Catherine Thorbecke
ABC7Tue, 17 Mar 2020 21:14 UTC
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rebounded sharply Tuesday,
though not nearly enough to make up for the massive coronavirus-induced
losses suffered Monday.
The Dow climbed more than 1,000 points or over 5% by the time market's closed.
The index saw more than 500-point swings in a volatile trading day Tuesday that came
after it suffered its worst day since the "Black Monday" crash of 1987 on Monday, plunging nearly 3,000 points or 12.94%.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq also climbed Tuesday, with both indices up by 5.99% and 6.23%, respectively, at closing. Both shed approximately 12% during Monday's bloodletting on Wall Street.
A midday rally came after the Federal Reserve announced further intervention amid the coronavirus crisis,
establishing a commercial paper fund to help support the flow of credit to U.S. households and businesses.
Comment: Volatility and predictions of a downturn in the markets continue despite enormous stimulus pledges, RT
reports:
Asia-Pacific markets finished significantly lower on Wednesday again, shrugging off the stimulus pledges by world leaders. Investors fear the measures may still not be enough to protect economies though the crisis.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index closed down over four percent while China's Shanghai Composite was off almost two percent. Japan's Nikkei 225 was trading 1.68 percent lower.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was the worst performer in the region, dropping by almost seven percent. South Korea's Kospi ended the day down 4.9 percent.
European stock markets have also felt the jitters, with the Stoxx 600 index falling 3.3 percent in early trading. Germany's DAX was off almost five percent while France's CAC 40 index has slid over four percent. Britain's FTSE 100 was trading five percent lower as of 10:00 GMT.
Fears of a deep downturn have been shaking markets despite the stimulus packages announced by the US, UK, and the Eurozone.
"Volatility across markets has created considerable anxiety amongst investors trying to gauge the effectiveness" of various healthcare, monetary and fiscal policy responses, said Bob Michele, global head of fixed income at JP Morgan Asset Management, in a research note seen by CNBC.
The US Federal Reserve announced plans on Tuesday to unfreeze the $1 trillion commercial paper market that should help businesses get short-term loans to pay workers and finance inventories. The UK has unveiled a £330 billion plan to fight the Covid-19 pandemic, with the EU bringing out a £37 billion support package.
Following the report above that US made some gains on the 17th March, on the 18th US stocks
plunged 1,400 points right after the opening bell:
The S&P 500 index and the Nasdaq Composite have lost over seven percent, leading to a 15-minute "circuit breaker" halt at around 1 pm Eastern time.
Shares trading on the London, Frankfurt, and Paris bourses faced another day of huge losses, with key indices falling between three and five percent.
Stocks in Australia led the losses in Asia Pacific with the country's S&P/ASX 200 index falling more than six percent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index dropped more than four percent. China's Shanghai Composite and Japan's Nikkei 225 were both down, losing more than one and a half percent.
The US stock market has been on a rollercoaster ride - massive drops followed by huge rebounds - as investor panic driven by the spread of the coronavirus sets in. On the financial markets, it was also reflected by the CBOE Volatility Index, which is sometimes referred to as the Fear Index. The index tends to rise during market turmoil, and it soared to historic highs earlier this week.
The Dow and S&P 500 entered a bear market last week, putting an end to the historic bull run. The Dow is already more than 30 percent off its all-time high of around 29,500 points seen in February, to around 20,000 points on Wednesday.
The oil price has dropped to its lowest level since 2003 as demand for energy
halts and amidst fears of a global recession:
The price of US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for April delivery fell six percent and was trading below $26 per barrel. If prices continue to drop, by the end of the day they could close at the lowest level since May 2003.
Futures for the international benchmark, Brent crude, were down more than three percent, trading below $28 per barrel as of 10:00am GMT.
On Tuesday, Goldman Sachs slashed its oil price forecast again citing "unprecedented" demand losses. The bank now expects both WTI and Brent to trade at around $20 per barrel in the second quarter.
Apart from the coronavirus, the ongoing row between two major oil producers, Russia and Saudi Arabia, has been affecting the energy market. After the two failed to reach a new deal on production cuts, Saudi Arabia pledged to dramatically ramp up production and give discounts to its buyers in a move that may further shake the already oversupplied market.
