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Our briefing for Wednesday, September 29, 2021:
Sep 29, 2021 3:29:54 PM
- In the United States, Pfizer and its partner BioNTech submitted initial trial data for their Covid-19 vaccine in children ages five to 11. Data from the trial showed the vaccine generated a positive immune response for the age group, similar to that of the 16-25-year-old group. The drug makers said they also plan to submit the data to the European Medicines Agency and to other regulators. While Pfizer’s vaccine has been authorized for use by 12-15-year-olds in the U.S., Moderna’s vaccine has not been yet been authorized for use by teens.
- In Canada, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has laid out his post-election priorities, and all of them are focused on the Covid-19 pandemic. His first objective will be to bring in a vaccine mandate for federal public servants and for travellers on planes, trains and ships. His government is also working on a vaccine passport system for international travel that is intended to make things easier for Canadians when crossing borders. Trudeau also plans to send money to the provinces to help them implement their own proof-of-vaccine programs, and hopes to bring in legislation to criminalize anti-vaccine demonstrations outside of hospitals.
- In the United Kingdom, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has promised to put bereaved families at the centre of a Covid-19 pandemic inquiry. Johnson, who met with the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice group on Tuesday, also said he will appoint a chair to the public inquiry by Christmas. “And obviously, there’s very little I could say to mitigate their own suffering," Johnson said. “But what I did say was that we were determined to make sure that the experience of the bereaved was something we took account of.” The group said they were pleased by the meeting with the prime minister but still “disappointed by the lack of urgency” that he displayed.
- France’s government announced that they will fully fund psychological treatments, beginning next year. Therapy sessions in the country will be made free for anyone who has a doctor’s prescription. French President Emmanuel Macron says there’s been a spike in suicide attempts, particularly among teenagers, and that about 20% of people in France suffer from depression. Keeping children out of school also significantly impacted mental health, as did the mask mandate for school children, which is set to be lifted next week. “The consequences of the pandemic are just as tangible in mental health,” Macron said.
- New Zealand’s Covid-19 case numbers soared to 45, the highest they’ve been in nearly a month and more than five times the previous day’s number. The city of Auckland remains under a level three lockdown, having eased some restrictions last week. Officials are urging citizens to continue to follow the rules and to go get tested. “We’ve still got to hold our nerve here,” Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said. “We’re still aiming to run this into the ground.” About 64% of New Zealanders have had their first dose of vaccine.
- In Australia, the federal government announced that it will end financial aid to state governments for Covid-19. In a statement, the government said once they reach the 80% double-dose vaccination milestone, they will end payments to workers who lost hours due to lockdowns after two weeks. It will largely be up to the individual states to fund the cost of lockdowns, should they need to have them once the benchmark is reached. New South Wales reported 863 new coronavirus cases and 15 deaths. Neighbouring Victoria state reported a record number of 950 new cases , and seven deaths.
Covid-19 – Due Diligence And Asset Management
Central banks parse inflation risk as turn from pandemic policy begins
Brief: Central banks that launched massive emergency support to fight the pandemic last year are now planning a global turn in the other direction, with gaps already emerging in their perceived risk of inflation, the need to respond to it, and the pace of the likely return to normal monetary policy. They are confronted with common supply shocks and common risks around a pandemic that continues to shape commerce. "Globally we are still in for a long process," of reopening and adapting to the post-pandemic economy, St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard said this week in a Reuters interview. But the reopening, and particularly the associated inflation, is being felt differently across the developed world, testing officials' understanding of the post-pandemic economy and their ability to hit a shared 2% inflation target without derailing global growth.
United to fire workers who refuse COVID vaccine
Brief: United Airlines (UAL) is set to terminate employees who refuse to get the coronavirus vaccine, under a policy it first established in August. The Chicago-based company has a total of 593 staff members who have not yet been jabbed, and have not applied for an exemption on religious or medical grounds. They now face being fired by the airline for failing to comply with its vaccination rules, however, they will be given a final chance to fall into line, United said. United required its 67,000 US staff members to provide proof of vaccination by 27 September. Employees were given an added incentive of receiving an extra day’s pay if they got their full vaccination dose before 20 September.
In Covid Era, ESG Investors Found to Have Health ‘Blind Spot’
Brief: Investors are generally ignoring the significant risks posed by poor human health, a glaring omission in the era of Covid-19. Much like climate change, health poses a systemic risk that investors “cannot diversify away from,” according to a new report from ShareAction, a U.K. nonprofit focused on responsible investing. Through interviews with 30 asset managers, the group found that most aren’t investing in a way that protects human health. The Covid-19 pandemic has made clear the link between health and economic performance. It has also shown that investors who profess to consider environmental, social and governance issues when allocating their capital have many blind spots. In pure financial terms, there’s a lot at stake. The U.K. loses around 300 billion pounds ($406 billion) in economic output each year due to the poor health of its citizens.
Climate Change Replaces Pandemic as Insurers’ Biggest Worry
Brief: Climate change has returned to the top of the list of insurers’ biggest concerns as the vaccine roll-out and gradual lifting of health restrictions see pandemic fears ease in many countries. Global warming was ranked as the biggest risk to society over the next five to 10 years in a report released Tuesday by French insurance giant AXA SA. While that also topped the ranking in 2018 and 2019, it was outstripped by diseases and pandemics last year as the virus spread across the globe. “Climate change is back at the top of the agenda,” AXA Chief Executive Officer Thomas Buberl said in a statement. “This is good news, since last year we feared that the explosion of health risks may overshadow the climate emergency.” Insurers are being increasingly challenged by global warming as extreme weather events wrought by climate change are expected to keep rising.
How the pandemic has changed the financial advice business
Brief: Working remotely in a business built around relationships means adapting in more ways than one. For most financial advisory firms, the pandemic accelerated advancements already underway in virtual communications and paperless transactions. The best businesses maintained their personal connections with clients and safeguarded customer data at the same time. “We are now fully in the cloud,” said Matthew Young, president and CEO of Richard C. Young & Co. in Naples, Florida. For the most part, the transition to operating entirely online has been beneficial for clients and their advisors, particularly with electronic paperwork. “It speeds up the process,” Young said. “We can track it easier and it gets to the client instantaneously.”
