SARS-2 Commonsense. Hell.

 Baltic Dry Index. 3255 +80   Brent Crude 76.01

Spot Gold 1781

Coronavirus Cases 02/04/20 World 1,000,000

Deaths 53,100

Coronavirus Cases 28/06/21 World 181,866,023

Deaths 3,938,862

A fool and his money are soon parted.

Thomas Tusser

Asian stock casinos are nervous this morning, probably rightly so. Black clouds hover over Hong Kong but this time they’re not from the Communist Party in Beijing. 

Meanwhile the Boston Fed governor tells the Financial Times of a great Fed  secret, while the northwest USA and parts of western Canada are getting a taste of hell.

Asia-Pacific stocks mixed as China’s industrial profit growth slows; trading in Hong Kong set to resume

Published Sun, Jun 27 2021 7:41 PM EDT Updated An Hour Ago

SINGAPORE — Stocks in Asia-Pacific were mixed in Monday trade. Meanwhile, official data showed that China’s industrial profits for May slowed.

Mainland Chinese stocks were mixed, with the Shanghai composite fractionally lower while the Shenzhen component gained 0.924%.

Data released Sunday by China’s National Bureau of Statistics showed profits at China’s industrial firms rose 36.4% in May as compared with a year earlier. That was a slowdown from the 57% year-on-year growth posted in April.

Elsewhere, the Nikkei 225 in Japan slipped 0.28% while the Topix index sat below the flatline. South Korea’s Kospi dipped 0.1%.

Australia stocks slipped, as the S&P/ASX 200 fell slightly.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan traded 0.11% lower.

Trading in Hong Kong’s markets was set to resume at 1:30 p.m. HK/SIN on Monday after an earlier weather warning was lowered.

Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing announced earlier on Monday that the morning trading sessions of both the securities and derivatives markets, including Stock Connect trading, will be delayed due to a black rainstorm warning.

Black rainstorm signals are issued as a warning of heavy rain that is likely to bring about flooding on the roads, leading to traffic congestion.

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/06/28/japanese-stocks-set-for-muted-start-chinas-industrial-profit-growth-slows-in-may.html

In US news, Boston Federal Reserve Bank President Eric Rosengren lets out a big secret. 

The Great US Heatwave and Drought intensifies.

Fed's Rosengren says U.S. can't afford housing market 'boom and bust' - FT

June 28, 2021 5:20 AM

(Reuters) - The United States cannot afford a "boom and bust cycle" in the housing market that would threaten financial stability, Boston Federal Reserve Bank President Eric Rosengren told the Financial Times in an interview published on Monday on.ft.com/3hcuDzV.

“It’s very important for us to get back to our 2% inflation target but the goal is for that to be sustainable,” Rosengren told the newspaper. “And for that to be sustainable, we can’t have a boom and bust cycle in something like real estate.”

https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-fed-rosengren/feds-rosengren-says-u-s-cant-afford-housing-market-boom-and-bust-ft-idUSFWN2O800R

Why water levels in megadrought-impacted Southwestern states have some experts concerned

Water has arguably become the most precious commodity on the West Coast.

By Julia Jacobo 26 June 2021, 16:13

California was once the site of a gold rush.

But now arguably one of the most precious commodities in parts of the state and in the Southwest is something else entirely -- water -- as the region grapples with a decades-long megadrought that experts say has been spurred on by a warming Earth.

Farmers struggle to water their crops. Less snowpack feeds rivers, streams and lakes in areas surrounding the mountains. And what little runoff there is from snow in the spring is immediately sopped up by the arid soil before it can reach important bodies of water.

---- And the Southern Nevada Water Authority, which gets 90% of its water from the Colorado River, acknowledges it is "facing the worst drought in the basin's recorded history" and has been working to address the drought's impact on water supply for 20 years, including using 23 billion fewer gallons in 2020 than 2002, despite a massive population growth.

