Talking to reporters on Thursday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the Russian government has had no contact with either Saudi Arabia or OPEC since the breakdown of talks in Vienna last week, but noted that such contacts can be organized “quickly” if need be. Furthermore, the presidential spokesman noted that President Vladimir Putin did not recently contact his US counterpart Donald Trump to discuss oil markets crash either. Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin shrugged off concerns caused by the collapsing price of oil by saying earlier that the country has enough crude in stock to supply the domestic market “for many years.”
US suspends all travel from Europe for 30 days – Trump
United States President Donald Trump announced on Thursday the country will suspend all travel from Europe, excluding the United Kingdom, for 30 days starting with Friday in order to contain the coronavirus outbreak. However, the import of goods and cargo won’t be stopped. Trump insisted the US has taken the “most aggressive effort to contain the foreign virus in modern history,” adding that the government responded with “great speed and professionalism.” He claimed the European Union failed to take the necessary precautions to prevent the virus from spreading, causing a large number of new clusters in the US to appear due to infected European travelers. Exemptions from the aforementioned measure, he said, will apply to American citizens returning home from Europe, while travel restrictions will also affect foreign nationals who traveled to the Schengen area in the last two weeks. The move failed to stem heavy losses on financial markets and prompted one top economist to warn that a global recession was now “highly probable”. In a sombre primetime address from the Oval Office on Wednesday evening, the US president boasted that the travel ban and series of other measures designed to cushion the economic blow of the outbreak amounted to “the most aggressive and comprehensive effort to confront a foreign virus in history”.
But Asian stock markets and Wall Street futures trading plunged deep into the red even as Trump laid out his plans, with investors betting that the $250bn package would not be enough to reverse the creeping shutdown of the world’s largest economy.
Confusion following Trump’s address later forced officials to clarify that cargo, as well as non-Schengen countries in Europe, would also be exempt from the ban. Observers said the speech, in which Trump gave the sense of resisting a foreign invasion, struck a strange tone. David Litt, who wrote speeches for Barack Obama, said: “As a former presidential speechwriter, my careful rhetorical analysis is that he’s gonna get us all killed. Trump still attempted to deflect blame, calling it a “foreign” virus and saying that there had been “dramatically fewer cases” in the US than in Europe. Nick Bit: The US still tests far fewer people then any other G20 member. It is a collosal failure by the Trump administration and the CDC, The US still has no idea how big the Pandemic is.
The US economic measures revealed by Trump include financial relief for workers who are ill, quarantined or caring for others due to the illness, Trump said, adding that the US treasury would defer tax payments without interest or penalties for certain businesses and individuals. The financial system would be bolstered by an extra $200bn in liquidity, he said, and small businesses would be given access to more capital and liquidity.
But Mohamed El-Erian, the highly respected chief economist of insurer Allianz, said such measures would not do enough to prevent the shutdown of economies across the world, which was now gripped by the “economics of fear”.
“The advanced economies are now likely to feel the full force of economic sudden stops that destroy both supply and demand at the same time,” he said. “The collapse in economic activity risks being amplified by the economics of fear, uncertainty and adverse economic-financial feedback loops.
“I believe there is a high probability of global recession.” His gloomy analysis was reflected in financial markets in Asia Pacific, which plummeted into full selling mode during and after Trump’s address. The ASX200 in Sydney was down 7.2%, in Tokyo the Nikkei was off 5.4% and Hong Kong fell 4.3%. “The travel ban from Europe has definitely taken everyone by surprise,” said Khoon Goh, head of Asia Research at ANZ in Singapore. “Already we know the economic impact is significant, and with this additional measure on top it’s just going to multiply the impact across businesses. This is something that markets had not factored in … it’s a huge near-term economic cost.” Nick Note: The travel ban is a total waste of money and resources. Its typical Trump put the blame on someone else. I was astonished on what i heard. Here is a news flash///// the pandemic is already in America and spreading fast!! The PROVEN solution is simple. When the clusters pop up simply isolate the PEOPLE and stop infection train. And it takes a quarantine. The tools exist to mitigate the economic impact. Government has the power to pay rent, mortgages and cover lost wages for the quarantined people. We are talking 30 days here. The emergency budgets exist. thei is a cdomplete andtotal lack of leadership. The Truth is Americ even had the money to stockpile test kits. Trump cut the budget and fired the experts.
