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S.Korea to expand rollout of second COVID booster shot to people over 60 | South Korea's health ministry said on Wednesday it will administer a second COVID-19 vaccine booster shot for people over 60 as the country continues to battle the highly contagious Omicron variant, Trend reports citing Reuters.
`` The government plans to expand the fourth round of vaccination to those aged 60 and older, '' Health Minister Kwon Deok-cheol told a meeting, adding the infection rate in the age group has continued to rise to stand above 20%.
The country had previously begun providing second booster shots to high-risk groups, including those in nursing homes, as a surge in Omicron infections drove cases and deaths to record highs in recent months.
The Omicron-induced surge in cases appears to have peaked, with the daily infections falling to a third of the record figures marked in mid-March.
South Korea reported 195,419 new coronavirus cases as of Tuesday midnight, bringing the country's total tally to 15,830,644 infections and 20,034 deaths.
Further details of the plan for the second booster shot will be unveiled at a news conference later in the day, Kwon said.
So far, 316,608 people have received the second booster shot, Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency ( KDCA) data showed, with around 33 million people - 64.2% of the total population - having received the first booster shot.
The health ministry also said it will announce any amendments to the current social distancing rules on Friday.
The country loosened COVID-19 measures earlier this month, pushing back the curfew on eateries and other businesses to midnight, and allowing wider private gatherings of up to 10 people.
Son Young-rae, a health ministry official, said in a radio interview on Tuesday that a complete removal of all limits on the opening hours of businesses and private gatherings were some possible measures being considered as the effectiveness of the distancing measures `` have been declining ''.
He added the current mask-wearing mandate is also on the list of measures being reviewed. | general |
Azerbaijan's economic growth amidst global crisis - result of President Ilham Aliyev's effective policy | The positive economic performance of Azerbaijan was the result of an effective social development policy of President Ilham Aliyev, Deputy Director of the Russian School of Economics, Professor at the Azerbaijan State Economic University Elshad Mammadov told Trend.
On April 12, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev chaired a meeting dedicated to the results of the first quarter of 2022. At the meeting, the head of state noted that in the first three months of the year, Azerbaijan's gross domestic product ( GDP) increased by 6.8 percent, the positive balance of foreign trade exceeded $ 5 billion, as well as the country, was able to reduce external debt by more than $ 600 million in one year.
According to the expert, large-scale social projects allowed us to largely ensure the solvency of the domestic market, which was extremely important during the special quarantine regime in terms of implementing socio-economic policy.
`` The increase in social expenditure forms a positive economic trend and serves as a tool to strengthen the domestic market, growth in economy and production. Moreover, the increased purchasing power of citizens also promoted economic growth. So, I think effective social measures have contributed to the achievement of positive trends in the Azerbaijani economy, ” said Mammadov.
He also noted that positive results in social security became possible through effective work of the relevant government agencies.
`` Achieving transparency and fighting corruption releases funds for social spending. Meanwhile, the increase in social expenditure stimulates economic growth and business activity in Azerbaijan. I believe the favorable environment in the global energy market reinforced the Azerbaijani economy. Azerbaijan's positive foreign trade balance of about $ 5 billion is a significant indicator for the country's economy and allows us to manage its foreign exchange policy in a stable manner. Azerbaijan's external debt has decreased by over $ 600 million, which in turn indicates the achievement of positive results in reducing the dependence of the domestic economy on external factors, '' the expert stressed.
As Ph.D. in Economics Ilgar Velizade noted, Azerbaijan is prepared for macroeconomic challenges that are experienced by a growing number of countries today.
`` Here is to talk about the impact of the continuing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the disruption of the supply chain, the crisis in various sectors of the global economy, as well as the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The global economy is also experiencing the consequences of military operations in Ukraine. In this context, only states that have effective mechanisms for macroeconomic management and are able to correctly determine the course of action are the winners. And our country was among the few countries that accepted these challenges with dignity, '' Velizade said.
He outlined the significance of several macroeconomic factors contributing to the development of the Azerbaijani economy.
“ We can see a noticeable increase in global energy prices. The export potential of the non-oil sector is also growing in Azerbaijan. The overall non-oil exports amounted to 2.7 billion manat ( $ 1.58 billion) in 2021. In addition, work on import substitution in a number of areas of the country is also carried out. The share of high value-added products is worth talking about. We have recently seen an increase in the share of chemical products, In view of previous years, agricultural products were in high demand in Azerbaijan, while in view of previous years, agricultural products were in high demand in Azerbaijan, '' the expert noted.
Velizade emphasized a crisis on a global scale amidst the reduced mineral fertilizer supply from Russia and Belarus.
`` Azerbaijan manufactures mineral fertilizers, particularly urea fertilizers, which are successfully exported to foreign markets. In the coming years, Azerbaijan may become one of the largest exporters of mineral fertilizers. In recent years, many enterprises, which are diversifying the economy today, have been invested and put into operation. I would like to note the potential of the liberated territories, which also create an opportunity for the development of the non-oil sector in Azerbaijan. In the near future, the share of these territories in manufacturing non-oil products is expected to constantly growing due to the ongoing large-scale restoration work, '' the expert added. | general |
Azerbaijan cancels PCR test requirement to enter country | The requirement to submit the result of PCR testing on COVID-19 for citizens arriving in Azerbaijan has been abolished.
According to the Cabinet of Ministers ' decision, the document confirming a negative result of PCR test on COVID-19 is no longer required for entering Azerbaijan starting from April 15.
Moreover, the passengers are not required to present this document during domestic flights, and on a regular bus route Baku-Nakhchivan-Baku, passing through the territory of Iran.
It should be noted that previously presenting a negative result of PCR test on COVID-19 was an obligatory condition while arriving in Azerbaijan.
On February 28, 2020, the country confirmed its first COVID-19 case. On March 25, the country implemented a special quarantine regime and implemented a number of measures to combat COVID-19 in the country.
Azerbaijan is taking effective measures in the fight against coronavirus, and four types of COVID-19 vaccines out of nine existing have been imported to Azerbaijan. The nationwide vaccination is free and voluntary, and it is in accordance with the `` Vaccination Strategy Against COVID-19 in Azerbaijan for 2021-2022 ''.
Vaccination has been carried out in Azerbaijan since January 18, 2021, and it is still being carried out successfully. The epidemiological situation in Azerbaijan remains stable due to the active participation of the population in vaccination.
The country began vaccinating citizens with China's Sinovac on January 18, AstraZeneca's Vaxzevria vaccine on May 3, Russia's Sputnik V on May 18, and Pfizer from the United States on June 7. From May 10, the country began offering COVID-19 vaccination to citizens over the age of 18.
Simultaneously, on August 9, Azerbaijan began issuing vaccination exemption certificates to citizens who have contraindications to coronavirus vaccines approved for use in the country. | general |
Good Company: West~Bourne’ s All-Natural, Plastic-Free Provisions | When Covid-19 forced chef Camilla Marcus to shutter the doors to West~Bourne, her mission-driven, zero-waste restaurant in Manhattan, New York's SoHo neighborhood, she promised she’ d be back. “ I’ m a hospitality person at my core, ” Marcus says.
In just 13 months, the California-bred entrepreneur fulfilled her promise, debuting the restaurant’ s natural successor, an online West~Bourne. Same pedigree—zero-waste and plastic-free—but with a change of venue.
“ My whole concept for West~Bourne was our tagline ‘ eat well and do even better,’ Marcus says. “ Food and drink have the power to drive the community towards the larger mission—our environment. It’ s critically important to be conscious of what we’ re passing down. ”
With the newly iterated West~Bourne, Marcus pivoted from piloting conscious capitalism in the food industry to being a purveyor of climate neutral home provisions. Her snacks, sweets, and spices are all-natural, vegetarian, and sold in plastic-free, biodegradable packaging. The company offsets their emissions by purchasing climate credits which benefit the Redwood Forest.
Marcus, the founding member of the Independent Restaurant Coalition and co-founder of Relief Opportunities for All Restaurants, credits her experiences growing up in an environmentally forward Los Angeles home that formed her current perspective on sustainability and food policy.
“ So much food in this country is grown in California, ” Marcus says. “ I grew up going to local farmers markets. We had a very, very low waste household. We composted. ” Marcus says she didn’ t realize any of those things were unusual until she moved to the East Coast. At her first restaurant job at New York’ s Dell’ anima, Marcus implemented their composting system.
“ We spend more of our time, energy, money, and purchase decisions on what we eat and drink every single day, ” Marcus says. “ Think about how powerful and impactful it would be if what you chose to eat and drink was a conscious decision that benefited community, serviced efforts to combat climate change, and supported a better environment for future generations. ”
West~Bourne’ s offerings include snacks, spices, pantry staples, home goods, and seasonal offerings. This past holiday season, the Fuyu persimmon butter was an unexpected hit. “ That was a product that our team was really proud to see how much it resonated, ” Marcus says. “ We thought it was going to be the oddball one we do for ourselves and it ended up being our most popular item. ”
Marcus says best-selling items include the Togarashi Crunch and the House Granola, both holdovers from her restaurant. The snack-mix is made from corn crisps, smoked almonds, kettle puffed rice, crunchy chili-rubbed quicos, and the house togarashi spice blend ( available separately). It’ s a smoky and savory snack with a hint of sweetness that’ s also vegan and gluten free.
The toasted granola celebrates oats, almonds, flax seeds, chia seeds, and cinnamon, all bound together with honey and maple syrup.
Spice offerings include a chili-oil, a smoky pepper spice, an earthly herb spice, and the popular pistachio dukkah. Originating in ancient Egypt, dukkah comes from the Arabic word ‘ to pound’ and is traditionally eaten at breakfast with bread dipped in olive oil or as seasoning on street food throughout the Middle East and North Africa.
Three flavors of popcorn can be purchased separately or as a set. Sun Pop boasts nutritional yeast for a savory vegan cheese flavor, Moon Pop combines salty sweet popcorn with hijiki seaweed and Maple Pop is a vegan take on caramel corn. Provisions include olive oil, buckwheat pancake and waffle mix and poached pear butter.
Togarashi crunch is US $ 13 a bag, the pistachio dukkah is US $ 10, popcorns are all US $ 8 and the buckwheat pancake & waffle mix is US $ 9. Gift boxes begin at US $ 70 and top out at US $ 125 for the decadent chamomile and olive oil cake.
The zero-waste, plastic-free products are packaged in non-toxic and resealable vegan pouches made with sustainably sourced wood cellulose and other bio-based resins. Soy-based ink is used on the pouches, which can be composted or recycled. Reusable glass jars that house the spices and butters are sourced from a local, family-owned business that specializes in carbon-friendly glass jars without plastic liners.
Every note card, recipe, or brand material West~Bourne uses is printed on their wildflower-infused seeded paper. Plant it, watch wildflowers grow.
West~Bourne purchases carbon credits for every purchase. These credits go towards preserving the diverse forests of the Pacific Northwest, which in turn helps prevent forest fires and droughts which also helps protect wildlife.
The company has a few new product launches scheduled for this year. Details are under wraps. “ But I will say that we’ re really trying to break through [ in ] very key categories, ” Marcus says. “ In a way that I think no one else is doing. ”
Marcus hopes to one day be the global branch for conscious cooking and food intake that cares about the importance of food as it relates to climate change. | business |
French Elections: Can Macron Beat Le Pen Again? The Unthinkable Is on the Table | About the author: Irene Finel-Honigman is an adjunct professor of international affairs at the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University.
On April 24, the French will choose which of two candidates will be the next president: Emmanuel Macron, the centrist incumbent, or Marine Le Pen, the far-right challenger he beat once before in 2017. French voters have coalesced across party lines before to ward off a victory like hers. But after Brexit in 2016 and Trump in 2017, the unthinkable can no longer be discounted.
Twenty years ago, incumbent President Jacques Chirac won the first round of the French elections with 19% of the vote. Chirac was a Republican in the tradition of Charles de Gaulle, the first president of the modern French state. Lionel Jospin, Chirac’ s Socialist former prime minister, was expected to be the rival candidate. But Jospin came in third, behind Jean-Marie Le Pen, the racist, xenophobic, and antisemitic founder of the National Front party, who came in second with 17% of the vote. It was a cataclysmic shock for France and Europe. Massive demonstrations followed. In the second round, a coalition of all parties and factions re-elected Chirac with an astonishing 82% of the vote.
In 2017, Marine Le Pen, Jean-Marie Le Pen’ s daughter and heir of the National Front, was the contender against, a young, new, dynamic former Socialist economy minister, Emmanuel Macron. She removed her father from the party, softened her image, and attracted a new generation of voters. She was nonetheless readily defeated by Macron after espousing slogans in favor of Donald Trump, Brexit, and Vladimir Putin, and following a disastrous debate in which her economic policies veered from the impractical to the incoherent.
This past Sunday, Macron and Le Pen competed again for the first round. Macron won, barely, taking 27.9% to Le Pen’ s 23.1%. The initial reaction in Europe, the U.S., the markets, and among French centrist voters was a huge sigh of relief. But on Monday morning France awoke to a changed and far riskier political landscape. Marine Le Pen won her 23% by recreating herself once again as a civilized, more-inclusive nationalist conservative, leading a party rebranded as the National Rally, which could empathize with kitchen table issues, and relate to an anxious, Covid-exhausted, and frightened French electorate.
Along the way a crucial shift occurred. In every other election cycle, the established parties maintained traction and influence, particularly the Socialists and the Gaullist/Chirac center-right. But after a poor showing in 2017, when Macron poached the best of the Socialists, their share of the vote dropped to 6%. In the ensuing five years they never recovered nor coalesced. Their candidate on Sunday barely reached 1.8%. The conservative Chirac center-right also failed to fully regain its constituency. Its candidate floundered and could not break the 5% threshold.
This opened the field for the far-left party La France Insoumise ( “ France Unbowed ”), led by long-time radical leftist Jean-Luc Melenchon. His 22% came within a one-point range of Le Pen and transformed and consolidated the political landscape into a battle of ideas, ideologies, and policies between the far left and the far right. For the first time in modern French politics, the extremes garnered over 50% of the vote.
This new landscape is far more difficult and perilous for Macron. The most problematic and shocking result of this first round was the elimination of traditional left and right parties, none of which received more than 5% of the vote.
Macron showed extraordinary skill in 2017 at fracturing and disrupting both the center right and left. This strategy was supposed to attract voters from both mainstream and smaller parties. But five years later it proved to have decimated both traditional French political parties, without being able to cultivate a deep bench of support. On April 10, the three losing parties, in total disarray, immediately endorsed Macron.
As of now, the Macron’ s La Republique en Marche ( “ The Republic Onward ”), moderate, pro-Europe, pro-NATO, pro-trade and investment, pro-civil liberties and civil rights is far less secure, squeezed between extremes with less room to maneuver.
In France and by extension in Europe is this the last gasp of a traditional left and right? In this contentious campaign, two crucial topics were barely mentioned, yet they can not be ignored: Covid and the war in Ukraine. France is still chafing from Covid rules, draconian lockdowns, and intransigent antivaccine advocates. Macron did the best he could, but that is rarely enough for an anxious, divided and traumatized electorate. Since the onset of the Russian invasion, Macron has taken on a statesman role, representing France as an essential diplomatic and military partner and the lead spokesperson for the European Union. In other circumstances, enhancing French prestige on the global stage would have provided a major boost. But in 2022, shuttle diplomacy and participation in international meetings translated into an image of aloofness, creating a perception that he is too busy on the world stage to campaign on domestic issues.
Le Pen, caught in a minefield of her previous pandering to Putin and Trump, and on the record for having made anti-NATO, and anti-EU comments, studiously avoided or erased her views, homing in on domestic issues instead. She gained traction among nonurban, less-educated, rural and marginalized voters, reinforcing her support in her northwest and southeast base and increased her appeal to a population, weary of Covid rules, scared of terrorism, inflation, and losing economic security.
In 2016, when Emmanuel Macron stepped down as minister in a weakened Socialist government, he took a huge gamble by creating a new party. He presented himself as the next generation, savvy about tech and media, yet profoundly respectful of France’ s history and global role. Reenergizing politics, charming, persuading and impressing a broad constituency, like Bill Clinton in 1992, he wanted to triangulate the traditional left and right into a new dynamic coalition.
He and his party won in 2017 as a unifier in the name of disruption of the old order. Once in power he navigated between center left and center right, moving further to the right in response to increased terrorist and antisemitic incidents, but trying to calibrate an economic and foreign policy center position.
Now in 2022 he is a seasoned politician, seen as arrogant, callous, a president of the elites, the rich, a former Rothschild’ s banker with all the negative connotations it carries in the French heartland. Can he persuade a bitterly polarized French public and a new generation of voters on both sides that he can still bridge the gap? Can Macron persuade the French electorate that Marine Le Pen, underneath the new cosmetic, civilized version, remains in substance and form Jean Le Pen’ s daughter and aunt of the extremist right wing Marion Marechal Le Pen? Debating Le Pen, Macron will have to again reveal the shallowness of her economic populist positions and lack of substance how to fund and subsidize them.
With a war in Europe, Macron will have to push her to explain her anti-NATO stance, foreign policy allegiances and prior dependency on Russian bank funding. Can Macron persuade enough on-the-fence voters that he does have empathy, does care, is concerned and understands the right’ s concern on immigration, crime? Can he directly appeal to an anxiety ridden public scared of a war far too close to home? Macron’ s meaningless slogan Nous Tous— “ All of Us ” —has to be a message: every vote will matter.
Beyond rhetoric, the French economy is relatively sound and recovering from the post-Covid shocks. Growth was near 7% in 2021, unemployment dropped to below 7.4%, Macron’ s relief package targeting small-and-medium-sized businesses avoided long lasting damage. But inflation is at 3.6%, affecting everyday staples and gas prices. This is dangerous for Macron, who provoked the yellow vest movement with an ill-timed plan to impose a new surcharge on diesel. However, Macron has the only viable economic know-how and team in place. Le Pen’ s platform includes increased state intervention, no income tax for anyone under age 30, a wealth tax, and large state subsidies. To his left, Melenchon, the French Bernie Sanders, proposed idealistic but barely realistic increased minimum wages, capital gains tax, a plan to prevent major public French companies from paying dividends, and partial renationalizations.
The first challenge will be to bring on board Melenchon’ s party, which is enthusiastic but rigid and uncompromising on its heartfelt beliefs. Melenchon, in his fiery speech to his supporters on Sunday night, gave a clear signal, repeating four times; “ not a single vote ” for Le Pen. This is a strong message, intended to avoid splitting the far left. But he refused to endorse Macron. Bernie Sanders in 2016, justifiably angry with Hillary Clinton, begrudged endorsing her till late in the summer. Many of his supporters abstained to Trump’ s advantage. Macron’ s challenge is to persuade Melenchon voters that every abstention is a vote for Le Pen. In a very tight race every blank vote, protest vote, or abstention is a vote against Macron.
Macron in his victory speech reinforced the image of France as a secular, humanist society that accepts all identities and ethnicities who will protect France while protecting European values. Macron always understood France’ s desire for a strong leader—the Napoleon, De Gaulle myth of nostalgia for the monarchy—but he did not understand how to address the working class, the marginalized lower middle class, afraid of change, scared, and bereft of explanations for the cascading crises of the last two years.
In the few remaining days Macron has to persuade dissatisfied, on-the-fence voters, that a vote for Le Pen puts national security and economic stability at risk. He has to persuade voters that leaving NATO during a war and diluting the EU puts global security in jeopardy. Can he persuade the yellow vests, embittered and angry truckers, workers, farmers, the heartland that he hears their concerns?
Can he persuade at least some that that he regrets the diesel surcharge tax, that he empathizes with their daily concerns on inflation security, pensions, wages? Can he make the argument that globalization, trade, investment are not only benefits for the rich but can grow an economy, increase jobs and directly impact their lives? Macron sees himself as the president of tech, STEM, innovation: now he has to persuade younger voters that Le Pen and Melenchon’ s policies stuck in the past will not achieve these goals.
In just a few days, he has to persuade, cajole or frighten enough voters that Le Pen would be a catastrophe for France, the EU, Europe at large, and the global order all the while making it clear that inflation, pensions, security, and safety at home will be addressed. It’ s a tall order, but he has to do it. He has no choice. | business |
Oil's Comeback: Signs Emerge That U.S. Producers Are Ready to Drill More | When it comes to drilling new wells, most U.S. companies have taken a vow of abstinence for the past two years. With oil prices holding above $ 100 a barrel, those vows get harder to keep.
Last week’ s rig count showed a large jump in rigs in the U.S., and new data on permits in one key U.S. basin show that activity is ramping up.
The apparent shift is notable because it could signal that an increase in production is coming in the second half of the year and 2023, which would weigh on oil prices, and possibly on stocks. Prices were up on Wednesday, with West Texas Intermediate crude futures rising 2.3%, to $ 102.86 a barrel, though they have declined from highs above $ 130 in the early days of Russia’ s invasion of Ukraine.
Rystad Energy published an analysis on Wednesday that showed a surge in permits in the Permian Basin, an area spanning Texas and New Mexico that is the most productive oil basin in the United States.
Permit data since March 7 shows “ an unprecedented period of high activity that pushed the four-week average to 210 for the week ending April 3, a record for horizontal permit approvals in the core U.S. shale patch over four weeks, ” according to Rystad.
Private operators, who normally make up just one-third of production, have accounted for more than half of the permits. Publicly traded companies remain hemmed in because they have made commitments to shareholders to pay down debt and raise dividends. A recent survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas showed that many say they will stick to those commitments regardless of prices.
“ The surge in permitting activity positions the industry for continuous rig count additions in the second half of 2022 and foreshadows a significant increase in supply capacity from early 2023, ” says Artem Abramov, Rystad Energy’ s head of shale research.
In addition, the Baker Hughes rig count released last Friday showed momentum in the same direction. Sixteen rigs were added in the lower 48 states, the second-largest addition in three years, according to EBW Analytics Group.
“ Over the past six months, the rig count has now soared by 101 oil rigs ( 23%) and 43 gas rigs ( 44%), adding evidence for a likely production surge in the second half of this year, ” EBW notes.
That said, the numbers include important caveats. Permits don’ t always lead to drilling. And another measure of how much equipment is out in the field, known as the Primary Vision frac spread count, “ continues to flounder ”, EBW says.
Josh Young, founder of hedge fund Bison Interests, said that the recent rise in rigs comes after months of very low activity and does not indicate that large production gains are on the horizon. Labor and supply constraints continue to hamper the energy industry, and should keep oil prices high.
“ What we saw last week in that rig count is essentially a little bit of a catch-up, ” he said in an interview. If prices were to fall, it would most likely happen because of a drop in demand because of factors like the Covid lockdowns in Shanghai—not because supply is rising. | business |
Azerbaijan achieves high financial performance in early 2022 | Four years ago, in his speech at the inauguration ceremony, President Ilham Aliyev announced serious and profound reforms, the goals of which were to make the country even stronger, become an even more powerful state, so that the citizens of Azerbaijan would live even better. Now looking at the financial results of the first quarter of 2022 it is possible to say that the country has already made serious progress.
The financial results of the first quarter of 2022 can be assessed as a continuation of Azerbaijan’ s achievements. The country has maintained a stable mode despite the external negative impacts, which included the turbulences of the world economy, a sharp rise in inflation, a coronavirus pandemic, and the recent Russian-Ukrainian war.
The country’ s development has become possible primarily thanks to an effective system of state management. When talking about the efficiency of public administration, one should keep in mind the serious political will demonstrated by the head of state.
Azerbaijani economy has strong potential for stable and sustainable development. Last year’ s socioeconomic results showed that after Azerbaijan’ s great victory in the second Karabakh war, the country achieved great progress in the economy by mobilizing its resources in a very short period of time.
Finance Minister Samir Sharifov, while speaking at the meeting dedicated to the results of the first quarter of 2022, noted that last year’ s GDP growth was exceeded by 2.2 percent, i.e. it reached 5.6 instead of 3.4 percent. This year Azerbaijan's GDP increased by 6.8 percent, which is indeed a great achievement in the current conditions when even the economies of the world's leading powers are facing problems.
The continuation of these positive trends is also reflected in the execution of the state budget for the first quarter of this year. In January-March, state budget revenues exceeded the forecast by 6.3 percent or AZN 418 million ( $ 245.8m), with budget revenues amounting to AZN 7.1 billion ( $ 4.1bn).
Moreover, speaking about the execution of state budget expenditures, it is worth noting that they are usually not so high in the first quarter of the year. This year though it was 99 percent, and even with this high level, the state budget surplus amounted to AZN 1.38 billion ( $ 811.7m).
At the same time, thanks to the implementation of the external debt management strategy, the country’ s foreign debt accounted for 12.5 percent of the GDP. This means that Azerbaijan was able to reduce its external debt by more than $ 600 million in one year. 12.5 percent is a figure any country can be proud of. Azerbaijan set a goal a few years ago that the country’ s foreign debt should not account for more than 10 percent of the gross domestic product, and is successfully approaching that. In addition, taking into account the fact that the world's leading powers have a three-digit external debt to GDP ratio, it is an incredible success.
Azerbaijan also continues to reconstruct the country’ s liberated territories at its own expense. So far, Azerbaijan has not received a single manat in support from anyone. The government has allocated funds worth AZN 2.2 billion ( $ 1.2bn) for the implementation of the Karabakh reconstruction program, of which 16 percent or AZN 346 million ( $ 203.5m) have already been executed in the first quarter. Looking at all these measures and the reconstruction work no one should have doubts that Azerbaijan will rebuild both Karabakh and Zangazur as an exemplary region where Azerbaijani citizens will live comfortably and prosperously.
In short, a lot has already been done, as evidenced by facts and figures. It is already possible to say that 2022 should be a year of strengthening positive trends, both nationally and regionally, under the leadership of Ilham Aliyev. | general |
Three ways to achieve global vaccine equity — Quartz | In 2021, the World Health Organization and the United Nations set a goal to vaccinate 70% of the population of every country in the world against covid by mid-2022. With only a couple of months to go, not quite 60 countries have met that target. The list of successes includes the tiny islands of Niue ( population 1630) and Pitcairn ( population 47), but not the United States, where despite a high covid mortality rate and plentiful supplies, vaccines have been politicized. In Africa, not a single country has reached the goal. Morocco has come the closest, with 63% of its residents fully vaccinated. In Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo, less than 1% of the population have received their shots. As this data shows, in most of the world, vaccination rates are highly correlated with GDP.
This has been caused by a series of devastating failures—failures of funding, logistics, global institutions, long-term thinking, and most of all, political will.
Now that many high-income countries are emerging, at least for now, from the worst of the pandemic, and vaccine supplies have increased, their leaders should recommit to ensuring that vaccines reach the people who most need them in the countries that have been left behind. Instead, the United States Congress has chosen to stop all funding for global vaccination programs.
“ This moment is a crystallization of everything that’ s been wrong, ” says Abhijit Banerjee, a Nobel-prize-winning economist who has been studying the global vaccination effort and leads the government of West Bengal’ s covid advisory board. “ Now we are in a place where the problem isn’ t vaccine supply, it’ s everything else. ”
When low-income nations receive donated vaccines, they often don’ t have the infrastructure to keep them cold and transport them to where they’ re needed, and they don’ t have enough trained healthcare workers available to give people shots, says Bruce Gellin, chief of public health strategy for the Rockefeller Foundation’ s pandemic preparedness institute. The “ last mile ” that vaccines must travel has posed challenges and led to millions of doses being wasted. In February, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention requested that donations be paused until later this year to give governments time to figure out how to manage the doses they already have. For many unvaccinated people on the continent, the urgency has passed, writes Uwagbale Edward-Ekpu for Quartz Africa. “ They’ ve got a lot of other urgent and important problems, ” Gellen says, from the usual serious threats to public health to the economic fallout of the pandemic. The war in Ukraine has added dangerous food shortages to that list.
All of this is a massive problem not only because many more people will inevitably die from the versions of the virus that already exist, but because the next variants—perhaps ones more dangerous than omicron—are likely to develop in unvaccinated, immunocompromised people. We have also, so far, squandered the opportunity to prepare for the next pandemic.
At this point, three big changes could alter the trajectory of the pandemic and set us on a better course for the next one:
Vaccines aren’ t as effective at preventing covid infections as they used to be, but their protection against serious disease and death has held up. Many experts now say that the goal should be revised from 70% of countries’ total populations to 90% of those at high risk, including everyone over the age of 50, immunocompromised people, and healthcare workers. That more efficient allocation of resources would save more lives, better prevent new variants from emerging, and allow cash-strapped countries to spend on other needs.
Wealthy countries need to muster the political will “ to just say we’ ll pay for whatever it takes to get everyone vaccinated, ” Banerjee says. The self-interested argument is protection from new variants; each future surge would cost far more than paying for programs that will get already-donated vaccines to the people who most need them.
Investing in the underlying health systems in low-income countries is crucial not only for the short-term goal of making sure vaccines reach every community, but also for the longer-term benefits of supporting economic recovery and preparing for future crises. These include extending already effective childhood vaccination programs to adults ( so that vaccines for malaria and HIV can be distributed as soon as they’ re available); addressing other essential healthcare needs that have far-reaching consequences, like maternal health; and building vaccine production capacity in every region.
Four decades into the HIV/AIDS pandemic, 38 million people have the virus, more than two thirds of them in Africa. Ten million are still not receiving the life-saving antiretroviral treatment developed more than 25 years ago. Earlier this year in the Netherlands, researchers discovered a “ more transmissible and damaging ” variant of HIV. It responds to current treatments and isn’ t a big threat, but it is a warning we should heed. In privileged countries, we believe pandemics end when they stop affecting us. But until they’ re over everywhere, none of us are as immune as we might feel. | tech |
Victory over Facebook came at massive cost, says GovChat | GovChat says the two-year legal battle against Facebook parent company Meta was a strenuous journey that cost the citizen engagement platform millions of rands in legal fees.
A brutal legal dispute began in 2020 between the social media giant and GovChat, when Facebook threatened to off-board GovChat from its WhatsApp platform, due to alleged violation of its terms of service.
The controversial dispute caused a public outcry when Meta-owned WhatsApp sought to terminate GovChat and # LetsTalk, a technology start-up that connects government and citizens, from the WhatsApp Business application programming interface ( API).
During a webinar yesterday, titled “ A modern-day David vs Goliath ”, Govtech founder and CEO Eldrid Jordaan detailed the events that followed, describing the past two years as a stressful and emotionally and financially taxing period the start-up had to endure.
Being a then two-year-old toddler founded in 2018 meant the start-up had limited financial resources to take on the social media giant, which reported revenue of $ 117 billion in 2021, up from around $ 86 billion in the previous fiscal year, according to Statista.
GovChat was forced to approach its shareholder − investment firm Capital Appreciation − for financial backing that would empower it to take on the global tech giant, which is listed among the world’ s valuable companies.
It then employed the services of law firm Webber Wentzel.
“ It’ s been almost two years since this saga started…and it’ s been challenging. In terms of the amount of funds spent on the legal fees, this case came at a massive cost. I can not give an exact amount but it’ s a lot of money... we are talking about millions of rands.
“ I’ m grateful for the support I’ ve received from our shareholder and investor Capital Appreciation, which financially backed us, ” commented Jordaan.
GovChat delivers a vital service to government and over 8.8 million citizens, who actively use the platform, he noted.
The platform has, among other functions, enabled millions of South Africans to digitally apply for Social Relief in Distress grants and report municipal issues, such as potholes in their area. He emphasised GovChat’ s reliance on the WhatsApp Business API to provide these services.
The start-up eventually came out victorious when the Competition Commission referred Meta Platforms ( previously known as Facebook) and its subsidiaries, WhatsApp and Facebook South Africa ( collectively referred to as Facebook), to the Competition Tribunal for prosecution for abuse of dominance.
The commission alleges Facebook imposed and/or selectively enforced exclusionary terms and conditions regulating access to the WhatsApp Business API − mainly restrictions on the use of data.
According to the competition watchdog, this is in contravention of the Competition Act, sections 8 ( 1) ( d) ( ii), alternatively 8 ( 1) ( c) and in the further alternative 8 ( 1) ( b).
The commission has asked the tribunal to impose a maximum penalty against Meta Platforms, WhatsApp and Facebook South Africa, which is 10% of their collective turnover.
In response, Meta has vowed to defend its platforms from “ abuse ”, noting WhatsApp’ s conduct to date has been entirely consistent with the provisions of the Competition Act, and it is simply looking to apply its terms and conditions fairly.
“ That’ s why we want to work with GovChat in compliance with internationally recognised regulatory standards to provide this service. However, GovChat has repeatedly refused to comply with our policies, which are designed to protect citizens and their information, preferring to prioritise its own commercial interests over the public. We will continue to defend WhatsApp from abuse and protect our users. ”
Several trials and tribulations were experienced while reaching the current outcome. During the early stages of the matter, the start-up was forced to seek an urgent interdict, as the off-boarding of GovChat from the WhatsApp platform loomed, Jordaan explained.
In addition, GovChat felt it was important to lay a complaint and explain to the Competition Tribunal that the terms and conditions imposed by Facebook on start-ups and other businesses operating on the WhatsApp Business API were anti-competitive, he noted.
“ Acquiring the intermediary relief/interdict entailed a difficult process, which is one of the most difficult things we’ ve had to do. There are four requirements that one must meet in order to qualify: we had to prove a prima facie case; we had to show that we’ ve addressed concerns around market dominance; show that we would suffer irreparable harm should the interim interdict not be granted; and show there is no other available remedy. ”
The commission later asked the Competition Tribunal to interdict Facebook/WhatsApp from off-boarding GovChat from the WhatsApp Business API.
“ The tribunal was satisfied that GovChat had succeeded in proving WhatsApp was dominant in the market for OTT [ over-the-top ] messaging apps. It would have caused serious harm to South African citizens if they were not able to use the service, because GovChat was assisting millions of South Africans in applying for government services during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“ We were able to get the Competition Commission to halt the off-boarding of GovChat from the platform, and most importantly, we got them to investigate Meta dominance. ”
GovChat believes the prosecution of Facebook in SA sets a precedent for start-up companies in the country. | general |
FDA Issues New Guidance to Increase Minority Representation in Clinical Trials | Ethnic diversity in clinical trials has been lacking for years. Multiple companies have recognized this lapse and have made changes accordingly, but less has been done on a larger regulatory scale. Now, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is urging drugmakers to submit racial and minority recruitment plans when designing their studies.
The importance of clinical diversity of patients in studies has been in the spotlight for some time. On Tuesday, the FDA issued new guidance, titled “ Diversity Plans to Improve Enrollment of Participants from Underrepresented Racial and Ethnic Subgroups in Clinical Trials, ” that calls for companies to submit a Race and Ethnicity Diversity Plan to include more underrepresented minority populations in the United States. In a press release, FDA Commissioner Robert M. Califf said that the U.S. population is highly diverse, and the industry needs to ensure meaningful representation of racial and ethnic minorities in clinical trials.
In the United States, minority populations have historically been underserved by the life sciences community, particularly in clinical studies. Some minority populations have shown a disproportionate burden for certain diseases, including heart disease and strokes, and the need for an increased variance of ethnicities and races in clinical trials was heightened by the COVID-19 pandemic due to the way the SARS-CoV-2 virus disproportionately impacted minority communities. Last year, a report in the New England Journal of Medicine revealed that the racial and ethnic minority groups most negatively impacted by COVID-19 are also the least represented in clinical studies.
Similarly, an analysis published in March by Trinity Life Sciences highlighted the underrepresentation of minorities in clinical studies. Although more than 40% of the U.S. population is made up of different ethnic minority groups, they make up only 5% to 10% of clinical trial populations.
Over the years, there have been studies that have shown medications that treat a broad population of patients are less effective in minorities, such as the asthma drug albuterol. As the FDA noted in its announcement, variations in genetic coding can make treatment more or less toxic for one racial or ethnic group than another. These variations can also make drugs like antidepressants and blood-pressure medications less effective for certain groups. By including more patients from diverse backgrounds in the studies, medications with greater efficacy for broader populations will be discovered.
The FDA noted the barriers to minority population participation in clinical studies, including a mistrust in the scientific community due to historical abuses, language and cultural differences, health literacy, religion and limited access. In February, Medable and CVS partnered to improve clinical trial diversity by taking advantage of Medable’ s decentralized trial platform and linking it with the CVS MinuteClinic facilities across the country.
“ Going forward, achieving greater diversity will be a key focus throughout the FDA to facilitate the development of better treatments and better ways to fight diseases that often disproportionately impact diverse communities. This guidance also further demonstrates how we support the Administration's Cancer Moonshot goal of addressing inequities in cancer care, helping to ensure that every community in America has access to cutting-edge cancer diagnostics, therapeutics and clinical trials, ” Califf said in a statement.
There is also a concerted effort to include more minority patients in oncology studies. This includes the Cancer Moonshot project spearheaded by the Biden administration, which has set goals to increase minority representation. The addition of minorities is expected to address inequities in access to cancer screening, diagnostics and treatment across race, gender, region and resources. | general |
3D printing fills gaps in medical device manufacturing | The Department of Science and Innovation ( DSI) has officially unveiled a R97 million 3D printing project to improve access to medical devices for people living with disabilities.
The DSI launched the project − called the Medical Device Additive Manufacturing Technology Demonstrator ( MedAdd) − in partnership with Central University of Technology ( CUT), as well as its Technology Innovation Agency ( TIA).
3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing, is a technique that uses a device to create physical objects from digital models.The range of 3D-printable materials has grown significantly over the years, making the technology appealing to a wider array of industries.
In 2019, the 3D Printing in the Medical and Dental Industry 2019-2029 report identified 3D printing tech as key to the development of the medical industry.
The DSI’ s 3D printing initiative has been established in response to local industry challenges, with the aim to bridge the innovation gap in the use of additive manufacturing for medical devices.
Speaking during the hybrid launch of the project, MC Dr Vuyisile Phehane, executive: bio-economy at TIA, indicated the Free State’ s CUT is the leading South African university in the application of additive manufacturing for the production of customised medical implants.
However, the impact of this expertise and resources on the development of a medical device manufacturing industry has been limited, mainly due to a lack of equipment specifically for medical device manufacturing, Phehane continued.
“ The medical device additive manufacturing tech demonstrator project is located at the university’ s Centre for Rapid Prototyping and Manufacturing ( CRPM). ”
The CUT’ s Centre for Rapid Prototyping and Manufacturing has been doing work over the years in the design, development and manufacturing of medical devices.
According to the DSI, MedAdd functions under the CRPM's ISO 13485 certification, which acts as a safety net for small companies seeking to develop and industrialise new products, de-risking their innovative development before fully-fledged commercialisation.
Dr Rebecca Maserumule, acting deputy director-general for technology innovation at the DSI, said the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of African countries proactively investing in medical research and health innovation.
As a result, health innovation is one of the areas the DSI identified for the purpose of enhancing the impact of science in society.
“ Our overall objective in this space is to help grow the health economy by providing locally-developed and relevant diagnostics and medical devices with a view to boosting their manufacturing, ” noted Maserumule.
“ More specifically, we seek to enhance our existing capacity to manufacture active pharmaceutical ingredients, vaccines, biopharmaceuticals, diagnostics and medical devices to address the disease burden, while ensuring the security and sustainable supply of essential therapeutics and prophylactics. ”
CUT Council chairperson Matthew Rantso added that since 2015, more than 1 000 patients had been assisted through the support of state and private hospitals, the expertise of the CRPM, and funding from the DSI, TIA and other strategic partners.
Rantso pointed out the MedAdd project had brought the CRPM and industry together in planning and investing resources in a collaborative manner, which is a big plus for the university. From a product development point of view, he added, this was an opportunity for CUT, business and industry, through government, to create African solutions for South African challenges.
“ We look at the success of MedAdd as just the beginning towards the next stage of technological innovations that will be followed by many other landmark projects like this one. ”
South Africa has, in recent years, made significant inroads in 3D printing, with many local use-cases and designs being developed for the medical industry.
In 2020, engineers at the University of Johannesburg ( UJ) designed and developed portable 3D-printed mechanical ventilators, in an effort to step up the fight against COVID-19. The portable UJ ventilator allowed off-grid operations for up to one-and-a-half hours.
Earlier that year, the higher learning institution created open source, cheap ventilators to help fight the pandemic.
UJ’ s Library Makerspace division developed 3D-printed surgical face shields, in an effort to meet the rapidly-growing need for personal protective equipment for healthcare workers at the height of the pandemic.
As part of the 2019 Women’ s Monthactivities, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research ( CSIR) showcased some of the breakthroughs made by its female researchers, using the world’ s largest 3D printer, which is housed at the CSIR.
The 3D printer uses a powder bed fusion process called selective laser melting, where a 5kW laser melts titanium powder. A bed of powder is added for each layer and the subsequent layers are fused through the selective laser melting. | general |
Covid-19 booster raises antibody levels against Omicron for children ages 5 through 11, Pfizer and BioNTech say |
A third shot of the children's dose of Pfizer/BioNTech's Covid-19 vaccine raised Omicron-fighting antibodies by 36 times in kids 5 through 11 years of age, the companies said in a news release Thursday. The companies plan to request emergency use authorization from the US Food and Drug Administration for a booster dose for this age group.
Where the US stands on Covid-19 vaccines for children under 5
The new data come from a small study of 140 children ages 5 through 11 who were given a third 10-microgram dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine at least six months after their second dose.
The researchers analyzed antibody levels in serum -- the clear part of the blood -- from a subset of 30 children in this group one month after their third shot and found that antibodies against the Omicron variant were 36 times higher than they had been after the second dose of the vaccine.
In an analysis from 140 children with no evidence of prior Covid-19 infection, antibody levels against the original strain of the SARS-CoV-2 virus were six times higher one month after a booster dose than a month after the second vaccine dose.
The companies said there were no safety issues associated with a booster dose of the vaccine in these small groups of children.
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Pfizer and BioNTech say they will ask the FDA for an emergency use authorization, or EUA, for a booster dose for children in this age group `` in the coming days. '' They will also share the data with the European Medicines Agency and other regulatory agencies.
