to the shift of strategic oil reserves to commercial inventories. At the same time, most stocks of refined products fell, prompting a spike in so-called crack spreads -- the rough profit from turning crude into fuel.
“ Traders realize a good portion of that came from the Strategic Reserve which now sets at 20 year inventory lows, ” said Dennis Kissler, Senior Vice President of Trading, BOK Financial. “ Crude storage remains 60.45 million barrels below the five-year average which should keep the buyers active on extreme sell offs. ”
The oil market has seen a tumultuous period of trading since Russia invaded its neighbor in late February. A recent reserve release by the U.S. and its allies, along with a virus resurgence in China, has weighed on prices in the past few weeks. Yet there are some signs of easing Covid restrictions and China’ s central bank is expected to take measures to help bolster a faltering economy.
“ Government energy intervention, the perceived self-shunning of Russian crude and the erratic buying patterns in recent weeks have all altered the near-term path, ” RBC Capital Markets analyst Mike Tran said. Trading looks “ volatile and sloppy over the near term as the market digests the onslaught of 240 million barrels of crude unleashed from strategic reserves. ”
To be sure, the market is still in the grips of a liquidity crunch sparked by surging volatility after a spike toward US $ 140. Open interest in WTI futures fell to the lowest since 2016 on Wednesday, while traders are using options strategies as a way of effectively raising cash in the face of limited sources of capital.
Elsewhere, Kazakhstan expects its main oil-export route via Russia to restore full operations in late April, the country’ s energy minister said. The nation said it remains concerned about the possible impact of Western sanctions or shipping issues on the flow of crude.
This U.S. legislation is a game changer: Curaleaf executive chairman
U.S. democratic senators to unveil draft cannabis reform bill on Wednesday: Report | general |
'Please help! ' It seems like I have been paying my child's student loan forever. How much longer must I pay it off? | Dear Quentin,
It seems like I have been paying my Parent PLUS Loan forever. Someone told me that when my husband passed away, even though we were divorced at the time, I wouldn’ t have to keep paying the loan. Please help!
Left Holding the Loan
Dear Left,
If you signed your name on the loan, you owe the money. As you have found out, Parent PLUS loans are also easier to sign up for than some other student loans — and the motivation to help your child is hard to ignore — but they are not so easy to get out of.
Parent PLUS loans, a product the government offers parents to help pay for their kids’ education, come with lower protections for the borrower than other student loans. They are also often advertised by colleges next to financial-aid awards and grants.
Parent PLUS loans have, for the most part, fewer limits on how much you can borrow. Parents, like yourself, borrow in the hopes of giving your children a better future and helping them increase their earnings, but you are on the hook for the repayments.
The borrower must demonstrate creditworthiness, but this does not assess the borrower’ s ability to pay off the loan. The number of these loans have increased in recent years, and borrowers now have an average outstanding loan debt of close to $ 29,000.
“
There are ways to seek forgiveness for these loans.
”
There are
ways to seek forgiveness
for these loans: Pursue income-contingent repayment forgiveness, qualify for Public Service Loan Forgiveness or for disability discharge, or refinance privately in your child’ s name. Otherwise, they only
discharge due to the death of the parent or the student.
You are one of millions of borrowers facing the possibility of challenging payments and even default. More than 26 million people are expected to resume student-loan payments on Sept. 1, 2022, after they were paused since March 13, 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
If you’ re in
danger of missing payments or defaulting,
you could consider an income-driven repayment plan that ties your payments to a percentage of your income; sign up again for automatic payments to ensure you don’ t fall into arrears; or consider an unemployment deferment or hardship forbearance.
Another issue with Parent PLUS loans that may not present itself as so obvious in the first instance: students have a longer period of time to pay off these loans, while parents — who may have other children and a mortgage to pay — risk their retirement savings to pay these loans.
Parents, be warned. The interest rate on Parent PLUS loans is also higher than other student loans. For Direct PLUS Loans taken out after July 1, 2021 and before July 1, 2022, the interest rate is 6.28%, compared to 3.73% for new undergraduate loans taken out by students. And they also come with higher origination fees of 4.228%.
These loans are also thought to worsen the racial wealth gap, or the disparity in household wealth between Black and white families. “ The Parent PLUS loan is becoming predatory for Black PLUS borrowers who are more likely to be low-income and low-wealth, and who will likely struggle to repay, ” according to
New America
, a public policy think tank that studies education.
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.
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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 |
Progressive's shares fall as combined ratio rises, policy growth slows | Shares of The Progressive Corp. lost more than 5% during a week where the insurer reported first-quarter earnings and March result that showed year-over-year profit declines and increasing combined ratios.
The broader markets likewise slumped during the holiday-shortened week ending April 14, with the S & P 500 losing 2.13% to 4,488.28. The S & P 500 Insurance Index fell 1.25% to 598.47.
Progressive's combined ratio for the first quarter came in at 94.5%, an increase from 89.3% a year earlier. Total policies in force for personal lines in March were up compared to a year ago, but policies in force for agency auto were slightly down.
Progressive has historically been one of the most consistent and most profitable auto insurers for many years but has produced `` volatile '' results recently as it navigates a period of cost uncertainty, CreditSights analyst Josh Esterov said. The auto insurance market overall is becoming less homogenous with the emergence of two groups of drivers: those who are commuting as they did prior to the pandemic and those who have changed their habits significantly due to work-from-home arrangements.
`` You 've got this challenging cost environment, combined with a challenging customer retention and customer acquisition environment because now you have to market and have products and solutions for two distinct classes of drivers, '' Esterov said.
Progressive, which normally has strong membership growth, has seen that slow of late, Esterov added.
CreditSights analyst Connor Burnham also pointed out in an interview that Progressive executives had relayed on a recent investor call that it would take rate increases some time to flow through to insurers ' earnings. Progressive may be `` uniquely positioned '' to experience more benefit from those rate increases than peers since the majority of its policies are issued at a six-month duration, instead of a year, Burnham said.
Progressive's stock dropped 5.43%, placing it among the bigger losers of the week.
Inflation has negatively impacted property and casualty insurers across the board, thanks to higher labor and repair costs. As measured by the consumer price index, U.S. inflation in March rose 8.5% year over year, the largest 12-month increase since December 1981, according to a report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Prices rose 1.2% in March compared to just a month earlier.
Elsewhere in the P & C sector, Chubb Ltd. declined 2.62%, while The Allstate Corp. and The Travelers Cos. Inc. had more modest declines of 0.54% and 0.34%, respectively.
In the managed care space, UnitedHealth Group Inc. released first-quarter earnings reflecting year-over-year revenue and profit increases.
Esterov said the health insurance giant has consistently been one of the `` most stellar performers across the insurance industry '' and would be able to handle any kind of ongoing uncertainty from the pandemic.
UnitedHealth raised its full-year earnings outlook, as costs related to COVID-19 decreased and there were no signs of significant long-term health impacts due to deferred care during the pandemic.
UnitedHealth shares ended the week down 2.04%. | business |
Vodacom’ s Wearable Devices Shown to Improve Miner Safety – IoT World Today | Mobile operator Vodacom has announced the success of its Connected Worker solution; a wearable device deployed in South Africa’ s mines to help reduce accidents and fatalities in the industry.
The device, which resembles a smartwatch and can be clipped onto workers’ PPE, harnesses NarrowBand Internet of Things ( NB-IoT) technology to offer a more robust battery life. It also features a GPS location service that can be accessed even in the hard-to-reach coverage areas of a mine.
Hazardous gas sensors, a panic button, and fall or no-motion detection are also included in the device to enable real-time monitoring of worker safety.
“ This means the device will log an alert … enabling a rapid emergency response that could save a life, ” said Thando Sibindi, managing executive for mining resources and manufacturing at Vodacom. “ Should the worker enter a hazardous or restricted area – these are geofenced on a digitized map by the company ahead of device deployment – it will trigger a notification so they can move back to safety. ”
A technology trial was successfully completed in mid-2021, with 8,000 devices given to workers in operations across the country. According to Sibindi, the pilot project demonstrated the technology’ s capacity to bring increased worker safety, team productivity and better managerial oversight.
“ It goes without saying that improved safety and productivity are an added benefit which in turn results in cost savings for the operator in the long run, ” he said.
Vodacom’ s device was developed to aid the government’ s mission of achieving “ zero-harm ” in the mining industry, a goal initiated in 2007 when the sector recorded more than 200 deaths. While this figure has been steadily reduced – with 72 deaths recorded in December of 2021 – efforts remain to push this down further.
Globally, IoT solutions are becoming an increasingly common part of mines as operators look to improve efficiency while adhering to lingering Covid-19 distancing policies. According to Vodacom, the number of connected IoT devices is estimated to exceed 27 billion by 2025, with the technology anticipated to play a key role in mines of the future.
“ The reality is ‘ fit for the future’ companies across various industries are embracing internet of technology solutions because they’ ve started reaping the benefits of an IoT-led future, ” said Sibindi.
With the test of Vodacom’ s Connected Worker device successful, a wider scale rollout is likely just around the corner. | tech |
Daily Update: April 14, 2022 | On February 28, 2022, S & P Global completed its merger with IHS Markit, the next step in delivering data, technology and expertise that accelerates progress.
As great as last year was for our company, in many ways 2022 is shaping up to be even better. In February, we closed a transformative merger with IHS Markit. We believe combining our two companies will create substantial long-term value for all our stakeholders.
The S & P Global Foundation is about much more than philanthropy—we are about making a difference by finding and developing essential connections between the knowledge- and skill-driven work of S & P Global and the needs of society.
As the war in Ukraine continues, many are turning to electric vehicles as a solution to price surges amid the rise in sanctions against Russia. This push for EVs, however, comes with its own set of challenges as metal prices skyrocket and battery supply chains face pressure from the invasion.
As the Russia-Ukraine conflict continues, the metals industry is feeling the effects. Prices for metals have risen sharply amid high demand and supply chain issues, along with imposed sanctions against Russia.
With a full scale invasion of Ukraine now under way, stock markets, global trade, energy markets, and commodities markets are all registering the impact of a new geo-political reality.
Start every business day with our analyses of the most pressing developments affecting markets today, alongside a curated selection of our latest and most important insights on the global economy.
Following a banner year in 2021, banks around the world look likely to suffer pressures on performance in 2022.
The robust global economic recovery, favorable financing conditions, and record-low interest rates contributed to bank revenues throughout 2021. But conditions in the first few months of 2022 have changed. The likelihood of lower global growth, the prospects of central banks’ aggressive monetary policy tightening, and changing geopolitical dynamics are affecting the outlook for banks’ performance in the rest of the year.
`` These things are going to collide at one point, probably sometime next year. And no one actually knows what's going to turn out, '' JPMorgan Chase Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon said this week during the U.S. bank’ s first-quarter earnings call of how tighter monetary policy and shockwaves from the war in Ukraine are two `` very powerful '' countervailing forces despite the underlying U.S. economy remaining strong. “ So, I 'm not predicting a recession, but is it possible? Absolutely. ''
S & P Global Ratings anticipates that the uncertainty of current geopolitical shocks alongside central banks’ sooner-and-stronger monetary policy tightening may push capital markets revenue to drop approximately 10% from last year's elevated level, with risk to the downside. Additionally, the pressure is likely to hurt investment banks ' underwriting and deal advisory revenues in at least the first half this year—with year-to-date M & A and debt and equity capital market transaction volumes already having declined to their lowest levels in five years, according to an S & P Global Market Intelligence analysis.
“ After a stellar 2021, capital markets revenue will likely decline in 2022 as geopolitics and rising interest rates push advisory and underwriting fees lower. Indeed, volatile markets have led companies to pause coming to market—weighing on investment banking revenues. These same market conditions, though, could support sales and trading activity if banks can navigate the associated risk, ” S & P Global Ratings said in a report this week. “ Changing market conditions underscore the importance of banks having a diversified capital markets business so they can capitalize as conditions change. ”
More than 80% of Russia’ s commercial banking sector is subject to international sanctions, according to S & P Global Market Intelligence. And the perfect storm of Russia’ s ongoing invasion from sanctions and exposure to the conflict itself, rising inflation, and central banks’ actions to get conditions back under control is weighing on banks beyond the battle zone.
Fifteen of Europe's 20 largest banks saw their market capitalization decline from January-March against the backdrop of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, according to S & P Global Market Intelligence data. Banks in the U.K. are now confronting challenges to their share buyback plans from the effects of the continuing conflict.
Considering that foreign banks ' exposure in monetary terms and as a proportion of total assets to Russia fell substantially following the 2014 sanctions in response to Russia's annexation of Crimea, S & P Global Ratings sees global banks’ direct exposure to Russia as limited. But financial institutions that don’ t have any exposure to Russia still face significant indirect sanctions risk due to the correspondent banking services that they provide, by acting as the middle parties in cross-border transactions between banks that lack formal ties and their reliance on so-called respondent banks to conduct due diligence on customers, according to S & P Global Market Intelligence.
Conversely, tighter monetary policy will bolster some banks’ earnings. S & P Global Ratings anticipates that the net interest incomes of banks in the eurozone, Saudi Arabia, UAE, and the U.S. will benefit from rising policy rates.
Today is Thursday, April 14, 2022, and here is today’ s essential intelligence.
Higher inflation and rising U.S. interest rates are weighing heavily on Asia-Pacific economies. S & P Global Ratings expects that in regions where inflation already exceeds targets, or which are vulnerable to capital flight, central banks will be forced to raise interest rates. This describes most regional economies. However, where neither inflation nor capital flight is a major issue, central bankers will focus on growth, it expects. This will result in a three-speed policy setting across Asia-Pacific. Many economies are likely to see significantly higher rates, some may lift rates moderately, while the rest ( China and Japan) probably will not tighten at all.
Financial institutions with no Russian exposure still face significant indirect sanctions risk through the so-called correspondent banking services they provide to other banks. Correspondent banks act as go-betweens in cross-border transactions between banks that lack formal ties, and they rely on `` respondent '' banks to conduct due diligence on customers. They risk facilitating illicit payments if respondent banks knowingly or unknowingly breach sanctions. `` You trust that your correspondent banking clients ' anti-money laundering systems will detect the risk—but what if they don't, and you unknowingly process these funds? '' said Eric Li, research director at Coalition Greenwich, an S & P Global-owned research company.
The global alumina market is set to be in a state of flux and uncertainty in the second quarter of this year as ripples from the Russia-Ukraine war and a confluence of inter-connected factors could tip supply and demand fundamentals. In the first quarter of 2022, the benchmark Platts Australia alumina daily assessment rose to heights unseen since the U.S. sanctions against Russian aluminum giant Rusal and refinery output cuts at Brazil's Alunorte in 2018. Platts FOB Western Australia alumina assessments peaked at $ 533/mt in Q1, surpassing the $ 484/mt high in Q4 2021. The alumina market expected global prices to ease in Q1, after the Beijing Winter Olympics, but this was not to be. China's domestic prices were the exception as curtailed refining capacity in northern China was gradually increased post-Games.
Investment In Lithium-Ion Batteries Could Deliver 5.9 TWh Capacity By 2030
The transition to electromobility plays a leading role in reducing carbon emissions and achieving carbon neutrality. The long-term switch from internal combustion engines, or ICE, to plug-in electric vehicles, or PEV, is boosting demand for traction lithium-ion batteries, or LIB. This article focuses on the drivers of LIB capacity growth in the PEV sector. A small portion of this capacity also serves the energy storage market, which is another factor powering the transition to greater renewable generation—an aspect not covered by the article. LIB capacity investments accelerated in 2021 as more carmakers stepped up their commitments to PEVs, with decarbonization becoming a top global priority. S & P Global Market Intelligence expects LIB capacity to increase more than threefold to 2.8 TWh in 2025 from 0.8 TWh in 2021, with the potential to surpass 5.9 TWh in 2030. The growth is led by expansion in China's locally integrated LIB supply chain, while Europe and the U.S. are building up their capacities to gain greater self-sufficiency.
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.
The highly fragmented cybersecurity sector continues to consolidate, with acquirers, both financial and strategic, willing to pay a high premium for a business with plenty of expected growth. The frothy pace of cybersecurity acquisitions continued in the first months of 2022, even as M & A in other sectors slowed down or saw values compress sharply. Five cybersecurity companies announced deals since the last months of 2021, with transaction sizes running the gamut. | business |
Global Credit Conditions Q4 2021: Supply Chain Strain, Inflation Pain | Broadly, credit quality is continuing to recover slowly from a lower base as the global economy rebounds from the pandemic shock.
Globally, credit quality continues to recover slowly from a lower ratings base, as the world adapts to the dominant Delta variant and growth regains resilience. Rating upgrades are outpacing downgrades this year, although net upgrades so far represent only about 12% of the net COVID-induced downgrades in 2020. Credit outlooks in aggregate have stabilized and returned to pre-pandemic levels, while default rates have fallen sharply and are trending toward their long-term average. However, a confluence of headwinds could challenge the credit environment as we reach an inflection point for monetary policy and central banks start their gradual path toward normalization at different paces around the world. This could put pressure on more vulnerable credits because the pandemic has left 20% of our non-financial corporate ratings globally rated ' B- ' and below.Key risk to our base case are: inflation pressures and supply chain frictions extending through 2022 could put pressure on corporate margins and force central banks to tighten monetary conditions sooner; elevated debt levels could heighten credit vulnerability for weaker corporates and emerging markets exposed to rapid shifts in market conditions, although this is mitigated where debt-service costs remain low; China's regulatory policy reset could create increased uncertainty over the credit and growth trajectories of the country with potential spillovers to the rest of the world, as illustrated by the Evergrande situation; and the increasing pace of the transition to a low carbon economy could cause significant disruption in energy markets, as already being seen in Europe.The economic and credit sensitivities to COVID-19 and the Delta variant of the virus are becoming more manageable in most developed economies as vaccination programs and natural immunity provide a pathway to living with the virus and households and corporates adapt to new ways of consuming and doing business. Countries maintaining a zero-tolerance COVID policy ( China, Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand) and emerging markets ( EMs) where vaccination rates remain low are still more exposed. A vaccine escape variant remains a tail risk.
Overall: The U.S. economic recovery has hit a snag as supply disruptions slow activity andthe fourth wave of COVID acts as an additional drag. We now expect full-year GDP growth of5.7%. While ratings actions reflect improving outlooks for credit, and lending conditionsremain favorable, there’ s a rising risk that investors may soon push up borrowing costs, especially if inflation persists or unexpected adverse events trigger market turbulence.Risks: With corporate debt leverage near record levels, the recovery in demand remains uneven across industries. At the same time, borrowers in many sectors are dealing with rising input prices. All of this comes as the COVID health crisis lingers. We are also watching structural risks pertaining to the energy transition and ESG, cyber security, U.S.-China strategic confrontation, and commercial real estate.Credit: The net negative bias among nonfinancial corporate borrowers has fallen to 8%, from a record 42% in May of last year. However, sectors including aerospace and defense, media and entertainment, and consumer products still reflect somewhat elevated downgrade risk.
Negative Rating Bias: Our net ratings bias has improved to negative 7% ( previous quarter: negative 11%), its best level since the COVID-19 crisis broke. However, this momentum is unlikely to continue into the fourth quarter of 2021 given the slowing pace of economic recovery.COVID-19 Recurrance: Despite higher vaccination coverage across Asia-Pacific, COVID outbreaks have resurged. Continuing or further lockdowns and social distancing restrictions would further drag on the rate of recovery. This could also disrupt supply chains, from upstream semiconductor chipsassembling in countries such as Malaysia, to downstream chip-users such as the auto, consumer product, retail, and tech sectors.China's Policy Shifts: The country's toughening socioeconomic policy has heightened uncertainty over the trajectories of credit and GDP growth in China. This may have consequences for the business models of domestic sectors with spillover effects to issuers outside the country dependent on China for exports or supplies.
Overall: Improvement in credit conditions across key emerging markets ( EMs) could be plateauing over the coming months, as pre-existing weaknesses and increasing postpandemic challenges slow economic recovery and hinder business conditions. On the bright side, many EM economies have returned to their pre-pandemic levels and negative rating bias has decreased. Vaccination has accelerated in most key EMs, while recent virus outbreaks haven't been as harmful to economic activity, given that consumption and investment patterns have been adapting to the pandemic.Risks: Downside risks for EMs are significant. The effects of the pandemic will to be long lasting as governments maneuver to consolidate their finances and corporations to improve their fundamentals. Accelerating inflation in many key EMs could undermine economic recovery if it persists. China's policy shift could imply lower GDP growth with spillover effects regionally and globally. Meanwhile, any shock to financing conditions, driven for example by faster-than-expected U.S. monetary tightening, could result in defaults and bankruptcies, especially among lower rated entities.Credit: Negative rating bias ( the percentage of ratings with negative outlooks or placed on CreditWatch negative) followed a downward trend across most EMs, but remains high in EM Asia where pandemic effects linger and weigh on issuers ' credit quality. While this is a sign that credit conditions have improved in many cases, negative outlooks led to lower ratings.
Overall: Economic activity is rebounding in Europe as COVID-19 infection rates decline, vaccination rates continue to rise, and social mobility returns. The strength of the recovery, led by consumer demand, has added to supply chain disruptions that are likely to persist into 2022. Although the emergence of vaccine-resistant coronavirus strains remains an elevated risk, we see this as a risk to the pace of economic growth rather than a risk of contraction.Risks: Economic growth has proven stronger than many expected, but pressures on earnings -- supply chain dislocations, inflation, and related cost pressures -- are rising. If these elements persist longer than we currently expect, and major central banks take first steps to taper bond purchases, it could presage tighter financial conditions for borrowers, including a rise in interest rates sooner than we now forecast. Higher borrowing costs could hurt weaker borrowers, given the huge step-up in aggregate debt since the pandemic, even though debtservicing costs remain historically very low.Credit: Financing conditions remain favorable, with yield-hungry investors increasingly turning toward lower-rated debt. What’ s more, fiscal policy remains supportive, and is becoming more targeted toward sectors hardest hit by the pandemic. These factors continue to limit the extent of credit deterioration.. | business |
Global Credit Conditions Q2 2021: The Risks Of An Uneven Recovery | Credit conditions will likely remain underpinned by an improving economic sentiment, vaccine progress, and strongly supportive financing conditions.
Credit trends are on diverging paths. The global corporate net negative outlook bias—measuring future downgrade risk—dropped to 26% in March from a peak of 40% last June. In the U.S., the rapid vaccine rollout and $ 1.9 trillion rescue plan have put the economy on a fast track, prompting us to revise downward the 12-month speculative-grade default forecast to 5.5% by December 2021 ( from 7% previously). The pandemic and an uneven “ K-shaped ” recovery has resulted in a near all-time high share of riskier credits. 40% of speculative-grade corporates in the U.S., and one-third in Europe, are rated ‘ B-’ and below, with a high concentration in industries most exposed to social distancing such as media, leisure, and retail. Upgrades slightly outpaced downgrades in the past few weeks, but an increasingly diverging path across industries may curtail the favorable impact of recovery. Financing conditions remain strongly supportive across the rating scale, on reiterated commitments from major central banks. Q1 saw record issuance on the high-yield bond and leveraged-loan markets in the U.S., including for issuers in the ‘ CCC’ category, which have become a sweet spot for investors in search of yield.
Economic restart. The economic recovery from COVID-19 looks set to accelerate in mid-2021, particularly in the U.S., on the back of a massive fiscal stimulus plan. We have revised our 2021 global GDP growth forecast upward by 50 basis points, to 5.5%, reflecting brighter prospects for North America, China, and India. We also revised 2020 growth upward. Inflation and repricing risks. In our view, the rise in long-term U.S. bond yields is an indicator of improving recovery prospects and is likely to be accompanied by controlled reflation rather than a dramatic reversal of a 40-year process of disinflation. The greater risks lie in the potential for market volatility and repricing given elevated asset prices, high debt levels, a desynchronized recovery and, ultimately, the withdrawal of extraordinary stimulus. Other risks. Significant risks continue to weigh on the credit outlook, primarily linked to potential delays and uneven rollout of vaccines, and solvency pressure from the step-up in global leverage. The pandemic has also accelerated secular shifts on energy transition and digitalization, and heightened geopolitical tensions and risks to political and social stability, bearing credit implications over the medium term.
Overall: Credit conditions remain favorable for most borrowers, as government support underpins market liquidity, and coronavirus vaccine rollouts offer optimism that an end to the pandemic is in sight. U.S. GDP is set to grow 6.5% this year—the most since 1984. Risks: With even low-quality borrowers able to tap credit markets at welcoming rates, we see signs that investors aren’ t being adequately rewarded for the risks they’ re taking and may soon demand better yields—all against the backdrop of record-high debt. Credit: Spreads on U.S. corporate debt are tighter than they were at the start of last year; however, if inflation materializes, a selling-off of fixed-rate investments becomes more likely and would make it harder for weaker firms to tap the markets at favorable terms.
Overall: The two `` arms '' of the K-shaped recovery are widening. China and several developed AsiaPacific economies are seeing stronger recoveries than more pandemic-addled emerging markets. Sectors such as essential retail and telecoms should fully recover in 2021 but others, e.g. airlines, will take several more years. These disparities translate into widening ratings trends. Risks: Sluggish rebounds in revenues, combined with rising debt, are the main threats. High risks are U.S.- China confrontation, slow vaccine rollouts or new infection waves, and policy response uncertainty. Elevated risks include market repricing, climate-change policies, and technology change. The latter, a longer-term risk, could hurt financing access as traditional business models face obsolescence. Credit: Credit quality has steadied, but meaningful downgrade risk remains. Our negative rating actions have tapered over the past quarter indicating some stabilization in credit quality. That said, one-fifth of our ratings have a net negative rating bias. The likelihood of downgrades remains significant.
Overall: Credit conditions in emerging markets ( EMs) look brighter than last year, given that developed economies ' recovery accelerates and vaccination progresses. These factors are supporting EMs ' external demand and industrial activity. Nevertheless, many sectors will continue struggling amid an uneven economic recovery and lackluster domestic demand. Risks: Downside risks are relevant and recovery itself will bring new challenges for many EMs, especially if risks from U.S. economy overheating were to materialize and financing conditions worsen. Most EMs continue struggling to contain the pandemic, and with few exceptions, vaccine rollouts have been slow. Consequently, risks from case resurgence, partial lockdowns, and economic activity setbacks prevail. The risk of a slower economic recovery and worsening financing conditions could further pressure corporations ' earnings and undermine governments ' fiscal flexibility across EMs. Credit: Negative rating actions have plateaued, but lower rating levels and negative outlooks reflect higher leverage and vulnerability to further shocks. Ratings ' negative bias remains historically high in EM Asia and LatAm. A slower economic recovery or failure to deliver a vaccine within an expected time frame could lead to further downgrades.
Overall: While Europe faces another difficult few months with a resurgent virus, cautious optimism is warranted once vaccination programs finish in late summer ( after a slow and fractious start) and the economy rebounds -- but slower than in the U.S. Risks: Vaccine supply, logistics, and vaccine hesitancy are key near-term concerns. Further out we see the threat of new variants and the potential for corporate insolvencies that so far have been artificially depressed. Renewed volatility and a repricing of risk spilling over from the U.S. to Europe is a new, elevated risk. Credit: Fiscal and monetary support will continue through the year to ensure the pandemic is contained and recovery is well established. This has contributed to greater ratings stability in Europe, with few corporate rating actions and a gradual decline in negative outlooks in recent months. However, the proportion of corporate weakest links ( rated ‘ B-’ or below with negative outlooks or on CreditWatch negative) remains elevated at 14%. | business |
Testing The Resilience of Structured Finance 051820 | SF Credit Brief: CLO Insights 2022 U.S. BSL Index: Credit Remains Stable As Certain Sectors Face Headwinds
U.S. CMBS Update Q1 2022: High SASB Leverage, Falling Delinquency, And Changing Property Type Concentrations
S & P Global Ratings’ outlook on global structured finance has turned sharply negative in recent weeks as a result of the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. | business |
COVID to crypto-amulets: young Thais seek fortune-telling upgrades | Now, he regularly seeks the advice of fortune-tellers, wears lucky amulets, and has pictures of tarot cards as wallpaper on his phone.
`` The pandemic has brought so many uncertainties that make us feel anxious, '' said Dhidhaj, 30, who started by praying to Kubera, the God of Wealth in Hindu mythology and a Buddhist deity, for protection against the economic fallout from the pandemic.
`` When I started doing this, I felt safe. While others were affected by COVID and lost their jobs or income, I wasn't. So I believe in it more and more. ''
Like Dhidhaj, many in Thailand's anxiety-gripped young demographic have started to embrace fortune-telling and other forms of divination.
The pandemic has moved Thailand's distinct brand of divination from streets and storefronts to youth-oriented social media, helping fortune-tellers to reach a bigger audience.
`` With the world like this, people need spiritual anchors, '' said Pimchat Viboonthaninkul, a 26-year-old fortune-teller who works exclusively online and who co-founded Mootae World that started the tarot card phone wallpaper trend last year.
COVID STRESS
Thai culture has long been steeped in astrology and forms of divination such as palm reading, tarot cards or numerology.
An estimated 78% of the Thai population believes in the supernatural according to a 2021 study by Mahidol University's College of Management ( CMMU).
From consulting with Feng Shui masters to wearing monk-blessed amulets, Thai traditions all sit comfortably within the dominant Buddhist religion.
Thailand's largely informal fortune-telling industry is estimated to attract around 5 billion baht of spending ( $ 150 million) per year since the pandemic started, up from around 4 billion, according to A Duang, a startup whose fortune-telling application has grown to nearly half a million users, mostly aged 18-30.
The app offers daily livestreams by some of its 7,000 fortune-tellers, during which users can spend 10 to 100 baht ( $ 0.3- $ 3) for quick insights. It also offers private one-on-one card reading sessions at higher rates.
A Duang managing director Kittikhun Yodrak said average per-user spending has surged fivefold to 500 baht monthly from its 2019 pre-pandemic launch.
The trend reflects a `` breaking point '' in stress levels that pushes many to seek quick answers from someone else rather than from within themselves, said Jomkhwan Luenglue, a board member of the Thai Psychological Association.
`` It's mental first-aid, '' said Jomkhwan. `` But it could jeopardise your ability to make decisions for yourself in the long term. ''
NEW TWISTS
New digital products have also boomed.
Mobile phone wallpaper maker Mootae World has made tens of thousands of images - each with different tarot cards and symbols - for clients ' phone screens.
Priced at 249 baht ( $ 7.44), each is custom-made according to the clients ' unique star positions at birth, plus their deepest wishes, whether financial or romantic.
Traditional-looking Buddhist amulets - often images of guru monks or the Buddha made from bronze, brass or gold - are also available as non-fungible tokens ( NFTs).
Thai project Crypto Amulets has sold about 3,000 such NFTs since launching in 2021, each for about 2,000 baht ( $ 60) on the Ethereum and Solana blockchains.
Each digital amulet is printed on paper first to be blessed by monks in Surin province, a huge market of Thailand's Buddhist amulet trade 435 km east of Bangkok.
`` We used to wear physical amulets around our neck, but now we can carry NFT ones on our phones too, '' said Ekkaphong Khemthong, who owns Crypto Amulets and also collects traditional amulets.
BIG MARKET
Mainstream business brands are recognising the new Thai psychic entrepreneurs as the keys to the growing market of young believers with disposable income.
Last month, Mootae World promoted Cigna Corp insurance packages to their followers, tapping into Chinese astrology's `` unlucky year '' belief that in each zodiac animal year, those born with the same animal sign incur the curse of Tai Sui, the God of Age.
`` A new marketing trend has emerged. Trends are always changing, but supernatural belief is a constant in Thai society, '' said Muratha Junyaworalug, head researcher of the CMMU study.
`` All the brands want to tap into this market. ''
( $ 1 = 33.48 baht)
( Reporting by Patpicha Tanakasempipat; Editing by Kay Johnson and Jane Merriman)
By Patpicha Tanakasempipat | business |
China's lithium consumption to slow in April as pandemic curbs disrupt demand | Ira Joseph, directora de gas y electricidad de Platts Analytics, y Ryan Ouwerkerk, director de...
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China's lithium consumption is expected to slow down slightly in April from March amid high raw material prices and pandemic-led disruptions, industry sources said March 14.
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China is currently facing a severe pandemic wave, the worst in two years, bringing logistical operations and consumption to a screeching halt.
Demand from cathode material producers has slightly decreased due to expensive raw material and reduction in orders from power battery makers.
Some vehicle makers in China were forced to cut or slow down production due to transportation hurdles and shortage of auto parts.
Nio — one of the leading producers of new energy vehicles in China — halted production due to the supply chain breakdown of auto parts, the company said April 9.
Market chatters indicated a major global EV maker in China stopped production from March 28 and was yet to resume production, but the company's spokesperson told S & P Global Commodity Insights he wasn't aware of any notice on the suspension of production.
Meanwhile, Faw-Volkswagen Automotive Co. Ltd. stopped its production in Changchun and Shanghai plants, Shanghai Securities News said in early April. S & P Global's calls to the company went unanswered.
Vehicle production in Shanghai and Jilin province — highly impacted by the new pandemic wave — accounted for 10.7% and 9.1% of the country's total production, respectively, S & P Global's calculations showed.
As vehicle makers halt production lines, this would lead to a decrease in demand for power battery and related raw materials in April, sources said.
Nio, for example, is a major consumer of Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. ( CATL). CATL is China's largest power battery.
Battery makers and refiners are also experiencing logistics woes, with most of East China facing some sort of lockdown measures.
Shanghai has remained in lockdown since late March due to COVID-19 resurgence, which has also spilled over to neighboring cities.
Lockdown measures in China have weighed on its supply chains as transportation remains disrupted, while workers remain in isolation. As China adheres to a zero-Covid policy, some reports suggest lockdown measures could be extended into May.
Ningde city in the Fujian province, where CATL is located, escalated its control measures in mid-April to contain the spread of coronavirus.
CATL is making every effort to ensure continuation of market supply and lower the impact to the minimum, stated-owned Fujian Daily reported.
A salt producer in Jilin province also said that while production was going on as normal, transportation was a major issue, messing up delivery schedules to customers, sources said.
Likewise, many traders said it was difficult to sign deals during this time as they could not guarantee material delivery.
The explosive growth seen in China's EV industry sparked a race among suppliers to secure raw material, pushing up prices of lithium and nickel.
As a result, new energy vehicle manufacturers had to increase their vehicle prices to maintain their margins, as soaring lithium and nickel metals prices were passed on to downstream consumers.
The huge spurt in prices drew concerns from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers ( CAAM) and government authorities.
The unreasonable price hike of power-battery raw materials will impact China's new energy vehicle industry at a time it is eyeing expansion and subsidies have been also reduced, CAAM said in early April.
China's overall supply will not see a major gap as a key exporter for lithium chemicals, although 65% of the country's lithium resources relies on imports, CAAM said, underpinning its call for unjustified price hikes.
China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology also held discussions in March, seeking details on the lithium industry and price hike of battery raw materials.
Emerging from maintenance period, Chinese lithium chemicals producers have recovered their output since February. Meanwhile, production from brine producers is expected to rise as the weather gets warmer.
Domestic producers are also expanding their capacity or putting new projects into production, sources said.
However, the latest developments are unlikely to boost domestic supply significantly in the near term, though current weak market sentiment would add some downward pressure on lithium salt prices.
S & P Global assessed battery-grade lithium carbonate at Yuan 475,000/mt ( $ 74,612/mt) April 13 on a DDP China basis, down 6.9% from the record high reached on March 15.
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US oil, gas rig count remains steady at 791; Permian gains most rigs: Enverus | In the ever-evolving crude market, the dearth of crude from Iran, Venezuela and, most recently,...
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The US oil and gas rig count remained steady at 791 on the week, preserving the previous week's sizable gain as the Permian added a healthy tranche of rigs, energy analytics and software company Enverus said April 14.
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And while most basins lost rigs or stood still on the week that ended April 13, the total oil and gas count held onto the dozen rigs gained the previous week.
Oil rigs rose by six to 624 for the week ended April 13, while natural gas plays shed six rigs to 167.
The Permian Basin rose by six rigs to a total of 337—still the highest level since the first week of April 2020, although rigs in the West Texas/New Mexico play are still appreciably shy of coronavirus pre-pandemic levels near 430.
Since mid-April 2021, Permian rig levels have risen by about 100 rigs.
According to Scott Sheffield, CEO of big Permian producer Pioneer Natural Resources, the Permian is the only basin with large production growth potential.
Based on current and internal forecasts, Permian production is forecast to increase from 5 million b/d of oil and 20 Bcf/d of natural gas currently to 8 million b/d of oil and 35 Bcf/d of gas by 2030, Sheffield told a US House of Representative Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations hearing April 6 on current high fuel prices.
`` Long term, the Permian is the only play consistently growing '' in the US, he said. `` In other plays, the inventories are limited. ''
The basin, which generally has three sections—the Midland sub-basin on the eastern flank, the Delaware Basin on the western flank and the Central Basin Platform, which is generally conventional production from vertical wells. That is unlike the other two areas, which produce unconventional oil and gas from horizontal wells.
Besides the Permian, the only basin to gain rigs in the week ended April 13 was the DJ Basin, mostly in Colorado, which was up one rig to 18.
Otherwise, the Eagle Ford Shale of South Texas lost four rigs, dropping to 67, while the Haynesville Shale of East Texas/Northwest Louisiana fell by three rigs leaving 69 and the Utica Shale mostly sited in Ohio declined by two rigs, leaving 11.
Moreover, three other basins remained the same week on week: the SCOOP-STACK of Oklahoma, staying at 43 rigs; the natural gas-prone Marcellus Shale, remaining at 41 rigs; the Williston Basin in North Dakota/Montana, remaining at 35.
Also during the week ended April 13, consultancy Rystad Energy reported that permitting was at an all-time monthly high in March with 904 permit awards, owing to higher oil prices and production demand.
Weekly permits approved have ranged from 188 to 227 since March 7, which Rystad called `` an unprecedented period of high activity. '' That kicked up the four-week average to 210, which was a record for horizontal permit approvals in the core US shale patch over four weeks, Rystad said.
`` This is a clear signal that operators in the basin are kicking into high gear on their development plans, positioning for a significant ramp-up of activity level and an acceleration in the speed of output expansion over the next few months once supply chain bottlenecks ease, '' says Artem Abramov, Rystad Energy's head of shale research, said in a statement.
`` 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, '' Abramov said.
Rystad cautioned that many permits never get drilled and that the time from permit approval to drilling start differs `` substantially '' across the producer spectrum, even in the same basin.
But still, the recent permit activity trend `` points to a continuous uptick in drilling in the coming months, '' the consultancy said. `` Weekly horizontal permit approvals have occasionally spiked above 200 in recent years, but the persistently elevated levels currently being seen [ by ] regulators in Texas and New Mexico are unprecedented. ''
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After bold IPO, Indonesia's GoTo now has to bring it all together to succeed | GoTo debuted on the Indonesian stock exchange on April 11.Source: GoTo
Indonesia's ride-hailing-to-fintech platform PT GoTo Gojek Tokopedia Tbk will need to tap the synergies between its disparate business lines for growth after its bold decision to go public amid global market volatility.
`` Whether GoTo can succeed against its competitors depends on how well it finds synergies across its ride-hailing, e-commerce and financial services arms, '' said Oi-Yee Choo, CEO of ADDX, a Singapore-based digital securities exchange.
The merger of Indonesia's major ride-hailing platform Gojek and e-commerce giant PT Tokopedia was premised on the value proposition of combining three businesses under a single company. After the merger in May 2021, GoTo defined itself as a company with three units: GoJek, Tokopedia and GoTo Financial.
If GoTo's business units are able to tap resources and opportunities across the group through cross-marketing, data sharing and value-added services, `` it will become a formidable player, '' Choo said, adding: `` This is a complex but achievable goal. ''
Indonesia's economy is rebounding, in part due to growing domestic demand in consumption and investment. The nation's central bank expects its gross domestic product to grow by 4.7% -5.5% in 2022, accelerating from a 3.69% expansion in 2021. The global economy, in contrast, is likely to slow, dragged by rising price pressures, uncertainties around geopolitics and rising COVID-19 infections in some countries. That has increased volatility in the global markets.
`` GoTo's decision not to delay its IPO amid volatile market conditions and the global tech sell-off is a bold one, '' said Choo. `` As Indonesia's dominant consumer brand, GoTo is in a strong position. ''
Still, the company faces stiff competition in each of its business lines.
For e-commerce, Tokopedia's main rival is Sea Ltd.'s Shopee, said Harry Su, head of equity capital markets at Samuel International, an Indonesian investment bank. Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.-owned Lazada South East Asia Pte. Ltd. is also a formidable competitor.
After the IPO, Tokopedia can improve profitability `` by providing more comprehensive services to users in the hope of outpacing Shopee, '' Su said. Shopee is backed by Sea, whose profitable online gaming business Garena allows the group to give a longer runway to the online retail unit.
Gojek has faced competition from Grab Holdings Ltd., its Singapore rival, not just in the local market but also around Southeast Asia.
GoTo Financial has a 22.16% stake in PT Bank Jago Tbk, a digital bank, and synergies will allow it to be more competitive against the likes of Shopeepay and Grab's payment platform OVO, Su said.
According to the IPO prospectus, 30% of the proceeds each will go to the group and Tokopedia, and 25% will go to GoPay. Tokopedia and GoTo Financial — GoPay and GoFinance — are the most significant contributors to the company's gross transaction value, Su said, noting that Tokopedia contributed 47.9% on average, and GoTo Financial contributed 36.2%.
The business-to-business element of GoTo Financial has the highest potential to generate profits, taking into account the solutions it offers to small to medium-sized enterprises.
The consumer business often has low customer loyalty, analysts said, making it hard for GoTo to dominate the market for long.
`` The overall [ consumer ] stickiness is just not there across Southeast Asia, '' said Kristine Lau, associate at ThirdBridge, a research firm.
However, the services GoTo provides to SMEs may become a profitability driver without the heavy costs of customer acquisition.
Payment gateways operated by GoTo such as Midtrans and Moka are `` the most interesting pieces of this IPO, '' Lau said. Midtrans is an online payment solution for enterprises, and Moka is a point-of-sale system. Such services allow GoTo to be at multiple touch points, which could lead to a larger volume of data that the company could leverage for growth.
`` I think this is a big point of differentiation, even though it might not be a big revenue driver in the short term, '' Lau said.
GoTo started trading April 11 on the Indonesian stock exchange after it raise $ 1.1 billion from its listing, making it the third-largest IPO of all time in the country, according to S & P Global Market Intelligence data. | business |
Citigroup reduces forecast for potential Russia losses | * Citi adds $ 1.9 bln of reserves for Ukraine crisis
* Investment banking revenue slumps on SPAC slowdown
* Bank returns $ 4 bln to shareholders
* Shares gain 1.4%
NEW YORK, April 14 ( Reuters) - Citigroup Inc could lose as much as $ 3 billion from its Russia exposures, $ 2 billion less than previously forecast, the bank said on Thursday while reporting a nearly halving of its first-quarter profit.
The bank said it had reduced its total exposure to Russia since December by $ 2 billion to $ 7.8 billion and that it would now lose no more than $ 3 billion in a severely adverse scenario, down from the nearly $ 5 billion estimated last month.
The disclosure came as Citi - the most global of the U.S. banks - added $ 1.9 billion to its reserves in the quarter to prepare for losses from direct exposures in Russia and the economic impact of the Ukraine war.
That pushed credit costs to $ 755 million, a contrast with the $ 2.1 billion benefit a year ago when it freed up loss reserves built during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The turn was a key factor in driving net income down 46% from a year earlier.
Still, the resulting earnings per share of $ 2.02 per share beat the $ 1.55 estimate from analysts who had feared worse.
Citi shares rose on the report and were up 1.4% in afternoon trading.
`` This was in line with our hopes for what we would see, '' said Patrick Kaser, a portfolio manager at Brandywine Global Investment Management and a long-time investor in the bank who said he was `` pleasantly surprised. ''
The reduced Russia exposure was a plus. `` They appear to have navigated and managed down their risk, '' Kaser said.
Revenue fell 2% to $ 19.2 billion, less than some analysts had expected.
A key factor was a 43% slump in investment banking revenue as last year's rush of deals involving blank-check companies tapered off, drying up underwriting fees. Equity underwriting revenue plunged 78%.
Revenue from Treasury and Trade Solutions - Citi's crown jewel business - rose 18% due to higher net interest income and fee growth.
`` While the geopolitical and macro environment has become more volatile, we are executing the strategy we announced at our recent Investor Day, '' Chief Executive Officer Jane Fraser said in the results announcement.
Fraser later told analysts she had personally felt the added challenge of the pandemic when she had what she called `` a brief encounter with COVID. ''
Fraser is leading an overhaul of Citi, which lags the financial performance of peers and has to carry out orders from U.S. banking regulators to fix its risk and compliance systems.
Her push has, however, driven up costs, with expenses rising 10% in the quarter excluding those for divestitures of the Asia consumer business.
BUYBACKS
Citi has been using excess capital to buy back shares. Unlike other big banks, its stock trades at a discount to its net worth, making buybacks attractive.
The bank returned $ 4 billion to shareholders in the quarter, including $ 1 billion in dividends, and its share count was 6% lower than a year earlier.
Citigroup expects to do a `` modest '' level of buybacks in the second quarter that would be less than the $ 3 billion in the first quarter, Chief Financial Officer Mark Mason told reporters after the bank posted results.
The first quarter repurchases came as Citi's capital account was hurt by unrealized losses on securities as a result of the recent rise in interest rates.
Its Common Equity Tier 1 capital ratio fell to 11.4% from 12.2% in December. The bank expects to have the ratio back up to 12% by year-end as earnings add to its capital, Mason said.
Citi needs about $ 7 billion of capital to meet that goal and expects about $ 4 billion to come as it closes previously announced sales of consumer banking businesses in Asia, Mason told analysts.
A similar, but worse, capital ratio decline was reported by JPMorgan Chase & Co on Wednesday, deepening concerns among investors that bank buybacks would be constrained this year.
Citigroup expects additional capital to come from the sales of its consumer businesses outside of the United States.
In Mexico, the bank is finding `` significant interest '' from potential buyers of its Citibanamex franchise, Fraser told analysts. It could still take `` a few quarters '' to dispose of the asset, she said.
( Reporting by Manya Saini in Bengaluru and David Henry in New York; Editing by Aditya Soni, Matt Scuffham and Nick Zieminski) | business |
Britain approves Moderna's COVID shot for 6-11 year-olds | * UK's MHRA extends use of Spikevax to include younger children
* UK's JCVI to decide on use of vaccine in immunization program
* Worldwide cases cross 500 mln - Reuters tally
April 14 ( Reuters) - Britain's medicines regulator on Thursday approved the use of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine in children between six and 11 years, as the country bolsters itself for fighting coronavirus infections amid the spread of new virus variants.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency ( MHRA) said https: //www.gov.uk/government/news/mhra-approves-the-moderna-covid-19-vaccine-spikevax-for-use-in-6-to-11-year-olds the approval was granted after Moderna's vaccine, known as Spikevax, met the required standards of safety, quality and effectiveness.
While most children develop mild or no symptoms with COVID-19, they could still spread the virus and some remain at risk of becoming seriously ill as new, highly contagious variants such as Omicron and its sub-variants are driving up cases.
A Reuters tally https: //www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/worldwide-covid-cases-surpass-500-mln-omicron-variant-ba2-surges-2022-04-14 showed worldwide cases surpassed 500 million.
However, official data on Thursday showed https: //www.reuters.com/world/uk/englands-covid-19-prevalence-dips-slightly-record-high-2022-04-14 that COVID-19 prevalence in England fell to 1 in 14 people in the week ending April 9, compared with a record high of 1 in 13 recorded in the previous two weeks.
Spikevax was already approved in Britain for those over 12 years, and the extension to include younger children comes hours after the regulator approved French firm Valneva's easy-to-store COVID-19 vaccine for adults up to 50 years of age.
MHRA chief June Raine said in a statement it would be up to Britain's Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation to advise on whether Moderna's vaccine will be offered to the younger group as part of the country's immunization program.
Moderna last year said its two-dose vaccine, based on messenger RNA ( mRNA) technology, generated virus-neutralizing antibodies in children aged six to 11 years and safety was comparable to that seen in trials of adolescents and adults.
Last month, the U.S.-based drugmaker said it would seek authorisation of Spikevax in children younger than 6 years old based on data showing it generated a similar immune response to adults in Moderna's clinical trial when Omicron was predominant. ( Reporting by Pushkala Aripaka in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber and David Evans) | business |
Kaley Cuoco `` Will Never Get Married Again '' After Second Divorce | Every product on this page was chosen by a Harper's BAZAAR editor. We may earn commission on some of the items you choose to buy.
`` Absolutely not, '' the Flight Attendant star said.
Kaley Cuoco loves love, but that doesn't mean she ever wants to get married again.
In a new interview, the Flight Attendant star spoke about her take on the tradition following her two failed marriages.
`` I will never get married again, '' she told Glamour. `` Absolutely not. You can literally put that on the cover. ''
Cuoco first wed tennis player Ryan Sweeting in 2013, but the two split three years later. Then, in 2018, she married professional equestrian Karl Cook in a dreamy and intimate ceremony held on a ranch near San Diego, California. They adorably wrote `` KC Squared '' everywhere and she referred to him as her `` soul mate. ''
The two initially bonded over their love of horses and had been dating for about two years before they got engaged in 2017. For a while, they seemed wildly happy, and even challenged the way others looked at marriage, thanks to their unique arrangement: They lived in separate homes and only moved in together during the COVID-19 pandemic.
`` We 've been married for a year and a half, been together for almost four years, and we now—this quarantine has forced us to actually move in together. It's been great for our relationship, '' Cuoco told Jimmy Kimmel in April 2020. `` And we like each other, we realized, which is even better. ''
But in September 2021, they announced their breakup. `` Despite a deep love and respect for one another, we have realized that our current paths have taken us in opposite directions, '' they said via a joint statement at the time.
During her talk with Glamour, she said she's open to finding love again—just not marriage.
`` I would love to have a long-lasting relationship or a partnership, '' she said. `` I believe in love because I 've had incredible relationships. I know that they're out there. I like being someone's partner and having that companionship. ''
Season 2 of The Flight Attendant premieres later this month, on April 21. | general |
ADRs End Lower; Ericsson, TSMC Trade Actively | International stocks trading in New York closed lower on Thursday.
The S & P/BNY Mellon index of American depositary receipts fell 1.2% to 152.87. The European index declined 0.7% to 144.02. The Asian index fell 1.9% to 179.83. The Latin American index fell 2.4% to 223.10. And the emerging-markets index fell 2.6% to 310.11.
Ericsson AB and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. were among those whose ADRs traded actively.
A booster dose of the Covid-19 vaccine from Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE generated a strong immune response in children 5 to 11 years old, an encouraging sign for youngsters to maintain protection against the virus. The companies said Thursday that a late-stage study of a booster found the extra shot significantly increased antibody levels against the Omicron variant. The shot also raised antibody supply against the initial strain the vaccines were designed to fight. The booster shot was found to be safe and well-tolerated among the children in the study, the companies said. The results haven't been peer-reviewed by independent experts or published in a medical journal. BioNTech's ADRs closed 2.3% lower at $ 175.29.
Ericsson AB reported lower quarterly profit driven by the suspension of operations in Russia and a contract delay. The Swedish telecom-equipment maker also warned it faces a fine in the U.S. related to its handling of a corruption scandal in Iraq. The Justice Department has said the company's handling of the matter violated the terms of a 2019 settlement. ADRs fell 9% to $ 8.49.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the world's largest contract chip maker, signaled that the global chip shortage was likely to continue, with tight production capacity for all types of chips it makes. TSMC expects manufacturers to stock up more than usual on chips and other components after recent events disrupted the global supply chain, Chief Executive C.C. Wei said on a quarterly earnings call. ADRs fell 3.1% to $ 98.36.