Water levels in major bodies of water in the Southwest -- both natural and manmade -- are approaching historic lows as the drought is exacerbated by heatwave after heatwave during a dry season that started earlier this year.

---- While some water variation level is cyclical, experts fear that prolonged warming, combined with diversion and other human activities, are putting the region at risk. The Southwest is "particularly dependent" on surface water, so "even a small increase in temperature -- which drives evaporation -- or a decrease in precipitation in this already arid region can seriously threaten natural systems and society," the Environmental Protection Agency said.

The region, which is normally hot and dry, has experienced temperatures above the long-term average, with some areas 2 degrees warmer, over the past 20 years and some parts are "experiencing long-term reductions in mountain snowpack," according to the EPA.

The depletion of these water sources could be disastrous as it affects the supply for drinking for tens of millions of people and agriculture, ruins local biodiversity by eliminating crucial habitat and negatively impacts billion-dollar economies, experts say.

Here is how the ongoing megadrought is affecting five major bodies of water in the West:

More

https://abcnews.go.com/US/water-levels-megadrought-impacted-southwestern-states-experts-concerned/story?id=78199192

Unprecedented: Northwest heat wave builds, records fall

Associated Press  June 28, 2021

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Intense. Prolonged. Record-breaking. Unprecedented. Abnormal. Dangerous.

That’s how the National Weather Service described the historic heat wave hitting the Pacific Northwest, pushing daytime temperatures into the triple digits, disrupting Olympic qualifying events and breaking all-time high temperature records in places unaccustomed to such extreme heat.

Portland, Oregon, reached 112 degrees Fahrenheit (44.4 Celsius) Sunday, breaking the all-time temperature record of 108 F (42.2C), which was set just a day earlier.

In Eugene, Oregon, the U.S. track and field trials were halted Sunday afternoon and fans were asked to evacuate the stadium due to extreme heat. The National Weather Service said it hit 110 F (43.3 C) in Eugene, breaking the all-time record of 108 F (42.2 C).

Oregon’s Capital city, Salem, also recorded the highest temperature in its history on Sunday: 112 F (44.4 C), breaking the old mark by 4 degrees.

The temperature hit 104 F (40 C) in Seattle. The NWS said that was an all-time record for the city better known for rain than heat and was the first time the area recorded two consecutive triple digit days since records began being kept in 1894.

Records were being broken across the region, and the sizzling temperatures were expected to get even hotter Monday before beginning to cool Tuesday.

There were also some power outages. Portland General Electric said about 3,000 customers were without electricity in the greater Portland area Sunday afternoon. Puget Sound Energy reported 3,400 customers down in the greater Seattle area.

The heat wave stretched into British Columbia, with the temperature in Lytton, a village in the Canadian province, reaching 115 F (46.1 C) Sunday afternoon, marking a new all-time high recorded in Canada.

A heat warning is in effect for most of Western Canada and the country’s weather agency says numerous daily temperature records have been shattered across British Columbia, which is directly north of Washington state.

---- King County closed several COVID-19 testing sites because of the heat. Seattle opened additional public library branches Sunday, and will again Monday, to provide additional cooling centers, The Seattle Times reported.

Seattle’s light rail trains may have to operate at reduced speeds because of excessive heat on the tracks, causing delays that could continue into the work week, Sound Transit said Sunday.

The heat wave also moved into Idaho, where temperatures above 100 F (38 C) are forecast in Boise for at least seven days starting Monday. Ontario, Oregon — a city near the Idaho border — could see at least a week of triple-digit temperatures, including a high of 109 F (42.8 C) Wednesday, forecasters said.

---- The National Weather Service in Coeur d’Alene said this week’s weather “will likely be one of the most extreme and prolonged heat waves in the recorded history of the Inland Northwest.”

