Coronavirus: Pound plunges to its lowest level in over 30 years
The SARS-CoV-2 Economy (physical distancing & good hygiene)
Thu, 2020-03-19 17:09
#202
Thu, 2020-03-19 20:53
#203
Air Canada suspends all flights into Northern BC except, coincidentally, the closest regional airport to the pipeline construction. Some things just can't be delayed.
Air Canada is suspending flights to most Northwest destinations for the month of April and redirecting all passengers through the Northwest Regional Airport in Terrace (YXT). The announcement Thursday (March 19) is part of the company’s global curtailment of flights in response to government travel restrictions and border closures world wide to limit the spread COVID-19
https://www.haidagwaiiobserver.com/news/air-canada-to-suspend-flights-to...
Fri, 2020-03-20 11:42
#204
My hunch is that the real estate market is going to take a major hit and that it will be years before stock markets rebound to where they were, although there may be a temporary bounce before the US election
Fri, 2020-03-20 15:58
#205
Unprecedented.
This Is Not a Recession. It’s an Ice Age.
No one alive has experienced an economic plunge this sudden.
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/03/quantifying-coming-recession/608443/
Fri, 2020-03-20 11:49
#206
The Coronavirus Will Be a Catastrophe for the Poor
This pandemic will be especially punishing for low-income workers, just as they were starting to reverse a generation of widening inequality.
Fri, 2020-03-20 15:01
#207
Unprecidented.
This Is Not a Recession. It’s an Ice Age.
No one alive has experienced an economic plunge this sudden.
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/03/quantifying-coming-recession/608443/
What a stupid headline. It reminds me of a line from the 1930's; What's the difference between a recession and a depression? A recession is when your neighbour loses their job while a depression is when you lose your job. All those black Americans who lost their homes and life savings in the last meltdown would beg to differ, especially since no one Quantitatively eased their financial pain.
Fri, 2020-03-20 17:40
#208
Once again tenants seem to be left out of the emergency financial assistance programs in BC How about uping your game NDP?
Fri, 2020-03-20 19:09
#209
Bail out Workers, Not Fossil Fuels, Climate Advocates Tell Trudeau
Oil execs seeking billions in support and taxes halted have Ottawa’s ear, reports say.
https://thetyee.ca/News/2020/03/20/Bail-Out-Workers-Not-Fossil-Fuels-Say-Climate-Advocates/
Sat, 2020-03-21 14:40
#210
It is going to be significantly more than that!
U.S. jobless claims may reach 2.25 million, Goldman Sachs economist estimates
Sat, 2020-03-21 14:43
#211
As Dow wipes out over 3 years of stock-market gains, here’s a warning about calling the bottom
Sun, 2020-03-22 12:35
#212
Can we learn from nations like Taiwan?
Like Taiwan, another Asian country closely linked to the coronavirus’ Chinese epicenter, Singapore has taken aggressive and innovative measures to keep the disease under control. Taiwan, which had 2.7 million visitors from China in 2019, had just 135 cases and two deaths as of Friday, versus Canada’s 846 cases and 10 deaths.
Perhaps as importantly, they have avoided the kind of mass social disruption that has wreaked havoc on the economy here. Schools, workplaces, stores and restaurants all remain open, though restrictions have slowly tightened in recent days.
In other words, they seem to have found the sweet spot between a laissez-faire “it’s just like the flu” reaction, and imposition of economically devastating lockdowns.
Both nations have concentrated on strictly isolating people who have or might have COVID-19, tightly controlling international travel and zealously pursuing those who had contact with the infected.
Sun, 2020-03-22 14:37
#213
Both nations have concentrated on strictly isolating people who have or might have COVID-19, tightly controlling international travel and zealously pursuing those who had contact with the infected.
In Canada we have planeloads of people arriving back from other countries and we seem to be leaving it up to the individual to follow the instructions they are given. I have heard of no testing procedures at airports, not even temperature scans like are common in all Asian countries battling the virus. In BC most of the cases so far have arisen from travelers returning from either China or Iran but we also had a cluster from an Egyptian tour.
