https://youtu.be/UvIbdEDiZrU
Dow, S&P 500 end with gains up after bumpy week, but Nike drags
Biden tells 60 MILLION Americans to get booster shots
Biden tells 60 MILLION Americans to get booster shots after CDC director overruled advisers to expand approval for third Pfizer shots – and president, 78, says he will get his
- Biden urged Americans over 65 and with certain medical conditions or jobs to get booster shots
- ‘I’ll be getting my booster shot,’ said Biden, 78
- Frontline workers and those with medical conditions like diabetes are encouraged to get jabs under new CDC guidance
- CDC Director Rochelle Walensky intervened to expand eligibility
President Joe Biden is telling a group of some 60 million Americans who got the Pfizer vaccine and meet other conditions to get booster shots, after a Centers for Disease Control panel gave the recommendation.
‘You’re over 65 years of age, go get a booster. Or if you have a medical condition like diabetes, or you’re a frontline worker like a health care worker or a teacher, you can get a free booster now,’ Biden said in remarks at the White House Friday.
Biden made the comment after CDC Director Rochelle Walensky overruled her own agency’s advisory panel in a rare move late Thursday night and added a recommendation for COVID-19 vaccine boosters for people at risk because of their jobs.The change added millions of additional Americans to the guidance. Her move came after the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) said third doses should only be for Americans aged 65 and older and those with underlying conditions after six months.
Walensky disagreed and put that recommendation back in, noting that such a move aligns with a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) booster authorization decision earlier this week. The panel recommended the third dose only for those 65 and over and with certain medical conditions.
The category she included covers people who live in institutional settings that increase their risk of exposure, such as prisons or homeless shelters, as well as healthcare workers, teachers and grocery store employees.
‘As CDC Director, it is my job to recognize where our actions can have the greatest impact,’ Walensky wrote in a statement.
Biden also pledged to get his own shot as soon as possible.
‘ll be getting my booster shot,’ he said, then made a joke about his own age. ‘Hard to acknowledge I’m over 65. But I’ll be getting my booster shot. It’s a bear isn’t it? I’ll tell you. But all kidding aside from getting my booster shot. I’m not sure exactly when I’m going to do it. As soon as I can get it,’ said Biden, 78.
‘Like your first and second shot. The booster shot is free and easily accessible,’ Biden said at the White House.
Biden got his second Pfizer-BioNTech dose in January before taking office.
Boosters will be available for people 65 and older, people at high risk of severe disease or of contracting COVID-19 through their work, and who were vaccinated six months ago with the Pfizer Inc and BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.
CDC Director Rochelle Walensky reversed her own agency’s advisory panel in a rare move late Thursday and added a recommendation for boosters for people at risk because of their jobs. Pictured: Walensky speaks during a Senate committee hearing, July 2021
Pfizer said data suggested efficacy of two doses declines from 96.2% to 83.7% after six months but that a third dose boosts antibody levels (above)
Biden said 60 million people were now eligible for the third shot, while also reiterating his appeal to the more than 70 million Americans who have not gotten a single shot.
‘Listen to the voices of the unvaccinated Americans who are lying in hospital beds, taking their final breaths, saying… ‘If only I got vaccinated,” Biden said. ‘People are dying and will die who don’t have to die.’
Biden had called for booster shots against the novel coronavirus to begin this week for all people once they were eight months out from vaccination, pending regulators’ approval.But the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention only this week cleared the way for a subset, though they did broaden the time frame for eligibility by two months. Biden administration officials have said they would follow the science on additional vaccines and had set the week of Sept. 20 as a goal in order to prepare for more inoculations.Regulators’ decision applies only to the Pfizer vaccine and those who received it at least six months earlier. The FDA has yet to weigh Moderna Inc’s application for boosters and Johnson & Johnson Inc. has not yet filed an application ‘We’re also looking to the time when we’re going to be able to expand the booster shots, basically across the board,’ Biden said.Health experts have cautioned people against mixing various brands of vaccine, citing the lack of data.
