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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Coronavirus News (33)



Coronavirus: How China’s army of food delivery drivers helped keep country going during outbreak Buying and paying for meals and supplies online was already second nature for many Chinese before the Covid-19 lockdown .... The supply and delivery networks that were already in place were able to work with the authorities in cities like Wuhan ......... “China’s powerful home delivery service makes life much easier at a time of crisis.” ....... “Home delivery played a very important role amid the coronavirus outbreak. To some extent, it prevented people from starving especially in cases when local governments took extreme measures to isolate people.” ...... All of these things have been in place for a long time and the crisis tested its agility and capability to deal with peak demand.” ....... “The surge of online demand for fresh merchandise shows the pandemic helped e-commerce providers further penetrate into the life of customers. It also helped upstream farm producers to know and trust us.” ......... prices had gone up and vegetables were three times more expensive than they had been over Lunar New Year in 2019.



Italy Is Sending Another Warning This is what a country a month into lockdown looks like: desperate, hungry and scared. ........ “As of yet, I haven’t received any government assistance. We have nowhere to turn.” ......

The first European nation to be hit hard by the coronavirus, it has become a harbinger for the rest of Europe and America.

....... The economy is in trouble, bound for a major contraction. And the precariously situated workers — self-employed, seasonal, informal — are suffering the most. It’s not clear how much longer they can survive. ........

“We don’t even know when things will go back to normal.”

....... the measures put in place by the Italian government to ameliorate the worse effects of the crisis — a moratorium on mortgages, loan repayment holidays for businesses and wage protections for those laid off — do not protect them. ...... Mr. Esposito and his family are relying on weekly food parcels from a community center. “Without their help,” he said, “we just wouldn’t have anything to eat.” ....... The government has granted a one-time payment of 600 euros, around $650, to the self-employed and to seasonal workers in the tourist sector. ...... “There are lots of people who are going hungry.

You can see that their behavior is beginning to change.”

Reports of social unrest across the region — shopkeepers forced to give away food, even some thefts — have ruffled a usually close-knit community. “The other night I caught some kids trying to break into my garage,” Mr. Gallinari said. “This is new for us.” ...........

for insecure workers across the world, the siren is ringing.














Dear Friends and Family, It’s been 15 days since being tested positive for Covid-19 (Coronavirus) and I would like to...

Posted by Shambhu Moktan on Tuesday, April 7, 2020
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