Author: admin

Events across the world are being canceled and or postponed because the liability via organizers to have a mass Covid-19 outbreak would be devastating for their image. It’s also due to governments banning public gatherings to arrest the spread of the virus. This could mean, most large events with thousands of attendees are likely to be canceled for the first half of the year. So far, the fast-spreading virus has killed 4,288 and infected 119,311 people across the world. 

Sports matches are the most common type of events being canceled and or postponed across Asia, Europe, and the Americas. Second, are concerts and festivals. One of the most high-profile events postponed this week has been the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, California. Organizers moved the April 10-12 and April 17-19 dates to October 9-11 and 16-18 on hopes the virus crisis developing in the US would subside in the next six months. 

Organizers are also pulling the plug on conferences, auto shows, film production, and even political events. 

Another major event that was delayed this week has been the New York International Auto Show, postponed until late-August due to virus fears.

“We are taking this extraordinary step to help protect our attendees, exhibitors and all participants from the coronavirus,” Mark Schienberg, president of the dealer group, said in a statement.

Many other noteworthy events have been delayed or outright canceled in the last several weeks as the virus spreads. Here’s a round-up of some top events that have been affected: 

Concerts

• Mariah Carey tweeted earlier this month that her scheduled performance in Hawaii on March 10 was canceled and will be rescheduled for November.
• Khalid informed fans last month that his entire Asian tour would be canceled this year. 
• Korean boy band BTS recently canceled their performances in South Korea. 
• Rapper Stormzy canceled his “Heavy Is the Head World Tour” to Asia. The London rapper called off his Zurich, Switzerland, performance on March 5, after the government banned any events with more than 1,000 people.
• Rockband Green Day canceled upcoming performances in Singapore, Bangkok, Manila, Taipei, Hong Kong, Seoul, Osaka, and Tokyo.
• Avril Lavigne said her world tour in Philippines, Taiwan, Japan, and several cities in China would be canceled. 
• English singer Louis Tomlinson canceled his March 11 show in Milan, Italy, and told fans he would be back “in July.” 
• Madonna canceled two shows in Paris on March 10 and 11 due to France banning gatherings over 1,000 as the number of confirmed cases rise in the country.
• Pearl Jam postponed their four-month North American tour on virus fears.
• Miley Cyrus canceled her upcoming Australian tour. 
• Zac Brown Band announced on March 10 they would post the Owl Tour.

Conferences 

• 2020 South by Southwest was canceled after tech companies, including Apple, Facebook, and Twitter withdrew participation on virus fears.
• Tucson Festival of Books, slated for March 14-15, was canceled due to virus prevention measures, it’s one of the biggest book festivals in the country.
• Google canceled its I/O developer event near Palo Alto, California, in May.
• New York International Auto Show was rescheduled to late August on hopes the virus crisis in the Tri-state area would subside in six months.
• Mobile World Congress, the biggest smartphone conference in the world, held in Barcelona, Italy, was canceled for virus fears.
• Game Developers Conference in San Francisco was canceled after Sony and Microsoft pulled out of the event.
• Google News Initiative Global Summit was canceled because of the outbreak.
• Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Las Vegas was postponed for new virus cases in the town. 
• Shopify canceled its annual developer conference for virus issues.
• Seattle’s Emerald City Comic Con was canceled for March 12-15 as cases and deaths soar in Washington.
• TED 2020 in Vancouver for April 20-24 was canceled. 
• World Anti-Doping Agency Symposium on March 17-18 in Lausanne, Switzerland, was canceled. 

Festivals 

• Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival was postponed until October for virus fears in California.
• Ultra Music Festival in Miami was canceled for July because of virus fears. 
• St. Patrick’s Day parades in March were canceled across Ireland.
• Top fashion shows in Paris and Milan have been canceled for the next several months.
• Tomorrowland Music Festival at the Alpe d’Huez Grand Domaine Ski resort in the French Alps, slated for March 14-21, was canceled.