Credit Event at China’s Evergrande Could Have Broader Effects
Fitch Ratings-Hong Kong/Shanghai: Numerous sectors could be exposed to heightened credit risk if Chinese property developer Evergrande were to default, says Fitch Ratings. We believe a default would reinforce credit polarisation among homebuilders and could result in headwinds for some smaller banks, although we believe the overall impact on the banking sector would be manageable. Fitch downgraded China Evergrande Group to ‘CC’ from ‘CCC+’ on 7 September, indicating that we view a default of some kind as probable. Mounting investor concern about Evergrande’s creditworthiness has already exacerbated credit polarisation among developers, which has left those with weaker credit metrics struggling to tap debt markets at sustainable interest rates, increasing refinancing risk. Evergrande is one of China’s top-three developers, although the residential property market is highly fragmented. Evergrande’s market share in 2020 was only around 4%. We believe the risk of significant pressure on house prices in the event of a default would be low, unless the restructuring or liquidation of its assets becomes disorderly. Fitch believes this is something the authorities will want to avoid. We see the government’s priority in a default scenario as being the completion of Evergrande’s sold projects. Debt associated with the project companies is typically manageable, but we expect potential acquirers would still want to prevent any adverse impact on their operations – or creditworthiness – given tight industry funding conditions. Banks have direct loan and bond exposure to Evergrande, as well as exposure to off-balance-sheet wealth-management products, through trust loans. The firm’s liabilities in these areas amounted to about CNY572 billion at end-1H21, much of which we believe was held by banks and other financial institutions. Banks may also have indirect exposure to Evergrande’s suppliers – the developer’s trade payables stood at CNY667 billion. Smaller banks with higher exposure to Evergrande or to other vulnerable developers could face significant increases in non-performing loans (NPLs), depending on how any credit event involving Evergrande develops. A recent People’s Bank of China sensitivity test indicated that if the NPL ratio for property-development loans were to rise by 15pp and that for mortgages by 10pp, the average capital adequacy ratio of the 4,015 banks assessed would only drop modestly, to 12.3% from 14.4%. (This stress level is well above what we would expect from an Evergrande default alone.)
Growth in banks’ residential mortgages and property development loans decelerated in 1H21 following the introduction of new regulatory caps in January 2021. Sector-wide residential mortgages were only 2% higher at end-1H21 than at end-2020, and our rated banks saw low-single-digit growth or declines in property-related loans in general. Our baseline assumption is that this trend would not be affected by an Evergrande default, with banks continuing to curb property-sector exposure in order to meet regulatory requirements. At the macro level, an Evergrande default could damage consumer confidence if it were to affect households’ deposits for homes that have not yet been completed, but we assume the government would act to protect households’ interests, making this outcome unlikely. In the unlikely event that a default unsettles the broader property market, significantly disrupting sales and investment, this could have farther-reaching macroeconomic effects. We estimate the sector accounts for approximately 14% of GDP. Risks to our growth outlook on China are mitigated by the government’s capacity to intervene with policies to shore up the housing market, but we believe the threshold for such support will be high – as it might set back other priorities such as reducing real-estate lending concentration and tackling the high cost of housing. Other forms of stimulus to support economic growth would also be possible in this scenario.
The Return of Empty Shelves and Panic Buying
Supply chain issues are leaving supermarket shelves empty. Shoppers might yet make things worse. Walk around a supermarket in the U.S. or Europe and you will see some empty shelves once more. This isn’t due to people panic-buying toilet paper, as they did early on in the pandemic; rather it’s because supply chains are clogged at almost every stage between Asian factories and grocery stock rooms. But rising prices and patchy availability mean it’s only a matter of time before shoppers start purchasing in bulk again — this time to avoid future sticker shock. Supply lines are struggling as producers such as Vietnam, responsible for making everything from sneakers to coffee, are hurt by Covid restrictions. Surging virus cases and consumer demand are leading to congested ports. Shipping containers are in the wrong place. Sea freight costs are up tenfold. If goods do arrive at the destined ports, there are too few truck drivers to transport them to retailers. Shortages of workers to harvest and prepare foods are also adding to the pressures. Some sectors are bearing the brunt worse than others. Beverages, for example, have been hurt by a shortage of packaging including aluminum cans. In Britain, a lack of C02 amid spiraling energy costs has also put supplies of carbonated soft drinks at risk. In some areas, issues have been compounded by elevated demand. Coffee and tea are hot commodities as many Americans continue to work remotely. Why visit Starbucks Corp. when you can still be a barista at home. Beverages have been hit particularly hard by recent supply chain struggles Meanwhile, in-person learning has fueled a rush for school supplies, including those that go in lunchboxes. Following a year quaintly characterized by home-baking and the return of family dinners, parents are now in a frantic state because of a run on Kraft Heinz Co.’s pre-packaged Lunchables. Kraft Heinz said the almost-charcuterie-board-like snack packs are experiencing double-digit growth for the first time in five years. Pet food is another challenging area. Purina maker Nestle SA has already ramped up capacity. Some grocers are reporting a struggle to find enough dog treats and cat biscuits to meet the demand from all those new pandemic pets.Retailers have been reengineering their supply chains to avoid the pinch points. Some, including Walmart Inc. and Target Corp., have been chartering their own ships. Amid a shortage of drivers, some British supermarkets are using their own trucks for deliveries that previously would have been carried out by suppliers.mmm But more adjustments will be needed. Stores may have to cut back on the varieties of goods to reduce complexity, meaning fewer product choices for consumers. Grocers need to plan for the worst. With the system so fragile now, what would happen with further spikes in prices, demand and panic-buying. In the U.S., special offers are already being reined in, and some everyday prices are beginning to rise, according to data provider IRI. Energy drinks, eggs, meat and soft drinks are all getting more expensive, IRI’s Consumer Packaged Goods Inflation Tracker shows. When prices go up, consumers tend to get proactive and change their habits. Shoppers first switch out of pricier products to cheaper ones. That means ditching big brands for more competitive private labels. Substituting meat in meals for more affordable pasta, rice or potatoes becomes a common way to save money. Then comes the buying in bulk and crowdsourcing. With food costs expected to rise further, consumers may choose to load up on products such as pet food while they can. It wouldn’t be surprising to see people get together with friends to buy giant packs of toilet paper or minced meat. Splitting bulk buys gives them a better deal without tying up as much cash in the cupboard. With social media sites like Facebook awash with money-saving groups and TikTok influencers offering budgeting tips, consumers are likely to get more creative than clipping coupons. While a little inflation is generally good for supermarkets as it elevates the overall value of sales, the danger comes when it exceeds manageable levels and consumers trade down to cheaper items. Even more pernicious is when people flock to the hard discounters, such as Aldi and Lidl, which have already conquered Europe and are now expanding across the U. S. Many customers stayed away from these smaller supermarkets during Covid, when they switched back to doing a weekly shop at a big-box store. Up until now, grocers haven’t had a bad pandemic. That may be about to change. Nick Note: For the record months ago i warned you to stock up. My job is to get their first. A lot of stupid people are doing a lot of stupid things… Like increasing the regulations on truckers when so many government office are still only partially opened….. Or pairing inventories and food production. Its not time to send your mind to sleepy holler. You need to be on your guard more then ever. STOCK UP FOR WINTER NOW!
Some Evergrande offshore bondholders not paid by Thursday deadline U.S. time…… China Evergrande shares slide 6% in early trade
https://youtu.be/N1H4aEeAKqc
Wall Street down in premarket after rally
Stocks on Wall Street declined during premarket trading on Friday after posting strong gains for the past two days. Investors will be keeping an eye on home sales data due to be released later in the day, as well as President Joe Biden’s meeting with prime ministers of Australia, India and Japan. The Dow Jones lost 0.28% at 4:17 am ET, the Nasdaq 100 fell 0.54% at the same time and the S&P 500 slid 0.41% at 4:18 am ET. The euro was down 0.04% compared to the dollar, selling for 1.17338 at 4:18 am ET. Nick Note: Evergrande is the shot over the bow. Dances with wolves come to mind. They will eat you when they get hungry. That is what they are doing when they buy into the bubbles. Bubbles in bonds, stocks and real estate. What each one of these markets have in common is the FED. They are buying bonds of ALL stripes, They are buying mortgage paper and they are buying corporate debt like their is no tomorrow. Come to think of it the numbers of tomorrows will soon run out. Tell me what fool invests in markets that are being propped up by a desperate FED who has fucked it up every time since the sad day they got a license to kill. And is it not amazing that said fool is not considering the day that will soon come when FED supports ends. The Fed has made it clear its not if but when… And the Fed admits that inflation is out of control…. and they still have not acted hoping it will go away buy itself. That’s like your house is on fire and you do nothing but watch the weather reports hoping for rain….. .We all know how that will end up. And i am sure they have market quote machines at the FED and see the record highs in bonds, stocks and real estate. Of course they are worried… of course they know they have a problem. Its a fun day at the beach until the tsuami rolls in… Then its a death warrant… And your biggest problem is no longer you ran out of sun tan lotion.
