Month: December 2020

Categories
Business

AstraZeneca to work on vaccine with Russia’s Gamaleya

AstraZeneca to work on vaccine with Russia's Gamaleya

A laboratory technician oversees the filling and packaging tests for the large-scale manufacture and delivery of the Oxford University’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate AZD1222, which was conducted on a high-capacity aseptic vial filling line in Catalent, Anagni, Italy on September 11, 2020.

Vincenzo Pinto | AFP | Getty Images

LONDON – British pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca said Friday it would soon be working with Russia’s Gamaleya Institute to investigate whether the two coronavirus vaccine candidates could be successfully combined.

After the developers of the Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine reached out to AstraZeneca on Twitter late last month, they asked if they should try combining the two cold virus-based vaccines to increase effectiveness.

“The ability to combine different COVID-19 vaccines can be helpful to improve protection and / or accessibility of vaccines. Therefore, it is important to study different vaccine combinations to make vaccination programs more flexible and to allow doctors more choice at the time of vaccine administration, “AstraZeneca said in a statement Friday.

“It is also likely that combining vaccines over a longer period of time will result in improved immunity,” he added.

AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine, made in partnership with Oxford University, is one of several looking to seek drug regulatory approval as hopes of a mass vaccination campaign to end the pandemic grow.

To date, more than 69 million people worldwide have contracted the coronavirus, with 1.58 million deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

Data published this week in The Lancet Medical Journal showed AstraZeneca’s vaccine had an average efficacy of 70.4%, based on the summary of interim data from late-stage clinical trials. The vaccine was also found to be safe and effective.

Russia has claimed Sputnik V is over 90% effective in preventing people from contracting the virus, citing preliminary results from ongoing studies.

“New level of cooperation”

The Russian direct investment fund, Russia’s sovereign wealth fund that financed the development of Sputnik V, said clinical trials of AstraZeneca’s vaccine, combined with its own, would begin by the end of the month.

“AstraZeneca’s decision to conduct clinical trials with one of two Sputnik V vectors to increase the effectiveness of its own vaccine is an important step in uniting efforts to combat the pandemic,” said Kirill Dmitriev, CEO of Russian direct investment fund said in a statement.

“We welcome the start of this new phase of collaboration between vaccine manufacturers. We are determined to expand this partnership in the future and begin joint production after the new vaccine has proven its effectiveness in clinical trials,” said Dmitriev.

The Editor in Chief of The Lancet, Dr. Richard Horton told CNBC on Wednesday that AstraZeneca’s vaccine had “a marked comparative advantage” over other leading candidates. He also claimed it was the one who could immunize the world “more effectively” and “faster” than their counterparts.

AstraZeneca’s vaccine is a viral vector vaccine based on a weakened version of the common cold virus that causes infections in chimpanzees. It is designed to prepare the immune system to attack the coronavirus known as SARS-CoV-2 when it later infects the body.

Categories
Entertainment

Piano Bars and Jazz Golf equipment Reopen, Calling Reside Music ‘Incidental’

Piano Bars and Jazz Clubs Reopen, Calling Live Music ‘Incidental’

Although most indoor live performances in New York have been banned since the deadly spread of the coronavirus began in March, about a dozen people showed up at Birdland, the jazz club near Times Square, for a 7 p.m. performance on Wednesday night Live jazz was billed for dinner. They had reservations.

Among them was Tricia Tait, 63, from Manhattan, who came for the band, led by tuba player David Ostwald, who plays the music of Louis Armstrong. Until the pandemic, it had played on Birdland most Wednesdays. She admitted having health concerns “in the back of your mind” but said, “Sometimes you just have to take risks and enjoy things.”

As the daily number of new coronavirus cases in New York City has risen to levels not seen since April, face-to-face learning in public middle and high schools has been suspended, and Governor Andrew M. Cuomo warned this week not to allow indoors dine It could soon be banned in the city. Birdland and a number of other well-known jazz clubs and piano bars across town are once again offering quietly live performances, arguing that the music they are presenting is “random” and therefore will be allowed by the pandemic. Era guidelines set by the State Liquor Authority.

These guidelines state that “only random music is allowed at this time” and that “advertised and / or ticket shows are not allowed”. They continue: “Music should be part of the culinary experience, not the draw.”

That hasn’t stopped a number of New York City venues better known for their performances than their cuisine – including Birdland, the Blue Note, and Marie’s Crisis Cafe, a West Village piano bar that reopened on Monday with a show tune after she declared herself to be the establishment – from offering live music again.

“We think it’s coincidental,” said Ryan Paternite, Birdland’s program and media director, of its calendar of events, which includes a marching band and a jazz quartet. “It’s background music. That’s the rule. “

The rules have been challenged in court. After Michael Hund, a guitarist from Buffalo, filed a lawsuit against her in August, a US District Court judge in New York’s western district issued an injunction last month preventing the state from enforcing its ban on advertised and ticketed Enforce shows. “The minor music rule prohibits one type of live music and allows another,” wrote Judge John L. Sinatra Jr. in his November 13 ruling. “This distinction is arbitrary.”

The state appeals the judgment.

“Science recognizes that mass gatherings can easily become super-spreader events, and it cannot be overlooked that companies would seek to undermine tried and tested public health rules like these as infections, hospitalizations and deaths continue to rise “said William Crowley, a spokesman for the alcohol authority, said Thursday. He noted that a federal judge in New York City had ruled in another case that the restrictions were constitutional. He said the state will “continue to vigorously defend our ability to fight this pandemic if it is challenged”.