Sporting Events 

• Chinese Grand Prix slated for April has been postponed.
• Bahrain Grand Prix suspends ticket sales for March 22 event. 
• Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) canceled three upcoming tournaments across Asia.
• FIFA postponed the Asian qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup.
• 2020 BNP Paribas Open in Coachella Valley, California, was canceled after virus cases surge in the region.
•  New York City Half-Marathon planned for March 15 has been canceled. 
• Formula E’s Sanya E-Prix on March 21 in China has been canceled.
• Formula E’s Rome E-Prix on April 4 in Rome, Italy, has been postponed.
• The Olympic qualifying tournament in Taiwan has been postponed.
• BMX European Cup rounds March 19-28 in Verona, Italy, has been postponed.
• Hong Kong Rugby Sevens for April 3-5 has been postponed until October 16-18. 
• Singapore Rugby Sevens for April 11-12 has been postponed until October 10-11. 
• Asia women’s rugby championship in Hong Kong for March 14-22 has been rescheduled to May 8-16.
• Asia Sevens Rugby Invitational, doubling as an Olympic Sevens test event for April 25-26, is now canceled.
• Barcelona Marathon on March 15 postponed to October 25.
• Seoul Marathon on March 22 canceled.
• Rome Marathon on March 29 canceled.
• Paris Marathon on April 5 postponed to October 18.
• Milan Marathon in Italy on April 5 postponed.
• Wuhan Marathon in China on April 12 canceled.
• Arsenal v. Manchester soccer match on March 11 postponed.

Political Events

• Senator Bernie Sanders and former Vice President have both canceled political rallies for virus fears on March 10. 

Launches and Premieres

• Disney+ European Press Launch event in London for the second week of March has been canceled. 
• Peter Rabbit 2’s international release has been postponed until August. 
• No Time to Die release has been shifted to November. 
• Sonic The Hedgehog’s Chinese premiere delayed.

Film and TV Shoots

• The Bachelorette filming in Italy halted.
• Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune is filming without an audience.
• The Amazing Race filming production in England and Scotland postponed. 
• Mission: Impossible 7 production in Italy halted.

To sum up, the cancelations and postponements of events around the world don’t’ bode well for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics that are expected to start in late July. An announcement next month by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) could decide the fate of the Games.

…and just like that, the 11-year bull market is over… this is the fastest drawdown from a peak into bear market in history.

This is the worst start to a year for The Dow since 2009…

Which may explain why the market is demanding at least 3 rate-cuts next week!!

Authored by Steve Watson via Summit News,

While many leftists are accusing President Trump of politicising the coronavirus, CNN devoted a whole segment to daydreaming about how the potential pandemic could help Democrats win the election.

As part of its primary night broadcast Tuesday, CNN’s anchors and guests discussed how the panic over the spread of the virus will hinder Trump’s relection.

Democrat dropout Andrew Yang suggested there will be a growing “real hunger for” an administration like former President Obama’s among “many, many Americans if the coronavirus crisis continues to grow.”

Yang suggested that “when” Joe Biden becomes President, there would be “a return to moral normalcy, but it’s also going to begin to look like a return to competence because Trump and the Republicans have been running the government in sort of an anti-government frame, which is not what you want when you’re dealing with a health crisis.”

“And we all know when Joe becomes our president, he’s going to bring back many of the Obama alums who are really, really competent and technocratic,” Yang further claimed.

Anderson Cooper chimed in, suggesting “We’ve also never seen a situation like this, certainly in modern times, in terms of a potential pandemic influencing the next couple of months in a way that’s kind of hard to even imagine.”

“I mean, obviously there is the difference on health care between Sanders and Biden, but if — You know, if hospitals are overwhelmed, if, you know, the military is called in, if people are being triaged in school gymnasiums on respirators or whatever, however bad it may get..” Cooper continued.

“Nothing makes you appreciate a functional government like a global pandemic.” Yang interjected.

“There are very few people who have seen what happens when a society, you know, has the potential to really burst at the seams,” Cooper added.

