Beijing raises vigilance as local COVID cases tick higher before Winter Olympics

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

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China’s capital Beijing ramped up efforts to curb COVID-19 infections, ordering checks among cold-chain firms and urging residents to cut unnecessary gatherings, as the city reported an uptick in local cases weeks before the Winter Olympics.

Beijing had three domestically transmitted infections with confirmed symptoms on Wednesday, including one previously reported as a local asymptomatic carrier for Jan. 18, according to local health authority data on Thursday.

That compared with one local confirmed infection for Jan. 18.

The city has reported less than ten local COVID infections since Jan. 15, with both the Delta and Omicron variants detected, a tiny case count compared with the rest of the world.

However, the city and China are still working under guidelines of getting any virus flare-up under control as soon as possible. The strategy takes on extra urgency as Beijing and neighbouring Hebei province will host the Winter Olympics from Feb. 4, while the ongoing Lunar New Year travel season raises the risk of virus transmission nationwide.

The city of Beijing should immediately launch full inspections over its cold-chain industry and make the testing of staffers and goods more frequent, the city government said in a statement late on Wednesday, after some infections were found to be cold storage workers.

Residents are advised to reduce movement and unnecessary gatherings, while children, the elderly and people in weaker health should avoid crowded public places, the city’s health authority said in a statement on Wednesday.

Nationwide, China reported a total of 43 locally transmitted infections with confirmed symptoms for Jan. 19, according to a statement by the National Health Commission on Thursday, down from 55 a day earlier.

There were no new deaths, leaving the death toll at 4,636. As of Jan. 19, mainland China had 105,411 confirmed cases, including both local ones and those arriving from overseas.

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

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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

MarketBuzz Podcast With Reema Tendulkar: Sensex, Nifty50 likely to open lower; HUL, Asian Paints in focus

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

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Indian shares may open in the red on Thursday amid mixed global peers. The Singapore-based SGX Nifty Futures, an early indicator of Nifty50’s performance, indicated a negative start as it fell to 17,900, down 45 points or 0.25 percent, at 7:30 am. Among the top stocks to watch out for today are HUL, Biocon, Asian Paints, and Bajaj Finserv.

About MarketBuzz: The CNBCTV18.com podcast on the big themes, vital news and key events that you should know before the opening bell, powered by CNBC-TV18 anchors. MarketBuzz is your daily morning briefing by CNBC-TV18 research analysts and anchors Sonia Shenoy, Ekta Batra, Reema Tendulkar, Nigel D’Souza and Mangalam Maloo to kickstart your stock market investing. Subscribe to our free podcasts on Audioboom or listen on the featured podcast page on CNBCTV18.com.

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

Britain to curb marketing of crypto investments

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

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Britain’s financial watchdog said on Wednesday it planned to curb the marketing of cryptoassets and other high-risk investments, a move that comes amid a boom in crypto ads and endorsements from celebrities.

The changes would strengthen risk warnings on ads and ban incentives to invest, such as new joiner or refer-a-friend bonuses, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said.

A surge in investment scams, particularly online and via social media since the coronavirus pandemic began in 2020, has prompted the regulator to take action, such as refusing one in five licence applications from consumer investment firms in the year ended March 2021.

“We are concerned that too many consumers are just ‘clicking through’ and accessing high‑risk investments without understanding the risks involved,” the FCA said.

Also Read: US stock markets closing: How S&P 500, Dow Jones, Nasdaq, Russell 2000 fared on Wednesday

The planned rules cover high-risk investments such as cryptoassets, including cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, as well as crowdfunding, peer-to-peer agreements, mini-bonds and speculative illiquid securities.

The FCA move comes as interest in digital currencies has surged. Across the world, a growing number of celebrities have promoted crypto companies online, with some getting into trouble as a result.

Also Read: High oil prices boost commodity currencies, dollar rally stalls

Reality TV star Kim Kardashian and boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. are currently facing a U.S. lawsuit alleging the celebrities misled investors in their promotion of a cryptocurrency token.

The Spanish market regulator, meanwhile, scolded soccer star Andres Iniesta in November after he promoted cryptocurrency exchange platform Binance on his Twitter and Instagram accounts.

Spain moved this week to regulate crypto advertising, including by social media influencers.

Among other prominent figures to promote the emerging tech are the actor Matt Damon, who has fronted a campaign to promote digital asset platform Crypto.com.

‘CLEAR, FAIR AND NOT MISLEADING’

The draft rules, put out to public consultation, also prepare the ground for Britain to bring promotions of cryptoassets under the watchdog’s remit for the first time, following a finance ministry announcement on Tuesday.

The watchdog plans to categorise some cryptoassets as “restricted mass market investments,” meaning consumers can only respond to promotions if they are classed as restricted, high net worth or sophisticated investors.

“Firms issuing such promotions would have to adhere to FCA rules, such as the requirement to be clear, fair and not misleading,” it said in a statement.

