Author: BigGuy

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Dow falls 550 pts premarket on virus worries

 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average index dropped over 550 points in premarket trade on Monday as concerns surrounding the Omicron coronavirus variant seemingly affected market sentiment. United States President Joe Biden is set to address the nation on December 21 and outline the details of the government’s Winter Plan to “fight against COVID-19.” Furthermore, Senator Joe Manchin confirmed yesterday that he will not support Biden’s spending package in its current form. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined by 552 points or 1.57%, the Nasdaq 100 was 1.71% down and the S&P 500 decreased by 1.70% at 4:04 am ET.

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Health officials say omicron variant likely to cause record-high coronavirus cases, hospitalizations in U.S.

Top government health officials on Sunday warned that the United States will probably see record numbers of coronavirus cases and hospitalizations as the omicron variant spreads rapidly and forces Americans to again grapple with the dangers of a pandemic that has upended life around the globe.“Unfortunately, I think that that is going to happen. We are going to see a significant stress in some regions of the country on the hospital system, particularly in those areas where you have a low level of vaccination,” Anthony S. Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious-disease specialist, said on CNN’s “State of the Union” when asked whether the United States could see record numbers of cases, hospitalizations and deaths.Fauci described the variant as “extraordinary” in its transmissibility, with a doubling time of two to three days. It accounts for 50 percent of coronavirus cases in parts of the country, which meant it would almost certainly take over as the dominant variant in the United States, he added. “It is going to be a tough few weeks, months, as we get deeper into the winter,” Fauci said. On CBS News’s “Face the Nation,” Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, said that cases will rise steeply over the next couple of weeks and that the country could soon see 1 million new cases a day tied to the omicron variant, dramatically exceeding the record of about 250,000 new cases per day set in January. Continue reading “Health officials say omicron variant likely to cause record-high coronavirus cases, hospitalizations in U.S.”

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Shares and oil prices lower as Omicron fears hit European markets

London shares fell sharply today as the prospect of tighter Covid-19 restrictions over Christmas leads to more turbulence for European markets. The rapid spread of the Omicron variant and its impact on the global economic outlook has also weighed on oil, with Brent crude trading more than 3% lower at just above $71 a barrel.The main corporate developments involved FTSE 100 boardroom changes after mining giant Rio Tinto appointed Dominic Barton as its new chairman and GlaxoSmithKline named former Tesco boss Sir Dave Lewis as chair-designate of its consumer healthcare division. The FTSE 100 index has dived 1.7% in the latest sell-off linked to the fast-spreading Omicron variant. Demand fears meant commodity stocks were at the forefront of the slump as Anglo American, BP and Antofagasta all fell by 3% or more. The prospect of tighter travel restrictions, including bans on UK visitors to Europe, meant British Airways owner IAG fell 5% and Rolls-Royce dropped 4%. Events business Informa was the biggest top flight faller at 6% lower.The UK-focused FTSE 250 index was down 2%, taking it back to the level last seen in the summer. Upper Crust business SSP and WHSmith both fell more than 5%. Oil prices have fallen sharply and investors face another turbulent session as European markets react to the tightening of Covid-19 restrictions ahead of Christmas. The rapid spread of the Omicron variant has resulted in a fresh lockdown in the Netherlands and other countries are considering their response, including potential bans on UK travelers. Brent crude fell more than 3% to $71.17 a barrel today as traders responded to the travel ban impact on jet fuel sales.

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Oil prices drop 2% as rapid Omicron spread dims fuel demand outlook

  • Omicron threat looms over winter holidays in Europe and U.S.
  • Netherlands enters lockdown
  • U.S. drillers add oil and gas rigs for second week in a row

SINGAPORE, Dec 20 (Reuters) – Oil prices slumped 3% on Monday as surging cases of the Omicron coronavirus variant in Europe and the United States stoked investor worries that new restrictions on businesses to combat its spread may hit fuel demand. Brent crude futures fell $2.14, or 2.9%, to $71.38 a barrel by 0747 GMT while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell $2.45, or 3.5%, to $68.41 a barrel. “Today’s Asia … weak sentiment in oil prices seems to go in line with a weakness seen in the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 e-mini futures,” said Kelvin Wong, market analyst at CMC Markets. “(This is) due to fears of impending restrictions on economic activities to contain the current increasing spread of the COVID-19 Omicron variant worldwide which may increase the risk of demand slowdown.” The Netherlands went into lockdown on Sunday and the possibility of more COVID-19 restrictions being imposed ahead of the Christmas and New Year holidays loomed over several European countries. U.S. health officials urged Americans on Sunday to get booster shots, wear masks and be careful if they travel over the winter holidays, as the Omicron variant raged across the world and was set to take over as the dominant strain in the United States. Meanwhile, U.S. energy firms this week added oil and natural gas rigs for a second week in a row. Continue reading “Oil prices drop 2% as rapid Omicron spread dims fuel demand outlook”

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Omicron has extraordinary transmissibility – Fauci

NIAID director Anthony Fauci told the CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday that the U.S. will likely see record numbers of COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths in the weeks ahead due to the Omicron variant. The variant has been detected in 89 countries and experts are warning of a large winter surge due to the variant’s high transmissibility and its ability to evade immune protection. Stay on top of the latest market trends and economic insights with Axios Markets. Asked by host Jake Tapper whether the U.S. is likely to record high numbers of cases, as well as hospitalizations and deaths, Fauci said, “Unfortunately, Jake, I think that that is going to happen.” “We are going to see a significant stress in some regions of the country on the hospital system, particularly in those areas where you have a low level of vaccination,” he added. “This virus is extraordinary. It has a doubling time of anywhere from two to three days,” adding that the variant is “going to take over.” “It is going to be a tough few weeks to months, as we get deeper into the winter.”