Studies from the New York State Department of Health and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that the effectiveness of Pfizer's vaccine for children ages 5-12 dropped substantially during the Omicron surge, falling from 68% to about 12% against Covid-19 infection. However, two doses of the vaccine continued to provide protection against more severe illness resulting in urgent care or hospitalizations.
The primary series of two doses was authorized by the FDA for emergency use in this age group in October.
Booster doses of Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine are already authorized for people age 12 and older. | general |
Azerbijani president, Albanian PM meet one-to-one [ UPDATE ] | President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and Prime Minister of Albania Edi Rama, who is on an official visit to the country, have held a one-on-one meeting.
Mr. Prime Minister, Welcome to Azerbaijan. I am very glad to see you. Very good opportunity to see each other to discuss important issues on our agenda. Your visit once again demonstrates the high level of political dialogue between our countries. We met many times and also communicated by telephone, also during the international events always used opportunity to see each other. I am sure the visit will give a new impetus to our bilateral ties. Also we will discuss issues of regional development, issues which is now on top agenda of the world. Coming to bilateral relations, I was looking at some information, of course, we need to work harder on increasing our trade turnover. It is very modest but I think there is a potential to increase. We will discuss it today and, of course, our cooperation in energy sector. Because already for more than a year Azerbaijan became exporter of natural gas to Europe and Albania always was supporting this initiative. Your high level representatives always participated in the meetings of the South Gas Corridor Advisory Council and contributed a lot to implementation of this project. So we are in one team of countries which implemented successfully this historical project and the importance of the Southern Gas Corridor and Trans Adriatic Pipeline, in particular, I think now is more visible than ever before. This is a very good sector of our cooperation which has a big potential to grow. Our representatives having their meetings on the bigger portfolio of our energy cooperation consisting of natural gas, transit, supplies also electric energy and it really could be a big part of our bilateral agenda. I am sure that what is now in the process of negotiations will result in new development. Also I think there is a good chance to talk about opportunities for mutual investments, of course tourism opportunities. I think we can provide our citizens different types of touristic opportunities. And in general, we look broader at our partnership to give a push and to see good results in the future.
So I am very glad to see you and once again welcome.
-Thank you, Mr. President. It is a real pleasure to be here and first and foremost at a time when you successfully brought back a part of your country that was for so many years in a situation that became unbearable. As you know both in the capacity of a chairman of the OSCE and now in the capacity of a member of the UN Security Council, Albania has been, it is and will be fully supportive of Azerbaijan, of truth and historical rights of Azerbaijan. Also, last but not least, we very much praise your incredibly exemplary efforts for peace and longstanding cooperation with your neighbor Armenia. At the same time we are both blessed to have a very strong bridge as Turkey and I strongly believe that we can do more as you mentioned various potential increase of our cooperation and for sure I am very much looking forward for your view and prospects and also to see what our mutual teams will come out with both in the energy sector and in tourism.
We are looking forward to your visit to Albania, now COVID has somehow smoothened, so the way is open.
Thank you very much, Mr. President, again for this very warm hospitality we felt since the first step after we landed in this beautiful capital city of yours.
President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev then had a working dinner with Prime Minister of Albania Edi Rama. | general |
Asia markets: China holds interest rate; property prices | SINGAPORE — Shares in Asia-Pacific mostly slipped on Friday, as China did not lower interest rates despite analysts ' expectations for more stimulus.
Investor focus turned to mainland Chinese stocks, with many major markets in the region closed for the Good Friday holiday.
Mainland stocks have been under pressure for much of the past week, as China contends with the worst Covid outbreak since the start of the pandemic and as Shanghai remains under lockdown.
On Friday, China stocks struggled for direction but finally settled in negative territory by the close.
The Shanghai composite was down 0.45% to close at 3,211.24, and the Shenzhen component declined 0.56% to 11,648.57.
`` Chinese shares remained under pressure from concerns about covid related lockdowns, '' said Shane Oliver, head of investment strategy and chief economist at Australian financial services firm AMP.
`` China is continuing to have problems managing the Omicron wave resulting in lockdowns under its 'zero covid ' policy ( albeit it's looking at softening some of its approach) threatening Chinese growth and contributing to further supply disruptions globally, '' he said in an early Friday note.
Although investors were hoping for more policy support ahead, China on Friday held back on lowering rates. The People Bank of China left medium-term rates unchanged despite expectations for more stimulus given the Covid-induced slowdown.
`` That's somewhat surprising given the sharp economic downturn and recent calls from China's leadership for monetary support. It underscores the reluctance of the central bank to aggressively ease policy. But we think it will have little choice but to do more before long, '' said Julian Evans-Pritchard, senior China economist at Capital Economics.
Hong Kong markets are closed for the Good Friday holiday, as are Australia, Singapore, India and New Zealand.
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In economic data, China released home prices data, which showed the country's new residential prices stalling for a second straight month in March, according to Reuters. They rose 1.5% compared to a year ago, the slowest pace since November 2015.
In other markets, Japan's Nikkei 225 closed down 0.29% to 27,093.19, while the Topix declined 0.62% to close at 1,896.31. Tech shares pared earlier losses, with SoftBank Group down 1.21%, and Sony tumbling 2.52%.
South Korea's Kospi also dropped 0.76% to finish at 2,696.06.
U.S. stocks fell Thursday, capping a losing week as investors digested mixed earnings results from major banks and rising inflation.
The S & P 500 fell 1.21% to 4,392.59, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 2.14% to 13,351.08. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 113.36 points, or 0.33%, to 34,451.23.
Inflation was in focus this week. U.S. Treasury yields climbed higher as inflation reports showed sharply rising prices, driving expectations of more aggressive Fed tightening. On Thursday, the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yield rose to multiyear highs, climbing 13 basis points to top 2.8%.
`` We think there is scope for the 10-year Treasury yield to rise further over the next twelve months or so, with a peak only likely to come around the middle of next year, '' Franziska Palmas, markets economist at Capital Economics, said in a note.
She cited analysis of the 10-year Treasury yield during eight major Fed tightening cycles since the 1970s, which suggests that the current selloff `` may have further to run. ''
U.S.-listed Chinese tech stocks dropped overnight after a Bloomberg report said China's -anti-corruption watchdog was among agencies involved in an investigation into links between Alibaba's Ant Group and state-owned Chinese firms.
New York-listed Alibaba closed more than 4% lower, while JD.com fell about 3% and Pinduoduo plunged nearly 9%.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 100.543, regaining its strength to rise back above the 100 mark.
The Japanese yen traded at 126.64 per dollar, continuing to weaken. The Australian dollar continued to fall and was trading at $ 0.7403. | business |
Shiba Inu & EverGrow Coin Surge 20% after Major Crypto Listings in April 2022 | Join Our Telegram Channel for More Insights. Join Now
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The crypto market shed $ 170 billion through the first half of April, falling below $ 2 trillion as nearly all top crypto tokens slumped in price. Bitcoin is down 12% in the past week, Ethereum is down 9%, and Terra’ s LUNA token is down 26% in price.
Most top 20 tokens are growing between 0-2% today on April 17 – but Shiba Inu and EverGrow Coin have surged over 20% in the past 24 hours. Shiba Inu is the second-largest memecoin by market cap while EverGrow Coin is the top reflection token on the BNB Chain.
Price surges for both coins came after new listings on top exchanges and crypto platforms. With trading volume increasing along with price hikes these two coins are set for further growth through April 2022.
Shiba Inu is by nature a decentralized cryptocurrency, with even the anonymous founder Ryoshi stepping back and claiming he/she owns no SHIB tokens. Ryoshi sent some 50% of all Shiba Inu coins to Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, who burnt the majority and sent the rest to a COVID-19 relief fund in India.
With a token price of $ 0.00002734 many Shiba Inu backers ( referred to as the SHIB Army) have taken it upon themselves to boost prices and generate more interest. Many backers periodically burn their own coins, or others like the Shib Coffee Company burn SHIB with profits made by selling coffee.
Another key milestone for the SHIB Army has been a Robinhood listing. The crypto brokerage platform yesterday announced Shiba Inu had been listed and announced a $ 100,000 giveaway to boost adoption. Shiba Inu’ s price responded accordingly, surging 20% in the last 24 hours.
Another development in Shiba Inu concerns the development of the SHIB metaverse. Land sales have gone online this week, and further developments could push Shiba Inu’ s even higher in April 2022.
EverGrow Coin launched in September last year, as part of a new crypto breed of reflection tokens. The token has fast become the top reflection project on the BNB Chain ( Binance Smart Chain) as it chases new milestones and further adoption. Yesterday the coin got its first listing on DigiFinex, a top 10 crypto exchange by trading volume.
EverGrow Coin’ s price shot up 22% on the DigiFinex platform, hitting a price of $ 0.00000043 up from $ 0.00000037 within hours. The listing has also been a great test of EverGrow Coin’ s complex tokenomics. The project charges a 14% transaction tax on each buy/sell order with 8% paid out as BUSD rewards, 3% set aside for strategic coin burns, 2% set aside for liquidity, and 1% for marketing.
A 24-hour trading volume of $ 2 million on DigiFinex means $ 60k for coin burning and $ 160k in BUSD stablecoin rewards for investors. Total BUSD rewards hit $ 36 million yesterday.
EverGrow Coin has more drops announced for this month, which are likely to include a new NFT marketplace and a content subscription platform called Crator. Both applications are designed to generate profits which are then used for more strategic coin burns or as more BUSD reflections.
Join Our Telegram Channel for More Insights. Join Now | tech |
Outlook for European Financial Markets | What is the outlook for the European financial markets given the deterioration of the geopolitical context?
By Tilmann Galler and Vincent Juvyns, Global Market Strategists, J.P. Morgan Asset Management
Since 24 February 2022 and the start of the conflict in Ukraine, Europe has been going through one of the most difficult periods in its history. Firstly, from the human perspective, the war in Ukraine has already claimed many victims and has caused the displacement of more than 10 million refugees.
Secondly, in geopolitical terms, this conflict is taking us back to the darkest days of the Cold War. As these lines are being written, diplomatic efforts are continuing, and although the situation on the ground is still critical, negotiators are saying that tentative progress is creating a glimmer of hope that a diplomatic solution to this conflict might be found.
« The worst is never certain », a view the financial markets seem to have taken in recent weeks as, after losing up to 20 percent since the start of the year, the MSCI EMU index rebounded by nearly1 10 percent in March. Volatility is still no lower though2 and should stay high as long as financial markets remain uncertain about the development of the conflict and its human, economic and financial cost.
Bank Stocks Hit Hard
Against this backdrop, a cautious approach should be taken to exposure to the European equity markets, although the indiscriminate sell-off trend seen at the start of the conflict was perhaps exaggerated, as the fiscal and monetary policies currently in force should support economic activity generally, and some sectors specifically.
The conflict in Ukraine has hit European bank stocks particularly hard. After reporting a rise of up to 15 percent this year, they have lost a bit more than 14 percent since 23 February. Investors are concerned about the banking sector’ s exposure to Russia and the impact of a potential economic slowdown in the eurozone on banking activity.
While these questions are legitimate, they should not cast doubt on the entire sector. The sector has reduced its exposure to Russia by 60 percent since the annexation of Crimea3 in 2014, whereas the maintaining of accommodative fiscal policies should dampen the economic shock, and the gradual phasing out of asset purchases by the ECB should support interest rates and therefore European bank margins.
Accelerated Energy Transition and Return of Value Investing
The terms « recession » and « stagflation » are increasingly being used by economists in their economic analyses of the eurozone, but we aren’ t at that point yet. All things being equal, the fiscal measures rolled out by governments and the European Commission, such as the RePowerEU plan, should absorb the economic impact of the energy crisis and accelerate the energy transition within the eurozone.
Investors have not failed to notice this as, since 24 February, the European energy sector has surged by more than 30 percent4. The rebound in this growth sector is all the more remarkable as it has occurred against a background of interest rate hikes ( +76 basis points for the 10-year German interest rate since the start of the year5), exacerbated by the rise in inflation and the ECB’ s wish to step up the reduction of its asset purchases.
Over the next few months, interest rates should continue to rise given persistent high inflation due to the current energy crisis. As at the start of the year, this should work in favor of « value » stocks rather than « growth » stocks. For instance, sectors such as industry, energy and healthcare are some of the only ones to report a positive performance this year.
Uncertain Future
In summary, the war in Ukraine is an event with major human and geopolitical consequences and its development and economic and financial impact remain uncertain. The worst may never happen, however, and although volatility should remain high in the financial markets, panicking is generally bad advice for investors.
Caution may be the best policy in the short term but, in the medium and long term, the European project should come out of the Ukraine crisis stronger, as was the case after the Covid crisis. The ECB’ s alertness to inflation and the huge investments made to accelerate the energy transition are factors that should support the European markets and, particularly, the renewable energy sector and « value » sectors, which will benefit more from the rise in interest rates and the catch-up movement that will be seen on the day when the conflict in Ukraine is hopefully brought to an end.
Suggested follow-up articles on value investing and the renewable energy sector:
1Source: Refinitiv Datastream, MSCI EMU, data at 31/03/2022229.9 for the VSTOXX 503Source: The Bank for International Settlements4Source: Refinitiv Datastream, MSCI EMU Renewable electrical, data at 18/03/20225Data as of 31/03/2022
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094r221204131555 | general |
Crises slowing economic growth worldwide: IMF chief | Hi, what are you looking for?
The war in Ukraine has undercut the global recovery, slowing expected economic growth in most countries in the world.
By
Published
The war in Ukraine has undercut the global recovery, slowing expected economic growth in most countries in the world, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said Thursday.
And beyond the humanitarian tragedy and economic crises, the war has exposed fractures in the international system at a time when global cooperation is the only solution, she said.
The war hit as the world was struggling to recover from the ongoing impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, and has caused an acceleration of inflation that endangers the gains of the past two years.
“ To put it simply: we are facing a crisis on top of a crisis, ” Georgieva said in a speech ahead of the spring meetings of the IMF and World Bank.
“ The economic consequences from the war spread fast and far, to neighbors and beyond, hitting hardest the world’ s most vulnerable people, ” she said.
Families already were struggling with higher energy and food prices and “ the war has made this much worse. ”
The IMF is due to release its updated economic forecasts on Tuesday, which Georgieva said will further downgrade the estimate for global growth that was cut to 4.4 percent in January.
“ Since then, the outlook has deteriorated substantially, largely because of the war and its repercussions, ” she said, and 143 countries will suffer downgrades.
While most will still achieve positive growth, the future is “ extraordinarily uncertain, ” and she warned of a deep divide between rich and poor countries.
– ‘ Clear and present danger’ –
After a decade of low inflation, prices worldwide have surged amid strong demand for goods that outstripped supply as economies began to return to normal, but the Russian invasion of Ukraine in late February and the sanctions imposed on Moscow pushed fuel and food prices up sharply.
Ukraine and Russia are major grain producers, and Russia also is a key source of energy for Europe.
“ The root cause of what we face today is the war and it is the war that must end, ” Georgieva said in a discussion following her speech to the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Inflation, which has hit a four-decade high the United States, “ has become a clear and present danger, ” she said, noting the trend will likely last longer than expected.
“ This is a massive setback for the global recovery, ” she said.
It also complicates policymaking: major central banks are raising interest rates to contain prices, but that increases borrowing costs for emerging markets and developing nations, which face high debt burdens.
“ This is the most universally complex policy environment of our lifetime, ” she said.
– ‘ Fragmentation’ –
Ending the war and the pandemic are top priorities, but can only be addressed through international cooperation, said Georgieva, who warned of the growing “ fragmentation of the world economy into geopolitical blocs. ”
The IMF leader, who grew up in Cold War-era Bulgaria, lamented, “ I have never thought that I would live to see another war in Europe of the magnitude of the tragedy that is happening in Ukraine. ”
She noted that the end of the Cold War ushered in “ a new era of rapidly increasing prosperity… because of an integrated global economy. ”
Fractures in that system impair the ability to address the current crises and future challenges, but also could cause a “ tectonic shift ” that would reshape global supply chains.
“ The threat to our collective prosperity from a breakdown in global cooperation can not be overstated, ” she said.
With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency. AFP provides fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives.
The Russian navy's Black Sea flagship is `` seriously damaged '' by an ammunition explosion, state media says.
Web3 has become a notable topic in the technology world over the past year.
ECB is faced with the challenge of threading a response between record-high inflation and weak growth due to the war in Ukraine.
The Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos III ( C) arrives for a meeting with other religious leaders at the Petra Hotel at the Jaffa...
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Biden pollster GSG 'deeply sorry ' for Amazon anti-union work as labor groups abandon it | In this article
Top labor groups and political action committees are distancing themselves from a major Democratic pollster after it was revealed that the firm worked on Amazon's anti-labor efforts at a warehouse on New York's Staten Island.
In late March, CNBC reported that Amazon tapped Global Strategy Group, an influential polling and consulting firm, to help with campaign materials at several Staten Island facilities, including JFK8, the site of a successful union drive earlier this month.
GSG is well known on Capitol Hill and in Democratic political circles. It served as a polling partner for a pro-Biden super PAC ahead of the 2020 election and maintains a high-profile roster of political and corporate clients, including Google and Facebook.
`` This is really really disgusting, '' Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, wrote in a tweet after CNBC's story was published.
In a sign of solidarity with the Amazon Labor Union and a strengthening labor movement more broadly, the AFT and several of GSG's other past clients are distancing themselves from the firm and pledging not to do business with it in the future. That all follows a campaign that ultimately didn't pay off.
On April 1, the JFK8 election tally showed that, by a wide margin, employees voted to unionize, the first time that's happened at an Amazon facility in the U.S. A week later, Amazon filed objections with the National Labor Relations Board, arguing the election process was tainted.
President Joe Biden, who promised to be `` the most pro-union president, '' expressed his support for unionization efforts at Amazon on April 6, remarking, `` By the way, Amazon, here we come. Watch. ''
GSG initially tried to keep its work with Amazon quiet. But facing blowback from clients, the firm is now apologizing for working on the campaign.
`` While there have been factual inaccuracies in recent reports about our work for Amazon, being involved in any way was a mistake, we have resigned that work, and we are deeply sorry, '' said Tanya Meck, a partner and managing director at GSG, in a statement.
Amazon didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
Among the groups cutting ties with GSG is the Service Employees International Union, one of the largest labor unions in the country. SEIU has spent $ 1.74 million on GSG's services since 2005, according to Department of Labor records. As recently as last year, the SEIU paid GSG $ 66,500 for voter polling services, the filings show.
An SEIU spokesperson told CNBC that the union's national office won't employ GSG in the future.
Weingarten said the AFT, which hasn't worked with GSG in several years, won't be returning as a client. Labor Department records show that AFT paid GSG about $ 160,000 for polling and consulting services between 2013 and 2014.
`` There are many consultants who have consistently supported the rights of those who work hard for a living — people like teachers, bus drivers, nurses, and Amazon workers — to have a voice on the job, '' Weingarten said in a statement. `` We will work with those folks, who didn't have to be reminded that working for working people is good for business. ''
Unions aren't the only clients that are upset. The League of Conservation Voters, a political action committee and environmental advocacy group, said it's `` reassessing how this news might affect future plans. '' And the Democratic parties of Nevada and Iowa, where various Democratic candidates have hired GSG in recent years, said that going forward they won't turn to GSG.
`` We proudly stand with our unions and our nation's working people and we were outraged to learn of GSG's involvement in union-busting efforts, '' a representative from the Nevada State Democratic Party said in an email. `` As a result of what we 've discovered, we will not be working with them in the future. ''
CNBC reached out to about a dozen politicians and PACs listed as GSG clients in filings with the Federal Election Commission. None of the elected officials provided a comment.
Of the labor groups CNBC contacted, only one, the United Brotherhood of Carpenters & Joiners, said it will continue to work with GSG.
Seth Goldstein, an attorney who has represented the ALU on a pro bono basis, told CNBC that more groups need to speak out.
`` I 'm calling on all Democrats, unions and progressive organizations that have any dealings with GSG to no longer work with them until they meaningfully, transparently tell us what they did for Amazon, '' Goldstein said.
GSG started in 1995 as a boutique polling firm and has since expanded to provide research, public relations and consulting services. According to its website, the firm `` led polling for dozens of winning campaigns and political organizations in 2018 and 2020 to secure today's Democratic majority in the US House of Representatives and US Senate. ''
GSG was the polling partner for Priorities USA, a super PAC that backed Biden, and has worked for Democratic Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand, of New York; Joe Manchin, of West Virginia, and Ed Markey, of Massachusetts. A decade ago, it employed Jen Psaki, who is now Biden's White House press secretary.
Amazon's union-busting techniques on Staten Island included papering walls with banners that read `` Vote No, '' setting up an anti-union website — unpackjfk8.com — and showing presentations that workers were required to sit through at meetings.
Last week, the Amazon Labor Union filed unfair labor practice charges with the NLRB, accusing Amazon and GSG of interfering in employees ' right to organize.
Amazon has fought aggressively to beat back unionization elsewhere as well, most notably in Bessemer, Alabama, where workers just concluded a second union vote after the initial one failed last year. The latest election was closer, and so many votes are being challenged that the outcome is still in doubt.
Warehouse staffers across Amazon amped up their activism during the Covid-19 pandemic, demanding safer working conditions and better pay. Top Democrats across the country have rallied behind their cause.
`` Amazing job by the worker-led @ AmazonLabor in Staten Island, '' Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, of New York, wrote in a tweet after the votes were counted. `` Congrats on the historic victory! And good luck as you move forward to contract. ''
WATCH: Bezos addresses Amazon union vote in letter to shareholders | business |
'Last few tweaks ' being made to COVID IP waiver deal -WTO chief | Since the draft compromise emerged in the media a month ago, pressure from civil society groups has been rising for the parties - the United States, the European Union, India and South Africa - to walk away from the deal. Other public figures have also criticised it such as German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and former U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, saying it is too narrowly focused on vaccines.
`` People are saying the text is now being rejected. It is not true, '' Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala told Reuters by telephone. `` They are still trying to iron out the last things. It's just the last few tweaks, '' she said, without elaborating.
Okonjo-Iweala, who took over the top job a year ago with a mandate to reinvigorate the 27-year-old institution, has been brokering the talks for the past few months in an effort to break a more than year-long stalemate at the WTO.
India and South Africa, backed by dozens of other WTO members, had proposed a broad waiver of IP rights for COVID-19 drugs and vaccines, but failed to overcome opposition from members like Britain and Switzerland who argued that pharmaceutical research required such protections.
The compromise proposal that Okonjo-Iweala referred to, if finalised among the four negotiators, still needs to be presented to all 164 WTO members which each hold a veto.
No date has yet been fixed for that meeting.
Okonjo-Iweala said in the same interview that she plans to meet U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai next week to discuss a ministerial trade conference at the WTO's Geneva headquarters in June and to brief U.S. Congress.
( Reporting by Emma Farge; editing by Diane Craft and Stephen Coates)
By Emma Farge | 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.
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A SARS-CoV-2 omicron ( B.1.1.529) variant outbreak in a primary school in Geneva, Switzerland - The Lancet Infectious Diseases | The role of primary-school children in community circulation of SARS-CoV-2 remains unclear,1Viner RM Koirala A Daily antigen testing to reduce disruption when schools return.Lancet. 2021; 398: 1196-1197Google Scholar and this is particularly true for the highly transmissible omicron ( B.1.1.529) variant, which has a high potential for immune escape, increasing the likelihood to infect or reinfect vaccinated family members.2Viana R Moyo S Amoako DG et al.Rapid epidemic expansion of the SARS-CoV-2 omicron variant in southern Africa.Nature. 2022; 603: 679-686Google Scholar
We investigated a SARS-CoV-2 outbreak in a primary school in Geneva, Switzerland, as part of a longitudinal, prospective, school class-based surveillance study ( SEROCoV-Schools).3Lorthe E Bellon M Michielin G et al.Epidemiological, virological and serological investigation into a SARS-CoV-2 outbreak ( alpha variant) in a primary school: a prospective longitudinal study.medRxiv. 2021; ( published online Nov 24.) ( preprint).https: //doi.org/10.1101/2021.10.26.21265509Google Scholar Detailed methods are in the appendix ( pp 1–2). Briefly, children ( aged 3–7 years), teachers, and school staff from four classes in the primary school ( classes A–D) were invited to participate in the surveillance study. When a participant tested positive, we prospectively investigated the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in the school and in the household.
The first case ( class C) of SARS-CoV-2 infection with the omicron variant was notified to our team on Jan 11, 2022, which was the day after the start of the school term after the winter vacation, referred to as day 0. Children and staff members were tested for SARS-CoV-2 infection via RT-PCR on oropharyngeal swabs twice by our team, on day 3 and day 7, regardless of symptoms ( appendix p 3). Additional tests were done on a few participants who developed symptoms after day 7. Within 3 days of identification of the first case, we identified cases in all four classes being investigated. Cumulative infection incidence was four ( 33%) of 12 children in class A ( which increased to five [ 42% ] of 12 if including a probable case, as defined in the appendix [ p 1 ]), two ( 15%) of 13 in class B, nine ( 56%) of 16 in class C, and 11 ( 61%) of 18 in class D. At the time of the study, only two children were vaccinated against COVID-19 with one dose; both tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 infection. Because this outbreak investigation is part of a surveillance study that began on Oct 5, 2021, we were able to determine that 19 ( 29%) of 66 children ( four to six children in each class) had anti-spike SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies ( unrelated to vaccination) or PCR-confirmed infection, or both, before the beginning of the omicron outbreak in January, 2022. Among those, 17 were tested during the outbreak and five ( 29%) of 17 were infected.
Among the children without indication of previous infection or vaccination who were tested, 20 ( 50%) of 40 were infected. Five ( 50%) of ten teachers and one ( 20%) of five non-teaching staff members at the school tested positive during the omicron outbreak. Two ( 13%) of 15 staff members were not vaccinated against COVID-19, and both tested positive.
We also investigated the introduction of SARS-CoV-2 infections in 24 households of children who tested positive. 52 household members were tested once or twice within the week after their child or sibling tested positive ( appendix p 3). Infections with the SARS-CoV-2 omicron variant were found in 15 ( 63%) of 24 households and 25 ( 48%) of 52 investigated household members ( which increased to 27 [ 50% ] of 54 if including probably cases), a household cumulative infection incidence that was similar to the findings of another report from South Korea.4Song JS Lee J Kim M et al.Serial intervals and household transmission of SARS-CoV-2 omicron variant, South Korea, 2021.Emerg Infect Dis. 2022; 28: 756-759Google Scholar 42 ( 91%) of 46 parents included were vaccinated, of whom 32 ( 76%) had received a booster. After excluding those who tested positive just before the outbreak and those who were not tested, the cumulative incidence of infection among those who had received a booster vaccination was 13 ( 43%) of 30, among those who had received one or two doses of vaccine was two ( 33%) of six, and among those who were unvaccinated was two ( 67%) of three, supporting the idea that this variant is highly transmissible even among fully vaccinated people.5Brandal LT MacDonald E Veneti L et al.Outbreak caused by the SARS-CoV-2 omicron variant in Norway, November to December 2021.Euro Surveill. 2021; 262101147Google Scholar
Most infections were symptomatic, with 25 ( 81%) of 31 children and siblings and 19 ( 86%) of 22 adults ( parents, teachers, and non-teaching staff members combined) reporting symptoms. Four ( 100%) of four adults who were unvaccinated, three ( 75%) of four adults who were vaccinated with one or two doses, and 12 ( 92%) of 13 who were vaccinated with two or three doses reported symptoms. No hospitalisations were reported.
Several factors probably led to this large outbreak, including close contacts between children at school, several separate introductions ( as suggested by contact tracing) after the winter vacation in a context of high weekly incidence ( 3101 of 100 000 inhabitants in Geneva at the end of week 2 of 2022 were infected, of which > 96% were caused by the omicron variant), reinfections with the omicron variant,6Chen L-L Chua GT Lu L et al.Omicron variant susceptibility to neutralizing antibodies induced in children by natural SARS-CoV-2 infection or COVID-19 vaccine.Emerg Microbes Infect. 2022; 11: 543-547Google Scholar and isolation periods shortened to 5 days from Jan 13, 2022, by the health authorities, which led to potentially infectious participants being sent back to school.
In summary, this prospective, school class-based study provides evidence of higher transmission of infections in school settings with the omicron variant than was reported with previous variants.3Lorthe E Bellon M Michielin G et al.Epidemiological, virological and serological investigation into a SARS-CoV-2 outbreak ( alpha variant) in a primary school: a prospective longitudinal study.medRxiv. 2021; ( published online Nov 24.) ( preprint).https: //doi.org/10.1101/2021.10.26.21265509Google Scholar Children appear to be an important source of extra-household infections and have a key role in community transmission.
This study was approved by the ethics committee of the Canton of Geneva ( Project ID 2020-02957). All parents and teachers were informed about the study and gave written informed consent, while children gave verbal assent to participate. The SEROCoV-Schools study was supported by the Federal Office of Public Health, the Private Foundation of the Geneva University Hospitals, the Fondation des Grangettes, the Center for Emerging Viral Diseases, and a SNF NRP ( National Research Program) 78 COVID-19 Grant 198412 ( to SJM and IE). We declare no competing interests. SEROCoV-Schools Study Group members are listed in the appendix ( p 5).
Download.pdf (.52 MB) Help with pdf files Supplementary appendix
Daily antigen testing to reduce disruption when schools returnThe role of schoolchildren and schools in the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 will come again to the fore with the reopening of schools in September in many northern hemisphere countries. In many other countries, including Australia and New Zealand, it remains uncertain whether schools will reopen before the end of the academic year. Full-Text PDF | tech |
United States High Power LED Market Report 2022: Automotive, Backlighting, Flash Lighting, and General Lighting - Forecast to 2027 - ResearchAndMarkets.com | DUBLIN -- ( BUSINESS WIRE) -- The `` High Power LED Market Research Report by Response Time ( Flip Chip, Mesa, and Vertical), Application, State - United States Forecast to 2027 - Cumulative Impact of COVID-19 '' report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.
The United States High Power LED Market size was estimated at USD 1,404.37 million in 2021, USD 1,471.39 million in 2022, and is projected to grow at a Compound Annual Growth Rate ( CAGR) of 6.71% to reach USD 2,074.38 million by 2027.
In this report, the years 2019 and 2020 are considered historical years, 2021 as the base year, 2022 as the estimated year, and years from 2023 to 2027 are considered the forecast period.
Competitive Strategic Window:
The Competitive Strategic Window analyses the competitive landscape in terms of markets, applications, and geographies to help the vendor define an alignment or fit between their capabilities and opportunities for future growth prospects.
It describes the optimal or favorable fit for the vendors to adopt successive merger and acquisition strategies, geography expansion, research & development, and new product introduction strategies to execute further business expansion and growth during a forecast period.
FPNV Positioning Matrix:
The FPNV Positioning Matrix evaluates and categorizes the vendors in the High Power LED Market based on Business Strategy ( Business Growth, Industry Coverage, Financial Viability, and Channel Support) and Product Satisfaction ( Value for Money, Ease of Use, Product Features, and Customer Support) that aids businesses in better decision making and understanding the competitive landscape.
Market Share Analysis:
The Market Share Analysis offers the analysis of vendors considering their contribution to the overall market. It provides the idea of its revenue generation into the overall market compared to other vendors in the space.
It provides insights into how vendors are performing in terms of revenue generation and customer base compared to others. Knowing market share offers an idea of the size and competitiveness of the vendors for the base year. It reveals the market characteristics in terms of accumulation, fragmentation, dominance, and amalgamation traits.
Competitive Scenario:
The Competitive Scenario provides an outlook analysis of the various business growth strategies adopted by the vendors. The news covered in this section delivers valuable thoughts at the different stages while keeping up-to-date with the business and engaging stakeholders in the economic debate. The competitive scenario represents press releases or news of the companies categorized into Merger & Acquisition, Agreement, Collaboration & Partnership, New Product Launch & Enhancement, Investment & Funding, and Award, Recognition, & Expansion. All the news collected helps vendors to understand the gaps in the marketplace and competitors ' strength and weakness thereby, providing insights to enhance product and service.
The report answers questions such as:
1. What is the market size and forecast of the United States High Power LED Market?
2. What are the inhibiting factors and impact of COVID-19 shaping the United States High Power LED Market during the forecast period?
3. Which are the products/segments/applications/areas to invest in over the forecast period in the United States High Power LED Market?
4. What is the competitive strategic window for opportunities in the United States High Power LED Market?
5. What are the technology trends and regulatory frameworks in the United States High Power LED Market?
6. What is the market share of the leading vendors in the United States High Power LED Market?
7. What modes and strategic moves are considered suitable for entering the United States High Power LED Market?
Key Topics Covered:
1. Preface
1.1. Objectives of the Study
1.2. Market Segmentation & Coverage
1.3. Years Considered for the Study
1.4. Currency & Pricing
1.5. Language
1.6. Limitations
1.7. Assumptions
1.8. Stakeholders
2. Research Methodology
2.1. Define: Research Objective
2.2. Determine: Research Design
2.3. Prepare: Research Instrument
2.4. Collect: Data Source
2.5. Analyze: Data Interpretation
2.6. Formulate: Data Verification
2.7. Publish: Research Report
2.8. Repeat: Report Update
3. Executive Summary
4. Market Overview
5. Market Insights
5.1. Market Dynamics
5.1.1. Drivers
5.1.2. Restraints
5.1.3. Opportunities
5.1.4. Challenges
5.2. Cumulative Impact of COVID-19
6. High Power LED Market, by Response Time
6.1. Introduction
6.2. Flip Chip
6.3. Mesa
6.4. Vertical
7. High Power LED Market, by Application
7.1. Introduction
7.2. Automotive
7.3. Backlighting
7.4. Flash Lighting
7.5. General Lighting
8. California High Power LED Market
9. Florida High Power LED Market
10. Illinois High Power LED Market
11. New York High Power LED Market
12. Ohio High Power LED Market
13. Pennsylvania High Power LED Market
14. Texas High Power LED Market
15. Competitive Landscape
15.1. FPNV Positioning Matrix
15.1.1. Quadrants
15.1.2. Business Strategy
15.1.3. Product Satisfaction
15.2. Market Ranking Analysis
15.3. Market Share Analysis, By Key Player
15.4. Competitive Scenario
15.4.1. Merger & Acquisition
15.4.2. Agreement, Collaboration, & Partnership
15.4.3. New Product Launch & Enhancement
15.4.4. Investment & Funding
15.4.5. Award, Recognition, & Expansion
16. Company Usability Profiles | general |
Wheel of fortune turns for Sri Lanka's political soothsayers | Hi, what are you looking for?
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Generations of Sri Lankan leaders have sought guidance from seers and astrologers, and now one has dared tell the ruling Rajapaksa family that their time in office is up.
As politicians find their homes besieged by large and resentful crowds, incensed over months of fuel shortages and lengthy blackouts, spiritual advisers have also found themselves under pressure.
Images of soothsayers standing alongside top administration figures have been shared on social media by activists calling on them to urge President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to stand down. One of the most prominent among them has already broken ranks with the government.
The long-time personal astrologer of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa — the president’ s older brother — this week said the economic crisis signalled the downfall of a clan that has dominated Sri Lanka’ s affairs for much of the past two decades.
“ This is the end of the entire Rajapaksa family, ” Sumanadasa Abeygunawardena told AFP.
The fortune-teller’ s reputation took a hit in 2015 after he suggested Mahinda call an early election that the leader lost — but his latest prediction is more emphatic.
“ Even a grade two child knows today that the Rajapaksas are doomed, ” he said.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa — Mahinda’ s younger brother — and Sri Lanka’ s army chief are also known to have had a long association with a fortune-teller in the historic Buddhist centre of Anuradhapura.
Local media have reported the president makes regular pilgrimages to meet with Gnana Akka, and claimed she had a considerable role in shaping the government’ s response to the coronavirus pandemic.
A group of activists clashed with police this month as they attempted to storm a shrine belonging to the seer, who fled after officers tipped her off to the crowd’ s impending arrival.
Gnana Akka’ s influence also extended to several other top politicians, said newspaper columnist Kusal Perera, who quipped that the prophet’ s powers had apparently not granted her advance warning of the protest.
“ How can Gnana Akka protect the president when she is unable to protect herself? ” he said.
– Magic ritual –
Astrology is widely practised in Sri Lanka, and people commonly consult seers before building new homes, entering into contracts or scheduling weddings.
Political addresses to the nation and the inauguration of new parliament sessions are also usually held at auspicious times.
Former military commanders have even reported that timings of military actions in Sri Lanka’ s long civil war were decided by astrologers, who were also consulted to coin codenames for operations.
The Rajapaksa brothers are only the latest in a long tradition of Sri Lankan leaders balancing otherworldly advice with that of technocrats and civil servants.
Former president Ranasinghe Premadasa used a magic ritual to ward off his impending impeachment in 1991, according to a tell-all book by Vijaya Palliyaguruge, who at the time was the parliament’ s serjeant-at-arms, the officer maintaining order.
A sorcerer was tasked with juicing limes and spreading the liquids on the seats of lawmakers to ensure their support of the leader.
Premadasa survived the attempt to topple him but his reliance on the occult did not protect him from his assassination two years later in a suicide bomb attack by a member of the Tamil Tigers separatist movement.
– ‘ Way of redemption’ –
The political elite’ s consultation of shamans and seers is not a phenomenon unique to Sri Lanka.
The diminutive mystic “ ET ” — a moniker apparently inspired by her resemblance to the eponymous Steven Spielberg character — advised members of Myanmar’ s military, who were rumoured to have relocated the country’ s capital in 2005 based on astrological guidance.
Former US First Lady Nancy Reagan was also known to consult an astrologer to plan her husband’ s schedule while he served in the White House.
But even with Sri Lanka seething over mismanagement of the economic crisis and allegations of graft, human rights activist and former newspaper editor Victor Ivan said the government was unlikely to abandon its faith in supernatural guidance.
“ The leaders know that they have done a lot of wrong, ” he told AFP.
“ Shamans and sorcerers provide them a way of redemption — that is why these people are held in such veneration by our politicians. ”
With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency. AFP provides fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives.
That’ s the real danger. Nobody trusts Russian judgment anymore.
The UN refugee agency UNHCR says 4,656,509 Ukrainians have fled since Russia invaded on February 24 - Copyright AFP FARJANA K. GODHULYRobin MILLARDMore than...
AI, facial recognition, and biometrics can help the world get back to work.
Sri Lanka urged its citizens overseas to send home money to help pay for desperately needed food and fuel.
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Has the pandemic unleashed a new era in telehealth? | Hi, what are you looking for?
There is a correlation between the use of telehealth apps and rising health concerns.
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The coronavirus pandemic has impacted across different sectors in different ways an done of these is the delivery of healthcare. One poll finds that 1 in 3 people started using telehealth apps when COVID-19 began. This finding is based on a survey conducted involving over 1,000 people to identify common concerns and telehealth trends.
Telehealth is the distribution of health-related services and information via electronic information and telecommunication technologies.
In terms of how well received telehealth is by patients, those who used telehealth apps found them to have many benefits. However, this same group also expressed some serious security and technical concerns.
In terms of a related technological wave, 58 percent of people who use telehealth services said they are interested in using cryptocurrency to pay for health care services, should such a facility be available.
The data showed there is a correlation between the use of telehealth apps and rising health concerns. Here, 58 percent of people indicated they prefer to use telehealth apps as healthcare needs arise. The coronavirus pandemic provided the optimal test case for this, with many people switching to telehealth for the first time.
When the data was combined with non-users of such apps, concerns with technical difficulties was reasonably high. Of the users, 38 percent said that had difficulties and with the non-users, 33 percent of the poll said they anticipated having difficulties with telehealth apps.
Of those who used telehealth apps and were satisfied with how they operate, many indicated they would be continuing with telehealth in the future. This is borne out by 71 percent of people planning to continue using telehealth options in the future.
There are, nonetheless, some ongoing cybersecurity and digital identity concerns. Of those who regularly use telehealth apps, 37 percent of current telehealth users said they are concerned about the security of health data and 34 percent are concerned about privacy and confidentiality risks.
Such data is important for app developers and healthcare providers since as the telehealth space grows in popularity with more apps popping up, being aware of patients’ concerns is important and this needs to be considered as a key design factor.
Perhaps the main issue will be the serious privacy concerns that are preventing non-users from using telehealth options.
Dr. Tim Sandle is Digital Journal's Editor-at-Large for science news. Tim specializes in science, technology, environmental, and health journalism. He is additionally a practising microbiologist; and an author. He is also interested in history, politics and current affairs.
Web3 has become a notable topic in the technology world over the past year.
The Russian navy's Black Sea flagship is `` seriously damaged '' by an ammunition explosion, state media says.
ECB is faced with the challenge of threading a response between record-high inflation and weak growth due to the war in Ukraine.
The Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos III ( C) arrives for a meeting with other religious leaders at the Petra Hotel at the Jaffa...
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Global Cryostat Markets, 2022-2027 - Growing Demand in Aerospace Applications & Rising Use of Cryostats in MRI Machines - ResearchAndMarkets.com | DUBLIN -- ( BUSINESS WIRE) -- The `` Global Cryostat Market ( 2022-2027) by Type, System Component, Cryogen, Industry, Geography, Competitive Analysis, and the Impact of Covid-19 with Ansoff Analysis '' report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.
The Global Cryostat Market is estimated to be USD 3.09 Bn in 2022 and is expected to reach USD 4.31 Bn by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 6.89%.
Forces of Market Dynamics may be related to macro-economic and micro-economic factors. There are dynamic market forces other than price, demand, and supply. Human emotions can also drive decisions, influence the market, and create price signals.
As the market dynamics impact the supply and demand curves, decision-makers aim to determine the best way to use various financial tools to stem various strategies for speeding the growth and reducing the risks.
Company Profiles
The report provides a detailed analysis of the competitors in the market. It covers the financial performance analysis for the publicly listed companies in the market. The report also offers detailed information on the companies ' recent development and competitive scenario. Some of the companies covered in this report are Atico Medical Pvt. Ltd, Bright Instruments, Cryomech, Inc, Shenyang Longshou Electronic Instrument Co., Ltd. etc.
