29 influenza-associated hospitalizations and 2 deaths. <41% area ER and urgent care visits were adults (age 18-44) for flu symptoms. Influenza A is the dominant strain. ------- Total Hospitalized: 9474*, ⬆️47 from 9427 (2/11)
ICU: 3516, ⬆️12 from 3504 (2/11)
Intubated: 1784, ⬆️4 from 1780 (2/11)
Deceased while hospitalized: 2975, ⬆️15 from 2960 (2/11)
*Hospitalized excludes deaths ------- Total Deaths: 3600, ⬆️23 from 3577 (2/10) (2282 with underlying medical conditions) Not mutually exclusive conditions:
Hypertension 1456⬆️
Immunocompromised 117
Chronic Heart Disease 696⬆️
Chronic Liver Disease 75
Chronic Kidney Disease 494⬆️
Diabetes 1072⬆️
Neurologic/Neurodevelopmental 282⬆️
Chronic Lung Disease 540⬆️
Historically Healthy 225⬆️
Other 844⬆️
------- Positive Results Age Range Breakdown:
0-4 4631⬆️8 2.09%
5-17 21064⬆️59 9.52%
18-24 28032⬆️57 12.70%
25-49 101233⬆️203 45.80%
50-64 42717⬆️99 19.30%
65+ 23488⬆️80 10.60%
Unknown 50⬇️1 0.02%
MIS-C Cases 48 ------- School Cases (2/12) Total: 839; Past 2wks: 71
Staff 456; 26
Students 383; 45
Public: 463; 31
Staff 321; 18
Students 142; 13
Private: 376; 40
Staff 135; 8
Students 241; 32
------- Hospitalized Age Range Breakdown:
0-4 70⬆️1 0.60%
5-17 132⬆️1 1.10%
18-24 285 2.30%
25-49 2921⬆️12 23.50%
50-64 3423⬆️9 27.60%
65+ 5616⬆️39 45.10%
Unknown 2 0.00%
------- Deaths Age Range Breakdown:
0-4 0 0.00%
5-17 3⬇️1 0.10%
18-24 7⬆️1 0.20%
25-49 239⬆️3 6.60%
50-64 690⬆️3 19.20%
65+ 2661⬆️17 73.90%
Test result average turnaround time is 24- to 48-hours with UMC/SNHD sites. CVS is averaging 2 to 3+ days. ------- "Daily case counts reflect newly reported cases and may represent cases that were tested in the preceding days, which could significantly impact the count on days when a relatively large number of laboratory reports arrive in one day." SNHD confirmed they are not counting COVID-19 antibody positives into their COVID-19 positive case counts. Majority of information is pulled from Southern Nevada Health District's COVID-19 dashboard and historical reports. Our positives are under 1000/day, our recovery rate remains high (90+% range), our hospitalizations remain steady (under 500). SNHD dashboard has new "Place of Possible Exposure" tab, listing cumulative and last 30 days cases in establishments. Top 10 Places of Possible Exposure (Last 30 days) (2/12)
Other (3806)
Food establishment (2295)
Work (1679)
Grocery store (1606)
Hotel/Motel (1165)
Medical Facility (1111)
Casino (856)
School (399)
Air travel (321)
General store/shop (298)
Nevada Hospital Association 2/8 report states: Hospitalizations improved over the weekend. Case counts are below last week's peak. All trajectories are in decline. Hospital capacity are within capable occupancy rates. PPE, supplies, and equipment are in good conditions. Majority of hospitalized CV19+ are in the 50+ age groups. Protect our vulnerable and continue to practice good hygiene habits, including wearing a mask to prevent asymptomatic spread as mandated by Governor Sisolak (onus is on businesses, which we want to keep open, but Metro will not enforce it; OSHA is responsible for mask enforcement by fining the business). To report a non-compliant business through the state, call (702) 486-9020. Doctors are doing convalescent plasma therapy treatments and are seeking plasma donors to help those in need. One plasma donation can help five patients. Blood donors can get the antibodies testing done for free through Vitalant. 54 therapeutics are still underway to treat COVID-19 worldwide. US FDA emergency use authorized treatments are: Remdesivir, Dexamethaaone, Regeneron's antibody cocktail (REGEN-COV2), and Eli Lilly's antibody treatment: baricitinib - a combination of Veklury and the JAK inhibitor Olumiant. Nevada is approved for the 24-hour test procedure. FDA approved a 30-minute and a 5-minute testing procedures. UNLV provides the main walk-in COVID-19 testing services. The first at-home testing kit was FDA approved on 5/15/2020. If you live within a 1-mile range of the Wal-Mart on Craig Rd, you qualify for a drone-delivered test kit to your front or back door. This is while supplies last, if anyone has info that they stopped providing this, let me know. Some testing sites require an appointment; some may need to be scheduled by your primary care physician or another authorized provider. City Serve coordinates testing sites throughout the valley. Testing is only on Saturdays. Schedule a no-cost test here: https://cityservelv.org/ UMC, E7 Health and local laboratories are able to conduct FDA approved antibodies testing. Cost is normally $149+, but your insurance may reimburse you for the test. Check your coverage first. Vitalant/Universal Blood Services will do a free antibody test for any eligible donors. UMC is able to process 4,000 tests per day. It is encouraged for anyone to be tested. Symptoms are no longer required. Appointment is preferred, walk-up testing is available. UMC's testing sites are inside Stan Fulton Building and Cashman Field Center. They can do 1,200 tests per day, Tues-Sat 8am to 4pm. No symptoms, insurance, or citizenship required for testing; starting 1/11 requesting insurance coverage. Schedule an appointment online through UMC's website (www.umcsn.com). Sites are walk-in, appointment or walk-up. Both sites now use the self-nasal swab test kits. Families can be tested as one household together. UMC's COVID-19 test guidelines:
After positive test, no follow-up test is needed after 7-day isolation period asymptomatic; or 10-day with symptoms and no fever after 24 hours.
If employer requires a negative test in order for employee to return to work, then employer provides the test
Guidelines are to save test kits for those exhibiting symptoms. See all testing locations on the SNHD website. All CVS pharmacy drive-thru locations can also testing, no cost should be associated. Validate with your insurance. If no insurance, there should be no charge. Requires an appointment. FDA officially grants emergency-use authorization of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine (12/11/2020). Distribution of vaccine began (12/14/2020). The first vaccine was tested 3/16/2020. More than 160 vaccine prototypes are being tested. Clinical trials of the vaccine were administered. Phase 1 & 2 of trial vaccines completed with positive antibody results. Phase 3 clinical trials started with 30k volunteers; test size of 3k vaccine trials in the UK have completed. Africa started their vaccine trials on 06/24/2020. Of the 100+ vaccines submitted, 22 have made the cut to go through testing and final FDA approval phases (5/15/2020 briefing). The front runner vaccine conducted human trails (Phase 3 aka final stage). AstraZeneca has prepared to produce 2 billion doses. Pfizer claims their vaccine is more than 95% effective. Moderna vaccine claims about 94.5% effective. Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine is 70% to 90% effective based on dosage program (single dose versus duo dose). US government has been working with four vaccine manufacturers who have completed final phases of vaccine trials, all prepared for massive vaccine output. Vaccine distribution has been revised two "lanes" for vaccination: Healthcare front line/essential workers and general population, with emphasis on health conditions. NV CV19 vaccine playbook v3.pdf To sign up for vaccine notification when you're eligible: NV CV19 Vaccine Interest Form. More info on where to get the vaccine. Total doses administered: 394,172 (2/12)
1st dose stage: 308,611
2nd dose stage: 83,485
Total doses received to distribute: 533,800 Source Cashman Center and Las Vegas Convention Center are prepared to become vaccine mega centers, to distribute 40k to 45k shots per week (about 4k per day per site). Regional vaccine pop-up sites will be throughout the valley to provide access to those wanting the vaccine. Visit SNHD site for eligibility and to book your appointment online. Seniors who need assistance scheduling for their COVID-19 vaccine, call 1-800-401-0946, 8am to 8pm, 7 days a week. Las Vegas Convention Center will be the main 2nd dose distribution center starting Tues., Feb. 2nd. Open Tues-Sat, Central Hall, for both Moderna & Pfizer. If you didn't receive a notification to get your 2nd dose, call (702) 759-0850 to make your 2nd dose appointment. UMC's vaccine mega center will be at Encore, near the parking lot of their convention center area. They are prepared to distribute hundred per day according to the state guidelines. Appointment is required. North Las Vegas residents 70 and older can visit VaxNLV.com to fill out a simple intake form to enroll for vaccinations. Enrollment for these seniors will be open until Friday evening. Immediately after, the City will begin pre-enrollment for the general public. Seniors ages 70 or older who would like a vaccine may also call (702) 342-8417 for additional assistance, though wait times may be significantly longer than using the online, mobile-friendly platform. Remain mindful to give our medical community the ability to focus on those in need of their expertise to survive and combat the virus. For Nevada COVID-19 metrics, with historical spreadsheet and graph data, visit: The Nevada Independent Coronavirus Tracking or check out the link in our side bar.
------- Current # COVID-19 in ICU: 200 (2/9) ⬆️2 from 198 (2/9) # COVID-19 on ventilator: 135 (2/9) ⬆️5 from 130 (2/9) # Staffed ICU beds inventory: 772 (2/10) # Staffed inpatient beds inventory: 5174 (2/10) ⬇️5 from 5179 (2/9) % Staffed beds occupied: 79% (2/10) ⬆️2 from 77% (2/9) # Licensed inpatient beds inventory: 4686 (2/10) % Licensed beds occupied: 87% (2/9) ⬆️1 from 86% (2/9) # Ventilators available: 547 (2/10) # Ventilators in use: 406 (2/10) # Ventilators inventory: 953 (2/10) Source (mid-Feb becomes weekly, every Thurs): https://nvha.net ------- SNHD reports 94.7% (209,090, ⬆️721 from 208,369 (2/10)) of cases have recovered. ------- SNHD weekly flu snapshot (1/24 thru 1/30): Age / Deaths / Hospitalized
0-4 0 1
5-17 0 0
18-24 0 1
25-49 0 3
50-64 0 7
65+ 2 14
Total 2 26
2019 Ref. 36 1070 Cases: 1073
<46% area ER and urgent care visits were adults (age 18-44) for flu symptoms. Influenza A is the dominant strain. ------- Total Hospitalized: 9427*, ⬆️33 from 9394 (2/10)
ICU: 3504, ⬆️34 from 3470 (2/10)
Intubated: 1780, ⬆️23 from 1757 (2/10)
Deceased while hospitalized: 2960, ⬆️32 from 2928 (2/10)
*Hospitalized excludes deaths ------- Total Deaths: 3525, ⬆️16 from 3525 (2/10) (2273 with underlying medical conditions) Not mutually exclusive conditions:
Hypertension 1451⬆️
Immunocompromised 117⬆️
Chronic Heart Disease 695⬆️
Chronic Liver Disease 75
Chronic Kidney Disease 492⬆️
Diabetes 1067⬆️
Neurologic/Neurodevelopmental 279⬆️
Chronic Lung Disease 538⬆️
Historically Healthy 222⬆️
Other 837⬆️
------- Positive Results Age Range Breakdown:
0-4 4623⬆️9 2.09%
5-17 21005⬆️47 9.52%
18-24 27975⬆️55 12.70%
25-49 101030⬆️210 45.80%
50-64 42618⬆️106 19.30%
65+ 23408⬆️80 10.60%
Unknown 51⬇️1 0.02%
MIS-C Cases 48 ------- School Cases (2/11) Total: 839; Past 2wks: 76
Staff 456; 29
Students 383; 47
Public: 463; 33
Staff 321; 20
Students 142; 13
Private: 376; 43
Staff 135; 9
Students 241; 34
------- Hospitalized Age Range Breakdown:
0-4 69 0.60%
5-17 131 1.10%
18-24 285⬆️1 2.30%
25-49 2909⬆️11 23.50%
50-64 3414⬆️16 27.60%
65+ 5577⬆️37 45.00%
Unknown 2 0.00%
------- Deaths Age Range Breakdown:
0-4 0 0.00%
5-17 4⬆️1 0.10%
18-24 6 0.20%
25-49 236⬆️2 6.60%
50-64 687⬆️9 19.20%
65+ 2644⬆️40 73.90%
Test result average turnaround time is 24- to 48-hours with UMC/SNHD sites. CVS is averaging 2 to 3+ days. ------- "Daily case counts reflect newly reported cases and may represent cases that were tested in the preceding days, which could significantly impact the count on days when a relatively large number of laboratory reports arrive in one day." SNHD confirmed they are not counting COVID-19 antibody positives into their COVID-19 positive case counts. Majority of information is pulled from Southern Nevada Health District's COVID-19 dashboard and historical reports. Our positives are under 1000/day, our recovery rate remains high (90+% range), our hospitalizations remain steady (under 500). SNHD dashboard has new "Place of Possible Exposure" tab, listing cumulative and last 30 days cases in establishments. Top 10 Places of Possible Exposure (Last 30 days)
Other (3698)
Food establishment (2213)
Work (1618)
Grocery store (1540)
Hotel/Motel (1131)
Medical Facility (1102)
Casino (837)
School (390)
Air travel (320)
General store/shop (291)
Nevada Hospital Association 2/8 report states: Hospitalizations improved over the weekend. Case counts are below last week's peak. All trajectories are in decline. Hospital capacity are within capable occupancy rates. PPE, supplies, and equipment are in good conditions. Majority of hospitalized CV19+ are in the 50+ age groups. Protect our vulnerable and continue to practice good hygiene habits, including wearing a mask to prevent asymptomatic spread as mandated by Governor Sisolak (onus is on businesses, which we want to keep open, but Metro will not enforce it; OSHA is responsible for mask enforcement by fining the business). To report a non-compliant business through the state, call (702) 486-9020. Doctors are doing convalescent plasma therapy treatments and are seeking plasma donors to help those in need. One plasma donation can help five patients. Blood donors can get the antibodies testing done for free through Vitalant. 54 therapeutics are still underway to treat COVID-19 worldwide. US FDA emergency use authorized treatments are: Remdesivir, Dexamethaaone, Regeneron's antibody cocktail (REGEN-COV2), and Eli Lilly's antibody treatment: baricitinib - a combination of Veklury and the JAK inhibitor Olumiant. Nevada is approved for the 24-hour test procedure. FDA approved a 30-minute and a 5-minute testing procedures. UNLV provides the main walk-in COVID-19 testing services. The first at-home testing kit was FDA approved on 5/15/2020. If you live within a 1-mile range of the Wal-Mart on Craig Rd, you qualify for a drone-delivered test kit to your front or back door. This is while supplies last, if anyone has info that they stopped providing this, let me know. Some testing sites require an appointment; some may need to be scheduled by your primary care physician or another authorized provider. City Serve coordinates testing sites throughout the valley. Testing is only on Saturdays. Schedule a no-cost test here: https://cityservelv.org/ UMC, E7 Health and local laboratories are able to conduct FDA approved antibodies testing. Cost is normally $149+, but your insurance may reimburse you for the test. Check your coverage first. Vitalant/Universal Blood Services will do a free antibody test for any eligible donors. UMC is able to process 4,000 tests per day. It is encouraged for anyone to be tested. Symptoms are no longer required. Appointment is preferred, walk-up testing is available. UMC's testing sites are inside Stan Fulton Building and Cashman Field Center. They can do 1,200 tests per day, Tues-Sat 8am to 4pm. No symptoms, insurance, or citizenship required for testing; starting 1/11 requesting insurance coverage. Schedule an appointment online through UMC's website (www.umcsn.com). Sites are walk-in, appointment or walk-up. Both sites now use the self-nasal swab test kits. Families can be tested as one household together. UMC's COVID-19 test guidelines:
After positive test, no follow-up test is needed after 7-day isolation period asymptomatic; or 10-day with symptoms and no fever after 24 hours.