However, it is unclear what exactly “random” music means. Does that mean a guitarist in the corner? A six-piece jazz band like the one that played at Birdland on Wednesday night? The Harlem Gospel Choir, who will perform at Blue Note on Christmas Day? Mr Crowley on Thursday did not respond to questions seeking clarity or what enforcement action the state has taken.

Robert Bookman, an attorney who represents a number of New York City’s live music venues, said the venues interpreted the judgment as allowing them to advertise and sell tickets to occasional music performances during dinner.

Hence, the venues have carefully chosen their words. They take dinner reservations and announce line-up calendars for what Mr. Paternite of Birdland calls “background music during dinner.” Unlike Mac’s public house, the Staten Island Bar, which declared itself an autonomous zone and was recently ridiculed on Saturday Night Live, they have no interest in openly disregarding regulations.

Mr Paternite said that after laying off nearly all 60 employees in March, Birdland is now returning to what he calls the “skeletal staff” of about 10 people.

“It is a big risk for us to be open,” he said. “And it only pays in a cent. But it helps us with our arrangement with our landlord because in order to pay our rent over time and keep our utilities and taxes updated we need to stay open. But we lose huge amounts every day. “

If the venues don’t reopen now, he fears they may never do so. Jazz Standard, a popular 130-seat club on East 27th Street in Manhattan, announced last week that it would be permanently closed due to the pandemic. Arlene’s Grocery, a club in the Lower East Side where the Strokes took place before they became known, said it was “life sustaining” and had to close on February 1 without assistance.

Randy Taylor, the bartender and manager of Marie’s Crisis Cafe, said the last time the piano bar served food was likely in the 1970s – or maybe earlier. “There is a very old kitchen that is completely disconnected upstairs,” he said. Dining options are extremely limited: there are currently $ 4 bowls of chips and salsa on offer. “We have to sell them,” he said. “We can’t just give them away.”

Steven Bensusan, the president of Blue Note Entertainment Group, said he hoped the state doesn’t move to stop eating indoors.

“I know the cases are sharp,” he said. “But we’re doing our best to keep people safe, and I hope we can stay open. We won’t be profitable, but we have the opportunity to give work to some people who have been with us for a long time. “

The clubs said they are taking precautions. In the Blue Note, which reopened on November 27th, the tables that were previously divided are now two meters apart and separated from one another by plexiglass barriers. The two nightly seats for dinner are each limited to 25 percent or about 50 people. At Marie’s Crisis Cafe, where masked pianist Alexander Barylski sat behind a clear screen on Wednesday night as he led a cheering group choir from “Frosty the Snowman,” Taylor said the tables were separated by plastic barriers and that the venue conducted temperature tests and collected contact tracking information at the door.

Marie’s Crisis Cafe had streamed live on Instagram and his Facebook group page, but Mr. Taylor said it wasn’t the same. On Wednesday night, 10 customers strapped Christmas music through masks, some having had their first drinks at a venue since March.

“There were some tears,” said Mr. Taylor. “People really missed us. We can’t see their smiles through their masks, but their eyes say it all. “

Categories
Politics

States Overpaid Unemployment Advantages and Need Cash Again

States Overpaid Unemployment Benefits and Want Money Back

Unemployment payments that looked like a lifeline could now become their ruin for many.

Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, a federal program that covers gig workers, part-time workers, seasonal workers, and others who are not eligible for traditional unemployment benefits, has kept millions afloat. Established by Congress in March under the CARES bill, the program has provided over $ 70 billion in aid.

In implementing the hastily designed program, states overpaid hundreds of thousands of workers – often due to administrative errors. Now the states are demanding this money back.

The notices come out of the blue and contain instructions on how to repay thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars. Those who are billed and already living on the fringes are told that their benefits will be cut to make up for the errors – or that the state can even put a lien on their home, come after future wages, or withhold tax refunds.

Many who have collected payments are still unemployed and may have little chance of getting one. Most of them had no idea they were being overpaid.

“When someone receives a bill like this, it terrifies them,” said Michele Evermore, senior policy analyst for the National Employment Law Project, a not-for-profit labor rights group. Sometimes the letters themselves are flawed – citing overpayments when the benefits are properly paid – but either way, she said, the stress will “cost people’s lives”.

The hastily designed Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program has raised other issues, including widespread fraud programs and processing challenges. As a result, states only recently had sufficient resources to send out overpayment notifications. In the meantime, people have sometimes raised thousands of dollars and spent what they have understood to be legitimate benefits.

Olive Stewart, a 56-year-old immigrant from Jamaica, worked part-time as a sous-chef in a cafeteria at a Jewish school in Philadelphia, earning about $ 16 an hour for about 25 hours a week. But when the pandemic hit and schools closed, she was fired.

Ms. Stewart applied for pandemic unemployment benefits and was paid $ 234 per week. It wasn’t enough to cover the rent of $ 650, utility bill of $ 200, and internet bill of $ 200 for the house she shares with her 12-year-old daughter, retired mother, and sister who has a disability that prevents them from working. To make ends meet, Ms. Stewart began delving into her savings.