Competitive Quadrant
The report includes a Competitive Quadrant a proprietary tool to analyze and evaluate the position of companies based on their Industry Position score and Market Performance score.
The tool uses various factors for categorizing the players into four categories. Some of these factors considered for analysis are financial performance over the last 3 years, growth strategies, innovation score, new product launches, investments, growth in market share, etc.
Ansoff Analysis
The report presents a detailed Ansoff matrix analysis for the Global Cryostat Market. Ansoff Matrix, also known as Product/Market Expansion Grid, is a strategic tool used to design strategies for the growth of the company.
The matrix can be used to evaluate approaches in four strategies viz. Market Development, Market Penetration, Product Development and Diversification. The matrix is also used for risk analysis to understand the risk involved with each approach.
The analyst analyses the Global Cryostat Market using the Ansoff Matrix to provide the best approaches a company can take to improve its market position.
Based on the SWOT analysis conducted on the industry and industry players, this Global Research has devised suitable strategies for market growth.
Key Topics Covered:
1 Report Description
1.1 Study Objectives
1.2 Market Definition
1.3 Currency
1.4 Years Considered
1.5 Language
1.6 Key Stakeholders
2 Research Methodology
2.1 Research Process
2.2 Data Collection and Validation
2.3 Market Size Estimation
2.4 Assumptions of the Study
2.5 Limitations of the Study
3 Executive Summary
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Market Size, Segmentations and Outlook
4 Market Dynamics
4.1 Drivers
4.1.1 Rising Use of Cryostats in MRI Machines
4.1.2 Increasing in the Production of Liquefied Natural Gas
4.2 Restraints
4.2.1 High Input Power Consumption
4.3 Opportunities
4.3.1 Growing Demand in Aerospace Applications
4.3.2 Increasing Usage of Natural Gas Pipelines
4.4 Challenges
4.4.1 Leakage of Cryogen Gases
4.4.2 Limited Availability of Helium and Environmental Concerns
5 Market Analysis
5.1 Regulatory Scenario
5.2 Porter's Five Forces Analysis
5.3 Impact of COVID-19
5.4 Ansoff Matrix Analysis
6 Global Cryostat Market, By Type
6.1 Introduction
6.2 Closed-Cycle Cryostats
6.3 Continuous-Flow Cryostats
6.4 Bath Cryostats
6.5 Multistage Cryostats
7 Global Cryostat Market, By System Component
7.1 Introduction
7.2 Dewars
7.3 Transfer Tubes
7.4 Gas Flow Pumps
7.5 Temperature Controllers
7.6 High Vacuum Pumps
7.7 Microtome Blades
7.8 Others
8 Global Cryostat Market, By Cryogen
8.1 Introduction
8.2 Helium
8.3 Nitrogen
8.4 Others
9 Global Cryostat Market, By Industry
9.1 Introduction
9.2 Healthcare
9.3 Energy & Power
9.4 Aerospace
9.5 Metallurgy
9.6 Biotechnology
9.7 Forensic Science | general |
Taiwan's TSMC reports record first-quarter revenue | Hi, what are you looking for?
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Taiwanese tech giant TSMC posted record revenue for the first three months of the year Thursday as demand soared for chips used in everything from smartphones and cars to missiles.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company ( TSMC) operates the world’ s largest silicon wafer factories and produces some of the most advanced microchips.
Its first-quarter revenue rose 36 percent on-year and 12 percent on-quarter, respectively, to a record Tw $ 491.1 billion ( US $ 17.6 billion), according to a company statement.
It also posted a 45 percent year-on-year profit of Tw $ 202.7 billion in the January-March period.
That was up 22 percent from the 2021 fourth quarter.
CEO C.C. Wei said first-quarter revenue was “ above the high-end of our guidance mainly due to better demand from smartphone and automotive-related applications than our forecast three months ago ”.
TSMC had forecast Q1 sales of between Tw $ 458.16 billion and Tw $ 474.72 billion at an investor conference in January.
Smartphone and high-performance computing ( HPC) accounted for 40 percent and 41 percent of net revenue respectively, while automotive represented five percent in the first three months, company figures showed.
Revenue from HPC and automotive both rose 26 percent in this period from the fourth quarter in 2021.
A global chip shortage fulled by the coronavirus pandemic has not eased and wait time for semiconductor delivery reportedly grew again in March partly due to China’ s strict Covid lockdowns.
“ Moving into second quarter 2022, we expect our business to be supported by HPC and automotive-related demand, partially offset by smartphone seasonality, ” Wei said.
TSMC forecast its revenue in the April-June period to be between US $ 17.6 billion and US $ 18.2 billion, said chief financial officer Wendell Huang.
“ Despite the manufacturing cost challenges… we continue to believe a long-term growth margin of 53 percent and higher is achievable, ” he added.
With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency. AFP provides fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives.
That’ s the real danger. Nobody trusts Russian judgment anymore.
The UN refugee agency UNHCR says 4,656,509 Ukrainians have fled since Russia invaded on February 24 - Copyright AFP FARJANA K. GODHULYRobin MILLARDMore than...
AI, facial recognition, and biometrics can help the world get back to work.
Sri Lanka urged its citizens overseas to send home money to help pay for desperately needed food and fuel.
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Scramble for relief for South Africa's flood victims | Hi, what are you looking for?
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Victims of South Africa’ s deadliest storm on record scrambled to get help on Thursday as the death toll from floods and landslips that struck the country’ s southeast surged beyond 300.
At least 306 people have been killed since the heaviest rainfall in six decades swept away homes and destroyed infrastructure in the city of Durban and KwaZulu-Natal province.
The government has declared a state of disaster in the region and pledged relief to those affected.
President Cyril Ramaphosa, in a visit to the area on Wednesday, described the floods as a “ calamity… a catastrophe of enormous proportions. ”
Thousands of people have been made homeless, roads and bridges swept away and at least 248 schools have been damaged.
A mortuary worker at the Durban township of Phoenix said more than 100 corpses had been brought to the morgue, which has a capacity of 500 bodies.
“ Last night there was queue of people bringing bodies. It’ s too much, ” the worker said, asking not to be named as he did not have permission to speak to the media.
The government of KwaZulu-Natal has put out a public call for aid, urging people to donate non-perishable food, bottled water, clothes and blankets.
The authorities are assessing “ all affected families ” for their needs, it said in a statement.
– Appeal for shelter –
But many survivors said they had been left to fend for themselves.
In Amaoti, a township north of Durban, residents balanced precariously on the edge of a broken road, trying to fetch clean water from a broken pipe underneath.
Volunteers said they were desperate to find food, clothes and other essentials.
In a pitch-dark hall in Durban’ s Glebelands hostel district, volunteers used the torches from their cellphones to register scores of displaced people overnight.
“ We are just helping the people because we care, ” said Mabheki Sokhela, 51, who helped organise temporary shelter at a community hall.
“ These are our brothers and sisters ”
He urged fellow residents to provide a roof for the victims.
“ We are trying to accommodate these people. There is not enough space, ” he said.
Many victims slept on chairs or on cardboard on the floors of the hall.
– Brutal storm –
Weather experts say apocalyptic levels of rain were dumped over the region over several days, in South Africa’ s biggest storm on record.
Some areas received more than 450 millimetres ( 18 inches) in 48 hours, amounting to nearly half of Durban’ s annual rainfall of 1,009 mm, the national weather service said.
The storm caught South African authorities unprepared.
Africa’ s most industrialised country has been largely shielded from tropical storms that form over the Indian Ocean and typically batter Mozambique when they make landfall.
The latest rains were caused by a weather system called a “ cut-off low ” that brought rain and cold weather to much of the country.
The South African Weather Service has issued an Easter weekend warning of thunderstorms and localised flooding in KwaZulu-Natal and neighbouring Free State and Eastern Cape provinces.
The country is still struggling to recover from the two-year-old Covid pandemic and deadly riots last year that killed more than 350 people.
With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency. AFP provides fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives.
That’ s the real danger. Nobody trusts Russian judgment anymore.
The UN refugee agency UNHCR says 4,656,509 Ukrainians have fled since Russia invaded on February 24 - Copyright AFP FARJANA K. GODHULYRobin MILLARDMore than...
AI, facial recognition, and biometrics can help the world get back to work.
Sri Lanka urged its citizens overseas to send home money to help pay for desperately needed food and fuel.
COPYRIGHT © 1998 - 2022 DIGITAL JOURNAL INC. Digital Journal is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more about our external linking. | general |
Uniqlo operator lifts profit outlook despite China lockdowns | Hi, what are you looking for?
Fast Retailing, the operator of Japanese casualwear giant Uniqlo, revised its annual net profit forecast upwards.
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Fast Retailing, the operator of Japanese casualwear giant Uniqlo, revised its annual net profit forecast upwards on Thursday even as business in China is hit by fresh lockdowns.
China is a key market for Uniqlo, but consumer spending has been hampered as coronavirus cases surge in cities such as Shanghai, prompting authorities to impose tough lockdowns under the country’ s zero-Covid policy.
Uniqlo operations in mainland China saw “ a decrease in revenue and a large decline in profit ” for the six months to February, Fast Retailing said, attributing the falls to curbs on movement.
But elsewhere in Asia, business was brisk, buoyed by strong performance in countries such as Malaysia where virus restrictions were eased.
In North America, too, strengthened branding efforts helped boost sales, the company said.
These factors, coupled with what the group described as a “ greater diversification ” of its revenue streams, led to net profit for the first half jumping 38.7 percent on-year to 146.8 billion yen ( $ 1.2 billion).
“ Operating profit reached a record high, even after stripping out the impact of yen depreciation, ” the company said as it logged 189.2 billion yen in operating profit in the first half, up 12.7 percent on-year.
The cheap-chic Japanese clothing group, which rivals Zara, Gap and H & amp; M, revised its full-year net profit forecast from the previous 175 billion yen to 190 billion yen.
Pandemic restrictions have not stopped Fast Retailing from aggressively expanding in Greater China, where it aims to open 100 new stores each year.
The war in Ukraine has also forced the company to strike a delicate balance between politics and profitability.
Moscow’ s invasion has prompted the temporary closure of Uniqlo operations in Russia, where Fast Retailing now expects to “ report a loss in the second half of fiscal 2022 ”.
This suspension was announced in March, in a U-turn from the Japanese firm’ s earlier decision to stay open in Russia.
“ Clothing is a necessity of life. The people of Russia have the same right to live as we do, ” Fast Retailing president Tadashi Yanai initially said in comments that prompted calls for a boycott.
With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency. AFP provides fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives.
That’ s the real danger. Nobody trusts Russian judgment anymore.
The UN refugee agency UNHCR says 4,656,509 Ukrainians have fled since Russia invaded on February 24 - Copyright AFP FARJANA K. GODHULYRobin MILLARDMore than...
AI, facial recognition, and biometrics can help the world get back to work.
Sri Lanka urged its citizens overseas to send home money to help pay for desperately needed food and fuel.
COPYRIGHT © 1998 - 2022 DIGITAL JOURNAL INC. Digital Journal is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more about our external linking. | general |
Pfizer and BioNTech Announce Data Demonstrating High Immune Response Following a Booster Dose of their COVID-19 Vaccine in Children 5 Through 11 Years of Age |
NEW YORK & MAINZ, Germany -- ( BUSINESS WIRE) -- Pfizer Inc. ( NYSE: PFE) and BioNTech SE ( Nasdaq: BNTX) today announced positive results from a Phase 2/3 clinical trial evaluating the safety, tolerability and immunogenicity of a 10-µg booster ( third) dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in healthy children 5 through 11 years of age. These data demonstrate an increase in SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant and wild-type strain neutralizing titers following a booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine compared to two doses. These data reinforce the potential function of a third dose of the vaccine in maintaining high levels of protection against the virus in this age group.
In the Phase 2/3 clinical trial, data were analyzed from 140 children 5 through 11 years of age received a booster dose approximately 6 months after the second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine 10-µg primary series. Data from a sub analysis of 30 sera from this study indicate that serum antibodies induced by a third dose neutralize the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant in this age group, as demonstrated by a 36-fold increase in neutralizing antibody titers compared to levels seen after two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine. A robust response was observed regardless of prior SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Further, immunogenicity data from 140 participants in the Phase 2/3 clinical trial with who had no evidence of prior SARS-CoV-2 infection showed a 6-fold increase ( 95% CI: 5.0, 7.6) in SARS-CoV-2 wild-type strain–neutralizing geometric mean titers ( GMTs) one month after the booster compared to the SARS-CoV-2–neutralizing GMTs one month after the second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, demonstrating a strong immune response in this age group. To date, more than 10,000 children under the age of 12 have participated in clinical trials investigating the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, and in this most recent booster data readout ( n=401), the vaccine was well tolerated with no new safety signals observed.
Pfizer and BioNTech plan to submit a request for Emergency Use Authorization ( EUA) of a booster dose for children ages 5 through 11 in the U.S. in the coming days. The companies also plan to share these data with the European Medicines Agency ( EMA) and other regulatory agencies around the world as soon as possible.
A primary series of two 10-µg doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine was previously authorized under EUA for this age group in October 2021. The 10-µg dose level was carefully selected based on safety, tolerability and immunogenicity data.
The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine, which is based on BioNTech’ s proprietary mRNA technology, was developed by both BioNTech and Pfizer. BioNTech is the Marketing Authorization Holder in the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Canada and the holder of emergency use authorizations or equivalents in the United States ( jointly with Pfizer) and other countries. Submissions to pursue regulatory approvals in those countries where emergency use authorizations or equivalent were initially granted are planned.
About the Phase 1/2/3 Trial in Children
The Phase 1/2/3 trial initially enrolled up to 4,500 children ages 6 months to under 12 years of age in the United States, Finland, Poland, and Spain from more than 90 clinical trial sites. Additional children have been enrolled in all age groups following study amendments and the trial currently includes more than 10,000 children. The trial was originally designed to evaluate the safety, tolerability, and immunogenicity of the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine on a two-dose schedule ( approximately 21 days apart) in three age groups: ages 5 to under 12 years; ages 2 to under 5 years; and ages 6 months to under 2 years. Based on the Phase 1 dose-escalation portion of the trial, children ages 5 to under 12 years received a two-dose schedule of 10 µg each while children under age 5 received a lower 3 µg dose for each injection in the Phase 2/3 study. The trial enrolled children with or without prior evidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection. In December 2021, Pfizer and BioNTech announced the companies would test a third 3 µg dose given at least two months after the second dose in children under age 5 and a third dose of the 10 µg formulation in children 5 to under 12 years of age.
About the Pfizer-BioNTech Laboratory Study
To evaluate the effectiveness of a third 10-µg dose in children 5 through 11 years of age, Pfizer and BioNTech tested a panel of 30 human immune sera obtained from the blood of individuals that received two or three 30-µg doses of the current Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine, using a live SARS-CoV-2 recombinant virus fluorescent foci reduction neutralization test ( FFRNT). Each serum was tested simultaneously for its neutralizing titer against recombinant SARS-CoV-2 ( with USA-WA-1/2020 genetic backbone) bearing the wild-type SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and theOmicron spike. The 50% neutralizing geometric mean titer ( GMT) against Omicron was 993 ( after three doses), compared to 27 after two doses. The neutralizing GMT against the wild-type virus was 2153 ( after three doses), compared to 335 after two doses. Further analysis will assess the persistence of neutralizing titers over time after a booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine against the Omicron and wild-type strains.
U.S. Indication & Authorized Use
Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine is FDA authorized under Emergency Use Authorization ( EUA) for active immunization to prevent coronavirus disease 2019 ( COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 ( SARS-CoV-2) in individuals 5 years of age and older.
Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine is FDA authorized to provide:
Primary Series
Booster Series
COMIRNATY® INDICATION
COMIRNATY® ( COVID-19 Vaccine, mRNA) is a vaccine approved for active immunization to prevent coronavirus disease 2019 ( COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 ( SARS-CoV-2) in individuals 16 years of age and older.
COMIRNATY® AUTHORIZED USES
COMIRNATY® ( COVID-19 Vaccine, mRNA) is FDA authorized under Emergency Use Authorization ( EUA) to provide:
Primary Series
Booster Dose
Emergency Use Authorization
Emergency uses of the vaccine have not been approved or licensed by FDA, but have been authorized by FDA, under an Emergency Use Authorization ( EUA) to prevent Coronavirus Disease 2019 ( COVID 19) in either individuals 12 years of age and older, or in individuals 5 through 11 years of age, as appropriate. The emergency uses are only authorized for the duration of the declaration that circumstances exist justifying the authorization of emergency use of the medical product under Section 564 ( b) ( 1) of the FD & C Act unless the declaration is terminated or authorization revoked sooner.
INTERCHANGEABILITY
FDA-approved COMIRNATY® ( COVID-19 Vaccine, mRNA) and the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine FDA-authorized for Emergency Use Authorization ( EUA) for individuals 12 years of age and older can be used interchangeably by a vaccination provider when prepared according to their respective instructions for use.
The formulation of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine authorized for use in children 5 through 11 years of age differs from the formulations authorized for individuals 12 years of age and older and should therefore not be used interchangeably. The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine authorized for use in children 5 through 11 years of age should not be used interchangeably with COMIRNATY® ( COVID-19 Vaccine, mRNA).
IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION
Tell your vaccination provider about all of your medical conditions, including if you:
Seek medical attention right away if you have any of the following symptoms:
Seek medical attention right away if you have any of the following symptoms after receiving the vaccine:
These may not be all the possible side effects of the vaccine. Call the vaccination provider or healthcare provider about bothersome side effects or side effects that do not go away.
Click for Fact Sheets and Prescribing Information for individuals 5 years of age and older:
Recipients and Caregivers Fact Sheet ( 5 through 11 years of age)
Recipients and Caregivers Fact Sheet ( 12 years of age and older)
COMIRNATY® Full Prescribing Information ( 16 years of age and older), DILUTE BEFORE USE, Purple Cap
COMIRNATY® Full Prescribing Information ( 16 years of age and older), DO NOT DILUTE, Gray Cap
EUA Fact Sheet for Vaccination Providers ( 5 through 11 years of age), DILUTE BEFORE USE, Orange Cap
EUA Fact Sheet for Vaccination Providers ( 12 years of age and older), DILUTE BEFORE USE, Purple Cap
EUA Fact Sheet for Vaccination Providers ( 12 years of age and older), DO NOT DILUTE, Gray Cap
About Pfizer: Breakthroughs That Change Patients’ Lives
At Pfizer, we apply science and our global resources to bring therapies to people that extend and significantly improve their lives. We strive to set the standard for quality, safety and value in the discovery, development and manufacture of health care products, including innovative medicines and vaccines. Every day, Pfizer colleagues work across developed and emerging markets to advance wellness, prevention, treatments and cures that challenge the most feared diseases of our time. Consistent with our responsibility as one of the world’ s premier innovative biopharmaceutical companies, we collaborate with health care providers, governments and local communities to support and expand access to reliable, affordable health care around the world. For more than 170 years, we have worked to make a difference for all who rely on us. We routinely post information that may be important to investors on our website at www.Pfizer.com. In addition, to learn more, please visit us on www.Pfizer.com and follow us on Twitter at @ Pfizer and @ Pfizer News, LinkedIn, YouTube and like us on Facebook at Facebook.com/Pfizer.
Pfizer Disclosure Notice
The information contained in this release is as of April 14, 2022. Pfizer assumes no obligation to update forward-looking statements contained in this release as the result of new information or future events or developments.
This release contains forward-looking information about Pfizer’ s efforts to combat COVID-19, the collaboration between BioNTech and Pfizer to develop a COVID-19 vaccine, the BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine program, and the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine, also known as COMIRNATY ( COVID-19 Vaccine, mRNA) ( BNT162b2) ( including a potential application submission to the FDA for EUA of a potential booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children 5 through 11 years of age, qualitative assessments of available data, potential benefits, expectations for clinical trials, potential regulatory submissions, the anticipated timing of data readouts, regulatory submissions, regulatory approvals or authorizations and anticipated manufacturing, distribution and supply) involving substantial risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. Risks and uncertainties include, among other things, the uncertainties inherent in research and development, including the ability to meet anticipated clinical endpoints, commencement and/or completion dates for clinical trials, regulatory submission dates, regulatory approval dates and/or launch dates, as well as risks associated with preclinical and clinical data ( including Phase 1/2/3 or Phase 4 data) for BNT162b2 or any other vaccine candidate in the BNT162 program in any of our studies in pediatrics, adolescents or adults or real world evidence, including the possibility of unfavorable new preclinical, clinical or safety data and further analyses of existing preclinical, clinical or safety data; the ability to produce comparable clinical or other results, including the rate of vaccine effectiveness and safety and tolerability profile observed to date, in additional analyses of the Phase 3 trial and additional studies, in real world data studies or in larger, more diverse populations following commercialization; the ability of BNT162b2 or any future vaccine to prevent COVID-19 caused by emerging virus variants; the risk that more widespread use of the vaccine will lead to new information about efficacy, safety, or other developments, including the risk of additional adverse reactions, some of which may be serious; the risk that preclinical and clinical trial data are subject to differing interpretations and assessments, including during the peer review/publication process, in the scientific community generally, and by regulatory authorities; whether and when additional data from the BNT162 mRNA vaccine program will be published in scientific journal publications and, if so, when and with what modifications and interpretations; whether regulatory authorities will be satisfied with the design of and results from these and any future preclinical and clinical studies; whether and when submissions to request emergency use or conditional marketing authorizations for BNT162b2 in additional populations, for a potential booster dose for BNT162b2 or any potential future vaccines ( including the potential application submission to the FDA for EUA of a potential booster dose for children 5 through 11 years of age and potential future annual boosters or re-vaccinations) and/or other biologics license and/or emergency use authorization applications or amendments to any such applications may be filed in particular jurisdictions for BNT162b2 or any other potential vaccines that may arise from the BNT162 program, including a potential variant based, higher dose, or bivalent vaccine, and if obtained, whether or when such emergency use authorizations or licenses will expire or terminate; whether and when any applications that may be pending or filed for BNT162b2 ( including the potential application submission to the FDA for EUA of a potential booster dose for children 5 through 11 years of age or any requested amendments to the emergency use or conditional marketing authorizations) or other vaccines that may result from the BNT162 program may be approved by particular regulatory authorities, which will depend on myriad factors, including making a determination as to whether the vaccine’ s benefits outweigh its known risks and determination of the vaccine’ s efficacy and, if approved, whether it will be commercially successful; decisions by regulatory authorities impacting labeling or marketing, manufacturing processes, safety and/or other matters that could affect the availability or commercial potential of a vaccine, including development of products or therapies by other companies; disruptions in the relationships between us and our collaboration partners, clinical trial sites or third-party suppliers; the risk that demand for any products may be reduced or no longer exist; risks related to the availability of raw materials to manufacture a vaccine; challenges related to our vaccine’ s formulation, dosing schedule and attendant storage, distribution and administration requirements, including risks related to storage and handling after delivery by Pfizer; the risk that we may not be able to successfully develop other vaccine formulations, booster doses or potential future annual boosters or re-vaccinations or new variant based vaccines; the risk that we may not be able to maintain or scale up manufacturing capacity on a timely basis or maintain access to logistics or supply channels commensurate with global demand for our vaccine, which would negatively impact our ability to supply the estimated numbers of doses of our vaccine within the projected time periods as previously indicated; whether and when additional supply agreements will be reached; uncertainties regarding the ability to obtain recommendations from vaccine advisory or technical committees and other public health authorities and uncertainties regarding the commercial impact of any such recommendations; challenges related to public vaccine confidence or awareness; uncertainties regarding the impact of COVID-19 on Pfizer’ s business, operations and financial results; and competitive developments.
A further description of risks and uncertainties can be found in Pfizer’ s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021 and in its subsequent reports on Form 10-Q, including in the sections thereof captioned “ Risk Factors ” and “ Forward-Looking Information and Factors That May Affect Future Results ”, as well as in its subsequent reports on Form 8-K, all of which are filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and available at www.sec.gov and www.pfizer.com.
About BioNTech
Biopharmaceutical New Technologies is a next generation immunotherapy company pioneering novel therapies for cancer and other serious diseases. The Company exploits a wide array of computational discovery and therapeutic drug platforms for the rapid development of novel biopharmaceuticals. Its broad portfolio of oncology product candidates includes individualized and off-the-shelf mRNA-based therapies, innovative chimeric antigen receptor T cells, bi-specific checkpoint immuno-modulators, targeted cancer antibodies and small molecules. Based on its deep expertise in mRNA vaccine development and in-house manufacturing capabilities, BioNTech and its collaborators are developing multiple mRNA vaccine candidates for a range of infectious diseases alongside its diverse oncology pipeline. BioNTech has established a broad set of relationships with multiple global pharmaceutical collaborators, including Genmab, Sanofi, Bayer Animal Health, Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, Regeneron, Genevant, Fosun Pharma, and Pfizer. For more information, please visit www.BioNTech.de.
BioNTech Forward-looking Statements
This press release contains “ forward-looking statements ” of BioNTech within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements may include, but may not be limited to, statements concerning: BioNTech’ s efforts to combat COVID-19; the collaboration between BioNTech and Pfizer including the program to develop a COVID-19 vaccine and COMIRNATY ( COVID-19 vaccine, mRNA) ( BNT162b2) ( including emergency use authorization in the U.S. of a booster dose in children ages 5 through 11 who have previously received a two-dose primary series of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, qualitative assessments of available data, potential benefits, expectations for clinical trials, the anticipated timing of regulatory submissions, regulatory approvals or authorizations and anticipated manufacturing, distribution and supply); our expectations regarding the potential characteristics of BNT162b2 in our clinical trials, real world data studies, and/or in commercial use based on data observations to date; the ability of BNT162b2 or a future vaccine to prevent COVID-19 caused by emerging virus variants; the expected time point for additional readouts on efficacy data of BNT162b2 in our clinical trials; the nature of the clinical data, which is subject to ongoing peer review, regulatory review and market interpretation; the timing for submission of data for BNT162, or any future vaccine, in additional populations, or receipt of, any marketing approval or emergency use authorization or equivalent, including or amendments or variations to such authorizations; the development of other vaccine formulations, booster doses or potential future annual boosters or re-vaccinations or new variant based vaccines; our contemplated shipping and storage plan, including our estimated product shelf life at various temperatures; the ability of BioNTech to supply the quantities of BNT162 to support clinical development and market demand, including our production estimates for 2022; challenges related to public vaccine confidence or awareness; decisions by regulatory authorities impacting labeling or marketing, manufacturing processes, safety and/or other matters that could affect the availability or commercial potential of a vaccine, including development of products or therapies by other companies; disruptions in the relationships between us and our collaboration partners, clinical trial sites or third-party suppliers; the risk that demand for any products may be reduced or no longer exist; the availability of raw material to manufacture BNT162 or other vaccine formulation; challenges related to our vaccine’ s formulation, dosing schedule and attendant storage, distribution and administration requirements, including risks related to storage and handling after delivery; and uncertainties regarding the impact of COVID-19 on BioNTech’ s trials, business and general operations. Any forward-looking statements in this press release are based on BioNTech current expectations and beliefs of future events and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially and adversely from those set forth in or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: the ability to meet the pre-defined endpoints in clinical trials; competition to create a vaccine for COVID-19; the ability to produce comparable clinical or other results, including our stated rate of vaccine effectiveness and safety and tolerability profile observed to date, in the remainder of the trial or in larger, more diverse populations upon commercialization; the ability to effectively scale our productions capabilities; and other potential difficulties.
For a discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties, see BioNTech’ s Annual Report as Form 20-F for the Year Ended December 31, 2020, filed with the SEC on March 30, 2021, which is available on the SEC’ s website at www.sec.gov. All information in this press release is as of the date of the release, and BioNTech undertakes no duty to update this information unless required by law.
Category: Vaccines
Pfizer: Media Relations +1 ( 212) 733-7410 PfizerMediaRelations @ pfizer.com
Investor Relations +1 ( 212) 733-4848 IR @ pfizer.com | general |
Tesla stock dips after CEO Elon Musk makes bid to buy Twitter | In this article
Tesla shares closed down about 3.6% Thursday after company CEO Elon Musk offered to buy social media company Twitter.
Musk offered to buy Twitter for $ 54.20 a share, or about $ 43 billion, in a filing published Thursday. He said the social media company needs to be transformed privately. The offer comes a little over a week after another Securities and Exchange Commission filing revealed Musk's 9.1% stake in the company.
Wells Fargo analysts said in a note on Thursday they're concerned about the distractions Twitter would present for Musk.
`` If the deal is successful, there are two concerns from a TSLA shareholder perspective, '' the Wells Fargo analysts said. `` One, TSLA is currently in the early days of ramping two factories, Austin & Berlin, which will likely double its global capacity. Running Twitter would be a possible distraction for a CEO that already has a full plate. Two, the takeover financing terms are unclear. Elon's most liquid assets would be his TSLA shares valued at $ 170B. ''
`` Therefore, there is a risk if he decides to sell more TSLA shares to fund the takeover, which could put pressure on the stock. ''
Shares of Tesla are down about 14% since Musk first revealed his stake in the company on April 4.
The acquisition offer is the latest development in Musk's Twitter saga over the last week. He first disclosed his stake in the social media giant on April 4. He later planned to sit on the company’ s board of directors, if approved, but then reversed that decision.
Meanwhile, the Tesla CEO already finds himself in battles with regulators that tend to be public and messy, occasionally including vulgar taunts. Earlier this year, the SEC subpoenaed Musk and Tesla after he informally polled his tens of millions of Twitter followers, asking if he should sell 10% of his Tesla holdings. The majority of his followers voted yes.
Tesla recently achieved two major goals, opening new vehicle assembly plants in Germany and Texas. But now it is in the middle of a Covid lockdown in Shanghai that has forced it to suspend production at its factory there. Tesla also is still facing chip shortages, inflationary and other supply chain pressures plaguing the entire auto ( and solar) industry.
Musk's aerospace venture, SpaceX, is also facing growing pains.
SpaceX has completed multiple high-altitude flight tests with its Starship prototypes, but the prototype's next major step is to reach space. Starship is the spacecraft the company is developing to one day embark on a mission to Mars. Its progress was delayed on multiple fronts last year, and an orbital flight test is now pending regulatory approval.
SpaceX needs a license from the Federal Aviation Administration to move ahead with the flight test, and a separate, key environmental assessment also is pending.
Twitter shares were up about 2.2% Thursday after closing at $ 45.85 a share on Wednesday.
CNBC's Lora Kolodny contributed to this report. | business |
UK to send asylum-seekers to Rwanda | Hi, what are you looking for?
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Britain is to send migrants and asylum-seekers who cross the Channel thousands of miles away to Rwanda, according to a controversial deal announced Thursday as the government tries to clamp down on record numbers of people making the perilous journey.
The plan swiftly drew the ire of opposition politicians who accused Prime Minister Boris Johnson of trying to distract from his being fined for breaking coronavirus lockdown rules, while rights groups slammed the project as “ inhumane ”.
Johnson, who was expected to detail the plan later on Thursday, was elected partly on promises to curb illegal immigration, but his term has so far been marked by record numbers of Channel crossings.
Ghana and Rwanda had previously been mentioned as possible locations for the UK to outsource the processing of migrants, but Ghana in January denied involvement.
Instead, Kigali on Thursday announcing that it had signed a multi-million-dollar deal to do the job, during a visit by British Home Secretary Priti Patel.
“ Rwanda welcomes this partnership with the United Kingdom to host asylum seekers and migrants, and offer them legal pathways to residence ” in the East African nation, Foreign Minister Vincent Biruta said in a statement.
The deal with Rwanda will be funded by the UK to the tune of up to 120 million pounds ( $ 157 million, 144 million euros), with migrants “ integrated into communities across the country, ” it said.
“ This is about ensuring that people are protected, respected, and empowered to further their own ambitions and settle permanently in Rwanda if they choose, ” said Biruta.
– Backlash –
In Britain, Refugee Action’ s Tim Naor Hilton accused the government of “ offshoring its responsibilities onto Europe’ s former colonies instead of doing our fair share to help some of the most vulnerable people on the planet ”.
“ This grubby cash-for-people plan would be a cowardly, barbaric and inhumane way to treat people fleeing persecution and war, ” he said.
Detention Action pointed to Rwanda’ s sketchy human rights record, saying those sent there would “ likely face indefinite detention under a government notorious for violent persecution of dissent. ”
“ At the same time, the UK currently gives asylum to Rwandan refugees fleeing political persecution, ” the advocacy group said in a statement.
Scotland’ s Health Secretary Humza Yousaf said the plan showed that the Conservative government was “ institutionally racist ”.
The government “ rightly provides asylum and refuge to Ukrainians fleeing war, but wants to send others seeking asylum thousands of miles away to Rwanda for ‘ processing’, ” Yousaf tweeted.
Details about the plan — to whom it would apply and whether it will be voluntary — are still to be made public.
– People smugglers –
Johnson was to unveil the plan in a speech in Kent, near the port of Dover where many migrants and asylum seekers arrive on rickety boats from France.
His office said that he would highlight the danger of such crossings and the role of smuggling gangs in seeking to make the case for stronger enforcement of the laws.
“ Before Christmas, 27 people drowned and in the weeks ahead there may be many more losing their lives at sea, ” he was expected to say, adding illegal immigration had “ bedevilled our country for too long and caused far too much human suffering and tragedy.
“ I accept that these people… are in search of a better life; the opportunities that the United Kingdom provides and the hope of a fresh start, ” Johnson is expected to add.
“ But it is these hopes — these dreams — that have been exploited. These vile people smugglers are abusing the vulnerable and turning the Channel into a watery graveyard.
“ We can not sustain a parallel illegal system. Our compassion may be infinite, but our capacity to help people is not. ”
The plan aims to “ break the business model of people smuggling gangs, step-up our operations in the Channel, bring more criminals to justice and end this barbaric trade in human misery, ” said his office, without adding any detail.
With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency. AFP provides fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives.
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AI, facial recognition, and biometrics can help the world get back to work.
Sri Lanka urged its citizens overseas to send home money to help pay for desperately needed food and fuel.
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Fewer cars, more locomotives: Union Pacific, BNSF try to clear congestion | Low rail utilization at the Port of Los Angeles in February had pushed port leaders to encourage shippers to divert more shipments from truck to rail as a way to clear congestion. Now railroads face the opposite problem as they struggle to move a deluge of cargo.
Rail volumes rose sixfold within the last month alone, Gene Seroka, executive director of the Port of Los Angeles, said at a media briefing Wednesday. Approximately 16,000 containers are waiting to load on-dock rail, almost double the number from last fall.
`` Both Western railroads had seen worryingly low numbers for a number of months, and everybody in the industry rallied around them to get more intermodal cargo, '' said Seroka. `` That cargo is here—and we 've got to handle it better. ''
BNSF said key areas of its network, including the San Pedro Bay ports, are experiencing reduced railcar availability due to delays in `` freight moving off the railcars and out of our inland intermodal facilities, '' according to a statement to Supply Chain Dive. The railroad added that strong volumes, longer dwell times and chassis constraints in the Chicago area have resulted in extended wait times for trains to be unloaded, ultimately slowing their return to the West Coast.
Agricultural shippers have noted significant rail disruptions around the country that have pushed producers in some cases to halt operations. In a letter to the Surface Transportation Board, the National Grain and Feed Association noted delivery delays meant some shippers ran out of grain and had to shut down flour and feed mills.
`` In an effort to continue service for customers during the rail service disruptions, NGFA members have done as much as possible to keep animals fed, but the ability to stretch resources is exhausted and growing more tenuous with each additional day of service delays, '' the group wrote, adding shippers have seen significant service disruptions with Union Pacific, BNSF and Norfolk Southern.
Union Pacific said it's working closely with ports, marine terminal operators and ocean carrier customers `` to coordinate the increasing amount of import containers to inland destinations, '' according to a statement to Supply Chain Dive.
Both Union Pacific and BNSF are ramping up hiring efforts to address attrition and other labor constraints that have affected service across the rail industry. BNSF plans to bring on an additional 1,000 train crew personnel this year, and Union Pacific said it is aggressively hiring and streamlining its onboarding process.
The railroads are also adding locomotives and limiting the number of cars in their networks in a bid to maintain network fluidity. Union Pacific has added 50 locomotives since January and will remove between 2% and 3% of its cars across multiple commodity groups, according to the cusomter letter. BNSF said in its intermodal update it will add 100 locomotives this month. It will reduce railcar inventory by 2%, according to a letter in response to NGFA.
`` While some progress has been made reducing the backlog at our intermodal terminals on the eastern side of our network, we continue to confront challenges in generating significant overall velocity and fluidity improvement, '' BNSF said in its statement to Supply Chain Dive. `` That being said, we are working diligently to effectively handle strong freight volumes and ensure that capacity is available in key intermodal markets. ''
Topics covered: logistics, freight, operations, procurement, regulation, technology, risk/resilience and more.
The U.K. will lift approximately $ 500 million worth of tariffs on U.S. products such as whiskey and blue jeans.
The retailer's acquisition of a middle- and final-mile carrier as the COVID-19 pandemic took hold has allowed it to take more control over its delivery process.
Topics covered: logistics, freight, operations, procurement, regulation, technology, risk/resilience and more.
Topics covered: logistics, freight, operations, procurement, regulation, technology, risk/resilience and more.
The U.K. will lift approximately $ 500 million worth of tariffs on U.S. products such as whiskey and blue jeans.
The retailer's acquisition of a middle- and final-mile carrier as the COVID-19 pandemic took hold has allowed it to take more control over its delivery process.
Topics covered: logistics, freight, operations, procurement, regulation, technology, risk/resilience and more. | general |
Guess?, Inc. Comments on ISS Recommendation | Urges Shareholders to Vote “ FOR ALL ” of Guess’ Highly Qualified Director Nominees on the WHITE Proxy Card Today
LOS ANGELES -- ( BUSINESS WIRE) -- Guess?, Inc ( NYSE: GES) ( “ Guess ” or the “ Company ”) issued the following statement in response to a report issued by Institutional Shareholder Services ( “ ISS ”) in connection with the election of the Company’ s director nominees – Anthony Chidoni, Cynthia Livingston, Maurice Marciano and Paul Marciano – at its 2022 Annual Meeting of Shareholders, scheduled to be held on April 22, 2022:
We strongly believe that ISS has reached the wrong conclusions. The Company has been clear regarding its track record of actions. We take allegations of sexual impropriety or unethical conduct extremely seriously and have acted accordingly to perform a thorough investigation of allegations against Paul Marciano in 2018. An independent committee of the Guess Board is currently conducting an investigation related to Legion Partners’ Demand Letter.
We are very disappointed to learn that ISS is recommending to our shareholders to withhold votes for the elections of Paul and Maurice Marciano prior to the completion of the independent investigation and prior to the resulting recommendations of the Demand Review Committee.
Guess is successfully overseeing and executing our transformation business strategy. The Company considers the interests of all shareholders as it prioritizes good governance oversight, the Company’ s long-term value and the continued execution of Guess’ dramatically improved financial results. Specifically, Paul Marciano’ s leadership and creative contributions have been critical in the establishment of our iconic brand image and execution of new initiatives that enhance the inherent value of Guess, including the elevation of our brands. Maurice Marciano’ s deep understanding of the brand and business, and his significant ownership stake, make him a trusted advisor and an invaluable contributor to the Guess Board and to the Company’ s strategic transformation.
We continue to strongly believe that Legion Partners’ proposed changes to the Board and management could risk the Company’ s transformation and growth and could jeopardize the long-term value of the Company. We have always made, and will continue to make, decisions that are based on facts and decisions that we believe are in the best interests of the Company and ALL shareholders.
Guess would like to urge shareholders to discard any blue proxy card materials and to only vote on the WHITE proxy card “ FOR ALL ” of Guess’ four highly qualified directors standing for election – Anthony Chidoni, Cynthia Livingston, Maurice Marciano and Paul Marciano.
Guess shareholders who need assistance in voting their shares may call Guess’ proxy solicitor, Innisfree M & A Incorporated, at ( 877) 750-0625 ( toll-free).
Additional materials regarding the Board of Directors’ recommendations for the 2022 Annual Meeting can be found at investors.guess.com.
About Guess?, Inc.
Established in 1981, GUESS began as a jeans company and has since successfully grown into a global lifestyle brand. Guess?, Inc. designs, markets, distributes and licenses a lifestyle collection of contemporary apparel, denim, handbags, watches, eyewear, footwear and other related consumer products. Guess? products are distributed through branded Guess? stores as well as better department and specialty stores around the world. As of January 29, 2022, the Company directly operated 1,068 retail stores in the Americas, Europe and Asia. The Company’ s partners and distributors operated 563 additional retail stores worldwide. As of January 29, 2022, the Company and its partners and distributors operated in approximately 100 countries worldwide. For more information about the Company, please visit www.guess.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements made in this press release, including statements concerning the Company’ s transformation strategy, strategic initiatives and future results, are forward-looking statements that are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements, which are frequently indicated by terms such as “ expect, ” “ continue, ” “ anticipate, ” “ look, ” “ path ” and similar terms, are only expectations, and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which may cause actual results in future periods to differ materially from what is currently anticipated. Factors that may cause actual results in future periods to differ materially from current expectations, which are identified in the Company’ s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended January 29, 2022, which was filed with the SEC on March 24, 2022, and other filings with the SEC, including but not limited to, the risk factors discussed therein, could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations. The current global economic climate, length and severity of the COVID-19 pandemic, the current Russia-Ukraine war and recent sanctions and exports controls targeting Russia, and uncertainty surrounding potential changes in U.S. policies and regulations may amplify many of these risks. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. | general |
Surge Components, Inc. Announces Fiscal First Quarter 2022 Results | Company Delivers Substantial Growth in Q1 Sales, up 28.9% Over Prior Year Period
Solid Sales Growth Drives Year-Over-Year Q1 Gross Profit Increase of 28.8% to $ 3.0 Million
Strong Q1 2022 Gross Profit Margins of 28.2%
DEER PARK, N.Y. -- ( BUSINESS WIRE) -- Surge Components, Inc. ( “ Surge ” or “ the Company ”) ( OTC Pink: SPRS), a leading supplier of capacitors, discrete semi-conductors, switches, and audible/sounding devices, today announced financial results for the fiscal first quarter ended February 28, 2022.