If employer requires a negative test in order for employee to return to work, then employer provides the test
Guidelines are to save test kits for those exhibiting symptoms. See all testing locations on the SNHD website. All CVS pharmacy drive-thru locations can also testing, no cost should be associated. Validate with your insurance. If no insurance, there should be no charge. Requires an appointment. FDA officially grants emergency-use authorization of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine (12/11/2020). Distribution of vaccine began (12/14/2020). The first vaccine was tested 3/16/2020. More than 160 vaccine prototypes are being tested. Clinical trials of the vaccine were administered. Phase 1 & 2 of trial vaccines completed with positive antibody results. Phase 3 clinical trials started with 30k volunteers; test size of 3k vaccine trials in the UK have completed. Africa started their vaccine trials on 06/24/2020. Of the 100+ vaccines submitted, 22 have made the cut to go through testing and final FDA approval phases (5/15/2020 briefing). The front runner vaccine conducted human trails (Phase 3 aka final stage). AstraZeneca has prepared to produce 2 billion doses. Pfizer claims their vaccine is more than 95% effective. Moderna vaccine claims about 94.5% effective. Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine is 70% to 90% effective based on dosage program (single dose versus duo dose). US government has been working with four vaccine manufacturers who have completed final phases of vaccine trials, all prepared for massive vaccine output. Vaccine distribution has been revised two "lanes" for vaccination: Healthcare front line/essential workers and general population, with emphasis on health conditions. NV CV19 vaccine playbook v3.pdf To sign up for vaccine notification when you're eligible: NV CV19 Vaccine Interest Form. More info on where to get the vaccine. Total doses administered: 379,077 (2/11)
1st dose stage: 299,502
2nd dose stage: 77,555
Total doses received to distribute: 533,800 Source Cashman Center and Las Vegas Convention Center are prepared to become vaccine mega centers, to distribute 40k to 45k shots per week (about 4k per day per site). Regional vaccine pop-up sites will be throughout the valley to provide access to those wanting the vaccine. Visit SNHD site for eligibility and to book your appointment online. Seniors who need assistance scheduling for their COVID-19 vaccine, call 1-800-401-0946, 8am to 8pm, 7 days a week. Las Vegas Convention Center will be the main 2nd dose distribution center starting Tues., Feb. 2nd. Open Tues-Sat, Central Hall, for both Moderna & Pfizer. If you didn't receive a notification to get your 2nd dose, call (702) 759-0850 to make your 2nd dose appointment. UMC's vaccine mega center will be at Encore, near the parking lot of their convention center area. They are prepared to distribute hundred per day according to the state guidelines. Appointment is required. North Las Vegas residents 70 and older can visit VaxNLV.com to fill out a simple intake form to enroll for vaccinations. Enrollment for these seniors will be open until Friday evening. Immediately after, the City will begin pre-enrollment for the general public. Seniors ages 70 or older who would like a vaccine may also call (702) 342-8417 for additional assistance, though wait times may be significantly longer than using the online, mobile-friendly platform. Remain mindful to give our medical community the ability to focus on those in need of their expertise to survive and combat the virus. For Nevada COVID-19 metrics, with historical spreadsheet and graph data, visit: The Nevada Independent Coronavirus Tracking or check out the link in our side bar.
'Looking down their nose at you': GameStop frenzy showed a fresh contempt for hedge funds. Why do Americans hate them? Updated 2:25 pm EST Feb. 11, 2021 In the middle of a pandemic and slow economic recovery, Americans think they’ve identified their Wall Street villain: hedge funds. Their nemesis is summed up in a few searing images: a hedge fund manager who makes millions betting that the subprime mortgage market will collapse, without warning them. Or another relaxing on a yacht as the economy tanks. Years of anger culminated late last month when a group of angry small-time investors on Reddit took on a few of those firms in the GameStop “short squeeze” frenzy. That spurred millions of others to join in, as their effort to drive up the price of a stock perceived as undervalued soon shifted to a campaign to “Stick it to Wall Street." They used the "squeeze" to rally the share price and make profits for themselves while forcing the hedge funds who had bet it would fall to buy it to prevent greater losses. What are these funds, and where does this resentment come from? Hedge funds, known for using higher risk investing strategies, are private investment vehicles that typically wealthy individuals use to get higher returns. They control more than $3 trillion in assets globally. They've angered many Americans by gutting companies such as former American retail icon Sears, causing layoffs and engaging in questionable financial practices that contributed to the near collapse of the U.S. financial system in 2008, experts say. 'This is life changing': Meet the Redditors behind the GameStop saga “Most people see it as guys in suits looking down their nose at you,” says Adam Bixler, 28, an active user on the WallStreetBets Reddit forum, whose members led the charge against the funds. “How I feel is probably how a lot of people feel when thinking about the financial crisis and the massive wealth inequality that exists in this country.” Radio Shack, Toys ‘R’ Us and Payless ShoeSource, along with mall-based retailers such as the Limited, Wet Seal, Claire’s and Aeropostale faced further financial woes after hedge funds and private equity firms loaded them up with debt. A fight is raging in the stock market: Should you worry about your 401(k)? Where to get vaccines: CVS, Walgreens to begin delivering COVID-19 vaccines on Friday “The idea that you can crack open a hedge fund like a piñata and redistribute all this money to people in the form of a short squeeze is very appealing,” says Bixler, who lives in Boonton, New Jersey, and works as a product manager for a company that makes software and tools for the advertising industry. “These are the stimulus checks that everyone wanted.” Proponents of hedge funds say the firms identify and support distressed industries such as retailers and newspapers. These funds are owned by groups of big investors pooling the savings of millions of unionized workers, such as teachers and firefighters, who count on hedge funds to grow and protect their nest eggs. Even so, hedge funds are viewed as vultures by many Americans. Kaysha Apodaca, an emergency room nurse in Dallas, was furious last summer when she lost thousands of dollars after CytoDyn, a biotechnology company she owns, was hammered following a negative report from a “short selling” research firm, about one of CytroDyn's drugs in clinical trials. The post with the research was later pulled. This year, Apodaca thought she missed the opportunity to jump in and buy GameStop or AMC, so she supported the Reddit campaign against hedge funds by investing a few thousand dollars into shares of Nokia, another beaten-down stock discussed on the forum. “I hate hedge funds. Even if this goes to zero, I’m OK with it. I’m not selling, just to prove a point,” Apodaca said. “Hedge funds have unfairly made money off retail investors for years. Now they’re getting a taste of their own medicine.” For Iris Findlay of Orlando, Florida, joining the movement was a way for Americans to show their strength in numbers. “I’m definitely not OK that there are so many billionaires hoarding their wealth while people are struggling, especially during the pandemic,” said Findlay, 31, who is disabled and retired from the Air Force. A large portion of hedge-fund assets are owned by institutional investors, such as pension funds and endowments. Hedge fund research has been critical in exposing an array of accounting fraud scandals in recent decades, including the one involving energy firm Enron. “Hedge funds do play a very important role in the financial ecosystem, but at the same time, they have a PR problem,” says Andrew Lo, a finance professor at MIT Sloan School of Management. They are an easy target, experts say, because some high-profile managers' massive wealth offends Americans who struggle to make ends meet. Michael Burry, founder of Scion Asset Management, is an investor whose billion-dollar bet against the housing market was chronicled in Michael Lewis' book "The Big Short." He personally collected $100 million and made $750 million in profits for his investors. These managers “are seen as multibillionaires that really don’t care about the public good and are focused on enriching themselves and their investors,” Lo says. “But I think that’s a caricature, especially given that hedge funds now have become much more institutionalized as pension funds and endowments are investing in these financial vehicles.” Who do Americans blame? When asked who was the “most in the wrong” in the trading mania that set off one of the biggest short squeezes in history, nearly half of Americans polled said it was either hedge funds (27%) or online brokerage Robinhood (22%), according to a Harris Poll survey conducted Jan 29-31 that was given to USA TODAY exclusively. Just 8% said it was the Reddit retail investors on the WallStreetBets forum, who angered hedge funds that had bet GameStop's stock would remain low. The small-time investors used the forum to help drive up the prices for shares such as GameStop, theater chain AMC Entertainment and several other companies. Many respondents were angry that hedge funds were shorting stocks – betting that the share prices would fall – of companies that average people use and love, according to John Gerzema, CEO of the Harris Poll. “This wasn’t just an attack on a few weak companies,” Gerzema says. “These are companies that are a part of middle-class America and ordinary people’s lives.” How did these funds begin, and how did they grow into such big villains in the minds of so many? What are hedge funds? Hedge funds are financial partnerships between a professional fund manager and investors who pool their money into the fund to earn active returns. Hedge funds can be traced back to the 1940s when Alfred Winslow Jones, an investor, sociologist and former Fortune magazine writer, created a "hedge" by “shorting" stocks he thought were poised to fall. The "hedge" was meant to reduce risk and protect against market fluctuations. It was unconventional at the time but remains the basic strategy for these funds. Hedge fund strategies today are more diverse and run the gamut of extremely risky to fairly conservative. There's another theory about the origin of hedge funds, and this one is connected to a more beloved figure. Some people credit the founding of hedge funds to Benjamin Graham, a mentor to Warren Buffett and the author of "The Intelligent Investor" – the bible of everyone who loves Buffett's method of investing. Buffett, one of the world's richest people and a folksy inspiration to small-time investors, argued that Graham managed a fund with a "hedge"-like strategy in the 1920s. So you made a bundle on GameStop: Get ready to pay the taxes How did hedge funds evolve? Hedge funds have gained in popularity over the past two decades after many of them delivered hefty outsize returns in either up or down markets, an attractive selling point for savvy investors. Some of the world's largest hedge funds include Bridgewater Associates, founded by billionaire Ray Dalio; Renaissance Technologies, founded by billionaire Jim Simons; and Pershing Square, run by Wall Street billionaire Bill Ackman. They have historically charged much higher fees than mutual funds, which are professionally managed funds that invest in stocks, bonds or money market instruments. Since hedge fund managers are nearly always paid a performance fee, or percentage of the gains they create, they have a strong incentive to make money for their investors. For the hedge fund managers to earn performance fees, their investors have to make money first. Hedge funds charge an expense ratio and a performance fee. The common fee structure is known as two and twenty – a 2% asset management fee and a 20% cut of generated gains. How did they become villains? While many Americans lost money during the depths of the financial crisis, some big-time investors did astonishingly well, including those who predicted and profited from the buildup and collapse of the housing and credit bubble in 2007 and 2008. For those Americans who had their livelihoods upended in the financial crisis, it left a bad taste in their mouths, experts say. “They’re associated with ruthless financial institutions that are out there to make money and not care where it’s coming from,” says Itay Goldstein, a professor of finance and economics at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business. A big winner from that time is billionaire investor John Paulson, a hedge fund manager who netted $20 billion in profits when he bet against subprime mortgages at the peak of the credit bubble in 2007. In general, short sellers keep stock prices in check by voicing their opinion on where they believe a stock is valued, says Dennis Dick, head of markets structure and a proprietary trader at Bright Trading in Las Vegas. “I’m concerned with this public image that ‘evil short sellers are betting against America’ and that it’s ‘un-American to short stocks,’” Dick says. “It’s not like