The scorching weather was caused by an extended “heat dome” parked over the Pacific Northwest. Kristie Ebi, a professor at the University of Washington who studies global warming and its effects on public health, says the dayslong heat wave was a taste of the future as climate change reshapes global weather patterns.

The high temperatures were forecast to move into western Montana beginning Monday.

https://apnews.com/article/heat-waves-health-coronavirus-pandemic-environment-and-nature-790f3c7348cb0b8fa835f259c1e18c14

Finally, in commodities, another alleged fraud and scandal. Whatever happened to check and verify references, before risking investing in murky projects?

Well, this is “get rich quick” commodities after all. Not to be confused with the tame and trustworthy stock casinos, nor the ever safe and solid cryptocurrency exchanges.

Singapore files 13 more charges in massive nickel trading fraud

June 28, 2021 5:31 AM  By Reuters Staff

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Singapore prosecutors on Monday filed 13 additional charges against a local businessman in relation to a scheme that allegedly raised more than S$1 billion ($746 million) from investors to fund bogus nickel trades.

Authorities in the city state have implicated Ng Yu Zhi, a former managing director of trading companies Envy Global Trading (EGT) and an inactive firm, Envy Asset Management, in the fraud scandal, one of the biggest in Singapore.

According to the charge-sheets, prosecutors allege that Ng cheated nine individuals and three corporate entities of about $63.6 million in connection with EGT’s non-existent forward nickel contracts.

They also allege he committed “criminal breach of trust by dishonestly misappropriating” a sum of at least S$201.2 million between August 2020 and February 2021 while being the director of EGT.

The number of charges against Ng now stands at 31.

The scheme purportedly raised about S$1.5 billion from nearly 1,000 investors, with about S$731 million of this later withdrawn by investors, according to interim judicial managers at accounting firm KPMG.

Authorities have previously said at least S$1 billion was raised in the scheme, which ensnared the likes of lawyers and fund managers.

Ng and his lawyer did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Ng has not previously made any public comment on the charges and has been removed from his role as managing director of EGT.

If convicted, Ng faces a jail term of up to seven years on each of the fraudulent trading charges, while cheating is punishable with up to 10 years per count.

Criminal breach of trust carries a punishment of imprisonment of up to 20 years.

https://www.reuters.com/article/envy-metals-fraud/singapore-files-13-more-charges-in-massive-nickel-trading-fraud-idUSL3N2OA0KY

FCA bans world's largest crypto-currency exchange Binance

28 June, 2021

Binance, the world's biggest crypto-currency exchange, has been banned by the UK's financial regulator.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has ruled that the firm cannot conduct any "regulated activity" in the UK.

It also issued a consumer warning about Binance.com, advising people to be wary of adverts promising high returns on cryptoasset investments.

This comes amid pushback from regulators around the world against crypto-currency platforms.

Binance.com is an online centralised exchange that offers users a range of financial products and services, including purchasing and trading a wide range of digital currencies, as well as digital wallets, futures, securities, savings accounts and even lending.

Binance Group is currently based in the Cayman Islands, while Binance Markets Limited is an affiliate firm based in London. The firm has multiple entities dotted around the world and Binance Group was previously based in Malta.

The FCA said that Binance Markets Limited (BML), which is owned by Binance Group, is not currently permitted to undertake any regulated activities without the prior written consent of the FCA. It has until Wednesday to comply with the ruling.

The regulator also stressed that no entity in the Binance Group holds any form of authorisation, registration or licence to conduct regulated activity in the UK.

While the FCA does not regulate crypto-currencies, it does regulate cryptoassets. Firms must be authorised by the regulator in order to advertise or sell such products in the UK.

This means that people in the UK are not allowed to use Binance's services to speculate, or bet, on whether the price of a crypto-currency like Bitcoin goes up or down.

However, they are still allowed to use the website to purchase and sell crypto-currencies, which is not regulated, crypto-currency analyst Colin Stone told the World Business Report programme on BBC World Service.

