New vaccine also ready to be rolled out by Oxford scientist..so goodbye corona!
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New vaccine also ready to be rolled out by Oxford scientist..so goodbye corona!
here it is...
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/worl...avirus-vaccine
Concert tomorrow noon on National Geographic on Sky or MTV @ 6pm
https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainmen...arstudded-cast
I think this is a real positive - business and government working together under the inspirational leadership of Rob Fyfe. Lots of cooperation, creativity and innovation.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?objectid=12325720&&ref=recommended
Indepth interview: Rob Fyfe - prepare to live in a Covid-19 world
"I'm talking to businesses all the time who are, in some ways, almost ahead of government in terms of thinking how can they can operate their businesses and maintain social distancing, make sure they have early detection systems for anyone that may be exhibiting the most mild of symptoms."
"I personally think whenever we get out of lockdown, it will be far faster than it would have been if we'd waited another week or two to go in. I think we're seeing evidence of that in other countries in Europe and so on. So full marks to the Government for being bold."
Fyfe has been energised by the willingness of New Zealand businesses to step up and help the national effort. "I've press-ganged a whole lot of people to assist," he says. "I've been amazed at the level of goodwill
Another good article this time by Rob Campbell saying this is an opportunity to rethink how we want New Zealand to be in the future. It is a chance for some new thinking and innovative ideas to make New Zealand a better place for everyone. Out of crisis comes opportunity. I like that he says "there's no-one more socialist than a businessman who has had his business go bad. The hand goes out to Government pretty quickly."
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12325269
Covid 19 coronavirus: No going back to the old economy so be careful how you spend taxpayer cash: Rob Campbell
The honeypot of Covid-19 Government cash could be tempting companies to make distorted and value-destroying decisions in a misguided rush to recreate the "old" economy, warns business leader Rob Campbell.
And the chairman of Tourism Holdings, SkyCity Entertainment and Summerset Group says he'd prefer most of that taxpayer-funded honey go to supporting businesses and families at "the bottom of the pile" rather than infrastructure building under some trickle-down economic theory.
"Most of the pain of the lockdown and the transition out of lockdown will be felt by people at the bottom of the pile socially and economically," says Campbell.
"Immortalise NZ's hero of quarantine and grab yourself a sweet tee or tote bag,"
https://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/f...omfield-tshirt
Maybe positive or negative :scared:
"They suggested a solution to the company, that each man teamed up with his wife, fulfilling the company's safety requirements, the government lockdown measures and merging work and home bubble, thereby keeping risk of infection low."
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/bet...hiring-bubbles
A tax break verses a tax handout - seems like a neutral proposition and one could use either method to achieve the same result.
The problem with tax breaks is that the benevolent dictator doesn’t get to decide who gets the money.
In this global wealth shift we are trying to move wealth from the masses to the few. To achieve our end goals we need to get rid of the middle class, create one world currency (it won’t be bitcoin but it will be digital), and then one world Government.
But hey, I am off to put on my tinfoil hat and sit in the corner for a while.
Can not do a tax break...the crown needs revenue. It is easier to borrow n pay low interest n do a hand out so economy can recover faster.
But.... problem with hand out ... people is always crying poor....greed..
Well, just in case you missed it - they talk about earliest autumn - and this is Northern hemisphere autumn. At least 6 months to go.
Trump and the dumbest of his followers yelling for Corona infections will only need one more month to turn the US like Spain, Italy or France into a huge morgue, but this might be actually good news. These rallies inevitably will spread the virus and I assume its mainly Trump supporters going there.
Social distancing in Trumpland: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/18/u...y-at-home.html
True. But it is big corporations that will collect the majority of bailout money, thousands of small businesses and people who have invested in property and the like that will go to the wall. Last time they bailed out AirNZ for example put other small national carriers under because they couldn’t compete with a taxpayer funded loss making entity.
Ok so jacinda has (by the looks of it) steered us out of the nightmares of this virus,and I think most people will agree that she has done a good job.
But a little like churchill after WW2 is she the right person going forward,remember her ministers have shown themselves to be pretty inept,and the financial rebuild is something we can't afford to get wrong.Is it time for John Key to step up again?