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Read our editorial policy to learn more about our process. | business |
Citi Began Deepening its Russia Retreat Before Ukraine Invasion | The information you requested is not available at this time, please check back again soon.
Jane Fraser, chief executive officer for Latin American at Citigroup Inc., speaks during an interview at the company's headquarters in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Monday, Dec. 3, 2018. The bank has been investing in its wholesale business in Brazil to take advantage of project-finance deals, mergers and acquisitions, and capital-markets offerings. Photograph: Rodrigo Capote/Bloomberg, Bloomberg
( Bloomberg) -- Citigroup Inc. began scaling back its operations in Russia weeks before President Vladimir Putin even invaded Ukraine.
Chief Executive Officer Jane Fraser and her team had spent months watching as tensions between the two countries rose. By January, the firm -- which has the largest presence in both Russia and Ukraine of any U.S. bank -- was ready to act.
On Thursday, Citigroup revealed the result of their quiet work: The firm had trimmed exposure to Russia by $ 2 billion in the first three months of the year, including offloading $ 300 million worth of derivatives linked to the country. Unlike many of its rivals, Citigroup didn’ t report any material losses from efforts to curb exposure.
“ We started to carefully reduce our operations in and our exposure to Russia in January, ” Fraser said Thursday. “ We benefited from being on the front foot here. ”
The firm -- which has vowed it will ultimately exit both consumer and commercial banking in the country -- now has $ 7.8 billion worth of loans, assets and other exposure tied to Russia, local companies and their counterparties, as well as Russia’ s central bank. That still gives it the largest exposure to the country of any major U.S. bank, though executives said Thursday they would continue to whittle away at the figure.
The company has seen efforts to sell those retail banking assets stall, Bloomberg News first reported last month. Still, Citigroup hasn’ t abandoned finding a willing buyer for its Russian businesses, Fraser said on Thursday.
“ Our intention to sell significant portions of our local business in Russia remains, ” she said.
Before Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, Citigroup had said its Russian business served about 1,200 corporate clients. On Thursday, the firm told investors that roughly 85% of those were local subsidiaries of large, multinational companies with headquarters in the U.S. or in Europe.
In recent weeks, Citigroup’ s bankers have swooped in to advise many of those clients on unwinding their local businesses and shuttering operations. Fraser -- who recently recovered from a case of Covid-19 -- said she’ s just returned from a trip where she met with European and Middle Eastern clients.
“ It is security, energy, food, defense, cyber or operational resilience that has risen to the top of their strategic dialogue, ” Fraser said. “ The Russian invasion of Ukraine and the sanctions it triggered unleashed an enormous supply shock on the world, further fueling inflation and placing global growth under considerable pressure. ”
Citigroup has continued to pay its 3,000 workers across Russia, Chief Financial Officer Mark Mason said Thursday. The company last year announced it was seeking to exit retail banking operations in the country -- a retreat it expanded to include its commercial banking unit following the invasion.
The bank’ s continued presence in the region has put it central to U.S. President Joe Biden’ s sanctions regimes. When Russia invaded Ukraine, Citigroup was serving as paying agent on more than four dozen bonds tied to Russian sovereign and corporate debt.
In a largely clerical role, a paying agent ensures interest payments on bonds are properly paid out to investors. Citigroup and many of its rivals, under orders from the U.S. Treasury, have held up those payments or ordered clients to receive proper waivers from government agencies, forcing some corporations into technical default.
“ We are in continuous communication with the U.S. government and we continue to do our part to enforce the sanctions regime, ” Fraser said.
Citigroup set aside $ 1.9 billion in reserves for souring loans directly tied to its Russian business as well as for borrowers that might be affected by the broader economic fallout from the war. The move weighed on profits, which slumped 46% in the first quarter, the bank reported Thursday.
The moves came as rival Goldman Sachs Group Inc. reported a $ 300 million loss after closing out positions and reducing exposure to Russia. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reported a $ 524 million loss in its trading division linked to market fallout from the invasion, about $ 120 million of which was tied to “ extreme price movements ” in nickel.
Citigroup, though, saw commodities trading revenue soar 173% in the quarter, Mason told journalists on Thursday. That helped buoy the firm’ s overall fixed-income trading revenue, which topped estimates for the quarter.
“ On the back of everything going on again with the Russia-Ukraine war and some of the large shifts in commodities pricing and client demand, a lot of uncertainty and a lot of volatility, ” Mason said. “ Sometimes that plays to opportunities to make markets for clients and that was the case here in the quarter for us. ”
With its winnowed down exposure, the bank now believes potential losses on its business in a severe stress scenario could be $ 2.5 billion to $ 3 billion. That’ s less than the $ 4.9 billion the company previously estimated.
“ That range includes this taking a fair amount of time and working down exposures as we did in the first quarter as it plays out to there being a sudden scenario where we’ ve got to exit, ” Mason said. “ I don’ t think anyone can call when this ends, and how this ends. And that’ s what’ s creating a lot of the uncertainty back out there. ”
Macquarie Group said the Canadian housing market is facing “ significant headwinds ” if the Bank of Canada does indeed increase its benchmark interest rate by another one-and-a-half per cent. | general |
In surprise move, China’ s PBOC keeps key policy interest rates unchanged | BEIJING — China’ s central bank kept its key policy interest rates unchanged on Friday, going against market expectations of a rate cut, to shore up the cooling economic growth amid the flare-up of COVID-19 outbreaks.
The People’ s Bank of China said in a brief statement that it injected 150 billion yuan ( $ 23.5 billion) of liquidity via its medium-term lending facility which will charge banks an interest rate of 2.85%. The rate was the same as the central bank’ s last operation.
The PBOC also injected CNY10 billion through seven-day reverse repurchase agreements with a borrowing cost of 2.1%, also unchanged from its last operation.
Economists have anticipated the central bank to lower its key policy rates to give a boost to the world’ s second largest economy, which has been battered by the outbreaks of the omicron COVID-19 variant. China’ s benchmark lending rate–the loan prime rate–is priced based on the MLF interest rate.
The absence of a rate cut Friday, however, now increases the chances of a cut in the reserve requirement ratio for banks, which could unleash billions of dollars of liquidity into the financial system.
China’ s Premier Li Keqiang said in a meeting Wednesday that China will use reserve requirement ratios cuts and other monetary tools to provide support for the nation’ s struggling businesses, which have been affected by the government’ s draconian virus-prevention measures.
The two previous RRR cuts in July and December last year came days after a similar signal from Li. | business |
Discounts to gas hub for delivered LNG cargoes to Europe help spur arbitrage talk | The global fuel oil market is in turmoil on account of a lower amount of Russian oil flowing into...
China's lithium consumption is expected to slow down slightly in April from March amid high raw...
Wide discounts to the Dutch TTF gas hub for delivered LNG cargoes in Europe, increased shipping...
Wide discounts to the Dutch TTF gas hub for delivered LNG cargoes in Europe, increased shipping activity in the Pacific and recent trading activity have spurred market talk about when the arbitrage to Asia could open.
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With the war in Ukraine helping keep end-user prices around $ 30/MMBtu -- about 4-1/2 times the level at the same time a year ago -- inter-basin spreads still favor Europe, as do netbacks to the US Gulf Coast for FOB shipments.
There have been recent signs the dynamics could be changing, due in part to limited slot availability in Europe. Traders generally agreed that much will depend on demand and how long new coronavirus lockdowns in China last.
`` If you are going to get cargoes at TTF minus $ 3 or $ 4 in Europe, your option in Asia is probably there. I heard some recent transactions at TTF minus $ 1.50 to $ 1.70, '' an Atlantic-based trader said.
`` The difference there between $ 1.50 to $ 2.50, that is the range where the arb would be open for some people, depending on how they do their shipping. Cargoes, I think, will be pulling away from Europe a bit. ''
The arbitrage between the regions can be measured in different ways. Market participants tend to look at JKM-TTF derivatives, with the spread traded April 14 during European hours at minus $ 4.75/MMBtu for June, which includes the delivery period for US FOB LNG cargoes to Asia.
There is also the spread between physical assessments to consider. JKM for May was assessed at a 9.4 cents/MMBtu premium to what DES Northwest Europe was assessed at April 13, days before the front-month was to flip to June. When reflecting where JKM June was trading at April 14 during European hours, JKM would still be at a discount to Northwest Europe.
Notable for arbitrage, congestion at the Panama Canal has eased in recent weeks. The maximum wait for unreserved LNG tankers transiting the shortest passageway from the US Gulf Coast to East Asia stood at three days northbound and three days southbound on April 14, according to the Panama Canal Authority.
That has come even as the market has recently seen fresh demand for ships within the Pacific.
According to S & P Global Commodity Insights data, the LNG freight route cost on April 14 for a TFDE ship loading from the US Gulf Coast and discharging in the Northwest Europe stood at $ 1.46/MMBtu. To the Japan/South Korea region, the LNG freight route cost stood at $ 3.07/MMBtu.
Asian nations can secure cargoes from different suppliers like Russia, Qatar, and Australia. LNG volumes originating from Qatar and shipped either in Europe or in Asian nations have become of particular interest following the March 22 gas agreement between Germany and Qatar.
The LNG freight route cost for a TFDE ship loading in the Middle East with delivery in Northwest Europe currently stands at $ 2.15/MMBtu. If the same ship was about to load from the Middle East and call in a port in the Japan/South Korea area it would cost $ 1.79/MMBtu.
In Asia, several market participants said trends appeared to be moving in the right direction for the arbitrage, though with so many variables at play they were not sure when a flip might occur.
`` The arb is closed for now, but I do not think it will remain closed, '' a portfolio player said, while a producer said: `` There could be some US cargoes arriving in summer with the arb likely to open again. ''
Another producer said that while the arbitrage generally was still closed, it appeared to be closer to opening than in previous weeks as European discounts to TTF have widened to around $ 4/MMBtu.
China's zero-COVID policy seemingly continuing For the foreseeable future meant lockdowns, which cause supply needs to fluctuate. The timing of when those restrictions ease could affect the timing of when the arbitrage opens.
`` COVID-19 situation in Shanghai is still pretty bad, getting stricter in Guangzhou as well, and it is affecting downstream demand, '' a Chinese importer said.
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China stocks rise as cabinet promises timely cut in reserve requirement ratio | - Chinese stocks rose on Thursday, after the cabinet said Beijing would use timely cuts in banks ' reserve requirement ratios ( RRR) and other policy tools to support the economy, amid the worst COVID-19 outbreak in two years.
The CSI300 index rose 0.7% to 4,169.21 at the end of the morning session, while the Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.7% to 3,210.08.
The Hang Seng index added 0.4% to 21,453.69. The Hong Kong China Enterprises Index gained 0.7% to 7,363.40.
* * The State Council said on Wednesday China would step up financial support for the real economy, especially industries and small firms hit by the pandemic, and will lower financing costs.
* * `` It is very likely that the PBoC could cut RRR by 50bp for most banks in the next several days, '' said Nomura in a note. `` These monetary measures and other policies are likely to have little positive impact. In our view, refining and adjusting the ZCS ( zero-COVID strategy) is key to a growth recovery. ''
* * Mainland China reported 29,411 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, of which 3,020 were symptomatic and 26,391 were asymptomatic.
* * However, President Xi Jinping said China must not relax COVID control and prevention measures, state radio reported.
* * U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said China should help end Russia's `` heinous war '' in Ukraine or face a loss of its standing in the world.
* * Consumer staples climbed 2.8%, with liquor makers up 4%, while tourism firms added 2.4%.
* * Coal stocks gained 3.2%, brokerage firms rose 2%, and automobliles went up 1.8%.
* * Alibaba Group lost 3.6% in Hong Kong, as Bloomberg News reported that China's anti-corruption watchdog was among the agencies involved in a recent inquiry into links between the e-commerce giant's affiliate Ant Group and state-owned Chinese companies.
* * Tech giants listed in Hong Kong gained 1%.
( Reporting by Shanghai Newsroom; Editing by Rashmi Aich) | business |
FTSE 100 Falls, Gains Elsewhere in Europe | FTSE 100 Falls Even as Stocks Rise Elsewhere
0811 GMT - The FTSE 100 falls 0.3% to 7560 points even as other European stocks indices rise following gains in Asia and on Wall Street. `` A signal of possible stimulus from Chinese authorities aiming to avert an economic slowdown following new Covid-related lockdowns led to a positive session in Asia, which has failed to wash through to the U.K. in early exchanges, '' Interactive Investor analyst Richard Hunter says in a note. The FTSE 100 remains in the relatively isolated position of remaining positive so far this year, having added 2.3% in the year to date, supported by its exposure to defensive stocks, a generous average dividend yield and an ample presence of oil and mining stocks, he says. ( renae.dyer @ wsj.com)
Ashmore Assets Under Management Fell 10% on Quarter in 3Q
Ashmore Group PLC said Thursday that its assets under management fell 10% over the third quarter of the fiscal year.
-- -
Ninety One 4Q Assets Under Management Increased Significantly
Ninety One PLC said Thursday that assets under management for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022 increased significantly from a year earlier.
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National Grid Expects 2022 Earnings to Beat Prior Guidance
National Grid PLC said Thursday that it anticipates that fiscal 2022 underlying earnings per share will be modestly higher than previous guidance, and expects to complete the sale of its Rhode Island unit in the first quarter.
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Halma Acquires Underwater Robot Manufacturer Deep Trekker for C $ 60 Mln
Halma PLC said Thursday that it has acquired underwater robots manufacturer Deep Trekker Inc. for 60 million Canadian dollars ( $ 47.8 million) on a cash and debt free basis.
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Brooks Macdonald's 3Q Funds Under Management Fell on Weaker Global Markets
Brooks Macdonald Group PLC said Thursday that funds under management fell over the third quarter of fiscal 2022, dragged by the war in Ukraine.
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Smiths Group CFO John Shipsey to Step Down; Clare Scherrer Named
Smiths Group PLC said Thursday that Chief Financial Officer John Shipsey is stepping down from the role by mutual agreement on April 29, and that it has appointed Clare Scherrer as his replacement.
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Mediclinic International Expects to Report FY 2022 Revenue Rise
Mediclinic International PLC said on Thursday that it expects to report a rise in revenue for fiscal 2022, and that it sees positive momentum in client activity driving revenue growth and margins in the year ahead.
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Wizz Air Expects Widened Net Loss for FY 2022
Wizz Air Holdings PLC said Thursday that it expects to report a widened net loss for fiscal 2022, and that it is starting to see a recovery taking shape as it moves closer to the summer season.
-- -
Dunelm 3Q Sales Rose on Successful Winter Sale
Dunelm Group PLC said Thursday that total sales increased in the third quarter of fiscal 2022, adding that customers responded well to its winter sale despite a hit in the final three weeks of the quarter due to the Omicron wave of the coronavirus.
-- -
Hays 3Q Net Fees Grew on Like-For-Like Basis; Backs Full-Year Operating Profit Guidance
Hays PLC said Thursday that net fees rose 32% on a like-for-like basis in the third quarter of fiscal 2022 to a record high, and reiterated its full-year operating profit guidance.
-- -
Polar Capital FY 2022 Assets Under Management Rose; Outlook Positive
Polar Capital Holdings PLC said Thursday that assets under management increased in fiscal 2022 because of a combination of outperformance, net inflows and market improvement.
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React Group Plans GBP5.5 Mln Share Placing to Support Acquisitions
React Group PLC said Thursday it intends to raise 5.5 million pounds ( $ 7.2 million) in a share placing, to support its acquisition growth strategy and for general working capital.
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finnCap to Report Rise in FY 2022 Revenue, Pretax Profit in Line with Views
finnCap Group PLC said Thursday that revenue for fiscal 2022 is expected to have increased, with adjusted pretax profit in line with expectations.
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Norcros Expects to Post Higher FY 2022 Revenue; Gets GBP130 Mln Loan
Norcros PLC said Thursday that it expects to report a rise in fiscal 2022 revenue, and that it has secured a 130 million-pound ( $ 170.5 million) loan.
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Renold Says FY 2022 Revenue Rose on Strong Order Intake Momentum
Renold PLC said Thursday that revenue for fiscal 2022 increased, as the momentum in order intake and turnover of the first half continued into the second half of the financial year.
-- -
Oilex Shares Fall on Need for Extra Funds to Meet Higher-Than-Expected Costs at Cambay Field
Shares in Oilex Ltd. fell Thursday after the company said it intends to raise additional funds next month as a result of higher-than-expected re-fracking costs and a delay to the start up of gas production at the Cambay gas field in India.
Bunzl Seen as an Inflation Winner
0804 GMT - Bunzl emerged a postpandemic winner after its shares became extremely cheap during the coronavirus pandemic's early stages, Berenberg says. Analysts at Berenberg view the distribution-and-outsourcing company as a relative inflation winner as it passes on price increases and extracts small profit gains from base material and product price inflation, with shares rising accordingly by around 26% since Berenberg's last stock rating upgrade in July. `` The shares have now reached the opposite extreme in terms of market-relative valuation, and with the intensity of inflationary profit tailwinds likely to moderate from here, we see little more room for upside, '' the German brokerage says. Berenberg downgrades its rating on the stock to hold from buy, and raises its target price to 2,950 pence from 2,750 pence. ( anthony.orunagoriainoff @ dowjones.com)
Contact: London NewsPlus; paul.larkins @ wsj.com
( END) Dow Jones Newswires
04-14-22 0428ET | business |
Worldwide COVID cases surpass 500 million as Omicron variant BA.2 surges | The rise of BA.2 has been blamed for recent surges in China as well as record infections in Europe. It has been called the `` stealth variant '' because it is slightly harder to track than others.
South Korea leads the world in the daily average number of new cases, reporting more than 182,000 new infections a day and accounting for one in every four infections globally, according to a Reuters analysis.
New cases are rising in 20 out of more than 240 countries and territories tracked, including Taiwan, Thailand and Bhutan.
Shanghai is fighting China's worst COVID-19 outbreak since the virus first emerged in Wuhan in late 2019, with almost 25,000 new local cases reported, although the city's quarantine policy is criticized for separating children from parents and putting asymptomatic cases among those with symptoms.
`` Shanghai's epidemic prevention and control is at the most difficult and most critical stage, '' Wu Qianyu, an official with the municipal health commission, told a briefing.
EUROPE, U.S. STILL AFFECTED
Some European countries are now seeing a slower uptick in new cases, or even a decline, but the region is still reporting over 1 million cases about every two days, according to the Reuters tally.
In Germany, the seven-day average of new infections has fallen and is now at 59% of its previous peak in late March. New cases are also falling in the United Kingdom and Italy, while they are holding steady in France.
Overall, COVID-19 cases in the United States have dropped sharply after hitting record levels in January, but the resurgence of cases in parts of Asia and Europe has raised concerns that another wave could follow in the United States.
The U.S. national public health agency said on Monday the BA.2 sub-variant of Omicron was estimated to account for nearly three of every four coronavirus variants in the country.
The BA.2 variant now makes up about 86% of all sequenced cases globally, according to the World Health Organization. It is known to be more transmissible than the BA.1 and BA.1.1 Omicron sub-variants. Evidence so far, though, suggests BA.2 is no more likely to cause severe disease.
Scientists continue to emphasize vaccines are critical for avoiding the devastation the virus can cause.
Roughly 64.8% of the world population has received at least one dose of a COVID vaccine, although only 14.8% of people in low-income countries have received at least one dose, according to figures from Our World in Data.
While cases have flared in Europe and Asia recently, the United States still has the highest total COVID infections since the start of the pandemic with 80.41 million, followed by India with 43.04 million and Brazil with 30.14 million.
Since 2020, about 37% of the world's COVID cases have been in Europe, 21% in Asia and 17% in North America.
About 6.5 million people have lost their lives to COVID since the pandemic began. The United States has reported the highest number of deaths, followed by Russia, Brazil and India.
Russia overtook Brazil to have the world's second-highest death toll from COVID-19, data from Russia's state statistics service and Reuters calculations showed on Thursday.
( Reporting by Kavya B, Aparupa Mazumder and Rittik Biswas in Bengaluru; Editing by Lisa Shumaker, Tom Hogue and Gareth Jones)
By Kavya B and Aparupa Mazumder | business |
Britons spend more, go out less in early April | Weekly credit and debit card data showed spending in the week to April 7 was 2 percentage points higher than the week before, though this was not adjusted for seasonal factors or inflation.
The Office for National Statistics said overall spending was 6% higher than in February 2020, before the COVID-19 pandemic, while average prices have risen by more than 8% since then.
Consumer price inflation has picked up sharply over the past year and last month, budget forecasters predicted it would reach nearly 9% by the end of the year, ushering in the biggest cost-of-living squeeze since records began in the late 1950s.
The Bank of England expects growth to slow sharply this year as households ' disposable income drops in real terms.
The most recent rise in spending was led by a 6-percentage-point week-on-week increase in 'work-related ' spending, which includes the cost of fuel for commuting, the ONS said, while spending on socialising was up by 4 percentage points too.
The higher spending figures, which come from interbank CHAPS payments data collected by the BoE, contrast with a fall in the number of Britons visiting places of work, shops and restaurants over the same period.
Google Mobility figures published by the ONS showed a 4% week-on-week drop in visits to workplaces and a 1% decline in visits to'retail stores and recreation areas ', while OpenTable restaurant booking figures dropped by 2 percentage points.
Looking ahead, British banks are concerned that defaults on a wide range of loans will rise, according to a quarterly survey by the BoE, also published on Thursday.
Rates of default for mortgages, unsecured consumer lending and business loans are all expected to be higher in the three months to the end of May than in the three months before.
That said, recent rates of default have been low, and concerns about big rises in default rates in previous surveys have not come to pass.
The survey also showed lenders intended to reduce the availability of mortgages by the most since the early days of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020.
`` The anticipated pull back in credit availability reflects rising market interest rates rather than... criteria over which lenders have more control, '' said Andrew Wishart, senior property economist at Capital Economics.
Financial markets expect the BoE to raise rates to at least 2% by the end of the year, up from 0.75% currently.
( Reporting by William Schomberg and David Milliken; Editing by Bernadette Baum)
By David Milliken and William Schomberg | business |
Dow announces results from 2022 Annual Stockholder Meeting | MIDLAND, Mich., April 14, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Dow ( NYSE: DOW) is pleased to report the preliminary results of its 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders. Today stockholders elected Samuel R. Allen, Gaurdie Banister Jr., Wesley G. Bush, Richard K. Davis, Jerri DeVard, Debra L. Dial, Jeff M. Fettig, Jim Fitterling, Jacqueline C. Hinman, Luis Alberto Moreno, Jill S. Wyant, and Daniel W. Yohannes to the Company's Board of Directors for one-year terms.
Stockholders approved an advisory resolution on executive compensation and ratified the appointment of Deloitte & Touche LLP as Dow's independent auditor for 2022. A majority of votes cast by Dow stockholders were against the Stockholder Proposal for an Independent Board Chairman.
The final voting results on all agenda items will be available in a Form 8-K to be filed by the Company, which can be found at investors.dow.com after certification by the Company's inspector of elections. The meeting will be available via webcast replay on Dow's website.
Following the Company's 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, the Board of Directors re-elected Richard K. Davis to serve as independent lead director for a one-year term. Mr. Davis joined Dow's board in May 2015, actively serving on the Company's audit and corporate governance committees, and was elected to serve his first term as independent lead director in 2021.
Dow's board ranks in the top quartile for ethnic diversity among industry peers and nearly 60% of its directors are women or U.S. ethnic minorities – demonstrating the Company's commitment to diversity. The Company's Board of Directors is comprised of a strong balance of new and highly experienced directors, with more than half of the eleven independent directors joining in the past three years. All directors are all highly accomplished leaders and together bring a variety of relevant skills and diverse experiences, including senior leadership, global business, capital allocation, financial acumen, technology expertise, operational experience, as well as ESG experience.
Biographies for all directors, committee assignments and other corporate governance information are available on our Corporate Governance website.
About DowDow ( NYSE: DOW) combines global breadth; asset integration and scale; focused innovation and materials science expertise; leading business positions; and environmental, social and governance ( ESG) leadership to achieve profitable growth and deliver a sustainable future. The Company's ambition is to become the most innovative, customer centric, inclusive and sustainable materials science company in the world. Dow's portfolio of plastics, industrial intermediates, coatings and silicones businesses delivers a broad range of differentiated, science-based products and solutions for its customers in high-growth market segments, such as packaging, infrastructure, mobility and consumer applications. Dow operates 104 manufacturing sites in 31 countries and employs approximately 35,700 people. Dow delivered sales of approximately $ 55 billion in 2021. References to Dow or the Company mean Dow Inc. and its subsidiaries. For more information, please visit www.dow.com or follow @ DowNewsroom on Twitter.
For further information, please contact:
Kyle Bandlow+1 989-638-2417kbandlow @ dow.com
Twitter: https: //twitter.com/DowNewsroom Facebook: https: //www.facebook.com/dow/ LinkedIn: http: //www.linkedin.com/company/dow-chemical Instagram: http: //instagram.com/dow official
Cautionary Statement about Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements in this report are `` forward-looking statements '' within the meaning of the federal securities laws, including Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Such statements often address expected future business and financial performance, financial condition, and other matters, and often contain words or phrases such as `` anticipate, '' `` believe, '' `` estimate, '' `` expect, '' `` intend, '' `` may, '' `` opportunity, '' `` outlook, '' `` plan, '' `` project, '' `` seek, '' `` should, '' `` strategy, '' `` target, '' `` will, '' `` will be, '' `` will continue, '' `` will likely result, '' `` would '' and similar expressions, and variations or negatives of these words or phrases.
Forward-looking statements are based on current assumptions and expectations of future events that are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors that are beyond Dow's control, which may cause actual results to differ materially from those projected, anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements and speak only as of the date the statements were made. These factors include, but are not limited to: sales of Dow's products; Dow's expenses, future revenues and profitability; the continuing global and regional economic impacts of the coronavirus disease 2019 ( `` COVID-19 '') pandemic and other public health-related risks and events on Dow's business; any sanctions, export restrictions, supply chain disruptions or increased economic uncertainty related to the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine; capital requirements and need for and availability of financing; unexpected barriers in the development of technology, including with respect to Dow's contemplated capital and operating projects; Dow's ability to realize its commitment to carbon neutrality on the contemplated timeframe; size of the markets for Dow's products and services and ability to compete in such markets; failure to develop and market new products and optimally manage product life cycles; the rate and degree of market acceptance of Dow's products; significant litigation and environmental matters and related contingencies and unexpected expenses; the success of competing technologies that are or may become available; the ability to protect Dow's intellectual property in the United States and abroad; developments related to contemplated restructuring activities and proposed divestitures or acquisitions such as workforce reduction, manufacturing facility and/or asset closure and related exit and disposal activities, and the benefits and costs associated with each of the foregoing; fluctuations in energy and raw material prices; management of process safety and product stewardship; changes in relationships with Dow's significant customers and suppliers; changes in consumer preferences and demand; changes in laws and regulations, political conditions or industry development; global economic and capital markets conditions, such as inflation, market uncertainty, interest and currency exchange rates, and equity and commodity prices; business or supply disruptions; security threats, such as acts of sabotage, terrorism or war including the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine; weather events and natural disasters; disruptions in Dow's information technology networks and systems; and risks related to Dow's separation from DowDuPont Inc. such as Dow's obligation to indemnify DuPont de Nemours, Inc. and/or Corteva, Inc. for certain liabilities.
Where, in any forward-looking statement, an expectation or belief as to future results or events is expressed, such expectation or belief is based on the current plans and expectations of management and expressed in good faith and believed to have a reasonable basis, but there can be no assurance that the expectation or belief will result or be achieved or accomplished. A detailed discussion of principal risks and uncertainties which may cause actual results and events to differ materially from such forward-looking statements is included in the section titled `` Risk Factors '' contained in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021. These are not the only risks and uncertainties that Dow faces. There may be other risks and uncertainties that Dow is unable to identify at this time or that Dow does not currently expect to have a material impact on its business. If any of those risks or uncertainties develops into an actual event, it could have a material adverse effect on Dow's business. Dow and TDCC assume no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements whether because of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by securities and other applicable laws.
SOURCE The Dow Chemical Company | business |
UnitedHealth tops Q1 forecasts, raises 2022 outlook | UnitedHealth Group delivered a better-than-expected first quarter and raised its 2022 forecast, as growth in Medicare Advantage and care delivery once again helped the health care giant.
The nation’ s largest health insurance provider said Thursday that enrollment in its Medicare Advantage plans grew nearly 9% to about 6.9 million people, and the company also booked growth in other government-funded coverage. Its larger commercial enrollment stayed nearly flat.
UnitedHealth is the biggest provider of Medicare Advantage plans, which are privately run versions of the federally funded Medicare program.
The company runs UnitedHealthcare, a health insurance business that covers more than 50 million people mostly in the United States. It also has been squeezing more growth out of its Optum segment, which runs one of the nation’ s largest pharmacy benefit managers and a growing number of clinics and urgent care and surgery centers.
First-quarter operating earnings, which don’ t count interest expense and taxes, slid for the company's health insurance business but jumped almost 20% to $ 3.2 billion for Optum compared to last year.
UnitedHealth said the revenue it drew per customer from its care-providing Optum Health business grew by 33% as the company expanded deeper into value-based care. That involves reimbursing doctors based more on the patient's health instead of for each service provided.
UnitedHealth and competitors like the drugstore chains CVS Health and Walgreens are all trying to become regular sources of care for more customers, especially those with Medicare Advantage plans.
The idea is that regular care will keep patients with chronic health problems like diabetes healthy and out of expensive hospitals. It's an approach gaining favor with bill payers like insurers and employers.
Overall, UnitedHealth earnings grew more than 3% to $ 5.03 billion in the first quarter, even though the company's largest expense, medical costs, climbed 17%.
Company leaders told analysts Thursday morning that UnitedHealth started the quarter with about 40,000 COVID-19 hospitalizations in January. That marked the highest total of any month since the pandemic started more than two years ago.
That total then dwindled to about 2,000 hospitalizations by March, as the omicron surge of virus faded.
UnitedHealth's adjusted results totaled $ 5.49 per share in the first quarter, and total revenue jumped more than 14% to $ 80.1 billion.
Analysts expected, on average, earnings of $ 5.36 per share on $ 78.73 billion in revenue in the second quarter, according to FactSet.
For the full year, UnitedHealth now expects adjusted earnings of $ 21.20 to $ 21.70 per share. That's an increase of 10 cents on both ends of the range from a forecast it laid out late last year.
FactSet says analysts expect earnings of $ 21.61 per share for 2022.
UnitedHealth's forecast hike was conservative compared to how much the company beat first-quarter expectations, Jefferies analyst David Windley said in a research note. But he added that this was expected given the unknown nature of the pandemic.
Shares of Minnetonka, Minnesota-based UnitedHealth Group Inc. climbed slightly to $ 538.09 in Thursday afternoon trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, of which UnitedHealth is a component, also rose slightly.
UnitedHealth's share price has more than doubled over the past couple years.
Follow Tom Murphy on Twitter.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission., source Associated Press News | business |
Oil rises on news EU may phase in a ban on Russian oil imports | Brent futures settled up $ 2.92, or 2.68%, at $ 111.70 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures closed $ 2.70 or 2.59% higher at $ 106.95 a barrel.
Both contracts recorded their first weekly gain in April. For several weeks, prices have been the most volatile since June 2020.
The New York Times reported that the European Union was moving toward adopting a phased-in ban of Russian oil, to give Germany and other countries time to arrange alternative suppliers.
A phased-in ban would force European buyers `` to seek alternative sources, some of which in the near term is being met by Strategic Petroleum Reserve releases, but in the future, more supplies coming out of the ground will be required, '' Andrew Lipow of Lipow Oil Associates in Houston said.
The International Energy Agency had warned on Wednesday that roughly 3 million barrels per day of Russian oil could be shut in from May onwards due to sanctions or buyers voluntarily shunning Russian cargoes.
Major global trading houses are planning to curtail crude and fuel purchases from Russia's state-controlled oil companies in May, Reuters reported.
Russia's Energy Ministry said it was limiting access to its statistics on oil and gas production and exports.
Trade was going to continue to be `` somewhat nervous '' as the war between Russia and Ukraine continues and as countries weigh banning Russian supplies, Price Futures Group analyst Phil Flynn said.
`` The big question is going to be, how many people are going to want to be short oil going into the long weekend? ''
Traders also adjusted their position on Thursday as U.S. May crude options expire on Thursday.
U.S. oil production forecasts are being revised upwards despite labor and supply chain constraints as higher prices spur more drilling and well completion activity, according to industry experts.
U.S. oil rigs rose by two to 548 this week, their highest since April 2020, energy services firm Baker Hughes said in a report.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported on Wednesday that U.S. oil stocks rose by more than 9 million barrels last week, driven partly by releases from strategic reserves. Analysts in a Reuters poll had anticipated just an 863,000-barrel build.
However, on the demand side, Chinese refiners are set to cut crude throughput this month by about 6%, a scale last seen in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic two years ago, to ease bulging fuel inventories during recent lockdowns, industry sources and analysts said.
( Reporting by Noah Browning in London, Mohi Narayan in New Delhi, Liz Hampton in Denver; Editing by Jason Neely, Kirsten Donovan, Jan Harvey, David Gregorio, Nick Macfie and Diane Craft)
By Arathy Somasekhar | business |
Chinese Electric Vehicle Makers Claw Back After Steep Fall | By Anniek Bao
Shares of Chinese electric vehicle makers have recovered from steep declines earlier this week, supported by expectations Covid-19 restrictions would be eased and help the resumption of vehicle production and deliveries.
Shares of major EV makers including Xpeng Inc., Nio Inc. and Great Wall Motors lost over 10% on Monday after some of them announced production delays and falling sales due to pandemic curbs in China.
XPeng's shares are 6.4% higher on Thursday at 109.9 Hong Kong dollars ( US $ 14), paring most this week's losses, while Nio's stock is 4.7% higher at HK $ 161.4, back to where it was before Monday's decline. The New York-listed shares of the companies on Wednesday closed 7.3% and 4.9% higher, respectively.
Some analysts say that the long-term prospects for EV production remain healthy despite the short-term pressures.
In Shanghai, where many automakers ' plants are located, restrictions might be loosened soon in areas with no new cases over two weeks, said Jeffrey Halley, a senior market analyst at Oanda.
Nio earlier this month said that it was halting production due to shortages of auto parts from suppliers.
Portfolio manager at Fidelity International Casey McLean expects China's new energy vehicles to account for 80% of the country's auto sales by 2030.
Apart from EV makers, shares of lithium battery suppliers are also gaining traction after steep declines on Monday.
While there are short-term worries about a tighter supply of lithium, these constraints are expected to ease in coming months and Mr. McLean at Fidelity expects global supplies to `` progressively improve '' in the second half of the year.
Ganfeng Lithium, one of the world's biggest lithium companies, said last week that it plans to expand its production capacity of lithium spodumene concentrate to 600,000 metric tons a year, from 450,000 tons, by April. It aims for production to reach 900,000 tons by end-2022.
Ganfeng shares, which fell as much as 15% on Monday, is up 1.8% at HK $ 99.95 but still 8.4% lower for the week.
Write to Anniek Bao at anniek.bao @ wsj.com
( END) Dow Jones Newswires
04-14-22 0052ET | business |
Analysis-Hawkish Fed and China lockdowns threaten Brazil's world-beating FX rally | Brazil's real has gained over 18% against the U.S. dollar so far this year, more than twice the rise of any other peer, as aggressive rate hikes drew in foreign investment flows seeking distance from the Ukraine war.
While Brazil's double-digit interest rates may still offer a lucrative carry trade for hot money, looming rate hikes from the U.S. Federal Reserve may narrow that gap quickly. China's aggressive lockdowns to fight COVID-19 have also weighed on prices for the iron ore, soybeans and oil that Brazil exports.
`` There are two big risks to the real's performance: the Fed raising rates more than expected and a sharp deceleration in the Chinese economy that could affect commodity prices, '' said Alvaro Mollica, emerging markets strategist for Citigroup.
A note from his colleagues at Citi Economics on Thursday flagged `` a weaker currency ahead '' for Brazil, forecasting a year-end exchange rate of 5.19 reais per dollar - a nearly 10% depreciation from Wednesday's close.
Even in Brazil's Economy Ministry, which has trumpeted the jump in foreign investment and perks of a stronger currency for fighting inflation, some officials doubt the trend will continue indefinitely. Right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro's government, which generated huge initial optimism among investors, has had a mixed record on reforms as well as privatizing state assets.
`` I haven't seen any structural factor, unfortunately. It all seems circumstantial, '' said one official, requesting anonymity to give a frank assessment of the market. `` The dollar came way down, even below where some institutions see its equilibrium... I think there's room for some reversal. ''
The same official pointed out that Brazil's main stock exchange, which has attracted a net 69 billion reais ( $ 14.7 billion) in foreign flows this year, no longer looks so cheap in dollars or reais after an 11% runup this year.
Another ministry source agreed that, apart from Brazil's interest rates, the major drivers of the currency rally have been `` external '' and are subject to change.
Not all officials are so skeptical.
Fausto Vieira, undersecretary of macroeconomic policy at the Economy Ministry, said business-friendly regulation is boosting investment in areas such as sanitation, where private capital spending has jumped from 3 billion to 30 billion reais annually.
The ministry projects some 360 billion reais in new private investments through 2025, helping to draw long-term foreign capital flows regardless of short-term market effects.
However, that may hinge on this year's election. Leftist former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who leads Bolsonaro in polling ahead of the October vote, has vowed to roll back much of the incumbent's economic agenda.
As the presidential race heats up, analysts warn that both Lula and Bolsonaro may resort to more populist rhetoric, raising investor concern about the country's fiscal discipline.
For now, Brazil's risk premiums have come down, noted economist Jonathan Petersen of Capital Economics, which `` may reflect fading concerns about fiscal sustainability and political risks. ''
`` But if our outlook for falling commodity prices and weakening economic growth proves correct, these concerns may re-emerge, especially prior to the election, '' he told clients in a Thursday note, forecasting the exchange rate at 5.0 reais per dollar by the end of the year.
( Reporting by Marcela Ayres in Brasilia and Tatiana Bautzer in Sao Paulo; Writing by Brad Haynes; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
By Marcela Ayres and Tatiana Bautzer | business |
US Bancorp: 1Q 2022 Slide Presentation | U.S. BANCORP
Forward-looking Statements and Additional Information
The following information appears in accordance with the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995:
This presentation contains forward-looking statements about U.S. Bancorp. Statements that are not historical or current facts, including statements about beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements and are based on the information available to, and assumptions and estimates made by, management as of the date hereof. These forward-looking statements cover, among other things, anticipated future revenue and expenses and the future plans and prospects of U.S. Bancorp. Forward-looking statements often use words such as `` anticipates, '' `` targets, '' `` expects, '' `` hopes, '' `` estimates, '' `` projects, '' `` forecasts, '' `` intends, '' `` plans, '' `` goals, '' `` believes, '' `` continue '' and other similar expressions or future or conditional verbs such as `` will, '' `` may, '' `` might, '' `` should, '' `` would '' and `` could. ''
Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties, including the following risks and uncertainties and the risks and uncertainties more fully discussed in the section entitled `` Risk Factors '' of Exhibit 13 to U.S. Bancorp's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. The COVID-19 pandemic is adversely affecting U.S. Bancorp, its customers, counterparties, employees, and third-party service providers, and the ultimate extent of the impacts on its business, financial position, results of operations, liquidity, and prospects is uncertain. Continued deterioration in general business and economic conditions or turbulence in domestic or global financial markets could adversely affect U.S. Bancorp's revenues and the values of its assets and liabilities, reduce the availability of funding to certain financial institutions, lead to a tightening of credit, and increase stock price volatility. In addition, changes to statutes, regulations, or regulatory policies or practices could affect U.S. Bancorp in substantial and unpredictable ways. U.S. Bancorp's results could also be adversely affected by changes in interest rates; increases in unemployment rates; deterioration in the credit quality of its loan portfolios or in the value of the collateral securing those loans; deterioration in the value of its investment securities; legal and regulatory developments; litigation; increased competition from both banks and non-banks; civil unrest; the effects of climate change; changes in customer behavior and preferences; breaches in data security, including as a result of work-from-home arrangements; failures to safeguard personal information; the impacts of international hostilities or geopolitical events; effects of mergers and acquisitions and related integration; effects of critical accounting policies and judgments; and management's ability to effectively manage credit risk, market risk, operational risk, compliance risk, strategic risk, interest rate risk, liquidity risk and reputation risk. In addition, U.S. Bancorp's proposed acquisition of MUFG Union Bank presents risks and uncertainties, including, among others: the risk that the cost savings, any revenue synergies and other anticipated benefits of the proposed acquisition may not be realized or may take longer than anticipated to be realized; the risk that U.S. Bancorp's business could be disrupted as a result of the announcement and pendency of the proposed acquisition and diversion of management's attention from ongoing business operations and opportunities; the possibility that the proposed acquisition, including the integration of MUFG Union Bank, may be more costly or difficult to complete than anticipated; delays in closing the proposed acquisition; and the failure of required governmental approvals to be obtained or any other closing conditions in the definitive purchase agreement to be satisfied.
For discussion of these and other risks that may cause actual results to differ from those described in forward-looking statements, refer to U.S. Bancorp's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021, on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the sections entitled `` Corporate Risk Profile '' and `` Risk Factors '' contained in Exhibit 13, and all subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission under Sections 13 ( a), 13 ( c), 14 or 15 ( d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. In addition, factors other than these risks also could adversely affect U.S. Bancorp's results, and the reader should not consider these risks to be a complete set of all potential risks or uncertainties. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof, and U.S. Bancorp undertakes no obligation to update them in light of new information or future events.
This presentation includes non-GAAP financial measures to describe U.S. Bancorp's performance. The calculations of these measures are provided in the Appendix. These disclosures should not be viewed as a substitute for operating results determined in accordance with GAAP, nor are they necessarily comparable to non-GAAP performance measures that may be presented by other companies.
1Q22 Highlights
Income Statement $ in millions, except EPS
1Q22
change vs. 4Q21 1Q21
Net interest income1 Noninterest income Reported net income
$ 3,200 2,396 1,557
1.6% ( 5.4)
3.6% 0.6
( 6.9) ( 31.7)
Credit Quality $ in millions
1Q22
change vs. 4Q21 1Q21
Nonperforming assets NPA ratio
Net charge-off ratio
$ 811 0.25% 0.21%
( 7.6)% ( 3 bps)
4 bps
( 32.5)% ( 16 bps) ( 10 bps) Diluted EPS
$
0.99
( 7.5)%
( 31.7)%
Balance Sheet $ in billions
1Q22
change vs. 4Q21 1Q21
Average earning assets Average total loans Average total deposits
$ 529.8 313.0 454.2
1.4%
3.4 6.5
1.0 6.5
1Taxable-equivalent basis; see slide 26 for calculation
Capital
1Q22
change vs. 4Q21 1Q21
6.5%
CET1 capital ratio2 Book value per share Earnings returned ( millions) 3
9.8% $ 29.87 $ 742
( 20 bps)
( 8.7)%
2 Common equity tier 1 capital to risk-weighted assets, reflecting the full implementation of the current expected credit losses methodology was 9.5% as of 3/31/22.
3 Earnings returned ( millions) = total common dividends paid and aggregate value of common shares repurchased
( 10 bps)
( 2.2)%
Performance Ratios
Return on
Return on
Return on
Efficiency Ratio1 &
Average Assets
Average Common Equity
Tangible Common Equity1
Net Interest Margin2
24.3%
1.69%
19.0%
62.8%
62.1%
62.3%
2.50%
2.40%
2.44%
1Q21
4Q21
1Q22
1Q21
4Q21
1Q22
1Q21
4Q21
1Q22
1Q21
4Q21
1Q22
1 Non-GAAP; see slides 26 and 27 for calculations 2 Net interest margin on a taxable-equivalent basis
Digital Engagement Trends
Digital Active Customers (% of Total Active Customers) 1
Transactions (% of Total)
80%
78%
74%
60%
40%
20%
0%
52% 52%
58%
50%
81%
63%
2/29/20
79%
82%
80% 60% 40% 20%
72%
42%
28%
21%
0%
2/29/20
Three months ended 2/28/21
2/28/21
2/28/22
Mobile
OnlineTotal Digital
Total DigitalBranch, ATM, Phone and IVR2
% of Loan Sales
80% 60% 40% 20% 0%
1/1/20
5/1/20
9/1/20
1/1/21
5/1/21
9/1/21
1/1/22 2/28/22
18%
2/28/22
DigitalBranch & Phone
1 Represents core Consumer Banking customers active in at least one channel in the previous 90 days
2 Interactive Voice Response
Total Digital includes both online and mobile platforms
This is an excerpt of the original content. To continue reading it, access the original document here.
Attachments
Disclaimer
U.S. Bancorp published this content on 14 April 2022 and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 14 April 2022 10:54:09 UTC. | business |
Push to reshore US manufacturing challenged by reliance on global supply chain | Former President Donald Trump broke ground at Foxconn's Wisconsin factory, which promised 13,000 jobs. The original $ 10 billion investment plan has been scaled back substantially. Source: Getty Images North America
U.S. companies have stepped up their exploration of reshoring supply chains after being caught out by dependence on Asia.
Companies including Intel Corp., General Motors Co. and U.S. Steel Corp. are building new manufacturing capacity in the U.S, while other executives have increased mentions of reshoring — bringing production back to their home countries — during investor calls since the COVID-19 crisis began. President Joe Biden has made moving supply chains closer to the U.S. a key pillar of his economic agenda, largely continuing efforts by his predecessors to rebuild domestic capacity and grow the number of high-paying manufacturing jobs.
`` We're inundated with companies coming to us realizing that they need to reshore, '' Harry Moser, founder and president of Reshoring Initiative, said in an interview. The nonprofit organization looks to assist companies in bringing back manufacturing jobs to the U.S.
A tariff war, COVID-19 and now Russia's invasion of Ukraine have all strained once bullet-proof global supply chains, with delays and shortages hitting U.S. corporate revenues and helping drive inflation to its highest levels in decades. Wages are rising quickly in the U.S. as labor shortages and inflation push employees to demand higher compensation. Companies will respond by diversifying suppliers to other low-wage economies and increasing inventories rather than solely shifting supply home.
Talk of Asia's removal from supply chains should be taken `` with a pinch of salt, '' said Rahul Kapoor, vice president at S & P Global Market Intelligence.
`` At the margin, yes. That's driven by the cost of labor in China rising, driving away some of the low-cost products, '' Kapoor said in an interview. `` But not all of that is moving back to the U.S. Vietnam is a big beneficiary, particularly after the Trump tariffs. ''
U.S. imports from across Asia grew in 2021, with China rebounding from a drop in exports the previous years and other Asian countries posting continued growth, according to Panjiva. Imports from Vietnam, for example, rose 28.9% year over year in 2021 and have more than doubled since 2017.
The limitations of global supply chains were highlighted first by the political falling out between China and the U.S. and a raft of trade tariffs. COVID-19 brought lockdowns, closing factories and derailing shipping fleets.
`` Pre-COVID the capacity at the ports, the trucking and shipping side, was able to take care of the bumps in the road that we saw, but it wasn't built for COVID-19, '' Kapoor said.
Supply chains were stretched by the recovery in demand of U.S. consumers, who were unable to spend on services like restaurants and cinema tickets because of COVID restrictions, but were able to buy goods.
`` U.S. companies have taken multiple measures to address supply chain issues, including chartering freighters, rerouting shipping to smaller ports along the coasts, and relying more on air freight, '' said Lillian Lin, portfolio manager at PIMCO. Companies with more diversified supply chains, less concentrated in China, have done better than others.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has further ratcheted the Biden administration's case for independence in areas like energy.
The invasion `` has put an end to the globalization we have experienced over the last three decades '' Blackrock CEO Larry Fink said in a March letter to shareholders.
`` While dependence on Russian energy is in the spotlight, companies and governments will also be looking more broadly at their dependencies on other nations, '' Fink wrote.
The Biden administration has passed two bills aiming to boost the domestic supply chain of semiconductors by offering federal funding to support manufacturing, research and development and supply chain security.
Some companies are already making moves to bring supplies closer to home. Intel is investing $ 20 billion in two new plants in Arizona to boost domestic semiconductor supply. General Motors is moving its battery production to Michigan in a multibillion-dollar boost for the U.S. battery industry.
Other companies are making their plans known publicly. Most recently, executives with building materials supplier Martin Marietta Materials Inc., said during a February earnings call that they expect nonresidential construction to benefit from increased investment in reshoring of manufacturing to the United States.
A study of transcripts of S & P 500 companies by S & P Global Market Intelligence found a spike in the number of mentions of reshoring supply chains during the last two years. Since 2012, executives with industrials companies have accounted for more than half of those mentions.
Reshoring and foreign direct investment contributed to nearly 262,000 jobs returning to the U.S. in 2021, up from nearly 179,000 a year earlier, according to data collected by Reshoring Initiative. A total of 1.3 million jobs have returned to the U.S. since 2010, with a further 3 million to 5 million jobs that could return if companies and governments embrace measures to support reshoring.
Companies are increasingly seeing the vulnerability and potential cost of being dependent on global supply chains, which can quickly break down, Reshoring Initiative's Moser said. Political tensions between the U.S. and China only grew during a trade war started by former President Donald Trump.
`` We 've had a surge in investment analysis firms coming to us and asking for our data because there will be an increasing opportunity for investment firms to ride the reshoring trend and invest in companies that will benefit the most, '' Moser said.
A November 2021 study by McKinsey found that 24% of sourcing executives at U.S. apparel companies include increasing reshoring in their strategies as well as nearshoring, away from Asia and toward Central America. A separate study in December 2021 by Goldman Sachs found that 75% of respondents plan to diversify their supply chains or increase inventories to protect themselves in the face of future shortages.
Still, some say that while the future may include certain high-end manufacturing coming home, relatively high wages in the U.S. mean that any reshoring will be at the margins.
`` Reshoring is mostly a make-believe story told by politicians of both parties, '' Paul Ashworth, chief North America economist at Capital Economics, said in an email.
Ashworth pointed to the abandonment by Taiwan electronics manufacturer Foxconn Technology Co. Ltd. of a $ 10 billion investment in a Wisconsin plant. The scheme, designed to create 13,000 manufacturing jobs, had been hailed by then-President Trump as `` the eighth wonder of the world. ''
`` The reality is that U.S. manufacturing employment is still below its pre-pandemic level and only two-thirds of what it was a couple of decades ago, '' Ashworth said.
While the manufacturing reshoring after the tariff war `` never amounted to much '' the recent dislocation in supply chains has renewed focus on resilience, Goldman Sachs analysts said. It is possibly too soon to tell whether reshoring will be part of the answer to supply chain security rather than simply inventory restocking.
Not all production will return home, though there are limitations to relying on other Southeast Asian bloc countries, Moser said.
`` That made sense for apparel or furniture, but if you want precision machining then Vietnam, Cambodia, etc., do not have the capability and skills. Depending on what the product is there are limitations to where you can go, '' Moser said.
The clearest problem facing proponents of U.S. reshoring is the cost of wages.
`` There's still cost of labor arbitrage compared to the West; high energy costs and availability of labor will always be a detriment, '' Market Intelligence's Kapoor said.
The cost disadvantages of bringing jobs back to the U.S. may worsen as wages rise at rapid rates. While the relatively high price of U.S. labor is the biggest drawback to bringing back jobs, technology can help make manufacturing more productive to reduce that cost, Moser said.
Yet with COVID-19 continuing to disrupt China, the conflict in Ukraine and the ice-cold diplomatic relations between the U.S. and China, the potential costs of further mass disruptions may persuade a growing number of companies that supply chains are safer at home.
`` The disruptions, the tensions. That is a motivator that will cause companies to wake up and do the math, '' Moser said.
Panjiva is an offering of S & P Global Market Intelligence. | business |
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Rashaad Jorden, Skift
April 14th, 2022 at 9:30 AM EDT
Ulla Heffer Böhler and Travis Pittman realized their companies needed to evolve in the future to thrive. Both of them explained in the video how they used the time they weren't running trips to overhaul their businesses.