But Binance told the BBC that the FCA notice has no "direct impact" on the services it provides from its website Binance.com.

---- This is not the first time that Binance has come under scrutiny by regulators over its global operations.

In the US, one of the firm's entities - Binance Holdings - has been the subject of a probe by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), specifically by its officials dealing with money laundering and tax offences, according to Bloomberg.

The SEC issued a similar warning to US consumers in April about the platform.

On Saturday, Binance announced it was pulling out of Ontario, Canada, after the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) accused it and several other crypto trading platforms of failing to comply with province regulations.

And on Friday, Japan's Financial Services Agency (FSA) warned Binance for the second time in three years that it is operating in the country without permission.

More

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-57632831

“It is hard for us, without being flippant, to even see a scenario within any kind of realm of reason that would see us losing one dollar in any of those [CDS] transactions.”

Joseph J. Cassano, a former A.I.G. executive, August 2007, on Credit Default Swaps that wiped out A.I.G in 2008.

Global Inflation Watch.          

 

Given our Magic Money Tree central banksters and our spendthrift politicians, inflation now needs an entire section of its own.

China's industrial profit growth slows amid high raw material prices

June 27, 2021 3:29 AM

BEIJING (Reuters) - Profit growth at China’s industrial firms slowed again in May as surging raw material prices squeezed margins and weighed on factory activity.

Profits at China’s industrial firms rose 36.4% in May from a year earlier to 829.92 billion yuan ($128.58 billion) official data showed on Sunday.

That was a slowdown from the 57% surge reported in April, according to National Bureau of Statistics.

The world’s second-largest economy has largely recovered from disruptions caused by COVID-19, but it faces new challenges such as elevated raw material costs and global supply chain crunches. Officials warn that China’s recovery remains uneven.

Imbalances in profitability became prominent between upstream and downstream firms due to high commodity prices, said Zhu Hong, an official at the statistics bureau.

---- Profits grew rapidly in the metals, chemicals and petroleum sectors, while smaller and downstream enterprises saw much more pressure, Zhu said.

For the January-May period, industrial firms’ profits grew 83.4% from the same period a year earlier to 3.42 trillion yuan.

Factory-gate inflation saw its fastest annual growth in over 12 years in May driven by surging commodity prices, posing risks to profit margins for mid- and downstream firms.

Chinese policymakers have stepped up efforts in recent weeks to cool runaway metals prices, including selling supplies from state reserves, but with global demand continuing to recover some analysts believe the moves will have only a limited impact.

More

https://www.reuters.com/article/china-economy-industrial-profits/update-1-chinas-industrial-profit-growth-slows-amid-high-raw-material-prices-idUSL2N2O9017

U.K. Faces Food Shortages as Worker Scarcity Gets Worse

By Agnieszka de Sousa

26 June 2021, 07:00 BST

·         Return to eating out in U.K. magnifies shortage of staff

·         Industry groups warn of rising costs and food shortages

From abattoirs to restaurant kitchens, the U.K. food sector is facing a massive challenge this summer: there just aren’t enough workers.

The food industry, already facing labor shortages because of Brexit and the pandemic, is now being stretched to capacity as the country reopens. Meat processors are cutting production and a “catastrophic” dearth of drivers is disrupting food deliveries to supermarkets. Warehouses and farms are short of labor too, threatening to choke food supply flows, while local pubs and Michelin-starred restaurants are having to restrict service and boost wages for chefs and waiting staff.

“We’re constantly fighting every day to try and put out fires across the supply chains,” said Shane Brennan, who heads the Cold Chain Federation. “We’re already seeing empty shelves in some parts of the food supply chain, in supermarkets and across hospitality. That is going to continue. And we’re going to see intermittent shortages throughout the summer.”