Exclusive: White House told federal health agency to classify coronavirus deliberations – sources
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The White House has ordered federal health officials to treat top-level coronavirus meetings as classified, an unusual step that has restricted information and hampered the U.S. government’s response to the contagion, according to four Trump administration officials. The officials said that dozens of classified discussions about such topics as the scope of infections, quarantines and travel restrictions have been held since mid-January in a high-security meeting room at the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS), a key player in the fight against the coronavirus. Staffers without security clearances, including government experts, were excluded from the interagency meetings, which included video conference calls, the sources said. “We had some very critical people who did not have security clearances who could not go,” one official said. “These should not be classified meetings. It was unnecessary.” The sources said the National Security Council (NSC), which advises the president on security issues, ordered the classification.”This came directly from the White House,” one official said. The White House insistence on secrecy at the nation’s premier public health organization, which has not been previously disclosed, has put a lid on certain information – and potentially delayed the response to the crisis. COVID19, the disease caused by the virus, has killed about 30 people in the United States and infected more than 1,000 people. HHS oversees a broad range of health agencies, including the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which among other things is responsible for tracking cases and providing guidance nationally on the outbreaks. The administration officials, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said they could not describe the interactions in the meeting room because they were classified. U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference on the coronavirus outbreak with U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Anthony Fauci, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Robert Redfield and U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams at the White House in Washington, U.S., February 29, 2020. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts Critics have hammered the Trump administration for what they see as a delayed response to coronavirus outbreaks and a lack of transparency, including sidelining experts and providing misleading or incomplete information to the public. State and local officials also have complained of being kept in the dark about essential federal response information. The meetings at HHS were held in a secure area called a “Sensitive Compartmentalized Information Facility,” or SCIF, according to the administration officials. SCIFs are usually reserved for intelligence and military operations. Ordinary cell phones and computers can’t be brought into the chambers. HHS has SCIFs because theoretically it would play a major role in biowarfare or chemical attacks. 00A high-level former official who helped address public health outbreaks in the George W. Bush administration said “it’s not normal to classify discussions about a response to a public health crisis.” Attendees at the meetings included HHS Secretary Alex Azar and his chief of staff Brian Harrison, the officials said. Azar and Harrison resisted the classification of the meetings, the sources said.
One of the administration officials told Reuters that when complex issues about a quarantine came up, a high-ranking HHS lawyer with expertise on the issue was not admitted because he did not have the proper security clearance. His input was delayed and offered at an unclassified meeting, the official said.
A fifth source familiar with the meetings said HHS staffers often weren’t informed about coronavirus developments because they didn’t have adequate clearance. He said he was told that the matters were classified “because it had to do with China.”
One of the administration officials suggested the security clearances for meetings at HHS were imposed not to protect national security but to keep the information within a tight circle, to prevent leaks. “It seemed to be a tool for the White House – for the NSC – to keep participation in these meetings low,” the official said. Nick Note: As you are seeing its a colossal cluster fuck. And under the guise of National Security the Trump administration, that still has not figured it out, is hiding their glaring failures
No Legislation Required
Trump has the tools and legislative authority at his disposal. I cannot fathom why he will not use them. He has now created panic. He can: Enable the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue dislocated worker program grants for disaster relief employment pursuant to 29 U.S.C. § 3225. A Federal agency emergency or disaster declaration or a Stafford Act declaration triggers an opportunity for eligible entities to apply for disaster relief employment National Dislocated Worker Grants. In order for a Federal agency declaration to trigger this authority, the chief official of a Federal agency with authority for or jurisdiction over the Federal response must declare or otherwise recognize an emergency or disaster situation of national significance that could result in a potentially large loss of employment.
Trump Needs To Declare A Public Health Emergency
If Trump doesn’t want to do it, HHS can do it: The Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) may, under section 319 of the Public Health Service (PHS) Act, determine that: a) a disease or disorder presents a public health emergency (PHE); or b) that a public health emergency, including significant outbreaks of infectious disease or bio-terrorist attacks, otherwise exists.