Rashaad Jorden
Skift Forum Europe was held in London, England on March 24, 2022. Find out about future Skift events through the link below.
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As damaging as Covid was for tour operators, the inability to conduct trips provided companies in the sector a valuable opportunity to reevaluate their all aspects of their businesses.
Ulla Heffer Böhler, chief operating officer for the Travel Corporation, and Travis Pittman, the CEO & co-founder of TourRadar, told Skift Senior Travel Tech Editor Sean O’ Neill at Skift Forum Europe 2022 on March 24 what changes they realized they had to make. Böhler said Covid forced her company to take another look at, among other things, group sizes and domestic offerings while Pittman stated TourRadar was forced to look at what markets it was targeting.
Watch the full video of the conversation, as well as read a transcript of it, below, to hear how Böhler and Pittman used the pandemic-induced pause to develop new tours.
Sean O’ Neill: Hi, Ulla. Hi, Travis. Thank you. The pandemic was especially hard on the multi-day itinerary based tour operator segment. Partly because of the start stop, start stop nature of the restrictions, which made it difficult to stitch together inventory at the last minute. Also, you have the cross border nature of your demand, your customers coming in. However, we’ re going to assume that is going to be behind us. We’ re going to have a forward looking conversation today about the opportunities in the multi-day sector, especially digitization and the new focuses on experience brings a lot of opportunity.
If you have any questions, if you’ re here or are watching us online, please use the questions in the app and we’ ll get them to towards them at the end.
Ulla, I’ d like to start with you please. Last year, the chairman and founder of The Travel Corporation, Stanley Tollman, he unfortunately passed away. But before he did, he had a message about the opportunity that’ s now facing the company. Maybe you can tell the audience here about that.
Böhler: Absolutely. My pleasure. And thank you for having me here today, Sean. So Mr. Stanley Tollman, our chairman and founder who sadly passed away last September, was an incredible man and visionary, and he’ s really built TTC from the ground up over many decades. And throughout the pandemic, he really was our guiding light. Having lived through so many crisis before and always navigated them brilliantly.
And in September, shortly before he passed away, his message to the executive team was TTC has always come out stronger of a crisis no matter what it was. We’ ve always dealt with it. We’ ve always survived it. But not only that, we’ ve come out stronger. And as I look out into the world and what is ahead of us, I do believe post pandemic, this will be the single biggest opportunity we have ever had. I’ m going to be really sad. I’ m not going to be here for this, but please team, make sure you don’ t miss it and you make the most out of it.
O’ Neill: Okay. Well, let’ s build on that. It’ s very inspiring. So what are some things that you guys have been doing in the past few years that are innovative changes in your product, changes in your operation?
Böhler: Well, what haven’ t we changed? I think we were all thrown into the deep end dealing with something that none of us had ever dealt with before. All of us have been in the industry for many years and we’ ve had SARS and you’ ve had 9/11, but nobody ever has had a crisis of this magnitude. And we were really forced to reevaluate everything.
Let’ s start with our product offering. When we realized that Australians, for example, wouldn’ t be going anywhere anytime soon, we said, we have such a loyal following of past guests in Australia. Traditionally they all love to travel to Europe with us. We know Europe isn’ t on the agenda for Australians anytime soon. What can we do? Why don’ t we bring them the tried and trust Insight Vacations quality to Australia? And in normal times, we would have said it takes about a year to launch a new domestic product and put it all together and contract it and come up with a marketing plan. And we knew we didn’ t have that luxury of time. So we pulled together very quickly a domestic program launch in Australia, bringing the tried and trust Insight Vacations quality to our very loyal Australian guests.
We also expanded our North American domestic offering. We’ ve always had a domestic offering there, but again, it was never a core focus. But obviously given the changing landscape, it did become a core focus.
We also looked at a group size. Insight Vacations always had slightly smaller groups, [ inaudible 00:04:38 ] slightly larger groups. But the group size conversation came up consistently of customers asking, how big is the group that I’ m going to be traveling in? So we again very quickly launched different group sizes, something from small private groups where you can take over an existing departure and travel only with a group of 12 plus, privatize your departure, very own travel bubble. Or small group departures with a maximum of 24. Or classic departures again, something we normally would’ ve planned out a long time in advance and we just did it really quickly because we felt we needed to.
O’ Neill: Yeah. So it’ s optional small size tours. So do you think that’ s a trend that will last beyond the pandemic? Is that something you’ re going to keep in your product offering?
Böhler: I absolutely believe it is here to stay and it’ s not a one size fits all. There is a customer for whom it is irrelevant. They’ re very happy with our classic group size, but there absolutely is a market for a smaller, more niche experience. And I do think that is of the trends that is here to stay and having the choice and having the flexibility is absolutely key.
O’ Neill: Well, if we were having this conversation, Ulla, about five years ago, I could imagine if I asked you, why is it in the multi-day tour sector you can’ t really go beyond a year or two, a lot of the companies, in order to offer in their schedules and availability too? You would be able to give a very methodical, pragmatic reason of these are the reasons we can’ t do it. But you said when you’ re putting together the material for Australia, you were able to do it. So talk a little bit about the new agility.
Böhler: Yeah, that’ s a great question. Thanks, Sean. And in the past, as I said, we had a very set cycle in the year. I could tell you in September, this is when we launch our Europe offering for the following year. But in this new crazy world, everything was turned on its head. We knew we had to find a way to come to market earlier. And it wasn’ t the question of, can we do it? The question we ask ourselves was, how can we do it? And if you take that mindset and that approach, you find a way to make it happen. Not saying it was easy, but if you put the right people into the room and you focus and determine to find a way to do it, you always will find a way.
So we’ ve now across all of our TTC brands, we always have at least two years worth of trips on sale at any given time. And again, that is something that is here to stay. We’ re not going to revert back to our old ways. We found different and more agile ways of working and they will absolutely be with us for the long term.
O’ Neill: Fantastic. Well, Travis, to bring you to this conversation, if you talk to people in the multi-day, people who are investors or analysts who are not in the sector and you’ re trying to explain the multi-day tour operator opportunity, what are some points of education that you try to explain to them that they aren’ t always up to speed on?
Pittman: Yeah, I think a key one is it hasn’ t always had the best rep, I think group travel and group scheduled tours. And I think it’ s getting through that and actually getting across that a lot of people take tours and adventures. And so I think trying to get them to relate someone wants to take a trip with 20 or 50 other people. People actually enjoy that. They’ re not just chained to that group. So I think that’ s been a bit of education for us. Where they can understand it better is when you say, would you like to go on a private safari or an adventure to Africa with your family? And then they can start to picture it. That’ s complex. That’ s hard to put together. How do I do all that? How do I get the logistics and all that.So once you start to get into it, there is a bit more understanding.
But I think also what’ s been great over the years that we’ ve seen is the innovation that the tour operators have had to do. I think the bad rep been there, but they’ ve had to innovate or else the customers just wouldn’ t want to book this stuff. So it’ s been really interesting to see how that’ s been evolving the smaller groups now, but also just how it’ s really focused around the experiences. And I think we talk about tours and activities, but our sector of multi-day, that’ s what it’ s all about. It’ s the experiences. It’ s the hot air ballooning or the white water rafting or the wine tasting and all these different things. It’ s all done for you. You don’ t need to go to an app and go, what am I going to do today? And you’ ve got someone holding your hand.
So I think it’ s just education of that process and actually people understanding in this new world as well, it’ s actually very simple. I don’ t have to think of, what if I need to cancel? I’ ve got my train, I’ ve got my hotel, I’ ve got this. It’ s all in one, having one person to go to and actually deal with as well. So I think it’ s how you get the communication of what we actually sell was key to investors understanding the space actually.
O’ Neill: Okay. I’ ll call for a brief video to illustrate one of your products, but experientially, you’ ve developed a Wander Women product. Maybe tell us a bit about that to capture.
Böhler: Sure. And just to augment what Travis just said, it really is all about the experiences. It’ s about immersing you into the destinations and having those deep and rich experiences, whilst at the same time, you don’ t need to worry about it. We take all the complexity out of it. We do all hard work. We’ ve got connections and you just show up and have a good time.
And I think in this world probably five years ago, a lot of intrepid travelers would’ ve said, oh my God, I’ m going to get a hire car. I’ m going to drive around Europe. I’ m going to do this on my own. In this new world, I think things have shifted a little bit. And the complexity that is out there figuring out what do you need to do in this country, what are the regulation in that country and the regulation are changing every minute. I really think that has shifted the mindset of a lot of people. And we have heavily invested in our experiences. It’ s always been front and center of what we do, but it really has come to the forefront in recent years.
And one of my passion projects are our Wander Women journeys. Again, it comes from feedback from our guests saying we would love to have an all female trip. Can you put something like that together for us? So we did launch our Wander Women journeys a couple of years ago, timing wise coincided at the beginning of COVID. So obviously not ideal, but I wholeheartedly believe those journeys are incredible, designed by women for women, with meeting incredible women entrepreneurs in the destinations. And we’ ve got a wonderful journey due to Croatia, which we’ ll be traveling in June this year. And I think we’ ve got a little video that we might be able to show.
O’ Neill: Yeah, let’ s bring video up, please.
Speaker: My friends at Insight Vacations recently launched something that is very close to my heart, their Wander Women journeys, which have created for women and by women with a goal of empowering women travelers on exclusive trips that celebrate women’ s success around the world. I’ m particularly excited about the Make Travel Matter experiences on the Venice on the Croatian Coast. Insight and their non-profit TreadRight Foundation have worked with the United Nations to identify experiences that make a positive impact.
O’ Neill: Sounds very well put together, has good illustration. So Travis, you’ ve for many years at Tour Radar, you’ ve had online travel agency. You’ ve helped about 2,400 tour operators market their goods online. You in November expanded your business model. You’ re now going to the business to business. So tell us what you’ re going to be doing.
Pittman: Sure. Yeah. So prior to Covid, we were very much focused on B2C. So actually getting the multi-day tours and adventures sold online. So we work with I think 2,700 and around 50,000 different adventures. And as the pandemic hit, we looked at what can we do to actually help the whole industry also come out of this stronger as well? And as part of that, maybe we can queue up the ecosystem diagram. We actually launched in November what we call the adventure booking platform. And it’ s a category with both the B2C element, which is our core business, but also with a distribution piece, so B2B. So how can we get these great adventures and great products in the hands of other partners?
So we know traditionally this has been sold offline, so travel agents have sold this product. About 80, 90 percent is still being sold through offline. And many opportunities came up. We had travel agents using Tour Radar before and actually we never focused on it. And then we had a few big partners like Flight Centre actually, which probably is one of our bigger competitors, also reach out to us and say, how can we work together? And I think it was also being pushed by a few of our partners saying, Tour Radar has the best technology in this space. Let’ s try and do something there.
So we basically built out our API now where partners can take that, get one API, 2,500 operators, 50,000 adventures, and actually be able to sell that product in their own way. So we also saw an opportunity that the likes of Shopify and Etsy also did prior to the pandemic and also during the pandemic, in terms of giving a voice to small and medium sized businesses of them selling online. We know that payments are a big problem, communication, messaging, email, CRM, all that stuff. And that’ s something that we’ re also as part of our ecosystem building out, is this shop functionality where SMEs will be able, so small operators-
O’ Neill: So is private tours as a new product?
Pittman: That’ s also, yeah, for sure. So we built during the pandemic the capability for private and tailor made adventures. And that’ s actually now we’ re seeing that grow really nicely, a bit to the smaller group stuff. People wanting to travel in their own bubble. And we’ re even seeing, we call them organizers and it could be an organizer of a team offsite like a retreat for workplaces. Or it could be an example we had was a Facebook group of 5,000 members. The admin put together a trip for 30 or 60 people to go to Greece. And so we’ re seeing really big groups going because we also rolled out payment solutions where usually the lead passenger gets stuck with having to pay for it all and then try and get the money back from people.
O’ Neill: I’ ve been that guy.
Pittman: Yeah, and that pain is a real pain that we’ ve solved where now the lead passenger can send out a link to every single person, and same with a travel agent where they can actually get the customer putting their own credit card in. So it’ s all responsible for that individual rather than the lead passenger. So it’ s really been about how do we bring the ecosystem together, put this great products in the hands of third parties. So OTAs, content sites, that type of thing. And we’ re seeing great traction also on the onsite travel agents. So little independent agents who have a great list of customers that they sell to, can now actually sell this product as well. And we’ ve had since November over 1,000 travel agents sign up for that and seeing some really good traction on that at the moment.
O’ Neill: Okay. So there’ s a little bit to unpack there. So you have the adventure booking system. And so the Flight Centre, if they want to get access to the Wander Women tour, they can go through Tour Radar and now get it, which that’ s what’ s new.
Pittman: Yes. So they have an API connected to their system. So it’ s called Helio, I believe. And then the travel advisor sitting in the shop can just call from their home screen and actually say, I’ d like to book the Wonder Women trip. And then we communicate via the API with TTC and it all just basically gets plugged into the system. So we’ re effectively the plumbing or the GDS of this type of product.
O’ Neill: Okay. And so Skift research did a multi-day tour report so I’ m cribbing from that. But my understanding is that when you were mentioning the private tour, there’ s been in the past, a decade ago it’ d be much more common. In destination, you’ d have local tour operators who actually do handle the operations. And then in market for the retail sales, you have different people who are helping to source to customers. But now thanks to using Tour Radar, you can have the local wholesalers would be able to directly reach their market. How close is that?
Pittman: A bit of both. So we definitely see the bigger tour companies, the global ones, they have their local ground operators that they go through. Some own them, some use third parties. And we are seeing DMCs, so directly coming-
O’ Neill: DMCs are direct-
Pittman: Destination management companies. So the ones who actually are running the trips on the ground. And so they’ re actually coming on because they can actually offer the product. They can’ t offer the same product that they probably offer to someone else, but they see an opportunity there. And because of the social proof we provide, they can get reviews from customers and that sort of thing. So they can actually start to build a presence in the marketplace as well.
O’ Neill: That’ s interesting because, 20 some years ago you would have the travel agent was bundling the trip and then Expedia and Booking who we heard from earlier on stage, they unbundled the trip. And now through the technology personalization and skill, we’ re now rebuilding it. But the suppliers have to get much savvier tech for that to happen. They have to be able to be able to do real time inventory and connect. And your business to business offering is a piece of that puzzle to get forward. Is that right?
Pittman: Yeah, exactly. So I think the unbundling definitely has happened. That’ s been driving for the last 20 years with what Ulla mentioned of the benefits of this style of travel rebundling, where the simplicity of a very complex journey over 7, 12, 15 days is all taken care of. And so, on the mega trend of unbundling this year, I call a little bit of BS on that just personally from my side, but I think it’ s really this will be about simplicity and the customer wants simplicity. And yes, our system, we provide instant book ability so that if you actually click and put your credit card in, it’ s instantly booked because we have direct connections to the APIs of a lot of these providers. And that’ s an advancement that just five, ten years ago, just wasn’ t there. You had to wait 48 hours for a confirmation. And it’ s really trying to now have an API that an Expedia or a Priceline, whoever it is, would want to take and actually get that instant confirmation to be able to potentially package that up with flights and other ancillaries as well.
O’ Neill: So Ulla, we have a question from the audience for you about The Travel Corporation. What’ s the update in regard to your refreshing? Will you be overhauling your product range or simply adding more fresh product to it?
Böhler: Yeah. Great question. And that is something we constantly always do. We’ ve got I call it a process of continuous improvement. We are never going to sit still and say, everything is wonderful and things are amazing. We’ re always looking for new opportunities and new ways. But obviously at the end of the day, what is driving it is what is right for the consumer. If it’ s not right for the consumers, it doesn’ t matter how much we think it is amazing. It has to work for our own guests. And right now we are seeing some really interesting trends. And they’ re interesting, but they’ re not surprising. We saw earlier when [ Gert 00:20:18 ] presented, all of the money that people haven’ t spent in the last few years, we are seeing people buying longer trips. Again, they’ re taking their dream vacation. They’ re adding Orient Express to their luxury gold journey. So it’ s really about those bucket list trips. And I’ ve always wanted to do this. I’ ve been sitting at home for two years and I’ m going to do it now.
O’ Neill: Are the bookings actually happening, for 2022? Because you don’ t have some source markets, maybe Russia is not having travelers in Europe this year. Maybe China is not doing it. Germany’ s economy might be struggling a little bit more than was expected. How are bookings and the forecast for this year?
Böhler: From a TTC perspective, our biggest source markets are all to English speaking countries. And thankfully, obviously that the Americans can’ t wait to travel and they are traveling. And they were the first ones to start traveling again in 2021. And Australia’ s borders are finally open again. So those are really our key big source markets. So yes, people are booking.
Obviously Eastern Europe, not a surprise, is not really trending right now. But looking at Western Europe, Italy, Spain, France, Portugal, UK, Iceland, are all doing really well. And we also know that we ran hundreds of trips last year. We know we’ ve moved from the theoretical travel will come back. Actually travel has come back and we can actually operate really well in this new world where our guests have amazing experiences with us taking all of the complexity out of it. And we’ ve obviously had a ton of social media from the trips that we ran last year and it’ s given the consumers further confidence.
O’ Neill: OK. We have a question from Rue. How do you design for experiences for a group of diverse users, for example, those with disabilities?
Böhler: Great question. Not an easy one to answer. Obviously we try to cater for absolutely diverse users, but there are certain destination complexities, think of Venice. If you are a wheelchair user and are traveling Venice, it is not going to be easy. But at the same time, if somebody with special needs talks to us in advance, we can help and guide them on which of our many trips might be more suitable for them and advise them. And we would obviously request accessible rooms and all the rest of it. But especially traveling in Europe, all of our cities are centuries old and cobble stone stairs, and it is not easy. But again, having open communication, talking to us ahead of time obviously allows us to facilitate that and to give advice on what is the art of the possible?
O’ Neill: OK. Another audience question about what the impact of virtual reality experiences may have on the tour operator sector. So there’ s two ways of thinking of this. One is that customers might want to use VR as a way to explore what kind of tour offerings there are out there. But on the other hand, it is a competition, real world versus virtual. So how does TTC look at it?
Böhler: I think if we look back at the last two years, we were all forced to be stuck in this virtual world. And I think we can all relate to how wonderful is it to actually be at an in-person event. I was saying to you earlier, I haven’ t been back to London in two years. I had my first in-person meetings with a number of London team members yesterday. And of course we’ ve spoken hundreds of times over Teams. It is not the same thing. So I think we are all starved for that human connection. And in all honesty, I really feel that the virtual reality, yes, it is an important part, but it can not make up for that real human connection, the smell, the sense, the taste of actually being in the destination.
O’ Neill: So Travis, I was wondering a bit, there has been a lot of money pouring into the multi-day sector. You mentioned with the private tours product, that overlaps with things that Tourlane is offering, Evaneos is offering. We’ re going to hear later today from Get Your Guide, which focuses on single day experiences. And we heard earlier from Expedia and Booking. How do you see other players and competition coming into the multi-day space?
Pittman: Yeah, I think there’ s quite a few players coming in, but staying in fairly distinct swimming lanes basically. So if you look at Get Your Guide and Klook and Viator, they’ re all battling it out for that in-destination attraction activities. So two, three hour type experiences. And there’ s a lot of money being pumped in there. So they’ re all very cut throat in terms of that competition. So I think it’ s very challenging for them to be able to look sideways and actually look at other verticals.
And then if you talk about the likes of Tourlane and Evaneos, they’ re very much focused around the tailor made experience. So all the stuff that the likes of TTC and G Adventures and Intrepid and all these companies are selling these schedule itineraries. Basically, no one’ s really touching that. And we’ ve been the only one really leading that. And I think that combination that we tried to build during the pandemic of offering tailor made and private as well as the group and scheduled is where we think the sweet spot is because a customer actually doesn’ t care. Sometimes I want to do something with a group because I have no friends who want to go with me. I just want to travel. I want to get out. And then other times I want to do it with my family or with a group of friends. And they should have one place that they can go and actually do that.
So we see a bit of competition coming in, but we don’ t see anyone coming into the way that we’ ve approached it. And with our API and how we’ ve tried to make it so accessible for other players, we want to have conversations with the Get Your Guides, the Klooks, the Viators of the world, to say why don’ t you do a multi-day through us? And then they can actually package it up how they like. But all that contracting, all those commercials, it’ s very difficult, takes a lot of effort to do that.
O’ Neill: And your system allows a provider to decide I want to have this commercial relationship with this channel and these terms with this other channel as you’ re toggling through?
Pittman: Exactly.
O’ Neill: So, Ulla, we heard from my colleague Wilder from Skift research earlier, was talking about one of his points was sustainability. And a lot of consumers are not yet spending on it, but there is a strong preference for it. TTC has a commitment on sustainability. I know it’ s been for a couple of years, what is new in your sustainability efforts?
Böhler: So as you said, for us this isn’ t the new buzzword. We founded our TreadRight Foundation over 15 years ago. So we are very strong believers in it. But during the pandemic, we actually doubled down on our sustainability efforts and launched our five year how we tread right sustainability strategy. And it is publicly available on ttc.com. It’ s got 11 very distinct goals. We’ ve set ourselves as an organization, to give you one example, one of the goals is to be carbon neutral by 2030 across all of our TTC brands. Another one that is very close to my heart is our commitment of having at least one make travel matter experience on 50 percent of all of TTCs itineraries by 2025.
O’ Neill: What kind of experience, the make travel better experience?
Böhler: Make travel matter experience. And essentially it is an immersive experience that supports the local community in very simplistic terms. But we use an assessment tool, which has been validated by external sustainability professionals. But just to bring it to life a little bit, picture yourself in the south of Spain in Seville, the city of flamenco. You obviously want to experience flamenco. We wouldn’ t just take you to a regular flamenco show. We actually visit a local flamenco foundation. The Christina Herren Foundation, it’ s a flamenco school. Our guests get to meet some of the students. They have a bit of a flamenco dance class if they wish. If they don’ t want to participate, they sit down and watch it. And after that, they take their front row seats to a performance. It’ s a very small, intimate venue. It’ s not a touristy venue at all, but it is a very deep and rich experience. And we are supporting the local foundation who’ s keeping the traditional alive.
And I think that is just one of the examples of the win wins we can create because our guests will have a deeper and more meaningful experience. We are supporting the local foundation. And at the end of the day, it’ s a win for the company as well. So that’ s really the 360 degree view we’ d like to take and how we do believe the travel can and needs to be a force for good and support the local communities.
O’ Neill: That’ s a wonderful point to end on. Thank you, Ulla. Thank you, Travis, very much for joining us. Appreciate it.
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Rashaad Jorden, Skift
April 14th, 2022 at 9:30 AM EDT
Tags: sfe2022, skift forum europe, tour operators | general |
Japan urged to consider cost-effectiveness of vaccinations | The Finance Ministry said Wednesday that the country should consider the cost-effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccinations, as the amount of doses procured exceeds that needed for its entire population.
The ministry pointed out the problem at a subcommittee meeting of the Fiscal System Council, which advises the finance minister, held to discuss ways to curb the country's social security costs.
So far, the government has earmarked ¥2.4 trillion to secure 882 million COVID-19 vaccine doses, or slightly over ¥2,700 per shot.
The health ministry has secured 399 million doses of Pfizer Inc.'s vaccine and 213 million doses of Moderna Inc.'s vaccine. It has also agreed to purchase 150 million doses of Novavax Inc.'s vaccine and 120 million doses of AstraZeneca PLC's vaccine.
Novavax vaccines will be provided by Takeda Pharmaceutical Co., their manufacturer in Japan.
The Novavax vaccine made by Takeda has yet to gain regulatory approval for use in Japan. The government has canceled the purchase of 40 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine due to its slow rollout.
At a parliamentary meeting Monday, a senior health ministry official said that the ministry is working to secure COVID-19 vaccines as part of crisis management amid intense international competition to procure them.
Cost sharing for vaccinations was also discussed at Wednesday's subcommittee meeting.
Some ¥3,700 per shot is paid to medical institutions, with the payment fully financed by state coffers, according to the Finance Ministry.
Costs for vaccinations other than those against COVID-19 are shouldered by local governments and individuals in many cases. The ministry underlined the need for discussing who should bear COVID-19 vaccination costs after the pandemic is contained.
Meanwhile, a private survey has shown that of people in Japan who had been vaccinated against COVID-19 at least once, around 54% said they wanted to receive a fourth shot.
The survey by Nexer Inc. was conducted online between March 24 and April 6. It covered 1,200 people throughout Japan.
According to the survey, 42.9% of the respondents said they had received their third shot, while 41.2% said they had received their second COVID-19 vaccine dose and 0.2% said they had been vaccinated once.
Those who had never been vaccinated against COVID-19 accounted for 15.8%.
Of the 1,011 people who had received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose, 53.7% said they would like to be vaccinated for a fourth time, if the government begins a fourth round of vaccinations. The government is currently preparing to administer fourth doses.
A total of 16.1% said they do not want to receive a fourth shot, while 30.2% said they were undecided.
As for why they wanted to be vaccinated for a fourth time, some people said they felt the vaccines were effective as they did not test positive for COVID-19 even though they had come into close contact with coronavirus carriers.
Others said they felt the need to keep receiving the vaccines until the arrival of an effective COVID-19 treatment.
On the other hand, several respondents said they did not want to receive a fourth COVID-19 shot, as they suffered heavy side effects from previous vaccinations. Some said they felt there was no end to the vaccinations. | tech |
Effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccination in immune-mediated inflammatory diseases | The rapid development of safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines was a hallmark achievement in the pandemic. However, patients with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases were excluded from vaccine clinical trials and might be vulnerable to SARS-CoV-2 breakthrough infection due to immunosuppression and altered immunity.1Cook C Patel NJ D'Silva KM et al.Clinical characteristics and outcomes of COVID-19 breakthrough infections among vaccinated patients with systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases.Ann Rheum Dis. 2022; 81: 289-291Google Scholar, 2Sun J Zheng Q Madhira V et al.Association between immune dysfunction and COVID-19 breakthrough infection after SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in the US.JAMA Intern Med. 2022; 182: 153-162Google Scholar Indeed, studies showed lower humoral responses after COVID-19 vaccination in these patients than in healthy controls.3Deepak P Kim W Paley MA et al.Effect of immunosuppression on the immunogenicity of mRNA vaccines to SARS-CoV-2: a prospective cohort study.Ann Intern Med. 2021; 174: 1572-1585Google Scholar, 4Wieske L van Dam KPJ Steenhuis M et al.Humoral responses after second and third SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in patients with immune-mediated inflammatory disorders on immunosuppressants: a cohort study.Lancet Rheumatol. 2022; ( published online March 17.) https: //doi.org/10.1016/S2665-9913 ( 22) 00034-0Google Scholar Although most patients who are immunosuppressed had only a slightly reduced humoral response after COVID-19 vaccination, some medications, such as B cell-depleting therapies, are associated with severely reduced response.3Deepak P Kim W Paley MA et al.Effect of immunosuppression on the immunogenicity of mRNA vaccines to SARS-CoV-2: a prospective cohort study.Ann Intern Med. 2021; 174: 1572-1585Google Scholar, 4Wieske L van Dam KPJ Steenhuis M et al.Humoral responses after second and third SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in patients with immune-mediated inflammatory disorders on immunosuppressants: a cohort study.Lancet Rheumatol. 2022; ( published online March 17.) https: //doi.org/10.1016/S2665-9913 ( 22) 00034-0Google Scholar There had been no previous systematic evaluation to quantify the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccination among patients with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases.
In The Lancet Rheumatology, Jessica Widdifield and colleagues5Widdifield J Kwong JC Chen S et al.Vaccine effectiveness against SARS-CoV-2 infection and severe outcomes among individuals with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases tested between March 1 and Nov 22, 2021, in Ontario, Canada: a population-based analysis.Lancet Rheumatol. 2022; ( published online April 14.) https: //doi.org/10.1016/S2665-9913 ( 22) 00096-0Google Scholar report on the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccination among patients with rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, psoriasis, and inflammatory bowel disease from Ontario, Canada. Between March 1 and Nov 22, 2021, the authors identified 2127 ( 5·9%) test-positive cases among 36 145 individuals with rheumatoid arthritis who were tested for SARS-CoV-2, 476 ( 6·1%) test-positive cases among 7863 individuals with ankylosing spondylitis tested, 3089 ( 6·5%) test-positive cases among 47 199 individuals with psoriasis tested, and 1702 ( 5·4%) test-positive cases among 31 311 individuals with inflammatory bowel disease tested. Effectiveness of two doses of mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines ( BNT162b2 [ Pfizer–BioNTech ] or mRNA-1273 [ Moderna ]) against infection was more than 79% across all diseases.5Widdifield J Kwong JC Chen S et al.Vaccine effectiveness against SARS-CoV-2 infection and severe outcomes among individuals with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases tested between March 1 and Nov 22, 2021, in Ontario, Canada: a population-based analysis.Lancet Rheumatol. 2022; ( published online April 14.) https: //doi.org/10.1016/S2665-9913 ( 22) 00096-0Google Scholar Effectiveness against severe COVID-19 outcomes ( defined as admission to hospital or death due to COVID-19) was even higher, ranging 92–97%.5Widdifield J Kwong JC Chen S et al.Vaccine effectiveness against SARS-CoV-2 infection and severe outcomes among individuals with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases tested between March 1 and Nov 22, 2021, in Ontario, Canada: a population-based analysis.Lancet Rheumatol. 2022; ( published online April 14.) https: //doi.org/10.1016/S2665-9913 ( 22) 00096-0Google Scholar These findings will immediately be helpful to clinicians and patients to gauge expectations of protection after vaccination. This might help combat vaccine hesitancy6Putman M Kennedy K Sirotich E et al.COVID-19 vaccine perceptions and uptake: results from the COVID-19 Global Rheumatology Alliance Vaccine Survey.Lancet Rheumatol. 2022; 4: e237-e240Google Scholar by providing direct evidence that COVID-19 vaccines are highly effective in patients with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases.
Some methodological considerations of this investigation are noteworthy. First, the sample was population based from the entire province of Ontario, and used validated algorithms with high accuracy to identify individuals with the immune-mediated inflammatory diseases studied. The authors were able to link registries to identify dates of vaccine doses, SARS-CoV-2 testing, hospitalisations, and deaths. Second, they used a test-negative design to estimate vaccine effectiveness. This method has previously been reported to protect against bias by limiting the analysis to patients with similar access to and indications for testing, while assuring that the controls did not have COVID-19.7De Serres G Skowronski DM Wu XW Ambrose CS The test-negative design: validity, accuracy and precision of vaccine efficacy estimates compared to the gold standard of randomised placebo-controlled clinical trials.Euro Surveill. 2013; 18: 18Google Scholar Rather than analysing all patients, the authors only examined those who presented for SARS-CoV-2 testing. This approach is a stronger study design than analysing the entire database and assuming that everyone without positive tests did not have COVID-19. Third, the authors examined a number of vaccine doses and the duration between vaccination and testing to look for waning effectiveness. They found moderate effectiveness after a single vaccine dose, but high effectiveness after two or three doses. Although there was some slight waning in effectiveness, vaccination remained highly effective even beyond 120 days after the second dose. Thus, the evidence generated here is rigorous to conclude that COVID-19 vaccines are effective in patients with these immune-mediated inflammatory diseases.
Some limitations and future research directions are worth noting. First, the investigators only examined four immune-mediated inflammatory diseases because of limitations in accurately identifying conditions. How one might extrapolate these results to conditions not studied ( eg, to systemic lupus erythematosus, or more diverse populations) is not clear. Notably, B-cell depletion, mycophenolate mofetil, and calcineurin inhibitors ( each associated with impaired humoral response to vaccination3Deepak P Kim W Paley MA et al.Effect of immunosuppression on the immunogenicity of mRNA vaccines to SARS-CoV-2: a prospective cohort study.Ann Intern Med. 2021; 174: 1572-1585Google Scholar, 4Wieske L van Dam KPJ Steenhuis M et al.Humoral responses after second and third SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in patients with immune-mediated inflammatory disorders on immunosuppressants: a cohort study.Lancet Rheumatol. 2022; ( published online March 17.) https: //doi.org/10.1016/S2665-9913 ( 22) 00034-0Google Scholar) are not typically used to treat most diseases studied by Widdifield and colleagues, with the exception of some patients with rheumatoid arthritis who might receive B cell-depleting therapy.8Sparks JA Wallace ZS Seet AM et al.Associations of baseline use of biologic or targeted synthetic DMARDs with COVID-19 severity in rheumatoid arthritis: results from the COVID-19 Global Rheumatology Alliance physician registry.Ann Rheum Dis. 2021; 80: 1137-1146Google Scholar Thus, analysing patient populations for whom B-cell depletion is used more frequently, such as those with systemic vasculitis, might have yielded different results. Second, data on immunosuppressive medication use was unavailable and probably confounds results on an individual level. Patients on B cell-depleting therapies are likely to remain vulnerable even after vaccination.8Sparks JA Wallace ZS Seet AM et al.Associations of baseline use of biologic or targeted synthetic DMARDs with COVID-19 severity in rheumatoid arthritis: results from the COVID-19 Global Rheumatology Alliance physician registry.Ann Rheum Dis. 2021; 80: 1137-1146Google Scholar, 9Patel NJ D'Silva KM Hsu TY et al.Coronavirus disease 2019 outcomes among recipients of anti-CD20 monoclonal antibodies for immune-mediated diseases: a comparative cohort study.ACR Open Rheumatol. 2022; 4: 238-246Google Scholar Future studies should assess risk of breakthrough infection associated with specific immunosuppressive medications. Third, most patients included in the study received BNT162b2, so outcomes after receipt of this vaccine drove results. A sensitivity analysis suggested that mRNA-1273 might be even more effective. Future studies should examine differences in different types of vaccines for protection in patients with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases. Fourth, data for the study were collected before the omicron ( B.1.1.529) variant wave of the pandemic, when vaccine effectiveness was reported to significantly decrease in the general population,10Andrews N Stowe J Kirsebom F et al.COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness against the omicron ( B.1.1.529) variant.N Engl J Med. 2022; ( published online March 2.) https: //doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa2119451Google Scholar perhaps due to waning vaccine effect, behavioural changes, and evolution away from the ancestral SARS-CoV-2 strain for which vaccines were developed. Thus, repeating similar analyses for variants with longer time since vaccine receipt will be important because vaccine effectiveness is ever-changing with new variants. These future studies might provide rationale for additional vaccine doses for patients who are immunosuppressed or use of novel vaccines against contemporary viral variants.
In summary, these important results confirm that the COVID-19 vaccines were highly effective against infection and severity among patients with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases. These findings should encourage continued uptake of COVID-19 vaccination and future research related to waning effects, the effectiveness of additional vaccine doses, and influence of specific immunosuppressive medications.
JAS reports consultancy fees from AbbVie, Amgen, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol Myers Squibb, and Gilead unrelated to this work. ZSW reports research support from Bristol Myers Squibb and Principia/Sanofi; consulting fees from Viela Bio, Zenas BioPharma, and MedPace; and participation on a data safety monitoring board and advisory board for Gilead, all unrelated to this work. NS declares no competing interests.
Vaccine effectiveness against SARS-CoV-2 infection and severe outcomes among individuals with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases tested between March 1 and Nov 22, 2021, in Ontario, Canada: a population-based analysisTwo vaccine doses were found to be highly effective against both SARS-CoV-2 infection and severe COVID-19 outcomes in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, psoriasis, and inflammatory bowel disease during the study period. Research is needed to determine the durability of effectiveness of three doses over time, particularly against emerging variants. Full-Text PDF | tech |
Can you afford to be a bridesmaid or go to that destination wedding? | Sure, you want to feel joy and love upon receiving a wedding invitation. But one little postcard or email can also pack loads of pricey pressure.
Perhaps you must secure travel and lodging, buy gifts and attire, or call off work. Or maybe you have the honor — and extra expense — of being in the wedding party.
This may be your reality soon, as wedding season looms and events that were postponed or rescheduled because of COVID-19 reappear on the calendar.
Before stressing about these upcoming weddings, take comfort from Crystal L. Bailey, director of The Etiquette Institute of Washington, in D.C.: “ Your loved one would not want you to spend in a way that would make you financially struggle. ”
For less struggling and more celebrating, here’ s how to handle the financial load of attending weddings.
Check your finances — and feelings
As you learn about upcoming weddings, “ map out your year, ” Bailey says.
This planning is useful if you’ re invited to multiple weddings, or bridal showers, bachelor or bachelorette parties and rehearsal dinners. If you’ re inclined to say yes to everything, this mapping could show how much time ( and money) “ everything ” will cost.
Also check your bank account balance or
your budget
to understand what’ s available to spend after accounting for needs. Ideally, this financial reality check helps you prioritize expenses, says Landis Bejar, a New York City-based licensed mental health counselor and founder of AisleTalk, which provides therapy to individuals getting married.
For example, maybe you realize you can’ t swing the out-of-state bachelorette party but can attend the wedding.
Also read:
Not using your travel card rewards may not be such a bad thing
If you still feel compelled to overspend, “ take inventory of where that expectation is coming from, ” Bejar says. “ That can usually help you navigate what’ s important in your decision making. ”
For example, perhaps this reflection shows that you simply yearn to get out of the house and celebrate after so much quarantining. So you prioritize attending the wedding and feel less pressure to buy a new outfit for it.
Find ways to cut costs
Prioritizing your values may help you
save money
. So, if being present at the wedding is most important, you may be able to trim expenses in these categories:
Lodging and travel: If possible, choose a cheaper accommodation than what the couple suggested, or crash with a local connection. Split costs with other guests by sharing a vacation rental or driving together. Pay for fewer nights by skipping the night-before dinner and arriving the day of the wedding.
Bachelor and bachelorette parties, showers and other related events: It’ s OK to politely pass on these events if you give plenty of heads-up.
Gifts: Matt J. Goren, a Chicago-based certified financial planner, suggests simply giving what you can, which will be easier to determine after checking your finances. “ If someone is going to think you’ re a bad friend because you only gave them what you could afford, then they’ re not that good of a friend, ” says Goren, who’ s the CFP program director at The American College of Financial Services.
Check out:
What is a micro wedding? Photos from Ariana Grande’ s intimate nuptials give engaged couples the luxury of thinking small
Consider declining
The most effective way to cut wedding costs? Decline the invitation. That’ s fine, particularly if you’ re more of an acquaintance than a close friend or family member, or if you don’ t want to go.
If you must pass up the wedding of someone you’ re close with, Bailey recommends calling or writing a note. Thank them for the invitation and consider sending a gift.
Bejar suggests seeing if you can participate in other ways. For example, if you can’ t make the destination wedding or shower, maybe you can have champagne delivered to the couple.
Remember: If you can’ t afford the event, “ it doesn’ t mean you’ re a bad friend or a bad person, ” Goren says.
If you wanted to go but couldn’ t come up with a relatively small amount of money — say, for a local event — aim to see the situation as a “ wake-up call, ” he says. After all, how would you handle an urgent expense, like an emergency room visit? Use this experience as motivation to build financial security, Goren says, so you can
afford emergencies
and weddings alike.
You could also track your money so you know where it goes, and explore ways to spend less and make more.
Take MarketWatch’ s 2022 Financial Literacy Quiz. Will you get 10/10?
Talk with the engaged couple
Say you’ re close with the betrothed and can’ t afford the wedding or a related obligation, like being in the bridal party. “ The worst thing you can do is have the money fears override the friendship, ” Goren says.
So discuss your money concern with the bride or groom — soon, ideally months before the event.
“ Good friends will understand if you’ re honest and transparent, ” Bejar says. Avoid complaining or making the conversation about you. Instead, ask what’ s most important to your loved one, then brainstorm and possibly compromise.
For example, maybe your friend most values your presence at the wedding and is OK with you passing on bridesmaid duty ( and the hair, makeup and outfit expenses that may come with it).
Whether you find solutions or not, Bejar suggests acknowledging the importance of this milestone. “ Brides and grooms want to feel special, ” she says.
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Laura McMullen writes for NerdWallet. Email: lmcmullen @ nerdwallet.com. Twitter: @ lauraemcmullen. | business |
Importance of nasal secretions in the evaluation of mucosal immunity elicited by mRNA BNT162b2 COVID-19 Vaccine | We read with great interest the recent publication by Azzi et al.1Azzi L. Dalla Gasperina D. Veronesi G. et al.Mucosal immune response in BNT162b2 COVID-19 vaccine recipients.eBioMedicine. 2022; 75103788https: //doi.org/10.1016/j.ebiom.2021.103788Google Scholar Authors analysed serum and saliva samples of subjects after mRNA COVID-19 vaccine, reporting that vaccination elicits an immune response by increasing both total and neutralising antibodies concentration in serum and in saliva. However, since antibodies levels are much higher in serum than in the salivary compartment, Authors concluded that oral mucosal immunity is poorly activated by this vaccination failing in limiting virus acquisition by mucosal routes.
Notably, results and conclusions of this study are different as compared to our recently published data and other reports, that detected significant levels of anti-SARS-CoV-2 specific IgA and IgG in saliva2Ketas T.J. Chaturbhuj D. Cruz Portillo V.M. et al.Antibody responses to SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccines are detectable in saliva.PAI. 2021; 6: 116-134https: //doi.org/10.20411/pai.v6i1.441Google Scholar, 3Becker M. Dulovic A. Junker D. et al.Immune response to SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern in vaccinated individuals.Nat Commun. 2021; 12: 3109https: //doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-23473-6Google Scholar, 4Pinilla Y.T. Heinzel C. Caminada L.F. et al.SARS-CoV-2 antibodies are persisting in saliva for more than 15 months after infection and become strongly boosted after vaccination.Front Immunol. 2021; 12798859https: //doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2021.798859Google Scholar and, as a novelty, in nasal secretions5Guerrieri M. Francavilla B. Fiorelli D. et al.Nasal and salivary mucosal humoral immune response elicited by mRNA BNT162b2 COVID-19 vaccine compared to SARS-CoV-2 natural infection.Vaccines. 2021; 9: 1499https: //doi.org/10.3390/vaccines9121499Google Scholar after mRNA COVID-19 Vaccine, thus eliciting an antigen-specific mucosal immune response directly at the site of virus entry.
Probably, different procedures could have made possible the discrepancies between this paper and current literature, such as: the absence of a clear negative threshold for Anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in saliva samples ( since usually diagnostic kits are validated only for serum or plasma); different immunoassays methods used, and saliva collection ( sputum in Azzi et al. study rather than standardized collection method such as Salivette®).
Nasal immunity plays a pivotal role in the fight against COVID-19, therefore the assessment of specific antibodies in nasal secretions is determinant in the study of mucosal immunity elicited by Anti-SARS-CoV-2 vaccine. Further studies are needed to consolidate results and to longitudinally evaluate the persistence of both nasal and salivary antibodies.
All authors have contributed equally to this letter.
All authors disclose no financial and personal relationships with other people or organizations that could inappropriately influence their work. | tech |
Vaccine effectiveness against SARS-CoV-2 infection and severe outcomes among individuals with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases tested between March 1 and Nov 22, 2021, in Ontario, Canada: a population-based analysis | BackgroundWe estimated COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness against SARS-CoV-2 infection and severe COVID-19 outcomes among individuals with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases in Ontario, Canada.MethodsIn this population-based analysis, we used a test-negative design across four immune-mediated inflammatory disease population-based cohorts, comprising individuals with rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, psoriasis, and inflammatory bowel disease. We identified all SARS-CoV-2 tests done in these populations between March 1 and Nov 22, 2021 ( a period in which there was rapid uptake of vaccines, and the alpha [ B.1.1.7 ] and delta [ B.1.617.2 ] SARS-CoV-2 variants were predominantly circulating in Canada) and separately assessed outcomes of SARS-CoV-2 infection and severe COVID-19 outcomes ( hospitalisation due to COVID-19 and death due to COVID-19) for each disease group. We used multivariable logistic regression to estimate the effectiveness of one, two, and three doses of mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine ( BNT162b2 [ Pfizer–BioNTech ], or mRNA-1273 [ Moderna ]) among individuals at the time of SARS-CoV-2 testing.FindingsBetween March 1 and Nov 22, 2021, we identified 2127 ( 5·9%) test-positive cases among 36 145 individuals ( 26 476 [ 73·2% ] were female and 9669 [ 26·8% ] were male) with rheumatoid arthritis tested, 476 ( 6·1%) test-positive cases among 7863 individuals ( 4130 [ 52·5% ] were female and 3733 [ 47·5% ] were male) with ankylosing spondylitis tested, 3089 ( 6·5%) test-positive cases among 47 199 individuals ( 26 062 [ 55·2% ] were female and 21 137 [ 44·8% ] were male) with psoriasis tested, and 1702 ( 5·4%) test-positive cases among 31 311 individuals ( 17 716 [ 56·6% ] were female and 13 595 [ 43·4% ] were male) with inflammatory bowel disease tested. Adjusted vaccine effectiveness of two doses against infection was 83% ( 95% CI 80–86) in those with rheumatoid arthritis, 89% ( 83–93) among those with ankylosing spondylitis, 84% ( 81–86) among those with psoriasis, and 79% ( 74–82) among those with inflammatory bowel disease. After two vaccine doses, effectiveness against infection generally peaked 31–60 days after vaccination and waned gradually with each additional month. Vaccine effectiveness against severe outcomes after two doses was 92% ( 95% CI 88–95) in those with rheumatoid arthritis, 97% ( 83–99) among those with ankylosing spondylitis, 92% ( 86–95) among those with psoriasis, and 94% ( 88–97) among those with inflammatory bowel disease. Vaccine effectiveness after a third dose against infection was similar to or higher than after the second dose ( ranging from 76% [ 47–89 ] to 96% [ 72–99 ]), although due to a paucity of events, estimates could not be calculated for some subgroups for severe outcomes.InterpretationTwo vaccine doses were found to be highly effective against both SARS-CoV-2 infection and severe COVID-19 outcomes in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, psoriasis, and inflammatory bowel disease during the study period. Research is needed to determine the durability of effectiveness of three doses over time, particularly against emerging variants.FundingPublic Health Agency of Canada
We estimated COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness against SARS-CoV-2 infection and severe COVID-19 outcomes among individuals with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases in Ontario, Canada.
In this population-based analysis, we used a test-negative design across four immune-mediated inflammatory disease population-based cohorts, comprising individuals with rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, psoriasis, and inflammatory bowel disease. We identified all SARS-CoV-2 tests done in these populations between March 1 and Nov 22, 2021 ( a period in which there was rapid uptake of vaccines, and the alpha [ B.1.1.7 ] and delta [ B.1.617.2 ] SARS-CoV-2 variants were predominantly circulating in Canada) and separately assessed outcomes of SARS-CoV-2 infection and severe COVID-19 outcomes ( hospitalisation due to COVID-19 and death due to COVID-19) for each disease group. We used multivariable logistic regression to estimate the effectiveness of one, two, and three doses of mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine ( BNT162b2 [ Pfizer–BioNTech ], or mRNA-1273 [ Moderna ]) among individuals at the time of SARS-CoV-2 testing.
Between March 1 and Nov 22, 2021, we identified 2127 ( 5·9%) test-positive cases among 36 145 individuals ( 26 476 [ 73·2% ] were female and 9669 [ 26·8% ] were male) with rheumatoid arthritis tested, 476 ( 6·1%) test-positive cases among 7863 individuals ( 4130 [ 52·5% ] were female and 3733 [ 47·5% ] were male) with ankylosing spondylitis tested, 3089 ( 6·5%) test-positive cases among 47 199 individuals ( 26 062 [ 55·2% ] were female and 21 137 [ 44·8% ] were male) with psoriasis tested, and 1702 ( 5·4%) test-positive cases among 31 311 individuals ( 17 716 [ 56·6% ] were female and 13 595 [ 43·4% ] were male) with inflammatory bowel disease tested. Adjusted vaccine effectiveness of two doses against infection was 83% ( 95% CI 80–86) in those with rheumatoid arthritis, 89% ( 83–93) among those with ankylosing spondylitis, 84% ( 81–86) among those with psoriasis, and 79% ( 74–82) among those with inflammatory bowel disease. After two vaccine doses, effectiveness against infection generally peaked 31–60 days after vaccination and waned gradually with each additional month. Vaccine effectiveness against severe outcomes after two doses was 92% ( 95% CI 88–95) in those with rheumatoid arthritis, 97% ( 83–99) among those with ankylosing spondylitis, 92% ( 86–95) among those with psoriasis, and 94% ( 88–97) among those with inflammatory bowel disease. Vaccine effectiveness after a third dose against infection was similar to or higher than after the second dose ( ranging from 76% [ 47–89 ] to 96% [ 72–99 ]), although due to a paucity of events, estimates could not be calculated for some subgroups for severe outcomes.
Two vaccine doses were found to be highly effective against both SARS-CoV-2 infection and severe COVID-19 outcomes in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, psoriasis, and inflammatory bowel disease during the study period. Research is needed to determine the durability of effectiveness of three doses over time, particularly against emerging variants.
