And junk cell phone calls. Its so annoying when you’re working from home and you don’t know if a colleague is calling vs SPAM!
A lot of skiers and ski resorts, in a ski season.
@suzyQ7 , do you have caller ID? I already worked from home a lot (now doing it all the time), and I’m able to identify most of the junk phone calls by the number. Still annoying when the phone rings but at least I know when not to answer.
Legal cannabis industry sees record sales as customers facing coronavirus crisis stock up
Steven DeAngelo has seen it all. As the so-called “father of the legal cannabis industry,” he co-founded one of the largest vertically integrated licensed cannabis businesses in California, called Harborside, with four stores and $60 million in annual revenues.
But what’s happened in the last month is something new. “We had our largest sales day ever,” he says. “Sales are up 20-25% at all locations.”
Across the country, sales are sky-high in states where legal cannabis has been declared “essential medicine” during state shutdowns, allowing stores to stay open.
BMW closes South Carolina plant
BMW announced that it plans to close its plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina, through April 12. The plant is the company’s largest in the world by volume, producing over 411,600 vehicles in 2019 and employing over 11,000 people.
BMW said the move was sooner than anticipated due to shelter-in-place orders in individual states and will adjust its plans as circumstances dictate.
Cramer: Amazon shares could shatter last month’s all-time highs after pandemic crisis abates
Amazon could be $3,000 per share in post-coronavirus world, Jim Cramer says
Amazon may be the ultimate beneficiary in the post-coronavirus world, CNBC’s Jim Cramer said, suggesting the company’s cloud unit and e-commerce business are both positioned nicely to thrive.
“I think Amazon could go to $3,000 in this market,” Cramer said on “Squawk on the Street.” That would represent a more than 37% increase over last month’s all-time high.
Since its Feb. 11 record, Amazon has dropped 11% as of Tuesday’s close of $1,940 per share. While lower, the stock has held up much better than that S&P 500, which has seen a nearly 28% decline from last month’s highs.
Negative rates come to the US: 1-month and 3-month Treasury bill yields are now negative
The coronavirus crisis has brought another first to U.S. financial markets — negative yields on government debt.
Yields on both the one-month and three-month Treasury bills dipped below zero, a week and a half after the Federal Reserve cuts its benchmark rate to near-zero and as investors have flocked to the safety of fixed income amid general market turmoil.
CNBC
I use an iPhone, and a couple months ago, I changed a setting and now unknown calls go directly to voice mail. Sanity saver. Highly recommend. I seem to recall getting prompted on the option, but I may be mis-remembering.
^ At the bottom of the page at the Johns Hopkins U coronavirus page are options for email reports/newsletters.
These are like a mini- @doschicos coming to your inbox every morning.
Already illegal, but difficult enough to enforce that lawbreakers are undeterred. Most are scams that are illegal anyway.
US auto sales expected to fall at least 15% this year due to the coronavirus
U.S. auto sales are expected to fall at least 15% this year as the country implements more aggressive restrictions to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, threatening an already-stressed autos industry, according to new research from IHS Markit.
The COVID-19 pandemic that has spread to nearly every country on the globe has forced a number of governments to implement drastic measures to slow its spread. This has posed the single biggest risk factor for the autos industry in years as consumer demand stalls, according to IHS Markit.
IHS Markit forecasts 2020 U.S. auto sales to be 14.4 million units, down by at least 15.3% year-over-year. The global auto sales forecast is expected to decline more than 12% from last year to 78.8 million units, according to IHS Markit, which would be a larger decline than the 8% drop during the Great Recession a decade ago.
[ I’m going to guess it will be more. ]
New York City hospitals are nearly ‘maxed out,’ former FDA chief says
Hospitals in New York City are nearing capacity due to an influx of coronavirus patients, former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb told CNBC.
COVID-19 has killed 192 people in New York City, according to Johns Hopkins University, but Gottlieb said that number will rise if the hospitals become overwhelmed.
“New York City hospitals right now are on the brink of what I would call being maxed out in terms of their available capacity,” he said on “Squawk Box.” “New York has another about five weeks to go for this between now and when they’re going to reach peak hospitalizations, so the fact that they’re stretched right now is worrisome.”