This is how desperate Democrats have become. Acknowledging that the only way they can defeat Trump is if society completely collapses.

Hospitals in northern Italy are on the brink of collapse as doctors struggle with an explosion of coronavirus cases which have overwhelmed the system, according to VICE.

Italy has the second-highest number of confirmed cases outside of China, topping 10,000 this week with 631 deaths – roughly 15% of the worldwide toll.

In just three weeks since aggressively spreading throughout the region, Italian intensive care units (ICUs) have been hit by a shortage of beds, staff, and ventiliators – which will worsen the chances of survival for those in critical condition.

“Health care facilities have reached critical levels in Lombardy due the high number of hospitalizations and cases requiring intensive care,” said Elisabetta Groppelli, virologist and lecturer in public health at St. George’s, University of London.

Groppelli told VICE News that the system in Lombardy had gotten by so far by transferring patients to other regions with capacity. For that to continue to work, authorities would have to ensure that their containment measures worked to stop the rise in new infections elsewhere around the country.

“It’s imperative for Italy to slow down transmission, and this requires strict application by citizens and business of the draconian measures identified by the government,” she said. –VICE

“By now, we’re forced to provide intensive care treatment in the corridor, in the operating rooms, in the recovery rooms,” said Antonio Pesenti, coordinator of the region’s intensive care crisis unit in a statement to Italy’s Corriere Della Serra newspaper, adding that the situation would become “catastrophic” if people did not self-quarantine.

“We gutted entire hospital wards to make room for the seriously ill. One of the best healthcare systems in the world, the Lombard one, is one step away from collapse.“

Massimo Galli, director of infectious diseases at Milan’s Sacco hospital, told The Guardian he had similar concerns. “The pressure on hospitals in Lombardy these days is enormous. I am very, very worried about the impact the virus will have on our health system.” –VICE

An unverified recording of two Italian health workers reveals the dire situation they’re facing in medical facilities.

While roughly 80% of those who contract the disease report mild or no symptoms, between 15 and 20% require hospitalization.

Added new data point on the exponential italian ICU trend (doubling every 2.6 days)

It’s one of the most alarming charts I’ve ever seen because

1. Trend has been very stable for weeks even with Italy mitigation measures

2. If it continues health sys. collapses within 2 weeks pic.twitter.com/rohZouVzrC

— epsilon (@epsilon3141) March 6, 2020

“If the increase in the number of infected people in need of intensive care doesn’t slow down, we could have issues,” said Giulio Gallera – Lombardy’s top health official.

Lombardy’s top health official, Giulio Gallera, told Bloomberg that the region had dedicated 80% of its 1,123 acute-care beds to coronavirus. But Pesenti said that according to some forecasts, Lombardy could have 18,000 hospitalized coronavirus patients by March 26, between 2,700 and 3,200 of whom would require acute care.

Gallera said that health officials were in a “race against time” to find more acute care beds, with about 150 more due to open in the next week. Whether this was enough to respond to the crisis would depend on the effectiveness of the government’s drastic containment measures. –VICE

That said, despite their best efforts there were signs of major mistakes in the way Italian officials have handled the outbreak. On Saturday, thousands of people fled infected areas after news of the impending quarantine leaked – raising fears that the disease was quickly spread to other regions where the healthcare system is not as robust as the wealthy north. 

And as you heard in the video above, there is a serious shortage of staff in ICUs across Italy, which was facing a 3,000 doctor shortage before the outbreak according to the report.

“Let’s stop saying it’s a bad flu,” wrote ICU physician Daniele Macchini of the Humanitas Gavazzeni hospital in Bergamo, located in Lombardy around 25 miles northeast of Milan. “The war has literally exploded and battles are uninterrupted day and night.“

“We must spread the word to prevent what is happening here from happening all over Italy.”