every short seller is making bets against America. They’re making calls on whether a stock is overvalued or not.” GameStop: Reddit ran a 5-second Super Bowl ad in honor of WallStreetBets, GameStop stock volatility The hedge fund industry has faced a rough stretch in recent years and underperformed the broader stock market but produced its best return in a decade at 11.6% in 2020, according to data provider Hedge Fund Research. Some received a boost from shares of technology firms and companies that focused on goods that people used when stuck at home during the pandemic. Americans who don’t invest directly in hedge funds still receive a benefit from the returns that hedge funds generate, according to Daniel Smith, a partner at ACA Compliance Group, an advisory firm for financial services. Of the $4.5 trillion in state and local pension plans, about 6.9% is allocated to hedge funds, according to data published by the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, the Center for State and Local Government Excellence and the National Association of State Retirement Administrators. ”Hedge funds help secure the retirement of more than 26 million teachers, firefighters and other public employees by helping pensions navigate all market conditions and meet long-term financial obligations,” says Bryan Corbett, president and CEO at Managed Funds Association, a hedge fund lobby group. GameStop and questions of power The rollercoaster involving GameStop, Reddit and Robinhood has prompted Capitol Hill’s harshest criticisms of Wall Street in years. Several prominent lawmakers on Capitol Hill have warned of such moments, cautioning that companies and hedge funds have too much power. One of these lawmakers, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., who is well known for her disapproval of Wall Street, called on the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to address the dramatic swings surrounding these companies. Warren wrote in a letter that it is “long beyond time for the SEC to act” and asked it to investigate the rallies in GameStop, AMC Entertainment and others that “have seen huge shifts in their share price driven by similar internet reading schemes.” "These wild fluctuations are just the latest indication that many private equity firms, hedge funds, and other investors, big and small, are treating the stock market like a casino, giving little consideration to the companies, communities, workers, and consumers that may be affected by these risky bets," she wrote. The House Financial Services Committee will hold a virtual hearing Feb. 18 regarding “recent market volatility” involving GameStop and the other companies. According to Politico, the CEO of Robinhood, Vlad Tenev, is likely to testify. GameStop-Robinhood stock revolution: Not a secure retirement plan Does the movement have legs? Questions have been raised as to whether the populist movement threatening to disrupt the financial system will be sustained. It’s too early to tell, experts say. “It has the potential to gather momentum. It depends on whether we see other related episodes in the next few weeks that show the same kind of patterns in the financial markets," Goldstein says. "We live in a period of so many unusual things going on that it will probably take the edge off this event." Hedge funds such as Melvin Capital Management took the brunt of losses from soaring stock prices of GameStop and other heavily shorted stocks. Others made a ton of money on the rally, including Senvest Management, which had a profit of nearly $700 million, The Wall Street Journal reported. “Is it sticking it to Wall Street? Only temporarily, but in the long term probably not,” Goldstein says. “At the end of the day, the sophisticated financial institutions will find ways to recuperate and make money out of this.” Lo of MIT agrees. “This incident highlights the growing dissatisfaction, distrust and dislocation that many people feel with respect to the financial sector,” Lo says. “It suggests that people are sick and tired of being disenfranchised and being pushed around by large financial institutions.” Contributing: Savannah Behrmann
<46% area ER and urgent care visits were adults (age 18-44) for flu symptoms. Influenza A is the dominant strain. ------- Total Hospitalized: 9394*, ⬆️53 from 9341 (2/9)
ICU: 3470, ⬆️24 from 3446 (2/9)
Intubated: 1757, ⬆️11 from 1746 (2/9)
Deceased while hospitalized: 2928, ⬆️24 from 2904 (2/9)
*Hospitalized excludes deaths ------- Total Deaths: 3525, ⬆️16 from 3509 (2/9) (2240 with underlying medical conditions) Not mutually exclusive conditions:
Hypertension 1426⬆️
Immunocompromised 113
Chronic Heart Disease 685⬆️
Chronic Liver Disease 75⬆️
Chronic Kidney Disease 482⬆️
Diabetes 1052⬆️
Neurologic/Neurodevelopmental 273⬆️
Chronic Lung Disease 533⬆️
Historically Healthy 217
Other 830⬆️
------- Positive Results Age Range Breakdown:
0-4 4614⬆️13 2.10%
5-17 20958⬆️73 9.52%
18-24 27920⬆️72 12.70%
25-49 100820⬆️240 45.80%
50-64 42512⬆️120 19.30%
65+ 23328⬆️84 10.60%
Unknown 52 0.02%
MIS-C Cases 48⬆️2 ------- School Cases (2/10) Total: 836; Past 2wks: 80
Staff 458; 34
Students 378; 46
Public: 463; 36
Staff 321; 23
Students 142; 13
Private: 373; 44
Staff 137; 11
Students 236; 33
------- Hospitalized Age Range Breakdown:
0-4 69 0.60%
5-17 131⬆️2 1.10%
18-24 284⬆️3 2.30%
25-49 2898⬆️9 23.50%
50-64 3398⬆️18 27.60%
65+ 5540⬆️45 45.00%
Unknown 2 0.00%
------- Deaths Age Range Breakdown:
0-4 0 0.00%
5-17 3 0.10%
18-24 6 0.20%
25-49 234⬆️1 6.60%
50-64 678⬆️4 19.20%
65+ 2604⬆️11 73.90%
Test result average turnaround time is 24- to 48-hours with UMC/SNHD sites. CVS is averaging 2 to 3+ days. ------- Expect weekend delay in case reports. "Daily case counts reflect newly reported cases and may represent cases that were tested in the preceding days, which could significantly impact the count on days when a relatively large number of laboratory reports arrive in one day." SNHD confirmed they are not counting COVID-19 antibody positives into their COVID-19 positive case counts. Majority of information is pulled from Southern Nevada Health District's COVID-19 dashboard and historical reports. Our positives are under 1000/day, our recovery rate remains high (90+% range), our hospitalizations remain steady (under 500). SNHD dashboard has new "Place of Possible Exposure" tab, listing cumulative and last 30 days cases in establishments. Top 10 Places of Possible Exposure (Last 30 days)
Other (3643)
Food establishment (2178)
Work (1599)
Grocery store (1534)
Hotel/Motel (1120)
Medical Facility (1120)
Casino (824)
School (383)
Air travel (312)
General store/shop (271)
Nevada Hospital Association 2/8 report states: Hospitalizations improved over the weekend. Case counts are below last week's peak. All trajectories are in decline. Hospital capacity are within capable occupancy rates. PPE, supplies, and equipment are in good conditions. Majority of hospitalized CV19+ are in the 50+ age groups. Protect our vulnerable and continue to practice good hygiene habits, including wearing a mask to prevent asymptomatic spread as mandated by Governor Sisolak (onus is on businesses, which we want to keep open, but Metro will not enforce it; OSHA is responsible for mask enforcement by fining the business). To report a non-compliant business through the state, call (702) 486-9020. Doctors are doing convalescent plasma therapy treatments and are seeking plasma donors to help those in need. One plasma donation can help five patients. Blood donors can get the antibodies testing done for free through Vitalant. 54 therapeutics are still underway to treat COVID-19 worldwide. US FDA emergency use authorized treatments are: Remdesivir, Dexamethaaone, Regeneron's antibody cocktail (REGEN-COV2), and Eli Lilly's antibody treatment: baricitinib - a combination of Veklury and the JAK inhibitor Olumiant. Nevada is approved for the 24-hour test procedure. FDA approved a 30-minute and a 5-minute testing procedures. UNLV provides the main walk-in COVID-19 testing services. The first at-home testing kit was FDA approved on 5/15/2020. If you live within a 1-mile range of the Wal-Mart on Craig Rd, you qualify for a drone-delivered test kit to your front or back door. This is while supplies last, if anyone has info that they stopped providing this, let me know. Some testing sites require an appointment; some may need to be scheduled by your primary care physician or another authorized provider. City Serve coordinates testing sites throughout the valley. Testing is only on Saturdays. Schedule a no-cost test here: https://cityservelv.org/ UMC, E7 Health and local laboratories are able to conduct FDA approved antibodies testing. Cost is normally $149+, but your insurance may reimburse you for the test. Check your coverage first. Vitalant/Universal Blood Services will do a free antibody test for any eligible donors. UMC is able to process 4,000 tests per day. It is encouraged for anyone to be tested. Symptoms are no longer required. Appointment is preferred, walk-up testing is available. UMC's testing sites are inside Stan Fulton Building and Cashman Field Center. They can do 1,200 tests per day, Tues-Sat 8am to 4pm. No symptoms, insurance, or citizenship required for testing; starting 1/11 requesting insurance coverage. Schedule an appointment online through UMC's website (www.umcsn.com). Sites are walk-in, appointment or walk-up. Both sites now use the self-nasal swab test kits. Families can be tested as one household together. UMC's COVID-19 test guidelines:
After positive test, no follow-up test is needed after 7-day isolation period asymptomatic; or 10-day with symptoms and no fever after 24 hours.
If employer requires a negative test in order for employee to return to work, then employer provides the test
Guidelines are to save test kits for those exhibiting symptoms. See all testing locations on the SNHD website. All CVS pharmacy drive-thru locations can also testing, no cost should be associated. Validate with your insurance. If no insurance, there should be no charge. Requires an appointment. FDA officially grants emergency-use authorization of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine (12/11/2020). Distribution of vaccine began (12/14/2020). The first vaccine was tested 3/16/2020. More than 160 vaccine prototypes are being tested. Clinical trials of the vaccine were administered. Phase 1 & 2 of trial vaccines completed with positive antibody results. Phase 3 clinical trials started with 30k volunteers; test size of 3k vaccine trials in the UK have completed. Africa started their vaccine trials on 06/24/2020. Of the 100+ vaccines submitted, 22 have made the cut to go through testing and final FDA approval phases (5/15/2020 briefing). The front runner vaccine conducted human trails (Phase 3 aka final stage). AstraZeneca has prepared to produce 2 billion doses. Pfizer claims their vaccine is more than 95% effective. Moderna vaccine claims about 94.5% effective. Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine is 70% to 90% effective based on dosage program (single dose versus duo dose). US government has been working with four vaccine manufacturers who have completed final phases of vaccine trials, all prepared for massive vaccine output. Vaccine distribution has been revised two "lanes" for vaccination: Healthcare front line/essential workers and general population, with emphasis on health conditions. NV CV19 vaccine playbook v3.pdf To sign up for vaccine notification when you're eligible: NV CV19 Vaccine Interest Form. More info on where to get the vaccine. Total doses administered: 366,333 (2/10)
1st dose stage: 291,370
2nd dose stage: 73,088
Total doses received to distribute: 521,200 Source Cashman Center and Las Vegas Convention Center are prepared to become vaccine mega centers, to distribute 40k to 45k shots per week (about 4k per day per site). Regional vaccine pop-up sites will be throughout the valley to provide access to those wanting the vaccine. Visit SNHD site for eligibility and to book your appointment online. Seniors who need assistance scheduling for their COVID-19 vaccine, call 1-800-401-0946, 8am to 8pm, 7 days a week. Las Vegas Convention Center will be the main 2nd dose distribution center starting Tues., Feb. 2nd. Open Tues-Sat, Central Hall, for both Moderna & Pfizer. If you didn't receive a notification to get your 2nd dose, call (702) 759-0850 to make your 2nd dose appointment. UMC's vaccine mega center will be at Encore, near the parking lot of their convention center area. They are prepared to distribute hundred per day according to the state guidelines. Appointment is required. North Las Vegas residents 70 and older can visit VaxNLV.com to fill out a simple intake form to enroll for vaccinations. Enrollment for these seniors will be open until Friday evening. Immediately after, the City will begin pre-enrollment for the general public. Seniors ages 70 or older who would like a vaccine may also call (702) 342-8417 for additional assistance, though wait times may be significantly longer than using the online, mobile-friendly platform. Remain mindful to give our medical community the ability to focus on those in need of their expertise to survive and combat the virus. For Nevada COVID-19 metrics, with historical spreadsheet and graph data, visit: The Nevada Independent Coronavirus Tracking or check out the link in our side bar.
Feb/4/2021: (1) Armenia will grow weed (2) Colonel charged w/bribery & tampering w/draft during war (3) Education reform: grading, curriculum, preschool (4) Bill: treason, disability ranking, media (5) Diplomacy (6) Rumors & rebuttals (7) Cancer stats & free treatment (8) $750M bond (9) in-out stats
Your 14-minute Thursday report in 3497 words. Part 1.
