Author: BlackMask Financial

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – The main Dutch pandemic expert advisory panel recommended on Thursday imposing Western Europe’s first partial lockdown since the summer, putting pressure on the government to take drastic and unpopular action to fight a COVID-19 surge. Caretaker Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s government is expected to take a decision on Friday on new measures following the recommendation of the Outbreak Management Team, a panel of experts, broadcaster NOS reported. Among measures under consideration were the cancellation of events, closing theatres and cinemas, and earlier closing times for cafes and restaurants, the NOS report said. Schools would remain open. The government often, but not always, follows the panel’s recommendations. Lockdown has been considered unthinkable in many developed countries since vaccines were widely rolled out, even as infections have spiked to records. Countries such as Britain are relying on vaccine booster shots to increase immunity and avoid overwhelming their healthcare systems over the winter. The Netherlands has so far provided booster shots only to a small group of people with weak immune systems. Despite an adult vaccinate rate nearing 85%, hospitals in parts of the Netherlands have been forced to scale back regular care to treat coronavirus patients. Last week, the Netherlands re-introduced masks and expanded the list of venues that require a so-called “corona pass”, which demonstrates vaccination or a negative test result, to gain access. The Netherlands’ Institute for Health (RIVM) on Tuesday reported weekly cases were up 45% to 76,790, or more than 400 per 100,000 inhabitants.

Germany sees more than 50,000 daily new cases for first time; some hospitals in Slovakia limit non-urgent care

Germany recorded a record number of new Covid-19 infections on Thursday with 50,196 additional cases in 24 hours, a sign of the violence of the epidemic wave that is hitting the country, according to the Robert Koch health watch institute. This is the first time that the threshold of 50,000 new daily cases has been crossed since the start of the pandemic while Germany has chained record numbers of infections in recent days. The number of deaths in 24 hours rose to 235 on Thursday. Pressure is also increasing on hospital care units. This outbreak is attributed in particular to the relatively low vaccination rate of the population in Germany, just over 67%. Several particularly affected states, such as Saxony, Bavaria, and most recently Berlin, have introduced new restrictions targeting unvaccinated people who are the first affected by this rebound in the pandemic. Thus, as of Monday, Berlin will prohibit unvaccinated people from accessing, in particular, restaurants without a terrace, bars, sports halls and hairdressing salons. A negative test will no longer allow access to these public places if users are not vaccinated or cannot prove that they are cured of the disease.

Russia reports 40,759 new COVID cases, 1,237 deaths

* Bondholders receive overdue coupon payments – source

* Chinese property shares, bonds stage relief rally

* Broader liquidity concerns remain, more debts coming due

SINGAPORE/HONG KONG, Nov 11 (Reuters) – Cash-strapped developer China Evergrande Group averted a destabilising default at the last minute for the third time in the past month, with a source on Thursday saying several bondholders had received overdue coupon payments. Evergrande, the world’s most indebted developer, has been stumbling from deadline to deadline in recent weeks as it grapples with more than $300 billion in liabilities, $19 billion of which are international market bonds. Chinese media outlet Cailianshe reported several bondholders have received interest payments of the three bond tranches that had a total of more than $148 million due last month. The payments were made at the end of a 30-day grace period that ended Wednesday https://www.reuters.com/business/evergrande-faces-default-deadline-148-mln-payment-some-bondholders-paid-report-2021-11-10, as was the case with two separate offshore coupon payments that were due in late September and for which the grace periods ended late last month. A failure to pay would have resulted in a formal default by the company and triggered cross-default provisions for other Evergrande dollar bonds, exacerbating a debt crisis looming over the world’s second-largest economy that has rattled global markets. “The near-term fix seems to be happening but there’s a long way to go before this issue gets sorted out. These are early days,” said the source with knowledge of the matter, referring to Evergrande and declining to be named without authorisation to talk to the media. Evergrande, which is at the centre of a deepening liquidity squeeze in China’s $5 trillion property sector, did not respond to Reuters request for comment on its latest bond coupon payment. Although the developer managed to avoid a default again, woes in the property sector showed no signs of abating with a wall of debt coming due. Evergrande has coupon payments totalling more than $255 million due on Dec. 28. It has come under pressure from its other creditors at home and a stifling funding squeeze has cast a shadow over hundreds of its residential projects. Investor focus is now also shifting to other cash-strapped developers which have a string of offshore payments coming due in the short term, including Kaisa Group. Kaisa has the most offshore debt of any Chinese developer after Evergrande and pleaded for help from creditors. Chinas-state-council-held-meeting-with-property-developers-banks-source- this week. It has coupon payments totalling over $59 million due on Thursday and Friday. While the U.S. Federal Reserve this week warned China’s troubled property sector could pose global risks, there were no clear indications whether Beijing will step in with a broader, national plan to tackle the issue. Chinese regulators have in recent weeks, however, sought to reassure investors saying risks were controllable and excessive credit tightening by banks was being corrected. NN: our recommendation on buying Evergarande US $ debt stands. they are playing this brilliantly. Why would you pay hunderes of millions if you are going to default. They are stringing along the payments making brilliant swap deals for assets. And CHINA INC. will not allow the store house of wealth of the Chinese middle class go tapioca…