If our jet setting snow birds do not stay at home completely then we will see spikes very soon. Personally I think anyone coming back into the country should be subject to a strictly monitored home quarantine protocol not a "self isolation" protocol. One is far more likely to be followed than the other.
Sun, 2020-03-22 14:41
#214
Personally I think anyone coming back into the country should be subject to a strictly monitored home quarantine protocol not a "self isolation" protocol. One is far more likely to be followed than the other.
Agreed.
Sun, 2020-03-22 14:56
#215
Yes I agree too. Both Malaysia and taiwan have a culture of opening the rules (and in malaysia strict) so social distancing and self quarantine probably works. Here we have a fuck you attitude so not so much
Sun, 2020-03-22 15:37
#216
It appears that Canadian workers are more concerned than their bosses about the safety of the community.
Lacroix said the province should expand this to construction sites, which can have hundreds of people.
“We’re not all in the exact same spot all at once but we intermingle a lot,” he said. “(We use) the same four or five bathrooms, the same two or three stairwells and entrances, and egress for the building. Everyone, not only on my crew, but everyone’s just starting to get more and more on edge.”
Lacroix added his company has done a lot to support workers after they walked out by supplying gloves and masks and porta potties exclusively for his crew. However, he said he doubted current best practices are enough to keep workers safe.
Trevor Doucette, chair of the board directors for Edmonton Construction Association, said he doesn’t think it is necessary to shut work sites down.
“There’s probably some clarity required on behalf of the premier’s office or the governing authority,” he said. “I think there is some confusion. People think an organized event covers 50 people at a job site or an office building. I don’t believe it pertains to job sites.”
Alberta Construction Association executive director Ken Gibson said companies are doing their best to address the issue, including staggering lunches and putting in hand washing stations.
https://edmontonjournal.com/news/local-news/construction-workers-covid-19/
Sun, 2020-03-22 15:42
#217
Yes I agree too. Both Malaysia and taiwan have a culture of opening the rules (and in malaysia strict) so social distancing and self quarantine probably works. Here we have a fuck you attitude so not so much
I knew this would be a problem here when it was still in China. People here haave minimal respect for the common good and seek to assert absurd levels of so called personal freedom. Many find it too difficult to understand that freedoms come in conflict and the freedow to go out and play is not above the freedom to protect public health.
The other problem is that North america has a racism that goes beyond the hostility we see in a minority. There is liekly a majority who imagine that we are so much better than the rest of the world that this just cannot happen here.
I think that in this emergency when under quarantine enforcment is important and that it could be useful to use smart phone applications to aid this.
I am not happy with fines being set amounts. Incomes are just too unequal and some might just not care if they have lots of money. I would go with fines starting at 10% of last year's income to get attention of even high earners.
Sun, 2020-03-22 19:08
#218
At least one unionized grocery chain have started paying their workers danger pay to entice them to continue coming into work.
Sun, 2020-03-22 20:01
#219
At least one unionized grocery chain have started paying their workers danger pay to entice them to continue coming into work.
They can do this in part becuase the grocery stores have shorter hours and the buying is strong so they are making money.
Sun, 2020-03-22 20:38
#220
Mon, 2020-03-23 11:31
#221
Trudeau has failed people who rent with no help for them. Sad.
Mon, 2020-03-23 13:10
#222
Trudeau has failed people who rent with no help for them. Sad.
It may be possible to convince the government to go even further on income support.
Frankly, this mixed policy is the problem. Income support to individuals would mean that mortgage support would be unnecessary. Just support the people without income and freeze business transactions like commercial rents and mortgages. There is no need to provide substantial mortgage relief for home owners if you address the income problem.
All that said landlords cannot really move to evict anyway since they cannot fill their places with others with income.
I think that we are in a new place where some of these things will be worked out shortly. There is a functionning opposition from the NDP that will propose changes as well.
Calls for a basic income are mounting.