Duration and Notification: The declaration lasts for the duration of the emergency or 90 days, but may be extended by the Secretary. Congress must be notified of the declaration within 48 hours, and relevant agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security, Department of Justice, and Federal Bureau of Investigation, must be kept informed.
Prior to issuing the declaration, the Secretary should consult with public health officials as necessary. Following a section 319 declaration, the Secretary can: Take appropriate actions in response to the emergency.
Trump Fucked It Up Again
He believes that this will go away all by itself. The whole world is disappointed that the leader of the planet, America, is doing less than China. He needs to invoke The Stafford Emergency Powers Act. CDC needs to declare a pandemic emergency. He needs to suspend all public events. Close all movie theaters, all sporting events. He needs to use the powers he has. You can’t solve a problem that you don’t think you have and Trump still thinks the problem is somewhere else. The only reason the infections aren’t the equivalent of China or Italy is because aren’t being tested. This will all soon change. We need to lay low and wait for the Trump administration to understand that it has a really big problem and he needs to use the powers at his disposal to tackle it head on.
Coronavirus is 10 times more lethal than the seasonal flu, Trump’s task force immunologist says
Coordinated Intervention On A Massive Scale
Trump administration has finally seen the white of their eyes. About an hour or so ago, with the stock market careening, bankers screaming and the World Health Organization breaking ranks and declaring a global pandemic, forced Trump to realize he was about to lose the election. Then they will kitchen sink it. That means they will throw everything including all the tools and monetary policy plus fiscal policy and the greatest stimulus and bailout program in American history. And yes, it will work. FED Reserve just announced that it’s going to do the biggest overnight repo in its history. That will provide incredible liquidity to the banking system and everybody will get a bailout.
WHO declares coronavirus global pandemic
The coronavirus sweeping across the world is a pandemic, the World Health Organization declared today.
There are now over 118,000 cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, in 114 countries around the world.
BREAKING
“We have therefore made the assessment that #COVID19 can be characterized as a pandemic”-@DrTedros #coronavirus pic.twitter.com/JqdsM2051A
— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) March 11, 2020
The WHO continues to closely monitoring spread of the virus, said Tedros Adhanom, director general of the WHO, during the announcement. “We are deeply concerned both by the alarming levels of spread and severity, and by the alarming levels of inaction,” he said. “We have called every day for countries to take urgent and aggressive action.”There are large outbreaks of the virus in Italy, South Korea, and the United States. In the US, the slow rollout of testing and limited testing capacity has crippled response to the disease. The spread of the virus can still be controlled, Adhanom said. He pointed to both China and South Korea, where outbreaks appear to be declining. “It’s doable.”
“If countries detect, test, treat, isolate, trace, and mobilize their people in the response, those with a handful of #COVID19 cases can prevent those cases becoming clusters, and those clusters becoming community transmission”-@DrTedros #coronavirus
— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) March 11, 2020
A pandemic is the “worldwide spread of a new disease,” according to the WHO. There’s no cut-and-dry criteria for what reaches the level of pandemic and what does not, and there is no threshold of cases or deaths that triggers the definition. The WHO classified the novel coronavirus as a global public health emergency on January 30th. Until now, they’ve been reluctant to call the outbreak a pandemic over concerns that it would incite unnecessary panic, though they’d been warning countries to prepare for a pandemic.
Countries around the world, including in the US, have already been leaning on pandemic preparedness plans to respond to outbreaks of the new coronavirus.
Equities on Wall Street continued to fall on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping over 1,000 points on COVID-19 fears. United States Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said that the “first concern” regarding the coronavirus outbreak is…
Nick Note: Why are they still not testing? Why has Trump waited so long to do anything? Maybe Trump wants a crises so he can evoke the dictatorial powers the Stafford Act gives him……..
A Copy Of Your Police State Order
Once the CDC designates the Coronavirus an influenza pandemic emergency, Trump is free to invoke The Stafford Disaster Relief Act. Then the fun really starts. Read it for yourself.
For further commentary, see Market Update titled “Liar Liar Trumps Pants Are On Fire”