Then on October 6, she received a message that Pennsylvania unemployment insurance company Geographic Solutions had accidentally overpaid her. The overpayment included funds from the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance and a $ 600 grant to unemployment insurance. In total, she was told, she would have to repay nearly $ 8,000.

To collect the debt, the state began withholding more than half of her unemployment benefits, leaving her with only $ 105 a week. In early November, the state began to take all of her unemployment benefits so she had no income. She has not yet paid her December rent.

“The state should be careful about what they send out,” Ms. Stewart said. “It was her mistake, and I’ve already spent all the money on food and rent. How am I supposed to pay it back? “

Geographic Solutions made double payments for 30,000 claims in Pennsylvania because of a system problem, a $ 280 million error, the State Department of Labor and Industry said. (The company states the problem was due to a one-day error that was reported immediately.) Overpayments can also occur when a claimant makes a mistake on a form, as reported by ProPublica, or when a state determines that a recipient is shouldn’t be justified.

By September 30, approximately 27 percent of those eligible for Ohio Pandemic Unemployment Assistance had been overpaid, approximately 162,000 claims. In mid-November there were about 29,000 in Colorado; in Texas there were over 41,000.

Many states forego regular unemployment insurance overpayments if there is no fraud or if someone would have significant difficulty paying back the money. However, federal regulations on pandemic unemployment assistance prohibit forgiveness. Even if the status is incorrect, the recipient is on the hook.

States often automatically begin collecting the overpayment by withholding a portion – from 30 to 100 percent – of future unemployment benefit payments.

Many overpayments have arisen because state unemployment schemes are designed to calculate benefits using W-2 forms, employer records, pay slips, and other documents related to traditional jobs. With gig workers and part-time workers having different documentation, states had to quickly adapt to a new way of processing and approving claims.

Adoption errors are inevitable, said Behnaz Mansouri, senior attorney for the Unemployment Law Project, a nonprofit legal aid organization in Seattle.

Economy & Economy

Updated

Apr. 10, 2020, 4:09 pm ET

“For a new system to have such a punitive reaction when the system itself fails seems too harsh and draconian,” said Ms. Mansouri.

29-year-old Gina Jones was on leave in March from her part-time job at a breakfast bar at a Quality Inn in Spokane, Washington, and was paid $ 750 a week from the pandemic program, which allowed her to pay rent, food, and necessities for her two daughters Ages 1 and 5. She was called back to work in July and now works about 28 hours a week for $ 13.50 an hour.

Then in mid-November, she checked her unemployment portal online and saw a message that she had been overpaid by nearly $ 12,500. She fears that the state will garnish her wages to collect the debt.

“I’ve already used this money to support my family,” said Ms. Jones. “It’s all gone and I can’t afford to pay it back.”

Demanding unemployment benefits can undermine the aim of the unemployment system to stabilize the economy, said Philip Spesshardt, branch manager of benefit services for the Colorado Division of Unemployment Insurance.

When a person’s unemployment checks are reduced each week due to an overpayment, the recipient has less cash to pay bills and patronize local businesses. “Ultimately, this has a cascading effect on many of these small businesses, causing them to close permanently and further increase the unemployment rate,” said Spesshardt.

While overpayments cannot be waived under the federal program, applicants can apply for reimbursement after notification has been issued. However, the deadline for appeal can only be seven days. After that, the process can be slow, confusing, and cumbersome.

Colorado has taken steps to address the reimbursement difficulty. After discovering the large number of overpayments in October, the state found that the application form was confusing as it did not specify whether the person being submitted should be providing gross or net income. It was decided to write off cases where the recipients had submitted income and tax documents that could be used to calculate the correct benefit.

When asked how the policy was compatible with the federal ban on forgiveness, a Colorado Department of Labor and Employment spokeswoman cited “the administrative burden it would put on us to collect these overpayments on competing priorities.”

House Democrats have called for renewed pandemic aid to include a provision that will allow states to forego overpayments if workers cannot repay them without great difficulty. The provision would apply to past and future cases. A separate house bill with cross-party sponsorship provides for forgiveness if the overpayment is not the fault of the recipient and “such repayment would run counter to justice and a good conscience”.

But the possibility of a remedy is of no great comfort to those who are wondering how they are going to pay rent and put food on the table in the meantime.

William and Diana Villafana, 55 and 34, who operated a car rental company in Henderson, Nevada prior to the pandemic, learned in late October that they had been overpaid by more than $ 7,000 between them. To cover this debt, the state is taking full advantage of Mr. Villafana and giving Ms. Villafana $ 73 per week. They use credit cards for their $ 2,000 monthly rent as well as utilities, groceries, and other necessities.

“I don’t think they understand that unemployment benefits are vital,” said Villafana. “Or if they understand, they don’t care.”

Mr. Villafana is concerned about how he will continue to care for her son and daughter aged 6 and 7. When his daughter recently asked for a brush set and an easel, he didn’t know what to tell her.

“It’s pretty hard to tell them,” Look, you can’t “or” I can’t buy this for you, “he said,” I have no idea what we’re going to do with Christmas. “

Sheelagh McNeill contributed to the research.

Categories
Health

Dr. Fauci says Covid vaccine trials on pregnant ladies and younger children might start in January

Dr. Fauci says Covid vaccine trials on pregnant women and young kids could begin in January

Drug makers and U.S. regulators plan to start clinical trials in January testing the safety of Covid-19 vaccines in pregnant women and young children, said Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute for Allergies and Infectious Diseases.