Easy to cast aspersions with such sweeping statements as 'all her ministers have shown themselves to be pretty inept'.
But as well as Jacinda Adern who has shown herself to be an outstanding leader, ministers like Grant Robertson, Andrew Little, David Parker, Chris Hipkins & Tracey Martin from NZF are all exceptionally dedicated, informed & highly competent ministers. Don't mean to exclude others, but those are just my picks.
I like John Key but unfortunately a lot of indicators (housing, income inequality, health, infrastructure, loss of valuable people in public sector, ballooning dependence & costs in private consultancy, transparency etc) were going in the wrong direction by the end of National's last term. Even Simon Bridges acknowledges & disassociates himself from some of those failings now.
"Coronavirus: 'Cartels are scrambling' as Covid-19 hits global drug trade"
https://www.stuff.co.nz/world/121121...bal-drug-trade
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/...ectid=12326015
Rich people are flowing to NZ...that will make our assests even higher!
Richbwill bring their money here...buying houses...shares....etc
Wonder what the %ages are for NZ
@hedgeye
"No question Millennials are entering this economic crisis with less wealth than earlier generations had at the same age. In 1990, when Boomers were early/mid-30s, they owned 21% of US wealth. In Q4 of 2019, Millennials owned 2.7%."
via @HoweGeneration
They have to buys our bonds first to be eligible to get resident...then left over money to house then shares
Only 9 cases..all community testing is negative...so alert 3 here we come! At least for a week then alert 2 after Anzac
Well Robertson has to do something otherwise risk losing a substantial part of the tax base with
the damage likely to escalate further, with reduced trade for those businesses left still standing
but wondering what fraction of trade will be left for them on the other side
We all know where that will go, before any sign of improvement becomes visible
It's all very well loading all the displaced & newly unemployed into reskilling & retraining programs
& into Govt Sector - but who is paying for that ?
The Taxbase left standing will only take so much of hiking up tax collect & any other Labor BS
thrown at them by a Govt trying to fill a gaping hole spread over a substantially reduced bunch
of victims, before they start throwing their hands up & potentially tossing more on to the heap
for Govt Life Support & retraining / reallocation.
Tell me that the analysis is being too harsh by all means, but this present Govt had a good number
of further options when they saw what was happening in earlier C-19 days and did very little
effectively at that point, so have aided and abetted a deepening of the Economic Crisis
on the country.
The Mission should have been to stem the source of the problem, contain & quarantine it while it was
at very minimal levels capable of control and most importantly at all costs "DO NOT BITE the HAND THAT
FEEDS" and "DO NOT NEEDLESSLY DAMAGE THE ECONOMY"
There are a considerable number of glaring fails in Govt's handling of the whole thing at an early enough point
The Labor Govt have dug their own deep ditch through their failure to act effectively & soon enough and when grim reality
of their failings sinks in, they will likely wear the consequences of this for a long time
Sweden could have 'herd immunity' by next month.Restaurants, cinemas, gyms, pubs, and shops remain open.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8233783/Sweden-herd-immunity-month-claims-infectious-diseases-chief.html
Quite nonsensical statement. I think it shows that their politicians are quite out of their depth and now fighting for their political life, given that the death rates in Sweden are much higher than in the neighbouring Scandinavian countries which did lock down.
But still - only roughly 1 % of Swedes so far gained immunity. For herd immunity they need more than 60%.
Given that to date it was 1,580 deaths in Sweden (to reach 1% immunity) they can look forward to kill another roughly 93,000 Swedes to get there.
But it looks like they do their best: Swedens death rates as well as new infections are rising without any peak in sight, but it will take longer than next month to get to the desired herd immunity.
And it will take decades to analyse the results. There is no doubt an economic shutdown will add suicide, domestic violence, murder, stress induced heart attacks and strokes etc. to their death toll. But this effect won't be known for many years. And the cost will be the lives of young and middle aged, as opposed to the aged who are currently the victims. So in terms of years of life lost - nobody knows the answer. But it can't be assumed, on available figures, that Sweden has it wrong.
I don't get how either herd immunity or a vaccine will work.
Covid 19 is related to the common cold, right?
There is no herd immunity with the common cold - we all get it from time to time.
There is no vaccine for the common cold.
If it were so easy, why don't we have herd immunity and a vaccine for the common cold?
this article claims there is no link to the common cold:-
https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-f...-idUSKBN2142MC
They say the common cold could have been wiped out years ago if the pharmaceutical companies didn't make a fortune from associated medicines to relieve the symptoms
Actually - we are immune against the cold strains we experienced ... it is just that most (well, all successful) cold viruses tend to mutate quite fast into new strains nobody is immune against.
My understanding is that it appears so far that the Coronavirus causing COVID 19 seems to mutate less frequently ... but obviously, it is too early days to be certain.
So - you are right, there is clearly a risk that there never will be a vaccine or herd immunity, but it is not a certainty.
BTW - only roughly 40% of common colds are caused by Corona viruses, roughly 60% are caused by Rhino viruses.
Reserve bank are looking at dropping the 20% deposit for new home buyers,this will help the people who still have a job,and have not had to take a pay cut.
People helping people
How can you help?
Honey
https://www.stuff.co.nz/timaru-heral...+23+April+2020
Meat the need
https://meattheneed.org/
Come now do you not remember the first house you bought,that sense of satisfaction at actually owning your own home.Prices can go up but if you are on the property ladder so what.I paid $49K for my first home would it have mattered if it was $55K no it wouldn't as long as I could afford the mortgage.
Sign we are going inflate our way out of this.Using inflation to pay our way out
“if it jams, force it – if it breaks, it needed replacing anyway”,
https://thespinoff.co.nz/food/25-04-...+25+April+2020
From what I read, the main problem is way too many food outlets for the size of our population. Supply & demand.
She says, NZ has over 100,000 food outlets. So lowering customers expectations & increasing the customers bill seems a strange way to go about fixing things.
Overseas visitors often comment how expensive food in cafes & restaurants here is already.
Rhys Darby locked up in Matakana
The Alone Rangers
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTv...R67H47IyYK1lWA
Telecoms in NZ have worked remarkably well. Online meetings with places like Australia are often noticeably lower quality than other places.
Calls to poison hotlines increases
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/new...ectid=12327681
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/121...rd-high-of-58b
"New Zealand exports reached a new record in March, helped by a "bumper" kiwifruit harvest and high prices for meat and dairy products, Statistics NZ has reported.
Exports in March were up 3.8 per cent on a year ago at $5.8b, eclipsing the previous record set in May last year.
Preliminary data previously released by Statistics NZ suggests record exports will not have continued into April, with exports falling below 2019 levels during the first two weeks of April, but still up on 2018.
But the preliminary also showed imports declining further during the level 4 lockdown, to levels last seen in 2018, meaning the continuation of a strong trade surplus."
Yeah, I've been keeping an eye on the stats nz reports. They're quite deceptive recently.
The most recent one suggested that things weren't that bad, but if you scrutinized the data, they mixed it with stats prior to the lockdown.
Take care, especially with second hand interpretations of the data.
Think LOCAL...
Bring your manufacturing home...
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/pro...nomic-recovery
Morgan & Stanley see the Covid-19 effect on the world economies beginning to 'bottom-out."
Now if only that were true!
Read it here.
Yes, unfortunately their differences today, are purely theoretical and ideological. They both cow tow and pander to big business and
both throw money with impunity at welfare beneficiaries and other sectors which suck off the capitalist system, such as bloated
government bureaucracies.
In good virus news wont it to be interesting to see if anyone gets a cold between 25Mar and end of level3. Might put to rest the annoyingly believable theory that you get a cold when you get cold.
Barron's Headlines
"Gilead Science’s investigational antiviral remdesivir–proved effective against the Covid-19 virus in initial clinical trials–is being closely watched by the world. After receiving the U.S. Food & Drug Administration’s emergency authorization last week, the company said the drug could be available to U.S patients as soon as this week. Now, the bio-pharma company is looking to expand that supply globally."
Remdesivir helps the recovery time for the patient by a few days, what else? havnt i kept up.
I know what the ratings are, and what they were. I do not recall 'rightfully pointing to a downward trend'. I simply pointed out the folly of goiung by what you hear, as opposed to reading a survey result, unless what you heard is from a sizeasble sample; say around 1000. And please don't call me friend. That is a patronising term used frequently by those TV preachers and clowns like Billy Graham.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/a...ectid=12331869
Lessons from lockdown: The changes we'll keep.
Many people found lockdown gave them a chance to reflect and realise what is important, and some of the best things in life are free – family, friends, nature.
“Having fewer choices is freeing. My pre-Covid life was so busy and so full of choices and so full of things that I needed to control, things that I needed to juggle. Lockdown just removed all of those choices and all of that responsibility, or most of it anyway. Lockdown has seen me be the most mentally well I've been in a long time. It forced me to see what is nurturing and nourishing for me.”
· Homeschooling has taught us so much about our kids
· Kicking bad spending habits
· I'm so grateful for school
· My work is not my identity
· Nature is everything
Stats nz website can answer that for you. Look for electronic card spending stats
I guess you are absolutely in your right to point out that roughly 44% of all US American voters according to this survey are either brain dead dumb or just malicious - same as the idiot in the white house they are supporting. This seems to be however a mental state which predates the Coronavirus by years, and so I fail to understand why you stress this tragic fact on the "POSITVE effects of the corona virus" thread?
This is just sad, it is neither positive nor an effect of the Coronavirus - unless you are saying that the Americans bread this virus already in or pre 2016 and unless you welcome the fact that such a large proportion of the US American population are either idiots or malicious and happy to destroy their own country. Do you?
If yes - I heard Trump recommends bleach injections and large doses of Malaria medication ... wouldn't it be a positive effect of the Corona virus if his followers would follow his advise?
This won't last. We live in a consumerised society, where a huge proportion receive self-gratification from buying slickly marketed low-quality goods that they believe they are purchasing for a bargain. Witness the mass hysteria when high-end stores like the Warehouse, KMart, Briscoes etc. flung open their doors.
I can confirm having not been buying any coffee or smashed avo on toast i'm now a millionaire, who would've thought. Pity about the economy and record numbers out of work, can't win 'em all i guess.
Wow - what a picture:
Attachment 11621
US clearly leading the world in terms of Corona infections. Trumpy dumpy must be proud how sick he made his people. Most corona cases in the world ...
Just amazing - dumb people love him ...
The Government is introducing new exemptions to the Building Act in a move to save homeowners $18 million in consenting costs each year, though building work must still meet the Building Code, Minister for Building and Construction Jenny Salesa announced today.
Single-storey detached buildings up to 30 square metres – such as sleep-outs, sheds and greenhouses; carports; awnings; water storage bladders and others will now not require a Council-approved building consent, which will result in 9000 fewer consents to process a year.
https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/...ostly-consents
Jacqui Graham, the joint chief executive of The Wise Group, one of New Zealand’s largest charities, told the Epidemic Response committee that her sector did not want to go back to the way things were before Covid-19.
“The standout for us throughout this period is the change in our relationship with government, DHBs and ministers,” she said. “Put simply, the change is so significant that as an organisation and sector, we don’t want to go back to how it was before Covid … now we have a high trust environment, there’s a new respect and collegiality, we get things done really quickly, together, and all the barriers, red tape and mindless activities have been removed.” She noted that government employees favoured this system to, and that allowing it to continue in the future would allow more frontline employees to do their jobs, rather than be caught up in administration.
Graham also noted that her people have not had difficulties obtaining the PPE they needed, but there had been frustrations with their dealings with the 14 DHBs, who had “14 different ways of operating”.
https://thespinoff.co.nz/society/30-...es-be-tracked/
"Imports in April 2020 had their biggest fall since October 2009, resulting in a monthly trade surplus of $1.3 billion, Stats NZ said today"
https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU20...ay+27+May+2020
I don't think that positive for exporters though if $NZ rises
One of the potential benefits of the Coronavirus crisis is an opportunity to look at reform, what isn’t working, what to change, how to change?
If there’s one thing the coronavirus fiascos show, it’s the need for radical change. Britain's claims to being a functioning democracy are only skin deep.
As the government blunders from one disaster to the next, there seem to be no effective ways of holding it to account.
The great majority of money for the Conservative party comes from a small number of very rich people. Just five hedge fund managers have given it £18m over the past 10 years. The secretive Leader’s Group grants big donors special access to the prime minister and his frontbenchers in return for their money. Courting and cultivating rich people to win elections corrupts our politics, replacing democracy with plutocracy.
Our political system has the outward appearance of democracy, but it is largely controlled by undemocratic forces. We find ourselves on the wrong side of the portcullis, watching helplessly as crucial decisions are taken about us, without us.
https://www.theguardian.com/commenti...s-public-power
We must not let this opportunity for reform pass. The likelihood remains that Australia will return to a well-worn “business as usual” as the pandemic recedes. Privileged groups will continue to prosper; little progress will be made on climate change; ordinary citizens will continue to feel they have little say in how the country is really run. While nobody should welcome this, the current state of our democracy – our political economy, if you like – makes it hard to bet on any other outcome.
Our prime ministers and premiers wield far less power than most people believe. They are not the only, or even the most, powerful actors in Australian policymaking. They’re simply the final link in a chain, albeit the point at which influence is most intensely targeted.
Instead, power is distributed across multiple actors – business leaders, media, unions, peak bodies and political factions in addition to the individual political leaders. Most leaders today operate a never-ending mental calculus of how they accommodate the competing demands of these groups in a way that will extend their period of office. Simple as that.
The group of actors who have been able to influence political leaders has narrowed dramatically. Those who currently hold most sway over leaders’ behaviour are big business, the media, unions and internal political rivals, with Coalition governments weighting business interests and Labor favouring union ones.
https://www.theguardian.com/commenti...r-the-pandemic
If nothing else this has been a great time for reflection. Stand back, take a good hard look at ourselves as individuals and as nations. Will we learn, can we change.
I suspect not.
This desription of the Australian democracy could be transposed onto any democratic or semi democratic regime of the last 2500 years. Competing interests jostling for attention and power. A number of groups mentioned are there to represent the average Joe. Whether they do it well or not is another question.
It's a long way from perfect and in need of continual tweaking, but given that the alternatives are an iron fist or mercifully a benign dictator, we should be careful what we wish for.
Many agendas will be pushed emerging from the pandemic. We will need to remain watchful that our civil liberties are not trodden under the feet of supposed equality. Equality of Opportunity does not mean Equality of Outcome and to force it to become so has never ended well.
Good article by Liam Dann, "Government has the right formula for the path forward." https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/...ectid=12337391
The closing sentence... "It's a difficult balancing act but one that, so far, seems about right." Pretty much sums up my feelings right now.
We need to focus and increase Equality of Opportunity, because it is not a level playing field and becoming more tilted in favour of the haves.
Many groups of people have privilege which is often invisible to them. It helps if your parents were white, well-off professionals; your chances of succeeding are much higher than someone whose parents are working class Maori. It is unearned privilege.
Unearned privilege is a tailwind. Those who benefit from this tailwind are making headway. Unseen forces make each of their efforts count. Because the tailwind is invisible, it is easy to assume that individual effort alone is what is producing that progress.
Structural disadvantage is a headwind. Unseen forces are working against them, each effort exhausts and moves them forward little. You can see others sailing past, revelling in their success and oblivious to the prevailing wind.
No, there is nothing wrong with being white. But it comes with unearned privilege which makes progress through the world easier.
https://thespinoff.co.nz/politics/01...-of-privilege/
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/mon...-how-to-invest
One big positive from the lockdown - more NZers used the time to learn to invest (hopefully wisely).
And what a great start for them in the last 2 months - they certainly left the professionals in the dust.
But now comes the hard part - do they stay the course, take their profits or do a bit of both?
This was another massive positive.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/121...-nospend-april
That could be great news. If the punters can keep that up that is $200 million a year in interest saved. It was interesting in the Turners communication that they said arrears were down. Easier to track down people during lock-down, less money being spent on petrol and presumably booze and takeaways meant that car payments could be caught up on.
American stocks seem happy.DOW, NASDAQ etc ... Should be Greens all round tomorrow. Long term looks grim though. NASDAQ now close to its ATH .