Financial Highlights for the First Fiscal Quarter Ended February 28, 2022
Operational Highlights
“ We are pleased with our solid performance in the first quarter, highlighting our ability to evolve and remain agile to shifting industry dynamics posed by supply chain challenges and the global semiconductor chip shortages, ” said Ira Levy, President and Chief Executive Officer of Surge. “ We continue to contend with extended lead times, transportation challenges, intermittent lockdowns in China due to covid, and are successfully handling price increases due to inflation. Despite the challenging global environment, we delivered strong growth in net sales, up 28.9% year over year. Through disciplined cost control, we drove a 28.8% increase in gross profit versus the prior year and gross margins remained flat at 28.2% in Q1.
“ While supply chain challenges and the global semiconductor chip shortages have affected our business and the industry, both Surge and Challenge have excelled at delivering our products to clients with shorter lead times compared to our competitors. This continued success is driving increased demand across our business as customers are looking to place orders much earlier than prior years, providing us with enhanced visibility into future sales volumes.
“ We continue to closely monitor the global situation and the lingering effects of the pandemic. The health and safety of our people and clients are of the utmost importance, and we remain committed to implementing appropriate COVID safety protocols across our global footprint. We are also continuing to grow our reach worldwide as markets reopen, utilizing our sales office in London and increasing our presence in Asia by tapping into our talent in China. We remain opportunistic in recognizing additional opportunities to build our global sales teams and expanding our global footprint during the rest of 2022 and beyond.
“ Looking ahead, we remain committed to enhancing our profitability, continuing to provide valuable products to our customers, and communicating regularly with our shareholders. We believe we are ideally positioned to succeed in our market and deliver long-term shareholder value. ”
Results of Operations for the Three Months Ended February 28, 2022
Net sales for the three months ended February 28, 2022 increased by 28.9% to $ 10.5 million, as compared to net sales of $ 8.2 million for the three months ended February 28, 2021. The increase in net sales for the three-month period is primarily attributable to an increase in business with new customers as well as an increase in business with existing customers.
Gross profit for the three months ended February 28, 2022 increased by 28.8% to $ 3.0 million, as compared to $ 2.3 million for the three months ended February 28, 2021. Gross profit margin as a percentage of net sales remained flat at 28.2% for the three months ended February 28, 2022, as compared to the three months ended February 28, 2021. We attribute the increase in gross profit to an increase in sales volume in the three months ended February 28, 2022. Our industry will continue to receive pressure from customers for price reductions.
Selling and shipping expenses for the three months ended February 28, 2022 increased 2.9% to $ 700,978, as compared to $ 681,132 for the three months ended February 28, 2021. We attribute the increase to an increase in commissions, auto and entertainment expenses, and offset by a decrease in salesman payroll and freight out costs.
General and administrative expenses for the three months ended February 28, 2022 increased 4.6% to $ 1.3 million, as compared to $ 1.2 million for three months ended February 28, 2021. The increase in general and administrative expenses is primarily attributable to increases in rent, temporary help and general insurance expenses, professional fees as well as salaries and related payroll taxes, directors fees and public company expenses, offset by decreases in settlement expenses due to a settlement with a customer in the three months ended February 28, 2021.
Net income for the three months ended February 28, 2022 was $ 671,753, as compared to net income of $ 277,664 for the three months ended February 28, 2021. | general |
Woosh Founder Leaves Google to Build Air Filtration Company; Raises $ 1.3M to Automatically Protect Home Air Quality From Covid and Forest Fires | SAN FRANCISCO -- ( BUSINESS WIRE) -- Woosh ( wooshair.com), a technology company focused on improving indoor air quality and HVAC ( heating, ventilation, air conditioning) performance using data, is launching its first consumer product on Kickstarter while announcing a raise of $ 1.3M in funding.
Woosh is the brainchild of former Google Product Manager Winston Mok, who became frustrated with the 2019 California wildfires and struggled to find room air purifiers in stores as the air quality index ( AQI) passed 150 in San Francisco. Mok decided to build his own and quickly learned that portable room air purifiers do not solve the problem of air quality for the entire home. “ Working from home made me realize that consumers are blind to the air we are breathing and that the average air filter is rated at Merv 6, which does not capture smoke, bacteria, or virus carriers. In-room air filters are just bandaid solutions as the real problem to solve is the HVAC system for the entire home, ” explained Mok.
This problem was amplified in 2020 with the bombardment of the COVID-19 virus, when Google mandated all its employees work from home, stressing the importance of air quality as homes became the new office for the world. Mok recognized three recurring problems 1. consumers have no visibility into the air quality of their homes 2. consumers do not know when their HVAC filter needs to be changed, and 3. That low-quality filters do not capture harmful bacteria or viruses.
Mok leveraged his Google experience and mechatronics engineering background to build prototypes using his home 3D printer, air filters, and computer sensors. He left his well-paying Google career to follow his passion and meet the challenge to solve this problem globally. With prototype in hand, Mok raised a $ 1.3M pre-seed round in a matter of weeks from executives from Google, Life360, TI Platform, and startup founders: Alex Haro, Chris Nguyen, and Matt Humphry. | general |
New PM Sharif orders 'Pakistan speed ' to fix stagnant economy | Hi, what are you looking for?
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Pakistan’ s new Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Thursday the country’ s economy had stagnated under his predecessor Imran Khan, setting the tone for possibly months of bitterness before an election that must be held by October next year.
Sharif, sworn in Monday after Khan was ousted by a no-confidence vote in parliament, is still finalising his cabinet but has called for “ Pakistan speed ” to hurry along development projects and fix the economy.
On Thursday the 70-year-old notorious workaholic visited a metro bus project in Rawalpindi and complained about the pace of infrastructure development.
“ Almost all sectors of economy remained stagnant under IK, ” he later tweeted, referring to his predecessor by his initials.
His early-morning visit came after Khan on Wednesday night held a huge rally in Peshawar.
Khan — along with most of his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf ( PTI) lawmakers — quit the national assembly after losing Sunday’ s no-confidence vote, saying he would take his fight to the people to press for an early election.
On Wednesday, Khan said he would stage twice-weekly rallies across the country until a new poll date was set.
“ Young people, get ready, I will take to the streets with you. I will go out in every city, and I will continue to go out until they are forced to hold election. ”
– ‘ Pakistan speed’ –
Sharif, younger brother of three-time prime minister Nawaz Sharif, set out his stall on Tuesday by ordering the government to adopt a six-day work-week, instead of the previous five, and bringing forward office opening hours to 8 am from 10 am.
His “ Pakistan speed ” policy is an extension of a similar programme he introduced as chief minister of Punjab, the country’ s most populous province, where he was credited with launching a series of high-profile — and vote-catching — projects.
The government would take unspecified “ emergency measures ” to stabilise the economy, Sharif’ s office said later, focusing on steps to improve the condition of ordinary people.
Sharif inherits crippling national debt, galloping inflation and a feeble rupee — although analysts say Khan also took over a broken economy in 2018 that was further battered by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Khan’ s ouster heralds the return of two dynastic parties that have dominated Pakistan politics for decades.
Sharif’ s centrist Pakistan Muslim League-N ( PML-N) joined forces with the centre-left Pakistan Peoples Party ( PPP) — fiefdom of the Bhutto family — to press the no-confidence vote.
Khan tried everything to stay in power after losing his majority in parliament through defections by his own lawmakers and a coalition partner — including dissolving the assembly and calling a fresh election.
But the Supreme Court deemed all his actions illegal and ordered them to reconvene and vote.
The cricketer-turned-politician insists he has been the victim of a “ regime change ” conspiracy involving Washington and his opponents, and vowed to take his fight to the streets in the hope of forcing an early election.
On Wednesday night Khan told thousands of supporters that the new government was “ imported ”, saying Pakistan needed to forge an independent global path.
He has said Washington wanted him removed because he refused to take sides in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and also because of his close links to China.
Washington, Moscow and Beijing have all congratulated Sharif since he took over.
With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency. AFP provides fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives.
That’ s the real danger. Nobody trusts Russian judgment anymore.
The UN refugee agency UNHCR says 4,656,509 Ukrainians have fled since Russia invaded on February 24 - Copyright AFP FARJANA K. GODHULYRobin MILLARDMore than...
AI, facial recognition, and biometrics can help the world get back to work.
Sri Lanka urged its citizens overseas to send home money to help pay for desperately needed food and fuel.
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United States Practice Management Systems Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report 2022-2030 - ResearchAndMarkets.com | DUBLIN -- ( BUSINESS WIRE) -- The `` U.S. Practice Management Systems Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report by Product ( Integrated, Standalone), by Component ( Software, Services), by Delivery Mode, by End Use, and Segment Forecasts, 2022-2030 '' report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.
The U.S. practice management systems market size is expected to reach USD 11.5 billion by 2030, registering a CAGR of 4.5%
Demand for practice management systems is growing due to increasing pressure to curb healthcare costs and changing dynamics of hospital/healthcare settings. Increasing focus on implementing cost-effective, quality care will further boost the market growth.
With the help of practice management systems, healthcare providers can offer the right treatment at an effective price, thus reducing treatment costs. Over the forecast period, the COVID-19 influence is projected to drive the growth of the market.
Key Players such as Allscripts Healthcare have offered a package of COVID-19 solutions for hospitals that address disease-specific needs such as SunriseTM EHR, Parago HER, and Allscripts Care Director, with the target of reducing screening and monitoring time.
These screening steps can help with patient identification and tracking of patients confirmed or suspected to have coronavirus infection. Initiatives like these positively impacted the market growth during the pandemic.
The increase in adoption of IoT in healthcare and technological breakthroughs, increased use of mobiles and the internet, and rising demand for practice management solutions are key factors attributing to the market growth.
Political instability, economic stress, and lack of proactive initiatives are exerting adverse effects on healthcare funding. Despite significant healthcare-related funding and insurance programs, there has been a constant rise in healthcare costs in the U.S., thus affecting healthcare providers.
U.S. Practice Management Systems Market Report Highlights
Key Topics Covered:
Chapter 1 Research Methodology & Scope
Chapter 2 Executive Summary
2.1 Market Outlook
2.2 Segment Outlook
2.3 Competitive Insights
2.4 U.S. Practice Management Systems Market Summary, 2021
Chapter 3 U.S. Practice Management Systems Market Variables Trends & Scope
3.1 Penetration & Growth Prospect Mapping, 2021
3.2 U.S. Practice Management Systems Market Driver Analysis
3.3 U.S. Practice Management Systems Market Restraint Analysis
3.4 U.S. Practice Management Systems Market-PESTLE Analysis
3.5 Industry Analysis-Porter's
3.6 List of Key Buyers
3.7 Buyer's Preference Analysis
3.8 Potential Target Audience
3.9 Changing technology and their adoption
3.10 Timeline with major technologies
3.11 List of top products
3.12 Region-wise demand analysis for the products and services
3.13 Market participants wise pipeline analysis with an expected launch date
3.14 Major Deals & Strategic Alliances Analysis
3.15 Covid-19 Impact Analysis
Chapter 4 U.S. Practice Management Systems Market: Competitive Analysis
4.1 Market Participation Categorization
4.2 Competitive Dashboard Analysis
Chapter 5 U.S. Practice Management Systems Market: Product Estimates & Trend Analysis
5.1 Product Type Analysis
5.1.1 Integrated
5.1.2 Standalone
5.1.2.1 EHR/EMR
5.1.2.2 e-Rx
5.1.2.3 Patient engagement
Chapter 6 U.S. Practice Management Systems Market: Component Estimates & Trend Analysis
6.1 Component Type Analysis
6.1.1 Software
6.1.2 Services
Chapter 7 U.S. Practice Management Systems Market: Delivery Mode Estimates & Trend Analysis
7.1 Delivery Mode Type Analysis
7.1.1 On-premise
7.1.2 Web-based
7.1.3 Cloud-based
Chapter 8 U.S. Practice Management Systems Market: End-Use Estimates & Trend Analysis
8.1 End-Use Type Analysis
8.1.1 Physician back office ( Solo practitioners)
8.1.2 Hospitals ( Group practitioners) | general |
Helping Keep Small Restaurants Cooking, The PG & E Corporation Foundation Contributes to CA Restaurant Foundation Resilience Fund | Small Restaurants in PG & E’ s Service Area Can Apply for $ 3,000 Grants
OAKLAND, Calif. -- ( BUSINESS WIRE) -- Following a successful inaugural program last year, the California Restaurant Foundation ( CRF) is again providing grants to independent restaurant owners and their staffs through the Restaurants Care Resilience Fund. The PG & E Corporation Foundation is contributing $ 500,000 to the fund to support investment in and recovery of California’ s restaurant community, which is still reeling from economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Restaurants Care Resilience Fund is accepting applications from April 15-30, 2022. Grant recipients can use the money for equipment upgrades to alleviate deferred maintenance and for employee retention to help with industry-wide staffing challenges. Small restaurants continue to be impacted by the last two years of debt and losses incurred amid rising costs.
Grants are available to California resident restaurant owners with fewer than three units and less than $ 3 million in revenue. The PG & E Corporation Foundation funding will prioritize minority- and women-owned businesses in PG & E’ s service area in Northern and Central California. Last year, 109 grants were awarded to independent restaurant owners in the company’ s service area.
“ The PG & E Corporation Foundation’ s generous contribution will help independent restaurant owners across Northern and Central California invest in their people, their equipment and ultimately, the long-term health and success of their businesses, ” said Alycia Harshfield, Executive Director of CRF.
“ Kitchens and crews are what keep restaurants running, and the Restaurants Care Resilience Fund is helping owners pay their workers, keep their doors open and fuel our local economies. We’ re proud to again support our hometown restaurants through this fund, and all of our small business customers as they continue to recover from the financial effects of the pandemic, ” said Robert Kenney, PG & E Senior Vice President of Regulatory and External Affairs, and chair of The PG & E Corporation Foundation board.
Assisting Small and Medium Businesses
PG & E remains committed to providing ways for its small and medium business customers to save energy and money amid the economic hardships suffered during the pandemic. Here are some ways PG & E is helping its customers: | general |
'He’ ll be on everyone’ s minds ' - Virtual Marymount fundraiser to be held in memory of Corkman | Killian passed away in July last year aged 24
When Barryroe man Killian Lawton was spending his final days in Marymount in July last year, he watched from the balcony as clubmates from Barryroe GAA drove by, blue and navy jerseys and flags out the car windows.
The 24-year-old and youngest of five siblings passed away from cancer just a couple of weeks later. Nine months on, his sister Nora told the Irish Examiner: “ I often think it must have been hard for him to acknowledge that moment. Like, ‘ are people only here as things are that bad?’, yet he took the goodness from the gesture.
“ His people turned up, ” she said. This Easter weekend, hundreds more of his people will turn up wearing orange to walk, run or hike in memory of Killian, and to raise money for Marymount Hospice which holds a special place in his family’ s hearts.
Are you interested in fundraising for Marymount University Hospice & Hospital? We’ d love to hear from you & would be delighted if you got involved. If so, please fill out our event form below on our website & our team will be delighted to support.https: //t.co/2ZxGWJjhqi pic.twitter.com/NOyo3XcLU4
While the main event is taking place from Dunworley Beach to Courtmacsherry, the virtual event has stretched to several countries across the globe. The virtual run is also being held in memory of Alice Crowley and Michael Clancy, who died in 2018 and 2020 respectively.
Describing his late younger brother, Barry Lawton said he was `` a very outgoing and charismatic person ”, with an intense passion for sport.
`` He had so many different friends from college and work. After he graduated from UCC in 2019 he moved to London, and he was working there as well. So quite a lot of friends scattered around the place. ”
“ He’ d be mortified to hear us bigging him up like this, ” added Nora. “ He never made a big deal about the fact that he was just naturally intelligent ”.
`` But he was also a madman for the parties - I will say that. ”
In April 2020, as the global pandemic took hold, Killian was admitted to Cork University Hospital with symptoms that first appeared to align with the Covid-19 virus. After several tests and biopsies, Killian began chemotherapy at the start of the summer while his family coped with restrictions on visits.
“ It was very unfortunate in that way, but when he came home he’ d make the most of his time and be out and about with friends, ” said Barry.
Killian resumed treatment in St James’ Hospital in Dublin in September 2020, needing to enter isolation as he underwent stem cell replacement.
“ It’ s such a sign of the type of person he was, he said ‘ sure everyone’ s in lockdown anyway, so I’ m not missing out on anything’. He just took the positive from any situation, ” Nora explained.
In May of 2021, an MRI revealed the cancer had spread, with Barry saying that it was then that the family realised things “ were progressively getting worse ”.
“ Even then he was still asking the consultant whether he’ d be able to make it on his trip to Barbados he’ d planned, ” Barry said.
The family started to broach the topic of hospice care in Marymount with Killian for pain management and to rebuild his strength.
“ Ultimately it was his decision, ” said Nora. “ The staff in CUH were so amazing in helping him come to the difficult decision as well. ”
Upon entering Marymount, she said the family were blown away by the care and respect they experienced. The family were then able to visit Killian more often and spend more time together, something they are extremely grateful for.
“ We’ d be bringing him in his favourite iced coffees during the heatwave that month, and reminiscing about our childhood, ” said Barry.
“ At one point he was watching four different matches on four different screens, ” Nora laughed. | general |
MADAGASCAR: Brand-new contracts for Jirama - 14/02/2020 - The Indian Ocean Newsletter | The Covid-19 pandemic has failed to deter the Filatex conglomerate, one of Madagascar's biggest economic players, from diving into tourism. It has already built two hotels, but has never managed such establishments. [... ]
Antananarivo's anti-corruption unit has secured the arrest of several former top managers at the national electricity supplier Jirama, including the man whom its current CEO Vonjy Andriamanga wanted to appoint as his number two. But the affair has also drawn in the consortium SMTP owned by the industrialist Danil Ismaël. [... ]
The requisitioning of the Noor II power station by the Ministry of Energy, ordered on 24 October, has ultimately pulled [... ]
The Madagascan president Andry Rajoelina, aka TGV, remains concerned about the future of Jirama, which he pledged to ‘ take in [... ]
The generosity of donors towards the government of Andry Rajoelina will be put to the test when the World Bank ( WB) and the International Monetary Fund ( IMF) convene for their annual gathering from 4 to 20 October. [... ]
The national electricity supplier hopes to pay less for its kilowatt/hours to reduce its debts. [... ]
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Governance in Brief – April 14, 2022 | Investor Solutions
Corporate Solutions
Posted on April 14, 2022
April 14, 2022 | Editor: Martin Wennerström
Amazon’ s May 25 AGM will consider a shareholder proposal calling for an independent audit of the firm’ s treatment of warehouse workers, following a refusal from the SEC the exclude the proposal from the ballot. The regulator’ s backing of the proposal is in line with its guidance published last year, which facilitates AGM votes on investor proposals that concern social and environmental issues. Notably, the e-commerce giant has faced criticism over working conditions and anti-union measures. Most recently, Amazon warehouse workers on Staten Island, New York, voted on April 1 to form a union – the first one for Amazon staff in the US. In response, the company filed an objection with U.S. authorities, accusing the organizers of having used coercion to attain the requisite level of support.
Reuters ( 1) | Reuters ( 2) | Euro News| Tulipshare|
Reuters| NBC| Guardian| BBC| CNN| SEC| CNBC| Bloomberg |
Dutch Finance minister Sigrid Kaag has described the proposed 2021 compensation for Air France-KLM's CEO as `` incomprehensible '' in light of the airline’ s EUR 3.3 billion losses during the COVID-19 pandemic. The minister added that the Dutch state, owner of a 9.3% stake in the firm, would vote against the CEO’ s pay at the May AGM. Notably, the airline has benefited from large state financial support, including a EUR 3.4 billion government-backed bailout package in 2020. The company stated that bonuses will be deferred, and no variable remuneration will be paid out until the repayment of at least 75% of the recapitalization funds.
| general |
À Shanghai, système D et entraide pour survivre au confinement | De notre correspondant à Pékin, avec Louise May
Melle Zhao est consciente d’ avoir eu de la chance. Cette Shanghaienne de 29 ans est enfermée chez elle depuis 14 jours. Elle habite dans le district de Putuo situé à l’ ouest de la rivière Huangpu qui traverse la ville. Contrairement aux habitants de la rive est, confinés sans préavis, elle a eu le temps de se préparer à cette assignation à résidence pour cause de résurgence Covid. Sauf qu’ on lui avait dit que cela allait durer… cinq jours.
« On a eu que deux ravitaillements en douze jours, confie à RFI la jeune femme qui travaille dans le secteur culturel. Une fois, c'était du chou chinois et une cuisse de canard, l’ autre, c’ était trois paquets de raviolis! » Du canard et des raviolis, de quoi se plaint-on feignent de s’ interroger les mauvaises langues sur le réseau weibo, accusant les Shanghaiens de se plaindre tout le temps, en particulier à l’ heure des repas. Sauf que ce ravitaillement par le comité de quartier est largement insuffisant. Les habitants ont dû s’ organiser pour trouver de quoi manger, rapporte le magazine Caixin.
I’ m in Shanghai, like many, I have been in lockdown for weeks ( doing okay on food). I don’ t have any on-the-ground info, so I made a brief timeline of Shanghai’ s current covid outbreak to keep myself sane and things in perspective [ thread ]: pic.twitter.com/evVAKA3NTK
L’ union fait la force! Melle Zhao et ses voisins ont monté un groupe sur la messagerie WeChat pour commander des vivres à l’ extérieur « On a commencé les achats groupés le 7 ou le 8 avril dernier, se souvient la jeune femme. Car on s’ est vite rendu compte qu'autrement, ce n’ était plus possible de se faire livrer. Le principe est simple: si vous avez besoin de quelque chose, vous le dites dans le groupe et chacun ajoute '+ 1 '. Et dès qu’ on est 30 à vouloir acheter des légumes, on appelle le marchand! C’ est la seule solution, sinon on peut aussi s’ échanger des choses entre voisins. L’ autre jour, j’ ai troqué deux pommes contre deux verres de coca avec un gars de mon étage ».
Les Shanghaiens font la même chose que les Wuhanais ou les habitants d’ autres villes confinées en Chine depuis le début de la pandémie. Pourquoi des achats groupés? Parce qu’ il est difficile de passer commande. « Les commandes ne se font qu’ à six heures du matin, mais tu peux essayer tous les sites d’ achat possibles: soit ils manquent de stocks, soit il n’ y a pas assez de livreurs », explique un jeune vidéaste shanghaien à Mediapart. À chaque fois que le virus revient, les chaînes logistiques sont les premières à souffrir et c’ est particulièrement vrai à Shanghai. Les épiciers en ligne ne vendent que de manière groupée, car le vrai problème de ce confinement, c’ est d’ abord le manque de livreurs: « Au début du confinement, la ville de Shanghai a suspendu les services de livraisons poursuit Melle Zhao. Je me souviens qu’ à Wuhan, les approvisionnements arrivaient de Pékin, de Shanghai, de Changsha. Mais ici, ils ont coupé le robinet et les citoyens ne peuvent plus acheter de nourriture. Et quand on peut le faire, ça coûte très cher! L’ autre fois, nous avons passé une commande groupée. Le livreur nous a demandé 2 000 yuans pour l’ apporter. »
Près de 300 euros... cela fait cher la livraison, même collective. On n’ est pas au supermarché, les denrées arrivent souvent brutes, sans emballages. Le partage se fait dans le hall de l’ immeuble. « On va chercher le riz dans des bassines dans le hall de la résidence », raconte un internaute. Un autre affirme avoir acheté de la ciboulette dans un pot de fleur pour 1 200 yuans ( 170 euros). Sur les messageries, les conseils pour faire pousser les légumes à la maison fleurissent, mais cela risque de prendre du temps.
一个上海的呐喊，活不下去了，吃什么？喝什么？怎么活？这也叫幸福指数全世界第一的国家？真是操蛋。 pic.twitter.com/uhUAPfoAJQ
Le mécontentement envahit les réseaux. Certains craquent, comme cet homme criant qu’ il ne sait pas quoi manger, ni boire, dans la cour de sa résidence le 6 avril dernier. La première semaine d’ avril a été l’ une des plus difficiles pour les confinés, notamment sur la rive est. Car si les achats groupés ont plus ou moins fonctionné pour les grands ensembles, pour les bâtiments de quelques étages ou isolés, c’ est plus compliqué. D’ autant que beaucoup se sont laissés surprendre. Les pré-confinements de la mégalopole, début mars, ont laissé croire que tout allait bien et de nombreux foyers se sont retrouvés sans réserves suffisantes, quand la ville a été submergée par la vague Omicron.
Pour relâcher un peu la pression, lundi 11 avril, les autorités ont légèrement soulevé le couvercle en annonçant un allègement du confinement dans certains districts. Des épiciers en ligne, comme Jindong et Meituan, ont également promis de redoubler d’ efforts pour accélérer le ravitaillement. Les résidences concernées par les allègements n’ ont pas enregistré de nouveaux cas de Covid dans les 14 jours, mais les difficultés à se faire livrer pour les autres n’ ont pas pour autant disparu. Certains n’ hésitent pas le faire savoir, comme lors de cette récente visite d’ une résidence par des responsables locaux. Le message, toujours le même, est adressé aux costumes cravates en contrebas, depuis les fenêtres des tours: « nous avons du mal à commander à manger! »
This'shouting warrior ' is praised on WeChat today for shouting out to visiting officials that they can't get food, they can't order food, they don't know what's going on. Literally making his voice heard for the entire community. # Shanghai pic.twitter.com/4r60gBegQ5
Pour ne pas se laisser surprendre, certains prennent les devants. Le hashtag « faire ses courses à Shanghai » est toujours censuré, rappelle le site WhatsOnWeibo, mais d’ autres ont pu rester en ligne quelques jours. Le sujet « qu’ est-ce que je dois préparer en cas de confinement » a attiré plus de 41 millions de vues, rapporte le South China Morning Post, alors que les rayons alimentaires étaient pris d’ assaut dans des villes encore préservées par la flambée épidémique. Les vendeurs de congélateurs se frottent les mains. L’ application WeChat a été envahie ces derniers par les images de frigos plein à craquer.
Pour les Shanghaiens, c’ est trop tard! Il faut prendre son mal en patience, concède Melle Zhao, un rien pessimiste sur l’ issue prochaine de cette nouvelle crise épidémique: « Même si votre confinement est levé, dit-elle, vous ne pouvez aller nulle part! Si vous sortez et que vous êtes positif, vous gâchez la vie de tous vos voisins et personne ne veut cela », poursuit la jeune Shanghaienne, copie écran de la carte sanitaire à l’ appui. Sur l’ écran de son téléphone, une mer de points rouges représentants les lieux où sont passés des personnes contaminées dans son quartier. | general |
Cramer’ s week ahead: Watch bonds & Ukraine as earnings season picks up | In this article
CNBC's Jim Cramer on Thursday previewed next week's slate of earnings and what investors should have on their radar to prepare for the tumultuous market ahead.
The `` Mad Money '' host said that bonds, Russia's invasion of Ukraine and Covid lockdowns in China are `` the stories that do matter with Treasurys running roughshod over everything once again. ''
Cramer also previewed next week's earnings roster. All earnings and revenue estimates are courtesy of FactSet.
Monday: Bank of America
`` We are beginning to see this behemoth assert itself as the world's number one bank. I bet it won't disappoint, '' Cramer said.
Tuesday: Halliburton, Johnson & Johnson, Travelers, Prologis, Netflix
Halliburton
Cramer said that Halliburton is a great company, noting that it's becoming one of the Charitable Trust's biggest positions.
Johnson & Johnson
Cramer had little to say about Johnson & Johnson, simply stating that it is `` busy breaking itself up to create more value. ''
Travelers
Travelers is `` boring but really good, '' Cramer said.
Prologis
Cramer said that Prologis is `` a cacophony of greatness all worthy of your trust. ''
IBM
`` [ CEO Arvind Krishna ] spun off the slower-growing businesses, kept the fast ones. Should be IBM's time to shine when it reports after the close, '' Cramer said.
Netflix
The company needs to charge customers more and isn't as bold as it used to be, according to Cramer.
Wednesday: Procter & Gamble, Tesla, United Airlines
Procter & Gamble
Cramer said that he is `` leaning on '' making the company the largest position in his Charitable Trust if the price comes down.
Tesla
Cramer's betting that CEO Elon Musk will wow investors on the conference call.
United Airlines
Cramer said that if the company reports having a fantastic number of bookings as Delta Air Lines did this week, it 'll go to show that the travel industry is doing well.
Thursday: AT & T, Freeport-McMoRan
AT & T
`` I 'm not a huge believer in this one, '' Cramer said.
Freeport-McMoRan
`` Copper is a terrific proxy for the Chinese economy, and Freeport will tell us where the copper is going, '' Cramer said.
Friday: American Express, Schlumberger
American Express
Cramer said he believes American Express is `` screaming buy '' in light of Delta's bullish outlook on travel.
Schlumberger
`` Will Russians one day have a decline in oil production? I bet Schlumberger can trace out what is about to happen if they stop drilling, '' Cramer said.
Disclosure: Cramer's Charitable Trust owns shares of Halliburton, Procter & Gamble and Wells Fargo.
Sign up now for the CNBC Investing Club to follow Jim Cramer's every move in the market.
Disclaimer
Questions for Cramer? Call Cramer: 1-800-743-CNBC
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Questions, comments, suggestions for the `` Mad Money '' website? madcap @ cnbc.com | business |
Penumbra Announces the European Launch of the Indigo® System With Lightning™ 7 and Lightning 12 Intelligent Aspiration | Now available in Europe, Penumbra’ s Lightning 7 and Lightning 12 are designed for single session arterial and venous thrombus removal, including the treatment of pulmonary embolisms. ( Graphic: Business Wire)
Now available in Europe, Penumbra’ s Lightning 7 and Lightning 12 are designed for single session arterial and venous thrombus removal, including the treatment of pulmonary embolisms. ( Graphic: Business Wire)
ALAMEDA, Calif. -- ( BUSINESS WIRE) -- Penumbra, Inc. ( NYSE: PEN), a global healthcare company focused on innovative therapies, announced that its Indigo Aspiration System with Lightning 7 and Lightning 12 have secured CE Mark ( Conformité Européenne) and are now commercially available in Europe. Both technologies are part of Penumbra’ s Indigo Aspiration System – now with Intelligent Aspiration for mechanical thrombectomy – and are designed for single session arterial and venous thrombus removal, including the treatment of pulmonary embolisms.
“ Technology advancements such as Lightning 7 and Lightning 12 are critical to improving patient outcomes and expanding use of mechanical thrombectomy to a broader range of patients, ” said Dr. Andrew Wigham, interventional radiology consultant at John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, UK. “ Lightning enables us to remove blood clots in the body quickly and efficiently, often in a single session, while also minimizing blood loss and potentially reducing the need for thrombolytics and prolonged ICU stays. ”
Powered by the Penumbra ENGINE®, Lightning 7 and Lightning 12 combine the new Indigo System CAT™7 and CAT12 Aspiration Catheters with Lightning Intelligent Aspiration, a unique computer-aided clot detection technology that can differentiate between clot and blood, designed to reduce blood loss and the need for clot-dissolving drugs, which may lower the risk of bleeding complications. The Lightning technology also provides an alternative to other surgical options. CAT7 is a high power, low profile catheter that features laser-cut hypotube technology and circumferential sweep designed for dependable delivery and maximal clot extraction. CAT12 is a large-lumen aspiration catheter that also incorporates novel laser-cut hypotube-based catheter engineering to provide advanced deliverability and torqueability within the body.
“ The launch of our Lightning portfolio in Europe will provide a much-needed option for physicians to address debilitating blood clots in the body effectively and efficiently, ” said James Benenati, MD, FSIR, chief medical officer at Penumbra, Inc. “ We’ ve seen our latest advancements in mechanical thrombectomy reduce blood loss while increasing clot removal efficiency in the U.S. These innovations may help improve patient care compared to conventional therapy. We are now able to help more patients with this technology by expanding access to physicians in Europe. ”
“ Blood clots in the body can be difficult to access and are potentially life-threatening. Until now, treatment options have been limited, ” said Joan Kristensen, vice president and head of the Europe, Middle East and Africa region for Penumbra, Inc. “ The introduction of our Lightning portfolio in Europe will expand access of our most advanced clot removal technology for the body, which combines intelligent aspiration and innovative catheter engineering to remove blood clots in a single session. With Lightning, mechanical aspiration technology continues to advance to meet the needs of patients, which is our core purpose at Penumbra. ”
About Indigo System with Lightning Intelligent Aspiration
The Indigo System with Lightning is an intelligent aspiration system powered by Penumbra ENGINE. Lightning Aspiration Tubing has dual pressure sensors for real-time blood flow monitoring. This unique mechanism of action helps optimize thrombus removal procedures by differentiating between thrombus and blood. The system is designed to aspirate continuously when in thrombus and intermittently in patent flow. Throughout the case, Lightning provides procedural feedback via audiovisual cues. Lightning’ s thrombus removal algorithm is designed to initiate automatic valve clicking when it senses patent flow. With automatic valve control, Lightning is designed to help reduce blood loss and allow the physician to focus on optimizing thrombus removal procedures.
The Indigo System with Lightning Intelligent Aspiration and Separators is indicated for the removal of fresh, soft emboli and thrombi from the peripheral arterial and venous systems, and for treatment of pulmonary embolism. For more information, please visit https: //www.penumbrainc.com/indigo-lightning/.
About Penumbra
Penumbra, Inc., headquartered in Alameda, California, is a global healthcare company focused on innovative therapies. Penumbra designs, develops, manufactures and markets novel products and has a broad portfolio that addresses challenging medical conditions in markets with significant unmet need. Penumbra supports healthcare providers, hospitals and clinics in more than 100 countries. For more information, visit www.penumbrainc.com and connect on Twitter and LinkedIn.
Important Safety Information
Additional information about Penumbra’ s products can be located on Penumbra’ s website at http: //www.penumbrainc.com/healthcare-professionals. Prior to use, please refer to Instructions for Use for complete product indications, contraindications, warnings, precautions, potential adverse events and detailed instructions for use. Risk information can be found here.
Forward-Looking Statements
Except for historical information, certain statements in this press release are forward-looking in nature and are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions about us. Our business and operations are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and, consequently, actual results may differ materially from those projected by any forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ from those projected include, but are not limited to: the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business, results of operations and financial condition; failure to sustain or grow profitability or generate positive cash flows; failure to effectively introduce and market new products; delays in product introductions; significant competition; inability to further penetrate our current customer base, expand our user base and increase the frequency of use of our products by our customers; inability to achieve or maintain satisfactory pricing and margins; manufacturing difficulties; permanent write-downs or write-offs of our inventory; product defects or failures; unfavorable outcomes in clinical trials; inability to maintain our culture as we grow; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; potential adverse regulatory actions; and the potential impact of any acquisitions, mergers, dispositions, joint ventures or investments we may make. These risks and uncertainties, as well as others, are discussed in greater detail in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021 filed with the SEC on February 22, 2022. There may be additional risks of which we are not presently aware or that we currently believe are immaterial which could have an adverse impact on our business. Any forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations, estimates and assumptions regarding future events and are applicable only as of the dates of such statements. We make no commitment to revise or update any forward-looking statements in order to reflect events or circumstances that may change. | general |
Ukraine war sees some countries focus on food, fuel, not clean energy | The world's governments have pledged more than $ 710 billion to `` sustainable recovery measures '' by the year 2030 since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, the International Energy Agency has said.
This is a 50% increase compared to the figure in Oct. 2021 and represents `` the largest ever clean energy fiscal recovery effort, '' according to the IEA.
Despite this growth, the IEA's latest update to its Sustainable Recovery Tracker cautioned that regional imbalances, compounded by rising commodity prices following the Russia-Ukraine war, were a cause for concern.
In a statement earlier this week, the Paris-based organization said advanced economies were intending to spend over $ 370 billion before the end of 2023.
It described this as a `` level of short-term government spending that would help keep the door open for the IEA's global pathway to net zero emissions by 2050. ''
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For other parts of the world, however, the story is different. Emerging and developing economies, according to the IEA, have made plans for roughly $ 52 billion of `` sustainable recovery spending '' before the end of 2023. It said this was `` well short '' of what was required for the pathway to net zero emissions by the middle of this century.
`` The gap is unlikely to narrow in the near term, '' the IEA said, `` as governments with already limited fiscal means now face the challenge of maintaining food and fuel affordability for their citizens amid the surge in commodity prices following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. ''
The IEA's view of what constitutes `` clean energy and sustainable recovery measures '' is wide-ranging. It includes everything from investments in nuclear, wind, solar photovoltaic and hydro to retrofitting, electric vehicles, transit infrastructure and recycling.
Concerns related to both the energy transition and energy security have been thrown into sharp relief by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Russia is a major supplier of oil and gas, and over the past few weeks a number of major economies have laid out plans to reduce their reliance on its hydrocarbons.
At the same time, recent months have also seen commodity prices jump. According to the UN, its Food and Agriculture Organization ( FAO) Food Price Index in March averaged 159.3 points, a 12.6% increase compared to February.
In a statement last week, Qu Dongyu, the FAO's Director-General laid bare the challenges the world was facing. Food prices as measured by the index, he said, had `` reached a new all-time high. ''
`` Particularly, prices for staple foodstuffs such as wheat and vegetable oils have been soaring lately, imposing extraordinary costs on global consumers, particularly the poorest, '' Dongyu added, going on to state that the war in Ukraine had `` made matters even worse. ''
According to the UN, for global warming to be kept `` to no more than 1.5°C … emissions need to be reduced by 45% by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050. ''
The 1.5 figure refers to the Paris Agreement, which aims to limit global warming `` to well below 2, preferably to 1.5 degrees Celsius, compared to pre-industrial levels '' and was adopted in Dec. 2015.
The task is huge and the stakes are high, with the UN noting that 1.5 degrees Celsius is considered to be `` the upper limit '' when it comes to avoiding the worst consequences from climate change.
`` Countries where clean energy is at the heart of recovery plans are keeping alive the possibility of reaching net zero emissions by 2050, but challenging financial and economic conditions have undermined public resources in much of the rest of the world, '' Fatih Birol, the IEA's executive director, said Tuesday.
Read more about how businesses and consumers are fighting and adapting to climate change:
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‘ It’ s now or never’: World’ s top climate scientists issue ultimatum on critical temperature limit
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Birol added that international cooperation would be `` essential to change these clean energy investment trends, especially in emerging and developing economies where the need is greatest. ''
While the picture for advanced economies may seem rosier than emerging and developing ones, the IEA pointed to a number of potential issues going forward, stating that `` some of the earmarked funds risk not reaching the market within their envisaged timelines. ''
Project pipelines, it claimed, had been `` clogged '' by delays in the establishment of government programs, financial uncertainty, labor shortages and continued supply chain disruptions.
On top of this, `` consumer-facing measures '' like incentives related to retrofits and electric vehicles were `` struggling to reach a wider audience because of issues including red tape and lack of information. ''
Looking at the overall picture, the IEA said `` public spending on sustainable energy '' remained a `` small proportion '' of the $ 18.1 trillion in fiscal outflows focused on mitigating the economic effects of the pandemic. | business |
Envision Healthcare’ s Inaugural Clinical Impact Report Details High-Quality Patient Care Initiatives | NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- ( BUSINESS WIRE) -- Envision Healthcare, a leading national medical group, today released its 2021 Clinical Impact Report, highlighting its impact on patients’ lives and communities across the country last year. The full report is available at EnvisionHealth.com/Impact-Report.
“ In 2021, we remained on the frontlines for patients, exceeding national care quality benchmarks and implementing new programs that improve patients’ access to the right care at the right time, ” said Jim Rechtin, Chief Executive Officer of Envision Healthcare. “ We also made strides in enhancing our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Clinician Wellness programs. While there is no way to measure the true impact the Envision team has had on the millions of people we serve, this inaugural report provides a snapshot of the many ways we make a difference. ”
Envision’ s 2021 Clinical Impact Report demonstrates how Envision is providing care when and where it’ s needed most. Last year, the Envision team rose to the many unique demands for care and drove positive changes within the U.S. healthcare system. Grounded in its commitment to delivering high-quality, patient-centered care, the team continued combating the COVID-19 pandemic, responded to natural disasters and humanitarian crises and advanced innovative care approaches.
Envision remains focused on elevating the voices of clinicians and patients and championing solutions that improve the healthcare system for everyone. As the medical group moves forward in 2022, it will continue protecting the patient-clinician relationship, caring deeply for everyone and centering its actions on advancing the delivery of safe, quality care.
Making a Positive Impact From providing lifesaving care to preventing colon cancer to welcoming newborns into the world, Envision is uniquely positioned to have a positive impact on millions of people in the U.S. In 2021, Envision’ s 30,000 clinical and clinical support teammates and 4,000 ambulatory surgery center physician partners cared for America through millions of visits, including:
Caring for Communities Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the medical group has helped lead the nation’ s COVID-19 response, caring for patients and working to mitigate the spread of the virus. More than 500 Envision clinicians have traveled to hard-hit communities to provide lifesaving care and relief since the beginning of the pandemic. In 2021, Envision clinicians treated more than 3.4 million COVID-19 patients through emergency department and inpatient visits, including in the intensive care unit. Clinicians also administered COVID-19 tests and vaccines to first responders and community members. Envision continues to educate the public about the importance of getting vaccinated, leading by example through its commitment to having a fully vaccinated team.
Through its disaster response program and years of expertise responding to crises, Envision teams are helping community members navigate some of the nation’ s most challenging times. In 2021, Envision clinicians cared for more than 5,000 Afghan refugees for five months until they were resettled and had the resources needed to begin their new lives in the U.S. Teammates also supported communities during the deep freeze in Texas, Hurricane Ida in Louisiana, the tornadoes in the Midwest and the Marshall Fire in Colorado.