Meanwhile, Russian state lender Sberbank says that it has already been looking into worst-case scenarios for the economy amid the coronavirus pandemic. According to Sberbank CEO Herman Gref, the most stressful outcome includes oil going down to $20 per barrel and Russia's national currency tumbling to 100 rubles per dollar. However, Gref believes that the bank will manage to stay afloat even under those circumstances.
© Kobi Gideon/GPO
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seen addressing the State of Israel with updates to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised there would be a dramatic increase in the number of sick people detected, tests taken and hospital equipment available to serve the infected.
"We started today using the digital technology that detects those who come in contact with coronavirus patients," Netanyahu said in a press briefing. "We will send these people into isolation. These will be large numbers. Isolation is not a recommendation - it is mandatory, and we will enforce it without compromise."
He likewise committed to "dramatically" increasing the number of people tested for coronavirus to the largest number per capita in the world. Netanyahu said that he expects between 3,000 and 5,000 tests to be taken per day, comparing Israel to South Korea. That country tests around 15,000 people per day and has a population around five times larger than Israel's.
RTTue, 17 Mar 2020 13:41 UTC
© Sputnik / Sergey Pyatakov
A credence altar for preparing bread and wine during the liturgical rite of the Preface of the Mass at Moscow's Christ the Savior Cathedral.
The Russian Orthodox Church's response to the ever-changing Covid-19 situation has raised some eyebrows, but one new measure will undoubtedly receive a good reception from those partial to a tipple.
In what could only be described as an 'unorthodox' proposal, parishioners who wish to receive communion will be drinking a lot more wine than usual.
Speaking to radio station Moscow Talks, Archpriest Leonid Kalinin, a member of the Patriarchal Council for Culture, said that Moscow churchgoers would be receiving double the usual volume of the holy sacrament when attending one of the capital's churches.
"According to specialist virologists, the alcohol content in the sacrament [...] is high enough to kill these viruses. This is unambiguous. Therefore, in principle, the sacrament itself cannot be a source of infection with a sufficient amount of [alcohol]," he said.
Fact Checkers claim they check facts for you, so you don't have to. The dictionary
definition of a fact is:
"Something that is known to have happened or to exist, especially something for which proof exists, or about which there is information"
The
legal definition of a fact is:
"An actual and absolute reality, as distinguished from mere supposition or opinion; a truth, as distinguished from fiction or error."
Like
reality and
truth, a fact is absolute. It never changes, it is immutable and eternal.
Our understanding of the facts may differ because we only have the available evidence to inform our knowledge of the facts. The availability of evidence is vital if we are to have any hope of knowing the facts. Our access to evidence doesn't change the facts, it merely limits or expands our knowledge of them.
The definition of knowledge is:
"[Noun]...awareness, understanding, or information that has been obtained by experience or study, and that is either in a person's mind or possessed by people generally."
Access to information is the key component for developing knowledge of the facts. Knowledge doesn't mean we always get the facts right, but we have no chance if information is limited or deliberately restricted.
Montgomery County, Maryland, is one of the most racially diverse counties in the United States. Four different ethnic groups — white, black, Hispanic, and Asian —
all comprise at least 15 percent of the population of the county, not to mention a vast mixed-race population as well. It is one of the wealthiest counties in the nation by average household income.
It also has a high "racial achievement gap." The Stanford Educational Opportunity metric pegs the black/white
achievement gap score at 3.09, and the black-Hispanic/white-Asian gap even higher, which means that the average white or Asian eighth-grader in Montgomery County scores more than three grade-levels higher on standardized performance exams than the average black or Hispanic student.
Apparently, by the standards of the Montgomery County Public School (MCPS) system, the racial achievement gap is nothing short of an educational crisis or profligate systemic failure. Current MCPS superintendent Jack R. Smith
wrote in the Washington Post, "For 50 years, the achievement gap in Montgomery County has grown in the shadows while many of our county's schools and students garnered well-deserved praise and earned awards... This disparity in academic outcomes is a crisis in our community that must be addressed."
In an almost hard to believe story which proves people are taking the "shit hit the fan" description of the current state of things way too literally, an Oregon police department had to
warn people in a public announcement against calling 911 because they were out of toilet paper.
"It's hard to believe that we even have to post this," police in Newport, Oregon stated in an official Facebook message.
