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Our briefing for Wednesday September 23, 2020:
Sep 23, 2020 4:01:06 PM
- In the United States the fourth large-scale trial of a Coronavirus vaccine has begun. The Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson intend to recruit up to 60,000 volunteers to test their newest single-dose injection at over 215 test sites across the country and abroad. The investigational tests will be funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response. The vaccine employs a human adenovirus that causes the common cold which has been modified so that it no longer replicates and causes disease. The same adenovirus has been employed in a vaccine for the Ebola virus which has recently been cleared for use by the European Commission. The Janssen vaccine is designed to prevent moderate to severe cases of COVID-19 and avoid the need for medical intervention if a vaccinated person contracts the virus.
- Without stringent compliance with the safety measures similar to those taken in the early stages of the pandemic, COVID-19 is projected to continue to grow in Canada according to a federal document released on Tuesday. The documents states that Canada is on track to have 155,795 total cases and 9,300 deaths by October 2nd if Canadians are unable to revert back to stricter lockdown procedures. Infections are set to rise as numbers over the past two weeks show significant transmission throughout the country. If Canada continues on its current path, the virus will return "faster and stronger," said Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada's chief public health officer. At Tuesday’s briefing, health minister Patty Hajdu said that "all of us have the future in our hands in terms of the decisions we're making today," and that Canadians need to “ensure that we're not socializing more than absolutely necessary.”
- The British pound took a dive in the early morning trading hours on Wednesday following announcements from Prime Minister Boris Johnson that the U.K. will strictly enforce new regulations to slow the spread of COVID-19. The pound slipped against the American dollar by 0.3 per cent to $1.26. Johnson warned that even stricter measure may be put in place over the next six months if the reproduction – or “R” – number does not decline. The reproduction number is the amount of secondary infections that come from a single infected person. The current “R” number in the U.K. sits between 1.1 and 1.4. Fines for breaching the COVID regulations in Britain range from £200 for the first offence and up to £10,000 for secondary infractions.
- Indian parliament is scheduled to close its current session on Wednesday, a week earlier than anticipated after 30 parliamentarians have tested positive for COVID-19. The new session began on September 14th and was the first time the lawmakers had met in six months. New cases of the virus surged again on Wednesday after having reported the lowest number of new cases in over a month on Tuesday. India has consistently recorded the highest number of daily infections worldwide for the last few months and that number is continuing to grow as the country tries to alleviate the burden on an increasingly strained healthcare system. In the last 24 hours, there were 83,347 new cases, with 1,085 deaths, federal health data showed.
- In Australia, lockdown restrictions in parts of the country are beginning to ease with South Australia and Queensland opening their borders to residents from neighbouring New South Wales. There have been no new community transmitted cases of the virus in New South Wales for the last 14 days prompting the easements at the border. However, travel restrictions are still firmly in place for the state of Victoria which has seen the largest number of cases in the country, primarily in the metropolitan area of Melbourne. Travellers from New South Wales entering South Australia will no longer have to quarantine for the required 14-day period starting on Thursday. “This will be a massive, massive relief to people who have been dislocated from friends, from family, from business opportunities,” said South Australian Premier Steven Marshall. The move will be welcome to country’s economy which has fallen into a recession for the first time since 1991.
Covid-19 – Due Diligence And Asset Management
UBS AM sees 'emergency' vaccine approval in fourth quarter, hot tech to cool
Brief: An emergency approval of one to three Covid-19 vaccines is likely in the coming months UBS Asset Management predicted on Wednesday, a milestone that could finally end the surge of mega-cap U.S. tech stocks. The full approval of the vaccine that allows for broad inoculation is more likely during the middle of 2021, the asset management arm of the Swiss bank said. After the recent correction led by tech stocks, UBS AM said its hopes for a vaccine meant it was adding “exposure” to other sectors and regions that could benefit from a normalisation of the economic cycle. “A vaccine announcement is likely to reinforce this trend (rotation to cyclicals) by increasing visibility into the earnings recovery outside of technology and other work-from-home beneficiaries,” UBS Asset Management’s investment team said.
Hong Kong and China stocks snap two-day run of losses after changing direction at least 10 times
Brief: Hong Kong and China stocks rose for the first time this week, as traders assessed prospects of global growth and the fallout from a resurgence in the coronavirus epidemic in Europe. The Hang Seng Index added 0.1 per cent, or 25.66 points, to 23,742.51 at the close on Wednesday after changing direction at least 10 times. The benchmark snapped a 3 per cent decline over the previous two days. The mainland’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.2 per cent to 3,279.71. HSBC Holdings rebounded from its lowest level in 25 years and Joy Spreader Interactive Technology, one of Hong Kong’s most sought-after initial public offerings, dropped below the offer price on debut. Most equity gauges in Asia retreated except Australia, after the Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell said that the US economy has a long way to go before it fully recovers from the damage of Covid-19 and will need more support.
HSBC halts return to office plan in Britain
Brief: HSBC HSBA.L has paused its plan to return more staff to office working in Britain, in common with other financial firms after Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Tuesday urged workers to stay home to combat the coronavirus. “We will pause any further consideration of ‘phase one’ teams returning to offices,” HSBC said to its staff in Britain in a memo seen by Reuters on Wednesday. A spokeswoman for the bank confirmed the contents of the memo. Critical workers needed for the bank and its branches to operate will continue to go in to the office, the memo said.
ASIC extends COVID-19 relief for certain capital raisings and financial advice
Brief: ASIC is extending the temporary relief for capital raisings and financial advice due to the continuing uncertain impacts of COVID-19. ASIC is also extending the financial advice relief related to the COVID-19 early release of superannuation scheme in light of the extension of the scheme by the Government. The capital raisings relief aims to assist listed entities affected by the COVID-19 pandemic to raise capital in a quicker and less costly way without undermining investor protection. It was originally announced on 31 March 2020 (20-075MR). The temporary relief enables certain ‘low doc’ offers (including rights offers, placements and share purchase plans) to be made to investors without a prospectus, even if they do not meet all the normal requirements.
PwC says majority of its UK employees will now work from home
Brief: Accountancy firm PwC, which had seen a number of staff return to offices from lockdown, has said most UK employees will now be working from home in the wake of new government guidance. The Big Four firm joins the long line of businesses that have this week had to review back-to-office plans in light of new government guidance telling people to work from home if they can. Many employers had invited staff to come back into offices from last month after a period of remote working during lockdown. Kevin Ellis, PwC UK chairman and senior partner, today said: “We’ve seen benefits for our people, clients, suppliers and communities of using our offices in recent weeks and they will continue to play an important role - but only when appropriate to do so. Safety and wellbeing is paramount, and we will follow the government’s new guidance.”
Asia hedge funds continue to hire in 2020 despite COVID-19, KPMG and AIMA survey finds
Brief: Hedge funds in Asia have continued to increase their headcount and still have appetite to hire more talent despite the economic uncertainty brought about by COVID-19, according to a new joint report by KPMG and the Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA). The report titled Agile and Resilient: Alternative investments embrace the new reality surveyed 144 hedge fund managers globally, representing an estimated USD 840 billion in assets under management (AUM). Seventeen percent of the respondents are headquartered in Asia Pacific, while 11 percent are in Hong Kong. The survey was conducted in real-time throughout the pandemic and the report also includes one-on-one insights from key players across the industry.