These two groups were excluded from the initial clinical trials of Covid-19 vaccines until researchers were able to determine that the vaccine was relatively safe in healthy adults before testing in more susceptible populations.

Fauci noted on Thursday in a discussion sponsored by Columbia University on Thursday that pregnant women have not been included in clinical trials of Covid vaccines. It is not clear whether the omission means that pregnant women cannot receive an approved vaccine until further safety data are collected.

Studies on pregnant women will be done in later studies, he said.

“It won’t necessarily concern efficacy, but we will be investigating safety and immunogenicity to bridge efficacy in the adult non-pregnant population,” he said at Columbia University’s Grand Rounds 2020 event. “The same goes for the pediatric population. These studies are expected to begin in mid-to-late January.”

Doctors have noted an increased risk of complications in pregnant women who contract Covid-19, said Aron Hall, chief of Covid at the CDC.

“The first indication is that there may be a higher risk of premature delivery,” he said Thursday on the FDA’s Advisory Committee on Vaccines and Related Biological Products.

While young children are less likely to die of Covid-19 when they get it, there is an increased risk of developing what is known as multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children, or MIS-C, researchers have found. It is an inflammatory disease that can affect several organ systems throughout the body, including the heart, lungs, and brain.

Fauci’s comments came as the FDA’s Vaccine Advisory Board is weighing whether to recommend Pfizer’s emergency approval of the Covid vaccine.

Data on Pfizer’s vaccine has shown it to be remarkably effective in preventing disease among study participants, and the FDA is expected to approve emergency use as early as Friday.

The UK drug and health products regulator, which last week approved Pfizer’s vaccine for wide use in adults, warned against giving it to pregnant or breastfeeding women.

Dr. Doran Fink, associate director of the FDA’s vaccines and related products division, said Thursday there was “very limited data on use in pregnancy”.

“We recognize that among the groups first prioritized for vaccine use under an EEA, there will be many women of childbearing potential, including women who are knowingly or unknowingly pregnant,” he said on the Meet on Thursday afternoon. “We really do not have any data that suggest any specific risks to pregnant women or the fetus, but neither do we have any data that would justify a contraindication to use in pregnancy at this time.”

He added that pregnant women and women of childbearing age are “free to make their own choice” under what is known as an emergency permit.

The FDA advised manufacturers, including Pfizer, to conduct DART studies or developmental and reproductive toxicity studies before including pregnant women and “women of childbearing potential who do not actively avoid pregnancy” in vaccine studies, Pfizer said – Speaker Jerica Pitts CNBC. DART studies are done in animals to assess the potential risks of a vaccine to a developing fetus.

“Pfizer recognizes that the development of a potential SARS-CoV-2 vaccine for wide use is critical to halting the pandemic, including potential use in pregnant women,” Pitts said in a statement. “Pfizer is currently conducting DART studies and plans to provide available data to the agency.”

Pfizer admitted at the FDA’s vaccine meeting Thursday that according to a presentation there was no information about the effects of the vaccine on pregnant women. Company officials told the advisory board that they expected preliminary results from its DART studies by mid-December.

The company also noted that there is also a lack of information on the effects of the vaccine in children and adolescents under the age of 16. The FDA advisory panel will vote on its non-binding recommendation later Thursday, and the FDA is expected to do so soon.

– CNBC’s Amanda Macias contributed to this report.

Categories
Business

Midtown Is Reeling. Ought to Its Workplaces Change into Residences?

Midtown Is Reeling. Should Its Offices Become Apartments?

The pandemic hits New York City’s commercial real estate industry, one of its major economic engines, and threatens the future of the nation’s largest business districts as well as the city’s finances.

The damage caused by the emptying of office towers and the permanent closure of many stores is far more significant than many experts predicted at the beginning of the crisis.

The powerful real estate industry is so concerned that the changes in work culture caused by the outbreak are permanent that it is advocating a flashy proposal: convert more than a million square feet of Manhattan office space into housing.

Nearly 14 percent of Midtown Manhattan office space is empty, the highest rate since 2009. On Madison Avenue in Midtown, one of the wealthiest retail areas in the country, more than a third of all retail space is empty, twice as much as five years earlier.

The commercial real estate collapse is another major drag on New York as the industry generates a significant portion of the city’s tax revenue.

Applications for new buildings in the city, a key indicator of industry confidence, are down 22 percent this year to 1,187, the lowest number since 2010.

According to a survey by the Partnership for New York City, an influential group of companies, only 10 percent of the one million office workers in Manhattan were in the office at the end of October.

And that already grim picture could get worse, said real estate experts and industry executives.

“It would probably be fair to say we haven’t bottomed out yet,” said James Whelan, president of New York’s Real Estate Board.

It doesn’t seem like the city’s major commercial landlords are facing a financial collapse, but the shares of those that are publicly traded have fallen sharply since March.

The aftermath of the crisis has been seen in an increasing number of legal disputes between landlords and tenants, even at some of New York’s best-gilded addresses.

In stores on Columbus Circle, a luxury mall overlooking Central Park, the developer has accused a group of high-end retailers, including Michael Kors and Hugo Boss, of more than $ 7 million in rents and fees to have renounced. On Fifth Avenue, Italian designer Valentino has sued his landlord to get rid of a nearly $ 1.6 million a month lease.