 

Stocks were falling Wednesday after recent consumer price data revealed that prices had risen to their highest level in three decades. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 257 points, or 0.71%, to 36,062, the S&P 500 slipped 0.97%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq was down 1.85%. On Tuesday, stocks snapped their record winning streak of eight consecutive all-time highs. The Consumer Price Index marked a 0.9% increase in October, reflecting a 6.2% year-over-year increase, the fastest since 1990 and exceeding analyst estimates of 5.9%. Changes in the CPI are used to assess shifts in the cost of living. Ryan Detrick, chief market strategist for LPL Financial, said “inflation remains stubbornly high, to the surprise of many that expected prices to come back to earth sooner.” “The truth is you can’t shut down a $20 trillion economy and not feel some bumps as it restarts,” he said, “but we are hopeful the supply chain issues will resolve over the coming quarters and inflation should calm down as well.” The 10-year Treasury yield rose 1.02% following the release of the CPI. Cliff Hodge, chief investment officer for Cornerstone Wealth, noted that below the surface, over 80% of CPI subcomponents were above 2%, the highest since 1991, “which indicates broader price increases, not only related to reopening.” “The bond market is telling you that the Fed is way behind the curve on policy, as short rates rocketed while long rates have taken the release in stride,” Hodge said. “A flattening curve does not portend well for risk assets into next year. “ NN: This is the first little tremor warning about the earth quake that is coming. The FED and MARKETS have no idea the forces at work here.. Things  have now gone to far with ZERO interest rates and endless stimulation. As you are seeing they have created enormous bubbles in stocks, real estate and have completely turned valuations in debt markets on their ass. They are past the point of no return…… Even when they see the proof of run away embedded inflation they are in denial. They shut down a 20 trillion dollar economy. They not only bent it, reality is they broke it….

U.S. crude inventories rose by 1 million barrels in the most recent week, short of estimates for a 2.1 million build in crude stocks, but still countering Tuesday’s API data that showed a surprising drop in stocks. The market has been strong in recent days, buoyed by rising economic data and OPEC’s decision to maintain its slow pace of increased supply in the market.  “After the strong rally over the last few days, oil prices are in a wait and see mode,” said UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo. Further underpinning the view the market remains tight, trading giant Vitol Group’s CEO, Russell Hardy, said on Tuesday that oil demand had returned to pre-pandemic levels and demand in the first quarter of 2022 could exceed 2019 levels. “The possibility of a spike to $100 per barrel is clearly there,” Hardy told the Reuters Commodities Summit. Energy trader Gunvor Group expects oil prices to be around current levels this time next year, its chief executive Torbjorn Tornqvist told the Reuters Commodities Summit on Wednesday. Market gains on Tuesday were driven by a short-term outlook from the EIA, which projected gasoline prices would fall over the next few months. That was a key factor U.S. President Joe Biden has been watching to determine whether to release oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve amid concern over recent soaring gasoline prices. Biden, on Wednesday, said he has asked the National Economic Council to work to reduce energy costs and the Federal Trade Commission to push back on market manipulation in the energy sector in a larger push to reverse inflation. Vitol’s Hardy said that a potential SPR release is likely to have only a short-term impact on the oil market. “The EIA report … does curb concerns that the U.S. will release oil from its Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR),” Commonwealth Bank analyst Vivek Dhar said in a note. NN: Is this the last hurrah? US producers to the rescue…. Do not believe the bullshit. If you have a valuable commodity… Someone will buy it from you… and someone is bound to finance you.Want proof? Think about the drug trade!!

Inflation Surges To 31-Year High of 6.2% In October, Testing Fed

Inflation in the US, as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), surged to 6.2% on a yearly basis in October from 5.4% in September, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Wednesday. This print surpassed the market expectation of 5.3% by a wide margin. Further details of the publication revealed that the annual Core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, rose to 4.6% in the same period, compared to the market expectation of 4%. U.S. consumer price inflation accelerated to the fastest pace in three decades last month, data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicated Wednesday, as record-high energy prices and supply chain disruptions continue to test the Federal Reserve’s ‘transitory” narrative.  SHIT!! Remember this is October… The skyrocketing prices are still climbing………. The FED is so fucked…..

