San Francisco Chronicle (January 10)
“As the omicron variant once again scrambles well-laid plans, possibly killing the return-to-office date altogether,” millions of workers hope they will “never have to work in an office full time again.” The initial response to COVID may have appeared confined to “a niche, tech-world revolution,” but this has “spread to nearly every sort of job where remote work is possible,” close to 50% of the U.S. workforce.
Tags: Covid, Full-time, Office, Omicron, Plans, Remote, Return, Revolution, Scrambles, Tech-world, U.S., Variant, Workers
Washington Post (December 29)
“Across the nation and the world, people who thought they knew how to avoid covid are getting a rude surprise. Safety precautions that had for so long felt talismanic ― get vaccinated, mask up, avoid large indoor gatherings — have in the past week or two collapsed under the weight of omicron, a much more highly transmissible variant than the ones before it.”
Tags: Avoid, Collapsed, Covid, Indoor gatherings, Mask, Omicron, Rude surprise, Safety precautions, Transmissible, Vaccinated, Variant, World
The Guardian (December 28)
The UK has seen another record rise of daily Covid cases, with 138,831 reported in England, Scotland and Wales alone.” Still, there may be cause for hope. “Although hospital admissions had increased in recent weeks as Omicron spreads through the population, fewer patients were needing high-flow oxygen and the average length of stay was down to three days.”
Tags: Admissions, Cases, Covid, England, Hospital, Omicron, Oxygen, Patients, Record, Rise, Scotland, UK, Wales
Pittsburgh Gazette (December 26)
“As terrible as World War II was… COVID is exacting a far bigger toll among Americans.” The pandemic has already claimed twice as many lives in half the time. “And yet the contrast in national harmony and sense of national purpose is dramatic.” The sacrifices required today pale by comparison, but “many Americans regard wearing masks an intolerable inconvenience and practicing social distancing too great a sacrifice.”
Tags: Contrast, Covid, Inconvenience, Intolerable, Lives, Masks, National harmony, Pandemic, Purpose, Sacrifices, Social distancing, Terrible, Toll, U.S., WWII
Los Angeles Times (November 23)
“L.A.’s infamous Thanksgiving traffic gridlock” is “expected to return with vengeance” after taking 2020 off for Covid. “An estimated 3.8 million Southern Californians will be driving to their holiday destinations — up 9% from last year and only 1% less than in 2019, according to the Automobile Club of Southern California.”
Tags: 2019, 2021, Automobile Club of Southern California, California, Covid, Destinations, Gridlock, Holiday, Infamous, L.A., Thanksgiving, Traffic
Bloomberg (November 1)
“China’s economy showed signs of further weakness in October as power shortages and surging commodity prices weighed on manufacturing, while strict Covid controls put a brake on holiday spending.” The purchasing mangers’ index shows “the economy is under pressure from both the supply and demand side.”
Tags: China, Commodity, Covid, Economy, Manufacturing, October, PMI, Power shortages, Prices, Spending, Strict, Supply, Surging, Weakness
Santa Monica Daily Press (October 12)
The most populous state in the U.S. now has “the lowest per capita rate of new coronavirus cases.” Still, California just topped 70,000 cumulative COVID deaths. This is “the most in the nation, surpassing Texas by about 3,000 and Florida by about 13,000, although California’s per capita fatality rate of 177 per 100,000 people ranks in the bottom third for the U.S.”
Tags: California, Cases, Coronavirus, Covid, Deaths, Fatality rate, Florida, Populous, Texas, U.S.
Fortune (June 13)
“Before the pandemic, Japan’s workforce faced longstanding problems, like chronic overwork, low productivity, and too few women. Letting employees work from home may have helped ease all three, in addition to preventing the spread of COVID. But Japan’s failure to more fully adapt means it will likely miss out on the carry-on benefits of remote work that some corporations elsewhere are warming to.”
Tags: Adapt, Benefits, Covid, Employees, Failure, Home, Japan, Longstanding, Overwork, Pandemic, Productivity, Remote work, Women, Work, Workforce
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
MarketWatch (March 28)
“Despite the upbeat note that the final full week in March delivered, strategists and market participants were chirping about a major block trade in the final minutes of Friday trading that could portend further stress on the market, which has been subject to bouts of turbulence as rising interest rates amid the rollout of COVID vaccines and a $1.9 trillion aid package complicate the financial outlook.”
Tags: Block trade, Covid, March, Market, Rates, Rollout, Strategists, Stress, Turbulence, Upbeat, Vaccines
