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Our briefing for Thursday March 4, 2021:
Mar 4, 2021 4:04:33 PM
- In the United States, ahead of a lengthy debate on the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package, Democratic Senators have modified it to steer more aid to smaller states. The move to increase the minimum amount each state would get was seen as a move to ensure all 50 of their members support the bill, with no votes to spare. A 50-50 split along partisan lines in the Senate would mean a tiebreaking vote would go to Vice President Kamala Harris. According to a Reuters report, the Republicans are expected to drag out the process, requiring a full reading of the legislation, which could take up to 10 hours, followed by 20 hours of debate. If all this takes place, a vote likely won’t happen until well into the weekend.
- Canada’s National Advisory Committee of Immunization (NACI) has advised that second COVID-19 vaccine doses should be delayed by up to four months in order to get more Canadians with at least one dose of the vaccination. The country’s Deputy Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Howard Njoo was left trying to explain during a news briefing on Thursday the differing opinions between the committee and Health Canada, stating the difference in messaging from the two national bodies is different by design. “As the regulator, Health Canada authorizes each vaccine for use in Canada according to factors based on clinical trial evidence, whereas NACI bases its guidance on the available and evolving evidence in a real-world context, including the availability of other vaccines,” said Dr. Njoo.
- In the United Kingdom, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said he is “more optimistic than ever” that Britons will be able to enjoy some form of a “staycation” this summer. Speaking during a visit to a Glasgow, Scotland laboratory, Hancock said “I’m confident, because of the vaccine, we will be able to make that progress and then be able to, all of us, to travel freely wherever we are within these islands.” The health minister did caution that new variants of COVID-19 could threaten the roadmap with manufacturers forced to alter their inoculations to ensure they are effective against them.
- The European Union (EU), along with Italy have made their first intervention into the supply of COVID-19 vaccines, blocking a shipment to Australia. Reuters was reporting, citing two sources, that AstraZeneca requested permission from Rome to ship 250,000 doses from its Anagni plant. However, the Italian government refused. Following a dispute with AstraZeneca in January regarding COVID-19 deliveries, the EU placed temporary controls on the export of vaccines made inside the bloc. The EU has been under repeated pressure for the slow rollout of coronavirus vaccines.
- German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced an extension of the coronavirus lockdown until March 28th, but also tried to provide some light at the end of the tunnel with an eventual plan to ease restrictions and reopen businesses. After a nine-hour meeting with Germany’s 16 state leaders on Wednesday, Chancellor Merkel announced there will be a five-step plan to relaxing restrictions on a regional or state level. Each step will be taken every two weeks if regional infection numbers are stable or reduced and an emergency brake system to be used to current lockdown levels if there are three consecutive days with an incidence rate above 100 per 100,000 people per week.
- The Wall Street Journal is reporting the World Health Organization (WHO) team investigating the origins of the coronavirus pandemic, is scrapping its interim report from its recent mission to China amid mounting tensions between the United States and Beijing. The WHO probe into Wuhan, China was hindered by delays, and limited to visits organized by their Chinese hosts, which prevented them from contact with community members due to health restrictions. Washington lawmakers have accused China of hiding the extent of the initial outbreak, while Beijing has countered, believing the coronavirus pandemic was already appearing in clusters throughout the world before it hit Wuhan back in December, 2019.
Covid-19 – Due Diligence And Asset Management
Powell Says ‘Disorderly’ Market Conditions Would Concern Him
Brief : Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said he is monitoring financial conditions and would be “concerned” by disorderly markets, but stopped short of offering specific steps -- which sent Treasury yields higher. “We monitor a broad range of financial conditions and we think that we are a long way from our goals,” he said in a Wall Street Journal webinar on Thursday. “I would be concerned by disorderly conditions in markets or persistent tightening in financial conditions that threatens the achievement of our goals.” Bond yields have shot higher in recent weeks on mounting expectations of stronger economic growth and faster inflation. Trading has been turbulent at times as dealers have struggled to keep up with the order flow. Investors also have moved forward their expectations for the first Fed rate hike to early 2023 as they begin to question the central bank’s commitment to keeping policy easy until inflation overshoots 2%.
Large Hedge Funds Dominate Industry Landscape, as 2020 Proves to be the “Year of Outsourcing”
Brief: The biggest hedge fund firms topped performance charts and drew the most investor capital over the course of last year, with 2020 proving “the year of outsourcing” for a range of middle office functions, as the industry demonstrated its value to investor portfolios, according to new analysis by Citco. Citco Fund Services’ ‘2020 Hedge Fund Report: A Year In Review’ said the past 12 months had been a “huge year” for the industry, as managers went from “strength to relative strength”, withstanding surging trading volumes and spikes in volatility. Citco, which provides asset servicing solutions to the global hedge fund and alternative investment industry, probed performance data, trade volumes, treasury services, and investor flows. Its report suggested hedge funds’ resilience ultimately underlined the sector as a key portfolio diversifier during turbulent times. A vast majority – 77.6 per cent – of funds delivered a positive annual return last year, with all strategies and assets under administration categories finishing 2020 in the black.
ESG Leads UK Investors as They Return to Equities
Brief: UK equity funds saw inflows for the first time in eight months during February, which is seen as a sign of recovery from Covid-19’s impact on markets. Latest fund inflow data also suggests records being set for ESG investment funds, according to two separate pieces of research. However, the return to UK equities was described as “tentative” with UK investors adding £145 million to their holdings, which followed outflows of £2.2 billion in the previous eight months, according to Calastone, a fund transaction network. Calastone also cautioned that in the final week of February, UK equity funds saw £19 million of outflows. Edward Glyn, head of global markets at Calastone said: “UK funds have been so out of favour for so long that some rotation is clearly taking place now…”.
China’s $1 Trillion Wealth Fund Gains 12% in ‘Very Unusual Year’
Brief: China Investment Corp. posted a return of more than 12% on overseas investments in 2020 after markets rallied on loose monetary policies, marking a breakout year for China’s $1 trillion sovereign wealth fund. The unaudited returns bring the Beijing-based fund’s 10-year rolling average to more than 6.6%, beating its target. Executive Vice President Zhao Haiying expects calmer markets this year even as policy makers try to stimulate growth without spurring runaway inflation. “2020 was a very unusual year,” Zhao, also a member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, said in an interview before the top advisory body convenes for its annual meetings in Beijing. CIC stuck to its position as a long-term investor despite market gyrations, Zhao said. “We withstood the test of strong winds and waves, and delivered relatively good returns.”
Scaramucci to Bring SALT Hedge Fund Conference to NYC to Give City a ‘Boost’
Brief: Hedge fund impresario Anthony Scaramucci, the managing partner of $9.2 billion fund-of-funds SkyBridge Capital, is bringing his famed SALT Conference to New York City in September. "I thought it was important to bring the conference back at a time where New York could use the boost. We did something very similar in Las Vegas after the global financial crisis," Scaramucci told Yahoo Finance Live exclusively. SALT, one of the widely-attended hedge fund conferences, first debuted in Las Vegas in 2009, during the depths of the global financial crisis. In the last 11 years, SALT, which is traditionally held at the Bellagio in mid-May, has held ten conferences in Las Vegas and other forums in Abu Dhabi, Singapore, and Tokyo. The New York City version will take place in-person at the Javits Center from Sept. 13 to 15. SALT's programming will center around alternative investments, bitcoin, fintech, healthcare, infrastructure, and sustainability. The conference will also offer a hybrid format for remote attendees to watch content and network virtually. There will also be outings and entertainment in the city.
