CBS News (December 20)
“Kim Jong Un will mark the end of his first decade in power armed to the teeth, but more isolated than ever as he tries to battle a killer virus in one of the world’s poorest countries. He’s no closer to what he really wants, which is relief from devastating sanctions and normal relations with the rest of the world.”
Tags: Armed, Decade, Devastating, Isolated, Kim, Normal, Poorest, Power, Relations, Relief, Sanctions, Virus
Bloomberg (December 20)
“Just as investors were wrapping up this year’s trading, the threat of new lockdowns sent shock waves through markets across the world.”
Tags: Investors, Lockdowns, Shock waves, Threat, Trading, Wrapping up
Seattle Times (December 17)
“Being a trusted caregiver—and then feeling helpless in that role—has caused serious feelings of loss and despair,” and this appears likely to cause the professional ranks to shrink. Approximately 20% of nurses and 17% of first responders are likely to exit the field within the next decade.
Star-Ledger (December 17)
“New Jersey on Thursday reported another 16 confirmed COVID-19 deaths and 6,271 confirmed cases—the state’s highest one-day total for confirmed positive tests since Jan.13, the peak day from last winter’s pandemic surge, before vaccines were widely available.”
Tags: Cases, Confirmed, COVID-19, Deaths, Highest, New Jersey, Pandemic, Peak, Positive tests, Surge, Vaccines
San Francisco Chronicle (December 16)
While there have only been 10 omicron cases in Santa Clara, “officials have “found the highly contagious variant in all four of the county’s wastewater treatment facilities, encompassing most of the local population.” The CDC said the new variant now accounts for about 3% of all cases nationwide “with the highest—13%–in the New York-New Jersey area.”
Tags: CDC, Contagious, New Jersey, New York, Officials, Omicron, Santa Clara, Treatment facilities, Variant, Wastewater
Institutional Investor (December 14)
“Investors are proceeding with caution as central banks move to rein in inflation. Expectations of more aggressive monetary policy have prompted investors to adopt more defensive asset allocation strategies…. In addition to piling into cash, investors have also adopted more defensive positioning by overweighting healthcare stocks and underweighting assets that are exposed to interest rate hikes.”
Tags: Aggressive, Asset allocation, Cash, Caution, Central banks, Defensive, Expectations, Healthcare stocks, Inflation, Interest rate hikes, Investors, Monetary policy, Overweighting
Seeking Alpha (December 14)
“Given the latest CPI and PPI data, the fate for an accelerated taper appears to have been sealed and what is likely to be a much more hawkish tone out of the Fed.” In spite of this, “the equity market has lived in fantasyland over the past week, rallying off a massive drop in implied volatility.” Still, the realization is dawning “that the Fed is no longer the stock market’s friend.”
Tags: CPI, Equity market, Fantasyland, Fed, Hawkish, PPI, Rallying, Taper, Volatility
Reuters (December 13)
Apple “rose about 11% last week, extending its more than 30% gain for the year as investors remain confident that flush consumers will continue to pay top dollar” for its products.” The company’s “market value hovered just shy of the $3 trillion mark on Monday, following a stunning run over the past decade that has turned it into the world’s most valuable company.”
Tags: $3 trillion, Apple, Confident, Consumers, Extending, Gain, Investors, Market value, Stunning
USA Today (December 13)
“A devastating tornado outbreak across five states Friday night left dozens of people dead and reduced hundreds of homes to rubble, and some scientists say this may be the harbinger of future tragedies as the planet warms.”
Tags: Dead, Five states, Future, Harbinger, Homes, Outbreak, Planet, Rubble, Scientists, Tornado, Tragedies
The Guardian (December 11)
Under New Zealand’s ban on smoking, “those aged 14 and under in 2027 will never be able to buy tobacco products legally. The legal smoking age will increase with every year that passes–meaning that in 2073, someone who is 61 will be able to buy cigarettes whereas someone who is 60 will not. But, as the government ramps up anti-drug measures in the UK at the same time, you have to ask – when has criminalising a substance ever worked?”
Tags: Age, Anti-drug, Ban, Cigarettes, Criminalising, Government, Legal, New Zealand, Smoking, Tobacco, UK