Removing cryptoassets from the reach of ordinary people should go a long way to stemming the growing gamified approach to investing, said Pippa Tasker, partner at law firm CMS.

Retail investors too often follow the advice of influencers on social media without researching products or their risks, she said.

Under the proposed rules, firms that approve and publish promotions must have relevant experience and understanding of the investments offered, the FCA said. People looking to make high-risk investments would also face stricter questions on their knowledge and investment experience.

PIMFA, an industry body for financial advisers, welcomed most of the proposals, but added there was a role for high-risk investments, which were not necessarily bad despite being risky.

The FCA will set out final rules in the summer. The crackdown is part of a wider strategy to buttress consumer protection, including a proposed consumer duty on firms.

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

One year of vaccination: Great feat, scope for further improvement

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

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India completed one year of its vaccination drive last week even as the country continues to be in the grip of a third wave of pandemic. When the pandemic had hit the country, very little was known about the virus and the vaccine. But in a very short span of time, the scientists could carve a trajectory for indigenous vaccine.

India began its vaccine campaign on January 16, 2021 and the first doses were administered to its healthcare workers, fighting the battle from the front. The drive was later expanded to cover frontline workers, followed by people above 60 years of age and those above 45 years with comorbidities. Later, the vaccine coverage was also expanded to all above 45 years of age and recently to those above 18 years of age. The country started vaccinating its teenagers between the age group 15-18 on January 3, 2022.

As on January 18, more than 158 crore vaccine doses have been administered so far under the Nationwide Vaccination Drive. Around 907 million persons 15 and older have received at least one shot, 656 million two doses, while 4. 3 million a third dose. Considering the challenges — population size, remote locations and patchy healthcare infrastructure — India’s achievement in such a short time is commendable.

Amidst a surge in the number of cases, India has started giving booster doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to priority groups from January 10. Health and frontline workers besides people over 60 years of age with comorbidities are eligible for the booster.

The booster dose that has been termed as the ‘precaution dose’ will be the same vaccine that was given for the first and the second doses. As on January 18, over 50 lakh healthcare and frontline workers besides citizens aged 60 years or above have received the precaution dose.

“I salute each and every individual who is associated with the vaccination drive. Our vaccination programme has added great strength to the fight against COVID-19. It has led to saving lives and thus protecting livelihoods,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi had tweeted on the completion of one year of the vaccination drive on January 15.

India is likely to begin inoculating children in the 12-14 age groups against Covid from March. Of the estimated 7.4 crore children in the 15-18 age bracket, over 3.45 crore have already received the first dose of Covaxin.

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India has witnessed a flurry of research activities on developing the vaccine. The country has been administering two locally made vaccines — Covaxin and Covishield since the vaccination drive kicked off in January 2021. In December, India, approved two new vaccines — Serum Institute of India’s Covovax and Biological E’s Corbevax, both authorised for restricted use in an emergency situation. There are also other candidates which are in different stages of trials in India to test safety and efficacy.

The omicron variant was first discovered in South Africa in November last year. As on January 18 around 70.54 crore total tests had been conducted so far, 16,49,143 tests conducted in the last 24 hours. The daily positivity rate stands at 14.43 percent. India’s active caseload currently stands at 17,36,628. The active cases stand at 4.62 percent. More than 8,890 Omicron cases had been detected so far.

Challenging terrain

The vaccination drive has been hamstrung with several hiccups and challenges. The drive has been dotted with challenges—population, remote terrains and anaemic infrastructure.

While India had been at the forefront of child immunisation, adult immunisation of such a grand scale was an unexplored territory. Besides the logistics pinpricks, establishing a harmonious public-private partnership was a daunting task. The success of a vaccination program of this scale also required immense collaboration between the central and state governments. An effective communication strategy and a robust awareness generation programme also helped in giving the momentum to the vaccination drive.

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The vaccines require an excellent cold chain management and the transportation of the vaccines across the length and breadth of the country was mired with hurdles. The immunisation drive also required an excellent vaccine management strategy.

Way forward

Despite the robust numbers, there is still a lot of scope to build up the data regarding vaccination. This can help to develop the future vaccines for new and other emerging variants. The Indian vaccine developers should work together to build an ecosystem that can fight the future variants.

The concept of mix and match of vaccines also needs to explored broadly to give a further fillip to the drive. Communication programmes for accelerating the vaccination should also be spruced.

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

Stock Market Highlights: Sensex ends 634 pts lower, Nifty gives up 17,800; Bajaj Finserv falls 5%, Infosys 2%

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

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Stock Market Highlights: Indian equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty50 ended a volatile session on Thursday sharply lower amid broad-based selling. Weakness in IT, financial and oil & gas shares was the main contributor to the fall in headline indices, though strength in metal shares lent some support. Broader markets were also in the red but not as severely as the headline indices. The Nifty Midcap 100 and Smallcap 100 indices finished the day 0.2 percent and 0.1 percent lower. Investors awaited more financial results from India Inc for cues after Asian Paints reported its quarterly numbers.