Submitted by Michael Every of Rabobank

Tuesday duly delivered the Dead Bat Bounce we had expected; and, underlying just how unusual these times are, that included a near 5% rally in US stocks, a 29bp intraday sell-off in US 3o-year yields(!), a 10%+ jump in oil (even as the Saudis put the pedal to the metal with a pledge to exceed what this their normal maximum output), and a surge in USD that has pushed USDJPY back to 104.43, EURUSD back to 1.1338, and AUDUSD well below the psychological 0.65 level for a time.

The market was also duly focusing on what is now seen as duty: promises of fiscal and monetary stimulus. In the US, the provider of fiscal stimulus was also duly focusing on an attack on the provider of monetary stimulus for not having done enough on rates, even after an emergency 50bp cut and expectations of a minimum of another 50bp at their meeting next week, which would leave them just 50bp away from the effective zero-bound again.

Fiscally, we didn’t get any firm answers from the US. Indeed, the press reports the collective intelligence of Larry Kudlow and Steven Mnuchin has been pushing and pulling the president, initially in favour of a payroll tax cut–a bazooka–and then back towards smaller measures–(“because this is flu”)–and then, after somebody on Air Force One had to self-isolate due to a potential virus infection, back to something bigger from the infamously germ-phobic Trump….which has not been released yet. As we sit and wait to see what the US will do, I cannot help but think of two historical comparisons, and neither is flattering.

The first is the UK and “The Great Stink” of 1858. Back in the 19th century, the Thames used to receive all of London’s rubbish, industrial effluent, and raw sewage, which made it foul and dangerous. Parliament did nothing–“because small government and markets”–up until the long, hot day where the smell was so unbearable that everyone working in Westminster could no longer breathe. Suddenly funding was available for the London sewer system that the city still relies on today (and long failed to invest in “because small government and markets”).

When one considers that most of Congress is in the Covid-19 danger-zone age-wise, and that it is already spreading in policy-making circles, and that it is in New York City too, where Wall Street sits, can we expect a “Great Stink” policy response? After all, senior Pentagon figures are infected, as are political leaders from Iran to Portugal to Italy; and this morning there is the irony of the UK Health Minister being infected – clearly Keep Calm and Wash Your Hands (“because markets”) is not quite as effective as the official advice would suggest. Even PM Johnson might have to be tested now – though Trump has naturally refused to do the same.

So while we wait for that inevitable stinky fiscal response the second parallel today is the 1970s Soviet Union, which was in total economic and social stagnation and ruled by a gerontocracy that matched it. They knew change was needed; they just could not agree on what could be done that did not fundamentally change the ruling system so much that it would collapse. Which leg of the Communist table could they remove without it toppling over? The answer was none, and consequently, after long presidium meetings, the answer was always to extoll the glories of the Soviet system and its workers, and to build more statues of Marx and Lenin. Today we have inequality and populism and Forbes and Fortune magazine extolling billionaires and digital disruption as we build endless, empty high-end condos with silly names in Asia (“The Beatniq” is just round the corner from me in Bangkok. No, they don’t get the irony). Far more than just fiscal stimulus is arguably going to be needed to deal with this present virus crisis, and to prevent future damaging episodes, and to deal with the underlying socio-economic problems and weaknesses that this virus will expose. These are going to have to be structural: who can deliver?

Consider that as in the US Joe Biden trounced Bernie Sanders in more key Democratic nomination votes. Sanders is limping on and Tulsi Gabbard is also technically still in the race even if she has become mysteriously invisible to the press and DNC since she spoke back to Hilary Clinton: yet Biden is surely the nominee. In short, a 77-year old who would be 86 if he completes two presidential terms will be challenging a 73-year old who will be 78 when he leaves office if he wins; and a Democratic field that started with a young field speaking Spanish ends up with an old white man whose critics allege can’t speak English (“Malarkey 2020”). Of course, the Soviet analogy is not complete in that Trump has certainly challenged many parts of the current orthodoxy, even if he is now stumped by a virus that does not yield to rising stocks and falling taxes; so did Sanders, whose ideas like Medicare for All are so incredibly appropriate right now that they have naturally been rejected by Democratic voters. It’s unclear exactly what Biden represents other than Not Trump, but radical socio-economic change is presumably not going to be part of his platform. Markets will naturally love that – except when they realise it implies much tighter fiscal policy and not leaning on the Fed for looser monetary policy.