Providing Safe, High-Quality, Patient-Centered Care Through Envision’ s commitment to a culture of safety, clinicians are continuously evaluating clinical protocols and developing best practices to enhance patient outcomes and satisfaction. Envision operates one of 94 Patient Safety Organizations listed by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services division, which helps improve the quality and safety of patient care. Through the Physicians Quality Registry, a Qualified Clinical Data Registry approved by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Envision is one of the largest submitters of performance data to Medicare and is helping define the quality of care nationally.
Last year, Envision clinicians developed one new Merit-Based Incentive Payment System measure. Clinicians also exceeded several national quality benchmarks, including measures regarding sepsis, non-opioid pain therapy and the care of babies born weighing less than 1,500 grams.
Empowering Teammates to Thrive Envision is focused on caring for the people who care for America. In 2021, the medical group remained steadfast in its efforts to prioritize the health of its teams through its comprehensive Clinician Wellness program, which includes free mental health services, peer-to-peer support, crisis debriefs and leadership coaching. Envision also advocated for the Dr. Lorna Breen Healthcare Provider Act – a bipartisan bill designed to help change the culture and conditions that lead to burnout and eliminate the stigma that deters healthcare professionals from seeking mental healthcare. | general |
2021 average ransoms paid by quarter was $ 167K, down 44.2% | In reviewing the evolving cyber risk landscape, a Corvus Insurance report includes a breakdown of the impact of zero-days and third-party risk, updates on ransom severity, ransomware claims rate, and a review of recent key vulnerabilities.
One of the best indicators of overall cybercrime activity is the rate of ransomware claims in the Corvus book of business. Based on claims data, after all of the dire headlines throughout 2021 the end of the year presented signs of improvement:
This decrease in cost and severity can be partially attributed to underwriting entities requiring stronger backups for insurance coverage, which is helping to drive the broader trend toward more sophisticated and resilient approaches to mitigating ransomware risk.
The data also revealed spikes in claims tied to major cybercrime events including the Microsoft Exchange Server vulnerability and the Kaseya ransomware attack. While these events were enough to significantly, but temporarily, impact the month-by-month ransomware claims rate, the overall average severity of claims declined.
As the cyber threat landscape continues to evolve, the report touched on Russia’ s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, which has included a hybrid warfare model involving cyber attacks against public and private sector organizations. While attacks have led to increased concerns over potential collateral damage, there was a 30% reduction in ransomware claims frequency from Q4 2021 to Q1 2022 ( through March 15), highlighting the fractured ransomware threat ecosystem during a time of war.
The overall severity of ransomware costs by industry shifted significantly over the past year. The report indicates a decreasing cost impact on education and social services, while the professional services industry ( including but not limited to law firms, consulting firms, and architecture firms) experienced increased ransomware costs. The data highlights that:
The decreasing claims severity within healthcare may be tied to dissipating public fears and subsequent exploitation by threat actors during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A Corvus survey conducted in Q4 2021, showed that SMBs are still building their cyber investments. The survey was deployed to Corvus’ s Cyber and Tech E & O policyholders, with the nearly 300 respondents’ titles ranging from C-suite to Vice Presidents, Directors, and IT Managers. Participants’ company size ranged from fewer than 50 employees to over 250. The results showed that SMBs are primarily concerned with external threats — attack vectors including ransomware and phishing — and revealed:
Survey respondents highlighted a lack of resources and the overall complexity of security as key driving factors currently preventing improvements in their defenses. Smaller companies ( less than 50 employees) are more concerned with staying current on new threats, while larger organizations are more concerned with vendor breaches, bringing to light the fact that many companies may fail to emphasize and act on the need for an internal security culture.
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Meals in Metaverse: Arby's, Buffalo Wild Wings Joining VR World | Join Our Telegram Channel for More Insights. Join Now
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Some restaurants are looking for new ways to re-engage with a market heavily affected by a two-year-old COVID-19 pandemic. The term “ metaverse ” has come to mean a lot of different things to different people. For some, it’ s a joke and a silly marketing gimmick. But for others, it’ s the next huge breakthrough in technology. You can get in and out while the world carries on. You can create, buy and sell goods. And you can order and virtually eat food in a digital economy. You obviously can’ t physically eat food in the metaverse, but there are numerous other things you can do that you can’ t do in the real world.
Metaverse development company Metazone launched a Domino’ s ordering kiosk in their 3D platform Decentraland ( US customers only). Users were able to order their favorite pizza virtually and have it delivered to their homes.
As part of a campaign to ban 120 artificial ingredients from their menus, the fast-food chain launched a range of “ Keep It Real ” meals in their restaurants. Each meal box displayed a QR code customers could scan to receive one of three NFT tokens. Upon collection of all three, customers entered a draw to win digital 3D collectibles, signed merchandise, or free Whoppers for a year.
To celebrate Halloween, the Mexican fast-casual chain opened a virtual restaurant within the gaming platform Roblox, giving away US $ 1 million worth of free burritos to the first 30k users visiting the restaurant. Customers who successfully completed a Halloween-themed virtual maze were given a free burrito coupon to redeem at Chipotle physical outlets.
Arby’ s is a fast-food sandwich restaurant chain that is stepping into the Metaverse. It has filed trademarks with the U.S Patent and Trademark Office ( USPTO) in order to become part of Metaverse. | tech |
Royaume-Uni: feu vert pour le vaccin contre le Covid-19 du laboratoire franco-autrichien Valneva | « Le vaccin contre le Covid-19 développé par Valneva a reçu aujourd'hui l'approbation réglementaire de l'Agence de réglementation des médicaments et des produits de santé ( MHRA) », a annoncé l'agence dans un communiqué, affirmant que le régulateur britannique est le premier au monde à l'approuver.
The # Valneva Covid-19 vaccine has been approved for use.This is the sixth COVID-19 vaccine to be granted an MHRA authorisation.Our decision follows a rigorous review of the safety, quality and effectiveness.Find out more: https: //t.co/I9GV8NU0iM pic.twitter.com/Ta8KULI6FA
Valneva avait déjà reçu une autorisation pour l'utilisation d'urgence de son sérum au royaume de Bahreïn, qui lui a acheté un million de doses.
Le laboratoire a aussi signé un accord avec la Commission européenne pour la fourniture d'un maximum de 60 millions de doses sur deux ans en 2022 et 2023.
Valneva est le sixième vaccin contre le coronavirus à être autorisé au Royaume-Uni, s'ajoutant à ceux d'AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Moderna, l'unidose Janssen ( Johnson & Johnson) et Novavax.
« La Commission indépendante des médicaments à usage humain et son groupe de travail d'experts sur le Covid-19 ont soigneusement examiné les preuves disponibles et [... ] le rapport bénéfice/risque est positif », a déclaré le professeur Munir Pirmohamed, président de cette commission, cité dans ce communiqué.
Le vaccin Valneva pourra être utilisé chez les personnes âgées de 18 à 50 ans, les première et deuxième doses devant être prises à au moins 28 jours d'intervalle.
Ce vaccin peut être stocké à la température de réfrigérateurs classiques, ce qui facilite son utilisation. | general |
Artificial Intelligence Hardware is a Hot Tech Topic in 2022 | Join Our Telegram Channel for More Insights. Join Now
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The application of artificial intelligence in many companies has expanded as a result of the epidemic. Since the worldwide COVID-19 outbreak, artificial intelligence’ s potential value has only grown. At least 50 percent of the organizations have deployed Artificial Intelligence functions, as per the McKinsey State of Artificial Intelligence study released in November 2020.
As firms continue more automation of day-to-day operations & better analyses of COVID-affected datasets, Artificial Intelligence will become more important. Businesses are more digitally linked than ever before since lockdown and work-from-home rules were introduced.
Artificial intelligence will continue to evolve until 2022 when it will be the most transformative technology humanity has ever devised.
However, with the rise of artificial intelligence, the scenario for semiconductor businesses may be different. Many AI applications, such as virtual assistants who run our homes or facial recognition algorithms that monitor criminals, have already earned a large following. These and other developing AI applications have one thing in common: they rely on hardware as a key facilitator of innovation, particularly for logic and memory tasks. What impact will this have on semiconductor sales and profits?
Artificial Intelligence has the potential to allow semiconductor businesses to capture 40 to 50% of the overall value from the technological stack, which would be the finest chance in decades. The fastest-growing sector will be storage, while semiconductor companies will make the most money in computing, memory, and networking.
Storage: Expansion ability for potential growth in data.
At cloud computing data centers, the majority of compute growth will come from increased demand for Artificial Intelligence applications. GPUs are currently employed in practically all training applications at these sites. They will lose business to ASICs in the near future, with the compute market almost evenly split between these two technologies. GPUs will likely get increasingly tailored to fit the demands of DL when ASICs join the market. FPGAs and GPUs will play a minor part in Artificial Intelligence training in the future.
Because computational layers inside deep neural networks must send input data to hundreds of cores as rapidly as feasible, AI applications have significant memory-bandwidth requirements. During both inference and training, memory—typically dynamic random-access memory ( DRAM) —is necessary to store incoming data, weight model parameters, as well as perform other activities. The memory industry will see significant growth in value from $ 6.4 billion in 2017 reaching $ 12.0 billion in 2025, thanks to AI. Using DRAM or other external memory sources to store and access data on a DL compute processor can take 100 times longer than using memory on the same device. The tensor-processing unit ( TPU), an ASIC specialized in Artificial Intelligence, was built by Google with enough memory to hold a complete model.
During training, Artificial Intelligence applications require a large number of servers, a requirement that grows over time. Developers, for example, just with only one server to create an initial Artificial Intelligence model and less than 100 to refine its structure. The natural next step, though, is to train with real data, which may take several hundred hours. To identify impediments with 97 percent accuracy, autonomous-driving models require around 140 servers.
When bringing a new product to market, semiconductor businesses should think in terms of partnerships, since cooperating with existing players in specialised industries may provide them a competitive advantage. They should also figure out which organisational structure is ideal for their company. They may wish to form groups that specialise in specific functions, such as R & D, for all industries in some situations. Alternatively, they may form groups to focus on certain micro verticals, allowing them to gain specialised knowledge. | tech |
Moleculin Announces Corporate Rebranding and Launch of New Website | PR Newswire
HOUSTON, April 14, 2022
Company reiterates commitment to solving some of the toughest challenges in highly resistant cancers and viruses and developing better treatments that can make a real impact in people's lives
HOUSTON, April 14, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Moleculin Biotech, Inc., ( Nasdaq: MBRX) ( `` Moleculin '' or the `` Company ''), a clinical stage pharmaceutical company with a broad portfolio of drug candidates targeting highly resistant tumors and viruses, today announced the launch its new corporate branding and website www.moleculin.com.
`` As we drive clinical development across our broad portfolio of drug candidates, expand our growing body of clinical data and build value among all stakeholders, we believed it was an important step to refresh our corporate branding identity and website to align with the true potential and vision we have for Moleculin. We are wholeheartedly committed to potentially solving some of the toughest challenges and importantly, bringing better treatments to patients where there remains unmet medical need. The work completed and data demonstrated to-date bolsters our confidence as we believe we can successfully execute on a number of key clinical and regulatory milestones that will be instrumental in establishing a clear path to approval and commercialization of Annamycin. I am excited for this evolution of Moleculin and to take another step forward towards the future of this exciting company, '' commented Walter Klemp, Chairman and CEO of Moleculin.
The Company's lead product candidate, Annamycin, is a next-generation anthracycline that has been shown in animal models to accumulate in the lungs at up to 30-fold the level of doxorubicin, as well as demonstrating the ability to avoid the multidrug resistance mechanisms that typically limit the efficacy of doxorubicin and other currently prescribed anthracyclines. Importantly, Annamycin has also demonstrated a lack of cardiotoxicity in multiple human clinical trials, including ongoing trials for the treatment of relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia ( AML) and soft tissue sarcoma ( STS) lung metastases, and the Company believes that the use of Annamycin may not face the same usage limitations imposed on doxorubicin, one of the most common currently prescribed anthracyclines, and may have the potential to treat a number of additional indications.
Additionally, Moleculin has a robust priority and follow on pipeline comprised of Immune/Transcription Modulators and a portfolio of antimetabolites in development for the treatment of a number of highly resistant tumors and viruses.
For more information about the Company's portfolio of product candidates and ongoing clinical trials, please visit www.moleculin.com.
About Moleculin Biotech, Inc.
Moleculin Biotech, Inc. is a clinical stage pharmaceutical company focused on the development of a broad portfolio of drug candidates for the treatment of highly resistant tumors and viruses. The Company's lead program, Annamycin is a next-generation anthracycline designed to avoid multidrug resistance mechanisms with little to no cardiotoxicity. Annamycin is currently in development for the treatment of relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia ( AML) and soft tissue sarcoma ( STS) lung metastases.
Additionally, the Company is developing WP1066, an Immune/Transcription Modulator capable of inhibiting p-STAT3 and other oncogenic transcription factors while also stimulating a natural immune response, targeting brain tumors, pancreatic and other cancers, and WP1220, an analog to WP1066, for the topical treatment of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. Moleculin is also engaged in the development of a portfolio of antimetabolites, including WP1122 for the potential treatment of COVID-19 and other viruses, as well as cancer indications including brain tumors, pancreatic and other cancers.
For more information about the Company, please visit www.moleculin.com and connect on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. | general |
Spring 2022 Product Release Webinar | Even if you can't attend, register anyway and you 'll receive the slides and recording after the webinar.
Even if you can't attend, register anyway and you 'll receive the slides and recording after the webinar.
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This webinar is beyond insightful - @ CBinsights are breaking down FAMGA approaches to health and there is so much going on behind the scenes. Fascinating.
Very interesting slides + video recording about the # future of # transportation made by @ CBinsights Available here for free: https: //t.co/tT2BrMAbS1 # innovation # SmartCities pic.twitter.com/dLrapDE5wL
COVID-19 changed the way we shop... and the way we talk. retail leaders are mentioning `` e-commerce '' and `` acceleration '' on earnings calls more than ever before, per @ CBinsights pic.twitter.com/1tAhOONIpj | tech |
Rwanda to take asylum seekers from Britain for processing under new plans | Asylum seekers who cross the English Channel in small boats will be flown for processing in Rwanda under multi-million pound Government plans. Picture: Gareth Fuller/PA
The British government will announce multimillion-pound plans for asylum seekers who cross the English Channel in small boats to be flown for processing to Rwanda.
British Home Secretary Priti Patel is expected to sign a deal with the East African nation during a visit on Thursday, with people seeking sanctuary in the UK to be sent more than 4,000 miles.
Some of those who make the perilous crossing of the Channel, as well as by other means deemed “ illegal ” by Britain, would be sent to Rwanda while their claims are assessed “ offshore ”.
An initial £120m ( €144m) is expected to be given to the Rwandan government under a trial scheme, which is being criticised by refugee charities as a “ cruel and nasty decision ” that will fail to address the issue and “ lead to more human suffering and chaos ”.
Asylum seekers who remain in Britain while their claims are considered could be housed in stricter reception centres under the plans. The first will reportedly open in the village of Linton-on-Ouse, in North Yorkshire.
News of the scheme quickly drew derision from the Opposition as well as refugee advocates, including the Bishop of Durham, Paul Butler, who told the BBC it would not work.
'Grubby cash-for-people plan '
“ I really worry that this is not the right way to treat asylum seekers. We have an international duty under the Refugee Convention to look after asylum seekers well. They are big issues. They’ ve got to tackled and I don’ t think this is the way to do it, ” he said.
“ I remain to be convinced that it’ s going to be deterrent in any way. ”
Labour accused Boris Johnson of trying to distract from being fined for breaching coronavirus laws with “ unworkable, unethical and extortionate ” plans.
Human rights campaigners have described the plan as “ barbaric ”, “ cowardly ” and “ shockingly ill-conceived ”.
Steve Valdez-Symonds, Amnesty International UK’ s refugee and migrant rights director, said that the African nation had a “ dismal human rights record ”.
In a statement to the PA news agency, Mr Valdez-Symonds said: “ Sending people to another country – let alone one with such a dismal human rights record – for asylum ‘ processing’ is the very height of irresponsibility and shows how far removed from humanity and reality the Government now is on asylum issues.
“ The Government is already wrecking our asylum system at huge cost to the taxpayer while causing terrible anxiety to the people stuck in the backlogs it has created. ”
“ But this shockingly ill-conceived idea will go far further in inflicting suffering while wasting huge amounts of public money. ”
Another refugee advocacy group issued a withering assessment of the scheme, calling it a “ grubby cash-for-people plan ” that was “ cowardly ” and “ barbaric ”.
The chief executive of Refugee Action Tim Naor Hilton accused the British government of “ offshoring its responsibilities onto Europe’ s former colonies instead of doing our fair share to help some of the most vulnerable people on the planet ”.
He added that the UK should have learnt from “ Australia’ s horrific experiment ” of sending refugees “ thousands of miles away ” to camps where they experienced “ rampant abuse ” as well as “ rape, murder and suicide ”.
“ This grubby cash-for-people plan would be a cowardly, barbaric and inhumane way to treat people fleeing persecution and war, ” Mr Naor Hilton said.
“ Ministers seem too keen to ignore the reality that most people who cross the Channel in flimsy boats are refugees from countries where persecution and war are rife and who just want to live in safety. ”
Detention Action said that the men sent to Rwanda would “ likely face indefinite detention under a government notorious for violent persecution of dissent ”.
The advocacy group added: “ At the same time, the UK currently gives asylum to Rwandan refugees fleeing political persecution. ”
🇬🇧🇷🇼 In Kigali, Rwanda, ahead of a significant moment for the New Plan for Immigration. Prime Minister @ BorisJohnson will set out the full detail tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/HxbZlFv9g2
Mr Johnson is set to argue in a speech on Thursday that action is needed to combat the “ vile people smugglers ” turning the ocean into a “ watery graveyard ”.
Ms Patel is then expected to set out further details of a “ migration and economic development partnership ” with Rwanda, during a visit to the capital of Kigali.
It is thought the asylum seekers will be encouraged to relocate and rebuild their lives in Rwanda, rather than the UK, with more information on how the arrangement will work anticipated in the coming days.
Mr Johnson will say that the number of people making the perilous crossing of the Channel could reach 1,000 a day within weeks, after around 600 arrived on Wednesday.
“ I accept that these people – whether 600 or one thousand – are in search of a better life; the opportunities that the United Kingdom provides and the hope of a fresh start, ” he is expected to say.
“ But it is these hopes – these dreams – that have been exploited. These vile people smugglers are abusing the vulnerable and turning the Channel into a watery graveyard, with men, women and children drowning in unseaworthy boats and suffocating in refrigerated lorries. ”
We are appalled by the Government’ s cruel and nasty decision to send those seeking sanctuary in our country to Rwanda
Mr Johnson will argue that the “ long-term plan for asylum in this country ” will be “ world-leading ” and will settle thousands of people every year through safe routes. | general |
Boris Johnson braced for more fines after resignation of his justice minister | Boris Johnson. File Picture: Aaron Chown/PA
Boris Johnson was braced to potentially receive further fines for breaches of coronavirus laws after his justice minister resigned over the “ repeated rule-breaking ” in Downing Street.
Conservative peer David Wolfson said he had “ no option ” other than to quit because the scale and nature of the events determined by police to be breaches so far are “ inconsistent with the rule of law ”.
Multiple newspapers carried reports suggesting the Mr Johnson could receive further fixed penalty notices after he accepted a fine for attending a birthday party held for him in No 10 during Covid restrictions in June 2020.
Downing Street sources said they were awaiting the outcome of the ongoing Scotland Yard inquiry after Mr Johnson conceded more fines could follow, having reportedly attended six of the 12 events under investigation.
The UK prime minister will attempt to move on from the scandal with a major speech on Thursday setting out new plans for the asylum system, including sending individuals more than 4,000 miles to Rwanda for processing.
The fallout after Mr Johnson and UK chancellor Rishi Sunak admitted paying fines this week was continuing with further calls to quit.
Conservative MPs Nigel Mills and Craig Whittaker said the Mr Johnson’ s position was untenable after he was found to have broken the rules he set.
However, Mr Johnson’ s position was safe for the time being, with politicians away from Parliament for the Easter recess and numerous Tory critics arguing for immediate focus to be on the invasion of Ukraine.
Lord Wolfson, a justice minister since 2020, said in his resignation letter to Mr Johnson that he has come to the “ inevitable conclusion that there was repeated rule-breaking, and breaches of the criminal law, in Downing Street ”.
He concluded that had no option but to resign considering “ my ministerial and professional obligations to support and uphold the rule of law ”.
The decision heaped pressure on Dominic Raab, whose Labour shadow Steve Reed pointed out as UK justice secretary is “ constitutionally charged with upholding the law but is instead condoning law-breaking ” by backing Mr Johnson.
Mr Raab described Lord Wolfson as a “ world-class lawyer ” whose “ wisdom and intellect will be sorely missed ”.
Mr Johnson wrote to the peer saying he was “ sorry to receive ” the resignation, while praising his “ years of legal experience ”. | general |
Workhuman Welcomes Noreena Hertz, Renowned Thought Leader, Global Economist, and International Best-Selling Author, to Board of Directors | FRAMINGHAM, Mass. and DUBLIN -- ( BUSINESS WIRE) -- Noreena Hertz is a renowned thought leader with an impressive track record in predicting global trends and Workhuman® is excited to welcome her to its board of directors. As a global economist and a pioneering and renowned thinker on Environmental, Social, and Governance ( ESG), the post-millennial generation and community building, Hertz will be a trusted advisor to Workhuman as the company continues its mission to make work more human for every person on the planet.
Workhuman provides human applications and services to help companies meet today’ s biggest workplace challenges – turnover, dispersed workforces, employee engagement, DEI and more. Through its employee recognition ( Social Recognition) and continuous performance development ( Conversations) solutions, Workhuman customers around the globe can easily thank, talk to, and celebrate their employees in a single platform, creating stronger company cultures and more human workplaces.
“ A few years ago, I provided thought leadership to a major global corporation and was struck by the visible bond and connection its employees felt both to each other and to the company, and by that fact that its employee turnover rate was half the industry average. I learned it was a result of the company’ s employee recognition program. From then on, I was a Workhuman ambassador, ” said Hertz. “ Community is predicated on people feeling connected, cherished, valued, and cared for and Workhuman operates across all of those pillars – enabling their impressive array of clients to dynamically deliver their strategic agendas. I believe that Workhuman can make a material difference to loneliness and disconnection in the workplace that has been expedited by COVID-19 and thereby positively impact productivity, performance and turnover. I am delighted to be joining the board. ”
Feeling connected to work has always been important, yet even before the pandemic, it was a difficult feeling to come by. For far too long, employees teetering on the edge of burnout have continued working at companies with poor cultures because they were taught a strong company culture was a “ nice-to-have ” rather than a necessity. But now, two years into COVID, this has changed. LinkedIn’ s 2022 Global Talent Trends report found that company culture is now a top reason why employees join and stay at organizations. And Workhuman research found that the more recently someone has been recognized by a manager and/or peer, the greater their sense of connection to the company culture and their colleagues. This is evident through Workhuman’ s own growth; in 2021, 12.2M billable recognition awards were processed, marking a nearly 50% increase from 2020 activity.
“ Today’ s workplaces are dealing with a crisis. Humanity and connection have been ripped out, leaving culture decay, employee turnover and disengagement in its wake, and the Great Resignation shows no signs of slowing down, ” said Eric Mosley, co-founder and CEO of Workhuman. “ Before the pandemic, we knew that employee recognition was a powerful antidote to these problems by promoting community, strengthening relationships and connections, and building a strong culture built on appreciation – it is no longer a nice to have, it has become mission critical. Noreena’ s expertise and extensive research about helping organizations and individuals connect and create authentic, thriving communities is completely aligned with Workhuman to its core. We are delighted to work to working closely with her as we create more human workplaces around the globe. ”
Hertz sits on the board of Nasdaq-listed Warner Music Group and has served on Citigroup’ s Politics and Economics Global Advisory Board, the Inclusive Capitalism Taskforce’ s Advisory Group, and RWE’ s Digital Transformation Board, in addition to advising governments and corporations globally on an ongoing basis. As a visionary thinker, Hertz is also frequently sought after as a keynote speaker and has spoken at TED, The World Economic Forum in Davos and Google Zeitgeist. She is an international best-selling author of four books: The Silent Takeover, The Debt Threat, Eyes Wide Open and The Lonely Century – A Call to Reconnect. Hertz has a PhD from Cambridge University and an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Having spent 10 years at the University of Cambridge, in 2014 she moved to University College London where she is an Honorary Professor at the Institute for Global Prosperity.
For more information about Workhuman, please visit www.workhuman.com. | general |
Amazon to levy 5% fuel and inflation surcharge for fulfillment services | After increasing hourly wages and expanding its fulfillment network last year to meet a surge in demand, Amazon said in its recent announcement to sellers that it had `` expected a return to normalcy '' from elevated costs in 2022 as COVID-19 restrictions eased. But climbing inflation put more pressure on the e-commerce giant as they year progressed.
`` It's still unclear if these inflationary costs will go up or down, or for how long they will persist, '' Amazon said. `` Rather than a permanent fee change, we will be employing a fuel and inflation surcharge for the first time—a mechanism broadly used across supply chain providers. ''
Parcel carriers have upped their shipping rates and added fees since the COVID-19 pandemic took hold as they look to keep service levels high amid record demand. High fuel costs have added further pressure — AFS Logistics and Cowen Research's ground parcel index, which measures shipping costs, is expected to reach an all-time high in Q2, `` primarily driven by carriers leveraging fuel surcharges to boost per package cost, '' according to an AFS news release.
Following in the carriers ' footsteps is Amazon, which ranks among the top carriers for U.S. parcel volumes despite its focus on in-house shipments. The price hike decision comes months after CFO Brian Olsavsky called Amazon a `` shock absorber '' of higher costs for customers and sellers in October.
`` I 'm curious if this [ surcharge ] is really going to be temporary or not — when is it going to go away? '' said Joe Stefani, president and founder of Desert Cactus, an e-commerce consumer products company that sells licensed products on Amazon.
Amazon did not respond to a request for comment on the conditions necessary for it to remove the surcharge. If the surcharge sticks around the entire year, Stefani said it would cost his business around $ 100,000. This is on top of the $ 150,000 in added costs from the January fee hike Desert Cactus was already bracing for this year.
Shipping through Amazon is still less expensive for Stefani than an alternative like the Postal Service's First-Class Mail service, `` and obviously Amazon customers are still going to get it faster through Amazon fulfillment, '' he said.
Amazon's move could provide an opportunity for rival Walmart to instead absorb rising costs in order to achieve its own marketplace growth goals, Van Wickel said. Walmart has been pushing to add new sellers to its third-party fulfillment arm.
`` Online was not immune to price hikes last year but was still a way shoppers looked for a deal, '' she said. `` It will be important to think of other value drivers across products to offset the perception of high prices. ''
Topics covered: logistics, freight, operations, procurement, regulation, technology, risk/resilience and more.
The retailer's acquisition of a middle- and final-mile carrier as the COVID-19 pandemic took hold has allowed it to take more control over its delivery process.
The retailer hopes to grow its seller base and their sales with logistics services, which in turn can help boost its nascent advertising business.
Topics covered: logistics, freight, operations, procurement, regulation, technology, risk/resilience and more.
Topics covered: logistics, freight, operations, procurement, regulation, technology, risk/resilience and more.
The retailer's acquisition of a middle- and final-mile carrier as the COVID-19 pandemic took hold has allowed it to take more control over its delivery process.
The retailer hopes to grow its seller base and their sales with logistics services, which in turn can help boost its nascent advertising business.
Topics covered: logistics, freight, operations, procurement, regulation, technology, risk/resilience and more. | general |
Kioxia and Western Digital Jointly Invest in New Flash Memory Manufacturing Facility in Yokkaichi Plant | Initial Production to Begin in the Fall of Calendar 2022
Fab7 ( Y7), Yokkaichi Plant ( Photo: Business Wire)
Fab7 ( Y7), Yokkaichi Plant ( Photo: Business Wire)
TOKYO & SAN JOSE, Calif. -- ( BUSINESS WIRE) -- Kioxia Corporation and Western Digital Corp. ( NASDAQ: WDC) have finalized a formal agreement to jointly invest in the first phase of the Fab7 ( Y7) manufacturing facility at Kioxia’ s industry-leading Yokkaichi Plant in the Mie Prefecture of Japan. With construction of the first phase of Y7 completed, the joint-venture investment will enable initial production output beginning in the fall of this year. This marks another important milestone in the 20-year strategic joint-venture partnership between the two companies.
“ We are very pleased to further deepen our strategic partnership with Western Digital through this joint investment in Y7, ” said Nobuo Hayasaka, President and CEO of Kioxia. “ The rapid digitization of societies underpins accelerating use of memory products. We will continue to leverage our technological partnership and economies of scale to develop and produce cutting-edge semiconductor products and achieve organic corporate growth. ”
“ This joint investment in Y7 accentuates our productive and positive relationship with Kioxia, underscoring our substantial global share in memory, the ongoing importance of memory and storage and our multi-faceted commitment to Japan, ” said Dr. Siva Sivaram, President, Technology & Strategy, Western Digital. “ Our strategic partnership with Kioxia has led to the introduction of leading-edge technology while increasing the scale of manufacturing and R & D capabilities. We look forward to continuing to drive long-term success together. ”
This joint-venture investment adds a sixth flash memory manufacturing facility to the Yokkaichi Plant, enhancing its position as the world's largest flash memory manufacturing site. The first phase of the Y7 facility will produce 3D flash memory including 112- and 162-layer and future nodes.
Kioxia and Western Digital will continue to maximize synergies through joint development of 3D flash memory and joint investment in line with market trends to strengthen their respective competitiveness and extend their leadership in the memory space.
About Kioxia
Kioxia is a world leader in memory solutions, dedicated to the development, production and sale of flash memory and solid-state drives ( SSDs). In April 2017, its predecessor Toshiba Memory was spun off from Toshiba Corporation, the company that invented NAND flash memory in 1987. Kioxia is committed to uplifting the world with memory by offering products, services and systems that create choice for customers and memory-based value for society. Kioxia's innovative 3D flash memory technology, BiCS FLASH™, is shaping the future of storage in high-density applications, including advanced smartphones, PCs, SSDs, automotive and data centers.
About Western Digital
Western Digital is on a mission to unlock the potential of data by harnessing the possibility to use it. With both Flash and HDD franchises, underpinned by advancements in memory technologies, we create breakthrough innovations and powerful data storage solutions that enable the world to actualize its aspirations. Core to our values, we recognize the urgency to combat climate change and have committed to ambitious carbon reduction goals approved by the Science Based Targets initiative. Learn more about Western Digital and the Western Digital®, SanDisk® and WD® brands at www.westerndigital.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of federal securities laws, including statements regarding expectations for demand trends; market conditions and opportunities; and the Company’ s future financial and operational performance. These forward-looking statements are based on management’ s current expectations and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. Material risks and uncertainties include: future responses to and effects of the COVID-19 pandemic; volatility in global economic conditions; impact of business and market conditions; impact of competitive products and pricing; our development and introduction of products based on new technologies and expansion into new data storage markets; risks associated with cost saving initiatives, restructurings, acquisitions, divestitures, mergers, joint ventures and our strategic relationships; difficulties or delays in manufacturing or other supply chain disruptions; hiring and retention of key employees; our substantial level of debt and other financial obligations; changes to our relationships with key customers; disruptions in operations from cyberattacks or other system security risks; actions by competitors; risks associated with compliance with changing legal and regulatory requirements and the outcome of legal proceedings; and other risks and uncertainties listed in the Company’ s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission ( the “ SEC ”), including the Company’ s Form 10-K filed with the SEC on August 27, 2021, to which your attention is directed. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise these forward-looking statements to reflect new information or events, except as required by law.
Western Digital, the Western Digital logo, SanDisk and WD are registered trademarks or trademarks of Western Digital Corporation or its affiliates in the US and/or other countries.
Western Digital Contacts: Lisa Neitzel Western Digital Public Relations 1-408-717-7607 lisa.neitzel @ wdc.com
Jun Takahashi Western Digital Public Relations – Japan 81-3-4334-7144 Jun.takahashi @ wdc.com | general |
Services Trade Insights from TFG - Page 8 of 66 | Welcome to Trade Finance Global. Browse and read the latest news, stories and educational insights from the world of trade and receivables finance. Stay up to date with the latest products, services and innovations in the market, bought to you by the Trade Finance Global team.
Our editor, Deepesh Patel sat down with Zencargo’ s Sales Director, Sam Greenhalgh to discuss what changes need to take place to make the shipping industry more attractive to young professionals.
The need for trade digitization has never been more prevalent than it is today, especially with pandemic-induced restrictions emphasizing the inefficiency of paper-based trade. Our Editor, Deepesh Patel sat down with Contour’ s CEO and Chief Product Officer, as well as TradeLens’ Head of Strategy and Operations, to discuss how fintech can come together to partner to solve these problems.
Never have fragmented reactions, as seen to recent global crises, be that Covid-19, climate change or geopolitical power shifts, illustrated better the acute need to have sustainable strategies in place.
The impact of the March 2021 incident of the container ship M.V. Ever Given with around 18,300 containers onboard running aground in the Suez Canal has generated international attention and its consequences will continue to unravel for years to come.
TFG heard from Punit Oza, Executive Director at the Singapore Chamber of Maritime Arbitration, who talked about the main pillars that support a transforming organisation in the commercial shipping and freight sector.
COVID-19 puts international trade to a halt following the closure of the Ningbo-Zhoushan port in China and causing a global microchip shortage. There are other unanticipated issues to account for, such as the Suez Canal blockage.
The District Export Council of San Diego and Imperial Valley ( SDIDEC) has sponsored the first workspace for ICC eRules guidelines for digital trade transactions.
World trade of goods has declined some 12% in the last year, representing a loss of $ 22 trillion USD of trade. Is it all doom and gloom for trade, or will we see a resurgence?
Maritime law or Admiralty law regulates commerce and navigation on the high seas and other navigable waters. Here is everything you need to know about maritime disputes.
Has digital trade finally arrived with the ICC eRules guidelines? John Dunlop explains how this might be true.
MSMEs are the backbone of the economy, however, they have faced a stream of obstacles on their road to obtaining crucial financing, particularly in emerging and developed markets, such as India and Southeast Asia.
TFG’ s Deepesh Patel spoke to ITFA’ s Chairman, Sean Edwards, about the ITFA Structured Letters of Credit Working Group, and the emergence of Structured Letters of Credit as a variant of Traditional LCs.
TFG’ s Joana Fabiao, had the opportunity to sit down with David Thambiratnam, CEO of Veridapt, a global force in commodity management for over 15 years. | general |
payables finance programmes TFG Hub | The very public implosion of a high-flying boutique finance firm has left ripples in the Supply Chain Finance industry. Should we reverse this outcome?
New report from GSCFF aims to address criticisms across three key areas: the potential adverse impact on suppliers, issues relating to financial reporting and transparency, and overall programme risk.
In their response to the Covid-19 pandemic, governments have learned and applied many of the lessons of past crises. Early testing and tracing at scale gave countries including Germany, Taiwan and South Korea a lead in combating the virus. | general |
Valley Manor Long-Term Care Workers Still Seeking a Fair Deal | BARRY’ S BAY, Ontario -- ( BUSINESS WIRE) -- Workers at the Valley Manor long-term care home who have endured enormous challenges throughout the COVID-19 pandemic continue to mobilize to improve conditions for the facility’ s staff and residents.
The workers, who care for 80 seniors at Valley Manor, will hold a demonstration outside the facility on Tuesday, April 19, from 1:45 to 2:15 p.m., to bring community awareness to their struggle to negotiate a fair contract with their employer.
WHO: Valley Manor long-term care home workers
WHAT: Community awareness demonstration for better conditions
WHEN: Tuesday, April 19, 1:45 to 2:15 p.m.
WHERE: 88 Mintha Street, Barry's Bay, Ont.
A total of 87 full-time and part-time employees at Valley Manor, including personal support workers, dietary aides, and housekeeping staff, have been attempting to negotiate a fair contract with their employer for several months. The employees are members of United Steelworkers union ( USW) Local 6946-12.
As a group, the workers have been wearing blue scrubs every Tuesday as a sign of solidarity with their bargaining team and to demonstrate to their employer that they are serious about the need to improve conditions for staff and residents. The workers will again be sporting their blue scrubs on April 19 when they demonstrate outside the Valley Manor facility.
The workers are denied the right to strike as a result of legislation passed by the Ontario government. Further, Valley Manor is suppressing the workers’ wages by relying on other legislation passed by the Conservative government that limits public-sector wage increases to 1%.
Wage suppression and the failure to improve difficult working conditions will exacerbate a long-term care staffing crisis, as qualified workers leave for other jobs with higher pay, said union representative Briana Broderick.
Meanwhile, Valley Manor’ s failure to address the workers’ concerns regarding working conditions means that collective bargaining issues will be settled by binding arbitration, Broderick noted.
“ These are essential workers who have performed their duties under such adverse conditions throughout the pandemic, yet they can’ t get a fair, negotiated deal from their employer, ” she said. “ They are not legally permitted to strike, but they’ re demonstrating that if they had the ability to take strike action, they would. ” | general |
Amazon prices likely going up with new ‘ fuel and inflation surcharge’ | Amazon is looking to offset costs to third-party sellers in the US resulting from soaring inflation and fuel prices. The new five percent “ fuel and inflation surcharge ” for sellers that use Amazon’ s fulfillment services will go into effect starting April 28. Since most items purchased off Amazon are from third-party sellers, you can expect these new costs to be passed along to shoppers.
89 percent of Amazon’ s over two million third-party sellers use Fulfillment by Amazon ( FBA) to leverage the retail giant’ s supply chain, warehouses, and shipping operations, reports Jungle Scout research.
“ In 2022, we expected a return to normalcy as Covid-19 restrictions around the world eased, but fuel and inflation have presented further challenges, ” said an Amazon spokesperson in an email to CNBC. “ It is still unclear if these inflationary costs will go up or down, or for how long they will persist, so rather than a permanent fee change, we will be employing a fuel and inflation surcharge for the first time — a mechanism broadly used across supply chain providers. ”
FedEx charges a fuel surcharge of 49 cents per unit while UPS charges 42 cents, according to CNBC. Amazon’ s surcharge is 24 cents.
US inflation hit 8.5 percent in March while gasoline was up 48 percent since last year, according to The New York Times. | tech |
Services Trade Insights from TFG - Page 7 of 66 | Welcome to Trade Finance Global. Browse and read the latest news, stories and educational insights from the world of trade and receivables finance. Stay up to date with the latest products, services and innovations in the market, bought to you by the Trade Finance Global team.
The digital transformation of the banking operations of guarantees and documentary credits to shift from the paper-based and labour-intensive models to a digital trade ecosystem.
The 2021 ICC Trade Register summary, on the credit risk profiles of trade finance, supply chain finance and export finance transactions. Read our summary on 38m transactions representing USD $ 19.2t exposures, and 28% of global trade flows.
Since the inception of UCP 600, trade finance professionals, in particular, the letter of credit community, have been discussing the need for and consequences of modifications and exclusions to the rules in commercial LCs issued under UCP 600.
Trade and economic activity are advancing at a rapid pace across the Middle East. How are governments across the region evolving and harnessing opportunities to enable high-speed economic activity?
Eighteen months into the COVID-19 pandemic and shipping bottlenecks are challenging companies to meet demand. The global outlook is uncertain, however, that does not mean doom and gloom, making way for a new thought process.
Deepesh Patel, Editor at Trade Finance Global, interviewed Enno-Burghard Weitzel Senior Vice President Strategy, Business Development, Digitization, at Surecomp to discuss MSMEs struggle to access finance and how technology can be crucial to trade growth.
TFG interviewed Robert Meters ( RM), Head of Marketing and Sales, Global Business & Financial Services at SCHUMANN to discuss how the trade credit insurance has changed as a result of the covid-19 pandemic.
Asian country’ s integration into global value chains remains surprisingly weak. Peter Born, Chief Representative for Commerzbank in Mumbai, examines why this is the case, and what steps are being taken to address the challenges of the business environment in the country.
Though you may be familiar with the terms demurrage and detention in the context of the container business, this article will be focusing on the process of laytime and demurrage in those cases where the vessel is chartered to move oil, chemicals, or dry bulk.
The Department for International Trade has recently published its Global Trade Outlook report. TFG summarised of the key points from the report, outlining what could be in store for global trade between now and 2050.
Your morning coffee briefing from TFG. Korea contributes CHF 290,000 to help developing countries participate in global trade, commodity dependence increased over the last decade, supply chains crisis will leave lasting change on globalisation, food price inflation increases pressure on poorer countries and Brexit trade barriers added £600m in costs to UK importers this year.
The TFG / Finastra’ s tradecast will explore how corporates are reacting to new levels of volatility, and ultimately, how technology and innovation can help build inclusive, resilient global value chains.
Global supply chains have been and continue to be deeply impacted by the changes that have taken place in the last 12 months. From the Suez canal debacle to the current shortage of HGV drivers in the UK, it is fair to say that the industry is, currently, facing significant challenges. | general |
WHO experts insist COVID-19 is still a global emergency | The World Health Organization’ s emergency committee on COVID-19 on Wednesday unanimously affirmed that the virus remains a major public health danger and insisted that countries must stop dropping their guard.
With many nations relaxing public health and social measures, and drastically reducing testing for the virus, the WHO’ s group of experts said the pandemic was far from being at an end.
“ Now is not the time to let our guard down — on the contrary, and this is an extremely strong recommendation, ” committee chair Didier Houssin told a news conference.
“ The situation is far from over with regard to the COVID-19 pandemic, the circulation of the virus is still very active, mortality remains high and the virus is evolving in an unpredictable way, ” the French doctor warned.
“ Now is not the time for relaxation on this virus, nor weakness in surveillance, testing and reporting, nor laxity in public and social health measures and no resignation when it comes to vaccination. ”
The committee meets every three months to discuss the pandemic and reports to WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
It concluded that the pandemic still constitutes a public health emergency of international concern ( PHEIC) — the highest level of alert that the WHO can sound.