Canada's comprehensive universal SARS-CoV-2 testing and surveillance, rapid uptake of COVID-19 vaccines, and population-based linked health datasets have contributed to monitoring of vaccine effectiveness in the general population.1Nasreen S Chung H He S et al.Effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines against symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection and severe outcomes with variants of concern in Ontario.Nat Microbiol. 2022; 7: 379-385Google Scholar, 2Chung H He S Nasreen S et al.Effectiveness of BNT162b2 and mRNA-1273 COVID-19 vaccines against symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection and severe COVID-19 outcomes in Ontario, Canada: test negative design study.BMJ. 2021; 374n1943Google Scholar, 3Buchan SA Chung H Brown KA et al.Effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines against omicron or delta symptomatic infection and severe outcomes.medRxiv. 2022; ( published online on Jan 28.) ( preprint).https: //doi.org/10.1101/2021.12.30.21268565Google Scholar, 4Bok K Sitar S Graham BS Mascola JR Accelerated COVID-19 vaccine development: milestones, lessons, and prospects.Immunity. 2021; 54: 1636-1651Google Scholar, 5Zheng C Shao W Chen X Zhang B Wang G Zhang W Real-world effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines: a literature review and meta-analysis.Int J Infect Dis. 2022; 114: 252-260Google Scholar Less is known about vaccine effectiveness among individuals with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases. Individuals with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases are not only susceptible to severe outcomes associated with SARS-CoV-2,6Eder L Croxford R Drucker AM et al.COVID-19 hospitalizations, intensive care unit stays, ventilation and death among patients with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases compared to controls.J Rheumatol. 2022; ( publsihed online Feb 1.) https: //doi.org/10.3899/jrheum.211012Google Scholar, 7Fagni F Simon D Tascilar K et al.COVID-19 and immune-mediated inflammatory diseases: effect of disease and treatment on COVID-19 outcomes and vaccine responses.Lancet Rheumatol. 2021; 3: e724-e736Google Scholar, 8Akiyama S Hamdeh S Micic D Sakuraba A Prevalence and clinical outcomes of COVID-19 in patients with autoimmune diseases: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Ann Rheum Dis. 2021; 80: 384-391Google Scholar, 9Sparks JA Wallace ZS Seet AM et al.Associations of baseline use of biologic or targeted synthetic DMARDs with COVID-19 severity in rheumatoid arthritis: results from the COVID-19 Global Rheumatology Alliance physician registry.Ann Rheum Dis. 2021; 80: 1137-1146Google Scholar but the immunogenicity of mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines might also be impaired in this patient population.10Furer V Eviatar T Zisman D et al.Immunogenicity and safety of the BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccine in adult patients with autoimmune inflammatory rheumatic diseases and in the general population: a multicentre study.Ann Rheum Dis. 2021; 80: 1330-1338Google Scholar, 11Di Fusco M Lin J Vaghela S et al.COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness among immunocompromised populations: a targeted literature review of real-world studies.Expert Rev Vaccines. 2022; ( published online Feb 3.) https: //doi.org/10.1080/14760584.2022.2035222Google Scholar, 12Whitaker HJ Tsang RS Byford R et al.Pfizer-BioNTech and Oxford AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness and immune response among individuals in clinical risk groups.J Infect. 2022; ( published online Jan 3.) https: //doi.org/10.1016/j.jinf.2021.12.044Google Scholar, 13Schmiedeberg K Vuilleumier N Pagano S et al.Efficacy and tolerability of a third dose of an mRNA anti-SARS-CoV-2 vaccine in patients with rheumatoid arthritis with absent or minimal serological response to two previous doses.Lancet Rheumatol. 2022; 4: e11-e13Google Scholar, 14Rubbert-Roth A Vuilleumier N Ludewig B Schmiedeberg K Haller C von Kempis J Anti-SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.Lancet Rheumatol. 2021; 3: e470-e472Google Scholar Although policy and clinical recommendations on COVID-19 vaccination for people with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases have largely been driven by research on immunogenicity,15Curtis JR Johnson SR Anthony DD et al.American College of Rheumatology guidance for COVID-19 vaccination in patients with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases: version 3.Arthritis Rheumatol. 2021; 73: e60-e75Google Scholar, 16Hazlewood GS Pardo JP Barnabe C et al.Canadian Rheumatology Association recommendation for the use of COVID-19 vaccination for patients with autoimmune rheumatic diseases.J Rheumatol. 2021; 48: 1330-1339Google Scholar understanding how well these vaccines work in broader immune-mediated inflammatory disease populations remains a priority, especially because they are under-represented in clinical studies. Therefore, we aimed to estimate the vaccine effectiveness of mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 infection and severe COVID-19 outcomes among individuals with a selection of immune-mediated inflammatory diseases in Ontario, Canada, over the period March to November, 2021, during which there was rapid uptake of vaccinations in the province,17Widdifield J Eder L Chen S et al.COVID-19 vaccination uptake among individuals with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases in Ontario, Canada, between December 2020 and October 2021: a population-based analysis.J Rheumatol. 2022; ( published online Jan 15.) https: //doi.org/10.3899/jrheum.211148Google Scholar and the predominant circulating SARS-CoV-2 variants were alpha ( B.1.1.7; March to June, 2021) and delta ( B.1.617.2; June to November, 2021).1Nasreen S Chung H He S et al.Effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines against symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection and severe outcomes with variants of concern in Ontario.Nat Microbiol. 2022; 7: 379-385Google Scholar
Research in contextEvidence before this studyWe searched PubMed for studies published in English between Jan 1, 2021, and Mar 1, 2022, using different combinations of the terms “ SARS-CoV-2 ”, “ COVID-19 ”, “ vaccination ”, “ vaccine ”, “ rheumatic diseases ”, “ rheumatoid arthritis ”, “ psoriasis ”, “ inflammatory bowel disease ”, “ ankylosing spondylitis ”, “ immune-mediated Inflammatory diseases ”, “ effectiveness ”, and “ immunogenicity ”. Vaccine effectiveness studies done on the general population have shown that mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines are highly protective against infections and severe outcomes, such as admission to hospital and death. Studies have shown than the immunogenicity of mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines might be impaired among individuals with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases, which could translate into reduced vaccine effectiveness. Sparse information exists on the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines in patients with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases.Added value of this studyTo our knowledge, this is the largest population-based study of vaccine effectiveness of mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines in people with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases. Among individuals with rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, psoriasis, and inflammatory bowel disease tested for SARS-CoV-2 between March 1 and Nov 22, 2021, we estimated high ( 92–97%) vaccine effectiveness of two doses of mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines ( BNT162b2 or mRNA-1273) against severe COVID-19 outcomes compared with unvaccinated patients. Estimates of vaccine effectiveness against SARS-CoV-2 infection were numerically lower than for severe outcomes. For the outcome of infection with SARS-CoV-2, overall vaccine effectiveness for two doses exceeded 79% across all four patient populations. After the second dose, vaccine effectiveness against infection peaked 31–60 days after vaccination ( 82–90%) and waned with each additional month, but effectiveness increased again with third doses.Implications of the available evidenceWe found high vaccine effectiveness of mRNA vaccines against severe COVID-19 outcomes among individuals with rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, psoriasis, and inflammatory bowel disease, which could help individuals with these diseases, who were largely excluded from vaccine trials, make informed decisions about following vaccination recommendations.
We searched PubMed for studies published in English between Jan 1, 2021, and Mar 1, 2022, using different combinations of the terms “ SARS-CoV-2 ”, “ COVID-19 ”, “ vaccination ”, “ vaccine ”, “ rheumatic diseases ”, “ rheumatoid arthritis ”, “ psoriasis ”, “ inflammatory bowel disease ”, “ ankylosing spondylitis ”, “ immune-mediated Inflammatory diseases ”, “ effectiveness ”, and “ immunogenicity ”. Vaccine effectiveness studies done on the general population have shown that mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines are highly protective against infections and severe outcomes, such as admission to hospital and death. Studies have shown than the immunogenicity of mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines might be impaired among individuals with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases, which could translate into reduced vaccine effectiveness. Sparse information exists on the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines in patients with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases.
To our knowledge, this is the largest population-based study of vaccine effectiveness of mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines in people with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases. Among individuals with rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, psoriasis, and inflammatory bowel disease tested for SARS-CoV-2 between March 1 and Nov 22, 2021, we estimated high ( 92–97%) vaccine effectiveness of two doses of mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines ( BNT162b2 or mRNA-1273) against severe COVID-19 outcomes compared with unvaccinated patients. Estimates of vaccine effectiveness against SARS-CoV-2 infection were numerically lower than for severe outcomes. For the outcome of infection with SARS-CoV-2, overall vaccine effectiveness for two doses exceeded 79% across all four patient populations. After the second dose, vaccine effectiveness against infection peaked 31–60 days after vaccination ( 82–90%) and waned with each additional month, but effectiveness increased again with third doses.
We found high vaccine effectiveness of mRNA vaccines against severe COVID-19 outcomes among individuals with rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, psoriasis, and inflammatory bowel disease, which could help individuals with these diseases, who were largely excluded from vaccine trials, make informed decisions about following vaccination recommendations.
In this population-based study, we used a common protocol that was used to estimate vaccine effectiveness within the general Ontario population to help facilitate comparisons.1Nasreen S Chung H He S et al.Effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines against symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection and severe outcomes with variants of concern in Ontario.Nat Microbiol. 2022; 7: 379-385Google Scholar, 2Chung H He S Nasreen S et al.Effectiveness of BNT162b2 and mRNA-1273 COVID-19 vaccines against symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection and severe COVID-19 outcomes in Ontario, Canada: test negative design study.BMJ. 2021; 374n1943Google Scholar, 3Buchan SA Chung H Brown KA et al.Effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines against omicron or delta symptomatic infection and severe outcomes.medRxiv. 2022; ( published online on Jan 28.) ( preprint).https: //doi.org/10.1101/2021.12.30.21268565Google Scholar
To assess vaccine effectiveness, we used a test-negative design across four separate population-based cohorts of people with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases. Within each cohort, individuals tested for SARS-CoV-2 served as the nested cohort, whereby vaccine status was compared between SARS-CoV-2 test-positive cases versus test-negative controls.
Our study period was from March 1 to November 22, 2021. The details of the immunisation rollout in Ontario has been previously reported.17Widdifield J Eder L Chen S et al.COVID-19 vaccination uptake among individuals with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases in Ontario, Canada, between December 2020 and October 2021: a population-based analysis.J Rheumatol. 2022; ( published online Jan 15.) https: //doi.org/10.3899/jrheum.211148Google Scholar Briefly, due to low vaccine supply, Ontario initially had a slow and low vaccine uptake between December, 2020, and March, 2021, during which time vaccines were prioritised for residents and staff of long-term care and retirement homes, health-care workers, and adults aged 80 years and older. By March, 2021, vaccination of residents was largely prioritised by age ( in decreasing age group increments) in rapid succession, resulting in a rapid increase in vaccine uptake of one and two doses among all age groups between March and July, 2021.17Widdifield J Eder L Chen S et al.COVID-19 vaccination uptake among individuals with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases in Ontario, Canada, between December 2020 and October 2021: a population-based analysis.J Rheumatol. 2022; ( published online Jan 15.) https: //doi.org/10.3899/jrheum.211148Google Scholar Administration of third doses started in September, 2021.18Kuenzig ME Widdifield J Bernatsky S Kaplan GG Benchimol EI Uptake of third doses of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines among people with inflammatory bowel disease in Ontario, Canada.Lancet Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2022; 7: 288-289Google Scholar Most people with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases in Ontario were given the BNT162b2 ( Pfizer–BioNTech) vaccine ( > 70%) and the mRNA-1273 ( Moderna) vaccine ( > 18%) as part of their initial two doses, and few patients ( < 10%) received the Covishield vaccine ( also known as ChAdOx1 nCoV-19; Oxford–AstraZeneca).17Widdifield J Eder L Chen S et al.COVID-19 vaccination uptake among individuals with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases in Ontario, Canada, between December 2020 and October 2021: a population-based analysis.J Rheumatol. 2022; ( published online Jan 15.) https: //doi.org/10.3899/jrheum.211148Google Scholar The pandemic's third wave occurred in the country between March and June, 2021, with a lower incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infections observed between June and November, 2021.19PublicHealthOntarioOntario COVID-19 data tool.https: //www.publichealthontario.ca/en/data-and-analysis/infectious-disease/covid-19-data-surveillance/covid-19-data-tool? tab=trendsDate: February, 2022Date accessed: March 3, 2022Google Scholar
This study was approved by a privacy impact assessment at ICES ( formerly called the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences). The use of the data in this project was authorised under section 45 of Ontario's Personal Health Information Protection Act, which does not require review by a Research Ethics Board. Datasets were linked using unique encoded identifiers and analysed at ICES. ICES is a prescribed entity under Personal Health Information Protection Act. Section 45 of the Personal Health Information Protection Act authorises ICES to collect personal health information, without consent, for the purpose of analysis or compiling statistical information with respect to the management of, evaluation or monitoring of, the allocation of resources to or planning for all or part of the health system.
We collected patient-level data on SARS-CoV-2 testing and COVID-19 vaccination for patients with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases. Ontario residents, comprising approximately 40% of Canada's population of 35 million people, are insured under a single payer health-care system ( Ontario's Health Insurance Plan) that covers all medically necessary health services. These contacts for health services are recorded in administrative databases and linked using unique encoded identifiers. We assembled four separate population-based cohorts of individuals aged 16 years or older with rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, psoriasis, and inflammatory bowel disease using established disease-specific case definitions applied to health administrative data ( appendix p 1). These case definitions require multiple health-care contacts for diagnosis codes related to the condition of interest ( a minimum of three to five diagnosis codes, often involving a health-care contact with a specialist) and are based on validation studies involving medical chart review.20Eder L Widdifield J Rosen CF et al.Identifying and characterizing psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis patients in Ontario administrative data: a population-based study From 1991 to 2015.J Rheumatol. 2020; 47: 1644-1651Google Scholar, 21Widdifield J Bernatsky S Paterson JM et al.Accuracy of Canadian health administrative databases in identifying patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a validation study using the medical records of rheumatologists.Arthritis Care Res ( Hoboken). 2013; 65: 1582-1591Google Scholar, 22Benchimol EI Guttmann A Mack DR et al.Validation of international algorithms to identify adults with inflammatory bowel disease in health administrative data from Ontario, Canada.J Clin Epidemiol. 2014; 67: 887-896Google Scholar These population-based cohorts have been extensively used for previous research, including assessments of SARS-CoV-2 testing and risks of infection, and severe COVID-19 outcomes.6Eder L Croxford R Drucker AM et al.COVID-19 hospitalizations, intensive care unit stays, ventilation and death among patients with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases compared to controls.J Rheumatol. 2022; ( publsihed online Feb 1.) https: //doi.org/10.3899/jrheum.211012Google Scholar, 17Widdifield J Eder L Chen S et al.COVID-19 vaccination uptake among individuals with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases in Ontario, Canada, between December 2020 and October 2021: a population-based analysis.J Rheumatol. 2022; ( published online Jan 15.) https: //doi.org/10.3899/jrheum.211148Google Scholar, 23Benchimol EI Manuel DG Guttmann A et al.Changing age demographics of inflammatory bowel disease in Ontario, Canada: a population-based cohort study of epidemiology trends.Inflamm Bowel Dis. 2014; 20: 1761-1769Google Scholar, 24Haroon NN Paterson JM Li P Inman RD Haroon N Patients with ankylosing spondylitis have increased cardiovascular and cerebrovascular mortality: a population-based study.Ann Intern Med. 2015; 163: 409-416Google Scholar, 25Eder L Widdifield J Rosen CF et al.Trends in the prevalence and incidence of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis in ontario, canada: a population-based study.Arthritis Care Res ( Hoboken). 2019; 71: 1084-1091Google Scholar, 26Widdifield J Bernatsky S Bombardier C Paterson M Rheumatoid arthritis surveillance in Ontario: monitoring the burden, quality of care and patient outcomes through linkage of administrative health data.Healthc Q. 2015; 18: 7-10Google Scholar, 27Eder L Croxford R Drucker AM et al.Understanding COVID-19 risk in patients with immune mediated inflammatory diseases: a population-based analysis of SARS-CoV-2 testing.Arthritis Care Res ( Hoboken). 2021; ( published online Sept 6.) https: //dooi.org/10.1002/acr.24781Google Scholar
From within each cohort, we identified all individuals who had real-time RT-PCR tests for SARS-CoV-2 during the study period. Data on SARS-CoV-2 tests ( sample collection date and results) were collected from the Ontario Laboratories Information System. The study accrual period ended on Nov 22, 2021, when the first cases of infection with the omicron ( B.1.1.529) variant were detected in Ontario ( to limit misclassification of variants).
We excluded long-term care residents because they undergo frequent testing, are more frail than other individuals, and have a different threshold for admission to hospital; individuals who received out-of-province vaccinations; and individuals who had received two doses of ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 because effectiveness for that schedule is known to be lower than for mRNA-based vaccines1Nasreen S Chung H He S et al.Effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines against symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection and severe outcomes with variants of concern in Ontario.Nat Microbiol. 2022; 7: 379-385Google Scholar, 2Chung H He S Nasreen S et al.Effectiveness of BNT162b2 and mRNA-1273 COVID-19 vaccines against symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection and severe COVID-19 outcomes in Ontario, Canada: test negative design study.BMJ. 2021; 374n1943Google Scholar, 3Buchan SA Chung H Brown KA et al.Effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines against omicron or delta symptomatic infection and severe outcomes.medRxiv. 2022; ( published online on Jan 28.) ( preprint).https: //doi.org/10.1101/2021.12.30.21268565Google Scholar and most of the study population received mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines.17Widdifield J Eder L Chen S et al.COVID-19 vaccination uptake among individuals with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases in Ontario, Canada, between December 2020 and October 2021: a population-based analysis.J Rheumatol. 2022; ( published online Jan 15.) https: //doi.org/10.3899/jrheum.211148Google Scholar
For vaccine effectiveness against infection, cases were defined as individuals with a laboratory-confirmed positive PCR test for SARS-CoV-2 between March 1 and Nov 22, 2021. The index date was the sample collection date. We identified the first positive test for the individual, and individuals who tested negative were treated as controls. For controls with multiple negative tests, we used the date of a randomly selected negative test as their index date.
Severe outcomes were defined as an admission to hospital ( ie, hospitalisation) or death attributed to SARS-CoV-2 infection in test-positive individuals. Severe outcomes were ascertained from an integrated dataset linking Public Health Ontario's Case and Contact Management ( CCM) dataset ( which contains information on the clinical course of patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection [ including hospitalisations and deaths ]), the Canadian Institute for Health Information Discharge Abstract Database ( as a secondary source to identify hospitalisations and inpatient deaths in individuals with a diagnosis of COVID-19 [ ie, an International Classification of Diseases 10th edition code U07.1 ], and a positive test result within 14 days before or 3 days after admission), and the Ontario Registered Persons Database ( as a secondary source for deaths, in which a positive test result must have occurred within 30 days before death or within 7 days post-mortem if COVID-19 was suspected). Infections that occurred during hospital stay for another reason were not considered a severe outcome for the purposes of this analysis. We used the earliest date of sample collection or hospital admission or death as the index date.
At the time of testing, we assessed whether or not individuals had one, two, or three vaccine doses before their testing date. COVID-19 vaccination status, including vaccine product, date of administration, and dose number were determined from COVaxON, a centralised COVID-19 vaccine registry in Ontario.
We did analyses separately for each of the four study populations ( rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, psoriasis, and inflammatory bowel disease). To compare characteristics between test-positive cases and test-negative controls and between those vaccinated with at least one dose of mRNA-based vaccine and unvaccinated individuals, we did descriptive analyses and calculated standardised differences ( with a standardised difference of > 0·10 considered to be a clinically relevant difference).28Austin PC Using the standardized difference to compare the prevalence of a binary variable between two groups in observational research.Commun Stat Simul Comput. 2009; 38: 1228-1234Google Scholar, 29Mamdani M Sykora K Li P et al.Reader's guide to critical appraisal of cohort studies: 2. Assessing potential for confounding.BMJ. 2005; 330: 960-962Google Scholar
We separately estimated overall vaccine effectiveness ( for infection and severe outcomes) for one dose of vaccine at least 14 days before testing date, and at least 7 days before testing date for two and three doses, using multivariable logistic regression to compare the odds of vaccination in test-positive cases with the odds of vaccination among test-negative controls, adjusting for covariates that are associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination. We estimated vaccine effectiveness as ( 1 – odds ratio) × 100%. Subsequently, we estimated vaccine effectiveness against infection for each subsequent month after receipt of two doses of vaccine. We also separately estimated adjusted vaccine effectiveness against SARS-CoV-2 infection by vaccine product after one and two doses. We adjusted estimates of vaccine effectiveness for patient age ( using age bands as a categorical variable), sex, public health unit region of residence, biweekly period of test ( to account for temporal variations in viral activity and regional vaccine roll-out), number of PCR tests for each individual in the 3 months before the start of Ontario's COVID-19 immunisation programme ( a proxy for individuals who are at increased risk of SARS-CoV-2 exposure and undergo frequent testing), previous SARS-CoV-2 infection more than 90 days before the index date, presence of any comorbidity that increases the risk of severe COVID-19 ( ie, chronic respiratory diseases, chronic heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, other immunosuppressive conditions including receipt of a transplant, other immune disorders, active cancer, advanced liver disease, dementia, frailty, or history of transient ischaemic attack or stroke), a previous influenza vaccination ( within the past 2 years, a proxy for health behaviours), and census dissemination area-level quintiles of household income, proportion of people employed as non-health-care-based essential workers ( proxy of individuals unable to work from home), average number of people per dwelling, and proportion of self-identified minorities. Full details regarding these covariates are provided in the appendix ( pp 2–7).
Because of the length of the study period with changes over time in SARS-CoV-2 infection incidence, PCR testing volumes ( ie, higher volumes early on due to higher incidence of infection), and vaccination status ( ie, increased vaccination coverage later in the time course) in the underlying population, we did a sensitivity analysis to assess potential bias in patient selection by using the last negative testing episode ( rather than a random selection among those with multiple negative tests).
All tests were two-sided and a p value of less than 0·05 was considered to be significant. We do not report estimates of vaccine effectiveness after three doses of vaccine in situations where there were very few individuals with three doses among the test-positive cases, because vaccine effectiveness approximates 100% on the basis of near-zero vaccinated test-positive cases and the 95% CIs were essentially infinite or extremely imprecise.
We did all analyses using SAS ( version 9.4; SAS Institute, Cary, NC, USA).
The funder of the study had no role in study design, data collection, data analysis, data interpretation, or writing of the report.
Among 36 145 individuals with rheumatoid arthritis tested for SARS-CoV-2 during the study period, we identified 2127 ( 5·9%) test-positive cases ( appendix p 8). For ankylosing spondylitis, we identified 476 ( 6·1%) positive cases among 7863 individuals with ankylosing spondylitis tested ( appendix p 9). For psoriasis, we identified 3089 ( 6·5%) positive cases among 47 199 individuals with psoriasis tested ( appendix p 10). And for inflammatory bowel disease, we identified 1702 ( 5·4%) positive cases among 31 311 individuals with inflammatory bowel disease tested ( appendix p 11).
Among 36 145 individuals with rheumatoid arthritis, the mean age was 61·2 years ( SD 16·5), 20 682 ( 57·2%) were aged 60 years or older, 26 476 ( 73·2%) were female, and 9669 ( 26·8%) were male. Among 7863 individuals with ankylosing spondylitis, the mean age was 52·5 years ( SD 15·7), 2615 ( 33·3%) were aged 60 years or older, 4130 ( 52·5%) were female, and 3733 ( 47·5%) were male. Among 47 199 individuals with psoriasis, the mean age was 53·3 years ( SD 17·5), 17 954 ( 38·0%) were aged 60 years or older, 26 062 ( 55·2%) were female, and 21 137 ( 44·8%) were male. And among 31 311 individuals with inflammatory bowel disease, the mean age was 50·9 years ( SD 17·4), 10 043 ( 32·1%) were 60 years or older, 17 716 ( 56·6%) were female, and 13 595 ( 43·4%) were male. No data were captured on race or ethnicity.
Across all four immune-mediated inflammatory disease groups, test-positive cases were more likely to be younger and reside in neighbourhoods with lower income, and were less likely to have had any PCR tests during the 3 months before the start of Ontario's immunisation programme than were test-negative controls ( table 1; appendix pp 12–14).Table 1Characteristics of individuals with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases, by SARS-CoV-2 test result, at time of testing between March 1 and Nov 22, 2021Rheumatoid arthritisAnkylosing spondylitisPsoriasisInflammatory bowel diseaseSARS-CoV-2 positive ( n=2127) SARS-CoV-2 negative ( n=34 018) Standardised difference * Values of > 0·10 are considered to be clinically relevant differences.SARS-CoV-2 positive ( n=476) SARS-CoV-2 negative ( n=7387) Standardised difference * Values of > 0·10 are considered to be clinically relevant differences.SARS-CoV-2 positive ( n=3089) SARS-CoV-2 negative ( n=44 110) Standardised difference * Values of > 0·10 are considered to be clinically relevant differences.SARS-CoV-2 positive ( n=1702) SARS-CoV-2 negative ( n=29 609) Standardised difference * Values of > 0·10 are considered to be clinically relevant differences.Age, years57·4 ( 16·1) 61·4 ( 16·5) 0·2550·4 ( 14·3) 52·6 ( 15·8) 0·1549·4 ( 16·6) 53·6 ( 17·5) 0·2446·8 ( 16·8) 51·1 ( 17·4) 0·25SexMale564 ( 26·5%) 9105 ( 26·8%) 0·01252 ( 52·9%) 3481 ( 47·1%) 0·121567 ( 50·7%) 19 570 ( 44·4%) 0·13860 ( 50·5%) 12 735 ( 43·0%) 0·15Female1563 ( 73·5%) 24 913 ( 73·2%) 0·01224 ( 47·1%) 3906 ( 52·9%) 0·121522 ( 49·3%) 24 540 ( 55·6%) 0·13842 ( 49·5%) 16 874 ( 57·0%) 0·15Number of tests in past 3 months†In the 3 months before COVID-19 immunisation programme started on Dec 14, 2020.01776 ( 83·5%) 25 520 ( 75·0%) 0·21381 ( 80·0%) 5467 ( 74·0%) 0·142533 ( 82·0%) 32 877 ( 74·5%) 0·181318 ( 77·4%) 21 549 ( 72·8%) 0·111250 ( 11·8%) 5202 ( 15·3%) 0·1070 ( 14·7%) 1267 ( 17·2%) 0·07416 ( 13·5%) 7169 ( 16·3%) 0·08274 ( 16·1%) 5186 ( 17·5%) 0·04≥2101 ( 4·7%) 3296 ( 9·7%) 0·1925 ( 5·3%) 653 ( 8·8%) 0·14140 ( 4·5%) 4064 ( 9·2%) 0·19110 ( 6·5%) 2874 ( 9·7%) 0·12Previous positive test > 90 days since testing date‡Previous positive tests by PCR before study period ( before March 1, 2021).16 ( 0·8%) 639 ( 1·9%) 0·100134 ( 1·8%) 0·1915 ( 0·5%) 882 ( 2·0%) 0·1412 ( 0·7%) 471 ( 1·6%) 0·08Any comorbidity§Comorbidities include chronic respiratory diseases, chronic heart diseases, hypertension, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, other immunocompromising illness, active cancer, advanced liver disease, dementia, frailty, and history of stroke or transient ischaemic attack ( appendix pp 12–14).1473 ( 69·3%) 25 165 ( 74·0%) 0·10270 ( 56·7%) 4569 ( 61·9%) 0·101781 ( 57·7%) 27 058 ( 61·3%) 0·08938 ( 55·1%) 17 714 ( 59·8%) 0·10Previous influenza vaccination¶Influenza vaccination during 2019–20 or 2020–21 influenza season, or both.862 ( 40·5%) 18 373 ( 54·0%) 0·27186 ( 39·1%) 3460 ( 46·8%) 0·16993 ( 32·1%) 19 706 ( 44·7%) 0·26555 ( 32·6%) 13 504 ( 45·6%) 0·27Neighbourhood income quintile‖The sum of counts does not equal the column total because of individuals with missing information ( < 1·0%) for this characteristic.1 ( lowest) 526 ( 24·7%) 6787 ( 20·0%) 0·1198 ( 20·6%) 1219 ( 16·5%) 0·11708 ( 22·9%) 7754 ( 17·6%) 0·13301 ( 17·7%) 4814 ( 16·3%) 0·042429 ( 20·2%) 6625 ( 19·5%) 0·0291 ( 19·1%) 1323 ( 17·9%) 0·03615 ( 19·9%) 8389 ( 19·0%) 0·02357 ( 21·0%) 5575 ( 18·8%) 0·053457 ( 21·5%) 6653 ( 19·6%) 0·05102 ( 21·4%) 1455 ( 19·7%) 0·04620 ( 20·1%) 8614 ( 19·5%) 0·01354 ( 20·8%) 5981 ( 20·2%) 0·014386 ( 18·1%) 6826 ( 20·1%) 0·0594 ( 19·7%) 1571 ( 21·3%) 0·04619 ( 20·0%) 9269 ( 21·0%) 0·02356 ( 20·9%) 6193 ( 20·9%) 0·005 ( highest) 319 ( 15·0%) 7004 ( 20·6%) 0·1586 ( 18·1%) 1787 ( 24·2%) 0·15515 ( 16·7%) 9932 ( 22·5%) 0·15328 ( 19·3%) 6949 ( 23·5%) 0·10Data are mean ( SD) or n (%), unless otherwise stated. Proportions might not add up to 100% due to rounding. Additional patient characteristics are provided in the appendix ( pp 12–14). * Values of > 0·10 are considered to be clinically relevant differences.† In the 3 months before COVID-19 immunisation programme started on Dec 14, 2020.‡ Previous positive tests by PCR before study period ( before March 1, 2021).§ Comorbidities include chronic respiratory diseases, chronic heart diseases, hypertension, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, other immunocompromising illness, active cancer, advanced liver disease, dementia, frailty, and history of stroke or transient ischaemic attack appendix pp 12–14.¶ Influenza vaccination during 2019–20 or 2020–21 influenza season, or both.‖ The sum of counts does not equal the column total because of individuals with missing information ( < 1·0%) for this characteristic. Open table in a new tab
Data are mean ( SD) or n (%), unless otherwise stated. Proportions might not add up to 100% due to rounding. Additional patient characteristics are provided in the appendix ( pp 12–14).
Among test-positive cases and test-negative controls, 1917 with rheumatoid arthritis, 536 with ankylosing spondylitis, 3168 with psoriasis, and 1906 with inflammatory bowel disease received out-of-province or ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccines and were excluded from the subsequent analyses.
Across all four immune-mediated inflammatory disease groups, at the time of the index test date, unvaccinated patients were generally younger, less likely to have had previous testing, and less likely to have a comorbidity than were patients who had received at least one dose of mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine ( table 2; appendix pp 15–17).Table 2Characteristics of individuals with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases, by vaccination status, at time of testing between March 1 and Nov 22, 2021Rheumatoid arthritisAnkylosing spondylitisPsoriasisInflammatory bowel diseaseUnvaccinated ( n=11 238) At least one dose of mRNA-based vaccine ( n=22 990) Standardised difference * Values of > 0·10 are considered to be clinically relevant differences.Unvaccinated ( n=2857) At least one dose of mRNA-based vaccine ( n=4470) Standardised difference * Values of > 0·10 are considered to be clinically relevant differences.Unvaccinated ( n=17 338) At least one dose of mRNA-based vaccine ( n=26 693) Standardised difference * Values of > 0·10 are considered to be clinically relevant differences.Unvaccinated ( n=11 246) At least one dose of mRNA-based vaccine ( n=18 159) Standardised difference * Values of > 0·10 are considered to be clinically relevant differences.Tested positive for SARS-CoV-2†Positive test by PCR at index test between March and November, 2021.1332 ( 11·9%) 720 ( 3·1%) 0·34320 ( 11·2%) 140 ( 3·1%) 0·322083 ( 12·0%) 887 ( 3·3%) 0·331084 ( 9·6%) 554 ( 3·1%) 0·27Age, years55·9 ( 15·9) 63·9 ( 16·7) 0·5048·6 ( 14·3) 54·5 ( 16·6) 0·3848·1 ( 16·0) 56·2 ( 18·4) 0·4746·4 ( 15·6) 53·1 ( 18·6) 0·39SexMale3062 ( 27·2%) 5985 ( 26·0%) 0·031421 ( 49·7%) 2012 ( 45·0%) 0·098129 ( 46·9%) 11 268 ( 42·2%) 0·095169 ( 46·0%) 7489 ( 41·2%) 0·10Female8176 ( 72·8%) 17 005 ( 74·0%) 0·031436 ( 50·3%) 2458 ( 55·0%) 0·099209 ( 53·1%) 15 425 ( 57·8%) 0·096077 ( 54·0%) 10 670 ( 58·8%) 0·10Number of tests in past 3 months‡In the previous 3 months before COVID-19 immunisation programme started ( on Dec 14, 2020).08752 ( 77·9%) 17 028 ( 74·1%) 0·092188 ( 76·6%) 3229 ( 72·2%) 0·1013 396 ( 77·3%) 19 464 ( 72·9%) 0·108419 ( 74·9%) 12 953 ( 71·3%) 0·0811726 ( 15·4%) 3404 ( 14·8%) 0·02492 ( 17·2%) 760 ( 17·0%) 0·012820 ( 16·3%) 4261 ( 16·0%) 0·012018 ( 17·9%) 3132 ( 17·2%) 0·02≥2760 ( 6·8%) 2558 ( 11·1%) 0·15177 ( 6·2%) 481 ( 10·8%) 0·161122 ( 6·5%) 2968 ( 11·1%) 0·16809 ( 7·2%) 2074 ( 11·4%) 0·15Previous positive test > 90 days since testing date161 ( 1·4%) 473 ( 2·1%) 0·0535 ( 1·2%) 93 ( 2·1%) 0·07253 ( 1·5%) 599 ( 2·2%) 0·06134 ( 1·2%) 329 ( 1·8%) 0·05Any comorbidity§Comorbidities include chronic respiratory diseases, chronic heart diseases, hypertension, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, other immunocompromising illness, active cancer, advanced liver disease, dementia, frailty, and history of stroke or transient ischaemic attack.7556 ( 67·2%) 17 685 ( 76·9%) 0·221609 ( 56·3%) 2896 ( 64·8%) 0·179367 ( 54·0%) 17 528 ( 65·7%) 0·246061 ( 53·9%) 11 367 ( 62·6%) 0·18Prior influenza vaccination¶Influenza vaccination during 2019–20 or 2020–21 influenza season, or both.4467 ( 39·7%) 13 568 ( 59·0%) 0·391019 ( 35·7%) 2310 ( 51·7%) 0·335329 ( 30·7%) 13 498 ( 50·6%) 0·413621 ( 32·2%) 9287 ( 51·1%) 0·39Neighbourhood income quintile‖The sum of counts does not equal the column total because of individuals with missing information ( < 1·0%) for this characteristic.1 ( lowest) 2555 ( 22·7%) 4433 ( 19·3%) 0·08534 ( 18·7%) 715 ( 16·0%) 0·073340 ( 19·3%) 4684 ( 17·5%) 0·042036 ( 18·1%) 2800 ( 15·4%) 0·0722229 ( 19·8%) 4467 ( 19·4%) 0·01564 ( 19·7%) 775 ( 17·3%) 0·063415 ( 19·7%) 5134 ( 19·2%) 0·012217 ( 19·7%) 3412 ( 18·8%) 0·0232224 ( 19·8%) 4527 ( 19·7%) 0·00608 ( 21·3%) 851 ( 19·0%) 0·063474 ( 20·0%) 5180 ( 19·4%) 0·022317 ( 20·6%) 3672 ( 20·2%) 0·0142151 ( 19·1%) 4699 ( 20·4%) 0·03575 ( 20·1%) 982 ( 22·0%) 0·053570 ( 20·6%) 5597 ( 21·0%) 0·012345 ( 20·9%) 3822 ( 21·0%) 0·005 ( highest) 2033 ( 18·1%) 4784 ( 20·8%) 0·07562 ( 19·7%) 1126 ( 25·2%) 0·133475 ( 20·0%) 6008 ( 22·5%) 0·062294 ( 20·4%) 4395 ( 24·2%) 0·09Data are n (%) or mean ( SD), unless otherwise stated. Proportions might not add up to 100% due to rounding. Additional patient characteristics in the appendix ( pp 15–17). * Values of > 0·10 are considered to be clinically relevant differences.† Positive test by PCR at index test between March and November, 2021.‡ In the previous 3 months before COVID-19 immunisation programme started ( on Dec 14, 2020).§ Comorbidities include chronic respiratory diseases, chronic heart diseases, hypertension, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, other immunocompromising illness, active cancer, advanced liver disease, dementia, frailty, and history of stroke or transient ischaemic attack.¶ Influenza vaccination during 2019–20 or 2020–21 influenza season, or both.‖ The sum of counts does not equal the column total because of individuals with missing information ( < 1·0%) for this characteristic. Open table in a new tab
Data are n (%) or mean ( SD), unless otherwise stated. Proportions might not add up to 100% due to rounding. Additional patient characteristics in the appendix ( pp 15–17).
Overall adjusted vaccine effectiveness of two doses of mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 infection was 83% ( 95% CI 80–86) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, 89% ( 83–93) in patients with ankylosing spondylitis, 84% ( 81–86) in patients with psoriasis, and 79% ( 74–82) in patients with inflammatory bowel disease ( table 3). Effectiveness against infection peaked 31–60 days after two doses ( adjusted vaccine effectiveness 82–92% across immune-mediated inflammatory disease groups) and overall waned gradually with each additional month ( figure). Estimates of adjusted vaccine effectiveness against infection after three doses of vaccine were near equivalent or higher than those after two doses, although less precise due to fewer patients having received three doses ( table 3). Because few test-positive cases had received a third dose of vaccine and due to insufficient follow-up time, we could not assess waning of vaccine effectiveness after third doses over time.Table 3Estimated vaccine effectiveness of mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 infection and severe outcome, by time between vaccination and testing dateTest-positive casesTest-negative controlsUnadjusted vaccine effectiveness ( 95% CI) Adjusted vaccine effectiveness ( 95% CI) * Adjusted for age, sex, region, biweekly period of test, number of previous SARS-CoV-2 tests, past SARS-CoV-2 infection, presence of any comorbidity, previous receipt of influenza vaccine, and area-level sociodemographic variables.SARS-CoV-2 infectionRheumatoid arthritisFirst dose ≥14 days311/1801 ( 17·3%) 6005/17 393 ( 34·5%) 60% ( 55–65) 53% ( 45–59) Second dose ≥7 days244/1734 ( 14·1%) 14 330/25 718 ( 55·7%) 87% ( 85–89) 83% ( 80–86) Third dose ≥7 days7/1497 ( 0·5%) 453/11 841 ( 3·8%) 88% ( 75–94) 86% ( 70–94) Ankylosing spondylitisFirst dose ≥14 days62/421 ( 14·7%) 1074/3902 ( 27·5%) 55% ( 40–66) 49% ( 30–63) Second dose ≥7 days37/396 ( 9·3%) 2876/5704 ( 50·4%) 90% ( 86–93) 89% ( 83–93) Third dose ≥7 days < 6/361 ( < 1·7%) 89/2917 ( 3·1%) NR82% ( 20–96) PsoriasisFirst dose ≥14 days334/2655 ( 12·6%) 6548/23 586 ( 27·8%) 63% ( 58–67) 55% ( 48–60) Second dose ≥7 days314/2635 ( 11·9%) 17 230/34 268 ( 50·3%) 87% ( 85–88) 84% ( 81–86) Third dose ≥7 days < 6/2322 ( < 0·3%) 245/17 283 ( 1·4%) NR96% ( 72–99) Inflammatory bowel diseaseFirst dose ≥14 days202/1400 ( 14·4%) 4570/15 907 ( 28·7%) 58% ( 51–64) 49% ( 40–57) Second dose ≥7 days231/1429 ( 16·2%) 11 560/22 897 ( 50·5%) 81% ( 78–84) 79% ( 74–82) Third dose ≥7 days7/1205 ( 0·6%) 300/11 637 ( 2·6%) 78% ( 53–90) 76% ( 47–89) Severe outcomesRheumatoid arthritisFirst dose ≥14 days53/305 ( 17·4%) 6005/17 393 ( 34·5%) 60% ( 46–70) 74% ( 63–81) Second dose ≥7 days35/287 ( 12·2%) 14 330/25 718 ( 55·7%) 89% ( 84–92) 92% ( 88–95) Third dose ≥7 days < 6/254 ( < 2·4%) 453/11 841 ( 3·8%) NR88% ( 48–97) Ankylosing spondylitisFirst dose ≥14 days6/46 ( 13·0%) 1074/3902 ( 27·5%) 61% ( 7–83) 76% ( 35–91) Second dose ≥7 days < 6/42 ( < 14·3%) 2876/5704 ( 50·4%) NR97% ( 83–99) Third dose ≥7 days < 6/41 ( < 14·6%) 89/2917 ( 3·1%) NRNR†Not reported due to extremely imprecise 95% confidence intervals due to near zero exposures among test-positive cases.PsoriasisFirst dose ≥14 days37/269 ( 13·8%) 6548/23 586 ( 27·8%) 59% ( 41–71) 72% ( 59–82) Second dose ≥7 days25/257 ( 9·7%) 17 230/34 268 ( 50·3%) 89% ( 84–93) 92% ( 86–95) Third dose ≥7 days < 6/232 ( < 2·6%) 245/17 283 ( 1·4%) NRNR†Not reported due to extremely imprecise 95% confidence intervals due to near zero exposures among test-positive cases.Inflammatory bowel diseaseFirst dose ≥14 days30/173 ( 17·3%) 4570/15 907 ( 28·7%) 48% ( 23–65) 65% ( 44–78) Second dose ≥7 days14/157 ( 8·9%) 11 560/22 897 ( 50·5%) 90% ( 83–94) 94% ( 88–97) Third dose ≥7 days < 6/145 ( < 4·1%) 300/11 637 ( 2·6%) NRNR†Not reported due to extremely imprecise 95% confidence intervals due to near zero exposures among test-positive cases.Data are n/N (%), where n is number vaccinated, and N is total cases, unless otherwise stated. Exact patient numbers and unadjusted vaccine estimates can not be provided for groups containing fewer than six patients to maintain patient anonymity. Vaccine effectiveness is ( 1 – odds ratio) × 100%. Severe outcome is defined as hospitalisation or death attributed to SARS-CoV-2 infection. NR=not reportable. * Adjusted for age, sex, region, biweekly period of test, number of previous SARS-CoV-2 tests, past SARS-CoV-2 infection, presence of any comorbidity, previous receipt of influenza vaccine, and area-level sociodemographic variables.† Not reported due to extremely imprecise 95% confidence intervals due to near zero exposures among test-positive cases. Open table in a new tab FigureUnadjusted ( A) and adjusted * ( B) vaccine effectiveness against SARS-CoV-2 infection by time since second dose for those tested for SARS-CoV-2 between March 1 and Nov 22, 2021Show full captionDatapoints are vaccine effectiveness, with whiskers showing 95% CIs. * Adjusted for age, sex, region, biweekly period of test, number of previous SARS-CoV-2 tests, past SARS-CoV-2 infection, presence of any comorbidity, previous receipt of influenza vaccine, and area-level sociodemographic variables.View Large Image Figure ViewerDownload Hi-res image Download ( PPT)
Data are n/N (%), where n is number vaccinated, and N is total cases, unless otherwise stated. Exact patient numbers and unadjusted vaccine estimates can not be provided for groups containing fewer than six patients to maintain patient anonymity. Vaccine effectiveness is ( 1 – odds ratio) × 100%. Severe outcome is defined as hospitalisation or death attributed to SARS-CoV-2 infection. NR=not reportable.
Datapoints are vaccine effectiveness, with whiskers showing 95% CIs. * Adjusted for age, sex, region, biweekly period of test, number of previous SARS-CoV-2 tests, past SARS-CoV-2 infection, presence of any comorbidity, previous receipt of influenza vaccine, and area-level sociodemographic variables.
Across all four immune-mediated inflammatory disease groups, adjusted vaccine effectiveness estimates against SARS-CoV-2 infection were higher for mRNA-1273 than for BNT162b2 after one and two doses ( appendix p 18). Estimates for vaccine effectiveness after three doses could not be precisely determined and so are not presented here.
For rheumatoid arthritis, among 2127 test-positive cases, 352 ( 16·5%) had a severe outcome including 16 ( 0·8%) deaths attributed to COVID-19. For ankylosing spondylitis, among 476 test-positive cases, 50 ( 10·5%) had a severe outcome. For psoriasis, among 3089 test-positive cases, 298 ( 9·6%) had a severe outcome, of whom 13 ( 0·4%) died. For inflammatory bowel disease, among 1702 test-positive cases, 196 ( 11·5%) had a severe outcome. Fewer than six patients died in each group of ankylosing spondylitis and inflammatory bowel disease; therefore, we can not report the exact numbers due to privacy protection regulations.
Adjusted vaccine effectiveness of two doses against severe outcome was high across all four immune-mediated inflammatory disease groups: 92% ( 95% CI 88–95) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, 97% ( 83–99) in patients with ankylosing spondylitis, 92% ( 86–95) in patients with psoriasis, and 94% ( 88–97) in patients with inflammatory bowel disease ( table 3). Among test-positive patients who had a severe outcome, there were too few patients who had received three doses of vaccine to precisely estimate vaccine effectiveness for patients with ankylosing spondylitis, psoriasis, and inflammatory bowel disease.
The assessment of potential selection bias through the sensitivity analysis did not change study findings ( data not shown).
Over a 9 month period in 2021, we assessed the initial vaccine effectiveness of mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, psoriasis, and inflammatory bowel disease. We found high ( 92–97%) adjusted vaccine effectiveness of two doses of an mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines ( BNT162b2 or mRNA-1273) against severe COVID-19 outcomes compared with unvaccinated patients. Although vaccine effectiveness estimates against infection were lower than for severe outcomes, COVID-19 vaccines still offered very good protection against infection during the study period. For second doses, adjusted vaccine effectiveness against infection peaked at 31–60 days after vaccination ( 82–92%) and waned with each additional month but rebounded for those who received three doses. Because administration of third doses only commenced on Sept 14, 2021, in Ontario, Canada, and our study accrual period was only up to Nov 22, 2021, we were unable to assess waning of third dose effectiveness in this study.
We found high vaccine effectiveness against severe outcomes in individuals with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases that are similar to those found in the larger general population in Ontario.1Nasreen S Chung H He S et al.Effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines against symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection and severe outcomes with variants of concern in Ontario.Nat Microbiol. 2022; 7: 379-385Google Scholar, 2Chung H He S Nasreen S et al.Effectiveness of BNT162b2 and mRNA-1273 COVID-19 vaccines against symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection and severe COVID-19 outcomes in Ontario, Canada: test negative design study.BMJ. 2021; 374n1943Google Scholar, 3Buchan SA Chung H Brown KA et al.Effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines against omicron or delta symptomatic infection and severe outcomes.medRxiv. 2022; ( published online on Jan 28.) ( preprint).https: //doi.org/10.1101/2021.12.30.21268565Google Scholar However, vaccine effectiveness against infection among people with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases was slightly lower than that estimated for the general population, which was estimated to be above 90% for symptomatic infection shortly after two doses of vaccine ( and rebound to > 90% after a third dose) during a similar study time frame.1Nasreen S Chung H He S et al.Effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines against symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection and severe outcomes with variants of concern in Ontario.Nat Microbiol. 2022; 7: 379-385Google Scholar, 3Buchan SA Chung H Brown KA et al.Effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines against omicron or delta symptomatic infection and severe outcomes.medRxiv. 2022; ( published online on Jan 28.) ( preprint).https: //doi.org/10.1101/2021.12.30.21268565Google Scholar We were unable to estimate vaccine effectiveness for symptomatic infection, which might also explain differences in estimates of vaccine effectiveness compared with the general population. Possibly the increased age, altered immune response, high burden of comorbidities, and use of immunosuppressant therapy in people with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases reduces vaccine effectiveness against infection.6Eder L Croxford R Drucker AM et al.COVID-19 hospitalizations, intensive care unit stays, ventilation and death among patients with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases compared to controls.J Rheumatol. 2022; ( publsihed online Feb 1.) https: //doi.org/10.3899/jrheum.211012Google Scholar, 9Sparks JA Wallace ZS Seet AM et al.Associations of baseline use of biologic or targeted synthetic DMARDs with COVID-19 severity in rheumatoid arthritis: results from the COVID-19 Global Rheumatology Alliance physician registry.Ann Rheum Dis. 2021; 80: 1137-1146Google Scholar, 30Gianfrancesco M Hyrich KL Al-Adely S et al.Characteristics associated with hospitalisation for COVID-19 in people with rheumatic disease: data from the COVID-19 Global Rheumatology Alliance physician-reported registry.Ann Rheum Dis. 2020; 79: 859-866Google Scholar People with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases might also be more likely to get tested for SARS-CoV-2 infection than people in the general population because they know they are more clinically vulnerable, leading to higher detection of infections than in the general population.
Estimates of COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness against infection and seroconversion rates are generally lower in people with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases than in the general population.11Di Fusco M Lin J Vaghela S et al.COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness among immunocompromised populations: a targeted literature review of real-world studies.Expert Rev Vaccines. 2022; ( published online Feb 3.) https: //doi.org/10.1080/14760584.2022.2035222Google Scholar, 12Whitaker HJ Tsang RS Byford R et al.Pfizer-BioNTech and Oxford AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness and immune response among individuals in clinical risk groups.J Infect. 2022; ( published online Jan 3.) https: //doi.org/10.1016/j.jinf.2021.12.044Google Scholar, 31Khan N Mahmud N Effectiveness of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in a veterans affairs cohort of patients with inflammatory bowel disease with diverse exposure to immunosuppressive medications.Gastroenterology. 2021; 161: 827-836Google Scholar, 32Yelin I Katz R Herzel E et al.Associations of the BNT162b2 COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness with patient age and comorbidities.medRxiv. 2021; ( Published online May 24.) ( preprint).https: //doi.org/10.1101/2021.03.16.21253686Google Scholar, 33Ben-Tov A Banon T Chodick G Kariv R Assa A Gazit S BNT162b2 messenger RNA COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness in patients with inflammatory bowel disease: preliminary real-world data during mass vaccination campaign.Gastroenterology. 2021; 161: 1715-1717Google Scholar, 34Hadi YB Thakkar S Shah-Khan SM Hutson W Sarwari A Singh S COVID-19 vaccination is safe and effective in patients with inflammatory bowel disease: analysis of a large multi-institutional research network in the United States.Gastroenterology. 2021; 161: 1336-1339Google Scholar Two systematic reviews reported that immunocompromised groups, including people with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases, had lower seroconversion and antibody titres after first and second doses of COVID-19 vaccines than did immunocompetent controls.11Di Fusco M Lin J Vaghela S et al.COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness among immunocompromised populations: a targeted literature review of real-world studies.Expert Rev Vaccines. 2022; ( published online Feb 3.) https: //doi.org/10.1080/14760584.2022.2035222Google Scholar, 35Lee ARYB Wong SY Chai LYA et al.Efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines in immunocompromised patients: systematic review and meta-analysis.BMJ. 2022; 376e068632Google Scholar Studies have also found that additional doses of vaccine and temporary discontinuation of immunosuppressant therapy might improve immunogenicity.10Furer V Eviatar T Zisman D et al.Immunogenicity and safety of the BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccine in adult patients with autoimmune inflammatory rheumatic diseases and in the general population: a multicentre study.Ann Rheum Dis. 2021; 80: 1330-1338Google Scholar, 13Schmiedeberg K Vuilleumier N Pagano S et al.Efficacy and tolerability of a third dose of an mRNA anti-SARS-CoV-2 vaccine in patients with rheumatoid arthritis with absent or minimal serological response to two previous doses.Lancet Rheumatol. 2022; 4: e11-e13Google Scholar, 14Rubbert-Roth A Vuilleumier N Ludewig B Schmiedeberg K Haller C von Kempis J Anti-SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.Lancet Rheumatol. 2021; 3: e470-e472Google Scholar Thus, the reduced immune response to COVID-19 vaccines that has been observed in clinical studies is probably translates to slightly lower vaccine effectiveness in the larger population of people with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases, as we found in our study. We also found that adjusted vaccine effectiveness estimates against SARS-CoV-2 infection were generally higher for mRNA-1273 than for BNT162b2, for both one and two doses; a finding that has been signalled in other studies1Nasreen S Chung H He S et al.Effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines against symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection and severe outcomes with variants of concern in Ontario.Nat Microbiol. 2022; 7: 379-385Google Scholar, 36Dickerman BA Gerlovin H Madenci AL et al.Comparative effectiveness of BNT162b2 and mRNA-1273 vaccines in U.S. Veterans.N Engl J Med. 2022; 386: 105-115Google Scholar and is potentially a result in differences in the mRNA content and higher dose of mRNA-1273 than BNT162b2.
By linking a centralised vaccine registry with laboratory and health administrative data, we created large cohorts to study vaccine effectiveness, overcoming the sample size challenges faced by clinical studies. We used a test-negative study design to enable us to do comparative assessments with the general population estimates of vaccine effectiveness from previous Ontario reports that used a similar protocol.1Nasreen S Chung H He S et al.Effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines against symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection and severe outcomes with variants of concern in Ontario.Nat Microbiol. 2022; 7: 379-385Google Scholar, 2Chung H He S Nasreen S et al.Effectiveness of BNT162b2 and mRNA-1273 COVID-19 vaccines against symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection and severe COVID-19 outcomes in Ontario, Canada: test negative design study.BMJ. 2021; 374n1943Google Scholar, 3Buchan SA Chung H Brown KA et al.Effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines against omicron or delta symptomatic infection and severe outcomes.medRxiv. 2022; ( published online on Jan 28.) ( preprint).https: //doi.org/10.1101/2021.12.30.21268565Google Scholar The test-negative design in traditional case-control studies is purported to reduce selection bias associated with differential health care-seeking behaviour between cases and controls, and reduce misclassification of cases,37Sullivan SG Tchetgen Tchetgen EJ Cowling BJ Theoretical basis of the test-negative study design for assessment of influenza vaccine effectiveness.Am J Epidemiol. 2016; 184: 345-353Google Scholar, 38De Serres G Skowronski DM Wu XW Ambrose CS The test-negative design: validity, accuracy and precision of vaccine efficacy estimates compared to the gold standard of randomised placebo-controlled clinical trials.Euro Surveill. 2013; 1820585Google Scholar, 39Dean NE Hogan JW Schnitzer ME COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness and the test-negative design.N Engl J Med. 2021; 385: 1431-1433Google Scholar resulting in comparable estimates with those of case-control and cohort studies ( although all might underestimate true vaccine effectiveness) and randomised controlled trials.38De Serres G Skowronski DM Wu XW Ambrose CS The test-negative design: validity, accuracy and precision of vaccine efficacy estimates compared to the gold standard of randomised placebo-controlled clinical trials.Euro Surveill. 2013; 1820585Google Scholar, 40Orenstein EW De Serres G Haber MJ et al.Methodologic issues regarding the use of three observational study designs to assess influenza vaccine effectiveness.Int J Epidemiol. 2007; 36: 623-631Google Scholar However, bias might still occur due to unmeasured differences between vaccinated and unvaccinated patients, and testing patterns might also differ between vaccinated and unvaccinated patients.