US: Markit Manufacturing PMI edges lower to 60.5 in September vs. 62.5 expected
The economic activity in the US manufacturing sector continued to expand in September, albeit at a slower pace than it did in August, with IHS Markit’s Manufacturing PMI declining to 60.5 (preliminary) from 61.1. This reading came in slightly weaker than the market expectation of 62.5. “New orders were reportedly driven by strong demand conditions,” the publication read. “Manufacturers expanded their workforce numbers at a steeper rate in September. Despite many firms noting challenges finding suitable candidates and retaining current employees, many were able to hire additional workers, often offering greater( Nick Bit: This is called wage push inflation,,,)wages to entice staff.” Nick Note: its subtle on first blush,,, but as you know we are able to look behind the curtain and a contraction is in the works…. And its not the ha ha ha worker shortages. You are seeing a people inspired event. A lockdpown is a goveremnt event. A shutdown in the context of the great plague is a people event. The SMART folks are saying well maybe i do need to fly. Ill pass on the restaurants… And you do not go to crowd fests i;instead you read a good book or search the internet……. How do you find stupid or more precisely mass stupidity. Why that is a antivaccer in a crowdfest…… Deathwish anyone?
US markets extend gains, Dow jumps over 500 points
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 514.98 points, or 1.5%, to 34,773.30.
- The S&P 500 gained 55.13 points, or 1.3%, to trade at 4,450.77.
- The Nasdaq Composite traded at 15,032.73, up 135.88 points, or 0.9%.
On Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 338 points, or 1%, to 34,258, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite also rallied 1%. Daily gains for the Dow and S&P 500 were the strongest in two months. Equities were rising a day after Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said plans to taper the central bank’s bond- buying program could be announced in November, and officials also penciled in an interest-rate increase in 2022. Still, the Fed didn’t upset the market’s apple cart, said observers. “The market hates uncertainty, and it got more certainty yesterday from the Fed in terms of its plans,” even though the underlying message was perhaps a bit hawkish, Ryan Jacob, chief executive and chief investment officer at Jacob Asset Management, told MarketWatch in a phone interview. With the Fed out of the way for now, investors were set to turn their attention to third-quarter earnings season, Jacob said, arguing that results should be “generally strong,” though the spread of the delta variant of the coronavirus is likely to take some toll on sectors and industries more sensitive to the economic cycle. In U.S. economic data Thursday, the Labor Department said initial claims for jobless benefits rose by 16,000 to 351,000 in the week ended Sept. 18. Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had estimated new claims would total 320,000. The rise appeared to be driven in party by California catching up on a large backlog of claims. Private-sector activity in the U.S. economy continued to expand but at a slower pace September, according to the IHS Markit flash U.S. Composite Output Index, which fell to a 12-month low of 54.5, down from 55.4 in August. A reading above 50 indicates an expansion in activity.mThe Conference Board said its Leading Economic Index rose 0.9% in August to 117.1. Meanwhile, global investors were cheered as the People’s Bank of China injected another 110 billion yuan, or $17 billion, into the financial system on Thursday, according to news reports, after a large injection on Wednesday.