More

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-06-26/u-k-faces-food-shortages-as-worker-scarcity-gets-worse?srnd=premium-europe

Coal Prices Hit Decade High Despite Efforts to Wean the World Off Carbon

Rebounding electricity usage and scanty rainfall in China have added fuel to the rally

Updated June 25, 2021 12:38 pm ET

Coal prices have climbed to their highest level in a decade, making the fuel a hot commodity in a year when governments are pledging reductions in carbon emissions.

A shortfall of natural gas, rebounding electricity usage and scanty rainfall in China have lifted demand for thermal coal. Supplies have been crimped by a closed mine in Colombia, flooding in Indonesia and Australia and distorted trade flows caused by a Chinese ban on Australian coal.

Prices for thermal coal—which power plants burn to boil water into steam, spin turbines and generate electricity—have more than doubled over the past year as a result. Coal delivered into northwest Europe earlier this month hit its highest price since November 2011, having climbed 64% in 2021. Prices for coal exported from Newcastle in Australia, most of which heads to Asia, have risen 56%, according to Argus Media.

Both coal-price benchmarks have outstripped gains in oil, copper and other commodity markets that are benefiting from a vaccine-fired burst of economic activity. The upswing in fuel markets is contributing to higher electricity prices in the U.S. and Europe. Central banks are grappling with a jump in inflation powered in part by rising raw-material costs, though highflying commodities such as lumber have lost steam of late.

The rally is a reminder that efforts to wean power systems off coal to limit planet-warming emissions are in their early stages, and may prove halting while the fuel competes with other energy sources. The world’s appetite for coal peaked in 2014 and is unlikely to return to pre-coronavirus levels, the International Energy Agency forecasts. But analysts say spurts of demand, coupled with a dearth of investment in new supplies, could lead to spells of higher prices.

Prices are expected to stay at elevated levels for several months, delivering a windfall for companies that held on to coal mines in the face of pressure from some investors to abandon them. Glencore PLC will be the chief beneficiary among big Western miners, according to UBS Group analyst Myles Allsop.

----“Supply is shrinking and it’s probably shrinking faster than demand,” said Tom Price, head of commodities strategy at Liberum. “Everyone had turned their backs on these [thermal-coal mining] assets. Those companies that have clung on to them have made a small fortune on them in just the past few months.”

Analysts say the jump in European coal prices is most surprising because it has taken place alongside a surge in the continent’s market for carbon offsets. Prices for European Union emission allowances have shot up 69% to over €50 a metric ton, equivalent to about $60 a ton, and recently hit a series of all-time highs.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/thermal-coal-prices-hit-decade-high-amid-gas-shortage-11624620773?mod=mhp

 

Covid-19 Corner                       

This section will continue until it becomes unneeded.

Another suppressed Covid-19 treatment surfaces. Cui bono? 

I take a one-a-day, supermarket own brand, 10 mg allergy relief tablet (Loratadine,) and have done so since February 2020. My commonsense logic was that reduced mucus and sneezing, would likely limit the chance of a SARS-2 infection taking hold. I also take a once-a-week vitamin C + zinc tablet since March 2020, when first reports arose that slightly higher levels of zinc in the body seems to reduce the severity of any infection.

I follow all the other recommended precautions, but boost my vitamin D level from October to Easter. I live in dull, cloudy northern Europe, England after all.

Unsurprisingly at 71, I don’t frequent crowded bars and nightclubs, attend raves, visit crowded airport terminals, travel on crowded commuter trains, nor travel to dodgy young tourist hot spots in Cyprus or Ibiza, where more than just SARS-2 likely circulates!

All that, and God’s will, have kept me out of the obituary columns so far. Although, having now attended my Great Niece’s First Holy Communion Mass on Saturday, God maybe now having second thoughts.

Antihistamines and azithromycin as a treatment for COVID-19 on primary health care – A retrospective observational study in elderly patients

Volume 67, April 2021, 101989

Highlights

•Early treatment of COVID-19 in Primary Care with antihistamines and azithromycin.

•Antihistamines may also be considered a prophylactic treatment for COVID-19.