Fauci also appeared on MSNBC’s “Meet the Press” Sunday, where he mentioned the variant’s “extraordinary capability of spreading” and that Omicron is “raging” through the world. Fauci also warned that the belief that Omicron cases might be less severe is derived from data from South Africa, where the population has had “so much experience with prior infections that it might be underlying immunity that’s making it look like it’s less severe.” “As a virus, it inherently may not be less severe,” he warned. “We have so many people in this country who are eligible to be vaccinated who have not yet been vaccinated. And that’s going to be a real problem for stress on the hospital system” Fauci added of the coming situation in the U.S.

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UK may face ‘hundreds of thousands’ of COVID cases per day – report

Tougher restrictions may reportedly soon be introduced in the face of the rapidly-spreading Omicron variant, after experts warned there are likely already hundreds of thousands of new infections every day. Stricter measures could be imposed after Boxing Day, according to a report in The Sun newspaper, which said the contingency plan had not yet been presented to ministers. Continue reading “UK may face ‘hundreds of thousands’ of COVID cases per day – report”

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The Netherlands imposes new virus lockdown

LONDON (AP) — Nations across Europe moved to reimpose tougher measures to stem a new wave of COVID-19 infections spurred by the highly transmissible omicron variant, with the Netherlands leading the way by imposing a nationwide lockdown.All non-essential stores, bars and restaurants in the Netherlands will be closed until Jan. 14 starting Sunday, caretaker Prime Minister Mark Rutte said at a hastily arranged press conference Saturday night. Schools and universities will shut until Jan. 9, he said. In what is surely to prove a major disappointment, the lockdown terms also rein in private holiday celebrations. Residents only will be permitted two visitors except for Christmas and New Year’s, when four will be allowed, according to Rutte.
Continue reading “The Netherlands imposes new virus lockdown”

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Dow tumbles 530 pts at close on tapering, virus worries

Major stock market benchmarks in the United States ended the session in the red on Friday, with the Dow Jones plunging more than 530 points amid worries regarding both the monetary policy and the spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus.Federal Reserve’s Christopher Waller and Mary Daly both expressed somewhat hawkish stances earlier during the day, while the sentiment was also negatively impacted by a rise in COVID infections, with the state of New York recording an all-time high in daily cases.

The Dow Jones dropped 1.48%, or 532 points, as the session came to a close with Goldman Sachs surrendering 3.92%. The Nasdaq 100 was concurrently down by 0.39% as NetEase dived 5.15%. At the same time, the S&P 500 lost 1.03%. Missouri-based Leggett & Platt was the index’s worst performer, with a 7.98% plummet at the closing bell.

The euro nosedived 0.84% versus the dollar, selling for 1.12383 at 3:59 pm ET.

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NY to require boosters for ‘fully vaccinated’ status

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) announced during a press conference on Thursday that she is planning to introduce legislation that includes a booster shot within the definition of being “fully vaccinated.” While the Democratic governor noted that the legislation needed to be more fleshed out and required more data to be collected, she signaled the change would happen eventually, saying that “at some point, we have to determine that fully vaccinated means boosted as well,” Hochul’s remarks come as the country begins to see an uptick of COVID-19 cases again and as health officials grapple with the spread of the omicron variant, which President Biden’s chief medical adviser Anthony Fauci warned on Thursday would likely be the dominant strain in “a few weeks.” Fauci also signaled that the omicron variant could have serious implications on hospitals, which could see a strain of resources. “Besides the toll of suffering and death which will inevitably go up if in fact we have that convergence in the winter months of flu and omicron and delta, we could get our hospital systems overwhelmed,” Fauci said. The government’s top infectious disease expert said he was more concerned about Americans who remain unvaccinated, reassuring the public that people who have already received the vaccines and boosters would be “relatively well protected, at least against severe disease.” Fauci said earlier this month that it “it’s going to be a matter of when, not if” the definition of being “fully vaccinated” changes, but he noted that the change likely was not going to happen right away.

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Joe Biden warns of ‘winter of death’ for the unvaccinated, with Omicron ‘here now and spreading’

Joe Biden issued a grim warning on Thursday as he said that unvaccinated Americans “will soon overwhelm” US hospitals and they will experience “a winter of severe illness and death”. “I want to send a direct message to the American people: Due to the steps we’ve taken, Omicron has not yet spread as fast as it would have otherwise done,” Mr Biden said at the White House following his Covid-19 briefing. “But it’s here now and it’s spreading and it’s going to increase.” “We are looking at a winter of severe illness and death for the unvaccinated — for themselves, their families and the hospitals they’ll soon overwhelm,” he said. The US president urged Americans to get their booster shots, saying it was “past time” to get one and prevent schools and businesses from shutting down. “We’re gonna protect our economic recovery. If we do this, we’re gonna keep schools and businesses open … and I want to see everyone around enjoy that. I want to see them enjoy the fact that they’re able to be in school, that businesses are open and the holidays are coming,” he said. President Biden wore his mask throughout the meeting with his coronavirus adviser Dr Anthony Fauci, and Dr Julie Ledgerwood and Dr John Mascola of the Dale and Betty Bumpers Vaccine Research Center on Thursday. His stark warnings come as Covid infections surge across the US, driven by the heavily-mutated Omicron variant of coronavirus. Omicron has accounted for nearly 3 per cent of Covid cases in the US as of Saturday, up from only 0.4 per cent the week before, according to US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The country also reached a grim milestone of 800,000 deaths from Covid-19 this week.
Continue reading “Joe Biden warns of ‘winter of death’ for the unvaccinated, with Omicron ‘here now and spreading’”