(Bloomberg) — Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen repeated her view that elevated U.S. inflation won’t persist beyond next year and said the Federal Reserve will act if needed to prevent a rerun of 1970s-style price rises.nnnn “I’d expect price increases to level off, and we’ll go back to inflation that’s closer to the 2% that we consider normal” as the pandemic fades, Yellen said in an interview that aired Tuesday on National Public Radio’s “Marketplace” show. The Treasury chief said that an end to the pandemic would allow more people to return to work, and with consumer demand returning to normal patterns, that will relieve pressure from wages and goods prices. Yellen, who was chair of the Fed from 2014 to 2018, said the high inflation that persisted through parts of the 1970s and 1980s occurred “because people thought that policy makers wouldn’t bring it to an end, and inflation expectations became embedded in the American psyche.” “That isn’t happening now and the Federal Reserve wouldn’t permit that to happen,” she said. NN: Here is a news flash.. The Fed has already allowed inflation to run out of control and become embedded…….. What a fucking idiot//////…./////////

New Pfizer antiviral and ivermectin, a pharmacodynamic analysis New Pfizer antiviral, PF-07321332, C₂₃H₃₂F₃N₅O₄ PF-07321332 is designed to block the activity of the SARS-CoV-2-3CL protease, https://www.pfizer.com/news/press-rel… So, what is a protease? So what is a protease inhibitor? And, what is 3CL? Chymotrypsin-like protease (3CL main protease, or 3CL Mpro) Identification of SARS-CoV‑2 3CL Protease Inhibitors by a Quantitative High-Throughput Screening (3rd September 2020) https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/… The activity of the anti-SARS-CoV-2 viral infection was confirmed in 7 of 23 compounds Microscopic interactions between ivermectin and key human and viral proteins involved in SARS-CoV-2 infection https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/artic… the strength and persistency of the interaction between IVE and the binding site of 3CLpro indicate that a partial inhibition of the catalytic activity could have place as the drug interacts with the main subdomains that define the enzyme binding pocket: Identification of 3-chymotrypsin like protease (3CLPro) inhibitors as potential anti-SARS-CoV-2 agents https://www.nature.com/articles/s4200… as shown in Fig. 4, out of 13 OTDs only ivermectin completely blocked ( more than 80%) the 3CLpro activity at 50 µM concentration. Development, validation, and approval of COVID-19 specific drugs takes years. Therefore, the idea of drug repositioning, also known as repurposing, is an important strategy to control the sudden outbreak of life-threatening infectious agents that spread rapidly. Ilimaquinone (marine sponge metabolite) as a novel inhibitor of SARS-CoV-2 key target proteins in comparison with suggested COVID-19 drugs: designing, docking and molecular dynamics simulation study https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/artic… From the docking analysis, ivermectin showed the highest docking score with an average energy of −8.5 kcal mol−1 among all the compounds. Remdesivir showed the lowest binding energy and highest docking score of −9.9 kcal mol−1 https://bnf.nice.org.uk/medicinal-for… Ritonavir, C37H48N6O5S2 Ivermectin, C48H74O14 Exploring the binding efficacy of ivermectin against the key proteins of SARS-CoV-2 pathogenesis: an in silico approach https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti… We have documented an intense binding of both ivermectin B1a and B1b isomer to the main protease with subsequent energy (ETot-) values of -384.56 and -408.6. PF-07321332 is designed to block the activity of the SARS-CoV-2-3CL protease, https://www.pfizer.com/news/press-rel… Risk of virus developing resistance to PF-07321332 Molecular Docking Reveals Ivermectin and Remdesivir as Potential Repurposed Drugs Against SARS-CoV-2 https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/… With SARS-CoV-2 S Spike protein Ivermectin showed high binding affinity to the viral S protein as well as the human cell surface receptors ACE-2 and TMPRSS2. In agreement to our findings, ivermectin was found to be docked between the viral spike and the ACE2 receptor Binding Interactions of Selected Drugs With Human TMPRSS2 Protein (ACE2 protein) The docking results revealed that ivermectin showed the highest binding affinity to the active site of the protein (MolDock score −174.971) and protein–ligand interactions Binding Interactions of Selected Drugs With Human ACE-2 Protein that ivermectin showed the highest binding affinity to the active site of the protein (MolDock score −159.754) and protein–ligand interactions With SARS-CoV-2 S Glycoprotein Ivermectin showed the highest binding affinity to the predicted active site of the protein With SARS-CoV-2 Nsp14 Protein ivermectin showed the highest binding affinity (MolDock score −212.265) and protein–ligand interactions Binding Interactions of Selected Drugs With SARS-CoV-2 PLpro Ivermectin showed the highest binding affinity to the predicted active site of the protein (MolDock score −180.765) and protein–ligand interactions. NN: And the winner is Ivermectin….