Catch highlights of the January 20 session, and more, 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

Texas sues Google over local radio ads for its smartphones

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

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Texas’ attorney general on Wednesday sued Google, alleging the company asked local radio DJs to record personal endorsements for smartphones that they hadn’t used or been provided.

In the lawsuit filed in Montgomery County, Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton said Google engaged in false and misleading practices in violation of the Texas Deceptive Trade PracticesConsumer Protection Act.

The lawsuit says Google hired iHeartMedia in October 2019 to have its radio personalities including those in markets in the Dallas and Houston areas record advertisements for the Pixel 4, a Google-brand smartphone.

But at the time the advertisements were recorded, the lawsuit says, the phone wasn’t released yet and none of the DJs had used them. The suit says that even though iHeartMedia expressed to Google the violative nature of the advertisements” if the DJs had not used them, Google did not provide phone samples.

Google spokesman Jos Castaeda said Wednesday that they take compliance with advertising laws seriously and have policies in place to help ensure they follow regulations.

We will review the complaint but the AGs allegations appear to misrepresent what occurred here,” Castaeda said.

Paxton also sued Google in December 2020. In that lawsuit, Texas led a group of states alleging Google was running an illegal digital-advertising monopoly in cahoots with Facebook. Google, which is based in Mountain View, California, called the claims in that lawsuit meritless.

Paxton, who faces GOP challengers in his reelection bid this year, is facing a years-old criminal case and a newer FBI investigation.

He pleaded not guilty in a state securities fraud case, which has been stalled since 2015. He has broadly denied wrongdoing in the separate criminal probe launched after his then-top deputies reported him to the FBI in 2020 for alleged bribery and abuse of office.

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

High oil prices boost commodity currencies, dollar rally stalls

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

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Higher commodity prices were supporting the Canadian and Australian dollars on Thursday, while a pause in this week’s rally in U.S. Treasury yields meant the dollar also marked time.

The Aussie firmed 0.5% on Thursday extending advances the previous day. The Canadian dollar touched a touched a 10-week high on Wednesday with one U.S. dollar worth C$1.245, before paring gains, also supported by higher Canadian inflation figures.

“Overnight commodity prices were the big driver for commodity currencies, but you’ve still got the undertone that (COVID-19 variant) Omicron is not going to have a lasting detrimental impact on the global economic outlook,” said Kim Mundy, senior economist and currency strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

Governments worldwide are easing quarantine rules and reviewing coronavirus curbs as they bid to launch their economies back into some version of normality, motivated by the lower severity of the Omicron variant. That has helped commodities rally.

Also Read: US stock markets closing: How S&P 500, Dow Jones, Nasdaq, Russell 2000 fared on Wednesday

In the short term, Brent crude futures touched $89.17 on Wednesday, its highest level since Oct. 2014, supported in by a tight short-term supply outlook. Newcastle coal futures are at their highest since October. [O/R]

Elsewhere the euro continued to edge higher to$1.1347, gradually regaining some ground after having its worst day in a month on Tuesday, when the dollar caught a lift from a jump in U.S. Treasury yields.

U.S. Benchmark 10-year note yields rose to a two-year high of 1.902% early on Wednesday before pausing, and were last at 1.8611%,

The gains come as traders prepare for the United States to tighten monetary policy at a faster pace than previously thought. Fed funds futures have fully priced in a rate hike in March and four in all for 2022.

While analysts polled by Reuters expect the Fed to raise rates three times this year, starting in March, to 0.75-1.00% by end-2022, nearly half of the 86 people surveyed said they expected four hikes.

Bond yields are rising elsewhere, too. Germany’s 10-year bond yield rose above 0% for the first time since 2019 on Wednesday, providing support to the euro. [GVD/EUR]

In Britain, the two-year gilt yield rose to 0.958% on Wednesday, its highest level since March 2018, shoring up the pound. Sterling was last at $1.3622, down 0.46% on the week on the stronger dollar, but up 0.73% this month.

Overall this left the dollar index which measures the greenback against six major peers at 95.506.

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 blocks billionaire Ricardo Salinas account, citing abusive behaviour

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

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Twitter said on Wednesday it has blocked the account of Mexican billionaire Ricardo Salinas Pliego due to abusive behavior.

The social media company did not detail why Salinas had been blocked, but said on its help center that an account “may not engage in harassing situations directed at one person or incite others to do so.

“We consider abusive behavior any attempt to harass, intimidate, or silence another person’s voice,” it added.

Last week, Salinas, the owner of Banco Azteca SA bank engaged in a dispute with Mexican journalist Denise Dresser, making comments on Twitter about her appearance that the company said had violated its rules.

A spokesman for Salinas declined to comment.

Salinas said on his Telegram account that he would use his Telegram, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok accounts until he resolved the “issue” with Twitter.

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