Almost half NYC’s coronavirus patients are under 45
Almost half, 48%, of New York City’s 15,597 coronavirus cases are under 45 years old. But an overwhelming majority of those patients are surviving, accounting for just 3% of the city’s 192 COVID-19 fatalities, according to new data from the NYC Health Department.
Parents can take comfort in this stat: zero kids have died. Children under 18 make up just 2% of the city’s cases. Men appear to be disproportionately affected, making up 56% of the cases and 61% of the deaths. The biggest outbreaks in the city are in Queens where 30% of the cases are concentrated, followed by Brooklyn, which has 28% of the cases.
CNBC
Nine European countries say it is time for ‘corona bonds’ as virus death toll rises
Nine European countries have called upon their EU counterparts to issue so-called ‘corona bonds’ — a new debt instrument that would combine securities from different European countries.
Corona bonds are a controversial issue that has been dividing the 27-country region. Conservative policymakers in countries such as Germany, the Netherlands and Austria are often wary of the idea of issuing debt together with highly indebted nations, such as Italy, Greece and Portugal.
Facebook, Microsoft partner with WHO for coronavirus hackathon
The World Health Organization has partnered with Facebook, Microsoft and several other tech companies for a hackathon to promote the development of software to take on challenges related to the coronavirus pandemic.
The #BuildforCOVID19 hackathon was announced on Tuesday and will begin accepting project submissions on Thursday. Along with Facebook and Microsoft, tech companies Twitter, WeChat, TikTok, Pinterest, Slack and Giphy are also participating. The tech companies “will be sharing resources to support participants throughout the submission period.”
CNBC
Weekly mortgage applications tank 29% as coronavirus sidelines homebuyers
An increase in interest rates, combined with a massive shutdown of the economy caused homeowners and potential homebuyers to back away from the mortgage market. Total mortgage application volume fell 29.4% last week from the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted index.
Applications to refinance a home loan, which had been surging dramatically in the last month, fell 34% for the week but were still 195% higher than a year ago, when rates were 63 basis points higher. Refinances tend to be volatile, moving weekly with interest rates.
CNBC
New Orleans is next coronavirus epicenter, catalyst for spread in south, experts say
New Orleans is on track to become the next coronavirus epicenter in the United States, dashing hopes that less densely populated and warmer-climate cities would not be hit as hard by the pandemic, and that summer months could see it wane.
The plight of New Orleans — with the world’s highest growth rate in coronavirus cases and where authorities have warned hospitals could collapse by April 4 — also raises fears it may be a powerful catalyst in speedily spreading the virus across the south of the country.
Some 70% of Louisiana’s 1,795 confirmed cases to date are in the New Orleans metro area. —Reuters
FDA green-lights self-administered COVID-19 tests
UnitedHealth Group said the the FDA has updated its guidance, allowing people to test themselves at home for COVID-19, after a study showed that self tests are as effective as self-administered tests. The hope is to reduce the burden on clinicians to perform the tests, and potentially expose themselves in the process. The health insurer completed a study of 500 patients in Washington State, finding that the self tests accurately detected COVID-19 in 90% of cases. Its partners include the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the University of Washington and Quest Diagnostics.
CNBC
[ I think there is a mistake in the first sentence ]
7 min ago
At least 11 states have reported more than 100 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday
From CNN’s Liz Stark, David Wright and Amanda Watts
At least 11 states have reported over 100 new cases of coronavirus on Wednesday, according to updates from each state’s Department of Health or state officials.
Here is the breakdown from each of these states:
New York added over 5,000 cases
New Jersey added over 700 cases
Louisiana went up 400 cases
Pennsylvania reported 276 new cases
Texas increased by 259 cases
Florida jumped over 215 cases
Georgia went up 150 cases
Ohio added 140 cases
Indiana gained 112 cases
North Carolina climbed 106 cases
Virginia added 101 cases
WHO official: “The time to act was actually a month ago”
From CNN’s Jacqueline Howard
The world should have responded to the coronavirus pandemic a month or two ago, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said during a news briefing in Geneva today.