And consider the analogy in Europe too, where virus panic is now finally starting to sink in following developments in Italy (where 631 are now dead). Yet just days ago France was still holding a Smurf Festival, where 3,500 people turned up painted blue, as if viruses can’t happen because of the Four Freedoms (of movement of goods, services, people, and capital: Shai-Hulud! Praise the Coming and the Going!) Moreover, even as there is a realisation that Something Must Be Done in Europe, there is still no full agreement of what and how, because of the limitations of the Stability and Growth Pact and the Eurozone itself. Tomorrow it will be the turn of Christine Lagarde in that spotlight to solve that problem against a backdrop where Austria and Poland are taking their own real world actions with border controls, despite the Schengen Treaty.

Today, however, it is the turn of Rishi Sunak, the UK Chancellor whose incredible youth is supposed to illustrate the sunny demographic uplands of Brexit. He has been in the job about as many days as he has years under his belt, which in some firms is still a window in which one has not yet got one’s email up and running and business cards printed. The expectation is that Sunak will give us a budget packed full of the kind of virus-fighting, level-upping stimulus that you can only get if you: (1) dump the fiscal straight-jacket of the Eurozone; and (2) dump the “because markets” monomania of the Larry Kudlows of this world too. The press are suggesting we will see GBP600bn (USD900bn) pledged for infrastructure and R&D over the next five years, and hopefully something for health too, which will be the highest level of real investment by the public sector since 1955. As such, out the window go the UK’s Fiscal Rules. And quite right too given the 10-year Gilt yield is, as I type, all of 24 basis points. No need to kick up a Great Stink about that development as such.

For millions of Americans, especially those on the cusp of retirement, this selloff has been a nightmare, but for humble Omaha billionaire Warren Buffett, it is undoubtedly a dream come true. After a few years of relative inactivity on the deals front, with Buffett claiming he prefers to buy stocks (especially stocks that he had previously shunned like Apple) because whole companies are “too expensive,” Berkshire has accumulated a massive $100 million+ cash pile,

Everyone who has seen “Too Big Too Fail” knows that the Berkshire Hathaway Chairman scooped up some of the best deals of his lifetime during the financial crisis, when he invested in Bank of America, Wells Fargo and other firms. His state-backed market intervention helping to stabilize the market.

But is Buffett planning to take advantage of these ‘clearance sale’ prices this time around? Many still advocate the trusted practice of BTFD, as Buffett has in the very recent past. Others believe stocks are still ‘too expensive’.

One recent SEC filing showed that Buffett bought the dip in Delta Air Lines, while the stock was down more than 30%. We suspect this won’t be the only Berkshire ‘panic’ purchase.

And in an interview with Yahoo Finance published on Wednesday, Buffett said that while this selloff was unique in that it delivered a “one-two punch” to equities and the oil market.

“If you stick around long enough, you’ll see everything in markets,” Buffett said. “And it may have taken me to 89 years of age to throw this one into the experience, but the markets, if you have to be open second by second, they react to news in a big time way.”

However, while this selloff required investors to be watching “second by second” and was undoubtedly a wild ride, “it wasn’t October 1987 – but it was an imitation anyway.” He said later that it also wasn’t as bad as the financial crisis.

“At the close of business on Monday Oct. 19, most of the specialist firms….were broke…it was really close. And of course the financial panic, you had 35 million people who on Sept. 1 weren’t worried at all about their money market accounts…but by Sept. 16 everyone was worried.”

“People looked at money market accounts as the same thing as cash…I was at a birthday party and that’s all they talked about.”

That’s right, kids. You think this is a panic? Let me tell you – this is nothing! Back in my day, traders knew what a real ‘bank run’ looked like.