•Decrease in hospital admissions and fatality rate in elderly population.

•Antihistamines may control the immune response and cytokine storm in COVID-19.

Abstract

Between March and April 2020, 84 elderly patients with suspected COVID-19 living in two nursing homes of Yepes, Toledo (Spain) were treated early with antihistamines (dexchlorpheniramine, cetirizine or loratadine), adding azithromycin in the 25 symptomatic cases. The outcomes are retrospectively reported. The primary endpoint is the fatality rate of COVID-19. The secondary endpoints are the hospital and ICU admission rates. Endpoints were compared with the official Spanish rates for the elderly. The mean age of our population was 85 and 48% were over 80 years old. No hospital admissions, deaths, nor adverse drug effects were reported in our patient population. By the end of June, 100% of the residents had positive serology for COVID-19. Although clinical trials are needed to determine the efficacy of both drugs in the treatment of COVID-19, this analysis suggests that primary care diagnosis and treatment with antihistamines, plus azithromycin in selected cases, may treat COVID-19 and prevent progression to severe disease in elderly patients.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1094553921000018

Published online 2021 Feb 18. doi: 10.1016/j.cbi.2021.109420

PMCID: PMC7889471

PMID: 33609497

Testing of the inhibitory effects of loratadine and desloratadine on SARS-CoV-2 spike pseudotyped virus viropexis

Abstract

Currently, there is an urgent need to find a treatment for the highly infectious coronavirus disease (COVID-19). However, the development of a new, effective, and safe vaccine or drug often requires years and poses great risks. At this critical stage, there is an advantage in using existing clinically approved drugs to treat COVID-19. In this study, in vitro severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) spike pseudotyped viral infection experiments indicated that histamine H₁ antagonists loratadine (LOR) and desloratadine (DES) could prevent entry of the pseudotyped virus into ACE2-overexpressing HEK293T cells and showed that DES was more effective. Further binding experiments using cell membrane chromatography and surface plasmon resonance demonstrated that both antagonists could bind to ACE2 and that the binding affinity of DES was much stronger than that of LOR. Molecular docking results elucidated that LOR and DES could bind to ACE2 on the interface of the SARS-CoV-2-binding area. Additionally, DES could form one hydrogen bond with LYS31 but LOR binding relied on non-hydrogen bonds. To our knowledge, this study is the first to demonstrate the inhibitory effect of LOR and DES on SARS-CoV-2 spike pseudotyped virus viropexis by blocking spike protein–ACE2 interaction. This study may provide a new strategy for finding an effective therapeutic option for COVID-19.

More

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7889471/

Finland sees spike in virus cases from returning soccer fans

By JARI TANNER  June 26, 2021

HELSINKI (AP) — Finnish health authorities have detected a spike in coronavirus cases that has been traced to soccer fans returning from neighboring Russia following European Championship matches in St. Petersburg.

The Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare on Saturday urged “all passengers who have traveled from St. Petersburg to Finland by any bus company to apply for a coronavirus test.”

“Any bus or minibus may have been exposed,” the institute said.

Finland played two of its Euro 2020 group games in St. Petersburg, facing Russia on June 16 and Belgium on Monday. At least 2,000 Finns are estimated to have traveled to the city for those matches.

The Finns finished in third place in their group and were eliminated. Russia was also eliminated after finishing last.

St. Petersburg hosted six games in the group stage of the tournament and will host one of the four quarterfinal matches on Friday.

Authorities in the Russian city tightened anti-coronavirus restrictions last week in an effort to curb a spike in new infections. That included closing food courts in the city’s shopping malls and its Euro 2020 fan zone.