Evergrande to try its best to resume work……. Evergrande founder calls for construction, sales to resume
HONG KONG (Reuters) – Cash-strapped developer China Evergrande Group said it held an internal meeting late on Wednesday night, in which its chairman urged company executives to ensure the quality delivery of properties and redemption of wealth management products. There is mounting political pressure on the company to act as homebuyers and retail investors grow increasingly angry of having sunk their savings in the properties and wealth management products of highly indebted Evergrande. With $305 billion in liabilities, Evergrande is struggling to meet its debt obligations and investors worry that the rot could spread to creditors including banks in China and abroad. Global markets were closely watching whether Evergrande will be able to pay interest on one of its dollar bonds due on Thursday, after some relief the previous day when the People’s Bank of China injected 90 billion yuan ($13.9 billion) into the banking system and an Evergrande unit said it had “resolved” a coupon payment on an onshore bond. At a meeting held at 11:00 pm (1500 GMT), Evergrande chairman stressed to staff the importance to resume constructions and to have a “highly responsible attitude” towards helping wealth investors redeem their products, adding it was the company’s “top priority” to help retail investors redeem the investment products sold by the $ 305 billion debt-ridden real estate developer. In a note, the president and founder Hui Ka Yan assured that “the company will do its best to resume work and production”, urging “executives to ensure quality deliveries”. Yesterday, the company said it had “settled” the payment of a $ 35.9 million coupon on a domestic bond maturing today. Evergrande still owes interest on 83.5 million of another dollar bond today. Real estate Developer China Evergrande Group said that online discussion about a bankruptcy and restructuring of the company was “totally untrue.” In a statement, Evergrande said it was facing “unprecedented difficulties” but would do everything possible to resume work and protect the legitimate rights and interests of its customers.
Evergrande founder calls for construction, sales to resume
BEIJING: The head of teetering Chinese developer Evergrande has urged staff to resume construction and sales to deliver properties, state media reported on Thursday (Sep 23), as the firm battles to avoid a collapse that could send shockwaves through the world’s number two economy. Furious homebuyers and investors around the country have gathered to demand repayment as the developer drowns in a sea of debt worth more than US$300 billion, and struggles to meet its obligations. The comments came as the company was due to pay interest to foreign bondholders on Thursday, with expectations it will miss the deadline, starting the clock on a countdown to what could be a default in 30 days. Evergrande had not issued any statements on the bond deadline as of Thursday evening. Xu Jiayin, the billionaire who founded the company in 1996, called more than 4,000 Evergrande managers to a meeting shortly before midnight on Wednesday, where he called on them to “devote all their energy to resuming work and production and ensuring that properties are delivered”, the state-owned China Securities Journal reported. He also said the group must “make every effort to fulfil” payment plans the company had previously announced, the Journal reported. The privately owned conglomerate had previously offered to repay some debts in kind, promising creditors including suppliers, contractors and investors parking spaces and commercial units instead of cash. Xu on Wednesday night promised to maintain a “highly responsible attitude toward investors”.“Only by fully resuming work and production, resuming sales and resuming operations can the rights and interests of home buyers be protected and smooth payment of investment product buyers ensured,” he said, according to the report. The crisis sent shivers through world markets on Monday as traders feared a collapse at one of China’s biggest property firms would spill over into the economy and have painful knock-on effects globally, just as countries battle to overcome the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. However, those concerns were eased slightly on Wednesday when Evergrande said it had reached a deal with domestic bondholders to repay interest on their notes on Thursday. Xu’s remarks come days after the tycoon reportedly told staff he believed the group will “step out of the darkest moment soon”. Evergrande’s liquidity crunch has triggered public anger and rare protests outside its offices in China as investors and suppliers demand their money back. The group has admitted facing “unprecedented challenges” and warned that it may not be able to meet its liabilities. The country’s real estate sector has been under tightened scrutiny in recent months, with regulators announcing caps for three different debt ratios in a scheme dubbed “three red lines” last year. The curbs have been followed by a slowdown in the country’s property sector, with ratings agency Fitch on Thursday cutting its growth forecast for the Chinese economy this year over headwinds faced by developers. Nick Note: you are seeing creditor negotiations China style. Its typical and the decision has been made China will not turn this into a national or international crises… Its a mater of arranging the best terms of surrender and call it a victory