anti-corruption: Defense Ministry official busted with bribery & tampering with draft during war
NSS report says: a Colonel, who had oversight over subdivisions, received a ֏975K bribe from a conscript to transfer him to another location on Sep-13-2020. Part of the bribe was transferred to his online gambling account. When the war began, a draft was declared and recruits began training at a location in Armenia. The Colonel took a ֏1.2M bribe from a soldier in exchange for not sending him to the front lines. During the winter draft, the Colonel took a ֏5.2M bribe from another conscript and used his connections to send him to the desired service location. A similar ֏1M bribe was requested on January 6th from another recruit. The Colonel took another ֏1.4M bribe to help promote a conscript and allow him to work at a hospital instead of regular service. On October 22nd, during the war, the Colonel decided to help a friend move from bordering Khndzoresk (Syunik) hospital back to Yerevan. As a result, the clinic became understaffed and couldn't fulfill its duties. Moreover, the Colonel then helped the same friend not to be deployed on Syunik borders as a soldier and instead to handle tasks in the rear, on October 26th, in exchange for a ֏300K bribe. On October 13th, during the war, the Colonel and his accomplices wanted to help a soldier to leave Artsakh. When they learned that the latter was already on the "deserted" list, they took steps to remove him from the list. Then, he learned that his friends' sons received a draft notice, and use his connections to remove them from the draft list. After the war, on Dec-13, a friend asked the Colonel to make sure that his son, who was serving in Lusakert, wasn't sent to the front lines. The Colonel contacted the Lusakert facility but learned that the soldier was not among those who were supposed to be sent to the front lines. Nonetheless, the Colonel decided to defraud his friend by claiming that "he took care of it", and received a ֏200K bribe. The colonel and over a dozen others were arrested. Illegal weapons were found under their possession. The investigation continues to expose other possible suspects. https://youtu.be/ifo13WJLpsU https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1042334.html
bill: harsher punishment for treason, spying, espionage
BHK MPs drafted a bill to increase punishment for traitors, spies, passing of state secrets. They want to raise the maximum punishment from 15 years to 20-life. The authors explained the move by citing many media reports about alleged "treason" incidents. The bill was discussed at a relevant Parliamentary committee. The chairman QP MP Vladimir said he supports life imprisonment as the minimum punishment. However, during the discussion, they agreed to settle on 15-20 years plus property confiscation, or a life sentence. The committee found the espionage punishment too harsh and asked the bill author to reduce it from 15 to 12 years. The BHK author agreed. The bill was approved unanimously and will be debated/voted on the Parliament floor later. https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1042354.html
Jalal is back with another position
The wounded ex-Artsakh army commander Jalal Harutyunyan will serve as the Republic of Armenia's Defense Ministry's Head of the Military Control Service. He will replace General Movses Mosi Hakobyan who quit on November 18th. https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1042353.html
Russian-Turkish ceasefire monitoring group begins operations
ECHR received Armenia's complaint against Azerbaijan regarding 228 POWs / Azeris counter-claim for 13 POWs
Armenian families submitted a petition to ECHR to require Azerbaijan to provide information regarding 228 individuals. Azeris want to know data about 13 people. (From the language it is unclear to me whether the petition is for confirmed POWs, or it also includes families of missing soldiers who want to know whether their relatives are POWs. Likely the former.) https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1042406.html
Russia removed tomato import ban on 13 Armenian firms
Russian regulator will allow 13 Armenian sellers to export tomato and pepper to Russia again after earlier finding a food virus in them. A similar ban was implemented against Azeri tomatoes. https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1042433.html
US Congressman demands an explanation from the US ambassador to Azerbaijan over "congratulatory" statement
Rep. Bred Sherman wants to know why the US ambassador to Azerbaijan Lee Litzenberger congratulated Azerbaijan's Economy Minister with "de-occupying territories and US's willingness to aid Azerbaijan with rebuilding those territories". He reminded the US officials that the US is a member of the Minsk Group and should take steps to ensure Artsakh's safety and prevention of a new war. Bred Sherman praised Biden's appointee Anthony Blinken for stating that the US will review its military assistance to Azerbaijan after the latest war in Artsakh. Artsakh MFA yesterday released a statement urging countries, officials, and organizations to refrain from such "congratulatory" statements. https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1042370.html
de-occupy Hadrut NGO
... aims to help 13,500 Hadrut residents who lost their homes during the war. It was founded during the war by activists who held protests in front of various embassies. In the early days, they received aid from President Sarkissian's office. The latter gave shelter to 25 families. Today the NGO aims to help refugees with employment, while simultaneously lobbying for Minsk Group to de-occupy Hadrut so residents can return. "I hope that one day our NGO will shut down because Hadrut is no longer occupied," said co-founder Meri Davtyan. https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1042286.html
govt session: financial aid for Syunik border villagers
The government approved a new aid package for residents of Syunik's Shurnukh and Vorotan villagers. Those who lost their homes will qualify for the same aid package as Artsakh refugees: one-time ֏300K payment plus monthly ֏65K payments for 6 months. There is another pending aid package to build new houses for them. Context: Two dozen houses in Vorotan and Shurnukh went under Azeri control because they were built on the Azeri side of the internationally-recognized borders. https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1042362.html
bill: disability ranking to be replaced with degrees of functionality impairment
The government approved a bill, yet to be approved by Parliament, to reform the disability system. The disability assessment process will analyze the person's level of functional impairment while taking into account surrounding conditions. "Today, the system is run under a 1993 law that does not do a comprehensive assessment of the surrounding environment, person's ability to function in public life," says the govt. The draft bill will repeal the 1-3 Categories and Disabled Child category. A person's functionality impairment degrees will be light, medium, heavy, or deep. Disability will no longer be considered a permanent health problem. The assessment will be based not only on the factor of health problems but also on the environmental factors of the person's activity and participation in public life. Healthcare and Social Ministries, NGOs, the UN, and the EU worked together to create and test an assessment methodology. https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1042365.html Tags: #DisabilityLaw #disabled
bill: require unknown Telegram/Facebook media channel owners identified before "linking" by mass media
QP MPs want to require social media channel operators identified before a "mainstream media" can link to them. It doesn't restrict citing "anonymous sources", however. It also requires outlets to disclose sources of revenues for transparency. Read yesterday's news for context and arguments in favor or against it.. The debate continued today. QP MP Arthur: For example, a legitimate news organization with an editorial staff of 30 people generates information, holds interviews, etc., while a Telegram channel that we do not know where it is managed from and by whom, begins to disseminate sensationalized information and over time becomes more "legitimate" than real media outlets because media outlets "advertised" them. This is also a national security risk because it is very possible that such sources are being operated by an adversary country to spread instability and an atmosphere of fear in the country. // The co-author criticized the critics who "claimed that the bill intends to ban anonymous sources. That's not true. This also won't affect the protection of journalists' source secrecy." https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1042357.html If you're interested in more debates: https://youtu.be/MTHwRa4YjgY , https://youtu.be/ThDNVwZYEp8 , https://youtu.be/S6C_NocS9N0 , https://youtu.be/3_-i2Z23ubI , https://youtu.be/wiPnmfeLNJ8 Tags: #MediaLaw #TelegramLaw #FreeSpeech
rumors and rebuttals: Artsakh army isn't being dissolved
Serj's won-in-law Mishik earlier circulated rumors that were denied by state officials. Today, Kocharyan-ally Vitali Balasanyan, who serves as Artsakh's Security Council chief, confirmed that the army isn't "disintegrating." After the restructuring process, there will be subdivisions with professional contractors, he said. https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1042344.html
rumors and rebuttals: Azeri flag won't fly over Artsakh govt buildings
rumors and rebuttals: Azeri families won't resettle in Stenapakert / none are shopping in market
Vitalik Balasanyan said there are false rumors about two districts in Stepanakert being populated by Azeris, and Azeris allegedly freely shopping in Stepanakert market. "Dear citizens of Artsakh, on behalf of the authorities of the Artsakh Republic, I assure you that despite the irreparable losses inflicted on us as a result of the war, the state is always committed to fulfilling its responsibilities to ensure the security and normal life of the population. Accordingly, I urge you not to pay attention to the false news. Everything is being done to create and expand the necessary conditions for a dignified life of the people of Artsakh." https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1042344.html
rumors and rebuttals: Artsakh envoy won't stop operating in Russia
The Permanent Representation of the Artsakh Republic in Russia will not be terminated, said the Artsakh govt in response to rumors. https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1042367.html
rumors and rebuttals: no single currency in EAEU trade bloc
There is a district called Hollywood in Yerevan, Armenia. Gamblers were caught running an underground casino in there. This is the second such bust in the past few months. The police say ֏5.5B in damages was done to the state. https://youtu.be/sp0Sb--e_ms?t=60 https://factor.am/335320.html
anti-corruption: prosecutors charge education officials with ֏1.2B auction shenanigans
Prosecutors said: State Oversight Committee (SOC) audited the "National Center for Educational Technology" government-affiliated agency's finances between 2013-2020. Every year, the agency submitted a report on the work done by them towards servicing the education system. The bill was ֏700M annually. It was revealed that between 2012-2015, they granted an auction-based contract to the same company. It received a combined ֏2.8B in funding. The law requires the auction-holding officials to examine the market and take other steps before the auction. They failed to do so. Later, during 2017-2019, the same company was selected to do the job, but this time it was only paid ֏300-400M annually, far lower than during the previous years. ֏1.2B in damages was done to the state. A felony case is launched. https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1042389.html
re: Armenia's $750M eurobond sale / lowest % in history / $3B demand by investors / economy news
Read yesterday's news for context. Pashinyan: The issuance of $750M eurobonds is a strong positive signal for the start of the economic year. The issuance was done under the most favorable conditions in the history of our republic, with the lowest 3.8% percentage rate. Our previous record was in 2019 at 4.2%. The demand was for $3B but we decided to issue only $0.750B. First, it provides a guarantee of macroeconomic stability. Second, this is the first serious signal of overcoming the post-war economic shock, which shows that international investors have confidence in the economic future of Armenia and the policy pursued by the government. // Economy Minister Janjughazyan: this was part of our long-term plan and we had planned to do it while drafting the 2021 budget. We planned to issue fewer bonds but decided to add $250M because of favorable terms. We plan to use that extra cash towards the stabilization deposit, as a safety pad, to be used throughout the year if necessary. As long as our budget has a deficit we will have to borrow. But this is only part of the story; the country's overall debt burden is calculated based on various indicators. So far Armenia has been rated as a country with a lower debt burden. https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1042351.html, https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1042352.html , https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1042363.html , https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1042393.html
how many people did leave and arrive after reopening air traffic with Russia?
The governments of Armenia and Russian worked on an "app" to allow mutual travel after taking a test. By February 15th, there will be 4-route flights in 2 directions. There were several flights in the past few days. 3900 left and 3400 arrived. 1423 Armenian citizens left and 1263 Armenian citizens arrived. "More people were willing to leave in December than today," noted Diaspora Committee chief Sinanyan. "Some people flew to Russia but had to return due to a problem. This wasn't due to the COVID app implemented by us. Preliminary data shows that they went to Russia with a paper QP code which raised the suspicion of Russian authorities. We will work with them to resolve this," said Deputy PM Mher. (say what??) "We need to better inform the public about the existence of this app. Restoring routine flights will help the tourism industry," said PM Pashinyan. https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1042358.html , https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1042383.html
Pashinyan about the suspended Amulsar gold mining project
He repeated his earlier position that "Decisions must be made that take into account Armenia's best interests." "The mining industry plays a very important role in the development of Armenia's economy, including in the security context." "We must make decisions to make investment programs acceptable for the Armenian public while taking into account interests of Republic of Armenia." https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1042368.html
COVID stats
1829 tested. 147 infected. 352 healed. 11 deaths. 4637 active. "We're negotiating for vaccines via COVAX global initiative. Separately, we're negotiating with Russia for Sputnik-V. Vaccines should be available in March. It will be targeted at specific groups. It won't be mandatory," said Healthcare Minister Avanesyan. https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1042341.html , https://youtu.be/vXz3pHx1BlM?t=92
the consumer market price increase in the past 12 months
Armenia's consumer market inflation was +4.5% from January to January. Food +6.4%. Alcohol & tobacco +10.8%. Clothing +2.6%. Utilities +0.6%. Appliances +5.8%. Healthcare +5.6%. Transport +5.7%. Telecom +0.5%. Leisure & culture -0.8%. Education +2%. Dining +1.6%. Misc +3.5%. https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1042323.html
Parliament MP stops a citizen's suicide attempt
Someone tried to jump from Kievyan bridge. QP MP Gor Gevorgyan was nearby and stopped the attempt. The police took the distressed person to a station. https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1042329.html
psychological support will be provided to war participants and the public
Emergency Ministry says 15-30% of people have PTSD after the war. Today the government approved a plan to provide psychological aid to war participants and others. The target group includes families of missing people, POWs and their families, those who received disabilities, families of those who died, those who fought in the war, IDPs, civilians who were affected in any way. The program will work in Armenia and Artsakh. The government will purchase services from experienced mental health service agencies. https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1042403.html
Armenia will grow industrial marijuana on mass industrial scale / incentive to boost land utilization
Hemp is a type of weed that contains less of the substance that makes you feel high. The government wants to grow industrial hemp on a mass scale to boost mood land utilization and revenues. Pashinyan: this is going to open room for many speculations. It's important to present the project in detail so the public will have a full understanding of what is being done. Unfortunately, "hemp" is interpreted as something else, while in reality, it is a very important industrial raw material. The growing process has risks but there are oversight mechanisms that have been tested in many countries. Deputy PM Avinyan: the US, Russia, and China have a great experience with industrial hemp production. The practice was examined by the Economy Ministry. We're talking about industrial production only. It will significantly activate agricultural land utilization. Today, 40% of lands are gone unused. This is part of our plan to boost the production of high-value agricultural products. https://youtu.be/ssZgr2DR3DM?t=7 https://www.healthline.com/health/hemp-vs-marijuana#marijuana https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1042372.html
Education Minister says the "controversial" parts of Church/History merger were "resolved"
Education Ministry wants to merge the school subjects "Armenian Church History" and "Armenian History". Critics said it will shrink the church-related materials too much, others called it treason, while others supported the decision, stating that it's all part of our history and having a separate class is inefficient. Education Minister Dumanyan says he met colleagues at the National Academy of Sciences and they resolved the conflicts "that caused a noise earlier." He will reveal details soon. https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1042379.html , https://youtu.be/V0sC3dx-gzU
Major education reforms: "education alone will not solve all problems, but there is no problem that can be solved without an education"
... said PM Pashinyan during a govt session while discussing education reforms. Kids in 1-5 grades will no longer receive grades; tt will be pass or no pass (still needs Parliamentary approval). "There will be a criticism. How can you not grade? But this is a comprehensive program that emphasizes the student's needs and preferences," said Pashinyan. "We need to pay attention to how the time is spent in schools and what skills are being taught in school hours. It will reflect in our society 15-20 years later. It will define whether we have a technological product or not. What we were doing in 12 years (school length) can be done within 9 years, but a 9-year school isn't the solution. Instead of shortening the school, we're trying to fill the gap in a way to have a 50% higher efficiency by the end of the 12th year. In developed countries, education starts not from school but from preschool. The lower the education entry age the more developed the countries are," said Pashinyan. (the govt has a plan to make sure 70% of kids attend preschools by 2023) https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1042394.html