New York City’s finances – money to pick up trash, repair parks and police streets – depend heavily on the health of the industry.

Property taxes are the city’s largest source of income, and commercial real estate accounts for the largest portion of that total tax, at 41 percent, according to Thomas P. DiNapoli, state auditor.

Commercial property sales fell nearly 50 percent through October, according to Rahul Jain, an assistant state auditor.

A weakened commercial real estate market will “make it much harder for businesses and the economy to get back to normal,” DiNapoli said.

The labor shortage affects rents. In all of Manhattan’s retail corridors, the required commercial rents have fallen by almost 13 percent year-on-year, according to CBRE, a commercial real estate company. The largest declines have been seen in areas dominated by office buildings like Times Square and Grand Central Terminal, as well as in shopping destinations like SoHo.

The problems in the industry, originally sparked by the brain drain during state home assignments in the spring, persisted as many commuters opted for long-term or permanent remote working arrangements. The tourists have also largely disappeared.

As a result, tensions are mounting between the city’s powerful landlords and some of its equally powerful tenants. Homeowners have accused blue-chip companies of using the pandemic to withhold rent they can afford, while tenants have portrayed landlords as greedy and unwilling to acknowledge the economic reality.

“It’s not easy, but we have to make sacrifices and landlords have to make sacrifices,” said Lawrence Berger, chairman of FanzzLids Holdings, which owns Lids, a sports headwear store whose flagship store is in Times Square.

The store was sued for more than $ 511,000 in unpaid rents and fees in four other Manhattan stores that were closed for months.

“The amazing thing for us is that they are looking for times in New York when we were not allowed to be open,” said Berger. “We have contracts with our landlords across the country except New York City.”

Landlords like Related, who owns the Columbus Circle stores and sued five of their tenants there, say they have their own financial obligations and should pay renters who can afford rent.

The litigation does not capture the behind-the-scenes negotiations that resulted in resolutions without going to court, said William H. Mack, a corporate attorney at Davidoff Hutcher & Citron in New York.

Mr. Mack was hired by Hugo Boss to reduce or nullify his Columbus Circle lease. “That’s 80 to 90 percent of what I’ve been doing since March and April,” he said.

The New York Real Estate Board, whose members include almost all of New York’s major landlords and developers, has the prospect of systemic changes in work habits.

“Anyone who believes that the way people have used the workplace in the past will not change the post-pandemic is mistaking themselves,” said Scott Rechler, chairman of the Regional Plan Association and chief executive officer of RXR Realty, April 26 Millions of square meters of office space controlled by the city.

Employers have found that if there is no shared workspace, productivity does not necessarily suffer, and that smaller office space and milder work-from-home policies may make long-term economic sense.

As a result, the rental group is suggesting that the city and state allow developers to more easily convert offices in Manhattan and the boroughs into apartment buildings.

Updated

Dec. 11, 2020, 1:25 p.m. ET

According to Cushman and Wakefield, a real estate agent, around 140 million of the 400 million square feet of office space in Manhattan is of average quality or is in older and less luxurious buildings. The real estate authority estimates the city-wide supply of these buildings at around 210 million square meters.

The real estate group estimates that converting just 10 percent of that office space into residential buildings would create 14,000 homes across the city, including up to 10,000 in Manhattan – a significant amount in a city that is routinely lacking in housing, in particular affordable housing.

Changes to zoning rules required for remodeling would require some of the new housing to be classified as affordable, the board said.

Mark A. Willis, Senior Policy Fellow at New York University’s Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy, said pre-pandemic employment growth outpaced housing growth in the city, causing demand to far outstrip supply and the persistent housing conditions in the city exacerbated shortages.

“Facilitating the reuse of buildings to adapt to changes in the economy is a very smart idea for me,” said Willis.

Some tenants are taking advantage of the current downturn – and the resulting lower prices per square foot – to trade in for nicer office space, the board said. This is a boon for high-end office landlords, but it could be bad for landlords of lower-rated buildings.

Converting office buildings into apartment buildings would not only provide a potential financial lifeline for landlords, but also benefit retailers, argues the real estate agency, as the presence of office users during the day and apartment residents at night would increase pedestrian traffic.

There is no reason for Midtown to maintain its status as New York’s last predominantly office district, bustling during the day and quieter at night.

They cite the success of Lower Manhattan, which has developed from an almost exclusively office district to a vibrant residential area in the last few decades.

The proposal would require changes to zoning and density rules, which would need to be approved by the city council and state legislature and adopted by the mayor and governor.

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s office would only say he was reviewing the idea.

A spokesman for Mayor Bill de Blasio, who is on a temporary basis and is about to enter his final year in office, welcomed the apartment proposal.

“The town hall is always looking for sensible and just ways to create more living space,” said the spokesman, Bill Neidhardt.

Converting office space into apartments is not easy, however. Landlords would have to wait until the buildings are empty, which can take years.

The landlord group says the city and state should help speed up remodeling by lifting the zoning restrictions that require manufacturing in areas like the Clothing District, changing density requirements, banning housing, and creating new tax breaks for landlords.

Whether elected city and state officials give the green light for a measure that would help real estate developers when so many tenants are having problems is an open question.

Several candidates fighting to succeed Mr de Blasio have vowed to decline campaign donations from real estate developers.

It’s also not clear how many landlords would actually take advantage of the proposed changes.

