Wall Street Journal (April 19)
In India, New Delhi became the first region “to reimpose sweeping measures like the ones employed last spring.” Though “India has sought to avoid the strict lockdowns that punished its economy last spring… the step was necessary to avoid an even bigger disaster: a complete breakdown of its hospitals.” Experts anticipate “a cascade of other Indian states” following New Delhi into lockdown.
Tags: Breakdown, Disaster, Economy, Experts, Hospitals, India, Lockdowns, New Delhi, Punished, Strict
Financial Times (April 19)
“India’s currency has swung from emerging market leader to laggard as the country battles a ferocious wave of coronavirus infections, prompting concerns among global investors that a nascent economic recovery will crumble.” During Q1, the rupee was “the only emerging market currency to gain ground on the dollar.” Since April, it has plummeted 3%, “the worst performance” of its peers.
Tags: Coronavirus, Currency, Dollar, Economic recovery, Emerging market, Ferocious, India, Infections, Investors, Laggard, Leader, Nascent, Rupee, Worst
USA Today (April 17)
“Nearly half of US adults have gotten at least 1 vaccine dose,” but cases are on the rise with more contagious variants. Globally, the “death toll from the coronavirus topped a staggering 3 million people Saturday… more than the population of Chicago (2.7 million) and equivalent to Philadelphia and Dallas combined.”
Tags: Adults, Chicago, Contagious, Coronavirus, Death toll, Philadelphia, U.S., Vaccine, Variants
New York Times (April 17)
A new front is opening “in the war over how cryptocurrency will — or will not — be regulated.” Although “Cryptocurrencies are still mostly held as speculative assets,” they could “become fundamental parts of the financial system. To many, Coinbase’s successful debut, which valued the company at $86 billion, far more than operators of stock and bond exchanges, is a signal that this transformation is already well underway.” The success of that IPO could “invite more attention from regulators.”
Tags: Bond, Coinbase, Cryptocurrency, Exchanges, Financial system, IPO, Regulated, Signal, Speculative assets, Stock, Successful, Transformation, War
Bloomberg (April 16)
“China’s economy soared in the first quarter as consumer spending strengthened, joining production and investment in recovering from the Covid slump a year ago.” Year on year, GDP “climbed a record 18.3%,” but that is “skewed by comparisons from a year ago when the economy was in lockdown. A better reading of the economy’s momentum comes from quarter-on-quarter growth, which slowed to 0.6% from 2.6% in the previous three months.”
Tags: China, Consumer spending, Covid, Economy, GDP, Investment, Lockdown, Momentum, Production, Record, Recovering, Skewed, Slump, Strengthened
Boston Globe (April 15)
“For many people hired remotely over the past year, the workplace has largely been restricted to the two-dimensional confines of their computer screens. They may be performing their jobs just fine, but they haven’t been able to benefit from the in-office osmosis that comes with being in a shared space. They haven’t observed their bosses’ body language or picked up tricks that aren’t in the handbook.” As a result, “pandemic hires” are thirsty for the office. They miss “the ‘real’ workplace.”
Tags: Body language, Bosses, Jobs, Office, Osmosis, Pandemic hires, Remotely, Restricted, Shared space, Tricks, Two-dimensional, Workplace
Philadelphia Inquirer (April 15)
“At the age of 192, The Inquirer is stopping its own presses for good—the April 1 issues marked the last official runs—and will be outsourcing its print operations in line with newspapers across the country that are cutting costs and fighting a media universe changing at the speed of breaking news.”
Tags: Breaking news, Costs, Inquirer, Media universe, Newspapers, Outsourcing, Presses, Print operations, Stopping
Wall Street Journal (April 13)
“The great car-chip shortage is bad for the auto industry, but only temporarily. The real losers are consumers who need wheels to get back to work.” Investors remain unfazed. “Investors can afford to remain relaxed about the chip shortage… there is an offset for manufacturers: Those cars they do ship this year could carry unusually high margins.”
Tags: Auto industry, Cars, Chip shortage, Consumers, Investors, Losers, Manufacturers, Relaxed, Work
The Guardian (April 12)
“Japan does not especially want to deliver the prestige of the first major global sporting event since the pandemic started to China.” Cancelling the Olympics would also place “billions of dollars at stake.” But “set against that are the lives that could be lost…. Undoubtedly, the cancellation of the Games would lead to disappointment and financial losses. However, these factors must be weighed against any risk that the Olympics could make the pandemic worse.”
Tags: Cancellation, China, Disappointment, Dollars, Global, Japan, Lives, Losses, Olympics, Pandemic, Prestige, Risk, Sporting event
Los Angeles Times (April 12)
“The COVID-19 death toll in California has surpassed 60,000, an alarming statistic that comes even as conditions in the state continue to improve.” Though grim, California’s per capita death toll is lower “than that of the other most populous states” and there is cause for hope. Deaths are now down to 104 – 120 per day and the state will open vaccinations up to everyone 16 or older from April 14.
Tags: Alarming, California, COVID-19, Deaths, Grim, Hope, Populous, Statistic, Vaccinations