cancer stats in Armenia / annual rate / drops among children / fewer abandon treatment
world 9.6 million people die from cancer annually. 1/3rd is possible to prevent. Another part can be cured with the help of early detection. Armenia Cancer was the 2nd leading cause of death in 2020. It has increased in the past 10 years but at a small rate. Lung cancer is more common among men, and breast cancer among women. First time diagnosis by year: 2018 - 8762, 2019 - 7908, 2020 - 7050. Deaths by year: 2018 - 5199, 2019 - 5434. 2020 - unavailable. (55% men, 45% women) The cancer rate went up by 1.5x compared to 1990. However, it declined by 2x among children under 14yo. Fewer people abandon treatment. 3 years ago 53% of lung patients did so, today it's 40%. Breast cancer treatment abandonment went from 47% to 22%. (I translated the word բարձիթողության as "abandonment". Correct me if it refers to something else.) Artsakh The number of cancer cases has decreased in Artsakh: from 345 to 260 YoY. prevention Oncologist Safaryan says the early detection helps to avoid complications and save lives, even if it's the type of cancer that is known to reappear. There are many patients who defeat cancer. "Smokers should get a lung x-ray twice a year. Those working in chemical plants should get a frequent screening. Do not ignore symptoms and չգցել ականջի հետև. You can defeat it more easily when it's at 1-2 stages. It's a lot harder when it advances to 4." Preventing cancer isn't easy. The causes of this disease are many. Genetics, bad habits, obesity, surrounding environment. A genetic test can reveal the likelihood of suffering from illness. Some women choose to undergo a mastectomy to prevent possible breast cancer in the future. "I decided that if 1-in-100 is destined to be cured, I will be that one," said Ashkhen, a woman who recently defeated cancer. More: https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1042291.html , https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1042364.html , https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1042405.html
cancer diagnosis, surgery, and radiotherapy are free
The treatment was made free recently. The Oncology Center urges the public to get screened as part of an early-detection initiative. The pilot program began in Vanadzor; 307 women were screened. Cancer diagnosis, surgery, and radiotherapy are free, while the medication has a co-payment. https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1042423.html
Artsakh president Arayik met donor Alec Baghdasaryan and thanked him. "Only with the joint efforts of the Armenian people is it possible to quickly overcome the difficulties and to plan development programs." Alec plans more charity programs relating to education. https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1042326.html
Loop Insights ($MTRX) is on a fast-track to growth as they drive AI automated marketing, venue bubble solutions and contract tracing
What does Loop do? Loop Insights Inc (CVE:MTRX) is an Internet of Things (IoT) technology company that combines artificial intelligence (AI) with marketing automation. Loop is a Vancouver-based advanced technology company also delivers venue tracing and contactless solutions. Loop’s unique IoT device, referred to as the "Fobi" provides real-time insights, analytics, and visibility into buying trends. It also provides real-time data applications that enable retailers to improve on operational efficiencies with automated supply chain and inventory management tools. Loop offers digital adverting, marketing, research, and other related activities for retailers. The company’s location-based marketing intelligence platform provides brands, agencies, and retailers with real-time actionable insights to optimize customer experiences. Loop operates in the telecom, casino gaming, sports and entertainment, hospitality, and retail industries, in Canada, the US, the UK, Latin America, Australia, Japan, and Indonesia. How are they doing: It has been a busy spell for Loop which is seeing rapid growth in terms of its technology stack, customer acquisitions, Tier-1 partnerships, technology deployments, and most importantly, the growth of its sales pipeline. In January, Loop partnered with Empower Clinics Inc. to establish the Re-open Vancouver coalition to obtain an approved end-to-end coronavirus (COVID-19) mitigation solution. The firms plan to present the solution to local and federal authorities to help in the re-opening of Vancouver’s travel industry, including the cruise industry. Loop first partnered with Empower in October 2020 to provide an end-to-end COVID-19 mitigation solution, complete with venue tracing, real-time automated guest exposure notifications, and testing procedures based on published guidelines. Loop will also showcase its venue management platform as it has been selected by bdG Sports to handle the Paiute Las Vegas Championship, golf tournament starting on April 12, 2021. The event is part of the Korn Ferry Tour, which acts as the developmental circuit for the US PGA Tour. Loop will utilize its Wallet Pass technology, which creates a direct communication channel with attendees, allowing the company to send personalized promotions to users’ mobile phones in partnership with tournament partners, including sponsors, brands, merchants, and retailers. As a result, Loop will earn revenue from an event license fee, as well as per-user fees for everyone involved in the event, such as staff, officials, players, fans and media. The company will also earn money from an affiliate marketing deal with Impact Radius signed in November. The company has earned repeat business from bdG Sports. Loop will also provide its venue management platform to the Big West Conference Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships on March 9-13 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. A total of 19 NCAA basketball teams will compete in the Big West Conference Finals for a chance to enter the NCAA 2020-2021 “March Madness” Tournament in Las Vegas. Loop’s selection by bdG Sports for the Big West Conference Championships follows the success of its venue bubble solution at two previous NCAA basketball tournaments — the Gulf Coast Showcase and the Vegas Main Event. With fans expected to be live in attendance, the company said its Wallet pass technology will provide revenue-sharing opportunities. Meanwhile, Loop has integrated cryptocurrency payments like Bitcoin, Ethereum and Litecoin into its contactless payments platform. Fobi creates a unique QR code that can be displayed or printed, allowing customers to send payments through a mobile wallet app that supports cryptocurrencies. The platform communicates with the retailer, depositing the sum in either crypto or local FIAT currency. Customers can use a cryptocurrency of their choice. Loop’s international expansion is snowballing. It has inked a pilot agreement with PharmAssist Solutions (Pharmassist) to implement Loop’s analytics platform in multiple independent pharmacy affiliated locations. After completing the pilot, both parties intend to implement Loop’s AI-driven analytics platform across 12,000 pharmacies in the UK. On November 4, 2020, Loop said it completed a similar pilot at 20 stores and was rolling out its AI-driven analytics platform to all 550 retail locations of Your CBD Store. The company's “Insights” pricing model estimated making US$50 per month per till, with an average of four tills per retail location, which would equate to potential monthly recurring revenue of US$2.4 million or US$28.8 million. The company chalked up the Pharmassist pilot deal to the signing of a referral agreement in October last year with retail industry guru Steve Gray’s UK-based SG-retail to bolster Loop's products in the UK and Europe. Loop has also gained traction in the US by signing a slew of deals, and Gray will tap the momentum to roll Loop’s products and services into the €3.55 trillion European market. Loop has recently inked a letter of intent to acquire its technology partner Passcreator, a leading European digital wallet and mobile marketing company with Tier-1 clients such as Mercedes-Benz and BMW. The acquisition is likely to be completed by February 2021. Loop is now managing the development of Passcreator’s Wallet Pass platform, which can deploy rapidly and at scale in up to 40 languages. The Passcreator mobile wallet pass is built on Android and iOS Wallet pass technology. Meanwhile, Loop has successfully launched its first “Film Bubble” for a major motion picture in partnership agreement with Draganfly Inc. Loop told shareholders in December that it is “extremely confident” about replicating the growth it saw last year with a full pipeline of projects. Key highlights include the firm’s selection to the Amazon Web Services Partner Network, the Telus IoT Marketplace, and a major partnership with NTT DATA, a subsidiary of the world’s fourth-largest telecom company Nippon Telegraph and Telephone. Significantly, Loop received around $4.6 million from the exercise of warrants up to December 10, 2020. The company said it does not foresee the need for financing apart from strategic client partners that may want to invest in Loop’s growth. The company’s board has approved a plan to begin the process of up-listing to major North American stock exchanges. The plan includes an application to up-list to the Toronto Stock Exchange, followed by an application to dual-list on the US technology-laden Nasdaq. In a recent letter to shareholders, CEO Rob Anson said: “Loop had an incredible year in 2020, and more importantly, is positioned with the right partners, products, pipeline, and financial resources to make the same quantum leap in 2021.” CEO Rob Anson also went on to add “As a result of our immutable relevancy, high demand for Loop’s products, pipeline growth, and ability to easily scale into a global marketplace that is in full press digital transformation, we expect a continued accelerated pace that now warrants an up-list and dual list strategy that will attract institutional investors commensurate with our anticipated profile in 2021 and far beyond". Disclaimer: This is not investment advice, never invest more than you can lose. Opinions are my own. Please do your own research!
WA Government - Lockdown Information WA Government Infographic - Summary WA Health - Locations visited by confirmed cases HealthyWA - COVID Clinic Locations / Operating Hours Lockdown Rules Summary (ABC News) ABC COVID Live Blog - Sunday 31/01 Premier's Annoucement: --- IMPORTANT UPDATE REGARDING COMMUNITY CASE OF COVID-19 IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA, AND PERTH, PEEL AND SOUTH-WEST FIVE-DAY LOCKDOWN --- This morning, I convened an urgent meeting of the Emergency Management Team. We have a serious update to provide the WA community. This morning we received news of a positive COVID-19 test result. That positive result has come from a male hotel quarantine security guard, in his 20s. The information we have is fast-evolving. As you can understand, immediately our teams moved into place to begin contact tracing and put in place emergency response systems. This is all underway, and I ask everyone to be cooperative and understanding of what is going to take place. Here is what we know about the male who tested positive: He was working at one of the State’s hotel quarantine facilities – the Sheraton Four Points in the city. He had tested negative for COVID-19 on January Friday 15, January Sunday 17 and Saturday January 23 – as part of the weekly testing system in place. When the man was working at this hotel, there were four active cases of COVID-19. Of those four cases, we have at least three confirmed variant strains, two UK and one South African. We are told the guard was working on the same floor, as a positive UK variant case. The guard completed two 12-hours shifts on both the 26th and 27th of January. Exactly how the infection was acquired remains under investigation. The Health Department contact tracing team has pulled together a list of potential exposure sites of where this positive case has been in recent days. These locations currently include:
Coles Maylands supermarket on 25 January from 8pm to 10pm
KFC Maylands on 27 January from 6pm to midnight
Mitsubishi Motors car dealership in Midland on 27 January from 7pm to close
Spudshed, Coventry Village in Morley on 27 January from 8pm to midnight
ECU Joondalup on 28 January from 11am to 2pm
Consulate General of India on St Georges Terrace in Perth on 28 January from 12pm to 5pm
Halal Grocery Store in Cloverdale on 28 January from 7pm to 9pm
Venus Ladies and Gentleman Hair Design Maylands hairdressers on 29 January from 1pm to 3pm
Perth Convention Centre on 29 January from 4pm to 6pm
Nedlands Family Practice GP surgery on 29 January from 5pm to 6pm
Chemist Warehouse North Perth Pharmacy on 29 January from 5.30pm to 7.30pm
7-Eleven Ascot petrol station on 29 January from 8pm to 9pm
Coles Maylands supermarket on 29 January from 8pm 9pm
Puma Service Station in Burswood on 30 January from 11am to 12 midday.
Coles Express/Shell Service Station in Cloverdale on 30 January from 12 midday to 3pm
Pharmacy 777 at Maylands Park Shopping Centre 30 January from 2.30pm to 4pm.
People who have been to these venues on these dates and times must get tested. In addition, people who live or work in the Falkirk Avenue, Maylands area including Coles, Liquorland and the Maylands shopping precinct should present for a test. They must then go home and isolate until their negative test results are returned. The investigation is on-going by our public health team, and it is likely more locations will be added following further discussions with the man. Close contacts will be contacted by public health officials and asked to quarantine for 14 days. More information on testing clinics will be available on our website – the WA Health and WA Gov websites. The man’s immediate household contacts have been contacted, tested and placed in isolation at State managed quarantine facilities to complete a 14-day quarantine period in a quarantine facility. All three have tested negative this morning. However, we can expect that they will become positive in coming days. Genome sequencing is underway on the positive case and results will be known by Tuesday morning. However, based on the information we have, it appears possible that this new positive case has the highly transmissible UK variant. The past year has been unlike any other – Western Australia has done an incredible job. It’s something I am so proud of. But as we have always known with COVID – it can change very quickly. Today – we need to go back to what we know best, to ensure we limit community transmission of COVID-19 in our State. Even though it was nearly 10 months ago – WA has experienced community transmission of this virus before. We all did the right thing and we crushed it. And it worked. So beginning at 6pm tonight, the whole Perth metropolitan area, the Peel region and the South West region will be going into a full lockdown. This lockdown will run until 6pm on Friday. A five-day lockdown. It’s crucial we act quickly, to keep the community safe. We cannot forget how quickly this virus can spread, nor the devastation it can cause. Following our discussions with the Chief Health Officer and Police Commissioner, the following measures will be put in place from 6pm for people in Perth, Peel and the South West: People in these regions are required to stay home, except for the following four reasons:
Shopping for essentials like groceries, medicine and necessary supplies.
Medical or health care needs including compassionate requirements and looking after the vulnerable.
Exercise, within their neighbourhood, but only with one other person and only for one hour per day.
Work, where you cannot work from home or remotely.
In addition to this Stay Home rule. If you do leave home, for one of the four reasons you will be required to wear a mask at all times outside and if you need to work indoors, then wearing a mask in the workplace is also mandatory. To be clear, mask wearing on public transport is also mandatory. People in the Perth, Peel or South West region need to stay inside their region for the next five days, unless for an essential reason. We are strongly encouraging that everyone in this area, who is from another WA region, stay here and do not travel further outside of this area until the lockdown is over. If you do need to travel outside the region you are in now, that can only occur if you need to return to your place of residence or exceptional circumstances. The transport of essential goods into this region, is permitted, under our existing transport guidelines. This lockdown means the following businesses, venues and locations in the relevant regions need to close for the next five days:
Pubs, bars and clubs
Gyms and indoor sporting venues
Playgrounds, skate parks and outdoor recreational facilities
Cinemas, entertainment venues, and casinos
Large religious gatherings and places of worship
Libraries and cultural institutions
Restaurants and cafes will close, and provide takeaway service only. 10 people can attend funerals, weddings are cancelled for the next five days. No visitors are permitted to your home, unless caring for someone vulnerable or an emergency. No visitors will be allowed in aged care homes, unless exceptional circumstances. No visitors to hospitals and/or disability facilities, unless exceptional circumstances. Elective surgery and procedures for categories 2 and 3 will be suspended from Tuesday, 2 February. Category 1 and urgent category 2 surgery will continue. For a majority of schools in these regions, school was due to start tomorrow. That has now been put on hold and schools will be closed until next week – following the lockdown measures. It is, in effect, an extension of the school holidays. I have been in contact with the Prime Minister and my fellow State and Territory colleagues to advise them of this situation. I have recommended that they put a stop to any travel into WA – as an extra precautionary measure. Border controls are important here – and I 100% support them to ensure we can get through this. All these measures will be reviewed regularly and the Chief Health Officer will continue to monitor the serious situation and provide more ongoing advice. This is an extremely fast-moving situation. I know for many Western Australians this is going to come as a shock. Western Australians have done so well for so long but this week it is absolutely crucial that we stay home, maintain physical distancing and personal hygiene and get tested if you have symptoms. This is a very serious situation and each and every one of us has to do everything we personally can to help stop the spread in the community. We have acted decisively and swiftly given these circumstances. I want to thank everyone in advance for their patience. In effect, for a short period of time, we are going back to what we experienced in March and April. This is a highly unpredictable virus. But it is important to act calmly and take sensible precautions. Leaving your home to purchase food and essentials will be permitted during the lockdown. I say this, so people understand that you do not need to rush to the supermarket today. Take care of your loved ones and be respectful of others including those who are working, to keep essential services and supplies ticking over. Our State is well equipped to handle this situation. We have systems in place throughout the health system that are swinging into action as we speak. We have the capacity to manage this situation. Throughout the pandemic, the response of Western Australians has been second-to-none. The community has done everything we have asked of them. They have made great sacrifices, and it has kept our State safe. I could not be more proud and thankful of the way Western Australians have carried themselves. Now we’re asking for your help once again. We will provide further updates as they come to hand. All relevant information will be posted on websites as it comes to hand. Thank you WA.
