Economy
Anatomy Of The $2 Trillion COVID-19 Stimulus Bill (CleanEnergyFan)
To help right the ship, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act — also known as the CARES Act — was passed by U.S. lawmakers last week with little fanfare. The act became the largest economic stimulus bill in modern history, more than doubling the stimulus act passed in 2009 during the Financial Crisis.
Today’s Sankey diagram is a visual representation of where the $2 trillion will be spent.
National coronavirus response: A road map to reopening (Sparky1)
In each phase, the authors outline the steps that the federal government, working with the states and public-health and health care partners, should take to inform the response. This will take time, but planning for each phase should begin now so the infrastructure is in place when it is time to transition.
The US 2020 Fiscal Deficit Will Explode To 18%, Unseen Since World War II (CleanEnergyFan)
Even before the coronavirus outbreak, the post-GFC global economy had been facing the triple challenge of demographics, debt and disinflation (the 3D Challenge we have written about previously), which the world last faced in the 1930s. At its core, the outbreak represents a substantial shock to incomes, and the impact on aggregate demand will ultimately create renewed disinflationary pressures. The debt challenge will also become more pronounced in the near term as nominal GDP growth weakens and nations, households and corporates face rising levels of indebtedness. Taken together, we expect these forces to bring the 3D Challenge back to the fore.
Would everyone wearing face masks help us slow the pandemic? (Alex V.)
Even experts who favor masking the masses say their impact on the spread of disease is likely to be modest. Many are also afraid to promote mask buying amid dire shortages at hospitals. But as the pandemic wears on, some public health experts think government messages discouraging mask wearing should shift.
CDC considering recommending general public wear face coverings in public (Sparky1)
That may change. Officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are considering altering the official guidance to encourage people to take measures to cover their faces amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to a federal official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because it is an ongoing matter of internal discussion and nothing has been finalized.
Trump administration sent protective medical gear to China while he minimized the virus threat to US (Mike F.)
Yet the same day as the WHO warning, the Trump administration announced that it was transporting to China nearly 17.8 tons (more than 35,000 pounds) of “masks, gowns, gauze, respirators, and other vital materials.” As Secretary of State Mike Pompeo noted in the press release announcing this shipment, “These donations are a testament to the generosity of the American people.”
Her research could have implications for the global COVID-19 pandemic, though measures called for by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization call for six and three feet of space, respectively.
What Americans Don’t Understand About Masks (Epictetus)
My only personal experience with masks was in the army. In Basic Training, every soldier is issued a gas mask. And we’re trained to use that and other gear to protect ourselves from toxic environments stemming from chemical or biological warfare.
The lesson: Sometimes environments are hazardous. We wear masks to protect ourselves from these hazards.
You Asked: Does Washing My Clothes Kill All the Germs? (Larry S.)
It’s the dryer—not the washing machine—that lays waste to harmful microorganisms. “High heat drying for at least 28 minutes is the most effective way to kill viruses,” Reynolds says. The “high heat” setting is key. Energy efficient, low-heat settings may not get the job done, she says.
How sick will the coronavirus make you? The answer may be in your genes (Alex V.)
Ganna heads up a major effort to pool COVID-19 patients’ genetic data from around the world. The idea “came quite spontaneously” about 2 weeks ago when “everyone was sitting at their computers watching this crisis,” says Ganna, who is also affiliated with the Broad Institute, a U.S. genomic powerhouse.
Hospital treatment of COVID-19 with high-dose Vitamin C (Mirjam P.)
Video
China Shuts Down All Cinemas, Again (John M.)
The phased reopening of China’s vast network of 70,000 movie screens had promised a rare bright spot on the global distribution map, given that cinemas are shuttered in virtually every other major market around the globe, including North America, Europe, Japan and elsewhere. Beijing’s decision to reclose — or stay closed — was met with dismay by stakeholders throughout the Chinese industry.
‘Vaccines won’t work’: US virologist breaks down COVID-19, how to curb spread (Colleen RN)
Lessons learned from Dr. Djaballah about the COVID-19, caused by the SAR-CoV2 virus, can be summed up in several notes. Check out the video interview with Dr. Djaballah for more in depth.