The preferred approach in test-negative designs is to sample patients who present for testing with symptomatic disease, otherwise including patients with asymptomatic disease can create a downward bias resulting in underestimation of vaccine effectiveness. Unfortunately, information on symptoms ( at the time of testing) was only available on a subset of patients and so we were unable to estimate vaccine effectiveness against symptomatic infection. This approach might have resulted in lower estimates of vaccine effectiveness for the outcome of infection than for the outcome of symptomatic infection.
Ontario's centralised vaccine registry minimised misclassification of vaccination status, and during our study period there were no changes in PCR testing eligibility. Even with the increased use of rapid antigen tests ( which were not captured in our datasets), all individuals who tested positive with rapid antigen tests were advised to obtain PCR tests for confirmation throughout our study period. The proportion of SARS-CoV-2 infections that are not confirmed by PCR is unclear; however, our estimates of vaccine effectiveness against severe outcomes are not biased by this uncertainty because, for this measure, all individuals would have received a PCR test upon hospital admission.
Another potential limitation of our study is misclassification error using administrative data to identify people with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases. Our immune-mediated inflammatory disease case definitions were previously validated by medical chart reviews, yielding high specificity ( approximately 99%) and positive predictive values ( rheumatoid arthritis: 78%, inflammatory bowel disease: 71–81%).20Eder L Widdifield J Rosen CF et al.Identifying and characterizing psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis patients in Ontario administrative data: a population-based study From 1991 to 2015.J Rheumatol. 2020; 47: 1644-1651Google Scholar, 22Benchimol EI Guttmann A Mack DR et al.Validation of international algorithms to identify adults with inflammatory bowel disease in health administrative data from Ontario, Canada.J Clin Epidemiol. 2014; 67: 887-896Google Scholar, 41Widdifield J Bombardier C Bernatsky S et al.An administrative data validation study of the accuracy of algorithms for identifying rheumatoid arthritis: the influence of the reference standard on algorithm performance.BMC Musculoskelet Disord. 2014; 15: 216Google Scholar Misclassified patients ( false positives) usually have a similar immune-mediated inflammatory disease diagnosis.20Eder L Widdifield J Rosen CF et al.Identifying and characterizing psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis patients in Ontario administrative data: a population-based study From 1991 to 2015.J Rheumatol. 2020; 47: 1644-1651Google Scholar, 21Widdifield J Bernatsky S Paterson JM et al.Accuracy of Canadian health administrative databases in identifying patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a validation study using the medical records of rheumatologists.Arthritis Care Res ( Hoboken). 2013; 65: 1582-1591Google Scholar Because of the population-based nature of our data, the patients with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases in our study encompass a wide spectrum of disease states that are likely to be highly generalisable to real-world populations across different settings; however, we were not able to assess phenotype, disease activity, or severity. Heterogeneity in vaccine effectiveness might exist across different risk groups, such as those receiving pharmacological therapy.9Sparks JA Wallace ZS Seet AM et al.Associations of baseline use of biologic or targeted synthetic DMARDs with COVID-19 severity in rheumatoid arthritis: results from the COVID-19 Global Rheumatology Alliance physician registry.Ann Rheum Dis. 2021; 80: 1137-1146Google Scholar, 30Gianfrancesco M Hyrich KL Al-Adely S et al.Characteristics associated with hospitalisation for COVID-19 in people with rheumatic disease: data from the COVID-19 Global Rheumatology Alliance physician-reported registry.Ann Rheum Dis. 2020; 79: 859-866Google Scholar, 42Geisen UM Berner DK Tran F et al.Immunogenicity and safety of anti-SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccines in patients with chronic inflammatory conditions and immunosuppressive therapy in a monocentric cohort.Ann Rheum Dis. 2021; 80: 1306-1311Google Scholar, 43Haberman RH Herati R Simon D et al.Methotrexate hampers immunogenicity to BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccine in immune-mediated inflammatory disease.Ann Rheum Dis. 2021; 80: 1339-1344Google Scholar, 44Bugatti S De Stefano L Balduzzi S et al.Methotrexate and glucocorticoids, but not anticytokine therapy, impair the immunogenicity of a single dose of the BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccine in patients with chronic inflammatory arthritis.Ann Rheum Dis. 2021; 80: 1635-1638Google Scholar, 45Simon D Tascilar K Fagni F et al.SARS-CoV-2 vaccination responses in untreated, conventionally treated and anticytokine-treated patients with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases.Ann Rheum Dis. 2021; 80: 1312-1316Google Scholar, 46Spiera R Jinich S Jannat-Khah D Rituximab, but not other antirheumatic therapies, is associated with impaired serological response to SARS- CoV-2 vaccination in patients with rheumatic diseases.Ann Rheum Dis. 2021; 80: 1357-1359Google Scholar, 47Shen C Risk M Schiopu E et al.Efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines in patients taking immunosuppressants.Ann Rheum Dis. 2022; ( published online Feb 23.) https: //doi.org/10.1136/annrheumdis-2021-222045Google Scholar, 48Mahil SK Bechman K Raharja A et al.The effect of methotrexate and targeted immunosuppression on humoral and cellular immune responses to the COVID-19 vaccine BNT162b2: a cohort study.Lancet Rheumatol. 2021; 3: e627-e637Google Scholar We did not assess the effects or control for immunosuppressant therapies because prescription drug data were limited to a subset of patients who qualify for the publicly funded drug programme in the province ( primarily those aged ≥65 years). Therefore, despite controlling for potential confounders, residual confounding might have affected our results.
Finally, we restricted our study period to predate the omicron SARS-CoV-2 variant for several methodological reasons. The omicron variant has shown differences in disease severity for both vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals within Canada49Ulloa AC Buchan SA Daneman N Brown KA Early estimates of SARS-CoV-2 omicron variant severity based on a matched cohort study, Ontario, Canada.medRxiv. 2022; ( published online Jan 2.) ( preprint).https: //doi.org/10.1101/2021.12.24.21268382Google Scholar and other countries,50Veneti L Bøås H Bråthen Kristoffersen A et al.Reduced risk of hospitalisation among reported COVID-19 cases infected with the SARS-CoV-2 omicron BA.1 variant compared with the delta variant, Norway, December 2021 to January 2022.Euro Surveill. 2022; 272200077Google Scholar, 51Bager P Wohlfahrt J Bhatt S et al.Reduced risk of hospitalisation associated with infection with SARS-CoV-2 omicron relative to delta: a Danish cohort study.SSRN. 2022; ( published online Jan 14.) ( preprint).https: //papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm? abstract id=4008930Google Scholar which could confound our results. Moreover, because of the high vaccine coverage in our population with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases by the time omicron was circulating17Widdifield J Eder L Chen S et al.COVID-19 vaccination uptake among individuals with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases in Ontario, Canada, between December 2020 and October 2021: a population-based analysis.J Rheumatol. 2022; ( published online Jan 15.) https: //doi.org/10.3899/jrheum.211148Google Scholar and strict public health measures among unvaccinated individuals, estimating vaccine effectiveness for only the initial part of the omicron wave could lead to downward bias. Although the dominant circulating variants of SARS-CoV-2 are changing over time, we postulated a priori that any differences observed ( comparing estimates of vaccine effectiveness within Ontario's population with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases within Ontario's general population1Nasreen S Chung H He S et al.Effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines against symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection and severe outcomes with variants of concern in Ontario.Nat Microbiol. 2022; 7: 379-385Google Scholar, 2Chung H He S Nasreen S et al.Effectiveness of BNT162b2 and mRNA-1273 COVID-19 vaccines against symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection and severe COVID-19 outcomes in Ontario, Canada: test negative design study.BMJ. 2021; 374n1943Google Scholar, 3Buchan SA Chung H Brown KA et al.Effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines against omicron or delta symptomatic infection and severe outcomes.medRxiv. 2022; ( published online on Jan 28.) ( preprint).https: //doi.org/10.1101/2021.12.30.21268565Google Scholar) will probably hold true for omicron and future variants. Early general population-based analyses ( up to Dec 26, 2021) from Ontario reported that vaccine effectiveness against infection with the omicron variant has been lower than that observed against infection with the delta variant, but still remains high against severe outcomes for omicron.3Buchan SA Chung H Brown KA et al.Effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines against omicron or delta symptomatic infection and severe outcomes.medRxiv. 2022; ( published online on Jan 28.) ( preprint).https: //doi.org/10.1101/2021.12.30.21268565Google Scholar Unfortunately, universal PCR testing in Ontario is no longer available, restricting our ability to replicate our analyses in Ontario's population with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases for the outcome of infection with the omicron variant.
In summary, between March and November, 2021, we estimated high vaccine effectiveness of mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines against severe outcomes and infection among individuals with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases. These findings are crucial to help these individuals, who were excluded from vaccine trials, make informed decisions about following vaccine recommendations and to inform future vaccine strategies. Future research is needed to understand how long effectiveness of three doses of these vaccines remains durable, particularly against emerging variants.
For more on ICES requirements for data access see www.ices.on.ca/DAS
For more on ICES requirements for data access see www.ices.on.ca/DAS
JW contributed to study design, data acquisition, statistical analysis, interpretation of data, manuscript writing, and is responsible for the overall content as guarantor. JCK contributed to study design, statistical analysis, interpretation of data, and manuscript editing. SC contributed to data acquisition, data preparation, statistical analysis, and manuscript editing. LE, EIB, GGK, CH, JAA-Z, and DL contributed to study design, interpretation of data, and manuscript editing. HC contributed to study design, data preparation, interpretation of data, and manuscript editing. SB contributed to study design, data acquisition, statistical analysis, interpretation of data, and manuscript editing. All authors had final responsibility for the decision to submit for publication. JW, SC, HC, and SB accessed and verified the underlying study data.
The study dataset is held securely in coded form at ICES. Although legal data sharing agreements between ICES and data providers ( eg, health-care organisations and governments) prohibit ICES from making the dataset publicly available, access might be granted to those who meet prespecified criteria for confidential access, available at www.ices.on.ca/DAS or via email ( [ email protected ]). The full dataset creation plan and underlying analytical code are available from the authors on request, understanding that the computer programs might rely on coding templates or macros that are unique to ICES and are therefore either inaccessible or require modification.
GGK has received honoraria for speaking or consultancy from AbbVie, Janssen, Pfizer, and Takeda; has received research support from Janssen, AbbVie, GlaxoSmithKline, Merck, Ferring, and Shire; has been a consultant for Gilead; and shares ownership of two patents ( Treatment of inflammatory disorders, autoimmune disease, and PBC, UTI Limited Partnership, assignee. patent WO2019046959A1. PCT/CA2018/051098. Sept 7, 2018). EIB has acted as a legal consultant for Hoffman La-Roche and Peabody & Arnold, and consultant for McKesson Canada for matters unrelated to a medication used to treat inflammatory bowel disease or COVID-19 ( ie, unrelated to the submitted work). LE reports grants from AbbVie, Novartis, UCB, Pfizer, and Eli Lilly. All other authors declare no competing interests.
This project was supported by funding from the Public Health Agency of Canada, through the Vaccine Surveillance Reference group and the COVID-19 Immunity Task Force. The views expressed here do not necessarily represent the views of the Public Health Agency of Canada. The study was supported by ICES ( formerly known as the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences), which is funded by the Ontario Ministry of Health ( MOH) and the Ministry of Long-Term Care ( MLTC). Parts of this material are based on data and information compiled and provided by the MOH, the Canadian Institute for Health Information, Cancer Care Ontario, Ontario Health, and Public Health Ontario ( case-level data from CCM and COVID-19 laboratory data). We thank the staff of Ontario's public health units who are responsible for COVID-19 case and contact management and data collection. We are grateful to the Ontario residents without whom this research would be impossible. The opinions, results, and conclusions reported in this Article are those of the authors and are independent of the data sources; no endorsement is intended or should be inferred. JW receives support from the Arthritis Society Stars Career Development Award. JCK is supported by Clinician-Scientist Award from the University of Toronto Department of Family and Community Medicine. LE is Canada research chair ( tier 2) in equity in care of rheumatic disorders. DL is the Mary Pack Chair in Rheumatology Research from the University of British Columbia and The Arthritis Society. EIB holds the Northbridge Financial Corporation Chair in Inflammatory Bowel Disease, a joint Hospital-University Chair between University of Toronto, The Hospital for Sick Children, and the SickKids Foundation. JAA-Z is the BC Lupus Society Research Scholar and the Walter and Marilyn Booth Research Scholar. SB is a James McGill Professor of Medicine.
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Effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccination in immune-mediated inflammatory diseasesThe rapid development of safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines was a hallmark achievement in the pandemic. However, patients with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases were excluded from vaccine clinical trials and might be vulnerable to SARS-CoV-2 breakthrough infection due to immunosuppression and altered immunity.1,2 Indeed, studies showed lower humoral responses after COVID-19 vaccination in these patients than in healthy controls.3,4 Although most patients who are immunosuppressed had only a slightly reduced humoral response after COVID-19 vaccination, some medications, such as B cell-depleting therapies, are associated with severely reduced response. Full-Text PDF | tech |
New Antiviral Nasal Spray Outperforms Current Antibody Treatments for COVID-19 and Its Variants in Mice | A new protein-based antiviral nasal spray developed by researchers at Northwestern University, University of Washington and Washington University at St. Louis is being advanced toward Phase I human clinical trials to treat COVID-19.
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.
CryoEM image of the novel coronavirus’ spike protein. Credit: Northwestern University/Washington University/University of Washington
The findings were published on April 12, 2022, 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.
CryoEM image of the novel coronavirus’ spike protein. From this top-down angle, you can see the three binding sites on the protein. Credit: Northwestern University/Washington University/University of Washington
“ 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.
Reference: “ Multivalent designed proteins neutralize SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern and confer protection against infection in mice ” by Andrew C. Hunt, James Brett Case, Young-Jun Park, Longxing Cao, Kejia Wu, Alexandra C. Walls, Zhuoming Liu, John E. Bowen, Hsien-Wei Yeh, Shally Saini, Louisa Helms, Yan Ting Zhao, Tien-Ying Hsiang, Tyler N. Starr, Inna Goreshnik, Lisa Kozodoy, Lauren Carter, Rashmi Ravichandran, Lydia B. Green, Wadim L. Matochko, Christy A. Thomson, Bastian Vögeli, Antje Krüger, Laura A. VanBlargan, Rita E. Chen, Baoling Ying, Adam L. Bailey, Natasha M. Kafai, Scott E. Boyken, Ajasja Ljubetic, Natasha Edman, George Ueda, Cameron M. Chow, Max Johnson, Amin Addetia, Mary Jane Navarro, Nuttada Panpradist, Michael Gale, Benjamin S. Freedman, Jesse D. Bloom, Hannele Ruohola-Baker, Sean P. J. Whelan, Lance Stewart, Michael S. Diamond, David Veesler, Michael C. Jewett and David Baker, 12 April 2022, Science Translational Medicine. DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.abn1252
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). | tech |
New Photocatalyst Antiviral Coating Effective Against Various COVID-19 Variants | Figure 1. The TiO2/CuxO coating inactivates viruses even under dark condition. Its antiviral activity is further enhanced by visible light irradiation. Credit: Ryuichi Nakano from Nara Medical University
Photocatalyst made using a combination of titanium dioxide ( TiO2) and copper oxide ( CuxO) nanoclusters inactivates various variant types of novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. Scientists in Nara Medical University, Kanagawa Institute of Industrial Science and Technology, and Tokyo Institute of Technology have developed this antiviral photocatalyst, in a recent breakthrough, which has been proven to be effective under both darkness and indoor light.
The novel coronavirus ( SARS-CoV-2), responsible for the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, has affected millions of people worldwide. The main transmission pathway of the virus is through droplets released by infected people into the air. Additionally, these droplets exist on various surfaces as well. Viral infections mainly occur in indoor environments where many people gather, Antiviral chemicals, such as alcohol and hydrogen peroxide, are often used to decontaminate regularly touched surfaces. These chemicals essentially render the virus inactive by breaking down their proteins. However, these chemicals are volatile in nature and, therefore evaporate away. As a result, the disinfection process has to be carried out regularly.
Now in a study published today ( April 14, 2022) in Scientific Reports, a research team of Nara Medical University, Kanagawa Institute of Industrial Science and Technology, and Tokyo Institute of Technology has developed a solid-state photocatalyst as an alternative defense against the virus. Unlike chemical disinfectants, solid-state coatings remain for a long time, and since the viral outbreak, have been the subject of intensive research around the world. Solid-state antiviral coatings have the advantage of being non-toxic, abundant, and chemically and thermally stable.
Figure 2. Small CuxO nanoclasters are grafted on TiO2 particles. Credit: Masahiro Miyauchi from Tokyo Institute of Technology
Many of these solid-state coatings use TiO2 photocatalysts that, when exposed to ultraviolet ( UV) light, cause oxidation reaction that can destroy organic matter like the spike proteins found on the surfaces of coronaviruses. However, these coatings are activated only when exposed to UV light, which is not present in typical indoor environments. In most of indoor environments, lightings are usually turned off in the night time, thus the antiviral material under dark condition is desired.
To get the coating to work under visible light as well dark conditions, the team has developed a composite consisting of TiO2 and CuxO nanoclusters ( Figure 2). CuxO nanoclusters are composed of a mixed valence number oxide, in which Cu ( I) and Cu ( II) species are present. The Cu ( II) species in CuxO contributes to the visible-light-driven photocatalysis reaction, whereas the Cu ( I) species plays a crucial role in denaturing virus proteins, thereby causing their inactivation under dark conditions.
By coating the CuxO/TiO2 powder on a glass, the team showed that it could inactivate even the highly virulent Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 as shown in Figure 1. The team has also confirmed the inactivation of Alfa, Beta, and Gamma variants by CuxO/TiO2 in addition to the wild type strain.
Figure 3. The TiO2/CuxO coating inactivates the virus by fragmenting and oxidizing spike proteins and RNAs of SARS-CoV-2. Credit: Ryuichi Nakano from Nara Medical University
The team carefully investigated the antiviral mechanism using sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis ( SDS-PAGE), ELISA assay, and RT-qPCR analysis. These analyses strongly suggest that the Cu ( I) species in CuxO denaturalizes spike proteins and also causes RNA fragmentation of SARS-CoV-2, even under dark condition ( Figure 3). Furthermore, white light irradiation causes the photocatalytic oxidation of the organic molecules of SARS-CoV-2. Based on this antiviral mechanism, the present antiviral material is not limited to a specific variant of the virus and will be effective to inactivate various types of a potential mutant strain.
White light illumination in the present study is usually used as an indoor light apparatus. This can make the CuxO/TiO2 photocatalyst very effective in reducing the risk of COVID-19 infection in indoor environments, which are usually subjected to both light and darkness periodically.
Hopefully, this study will take us one step closer to protecting ourselves better against the coronavirus, and adjusting to the post-COVID era.
Reference: “ Inactivation of Various Variant Types of SARS-CoV-2 by Indoor-light-sensitive TiO2-based Photocatalyst ” 14 April 2022, Scientific Reports. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-09402-7
A prefectural medical vocational school was established in Nara in April 1945 and was transformed into the predecessor of Nara Medical University in 1948. It was then reorganized into the present Nara Medical University in 1952. Nara Medical University College of Nursing was established in 1996, and it was re-organized as the Faculty of Nursing, School of Medicine, Nara Medical University in 2004. Since then, Nara Medical University has been steadily advancing as a medical university with the Faculty of Medicine and the Faculty of Nursing, School of Medicine.
Kanagawa Institute of Industrial Science and Technology ( “ KISTEC ”) is a local incorporated administrative agency established in April 2017. KISTEC has been founded by merger of public test and research institute Kanagawa Industrial Technology Center ( “ KITC ”) and public interest incorporated foundation Kanagawa Academy of Science and Technology ( “ KAST ”). We promote regional industry and science and technology, utilizing the mutual advantages of KITC’ s technical support capability and KAST’ s research and development capability. And we also try to make the residents’ lives more enriched, and to fulfill the needs of our users, with five main activities; “ Research and Development, ” “ Technical Support, ” “ Commercialization Support, ” “ Personnel Training ”, and “ Collaborative Network ”.
Tokyo Tech stands at the forefront of research and higher education as the leading university for science and technology in Japan. Tokyo Tech researchers excel in fields ranging from materials science to biology, computer science, and physics. Founded in 1881, Tokyo Tech hosts over 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students per year, who develop into scientific leaders and some of the most sought-after engineers in industry. Embodying the Japanese philosophy of “ monotsukuri, ” meaning “ technical ingenuity and innovation, ” the Tokyo Tech community strives to contribute to society through high-impact research. | tech |
KENYA: Mota-Engil and Harith concerned over their road contracts - 13/03/2020 - The Indian Ocean Newsletter | The World Bank's inspection panel has given itself an extra month to decide whether or not to launch an investigation into allegations of illegal expropriation against Mota-Engil in Uganda. [... ]
The Bretton Woods institution may order an inquiry into the circumstances of the expropriation of local residents living close to a stone quarry which Portugal's Mota-Engil had been intending to use for the reconstruction of the Tororo-Kamdini highway. [... ]
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President Uhuru Kenyatta is hoping to reassert his authority by ridding himself of ministers implicated in the scandal over the [... ]
The trip being planned by the Elysee to the Horn of Africa from 12 to 15 March will offer the French president Emmanuel Macron an opportunity to bolster France's presence in a number of strategically important business sectors. [... ]
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TANZANIA: LNG: Shell/Equinor fail to secure extension and lose rights | The new president has made developing the gas sector, largely ignored by her predecessor John Magufuli, a priority of her five-year term in office. [... ]
Operator in Tanzania of block 2 on which more than 20 trillion cubic feet ( tcf) have been discovered, the Norwegian major Equinor has decided to write down the book value of its Tanzanian assets by $ 982m. [... ]
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FRANCE/TANZANIA: Magufuli sends his foreign minister to Paris to drum up business | Having struggled to get the vast Sino-Tanzanian Bagamoyo project off the ground, Xi Jinping's diplomats see the change of administration in Dodoma as an opportunity to breathe life back into bilateral cooperation. [... ]
As the Agence Francaise de Dévelopement prepares to have its financial capacities increased by recently adopted development legislation, its head, Rémy Rioux, is putting his connections to work to convince African financial institutions to put greater emphasis on climate change in their development strategies. [... ]
The `` Africa agroecology initiative '' to be launched on 11 January in Paris by Emmanuel Macron, Mohamed Ould Ghazouani and Prince Charles has been put together behind the scenes by Geocoton's deputy general manager Karim Aït Talb and the lobbyist Hamza Hraoui, who have brought several leading agribusiness players on board. [... ]
France's ambassador in Yaoundé used to meet the Cameroonian president on a regular basis. But not any more. Here's why. [... ]
To lay the groundwork for its medical support to African states affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, the Elysée Palace has set up a coordination cell with eight hand-picked NGOs. [... ]
The trip being planned by the Elysee to the Horn of Africa from 12 to 15 March will offer the French president Emmanuel Macron an opportunity to bolster France's presence in a number of strategically important business sectors. [... ]
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TANZANIA: Frederik Grootendorst to champion Shell in talks with Magufuli | Operator in Tanzania of block 2 on which more than 20 trillion cubic feet ( tcf) have been discovered, the Norwegian major Equinor has decided to write down the book value of its Tanzanian assets by $ 982m. [... ]
President John Magufuli, apparently keen to leave his mark on the history of Tanzania, finally seems set on developing offshore gas and wants to talk with the frustrated majors who were awarded permits. [... ]
Equinor and Shell have no complaints about the way the Covid-19 pandemic has brought things to a standstill. It's given them time to change their teams in the hope of advancing offshore gas development at their own gentle pace. [... ]
As we revealed in October ( AEI 849), President John Magufuli [... ]
The Tanzanian president John Magufuli is keen to bring in fresh blood to grain traction on the country's LNG project [... ]
According to our sources, the ministry of energy sent out a letter in mid-September to the vast majority of oil [... ]
Even though big gas finds have recently been made in Tanzania’ s offshore, exploration in the country has ground to a halt. One reason, in addition to a fall in the gas price, is legislation introduced by the nationalist-minded government of [. [... ]
The Anglo-Dutch major Royal Dutch/Shell is expected to gain a prime position in Tanzania's gas sector, whether it be in the country's southern offshore or around Zanzibar. The reason is simple enough: the prospects arising out of its acquisition of [. [... ]
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TANZANIA: Magufuli snubbed by World Bank - 28/02/2020 - The Indian Ocean Newsletter | Chargé d'affaires Inmi Patterson has issued several alerts about Tanzania's management of the Covid-19 pandemic, incurring the wrath of Foreign Minister Palamagamba Kabudi. [... ]
Dismissed by President John Magufuli in 2016 as managing editor of Tanzania Standard Newspapers ( TSN) for incompetence and poor governance, [... ]
Dar es Salaam's regional commissioner, Paul Makonda, is currently feeling the force of President John Magufuli's displeasure after failing to [... ]
President John Magufuli has manufactured an image as a `` Mr Clean '' and the standard bearer of the anti-corruption drive, having [... ]
The Tanzanian president is reviewing the contracts signed by his predecessor with the Chinese. By doing so, he takes the risk of jeopardizing his ties with the Middle Kingdom. [... ]
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TANZANIA: Foreign diplomats irk John Magufuli - 27/12/2019 - The Indian Ocean Newsletter | Chargé d'affaires Inmi Patterson has issued several alerts about Tanzania's management of the Covid-19 pandemic, incurring the wrath of Foreign Minister Palamagamba Kabudi. [... ]
Experts on Africa, European civil servants and/or securocrats, the future ambassadors of the European Union ( EU) in Africa are a [... ]
The limited effectiveness of its costly election observation missions, the blocking of its flagship programme to repatriate migrants to Gambia and the expulsion of its heads of delegation from several countries are just some of the setbacks suffered of late [. [... ]
The head of the European Union ( EU) delegation in Dar es Salaam, Roeland van de Geer, has been asked by [... ]
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MADAGASCAR: Rajoelina's closest allies find Covid concoction hard to swallow | Malagasy President Andry Rajoelina is not giving up on the potion that he claims can cure and prevent Covid-19, and has ordered his new public relations advisor to restore its battered reputation. [... ]
Until recently, President Andry Rajoelina had long advocated using the `` national remedy '' of an Artemisia-based infusion to protect against and cure Covid-19. Madagascar's bigwigs, meanwhile, are doing all they can to vaccinate their families. [... ]
The deepening but largely unacknowledged rift between President Andry Rajoelina and his omnipresent advisor, the businessman Maminiaina Ravatomanga, is having repercussions on the country's entire political apparatus as well as on key pillars of the economy. [... ]
With its minister considering stepping down, the Madagascan army's support for Andry Rajoelina is waning even though it played a key role in his first election victory in 2009. [... ]
Naina Andriantsitohaina made cleaning up the city his campaign pledge. The presidential palace has obligingly helped by making a gift of waste disposal vehicles while the finance ministry has wiped out the municipal waste disposal company's debts. [... ]
Both Jesuits and FJKM Protestants have dismissed the Malagasy president's miraculous herbal remedy, a cure he is hoping will help him win back popularity. [... ]
Worried the country could be facing a deep social crisis, President Andry Rajoelina wants to whip the economy back into shape but he is having trouble convincing Madagascan businesses of his plan of attack. [... ]
The Madagascan government has become concerned about the economic consequences and the political instability that the lockdown could create. [... ]
The MMM has become the largest party in the government [... ]
Africa Intelligence uses cookies to provide reliable and secure features, measure and analyse website traffic and provide support to the website users.Apart from those essential for the proper operation of the website, you can choose which cookies you accept to have stored on your device.Either “ Accept and close ” to agree to all cookies or go to “ Manage cookies ” to review your options. You can change these settings at any time by going to our Cookie management page.
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TANZANIA: James Mataragio back in charge at TPDC ahead of next year's elections | After numerous false starts, the two majors hope the new administration in Dar es Salaam is finally ready to reach a compromise on the LNG train project. [... ]
The plan to build a pipeline from Tanzania's undeveloped gas reserves to the Kenyan port of Mombasa is highly contentious. [... ]
Equinor and Shell have no complaints about the way the Covid-19 pandemic has brought things to a standstill. It's given them time to change their teams in the hope of advancing offshore gas development at their own gentle pace. [... ]
The national Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation ( TPDC) is preparing for [... ]
Following the tribulations of Shell and Equinor ( AEI 832), it [... ]
The Anglo-Dutch major Royal Dutch/Shell is expected to gain a prime position in Tanzania's gas sector, whether it be in the country's southern offshore or around Zanzibar. The reason is simple enough: the prospects arising out of its acquisition of [. [... ]
The coming 12 months could well be lost for development of the giant gas reserves in Tanzania's waters. And the replacement of all senior government officials in the sector over the past three months won't facilitate communications between private companies [. [... ]
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Tech Down Sharply on Treasury Yield Concerns -- Tech Roundup | Shares of technology companies fell sharply amid concerns about rising Treasury yields.
Twitter shares were flat amid skepticism that Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk would succeed in closing a $ 43 billion offer to buy the social-media concern. The Wall Street Journal, citing a person familiar with the situation, reported that Twitter is weighing adopting a poison-pill defense to prevent Musk from amassing a larger stake than the roughly 9.1% chunk that he recently purchased, a tactic often used by corporate boards seeking to prevent a hostile takeover.
Musk has reportedly received offers of support from financiers for his bid, including debt financing from Wall Street bank Morgan Stanley. Musk also criticized the Securities and Exchange Commission, potentially jeopardizing a previous settlement with the agency.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, the world's largest contract chip maker, signaled that the global chip shortage was likely to continue, with tight production capacity for all types of chips it makes.
Amazon.com Chief Executive Andy Jassy, in his first shareholder letter as leader of the e-commerce giant, said he wants to improve worker safety and build on the innovations that have made Amazon one of the world's leading tech companies.
Shares of Chinese electric-vehicle makers have recovered from steep declines earlier this week, supported by expectations that Covid-19 restrictions would be eased and help the resumption of vehicle production and deliveries.
( END) Dow Jones Newswires
04-14-22 1745ET | business |
War prevention and mitigation are public health imperatives of our time | War has devastating immediate, long-term, and intergenerational-term impacts on health. Civilians, especially those who are internally displaced, disabled, living in poverty, children, and refugees bear the resulting disproportionate harm. The report ‘ health in conflict settings’ 1Thompson M. Kapila R. Conflict Settings: Leaving No One Behind. World Innovation Summit for Health, Doha, Qatar2018Google Scholar documents that 60% of chronically food-insecure and malnourished people globally, including 75% of all children with stunted growth, live in conflict-affected countries. Sub-Saharan Africa2Aucoin C. Less armed conflict but more political violence in Africa. https: //issafrica.org/iss-today/less-armed-conflict-but-more-political-violence-in-africa April 2017. Accessed 28 January 2022.Google Scholar,3Petrini B. The armed conflict survey 2021: the long aftermath of armed conflicts. ISS.org Sept 2021. https: //www.iiss.org/looks-strategic. Accessed 28 January 2022.Google Scholar and the Middle East3Petrini B. The armed conflict survey 2021: the long aftermath of armed conflicts. ISS.org Sept 2021. https: //www.iiss.org/looks-strategic. Accessed 28 January 2022.Google Scholar bear most of this burden, though other regions are not exempt. As a result, nations affected by conflict are less likely to meet the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The global arms trade that fuels these conflicts squanders vast resources that could sustain, rather than diminish, public health. For example, in 2020, weapons’ companies sold a US $ 531 billion worth of arms.4Stockholm International Peace Research Institute ( SIPRI). Business as usual? Arms sales of SIPRI Top 100 arms companies continue to grow amid pandemics. https: //www.sipri.org/media/press-release/2021/business-usual-arms-sales-sipri-top-100-arms-companies-continue-grow-amid-pandemic. Accessed 11 February 2022Google Scholar
Examples of the disturbing facets of armed conflict included the destruction of health facilities, and the displacement, arrest, abduction and killing of health and humanitarian aid workers. The impact of the destruction includes declines in health care delivery and life expectancy whilst increasing infectious disease burden, forced migration, extreme poverty, food insecurity, instability, and fear. Human capital is lost, and capacity building programs shattered. These multi-faceted outcomes are exacerbated by the weakened state of health care systems that typically are already fragile in conflict-affected states.5Rubenstein L. Perilous Medicine- The Struggle to Protect Health Care from the Violence of War. Columbia University Press, 2021Google Scholar
In the past year alone, the health system in the Tigray region of Ethiopia has been destroyed, hundreds of health workers have been arrested in Myanmar, and health facilities in Gaza Strip were once again seriously damaged. Similar destruction has been reported elsewhere, including in Yemen, Syria, Libya and Ukraine.
The ongoing war in Ethiopia, which began in November 2020, has brought a catastrophic humanitarian crisis to the Tigray region. A United Nations World Food Program6UN WFP Report 2022. Severe hunger tightens grip in Northern Ethiopia. https: //www.wfp.org/news/severe-hunger-tightens-grip-northern-ethiopia. Accessed 28 January 2022.Google Scholar report shows that ‘ almost 40% of Tigrayans are suffering from an extreme lack of food,7Mulugeta A. Gebregziabher M. Saving children from man-made acute malnutrition in Tigray, Ethiopia: a call to action.Lancet Glob Health. 2022; 4 ( Epub 2022 Feb 3. PMID: 35123671. https: //pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35123671/): e469-e470https: //doi.org/10.1016/S2214-109 ( 22) 00023-7Google Scholar after 15 months of conflict.’ More than 80% of hospitals and health facilities in Tigray have been looted and destroyed. Only 40 of 268 pre-war ambulances remain. At least 22 humanitarian aid and health workers have been killed; only 1300 of the more than 20,000 health care workers prior to the war in Tigray are reporting to their duties.8Gesesew H. Berhane K. Siraj E.S. et al.The impact of war on the health system of the Tigray region in Ethiopia: an assessment.BMJ Glob Health. 2021; 6e007328https: //doi.org/10.1136/bmjgh-2021-007328https: //gh.bmj.com/content/6/11/e007328Google Scholar An estimated at least 20,000 women and young girls have been raped by Eritrean and Ethiopian forces. Meanwhile, the Government deliberately blocked humanitarian aid that aimed to feed and provide life-saving services to the millions affected.
In Yemen, as a result of indiscriminate bombing and port blockades by Saudi Arabia led Coalition and attacks on health facilities by Ansar-Allah rebels and other warring parties, the health system has all but collapsed. Well over 50 hospitals were hit by airstrikes. As of December 2021, fewer than half of Yemen's health facilities were functioning, even as COVID-19 continued to spread; those that remained open lacked qualified staff, basic medication, and medical equipment and essential supplies.9World Health Organization, Yemen crisis overview. 2021. https: //www.who.int/emergencies/situations/yemen-crisis Accessed 9 February 2022.Google Scholar
Health professional groups have begun to recognize that it is essential to push for policies that contributes to the prevention of the public health crisis of war10APHA Policy Statement 20095. The role of public health practitioners, academics, and advocates in relation to armed conflict and war. Nov 2009. Accessed 28 January 2022.Google Scholar and to mitigate it's impacts, as stated by the World Medical Association in the document “ Regulations in times of armed conflict and other situations of violence, published in 2017. The time is overdue for health professional associations and schools of public health, medicine, nursing and others to recognize and prioritize war prevention and mitigations as essential to health education and practice.
We therefore call on the health community to:1.Promote concerted global action to stop and prevent wars and promote peaceful solutions to disputes within and among nations.2.Advocate for access to sufficient humanitarian aid to meet population needs in conflict zones and to mitigate the direct and indirect harms to healthcare delivery.3.Advocate for the full protection of health care personnel who are subject to violence and arrest and for the protection of health facilities during conflict.4.Conduct research that promotes prevention of conflict and contributes towards building of resilient health facilities and supporting infrastructure in conflict prone areas.5.Demand accountability and justice for war crimes, crimes against humanity and other violations of international humanitarian laws.6.Encourage medical and health associations and health policy makers to include war as a priority agenda.7.Push for public health, nursing and, medical schools to include peace building policies and practices in preservice curriculum.
Together, we can elevate the effects of war as a priority public health issue and shift to a more humane approach to political conflicts to preserve human rights, health and wellbeing.
The conceptualization was made by Mulugeta Gebregziabher, while the drafting, editing and final approval was made by Mulugeta Gebregziabher and his co-authors, Leonard Rubenstein, Pamela DeLargy, and Mukesh Kapila, and Aisha Jumaan. All the co-signers have edited and approved of the article though we could not include them as co-authors. All authors and co-signers approved the article.
We would like to acknowledge Chris Beyrer, MD, MPH, Johns Hopkins University, Evelyn Cherow, MA, MPA, GlobalPartnersUnited, Orsola Torrisi, MSc, London School of Economics and Political Science, Jan Nyssen, PhD, Ghent University, Ruvani W. Fonseka, PhD, MSW, MPH, San José State University School of Social Work, Andrew Flescher, PhD, Stony Brook University, Yara Asi, PhD, University of Central Florida, James Cochran, PhD, University of Alabama Tuscaloosa, Tony Magaña, MD, Mekelle University, Robert Gould, MD, University of California San Francisco, Hermes Florez, MD, PhD, MPH, Medical University of South Carolina, JacKetta Cobbs, PhD, MPH, Medical University of South Carolina, Hannah Silvia, CHES®, Medical University of South Carolina, Michael Sweat, PhD, Medical University of South Carolina, Christy Cassarly, PhD, Medical University of South Carolina, Patrice Sutton, MPH, The Peace Caucus in affiliation with the American Public Health Association, Jeff Korte, PhD, Medical University of South Carolina, Annie Cheney, MA, MPH, The Peace Caucus in affiliation with the American Public Health Association, John Vena, PhD, Medical University of South Carolina for reading and acknowledging the importance of our work. | tech |
TANZANIA: Maurel & Prom concerned about political climate - 25/01/2019 - The Indian Ocean Newsletter | Equinor and Shell have no complaints about the way the Covid-19 pandemic has brought things to a standstill. It's given them time to change their teams in the hope of advancing offshore gas development at their own gentle pace. [... ]
Three years after being suspended from his post over a [... ]
The talks struck up in early April between the Tanzanian [... ]
As Africa Energy Intelligence understands, it will be a veteran of Tanzania's ministry of energy, Norbert Kahyoza, who will handle [... ]
According to our information, Nehemiah Kyando Mchechu, the former managing director of the National Housing Corp ( NHC), recently learnt that [... ]
The Tanzanian president John Magufuli, aka Tinga Tinga ( bulldozer in Kiswahili), seems determined to rule his government with an iron [... ]
With a political environment unpropitious for investment in the gas sector, the two oil firms have lost nearly all of their rights after failing to secure extensions to their blocks. [... ]
Dar es Salaam's threats to do away with international arbitration could see the back of major oil & gas firms. [... ]
The Anglo-Dutch major Royal Dutch/Shell is expected to gain a prime position in Tanzania's gas sector, whether it be in the country's southern offshore or around Zanzibar. The reason is simple enough: the prospects arising out of its acquisition of [. [... ]
The Tanzanian authorities who are now sitting on reserves of over 40 trillion cubic feet of gas are posing exploration conditions that no private companies seem willing to accept. With a crucial presidential election set for next year, gas has [. [... ]
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Wells Fargo WFC earnings Q12022 | In this article
Wells Fargo on Thursday reported lower-than-expected first-quarter revenue amid a drop in mortgage lending, but beat earnings expectations as the bank decreased its credit reserves.
The company's shares closed 4.5% lower on Thursday.
Here are the numbers:
Profit dropped 20.8% from a year ago to $ 3.67 billion in the first quarter, Wells Fargo reported.
Slowing mortgage demand weighed on results as the Federal Reserve hikes interest rates to fight inflation and mortgage rates climb. Wells Fargo reported home lending fell 33% from the year prior.
`` The Federal Reserve has made it clear that it will take actions necessary to reduce inflation and this will certainly reduce economic growth, '' CEO Charlie Scharf said in a statement.
Wells Fargo's first-quarter results also come as Russia's invasion of Ukraine has injected volatility into financial markets and has raised concerns about global economic growth.
`` The war in Ukraine adds additional risk to the downside, '' Scharf added.
The bank's first-quarter earnings were helped by a decrease of $ 1.1 billion in allowances for credit losses. The reduction added 21 cents of profit per share, Wells Fargo said.
Wells Fargo in its statement said it released the funds set aside for potential losses due to `` reduced uncertainty around the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our loan portfolios, as well as a decrease in net charge-offs. ''
That contrasts with moves of rivals like JPMorgan Chase, which on Wednesday said it took a $ 902 million charge for building reserves for anticipated credit losses.
However, Wells Fargo warned more loan losses could be on the horizon.
`` While we will likely see an increase in credit losses from historical lows, we should be a net beneficiary as we will benefit from rising rates, we have a strong capital position, and our lower expense base creates greater margins from which to invest, '' Scharf said.
Unlike big bank peers with its sizeable Wall Street divisions, Wells Fargo is more focused on U.S. retail and commercial banking customers. Wall Street analysts expect Wells Fargo to be among the biggest beneficiaries of rising interest rates and a rebound in loan growth, forces that should boost the interest income it collects.
Average loans totaled $ 898 billion, up 3% from the year prior and about 3% from the fourth quarter, Wells Fargo reported.
Wells Fargo posted net interest income of $ 9.2 billion, roughly in line with the StreetAccount consensus estimate and about 5% higher than the year prior. Net interest income is the revenue from the bank's interest-bearing assets like loans and mortgages, minus what the bank pays out on deposits like savings accounts.
CFO Mike Santomassimo said the bank believes the mortgage market experienced its largest quarterly decline since 2003. Mortgage banking income totaled $ 693 million in the first quarter, down from $ 1.3 billion a year ago, Wells Fargo reported. Analysts surveyed by StreetAccount expected $ 880 million in mortgage banking income.
`` We expect second-quarter originations and margins to remain under pressure and mortgage banking revenue to continue to decline. We started to reduce expenses in response to the decline in volume and expect expenses will continue to decline throughout the year as excess capacity is removed and aligned to lower business activity, '' Santomassimo said on Wells Fargo's earnings call.
The bank still projects overall full-year expenses to come in at $ 51.5 billion, but noted operating losses can be challenging to predict.
Shares of Wells Fargo are down roughly 3% this year, the best showing among the six biggest U.S. banks, most of which have posted double-digit declines. For instance, JPMorgan shares have dropped about 20% this year.
Rival banks Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and Morgan Stanley also reported quarterly results Thursday.
Led by Scharf since October 2019, Wells Fargo is still operating under a series of consent orders tied to its 2016 fake accounts scandal, including one from the Fed that caps its asset growth.
Correction: Wells Fargo decreased its allowance for credit losses by $ 1.1 billion. An earlier version said it had set aside more money for credit losses. | business |
TANZANIA/BURUNDI: Government seeks to facilitate access to Burundi - 24/05/2019 - The Indian Ocean Newsletter | Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, Burundi's mining companies have been unable to export their production, as regularly closed borders make it impossible for them to reach the port in Dar es-Salaam. [... ]
In the hope of sorting out its unsustainable financial situation ( ION 1487), Jirama is seeking to revise its contracts with its suppliers ( ION 1493). But this has led to a standoff between the national electricity supplier and Jovena over the [. [... ]
The $ 192 million loan granted by the African Development Bank ( AfDB) on September 27 to national firm Rwanda Energy Group [... ]
Plans to link Lake Victoria to the Mediterranean with $ 12 billion of Egyptian money are fraying relations between member states [... ]
Excluded from the African Union for as long as Polisario remains a member, Rabat is endeavouring to gain sway over other Pan African organizations in a campaign headed by king Mohammed VI. The self-proclaimed hub of Europe-African business, Morocco notched [. [... ]
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High hopes but tempered expectations as CDC launches review of agency's structure and systems |
As a sweeping review of the nation's premier public health agency commences this week, interviews by CNN with more than a dozen people close to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reveal an agency in need of serious changes to make it more nimble and ready to respond to the next pandemic.
The experts -- current and former CDC staffers as well as outsiders who 've worked closely with the agency -- told CNN they hope the review could improve deep-seated problems that showed themselves in glaring ways during Covid-19, the worst pandemic in the United States in more than a century.
`` At the end of the day, the killer thing here for me is the layers, the bureaucracy, the clearance, the process -- it just takes way too much time during a crisis, especially when that crisis is moving at warp speed, '' a senior federal official said.
That official and others described an agency in which scientists are smart, dedicated and hardworking but often siloed and hyperfocused on their individual projects rather than the larger public health picture, working within an inflexible budget that's difficult to change quickly when a new pathogen emerges.
Last week, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky
announced
the review of the agency's `` structures, systems, and processes '' to be led by
Jim Macrae
, a longtime employee of the US Department of Health and Human Services, with input from three senior CDC leaders.
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Read More
`` At the conclusion of this collective effort, we will develop new systems and processes to deliver our science and program to the American people, along with a plan for how CDC should be structured to facilitate the public health work we do, '' Walensky wrote in an email to CDC staffers last week.
A senior CDC physician said the review would look at how the agency has handled the pandemic.
`` How do we take the lessons that we 've learned over the last two years and make sure that we don't make any mistakes again, and make sure that we apply them well? '' she asked. `` It feels like we should codify, formalize, understand lessons learned over the last period of time, things that we did well, things that presented challenges so that we can learn from them. ''
In response to a detailed list of questions, a CDC spokesperson sent CNN a statement that says, `` Beginning April 11, Jim Macrae began a month-long process to engage with our CDC community -- along with key external stakeholders -- to help modernize our processes around developing and deploying the agency's science. During this time, we will also conduct careful review of the agency's overall structure and operations to ensure we are positioned for the future of public health, with a strong focus on the agency's core capabilities -- data modernization, laboratory capacity, public health workforce, health equity, rapid response to disease outbreaks, and preparedness within the US and around the world.
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`` The work we do will not only inform what we can do during a pandemic, but also what we do during normal operations to ensure our science reaches the public in a timely and implementable manner. The strength of this agency comes from the people who work at CDC. Since the director's arrival, she has heard from many employees and external experts that they would like to see CDC build on its rich history and modernize for the world around us -- this effort will lean into the hard work of transforming CDC for the better. ''
Of the 16 people interviewed for this story, one is a senior federal official, one is a senior CDC official, and two are senior CDC physicians, and CNN granted those four anonymity given longstanding norms about government employees speaking to the media. The others were willing to be named: eight former senior-level CDC officials, including two past directors of the agency, and four outsiders who have worked with the CDC.
The senior CDC official said `` data collection '' for the review will take a month, and `` synthesizing it and determining what the plan is '' will take longer.
Whatever the timeline, a CDC review is clearly a complex undertaking, given the agency's size and the breadth of its mission.
`` It's really hard to slice and dice an organization like the CDC to get everything into alignment, '' said Dr. Nancy Cox, who served as chief of the CDC's influenza team from 1992 to 2014.
Still, she and others hope the review will be a starting point for finding solutions to problems, many of which have plagued the agency long before Covid-19.
1. Get CDC scientists out of their silos
The CDC is huge: 13,000 employees spread across campuses in nine states and Puerto Rico, working in more than 10 centers -- one for injury prevention, for example, and another for immunization and respiratory diseases.
`` CDC is notoriously siloed in its organization, '' said Dr. William Schaffner, a professor at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and a vaccine adviser to the CDC for 40 years. `` Everyone is so involved in their own matters that there is very little cross-fertilization and conversation. ''
`` They care about their little potted plant, if you will, their budget line, and not about the broader public health issue, '' said Dr. Tom Frieden, who served as director of the CDC from 2009 to 2017.
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Cultivating one's `` potted plant, '' as Frieden put it, might work when there's not an emergency, but he and others say it hinders the agency when it needs to move quickly.
`` I think [ the CDC ] is pretty good in peace time, '' said Andy Slavitt, who worked with the agency as temporary senior adviser to the White House's Covid-19 response team from January to June last year. But he said the agency needs `` a less contemplative, more practical approach during wartime. ''
Frieden and others recommended that the CDC send certain staffers to work in state or local health departments for a period of time because those offices are the ones that carry out much of the public health work during a crisis and receive about 70% of the CDC's domestic funding.
`` There are so few people who 've spent a lot of time in the state and local, especially local and city health departments [ and ] that's really quite a major issue, '' said Frieden, who was health commissioner for New York City before he became director of the CDC.
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Dr. Arthur Reingold, a former assistant chief of the CDC's Bacterial Special Pathogens Branch, agreed that sending CDC staff to local health departments was crucial.
`` I have worked in a local county health department. I have worked in a state health department. I have worked at CDC, '' Reingold said. `` Many of the people at the CDC, however smart they are, have never worked in a state or local health department. They 've grown up, if you will, with the best academic training, [ and ] they 've ended up at the CDC. They have expectations about state [ and ] local health department partners, but they have no experience working in those agencies and understanding the challenges and complexities that are there, and I think that perspective is badly needed. ''
The senior CDC official said agency officials do go out to work in health departments `` but not at the level that I think others would hope '' and that structural changes would have to be made to allow it to happen more often.
`` You can't just pluck an MD from here and stick them there, '' she said. `` We have to create a system to make this happen. ''
2. Practice for a pandemic
It was January 2007, and Dr. Stephen Redd, a retired rear admiral with the US Public Health Service, had never felt so grateful for an ice storm.
It was a CDC pandemic practice event, a military-like exercise in which, for 24 hours at the CDC's headquarters in Atlanta, hundreds of staffers pretended there was a pandemic and played out what needed to be done to stop the dangerous pathogen.
The exercise went so poorly that Redd said he was relieved when an ice storm forced everyone to go home and end the exercise early.
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`` You could kind of feel the wheels were coming off the car during [ the exercise ], '' he said. `` We were not ready. ''
When the ice storm hit, `` I remember thinking that was good that we were able to stop the exercise because it was about to blow up, '' added Redd, who worked at the CDC from 1985 to 2020 and served as the CDC's deputy director for public health service and implementation science.
There have been many more pandemic exercises since 2007, and the agency's readiness has improved over the years, Redd said. The senior CDC official said the exercises have continued during the pandemic.
Cox, the former CDC flu chief who spent nearly 40 years at the agency, said the exercises were helpful not just for the practice but also because they allowed managers like her to observe staffers and identify who worked well under pressure.
`` You have to have a clear idea of how people are going to behave under a lot of stress, because a pandemic, especially one like Covid, is extremely high-stress, '' she said. `` Some people simply don't work well under a lot of stress. You need to have a clear idea of how much of the firehose they can drink from. ''
3. Learn to 'keep it simple, stupid '
Improving the CDC's communications was high on the list of every one of the 16 experts interviewed for this story. They said the agency must learn how to communicate with real people -- not other doctors, not epidemiologists, not people with Ph.D.s in zoology or biostatistics, but real people.
