For the second time since the outbreak of coronavirus in Lebanon, the Rafic Hariri University Hospital (RHUH) in Beirut has staged protests over the non-payment of their rightful salaries, local media outlet Naharnet reported. In a statement the committee of employees and contract workers said that “employees and staff at the hospital have suffered and sacrificed since the opening of the hospital, especially during the spread […]
Weeks
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Imperial College London’s Neil Ferguson – who originally estimated 500,000 deaths in the UK due to Coronavirus, now says that the virus will peak in just two or three weeks, and that UK deaths from the disease are now unlikely to exceed 20,000, according to NewScientist. The need for intensive care beds will get very close to capacity in some areas, but won’t be breached at […]
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has claimed that the country can overcome the coronavirus pandemic with as little damage as possible within the time frame of two to three weeks. Addressing the nation in a televised speech yesterday, Erdogan called on Turks to practice patience and support for the government’s actions and said that Turkey is prepared for every possible scenario. “By breaking the speed of […]
Acting Irish PM Leo Varadkar said on Wednesday it would be possible to form a new government in the next two weeks, returning the focus to negotiations that have been sidelined by the outbreak of coronavirus. Varadkar’s Fine Gael agreed two weeks ago to step up talks with rivals Fianna Fail following the February 8 election, but emergency measures to fight the health and economic crisis […]
A lockdown remains the only viable option to contain the Covid-19 outbreak in France and it should remain in place for at least six weeks, the country’s scientific council on the virus has said, calling for stronger enforcement. “The lockdown needs to be strictly implemented,” the group, which advises French President Emmanuel Macron on how to fight the coronavirus, said in a statement on Tuesday. Moreover, […]
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo revealed there are now over 25,000 confirmed coronavirus cases across the state and said efforts to slow the increase have simply not worked, with numbers there rising “unabated.” “We are not slowing it, and it’s accelerating on its own,” Cuomo said on Tuesday regarding the spread of Covid-19 cases in his state. Focusing on the continuing rise in cases despite efforts […]
Authored by Jim Quinn via The Burning Platform blog, “There are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen.” -Vladimir Ilyich Lenin “A Crisis mood does not guarantee that the new governing policies will be well designed or will work as intended. To the contrary: Crisis eras are studded with faulty leadership and inept management – from President Lincoln’s poor record of choosing […]
Syria confirmed its first coronavirus case yesterday, after a long period of denial that it had any such cases. Health Minister Nizar Al-Yaziji identified the patient as a 20-year-old woman who had recently returned from abroad. All “necessary measures” are being taken, including medical checks and quarantine for 14 days. The official confirmation of this case comes after weeks of various reports – including some from […]
On Friday, the Washington Post reported that U.S. intel agencies were warning as early as January about coronavirus. John Roberts – filling in on Fox News Sunday for Chris Wallace — asked Treasury Sec. Steve Mnuchin about the planned economic stimulus before raising that issue this morning. “Were you over at the Treasury Department ever warned that something like this was coming down the pike?” he asked. […]
A man suspected of drunk driving in the Netherlands has received 10 weeks in the slammer, after intentionally coughing on police who pulled him over. He claimed to be infected with Covid-19, but later tested negative. The culprit, identified by local media as a 23-year-old male from Leiden, was allegedly speeding and snaking through lanes before being stopped by police. According to reports, he refused to […]
Last week, in the aftermath of the historic oil price collapse, we warned that the long-awaited “fallen angel” day has arrived, as $140 billion in oil producer (and up to $360 if one includes the mid-stream companies) investment grade debt was on the verge of being downgraded to junk and throwing the entire high yield market in turmoil. Fast forward to today when Bloomberg calculates that […]
When UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson first adopted his ‘unorthodox’ approach to fighting the virus that relied on ‘targeted’ measures to try and keep anyone who might be infected at home and in isolation while keeping offices, schools and stores open. Though it was outside the mainstream advice from both the WHO and the standard being set across the world of closures and quarantines, some experts […]
SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images California Governor Gavin Newsom told President Donald Trump his state expects more than 25 million people to be infected with the coronavirus — in just the next eight weeks. On Thursday, Gov. Newsome sent a letter to Trump in which he asked for a Navy hospital ship to be deployed to the state, and delivered some truly alarming projections about the […]
Like this story? Share it with a friend! Bavaria will introduce tight restrictions on movement for two weeks in the hope of containing the Covid-19 pandemic that has seized Europe, making it the first German state to introduce a lockdown. The strict measures include the closure of restaurants and bars, and bans large gatherings. People are urged to not leave their homes unless they are going […]
20 Mar, 2020 02:38 California Governor Gavin Newsom has issued a mandatory “stay at home” order to all residents, shuttering all businesses beyond “critical sectors” while suggesting the state’s hospitals could soon hit their breaking point. DETAILS TO FOLLOW CA is issuing a statewide, mandatory STAY AT HOME order. Those that work in critical sectors should go to work. Grocery stores, pharmacies, banks and more will […]
California Governor Gavin Newsom says that an estimated 56% of the state’s population – some 25.5 million people – will be infected with coronavirus within the next eight weeks. Newsom made the sobering claim in a Wednesday letter to President Trump asking for the US Navy’s Mercy Hospital Ship to be stationed at the Port of Los Angeles until September in order to provide backup to […]
In the aftermath of last week’s cryptocurrency market crash, the Huobi exchange has launched a new liquidation mechanism that would pull the plug on trading should prices become too volatile. The Singapore-based firm said Wednesday that the new mechanism, integrated into its crypto derivatives marketplace, would halt all liquidations – where a trader’s position is automatically closed – during periods when volatility starts to present a […]
Demand for bitcoin options on regulated U.S. derivatives exchanges has dried up even as price volatility reaches record highs. The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) traded just three bitcoin options contracts on Tuesday, with a notional amount of 15 bitcoin (approximately $80,000), the exchange told CoinDesk. That is CME’s lowest daily volume for bitcoin options on record, according to crypto derivatives firm Skew Markets. The previous record […]
Jordan yesterday ordered all residents to remain in their homes for two weeks to stop the spread of the coronavirus, local TV reported. All official institutions have been closed as of today, except emergency services which will continue to operate as usual, though all none emergency treatments have been cancelled. Quarantine camps have been setup at all entry points to the country for those who are […]
President Donald Trump has recently been touting calm amidst fear and increasing panic from the American people about the spreading coronavirus pandemic, and on Tuesday went so far as to claim he has been taking the crisis seriously before anyone else did. A new video released Monday pieces together a concise picture of Trump repeatedly quashing worries and billing the coronavirus as no big deal. Dating […]
The UAE health ministry on Monday ordered the temporary suspension of wedding celebrations and other social parties for four weeks as of Wednesday, state news agency WAM said. It also banned prayers at houses of worship including mosques. The government earlier issued a tweet reassuring people about supplies of goods after a rush on supermarkets. Dubai, the region’s tourism and business hub, ordered bars and lounges […]
Egypt will close schools and universities for two weeks to prevent the spread of the coronavirus as the number of cases rises each day, reaching 109 with two deaths, the prime minister said on Saturday, Reuters reports. The suspension of classes from Sunday follows previously announced measures including the cancellation of large public gatherings, restrictions on the time allocated for mass prayers and the halting of […]
The last two weeks have been unprecedented for any number of reasons – trading ranges, fund blow-ups, basis dislocations, correlation-one regime, no safe harbor – but aside from being the fastest collapse from a peak into bear market in US history… There are a number of other WTF charts that show what just happened from 30,000 feet… The bond market’s range this week was the largest […]
The past week has been one of market superlatives: the biggest Dow point crash ever, the biggest Stoxx 600 drop on record, the longest lock “limit down” in the Emini future ever observed, the biggest rebound in the Dow since the financial crisis, the biggest VaR shock in history, the fastest drawdown to a bear market from a market peak… … and so on. Here are […]