Jeff Gural, who controls a large portfolio of aging buildings in Manhattan, said he would rather stick with his current job.

“We don’t have that much free space at first,” said Gural. “And I think there will be a demand for the kind of space we have.”

Another possible source of housing expansion would be hotel remodeling, many of which have closed as the industry was decimated by a slump in tourism and business travel.

This idea is gaining traction among some developers and proponents of affordable housing. A group trying to shape the 2021 mayor debate, United for Housing, will argue in an upcoming report that the next mayor should prioritize converting hotels into permanently supportive and affordable housing.

Regarding the property agency’s proposal, some housing advocates say the pandemic is an opportunity to find a creative way to alleviate the city’s housing crisis.

“We need a comprehensive plan on how to create new residential resources and the idea of ​​converting office buildings into residential buildings has many advantages in my opinion,” said Brenda Rosen, President and CEO of Breaking Ground, who describes herself as such largest state provider of supportive housing.

Categories
World News

Oracle (ORCL) earnings Q2 2021

Oracle (ORCL) earnings Q2 2021

Safra Catz, Co-Chief Executive Officer of Oracle Corp., speaks during the SelectUSA Investment Summit on Monday, June 19, 2017, in Oxon Hill, Maryland, USA. The SelectUSA Investment Summit brings together economic development companies from around the world, organizations from all over the nation and other parties promoting FDI in the United States.

Eric Thayer | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Oracle shares fell as much as 2% in extended trading Thursday after the company posted earnings in the second quarter that exceeded analysts’ expectations. Shares rebounded after the company issued a better-than-expected quarterly forecast.

This is how the company did it:

  • Merits: $ 1.06 per share, adjusted versus $ 1.00 per share as analysts expected, according to Refinitive
  • Revenue: According to Refinitiv, $ 9.80 billion versus $ 9.79 billion as analysts expected.

Oracle’s revenue increased nearly 2% year over year for the quarter ended November 30, according to a statement. In the previous quarter, sales rose by almost 2%.

The company pointed to the growth of cloud services, which are in greater demand this year as the coronavirus has forced many corporate employees to telework. At the same time, it continues to provide more traditional services to businesses, some of which have been hard hit by the pandemic.

“We would have achieved more revenue growth if we hadn’t had any capacity constraints at OCI in the second quarter,” said Larry Ellison, co-founder and chairman of Oracle, the analysts in a conference call. He was referring to Oracle’s cloud infrastructure that competes with Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure.

Oracle’s largest business, cloud services and license support, had revenue of $ 7.11 billion, up 4% year over year and above the consensus estimate of $ 7.04 billion among analysts surveyed by FactSet . Oracle’s revenue from second-generation cloud infrastructures rose 139% for the quarter, Oracle CEO Safra Catz said on the conference call.

However, smaller parts of the Oracle business declined. The company’s cloud licensing and on-premises licensing segments contributed $ 1.09 billion to revenue, down 3%. Analysts polled by FactSet had searched for $ 1.13 billion.

Oracle’s hardware sales were $ 844 million, a 3% decrease, despite being just above the FactSet analyst consensus of $ 838 million. The company’s service revenue of $ 752 million was slightly above the consensus of $ 750 million, but was down 7%.

“So the pandemic has some negative effects on us, some positive effects on us, simply because of our size and breadth of customer base, it affects them differently,” said Catz. “And so, obviously, our hospitality customers have had a tough time. Some of our retail customers did terrible, others did very, very well.”

In the quarter, President Donald Trump said he had basically agreed to a deal to move US user data for the TikTok video sharing app to Oracle’s cloud infrastructure. Oracle said it would become a 12.5% ​​owner of TikTok Global as part of the deal. The deal is not final.

Oracle also announced the availability of a cloud service that allows organizations to monitor the health of various parts of applications running in clouds and on-premises centers.

With regards to the guidance, Catz expects the company to achieve adjusted earnings per share of $ 1.09-1.13 and annualized revenue growth of 2-4 percent for the third quarter of fiscal year. Analysts polled by Refinitiv had expected adjusted earnings per share of $ 1.04 and revenue of $ 9.95 billion, representing a growth of 1.5%.

Excluding the after-hours move, Oracle’s shares are up about 12% since early 2020, while the S&P 500 is up nearly 14%.

CLOCK: Salesforce CEO praises former boss Larry Ellison for the TikTok deal

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Business

Lululemon (LULU) stories Q3 2020 earnings, gross sales beat estimates

Lululemon (LULU) reports Q3 2020 earnings, sales beat estimates

Lululemon Athletica store exterior, Ponce City Market.

John Greim | LightRocket | Getty Images

Lululemon reported sales of $ 1.1 billion on Thursday, up 22% year over year, beating analysts’ estimates as shoppers visited the retailer’s stores and website to purchase workout clothes during the reporting period.

In North America, net sales increased 19% driven by the e-commerce business. Overall, direct sales to consumers increased 94%, representing 42.8% of total sales, compared to 26.9% a year ago. This represents the sales that Lululemon makes directly to consumers through its stores and website with no intermediaries.

Due to the uncertainty surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic, which has forced it to temporarily close a handful of its stores again, Lululemon doesn’t offer a full outlook for 2020. Like others in retail, Lululemon faces the risk of additional store closings Coronavirus- Cases are still increasing in the US and other parts of the world.