The committee declared the COVID-19 outbreak a PHEIC on Jan. 30, 2020, when, outside of China, fewer than 100 cases and no deaths had been reported.
Though it is the internationally-agreed mechanism for triggering an international response to such outbreaks, it was only Tedros after describing the worsening situation as a pandemic on March 11 that many countries woke up to the danger.
“ The committee unanimously agreed that the COVID-19 pandemic still constitutes an extraordinary event that continues to adversely affect the health of populations around the world, poses an ongoing risk of international spread, ” it said in a statement Wednesday.
Globally, in the week to Sunday, the number of new COVID-19 cases and deaths continued to decline for a third consecutive week, with more than 7 million cases and over 22,000 deaths reported.
This was the lowest number of COVID-19 deaths since the early days of the pandemic.
However, some countries are still witnessing serious spikes in cases, which is putting pressure on hospitals, said Tedros, adding that the world is “ still in the middle of the pandemic. ”
“ This virus has over time become more transmissible and it remains deadly especially for the unprotected and unvaccinated that don’ t have access to health care and antivirals, ” he said.
Tedros urged people to get vaccinated and continue wearing masks, especially in crowded indoor spaces.
The WHO said the omicron variant accounted for 99.2% of samples collected in the last 30 days that have been sequenced and uploaded to the GISAID global science initiative, with the previously-dominant delta variant now less than 0.1%. | tech |
islamic finance TFG Hub | Your Monday morning coffee briefing from TFG: World’ s first: SME lending returned to pre-pandemic levels in 2021, but regions still playing catch-up to London, says latest British Business Bank report.
TFG’ s editor, Deepesh Patel, interviewed Nasser Al-Thekair, general manager of trade and business development at the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation ( ITFC), to discuss the impact of COVID-19 on Islamic Finance. | general |
Services Trade Insights from TFG - Page 4 of 66 | Welcome to Trade Finance Global. Browse and read the latest news, stories and educational insights from the world of trade and receivables finance. Stay up to date with the latest products, services and innovations in the market, bought to you by the Trade Finance Global team.
Trade Finance Global ( TFG) is pleased to announce that it will act as a media partner for the ICISA Surety Week 2022, a new event from the International Credit Insurance & Surety Association ( ICISA).
Let’ s look at the concept of “ delivery ” in EXW Incoterms 2020. The buyer must carry out export formalities, which can be problematic, but are there other potential problems that the rule does not explain?
It is important to understand that for the FCA rule “ delivery ” does not equal “ shipment. ” Bob Ronai discusses FCA Incoterms Rules
After another tumultuous year for trade finance in 2021, the industry is set to face a number of challenges – both old and new – as we head into 2022.
A new survey has found that the UK’ s post-pandemic recovery is losing momentum, as inflation worries spread and business sentiment turns negative.
The UK’ s trade deficit with China has more than tripled after a year of lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic. | general |
Santa Barbara Botanic Garden Holds Idyllic Beer Garden - The Santa Barbara Independent | 400 Guests Stroll Gardens Paths for Garden-Inspired Brews
After a two-year COVID hiatus, on April 2, the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden ( SBBG) held its annual Beer Garden fundraiser with 14 breweries and nine food purveyors offering their fare along the Garden’ s scenic paths. The pace of ticket sales once again showed the popularity of this event — the 400 tickets were gone in 2.5 days. The event netted more than $ 100,000 for the Garden’ s core programs in environmental education, conservation, research, and native plant horticulture.
At the pre-event VIP Grand Cru brunch, across the street at the Pritzlaff Conservation Center, guests enjoyed delectable offerings from multiple vendors, including sage-braised Cuyama Valley lamb carnitas from Cuyama Buckhorn, served by Executive Chef Daniel Horn, and beer cocktails concocted by The Good Lion using Cuyama Beverage Co. and brewLAB beer.
Executive Director Steve Windhager thanked guests for helping the Garden support California native plants and habitats around the state, ensuring that the diversity and beauty continues. He explained that the SBBG is all about conserving biodiversity as we face the threats of climate change, a task that is increasingly becoming more important.
In an interview, event Beer Curator and longtime Trustee Jesse Smith shared how breweries and food purveyors enjoy participating in the event because of its uniqueness — the meandering paths in a beautiful environment and the opportunity for expression afforded by incorporating plants grown at the Garden in their offerings. Events and Marketing Coordinator Elizabeth Raffensperger also related the enthusiasm of the brewers and chefs, whom she escorted through the Garden during pre-event tours, advising them on the Garden’ s edible offerings to inspire their special creations for the event.
Standouts included Night Lizard Brewing Company’ s Piney Double IPA finished with juniper and redwood, poured by owner John Nasser and Brewer Chip Nasser; Island Brewing’ s Island IPA infused with pozo blue sage and California sagebrush poured by Brewer Treven Yothers, and Figueroa Mountain’ s Paradise Road Pilsner infused with mugwort, black sage, white sage, and hummingbird sage. Other breweries incorporated wood mint and desert lavender in their brews. Some breweries were picturesquely placed amid ingredients used, like Rincon Brewery’ s site on a hilltop knoll surrounded by lavender. The tasting experience was enhanced by live instrumental music — guitar, banjo, and sax players in various gardens.
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On June 6, the Garden will open its four-acre Backcountry, where kids can play and connect with nature. The 10 distinct areas are designed to inspire unstructured, self-directed nature experiences. Board President Valerie Hoffman shared how the Garden saw a need for a space where kids can play in a natural environment rich with resources for learning and enjoyment. Here, children will be able to play in creeks and on logs and climb over stones. Especially in this digital age, Hoffman, added, it’ s important to help children learn to love the outdoors and understand the importance of conserving native plants for our future. Children learn best, Hoffman continued, when they are having fun, and this area is intended to provide lots and lots of fun.
According to Windhager, “ getting kids excited about nature isn’ t about presenting a set of facts or charts or even cool maps. It’ s about connecting with their instinct for story and play, igniting their imaginations, and stimulating their senses. ” The $ 4 million capital campaign, which includes an endowment for nature rangers and other expenses, is about $ 570,000 shy of its goal.
In July, the Garden will launch a five-week camp program for kids ages 5 to 10, largely in the Backcountry. Through its partnership with Police Activities League, the Garden will provide some scholarships.
On its 78 acres, SBBG has more than five miles of trails surrounded by more than 1,000 different taxa of plants. Its 23-member conservation team is currently working on 70-plus projects from Northern California to Baja. SBBG offers classes for the general public. Memberships provide essential support and come with myriad benefits. The Garden is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., now by reservation only ( except for members) because of increased attendance and the county-imposed annual visitor cap.
Send invites to gail @ independent.com.
Support the Santa Barbara Independent through a long-term or a single contribution. | general |
Behind the Idea: LendInvest | Not only did this prove vital for its existing customers, but also provided support for new borrowers at a time of great uncertainty. The pandemic certainly presented some obstacles but it took these as opportunities to seek new and improved solutions for our customers – with valuers unable to access properties for a prolonged period, the team worked quickly to develop a desktop valuation product, becoming one of the first specialist lenders to do so.
Christian Faes, executive chairman and co-founder, 2008, Faes co-founded the business with Ian Thomas. Faes is a keen advocate for the fintech sector, and sits on the Government’ s Fintech Delivery Panel; he also founded and chairs the Fintech Founder group.
What has been the traditional company response to financial technology innovations nationally?
I think that companies are starting to embrace financial technology, and this is probably being driven by consumers. We’ re all used to ordering our food, taxis and pretty much whatever we want online and with our mobile phones or tablets – and so consumers now are starting to expect that sort of convenience in all areas of their lives, and this includes how they interact with and manage their money.
How has this changed over the past few years?
Covid has seen a huge acceleration of the trend towards people embracing technology. People who went regularly into a bank branch prior to covid, are probably now interacting with their bank online – and many people are probably wondering what they ever really need their banks for. I believe that the rise in popularity of fintech services and the increasing number of fintech companies coming to market has shown that, in many respects the banks are the utilities that hold your money, but if you want to borrow, invest, or anything additional to that, then a traditional bank is probably the last place you go to for any sort of tech-enabled service.
Is there anything that has created a culture of change inside the company?
Covid forced our company online and to communicate amongst the team remotely, which I think we did incredibly well. However, you can’ t beat the true collaboration that comes from having a group of people in the same room together – and we are now seeing people wanting to come back. LendInvest has a great culture, where we definitely work hard and play hard. One of our company values is that ‘ we’ re playing to win’, and so we want to ensure that people have the right balance in their lives i.e. through working from home if they need to, but also are brought together physically to deliver on our ambitions as a business and to enjoy our fantastic team environment.
What fintech ideas have been implemented?
We were the first mortgage lender to use open banking in the UK. We feel that this has revolutionised the customer experience of interacting with LendInvest – this technology is a game-changer in the mortgage market in terms of speeding up and simplifying previously lengthy processes. This has also been a massive benefit for our business as it has driven serious efficiencies.
What benefits have these brought?
Prior to open banking, we, like pretty much every other lender still does, would require borrowers to provide PDF’ s of their bank statements. Now with open banking, a customer will get a link on their mobile phone and we will be able to pull the data that we need directly from their bank account. It will take a matter of seconds, be a far easier and more convenient experience for the borrower – and then for us, the processing time to assess this data has gone from about 45 minutes ( prior to open banking) to now being something like five minutes. It’ s no wonder that we lend the volumes we do with only c200 people in the business, when competitors doing similar volumes to us have over 1000 people. We are a technology-driven machine, and this is just the tip of the iceberg of what we have developed and are continuing to build.
Do you see any other industry challenges on the horizon?
There are plenty. Market volatility, interest rates rising, other covid mutations, market blow-ups hurting sentiment etc… it also remains an extremely competitive market for talent, and so companies will continue to have to work to ensure that they can attract and retain the best people in the market in order to continue to be leaders and at the forefront of innovation. At LendInvest we work incredibly hard to make it a great place to work, from culture to compensation, and to have a wholly inclusive and fast-paced environment for people – so that the people that thrive on solving challenges and moving at pace, are attracted to come and work with us.
Can these challenges be aided by fintech?
Our offerings, like many other fintech offerings, will be increasingly relevant in an increasingly complicated world and economy that requires simple but effective solutions. I am truly passionate about the world of fintech and the brilliant people within it and I would very much encourage those considering a role in the field.
Francis is a junior journalist with a BA in Classical Civilization, he has a specialist interest in North and South America.
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Chine: à Shanghai, la grogne des habitants épuisés et exaspérés par la stratégie « zéro covid » se fait entendre | « La police bat le peuple » hurle une femme les mains posées sur le bitume, tandis qu’ un homme est repoussé derrière un mur de de combinaisons blanches estampillées « police » qui, par temps de Covid, donnent aux agents de la sécurité publique en Chine, un air de soldat de l’ empire dans La Guerre des étoiles. Mais il ne s’ agit pas d’ un film. Ces images rares de manifestations et d’ affrontements avec les forces de l’ ordre ont été postées toute la journée sur les réseaux sociaux, effacées par les censeurs, puis repostées par les internautes, rapporte notre correspondant à Pékin, Stéphane Lagarde.
Apr 14 afternoon: residents of Zhangjiang Nashi International Community ( 张江纳仕国际社区), Shanghai protested against the requisition of their apartment buildings by the government for use as quarantine facilities and clashed with the police.1/n pic.twitter.com/jngxcWri5F
Une partie des résidents auraient accepté d’ être relogés pendant six mois gratuitement en banlieue de la ville affirment les comptes officiels. Selon le code civil de la République Populaire de Chine, « les biens immobiliers d’ une organisation ou des individus peuvent être réquisitionnés pour des besoins d’ urgence », ont rappelé les autorités. Face à l’ ampleur du mécontentement, les responsables locaux de la santé ont dû toutefois reconnaître « de nombreuses lacunes » dans la gestion du confinement de la mégalopole, avant de demander aux 25 millions d’ habitant de la mégalopole « de les critiquer et de les aider à améliorer les choses ».
► À lire aussi: en Chine, flambée Omicron, Shanghai au balcon
Face à la colère qui monte, les gendarmes du net peinent de plus en plus à faire disparaître tout commentaire critique. Très actif sur les réseaux sociaux, Ji Xialong fait partie de ceux qui défient la censure. Enfermé chez lui dans le quartier d’ affaires de Pudong, cœur battant de Shanghai aujourd’ hui mis sous cloche, ce Chinois n’ en peut plus de la stratégie du « zéro covid » appliquée coûte que coûte par les autorités. Et il ose le dire au micro de Yang Mei, de la rédaction chinoise de RFI: « Xi Jinping et le Parti communiste essaieront d'atteindre à tout prix leurs objectifs pour ne pas perdre la face. Même si cela coûte le bien-être, les moyens de subsistance et même la vie de 26 millions de Shanghaiens. Ils seront prêts à dire des mensonges, à défier les lois de la nature, ils feront l'autruche, ils essaieront tout, mais ilsn'arriveront pas à leurs fins et ils paieront un lourd tribut social. »
L’ exaspération des confinés ne semble en effet pas faire bouger les lignes à Pékin. Le numéro Un chinois l’ a encore affirmé mercredi 13 avril, les mesures de protection « ne peuvent être assouplies », a annoncé Xi Jinping « tant que la pandémien'est pas entièrement sous contrôle ».
►À lire aussi: La Corée du Sud lève l'ensemble des restrictions sanitaires à l'exception du port du masque
Les avions sont rares. Les précédents vols Air France ont été annulés, aussi celui de ce vendredi soir est plein. Une partie des passagers avaient prévu de partir cet été mais le confinement de la capitale économique chinoise a accéléré le mouvement. Ecoutez le témoignage d'une Française, jointe par notre correspondant à Pékin.
Nous sommes testés tous les jours... Nous ne pouvons pas sortir de notre maison... C'est impossible pour un Français qui n ' a vécu en Chine d'imaginer ce qu'on peut nous imposer. Tant qu'on ne l ' a pas vécu... C'est impensable. | general |
Bob Brockman's cognitive function has deteriorated, his lawyers say | Lawyers for Bob Brockman say his cognitive functioning has deteriorated after a recent illness and that the former Reynolds and Reynolds Co. CEO is not competent to stand trial on federal charges of tax evasion and wire fraud.
Brockman, 80, contracted COVID-19 in December and was hospitalized a month later with acute prostatitis and toxic metabolic encephalopathy, according to a court filing Wednesday. The medical conditions caused his cognitive decline — the result of dementia, `` most likely caused by Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease '' — to worsen, his attorneys wrote.
Follow-up visits with his primary care doctor, the neurologist treating him for Parkinson's disease and Dr. Thomas Wisniewski, a neurologist at New York University who served as an expert witness for the defense at a competency hearing in November, `` confirm that Mr. Brockman's cognitive function has declined, and provide further support that he is incompetent to stand trial, '' his lawyers wrote in the filing.
`` In the alternative, at the very least, these latest events counsel in favor of an independent competency examination by neutral experts to assess Mr. Brockman's present cognitive ability, '' they wrote in the filing.
Brockman was indicted in October 2020 on 39 federal counts, including tax evasion, wire fraud, money laundering and evidence tampering, and pleaded not guilty. He stepped down from his role as chairman and CEO of dealership management system giant Reynolds in November 2020.
A competency hearing was held after his attorneys said he has dementia that is progressive and incurable and has made it difficult for him to retain and process information. Prosecutors, meanwhile, contend he has faked his symptoms to avoid prosecution.
Medical experts for both prosecutors and defense attorneys generally agreed in their testimony during the competency hearing that Brockman likely has Parkinson's disease, though they differed on the extent of his cognitive impairment.
U.S. District Judge George Hanks Jr. has not yet ruled on Brockman's competency. The issue only addresses whether Brockman can understand the case and assist with his defense to proceed to trial, not whether he was competent at the time of the alleged offenses.
Prosecutors had not filed a response to the defense court filing as of Thursday morning. The government declined to comment to Automotive News.
Brockman's lawyers included a letter from Wisniewski in Wednesday's court filing. Wisniewski examined Brockman by videoconference this month. He said Brockman did not recognize him, could not offer details about his medical condition and showed `` severe impairment of memory and cognition, '' according to his letter.
He added that Brockman's `` dementia has significantly progressed '' since Wisniewski's last evaluation, in October 2021, before the competency hearing, adding that `` there is no expectation that he will recover cognitively. ''
Separately, Brockman's lawyers asked Hanks in a March 29 letter to schedule a time for oral argument in a civil case they brought against the government challenging the IRS ' jeopardy assessment related to what the agency says is $ 1.4 billion owed in taxes and penalties.
Brockman's lawyers said in the letter that `` the IRS is actively seizing and placing liens on assets belonging to Mr. Brockman, as well as assets belonging solely to his wife and other third parties '' and that he is not moving to put his assets out of the government's reach, despite its claims.
Government lawyers have called the IRS ' actions `` reasonable and appropriate '' in their own filings, citing allegations that Brockman has used offshore entities to conceal assets.
Hanks has not yet ruled in the civil case. | general |
BMW, FAW, Toyota, VW resume output at some plants | BMW Group said production at all its plants in the northeastern Chinese city of Shenyang resumed on Thursday.
The German automaker had suspended output in Shenyang since March 24 because of COVID-19 control measures.
BMW and its Chinese joint venture partner, Brilliance China Automotive, operate a Shenyang manufacturing base that includes two vehicle assembly plants, a research and development center and a powertrain plant.
State-owned Chinese automaker FAW Group has restarted some production at its Hongqi plant in Jilin, the official Xinhua News Agency reported on Thursday, as the northeastern province emerges from a COVID-19 lockdown.
FAW's joint ventures with Toyota and Volkswagen will also gradually resume operations at local plants, Xinhua said. | general |
Ford Q1 sales slip 19% | Ford Motor Co. and its joint ventures sold roughly 125,000 vehicles in China in the first quarter, a drop of 19 percent from the same period last year.
Ford’ s China unit blamed the drop on the persistent semiconductor chip shortage and the negative impact from resurgent coronavirus outbreaks in the country.
Lincoln deliveries edged up 0.8 percent to 19,471 during the period and Ford-brand passenger vehicles fell 17 percent to 46,719.
Ford operates two joint ventures in China.
Changan Ford, a partnership with Changan Automobile Co., produces Ford-badged sedans and crossovers as well as four Lincoln models -- the Corsair, Aviator and Nautilus SUVs and the Zephyr sedan.
Jiangling Motors Corp., a partnership with Jiangling Motors Group, builds crossovers, SUVs, multi-purpose vehicles and vans for the Ford brand. It also assembles JMC-badged SUVs, pickups and trucks.
Ford China didn’ t disclose sales of Ford-badged commercial vehicles or JMC-brand vehicles for the first quarter. | general |
First In-Person Santa Barbara School Board Meeting Gets Personal - The Santa Barbara Independent | Santa Barbara Unified School District Board Encountered Hostile Speakers and Personal Attacks
The Santa Barbara Unified School District board opened its meeting to the public in-person for the first time in two years on April 12, and the meeting quickly devolved into chaos and aggression as several public speakers attempted to shout over board members and others engaged in personal attacks during their comments.
On the COVID-19 front, the board announced that students or staff members in the district who have been exposed to a symptomatic person will no longer need to quarantine themselves, regardless of vaccination status. Other changes include continuing all in-school and after-school activities, and opening campus water fountains. COVID-19 testing for at least 10 percent of the district population will continue, as will random, group, and symptomatic testing, and testing student athletes and students going on overnight trips.
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Public speakers displayed heightened emotions and outright hostility toward Boardmember Wendy Sims-Moten during discussions on COVID-19 protocols, students’ learning progress, absenteeism and suspensions, and updates on 12 racial incidents, clapping loudly after one another or engaging in shouting matches with Sims-Moten.
During the discussion on the racial incidents, Goleta resident Greg Hammel, an unsuccessful candidate for the Goleta School Board, argued that the Just Communities anti-bias training was the reason these incidents occurred. “ Just Communities made things worse by teaching the table of oppression, ” Hammel said. When Sims-Moten leaned her cheek on her hand as Hammel spoke, he chided her, calling the motion disrespectful and mimicking the motion several times. Sims-Moten asked him to “ just continue speaking, ” but Hammel refused until Sims-Moten said she would conclude his time for commenting. After Hammel finished his comments, Sims-Moten explained the district had not renewed its contract with Just Communities this school year; Hammel then began shouting from the back of the room. Sims-Moten aksed once again for members of the public to remain respectful of the board’ s time.
Another speaker, Brian Campbell, who unsuccessfully ran for Santa Barbara City Council and school board in recent years, took issue with the district contracting James Joyce III as a consultant to facilitate conversations on race with families impacted by the recent incidents. He and other speakers, including former Goleta City Council candidate Justin Shores, accused Joyce of holding no credentials and being hired by the district due to his affiliation with local Democrats. “ Nice little gimmick; because he’ s Black, you said ‘ Let’ s have him.’ Because he lost the mayoral election, let’ s hire a Black guy, ” Campbell said. Sim-Moten asked Campbell to keep his comments general and to refrain from using racial undertones. Campbell argued that Joyce’ s program is called “ Coffee with a Black Guy ” and repeated the title numerous times as Sims-Moten told him to continue with his comments.
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the US TFG Hub | In their response to the Covid-19 pandemic, governments have learned and applied many of the lessons of past crises. Early testing and tracing at scale gave countries including Germany, Taiwan and South Korea a lead in combating the virus.
Europe is a large and attractive market for commodities, heavily dominated by Russian exporters, or at least it was, until Donald Trump stepped into power. His promise to supply Eastern… read more → | general |
Coachella 2022 Lineup & Schedule: See Who’ s Performing | Coachella is back, baby, with more than 150 music artists set to take the festival's seven stages. There 've been some changes to the Coachella 2022 lineup and schedule, so read on to learn more about the two-weekend festival's roster.
The Coachella Valley Music and Arts festival will take place from April 15-17 and April 22-24, 2022, at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California. One of the most famous music festivals in the world, Coachella makes a comeback this year after being cancelled in both 2020 and 2021 due to the ongoing COVID-19 global pandemic. Many COVID-19 health and safety mandates are currently being lifted across America, allowing the festival to be held in accordance to local guidelines.
Festival-goers will now be able to party in the desert once again, for two full weekends of music, art, and tons of iconic style moments.
In 2018, Coachella's headliners were The Weekend, Beyoncé — who delivered a set of performances now known as Beychella, and cemented herself in history as the first Black woman to headline the festival — and Eminem. In 2019, the festival's last run before its two-year hiatus, Childish Gambino, Tame Impala, and Ariana Grande performed as headliners. In 2020, prior to its cancellation, Rage Against the Machine, Travis Scott, and Frank Ocean were intended to headline the event.
This year, Coachella's headliners are Harry Styles, Billie Eilish, and Swedish House Mafia x The Weeknd. ( Rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, was an original headliner for Coachella 2022, but pulled out of the festival on April 4.)
More than 40 of the performers listed on the Coachella 2020 lineup poster are included once again in Coachella 2022's lineup, like Megan Thee Stallion, Daniel Caesar, Doja Cat, Girl in Red, Conan Gray, and EPIK HIGH.
Popstar Harry Styles is the festival headliner for April 15 and April 22, and it will be Harry's first time performing at Coachella. Harry will make his Coachella debut about a month before the release of his junior solo album Harry's House, expected May 20.
It will be at Coachella 2022 that Harry will perform his first single from the album, “ As It Was, ” live for the first time ever. ( We're not screaming, you're screaming.) On April 9, rumors emerged about Harry's Coachella setlist, prompting a whirlwind of emotions from fans — the “ leaked ” setlist includes many of the singer's hits from HS1 and HS2, as well as a supposed cover of One Direction's “ What Makes You Beautiful. ”
Hm… guess we 'll just have to wait and see. Harry Styles will be taking the main stage at 11:35 p.m. PT.
Grammy-winning rapper Lil Baby was Apple Music's 2020 Artist of the Year, and and is the second-billed act on Coachella's Friday dates. Lil Baby released a collab with Nicki Minaj back in February 2022, called “ Do We Have A Problem? ''
Lil Baby will be performing at 8:25 p.m. PT.
Silver-haired indie rock singer-songwriter Phoebe Bridgers will take the Coachella stage on April 15 and 22, after announcing a new original song called “ Sidelines ” for the Hulu series Conversations With Friends.
Phoebe Bridgers will be performing at 9:10 p.m. PT.
At the 2022 Grammys, 21-year-old rapper Baby Keem took home his first award for Best Rap Performance for his Platinum-certified song “ Family Ties ” with cousin Kendrick Lamar.
Baby Keem will be performing at 9:35 p.m. PT.
Initially on the Saturday slate for Coachella, Anitta's set has been moved to Friday. The Brazilian singer announced the change herself on Twitter, writing “ Can't wait, it's gon na be insane! ” Anitta also released her fifth album, Versions of Me, on April 12.
Anitta will be performing at 6:00 p.m. PT.
Californian singer-songwriter Still Woozy is most known for his 2017 hit “ Goodie Bag, '' and recently released a collaboration with fellow genre-bending artist Remi Wolf, called “ Pool. ”
Still Woozy will be performing at 4:25 p.m. PT.
Swedish R & B darling Snoah Aalegra released her third studio album last summer, titled Temporary Highs in the Violet Skies — the project nabbed a nomination for Best R & B Album at the 2022 Grammys.
Snoh Aalegra will be performing at 10:35 p.m. PT.
R & B singer NIKI was most recently featured on the official soundtrack for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, performing solo on “ Every Summertime, ” as well as contributing to three other songs on the soundtrack.
Omar Apollo released his debut studio album Ivory on April 8. The album features Apollo's hit single “ Invincible ” with Daniel Caesar, who is also performing at Coachella 2022… on the same date. It's possible the two singers might perform the song together at the festival — fingers crossed!
Omar Apollo will be performing at 5:05 p.m. PT.
Korean Hip-Hop group Epik High will make history as they take the festival stage on Friday, April 15 and 22, as the group is the first ever Korean act to play Coachella. Epik High was one of the acts included on the 2020 festival roster, and was re-invited to perform for Coachella 2022.
Epik High will be performing at 10:45 p.m. PT.
R & B singer Ari Lennox released her hit single “ Pressure ” back in September 2021 — which made the Billboard Hot 100 — and most recently appeared on the fourth compilation album from Dreamville Records, D-Day: A Gangsta Grillz Mixtape. Originally set to perform on the Sunday dates, Lennox's set has been moved to the Fridays.
Ari Lennox will be performing at 4:50 p.m. PT.
Formerly known as YBN Cordae, the 24-year-old rapper ( who is notably dating tennis star Naomi Osaka) recently released his sophomore album From a Birds Eye View in January 2022.
Cordae will be performing at 7:05 p.m. PT.
Los Angeles-based punk rock band The Regrettes, fronted by singer Lydia Night, return to the Coachella stage after playing the festival in 2018.
The Regrettes will be performing at 3:20 p.m. PT.
Ethereal R & B-pop singer Raveena was set to perform at Coachella for the first time in 2020, but the festival was ultimately cancelled due to COVID-19. When Coachella 2022's lineup was announced, Raveena tweeted the lineup poster with a smiling selfie, writing: “ Let's try this again lol. ”
Raveena will be performing at 3:20 p.m. PT.
Playing Coachella on April 16 and 23, Billie Eilish returns to Indio after previously playing the festival in 2019. At 20 years old, Billie is the youngest Coachella headliner in history. The singer released her sophomore album Happier Than Ever during the summer of 2021, and recently took home her first Academy Award for Best Original Song for the James Bond anthem “ No Time to Die, ” which was co-written with her brother Finneas.
Billie and Finneas, who are both playing Coachella this year on different dates, also wrote three original songs for the critically-acclaimed Pixar film Turning Red. Eilish just wrapped up the North American leg of her concert tour, “ Happier Than Ever, The World Tour. ”
Billie Eilish will be taking the main stage at 11:30 p.m. PT.
Megastar rapper Megan Thee Stallion will make her Coachella debut at the 2022 event, and has been excitedly discussing her appearance at the festival on social media. Megan has shared with fans that she’ s going makeup-free until her performances, and on April 7, hinted at performing new music during her set.
“ I got this song that I recorded and every time I play it for a woman they start jumping and clapping, ” Meg tweeted with a laughing emoji. `` I think I wan na perform it at Coachella for the first time before I actually drop it. ''
Megan Thee Stallion will be performing at 10:05 p.m. PT.
Rapper 21 Savage has appeared at Coachella before, in 2018 as a guest performer during Post Malone and Cardi B’ s sets. Now, the rapper will take the stage on his own. 21 recently appeared on Latto’ s sophomore album 777.
21 Savage will be performing at 12:05 a.m. PT.
R & B singer Giveon recently released his compilation album When It's All Said and Done... Take Time in 2021, and appeared on frequent collaborator Drake’ s album Certified Lover Boy the same year.
Giveon will be performing at 5:30 p.m. PT.
First formed in 2010, Brockhampton sadly announced in January 2022 that the band would be going on an indefinite hiatus. The Hip-Hop/popstars have released six studio albums together, with the most recent one being 2021’ s Roadrunner: New Light, New Machine.
Coachella 2022 will be Brockhampton’ s final performance together. In their statement announcing their disbandment, they invited fans “ to come celebrate the end of an era with them. ”
Brockhampton will be performing at 8:25 p.m. PT.
Queer indie pop singer-songwriter Girl in Red was initially on the Coachella 2020 lineup, and spoke out about playing the event after controversy emerged about the festival owner’ s donations to anti-LGBT organizations.
Back in 2020, she said that she would refuse to be silenced and promised fans a “ f * * * ing lit gay ass show ” that would “ create a safe and accepting space for all the queer and straight ” people in attendance. We’ re sure she’ ll deliver on that promise with her Coachella 2022 set.
Girl in Red will be performing at 5:50 p.m. PT.
Wallows previously played Coachella back in 2019, but will return to the festival this year with a much bigger following. The alt-rock band recently released their sophomore album, Tell Me That It’ s Over, on March 25.
( Fun fact: Wallows frontman Dylan Minnette and his girlfriend Lydia Night, front woman of The Regrettes, will both be playing at Coachella 2022.)
Wallows will be performing at 4:40 p.m. PT.
Reigning pop prince for sad Internet teens Conan Gray will make his Coachella debut on the festival’ s Saturday dates, only two months ahead of the release of his sophomore studio album Superache, expected June 24.
Conan Gray will be performing at 4:20 p.m. PT.
Grammy-winning Jamaican reggae star Koffee will also make her Coachella debut this year, coming off the heels of her debut album Gifted, released on March 25.
Koffee will be performing at 2:00 p.m. PT.
Singer-songwriter Caroline Polachek will hit up Coachella before heading across the pond to perform at more music festivals in Europe until July 2022.
Caroline Polachek will be performing at 7:15 p.m. PT.
After releasing her debut album Sawayama in 2020, Rina Sawayama has been featured on songs this year with Pabllo Vittar ( “ Follow Me ”) and Charli XCX ( “ Beg For You ”).
Rina Sawayama will be performing at 6:00 p.m. PT.
Experimental pop band Japanese Breakfast, fronted by Korean-American musician Michelle Zauner, recently earned two Grammy noms at the 2022 Grammys — one for Best New Artist and another for Best Alternative Music Album for their 2021 album Jubilee.
Japanese Breakfast will be performing at 4:40 p.m. PT.
Swedish House Mafia and The Weekend will headline Coachella 2022 on April 17 and April 24. Both acts have previously performed at Coachella — SHM in 2012 and The Weekend back in 2012 and 2018. The two acts will unite on stage, to seemingly perform together.
The house music supergroup and the popstar were added to the Coachella lineup on April 6, only a few weeks before the festival was set to begin, after previous headliner Ye dropped out. The two acts collaborated together in 2021, with song “ Moth To A Flame ” that appeared on SHM’ s album Paradise Again, and again in 2022, with the “ Alternate World ” remix of “ Sacrifice, ” off of The Weeknd’ s album Dawn FM.
Swedish House Mafia x The Weeknd will be taking the main stage at 10:20 p.m. PT.
Megastar rapper Doja Cat will take the Coachella stage after recently taking home her first Grammy Award at the Grammys 2022, for Best Pop Duo Performance for her chart-topping collab with SZA, “ Kiss Me More. ”
Doja Cat will perform on the main stage at 8:30 p.m. PT.
Colombian reggaeton star Karol G is one of many Latin acts taking over the Coachella stage this year, and will perform after recently releasing “ Un Viaje, ” a collab with Puerto Rican singers Jotaerre, Alejo and Moffa.
Karol G will be performing at 7:00 p.m. PT.
Ahead of the release of her sophomore studio album Surrender, out July 29, Maggie Rogers will return to Coachella after first playing the festival in 2019.
Maggie Rogers will be performing at 5:45 p.m. PT.
Italian rock band Måneskin will play Coachella after a big year, winning the 2021 Eurovision Song Contest and appearing on international charts with their viral TikTok hit “ Beggin’. ”
Måneskin will be performing at 8:30 p.m. PT.
Rapper Denzel Curry released his fifth studio album Melt My Eyez See Your Future on March 25, which included features from T-Pain, Rico Nasty, and fellow Coachella 2022 performers J.I.D. and Slowthai.
Denzel Curry will be performing at 9:40 p.m. PT.
24-year-old singer-songwriter Finneas recently released his first new song of 2022, titled “ Naked ” — and will join his sister Billie Eilish as a performer at Coachella 2022.
Finneas will be performing at 5:05 p.m. PT.
British indie rockstar Beabadoobee will take the Coachella stage after recently announcing her sophomore album Beatopia, expected July 15.
Beabadoobee will be performing at 4:00 p.m. PT.
Singer-songwriter Olivia O’ Brien was on the original Coachella 2020 lineup, but will finally play the festival this year after having a viral TikTok hit ( “ Josslyn ”) and releasing her second studio album Episodes: Season 1.
Olivia O'Brien will be performing at 2:45 p.m. PT.
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Volkswagen sees impact of Ukraine war despite profit bounce | Hi, what are you looking for?
German auto giant Volkswagen said Thursday its first quarter operating profit increased significantly in 2022.
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German auto giant Volkswagen said Thursday its first quarter operating profit increased significantly in 2022, while warning that the “ first effects ” of the war in Ukraine were beginning to be felt.
The group’ s operating profit, a measure of profitability closely watched by investors, rose to 8.5 billion euros ( $ 9.3 billion) over the first three months of the year from 4.8 billion euros in the same period last year, according to preliminary figures.
The boost was down to strong “ operating performance ” and a positive effect of 3.5 billion euros thanks to hedges against the changing price of raw materials.
The turbulence on commodities markets could be traced back to the “ ongoing war in Ukraine ”, which has pushed up prices, Volkswagen said in a statement.
Supply chain impacts could also be seen, with deliveries from suppliers in Ukraine being limited.
The lack of critical car parts has already forced Volkswagen, along with other German carmakers, to curtail production at some plants, while exports to Russia have been halted.
The course of the war and the impact on Volkswagen “ can not be predicted with sufficient certainty ” but risked having a “ negative impact ” on the Wolfsburg-based group.
Volkswagen also said it delivered some 500,000 fewer cars in the first quarter of 2022 than in the previous year, a 22-percent drop.
The continued impact of the coronavirus pandemic, which has recently led to widespread lockdowns in China, a key market, also loomed over the auto manufacturer’ s future performance.
As did the possibility of further disruption to supply chains “ especially for semiconductors ”, a key component in both conventional and electric vehicles.
The two effects already conspired to make business difficult for Volkswagen in 2021. Despite net profits rising by 75 percent to 15.4 billion euros, the 12-brand group delivered 600,000 fewer units last year, as lockdowns and shortages caused interruptions in production.
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The Russian navy's Black Sea flagship is `` seriously damaged '' by an ammunition explosion, state media says.
Web3 has become a notable topic in the technology world over the past year.
ECB is faced with the challenge of threading a response between record-high inflation and weak growth due to the war in Ukraine.
The Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos III ( C) arrives for a meeting with other religious leaders at the Petra Hotel at the Jaffa...
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Asia Pacific Ablation Devices Market Size | Asia Pacific Ablation Devices Market size valued at USD 1.5 billion in 2021 and is expected to exhibit around 12.6% CAGR from 2022 to 2028.
Ablation devices are medical devices that provides minimal invasive treatments to remove aberrant tissues from the body. These devices utilize the heat generated through radiofrequency, extreme cold, energy, laser to persuade minor burns. Ablation devices are used as alternative surgical treatments in ophthalmology, cancer, gynecology, and cardiovascular disorders for better procedural efficacy.
Growing prevalence of several chronic diseases is one of the major factors augmenting the industry growth. Further, several governments undertaking initiatives to broaden treatment availability and accessibility to cater increasing patient population will contribute to the market growth. Furthermore, increase in patient preference towards minimally invasive procedures coupled with growing awareness regarding advanced treatment procedures will positively influence the market demand.
Although the COVID-19 pandemic has negatively influenced the sales of ablation devices. The market garnered attention as the frequency of COVID-19 cases declined in 2021. The availability of treatment and preventive care for COVID-19 virus leading to a lower mortality and infection severity has permitted regular practise of elective procedures in healthcare organisations. Thus, the growing number of patient admissions for elective procedures in clinical settings had favourable impact the industry demand.
The Asia Pacific ablation devices market from radiofrequency devices segment accounted for more than USD 800 million revenue in 2021, owing to the increasing prevalence rate of chronic diseases, rising availability of advanced technology enabled devices and growing demand for minimally invasive procedures. Additionally, rising awareness initiatives about advanced treatment procedural alternatives in developing nations such as China and India will offer substantial segment growth opportunities. Moreover, Radiofrequency devices offers several benefits including minimal scarring, enhanced recovery rate, reduced side effects, and minimal damage to the surrounding tissues.
The cardiology segment will surpass USD 1,500 million revenue by 2028, due to the high incidence rate of cardiovascular disorders such as atrial fibrillation, hypertension, tachycardia, and cardiac arrhythmia. Growing adoption of several risk factors such as smoking, alcohol intake, unhealthy lifestyle and obesity are considerably contributing to the cardiovascular disease burden. Moreover, rapid growth of geriatric population in developing nations leads to the higher incidence of cardiovascular diseases.
The hospitals segment held over 50% Asia Pacific ablation devices market share in 2021, attributed to the increasing adoption of advanced ablation devices in the settings. Also rising government funding for hospital infrastructure leads to surge in spending ability of hospital settings on technologically advanced products. Moreover, presence of skilled personnel and availability of advanced equipment for screening, diagnostic and treatment of several chronic diseases will propel patient preference for hospital.
China ablation devices market dominated around 27% revenue share in 2021. Increasing geriatric population is expected to enhance demand for ablation treatment procedures. Moreover, higher chronic disease burden in the country will fuel the procedural volume thereby, accelerating demand for ablation devices. Furthermore, increasing awareness initiatives to expand treatment accessibility in remote areas will contribute to the industry expansion. Further, high disposable income, developing healthcare infrastructure, high healthcare spending will drive the market growth.
Major players involved in the Asia Pacific ablation devices market include Alcon Laboratories, Abbott Laboratories, AngioDynamics, Bausch & Lomb Incorporated, AtriCure, Inc, Biotronik SE & Co. KG, CONMED Corporation, Boston Scientific Corporation, Elekta AB, Varian, Medtronic plc, Olympus Corporation, and Ethicon, Inc ( Johnson & Johnson) among others.
These companies are continuously implementing several growth strategies such as acquisitions & merger, product launches, partnerships and collaborations to strengthen product portfolio and cater large patient pool. For instance, in November 2021, Medtronic plc. launched the Arctic Front cardiac cryoablation catheter system to treat atrial fibrillation in India. These has strengthened company’ s product offerings in the market.
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Ukraine Update: Zelenskiy Hails 50 Days of Resistance to Russia | The information you requested is not available at this time, please check back again soon.
( Bloomberg) -- President Volodymyr Zelenskiy marked 50 days of Ukrainian resistance in his nightly video address. Russia lost the flagship vessel of its Black Sea Fleet, delivering a blow to its pride and military capabilities as it repositions its forces for renewed attacks in eastern and southern parts of Ukraine.
U.S. President Joe Biden said he’ s considering sending a senior official to visit Ukraine. European Union leaders plan to discuss common gas purchases at a summit next month, as they seek to avoid competing against each other for alternative energy supplies while reducing imports from Russia.
U.S. prosecutors charged three Russian government officials with conspiring to shape American policy toward Russia with staged events and propaganda -- including efforts to influence members of Congress.
( See RSAN on the Bloomberg Terminal for the Russian Sanctions Dashboard.)
Zelenskiy Hails Ukrainian Resolve After 50 Days of War ( 8:41 a.m.)
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy hailed Ukrainian resolve Thursday night as Russia’ s war reached its 50th day. Moscow “ gave us a maximum of five ” when it invaded on Feb. 24, he said in his nightly video address to the nation. “ They didn’ t know how brave Ukrainians are, how much we value freedom and the possibility to live the way we want. ”
Zelenskiy made an indirect reference to the Russian cruiser Moskva, which sank Thursday night while being towed to port. He praised “ those who showed that Russian warships can sail away, even if it’ s to the bottom. ”
Russia May Review Its Maritime Posture After Moskva Sinking ( 8:07 a.m.)
The sinking of the Moskva, Russia’ s flagship Black Sea vessel, on top of that of an Alligator-class landing ship on March 24 “ will likely lead Russia to review its maritime posture in the Black Sea, ” the U.K. Ministry of Defence said in an intelligence update.
The Moskva “ served a key role as both a command vessel and air defense node, ” and only returned to operational status in 2021 after a lengthy refit, the U.K. said.
U.S. Has ‘ Long Playbook’ on Sanctions, Official Tells FT ( 7:00 a.m.)
Besides a long list of potential additional sanctions against Moscow, the U.S. sees little scope for lifting existing ones, a senior State Department official told the Financial Times.
“ Everything is on the table, ” said Jose Fernandez, US under-secretary for economic growth, energy and the environment. “ And in that playbook, several pages have not been read out. ”
Fernandez said it would be up to Ukraine to decide whether an easing of Western sanctions should be part of any peace deal negotiated with Moscow.