"Do not call 9-1-1 just because you ran out of toilet paper. You will survive without our assistance."
The national phenomena of panic-buying toilet paper is the one thing in all of this that makes least sense, unless perhaps given that markets are in nose-dive
— and who knows if currencies could be next down the line
— people are viewing TP as
the next currency of the post-apocalypse, giving new meaning to 'dirty money'.
Vanessa Hudgens has been accused of making 'heartless', 'insensitive' and 'selfish' remarks about the deadly coronavirus outbreak gripping the nation in an Instagram Live video Monday.
Vanessa Hudgens has been accused of making 'heartless', 'insensitive' and 'selfish' remarks about the deadly coronavirus outbreak gripping the nation.
The High School Musical actress, 31, took to Instagram Live on Monday where she described efforts to contain the virus as 'bull****', saying that everyone is going to get it anyway and that deaths are 'inevitable'.
Hudgens quickly deleted the video but copies of it were spread online causing widespread fury with people slamming her for 'irresponsible' advice that puts the old and vulnerable at risk.
Holly Figueroa O'Reilly, an entrepreneur helping campaigning Democrats, replied: 'This type of dismissivness is what is going to get your nana and pawpaw killed. And maybe your parents.
Comment: When the public at large are in the grip of panic, thanks to the sensationalism circulated through the MSM and social media, speaking out against 'consensus' is downright dangerous. The fact is, this coronavirus is quite likely a NothingBurger™ and the lockdown measures are completely out of proportion to the actual threat. But celebs apparently have to be careful about telling it like it is. While the COVID-19 contagion may be overblown, the social contagion is very real.
See also:
© @ikaveri/Twitter
Clearer than ever: Schools of fish are visible under the usually murky water of Venetian canals in the wake of Italy's coronavirus lockdown.
Venetian canals are the clearest they have been in living memory after Italy's coronavirus lockdown caused a drop in pollution.
In a rare welcome side-effect of the health crisis, the usually murky waterways are clear enough to see the schools of fish under the water.
White swans are also roaming the canals in a city where the usually overloaded piazzas and alleyways have become almost deserted.
One Venetian local, Marco Capovilla, said he 'had never seen' the water so clear after filming some of the fish under the surface.
RTTue, 17 Mar 2020 22:54 UTC
© Handout via Reuters / Gemelli Policlinico
Medical workers in protective suits transfer a coronavirus patient in Rome, Italy, March 16, 2020
Fatalities in Italy's coronavirus outbreak have surpassed 2,500, while the number of Covid-19 cases in the country have far exceeded those remaining in China - where the epidemic began - with more than 31,000 active infections.
With a spike of 345 new deaths in the last 24 hours, Tuesday was among Italy's most deadly in the Covid-19 outbreak gripping much of the Mediterranean nation, bringing the death toll to 2,503, out of a total 31,506 confirmed cases.
Since the contagion was first observed in Italy in late February, the country has quickly become Europe's hardest-hit coronavirus hotspot, with a rapidly escalating disease toll and a fatality rate exceeding most other affected nations. The explosion in cases and deaths triggered a nationwide lockdown last week, placing 60 million citizens under strict travel restrictions and shuttering most businesses across the country.
Comment: Total cases worldwide passed
200k today. Deaths outside Asia
passed the number there - 3421 compared to 3384 - with Italy alone making up over
2500 of that number. Dr. Massimo Galli, head of infectious disease unit at Sacco Hospital in Milan,
told RT that the virus has "overwhelmed the possibilities" of world healthcare systems (which were already operating at or above capacity):
He stressed that Lombardy and other parts of Italy struggling to cope with the virus have health infrastructure which meets "a high European standard" - but that it was simply "impossible" to be properly prepared for an epidemic of this size.
However, it's still unclear precisely how much - if at all - the current number of ICU patients differs from previous peaks during flu seasons of past years. Good news is that confirmed cases are
slowing down.
Eurovision has been
canceled, and a UK epidemiologist who recently visited Downing Street to push for a
bigger response to the virus has self-isolated after coming down with a cough and fever. In New York, NYC major de Blasio
told MSNBC: "The number's gone up literally over a hundred cases in the course of the day. We're at 923 cases at this hour tonight, 10 people who have passed away. It's unbelievable how rapidly this crisis is growing right now." Again, relative to what? One thing lacking in these response is some statistical rigor.