Mon, 2020-03-23 14:55
#223
Can we learn from nations like Taiwan?
Like Taiwan, another Asian country closely linked to the coronavirus’ Chinese epicenter, Singapore has taken aggressive and innovative measures to keep the disease under control. Taiwan, which had 2.7 million visitors from China in 2019, had just 135 cases and two deaths as of Friday, versus Canada’s 846 cases and 10 deaths.
Perhaps as importantly, they have avoided the kind of mass social disruption that has wreaked havoc on the economy here. Schools, workplaces, stores and restaurants all remain open, though restrictions have slowly tightened in recent days.
In other words, they seem to have found the sweet spot between a laissez-faire “it’s just like the flu” reaction, and imposition of economically devastating lockdowns.
Both nations have concentrated on strictly isolating people who have or might have COVID-19, tightly controlling international travel and zealously pursuing those who had contact with the infected.
Taiwan has tested at one third the per capita rate of Canada
Mon, 2020-03-23 14:57
#224
Yes I agree too. Both Malaysia and taiwan have a culture of opening the rules (and in malaysia strict) so social distancing and self quarantine probably works. Here we have a fuck you attitude so not so much
Malaysia has tested at even a lower rate than the US
Mon, 2020-03-23 15:33
#225
Coronavirus Overshadows a Deadly Flu Season
The flu has killed 22,000 [in US] people so far this year and the season isn’t over.
March 20, 2020,....
With flu season still winding down, at least 144 children younger than 18 have died, a toll topped only by the 2009 H1N1 pandemic since health authorities began tracking flu data in 2004.So far this season, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recorded 36 million flu cases in the U.S., with 370,000 hospitalizations and 22,000 deaths.
As of March 7, CDC reports, "hospitalization rates in children 0-4 years old and adults 18-49 years old are now the highest on record for these age groups, surpassing the rate reported during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic."
Despite the record numbers, influenza has all but been ignored, says Dr. Roger Klein, a molecular pathologist at Yale University. "There's been very little mention of it."...
https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2020-03-20/coronavirus-...
Mon, 2020-03-23 16:01
#226
I called Telehealth yesterday about a person with shortness of breath. Told to leave number. Nobody called back. Clearly the resources are not enough. The front-line triage intended to reduce pressure on the rest of system is already failing.
Mon, 2020-03-23 16:34
#227
The US now has more than 50% of the number of China cases
Mon, 2020-03-23 16:49
#228
Unfortunately the US is going to see a large death rate because it has so little public health infrastructure. Ours is stretched to the limit on a normal basis but at least it exists.
Mon, 2020-03-23 16:57
#229
Trump in his obsession with rebuilding the economy before the election is going to try and defy science and prematurely relax physical distancing. We had better keep that border firmly closed.
Mon, 2020-03-23 17:07
#230
BC Announces $5-Billion ‘First Step’ to Ease Impact of Crisis
Cash for workers, deferred taxes, money for health care and services.
https://thetyee.ca/News/2020/03/23/BC-Announces-COVID-Coronavirus-Cash-Workers-Health-Seniors/
Mon, 2020-03-23 17:25
#231
How the Covid-19 recession could become a depression
Coronavirus is a global economic catastrophe.
Mon, 2020-03-23 18:05
#232
Left Turn
Canada’s big banks set to profit off of COVID-19 mortgage deferrals (includes petition)
Last week, Canada’s six biggest banks announced – to the relief of many – that they would start offering homeowners six-month deferrals on mortgage payments. That relief was short-lived. Just days later, stories emerged about frustrated Canadians facing “delays, confusion, and outright denials from the country’s big banks.”
Banks are offering these deferrals on a case-by-case basis. The process and eligibility criteria for deferrals have been quite secretive, with many Canadians characterizing the process as seemingly arbitrary.
On Sunday, the CBC revealed the first concrete details of RBC’s mortgage deferral program. Their source disclosed that “interest accrued from each deferred payment was being added back into the principal balance of the mortgage.”