“This virus is public enemy number one," Tedros said.
He added that health officials still believe there are opportunities to fight the virus.
“The time to act was actually a month ago, two months ago. … but we still believe there is opportunity,” he said. “This is a second opportunity, which we should not squander and do everything to suppress and control this virus. This is a responsibility for all of us — especially the political leadership is key.”
More than 10,700 National Guard members now activated for US coronavirus response
From CNN’s Ryan Browne
There are now more than 10,700 National Guard members activated around the US as part of the coronavirus response.
“Americans should know the National Guard has their backs throughout this crisis. We’re in this together, and we’ll get through this together,” said Gen. Joseph Lengyel, chief of the National Guard Bureau, in a press release.
The National Guard is helping to deliver food to hard-hit communities, supporting local emergency management agencies with response and providing transportation and assessment support to healthcare, among other things during the pandemic.
[ They’ve been building back-up hospital facilities in converted building in my state. ]
Is the check based on my 2018 or 2019 tax return?
Your questions, answered
CNN’s Phil Mattingly is answering your questions on the Senate stimulus package.
Under the plan, individuals who earn $75,000 in adjusted gross income or less would get direct payments of $1,200 each. But which tax return is that based on?
If you’ve filed for 2019, that’s what it would based off of. If you haven’t, it would be based off of 2018, Mattingly said.
WHO warns relaxing restrictions too early could cause a resurgence
CNN
The World Health Organization is warning that opening schools and businesses too early could cause a resurgence of coronavirus.
“We understand that these countries are now trying to assess when and how they will be able to ease these measures. The answer depends on what countries do while these population-wide measures are in place," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.
Speaking on Wednesday, Tedros said, “Asking people to stay at home and shutting down population movement is buying time and reducing the pressure on health systems. But on their own, these measures will not extinguish epidemics.”
“These measures are the best way to suppress and stop transmission, so that when restrictions are lifted, the coronavirus doesn’t resurge. The last thing any country needs is to open schools and businesses, only to be forced to close them again because of a resurgence,” he added.
British diplomat dies of coronavirus in Budapest
From CNN’s Jo Shelley in London
A British diplomat stationed in Hungary has died of coronavirus, the UK foreign office said on Wednesday.
Steven Dick, 37, was the deputy head of mission for Britain in Budapest. According to the statement, he died on Tuesday after contracting the virus.
“I am desperately saddened by the news of Steven’s death and my heart goes out to his parents Steven and Carol. Steven was a dedicated diplomat and represented his country with great skill and passion. He will be missed by all those who knew him and worked with him," British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said.
UK will ramp up coronavirus testing despite “global shortage” in available tests, officials say
From Nada Bashir, CNN
While Prime Minister Boris Johnson reaffirmed the government’s commitment to increasing the number of coronavirus tests carried out in the UK, Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty warned that the UK does not have “sufficient testing” capabilities to identify coronavirus cases, telling reporters during a news briefing on Wednesday that there is a “global shortage” of available tests.
“We do not have sufficient testing, and this is a global problem, because every country is wanting this new test…so there is a global shortage,” Whitty said during the daily Downing Street news briefing.
“The thing that we would like to do next — which would certainly make a difference, less to the disease, but definitely to the NHS — is being able to test NHS staff and the critical workers who are self-isolating, who currently are not being tested because we do not have sufficient tests,” Whitty added.
Speaking alongside the chief medical officer, Prime Minister Boris Johnson asserted that the UK is “massively ramping up” its nationwide testing program, and will continue to increase the number of tests carried out each week.
“We have done many more tests than most other European countries. The priority should be, and will be, getting those tests to our frontline staff in the NHS, and we are going to that as quickly as we can,” Johnson said.
“The most important thing to enable us to get through it well together, and to come out well together, as I know we can, is for us all to follow the instructions that the government has given: stay at home,” the prime minister urged, telling reporters that the country is “coping very well indeed under the most challenging” circumstances.
How and when do I get my check?
Your questions, answered
CNN’s Phil Mattingly is answering your questions on the Senate stimulus package.