However, CFO Meghan Frank noted that the company planned the holiday quarter “based on multiple performance scenarios” and believes it is “well positioned” for the holiday season. During the week of Thanksgiving and Black Friday, the company announced that its online business was generating record sales, offsetting the decline in store traffic.

Lululemon shares started to make gains, falling around 1% in after-hours trading shortly after 5pm. As of Thursday’s close of trading, Lululemon shares were up more than 59% year-to-date, bringing the company’s market cap to $ 48.1 billion.

Here’s how the retailer performed in the third quarter of fiscal year compared to analyst expectations based on refinitive data:

  • Earnings per share: $ 1.16, adjusted versus 88 cents expected
  • Revenue: $ 1.12 billion versus $ 1.02 billion expected

For the quarter ended November 1, Lululemon made $ 143.6 million, or $ 1.10 per share, compared to $ 126 million, or 96 cents per share, a year ago. Without a one-time charge, the company made $ 1.16 per share, better than what analysts had expected to be 88 cents.

Net sales rose 22% to $ 1.12 billion, beating analysts’ estimates of $ 1.02 billion.

In-store sales, tracking sales online and in stores that have been open for at least 12 months, increased 19%.

The company said sales for women were up 22% year over year, while those of men were up 14%.

While the entire apparel category has struggled this year, Lululemon is a retailer that has taken advantage of more consumers focusing on exercising at home during the pandemic and opting for comfortable sportswear over dresses and suits.

“While a V-shaped rebound may not happen for most of the apparel retail sector, Lululemon has recovered from a poor start to the year with impressive third quarter numbers,” said Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData Retail.

“Our data also shows that Lululemon has attracted a lot of new buyers, especially in women’s fashion,” he added.

Earlier this year, Lululemon also acquired home exercise equipment maker Mirror for $ 500 million to compete with the likes of bike maker Peloton. During the quarter, Lululemon announced it had started selling the startups’ $ 1,500 mirror-like devices in 18 stores and on its website.

The full press release on the result can be found here.

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Health

California Journey Restrictions: What You Have to Know

California Travel Restrictions: What You Need to Know

Is it restricted to travel within California?

Travel is already restricted in some areas, with additional restrictions likely. Each California county is assigned a set of restrictions based on the frequency of new virus cases and positivity. Travelers can check which activities are allowed.

According to the latest regulation, if ICU capacity falls below 15 percent in any of the five regions, people must “stay at home or where they live, unless this is required for activities related to the operation, maintenance or use of critical infrastructure is. “There are some exceptions for activities such as outdoor worship and exercise.

So far, the Southern California, Greater Sacramento, and San Joaquin Valley regions have fallen below the 15 percent threshold of the five regions in order of stay at home. Some counties, including San Francisco and Santa Clara, implemented the restrictions before they hit the threshold.

The rest of the state must adhere to the November Limited Stay Ordinance, which generally prohibits non-essential work, movement, and gatherings between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. in counties with the highest rate of coronavirus cases and hospitalizations.

Updated

Apr 10, 2020 at 8:38 am ET

Can I get a refund on a flight to California that has already been booked?

You’ll need to check with your airline about the restrictions on your specific ticket, but most airlines have retained the newly relaxed change and cancellation rules that they put in place during the pandemic.

If you don’t get a refund, you will likely receive credit for a future flight. United Airlines’ website provides information on situations where travel plans have been affected by Covid-19. Alaska Airlines has permanently removed change fees and also offers refunds or credits if travelers’ plans change.

What if I have already booked a vacation at a California hotel?

Currently, all California hotels and accommodations, including short term rentals such as Airbnb, are prohibited from accepting or honoring reservations outside of the state for non-essential travel unless the reservation is made for the minimum quarantine period required and the guest stays there until the required time runs from.

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Politics

Battleground states urge Supreme Courtroom to reject Texas’ bid to overturn Biden wins

Battleground states urge Supreme Court to reject Texas' bid to overturn Biden wins

The battlefield states, whose results of the Texas presidential election are being challenged in the Supreme Court, urged judges Thursday not to take up the case.

The four states to which the lawsuit pertained warned in unusually harsh briefs that granting Texas’s unprecedented demand for “violence against the constitution” and “disenfranchises millions of voters”.

These states – Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Georgia – all confirmed their election results, with Democrat Joe Biden defeating President Donald Trump.

Almost simultaneously, Washington, DC Attorney General Karl Racine filed a brief in the court on behalf of the District of Columbia and 22 states and territories in defense of the four states targeted by Texas.

This court friend was joined by California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Guam, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon. Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, US Virgin Islands, and Washington.

The flood of important briefings related to the case – including Trump’s own request to intervene – recalled the dramatic and ongoing polarization in the US just weeks after one of the most controversial elections.

Pennsylvania called Ken Paxton’s long-term attempt to overturn elections in other states “legally unreasonable” and “a violation of the principles of constitutional democracy” in his letter.

“Texas is trying to invalidate elections in four states to get results it disagrees with,” says Pennsylvania.

Dana Nessel, the Michigan attorney general, in her state’s statement, urged the court to immediately dismiss the Texas case.

“Otherwise this court would become the arbiter of all future national elections,” wrote Nessel.

“The basis of Texas’ claims rests on the allegation that Michigan violated its own electoral laws. Not true,” added Nessel. “That claim has been dismissed in Michigan federal and state courts, and just yesterday the Michigan Supreme Court denied a final attempt to move for review.”