So buy the dip, you idiots, what are you waiting for? “‘Robinhood is down?’ – what the hell does that mean”?

Watch the interview below:

After weeks of exponentially rising death and suffering worldwide, with WHO’s major funding partner China perhaps having turned the corner, WHO Chief Tedros has finally decided to declare Covid-19 a Pandemic…

In his address, Tedros appeared to criticize the US administration while praising more authoritarian nations for their crackdowns…

In the past two weeks, the number of cases of #COVID19 outside 🇨🇳 has increased 13-fold & the number of affected countries has tripled.

There are now more than 118,000 cases in 114 countries, & 4,291 people have lost their lives.

Thousands more are fighting for their lives in hospitals.

In the days and weeks ahead, we expect to see the number of #COVID19 cases, the number of deaths, and the number of affected countries climb even higher

WHO has been assessing this outbreak around the clock and we are deeply concerned both by the alarming levels of spread and severity, and by the alarming levels of inaction

We have therefore made the assessment that #COVID19 can be characterized as a pandemic

Pandemic is not a word to use lightly or carelessly. It is a word that, if misused, can cause unreasonable fear, or unjustified acceptance that the fight is over, leading to unnecessary suffering and death

Describing the situation as a pandemic does not change WHO’s assessment of the threat posed by this coronavirus. It doesn’t change what WHO is doing, and it doesn’t change what countries should do”

We have never before seen a pandemic sparked by a coronavirus. And we have never before seen a pandemic that can be controlled at the same time.

WHO has been in full response mode since we were notified of the first cases.

We have called every day for countries to take urgent and aggressive action.

We have rung the alarm bell loud and clear

As I said on Monday, just looking at the number of COVID19 cases and the number of countries affected does not tell the full story

Of the 118,000 COVID19 cases reported globally in 114 countries, more than 90 percent of cases are in just four countries, and two of those have significantly declining epidemics

81 countries have not reported any COVID19 cases, and 57 countries have reported 10 cases or less.

We cannot say this loudly enough, or clearly enough, or often enough: all countries can still change the course of this pandemic”

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

Even those countries with community transmission or large clusters can turn the tide on this coronavirus.

Several countries have demonstrated that this virus can be suppressed and controlled.

The challenge for many countries who are now dealing with large COVID19 clusters or community transmission is not whether they can do the same – it’s whether they will.

Some countries are struggling with a lack of capacity. Some countries are struggling with a lack of resources. Some countries are struggling with a lack of resolve.

We are grateful for the measures being taken in Iran, Italy and South Korea to slow the virus and control their COVID19 epidemics.

We know that these measures are taking a heavy toll on societies and economies, just as they did in China.

All countries must strike a fine balance between protecting health, minimizing economic & social disruption & respecting human rights

WHO’s mandate is public health. But we’re working with many partners across all sectors to mitigate the social and economic consequences of this COVID19 pandemic

This is not just a public health crisis, it is a crisis that will touch every sector – so every sector and every individual must be involved in the fight

I have said from the beginning that countries must take a whole-of-government, whole-of-society approach, built around a comprehensive strategy to prevent infections, save lives and minimize impact

Let me summarize it in 4 key areas.

1. Prepare and be ready.

2. Detect, protect and treat.

3. Reduce transmission.

4. Innovate and learn”

I remind all countries that we are calling on you to (1):

• activate & scale up your emergency response mechanisms

• communicate with your people about the risks & how they can protect themselves

• find, isolate, test & treat every #COVID19 case & trace every contact”

I remind all countries that we are calling on you to (2):

• ready your hospitals

• protect and train your #healthworkers

• let’s all look out for each other”

There’s been so much attention on one word.

Let me give you some other words that matter much more, & that are much more actionable:

Prevention. Preparedness. Public health. Political leadership. And most of all, People

“We’re in this together, to do the right things with calm and protect the citizens of the world. It’s doable”

And just like that – $425 million dollars worth of pandemic bonds all got triggered.

*  *  *