BlackMask Breaking News

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.

In prepared remarks Federal Reserve Chair Jay Powell said the impact of the economic downturn from the pandemic has not fallen equally on all Americans. He pointed to the unemployment rates of Black and Hispanic workers, which are still disproportionately high.  The rate for Hispanic workers (the term used by the Bureau of Labor Statistics) was 7.3%, more than a percentage point above the average. For Black workers, unemployment was at 9.1%, which is more than 3 percentage points higher than the overall rate.  Kristen Broady, a fellow at the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program, asked, “And so … why is that?”

Her answers included: “I think much of it is structural racism. When you think about who was able to get vaccinated first, it was people who had broadband, they probably had jobs.” Nick Bit:  Reality is now more then ever business desperate for workers could give a rats all about color. The problem is are the workers Qualified… As far as vaccination rates the truth is Blacks distrust of vaccines runs deep.

Broady said people of color may have less access to training and education, and some employers still discriminate against job applicants because of their race. Rebecca Givan, who teaches labor studies and employment relations at Rutgers University, said that to work, people need to “live in a place with good transportation, quality housing, access to affordable child care,” which are less available to workers of color. Givan also said Black and Hispanic workers are more likely to have low-paid service positions. And some of those jobs were automated during the pandemic. Tulane University economist Gary Hoover, who focuses on the intersection of economics, race and public policy, said we won’t see those jobs again. “Remember, there was a time when we had elevator operators. That’s a job, once it left, it never came back and never will.” Hoover said it could take more than four years for the unemployment rates for Black and Hispanic workers to get back to where they were before the pandemic. Even then, they were higher than the overall jobless rate.  Nick Note: A tough subject most commentators avoid. Realty is Government programs have decimated the blacks in America. Let me prove my point. After a generation or mandatory sex education courses set up by PHD social scientests. we have an entire generation that do not know what sex they are……. The FBI in the fifties and sixties bought heroin into the black community, The Department of defense during Iran Contra bought cocaine to America in wholesale  quantities at discount prices introducing the drug to the masses. And the DEA bought in crack during the ninties as a way to imprisons you black men for life with very small amounts of incredible cheap drugs. And the Chinese with big Pharma invented bought in Opioids their favorite being Fentanyl.  Drugs have taken a great toll on all communities but especially blacks. Add the scourage of drugs on the black man And department of education misguided mandates and we have millions of blacks who are drug addicts, convicted felons and damn close to totally uneducated. Now to blame the black man is not entirely true, To blame  black  inferiority again is not true. Witness the large nuber of highly educated blacks who are in business and make significant contributions to society. They form family units educate their kids. And most of them have overcome Hugh adversity. Reality is blacks have the highest unemployment rates of all people of color. And its not racism. The reason is goveremnt has manipulated them into disaster. Do not forget the welfare system that rewards single parent households and in essence rewards single black women to have a lost of children. A lont of home will not even wake up earlt enough to make them breakfast for school….. a problem fostered by school breakfast programs. So yes a black drug addict, in essence a functioning illiterate with a criminal record has a high risk of unemployment, poverty, violence and lifelong incarnation….. And they are more victims then you may realize. Don’t get me wrong their are plenty of self inflicted wounds. Oh yes one other thing… you need to know i regard the situation as hopeless  as long as black leaders and liberal politicians continue to obtain power and money  initiating social experimental programs run by government and NGO’s destined to fail.