The US and Canada are
closing the border to 'nonessential' traffic - but don't worry, trade will not be impacted, according to Trump. Trudeau
confirmed the news and promised aid to Canadians and businesses affected by the panic: up to CAD$27 billion in "direct support to Canadian workers and businesses" on top of CAD$55 billion in tax deferrals for businesses and families "to stabilize the economy." Trump also
announced the following:
US President Donald Trump has said that he will activate an old wartime act to force American industry to produce essential medical supplies to fight the COVID-19 coronavirus. Trump promised "total victory" over the deadly virus.
Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, Trump announced that he would be activating the Defense Production Act of 1950. The act, written at the outbreak of the Korean War, gives the federal government power to instruct manufacturers to make much-needed equipment, in this case protective masks and ventilators.
"Every generation of Americans has been called to make shared sacrifices for the good of the nation," Trump said, comparing the efforts to beat the COVID-19 coronavirus to the mass mobilization seen during World War II.
...
Trump also announced that two hospital ships would be deployed to house coronavirus patients, one moored in New York and another on the west coast. The Empire state has the biggest number of cases so far.
Though Trump did not state what kind of equipment the Defense Production Act will be used to produce, masks and ventilators are the most likely candidates. Health And Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said in February that the US needs a stockpile of around 300 million n95 face masks, and was at the time around 288 million short. In a speech to the Senate before Trump's conference, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer singled out ventilator shortages as a "massive problem."
Russian senator Konstantin Kosachev has
called for the lifting of all unilateral sanctions in light of the possible lengthy global recession as a result of shutting everything down worldwide: "There is an urgent need for a global agreement on the simultaneous and complete lifting of all economic sanctions, except those imposed by the UN Security Council":
The primary global instigator of sanctions is the United States, and use of these punitive measures has sharply increased during Donald Trump's presidency. The Economist has described the practice as "financial carpet-bombing" while the Financial Times labels them "a new way of war," saying Trump "has merged America's economic policy with its security strategy."
There are currently six countries under severe, or near total, embargoes from Washington: Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria, Sudan and Venezuela. China and Russia are among the other nations have been targeted with specific sanctions.
Meanwhile, only 5% of Russians have started
stockpiling. After living through the 90s, they have experience.
RTWed, 18 Mar 2020 07:21 UTC
© Reuters / Bastiaan Slabbers
Cops in Philadelphia have stopped making arrests for an array of crimes - including drugs, theft and sex work - adopting a catch-and-release policy for the span of the Covid-19 crisis, in what some saw as a step toward anarchy.
The city's (perhaps aptly named) Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw ordered the dramatic policy change on Tuesday, detailed in a memo leaked to local media outlets.
Starting on March 17, officers were instructed to only briefly detain those caught committing a laundry list of non-violent offenses, ranging from car and retail theft - which would cover looting - burglary, possession and distribution of narcotics, fraud, vandalism and prostitution, among others.
After verifying a suspect's identity, officers were ordered to release the offender and submit all relevant paperwork to the department's detective division, which will pursue arrest warrants sometime after the pandemic scare dies down - at least that's the plan.
A number of netizens saw the move as an open invitation to looters to start filling their pockets, with some wondering what other crimes might be allowed to slide as police are directed to look the other way.
Others interpreted the change in procedure as an object lesson on the need for the Second Amendment, with many encouraging their fellow commenters to find a way to defend themselves in the event of a crime wave.
Some took a wholly different approach to the news, however, planning out mock crime sprees while the opportunity presents itself.
In Los Angeles, meanwhile, city officials have directed police to cite and release offenders whenever possible in an effort to make room in its already crowded jails and stem the spread of the virus, while New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is now contemplating whether to release non-violent inmates for similar reasons, a plan backed by the city's Board of Correction.
Comment: If you are caught walking around in public with a friend,
they'll arrest you. But commit crime, and all's good! And the insanity continues...
Comment: Volatility and predictions of a downturn in the markets continue despite enormous stimulus pledges, RT reports: Following the report above that US made some gains on the 17th March, on the 18th US stocks plunged 1,400 points right after the opening bell: The oil price has dropped to its lowest level since 2003 as demand for energy halts and amidst fears of a global recession: