Tuesday, April 07, 2020

Coronavirus News (34)





U.S. airlines want a $50 billion bailout. They spent $45 billion buying back their stock. it's a point that we should keep in mind every time we see companies line up at the bailout trough. If many of these companies hadn't spent lots of money to buy back their own stock to prop up its price, they wouldn't need anywhere near as much money as they need now........ From 2014 through 2019, United spent $8.57 billion for stock buybacks and paid no cash dividends. Southwest spent $8.53 billion for buybacks and $1.38 billion for dividends, for a total of $9.91 billion. American spent $11.895 billion for buybacks and $1.064 billion for dividends, for a total of $12.959 billion. Delta spent $10.08 billion for buybacks and $3.168 billion for dividends......

companies frequently borrow money to help fund buybacks. That works great to prop up their stock prices - until one day, there's a problem.

.... So yes, let's keep these companies - and other bailout candidates - out of bankruptcy. But let's make them pay taxpayers a handsome return on our loan and give us a big chunk of stock before they're allowed to send another penny to Wall Street.

Kamal Haasan pens open letter to PM Modi criticising implementation of the lockdown The President of the Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) said the common populace cannot be blamed for being ill-prepared for a crisis of this magnitude but that the Prime Minister could and would be blamed for this as

the 'strict and immediate' lockdown was 'almost demonitisation style.'

...... "You ordered an entire nation of 1.4 billion people to shut down within 4 hours," he said. "A mere 4 hour notice period for the people when you had a 4 month notice period... My biggest fear is that the same mistake of demonetisation is being repeated albeit at a much bigger scale." ...... on one hand the Prime Minister was asking the more privileged people to put up a spectacle of lights while on the other hand the poor man’s plight was becoming a shameful spectacle...... while these 'psychotherapy techniques' were being adopted to address the "first world anxiety problems of the ‘haves’ who have a balcony to cheer," what would happen to those who don’t have a roof over their heads...... "I would like to see you doing more to secure everybody’s fortress and ensure that nobody goes to bed hungry. COVID-19 will continue to find more victims but we are creating a fertile playground for

Hunger(H), Exhaustion(E) and Deprivation(D) of the poor. HED ’20

is a malady that is smaller in profile but far deadlier compared to COVID-19.It’s impact will be felt long after COVID-19 has vanished"

Coronavirus: Spain to become first country in Europe to roll out universal basic income Government plans to keep payments ‘a permanent instrument’ after pandemic is over ....... Spain is to roll out a universal basic income (UBI) “as soon as possible” to mitigate the impact of coronavirus. ....... that UBI could become something that “stays forever, that becomes a structural instrument, a permanent instrument”. ......

the restrictions would remain in place until 26 April at the earliest

. ...... Iran, which introduced a UBI programme in 2011 in the form of monthly cash transfers into individual family accounts ........ The world’s most prominent trial of UBI took place in Finland, ending in February 2019 after two years. During that period, unemployed Finns were given a monthly flat payment of €560 (£490). The researchers who led the experiment found recipients were happier and healthier, but no more likely to find employment.

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