Mattingly says you don’t need to apply in order to receive a check — but the question of when they go out could be a little trickier.
Here’s how he put it:
“President Trump and the Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin have targeted April 6. Tax experts (and lawmakers working on this) are very skeptical of that date. There’s no question they want – and need to turn this around – ASAP. Treasury has a lot of work ahead of it.”
Study links cardiac injury among hospitalized Covid-19 patients to greater risk of death
From CNN’s Jacqueline Howard and Gina Yu
Evidence is emerging that injury to the heart may be a common condition among people hospitalized with Covid-19, according to a new study, and it’s linked to a greater risk of death for those patients.
The study, published in the medical journal JAMA Cardiology on Wednesday, found that among a group of 416 adult Covid-19 patients hospitalized in Wuhan, China, 82 patients — 19.7% — had cardiac injury. The death rate was higher among patients with cardiac injury versus those without: 42 of the patients with cardiac injury died — 51.2% — versus 15 of those without cardiac injury, or 4.5%.
Cardiac injury, sometimes also referred to as myocardial injury, occurs when there is damage to heart muscle and such damage can occur when blood flow to the heart is reduced —vwhich is what causes a heart attack.
Though the study showed cardiac injury is a common condition among patients hospitalized with Covid-19, it did not indicate whether Covid-19 directly causes cardiac injury. The authors state the mechanism of cardiac injury among these patients with Covid-19 remains uncertain, and more evidence is needed to demonstrate Covid-19 directly injures the heart.
Another key “is the potentially important long-term issue," said Brooks Gump, the Falk Family Endowed Professor of Public Health at Syracuse University in New York, who was not involved in the study. “Many patients who pull through may still have cardiac injury and associated long-term cardiovascular issues as a consequence of Covid-19 infection.”
US Congress aiming to spend billions to develop coronavirus vaccines and countermeasures
From CNN’s Nicky Robertson and Zach Cohen
The Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund is allocated more than $27 billion in a draft of Congress’ stimulus bill obtained by CNN.
This fund would be used primarily to: develop countermeasures and vaccines, platform-based technologies with US manufacturing capacity, purchase of vaccine therapeutics diagnostics, medical supplies and surge medical capacity. The provision would allow the Health and Human Services Secretary to buy the necessary amount of vaccines, in accordance with FDA guidelines on fair pricing.
This draft bill details that the Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund could be used to reimburse the Department of Veterans Affairs if the department is forced to act as an emergency health care provider to civilians. These funds will only be used to reimburse the Department of Veterans Affairs. It certifies to Congress that the money is needed to cover costs related to VA care for civilian patients.
This appears to be the first formal step taken by the VA and Congress to prepare for the possibility that the department may be called upon to act as an emergency healthcare provider for Americans.
Deleted.
You know what? There’ll be another pandemic sometime down the road. No guidance is “useless.”
That’s a good point.
I deleted the post.
Will homeless people qualify for a check? I assume many or most panhandle for money for food, and I assume that isn’t allowed anymore.
Pentagon modeling shows pandemic likely to “continue to grow”
From CNN’s Barbara Starr and Michael Conte
A top US military medical official said the Pentagon’s modeling shows the pandemic is likely going to “continue to grow” in the next three weeks, the farthest out he said they were able to model, despite President Trump’s comments that he wanted the country “opened up” by Easter.
“We think the best way to limit that growth, or mitigate that growth, are to limit the measures that we’ve been talking about,” Joint Staff Surgeon Brig. Gen. Paul Friedrichs told reporters at the Pentagon on Wednesday. “I don’t think there’s a great deal of value in speculating on a particular day.”
Friedrichs further warned, “If we stop doing the right thing today, because we think something is going to happen in four weeks, we will make this worse. What we need to do is focus on what we individually and collectively can do today to mitigate this outbreak.”
“It’s a worrisome narrative when we try to say there’s some reason that we should question the guidance that’s being given out, or there’s some reason why we should pull apart a shared approach to this,” Friedrichs said. “I don’t think it matters what day things start to get better. What matters is what we’re doing right now to mitigate this outbreak.”