NEW YORK, Sept 23 (Reuters) – Investors are grappling with how an unwind of the Federal Reserve’s easy money policies could affect asset prices, after the central bank signaled that a taper of its bond-buying program was closer than ever and suggested it may raise rates at a faster-than-expected pace. In what some described as a hawkish tilt, the Federal Reserve on Wednesday cleared the way to begin reducing its monthly bond purchases as soon as November, and nine of 18 U.S. central bank policymakers projected borrowing costs will need to rise in 2022. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said the U.S. central bank could conclude its tapering process around the middle of next year, as long as the recovery remains on track. The focus on rate increases comes as investors gauge how markets will respond to an unwind of the central bank’s $120 billion per month bond-buying program, which has helped the S&P 500 double from its March 2020 lows. Though many had expected the central bank to begin its unwind before the year was up, some investors said the projection for rate increases may spur worries over whether the Fed risks tightening monetary policy at a time when the economy could be significantly weaker than it is today, potentially undercutting the case for stocks and other comparatively risky assets. “With this hawkish move, the Fed risks tightening policy into a slow-growth backdrop,” said Emily Roland, co-chief investment strategist at John Hancock Investment Management. Stocks held onto their gains after the Fed’s statement, with the S&P 500 closing up nearly 1%. In Treasury markets, the gap between five-year notes and 30-year bonds fell below 100 basis points after the Fed policy statement to the lowest level since July 2020. A narrower gap could indicate factors like economic uncertainty, easing inflation concerns and anticipation of tighter monetary policy.  Nick Bit: The Fed is whistling past the grave yard. Reality is with Fed Funds rates between 0.0% to 0.25% its as low as they can go. Inflation is raging out of control by any gauge you care to use. I posted a reco to liquidate all Treasuries….. Tbonds, Tnotes and Tbills. Rates are NOT going any lower for now. And by what ever time line you care to believe reality is rates are going higher. I predict a 300 to 450 bases point up move. And we will rebuy our treasuries and beloved Zeroes because after they raise rates and taper the economy will go into a death plunge and we will end up with double digit negative interest rates… But lets not get to far ahead of ourselves here….. “The rates market interpreted Fed communications as hawkish,” analysts at BoFA Global Research said in a note. “The more hawkish Fed is a key ingredient for our higher rates view into year-end.” The Fed funds market fully priced in a rate hike by January 2023 after the statement, moving projected rate increases forward by a month. Analysts at TD Securities expect the central bank to reduce its asset purchases by $15 billion a month starting in November, helping push up yields and strengthen the dollar, they said in a report. “Once the dust settles it seems that there are enough hawkish signals to keep the dollar biased higher, as the market pencils in a sooner-than-expected rate hike,” said Joe Manimbo, senior market analyst at Western Union Business Solutions. “Powell clarified repeatedly … that the criteria for tapering is very different than criteria for raising rates, which is much higher” and will have more of a market impact, he said. Nick Note: The Fed and major market players are in severe denial. Thier is no choice the  FED  W I L L raise rates and end its stimulus program… And it will be a disaster and everyone knows it. The economy is on death row. And no matter how many stays of execution their will be a lethal injection…

Persistent default fears eclipsed efforts by China Evergrande Group’s chairman to lift confidence in the embattled firm on Tuesday, as Beijing showed no signs it would intervene to stem any domino effects across the global economy.Analysts played down the threat of Evergrande’s troubles becoming the country’s “Lehman moment,” though concerns about the spillover risks of a messy collapse of what was once China’s top-selling property developer have roiled markets. In an effort to revive battered confidence in the firm, Evergrande Chairman Hui Ka Yuan said in a letter to staff the company is confident it will “walk out of its darkest moment” and deliver property projects as pledged. In the letter, coinciding with China’s mid-autumn festival, the chairman of the debt-laden property developer, also said Evergrande will fulfill responsibilities to property buyers, investors, partners and financial institutions.“I firmly believe that with your concerted effort and hard work, Evergrande will walk out of its darkest moment, resume full-scale constructions as soon as possible,” said Hui, without elaborating how the company could achieve these objectives. Investors in Evergrande, however, remained on edge. Its shares fell as much as 7 per cent, having tumbled 10 per cent in the previous day, on fears its $305-billion in debt could trigger widespread losses in China’s financial system in the event of a collapse. The stock ended down 0.4 per cent. Other property stocks such as Sunac, China’s No.4 developer, and state-backed Greentown China on Tuesday recouped some of their hefty losses in the previous session. The Hong Kong property sector index rose nearly 3 per cent. “There must be negotiations behind the scenes about a systemic recapitalization (of Evergrande) by state proxies,” said Andrew Collier, managing director of Hong Kong-based Orient Capital Research. “If one piece of Evergrande’s debt is allowed to default, it would trigger questions about all of their remaining debt from investors and the government doesn’t want a wider crisis like that,” he said. The Chinese government has been largely quiet on the crisis at Evergrande in recent weeks. World stocks stabilized somewhat on Tuesday and oil prices recovered from the previous day’s heavy selling, as investors grew more confident that contagion from the distress of Evergrande would be limited. However, the spillover concerns at least in the property sector remained. S&P Global Ratings downgraded Sinic Holdings to ‘CCC+’ on Tuesday, citing the Chinese developer’s failure “to communicate a clear repayment plan.” Hong Kong-listed shares of small-sized Chinese developer Sinic plunged 87 per cent on Monday, wiping $1.5-billion off its market value before trading was suspended. A major test for Evergrande comes this week, with the firm due to pay $83.5-million in interest relating to its March 2022 bond on Thursday. It has another $47.5-million payment due on Sept. 29 for March 2024 notes. Both bonds would default if Evergrande fails to settle the interest within 30 days of the scheduled payment dates. “I think (Evergrande’s) equity will be wiped out, the debt looks like it is in trouble and the Chinese government is going to break up this company,” said Andrew Left, founder of Citron Research and one of the world’s best known short-sellers. “But I don’t think that this is going to be the straw that breaks the global economy’s back,” said Left, who in June 2012 published a report that said Evergrande was insolvent and had defrauded investors. The Chinese government will help Evergrande at least get some capital, but it may have to sell some stakes to a third party, such as a state-owned enterprise, Dutch bank ING said in a research note. “The spinoff of non-core businesses, for example, those that are not residential real estate type businesses, will probably be done first,” wrote Iris Pang, ING’s Chief Economist, Greater China. “After that could come sales of stakes that are at the core of Evergrande’s business,” Pang said.

Citi analysts in a research note said that regulators may “buy time to digest” Evergrande’s non-performing loan problem by guiding banks not to withdraw credit and extend the interest payment deadline.

 U.S. stocks are seen opening sharply higher Tuesday, bouncing back from the previous session’s major selloff, ahead of the start of the Federal Reserve’s latest policy-setting meeting. Nick Bit: Announcement due tomorrow. At 7:05 AM ET (1105 GMT), the Dow Futures contract was up 300 points, or 0.9%, S&P 500 Futures traded 35 points, or 0.9%, higher, while Nasdaq 100 Futures climbed 120 points, or 0.8%. The main equity indices sold off aggressively Monday, weighed by concerns about contagion from Chinese property giant China Evergrande Group’s (HK:3333) debt crisis, political difficulties surrounding the passing of President Joe Biden’s economic agenda and lingering Covid-19 issues – not to mention the Fed meeting. The U.S. central bank’s policy-setting meeting starts later Tuesday, and markets will be looking for more information about plans for reining in its pandemic-era bond-buying program, the quarterly economic forecasts and the so-called dot plot, which the Fed uses to signal its outlook for the path of interest rates.

When will life return to normal?

While the best vaccines are highly effective at preventing hospitalization and death, it takes a coordinated campaign to stop a pandemic. Infectious-disease experts say that vaccinating 70% to 85% of the U.S. population would enable a return to normalcy. On a global scale, that’s a daunting level of vaccination. At the current pace of 31.1 million a day, the goal of high levels of global immunity remains a long way off. Manufacturing capacity, however, is steadily increasing, and new vaccines by additional manufacturers are coming to market.

‘Pandemic of the Unvaccinated’

Israel was first to show that vaccines were bending the curve of Covid infections. The country led the world in early vaccinations, and by February more than 84% of people ages 70 and older had received two doses. Covid cases declined rapidly, and a similar pattern of vaccination and recovery repeated across dozens of other countries.

This progress is under threat. New strains, led by the highly transmissible delta variant, have caused renewed outbreaks. It’s now a life-and-death contest between vaccine and virus. Unvaccinated people are more at risk than ever, leading U.S. health officials to dub it a “pandemic of the unvaccinated.”

Even among those who are vaccinated, the delta variant may lead to mild cases, and those who get sick are able to spread the disease to others, according to the latest data. The vaccines remain effective at preventing hospitalization and death. Since the start of the global vaccination campaign, countries have experienced unequal access to vaccines and varying degrees of efficiency in getting shots into people’s arms. Before March, few African nations had received a single shipment of shots. In the U.S., 115.4 doses have been administered for every 100 people. Delivering billions of vaccines to stop the spread of Covid-19 worldwide is one of the greatest logistical challenges ever undertaken.

It takes about two weeks after a final vaccine dose for immunity to fully develop. While the CDC has offered guidance on mask-wearing after vaccination, many local governments and businesses have set their own rules. Unvaccinated people, including children, should still wear masks indoors, according to the CDC’s latest guidance.

After focusing first on hospitals and other institutional health-care settings, states expanded the number of places that offer the shots. Mass vaccination centers were created from sport stadiums, theme parks, convention halls and race tracks. Now the campaign has moved to more traditional health-care settings: pharmacies, doctors’ offices and clinics.