For interest this is the response of the (Labor) Premier of Western Australia after one report of community transition
--- IMPORTANT UPDATE REGARDING COVID-19 IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA, AND PERTH, PEEL AND SOUTH-WEST FIVE-DAY LOCKDOWN --- This morning, I convened an urgent meeting of the Emergency Management Team. We have a serious update to provide the WA community. This morning we received news of a positive COVID-19 test result. That positive result has come from a male hotel quarantine security guard, in his 20s. The information we have is fast-evolving. As you can understand, immediately our teams moved into place to begin contact tracing and put in place emergency response systems. This is all underway, and I ask everyone to be cooperative and understanding of what is going to take place. Here is what we know about the male who tested positive: He was working at one of the State’s hotel quarantine facilities – the Sheraton Four Points in the city. He had tested negative for COVID-19 on January Friday 15, January Sunday 17 and Saturday January 23 – as part of the weekly testing system in place. When the man was working at this hotel, there were four active cases of COVID-19. Of those four cases, we have at least three confirmed variant strains, two UK and one South African. We are told the guard was working on the same floor, as a positive UK variant case. The guard completed two 12-hours shifts on both the 26th and 27th of January. Exactly how the infection was acquired remains under investigation. The Health Department contact tracing team has pulled together a list of potential exposure sites of where this positive case has been in recent days. These locations currently include: -Coles Maylands supermarket on 25 January from 8pm to 10pm -KFC Maylands on 27 January from 6pm to midnight -Mitsubishi Motors car dealership in Midland on 27 January from 7pm to close -Spudshed, Coventry Village in Morley on 27 January from 8pm to midnight -ECU Joondalup on 28 January from 11am to 2pm -Consulate General of India on St Georges Terrace in Perth on 28 January from 12pm to 5pm -Halal Grocery Store in Cloverdale on 28 January from 7pm to 9pm -Venus Ladies and Gentleman Hair Design Maylands hairdressers on 29 January from 1pm to 3pm -Perth Convention Centre on 29 January from 4pm to 6pm -Nedlands Family Practice GP surgery on 29 January from 5pm to 6pm -Chemist Warehouse North Perth Pharmacy on 29 January from 5.30pm to 7.30pm -7-Eleven Ascot petrol station on 29 January from 8pm to 9pm -Coles Maylands supermarket on 29 January from 8pm 9pm -Puma Service Station in Burswood on 30 January from 11am to 12 midday. -Coles Express/Shell Service Station in Cloverdale on 30 January from 12 midday to 3pm -Pharmacy 777 at Maylands Park Shopping Centre 30 January from 2.30pm to 4pm. People who have been to these venues on these dates and times must get tested. In addition, people who live or work in the Falkirk Avenue, Maylands area including Coles, Liquorland and the Maylands shopping precinct should present for a test. They must then go home and isolate until their negative test results are returned. The investigation is on-going by our public health team, and it is likely more locations will be added following further discussions with the man. Close contacts will be contacted by public health officials and asked to quarantine for 14 days. More information on testing clinics will be available on our website – the WA Health and WA Gov websites. The man’s immediate household contacts have been contacted, tested and placed in isolation at State managed quarantine facilities to complete a 14-day quarantine period in a quarantine facility. All three have tested negative this morning. However, we can expect that they will become positive in coming days. Genome sequencing is underway on the positive case and results will be known by Tuesday morning. However, based on the information we have, it appears possible that this new positive case has the highly transmissible UK variant. The past year has been unlike any other – Western Australia has done an incredible job. It’s something I am so proud of. But as we have always known with COVID – it can change very quickly. Today – we need to go back to what we know best, to ensure we limit community transmission of COVID-19 in our State. Even though it was nearly 10 months ago – WA has experienced community transmission of this virus before. We all did the right thing and we crushed it. And it worked. So beginning at 6pm tonight, the whole Perth metropolitan area, the Peel region and the South West region will be going into a full lockdown. This lockdown will run until 6pm on Friday. A five-day lockdown. It’s crucial we act quickly, to keep the community safe. We cannot forget how quickly this virus can spread, nor the devastation it can cause. Following our discussions with the Chief Health Officer and Police Commissioner, the following measures will be put in place from 6pm for people in Perth, Peel and the South West: People in these regions are required to stay home, except for the following four reasons: - Shopping for essentials like groceries, medicine and necessary supplies. - Medical or health care needs including compassionate requirements and looking after the vulnerable. - Exercise, within their neighbourhood, but only with one other person and only for one hour per day. - Work, where you cannot work from home or remotely. In addition to this Stay Home rule. If you do leave home, for one of the four reasons you will be required to wear a mask at all times outside and if you need to work indoors, then wearing a mask in the workplace is also mandatory. To be clear, mask wearing on public transport is also mandatory. People in the Perth, Peel or South West region need to stay inside their region for the next five days, unless for an essential reason. We are strongly encouraging that everyone in this area, who is from another WA region, stay here and do not travel further outside of this area until the lockdown is over. If you do need to travel outside the region you are in now, that can only occur if you need to return to your place of residence or exceptional circumstances. The transport of essential goods into this region, is permitted, under our existing transport guidelines. This lockdown means the following businesses, venues and locations in the relevant regions need to close for the next five days: - Pubs, bars and clubs - Gyms and indoor sporting venues - Playgrounds, skate parks and outdoor recreational facilities - Cinemas, entertainment venues, and casinos - Large religious gatherings and places of worship - Libraries and cultural institutions Restaurants and cafes will close, and provide takeaway service only. 10 people can attend funerals, weddings are cancelled for the next five days. No visitors are permitted to your home, unless caring for someone vulnerable or an emergency. No visitors will be allowed in aged care homes, unless exceptional circumstances. No visitors to hospitals and/or disability facilities, unless exceptional circumstances. Elective surgery and procedures for categories 2 and 3 will be suspended from Tuesday, 2 February. Category 1 and urgent category 2 surgery will continue. For a majority of schools in these regions, school was due to start tomorrow. That has now been put on hold and schools will be closed until next week – following the lockdown measures. It is, in effect, an extension of the school holidays. I have been in contact with the Prime Minister and my fellow State and Territory colleagues to advise them of this situation. I have recommended that they put a stop to any travel into WA – as an extra precautionary measure. Border controls are important here – and I 100% support them to ensure we can get through this. All these measures will be reviewed regularly and the Chief Health Officer will continue to monitor the serious situation and provide more ongoing advice. This is an extremely fast-moving situation. I know for many Western Australians this is going to come as a shock. Western Australians have done so well for so long but this week it is absolutely crucial that we stay home, maintain physical distancing and personal hygiene and get tested if you have symptoms. This is a very serious situation and each and every one of us has to do everything we personally can to help stop the spread in the community. We have acted decisively and swiftly given these circumstances. I want to thank everyone in advance for their patience. In effect, for a short period of time, we are going back to what we experienced in March and April. This is a highly unpredictable virus. But it is important to act calmly and take sensible precautions. Leaving your home to purchase food and essentials will be permitted during the lockdown. I say this, so people understand that you do not need to rush to the supermarket today. Take care of your loved ones and be respectful of others including those who are working, to keep essential services and supplies ticking over. Our State is well equipped to handle this situation. We have systems in place throughout the health system that are swinging into action as we speak. We have the capacity to manage this situation. Throughout the pandemic, the response of Western Australians has been second-to-none. The community has done everything we have asked of them. They have made great sacrifices, and it has kept our State safe. I could not be more proud and thankful of the way Western Australians have carried themselves. Now we’re asking for your help once again. We will provide further updates as they come to hand. All relevant information will be posted on websites as it comes to hand. Thank you WA.
A Canadian millionaire and his wife could face up to six months in jail after they were caught posing as motel workers to receive the COVID-19 vaccine from a mobile clinic, according to reports. Casino owner Rodney Baker, 55, and his wife, Ekaterina, 32, flew from Vancouver to Beaver Creek, home to mostly Indigenous people who live in smaller populations. Individuals in the Yukon Territory, where Beaver Creek is located, do not need identification to get vaccinated. The couple were discovered for their alleged fraud after receiving the injections and then asking to immediately be flown home, according to the BBC. Locals checked the motel where the couple claimed to work and discovered they did not work there. The couple was fined $2,300 Canadian ($1,800 U.S.) for breaching coronavirus rules, but community elders have demanded a tougher penalty. Courts ordered a hold on the couple’s airplane tickets home and for the Bakers to appear in court. If found guilty, the couple could face up to six months in jail, The Guardian reported. "I am outraged by this selfish behavior," Yukon's Community Services Minister John Streicker said. "We had not been imagining that someone would go to this sort of length to mislead or deceive." CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The Bakers have already been charged with failing to self-isolate for 14 days after travel and violating Yukon’s Civil Emergency Measures Act. They are due to appear in court on May 4. Fox News' Vandana Rambaran contributed to this report. Peter Aitken is a New York born-and-raised reporter with a focus on national and global news.
I am a Baritone Opera singer whose been working towards a professional career from day one. I have been through every trial, from low level chorus work all the way through to principal work. I have spent twenty of the best years of my life, and earned both my bachelors and masters of music, in order to pursue my professional goals. I wanted to make the most of my ability to sing opera, by applying for representation, so that I could travel and perform professionally. I have also faced a great deal of disappointment, however. great enough to make me think that I’ve lost that meaning to my life. I’ve faced being sexually assaulted, being barred from roles because of my eye and hair coloweight, being ostracized by entire groups of singers for no good reason, even being told that my military service was a detriment to my ability to sing. Worst of all, instead of support and alternatives, I’ve dealt with everybody giving “excuses” for the perpetrators of these wrongs.... I’ve never given excuse, I worked for a fair opportunity. This last year was supposed to be that golden opportunity. you know where you have all your ducks in a row and you’ve done your diligence and You’ve made yourself ready for anything? Well I didn’t pass it up! This last February I was supposed to be in Berlin for an agent audition. In the summer of ‘19, I earned my masters, and went on to a young artist program for a production of “Don Giovanni“. It was an amazing show and I prepared and performed Masetto Until I didn’t even know who I was. But while I was there, I linked up with an agent. I got to sing for him, he was extremely nice, and invited me back for an official audition for his Roster (I had shown that I had what it takes, That all those years of hard work were worth it!!!). So after leaving Germany that summer, I returned home and took a job at a casino to make the money to return, and in the meantime I spent the next six months preparing and studying my music for a real professional audition. When I had achieved the money, I contacted the agency and asked to audition, and they said yes. I Purchased my airline tickets, my mandatory travel insurance, my lodgings, my overseas cellular data plan, And even budgeted for food every day I was to be there, as well as coaching in Frankfurt with a top of the line musician to prepare myself! I had all my ducks in a row and this was supposed to be that one big shot.... The company, CICADA Kunstler Agentur reneged on the audition, on the agreed time and date, and not Far enough back before I was supposed to fly for me to change my itinerary, so that the agent could somehow go to Spain that week instead! I was stranded in Berlin for that entire week! My coach decided to shirk out on me So I couldn’t travel to Frankfurt. I spent the week trying to find other opportunities in Germany. I was stranded, and out €3000 with nothing… I contacted other agencies, other companies which had opportunities listed for both principal and chorus roles. I contacted Facebook groups for opera singers I was in to see if they had any opportunities available, Especially since I had seen several posts of people looking for opportunities, and the community being open and helpful in what they could find. I even tried to tap in to my veteran ties, and reach out to the army field band at Graffenwoher air base, To see if they had any connections in the music scene at Germany to whom I might be redirected… I got the cold shoulder from everybody. The few companies in Germany who responded told me they were not looking. Everybody on the Facebook groups started giving the agency excuses and asking Against me, Wondering what I somehow did wrong and discouraging me from pressing for recompense. And instead of opportunities like they had for others, they didn’t offer me or suggest anything, nobody was looking for me. It was as though I had worked for everything myself, and when it all fell through my fingers, nobody wanted to be there to help me back up, and nobody still wants to be there to help! That being said, my last audition was put off Until November of this year because everybody jumped on Covid, so even though I’ve been broken I tried as best I could to prepare or NYIOP. But then my father had a heart attack about a week and a half before I was supposed to sing. The strain of saving his life, along with how my older brother shrugged it off and disrespected me for the effort, left me now with clinical depression, post traumatic stress syndrome...NYIOP Made its excuse, and rejected me as well. I fucked up on the language in my condition, and when I couldn’t make excuse to them, they made excuse to me and rejected me with it... I am asking if there is any hope, because Opera Music over the years has become the meaning to my life. It has given meaning to my life. And now that I’m older, I don’t think I could continue living, if that opportunity I’ve worked for passes me up because it was taken away, both by bad luck and by covid. I’ve tried to exist as best I could. I tried taking up the courses in computer programming As an alternate skill... but I’m nowhere near as happy as I was whenever I was on the stage. I’m asking if anyone here knows of any real professional opportunities left for me. It’s not like I haven’t been on YapTracker or Audition Oracle, otherwise I wouldn’t be asking. Please 😭 I’m begging you!
Ayala Corp buys Qualimed hospital network... and Merry Christmas! (Wednesday, Dec 23)
Happy Wednesday, Barkada --
The PSE closed down 23 points to 7202 ▼0.3%.
Thank you to @iso8583 and @tagongpangalan of the PHinvest Discord for bringing to my attention a case where someone has been stealing my content and posting MB articles to his website and 15 different Facebook groups. Maybe if he didn't remove my name and chop off the copyright notice at the end, he'd realized that I encourage people to forward MB on to others, provided that MB is not altered and that full credit to MB is given. Let's be real: MB is free, and I've always been "pro share" with anyone and everyone who might be interested... but hacking my name off and removing my branding is just basic copyright infringement. Thanks for letting me know! Gives me another thing to do over the holidays. A huge MB thank-you to one of my original Producer-level Patreon supporters, FinanceForever. Today's send is completely backed by his donation. FinanceForever has been a fantastic resource of feedback on MB's content, and a helpful well of suggestions for improvement! That producer title is well-earned. Haha Since today is the last trading day of the week (Christmas Eve and Christmas Day are non-trading days), I just want to wish you all a Merry Christmas... more importantly, I want to wish you a safe and healthy Christmas.
POGO Gaming ▼3.03% Fast Food ▼2.88% MiddleClass ▼2.35%
Main stories covered:
[NEWS] Ayala Corp [AC 838.00 ▲0.36%] acquires majority stake in parent company of Qualimed Health Network... Ayala Health, a subsidiary of AC, purchased Ayala Land’s [ALI 41.70 ▼0.12%] 39.2% stake in Mercado General Hospital, Inc (MGHI), the parent company of Qualimed Health Network. Ayala Health also purchased an additional 15% of MGHI directly from the Mercado Group of individual shareholders. The deal gives AC a 54.2% controlling stake in MGHI. The Qualimed Health Network includes four hospitals, an ambulatory care facility, and several clinics.