Russia Mulls Limiting Coking Coal Exports ( 6:15 a.m.)
Russia’ s Energy Ministry and Industry Ministry are working on introducing restrictions on the exports of coking coal, RBC reported, citing an unidentified government official and the Energy Ministry’ s press service. The measure may help decrease coal prices on the domestic market.
Oil Posts Gains as EU Considers Russia Ban ( 1:22 a.m.)
Oil notched a weekly gain as traders weighed a global supply deficit, a potential ban on Russian oil from the European Union and China’ s latest virus lockdowns. West Texas Intermediate settled near $ 107, rising 8.8% 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.
Russian Warship Sinks on Way Back to Port, Moscow Says ( 10:19 p.m.)
Russia’ s Moskva cruiser, the flagship of its Black Sea fleet, sank during a storm while it was being towed back to port, the Defense Ministry in Moscow said, according to Tass news agency.
Ukraine’ s military says the ship was hit by “ Neptune ” anti-ship cruise missiles, resulting in significant damage and a fire. Russia had reported localized fires aboard that caused ammunition to detonate. The Moskva typically has a crew approaching 500. Russian news agencies reported they had been evacuated.
France is relocating diplomatic staff to its embassy in Kyiv after personnel were evacuated to Lviv in early March. Russian troops have largely left the Ukrainian capital as they press their campaign in the country’ s east and south.
The move will allow France to further deepen its support for the country, including humanitarian aid and efforts to investigate allegations of war crimes by Russian forces, the foreign ministry said in a statement on Thursday.
Russian Officials Charged With U.S. Disinformation Plot ( 7:25 p.m.)
A U.S. indictment against Aleksandr Babakov, deputy chairman of the state Duma in Russia; Aleksandr Vorobev, Babakov’ s chief of staff; and Mikhail Plisyuk, a member of Babakov’ s staff, was unsealed in federal court in Manhattan. They were accused of seeking meetings with members of Congress, offering one a free trip to Crimea in 2017.
They were charged with conspiring to affect U.S. policy toward Russia with staged events and propaganda. The Russian government has denied that it engaged in disinformation efforts.
U.S. Lawmaker Sees Ukraine Low on List of Voter Concerns ( 6:53 p.m.)
U.S. Senator Chris Coons said Americans will “ struggle with maintaining focus and attention ” on the war in Ukraine ahead of the November midterm elections. The Democrat from Delaware, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said he was “ very troubled ” by recent polling in which Ukraine “ doesn’ t make the top five ” of most pressing concerns for Americans, who are more worried about inflation, the economy, the pandemic, crime, and the border with Mexico.
Biden got a polling bump in the initial weeks of Russia’ s invasion of its neighboring country, but that has faded as voters have faced sharp price increases in groceries and gasoline and the coronavirus persists. Democrats aren’ t favored to keep control of Congress in the November contests.
U.S. Weighing Sending an Official to Ukraine ( 6:20 p.m.)
Biden said his administration is deciding whether to send a senior U.S. official to visit Ukraine. “ We’ re making that decision now, ” he told reporters before departing Washington for a trip to North Carolina.
He didn’ t say which official might make such a visit. Politico reported earlier Wednesday, citing unnamed officials, that the administration is considering sending Secretary of State Antony Blinken or Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
Pentagon Says Training on New Weapons Won’ t Take Long ( 6:19 p.m.)
It won’ t take much time to train Ukrainian troops on using 15mm towed howitzers and radar for locating enemy artillery, a senior U.S. defense official told reporters Thursday. The equipment is part of the $ 800 million in new weapons being sent to Ukraine.
The official said Ukrainian officers had previously been trained in the U.S. on the use of Switchblade attack drones and unmanned coastal defense vessels that are also in the package announced Wednesday by Biden.
The official also said that Russian ships near its damaged Moskva cruiser have moved farther south in the Black Sea.
Ukraine Energy Industry Lobbies for Gas Funds ( 6:05 p.m.)
Ukraine needs international financial aid, including from the U.S., to fill its energy reserves ahead of next winter, according to two representatives of the country’ s energy industry who were in Washington to lobby the Biden administration and lawmakers.
With domestic production down because of the war, Ukraine will need to import about 11 billion cubic meters of natural gas for heating and agriculture if the conflict lasts into the fall, according to Svitlana Zalischuk, adviser to the chief executive of Naftogaz, the country’ s largest state-owned oil and gas company.
Canada joins U.S., U.K. in diplomatic boycott of Beijing games
Trudeau weighs auto-content rules as next U.S. trade flashpoint | general |
European Bonds Ripped by ECB’ s Go-Slow Approach to Inflation | The information you requested is not available at this time, please check back again soon.
The European Central Bank ( ECB) headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany. Photographer: Alex Kraus/Bloomberg, Bloomberg
( Bloomberg) -- Bond traders are punishing the European Central Bank’ s focus on supporting growth in the face of record-high inflation.
German 30-year yields surged to a three-year high, with markets left unsatisfied by the central bank renewing a pledge to conclude bond-buying in the third quarter -- a step toward normalizing policy amid growing risks from surging prices.
Meanwhile, short-end rates -- the most sensitive to monetary policy -- fell, widening the gap between the pair by the most since the coronavirus pandemic first struck two years ago.
Traders trimmed bets on a July rate hike, seeing just a 50% probability of such a scenario, after President Christine Lagarde emphasized the threat to economic growth from Russia’ s invasion of Ukraine. They hardly budged even after reports that consensus is building among Governing Council members for a quarter-point rate increase in the third quarter.
The ECB last raised borrowing costs in 2011, when inflation quickened to the fastest in 2 1/2 years in the midst of a debt crisis that forced the euro area’ s periphery nations to seek bailouts from their peers. The move backfired, forcing the central bank to reverse course by year-end in a futile attempt to avert a recession.
“ With the lessons in mind from 2011, Lagarde came across as being attentive not to make a similar mistake of hiking into a significant slowdown rather than tightening on an elevated inflation outlook, ” said Piet Christiansen, chief strategist at Danske Bank A/S.
Money markets erased bets on a 25-basis-point rate cut within four years. That contrasts sharply with wagers on a quarter-point of easing in two years from the Federal Reserve, following 300 basis points of hikes priced in.
It’ s a sign that traders see the ECB managing a softer economic landing from a tightening cycle than its U.S. counterpart.
“ As regards the Fed, which Lagarde also said the U.S. economy is fundamentally different from the euro area, they are on a mission to get economic activity lower, which signals aggressive tightening, ” said Christiansen.
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 |
Country registers 15 new COVID-19 cases, 27 recoveries | Azerbaijan registered 15 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, Operational Headquarters under the Cabinet of Ministers reported on April 15.
Some 27 patients have recovered and no patients have died in the reported period.
So far, 792,335 COVID-19 cases have been registered in the country. Some 782,467 patients have recovered, and 9,705 people have died. Currently, 163 people are under treatment in special hospitals.
Over the past day, 3,613 tests were conducted in Azerbaijan to reveal coronavirus cases.
In general, 6,762,824 tests have been conducted in Azerbaijan so far.
So far, some 13,582,353 COVID-19 vaccines have been provided to Azerbaijani citizens. In the past 24 hours, some 7,549 citizens have been vaccinated against COVID-19. | general |
Static and Rotating Equipment ( Oil and Gas) Market to | ALBANY N.Y., April 14, 2022 ( GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Significantly growing industry investments in oil and gas purification and retailing has bolstered revenue potential of the static and rotating equipment ( oil and gas) market. Rise in application of the static and rotating equipment in upstream and downstream processes has generated massive lucrative avenues. The global static and rotating equipment ( oil and gas) market is estimated to reach US $ 35.6 Bn by the end of 2031.
Considerable demand for electricity in several industrialized nations has positively steered the use of static and rotating equipment. Fossil fuels still account for a major source of energy for electricity generation in numerous developed and developing countries. The aspect is boosting the need for state-of-the art refinery equipment in developed economies.
Rise in use of pumps in various upstream, midstream, and downstream activities has reinforced profitable opportunities, note the analysts in an in-depth study on the global static and rotating equipment ( oil and gas) market.
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Some of the prominent players in the static and rotating equipment ( oil and gas) market are Wärtsilä, Doosan Group, Flowserve Corporation, Technip S.A., OAO TMK, FMC Technologies Inc., Sulzer Limited, Siemens AG, Metso Oyj, General Electric Company, Pentair plc., Atlas Copco AB, and Alfa Laval AB.
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PBOC Urges Loans to Logistics Firms to Ease Supply Chain Pain | The information you requested is not available at this time, please check back again soon.
( Bloomberg) -- China’ s central bank pledged financial support for logistics firms and truck drivers to ensure the country can maintain supply chain stability amid the worst Covid outbreak in two years.
The People’ s Bank of China will ask lenders to “ reasonably ” extend and renew loans for the industry, it said in a statement on Friday, following a central bank meeting on coordinating Covid controls and economic development.
Financial institutions will be encouraged to step up support for the transportation sector with favorable policies, such as relending and rediscounting tools. Credit to air cargo businesses will also be increased, the PBOC said.
Supply chain disruptions have increased in China as places like Shanghai -- home to the world’ s largest container port -- went into lockdown to curb Covid infections. Port congestion and road checks have extended delivery times for goods, stalling production and cutting consumption even further. That’ s making the government’ s annual growth target of around 5.5% challenging to achieve.
One high-profile complaint of supply chain problems came from He Xiaopeng, the chief executive officer of electric-vehicle firm Xpeng Inc. In a social media posting on Thursday evening, He warned that automakers across China may have to halt production in May if shutdowns persist in the Shanghai area.
Richard Yu, CEO of Huawei Technologies Co.’ s smart car solutions unit, raised similar concerns, saying production in entire technology and industrial sectors which have supply chains reliant on Shanghai will grind to a stop if operations in the city can not resume next month, the National Business Daily reports Friday.
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 |
Why a Yield Curve Inversion Might Actually Be Good News for Investors | About the author: Ashwin Alankar is the head of Global Asset Allocation at Janus Henderson Investors.
The recent trend by the market to frame new developments in a negative light received an assist early this month when the yield of the 2-year U.S. Treasury note briefly rose above that of the 10-year. This was the first inversion between these two maturities since a blip during the height of the 2019 U.S.-China trade war. On cue, bears emerged from hibernation, calling for imminent recession. The driver of inversion was the Federal Reserve’ s hawkish about-face as it grapples with 6.4% year-over-year core inflation. With the U.S. central bank having more-than doubled its own expectations for the number of 25 basis point rate hikes in 2022—from three last December to seven at its March meeting—investors grew concerned that the Fed would live up to its reputation as the killer of expansions.
We interpret the inverted yield curve differently. Much of the market’ s consternation is premised on the notion that the Fed has lost credibility due to its glaringly bad call on transitory inflation and taking its eye off its dual mandate by also prioritizing asset prices. But if the market thought the Fed had truly lost its way, we’ d now be witnessing a steepening—not a flattening—yield curve. The fact that yield increases on Treasuries with maturities of 5 years and longer have not kept pace with the 2-year, in our view, means that the market sees the Fed’ s approach to controlling inflation as credible. Even when taking into consideration the Fed’ s newfound inflation-fighting chops, forward markets imply that real rates—nominal yields minus inflation—will remain very accommodative—likely well below 1.0%. Implicit in these market signals is the idea that not only should the Fed make inroads in combating inflation, but it can do so without condemning the U.S. economy to certain recession as it begins carefully tapping the brakes on the economy.
While the yield curve may have a notorious reputation among market bulls, this predictor of gloom—along with other leading indicators—often misses the mark. Still, the logic for an inversion signaling a cooling economy is clear: Facing inflationary pressure, a central bank raises policy rates which, in turn, pushes yields on short-dated Treasuries higher as these securities are more tethered to the official rate. The higher cost of capital for households and corporations resulting from higher rates should constrain future economic activity. Lower economic growth is then reflected in falling yields on longer-dated Treasuries. If short term borrowing costs are expected to rise too aggressively, the yield curve may invert as investors brace for recession.
Presently, we believe the flat yield curve is reflecting something quite different from recession. Rather, it suggests that the market appears to be taking the Fed at its word. The roughly 2.5% on the 2-year note is, if anything, perhaps slightly less than what we’ d expect to see if the Fed follows through on its recent forecast of raising rates between nine and 10 more times between now and the end of 2023. Also, the considerable gap that emerged between Fed forecasts and rate hike expectations by futures markets as inflation accelerated has narrowed in recent weeks. Shorter-term inflation expectations have fallen over 100 bps from their peaks and longer-term expectations covering the period from 2027 to 2032 have remained anchored near 2.5%. All of this leads us to believe that the market thinks the Fed has a fighting chance in reining in prices and hence containing the rise in longer term interest rates leading to a flatter near inverted yield curve. And this is what you want to see—the Fed’ s plan to raise short term rates is keeping long term inflation expectations in check. This “ inversion ” is “ good ”.
To be sure, the primary driver behind the yield curve’ s inversion is the speed at which shorter-dated Treasuries have priced in the Fed’ s hawkish pivot. Other asset classes have not been immune. In addition to intermediate Treasuries declining 5% year-to-date through April 6 ( an 18% annualized pace), rate-sensitive growth stocks, as measured by the Russell 1000 Growth Index, have slid over 11%, far outpacing the losses registered in broader U.S. equities.
The market has long known that the Fed would eventually have to change policy. What it did not expect was how soon regime change would occur and how pronounced the shift from extreme quantitative easing to very real quantitative tightening would be. Getting caught off-guard at such moments is what leads to tail-risk events as defined by four-to-five standard deviation moves in asset prices as investors scramble to adjust models for a materially higher cost of capital.
This shift marks the end of the era of extremely cheap money. But here, too, perspective is needed. Real rates—the main determinant in influencing corporate and household borrowing decisions—remain negative across most of the developed world, ranging from -0.17% in the hawkish U.S. ( as measured by 10-year Treasuries) to -2.3% and -2.7% in Germany and the UK, respectively. Shorter-dated real yields are more deeply entrenched in negative territory as they reflect acute near-term inflationary pressure. These levels hardly qualify as tight money.
Inflation may continue to surprise. There is certainly plenty of kindling. Pandemic-era supply chain disruptions have yet to fully ease. Corporations and governments are inching toward the likely inflationary trend of deglobalization. Labor markets remain tight. And the war in Ukraine has upended commodities markets. Any of these could impact the pace of Fed tightening and, thus, the trajectory of real rates.
A decade-plus of easy money has benefited equities in a myriad of ways. It lowered the cost of capital, enabling companies to finance operations, share buybacks and acquisitions on the cheap. It incentivized investors to reach for yield, thus bidding up equity prices. And a low discount rate raised the present value of cash flows companies expected to generate in future years. Unavoidable is that the raw math of stock valuation will push the present value of future cash flows lower as interest rates rise. With the value of—and demand for—these future cash flows set to decline, the premium that stocks fetch—especially those of the growthier variety—will likely fall.
In the years from 2003 through 2007, roughly the period between the tech implosion and Global Financial Crisis ( GFC), the real yield on 10-year Treasuries averaged 2.04% and the median forward price-earnings ( P/E) ratio of the S & P 500 Index stood at 16.3. From 2008 until the end of 2021, the index’ s P/E ratio averaged 16.8 while the 10-year’ s real yield muddled along at 0.39%. For growth stocks, P/E expansion was more notable, averaging 17.4 prior to the GFC and 20.5 afterward. For stocks in aggregate, multiple expansion became turbocharged as real rates plunged deeply into negative territory after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The party has largely ended. In lockstep with rising expectations for policy tightening, the S & P 500’ s full-year 2022 P/E ratio has compressed by roughly 9% year to date, to 19.8. The multiple for the pure-growth component of the S & P 500 has contracted a more severe 19%. How much lower can multiples go? That depends upon the path ultimately taken by the Fed. What is certain is many equities segments will continue to see multiple compression as real rates march toward positive territory.
Stocks losing the support of buoyant valuation multiples does not mean it’ s all doom for equities. There are other factors influencing stock performance. Implicit in lower long-term bond yields is a slowing economy. Companies that can grow earnings at a pace higher than the economy can expand would still command a premium, thus supporting their multiples. There are plenty of candidates to deliver such growth. While much of the technology sector has been among the most richly valued in the broader market, the transformative secular themes behind many of these companies remain intact. Once valuations digest the painful adjustment to a tightening regime, many of these companies with dominant positions in growing markets will deserve another look.
Other growth segments include the global push toward decarbonization and the reconfiguration of supply chains as major regions of the world seek to localize key industrial inputs. These examples should serve as reminders that stock valuations can become more attractive not only through multiple compression but also by companies proving they can grow into elevated multiples by increasing earnings more rapidly than the market expects. | business |
Static and Rotating Equipment ( Oil and Gas) Market Overview 2031 | We use cookies for a better user experience. Read our Privacy Policy
There is an increasing demand for energy and power generation due to rise in population and migration of people from rural to urban areas. Oil and gas are a major source of power generation, as renewables are still in an early stage of adoption. This factor is driving the global static and rotating equipment ( oil and gas) market. However, rising popularity and adoption of renewable energy sources to reduce the carbon footprint is expected to hamper the growth of the global static and rotating equipment ( oil and gas) market. Rise in exploration and refinery activities, along with lucrative presence of market players in North America is attributable to the market expansion.
The global static and rotating equipment ( oil and gas) market is negatively affected by the rapidly spreading coronavirus across the globe. Market players operating in the global static and rotating equipment ( oil and gas) market are exploring opportunities to overcome challenges in the global market. Increase in demand for static and rotating equipment ( oil and gas) in oil & gas applications is expected to boost the global static and rotating equipment ( oil and gas) market during the forecast period. Ongoing research and development activities to explore the technological development in exploration and refining equipment are driving the growth of the market.
The rise in demand for remote operations has led to increasing adoption of automated equipment across the globe for safety purpose. This factor is accelerating the global static and rotating equipment ( oil and gas) market growth. Rapid urbanization, industrialization, and increase in applications of petroleum in different industries are some of the factors responsible for the huge demand for static and rotating equipment.
Oil and gas rotating equipment such as turbines, pumps, compressors, and oil & gas static equipment such as valves, boilers, furnaces, and heat exchangers are increasingly becoming popular in different industries due to their efficiency. Static equipment are more reliable as they do not have moving parts. Market players are focusing on increasing the efficiency of these equipment to reduce the operational time of exploration, transportation, and refinery activities. This helps in significantly increasing the profit.
Static equipment do not have a redundant/standby system. These include vacuum ejector system, pipes, reactors, and knockout drums. Rotating equipment have moving parts and standby systems. They need maintenance on a regular basis. These equipment comprise pumps, compressors, and motors. Technological advancements in static and rotating equipment ( oil and gas) have enabled companies to execute exploration and production activities at greater depths and under the unpleasant climatic conditions.
Oil and gas rotating equipment dominates the global market. The pumps sub-segment has the most market share due to its widespread usage in upstream, midstream, as well as downstream activities. Turbines are used in the oil & gas sector, along with a generator to generate electric power, while compressors are used in the transportation of oil and gas from exploration sites to refineries and end users. The oil and gas static equipment product type segment also accounts for key share of the global market. Static equipment are significantly used in downstream activities. In addition, rise in petroleum refining activities across the globe is also driving the demand for rotating equipment.
Key players operating in the global static and rotating equipment ( oil and gas) market are focusing on research & development, merger, joint venture, collaboration, and product innovation strategies. Key players operating in the global static and rotating equipment ( oil and gas) market are focusing on developing innovating products to mark their presence in the global market in order to acquire lucrative revenue opportunities. Increasing investments by market players in R & D activities is also contributing to the global market growth.
Market players are expanding their product lines to meet the increasing demand from various end-use industries. The global static and rotating equipment ( oil and gas) market is expected to rise in the upcoming years due to the presence of several market contributors.
Includes cross segment analysis at global as well as regional level. Qualitative analysis includes drivers, restraints, opportunities, key trends, Porter’ s Five Forces analysis, supply chain analysis, and parent industry overview.
Static and Rotating Equipment ( Oil and Gas) Market is expected to reach US $ 35.6 Bn By 2031
Static and Rotating Equipment ( Oil and Gas) Market is estimated to rise at a CAGR of 4.8% during forecast period
Oil and gas are a major source of power generation, as renewables are still in an early stage of adoption. This factor is driving the global static and rotating equipment ( oil and gas) market
Prominent players operating in the global static and rotating equipment ( oil and gas) market include Alfa Laval AB, Atlas Copco AB, Pentair plc, General Electric Company, Metso Oyj, Siemens AG, Sulzer Limited, FMC Technologies Inc., OAO TMK, Technip S.A., Flowserve Corporation, Doosan Group, Wärtsilä, and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd.
The latest study collated and published by Transparency Market Research ( TMR) analyzes the historical and present-day scenario of the global static and rotating equipment ( oil and gas) market in order to accurately gauge its future growth. The study presents detailed information about the important growth factors, restraints, and trends that are creating a landscape for the growth of the global static and rotating equipment ( oil and gas) market so as to identify growth opportunities for market stakeholders. The report also provides insightful information about how the global static and rotating equipment ( oil and gas) market would expand during the forecast period of 2021 to 2031.
The report offers intricate dynamics about different aspects of the global static and rotating equipment ( oil and gas) market, which aids companies operating in the market in making strategic development decisions. TMR’ s study also elaborates on significant changes that are highly anticipated to configure growth of the global static and rotating equipment ( oil and gas) market during the forecast period. It also includes a key indicator assessment that highlights growth prospects of the global static and rotating equipment ( oil and gas) market and estimates statistics related to growth of the market in terms value ( US $ Bn).
This study covers a detailed segmentation of the global static and rotating equipment ( oil and gas) market, along with key information and a competition outlook. The report mentions company profiles of players that are currently dominating the global static and rotating equipment ( oil and gas) market, wherein various development, expansion, and winning strategies practiced and implemented by leading players have been presented in detail.
The report provides detailed information about the global static and rotating equipment ( oil and gas) market on the basis of comprehensive research on various factors that are playing a key role in accelerating the growth potential of the global market. Information mentioned in the report answers path-breaking questions for companies that are currently operating in the market and are looking for innovative methods to create a unique benchmark in the global static and rotating equipment ( oil and gas) market, so as to help them design successful strategies and make target-driven decisions.
The research methodology adopted by analysts for compiling the global static and rotating equipment ( oil and gas) market report is based on detailed primary as well as secondary research. With the help of in-depth insights of the market-affiliated information that is obtained and legitimated by market-admissible resources, analysts have offered riveting observations and authentic forecasts for the global static and rotating equipment ( oil and gas) market.
During the primary research phase, analysts interviewed market stakeholders, investors, brand managers, vice presidents, and sales and marketing managers. Based on data obtained through interviews of genuine resources, analysts have emphasized the changing scenario of the global static and rotating equipment ( oil and gas) market.
For secondary research, analysts scrutinized numerous annual report publications, white papers, market association publications, and company websites to obtain the necessary understanding of the global static and rotating equipment ( oil and gas) market.
TMR’ s research study assesses the global static and rotating equipment ( oil and gas) market in terms of product type and region. This report presents extensive market dynamics and trends associated with different segments of the market and how they are influencing growth prospects of the global static and rotating equipment ( oil and gas) market.
1.1. Research Scope & Market Segmentation
3.1. Global Static and Rotating Equipment ( Oil and Gas) Market, Revenue ( US $ Bn), 2020-2031
3.2. Global Static and Rotating Equipment ( Oil and Gas) Market, by Region from 2020-2031 ( US $ Bn)
4.3.1. List of Key Raw Material Suppliers
5.5. Global Static and Rotating Equipment ( Oil and Gas) Market SWOT Analysis
6. Global Static and Rotating Equipment ( Oil and Gas) Market Analysis, by Product Type Size and Forecast ( US $ Bn), 2020-2031
6.2. Market Size by Product Type Analysis and Forecast ( US $ Bn), 2020-2031
6.2.1. Oil and Gas Static Equipment
6.2.3. Oil and Gas Rotating Equipment
7. Global Static and Rotating Equipment ( Oil and Gas) Market Analysis and Forecast ( US $ Bn), by Region, 2020-2031
8. Global Static and Rotating Equipment ( Oil and Gas) Market Attractiveness Analysis, by Region, 2020
9. North America Static and Rotating Equipment ( Oil and Gas) Market Analysis Size and Forecast ( US $ Bn), 2020-2031
9.2. North America Market Size Analysis and Forecast by Product Type Analysis ( US $ Bn), 2020-2031
9.3. U.S. Static and Rotating Equipment ( Oil and Gas) Market Size and Forecast ( US $ Bn), 2020-2031
9.4. Canada Static and Rotating Equipment ( Oil and Gas) Market Size and Forecast ( US $ Bn), 2020-2031
9.4.1. Canada Market Size Analysis and Forecast by Product Type ( US $ Bn), 2020-2031
9.5. North America Static and Rotating Equipment ( Oil and Gas) Market Attractiveness Analysis, by Region, 2020
10. Europe Static and Rotating Equipment ( Oil and Gas) Market Analysis Size and Forecast ( US $ Bn), 2020-2031
10.2. Europe Market Size Analysis and Forecast by Product Type Analysis ( US $ Bn), 2020-2031
10.3. Germany Static and Rotating Equipment ( Oil and Gas) Market Size and Forecast ( US $ Bn), 2020-2031
10.4. U.K. Static and Rotating Equipment ( Oil and Gas) Market Size and Forecast ( US $ Bn), 2020-2031
10.5. France Static and Rotating Equipment ( Oil and Gas) Market Size and Forecast ( US $ Bn), 2020-2031
10.6. Italy Static and Rotating Equipment ( Oil and Gas) Market Size and Forecast ( US $ Bn), 2020-2031
10.7. Spain Static and Rotating Equipment ( Oil and Gas) Market Size and Forecast ( US $ Bn), 2020-2031
10.8. Rest of Europe Static and Rotating Equipment ( Oil and Gas) Market Size and Forecast ( US $ Bn), 2020-2031
10.9. Europe Static and Rotating Equipment ( Oil and Gas) Market Attractiveness Analysis, by Region, 2020
11. Asia Pacific Static and Rotating Equipment ( Oil and Gas) Market Analysis Size and Forecast ( US $ Bn), 2020-2031
11.2. Asia Pacific Market Size Analysis and Forecast by Product Type Analysis ( US $ Bn), 2020-2031
11.3. China Static and Rotating Equipment ( Oil and Gas) Market Size and Forecast ( US $ Bn), 2020-2031
11.4. India Static and Rotating Equipment ( Oil and Gas) Market Size and Forecast ( US $ Bn), 2020-2031
11.5. Japan Static and Rotating Equipment ( Oil and Gas) Market Size and Forecast ( US $ Bn), 2020-2031
11.6. ASEAN Static and Rotating Equipment ( Oil and Gas) Market Size and Forecast ( US $ Bn), 2020-2031
11.7. Rest of Asia Pacific Static and Rotating Equipment ( Oil and Gas) Market Size and Forecast ( US $ Bn), 2020-2031
11.8. Asia Pacific Static and Rotating Equipment ( Oil and Gas) Market Attractiveness Analysis, by Region, 2020
12. Latin America Static and Rotating Equipment ( Oil and Gas) Market Analysis Size and Forecast ( US $ Bn), 2020-2031
12.2. Latin America Market Size Analysis and Forecast by Product Type Analysis ( US $ Bn), 2020-2031
12.3. Latin America Static and Rotating Equipment ( Oil and Gas) Market Attractiveness Analysis, by Region, 2020
12.4. Brazil Static and Rotating Equipment ( Oil and Gas) Market Size and Forecast ( US $ Bn), 2020-2031
12.5. Mexico Static and Rotating Equipment ( Oil and Gas) Market Size and Forecast ( US $ Bn), 2020-2031
12.6. Rest of Latin America Static and Rotating Equipment ( Oil and Gas) Market Size and Forecast ( US $ Bn), 2020-2031
12.7. Latin America Static and Rotating Equipment ( Oil and Gas) Market Attractiveness Analysis, by Region, 2020
13. Middle East & Africa Static and Rotating Equipment ( Oil and Gas) Market Analysis Size and Forecast ( US $ Bn), 2020-2031
13.2. Middle East & Africa Market Size Analysis and Forecast by Product Type Analysis ( US $ Bn), 2020-2031
13.3. GCC Static and Rotating Equipment ( Oil and Gas) Market Size and Forecast ( US $ Bn), 2020-2031
13.4. South Africa Static and Rotating Equipment ( Oil and Gas) Market Size and Forecast ( US $ Bn), 2020-2031
13.5. Rest of Middle East & Africa Static and Rotating Equipment ( Oil and Gas) Market Size and Forecast ( US $ Bn), 2020-2031
13.6. Middle East & Africa Static and Rotating Equipment ( Oil and Gas) Market Attractiveness Analysis, by Region, 2020
14.2. Static and Rotating Equipment ( Oil and Gas) Market Share Analysis, by Company ( 2020)
14.4.1.1. Company Details ( HQ, Foundation Year, Revenue, Employee Strength)
14.4.1.3. Product Type/Services, Key End-user Industries
14.4.1.6. Recent Developments
14.4.2.1. Company Details ( HQ, Foundation Year, Revenue, Employee Strength)
14.4.2.3. Product Type/Services, Key End-user Industries
14.4.3.1. Company Details ( HQ, Foundation Year, Revenue, Employee Strength)
14.4.3.3. Product Type/Services, Key End-user Industries
14.4.4.1. Company Details ( HQ, Foundation Year, Revenue, Employee Strength)
14.4.4.3. Product Type/Services, Key End-user Industries
14.4.4.5. Recent Developments
14.4.5.1. Company Details ( HQ, Foundation Year, Revenue, Employee Strength)
14.4.5.3. Product Type/Services, Key End-user Industries
14.4.5.5. Recent Developments
14.4.6.1. Company Details ( HQ, Foundation Year, Revenue, Employee Strength)
14.4.6.3. Product Type/Services, Key End-user Industries
14.4.7.1. Company Details ( HQ, Foundation Year, Revenue, Employee Strength)
14.4.7.3. Product Type/Services, Key End-user Industries
14.4.8.1. Company Details ( HQ, Foundation Year, Revenue, Employee Strength)
14.4.8.3. Product Type/Services, Key End-user Industries
14.4.9.1. Company Details ( HQ, Foundation Year, Revenue, Employee Strength)
14.4.9.3. Product Type/Services, Key End-user Industries
14.4.10.1. Company Details ( HQ, Foundation Year, Revenue, Employee Strength)
14.4.10.3. Product Type/Services, Key End-user Industries
14.4.11.1. Company Details ( HQ, Foundation Year, Revenue, Employee Strength)
14.4.11.3. Product Type/Services, Key End-user Industries
14.4.12.1. Company Details ( HQ, Foundation Year, Revenue, Employee Strength)
14.4.12.3. Product Type/Services, Key End-user Industries
14.4.13.1. Company Details ( HQ, Foundation Year, Revenue, Employee Strength)
14.4.13.3. Product Type/Services, Key End-user Industries
14.4.14. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd.
14.4.14.1. Company Details ( HQ, Foundation Year, Revenue, Employee Strength)
14.4.14.3. Product Type/Services, Key End-user Industries
Table 05: U.S. Static and Rotating Equipment ( Oil and Gas) Market Size ( US $ Bn) Forecast, by Product Type, 2020-2031
Table 10: U.K. Static and Rotating Equipment ( Oil and Gas) Market Size ( US $ Bn) Forecast, by Product Type, 2020-2031
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Israeli Inflation Slower Than Forecast, Stays Above Target Range | The information you requested is not available at this time, please check back again soon.
Shoppers pass a Zara clothing store inside the Dizingoff Center shopping mall in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Monday, Sept. 20, 2021. A third dose of the Pfizer Inc.-BioNTech SE Covid vaccine can dramatically reduce rates of Covid-related illness in people 60 and older, according to data from a short-term study in Israel. Photographer: Kobi Wolf/Bloomberg, Bloomberg
( Bloomberg) -- Israel’ s inflation stayed above the government’ s target range for the third consecutive month in March but didn’ t accelerate, easing some of the pressure on the central bank as it looks to bring the recent surge under control.
Price growth remained at an annual 3.5% in March, according to the Central Bureau of Statistics, unchanged from February. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of 12 economists was for 3.7%.
The cost of clothing and footwear, as well as culture and entertainment, saw significant increases, offset by a decline in the price of fresh fruit and vegetables. Monthly inflation rose 0.6%, which was also below expectations.
The Bank of Israel this week raised interest rates from near zero to begin what’ s likely to be its first monetary tightening cycle in more than a decade. With inflation forecast by the central bank’ s researchers above the 1% to 3% target range until the rest of the year, further increases in the 0.35% base rate are likely in the months to come.
A steady domestic supply of natural gas is helping keep a lid on consumer costs as the impact of higher commodity prices after Russia’ s invasion of Ukraine ripples around the world.
A stronger shekel may also hold back inflation. But Israel’ s currency has so far declined about 3.5% against the dollar this year while appreciating against the euro.
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 |
Shanghai’ s Frozen Meat, Seafood Imports Stall on Port Congestion | The information you requested is not available at this time, please check back again soon.
( Bloomberg) -- AP Moller-Maersk A/S, one of the biggest shipping lines in the world, has stopped bookings to ship refrigerated containers into Shanghai as a strict Covid lockdown stalls the trucking of meat and seafood from the port into the city.
Containers are piling up at the port of Shanghai due to supply chain disruptions caused by the lockdown, Ocean Network Express said in an advisory to customers on Thursday. The port is running out of electric plug slots to keep refrigerated containers cool, while trucking remains limited and terminals are congested, Asia’ s second-biggest container shipping line said.
That has prompted Maersk to stop all new deliveries of refrigerated goods and some hazardous cargoes into Shanghai until further notice, the company said on Thursday. The company is waiving charges for customers to change the destination of their frozen goods already sailing to Shanghai.
Shanghai’ s sweeping restrictions aimed at ringfencing the spread of the omicron virus variant are now entering the third week, crippling supply chains and forcing ships to divert elsewhere. Meanwhile tensions between Shanghai’ s residents and authorities are growing at the curbs on movement. Citizens have resorted to bartering items in exchange for fresh vegetables and milk.
China’ s strict Covid Zero policy is even disrupting food supply chains as far south as Shenzhen. The e-commerce capital’ s Shekou terminal has barred imports of frozen meat and seafood products, Hapag-Lloyd AG said on its website April 8. As shipping lines ask customers to divert shipments from Shanghai or Shekou to Yantian and Hong Kong, that’ s threatening to worsen congestion in the southern ports, said Josh Brazil, director of supply chain data insights at project44.
“ Hong Kong and Yantian have been battling their Covid restrictions for months, which has also been disruptive to manufacturing and trade, ” said Brazil. “ The Shanghai lockdown impacts South China shipping schedules. ”
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 |
More Chinese Cities Look to Lockdown as Outbreak Spreads | The information you requested is not available at this time, please check back again soon.
( Bloomberg) -- China is now battling the worst Covid-19 outbreak in the past two years, with infections popping up in more and more cities and no end in sight for the Shanghai outbreak that has left tens of millions of people shut inside their homes.
In the current wave which began in late February, restrictions and lockdowns in Shenzhen and some other cities successfully stopped the spread of the omicron variant in the community, allowing them to start opening up again. However other places are seeing flareups and instituting restrictions on movement to try and contain infections before they reach the crisis levels of Shanghai, which has had more than 20,000 new cases every day for more than a week.
That city has been totally locked down for two weeks, although many residents have been confined to their homes for much longer. Across China, some 373 million people, or a quarter of the population, are under some form of movement restrictions as authorities act aggressively to contain cases, according to a report by economists from Nomura Holdings Inc. earlier this week.
Those controls and the accompanying hit to consumption, industrial output and supply chains are already taking a toll on the world’ s second-largest economy, and more lockdowns will only increase the damage. However, earlier this week Chinese President Xi Jinping reiterated the nation will adhere to the Covid Zero policy despite the hardships and protests it is causing, with the government adamant that the damage is less than what would happen if the virus spread uncontained across the country.
Here are some of the major places in China which are increasing restrictions, still in lockdown, or reducing controls.
Infections in Shanghai’ s neighbor Suzhou are rising, with the local government locking down the city of Kunshan last week. That led to production halts at the factories of at least 30 Taiwanese tech companies there, including iPhone assembler Pegatron Corp.
However Suzhou’ s municipal government said earlier this week that the city has no plan to lock down, trying to calm the fears of residents who had started stockpiling food just in case they were suddenly confined at home.
Taiyuan, the capital of the northern province of Shanxi, started increasing controls last week, and has now locked down six downtown districts where most of its 5.3 million people live. The hashtag “ Taiyuan is hitting the pause button ” went viral on Thursday night after state media used that euphemism to describe what was happening, echoing the phrase “ slow life in Shenzhen ” which was used last month to refer to that city’ s lockdown.
The southern megacity and trading hub of Guangzhou is increasing curbs to try and stop the spread of the omicron variant, suspending in-class teaching for primary and middle school students and shutting some subway stations and many indoor venues. Over the past week there’ s been more than 130 cases detected, but health officials have warned about potential wider spread.
Shanghai, home to the world’ s largest port and large parts of China’ s financial markets including the stock exchange, remains under a strict lockdown, with most of its 25 million citizens confined to their homes.
The seeming indefinite lockdown has shut down production at several car makers in the city, including Tesla Inc and Chinese EV maker Nio Inc, and also blocked trucks from making deliveries and caused delays at the port. In a bleak assessment of the supply-chain disruptions caused by the lockdown, He Xiaopeng, the chief executive officer of electric-vehicle firm Xpeng Inc. said Thursday that Chinese automakers may have to halt production in May if shutdowns persist in the area.
The northeastern province of Jilin has successfully brought Covid’ s spread under control through a one-month lockdown of its 24 million people. Authorities said Thursday that there were no reported infections in the community, meaning that all the more than 500 new cases were already in quarantine and thus contained. Often referred to as “ zero community spread, ” this is a key metric for Chinese officials as they seek to achieve Covid zero and reopen their cities.
The success prompted local governments to start easing restrictions in various cities across the province, allowing factories to restart manufacturing. In the capital Changchun, production at the state-owned car company which is a partner to Toyota Motor Corp. and Volkswagen AG is set to restart after a month-long shutdown, local media reported Monday.
Xuzhou in eastern China has seen domestic infections return to zero earlier this week after its 9 million residents were put under lockdown two weeks ago. The local government has gradually lifted restrictions and resumed public transport, manufacturing and other business activities.
Tangshan and Langfang near Beijing also brought their local outbreaks under control, and have started to lift restrictions this week. | general |
Taiwan Reports Record Cases as Covid-Free Status Crumbles | The information you requested is not available at this time, please check back again soon.
Members of the public wait in line at a vaccination facility administering the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine set up at Taipei Main Station in Taipei, Taiwan, on Monday, Jan. 17, 2022. Interval between second jab and booster shot will be shortened to 12 weeks from five months, effective from Jan. 7, health minister Chen Shih-chung says at a briefing., Bloomberg
( Bloomberg) -- Taiwan reported a record number of Covid cases as multiple outbreaks across several cities overwhelmed health authorities’ efforts to contain the virus.
Local infections rose to an all-time high of 1,209, health minister Chen Shih-chung said at a briefing in Taipei on Friday. It was the first time since the global pandemic began that Taiwan has reported more than 1,000 cases in a day. Chen also warned that the daily case figures are likely to get much worse.
“ The scale of the pandemic right now is very large, ” he said, adding it’ s possible to see tens of thousands of cases or even “ millions ”. “ The point is not about the case counts, but about whether we can prevent a disastrous impact. ”
To mitigate the severity of the outbreak, health authorities imposed stricter policies on booster shots, requiring those that can not ensure social distancing in their workplaces, such as teachers, personal trainers and childminders, to receive booster shots starting from April 22.
The outbreak threatens to upend years of painstaking work by health authorities to keep Taiwan largely Covid-free. Strict quarantine measures and contact tracing have helped keep the number of local infections to around 22,000, with fewer than 850 fatalities from domestic infections since the beginning of 2020.
The surge in infections leaves the government’ s Covid strategy at a crossroads. Over the past two years, authorities have successfully managed to stamp out outbreaks, but this is the first time they have had to deal with multiple, widespread infections on such a scale.
The health minister has ruled out a return to last year’ s soft lockdown, when large gatherings were banned, entertainment and recreation venues were shut down and restaurants were only allowed to offer takeout meals. But he has said previously quarantine measures for anyone who tests positive and all arrivals into Taiwan will likely remain in place until 2023.
Just under 80% of the population is fully vaccinated, according to data from the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control. | general |
10 Universities Unleashing the Best Quantum Computing Research | Join Our Telegram Channel for More Insights. Join Now
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Quantum computing has been on the slug for quite a long period of time. But recently, the technology has been buzzing with advanced innovations that are changing the modern tech industry. Quantum computing has become a game-changer in fields like cryptography, chemistry, material science, agriculture, and pharmaceuticals. As technology advances, the problems of global crises become even more complex. During the Covid pandemic, quantum research unraveled several creative tools and innovations that enhanced the confidence of researchers in quantum computing. Emerging as one of the trendiest technologies in the industry, there are several universities and colleges that are encouraging quantum research initiatives and programs for their students. These quantum computing universities possess the best faculty, laboratories, and tools that can help the students to develop their own creations. In this article, we have listed such top quantum computing universities that provide world-class infrastructure for tech aspirants to excel in the quantum computing domain through quantum research and other initiatives.
The University of Waterloo is offering quantum computing courses and advanced research programs for quantum students. It has published over 1500 research papers since its inception. This institute has the potential to combine academic excellence with entrepreneurial innovation to bring out the best of what technology and intellect have to offer.
The university was the first to work on the pure state NMR quantum computing which was demonstrated at Oxford and the University of York. The university’ s quantum research department is among the top. It arranges research initiatives that aim to utilize the vast potential of quantum tech. The faculty aims to produce pioneers in the technology who will be responsible to innovate for the benefit of society.