More

https://apnews.com/article/euro-2020-finland-international-soccer-health-coronavirus-pandemic-2b734a3e7ee332f86a0599d75bcb1daa

FDA adds warning about rare heart inflammation to Pfizer, Moderna Covid vaccines

Published Sat, Jun 26 2021 9:57 AM EDT Updated Sat, Jun 26 2021 10:01 AM EDT

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday added a warning to patient and provider fact sheets for the Pfizer and Moderna Covid-19 vaccines to indicate a rare risk of heart inflammation.

For each vaccine, the fact sheets were revised to include a warning about myocarditis and pericarditis after the second dose and with the onset of symptoms within a few days after receiving the shot.

Myocarditis is the inflammation of the heart muscle and pericarditis is the inflammation of the tissue surrounding the heart. Health officials said the benefits of receiving the vaccine still outweigh any risk.

“The risk of myocarditis and pericarditis appears to be very low given the number of vaccine doses that have been administered,” Janet Woodcock, acting FDA commissioner, said in a statement.

“The benefits of Covid-19 vaccination continue to outweigh the risks, given the risk of Covid-19 diseases and related, potentially severe, complications,” she said.

The FDA update follows a review and discussion by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices meeting on Wednesday. 

There have been more than 1,200 cases of a myocarditis or pericarditis mostly in people 30 and under who received the shots, according to presentation slides from the CDC meeting.

More

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/06/26/fda-adds-warning-of-rare-heart-inflammation-to-pfizer-moderna-vaccines.html

Next, some vaccine links kindly sent along from a LIR reader in Canada. The links come from a most informative update from Stanford Hospital in California.

World Health Organization - Landscape of COVID-19 candidate vaccines. https://www.who.int/publications/m/item/draft-landscape-of-covid-19-candidate-vaccines

NY Times Coronavirus Vaccine Tracker. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/science/coronavirus-vaccine-tracker.html

Stanford Website. https://racetoacure.stanford.edu/clinical-trials/132

Regulatory Focus COVID-19 vaccine tracker. https://www.raps.org/news-and-articles/news-articles/2020/3/covid-19-vaccine-tracker

Some other useful Covid links.

Johns Hopkins Coronavirus resource centre

https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

Rt Covid-19

https://rt.live/

Centers for Disease Control Coronavirus

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html

The Spectator Covid-19 data tracker (UK)

https://data.spectator.co.uk/city/national 

Technology Update.

With events happening fast in the development of solar power and graphene, I’ve added this section. Updates as they get reported.

Today, when enough is never enough for the Greens on the outside red on the inside.

Edinburgh Airport to build solar farm next to runway

25 June, 2021

Edinburgh Airport is to build an 11-acre solar farm next to its runway.

The array of solar panels will be the first of its kind in the UK and could provide 26% of the airport's energy needs.

It is hoped the solar farm, which will be located at the western end of the runway, will be operating next summer.

Environmental groups said the benefits of switching to solar power were a "drop in the ocean" compared to the damage done by aviation industry.

The Scottish government has put £2m towards the cost of the solar farm.

Gordon Dewar, chief executive of Edinburgh Airport, said: "Some may doubt the power of sun in Scotland, but our solar farm will deliver around 26% of our energy needs and allow us to deliver energy back into the grid when we produce more than we need.

"This project illustrates our commitment to making environmental improvements and is something passengers will actually be able to see as they arrive or depart."

Dr Richard Dixon, director of Friends of the Earth Scotland, said: "Of course there should be solar panels at Edinburgh Airport but this is just a drop in the ocean compared to the aviation industry's total contribution to climate change.

"Edinburgh Airport, like other big polluters, is trying to get away with reducing their local impact on the ground while ignoring the many times bigger contribution that flying makes to changing the climate.

"Business as usual with some solar panels added is not an adequate response to the climate emergency."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-57596248

"We finished the year, and we reported that we had $17 billion of cash sitting at the bank's parent company as a liquidity cushion. As the year has gone on, that liquidity cushion has been virtually unchanged."

Alan Schwartz, CEO Bear Stearns, March 12, 2008. Bust March 16, 2008.