Goodbye, Green New Deal (thc0655)
For years, we’ve been hearing, “This is climate change” and “That is climate change,” every time there’s a flood or a storm. If that’s the fact, then climate change is, relatively speaking, manageable. There is no way Americans—or people around the world—are going to agree to endure anything like the current economic downturn in order to prevent problems of that nature.
Funerals are the latest part of American life to move online (Sparky1)
Ahead of the service, St. Helens Roman Catholic Church in Phoenix, Arizona, informed the family that attendance should be kept to a minimum due to the outbreak. Isabel Galindo’s three children and their spouses, along with three of her 11 grandchildren, went in person. Garrett’s father used his iPhone on a tripod to broadcast the service online from his private Facebook account.
Indian police fire tear gas at jobless workers defying coronavirus lockdown (Sparky1)
Many have been walking for days, some with families including small children, on deserted highways with little access to food or water.
On Sunday, about 500 workers clashed with police in the western city of Surat demanding they be allowed to go home to other parts of India because they had no jobs left.
Macy’s, Kohl’s, Gap turn to mass furloughs as virus crisis deepens (Sparky1)
Kohl’s also said it would suspend its share repurchase program, evaluate its dividend plan and draw down $1 billion from an existing credit line, joining a growing list of companies seeking to shore up their cash reserves to weather the financial hit from the health crisis.
“A Multitrillion Dollar Helicopter Credit Drop”: How The Fed Turned $454 Billion Into $4.5 Trillion (CleanEnergyFan)
And as usually happens with matters Fed related, the fact that the Fed received permission from the Treasury to “stimulate” by more than twice the full amount of the CARES act, flew right over America’s head. Which, if to be expected, is lamentable, because by giving the Fed a green light to inject money at will, the US government officially launched helicopter money.
Mike Krieger: “Question Everything!” (CleanEnergyFan)
The paradigm we live under depends on us not thinking too hard about how power functions. It relies on us being so busy with the basics of survival, or distracted by superficial consumerism and endless entertainment, to contemplate how the system actually works. This method of social control has been wildly successful throughout my lifetime, but what’s interesting about moments of global crises is the mask is forced off for a period. In a desperate scramble to marshal all of the corporate-imperial state’s resources to save the interests of the oligarchy, we’re shown in full color who really matters and who doesn’t.
Unpacking China’s Viral Propaganda War (CleanEnergyFan)
China is waging a propaganda war against the coronavirus on several fronts. In addition to its well-documented efforts to deflect attention from its early suppression of information about the disease and to claim that it has among all nations now halted the scourge, it is also pushing an alternative explanation of its origins—namely that it didn’t start in Wuhan after all, but was a creation of a military biochemical lab in the United States and was brought to China by an American team that competed in the Military World Games in Wuhan last October.
China Is “Fixed”: Chinese PMIs Soar Back Into Expansion, Smashing Expectations (CleanEnergyFan)
Remember the record plunge in China’s manufacturing and non-manufacturing PMI for February when the entire economy imploded as a result of coronavirus pandemic? Well, forget all about it, because in the latest farce out of Beijing, moments ago the goalseekers at the National Bureau Of Statistics came up with March PMI numbers that are so ridiculous they not only make a mockery out of all Chinese “data” reporting, but put into question absolutely everything that Beijing is officially reporting in connection with the pandemic.
Goldman: The Oil Industry Will Never Be The Same After Coronavirus (Michael S.)
The bank said last week that global oil demand could plummet by 18.7 million bpd in April, which could deepen an expected demand plunge of 10.5 million bpd for March while the coronavirus pandemic continues to claim thousands of lives and keep major economies in lockdown.
This week, Goldman sees the world’s oil consumption down by 26 million bpd, or down 25 percent compared to the typical global demand, as lockdowns and social-distancing and travel advisories now affect 92 percent of the world’s gross domestic product (GDP), Bloomberg quoted Goldman Sachs as saying.
Hydroxychloroquine Prescriptions Triple Overnight Following FDA Approval (CleanEnergyFan)
The Food and Drug Administration gave emergency-use authorization to hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for the coronavirus pandemic on Sunday. But demand for the drug backed by President Donald Trump that is typically used to treat malaria soared prior to the move, according to data from Symphony Health.
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The post Daily Digest 3/31 – Unpacking China’s Viral Propaganda War, Would Face Masks Help Slow The Pandemic? appeared first on Peak Prosperity.
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