MB:AC believes that the acquisition of this “hospital platform” completes their cycle of patient care. AC, through Ayala Health, owns primary clinics, specialty clinics, and now... hospitals. AC has been growing its healthcare portfolio aggressively, but it’s interesting to see the group pivot away from its previous “stance”; the group was more focused on the distributed, non-primary care facilities like community clinics and specialty care clinics, and not so much on the traditional centralized hospital with an emergency ward and beds. As an investor, I was more interested in AC Health’s distributed approach, but I’m open-minded to see how these flavors might cook into the Ayala stew of assets.
[NEWS] PSE looking to tweak the rules on voluntary delistings... the new rules will only permit a voluntary delisting to proceed if less than 10% of the total outstanding and listed shares of the company vote to reject the move. That’s a huge change from the previous rule, which only required board of directors approval and a fairness opinion to proceed to a pre-delisting tender offer. Now, companies must conduct a shareholders vote, get less than 10% of shares to reject the move, and get 2/3rds of the board to approve, including two independent directors, and the minimum tender offer price is now the highest of a fairness opinion or a volume-weighted average price.
MB:This move is aligned with the PSE’s goal of increasing the public ownership of listed corporations. The exchange has been focused on ratcheting up the minimum public float from 10% to 20%, but it’s also been forced to take a second look at the voluntary delisting rules after a few sketchy transactions (Resorts World Manila, I’m talking about you). In the old days (you know, those days before this PSE memo went into effect a couple of days ago), all a company had to do to delist was have the board approve the move and then cram a tender offer through based on a fairness opinion cooked up by a valuator selected by the board. Now, while that fairness opinion bit hasn’t changed much, it’s no longer just up to the board. It’s no longer so easy for a company to court the investment of the public only to fold up shop a few years later once the novelty has worn off (or their interest in public disclosures has, shall we say, waned).
[NEWS] Bloomberry [BLOOM 8.20 ▼4.32%] adds ₱20bn to an existing loan facility... the Solaire casino operator negotiated with lenders to get an additional ₱20bn added to a ₱73.5bn creditline. The company also negotiated with its lenders to get a huge “covenant test holiday” on that loan facility until June 2023.
MB:That’s a pretty big add-on. Most companies are in need of some operating cash these days; they can sell something (assets), borrow it (debt), or raise it (follow-on offering / stock rights offering). Each option comes with a cost, but most owners would prefer to take on more debt rather than give up points of equity. That’s what BLOOM has done here. The interesting bit (to me) is that they’ve been able to delay covenant testing for almost three years. When a company signs a loan with a bank, the bank usually includes a list of covenants (promises) that the company must abide by. Sometimes the covenant has to do with maintaining a certain debt-to-equity ratio, or other times it might have to do with capping public ownership or transference of shares. Banks periodically test a company’s adherence to the covenants, and my feeling here is that the ₱20bn addition probably blows up an existing debt-to-equity ratio covenant for a period of years. The bank(s) are likely eyes-wide-open here, with confidence in BLOOM’s ability to service the debt eventually through gradual recovery.
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COVID-19 Update Press Conference: December 22, 2020 (Scheduled for 1pm - Notes included)
COVID-19 Update: December 22, 2020 Scheduled for 1pm. Today, Governor Charlie Baker and Lt. Governor Karyn Polito will join Secretary of Health and Human Services Marylou Sudders and Secretary of Housing and Economic Development Mike Kennealy to provide an update on COVID-19. Link to livestream and recording
This fall when the region saw an increase in infections MA responded by deploying teams to support and test nursing homes, rolled back reopening, issued a stay at home advisory, strengthened the face covering mandate, restricted what type of procedures hospitals could perform, worked with hospitals to increase their capacity, and opened up two field hospitals.
This added hundreds of hospital beds, and slowed the growth in November.
Administration has released guidance urging people to spend this year celebrating with only those in their household. If you don't, practice good hygiene, socially distance, and wear a mask.
Since thanksgiving hospitalizations and cases have skyrocketed. This has slowed slightly, but not enough.
Before thanksgiving our hospitals acute beds were 67% occupied; by December 15th they were 83% occupied, and we have only recovered 1% since that peak.
The hospitals are under incredible pressure as we head towards another holiday season which will see another spike unless everyone plays a very different game than we did at thanksgiving. As a result we think its appropriate to take action now to slow that spread in a way that will avoid overrunning our hospital system.
Today we are announcing new statewide restrictions which will be in effect for at least two weeks starting Saturday Dec 26th, in addition to the stay at home advisory, face mask mandate, and early closures that are already in place. The intent of these restrictions will be to pause activity and reduce mobility so we can reduce the spread of the virus without closing schools or businesses.
Capacity limits reduced to 25% for most industries including restaurants, personal services, theaters and performance venues, casinos, office spaces, places of worship, retail, driving and flight schools, golf facilities for indoor spaces, libraries, lodging for common areas, arcades and indoor recreation, fitness centers and health clubs, museums, cultural facilities, and guided tours.
Workers and staff will not count towards the occupancy counts for restaurants, personal services, places of worship, and retail businesses such as grocery stores. All other rules and restrictions in each sector specific guidance will remain in place.
Indoor and outdoor gathering limits will be reduced to 25 people outdoors and 10 people indoors. This applies to private homes, event venues, and public spaces.
All hospitals must postpone or cancel all non-essential inpatient elective invasive procedures unless postponement would lead to high-risk for significant clinical decline of patient health. Hospitals should not schedule any new inpatient non-essential elective procedures until further notice from DPH.
Non-essential elective invasive procedures are those which are scheduled in advance because the procedure does not involve a medical emergency, and where delay would not adversely effect an individual's health. It will be clinical judgement that will judge situations on a case-by-case basis what can be postponed and canceled.
We are not shutting down healthcare; ambulatory, outpatient treatment, and preventive procedures such as mammograms, pediatric appointments, radiology, cancer screenings are not impacted. Inpatient and emergency services remain open.
We take this next step to preserve inpatient bed capacity and our clinical resources including staffing to prepare for flex surge capacity as needed. We must ensure our healthcare system can meet any acute care demands for our residents.
Nothing announced today impacts K-12 education. As the science and medical data has made clear, all school districts, including those with high infection rates, can and should bring students back into the classroom. These restrictions will help bring students back, and bring them back soon.
We are continuing to stand up Field Hospitals as alternate care sites. These hospitals provide acute care for covid-19 positive patients who need a low to medium level of care.
Worcester field hospital at the DCU Center currently has 26 patients with a staffed capacity of 50 beds. Since opening they have treated and discharged 100 patients with an average length of stay of just under 4 days. While the facility can accommodate 200 patients when completely full, it has been designed in units which can be stood up independently in 25 pod units.
In the coming weeks the second field hospital will begin accepting patients in Lowell. We are calling out for Nurses and Patient Care Associates to apply for this very important work. Visit Lowell general response .com.
The decision to reduce capacity to businesses was a difficult decision which carries very negative ramifications on peoples livelihoods and their families.
The economic package that was passed by congress will go a long way in addressing some of the financial damage that these restrictions will have on individuals families and businesses.
More help is needed for businesses, and our administration is putting together a significant economic relief fund for our commonwealth's small businesses (details coming tomorrow).
No dashboards will be posted Friday 12/25 and Friday 1/1. They will be updated Saturdays.
A Writing About How My Community is Being Affected By COVID-19. Feel free to leave feedback.
Being a college student away from home, I often find myself not knowing what is happening in my community. The only time I ever hear about the drama, news, and family business is when my auntie calls me and spills all the tea. I was concerned from the last phone call that I've had with my auntie because she was talking about how my Pueblo is being affected by the coronavirus. I know that everyone and everywhere is being affected by the virus, but it is scary when it hits closer to home and my Pueblo's population is low and full of elders. As Pueblo people, we have traditional and cultural doings and languages that are not written down. We go to our elders and learn from them because they have lived longer than any of us. Our elders in my Pueblo pass down sacred teachings and the knowledge of how they use to do things back in the day to make sure that our tradition and culture never dies. For example, my family looks up to my grandma because she is the eldest in our family. My grandma has taught my aunties her recipes, how to speak the Pueblo language, and how to do things a certain way when it is time for certain traditional doings. My aunties have taught their daughters, their daughters have taught their kids, and it keeps getting passed on to generation to generation. That is how we are taught and that's how we learn as Pueblo people, and so we are trying to protect our elders from this virus as it is known to affect older people. In my Pueblo community, we got hit hard the first months of when the pandemic started. We lost a lot of our elders and even some of our traditional leaders that are very important to our community. Our Pueblo Governor decided to shut down the Pueblo and to close our casino. The tribal officials are only allowed to let tribal members enter our community and non-tribal members are not allowed to enter unless they work at the clinic. Lockdowns and curfews were in place to make sure that our pueblo members were taking this seriously and it was for their safety. This was effective for a couple of months and the COVID-19 cases were decreasing and eventually we had no cases at all. The reason why we had no cases was because everyone was following the protocols, and everyone did their part individually. The second wave of coronavirus cases started rising and my community was affected again because people were starting to not be cautious anymore. The four weeks of being COVID free had come to an end and the cases kept increasing. It worried me so much because I had to find out that my whole family was part of that number of cases and we had lost someone in my family due to COVID-19. It is hard and stressful for me because I am not there in my community to help my family. My community is still struggling to contain the cases and to decrease the risk of our Pueblo people being exposed to it. My Pueblo is back on lockdown and on a strict curfew. I hope my community gets through this and I encourage everyone to stay safe and follow precautions during this pandemic.
The vaccine trade The tug of war between cyclicals and tech stocks will likely continue for the next few weeks as traders weigh growing vaccine optimism against rising coronavirus cases and lockdown measures. The last few Mondays have seen outsized gains given strong vaccine results from Pfizer (PFE) and Moderna (MRNA), while AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) and the University of Oxford became the latest to report an interim analysis of their clinical trials overnight (see below). Cyclicals will likely start today's session with a leg up given the news as Dow futures rose 0.7% vs. the 0.4% advance of the Nasdaq. Predictions are also growing that the Fed will unveil more monetary action when it meets in December after the central bank said it will comply with a Treasury request to return unused funds meant to backstop five emergency lending programs. Interim results from Astra-Oxford jab One regimen, given to some 2,700 people, showed an effectiveness of 90% when trial participants received a half dose, followed by a full dose at least one month apart. The other dosing regimen, given to nearly 9,000 people, showed 62% efficacy when given as two full doses at least one month apart. The combined analysis from both dosing regimens found average vaccine effectiveness of 70%. Despite a lower average efficacy rate than its rivals, the British shot has some distribution advantages. While vaccines from Pfizer (PFE) and Moderna (MRNA) have to be stored frozen, the Astra-Oxford (AZN) shot can be kept at refrigerator temperature and comes at a potentially lower cost. Vaccine access and distribution At this weekend's summit in Riyadh, G20 leaders pledged to ensure fair distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, drugs and tests around the world so that poorer countries were not left out of a post-coronavirus recovery. "We will spare no effort to ensure their affordable and equitable access for all people," read the communique. "We recognize the role of extensive immunization as a global public good." One of the questions still out there is what role America will play in the process. So far the U.S. hasn't joined COVAX, which is the WHO's flagship vaccine distribution plan. Less than three weeks "On the 11th or on the 12th of December, hopefully the first people will be immunized across the U.S., across all states, in all the areas where the state departments of health will have told us where to deliver the vaccines," Moncef Slaoui, head of the government's Operation Warp Speed, told CNN's State of the Union. Current plans forecast another milestone around May: a 70% immunization rate across the U.S., which "would allow for true herd immunity to take place." Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) and BioNTech (NASDAQ:BNTX) have already requested emergency use authorization for their product, while Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) will finish its application by the end of the month. Even if (or when) approved, there is uncertainty over whether the general public will trust the jab enough to take it. According to a Pew Research Center report in September, only about half of U.S. adults say they would get a COVID-19 vaccine. Coronavirus therapies A COVID-19 antibody cocktail from Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:REGN), including casirivimab and imdevimab, has received Emergency Use Authorization from the FDA to treat patients who are not hospitalized but are at high risk of developing the disease. The cocktail was one of three pharmaceutical treatments given to President Trump for treatment of COVID-19 in October. It's the second antibody drug cleared this month for emergency authorization to use in a similar set of COVID-19 patients after Eli Lilly's (NYSE:LLY) bamlanivimab previously had won approval. Previous drugs cleared for COVID-19 use, such as Gilead's (NASDAQ:GILD) remdesivir, were only authorized for hospitalized patients. REGN +4.9% premarket. Portfolio rebalancing "We see some vulnerability in equity markets in the near term from balanced mutual funds, a $7T universe, having to sell around $160B of equities globally to revert to their target 60:40 allocation either by the end of November or by the end of December at the latest,” according to JPMorgan Chase. "If the stock market rallies into December, there could be an additional $150B of equity selling into the end of the month by pension funds that tend to rebalance on a quarterly basis," added strategists led by Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou. For the retail investor, is the 60/40 portfolio still the way to go? Recent contributors on Seeking Alpha have suggested otherwise based on pricing and real returns. See articles by Jussi Askola and KCI Research. Pandemic hammers retail Guitar Center, owned by private equity firm Ares Management (NYSE:ARES), has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy as the coronavirus pandemic moved shopping online and weighed on purchases of new music gear. The company, which has nearly 300 stores across the U.S., as well as subsidiaries including Music & Arts, has negotiated to have $375M in debtor-in-possession financing from its existing lenders and intends to raise $335M in new senior secured notes. Guitar Center will continue to stay in business during the bankruptcy process, but it could miss another major shopping period due to weaker consumer spending this holiday season. Lockdowns bite Economic activity across the eurozone plunged in November after members of the bloc introduced new lockdowns and social restrictions to contain the spread of coronavirus. The flash eurozone PMI composite output index, which tracks both manufacturing and services sectors, came in at 45.1, marking the lowest reading in six months. Meanwhile, the ECB said it will continue its pandemic emergency purchase program as long as COVID-19 persists and continues to disrupt regular economic activity. Things aren't looking brighter. Germany is looking to extend its current lockdown into December as the number of coronavirus infections remains high across the country. Latest China crackdown The Trump administration is close to issuing a list of 89 Chinese aerospace and other companies that would be unable to access U.S. technology exports due to their military ties, according to Reuters. That would restrict companies like Commercial Aircraft Corp of China, which is looking to compete with Boeing (NYSE:BA) and Airbus (OTCPK:EADSY), as well as Aviation Industry Corporation of China. The list, if published, could further escalate trade tensions and comes just ten days after President Trump unveiled an executive order prohibiting U.S. investments in Chinese companies that Washington said are owned or controlled by the Chinese military. Go Deeper: GE, Honeywell among those that have supply deals with COMAC and AVIC. What else is happening... Nevada cuts capacity limit for casinos and entertainment. Zucker expected to leave CNN (NYSE:T) in early 2021 - Vanity Fair. Retail rotation faces reversal with COVID Black Friday. Can the SPAC-tacular returns in the EV space ride on? Drilling rig operator Noble Corp. (NYSE:NE) to exit Chapter 11. Europe likely to lift Boeing (BA) 737 MAX grounding in January. Today's Markets In Asia, Japan closed. Hong Kong +0.1%. China +1.1%. India +0.4%. In Europe, at midday, London +0.3%. Paris +0.6%. Frankfurt +0.8%. Futures at 6:20, Dow +0.7%. S&P +0.6%. Nasdaq +0.4%. Crude +1.4% to $43.01. Gold -0.4% at $1865.70. Bitcoin +3.1% to $18693. Ten-year Treasury Yield +2 bps to 0.85% Today's Economic Calendar 8:30 Chicago Fed National Activity Index 9:45 PMI Composite Flash 11:30 Results of $56B, 2-Year Note Auction 1:00 PM Results of $57B, 5-Year Note Auction
Lost in the Sauce: Barr's DOJ shut down investigations of Trump and admin officials
Welcome to Lost in the Sauce, keeping you caught up on political and legal news that often gets buried in distractions and theater… or a global health crisis. Housekeeping:
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Post-election
On Saturday, Trump announced on Twitter that he has put his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani in charge of his campaign's long-shot post-election legal challenges. Other people on the team include Joseph diGenova, Victoria Toensing, Sidney Powell, and Jenna Ellis.