Harvard claims that the Harvard Quantum Initiative in Science and Engineering involves a community of researchers with an intense interest in advancing the science and engineering of quantum systems and applications. The group of quantum researchers at Harvard is trying to build the second quantum revolution and accelerate advances in this domain.
MIT is known to be a research giant. Its branches extend to artificial intelligence and quantum computing. The university’ s strength in theoretical physics is now leveraged into quantum information and computing. MIT researchers wish to explore quantum algorithms and complexity, quantum information theory, measurement, control, and connections.
The Berkeley Center for Quantum Computation and Information includes analysts from the domains of engineering, chemistry, and physical sciences. These researchers and analysts work on central issues in quantum gadgets, cryptography, quantum data hypothesis, calculations, and others for the introduction of advanced quantum PCs.
The Joint Quantum Institute includes quantum researchers from the Department of National Institute of Standards and Technology and the Department of Physics of the University of Maryland. Each of these institutes contributes to major hypothetical and exploratory examination programs with a focus on control and sending the quantum framework.
The University of Sydney focuses on the challenging problems of quantum computing and applying these insights to construct new technologies. The scientific research initiatives undertaken by this university mainly focus on deep industrial and entrepreneurial activities.
The Chicago Quantum Exchange showcases a distinct fascination for modern endeavors and propelling scholastics in the designing and study of quantum data and computing. Their goal is to advance the id and investigation of quantum data and computing advances and furthermore the improvement of new applications.
The University’ s division of quantum physics and information specializes in the domain of quantum optics. The division lists the primary foundation for foundations, which are filter-based quantum communication, quantum memory and quantum repeater, and other distinct paradigms.
Researchers at the University of Innsbruck’ s Quantum Information and Computation department study models for quantum information processing and fundamental aspects of quantum information theory. The focus of their research is the theory of measurement-based quantum computation, which will result in a new and more thorough understanding of multi-body entanglement as a resource. | tech |
Shanghai Residents Clash With Police Over Nearby Quarantine Site | The information you requested is not available at this time, please check back again soon.
Nearly-empty roads in Shanghai on April 12. Photogorapher: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg Photographer: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg, Bloomberg
( Bloomberg) -- Residents of a Shanghai area that hosts research centers for major tech firms fought with police over plans to open quarantine facilities near them, underscoring burgeoning anger over the Chinese government’ s handling of its worst Covid outbreak since Wuhan in early 2020.
People living at the Nashi community in the financial hub’ s east tried to stop workers in hazmat suits from erecting fencing around several buildings that have units similar to serviced apartments, according to several people who spoke to Bloomberg News on condition they not be identified out of fear they may get in trouble with authorities.
Now-censored clips showed scores of police dragging away protesters worried that they could catch the virus from people who moved into the buildings. Officers can be seen trying to push angry people back, some of whom are screaming and shouting: “ Police are beating us. ”
Zhangjiang Group, the state-owned company that manages the Nashi community, said in a statement that “ relevant departments ” handled the matter, an apparent reference to the police. The company added that it was acting on government orders to carry out Covid-19 control work, and that residents were compensated for moving. Police at the local station didn’ t answer a phone call seeking comment.
Confrontations between large groups of people and police are rare in China, illustrating the frustration felt by many in Shanghai, a cosmopolitan city of some 25 million people that’ s been locked down for nearly three weeks. Anger has mounted over a lack of food, medical supplies, information on when their ordeal will end and even freedom to step outside. Some families have been awoken late at night by health workers in hazmat suits -- nicknamed the “ big white ” in China -- shouting over loudspeakers that they must assemble outside for yet another Covid test.
Several instances of public indignation have appeared on the Asian nation’ s social media platforms, only to be blocked by authorities worried that unrest could spread. Videos of the fighting at the Nashi community have disappeared from the Twitter-like Weibo service, and a search using the hashtag of the neighborhood’ s name yields no results, with Weibo citing the need to “ comply with relevant laws and regulations. ”
Shanghai is the epicenter of an outbreak of the highly contagious omicron variant in China, straining the government’ s ability to enforce President Xi Jinping’ s demand that cities be totally free of the virus, a strategy known as Covid Zero. The eastern metropolis, home to China’ s biggest stock market and major financial institutions, saw a record of more than 27,700 new cases Wednesday, though the figure dipped to about 23,000 for Thursday. The vast majority of the cases are mild or asymptomatic, raising questions among many in the public about the need for the draconian lockdown.
Shanghai has been scrambling to build isolation facilities and makeshift hospitals for hundreds of thousands of people. The city has converted many of its exhibition halls, indoor stadiums and schools into quarantine centers. Upscale hotels have been told to hand over rooms.
Surging case numbers forced authorities to look for even more sites. Officials took over five buildings in the Nashi neighborhood in mid-March, though residents said there was little complaint because the towers were out of the way. Officials then went back to the compound Tuesday, telling residents they would take over another nine buildings, and tenants had to be out that day.
The Nashi complex caters to people working at Zhangjiang Science City, which hosts Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. and multinationals including Microsoft Corp. | general |
China’ s Central Bank Cuts Reserve Ratio for Banks to Spur Growth | The information you requested is not available at this time, please check back again soon.
( Bloomberg) -- China’ s central bank cut the amount of cash banks must hold in reserve, stepping up its monetary policy action to cushion the economy from its worst Covid outbreak since early 2020.
The People’ s Bank of China lowered the reserve requirement ratio for most banks by 25 basis points and for smaller banks by 50 basis points, according to a statement published Friday.
The change is effective on April 25 and will unleash about 530 billion yuan ( $ 83 billion) of long-term liquidity into the economy, the central bank said. The PBOC last reduced the ratio in December.
The move was signaled by the State Council, China’ s cabinet, at a meeting on Wednesday. Top officials have also repeatedly warned of risks to growth and the need for more monetary and fiscal stimulus as the economic outlook worsens. Stringent measures to contain the Covid outbreak have damaged production, strained supply chains and curbed consumer spending.
Major banks have downgraded their growth forecasts for this year, and economists now predict the economy to expand by 5%, below the government’ s target of around 5.5%.
Earlier Friday, the PBOC refrained from cutting interest rates and injecting liquidity into the economy via the medium-term lending facility. Authorities also urged commercial lenders on Friday to lower their deposit rates, according to people familiar with the matter, a move to help ease funding costs for banks so they can boost lending.
The PBOC is running out of policy space as rate hikes by the U.S. Federal Reserve begin to fuel capital outflows and threaten the yuan. Tighter monetary policy in the U.S. has already wiped out China’ s yield premium over U.S. Treasuries.
Even so, officials from the banking regulator said Friday that China remains appealing to global investors given the economy’ s long-term prospects and its higher real interest rate.
Cutting the RRR is an effective way to unleash cheap long-term liquidity. With local governments speeding up infrastructure bond sales, the cash boost may help banks to finance the surge in bonds.
The room for further RRR reductions may be shrinking though. Economists say the central bank may soon need to shift away from a widespread use of the RRR as it’ s already relatively low and is becoming a less effective tool to deal with the economy’ s structural challenges.
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 |
New Cases of Childhood Diabetes Rose during the Pandemic News and Research | The little girl felt poorly, but both she and her mom thought they knew the reason. Aliyah Davis, just nine years old, was battling COVID. Fatigued, repeatedly sick to her stomach, with no sense of smell or taste and some shortness of breath, she seemed to have a near-textbook case of the virus.
Aliyah had a history of asthma, so her mother, Christina Ortiz, took her to the emergency department, where she was told the symptoms were likely COVID-related. But two and a half weeks later, Aliyah became sick again during the middle of the night, and Christina noted that her daughter had been experiencing insatiable thirst and frequent urination ever since that first ED visit. This time, a urine dip tested positive for ketones. Further workup revealed the issue: Aliyah had new-onset diabetes.
Her diagnosis in the summer of 2020 was the front edge of what has become a troubling and at times baffling development. Although researchers are still straining to understand why, it appears that COVID-19 and diabetes have formed an intricate—and dangerous—partnership.
It’ s also a bidirectional one, says Francesco Rubino, a pioneer in diabetes surgery at King’ s College in London. “ The relationship appears not just one way, but two ways, ” Rubino tells me.
On one side, diabetes is a key risk factor for developing serious illness or dying after catching COVID. But we now also have multiple reports of patients who contract COVID-19 and then go on to develop new-onset diabetes and sometimes severe imbalances in their blood sugar, such as diabetic ketoacidosis ( DKA). In fact, a large diabetes study of adults published last month in the journal Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology showed that individuals who recovered from COVID-19 over the last year stood a 40 percent greater chance of receiving a new diabetes diagnosis than the uninfected.
At this point, evidence is more limited in children, and there is much that we do not know. “ While we are concerned that COVID might cause diabetes, we need to rule out other reasonable causes of this association that [ are ] not necessarily the one that links the virus to the disease, ” says Rubino.
Aliyah’ s blood sugar was sky-high despite having no immediate family history of diabetes, not being overweight and not having other obvious comorbidities. Her DKA diagnosis prompted a four-day hospital admission. Such diagnosis, too, is becoming more common.
Hospitalizations in children hit record highs during the surge of the Omicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. As of March 31st, over 12.8 million total pediatric COVID-19 cases had been reported in the U.S. since the start of the pandemic. Comparatively few children are hospitalized for COVID, but even a small percentage of a large number can be significant.
A new diabetes diagnosis is a serious concern with the potential to change a person’ s life. As a chronic condition, it affects how the body uses blood sugar ( or glucose), and it can wreak havoc years down the line. Possible complications include kidney failure, heart attacks, stroke, nerve damage, macular degeneration, blindness, vascular issues and even amputations.
With type 1 diabetes, which is usually diagnosed in children and young adults, it’ s thought that one’ s own immune system mistakenly attacks insulin-producing cells in the pancreas, so that the body makes little or no insulin and blood sugar levels rise. With type 2, primarily diagnosed in adulthood and far more common, one’ s cells become resistant to insulin, leading to similar spikes in blood sugar levels. New-onset cases of both types have been reported during the pandemic, says Rubino, co-principal investigator of CoviDIAB, a global registry which is collecting detailed information on the topic.
Researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC), analyzing two large insurance-claim databases of those under age 18, found that children with a prior COVID infection were 31 percent to 166 percent more likely to develop diabetes than those who hadn’ t had COVID-19 ( or who had a different, non-SARS-CoV-2 respiratory infection). Compared to those other acute respiratory infections in particular, a new diabetes diagnosis was 116 percent more likely to occur in those who had a COVID-19 infection.
One of the earliest reports of this development came from London in 2020, where researchers found an 80 percent increase in new-onset type 1 diabetes in children during the pandemic. A study at Rady Children’ s Hospital in San Diego, meanwhile, noted a 57 percent increase in children admitted with new-onset type 1 diabetes during the pandemic from March 2020 to March 2021. This study also found a higher percentage of children who presented with DKA, indicating a greater severity of disease at the time of diagnosis, according to Jane Kim, a study author and pediatric endocrinologist at the University of California, San Diego.
Reports of increasing diabetes rates in children are “ in line ” with several emerging observations internationally, says Paolo Fiorina, a diabetes expert and research associate at Boston Children’ s Hospital–Harvard Medical School. Finnish, Romanian, Italian, German and Australian researchers all have found that more children were diagnosed with new-onset type one diabetes during the pandemic than prepandemic. At Children’ s Medical Center in Dallas, pediatric endocrinologist Abha Choudhary says that type 2 cases are rising, and “ these patients are sicker at presentation. ”
“ I do believe that COVID-19 is causing a surge ” in new diabetes cases, Fiorina says. “ This is clearly demonstrated now … and it’ s much higher than what is observed in other viral infections such as SARS-CoV-1 and hepatitis. ” Others, including Rubino, are cautious about attributing causation. “ For the moment we can say that there is an association between new-onset cases of diabetes and COVID-19, ” he says. “ I think that’ s pretty solid. ” ( The American Diabetes Association says a direct link is not yet clear.)
Researchers are still trying to learn the mechanisms behind a potential link. Also, the long-term connection between SARS-CoV-2 and diabetes is not well established. For that matter, type 1 and type 2 diabetes are different disease processes, Kim says. “ We want to be careful in extrapolating findings from type 1 [ to ] type 2, and vice versa, ” she says.
It’ s possible, experts say, that the pandemic’ s effect on our health care systems is playing a role here. Previous delays in seeking care, for example, might justify some of the increases in new diabetes cases. Says Rubino, “ Is this truly new diabetes, or just newly diagnosed but preexisting diabetes? ”
Some scientists theorize that COVID-19 might lead to diabetes through a direct attack of pancreatic cells. Research has shown that the coronavirus can infect insulin-producing cells in the pancreas, the so-called beta cells. Autopsy results of COVID-19 victims have confirmed viral antigen presence and even damage to some of these beta cells.
“ When New York City was in the center of the pandemic in April 2020, we learned that it was very challenging to control the blood glucose level of some COVID-19 patients, ” says Shuibing Chen, director of the diabetes program at Weill Cornell Medical College and an NIH-funded team researching the issue. “ Then we tested different cells for their permissiveness to SARS-CoV-2. Very surprisingly, we found pancreatic beta cells can be infected. ” Those cells appeared to have been transformed in the process, rendering them incapable of functioning properly.
Another NIH-funded team, this one led by Peter Jackson at the Stanford University School of Medicine, employed mass spectrometry to see that beta cells “ were strongly reprogrammed by the virus to cause cell death, ” Jackson says. That process, he says, could lead to new diabetes in some patients or a worsening of the condition in others. “ The effects we see in vitro are so strong, ” Jackson adds.
And researchers are considering other possibilities. It has long been known that with severe illness or infection, a stress response in the body can lead to high blood glucose, called hyperglycemia. The virus might also induce a cytokine storm—a whirlwind of inflammation and an overzealous immune response—that could lead to insulin resistance and beta cell dysfunction or incite an autoimmune reaction, in which one’ s own defense system attacks the pancreas and makes it dysfunctional.
Another potential factor: “ Children have gained weight during the COVID pandemic, likely due to lack of exercise, increased food intake and psychosocial stress, ” Choudhary says. That could boost childhood obesity, which is associated with a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Some patients also may have had prediabetes, which occurs in one in five adolescents, according to the CDC. In susceptible individuals, it’ s possible that the infection tips the scale enough that they develop diabetes. “ Viral infections can potentially be a trigger in a patient who has a predisposition, ” Choudhary says.
It’ s a rather exhaustive list of possibilities—even steroid medications used to treat COVID temporarily raise blood sugar levels—but vaccination rates are a part of the equation. Fiorina says that some parents’ reluctance to vaccinate their children may factor into this surge of pediatric diabetes cases, “ reinforced by their incorrect thoughts that there is an evident cut-off at which younger ages mitigate increased COVID-19 risks. ” Adds Kim, “ As a physician dedicated to the health of all children regardless of whether they have diabetes or not, I recommend vaccination against COVID-19 and influenza for those who do not have contraindications. ”
The vast majority of people who get COVID will not develop diabetes, Rubino says, and that context is important. But with treatments mostly unavailable and researchers still trying to understand the underlying causes, families need to stay vigilant and be aware of the symptoms on behalf of their children. Constant thirst, increased urination, extreme fatigue and unexpected weight loss are particular red flags.
And positive life changes can make a big difference. Since her hospitalization, Aliyah, now 11, is doing much better. She’ s on an insulin regimen and she and her mother carefully monitor what she eats. While a vaccine wasn’ t available when she contracted the virus, she is now fully vaccinated, her mom says.
She is also back to doing what other children her age are doing, “ playing with my friends, ” Aliyah says. Considering the difficult journey she has made, that is a small joy not to be underestimated. | science |
Shanghai lockdowns could force China carmakers to stop production, XP | Hi, what are you looking for?
Chinese automakers may have to put the brakes on production if strict Covid-19 curbs in Shanghai persist.
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Chinese automakers may have to put the brakes on production if strict Covid-19 curbs in Shanghai persist, said the founder of electric carmaker XPeng, as a prolonged lockdown of the economic hub menaces supply chains.
The lockdown has kept Shanghai’ s 25 million residents mostly at home, forcing manufacturers to halt operations, and has made China’ s GDP growth target of around 5.5 percent look increasingly difficult to achieve.
Covid outbreaks across the country and the associated reductions in economic activity have already hit the auto industry hard, with car sales dropping 10.5 percent in March.
“ If supply chain companies in Shanghai and its surrounding areas can not find a way to dynamically resume work and production, all original equipment manufacturers may have to stop production in May, ” XPeng chief He Xiaopeng said Thursday on social media.
XPeng has been touted as a Chinese challenger to US electric car giant Tesla, and its chief said that businesses were hoping for more support from the authorities to navigate the Covid closures.
Volkswagen also said it has been “ severely hit by Covid-19 outbreaks in Changchun and Shanghai ”, where the German titan’ s Chinese joint ventures are located.
The firm is “ temporarily unable to meet high customer demand ”, said Volkswagen Group China CEO Stephan Wollenstein on Thursday, adding that he hoped the production delays could be made up in the coming months.
China’ s zero-Covid policy has been increasingly strained as the country battles its highest number of infections since the start of the pandemic.
Volkswagen said around 20 percent of its dealers were forced to temporarily close in March alone as a result of lockdowns.
Tesla’ s multi-billion-dollar “ gigafactory ” in Shanghai — which the company calls its main export hub — has also been reportedly shut.
Chinese electric vehicle maker Nio said last weekend that it had suspended vehicle production, as business partners in virus-hit areas such as Jilin and Shanghai halted operations.
With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency. AFP provides fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives.
Germany has officially confiscated the world’ s largest superyacht owned by Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov, as part of sanctions against Moscow.
A picture shows a damaged car as communal services workers board up holes in walls and broken windows at a residential building damaged by...
Ukraine claims its missiles struck the Russian navy's Black Sea flagship, causing a fire that `` seriously damaged '' the vessel.
The reluctance of some European states to call out Russian atrocities in Ukraine as `` genocide '' has sparked tensions with Kyiv.
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S.African rescuers in desperate search for dozens missing in floods | Hi, what are you looking for?
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Police, army and volunteer rescuers on Friday widened the search for dozens still missing five days after more than 340 people died in the deadliest storm to strike South Africa’ s coastal city of Durban in living memory.
The “ unprecedented ” floods, which affected nearly 41,000, left a trail of destruction and at least 341 people dead.
With the government coordinating the search-and-rescue operation, the official number of people missing in KwaZulu-Natal province stood at 55.
A fleet of cars and helicopters carrying police experts set out early Friday to comb through a valley in Marianhill suburb, west of Durban, to look for 12 people reported missing in the floods, AFP correspondents said.
It is an increasingly desperate search for survivors.
Travis Trower, a director for the volunteer-run organisation Rescue South Africa, said his teams had found only corpses after following up 85 calls on Thursday.
“ It’ s unfortunate, but we do the best we can for as many people as we can, ” he told AFP at a small airport north of Durban, one of the rescue hubs
Thousands of survivors, left homeless after their houses were destroyed, are being housed in shelters scattered across the city, sleeping on cardboard sheets and mattresses laid on floors.
Meanwhile volunteers, with hand gloves and trash bags, fanned across the city’ s beaches to pick up debris left by the massive storms ahead of an expected surge of Easter weekend holidaymakers.
– ‘ Absolute devastation, horrendeous sight’ –
Software manager Morne Mustard, 35, was among the scores of volunteers, who included children, picking up debris and broken reeds from Durban’ s famous Umhlanga beach.
“ This is my local beach where I bring my kids, and this is where we spend our weekend, so this is for our community, ”.
He roped in workmates, families and friends to help clean up as beach restaurants offered free breakfast for the volunteers.
Recalling the day the rain fell, Mustard said, “ It didnt feel real, absolute devastation, a horrendous sight, stuff spilling out on the beach must have come from someone’ s house… brooms and mops, household utensils, it was such a heart sore to see. ”
Some of Durban’ s poorest residents lined up on Thursday to collect water from burst pipes and dug through layers of mud to retrieve their scant possessions.
President Cyril Ramaphosa declared the region a state of disaster to unlock relief funds.
Weather forecasters said apocalyptic levels of rain were dumped on the region over several days.
Some areas received more than 450 millimetres ( 18 inches) over 48 hours, or nearly half of Durban’ s annual rainfall, the national weather service said.
The South African Weather Service has issued an Easter weekend warning of thunderstorms and localised flooding in KwaZulu-Natal and neighbouring Free State and Eastern Cape provinces.
The country is still struggling to recover from the two-year-old Covid pandemic and deadly riots last year that killed more than 350 people.
With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency. AFP provides fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives.
The Russian navy's Black Sea flagship is `` seriously damaged '' by an ammunition explosion, state media says.
Germany has officially confiscated the world’ s largest superyacht owned by Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov, as part of sanctions against Moscow.
A picture shows a damaged car as communal services workers board up holes in walls and broken windows at a residential building damaged by...
Ukraine claims its missiles struck the Russian navy's Black Sea flagship, causing a fire that `` seriously damaged '' the vessel.
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Baku to host 9th FIG Rhythmic Gymnastics World Cup | World's strongest rhythmic gymnasts will compete in Baku on April 22-24.
The 9th FIG Rhythmic Gymnastics World Cup will bring together 140 gymnasts from 33 countries.
Some 44 individual and 96 group gymnasts ( 15 groups), will take part in the 5th international competition in gymnastics disciplines hosted by Azerbaijan in 2022.
The 9th FIG Rhythmic Gymnastics World Cup is the fifth international gymnastics competition to be held in Azerbaijan this year.
Arzu Jalilova and Zohra Aghamirova will represented Azerbaijan in the individual program whileGullu Aghalarzade, Laman Alimuradova, Kamilla Aliyeva, Zeynab Hummatova, Yelyzaveta Luzan and Darya Sorokina will perform in group exercises.
The three-day competitions will feature all-around and apparatus finals.
Traditionally, the AGF Trophy Cup is awarded to the gymnast and team in group exercises that received the highest execution score from the judges.
Meanwhile, this will be the 9th Rhythmic Gymnastics World Cup held in Baku so far.
The National Gymnastics Arena previously hosted the Gymnastics Championships and World Cups eight times in 2005 and 2019 in this discipline.
After a two-year break, spectators could watch the competitions at National Gymnastics Arena amid the easing measures under a special quarantine regime.
Spectators under 18 must have a valid COVID-19 vaccine certificate, immunity certificate or COVID-19 vaccine medical contraindication form.
Spectators wishing to watch the exciting performances of rhythmic gymnasts can purchase tickets online at https: //iticket.az/ and from the city ticket offices.
Tickets ' cost constitutes 10 AZN ( $ 5.8) for Qualifications and 15 AZN ( $ 8.8) for finals.
The gymnastics competitions within the 9th FIG Rhythmic Gymnastics World Cup starts at 12:00 ( GMT+4).
In 2022, National Gymnastics Arena hosted the 27th Azerbaijan Championship and the Baku Championship in Acrobatic Gymnastics on February 24-25.
The championships brought together 41 gymnasts representing Ojag Sport Club, Baku Gymnastics School, Neftchi Sports Club, Sumgayit Olympic Sports Complex and Specialized Children and Youth Sports School of the Olympic Reserve No. 13.
The FIG Trampoline Gymnastics World Cup were held in Baku on February 12-13.
Some 60 athletes from 13 countries took part in the first international competitions organized by the Azerbaijan Gymnastics Federation in 2022.
Azerbaijani gymnast Seljan Maksudova won a silver medal at the FIG Trampoline Gymnastics World Cup.
The gymnast scored 52.780 points in the individual program among women in Baku.
Azerbaijan Championship in Rhythmic Gymnastics was successfully held at the National Gymnastics Arena on March 16-17.
Some 40 gymnasts from Baku Gymnastics School, Ojag Sports Club, Republican Complex Sports School ( Baku) as well as gymnasts from Khirdalan's Zirve Sports Club, Sumgayit, Ganja and Mingachevir tool part in the championship held among juniors ( 13-15 years old) and seniors ( 16 years and older).
The gymnasts were determined both in apparatus finals ( ball, hoop, clubs, ribbon) and in the all-around competitions.
The 6th Azerbaijan Championship and the Baku Women's Gymnastics Championship and the 27th Azerbaijan Championship and the Baku Men's Gymnastics Championship took place in Baku.
A total of 69 gymnasts representing the Ojag Sports Club, the Baku Gymnastics School, the Sumgait Olympic Sports Complex, the Specialized Children and Youth Sports School of the Sumgayit Olympic Reserve and the city of Balakan participated in the competitions held on March 25-26.
FIG Artistic Gymnastics Apparatus World Cup was also held at the National Gymnastics Arena from March 31 to April 3.
Some 151 gymnasts from 35 countries competed in the 4th international gymnastics competition organized in Azerbaijan this year. | general |
In an unexpected move, China holds back on cutting key rate | China's central bank kept a key interest rate unchanged on Friday in a surprise move, despite expectations for more stimulus as Beijing grapples with a Covid surge.
The People's Bank of China said it was keeping the rate on its one-year medium-term loan unchanged at 2.85%.
The Asian giant is facing its worst Covid outbreak since the start of the pandemic in late 2019, as it locks down key cities like Shanghai.
The mass lockdowns sparked predictions that its GDP growth would fall to below the government's target of 5.5% for this year, prompting some economists and analysts to expect a rate cut.
`` The People's Bank ( PBOC) forwent the opportunity to lower its policy rates today. That's somewhat surprising given the sharp economic downturn and recent calls from China's leadership for monetary support, '' said Julian Evans-Pritchard, senior China economist at Capital Economics.
`` Most analysts, including us, had expected a cut, '' he said.
Before Friday's surprise decision, investment firm KraneShares said in an overnight note that Chinese stocks rose Thursday in anticipation of the Chinese central bank cutting the medium-term loan facility, as well as the bank reserve requirement ratio and loan prime rate.
Policy easing `` feels like a done deal, '' KraneShares Chief Investment Officer Brendan Ahern had said in the note. He cited recent comments from the central bank which said downward pressure on China's economy had increased, driven by the Covid restrictions.
Premier Li Keqiang was also cited by state media as saying last week that China will boost policy measures to support the economy while looking into new stimulus. Analysts were expecting China's central bank to lower borrowing costs or pump more cash into the economy to spur growth, according to Reuters.
The central bank Friday also did not release more cash into the system, opting to roll over 150 billion yuan ( $ 23.5 billion) worth of medium-term lending facility loans.
`` It underscores the reluctance of the central bank to aggressively ease policy, '' said Evans-Pritchard, of the PBOC's moves Friday. `` But we think it will have little choice but to do more before long. ''
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China's economic growth is seen as likely slowing to 5% for this year as it takes a blow from the renewed Covid outbreak, a Reuters poll showed. That's below the government's target of 5.5%.
However, some analysts pointed out that China's central bank has limited headroom to increase rates due to rapidly rising consumer prices.
`` Rising food and energy price inflation limits the space for the PBOC to cut interest rates, despite the rapidly worsening economy, '' Nomura's chief China economist Ting Lu said in a note Monday.
— CNBC's Evelyn Cheng contributed to this report. | business |
South Korea drops most Covid restrictions as cases fall | Hi, what are you looking for?
South Korea will lift almost all social distancing measures, the government said Friday, citing a dramatic fall in reported cases of Covid-19.
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South Korea will lift almost all social distancing measures, the government said Friday, citing a dramatic fall in reported cases of Covid-19 after an Omicron-fuelled surge, but the mask mandate will remain.
South Koreans will be required to wear masks indoors “ for a considerable time ahead, ” authorities said, adding that they may lift the requirement to mask outdoors in two weeks’ time, if cases continue to fall.
“ The midnight business curfew and a 10-person cap on the size of gatherings will be lifted starting Monday, ” said Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum.
The decision marks the end of two years of strict distancing requirements, which have put huge strain on small businesses, and indicates South Korea is returning to normality.
Restrictions on eating inside facilities such as cinemas will also be lifted from April 25.
But requiring the public to wear masks indoors was “ inevitable for a considerable time ahead, ” to prevent another outbreak, Kim added.
Officials will reassess whether to lift the outdoor mask requirement in two weeks, he added.
Much evidence suggests the risk of transmission outdoors is extremely low, and many countries, including the United States, have said masks aren’ t needed outdoors for vaccinated people.
The move comes after South Korea appears to have passed the peak of an Omicron-driven outbreak, with daily cases falling to below 100,000 last week, down from a peak of over 620,000 in mid-March.
More than 86 percent of the South Korean population of 51 million has been fully vaccinated, with the majority also receiving a booster shot.
South Korea is rolling out second boosters to vulnerable populations.
Around 20,000 people in South Korea have died from the coronavirus — a 0.13 percent fatality rate, which is one of the world’ s lowest.
With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency. AFP provides fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives.
The Russian navy's Black Sea flagship is `` seriously damaged '' by an ammunition explosion, state media says.
Germany has officially confiscated the world’ s largest superyacht owned by Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov, as part of sanctions against Moscow.
A picture shows a damaged car as communal services workers board up holes in walls and broken windows at a residential building damaged by...
Ukraine claims its missiles struck the Russian navy's Black Sea flagship, causing a fire that `` seriously damaged '' the vessel.
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Bankrupt Sri Lanka rations fuel as crisis worsens | Hi, what are you looking for?
Cash-strapped Sri Lanka imposed fuel rationing on Friday in another worsening of the economic crisis.
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Cash-strapped Sri Lanka imposed fuel rationing on Friday in another worsening of the economic crisis that has sparked widespread demonstrations calling for President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’ s resignation.
The state-run Ceylon Petroleum Corporation ( CPC), which accounts for two-thirds of the retail fuel market, said it would limit the quantities drivers can buy, and banned pumping into cans altogether to prevent motorists stocking up on petrol or diesel in fear of further rationing.
The maximum for motorcycles was set at four litres of petrol, with three-wheelers allowed five litres, the CPC said. Private cars, vans and SUVs were allowed up to 19.5 litres of either petrol or diesel.
Most pumping stations were already out of petrol, while the few that remained open saw long queues. At least eight people have died while waiting in fuel lines since last month.
Energy ministry officials said they expected the country’ s other fuel retailer, Lanka IOC — the local unit of Indian Oil Corporation — to follow suit.
There was no immediate comment from the Lanka IOC, which accounts for the remaining one third of the market.
The island nation is in the grip of its worst economic crisis since independence in 1948, with severe shortages of essential goods and regular blackouts causing widespread misery.
The country’ s main cooking gas retailer Litro Gas said it was completely out of stock, but hoped to get new supplies by Monday to resume distribution.
The state-owned firm said its chairman, Theshara Jayasinghe, a strong ally of Rajapaksa, had resigned on Thursday over the “ prevailing situation ” in the country.
Tens of thousands of people kept up a protest outside Rajapaksa’ s office for a seventh straight day Friday demanding he quit over the economic hardships suffered by the country’ s 22 million residents.
Sri Lanka’ s economic meltdown began after the coronavirus pandemic torpedoed vital revenue from tourism and remittances.
The government has urged citizens abroad to donate foreign exchange to help pay for desperately needed essentials after announcing a default on its entire external debt.
It has announced it will open negotiations with the International Monetary Fund to seek a bailout.
With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency. AFP provides fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives.
Germany has officially confiscated the world’ s largest superyacht owned by Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov, as part of sanctions against Moscow.
A picture shows a damaged car as communal services workers board up holes in walls and broken windows at a residential building damaged by...
Ukraine claims its missiles struck the Russian navy's Black Sea flagship, causing a fire that `` seriously damaged '' the vessel.
The reluctance of some European states to call out Russian atrocities in Ukraine as `` genocide '' has sparked tensions with Kyiv.
COPYRIGHT © 1998 - 2022 DIGITAL JOURNAL INC. Digital Journal is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more about our external linking. | general |
Shanghai residents scuffle with police over virus policy: video | Hi, what are you looking for?
Shanghai residents scuffled with hazmat-suited police ordering them to surrender their homes to Covid-19 patients.
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Shanghai residents scuffled with hazmat-suited police ordering them to surrender their homes to Covid-19 patients, videos on social media showed, providing a rare glimpse into rising discontent in the megacity over China’ s inflexible virus response.
Shanghai, a city of 25 million and China’ s economic engine room, has become the heart of the country’ s biggest outbreak since the peak of the first virus wave in Wuhan over two years ago, rattling the country’ s adherence to a strict zero-Covid policy.
Residents locked down since early April have complained of food shortages and over-zealous officials forcing them into state quarantine, as authorities rush to construct tens of thousands of beds to house Covid-19 patients with daily infections topping 20,000.
Late Thursday, videos circulated on social media showing residents outside a compound shouting at ranks of officials holding shields labelled “ police ”, as the officers tried to break through their line.
In one clip, police appear to make several arrests as the residents accuse them of “ hitting people. ”
The incident was triggered after authorities ordered 39 households to move from the compound “ in order to meet the needs of epidemic prevention and control ” and house virus patients in their apartments, according to Zhangjiang Group, the developer of the housing complex.
It has provided a rare window into public anger in China, a country where Communist authorities brook little dissent and censors routinely wipe information relating to protests from the internet as fast as it is uploaded.
In one live-streamed video, a woman can be heard weeping and asking “ why are they taking an old person away? ” as officials appeared to put someone into a car.
Zhangjiang Group said it had compensated the tenants and moved them into other units in the same compound.
In another video, which was live-streamed, a woman is heard yelling “ Zhangjiang Group is trying to turn our compound into a quarantine spot, and allow Covid-positive people to live in our compound. ”
The group recognised videos of the compound that had “ appeared on the internet ” on Thursday and said “ the situation had now settled down ” after “ some tenants obstructed the construction ” of a quarantine fence.
China’ s censors quickly stepped in to scrub evidence of the clash from Chinese social media sites — as they did with several other videos that have appeared over the last few weeks — with search results for the name of the apartment complex disappearing from the Twitter-like Weibo by Friday morning.
Shanghai residents have taken to social media to vent about food shortages and heavy-handed controls, including the killing of a pet corgi by a health worker and a now-softened policy of separating infected children from their virus-free parents.
Authorities have vowed the city “ would not relax in the slightest ”, preparing over a hundred new quarantine facilities to receive every person who tests positive — whether or not they show symptoms.
With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency. AFP provides fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives.
Germany has officially confiscated the world’ s largest superyacht owned by Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov, as part of sanctions against Moscow.
A picture shows a damaged car as communal services workers board up holes in walls and broken windows at a residential building damaged by...
Ukraine claims its missiles struck the Russian navy's Black Sea flagship, causing a fire that `` seriously damaged '' the vessel.
The reluctance of some European states to call out Russian atrocities in Ukraine as `` genocide '' has sparked tensions with Kyiv.
COPYRIGHT © 1998 - 2022 DIGITAL JOURNAL INC. Digital Journal is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more about our external linking. | general |
EU embargo on Russian oil, gas will take 'months ' | Hi, what are you looking for?
The EU is working on broadening sanctions on Russia to include oil and gas embargoes but such measures would take “ several months ”.
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The EU is working on broadening sanctions on Russia to include oil and gas embargoes but such measures would take “ several months ”, European officials told AFP on Friday.
The bloc last week announced a ban on Russian coal in a first step against Russian energy exports — together, Moscow’ s main hard currency earner.
But the coal sanction only kicks in from mid-August, and would hit around eight billion euros ( $ 8.7 billion) in Russia’ s sales abroad, annually.
Russian oil and gas sales to the EU account for a far higher amount of revenue: between a quarter of a billion to a billion euros per day, per different estimates.
Public and political opinion in the EU is swinging towards a total energy ban as Moscow’ s war in Ukraine grinds on and yields discoveries of atrocities.
An EU official involved in discussions on cutting Russian energy imports said the European Commission is “ thinking about options ”. Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen has already come out publicly in favour of targeting Russian oil.
But, the official said, “ adopting measures on oil means undoing existing contracts, finding alternatives and preventing circumvention ”.
“ That can’ t be don’ t overnight. It requires at least several months. ”
– Outrage over war –
Building EU outrage over the war is sweeping aside hesitation by the member states reliant on Russian oil and gas, such as the bloc’ s biggest economy Germany, and Italy, Greece and Austria.
Some EU countries, such as Lithuania, have already announced national bans on Russian oil and gas.
One option to quickly stall revenues going to Russia’ s war could be to pay for energy imports through an escrow account, which Moscow wouldn’ t be able to touch until a postwar settlement.
But there is also thinking about how Russia might retaliate, by cutting supplies to Europe, or — as President Vladimir Putin said this week — selling more to Asia.
In any case, it’ s clear that European industry and consumers will have to consume less oil and gas — something economists call “ demand destruction ”.
“ Cutting demand will have an impact with price hikes, ” another EU official said, echoing comments from several ministers in the bloc.
They noted that the EU’ s main ally in the sanctions, the US — which a month ago imposed its own ban on Russia’ s energy imports — is leery of petrol price rises for American drivers.
“ What’ s more, if Russia sells oil snubbed by the Europeans to other buyers, the sanctions won’ t work, ” one EU official said.
The Europeans and Americans are looking to avoid the sanctions being weakened by China and India.
Brussels is telling Beijing and New Delhi the EU would find it “ difficult to accept partners who undermine the sanctions, ” one EU diplomat said.
– EU unity –
At the same time, the EU is intent on preserving unity among its 27 member states as it navigates sensitive national interests on energy.
Yet determination to target Russian energy was evident at the last meeting of EU foreign ministers on Monday in Luxembourg.
“ The European Union is spending hundreds of millions of euros on importing oil from Russia — that is certainly contributing to financing this war, ” Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said at that meeting.
“ In our view, we need to cut off that financing of war, even though it creates huge challenges and problems for the EU to solve together. ”
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said after the meeting that “ nothing is off the table, including sanctions on oil and gas ” but no decision was yet made.
Borrell said that, in 2021, the EU paid Russia $ 80 billion ( 74 billion euros) for oil and $ 20 billion for gas — which would work out as an average of 250 million euros per day.
Other European sources, including MEPs, have spoken of Russian fossil fuel imports to the value of up to 700 million euros per day.
Figures vary depending on what period of time is being looked at, contract prices versus market spot prices, and currency valuations.
A spike in energy demand as Covid-19 restrictions were eased made energy prices jump even before the war in Ukraine.
The International Energy Agency said that, in 2021, the EU imported 155 billion cubic metres of gas from Russia, representing 45 percent of its gas imports.
The World Economic Forum says the EU gets over a quarter of its imported crude from Russia, but volumes have been dropping over the past decade.
With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency. AFP provides fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives.
Germany has officially confiscated the world’ s largest superyacht owned by Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov, as part of sanctions against Moscow.
A picture shows a damaged car as communal services workers board up holes in walls and broken windows at a residential building damaged by...
Ukraine claims its missiles struck the Russian navy's Black Sea flagship, causing a fire that `` seriously damaged '' the vessel.
The reluctance of some European states to call out Russian atrocities in Ukraine as `` genocide '' has sparked tensions with Kyiv.
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Bernstein: China's 2022 Covid lockdowns inflation risk bigger vs 2020 | BEIJING — China's latest Covid lockdowns are a greater risk for global inflation today than they were in 2020, Bernstein analysts said.
That's because the world has become more reliant on Chinese goods since the pandemic began, the analysts said in an April 8 note.
China's share of exports globally rose to 15.4% in 2021, the highest since at least 2012.
China's exports have surged in the last two years as the country was able to control the initial Covid outbreak within weeks and resume production, while the rest of the world struggled to contain the virus. China has maintained its zero-Covid policy, while other countries have relaxed controls in the last year.
Over the last several weeks, mainland China has tackled its worst Covid wave in two years with lockdowns and travel restrictions that foreign business leaders have described as tougher than in early 2020. The stay-home orders and virus testing requirements have particularly affected coastal economic centers like Shanghai.
`` We believe, the macro impact of China lockdowns could be quite high and something which the market is not yet pricing in, '' Bernstein's Jay Huang and a team said in a report.
Compared to pre-pandemic levels, Shanghai export container costs are five times higher and air freight rates are two times higher, the report said, noting similar strains on supplier delivery time. `` Hence, there would be higher export of inflation, especially to China's large trading partners but at the same time delay China's own demand recovery. ''
Reflecting supply chain disruptions, Chinese electric car company Nio announced production halts over the weekend, with some production resuming Thursday. German automaker Volkswagen said its factories on the outskirts of Shanghai and in the northern province of Jilin remained closed through at least Thursday.
Bernstein's analysis found that China manufactures the majority of overseas demand for containers, ships, rare earths and solar modules — along with the bulk of mobile phones and PCs.
Chinese factories no longer only complete the final assembly for those electronic products but also manufacture components like LCD panels and integrated circuits, the report said, pointing to faster growth in 2021 in exports of those parts.
China's first quarter trade data showed steady growth in exports. The country's producer price index and consumer price index rose faster-than-expected in March, according to data out Monday.
Since the pandemic began, China has become a significant manufacturer in the auto industry, especially in the electric vehicle supply chain, the Bernstein report said.
The analysts noted how automobile and component exports grew an average 119% in 2021 from the previous year, exceeding the 30% growth in China's exports overall. The country accounts for roughly 74% of global battery cell production, the report said.
China is the world's largest auto market and began to promote electric vehicle development and purchases in the last several years, primarily through subsidies. Foreign automakers attracted to the market have accordingly begun to launch electric vehicles for China in the last few years.
Now, Tesla, BMW and other automakers are increasingly making electric vehicles in China to export to other countries, the Bernstein report said. Including fuel-powered cars, Chinese state-owned automakers SAIC and Chery are the top exporters from China of passenger vehicles by volume, the report said, noting growing sales of China-made cars to Chile, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
While the report did not discuss the specific impact of Covid lockdowns on auto-related supply chains, the analysts pointed out a number of Korean and Japanese automakers faced production disruptions in 2020 when Covid forced Wuhan to lockdown.
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In March, passenger car exports rose by 14% from a year ago to 107,000 units, with new energy vehicles accounting for 10.7%, according to the China Passenger Car Association. The report noted the impact of external uncertainties and declines in exports to Europe.
China vehicle exports accounted for around 3.7% of vehicle sales outside the country in 2021, albeit up from less than 2% in the two previous years, the Bernstein report said.
— CNBC's Michael Bloom contributed to this report. | business |
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