The bank is effectively increasing its profit to offset any added risk caused by the deferrals. Under this program, Canadians would not only be increasing their debt load, but they would also face higher payments at their next renewal period.
While the details of other big banks are not as clear, both Scotiabank and BMO have also announced that interest will continue to accrue on mortgages during the deferrals. The Canadian Bankers Association, which represents Canada’s big banks, likewise released a statement clarifying that added interest would be incorporated into mortgage payments – either at the end of the deferral period or at the time of the mortgager s’ next renewal.
Peter Gorham, an actuarial expert, suggests that if you are not “desperate for the financial relief”, it would be wise to pass on these deferrals.
Mon, 2020-03-23 19:23
#233
Trump in his obsession with rebuilding the economy before the election is going to try and defy science and prematurely relax physical distancing. We had better keep that border firmly closed.
Yes he will try.
He could get overruled though by better sense if the US goes into a greater emergency in the next two weeks. I suspect that is what we will see.
Of course that still means no support for the people.
He could also use emergency powers.
Really Democrat states could move on and do statewide what he won't do. This will set up a state's rights argument that Trump will lose becuase Republicans won't defend him.
As the US provides tax cuts the states could increase taxes and provide services. The US shodl agree to disagree and move on as groups of States working together. The stalemate is not allowing the country to proceed in any direction. And why should the wealthy Democrat States do without trying to convince the poor ones that they need help? More than enough population in the parts of the US who want single payer health care to be much greater than Canadian provinces. The Democrats can block Republicans if they do not agree to let them proceed. The US is incoherent as a country. They need to let parts do their own thing.
Mon, 2020-03-23 22:22
#234
$1,000 cheque coming to British Columbians out of work due to coronavirus
https://globalnews.ca/news/6720161/coronavirus-1000-cheque-british-columbians/
Mon, 2020-03-23 23:23
#235
Coronavirus Overshadows a Deadly Flu Season
The flu has killed 22,000 [in US] people so far this year and the season isn’t over.
March 20, 2020,....
With flu season still winding down, at least 144 children younger than 18 have died, a toll topped only by the 2009 H1N1 pandemic since health authorities began tracking flu data in 2004.So far this season, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recorded 36 million flu cases in the U.S., with 370,000 hospitalizations and 22,000 deaths.
As of March 7, CDC reports, "hospitalization rates in children 0-4 years old and adults 18-49 years old are now the highest on record for these age groups, surpassing the rate reported during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic."
Despite the record numbers, influenza has all but been ignored, says Dr. Roger Klein, a molecular pathologist at Yale University. "There's been very little mention of it."...
https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2020-03-20/coronavirus-...
How many health care professionals have died or were forced to quarantine as a result of the flu this year?
Mon, 2020-03-23 23:58
#236
Coronavirus Overshadows a Deadly Flu Season
The flu has killed 22,000 [in US] people so far this year and the season isn’t over.
March 20, 2020,....
With flu season still winding down, at least 144 children younger than 18 have died, a toll topped only by the 2009 H1N1 pandemic since health authorities began tracking flu data in 2004.So far this season, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recorded 36 million flu cases in the U.S., with 370,000 hospitalizations and 22,000 deaths.
As of March 7, CDC reports, "hospitalization rates in children 0-4 years old and adults 18-49 years old are now the highest on record for these age groups, surpassing the rate reported during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic."
Despite the record numbers, influenza has all but been ignored, says Dr. Roger Klein, a molecular pathologist at Yale University. "There's been very little mention of it."...
https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2020-03-20/coronavirus-...
How many health care professionals have died or were forced to quarantine as a result of the flu this year?
No comparison. This virus kills more as a percentage of those infected. Idiots claim flu is worse ignoring that most who will get this have not yet been infected.
Tue, 2020-03-24 10:32
#237
Trump's cultists - who cares if the older people die as long as long as we get a rebound in the stock market
https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/23/politics/coronavirus-texas-social-distancing-guidelines/index.html
Tue, 2020-03-24 13:54
#238
we don't need two of these threads going. Closing.