Giuliani worked with a Russian agent to smear Biden. diGenova and Toensing tried to get the Justice Department to drop charges against corrupt Ukraine oligarch Dmytro Firtash. Powell represents Michael Flynn and champions "deep state" conspiracies. Ellis said gay marriage leads to pedophilia.
NYT: Mr. Trump turned to Mr. Giuliani earlier on Friday in reaction to the latest setback he faced in court, this one relating to votes in Maricopa County, Arizona… A half-dozen other Trump advisers have described Mr. Giuliani’s efforts as counterproductive and said that he was giving the president unwarranted optimism about what could happen… In an Oval Office meeting with aides on Thursday, Mr. Trump put Mr. Giuliani on speakerphone so the others could hear him. He angrily accused the aides of not telling the president the truth
Giuliani’s conspiracy-riddled rant at Four Seasons Total Landscaping was so disastrous that it “scared off many of the lawyers” recruited to argue election-related lawsuits.Politico: “Campaign officials described the episode as disastrous...there are widespread concerns within Trumpworld and GOP circles that Giuliani’s antics are thwarting the president’s legal machinery from within.” Two major law firms have withdrawn from Trump campaign cases as his legal challenges crumble. Arizona’s largest law firm Snell & Wilmer dumped the RNC and Trump campaign effort to challenge votes in Maricopa County. Porter Wright Morris & Arthur is abandoning Trump’s attempt to block Pennsylvania's popular vote for Joe Biden.
In one day (Friday), nine cases meant to attack President-elect Joe Biden's win in key states were denied or dropped - seven in Pennsylvania, one in Arizona, and one in Michigan.
The new federal chief information security officer, Camilo Sandoval, has already taken leave from his day job to participate in a pro-Trump effort to hunt for evidence of voter fraud in the battleground states. The group, Voter Integrity Fund, is a newly formed Virginia-based group that is analyzing ballot data and cold-calling voters. Sandoval was officially appointed on Nov. 4, 2020, but lists his starting date at October on his personal LinkedIn page.
WaPo: Sandoval is part of a hastily convened team led by Matthew Braynard, a data specialist who worked on Trump’s 2016 campaign. Another participant is Thomas Baptiste, an adviser to the deputy secretary of the Interior Department who also took a leave to work on the project. Braynard said in an interview that several other government officials on leave are also assisting the effort, but he declined to identify them.
Media’s role:
Facebook Cut Traffic To Leading Liberal Pages Just Before The Election: Liberal page administrators who spoke with BuzzFeed News said that their reach declined by as much as 70%, and still hasn’t recovered.
Facebook Live Spread Election Conspiracies And Russian State-Controlled Content Despite Employee Fears: The social network’s live video tool has recommended videos featuring misinformation and the hyperpartisan views of Trump allies leading up to and following election day in the US.
In the week after the election, Trump’s postings dominated Facebook, accounting for the 10 most engaged status updates in the United States, and 22 of the top 25. “I WON THIS ELECTION, BY A LOT!” was his top post.
YouTube Is Doing Very Little to Stop Election Misinformation From Spreading
Social media app Parler receives financial backing from conservative hedge-fund investor Robert Mercer and his daughter Rebekah, The Wall Street Journal reported. Parler turned into a kind of de facto home for conservatives’ protests against the election— including the persistent “Stop the Steal” campaign— after the race was called for former Vice President Joe Biden. Several high-profile conservative social media personalities encouraged people to abandon Twitter and Facebook because of their moderation policies, and instead follow them on Parler.
Transition
Emily Murphy, the head of the General Services Administration, still hasn’t signed the official letter that would allow the incoming Biden team to formally begin the transition. House Democrats are assessing options to force the GSA’s hand, which could include summoning Murphy to the Hill to testify or suing her. “Obviously, Congress could file suit against the GSA administrator for failing to do her duty. We could seek to get a court to, in fact, issue an order
Her ascertainment is the legally necessary precursor to the government’s assistance to the Biden-Harris Presidential Transition Team. It releases $6.3 million dollars to the team, which is funded by public and private money; a loan of expanded federal office space and equipment; access to government agencies that will begin sharing information and records about ongoing activities, plans and vulnerabilities; national security briefings for the president; and other support.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence recently confirmed that it is not providing national security briefings to the president-elect. The Defense Department has also reportedly indicated that it will not meet with the Biden-Harris transition team until Murphy formally affirms the apparent winner.
One of the officials fired in Trump’s latest purge was helping prepare for the transition to the new administration. USAID Deputy Administrator Bonnie Glick was removed abruptly to make way for a Trump loyalist after she had been supportive of transition planning, including the preparation of a 440-page manual for the next administration. The GSA’s refusal to enact the transition has locked Biden’s team out of crucial Covid-19 pandemic data and government agency contacts. The president-elect’s Covid-19 task force has been trying to work around the federal government by connecting with governors and the health community.
The head of Operation Warp Speed, Moncef Slaoui, called on the White House to allow contact with the Biden team, saying “It is a matter of life and death for thousands of people.”
White House’s Office of Management and Budget is considering 145 new regulations and other policy changes they could enact before Biden’s inauguration - rules that will be challenging to undo once they are finalized. Critics and supporters of the administration say they expect a final burst of regulations to be finalized in the weeks before Jan. 20.
The rules under development include policies that the incoming Biden administration would probably oppose, such as new caps on the length of foreign student visas; restrictions on the Environmental Protection Agency’s use of scientific research; limits on the EPA’s consideration of the benefits of regulating air pollutants; and a change that would make it easier for companies to treat workers as independent contractors, rather than employees with more robust wage protections.
Last week, both Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and White House trade adviser Peter Navarro said they’re preparing for a second Trump term. “There will be a smooth transition to a second Trump administration,” Pompeo said during a news conference Tuesday afternoon (clip). Pompeo then doubled down on Fox News (clip). “We are moving forward here at the White House under the assumption there will be a second Trump term,” Navarro said on Fox Business Friday (clip).
DOJ interference
Attorney General William Barr stopped career prosecutors in DOJ’s Public Integrity Section from investigating whether President Trump broke any laws related to his conduct with Ukraine last year. The section was initially given the green light to pursue “a potentially explosive inquiry” into Trump, but after the Senate acquitted the president during impeachment proceedings, Barr sent the case to the U.S. attorney’s office in Brooklyn. Prosecutors in DOJ’s Public Integrity Section were also prevented from bringing charges against former interior secretary Ryan Zinke by political appointees atop the Justice Department. Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen told prosecutors that they needed to gather more evidence and refine the case against Zinke for lying to Interior investigators.
The investigation into Zinke stemmed from his decision to block two Native American tribes—the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan—from opening a casino in Connecticut. Zinke’s office had been lobbied heavily by MGM Resorts International, which had been planning to open its own casino very close to where the tribes intended to break ground.
Sixteen assistant U.S. attorneys specially assigned to monitor malfeasance in the 2020 election urged Barr on Friday to rescind his memo allowing election-fraud investigations before results are certified. "It was developed and announced without consulting non-partisan career professionals in the field and at the Department. Finally, the timing of the Memorandum's release thrusts career prosecutors into partisan politics," the prosecutors wrote. An internal Justice Department investigation found that federal prosecutors who oversaw a controversial non-prosecution deal with Jeffrey Epstein in 2008 exercised “poor judgment” but did not break the law. “They just say he used poor judgment, and that's their way of basically letting everyone off the hook while offering some sort of an olive branch to the victims that we acknowledge weren't treated perfectly,” said Brad Edwards, who sued the DOJ in 2008 on behalf of Epstein accusers.
Immigration news
Eastern District of New York Judge Nicholas Garaufis (Clinton-appointee) ruled that Chad Wolf was not legally serving as acting Homeland Security secretary when he signed rules limiting DACA program applications and renewals. Therefore, in a win for Dreamers and immigration activists, Garaufis said the changes were invalid.
The judge described an illegitimate shuffling of leadership chairs at the Department of Homeland Security, the agency responsible for immigration enforcement, for the predicament of Wolf's leadership and that of his predecessor, Kevin McAleenan. "Based on the plain text of the operative order of succession," Garaufis wrote in the Saturday ruling, "neither Mr. McAleenan nor, in turn, Mr. Wolf, possessed statutory authority to serve as Acting Secretary. Therefore the Wolf Memorandum was not an exercise of legal authority."
There's a renewed push to get Chad Wolf confirmed as Homeland Security secretary -- a position in which he's been serving in an acting capacity for a yearr -- before Inauguration Day. In the past week, Homeland Security officials spoke to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's office about bringing the nomination to a floor vote in the coming weeks.
Within the last six months, as the coronavirus pandemic gripped the US, the Trump administration filed 75 lawsuits to seize private land along the US-Mexico border for the border wall." People right now are having to choose between their health and their homes," said Ricky Garza, a staff attorney at the Texas Civil Rights Project, a legal advocacy group. After a series of price increases, Trump’s border project will cost taxpayers $20 million per mile of border fence. A review of federal spending data shows more than 200 contract modifications, at times awarded within just weeks or months after the original contracts, have increased the cost of the border wall project by billions of dollars since late 2017. DHS has expelled unaccompanied immigrant children from the US border more than 13,000 times since March,using the coronavirus as an excuse to deny children their right to asylum. Previously, unaccompanied children were sent to government-run shelters as they attempted to pursue their asylum cases. Migrant children from Central America are being expelled to Mexico, where they have no family connections. The expulsions not only put children in danger - the policy violates a diplomatic agreement with Mexico that only Mexican children and others who had adult supervision could be pushed back into Mexico after attempting to cross the border. The House Judiciary Committee released a report on the Trump administration’s policy of separating families at the border, revealing that the federal agency that cares for migrant children was not told about the policy. The chaos contributed to the inability to later reunite parents and children. The Trump administration is trying to deport several women who allege they were mistreated by a Georgia gynecologist at an immigration detention center. Hours after one detained woman spoke to federal investigators about forced hysterectomies at a Georgia detention center, she said ICE told her that it had lifted a hold on her deportation and she faced “imminent” removal. Six former patients who complained about Dr. Mahendra Amin had already been deported. Northern District of Illinois Judge Gary Feinerman (Obama-appointee) blocked a key Trump administration policy that allowed officials to deny green cards to immigrants who might need public assistance Advocates who had feared that the policy would harm tens of thousands of poor people, particularly those affected by widespread job loss because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Miscellaneous
Microsoft said it has detected attempts by state-backed Russian and North Korean hackers to steal valuable data from leading pharmaceutical companies and vaccine researchers. “Among the targets, the majority are vaccine makers that have COVID-19 vaccines in various stages of clinical trials.” Two census takers told The AP that their supervisors pressured them to enter false information into a computer system about homes they had not visited so they could close cases during the waning days of the once-a-decade national headcount. The Supreme Court on Tuesday signaled it’s unlikely to tear down Obamacare over a Republican-backed lawsuit challenging the landmark health care law. Chief Justice John Roberts and Trump appointee Justice Brett Kavanaugh strongly questioned whether the elimination of the mandate penalty made the rest of the law invalid. Kavanaugh appeared to signal on several occasions that he favored leaving the rest of the law intact if the mandate is struck. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) was sued last week by four whistleblowers claiming that he abused his office to benefit himself, a woman with whom he was said to have had an affair, and the wealthy donor who employs her before retaliating against the members of his staff who reported him to the FBI. The Trump administration is rushing plans to auction drilling rights in the U.S. Arctic National Wildlife Refuge before the inauguration of Biden, who has vowed to block oil exploration in the rugged Alaska wilderness. Biden’s efforts could be complicated if the Trump administration sells drilling rights first. Formally issued oil and gas leases on federal land are government contracts that can’t be easily yanked.
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Dr. Christy goes through the routine of donning and doffing PPE to show all the different steps and mistakes that can be made along the way. What happens if you need to be tested for COVID-19? Here's a first person demonstration of the drive through testing process. If you have symptoms, including... The high volume COVID-19 vaccine clinic will be operated through MaineHealth, and officials hope to reach 2000 vaccinates per day there Melissa Sorensen, Chief Nursing Officer, walks through ProMedica Senior Care Covid-19 vaccine clinic set-up. READ THE FULL ARTICLE: SUBSCRIBE TO PROMEDICA TV...