A senior CDC physician said Walensky asked Macrae, the HHS official leading the review, to specifically address communications during the pandemic in his review.
`` How did we handle things? '' the physician asked.
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For the sources interviewed by CNN, the answer was not well.
The senior federal official gave the CDC a grade of `` D '' for its communication during the pandemic.
`` We weren't nearly as consistent as we needed to be in both the timing and the frequency of providing information that the public needed, '' the official said.
Several sources said it's ironic the CDC had messaging problems during Covid, given that the agency taught the world how to communicate during a pandemic.
Starting in 1996, the agency published what is now called ``
The CDC Field Epidemiology Manual
, '' which has a
chapter
on communicating during an outbreak. There's also the CDC's ``
Crisis and Emergency Risk Communications
`` manual, which was first publishsed in 2002.
`` It's so odd, because CDC literally wrote the book on how to communicate in a health emergency -- literally, '' said Frieden, the former CDC director.
`` I don't know what happened, '' added Dr. Sonja Rasmussen, co-editor of the field epidemiology manual, who worked at the CDC for 20 years, including as director of the Division of Public Health Information Dissemination.
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As an example of poor communication during Covid-19, a different senior CDC physician pointed to `` horrible '' CDC messaging to immune-compromised people about how many vaccine shots they need.
The doctor treats immune-compromised patients who `` didn't get it '' that they needed more shots than other people.
`` It was just sh * tty. I have all these immune-compromised patients, and they didn't understand it because we didn't do a good job communicating it, '' the physician said.
Many
pharmacies
also didn't understand the CDC's directive and turned away immune-compromised people who needed extra shots.
`` This was a good example where we needed a spokesperson who could be all over the media and be on webinars with pharmacy organizations and Walgreens and CVS and explain all of this over and over, '' the physician said.
When the CDC did communicate with immune-compromised people, it was often in technical and confusing language. In January, a CDC website for immune-compromised people stated, in part, `` After completing the primary series, some moderately or severely immunocompromised people should get an additional primary shot. Everyone 12 years and older, including immunocompromised people, should get a booster shot. If you are eligible for an additional primary shot, you should get this dose first before you get a booster shot. ''
Although that exact language is no longer on the
CDC's website
, it still contains references to technical terms and includes no fewer than six footnotes.
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`` There's this misunderstanding among CDC scientists sometimes that if ' I write a document and post it to the web, it will happen. ' That's called hubris, '' the doctor said.
The doctor added that CDC scientists are sometimes disdainful of simple messaging, even when it's effective.
`` The media is excellent at communicating messages to the public, but some of the scientists say those are dumbed down too much, and I say to them, follow the principles of KISS: Keep It Simple, Stupid, '' the physician said.
The senior CDC official said messaging on fourth shots `` is a very good example '' of agency communication that wasn't as good as it should have been.
`` That's exactly what I 'm talking about, which is, how do you translate science to practice? And I think that's an area where we're going to need some feedback and some recommendations of how we can do that better, '' she said.
4. The CDC needs to regain its voice
The federal official said the reason they gave the agency a D grade on communications is in large part because the White House, under both Biden and Trump, had a `` stranglehold '' on the CDC, making it difficult for the agency to communicate effectively.
Several sources said a glaring example of this stranglehold happened
August 18
, when President Biden announced that `` we 'll be ready to start '' booster shots the week of September 20, even though there had been no review -- or at least no publicly available review - of the science to see whether boosters even worked.
How protected are we against Covid-19? Scientists search for a test to measure immunity
Biden did preface the comment by saying that boosters would be made available `` pending approval from the Food and Drug Administration and the CDC's committee of outside experts, '' but sources for this story said it seemed clear the President was prejudging what the scientific data would show on the boosters. Less than two weeks later, two high-level FDA officials
announced
their retirement amid reports that agency scientists were angry about Biden's announcement.
The sources interviewed by CNN said they were concerned that incidents like this engendered mistrust among Americans who didn't like Biden to begin with -- and that this was exactly the group that was hesitant to get vaccinated.
They said Americans who don't trust the President would be more likely to listen to CDC scientists rather than to Dr. Anthony Fauci, Biden's chief medical adviser, or to Dr. Vivek Murthy, the surgeon general, who might be suspected as being too political.
`` Some messages are best heard not coming from the White House because a lot of the country isn't going to believe anything this White House says, '' Frieden said.
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`` As much as I admire both Tony and Vivek, they ought to sit down and be quiet, '' added Schaffner, the Vanderbilt infectious disease expert who has served on the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices since 1982.
Although Walensky appears frequently in public, it's often on short television segments, where there isn't enough time to explain the scientific reasoning behind public health decisions, or at White House briefings, which have the appearance of being political and might not engender trust.
The public has rarely heard about Covid-19 from CDC scientists besides Walensky, which is in stark contrast to other outbreaks and undercuts the agency's authority with the public, the sources said.
Dr. William Foege said that while he was CDC director from 1977 to 1983, his policy was to let scientists working under him speak directly with journalists.
`` I told them they can talk to journalists; they don't have to go through the front office, '' Foege said.
Traditionally during outbreaks, CDC directors and agency scientists have held regular media briefings that explained in detail the science and the agency's public health measures.
CDC estimates 140 million US Covid-19 infections
`` You do need very clear, frequent communications: Be first, be right, be credible, express empathy, promote action, show respect, '' Frieden said.
During the SARS outbreak of 2003, which resulted in zero US deaths, the CDC held 17 media briefings on the outbreak, according to CDC records. During the Ebola outbreak of 2014, which resulted in two US deaths, the CDC held 20 telebriefings on the virus. During the Zika outbreak, two years later, which resulted in two US deaths, the agency held 16 telebriefings.
But under the Biden administration, the CDC has held just nine media briefings on Covid-19. During that 16-month period, more than half a million people have died from the virus in the US.
Even at arguably its most contentious moment during the Biden presidency, the agency did not hold a briefing to explain its science. In December, Walensky announced new CDC guidelines to shorten the quarantine time for Covid-19, earning the agency severe -- and extremely rare --
rebukes
from the American Medical Association and others.
It's unclear why there have been relatively few briefings under the Biden administration -- whether it's been the CDC's choice or if it was done at the direction of the White House.
The US still isn't getting Covid-19 data right
When CNN asked the senior CDC official about the small number of briefings, she said that `` we 've heard this feedback loud and clear. ''
If the CDC had fewer briefings because of pressure from Washington, all the reviews in the world won't help, said Glen Nowak, a former communications specialist at CDC who co-authored the communications chapter of the CDC field manual.
`` You can change the structure all you want, but if at the end of the day CDC is always going to be overridden by HHS or the White House, I don't know that the organizational structure is going to matter much, '' said Nowak, who spent 14 years at the CDC, including six as the agency's director of media relations.
If the CDC has been under pressure from Washington, what could help is joining forces with medical organizations and other partners, said Dr. Walter Orenstein, who worked at the CDC for 26 years.
Orenstein was director of the CDC's National Immunization Program from 1988 to 2004, and he said when HHS tried to `` direct CDC '' to make certain decisions, he found it helpful to get groups like the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children's Defense Fund on his side.
`` No one wants to tick off the Children's Defense Fund, '' Orenstein said.
5. The CDC needs a more modern data system
Dr. Robert Redfield has been relatively quiet since leaving his position as CDC director under Trump, but last week, he said one sentence that resonated with the sources interviewed for this story.
`` I always thought it was bothersome that the data the nation used to track the epidemic was from a medical school rather than CDC, '' Redfield said at an event at the
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
.
Dr. Tom Frieden: Why I 'm cautiously optimistic about Covid-19
Redfield was referring to data from
Johns Hopkins University
tracking Covid-19 cases and deaths, which the media and others have often relied on instead of CDC data.
A senior CDC physician said Hopkins data was `` faster '' than CDC data because the university can `` webscrape '' -- take data from state, county and local websites -- but the CDC isn't allowed to do that.
`` We can't webscrape. We report [ data ] from the states, and the states gave it to us slowly, '' she said.
Beyond webscraping, there are concerns that the CDC's data infrastructure is in serious need of modernizing.
The senior CDC official said the agency is making efforts `` to move data collection to the cloud '' so that it could be more `` interoperable. ''
Tempering expectations for the review
During the measles outbreak of 2018, when anti-vaxxers were spreading lies to the Orthodox Jewish community, the CDC turned to Shoshana Bernstein, a pro-vaccine activist in the religious community in Monsey, New York.
The CDC staffers flew from Atlanta and met with Bernstein, who shared ideas about educational videos and publications that could help turn the tide.
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`` The impression I got was that everyone was committed and dedicated to public health, '' she said. `` I can't stress this enough: They were wonderful people and kind and caring. They were public servants. They were not just there to collect a paycheck. ''
Bernstein said the CDC staffers were enthusiastic and followed up with emails. But then, to her surprise, it became clear there wasn't CDC funding readily available to make the videos or the publications she 'd suggested, even though measles was raging in her community and the projects were small and relatively inexpensive.
`` It was such a disconnect. They were so dedicated and committed and compassionate about public health, but there was so much red tape and processes that there didn't seem to be a structure for pivoting from 'that's a great idea ' to actually making it happen, '' Bernstein said.
Bernstein said to her great surprise, the CDC asked her if she had any ideas for where to get money to fund the pro-vaccine educational projects.
`` I was like, 'wait, aren't you the CDC? Aren't you this giant agency with a huge budget, and you're asking me for help finding money? ' `` Bernstein said.
Bernstein ran into what former CDC director Frieden calls `` inflexible funding, '' where the director can not easily move funds around when a new public health threat emerges.
`` When Ebola hit, it happened to be at the end of a fiscal year, and we literally didn't have enough money to buy plane tickets for staff. We had to borrow $ 3 million from another agency, '' Frieden said. `` When I was New York City health commissioner, I had 20 times more flexible funds than I had as CDC director. ''
Despite efforts by the CDC, that hasn't changed since Frieden left the agency five years ago.
`` That's an unfortunate part of the CDC budget, '' the current CDC senior official said. `` In the 150-plus individual disease and risk factor specific lines, [ it ] leaves minimal to no flexibility throughout the year to respond to public health emergencies. ''
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Because of this inflexibility, Frieden and others tempered expectations about what a review of the CDC's internal processes and structures could accomplish.
`` I think it's important that there not be the impression that structural changes alone are going to make a big difference in some of the big problems, because they won't be sufficient, '' he said.
One of the CDC senior physicians said she wanted to `` set the stage for managing expectations '' about what the review will accomplish.
Anyone who thinks the review is `` going to fix all the problems the CDC had and public health had, I think, is not sort of seeing the forest for the trees, '' she said. | general |
Keeping warming below 2 C still feasible if nations keep promises, study shows | Paris – If all nations honor promises to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, there is a chance of capping the rise in global temperatures to under 2 degrees Celsius, the cornerstone target of the Paris Agreement, researchers said Wednesday.
But that is a very big “ if, ” they acknowledge in a peer-reviewed study, published in Nature.
The calculus includes not only carbon-cutting commitments officially registered under the 2015 treaty, but a raft of pledges made on the sidelines of last year’ s COP26 U.N. climate summit in Glasgow — to curb deforestation and methane leaks, for example — that lack a means for monitoring or verification.
They also include actions to lower emissions in developing countries that are contingent on financing, something wealthy nations have so far failed to deliver at agreed-upon levels.
Similarly, the new estimates fold in pledges to become carbon neutral by mid-century that do not detail how that will be achieved.
“ Long-term targets should be treated with skepticism if they are not supported by short-term commitments to put countries on a pathway in the next decade to meet those targets, ” said Zeke Hausfather, a researcher at Berkeley Earth, commenting on the study.
Most rich countries have announced that they will achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, while China and India have vowed to reach that point by 2060 and 2070, respectively.
“ Is our study a good news story? ” asked lead author Malte Meinshausen, a professor at the University of Melbourne, in a briefing with journalists. “ Yes, because for the first time we can possibly keep warming below the symbolic 2 C mark with promises on the table, ” he continued.
“ And no, because we show clearly that increased action this decade is necessary for us to have a chance of not shooting past 1.5 C by a large margin. ”
As deadly and costly climate impacts have increased, most nations have embraced the Paris deal’ s more ambitious “ aspirational ” target of holding the rise in global temperatures to 1.5 C above preindustrial levels.
The U.N.’ s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ( IPCC) wrote in a landmark report earlier this month that carbon pollution must peak before 2025 and be cut in half by 2030 to have even a chance of reaching that goal.
Recent trends do not suggest the world is headed in the right direction: Greenhouse gas emissions last year revisited the record levels of 2019 after COVID-19 lockdowns had lowered them in 2020.
“ Some government and business leaders are saying one thing — but doing another, ” U.N. chief Antonio Guterres said last week when the IPCC report was launched. “ Simply put, they are lying. ”
The new research analyses data from 196 countries, from 2015 until the end of the COP26 meeting in mid-November 2021. It concludes that if all pledges are implemented in full and on time, warming can be limited to between 1.9 C and 2.0 C.
Unless immediate steps are taken to drive down emissions even further, 1.5 C will almost certainly remain out of reach, the authors said.
If no additional efforts are made beyond the pledges — know as nationally determined contributions — submitted under the Paris Agreement, the Earth’ s surface will warm to a catastrophic 2.8 C, the IPCC has said.
“ Optimism should be curbed until promises to reduce emissions in the future are backed up with stronger short-term action, ” said Hausfather and Frances Moore, a scientist at the University of California, Davis, in a comment, also in Nature. | tech |
China hesitates on bailing out Sri Lanka and Pakistan as debt soars | Over the past few years, the U.S. has accused China of using “ debt diplomacy ” to make developing nations across the world more dependent on Beijing.
Yet the cases of Sri Lanka and Pakistan — both friends of China facing dire financial situations as inflation soars — show that Chinese President Xi Jinping’ s government is becoming more reluctant to pull out the checkbook. China still hasn’ t made good on a pledge to re-issue loans totaling $ 4 billion ( ¥501.26 billion) that Pakistan repaid in late March, and it hasn’ t responded to Sri Lanka’ s plea for $ 2.5 billion in credit support.
While China has pledged to help both countries, the more cautious approach reflects both a refining of Xi’ s signature Belt and Road Initiative as well as a hesitancy to be seen interfering in messy domestic political situations. Pakistan got a new prime minister on Monday after parliament booted out former cricket star Imran Khan, and Sri Lanka’ s leader is facing pressure from protesters to step down.
“ Beijing has for the past couple of years been rethinking its external lending because their banks realized they were carrying a lot of debt with countries whose prospects of paying back were quite limited, ” said Raffaello Pantucci, a senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Nanyang Technological University. “ This came on top of a tightening economic situation at home which also required a lot of spending, so there was less appetite to just throw money around wantonly. ”
China is currently facing its own economic troubles, with lockdowns to contain the country’ s worst COVID-19 outbreak since early 2020 shutting down the financial and technology hubs of Shanghai and Shenzhen. Premier Li Keqiang on Monday told local authorities they should “ add a sense of urgency ” when implementing policies as analysts warn the official growth target of a 5.5% is now in jeopardy.
Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan arrives to address his first public gathering after being ousted from the parliament, in Peshawar, Pakistan, on Wednesday. | REUTERS
China has become the world’ s largest government creditor over the past decade, with its state-owned policy banks lending more to developing countries than the International Monetary Fund or the World Bank in recent years. The opacity around the terms and scale of some of that lending has been criticized, especially as the pandemic exacerbates debt problems in poorer countries.
Sri Lanka was downgraded deeper into junk by Fitch Ratings, which said on Wednesday the nation’ s decision to suspend payments on its foreign debt has kicked off a sovereign default process. S & P said Sri Lanka’ s next interest payments are due on April 18 and the failure to cover them will likely result in default, as would an outright debt restructuring.
Sri Lanka’ s top diplomat in Beijing this week said he was “ very confident ” that China will come through with credit support, including $ 1 billion for the country to repay existing Chinese loans due in July. In an interview with Bloomberg, Ambassador Palitha Kohona said the process often takes months and he didn’ t see any delay.
“ Given the current circumstances, there aren’ t that many countries that can step out to the pitch and do something, ” he said. “ China is one of those countries that can do something very quickly. ”
Still, China’ s role in helping to resolve ongoing crises in South Asia may be limited despite its status as a major creditor. A Shanghai-based scholar who researches China’ s overseas lending said new credit lines are harder to approve as authorities emphasize risk management at financial institutions including policy banks. The scholar asked not to be named due to rules for speaking with the media.
Xi highlighted the importance of a more cautious approach at a high-level Belt and Road symposium in November. “ It is necessary to implement risk prevention and control systems, ” Xi said. He called on participants to make “ small but beautiful ” projects a priority for foreign cooperation and “ avoid dangerous and chaotic places. ”
Earlier this month, Jin Liqun, president of the China-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, encouraged Sri Lanka to turn to the IMF for help in a meeting with Kohona.
The most “ burdensome debt ” in terms of maturity and rates is typically owed to international sovereign bonds, mostly private market participants, according to Meg Rithmire, an associate professor at Harvard Business School who specializes in comparative political development in Asia and China. Therefore, many in China view Beijing as being “ unfairly blamed ” for the fiscal choices made by political leaders in other countries, she said.
“ China is wary of its actions being misinterpreted or backfiring, and is, I think, waiting to see what efforts other actors, like the international financial institutions, can undertake before it jumps in to offer credit support, ” Rithmire said.
China’ s development banks are acting to preserve returns and it “ would be difficult for them to easily accede to Sri Lanka’ s requests for deferrals, ” said Matthew Mingey, a senior analyst at Rhodium Group’ s China Macro & Policy team who researches economic diplomacy.
“ Credit conditions back in China aren’ t making things any easier for them, ” he added. “ Ultimately, Sri Lanka needs the IMF. ”
Sri Lanka said Tuesday it would expedite talks with the IMF after it halted payments on foreign debt to preserve dollars for essential food and fuel imports. Pakistan’ s new government also plans to work with the IMF to stabilize the economy, according to Miftah Ismail, a former finance minister and a senior ruling party leader.
China’ s ability to assist either country with a balance-of-payments crisis is limited, particularly as Beijing’ s financial assistance is almost always tied to specific projects, said Muttukrishna Sarvananthan, principle researcher at the Point Pedro Institute of Development in Sri Lanka. China’ s policy of non-interference in internal affairs prevents it from offering the type of advice needed for countries to emerge out of a financial crisis, he added.
“ Even the IMF appears to be moving very slowly — if not abandoning — the requests of both Pakistan and Sri Lanka for their assistance, ” Sarvananthan said. “ Which sane bilateral donor country or international financial institution would pour money into sinking ships in both Pakistan and Sri Lanka? ” | tech |
Uniqlo owner expecting big drop in China profit due to COVID restrictions | Clothing brand Uniqlo’ s Japanese owner said Thursday its China operation would report a large decline in profit in the current fiscal year owing to the country’ s COVID-19 restrictions.
Fast Retailing is a bellwether for how major global retailers are being impacted by COVID-related shutdowns in China, one of the biggest growth markets for many Western brands.
China is Fast Retailing’ s biggest foreign market, with 863 stores on the mainland and almost 90 outlets in Shanghai — where stringent lockdown measures, introduced in late March, remain in place to contain the country’ s worst outbreak of the pandemic.
The restrictions also impact global brands such as McDonald’ s and Starbucks, which each have dozens of outlets in Shanghai, while disrupting production for major clothing retailers including H & M and Nike.
Fast Retailing said it expects revenue declines and a large drop in profit in its Greater China segment in the second half and for the whole of fiscal 2022 due to COVID restrictions. Sales in its Greater China region, which includes Hong Kong and Taiwan, struggled in March, as up to 133 stores were temporarily shut down.
The fast-fashion retailer has more Uniqlo stores in China than in its home market of Japan. It opened a flagship store in Beijing in November, its third megastore in mainland China, and plans to open in 100 locations in the country each year going forward.
The weakening yen and higher costs for raw materials and shipping have forced Fast Retailing to consider price rises, in a major shift for a company that has long competed on the inexpensiveness of basic items like socks and underwear.
“ There’ s absolutely no merit to a weak yen, ” Chief Executive Tadashi Yanai told reporters. “ Japan is engaged in the business of importing raw materials from all over the world, processing them, adding value to them and selling them. In this context, there is no advantage if the value of a country’ s currency weakens. ”
The company reported a record half-year profit on Thursday, buoyed by sales growth in North America, Europe and other parts of Asia, while revenue and profit declined in Japan and China.
Operating profit climbed 18% to ¥189 billion ( $ 1.51 billion) in the six months through February from a year earlier.
The company maintained its full-year profit forecast at ¥270 billion. That compares with a consensus forecast for annual profit to total ¥278 billion, according to a Refinitiv poll of 11 analysts.
The Ukraine crisis has created another headwind, leading the company to close its 50 stores in Russia after initially resisting calls to exit the market along with other major brands. | tech |
Kumamoto mourns on sixth anniversary of deadly quakes | Kumamoto – Kumamoto Prefecture marked on Thursday the sixth anniversary of a pair of quakes that killed 276 people in the region, with nearly 100 others still living in makeshift homes as reconstruction work continues.
“ I believe that all of you who have gone through such a painful and sad experience are still moving forward strongly with your own feelings in your hearts, ” said Yoshimasa Mochida, 54, who lost his 70-year-old mother, at a ceremony held at the Kumamoto prefectural government office.
He said that he and his family members “ pledge to move forward along with Kumamoto’ s reconstruction. ”
At the outset of the ceremony, at which attendance was limited for the third straight year due to the coronavirus pandemic, 30 people including bereaved families observed a moment of silence.
“ It is our important responsibility to pass on the experience of the earthquake to the future, which will lead to the prevention and limiting of the damage of disasters at home and abroad, ” said Kumamoto Gov. Ikuo Kabashima in his speech.
On April 14, 2016, a magnitude 6.5 quake struck the region, followed by a M7.3 temblor two days later.
Some 43,000 houses in Kumamoto Prefecture and neighboring Oita Prefecture were completely or partially damaged by the quakes, with 50 people in Kumamoto Prefecture dying directly from their impact including due to collapsed buildings.
More than 47,000 people were forced to take refuge in makeshift housing at one point, and 95 people in Kumamoto Prefecture were still living in temporary homes as of late March.
Damaged infrastructure such as railways has been rebuilt, with a new 525-meter Aso bridge in the village of Minamiaso in Kumamoto replacing a collapsed bridge.
Kumamoto Castle, a popular tourist spot damaged by the quakes, has also been partially repaired and its keep was reopened to the public last June. However, full restoration is not expected to be completed until around 2037. | tech |
Kishida Cabinet approval highest since October launch, poll finds | The public approval rate for Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’ s Cabinet stood at 52.6% in April, the highest level since its launch in October, a Jiji Press opinion survey showed Thursday.
The support rate rose 2.4 percentage points from March, exceeding the previous high of 51.7% scored in January this year.
The disapproval rate fell 0.9 point to 20.2%. The proportion of respondents who expressed no opinion stood at 27.2%, down 1.5 points, according to the survey, conducted for four days through Monday.
The results suggest public support for the government’ s full lifting of coronavirus pre-emergency measures late last month and its responses to the Ukrainian crisis caused by Russia’ s invasion.
The proportion of respondents who said that they support the government’ s COVID-19 measures rose 4.7 points to 47.6%, while the share of those disapproving fell 7.8 points to 27.3%.
As for Japan’ s sanctions on Russia, 46.9% of respondents said they are satisfied with the sanctions.
According to the survey, 35.6% said Japan should toughen the sanctions and 3.3% said the sanctions should be made milder.
The survey showed 4.0% want the sanctions to be lifted, while 10.2% expressed no opinion.
Of those supporting the Cabinet, with multiple answers allowed, 21.9% said there is no one else suitable to be prime minister, 13.9% said they trust Kishida and 11.7% said they have a favorable impression of him.
Of those disapproving of the cabinet, 10.0% said they do not have any hopes for Kishida, 7.2% said he lacks leadership skills, and 6.5% said his policies are bad.
Kishida’ s ruling Liberal Democratic Party saw its support rate rise 3.5 points to 30.2%.
Nippon Ishin no Kai came next with a support rate of 3.8%, unchanged from the previous month. The main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan followed at 3.3%, down 1.0 point
Komeito, the LDP’ s coalition partner, logged 2.7%, down 1.7 points.
Public support came to 1.5% for the Democratic Party for the People, 1.4% for the Japanese Communist Party, 0.7% for Reiwa Shinsengumi, 0.3% for the Social Democratic Party and 0.2% for NHK Jushinryo o Shiharawanai Kokumin o Mamoru To, a single-issue party critical of public broadcaster NHK.
The share of respondents with no particular favorite party fell 0.3 point to 53.7%.
The interview survey covered 2,000 people aged 18 or over across the country. Valid responses came from 61.3%. | tech |
COVID-19 tracker: Tokyo reports 8,540 new cases | Tokyo confirmed 8,540 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, down by about 200 from a week before. The daily tally has stayed around the same as week before levels in the past several days.
The seven-day average of new cases came to 7,502.4, compared with 7,433.3 a week before, while seven deaths linked to COVID-19 were reported on Thursday.
On Wednesday, Japan confirmed 57,758 new cases, up about 2,900 from a week before.
There were 67 new deaths from COVID-19 on Wednesday. The number of patients with severe symptoms rose by one from Tuesday to 468. | tech |
Valneva shares gain 20% after UK approves COVID shot | The stock is on course for its best day since January 20, when it said early studies showed the vaccine was effective against the Omicron variant.
( Reporting by Sarah Morland; editing by Jason Neely) | business |
Here’ s How China’ s Lockdowns Are Rippling Through Economy | China’ s lockdowns to contain the country’ s worst Covid outbreak since early 2020 have battered the economy, stalling production in major cities like Shanghai, and halting spending by millions of people shut in their homes.
The restrictions are intended to eradicate any trace of the virus in the community, but they’ ve also pressured everything from manufacturing and trade to inflation and food prices.
Premier Li Keqiang has repeatedly warned of risks to economic growth, telling local authorities on Monday they should “ add a sense of urgency ” when implementing existing policies. The government is holding firm to its Covid Zero approach for now: President Xi Jinping said this week that “ prevention and control work can not be relaxed. ” But it’ s a strategy economists say will push growth down to 5% this year, below the official target of around 5.5%.
Here’ s a deeper look at how the lockdowns are impacting critical sectors across the world’ s second-largest economy.
China posted sluggish commodities imports in March, as elevated prices due to the war in Ukraine and tightening virus restrictions took their toll on demand.
Natural gas purchases were worst affected, dropping below 8 million tons to their lowest level since October 2020. Crude and coal purchases were also running well behind last year’ s schedule.
Chinese demand for jet fuel is projected to drop by 25,000 barrels per day from a year earlier, a 3.5% fall, according to the International Energy Agency. The IEA previously expected 10,000 barrels per day of growth. The number of daily flights in China, as averaged over seven days, has fallen below the lowest level seen in 2020, with less than 2,700 active flights on Tuesday, according to Airportia, a real-time flight tracker.
The number of passenger trains has also dropped to about 3,000 a day, which is only 30% of the normal level, according to a post on WeChat by China Railway.
China’ s domestic metals fabricators are facing hurdles to transport raw materials and finished products, which have led to output cuts. Six out of twelve copper-rod plants in Shanghai’ s neighboring provinces surveyed by Shanghai Metals Market earlier said they either have halted or plan to halt output. The researcher also predicted a rise in aluminum inventories.
Meanwhile, Chinese buyers have slashed liquefied natural gas purchases in the world’ s biggest LNG importer as prices soar and domestic demand stalls. Imports in the first quarter fell 14% from the same period last year, according to shipping data, and private companies are spurning offers to use once-highly coveted slots at state-owned receiving terminals.
Shanghai’ s city-wide lockdown has created congestion at the world’ s largest port, with queues of vessels building there and at other stops handling diverted shipments. The number of container ships waiting off Shanghai as of April 11 was 15% higher than a month earlier, according to Bloomberg shipping data.
A shortage of port workers in Shanghai is slowing the delivery of documentation needed for ships to unload cargoes, according to ship owners and traders. Meanwhile, vessels carrying metals like copper and iron ore are left stranded offshore as trucks are unable to send goods from the port to processing mills, they said.
Data on Wednesday also showed the lockdowns having a notable impact on imports, which fell 0.1% on year in March, the first contraction since August 2020.
China’ s purchasing managers surveys show manufacturing contracted in March, with small and medium-sized firms particularly shaken by operational snags. The Caixin index, based on surveys of smaller, export-oriented businesses, dropped to its worst level since the start of the pandemic two years ago.
Some large manufacturing firms have been able to keep operations going by adopting a so-called closed loop system, in which employees were kept at factory locations and tested regularly. However, those protocols aren’ t perfect: One member of a European Union trade group said last week that work can be “ very, very difficult, ” even with permission to operate amid restrictions.
Solar companies are seeing a “ severe impact ” on both panel production and installations, according to a survey conducted by the Shanghai Solar Energy Society. Wafer production has been suspended in some factories in the coastal region close to Shanghai, driving up prices in recent weeks, Jefferies analysts said in a note.
The restrictions are also causing major headaches for China’ s 17.3 million truckers who keep store shelves full while also connecting the nation’ s ports with its manufacturing hubs. The logjam is preventing crucial deliveries from reaching companies, stalling production in key industrial regions, with the impact likely to continue rippling across the economy even as cities move to loosen lockdowns.
Trucks dominate China’ s local transportation, hauling about three-quarters of total freight, according to data from the Ministry of Transport. But Covid Zero orders are creating difficult conditions for the truckers themselves, as drivers have been hampered by the need to undergo compulsory mass testing being conducted in cities like Shanghai and the need to show negative Covid results at multiple checkpoints.
Some technology companies have suspended production as China’ s restrictive policies weigh on a sector already contending with a shortage of components.
Most major tech manufacturers — from Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and iPhone maker Foxconn Technology Group — froze operations in the early days of Shanghai’ s outbreak. Many have since resumed after setting up closed-loop systems.
As of Wednesday, more than 30 Taiwanese companies including Pegatron Corp. and Macbook maker Quanta Computer Inc. had halted production in eastern China’ s electronics hubs because of Covid rules.
Logistics jams are constricting shipments of components, draining inventories to the point where some manufacturers including Pegatron, Wistron Corp. and Compal Electronics Inc. are down to just a few weeks’ stocks, consultancy Trendforce estimates. The ongoing global supply crunch could worsen if local manufacturing is disrupted, constraining stock of computers and gaming consoles to smartphones, servers and electric vehicles.
Overall passenger vehicle sales slid 10.9% last month, suggesting pressure in the massive car market.
Some automakers are hitting production snags because of lockdowns. Tesla Inc.’ s Shanghai factory has been shut down since March 28 because of restrictions in the city. The plant typically produces more than 2,000 cars every day, according to an estimate earlier this month from Dan Ives, an analyst at Wedbush Securities Inc.
Volkswagen AG was also forced to suspend production in Shanghai this month, while Chinese EV upstart Nio Inc. said Saturday it halted production and delayed deliveries because many suppliers had to close shop.
Auto parts maker Robert Bosch GmbH said Monday it shuttered two of its factories in China and operated closed-loop systems at two others, adding that it was seeing “ temporary effects on logistics and supply chain sourcing. ”
Domestic sales of excavators — a leading indicator for construction — plunged almost 64% in March from a year ago, indicating strain in the sector.
China’ s home sales slump also deepened last month: The 100 biggest companies in the debt-ridden property industry saw a 53% drop in sales from a year earlier, according to preliminary data from China Real Estate Information Corp. The decline was the steepest this year.
Steel rebar inventory in China suggests construction activity “ may have shifted to a lower gear, ” according to an analysis published last week by David Qu, an economist covering China for Bloomberg Economics.
The lockdowns have driven up food costs and may endanger the nation’ s ability to secure enough grains for the year as the curbs complicate China’ s important spring planting season.
Fresh vegetable prices jumped 17.2% on year in March, compared to a drop of 0.1% in February, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed this week. Chinese farmers in some parts of the northeast, which produces more than a fifth of China’ s national grain output, have had to contend with restrictions that prevent them from plowing their fields and sowing seeds. | general |
Big U.S. banks see higher net interest income as rates rise | The Fed raised rates by a quarter point in March to a 0.25% -0.5% range, and has flagged another half-point move on May 4.
These moves, aimed at tackling soaring inflation of 8.5%, are expected to bring an end to the low interest-rate environment that banks have faced for most of the past decade, particularly through the COVID-19 pandemic.
That should be good news for net interest income, a closely watched measure of how much money banks make from lending. It declined during the pandemic due to interest rate cuts and a drop in borrowing, but is now ticking up.
Wells Fargo & Co led the pack, with net interest income for the first quarter rising 5% from a year ago. The bank also lifted its expectations for 2022, saying net interest income ( NII) percentage growth could hit the mid-teens.
`` In January, we thought NII would be up about 8%. We're almost doubling that to kind of the mid-teens... due to the loan growth we 've seen, as well as the substantial move in rates, '' chief financial officer Mike Santomassimo on a call with analysts. Overall loan growth was 3%.
The NII from JPMorgan Chase & Co's core banking businesses, excluding the markets business, increased 9% from a year earlier, the bank said on Wednesday. Total NII is expected to be more than $ 53 billion for 2022, the bank said, roughly in line with its February guidance.
`` NII is going to get much better. Things are going to normalize, '' chief executive Jamie Dimon told analysts.
The bank is still running the numbers and expects to give updated guidance on NII revenue at the bank's investor day on May 23, chief financial officer Jeremy Barnum said. Analysts expect the bank to revise its guidance upwards.
Still, some banks said the outlook for rising interest rates is not all rosy. Higher rates could weaken economic growth, crimp lending overall and discourage some companies from transactions that generate fees.
Citigroup's NII grew 3% over the first quarter of last year, but its Chief Financial officer Mark Mason, when pressed by analysts, said it was too soon say what higher rates will mean for Citigroup's revenue this year. He left its revenue guidance at up by a `` low single-digit '' percentage.
( Additional reporting by David Henry; Editing by Michelle Price and Chizu Nomiyama)
By Elizabeth Dilts Marshall | business |
Higher gasoline prices flatter U.S. retail sales; consumers remain resilient | The report from the Commerce Department on Thursday, which also showed stronger retail sales growth in February than initially thought, suggested consumer spending picked up in the first quarter, helping to underpin the overall economy.
A tightening labor market, which is driving up wages, and massive savings accumulated during the pandemic are providing some cushion against inflation. Annual inflation surged by the most in more than 40 years in March, though there are signs price pressures have peaked and should start to gradually abate.
`` The report still reveals the resilience of consumer spending, '' said Tim Quinlan, a senior economist at Wells Fargo in Charlotte, North Carolina. `` There is no doubt households are feeling the pinch from skyrocketing prices across an array of products. But there are signs that pandemic-related inflation is beginning to ease. ''
Retail sales rose 0.5% last month. Data for February was revised higher to show sales increasing 0.8% instead of 0.3% as previously reported. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast retail sales climbing 0.6%, with estimates ranging from as low as a 0.3% decline to as high as 2.2% jump.
Retail sales, which are mostly goods, advanced 6.9% on a year-on-year basis. They are not adjusted for inflation.
Sales at service stations shot up 8.9%, accounting for the bulk of the increase in sales in March. Monthly consumer prices increased by the most in 16-1/2 years in March as Russia's war against Ukraine boosted the cost of U.S. gasoline to record highs. Prices at the pump on average soared to an all-time high of $ 4.33 per gallon in March, according to AAA.
Excluding gasoline, retail sales fell 0.3%.
Though gasoline prices have since retreated to an average of $ 4.074 per gallon, high inflation is likely to prevail. A separate report from the Labor Department on Thursday showed import prices jumped 2.6% last month, the largest rise since April 2011, after increasing 1.6% in February.
Stocks on Wall Street were lower. The dollar rose against a basket of currencies. U.S. Treasury prices fell.
STRONG LABOR MARKET
Soaring prices are reducing consumers ' purchasing power, but rising wages are helping to blunt some of the hit. The unemployment rate is at a two-year low of 3.6% and there were a near-record 11.3 million job openings at the end of February, making it easier for some cash-strapped Americans to take a second job or pick up extra shifts.
Consumers also accumulated more than $ 2 trillion in excess savings during the COVID-19 pandemic.
A separate report from the Labor Department on Thursday showed initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 18,000 to a still-low seasonally adjusted 185,000 for the week ended April 9. Economists had forecast 171,000 applications for the latest week.
Declining gasoline prices and the firming labor market led to consumer sentiment rebounding from a decade low in early April.
Better job security is also allowing some consumers to take on more debt. Last month, clothing store sales rose 2.6%. There were also increases in receipts at building material, garden equipment and supplies stores as well as at furniture, food and electronics and appliance retailers.
Sales at sporting goods, hobby, musical instrument and book stores rose 3.3%. Receipts at bars and restaurants, the only services category in the retail sales report, rose 1.0%. Demand for services like air travel and hotel accommodation is surging, providing further support for consumer spending. This follows the rolling back of pandemic restrictions.
But sales at auto dealerships fell 1.9% amid ongoing motor vehicle shortages. Online store sales tumbled 6.4% after falling 3.5% in February, the first back-to-back decline since the last two months of 2020, which some economists attributed to strained household budgets because of the gasoline price shock. Others blamed shifting seasonal patterns.
Online retail sales have declined from a peak of $ 100.0 billion in January to $ 90.350 billion in March. There are worries that rising interest rates as the Federal Reserve tries to stamp out inflation could cool demand in the months ahead.
`` If previous environments are any indication, the latter half of 2022 could see a slowdown in consumer demand as the Fed tries to contain elevated price levels, '' said Peter Essele, head of portfolio management at Commonwealth Financial Network.
Excluding automobiles, gasoline, building materials and food services, retail sales dipped 0.1% in March. Data for February was revised higher to show these so-called core retail sales declining 0.9% instead of 1.2% as previously reported.
Core retail sales correspond most closely with the consumer spending component of gross domestic product. February's upward revision and March's modest fall prompted some economists to lift their first-quarter consumer spending and GDP growth estimates. Goldman Sachs hiked its GDP growth estimate to a 1.5% rate from a 1.0% pace. The economy grew at a robust 6.9% rate in the fourth quarter.
`` Today's report continues to reflect strong consumer demand in the first quarter, but we see headwinds from the oil price shock combined with tighter monetary policy lowering real consumer spending growth later this year and next, '' said Ellen Zentner, chief U.S. economist at Morgan Stanley in New York.
( Reporting by Lucia Mutikani,; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Andrea Ricci)
By Lucia Mutikani | business |
Caution Guides Mideast Producers Despite Windfall | Mideast Gulf states are in for windfall oil revenues on a scale not seen since 2010-14 when crude prices traded comfortably above $ 80 per barrel. In the wake of lower energy prices from 2015 onward and the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, the latest income boost comes at a fortuitous time. But, unlike in the past, countries aren't expected to go on major trophy spending sprees and splurge on giant vanity projects.
Instead, the six Gulf Cooperation Council ( GCC) states led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are widely seen sticking with the more stringent fiscal policies they have adopted in recent years and pursuing economic diversification strategies. These aim to reduce their dependence on hydrocarbon exports while also working toward their climate targets. From further asset monetization deals, including for energy infrastructure, to the introduction of new taxes or hikes on existing ones, Gulf countries will use a variety of tools to bolster revenues and diversify their respective fiscal positions.
“ Fiscal reform and retrenchment are still at play in the GCC. We expect this to carry forward, ” says Edward Bell, senior director of market economics at Emirates NBD in Dubai.
Critically, the funds generated from higher energy prices and output also enable national oil companies such as Saudi Aramco, Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. ( Adnoc) and Qatar Energy to execute — and possibly speed up — ambitious upstream expansions in their oil and gas sectors. Both Aramco and Adnoc have approved higher capital spending for the coming years to support these plans, which enable the monetization of their lower-cost and lower-carbon resources for as long as fossil fuel demand holds up.
For the region's heavyweights — Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar — the funds will also go some way to bolstering soft power initiatives aimed at building out influence and achieving geostrategic objectives across the region and beyond. Riyadh's recent $ 5 billion deposit with Egypt's central bank to soften the blow of rising food prices caused by Russia's war on Ukraine is just one case in point. The UAE too has committed to more investments in Egypt in a bid to shore up the government of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.
In addition, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have pledged $ 2 billion and $ 1 billion, respectively, to Yemen after President Abed Rabbu Mansour Hadi stepped down this month and delegated powers to a presidential council. Hadi's move could finally bring Yemen's seven-year conflict to an end. Similar initiatives are under way in other parts of the region and beyond as the Gulf states, flush with cash, pursue their foreign policy interests. “ There is an investment part and a soft power aspect, ” says Theodore Karasik, a senior adviser to Gulf State Analytics in Washington, of the way windfall revenues are being used.
If oil prices stay at current levels of around $ 100/bbl for the rest of the year and Opec-plus continues to roll back its deep 2020 cuts gradually as planned, earning would increase by roughly 50% versus 2021, and more than double from two years ago when Covid-19 hammered global energy demand and prices. As a result, the region's key economic indicators are expected to make for very positive reading in 2022, with budget balances improving and GDP increasing.
Saudi Arabia, the Middle East's largest economy, could report a budget surplus as big as 10.4% this year, assuming an average Brent price of $ 112/bbl, compared with a deficit of 2.3% in 2021, according to Emirates NBD. This surplus is likely to be used to build foreign reserves at the central bank and to build the kingdom's sovereign wealth fund, which has committed to investing $ 40 billion in the Saudi economy annually until 2025.
But Riyadh will likely remain very cautious in terms of spending because of growing inflationary pressures, says one Saudi-based analyst. That caution could impact domestic projects that rely more heavily on external commodities and even developments related to the energy transition if the products and services they require can't be sourced domestically. A VAT hike from 5% to 15% imposed in 2020 to shore up government finances has remained in place, but will be reconsidered if and when the country's fiscal position improves, Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed al-Jadaan said in December, without offering further details.
Thanks to gradual monthly increases in oil output in line with current Opec-plus policy, the UAE too is expected to see its budget surplus widen this year versus 2021 and record healthy GDP growth of 5.7% in 2022. But fiscal measures aimed at shoring up finances and preparing the country for a future in which oil and gas revenues will inevitably shrink are still expected to proceed. The UAE has announced the introduction of a corporate tax that will come into effect from mid-2023.
Smaller Gulf states, too, will see an improvement in their fiscal positions and GDP growth, although not necessarily a return to budget surpluses. Kuwait is expected to record a narrowing budget deficit of 4.7% for the fiscal year ending March 2023, compared with a 10.5% deficit the previous year, according to Emirates NBD. Oman is seen turning in a small budget surplus after last year's deficit.
Challenges remain. Among the greatest for Gulf states — major importers of many commodities and products — will be coping with inflationary pressures from rising food and commodity prices. Higher transportation costs have also begun to filter through to local economies, if not yet on a scale seen in Europe and the US, to say nothing of the price pain hitting net energy importers in the developing world. “ The challenge is that inflation will bite here as well, ” says Bell. | general |
China goes all in with support for Myanmar's military regime | More than a year after Myanmar’ s military took power in a coup, the civil conflict in the country shows no signs of easing.
In fact, with opposition forces — ethnic armed militias with experience fighting the regime and more recently formed people’ s militias composed of newly trained recruits — enjoying some success in encouraging military defections, targeting military units and utilizing urban guerilla tactics, the hostilities look likely to continue for a long time.
The Myanmar junta has been accused of a wide range of atrocities since the coup, and the death toll and prison count since Feb. 1, 2021, is mounting. According to Reuters, “ at least 1,500 people are known to have been killed in yearlong protests against the coup in Myanmar, with thousands more possibly killed in the armed conflict, the United Nations human rights office said … ( and) at least 11,787 people were unlawfully detained in Myanmar in that period. ”
Yet the armed forces seem determined, even in the face of defections and some setbacks, to escalate the conflict. Veteran Myanmar journalist Bertil Lintner believes the army has committed itself to a strategy of “ annihilating ” opposition forces across the country. This strategy will likely involve massacres of civilians, the increasing use of artillery on villages and towns and other extreme tactics.
The military, Lintner writes, has no interest in any dialogue with opposition forces. It also has essentially avoided any real dialogue with ASEAN interlocutors who have visited the country this year seeking to meet with both military officials and opposition leaders.
In the early and middle part of 2021, the most powerful external actor in Myanmar, China, seemed in some ways uncomfortable with the junta’ s brutal response to what began as nonviolent protests and eventually developed into armed resistance.
That is because the army’ s reaction to the protests was creating major problems for Beijing as well. The brutal, often uncoordinated military response had led to state collapse in Myanmar: The economy contracted by nearly 20% in 2021, COVID-19 spread unchecked, state services vanished, Chinese investments were targeted by angry demonstrators and the overall business environment became extremely dangerous.
Myanmar’ s descent into failed state status has also been sending refugees across borders into China, India, Bangladesh and Thailand, a situation Beijing — then as now committed to a “ zero COVID ” strategy — desperately wants to avoid.
As I noted in a prior Council on Foreign Relations article, China appointed a special envoy to Myanmar, Sun Guoxiang, who was, in theory, supposed to meet with both military officials and opponents. On several occasions in 2021, Sun reportedly attempted to secure a meeting with Aung San Suu Kyi, the National League for Democracy leader whose party had dominated national elections in late 2020 and would have formed a new government, except for the coup.
Sun was rebuffed, but the fact that he wanted to meet with Suu Kyi — and that China included the NLD in invitations to a meeting of political parties — was taken as a sign, by some optimists, that Beijing might be an effective mediator in the civil war. And China had, in the past, offered itself as a mediator in other conflicts within Myanmar.
That optimism was wrong. Instead, China has clearly decided to aggressively support the junta, seemingly deciding that the military has the best chance of eventually consolidating support for its rule, and thus protecting Beijing’ s significant investments in the country and its strategic position in Myanmar. By resolutely backing the junta, China will also probably gain even greater access to natural resources in Myanmar and other types of investments in the country — if the armed forces actually wind up winning.
China has taken several steps to demonstrate that it has now fully sided with the coup government. It has provided aid for the junta regime and has unveiled plans to build more industrial parks in Myanmar. It has done so even as other former major infrastructure and industrial investors in the country, including Japan, are pulling out, and as many leading democracies have imposed a wide range of sanctions on Naypyitaw.
Indeed, Beijing has decided to continue moving forward with the China-Myanmar economic corridor, an ambitious Belt and Road initiative route that includes a sizable number of infrastructure projects within Myanmar. As reported in Foreign Policy, it also has launched a new LNG project in Myanmar. This is a project that not only could be a valuable new energy source for China but also provides a degree of legitimacy for the junta, showing that at least some key investors believe the military regime can deliver on major projects.
Some of this China-Myanmar economic corridor runs through what is now militarily contested and dangerous territory. However, the fact that China has announced it wants to move forward with the projects is a sign that Beijing backs the regime.
In addition, although it is difficult to prove that China is actually directly selling or giving new arms to the junta, since Chinese arms flow through third parties along the border, the U.N. human rights expert on Myanmar Thomas Andrews has reported that three countries are providing new weaponry to the regime’ s forces.
“ Russia and China ( are) providing the junta with fighter jets being used against civilians, ” Andrews recently noted in a report.
According to the report, Russia has also provided other weaponry to the Myanmar military, including armored vehicles and drones, although Russia may have less ability to do so now because it is using so much equipment in Ukraine.
Andrews has further claimed that the junta forces are using these new, foreign-provided weapons on civilian populations across the country. This would hardly be surprising, as the junta has attacked civilians throughout the conflict with seemingly little regard for civilian casualties and has had a history of doing so many times in the past.
When asked about the report, China’ s Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Beijing “ has always advocated that all parties and factions should proceed in the long-term interests of the country. ”
Unfortunately, these words do not jibe with Beijing’ s actions in Myanmar, which increasingly seem focused on helping the junta defeat the opposition and then taking advantage of the victory economically.
However, if the army fails and remains mired in a long-term civil war without an end in sight, Beijing may have bet on the wrong horse.
Joshua Kurlantzick is a senior fellow for Southeast Asia at the Council on Foreign Relations. | tech |
Insurer Says 7th Circ. Precedent Stops Virus Coverage Appeal | A CNA subsidiary told the Seventh Circuit that recent rulings from the court and Illinois appellate judges doom a COVID-19 coverage appeal from two salons in Virginia and California.Illinois-based Continental Casualty Co. said in a brief filed Wednesday that U.S. District Judge Charles P. Kocoras correctly dismissed the suit from the Legacy Sports Barbershop in Virginia Beach and Panache Coiffure in Santa Monica, California, which sought coverage for their pandemic-related losses.Continental argued that the salons ' suit was like many others that have been rejected by courts around the country, including the Seventh Circuit in December, when it ruled against... | general |
War for talent: Embrace diversity and inclusivity, says PageGroup CEO | The current `` war for talent '' and difficulty filling jobs is an opportunity for companies to push the boundaries of who they traditionally hire and appreciate the strength of diversity, including disability, the CEO of recruitment firm PageGroup has told CNBC.
Steve Ingham, who has been CEO of the company since 2006, recently joined Steve Rowe, CEO of Marks & Spencer, and Steve Murrells, group CEO of the Co-operative Group, to help create a movement to `` put diversity and inclusion at the top of the corporate agenda. ''
The three Steves, in partnership with Leila McKenzie-Delis, CEO of Dial Global, aim to inspire more than 100 chief execs to sign the `` CEO Activist & Moving the Dial on Diversity Pledge '' to take positive action in their own companies.
Ingham himself became paralyzed from the waist down in a skiing accident in 2019.
Speaking in March for the latest episode of `` Equity and Opportunity, '' he told CNBC he thinks many companies are trying to be more open-minded about diversity.
`` There's a war for talent at the moment. It's difficult to fill jobs. That helps us obviously in our results, but it also means that we can push the boundaries of the people that perhaps they're hiring or thinking to hire, '' he said.
`` It's fair to say that most companies tend to go down the traditional routes, the traditional methods of hiring. So, they go to the same old job boards, you know, they tend to recruit the same people that look the same, and so on. And I think they're starting to realize that's not the right way forward and I think also, they're starting to appreciate the strengths of people who are more diverse. ''
The diversity pledge focuses on four areas. These include clear steps to create diversity in future and current leadership teams; a commitment to measure progress annually against 10 diversity and inclusion areas; a promise for strategic accountable diversity plans; and commitments from CEOs to share their plans and what they have learned.
Ingham told CNBC that change starts with leaders and `` peer pressure is a powerful thing. ''
He stressed the importance of collective action, saying that `` when you combine 100 CEOs and their workforces, you really are starting to talk about a lot of people. ''
With signs of the `` Great Resignation '' happening as people re-evaluate their lives and jobs in the wake of the Covid pandemic, Ingham said, employers may be judged on their corporate strategies for diversity and inclusivity, including disability.
`` If you have people who are all identical in a boardroom, they will make the same decisions very easily. And if you want to be more innovative, more creative, come up with alternative ideas to solving problems and so on, you 've got to be more diverse, and disability is definitely one of those options, '' he said.
After his accident, Ingham was determined to get back to work and returned to his office at PageGroup only four months later.
He realized not everybody thought his return to work would be a straightforward matter.
`` I did talk to an ex-colleague who asked me what I was going to do when I came out of hospital, and I said, you know … I 'm going to get to my daughter's wedding, I 'm going to go to the Rugby World Cup in Japan because I haven't missed one in many years, and I 'm going to go back to work, '' Ingham said.
`` And he said, you can't? And I said, why is that? And he said, because you're in a wheelchair. You know, it's old school thinking. I guess that was the moment of realization that not everybody thinks like I do, like leaders today should be thinking and that is ridiculous. There's nothing inaccessible about our offices, most large company's offices are completely accessible. ''
When asked what can be done to change the mindset of CEOs and leaders who may not want to be as open about their disabilities as he's been, Ingham said it's important to be honest.
`` I struggle to see how leaders can be authentic if they're hiding something as big as a disability … So I would just say, look, be courageous, '' he said.
