Month: December 2021

WHO warns against blanket travel bans over Omicron coronavirus variant

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Countries should apply “an evidence-informed and risk-based approach” with any travel measures related to the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, including possible screening or quarantine of international passengers, but blanket bans do not prevent its spread, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday.

The WHO, in its latest guidance to authorities and travellers, said that people over 60 years of age who are not fully vaccinated or do not have proof of previous SARS-COV-2 infection and those with underlying health conditions should be advised to postpone travel as they are at higher risk of disease and death.

First reported in southern Africa a week ago, the variant has brought global alarm, led to travel bans, and highlighted the disparity between massive vaccination pushes in rich nations and sparse inoculation in the developing world.

National authorities in countries of departure, transit and arrival may apply a multi-layered approach to mitigate risk so as to delay or reduce importation or exportation of the Omicron variant, the WHO said on Tuesday.

“Measures may include screening of passengers prior to travel and/or upon arrival, and use of SARS-COV-2 testing or quarantine of international travellers after thorough risk assessment,” it said.

All measures should be commensurate with the risk, time-limited and applied with respect to travellers’ rights, it said.

“Blanket travel bans will not prevent the international spread, and they place a heavy burden on lives and livelihoods,” it said.

Some 56 countries were reportedly implementing travel measures aimed at potentially delaying import of Omicron as of Nov, 28, it added.

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Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Q2 GDP: Economy just about grows to pre-COVID size, but some sectors lag badly

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The key takeaway from the second-quarter GDP numbers is that the overall economy has grown back to the pre-COVID levels. Total output in constant prices was at Rs 35.73 trillion versus Rs 35.61 trillion in Q2 of FY20. The pace of growth both, year-on-year and quarter-on-quarter, is an impressive 8.4 percent, a good half a percentage point higher than the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) forecast of 7.9 percent.

The economy has grown largely on the shoulders of agriculture and allied sectors, whose output stands at a cool 7.5 percent over the July-Sept 2019-levels, i.e., a CAGR (compounded annual growth) of 3.5 percent.

The “Public Administration and Personal Services” have also grown handsomely by 6.5 percent over the July-Sept 2019-levels. Within this, we know public administration hasn’t grown much, so clearly personal services have recovered sharply.

Manufacturing and — to a lesser extent — construction have grown back to and even beyond pre-COVID levels, albeit marginally.

The bad news comes from the large services sector called “Trade, Hotels, Transport and Communication”. Its size at Rs 5.79 trillion is still 10 percent lower than the Rs 6.38 trillion in Q2 of FY20. From being 1/5th of the economy, this sector has shrunk to 1/6th of the economy. This is worrying because this sector employs a bulk of India’s MSMEs and self-employed.

GDP from the expenditure side has shot up largely due to higher capex. Gross fixed capital formation is now 32 percent of GDP, which is excellent. The economy is re-investing one third of what it produces, pointed out Dr Sudipto Mundle, economist and a member of the Fourteenth Finance Commission of India. This may be an engine for future growth. But the laggard is the hitherto powerful engine of India’s growth: private final consumption expenditure or PFCE.

The PFCE at Rs 19.7 trillion is 3.5 percent below the pre-COVID level, reflecting lower consumption by those who lost jobs in trade, commerce and transport. Government final consumption has done even worse, falling short by 17 percent versus its pre-COVID comparable quarter.

Valuables, i.e., savings invested in gold, tripled over Pre-COVID levels, probably reflecting a hedge against inflation.

The key takeaway from the Q2 GDP numbers is that we need to restore the informal sector and MSME jobs in the trade, commerce and transportation space. Government spending and consumption too needs to grow. But the economy has shown some innate recovery as evidenced in the 11 percent year-on-year jump in capital formation. This growth can extend further given the low interest rates and the deleveraged balance sheets of companies and cleaned up books of banks. But for capital formation to climb sustainably, private consumption needs to surge.

This requires some of the capital to be invested in construction and services which are more labour intensive. Job growth can spur private consumption which is the second important engine that needs to fire for the economy to grow. It’s possible India makes it to double digit growth in FY22, unless, like CEA Krishnamurthy Subramaniam said, the virus has other plans.
But for sustained 7 percent growth thereafter, we have to persist with job creation and skilling.

To read other articles by Latha Venkatest, click here

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Wall Street: How S&P 500, Dow Jones, Nasdaq, and Russell 2000 fared on Tuesday

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The US stock markets fell on Tuesday after Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the central bank will consider halting its bond purchases meant to lower long-term rates sooner than expected.

The concerns over omicron variant that it would hit the global economy also dampened the investors’ appetite. Short-term Treasury yields rose as investors moved up expectations for a Fed rate hike.

On Tuesday:

The S&P 500 fell 88.27 points, or 1.9%, to 4,567.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 652.22 points, or 1.9%, to 34,483.72.

The Nasdaq fell 245.14 points, or 1.6%, to 15,537.69.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 43.07 points, or 1.9%, to 2,198.91.

For the week:

The S&P 500 is down 27.62 points, or 0.6%.

The Dow is down 415.62 points, or 1.2%.

The Nasdaq is up 46.03 points, or 0.3%.

The Russell 2000 is down 47.03 points, or 2.1%.

For the year:

The S&P 500 is up 810.93 points, or 21.6%.

The Dow is up 3,877.24 points, or 12.7%.

The Nasdaq is up 2,649.41 points, or 20.6%.

The Russell 2000 is up 224.05 points, or 11.3%.

-With agency inputs

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Twitter prohibits sharing of personal photos, videos without consent

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Twitter Inc said on Tuesday it will not allow sharing of personal media such as photos and videos on its platform without the consent of the person.

The social media company’s privacy policy already prohibits sharing of other people’s private information such as phone numbers, addresses and IDs.

“When we are notified by individuals depicted, or by an authorized representative, that they did not consent to having their private image or video shared, we will remove it,” Twitter said in a blog post.

The microblogging site’s co-founder Jack Dorsey stepped down as the chief executive of the company on Monday, handing over reins to its technology chief Parag Agrawal.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow