WSJ: Study says NYC subway COVID-19 transmission risk low: https://www.wsj.com/articles/new-york-city-subway-is-low-risk-for-coronavirus-transmission-study-says-11601388000 . Uh-huh. If you’ve spent any time on the NYC subway in the past, this is about as believable as RJ Reynolds saying cigarette smoking is safe. The fact that there is reduced ridership now may motivate the agencies, but not riders.
WSJ: NYC office occupancy low: https://www.wsj.com/articles/manhattan-offices-are-nearly-empty-threatening-new-york-citys-recovery-11601371800 . As the article notes, reliance on the NYC subway is a problem.
WSJ: NYC positivity tests highest in months: https://www.wsj.com/articles/new-york-citys-daily-coronavirus-infection-rate-hits-highest-level-in-months-11601395229 . At 3.25% positivity, contact tracing is critical in this densely populated environment. The current re-opening of schools is obviously a potential trigger of a second wave.
WSJ: NYC schools re-open: https://www.wsj.com/articles/nyc-schools-for-elementary-students-reopen-amid-confusion-and-hopes-11601379071 . So, “Reopen amid confusion”, apparently the original headline, is not good. It refers to the various delays and restarts NYC has experienced in this process.
The global COVID-19 education crisis: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/09/15/at-least-24-million-students-could-drop-out-of-school-due-to-the-coronavirus-un-says.html .
WSJ: Who is dying from COVID-19?: https://www.wsj.com/articles/who-is-dying-from-covid-19-why-11601407258 . The article is correct that deaths are more men than women, much more elderly than young and more racial minorities than whites as a percentage of their populations. However, beyond that, the data has many problems. Deaths are undercounted and infections are significantly undercounted, due to inadequacy of and access to testing. Quality of testing, specifically false positive and negative results, is also a problem, as is turnaround time. Treatments are improving, so mortality rate is a moving target.
WSJ: Global round-up: https://www.wsj.com/articles/coronavirus-latest-updates-0929-11601369624 .
COVID-19 deaths reach 1 million globally and are accelerating: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-global-deaths/global-coronavirus-deaths-pass-agonizing-milestone-of-1-million-idUSKBN26K08Y . Deaths have doubled in the past 3 months.
WSJ: CDC warns colleges to implement comprehensive safety strategies: https://www.wsj.com/articles/to-prevent-covid-19s-spread-colleges-should-beef-up-precautions-health-officials-warn-11601412161 . As reported previously, it is not just the college students but the surrounding communities that are at substantial risk.
WSJ: Fed continues advocacy of more relief aid: https://www.wsj.com/articles/feds-williams-upbeat-on-outlook-says-more-fiscal-aid-would-help-11601413583 .
WSJ: Pelosi and Mnuchin try again on relief aid: https://www.wsj.com/articles/pelosi-and-mnuchin-discuss-possible-coronavirus-aid-11601391794 . The point is that Mark Meadows has been benched.
WSJ: Treasury promises fix to PPP loan forgiveness problems: https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-to-start-forgiving-ppp-loans-after-borrowers-complained-11601414687 . Over 96,000 applications have been filed, starting in early August, and so far 0 approvals. One expects that oversight will be troubled as well.
WSJ: Guaranteed income experiment: https://www.wsj.com/articles/cities-experiment-with-remedy-for-poverty-cash-no-strings-attached-11601371801 . 125 households times $500 = $62,500 times 18 months = $1,125,000. Even granting some data collection expense for these (randomly selected) households and the comparable households, unless that’s $2,675,000, how do we get to $3.8 million? This appears to be a very expensive study, not sure of its validity limited to Stockton and during a pandemic.
WSJ: Zoom fatigue: https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-boss-says-its-ok-to-take-a-break-from-zoom-why-are-you-still-on-video-calls-11601311906 . Isn’t a logical starting place to review internal meetings and then reduce to only the most necessary ones, given the stress that remote work is placing on many employees? If everyone was working remotely previously, probably limited or no change is necessary excepting those who have special circumstances (for example, small children are home with no other supervision).
WSJ: Microsoft designs “virtual commutes”: https://www.wsj.com/articles/microsoft-thinks-youve-been-missing-your-commute-in-lockdown-11601373601 . So this seems nuts. I use pen-and-paper to make notes for the next day, and review it in the morning. Who wants more screen time?
Census Bureau finds high percentage of workers telecommute: https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/articles/2020-09-28/mid-atlantic-states-lead-way-in-teleworking?src=usn_nl_coronavirus .
WSJ: COVID-19 vaccine stocks face risks: https://www.wsj.com/articles/danger-is-approaching-for-coronavirus-vaccine-stocks-11601406757 . Vaccine risk is a somewhat different animal than general drug risk. Inovio stock took a pounding yesterday as delays emerged from FDA questions.
WSJ: Disney to lay off 28,000: https://www.wsj.com/articles/disneylands-reopening-date-remains-unclear-11601413802 . First control the virus, then reopen the economy (repeat ad nauseum).
World Bank says pandemic creating “new poor” in East Asia and Pacific: https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2020/09/28/east-asia-and-pacific-pandemic-triple-shock-hitting-economies-across-region .
Philippines: Unintended pregnancies spike: https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/surprise-pregnancies-in-philippines-surge-amid-coronavirus-curbs .
Thailand: American faces jail time after posting negative review of hotel: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/american-faces-prison-bad-tripadvisor-review-thailand/ .
WSJ: Rwanda uses drones and technology to control virus: https://www.wsj.com/articles/rwandas-aggressive-approach-to-covid-wins-plauditsand-warnings-11601372482 . However, it’s hard to see this as a balancing act between COVID-19 and individual rights. COVID-19 may not be the black plague, but we’ve had over 200,000 deaths and are running about 1,000 per week. Drone surveillance is not yet considered a serious invasion of privacy. In the current environment, wearing a mask is more social responsibility than a rights issue.
WSJ: China’s influence grows in international organizations: https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-china-is-taking-over-international-organizations-one-vote-at-a-time-11601397208 . This is the obvious result of the US’s ridiculous withdrawal from international leadership.
WSJ: Carry trade: borrowing US dollars to buy foreign investments: https://www.wsj.com/articles/dollar-regains-appeal-in-carry-trades-11601369783 . This assumes the borrower can effectively assess foreign investment risks. Mexico, Indonesia and Brazil seem like risky places for government bonds.
WSJ: Purdue opioid bankruptcy gets renewed attention: https://www.wsj.com/articles/senator-questions-drugmaker-purdues-bankruptcy-venue-choice-11601426636 .
WSJ: Boeing to move 787 production to Charleston: https://www.wsj.com/articles/boeing-to-move-all-787-dreamliner-production-to-south-carolina-11601425533 . Apparently union-busting is more important than quality control. This feels like another serious misstep.
WSJ: JP Morgan pays $920 million over spoofing: https://www.wsj.com/articles/jpmorgan-paying-920-million-to-resolve-market-manipulation-probes-11601393666 . Here is the WSJ reporting on this case 6 months ago: https://www.wsj.com/articles/government-is-broadening-investigations-of-spoofing-like-practices-11584446400 . So this is hardly a confidence-builder in the market for US Treasuries.
WSJ: Bond rating agency to pay $2 million for violating credit-rating rules: https://www.wsj.com/articles/kroll-agrees-to-pay-2-million-to-settle-allegations-it-broke-credit-ratings-rules-11601424377 . And Morningstar was fined as well. So, again not a confidence-builder in the bond market.
WSJ: Is bond-buying stimulative?: https://www.wsj.com/articles/derbys-take-new-research-says-central-bank-view-on-bond-buying-too-rosy-11601371802 . This Fed policy seems questionable. It has supported the stock and bond markets. In some ways this has lessened the economic collapse associated with the pandemic. But the policy supports those with assets (i.e., not the poor) with government assets. The stimulative effect is at best indirect. At worst it is trickle-down economics.
WSJ: Blackstone sets goal to reduce carbon emissions: https://www.wsj.com/articles/microsoft-thinks-youve-been-missing-your-commute-in-lockdown-11601373601 . Action is better than words.
WSJ: Volkswagen works to overcome emissions scandal: https://www.wsj.com/articles/volkswagen-tries-to-change-workplace-culture-that-fueled-emissions-scandal-11601425486 . The scandal started in 2015. Volkswagen has paid $38 billion in fines and reimbursements to customers. At $38,000 a car, that’s the revenue from 1 million cars. It’s shocking that they have survived.
WSJ: Brookfield cuts staff: https://www.wsj.com/articles/brookfield-cuts-staff-as-it-tries-to-steady-mall-portfolio-11601380800 . So the math here doesn’t translate into an obvious business strategy. $10 billion in 25 properties is $400 million per property. $3 billion in 96 properties translates to $31 million per property. Unless the return is (much) higher on the 96 properties, Brookfield is not achieving much diversification by investing beyond the core properties.
As suspected, there was no deliberative process in selecting Amy Coney Barrett to the US Supreme Court: https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/518835-barrett-says-trump-offered-her-supreme-court-nomination-three-days-after (link replaced 10/27/21). Remember that the two days between Ginsburg’s death and the offer to Barrett were Saturday and Sunday.
Presidential debate decidedly unpresidential: https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-joe-biden-race-and-ethnicity-donald-trump-chris-wallace-0b32339da25fbc9e8b7c7c7066a1db0f (link replaced 10/27/21). This is well beyond “not normal”. More: https://www.politico.com/news/2020/09/30/trump-proud-boys-white-supremacy-423464 .