`` I don't think we're judged because of our ability to run down the road or anything else, I think we're judged on our ability to perform. And I don't think today people should be prejudiced just because of it, and I don't think they would be. So, I would say be open, be authentic, be honest, be real. I suspect you 'll be more successful if you are. ''
Other organizations, including LexisNexis, Rugby League World Cup, Superdrug and Unilever, have also joined the CEO Activist & Moving the Dial on Diversity Pledge.
Ingham said he was committed to supporting efforts to create equity.
`` I am going to spend a lot more time focused on improving the situation for diversity generally … but what I would like to see is equity, particularly in the diversity that's disability, that has to change, you know, there should be equal pay for people doing the same jobs, there should be an equal balance, '' he said.
`` And I just think that if it was my daughter, or if I had a son, my son, or my friend, that happened to have a silly accident, or caught a horrible virus, or an illness or something that made them disabled, I would like to think they wouldn't be forgotten, and that they would be given the same opportunities that I had throughout my career. '' | business |
Europe markets: ECB meeting, Russia-Ukraine on the agenda | LONDON — European stocks were cautious on Thursday morning as investors awaited the European Central Bank's latest policy decision and tracked developments in Ukraine.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 nudged 0.2% higher in early trade, with travel and leisure stocks gaining 1.7% while telecoms dropped 0.6%.
In terms of individual share price movement, Hungary's Wizz Air climbed 7.8% after its post-close trading statement. Atlantia gained 5% after the Benetton family and U.S. investment firm Blackstone tabled an offer for the Italian road and rail firm.
At the bottom of the European blue chip index, Swedish telecoms company Ericsson dropped 5.4% after warning that it will likely be fined by U.S. regulators for its handling of a bribery investigation in Iraq. The company also reported a fall in quarterly earnings following its exit from Russia.
The ECB will announce its latest monetary policy decision at 12:45 p.m. London time. Markets are not expecting any change in interest rates just yet, but widely expect the Governing Council to adopt a more hawkish tone and lay the foundations for policy tightening over the summer, with euro zone inflation running at a record high.
`` The euro zone faces the same inflationary challenges as the U.K. and U.S.A., with rates trailing far behind the accelerating rate of inflation, but economies far from ready to handle significant anti-inflationary rate hikes, '' said Steve Clayton, fund manager at British asset manager Hargreaves Lansdown.
Investors in Europe are also monitoring the war in Ukraine. A Russian missile cruiser was attacked and damaged by Ukrainian forces in the Black Sea early on Thursday, forcing the entire crew to be evacuated.
U.S. President Joe Biden announced another $ 800 million in weaponry for Ukraine on Wednesday, following an hour-long phone call with the country's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
In other news, a sixth Covid-19 vaccine has been approved in the U.K., after the country's health regulator gave the green light to French company Valneva's shot.
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Shares in Asia-Pacific were mostly higher on Thursday as investors reacted to monetary policy tightening announcements by central banks in South Korea and Singapore.
Stateside, stock futures were mixed in early premarket trade ahead of earnings announcements from the largest U.S. banks, including Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Citigroup.
JPMorgan Chase said Wednesday that first-quarter profit fell sharply from a year earlier, driven by increased costs for bad loans and market upheaval caused by the Ukraine war.
Carolina Moura-Alves, head of asset allocation at Quintet Private Bank, told CNBC on Thursday that banks would not benefit as much from the impending rate hiking cycle as they had in previous ones. By contrast, she suggested that tech stocks could offer an upside surprise.
`` There are a few challenges and the result JPMorgan put forward yesterday, I really talk about late cycle dynamics which perhaps will not be as favorable for banks as previous hiking cycles in history, '' Moura-Alves said.
`` Tech suffered from the repricing of the yield curve from the higher discount rate because it is a longer duration sector, compared to other sectors in equity markets, and as we now approach a situation where the market has a good handle on how the Fed will go going forward, repricing has happened and perhaps there is even an opportunity for some dovish surprises down the line. ''
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Singapore tightens monetary policy to fight inflation as growth slows | Singapore's central bank tightened its monetary policy on Thursday, saying the widely forecast move will slow inflation momentum as the city state ramps up its battle against soaring prices made worse by the Ukraine war and global supply snags.
The policy tightening, the third in the past six months, came as separate data showed Singapore's economic momentum waning over the first quarter.
The local dollar jumped briefly after the Monetary Authority of Singapore ( MAS) re-centered the mid-point of the exchange rate policy band known as the Nominal Effective Exchange Rate, or S $ NEER, at its prevailing level. It also increased slightly the rate of appreciation of the policy band.
It was the first time in 12 years that the MAS used these two tools simultaneously to tighten policy, underlining policymakers ' worries about potential price instability which has seen the U.S. Federal Reserve set an aggressive path to tightening monetary conditions.
There was no change to the width of the MAS policy band.
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`` The war in Ukraine has driven global inflation forecasts higher and dented the outlook for growth, '' MAS said in a statement.
`` The fresh shocks to global commodity prices and supply chains are adding to domestic cost pressures, '' it said, warning that inflation risks remain `` elevated over the medium term. ''
Singapore, a major travel and business hub, made its biggest reopening moves from the Covid-19 pandemic through late March and early April, easing local restrictions and allowing vaccinated travelers from anywhere in the world to enter without having to quarantine.
`` The door is definitely not closed yet, '' said Selena Ling, head of treasury research and strategy at OCBC, referring to another potential tightening in October.
The MAS manages monetary policy through exchange rate settings, rather than interest rates, because trade flows dwarf its economy, letting the Singapore dollar rise or fall against the currencies of its main trading partners within an undisclosed band.
It adjusts its policy via three levers: the slope, mid-point and width of the policy band.
All 16 economists polled by Reuters expected the MAS to tighten but they were divided on which parameters it would change.
The Singapore dollar strengthened about 0.5% after the statement and hit a one-week high of S $ 1.3552 per dollar.
The central bank maintained its forecast for gross domestic product to expand 3% to 5% this year. The economy grew 7.6% in 2021, the fastest in a decade, recovering from a pandemic-induced 4.1% contraction the previous year.
Separate advance data on Thursday showed GDP grew 3.4% in January-March on a year-on-year basis, versus economists ' expectations of 3.8% growth, and slower than the 6.1% pace in the fourth quarter of 2021.
The MAS tightened monetary policy in January in an out-of-cycle move, which followed a tightening in October, joining many other global central banks, led by the Fed, to get on top of surging inflation.
Earlier on Thursday, South Korea's central bank hiked rates to their highest since August 2019 in an unexpected move.
The Russia-Ukraine conflict has intensified pressure on consumer prices which were already rising rapidly due to coronavirus-driven supply snags. The Singapore government has said it stands ready to respond with fiscal and monetary measures if a deepening Ukraine crisis impacts growth and inflation.
MAS said it will remain vigilant to developments in the external environment and their impact on the Singapore economy.
It expects core inflation to come in at 2.5-3.5% this year, versus a prior forecast for 2.0-3.0%. Overall inflation is forecast at 4.5-5.5%, up from the earlier range of 2.5-3.5%.
`` The MAS fully recognize that if inflation continues to surprise to the upside, there's a possibility they have to do more at future policy meetings, '' said Khoon Goh, head of Asia research, ANZ. | business |
NY AG launches gas price gouging investigation into the oil industry | The probe is believed to be the first in the nation directed at the industry for the ongoing bout of high pump prices and comes as some Democrats question whether oil companies are taking advantage of consumers.
The New York investigation is broad, examining the state's entire supply chain, from production to pump, CNN has learned.
The probe will focus not only on major oil companies that supply oil to the state but refineries that turn crude into gasoline as well as independent operators of pipelines and terminals, the source said.
New York's price gouging statute gives authorities wide power to investigate entire supply chains, covering all actors including manufacturers, retailers, distributors and shipping firms.
According to the attorney general's website, state law bans `` unconscionably excessive '' prices, including both `` unconscionably extreme '' prices and prices set through `` unfair leverage or unconscionable means. ''
It's not clear what evidence, if any, state authorities have of potential price gouging.
`` Soaring gas prices are forcing working New Yorkers and low-income families to make difficult decisions on whether to pay bills or put food on the table, '' James said in a statement to CNN. `` Price gouging is unfair and illegal and my office is determined to make sure it doesn't happen in our state. ''
Rockets and feathers
Prices at the pump take their cues from the oil market.
Oil prices have surged over the past two years for a variety of reasons, including strong demand as Covid subsides and the slow return of US and OPEC supply taken offline at the onset of the pandemic. The war in Ukraine sent oil prices skyrocketing last month to the highest level since 2008, driving gas prices to record highs.
The New York probe comes just weeks after President Joe Biden demanded a faster drop in gas prices as oil tumbled from its post-invasion highs.
Biden called out the tendency for gas prices to go up like a rocket when oil spikes, but only drop like a feather when crude crashes. The White House drew attention to a decades-long trend, known as rockets and feathers, that critics argue hurts consumers by failing to pass savings along to drivers.
The focus of the investigation, at this stage, is on understanding price-setting further up the supply chain and not necessarily at the retail-level, the person familiar with the matter told CNN.
Tom Kloza, global head of energy analysis at the Oil Price Information Service, looked at pricing data from more than 5,000 gas stations in New York and said the aggregate data so far this year `` doesn't show anything unusual. ''
`` There are always a few bad seeds who have high prices in tony little communities where convenience is everything, '' Kloza said in an email. `` So the AG may find a few stations, but the overwhelming number of operators are not likely to fall into whatever loose definition of 'gouging ' the politicians choose. ''
Kloza added, `` To me, gouging is rampant at Yankee Stadium. How much do they make on a hotdog and a bottle of water? ''
NY AG asked public for receipts and photos
After Biden banned US imports of Russian oil last month, the NY attorney general warned oil companies and gas stations that price gouging is illegal.
In a statement at the time, James urged people who experience fuel price gouging to contact her office to report dates and times of price increases and to provide copies of sales receipts as well as photos of advertised prices. James vowed to do `` everything in our power to protect consumers. ''
The American Petroleum Institute, the trade group that represents the oil-and-gas industry, said in a statement to CNN that prices at the pump are a function of increased demand, lagging supply, `` geopolitical turmoil and policy uncertainty from Washington. ''
`` This is an industry of price takers, not price makers, and countless investigations throughout history have shown that changes in gasoline prices are based on market factors, '' said API spokesperson Bethany Williams.
However, the industry has previously defended itself against accusations that it would seek to capitalize on Russia's invasion of Ukraine. After Biden warned the oil industry in late February not to `` exploit this moment, '' API CEO Mike Sommers told CNN, `` Our companies would never take advantage of this kind of situation. ''
`` Ripping the American people off ''
Critics of the oil industry often note the massive profits companies are hauling in and the vast sums of money being lavished on shareholders in the form of dividends and buybacks.
`` During this Russian war, you are ripping the American people off and it must end, '' California Democrat Rep. Raul Ruiz told Big Oil executives during a hearing last week.
However, it's worth noting that oil companies lost enormous sums of money in 2020 when crude crashed below zero for the first time ever. Dozens of oil companies went bankrupt during the downturn.
Still, officials in some states have recently urged probes into potential price gouging.
In early March, Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth Bill Galvin called for an investigation into whether oil and gas companies are price gouging.
`` They have a right to profit. They don't have a right to an exorbitant profit, '' Galvin told WBZ-TV at the time. | business |
It's going to be a 'make-or-break ' year for struggling craft brewers | Early data for 2022 shows that brewery closures are on the rise and some sales have been spotty, said Bart Watson, senior economist for the Brewers Association, craft beer's largest trade organization.
The pandemic and its ongoing effects, as well as the war in Ukraine, continue to drag down smaller brewers, who are battling climbing costs, rising rents, and seemingly interminable supply chain challenges, Watson said.
`` 2022 is going to be a make-or-break year for many breweries, '' he said earlier this month while delivering the results of the association's state-of-the-industry report.
During the first three months of 2022, at least 53 craft breweries shut their doors, up from 42 closures in the first quarter of last year. That still leaves some 9,100 breweries in operation, but more closures are expected.
After being hit hard in 2020, the US craft beer industry started bouncing back last year. But this year, the outlook has grown hazier.
`` We still had the government raining down helicopter money [ in 2021 ], '' Watson told CNN Business, referring to the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, a federal pandemic relief program offering aid to struggling restaurants, bars, breweries, wineries and similar businesses. `` The [ breweries ] are going to have to stand on their own [ now ]. ''
The craft beer business was already experiencing some choppiness before the pandemic: In 2019, there were a record 300-plus closures, a reckoning after thousands of breweries had opened up in just a few short years.
`` We may see increased closings, but it's not going to be a huge bubble burst, '' Watson said of this year's projections. `` We were already moving toward a more mature place. ''
However, the current economic outlook -- and the war in Ukraine, which has played havoc with crucial commodities like wheat and barley -- `` could accelerate that, '' he said.
That could mean an increase in consolidation and in brewers paring down, rethinking or shuttering operations, he said.
'Not clear sailing '
In North Texas, the Lone Star State has seen popular breweries close their doors in recent weeks, including Legal Draft Beer and Armadillo Ale Works, the Dallas Morning News and Denton Record-Chronicle first reported.
`` Poor sales led to the accumulation of expenses and debt and although government assistance helped keep us afloat, we were unable to fully recover, '' Armadillo Brewing Company officials said in a Facebook post on March 27.
Texas brewers faced some unique challenges early on in the pandemic because they were initially classified as bars, which were targeted for shutdowns as part of Gov. Greg Abbott's Covid-19 measures, said Charles Vallhonrat, executive director of the Texas Craft Brewers Guild.
`` Now we face a lot of the challenges a lot of hospitality groups face with supply chain issues and staffing -- keeping staff on board, being able to run at capacity, `` he said.
The supply chain constraints span a number of products breweries rely on, with aluminum for cans and can availability as the biggest issue, Vallhonrat said. But it also extends to shipping costs, delivery timelines for equipment and even the branded glasses sold in brewery gift shops, he said.
It all adds up, especially if brewers are already on shaky ground, in debt or in a tenuous leasing situation.
`` Things have to click for the brewery to be bringing in the revenue with visitors, with events, '' he said. `` One hiccup, one bad delivery, one missed equipment, one bad batch, and you can be at risk. People are getting by, but it's not clear sailing right now. ''
Changes are brewing
This past weekend marked the final day of operation for Second Street Brewery at its namesake original location off 2nd Street in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Second Street had operated there for more than 25 years, but the lease renewal terms -- including higher rent -- were not favorable enough, said Rod Tweet, Second Street's president and brewmaster.
With two other taproom restaurants in the Southwestern arts hub, the company is `` doing pretty solid business '' and both breweries are `` very busy, '' Tweet told CNN Business. `` We're in pretty good health on the whole, but we pay attention to what's going on around us, too. ''
The company's restaurant footprint was a little too big for post-Covid times, he said. Not to mention the extent to which the lingering, cascading economic pressures have created an uncertain business climate.
This now includes the ripple effects of the Russia-Ukraine conflict on the price and availability of oil, food, lumber and other materials. The global crisis could put additional price and demand pressures on items used by brewers, such as wooden pallets and malted barley, Watson said.
`` It's a good time to be super careful and super strategic because we're facing rising prices in pretty much everything, '' said Second Street's Tweet. `` We're trying to think of where we want to be five years from now. ''
Beer as a path toward economic renewal
Despite uncertainty, optimism is brewing in places like Kansas City, Missouri.
That's where local musician Kemet Coleman is teaming up with craft brewers Woodie Bonds and Elliott Ivory to open Vine Street Brewing in the city's historic Jazz District. When Vine Street makes its debut in September -- an opening date already pushed back because of supply chain and construction delays -- it will be Kansas City's first Black-owned brewery.
Coleman was inspired to start a brewery after getting a job at Kansas City's venerable Boulevard Brewing nearly 10 years ago. He had also learned about the history of brewing in parts of Africa and the roles of Black women and female slaves in America's early beer industry. Coleman said he sees the potential in not only introducing craft beer to new consumers and educating them about the different styles of beer, but also in economic renewal.
Breweries are `` great community builders, '' he said, noting that in downtown Kansas City he's seen breweries emerge and development follow. Vine Street hopes to serve as a community gathering place and offer historical tours and host local musicians and events.
In the Jazz District, `` some of our most important milestones and moments and spaces have either been demolished or haven't really been taken care of, '' he said. `` So I see beer in general, but also this brewery specifically, as a way to help bring back a community to not former glory but to a new place that everybody would enjoy and would be proud to boast about. '' | business |
Covid-19 Impact Assistance Program | Phone: 1-800-383-0834Email: mywater @ epcor.com
The COVID-19 emergency affects every Arizona resident and we want to do all we can to help.
We offer a $ 10 credit on monthly water and/or wastewater bills for customers who have lost their jobs or have been hospitalized due to COVID-19. The program is available to residential customers in all of EPCOR's Arizona water and wastewater districts. | general |
'Take-Home ' COVID And Emerging Liability Insurance Issues | Much like the virus itself, legal theories regarding COVID-19 continue to mutate. While property insurers still face the brunt of virus-based lawsuits in the form of business-interruption coverage disputes, the landscape may be shifting with an increase in litigation around so-called take-home COVID-19. This time, insureds and their commercial general liability insurers are in the crosshairs.Take-Home Liability Is Not NovelTake-home liability is not a novel concept. Indeed, it garnered prominence through lawsuits filed by persons who contracted mesothelioma after members of their households purportedly brought home asbestos-covered clothes from their place of employment.Take-home COVID-19 is based on a... | general |
Else Nutrition Signs a New Agreement to Expand Its Products | April 14, 2022 07:00 ET | Source: Else Nutrition Holdings Inc. Else Nutrition Holdings Inc.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, April 14, 2022 ( GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ELSE NUTRITION HOLDINGS INC. ( BABY) ( BABYF) ( 0YL.F) ( `` Else '' or the `` Company ''), the plant-based baby, toddler, and children nutrition company, today announced that following the successful launch and performance of Else Toddler Nutrition, Rouses Markets has added two additional products – Else Plant-Based Kids Shakes, in chocolate and vanilla flavors. The products are now available at all 65 Rouses’ locations and extend the company's shelf presence by offering its clean label-certified and whole Plant-Based nutrition into the kids ' segment. This marks the first retail partner to have both the Toddler and Kids product on shelf, and the launch is being supported with promotional shelf material and by a full-page ad in Rouse’ s magazine.
Else Complete Nutrition Shakes for Kids are packed with nutrients, free from dairy, soy, and gluten, and contain 50 percent less sugar than other options available on the market. It is all made from whole food and clean ingredients, including organic almonds, buckwheat, and tapioca, which account for over 90 percent of the ingredients. This line of products is specially designed to help support the growth and development of children.
Since launching its Plant-Based Complete Nutrition for Toddlers, which won the Good Housekeeping Parenting Award for 2021, the brand has received powerful testimonials and reviews from moms. Else Toddler Nutrition was also awarded `` Best Dairy Alternative '' at World Plant-Based Expo in December of 2021. It was also a finalist at the Nexty Awards at Expo West 2022.
Else Nutrition GH Ltd. is an Israel-based food and nutrition company focused on developing innovative, clean, and plant-based food and nutrition products for infants, toddlers, children, and adults. Its revolutionary, plant-based, non-soy formula is a clean-ingredient alternative to dairy-based formula. Else Nutrition ( formerly INDI) won the `` 2017 Best Health and Diet Solutions '' award at Milan's Global Food Innovation Summit. Else Plant-Based Complete Nutrition for Toddlers was recently ranked as the # 1 Top Seller in the baby and toddler formula category on Amazon. The company recently received the World Plant-Based Award for `` Best dairy alternative product '' in New York at World Plant-Based Expo in late 2021. The holding company, Else Nutrition Holdings Inc., is a publicly-traded company listed on TSX Venture Exchange under the trading symbol BABY and quoted on the US OTC Markets QX board under the trading symbol BABYF, and the Frankfurt Exchange under the symbol 0YL. Else's Executives include leaders hailing from leading infant nutrition companies. Many of Else advisory board members had past executive roles in companies such as Mead Johnson, Abbott Nutrition, Plum Organics, and leading infant nutrition Societies, and some of them currently serve in different roles in leading medical centers and academic institutes such as Boston Children's Hospital, Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, USA, Tel Aviv University, Schneider Children's Medical Center of Israel, Rambam Medical Center and Technion, Israel and University Hospital Brussels, Belgium.
For more information, visit: elsenutrition.com or @ elsenutrition on Facebook and Instagram.
Investor Relations Contact: Lytham Partners, LLCMr. Ben ShamsianNew York | PhoenixE: shamsian @ lythampartners.comP: 646-829-9701
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its regulation services provider ( as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
This press release contains statements that may constitute `` forward-looking statements '' within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as `` will '' or similar expressions. Forward-looking statements in this press release include statements with respect to the anticipated dates for filing the c ' 'company's financial disclosure documents. Such forward-looking statements reflect current estimates, beliefs, and assumptions, which are based on ' 'management's perception of current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other factors management believes are appropriate in the circumstances. No assurance can be given that the foregoing will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements made in this press release assume, among others, the expectation that there will be no interruptions or supply chain failures as a result of COVID 19 and that the manufacturing, broker, and supply logistic agreement with the company does not terminate. Actual results may differ from the estimates, beliefs, and assumptions expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, which reflect ' 'management's expectations only as of the date of this press release. The company disclaims any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by law.
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https: //www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/f67909b2-bfcf-4617-bfbe-bcc9a30a71fc | general |
Wout van Aert to ride Paris-Roubaix, but in a supporting role | Wout van Aert will race Paris-Roubaix on Sunday, his team have announced, but the Belgian champion will ride in a support role.
The Jumbo-Visma rider was forced to miss the Tour of Flanders after testing positive for Covid at the end of March, and returned to training last week.
On Thursday, Jumbo-Visma included Van Aert in its team announcement on social media for The Hell of the North, to which the Belgian replied `` back racing ''.
In his absence, he also missed the Amstel Gold Race, for which he was defending champion, but the switch in the schedule between Amstel and Roubaix meant that he could return for the latter.
In a statement, Jumbo-Visma directeur sportif Merijn Zeeman said that his preparation had been anything but ideal, but he will still be able to `` play a role '' supporting their other riders Christophe Laporte, Mike Teunissen and Nathan Van Hooydonck.
`` He also had very extensive examinations before he resumed training, '' Zeeman said. `` At the beginning of this week, the medical staff determined that he is fully fit and can continue his efforts at top sporting level.
`` On the functioning of the heart, among other things. Wout's health is in excellent shape. But after a week of isolation, top form is no longer possible. His run-up to Roubaix is poor and he will miss the reconnaissance on Thursday.
`` All in all, it is anything but an ideal preparation. However, a rider like Wout can still play a role in supporting Christophe Laporte, Mike Teunissen or Nathan Van Hooydonck. ''
Back racing 🤩 https: //t.co/4q96Q8shhFApril 14, 2022
It was reported on Wednesday that Van Aert wants to ride Liège-Bastogne-Liège next weekend, and his return to racing strengthens his case for riding the Walloon Monument for the first time.
The Belgian was asked by his team not to share his training data on Strava ahead of the weekend, in order to prevent speculation.
Teunissen said the return of Van Aert can provide an `` extra advantage '' at Roubaix at the weekend.
`` We have shown all spring that riding with a strong team is good, '' he said. `` You can really make each other stronger. It is a man-to-man fight, but it is still nice to have good guys around you. That is always an extra advantage. ''
Alongside Van Aert, Teunissen, Laporte and Van Hooydonck will be Edoardo Affini, Timo Roosen, and Mick van Dijke. | general |
Biden attempts to reboot domestic agenda: ‘ American manufacturing is coming back’ – as it happened | Richard Luscombe
Thu 14 Apr 2022 21.29 BST First published on Thu 14 Apr 2022 14.07 BST
From 8.38pm BST
20:38
Joe Biden is at the podium in North Carolina talking up his administration’ s successes in jobs growth and the economic recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, while laying out how he proposes to tackle raging inflation.
The president is attempting to fire back up his domestic agenda, which has stalled since the collapse of his Build Back Better plans last year.
In Greensboro this afternoon, he is presenting his rebooted plans under the similar-sounding banner of Building a Better America, talking up US leadership in global technology, and pointing to a bright future for industries such as “ cybersecurity, advanced manufacturing, health care, and so much more. ”
Urging Congress to get the bipartisan innovation bill to his desk, an act that would provide resources for, among other things, investment in technology-based industries, Biden said:
Every action I’ ve taken to rebuild our economy has been guided by one principle: made in America means using products, parts and materials built right here in the United States of America.
It means bringing manufacturing jobs back, building supply chains here at home, not outsourcing from abroad.
Turning to inflation, which this week reached 8.5%, its highest level in more than four decades, Biden said:
Our economy has gone from being on the mend to being on the move. I know that we’ re still facing challenges of high prices, inflation. I grew up in a family where the price of gasoline went up at the pump.
We need to address these high prices, and urgently, for working folks out there. When we build more in America we increase economic capacity. And ultimately it helps lower everyday prices for families. Look around. American manufacturing is coming back. Once again we’ re seeing the pride that comes from stamping a product made in America. ”
Updated at 8.59pm BST
9.29pm BST 21:29
That’ s a wrap for a particularly lively day in US politics.
Joe Biden sought to kickstart his stalled domestic agenda with a “ Building a Better America ” speech in North Carolina, talking up US manufacturing, jobs and technology investments before heading off to spend the Easter break at Camp David.
Thanks for joining us today, and remember you can follow developments in the Ukraine-Russia war in our 24-hour live blog here.
Here’ s what else we covered today:
9.14pm BST 21:14
It’ s common knowledge that the Texas Republican governor Greg Abbott is no supporter of the Biden administration’ s controversial decision to end the Trump-era Title 42 immigration policy that blocked refugees at the US southern border because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
But now the Democrat seeking to replace him, Beto O’ Rourke, has added his voice to the wave of criticism, ripping Joe Biden for having no plan to deal with an expected influx of migrants when the policy is terminated on 23 May.
“ It does not make sense to end this until there is a real plan and the capacity in place to handle those and address those that come over, ” O’ Rourke said in an interview with The Texas Tribune.
“ Everyone is legitimately concerned about the lack of a plan. We should hold the federal government accountable for doing its job, and they’ re not doing that. ”
O’ Rourke, who narrowly failed to unseat Republican Ted Cruz in their 2020 US senate race, trails Abbott in polls ahead of November’ s gubernatorial election. Border security will be one of the biggest issues for voters in the midterms and O’ Rourke will be careful not to adopt too radical an approach.
In comments to the Tribune, he indicated he wanted the Title 42 policy gone, but only when measures were in place to cope with the influx it would cause.
“ What it has done is produced a situation where the same person is crossing multiple times a week, and under Title 42 that Border Patrol agent simply turns that person back around and then that person tries to cross the next day, ” he said.
“ They’ re not arrested, not detained, there are no consequences for someone who is not following our laws when they try to come into this country, and it means that this country is not following its laws when it comes to those who are trying to make a legitimate claim for asylum. ”
9.07pm BST 21:07
Biden was also keen to talk up one the major policy successes of his administration, the bipartisan $ 1.2tn infrastructure bill funding improvements to roads, bridges, mass transit systems and improvements to the ports, water infrastructure and the electricity grid.
He said:
All these investments, infrastructure, research and development, and making it in America, are really about one thing, empowering more communities to do what you’ re doing here in Greensboro, transforming yourself into a city of the future, not the past, where instead of shuttered factories, we’ re building clean energy technologies that are going to power the future, helping America achieve true energy independence by creating good jobs and fighting for climate change.
And if we continue this we’ re not only going to be investing here, we’ re going to export billions of dollars worth of product to the rest of the world.
Technology was a key theme of Biden’ s speech. He praised Intel for investing $ 20bn in a new semiconductor manufacturing facility in Columbus, Ohio, and the bus manufacturer Thomas, whose electric fleet of school buses, he said, meant: “ hundreds of thousands of our children will no longer be inhaling the exhausts of diesel school buses. ”
But, Biden cautioned, inaction could lead to the US falling behind in race to lead the world in technology:
Other countries are racing ahead. We can’ t afford to wait. So Congress, get this bipartisan bill on my desk. North Carolina needs it. America needs it. Let’ s meet this moment together. ”
Updated at 9.11pm BST
8.38pm BST 20:38
Joe Biden is at the podium in North Carolina talking up his administration’ s successes in jobs growth and the economic recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, while laying out how he proposes to tackle raging inflation.
The president is attempting to fire back up his domestic agenda, which has stalled since the collapse of his Build Back Better plans last year.
In Greensboro this afternoon, he is presenting his rebooted plans under the similar-sounding banner of Building a Better America, talking up US leadership in global technology, and pointing to a bright future for industries such as “ cybersecurity, advanced manufacturing, health care, and so much more. ”
Urging Congress to get the bipartisan innovation bill to his desk, an act that would provide resources for, among other things, investment in technology-based industries, Biden said:
Every action I’ ve taken to rebuild our economy has been guided by one principle: made in America means using products, parts and materials built right here in the United States of America.
It means bringing manufacturing jobs back, building supply chains here at home, not outsourcing from abroad.
Turning to inflation, which this week reached 8.5%, its highest level in more than four decades, Biden said:
Our economy has gone from being on the mend to being on the move. I know that we’ re still facing challenges of high prices, inflation. I grew up in a family where the price of gasoline went up at the pump.
We need to address these high prices, and urgently, for working folks out there. When we build more in America we increase economic capacity. And ultimately it helps lower everyday prices for families. Look around. American manufacturing is coming back. Once again we’ re seeing the pride that comes from stamping a product made in America. ”
Updated at 8.59pm BST
8.19pm BST 20:19
Sam Levine
The Ohio supreme court has again blocked Republicans from implementing new districts for the state legislature that would be severely distorted in favor of the GOP, sending politicians back to the drawing board for a fifth time.
Since January, the state court has rejected four proposals for new districts in Ohio, saying all of them violated new language in the state constitution prohibiting gerrymandering “ primarily to favor or disfavor a political party ”.
Chief Justice Maureen O’ Connor, a Republican, has been the decisive vote in all four of those decision, siding with her three Democratic colleagues. Republicans currently have a 4-3 majority on the Ohio supreme court.
The map the supreme court rejected on Thursday came about after a little bit of trickery from Republicans on the 7-member panel that controls the redistricting process. After a bipartisan team of mapmakers was close to producing a final map, the Republicans on the commission abruptly decided to submit their own proposal, drawn behind the scenes instead. That proposal was very similar to the one the Ohio supreme court had previously rejected.
Ohio secretary of state Frank LaRose, a Republican, has said Ohio needs legislative maps in place by 20 April in order to vote in primary elections on 2 August.
In a separate federal lawsuit, Republicans have been pushing a 3-judge panel to implement a map by 20 April. The Ohio supreme court was unmoved by those arguments, noting that lawmakers could delay the August primary. It also warned the federal judges that they shouldn’ t interfere in a state court’ s decision over a state election.
The court ordered the panel to produce a new map by 6 May.
8.04pm BST 20:04
The Pentagon says it is still unable to confirm Ukraine’ s claim that it fired a missile that severely damaged the Russian battleship Moskva in the Black Sea, but defense officials are certain there was “ a significant explosion ” that has likely left it crippled.
John Kirby, the Pentagon’ s press secretary, has just wrapped up an afternoon briefing in which he expanded on his earlier comments to CNN that the ship was on fire.
“ We do know there was a significant explosion on this cruiser. We do believe that the explosion caused a significant fire, which as of this morning was still raging, ” he said.
“ We assess that at least some of the crew members evacuated the ship and were placed aboard other Russian navy ships. I can’ t tell you if it’ s the whole crew. ”
Kirby added that Pentagon officials no longer believed the Moskva was fully operational.
“ This morning, we had assessed that the ship was under way under its own power, we are no longer able to make that certainty, ” he said.
“ It remains to be seen exactly what the major impact is going to be. This is a cruiser, they only have three in this class. ”
7.39pm BST 19:39
Melody Schreiber
Covid cases are on the rise in the north-eastern part of the US, as many Americans travel and gather together for spring break and religious holidays.
The rise is being driven by BA.2, a subvariant of Omicron which is more transmissible than its sibling BA.1, and was responsible for an estimated 86% of new Covid-19 cases nationwide last week, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC).
With precautions having been relaxed in many places earlier this year, experts have been looking at whether BA.2 will lead to another surge. “ This is what the beginning of surges have looked like ” in the past, said Julia Raifman, assistant professor at the Boston University School of Public Health.
The rise in cases is expected to result in disruptions to school and work as more people become ill. The US is now at “ a key point to trigger action ”, Raifman said. “ If we take decisive action to reduce the transmission, then we will reduce case growth… and if we don’ t, then we’ re really leaving it to the virus to decide what’ s next. ”
Case counts across the US remain comparatively low, and rates are still falling in several parts of the country. But the US overall is seeing a tick upward in numbers, with an average of 30,000 people testing positive in the US each day, compared with about 26,000 last week, according to the CDC.
Washington DC, where the mayor, Muriel Bowser, and the US House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, each declared they’ d contracted Covid cases last week, has one of the highest two-week average increase. Rhode Island, Maryland, Kansas, Oregon, New Jersey, Connecticut and New York all saw more than 60% increases.
Philadelphia was the first city to reinstate its indoor mask mandate on Monday, in an attempt to stave off a rise in hospitalizations, which a University of Pennsylvania model predicts may rise in coming weeks. The city will also add requirements to show proof of vaccination if cases continue rising.
Read more:
7.22pm BST 19:22
We’ re midway through a remarkably busy day in US politics, and Joe Biden has still to deliver his remarks in North Carolina on the economy and America’ s global leadership in technology.
Here’ s a quick look at where things stand:
6.56pm BST 18:56
Joanna Walters
The Republican National Committee ( RNC) voted unanimously on today to withdraw from the Commission on Presidential Debates, saying the group that has run the debates for decades was biased and refused to enact reforms, Reuters reports.
Today, the RNC voted to withdraw from the biased CPD, and we are going to find newer, better debate platforms to ensure that future nominees are not forced to go through the biased CPD in order to make their case to the American people, ” the committee’ s chairwoman, Ronna McDaniel, said in a statement.
It is unclear what format those debates would take or whether they would take place as often as in recent decades.The nonprofit commission, which has run the debates since 1987, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The move comes as U.S. political divisions have grown deeper, and the possibility of fewer debates could leave Americans with less access to unfiltered information about their aspiring leaders.
Statement from @ GOPChairwoman pic.twitter.com/sLwXEYeIRZ
Republicans have long accused the debate commission, which was founded to codify the debates as a permanent part of presidential elections, of being biased in favor of Democratic candidates.
CNN’ s online report adds: Thursday’ s vote comes after months of signals from the RNC that it sought a break from the commission. In June 2021, McDaniel sent a letter outlining several complaints about the commission’ s practices, reflecting former President Donald Trump’ s concerns about the conduct of the 2020 debates.
And in January, McDaniel sent another letter threatening to “ prohibit future Republican nominees from participating in CPD-sponsored debates ” unless the commission changed its rules.
The RNC claims it has not pulled its future nominees out of debates entirely.
We’ ll have more details for you in due course.
6.18pm BST 18:18
Jean-Pierre also tore into the Texas governor Greg Abbott, who ordered, then appeared to back away from, secondary inspections of trucks that have caused “ delays, protests and chaos ” at the US southern border as state officials hunt illegal immigrants.
Customs and border protection ( CBP) officials say commercial traffic at the Mexico border has dropped 60% since Abbott insisted the Texas department of public safety ( DPS) reinspect vehicles already searched by the CBP.
The federal agency called the move “ unnecessary ” and Abbott backtracked, at least partially, on Wednesday when he dropped the requirement at one of the crossing points, according to the Austin American-Statesman.
“ These truck inspections hurt Texas, and US trade and commerce, and will have no effect on asylum seekers, ” Jean-Pierre said. “ Texas DPS does not need to replace CBP at the southern border and attempting to do so jeopardizes public safety and America’ s economic security.
“ We have called on Governor Abbott to stop these unnecessary and duplicative inspections that are choking trade into our country. ” | general |
A space for connection in King's Cross | Once at the heart of the industrial revolution, today London's King’ s Cross is a hub for innovation and entrepreneurship. We’ re proud to be part of this community, where thousands of Googlers work on products like Android and Google Business Profile that people around the world use.
We believe in the area’ s future growth and potential, which is why it’ s so exciting to see our newest development take shape. We’ re partnering on our first ground-up development in EMEA with British designer Thomas Heatherwick and Bjarke Ingels Group. When finished, our new location will include more than one million square feet of office and ground-floor retail space, and it will be a resource not just for Googlers but Londoners, too. We want the spaces and experiences we offer to create opportunity for local people and businesses, and contribute to the culture of entrepreneurship and vibrancy of the area.
One of the ways our ambition will come to life is via our office’ s ground floor, which runs along King’ s Boulevard. To ensure it meets the needs of our local area, we’ re listening to residents’ and small businesses’ views and ideas through partnerships with organisations like Camden Giving, which works to end poverty and inequality in Camden, and local media startup Camdenist. We’ ll continue this work to ensure the place we create is relevant and meaningful, and has a positive local impact, complementing our wider community outreach in the area.
We recently submitted plans for a redesigned ground-floor space that will include more than 250 metres of shop fronts and a flexible space for events and community use. Our ambition is to create a lively, welcoming boulevard that connects communities to an ecosystem of local makers, purpose-driven retailers, and public activities.
We plan to offer the shop units to a mix of established and growing brands, and provide support to help great ideas grow. Alongside the individual retail units, a market hall will offer a launchpad for small businesses, while a community, education and event space will host a changing programme of events all year round.
The new ground floor designs will create a more inviting, creative public space, with a series of playful tilting timber portals and varied shop fronts that each tenant can customise. The designs also incorporate more places for the public to come together — something we’ ve heard is important to local residents.
Visualisation of the roof of our newest building in King’ s Cross.
We believe in the value of coming together in person to collaborate, which is why we’ re continuing to invest in our offices around the world. As we transition to flexible, hybrid work, we’ re introducing new workplace technologies and collaboration spaces to keep our teams connected wherever they’ re working.
We’ re also emphasising sustainability in all aspects of the building’ s design as we work towards a carbon-free future. The kitchens and onsite equipment will be fully electric, which will allow us to track hourly energy usage and match this with local renewable energy. A system of 13,500 interconnected devices around the office will improve energy efficiency in real time, while solar shading will help regulate the building’ s temperature by reducing glare from the sun. We’ ve prioritised low-carbon, local materials in the construction and interior design to reduce the carbon impact of our building by 20%.
We’ ll share the lessons we learn to help other businesses reduce their carbon impact too, building on our partnerships with Camden Clean Air, the Knowledge Quarter and other local groups.
As well as offering a quiet green space for breaks during the work day, a densely planted outdoor roof garden, with a rainwater irrigation system, will provide a habitat for protected species of bats and birds. We’ re collaborating with the London Wildlife Trust and the borough of Camden as part of a wider initiative to protect our native species and improve local biodiversity.
We’ re proud to partner with more than 60 grassroots charities across Camden, providing mentoring, skills training and funding to support their work. In the past two years we’ ve provided virtual work experience for more than 200 students in Camden schools, and supported over a thousand local residents impacted by COVID with our Community Help Kit. We’ ve built strong connections and gained incredible insights from these programmes which, together, bring the voice of local residents and businesses into our long-term plans.
Our ongoing work on our King's Cross campus along with our $ 1 billion investment in our London Central Saint Giles office demonstrates our long-term commitment to the U.K. We ‘ ll keep working hard to ensure we play a meaningful role in the cities we call home.
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Va. High Court Denies Review Of Hotels ' Virus Coverage Suit | The Virginia Supreme Court declined Thursday to take up an appeal from a group of hotels suing for COVID-19 coverage from Zurich and Allianz insurance units.The Virginia Supreme Court refused to review a trial court's ruling that a hotel management company failed to show physical loss or damage in its COVID-19 coverage suit with insurers. ( AP Photo/LM Otero) In July, Judge Michael F. Devine granted the insurer's motion to dismiss the suit from Crescent Hotels & Resorts LLC and 29 other hotel owners across the country, according to court documents. The Virginia judge also denied a motion from the insurers... | general |
The inequity of covid-19 vaccines, in charts — Quartz | Two years into the covid-19 pandemic, vaccines are essentially a luxury good available only to the world’ s richer citizens.That’ s because the poorest countries have been left behind in the efforts to vaccinate the world against covid-19. Governments of rich countries funded the development and testing of vaccines, coordinated manufacturing, and protected the intellectual property of drugmakers—thereby ensuring that their citizens would get the vaccines first, and that their economies could reopen faster.
We can easily see the disparity between the global rich and poor by comparing every country’ s GDP per capita to its covid-19 vaccine doses per capita. ( The chart below shows GDP on a log scale.)
In order to get a closer look at vaccination trends, we broke the data up by regions below, and organized the countries by rank, instead of absolute values. If vaccines were distributed purely according to how rich a country is, then countries’ ranks on the two measures would be similar. In the charts below that linkage appears as flat, parallel lines—and unfortunately there are a lot of them.
To create these charts we used vaccination data collected by Bloomberg through April 8, 2022 and 2020 per-capita GDP figures from the World Bank. Countries without available figures in either metric were excluded. | tech |
Headwinds May Delay Jet Fuel Demand Revival | The global airline sector has high hopes for a sustained recovery heading into the spring and summer seasons as travel restrictions are lifted around the world. But headwinds from sky-high jet fuel prices, the war in Ukraine and new outbreaks of Covid-19 variants could dim the bright operating outlook and delay the rebound in jet fuel demand. Energy Intelligence estimates show global jet fuel consumption climbing by 13% this year to 6.1 million barrels per day, still some 20% below 2019 levels of 7.9 million b/d in 2019. Our projections show demand reaching 6.7 million b/d in 2023, a 15% shortfall versus pre-Covid-19 rates. | general |
Calif. Justices Won't Take On 'Take-Home ' COVID Case | The California Supreme Court has declined to review a lower appellate court's determination that See's Candies can be sued over the COVID-19 death of a worker's spouse, essentially greenlighting a `` take-home COVID '' case that could expand employer liability.The Golden State's highest court on Wednesday denied without comment See's Candies Inc.'s petition for review, according to court records. In December, a California Court of Appeal panel found that the state's Workers ' Compensation Act does not preempt claims alleging that the chocolate retailer's lax safety protocols caused employee Matilde Ek to contract COVID-19 and transmit it to her husband, causing his death.... | general |
Pfizer, BioNTech Seek Approval for Boosters in Children Following Positive Data | Pfizer and BioNTech will submit updated data to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to support the Emergency Use Authorization ( EUA) of their COVID-19 vaccination boosters in children between the age of 5 and 11.
The move comes amidst the rise of two new variants, omicron XE and subvariant BA.2. It is unknown how the variants will affect tentative returns to normalcy, but a 3-dose vaccination of all populations and age ranges could provide a much-needed safety net.
Data supporting the move stems from a Phase II/III clinical trial geared toward evaluating the safety, efficacy and tolerability of the third dose in children. One month following the 10-microgram third dose, a strong immune response was demonstrated in the 140 participants. To ensure relevancy, the study design included evaluating the vaccine’ s ability to neutralize a recombinant SARS-CoV-2 virus featuring the omicron spike.
Efficacy was supported by a jump from 27 to 993 in the 50% neutralizing geometric mean titer ( GMT) against the Omicron variant after three doses. The 50% neutralizing GMT increased six-fold against the wild-type SARS-COV-2 spike protein. Longitudinal studies will assess the duration of protection provided by three vaccinations.
This data underscores the previously established safety and efficacy seen in over 10,000 child participants of Pfizer’ s COVID-19 vaccine clinical trials. A previous study included 4,500 Polish, American, Spanish and Finnish children between the ages of 6 months and 12 years. Two inoculations, representative of a child’ s first vaccination against COVID-19, were given to the study’ s control group 21 days apart. Phase I was a dose-escalation study using 10 microgram inoculations for patients aged 5 to 12, while Phase II and III involved administering a lower dosage of 3 micrograms to children under 5. The study will be continued by administering a third dose to each cohort.
The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for COVID-19 has already received FDA and EUA approval when given in a series of two doses in children over 5, with a third permitted for patients with compromised immune systems. Single boosters have been approved for patients over 12, and a second booster is approved for those over the age of 50 or those who have compromised immune systems. The latter would result in a four-dose series of vaccinations.
According to a statement released by Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director-general of the World Health Organization ( WHO), “ the world is currently experiencing the lowest number of reported deaths in two years. ” This news comes with a short precautionary statement regarding the unpredictable nature of the SARS-CoV-2 virus but is nonetheless a milestone to celebrate after two years of cyclical infection peaks. | general |
UCI president Lappartient open to moving Paris-Roubaix and Tour of Flanders to the fall | Get access to more than 30 brands, premium video, exclusive content, events, mapping, and more.
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UCI president David Lappartient told Wielerflits that he is open to reformatting the season and moving both Paris-Roubaix and the Tour of Flanders to the fall.
Both races form part of the spring classics, although this year the calendar was altered slightly with Amstel Gold Race moving to sit between both of the cobbles one-day races.
“ Paris-Roubaix was always on the second Sunday in April, ” Lappartient told the Dutch publication.
“ Last spring, however, the competition was banned by the local authorities due to the COVID-19 situation in northern France. Out of necessity, a place on the calendar for Paris-Roubaix was found in the autumn. That move to October 3 has not made the competition any less attractive.
“ On the contrary, this was one of the most heroic editions of ‘ the Hell of the North’ in history. I spoke about this with organizer ASO. They indicated that there would never have been any consideration before to change the Paris-Roubaix date. Now they are very different. In the future, that creates many more possibilities.
“ End the season with the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix? That’ s something we couldn’ t imagine in the past. Now I ask myself: why not? Wouldn’ t that open up possibilities in the calendar when we organize these two, perhaps the two largest, monuments at the end of the year. ”
While Lappartient has assured race organizers that their WorldTour status has been set for the next three years, the dates for those events could still be altered. The UCI is keen to ensure that WorldTour races no longer overlap, a feature that takes place with Tirreno-Adriatico and Paris-Nice, for example.
Moving the two biggest spring classics to the autumn would represent a major shift in cycling, perhaps not seen since the Vuelta a España moved to a late summer/early autumn fixture in the 1990s.
“ We used to stick to certain dates because we had been planning the calendar in this way for years. How we will implement the reform is still unclear. But all parties in cycling have indicated to us that they are open to considering changes, ” the UCI president added.
“ It may be that a grand tour might be postponed one or two weeks, but broadly it will remain the same. The Tour de France will be organized in July. The Giro d’ Italia will continue to take place before the Tour de France, while the Vuelta a España will have its place after the Tour. We will not change the frame of the calendar regarding the grand tours. You can not open the season with a grand tour, while at the end of October you can not close the season with it due to the weather conditions in the high mountains. ”
Get the latest race news, results, commentary, and tech, delivered to your inbox. | general |
ZLoader botnet campaign ‘ a wakeup call’ on how ransomware can evolve | We are excited to bring Transform 2022 back in-person July 19 and virtually July 20 - 28. Join AI and data leaders for insightful talks and exciting networking opportunities. Register today!
While joint efforts by Microsoft and a number of security vendors have disrupted a global campaign that leveraged the ZLoader botnet to distribute ransomware, the opportunistic attacks serve as a reminder that ransomware is a society-wide threat.
Microsoft’ s Digital Crimes Unit said Wednesday that it recently obtained a court order in Georgia allowing it to take down 65 domains used the ZLoader group. Other participants in the effort — which also used technical means to disrupt ZLoader — included ESET; Lumen’ s threat intelligence unit, Black Lotus Labs; and Palo Alto Networks’ Unit 42 division.
Researchers at Microsoft said that the ZLoader attacks largely targeted the U.S., Western Europe, China and Japan.
While ZLoader had originally been deployed as a banking trojan, the malware is “ notable for its ability to evolve, ” the Microsoft researchers said in a blog post. And with this latest campaign, the botnet has evolved to distribute ransomware payloads, the researchers said.
The attacks also appear to have been more opportunistic than many of the high-profile ransomware attacks known to date, which have often targeted specific organizations.
“ Zloader affiliates used different techniques to expand their botnets, such as sending spam emails containing malicious documents or misusing Google Ads to direct visitors to malicious websites serving the malware, ” said Alexis Dorais-Joncas, security intelligence team lead at ESET, in an email.
Along with misused Google ads, emails about COVID-19 ( with malicious Microsoft Word attachments) and fake invoice emails containing malicious XLS macros were also utilized in the ZLoader campaign, according to ESET researchers.
“ The affiliates could then decide to deploy additional malware to the infected systems under their control, such as ransomware, ” Dorais-Joncas said.
The fact that ZLoader has evolved to be used with deploying ransomware represents “ a wakeup call on how ransomware will continue to evolve, ” said Joseph Carson, chief security scientist and advisory CISO at Delinea, a privileged access management vendor.
“ This means that rather than ransomware victims being targeted, it makes ransomware more opportunistic — putting more individuals and small businesses at higher risk of becoming ransomware victims, ” Carson said in an email.
Switching the use of ZLoader from stealing credentials and sensitive data to distribution of ransomware would “ likely result in more individuals and small businesses becoming victims of ransomware by visiting the wrong domain or clicking on the wrong link, ” he said.
The evolution is a reminder that “ everyone is now a target of ransomware criminals, ” Carson said. “ We must prioritize ransomware no longer as the biggest threat to organizations, but one of the biggest threats to society. ”
Davis McCarthy, principal security researcher at Valtix, noted that Emotet also evolved from a banking trojan — “ becoming a powerful polymorphic botnet that has evaded takedown for years. ”
Underpinning this evolution of ZLoader is the fact that “ ransomware is lucrative. And as more ransomware groups come to market, access brokering will grow in demand, ” McCarthy said. “ As access brokering grows, the need for reliable and innovative delivery methods will grow as well. ”
In the past, ZLoader has been tied to ransomware families including Ryuk, which is infamous for targeting health care organizations, Microsoft researchers said.
A particularly notable element of the ZLoader campaign is the presence of customizable options, “ which would make one attacker’ s use of ZLoader differ from another attacker’ s instance, ” said Ben Pick, principal consultant at nVisium. “ This makes detection difficult as a signature-based approach would be ineffective. ”
Ultimately, “ maintained trojans typically increase their capabilities to cast a wider net of potential victims or avoid detection, ” Pick said. “ To me, this means that the threat remains and that the trojan will continue to evolve, so long as it is profitable to malicious actors. ”
John Bambenek, principal threat hunter at Netenrich, noted that early on in the history of ransomware, many ransomware authors tried to distribute their own malware. However, they quickly discovered it was best to focus on making solid ransomware — and allow those who were skilled at compromising systems in bulk to focus on that, Bambenek said.
“ The result is an efficient and relentless ecosystem in going after victims in a way that maximizes profits for both groups, ” he said.
Modern ransomware, Bambenek said, is a complicated business that requires different sets of expertise. And at this point, he said, “ the criminals have figured that out to streamline their time and efficiency to get paid. ”
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CARIBBEAN AIRLINES RE-INTRODUCES NON-STOP FLIGHTS FROM | Port of Spain, Trinidad, April 14, 2022 ( GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Caribbean Airlines is delighted to announce the re-start of non-stop service between Tobago and JFK, New York from May 05.
The addition of this service is part of Caribbean Airlines commitment to improve regional connectivity and to support the drive to boost Tobago’ s tourism.
The airline is also working with key stakeholders like the Magdalena Grande Hotel, Tobago to stimulate leisure travel demand and multi-destination tourism. In the coming weeks, customers can expect more exciting announcements about special joint promotions as well as information about increased non-stop connections to/from Tobago.
In commenting on this development, Caribbean Airlines CEO, Garvin Medera stated: “ In keeping with our promise to Reset Expectations, Caribbean Airlines will re-introduce non-stop service between Tobago and New York. The JFK flights will place 320 additional seats into the market and offer a dual cabin travel experience, linking the diaspora with home and allowing more options for flight connections via JFK. ”
Flights are open for sale via www.caribbean-airlines.com, the airline’ s Reservations Sales and Service Centre and Travel Agents. Customers may also book flights using Caribbean Airlines’ Mobile App, available for free download via the Apple Store and Google Play.
