Washington Post (June 11)
“There will be joy and drama, glory and grief, among Olympic competitors. But this summer’s pandemic-era Games in Tokyo are destined to go down as the most joyless of modern times with athletes sequestered and cheering banned…. Instead of basking in anticipation of the Opening Ceremonies on July 23, the buildup to the Games sees Japan mired in blame, recriminations and laments that it didn’t have to be this way.”
Tags: Athletes, Banned, Blame, Cheering, Competitors, Drama, Glory, Grief, Japan, Joyless, Mired, Olympic, Opening Ceremonies, Pandemic, Recriminations, Sequestered, Tokyo
Wall Street Journal (June 4)
“Investors have piled into new carbon-credit-trading funds, helping make the upstart market one of the best-performing commodities-related investments of the past year.” In Europe, the trading price for carbon credits “has jumped 135% over the past 12 months and recently hit a series of records as economic activity rebounded from pandemic lockdowns. Only lumber, driven higher by the housing boom, has proved a better commodities investment.”
Tags: Best-performing, Carbon credits, Commodities, Europe, Funds, Housing boom, Investments, Investors, Lockdowns, Lumber, Market, Pandemic, Rebounded, Records, Trading, Upstart
WARC (June 2)
“Sponsors that made a relatively sound bet on one of the major global sporting events could not have foreseen the pandemic. Now, with the games an increasingly controversial topic, sponsors are navigating negative public opinion.” As they “worry about the risks of sponsoring an event opposed by a majority of the country” and focus on avoiding negative exposure, some Olympic sponsors have given up on recouping their investments.
Tags: Controversial, Doubts, Exposure, Foreseen, Negative, Olympics, Pandemic, Public opinion, Risks, Sponsors, Sporting events, Worry
Philadelphia Inquirer (June 1)
“After a year stuck at home, consumers who can afford it are ‘revenge spending’ – splurging on items and experiences they were deprived of during the pandemic…. More than half of U.S. consumers expect to spend extra by treating themselves, with higher-income millennials intending to spend the most.” It already shows. “Consumer spending is above pre-pandemic levels across the Philadelphia region and nation.”
Tags: Afford, Consumers, Deprived, Experiences, Home, Income, Millennials, Pandemic, Revenge spending, Splurging, U.S.
Seattle Times (June 1)
The cannabis industry “had a breakout moment during the pandemic. Legal cannabis sales in the United States passed $17.5 billion in 2020, a 46% increase over sales in 2019. For many Americans, stocking up on marijuana was as essential as stocking up on toilet paper. And the industry found a way to get it to them.”
Tags: Breakout moment, Cannabis, Essential, Increase, Industry, Legal, Pandemic, Sales, Stocking up, Toilet paper, U.S.
Bloomberg (May 29)
The Asia-Pacific region “has gone from leader to laggard.” Until recently, APAC fared remarkably well at averting the worst of the pandemic. Now, in contrast, as “New York and London reopen, Singapore and Taipei are in semi-lockdown. Melbourne joined them this week. On May 24, the U.S. State Department added Japan to its ‘Level 4: Do Not Travel’ advisory list.” The “failure to get shots into arms fast enough has in some cases triggered swift and unexpected reversals of fortune that carry significant economic implications.”
Tags: APAC, Economic implications, Japan, Laggard, Leader, Lockdown, London, Melbourne, New York, Pandemic, Reopen, Reversals, Singapore, Taipei, U.S.
New York Times (May 25)
The U.S. State Department’s warning for Americans to avoid travelling to Japan due to the rising incidence of Covid-19 “has little practical effect, as Japan’s borders have been closed to most nonresident foreigners since the early months of the pandemic. But the warning is another blow for the Olympics, which are facing stiff opposition among the Japanese public over concerns that they could become a superspreader event as athletes and their entourages pour in from around the world.”
Tags: Athletes, Blow, Borders, Closed, COVID-19, Foreigners, Japan, Olympics, Opposition, Pandemic, State Department, Superspreader, U.S., Warning
Washington Post (May 20)
“Cryptocurrency investors woke up to grim news Wednesday: A brutal sell-off sent prices crashing across the board, wiping more than half a trillion dollars off the market.” It’s unclear if or when the dramatic turnaround will end. The cryptocurrency market “has roared since the coronavirus pandemic first gripped the world,” with “hordes of new investors…drawn by the allure of sudden price spikes and life-changing winnings.”
Tags: Allure, Brutal, Coronavirus, Crashing, Cryptocurrency, Investors, Life-changing, Pandemic, Price spikes, Sell-off, Winnings
San Francisco Chronicle (May 16)
“Pandemic or not, restaurants can’t find rental space.” The real estate landscape is “nearly as heated as pre-pandemic levels.” One would expect “tons of options on the market at reasonable rates, but there are few deals—and competition for what’s available is intense…. Landlords, meanwhile, are hesitant to offer discounts because they’ve lacked income over the pandemic themselves.”
Tags: Competition, Deals, Discounts, Heated, Income, Landlords, Market, Pandemic, Pre-pandemic levels, Real estate, Rental space, Restaurants
San Francisco Chronicle (May 9)
“As much as the Warriors’ Stephen Curry and Draymond Green would love to compete for Team USA, with Steve Kerr an assistant on coach Gregg Popovich’s staff, they can’t even begin to imagine what it might be like, in Japan, with the coronavirus pandemic still raging worldwide….
The IOC should be more than merely concerned about the developments of Saturday, when Japan registered more than 7,000 new COVID-19 cases, the country’s highest total since January, due to a rapidly spreading fourth wave driven by more contagious and deadlier variants of the virus.”
Tags: Compete, Contagious, COVID-19, Curry, Deadlier, Fourth wave, Green, Highest, IOC, Japan, Kerr, Pandemic, Raging, Team USA, Variants, Warriors