Caribbean Airlines was established on September 27, 2006, and commenced operations on January 01, 2007. It is an authentic Caribbean airline which provides passenger and cargo services. The airline’ s professional teams offer a genuine Caribbean experience on all its services and actively demonstrate the warmth of the islands both on and off the aircraft. Caribbean Airlines operates flights to 22 destinations in the Caribbean and North and South America out of its hubs in Piarco Trinidad and Kingston Jamaica. The airline continues to improve connectivity in the Caribbean region and is expanding in the Eastern Caribbean with services from Barbados to Grenada, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and St. Lucia with other destinations to be added. The airline’ s fleet is comprised of Boeing 737-8, Boeing 737-800NG and ATR72-600 aircraft.
The airline holds Platinum certification by APEX Health Safety powered by Simpliflying for its efforts in ensuring the highest standards of cleanliness and sanitisation for its customers’ health and wellness when travelling. Caribbean Airlines is the first regional carrier to be awarded the certification which was granted following a comprehensive month-long audit of the airline’ s COVID 19 protocols. Jointly owned by the people of Trinidad & Tobago and Jamaica, headquartered in Trinidad and Tobago, and with an operational base in Jamaica, Caribbean Airlines employs more than 1200 people. The airline is a member of the International Air Transport Association ( IATA) and is recognized as an IATA Operational Safety Audit qualified airline. It is a certified FAA repair station as per regulation 145.
For more information on Caribbean Airlines, visit www.caribbean- airlines.com. Follow Caribbean Airlines on Facebook: www.facebook.com/caribbeanairlines and on Twitter @ iflycaribbean. | general |
Wout van Aert to race Paris-Roubaix following COVID-19 recovery | Get access to more than 30 brands, premium video, exclusive content, events, mapping, and more.
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Wout van Aert ( Jumbo-Visma) will make his return to racing at Paris-Roubaix after recovering from COVID-19.
The Belgian rider was confirmed as part of the Jumbo-Visma’ s seven-rider team for Sunday’ s classic. Van Aert is unlikely to ride as the team’ s leader, with Christophe Laporte and Mike Teunissen expected to spearhead the squad.
“ We are always extremely careful with the health of our riders after a corona infection, ” sports director Merijn Zeeman said in a press release.
“ The medical staff has an important and decisive role in this. We have closely monitored the situation together. A doctor visited Wout for four days to monitor the reactions of the training sessions on his body. He also had very extensive examinations before he resumed his training. At the beginning of the week, the medical staff has decided that he is fully fit and can continue his efforts at a sporting level. ”
Van Aert’ s last race was Gent-Wegelgem and he missed the Tour of Flanders after testing positive in the lead up to the race. The 27-year-old had been a firm favorite for Flanders after a convincing win in E3 Saxo Bank Classic. He had also won Omloop Het Nieuwsblad in February, a stage in Paris-Nice, and finished eighth in Milan-San Remo.
Jumbo-Visma admitted that his COVID-19 case hampered the Belgian’ s preparation for Paris-Roubaix, and that while he would not race as the team’ s pre-race leader, his presence on the roster was an important indication that the rider’ s health was back to where it should be.
“ Among other things, on his heart function, Wout’ s health is excellent. But after a week of isolation, top form is no longer possible. His run-up to Roubaix is moderate and he will miss Thursday’ s reconnaissance. All in all, it’ s a far from ideal preparation, ” Zeeman said. “ Nevertheless, a rider like Wout can play an important role in supporting Christophe Laporte, Mike Teunissen, and Nathan Van Hooydonck. ”
Jumbo-Visma’ s team for Paris-Roubaix: Wout van Aert, Christophe Laport, Mike Teunissen, Nathan Van Hooydonck, Edoardo Affini, Timo Roosen, Mick van Dijke.
It’ s almost time for the Hell of the North🪨Our team for Paris-Roubaix⬇️ pic.twitter.com/3kblUVuKWH
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The Airbnb acquisition that could be key to its post-pandemic playbook | In this article
In this weekly series, CNBC takes a look at companies that made the inaugural Disruptor 50 list, 10 years later.
Like many mobile-first, on-demand service-based companies started in the early 2010s, HotelTonight saw similarities with two of the biggest disruptors in that category.
`` That's how the world is moving: with Uber, you push a button and get a car; with GrubHub, you push a button and you get food, '' HotelTonight CEO and co-founder Sam Shank said during a June 2013 appearance on CNBC's `` Squawk Box. ''
`` With us, you push a button, and you get a place to stay, '' he said. `` We're the app for on-demand shelter. ''
Launched in January 2011, HotelTonight looked to popularize a part of the travel and leisure sector that its founders felt had been overlooked: last-minute and same-day bookings.
`` The idea from the start was all about trying to bring the idea to the mainstream that spontaneous travel is just more fun and rewarding, '' Jared Simon, the former COO and co-founder of HotelTonight, said in a recent interview. `` At the outset, that was not a concept that was mainstream in the least, and we got a lot of pushback about the notion. ''
But HotelTonight quickly gained traction as it leaned into its mobile-first experience that resonated well with a younger, more cost-conscious demographic.
`` At the time, the process of booking travel was like buying a house or applying for a loan, '' Simon said. `` The amount of information and time you had to give up sort of killed any sort of spontaneity in traveling at all and just made it feel like a transaction, not an experience. ''
Simon said that travelers would often tell them that they `` had been treated really poorly by the incumbent online travel agencies for years, '' and HotelTonight instead tried to `` prove that we could develop a real partnership with them. '' That led to a focus on things like simplifying the information you had to enter and providing more images and well-written descriptions of the rooms themselves, features that Simon said have `` become much more pervasive now. ''
Even the concept of last-minute bookings was cribbed by some of the incumbents. Booking.com launched its own Booking Now app in 2015, which it shut down roughly two years later, while several other clones popped up around the globe with similar business models.
While Shank said in 2013 that the company wouldn't look to `` go after the entire market of travel, '' HotelTonight did make a shift over time to become a more traditional hotel booking platform, expanding its booking window, adding a desktop browser version and even leaning into more luxury hotel deal offerings for their cost-conscious base.
In 2017 it announced a $ 37 million Series E round that took it to a $ 463 million valuation, bringing its total funding to $ 126.9 million from firms like Accel Partners, Battery Ventures, and First Round Capital, according to Crunchbase. It even struck partnership deals with Madison Square Garden and the New York Yankees, providing geolocated offers to fans at sporting events and concerts.
`` We were fortunate we were in a space where we were one of the earliest mobile-only commerce apps, '' Simon said. `` That gave us some latitude and some space to work because the larger behemoths hadn't figured out how to colonize that space yet, so we were able to pioneer some marketing concepts and other ways of reaching consumers that gave us a beachhead, and then allowed us to take another step with the MSG partnership and other areas where we were innovating on in addition to the core product. ''
HotelTonight grew to the point that it had more than 25,000 hotels in approximately 1,700 cities worldwide on its platform.
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Ultimately Airbnb acquired HotelTonight on its road to an IPO in March 2019 in a deal reported to be worth more than $ 400 million. Simon said the deal was something that `` just made sense, '' as the companies `` were very complimentary in terms of product. ''
At the time, Airbnb CEO and co-founder Brian Chesky said the move was a `` big part of building an end-to-end travel platform. '' The company also cited the demand from and for boutique hotels to be on Airbnb. Airbnb said at the time of the acquisition that the HotelTonight app and website would operate as it had before, something that is still true.
However, less than a year later the Covid-19 pandemic hit, which presented a new set of challenges for Airbnb to navigate while also trying to build that end-to-end platform HotelTonight was expected to be a big part of.
Jed Kelly, managing director of equity research at Oppenheimer & Co., said HotelTonight has `` been operating pretty quietly within Airbnb. ''
`` It hasn't been a big focus of the company just judging by the last like four shareholder letters, they don't talk about it, '' Kelly said. `` When you see the Airbnb commercials it says 'Made possible by hosts. ' That doesn't really scream hotels. ''
A spokesperson for Airbnb declined to make an executive available for comment.
Andrew Boone, a managing director at JMP Securities, said while HotelTonight had likely helped Airbnb accelerate its relationship with hotels, he said `` it's hard to say if it's been either successful or unsuccessful just because of everything that has happened that is exogenous to Airbnb. ''
Part of the challenge, Boone said, will be to see how travel trends evolve moving forward. Airbnb has benefitted from the trend of travelers choosing longer stays at alternative accommodations, often outside of major city centers, Boone said. HotelTonight, on the other hand, was more city-located, often appealing to customers who may have traveled for work last minute or stayed late after a show or sporting event, travel and entertainment sectors that haven't bounced back as well.
Simon said that he believes coming out of the pandemic there will be a larger desire for `` spontaneous travel, '' which was an initial guiding principle of HotelTonight.
`` I think it's one of those changes we 'll see, that people recognize the value of the experience and the value of not making plans and the value of living life as it comes, '' he said. `` Travel will be back, and we're already seeing a lot of evidence of that. Hotels will be at the center of that. ''
Sign up for our weekly, original newsletter that goes beyond the annual Disruptor 50 list, offering a closer look at companies like HotelTonight before they're acquired, and founders like Shank and Simon who continue to innovate across every sector of the economy. | business |
Andy Jassy on inflation surcharge: Amazon can't keep absorbing costs | Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said the company needed to add a fuel and inflation surcharge to deal with rising costs tied to inflation, the coronavirus pandemic and the war in Ukraine.
`` At a certain point, you can't keep absorbing all those costs and run a business that's economic, '' Jassy told CNBC's Andrew Ross Sorkin in a `` Squawk Box '' interview on Thursday.
Amazon has tried to assume all those costs wherever possible, Jassy said, but it became increasingly untenable as the pandemic continued and after Russia invaded Ukraine earlier this year. On Wednesday, Amazon imposed a 5% fee to U.S. third-party sellers who use its shipping and storage services.
The surcharge will go into effect in about two weeks for sellers who use Amazon's Fulfillment by Amazon program. Merchants pay to have their inventory stored in Amazon's warehouses and to make use of the company's supply chain and shipping operations.
`` We're very aware that sellers have costs as well, '' Jassy said. `` We 'll keep looking at how costs evolve and revisit. ''
Some sellers expressed frustration over the fee, noting that they had already absorbed another FBA cost increase that went into effect in January.
Amazon's expenses have jumped since the start of the pandemic as the company has tried to hire and retain enough employees to keep up with demand in its warehouses. Facing staffing shortages at some facilities, the company often had to send packages over longer and costlier distances to locations with enough people available to receive them.
Jassy, who succeeded Amazon founder Jeff Bezos in July, also pointed to the war in Ukraine, which has pushed up the prices of oil and metals, and China's latest Covid-19 outbreak, which has disrupted tech supply chains.
`` I think some of the issues happening right now in China where, you know, as there are variants and they're being very conservative and locking down production create some issues in getting products as fast as we need, '' Jassy said. `` It's still more expensive and more time-consuming to get products into the country. So there's still supply chain challenges. '' | business |
Musk's Twitter play sparks concerns about distraction, stock sales at Tesla | The billionaire entrepreneur, who also heads rocket company SpaceX, targeted Twitter Inc on Thursday with a $ 43 billion takeover offer.
The idea of Musk working to close that deal, possibly by selling even more of his Tesla stake, and then overseeing yet another company has Tesla observers worried.
`` Elon is distracted. He's got a lot of things going on. He's involved in a lot of different endeavors, '' said Gene Munster, managing partner at venture capital firm Loup Ventures, which owns shares in Tesla. `` This is a one to three months headwind to Tesla's stock. ''
Shares of Tesla, the world's most valuable automaker, fell more than 9% since he disclosed his more than 9% stake in Twitter last Monday. On Thursday, Tesla's stock fell 3.7%.
While Musk has talked about potential changes he would like to see Twitter make, Tesla faces its own challenges - the need to boost production at new assembly plants in Berlin and Texas, analysts said. Meanwhile, Tesla's Shanghai factory - its largest - has been idled by the COVID-19 crackdown in China.
`` Musk is Tesla, and investors don't want to see Tesla lose that leadership edge, '' Roth Capital Partners analyst Craig Irwin said.
And investors have Musk's own words prior to this foray on which they base their fears. Last year, he said he worked seven days a week - `` crazy hours '' - splitting time between Tesla and SpaceX. He also leads brain-chip startup Neuralink and tunneling venture the Boring Company.
Another worry is how Musk will finance a potential deal for Twitter, which would include stock sales and massive loans, analysts said.
Wells Fargo analyst Colin Langan said Musk, who holds over a 9% stake in Twitter, would need $ 39 billion to complete the deal and the sale of more Tesla shares could pressure the stock further.
Tesla executives may pledge their company stock as collateral for loans, but the maximum loan does not exceed 25% of the total value of the pledged stock, according to company policy.
This means that he could borrow $ 42.5 billion by pledging all of his shares worth $ 170 billion. But he already pledged over half of his Tesla shares as collateral to secure certain personal indebtedness, according to a Tesla filing last year.
Musk said on Thursday he has the assets to buy Twitter, but has not provided details.
The fortunes of the world's richest person consists largely of stocks at Tesla, and Space X. He sold over $ 16 billion Tesla shares late last year, $ 11 billion of which he said would be paid in taxes.
`` He is potentially setting himself up for a huge liability down the road, '' said Howard Fischer, a partner at law firm Moses & Singer and former senior trial counsel at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
( Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin in San Fracisco, Chanvi Meta in Bangalore; additional reporting by Chris Prentice. Editing by Ben Klayman and Bernard Orr)
By Hyunjoo Jin and Chavi Mehta | business |
China Will Be Deglobalization’ s Big Loser by Minxin Pei | Seven decades ago, Mao Zedong embraced economic self-reliance and foreign-policy militancy, which turned China into an impoverished pariah state. This history should be a stark warning to President Xi Jinping: if he allows Russia to divide the world with its war on Ukraine, it is China that will pay the heaviest price.
CLAREMONT, CALIFORNIA – Russia’ s unprovoked war against Ukraine has accelerated the division of the world into two blocs, one comprising the world’ s democracies, and the other its autocracies. This, in turn, has exposed the risks inherent in economic interdependence among countries with clashing ideologies and security interests. And although the coming deglobalization process will leave everyone worse off, China stands to lose the most.
Of course, China was headed toward at least a partial decoupling with the United States well before Russia invaded Ukraine. And it has been seeking to ensure that this process happens on its terms, by reducing its dependence on US markets and technology. To that end, in 2020 China unveiled its so-called dual-circulation strategy, which aims to foster domestic demand and technological self-sufficiency.
And yet, last year, China was still the world’ s largest exporter, shipping $ 3.3 trillion in goods to the rest of the world, with the US its leading export market. In fact, overall trade with the US grew by more than 20% in 2021, as total Chinese trade reached a new high. Trade with the European Union also grew, reaching $ 828 billion, even as disagreements over human rights torpedoed a controversial EU-China investment agreement.
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Minxin Pei, Professor of Government at Claremont McKenna College, is a non-resident senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the United States.
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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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Azerbaijani music thrills audience in Brazil [ PHOTO/VIDEO ] | The year 2022 is full of major events in Azerbaijan's cultural life.
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the legendary composer, who greatly contributed to national and world music.
The composer wrote the first Azerbaijani lyrical-psychological opera on a contemporary theme. In the opera `` Sevil '', the composer used a variety of musical forms in the opera.
He is the author of numerous operas, ballets, symphonies, symphonic poems, symphonic mugham, suites, capriccio, piano concertos, sonatas, musical comedies, songs, love songs, piano pieces, music for dramatic productions, and movies.
At the same time, 2022 enters the history as the Year of Shusha in Azerbaijan.
The city is often considered the cradle of Azerbaijan's music and poetry.
A series of concert events are organized worldwide to mark these significant dates.
Rio de Janeiro has hosted a series of concerts dedicated to the city of Shusha and Fikrat Amirov's centenary.
The concert became the first musical event dedicated to Azerbaijan after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil.
Speaking at the concert, Azerbaijani Ambassador to Brazil Elkhan Polukhov stressed that the Year of Shusha and the composer's 100th anniversary are being celebrated Azerbaijan and abroad.
He noted that Fikat Amirov, a bright representative of the national composer school, the founder of the genre of symphonic mugham, made an invaluable contribution to the treasury of world cultural values.
The Ambassador pointed out that UNESCO will celebrate Fikrat Amirov's centenary this year. The decision was announced at the 41st UNESCO General Conference in Paris.
The event is included in the program of UNESCO anniversaries for 2022-2023 and is held on an international scale.
In his speech, the Azerbaijani Ambassador emphasized the importance of partnership between Brazil and Azerbaijan in the political and humanitarian spheres. The two countries also successfully cooperate in the field of culture.
Next, the Brazilian National Symphony Orchestra performed a fascinating concert under the baton of the People's Artist Yalchin Adigozalov.
The extensive concert program included Fikrat Amirov's symphonic mugham `` Kurt Ovshari '', music pieces `` Nasimi Dastan '' and `` Azerbaijani Capriccio '' as well as Vasif Adigozalov's Piano Concerto No. 3.
The South American premiere of the work was presented by the brightest representative of the Brazilian piano school, student of the outstanding classical pianist Nelson Freire, winner of many international awards, Cristian Budu.
A series of concerts took place at the Grande Sala in Cidade Das Artes, known as the largest concert hall in Rio de Janeiro. The gala concert were met with great public interest.
The evening, organized on the initiative of the leadership of the Orquestra Sinfonica Brasileira and the Azerbaijani Embassy in Brazil with the assistance of the Azerbaijan Culture Ministry.
Employees of the Rio de Janeiro mayor's office, representatives of diplomatic missions, teaching and student staff of the Azerbaijan Municipal School in Rio de Janeiro, creative intelligentsia and journalists attended the event.
At the end of the concert, enthusiastic spectators greeted the Azerbaijani conductor and the Brazilian National Symphony Orchestra with a storm of applause. | general |
Exclusive: Tom Boonen talks Quick-Step’ s classics misery, Pogačar, and van der Poel | Get access to more than 30 brands, premium video, exclusive content, events, mapping, and more.
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ROUBAIX, FRANCE - APRIL 08: Tom Boonen of Belgium and Quick Step Omega Pharma crosses the finishline to win the 2012 Paris Roubaix cycle race from Compiegne to Roubaix on April 8, 2012 in Paris, France. The 110th edition of the race is 257km long with 51.5km of cobbles spread over 27 sections. ( Photo by Bryn Lennon/Getty Images) Photo: Getty
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Tom Boonen has tipped Mathieu van der Poel for the win in Sunday’ s Paris-Roubaix, while adding that Tadej Pogačar is one of the best riders he’ s ever seen, and that Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl’ s classics campaign was over before it truly started due to illness.
Speaking exclusively to VeloNews at the Sea Otter Classic in California, Boonen —who now works for Classified Cycling — sat down to talk classics, retirement, and the current crop of riders who are competing for top honors in the cobbled classics.
The four-time Paris-Roubaix, and three-time Tour of Flanders winner said that he had been disappointed by his former squad’ s results on the cobbles but that their inability to win outside of Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne earlier in the year was down to illness rather than talent or lack of recruitment.
“ I was at the Tour of Flanders and I’ ve been following the classics very closely. With Quick-Step, it’ s just been down to bad luck and more bad luck, ” Boonen told VeloNews.
“ They’ ve had sickness all over the team, and I said on a podcast five or six weeks ago that they could forget this year’ s spring classics. They were not going to make it. If you have seven or eight guys who are sick in your classics team then you can forget it. You can’ t make up for it. If it’ s an entire team, and the sickness was just inside of the classics team because they were trying to stay together, so in one week they all got sick. From then it was all over. It’ s about next year. ”
Boonen spearheaded Patrick Lefevere’ s teams for more than a decade and was a regular fixture in the spring classics. The former world champion saw Quick-Step evolve over the years and before his retirement in 2017, he had seen the Belgian squad evolve several times over.
At one point the team roster listed Boonen, Niki Terpstra, and Philippe Gilbert but these days the classics squad revolves around Kasper Asgreen. There is still depth within the current lineup and Boonen believes that despite Jumbo Visma and Alpecin Fenix both holding more accomplished team leaders, Quick-Step still has the needed armory to compete if they are healthy.
“ Kasper is more than enough and no matter what you ask about the team it all comes down to their sickness. Without illness, they would have been there and Asgreen would have been up there and competing for the win. He was almost there in Flanders but Lampaert was sick, Štybar was sick, Asgreen was sick, Declercq wasn’ t even sure if he could ride his bike anymore but with all that bad luck you can’ t expect results, ” Boonen said.
“ Also when you start getting demotivated about it, it just makes it worse. They still have a strong classics team but they just don’ t have a leader like Jumbo-Visma or Alpecin-Fenix has. You can’ t compare any other classics team in the world with teams who have van Aert and van der Poel. Quick-Step doesn’ t have one of those but they still have a very strong team. ”
One rider who lit up the spring for Boonen was two-time Tour de France winner Tadej Pogačar. The Slovenian made his Tour of Flanders debut this year and but for a ‘ rookie mistake’ in the finale could have come away with his first cobbled monument. Boonen was blown away with Pogacar’ s ride, especially when the UAE Team Emirates rider kicked off the hostilities on the second of three ascents of the Kwaremont.
“ I was loving it, ” Boonen said with a huge smile.
“ I was on the side of the road when he went by on the Kwaremont for the second time and it was unbelievable. He found an asphalt path on the Kwaremont. He was really fast. He was so sure and in control. I think he thought that he’ d already won it. He was trying to play with van der Poel but van der Poel used those chasing guys, and he’ s super smart.
“ That’ s what I love about van de Poel. He doesn’ t have to be the strongest, he’ s just there fighting for the win and then he can create his own circumstances. He uses everything that he has to win a race. Pogačar, I think that he was sure he was going to win because he was only busy with van der Poel in the sprint and he wasn’ t paying attention. Next year for Pogacar. I think he can one day win Paris-Roubaix, too. He can ride on the cobbles. He doesn’ t have the natural profile for it but he’ s one of the best riders I’ ve ever seen on a bike. ”
Boonen tipped van der Poel for the win in Sunday’ s Paris-Roubaix. The Dutch rider was third last year but looks to be in the form of his life at present. With van Aert coming back from a bout of COVID-19 the race is relatively open but Boonen is most impressed with the level of the young riders who have come through since his retirement.
“ I think van der Poel will win Paris-Roubaix, ” he said.
“ There are some good bike riders right now. I have no idea how I would compare myself to these guys but right now we have a rare combination in which we have top guys competing against each other. It was the same when I was racing, with really good guys, but the only difference now is that Pogačar tries to win classics. That hasn’ t happened for a long time. ”
Since his retirement in 2017, Boonen has raced cars and invested in Classified Cycling. He still works in the media at times but has no desire to step behind the wheel of a team car and run a team. He still looks lean and healthy but admitted that he stepped away from the sport at the right time, even if he had the chance to continue his career for another season or two.
“ Do I miss it? I would love to wake up one morning, be in super shape and ride the Tour of Flanders but I don’ t miss the six months before, ” he said. “ I don’ t really miss it, and it was the right time to stop. I could have maybe continued for another year or two but not on the same level anymore. I still had some fire left in me, the fire wasn’ t the problem but ever since I fractured my skull and had the brain injury — since then it was a struggle, every day when it came to fighting in the bunch. Seventeen years as a professional was a long time. It was more than enough. ”
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Azerbaijan, UN agency sign cooperation accord [ PHOTO ] | Azerbaijan's Agrarco LLC and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization ( FAO) have signed an agreement on cooperation and coordination of activities.
In accordance with the agreement, the parties will work on the production and processing of hazelnuts, the application of best practices in this sphere and the organization of events to increase the farmers ' potential.
The sides will explore the potential of using renewable energy sources and logistics. In addition, they will assist other farmers in the development of advanced technologies.
The document was signed by Agrarco LLC director Javid Kazimov and FAO representative in Azerbaijan Melek Cakmak within the framework of the project “ Catalyzing the efficiency and sustainability of Azerbaijan's hazelnut sector ” ( HAZER).
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Javid Kazimov stated that Agrarco LLC plans to open a plant, with a production capacity of 20 tons per year, for the production and processing of hazelnuts. The plant will be put into operation in the summer of 2022.
He noted that it is also planned to install crushing equipment that is capable of cleaning 7 tons of hazelnuts a year.
`` This plant is being built in accordance with international and modern standards and using high technologies, '' he said.
Noting that the company grows hazelnuts on an area of 500 hectares and fruits on 370 hectares, he mentioned that there are warehouses where you can store about 5,000 tons of agricultural products.
The Agriculture Ministry's representative, Surkhay Novruzov, stated that Azerbaijan ranks among the top three countries for the volume of hazelnut exports worldwide.
Noting that this year Azerbaijan harvested 67,000 tons of hazelnuts, he stated that about 95-96 percent of hazelnuts are exported to European markets.
`` The Azerbaijani government encourages entrepreneurs involved in the production of hazelnuts. They are annually allocated lump-sum funds in the amount of AZN 4,400 ( $ 2,590), and will continue to be encouraged within the state programs, '' he said.
Novruzov added that work is underway to expand the production of hazelnuts, as well as in the field of combating various pests and plant diseases adversely affecting the cultivation of hazelnuts, within the framework of international cooperation.
Javid Kazimov also stated that the company is planning to increase the export of peeled hazelnuts by 10-15 percent, or by almost 6,000 tons in 2022.
Noting that last season the company exported about 5,000 tons of peeled hazelnuts, he noted that the main importer is the Italian company Ferrero International S.A.
`` The company purchased over 3,000 tons of hazelnuts in 2021. Germany, Austria, and France also import our products, '' he said.
He added that Agrarco LLC mainly exports its products by sea and by road.
`` We have encountered a number of problems in the supply chain due to the coronavirus disease. Therefore, we predict that this year the prices for our exported products will approximately double, '' he said.
Agrarian Credit and Development Agency board chairman Seymur Movlayev underlined that hazelnut growing is one of the priority areas for the development of the agricultural sector in Azerbaijan.
He stressed that in order to ensure the sustainable development of this sector, large-scale activities are being carried out in Azerbaijan to develop cooperation with a number of state and international structures.
`` In order to revive this sector, we are working with Azerbaijan's Food Safety Agency, the Ministry of Agriculture, also a number of international structures, '' he said.
In turn, Melek Cakmak noted that FAO is cooperating with the Azerbaijani government on a number of projects in the sphere of agriculture, which includes such areas as cattle breeding, crop production and consulting services.
She added that there is a high demand in Azerbaijan for consulting services related to hazelnut cultivation and export.
`` FAO has been implementing a project to accelerate the production of hazelnuts in Azerbaijan since 2020, '' she said.
Noting that FAO also cooperates with the Azerbaijani private sector, Cakmak added that the organization prepared a program that will help expand partnerships with the private sector.
Azerbaijan has been a member of the FAO since 1995. The organization’ s office in the country has been operating since 2007. | general |
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy releases his first annual shareholder letter | Amazon CEO Andy Jassy on Thursday published his first annual shareholder letter since taking over the helm from founder Jeff Bezos last year.
Jassy wrote about the enormous growth Amazon experienced during the coronavirus pandemic, particularly in its core retail business, as people cut their trips to the store and relied on the e-commerce giant for both essential and non-essential goods.
`` We realized the equivalent of three years ' forecasted growth in about 15 months, '' said Jassy, who took over the role of CEO from Bezos in July 2021. Bezos transitioned into the role of executive chairman of Amazon's board.
As Amazon reported record profits during the pandemic, it also faced logistics and cost challenges while trying to keep up with demand, Jassy said. Amazon quickly scaled up its warehouse network to be able to process more orders.
`` We spent Amazon's first 25 years building a very large fulfillment network, and then had to double it in the last 24 months to meet customer demand, '' Jassy said.
Amazon had 410 fulfillment centers and 260,000 delivery drivers worldwide as of the end of last year, Jassy said.
On top of logistical challenges, Amazon also dealt with the effects of a tightening labor market, which made it difficult for the company to move inventory as efficiently as it could before.
Supply chain constraints also added another challenging layer, as ocean, air and trucking capacity became constrained and container prices shot up.
`` It's not normal for a company of any size to be able to respond to something as discontinuous and unpredictable as this pandemic turned out to be, '' Jassy said. `` What is it about Amazon that made it possible for us to do so? It's because we weren't starting from a standing start. ''
You can read the letter in full below:
Dear shareholders:
Over the past 25 years at Amazon, I 've had the opportunity to write many narratives, emails, letters, and keynotes for employees, customers, and partners. But, this is the first time I 've had the honor of writing our annual shareholder letter as CEO of Amazon. Jeff set the bar high on these letters, and I will try to keep them worth reading.
When the pandemic started in early 2020, few people thought it would be as expansive or long-running as it's been. Whatever role Amazon played in the world up to that point became further magnified as most physical venues shut down for long periods of time and people spent their days at home. This meant that hundreds of millions of people relied on Amazon for PPE, food, clothing, and various other items that helped them navigate this unprecedented time. Businesses and governments also had to shift, practically overnight, from working with colleagues and technology on-premises to working remotely. AWS played a major role in enabling this business continuity. Whether companies saw extraordinary demand spikes, or demand diminish quickly with reduced external consumption, the cloud's elasticity to scale capacity up and down quickly, as well as AWS's unusually broad functionality helped millions of companies adjust to these difficult circumstances.
Our AWS and Consumer businesses have had different demand trajectories during the pandemic. In the first year of the pandemic, AWS revenue continued to grow at a rapid clip—30% year over year ( `` YoY '') in 2020 on a $ 35 billion annual revenue base in 2019—but slower than the 37% YoY growth in 2019. This was due in part to the uncertainty and slowing demand that so many businesses encountered, but also in part to our helping companies optimize their AWS footprint to save money. Concurrently, companies were stepping back and determining what they wanted to change coming out of the pandemic. Many concluded that they didn't want to continue managing their technology infrastructure themselves, and made the decision to accelerate their move to the cloud. This shift by so many companies ( along with the economy recovering) helped re-accelerate AWS's revenue growth to 37% YoY in 2021.
Conversely, our Consumer revenue grew dramatically in 2020. In 2020, Amazon's North America and International Consumer revenue grew 39% YoY on the very large 2019 revenue base of $ 245 billion; and, this extraordinary growth extended into 2021 with revenue increasing 43% YoY in Q1 2021. These are astounding numbers. We realized the equivalent of three years ' forecasted growth in about 15 months.
As the world opened up again starting in late Q2 2021, and more people ventured out to eat, shop, and travel, consumer spending returned to being spread over many more entities. We weren't sure what to expect in 2021, but the fact that we continued to grow at double digit rates ( with a two-year Consumer compounded annual growth rate of 29%) was encouraging as customers appreciated the role Amazon played for them during the pandemic, and started using Amazon for a larger amount of their household purchases.
This growth also created short-term logistics and cost challenges. We spent Amazon's first 25 years building a very large fulfillment network, and then had to double it in the last 24 months to meet customer demand. As we were bringing this new capacity online, the labor market tightened considerably, making it challenging both to receive all of the inventory our vendors and sellers wanted to send us and to place that inventory as close to customers as we typically do. Combined with ocean, air, and trucking capacity becoming scarcer and more expensive, this created extra transportation and productivity costs. Supply chains were disrupted in ways none of us had seen previously. We hoped that the major impact from COVID-19 would recede as 2021 drew to a close, but then omicron reared its head in December, which had worldwide ramifications, including impacting people's ability to work. And then in late February, with Russia's invasion of Ukraine, fuel costs and inflation became bigger issues with which to contend.
So, 2021 was a crazy and unpredictable year, continuing a trend from 2020. But, I 'm proud of the incredible commitment and effort from our employees all over the world. I 'm not sure any of us would have gotten through the pandemic the same way without the dedication and extraordinary efforts shown by our teams during this period, and I 'm eternally grateful.
It's not normal for a company of any size to be able to respond to something as discontinuous and unpredictable as this pandemic turned out to be. What is it about Amazon that made it possible for us to do so? It's because we weren't starting from a standing start. We had been iterating on and remaking our fulfillment capabilities for nearly two decades. In every business we pursue, we're constantly experimenting and inventing. We're divinely discontented with customer experiences, whether they're our own or not. We believe these customer experiences can always be better, and we strive to make customers ' lives better and easier every day. The beauty of this mission is that you never run out of runway; customers always want better, and our job is both to listen to their feedback and to imagine what else is possible and invent on their behalf.
People often assume that the game-changing inventions they admire just pop out of somebody's head, a light bulb goes off, a team executes to that idea, and presto—you have a new invention that's a breakaway success for a long time. That's rarely, if ever, how it happens. One of the lesser known facts about innovative companies like Amazon is that they are relentlessly debating, re-defining, tinkering, iterating, and experimenting to take the seed of a big idea and make it into something that resonates with customers and meaningfully changes their customer experience over a long period of time.
Let me give you some Amazon examples.
Our Fulfillment Network: Going back to the pandemic, there's no way we could have started working on our fulfillment network in March 2020 and satisfied anything close to what our customers needed. We 'd been innovating in our fulfillment network for 20 years, constantly trying to shorten the time to get items to customers. In the early 2000s, it took us an average of 18 hours to get an item through our fulfillment centers and on the right truck for shipment. Now, it takes us two. To deliver as reliably and cost-effectively as we desire, and to serve Amazon Prime members expecting shipments in a couple of days, we spent years building out an expansive set of fulfillment centers, a substantial logistics and transportation capability, and reconfigured how we did virtually everything in our facilities. For perspective, in 2004, we had seven fulfillment centers in the U.S. and four in other parts of the world, and we hadn't yet added delivery stations, which connect our fulfillment and sortation centers to the last-mile delivery vans you see driving around your neighborhood. Fast forward to the end of 2021, we had 253 fulfillment centers, 110 sortation centers, and 467 delivery stations in North America, with an additional 157 fulfillment centers, 58 sortation centers, and 588 delivery stations across the globe. Our delivery network grew to more than 260,000 drivers worldwide, and our Amazon Air cargo fleet has more than 100 aircraft. This has represented a capital investment of over $ 100 billion and countless iterations and small process improvements by over a million Amazonians in the last decade and a half.
Ironically, just before COVID started, we 'd made the decision to invest billions of incremental dollars over several years to deliver an increasing number of Prime shipments in one day. This initiative was slowed by the challenges of the pandemic, but we 've since resumed our focus here. Delivering a substantial amount of shipments in one day is hard ( especially across the millions of items that we offer) and initially expensive as we build out the infrastructure to scale this efficiently. But, we believe our over 200 million Prime customers, who will tell you very clearly that faster is almost always better, will love this. So, this capability to ship millions of items within a couple days ( and increasingly one day) was not from one aha moment and not developed in a year or two. It's been hard-earned by putting ourselves in the shoes of our customers, knowing what they wanted, organizing Amazonians to work together to invent better solutions, and investing a large amount of financial and people resources over 20 years ( often well in advance of when it would payout). This type of iterative innovation is never finished and has periodic peaks in investment years, but leads to better long-term customer experiences, customer loyalty, and returns for our shareholders.
AWS: As we were defining AWS and working backwards on the services we thought customers wanted, we kept triggering one of the biggest tensions in product development—where to draw the line on functionality in V1. One early meeting in particular—for our core compute service called Elastic Compute Cloud ( `` EC2 '') —was scheduled for an hour, and took three, as we animatedly debated whether we could launch a compute service without an accompanying persistent block storage companion ( a form of network attached storage). Everybody agreed that having a persistent block store was important to a complete compute service; however, to have one ready would take an extra year. The question became could we offer customers a useful service where they could get meaningful value before we had all the features we thought they wanted? We decided that the initial launch of EC2 could be feature-poor if we also organized ourselves to listen to customers and iterate quickly. This approach works well if you indeed iterate quickly; but, is disastrous if you can't. We launched EC2 in 2006 with one instance size, in one data center, in one region of the world, with Linux operating system instances only ( no Windows), without monitoring, load balancing, auto-scaling, or yes, persistent storage. EC2 was an initial success, but nowhere near the multi-billion-dollar service it's become until we added the missing capabilities listed above, and then some.
In the early days of AWS, people sometimes asked us why compute wouldn't just be an undifferentiated commodity. But, there's a lot more to compute than just a server. Customers want various flavors of compute ( e.g. server configurations optimized for storage, memory, high-performance compute, graphics rendering, machine learning), multiple form factors ( e.g. fixed instance sizes, portable containers, serverless functions), various sizes and optimizations of persistent storage, and a slew of networking capabilities. Then, there's the CPU chip that runs in your compute. For many years, the industry had used Intel or AMDx86 processors. We have important partnerships with these companies, but realized that if we wanted to push price and performance further ( as customers requested), we 'd have to develop our own chips, too. Our first generalized chip was Graviton, which we announced in 2018. This helped a subset of customer workloads run more cost-effectively than prior options. But, it wasn't until 2020, after taking the learnings from Graviton and innovating on a new chip, that we had something remarkable with our Graviton2 chip, which provides up to 40% better price-performance than the comparable latest generation x86 processors. Think about how much of an impact 40% improvement on compute is. Compute is used for every bit of technology. That's a huge deal for customers. And, while Graviton2 has been a significant success thus far ( 48 of the top 50 AWS EC2 customers have already adopted it), the AWS Chips team was already learning from what customers said could be better, and announced Graviton3 this past December ( offering a 25% improvement on top of Graviton2's relative gains). The list of what we 've invented and delivered for customers in EC2 ( and AWS in general) is pretty mind-boggling, and this iterative approach to innovation has not only given customers much more functionality in AWS than they can find anywhere else ( which is a significant differentiator), but also allowed us to arrive at the much more game-changing offering that AWS is today.
Devices: Our first foray into devices was the Kindle, released in 2007. It was not the most sophisticated industrial design ( it was creamy white in color and the corners were uncomfortable for some people to hold), but revolutionary because it offered customers the ability to download any of over 90,000 books ( now millions) in 60 seconds—and we got better and faster at building attractive designs. Shortly thereafter, we launched a tablet, and then a phone ( with the distinguishing feature of having front-facing cameras and a gyroscope to give customers a dynamic perspective along with varied 3D experiences). The phone was unsuccessful, and though we determined we were probably too late to this party and directed these resources elsewhere, we hired some fantastic long-term builders and learned valuable lessons from this failure that have served us well in devices like Echo and FireTV.
When I think of the first Echo device—and what Alexa could do for customers at that point—it was noteworthy, yet so much less capable than what's possible today. Today, there are hundreds of millions of Alexa-enabled devices out there ( in homes, offices, cars, hotel rooms, Amazon Echo devices, and third-party manufacturer devices); you can listen to music—or watch videos now; you can control your lights and home automation; you can create routines like `` Start My Day '' where Alexa tells you the weather, your estimated commute time based on current traffic, then plays the news; you can easily order retail items on Amazon; you can get general or customized news, updates on sporting events and related stats—and we're still quite early with respect to what Alexa and Alexa-related devices will do for customers. Our goal is for Alexa to be the world's most helpful and resourceful personal assistant, who makes people's lives meaningfully easier and better. We have a lot more inventing and iterating to go, but customers continue to indicate that we're on the right path. We have several other devices at varying stages of evolution ( e.g. Ring and Blink provide the leading digital home security solutions, Astro is a brand new home robot that we just launched in late 2021), but it's safe to say that every one of our devices, whether you're talking about Kindle, FireTV, Alexa/Echo, Ring, Blink, or Astro is an invention-in-process with a lot more coming that will keep improving customers ' lives.
Prime Video: We started in 2006 with an offering called Amazon Unbox where customers could download about a thousand movies from major studios. This made sense as bandwidth was slower those days ( it would take an hour to download a video). But, as bandwidth got much faster to people's homes and mobile devices, along with the advent of connected TVs, streaming was going to be a much better customer solution, and we focused our efforts on streaming. In 2011, we started offering over 5,000 streaming movies and shows as part of customers ' Amazon Prime subscriptions. Initially, all of our content was produced by other studios and entertainment companies. These deals were expensive, country-specific, and only available to us for a limited period; so, to expand our options, we started creating our own original shows. Our early efforts included short-lived shows like Alpha House and Betas, before we had our first award-winning series in Transparent, and eventually created multi-year franchises in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, The Boys, Bosch, and Jack Ryan. Along the way, we 've learned a lot about producing compelling entertainment with memorable moments and using machine learning and other inventive technology to provide a superior-quality streaming experience ( with useful, relevant data about actors, TV shows, movies, music, or sports stats a click away in our unique X-Ray feature). You might have seen some of this in action in our recent new hit series, Reacher, and you 'll hopefully see it in our upcoming Lord of the Rings series launch ( coming Labor Day 2022). We also expect that you 'll see this iterative invention when we launch Thursday Night Football, the NFL's first weekly, prime time, streaming-only broadcast, airing exclusively on Prime Video starting in September 2022. Our agreement with the NFL is for 11 years, and we will work relentlessly over the next several years to reinvent the NFL viewing experience for football fans.
This track record of frequent invention is not only why more sports entities are choosing to work with Prime Video, but also why so many large entertainment companies have become Prime Video Channels partners. Channels is a program that enables entertainment companies to leverage Prime Video's unique technology and viewing experience, as well as its very large member base to offer monthly subscriptions to their content. Companies like Warner Bros. Discovery, Paramount, Starz, Corus Entertainment, and Globo have found that they're driving substantial incremental membership and better customer experience through Channels. While there is so much progress in Prime Video from where we started, we have more invention in front of us in the next 15 years than the last 15—and our team is passionately committed to providing customers with the most expansive collection of compelling content anywhere in the world.
This same sort of iterative invention can be applied to efforts supporting people and communities. Last summer, we added two new Leadership Principles: Strive to be Earth's Best Employer and Success and Scale Bring Broad Responsibility. These concepts were always implicit at Amazon, but explicit Leadership Principles help us ask ourselves—and empower more Amazonians at all levels to ask—whether we're living up to these principles.
For example, more than a million Amazonians work in our fulfillment network. In 2018, we championed the $ 15 minimum wage ( which is more than double the federal minimum wage), but haven't stopped there. We continued to increase compensation such that our average starting hourly salary is currently over $ 18. Along with this compensation, we offer very robust benefits, including full health insurance, a 401K plan, up to 20 weeks of parental leave, and full tuition coverage for associates who want to get a college education ( whether they remain with us or not). We're not close to being done in how we improve the lives of our employees. We 've researched and created a list of what we believe are the top 100 employee experience pain points and are systematically solving them. We're also passionate about further improving safety in our fulfillment network, with a focus on reducing strains, sprains, falls, and repetitive stress injuries. Our injury rates are sometimes misunderstood. We have operations jobs that fit both the `` warehousing '' and `` courier and delivery '' categories. In the last U.S. public numbers, our recordable incident rates were a little higher than the average of our warehousing peers ( 6.4 vs. 5.5), and a little lower than the average of our courier and delivery peers ( 7.6 vs. 9.1). This makes us about average relative to peers, but we don't seek to be average. We want to be best in class. When I first started in my new role, I spent significant time in our fulfillment centers and with our safety team, and hoped there might be a silver bullet that could change the numbers quickly. I didn't find that. At our scale ( we hired over 300,000 people in 2021 alone, many of whom were new to this sort of work and needed training), it takes rigorous analysis, thoughtful problem-solving, and a willingness to invent to get to where you want. We 've been dissecting every process path to discern how we can further improve. We have a variety of programs in flight ( e.g. rotational programs that help employees avoid spending too much time doing the same repetitive motions, wearables that prompt employees when they're moving in a dangerous way, improved shoes to provide better toe protection, training programs on body mechanics, wellness, and safety practices). But, we still have a ways to go, and we 'll approach it like we do other customer experiences—we 'll keep learning, inventing, and iterating until we have more transformational results. We won't be satisfied until we do.
Similarly, at our scale, we have a significant carbon footprint. It's a big part of why we created The Climate Pledge a few years ago ( a pledge to be net-zero carbon by 2040, ten years ahead of the Paris Agreement). We're making significant progress on this effort ( we're committed to powering our operations with 100% renewable energy by 2025—five years ahead of our original target of 2030, we have ordered over 100,000 electric vans to deliver packages, and have over 300 companies who 've joined us in The Climate Pledge). But, we have a different challenge than most companies given the diversity and intensity of our operations ( including shipping billions of packages per year). We're committed to the challenge, but it will take relentless invention.
We also are trying to increase the amount of affordable housing in the communities in which we have a large presence. Our more than $ 2 billion Housing Equity Fund that we started a year ago has already allocated $ 1.2 billion toward affordable housing initiatives in the areas around Washington state's Puget Sound region, Arlington ( Virginia), and Nashville ( Tennessee).
A final quick example is Kuiper, our low Earth orbit satellite network that we're spending over $ 10 billion to build in the next several years. Kuiper will serve customers with minimal to no fixed broadband connectivity, changing access to information and resources for many communities ( analysts estimate approximately 300-400 million customers globally are in this category). We're optimistic that there is a pretty good business model for us too, but we 'll see—and it's a real game changer for underserved families and businesses that will unfold over many years as we keep evolving its capabilities. This type of iterative innovation is pervasive across every team at Amazon. I could have given comparable examples in Advertising, Grocery, Gaming, Amazon Music, Amazon Care ( our telemedicine offering), or Pharmacy, to name a few. All of these stories are still being written as we rapidly experiment, learn, and continue to try to make our customer experience better every day.
If this approach sounds appealing, a natural question is what's required to get good at it? It's easier said than done, but here are some components that have helped us:
1/ Hire the Right Builders: We disproportionately index in hiring builders. We think of builders as people who like to invent, who look at customer experiences, dissect what doesn't work well about them, and seek to reinvent them. We want people who keep asking why can't it be done? We want people who like to experiment and tinker, and who realize launch is the starting line, not the finish line.
2/ Organize Builders into Teams That Are as Separable and Autonomous as Possible: It's hard for teams to be deep in what customers care about in multiple areas. It's also hard to spend enough time on the new initiatives when there's resource contention with the more mature businesses; the surer bets usually win out. Single-threaded teams will know their customers ' needs better, spend all their waking work hours inventing for them, and develop context and tempo to keep iterating quickly.
3/ Give Teams the Right Tools and Permission to Move Fast: Speed is not pre-ordained. It's a leadership choice. It has trade-offs, but you can't wake up one day and start moving fast. It requires having the right tools to experiment and build fast ( a major part of why we started AWS), allowing teams to make two-way door decisions themselves, and setting an expectation that speed matters. And, it does. Speed is disproportionally important to every business at every stage of its evolution. Those that move slower than their competitive peers fall away over time.
4/ You Need Blind Faith, But No False Hope: This is a lyric from one of my favorite Foo Fighters songs ( `` Congregation ''). When you invent, you come up with new ideas that people will reject because they haven't been done before ( that's where the blind faith comes in), but it's also important to step back and make sure you have a viable plan that 'll resonate with customers ( avoid false hope). We're lucky that we have builders who challenge each other, feedback loops that give us access to customer feedback, and a product development process of working backwards from the customer where having to write a Press Release ( to flesh out the customer benefits) and a Frequently Asked Questions document ( to detail how we 'd build it) helps us have blind faith without false hope ( at least usually).
5/ Define a Minimum Loveable Product ( MLP), and Be Willing to Iterate Fast: Figuring out where to draw the line for launch is one of the most difficult decisions teams must make. Often, teams wait too long, and insist on too many bells and whistles, before launching. And, they miss the first mover advantage or opportunity to build mindshare in fast-moving market segments before well-executing peers get too far ahead. The launch product must be good enough that you believe it 'll be loved from the get-go ( why we call it a `` Minimum Loveable Product '' vs. a `` Minimum Viable Product ''), but in newer market segments, teams are often better off getting this MLP to customers and iterating quickly thereafter.
6/ Adopt a Long-term Orientation: We're sometimes criticized at Amazon for not shutting much down. It's true that we have a longer tolerance for our investments than most companies. But, we know that transformational invention takes multiple years, and if you're making big bets that you believe could substantially change customer experience ( and your company), you have to be in it for the long-haul or you 'll give up too quickly.
7/ Brace Yourself for Failure: If you invent a lot, you will fail more often than you wish. Nobody likes this part, but it comes with the territory. When it's clear that we 've launched something that won't work, we make sure we 've learned from what didn't go well, and secure great landing places for team members who delivered well—or your best people will hesitate to work on new initiatives. Albert Einstein is sometimes credited with describing compound interest as the eighth wonder of the world ( `` He who understands it, earns it. He who doesn't, pays it ''). We think of iterative innovation in much the same way. Iterative innovation creates magic for customers. Constantly inventing and improving products for customers has a compounding effect on the customer experience, and in turn on a business's prospects.
Time is your friend when you are compounding gains. Amazon is a big company with some large businesses, but it's still early days for us. We will continue to be insurgent—inventing in businesses that we're in, in new businesses that we 've yet to launch, and in new ideas that we haven't even imagined yet. It remains Day 1.
Sincerely,
Andy JassyPresident and Chief Executive OfficerAmazon.com, Inc.
P.S. As we have always done, our original 1997 Shareholder Letter follows. What's written there is as true today as it was in 1997. | business |
Country registers 15 new COVID-19 cases, 24 recoveries | Azerbaijan registered 15 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, Operational Headquarters under the Cabinet of Ministers reported on April 14.
Some 24 patients have recovered and 1 patient has died in the reported period.
So far, 792,320 COVID-19 cases have been registered in the country. Some 782,440 patients have recovered, and 9,705 people have died. Currently, 175 people are under treatment in special hospitals.
Over the past day, 4,008 tests were conducted in Azerbaijan to reveal coronavirus cases.
In general, 6,759,211 tests have been conducted in Azerbaijan so far.
So far, some 13,574,804 COVID-19 vaccines have been provided to Azerbaijani citizens. In the past 24 hours, some 7,603 citizens have been vaccinated against COVID-19. | general |
Istanbul Airport ranks second in int ' l passenger traffic | Turkey's Istanbul Airport ranked second in terms of the number of international flights it handled in 2021, Yeni Shafak newspaper has reported.
According to the International Passenger Traffic data of 2021 announced by the Airports Council International ( ACI World), Istanbul Airport became the second busiest airport in the world. A total of 26.5 million international passengers were served at Istanbul Airport in 2021.
Dubai International Airport ( UAE) ranked first with 29.1 million passengers, Amsterdam Schiphol Airport ( The Netherlands) ranked third with 25.5 million passengers, Frankfurt Airport ( Germany) ranked fourth, and Paris Charles Gaulle Airport ( France) ranked fifth on the list.
In this category, Istanbul Airport was ranked 14th and 6th on the list in 2019 and in 2020 respectively.
In addition, Istanbul Airport became the busiest airport in Europe by hosting 37 million passengers in 2021, according to the International Airports Concert ACI Europe.
On the other hand, Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson Airport in the USA, which hosted 75.7 million passengers in 2021 with 76.4 percent growth, took first place in the world's busiest airport category.
According to the data released by ACI World, Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, which hosted 62.5 million passengers, ranked second in the list, and Denver International Airport, which hosted 58.8 million passengers, ranked third.
Eight of the 10 busiest airports in 2021 were in the United States, and two were in China.
`` Although we are cautious that the recovery after Covid-19 may suddenly face a headwind, there may be an increase in travel in the second half of 2022 with the picture that emerged after the countries ' plans to reopen after the pandemic, '' ACI World Director General Luis Felipe de Oliveira said.
It should be noted that Istanbul Airport ranked first among European airports in terms of passenger traffic ( approximately 37 million) in 2021.
Istanbul Airport is the main international airport serving Istanbul, Turkey. It is located on the city's European side in Arnavutkoy district.
Following the closure of Istanbul Ataturk Airport for scheduled passenger flights, all scheduled commercial passenger flights were transferred to Istanbul Airport. The new airport also received the International Air Transport Association ( IATA) airport code IST. | general |
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