Christopher Carr, the Georgia attorney general, told the court that Texas was “transferring Georgia’s electoral powers to the federal judiciary.”

“Respect for federalism and constitutionalism prohibits this transfer of power, but this court should never reach that issue,” he wrote.

The answers came a day after Trump asked the Supreme Court to let him intervene on the case. The president, who refuses to admit Biden, has hyped the Texas case as “the big one” – but electoral law experts say there’s little chance the court will allow it.

So far, the judges have not taken any action in this case. Despite Trump’s frequent appeals, the court has shown unwillingness to enter into any litigation related to the presidential election.

For example, the judges have not yet said whether they will hear a GOP challenge to postal ballot papers received in Pennsylvania after election day. On Tuesday, they rejected an appeal from a Trump ally who attempted to reverse the findings on that state in a one-line order with no disagreement noted.

Even so, Paxton’s case has raised hopes among Trump’s supporters, desperate for a full court order to cancel Biden’s planned victory. Large sections of the electorate are convinced by the President’s repeated, unproven, and often debunked claims that widespread electoral fraud influenced the election of Biden.

Seventeen states where Trump won the referendum fueled those views on Wednesday when they filed a pleading with the Supreme Court in support of the Texas case.

On Thursday afternoon, 106 Republican members of Congress, led by Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., Signed their own letter in support of Paxton’s lawsuit.

This mandate was written by Phillip Jauregui, an attorney for the Judicial Action Group, who states on his website that he is working for the “renewal of justice” and is calling for “a third great awakening”.

Trump and his electoral team have filed dozens of lawsuits in court to invalidate election results, and state lawmakers have appointed pro-Trump voters.

Many of these cases have already been dismissed – but Trump is still pursuing legal challenges in key states, even with less than a week left before voters meet to cast their votes.

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Business

‘Is Exxon a Survivor?’ The Oil Big Is at a Crossroads.

‘Is Exxon a Survivor?’ The Oil Giant Is at a Crossroads.

HOUSTON – For the past 135 years, Exxon Mobil has survived hostile governments, ill-fated investments, and the disastrous Exxon Valdez oil spill. From all of this, the oil company made wads of money.

But suddenly Exxon is slipping badly, its long latent weaknesses being exposed by the coronavirus pandemic and technological changes that promise to transform the energy world amid growing concerns about climate change.

The company, one of America’s most profitable and valuable companies for decades, lost $ 2.4 billion in the first nine months of the year, and its stock price has fallen about 35 percent that year. In August, Exxon was removed from the industrial average by Dow Jones and replaced by Salesforce, a software company. The move symbolized the handover of the baton from Big Oil to an increasingly dominant technology industry.

“Is Exxon a Survivor?” asked Jennifer Rowland, an energy analyst with Edward Jones. “Of course they are with great global fortune, great people, and great technical know-how. But the question is really, can they thrive? This is very skeptical at the moment. “

Exxon is increasingly under pressure from investors. DE Shaw, a longtime shareholder who recently increased its stake in Exxon, is calling for the company to cut costs and improve its environmental footprint, according to one informed person. Another activist investor, Engine No. 1, urges similar changes supported by the California State Teachers Retirement System and the Church of England. And on Wednesday, New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli said the state’s $ 226 billion pension fund was selling stakes in oil and gas companies that weren’t moving fast enough to reduce emissions.

Of course, every oil company is grappling with the collapse in energy needs this year, and as world leaders, including President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr., they commit to addressing climate change. In addition, many utility companies, automakers, and other companies have committed to significantly reducing or eliminating the use of fossil fuels, the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions, and have turned to wind, solar, and electric vehicles.

European companies like Royal Dutch Shell and BP have already started moving away from fossil fuels. But Exxon, like most American oil companies, has doubled its exposure to oil and gas and is investing relatively little in technologies that could help slow climate change.

As recently as last month, Exxon reiterated that it plans to increase fossil fuel production, albeit at a slower pace. The company is investing billions of dollars in oil and gas production in the Permian Basin, which stretches across Texas and New Mexico, as well as offshore fields in Guyana, Brazil and Mozambique.

Exxon committed to its strategy despite acknowledging that one of its previous big bets wasn’t going well. Exxon announced it would write off the value of its natural gas assets, most of which were purchased around 2010, by up to $ 20 billion. The company is laying off around 14,000 workers, or 15 percent of its total, over the next year to cut costs and protect a dividend it has increased every year for nearly four decades up to this year.

However, if this crisis poses an existential threat, Exxon’s executive suite, still known within the company as the “God Pod,” has not been recognized.

“Despite the current volatility and short-term uncertainty, the long-term fundamentals that drive our business remain strong and unchanged,” said Darren W. Woods, chairman and CEO of the company since 2017, at a recent annual general meeting.

Exxon is known in the oil world as an island company with a rigid culture that slows adoptive, decisive change. It has been so since John D. Rockefeller founded the company as Standard Oil in the late 19th century, a monopoly that was later dissolved by the government.

As a trained accountant, Rockefeller has introduced a deep commitment to numerical calculations that remains in the company’s DNA. Exxon is mostly run by engineers who typically work their way up to managerial positions. The executives are determined to overcome all conceivable hurdles such as oil embargoes, wars and OPEC sanctions. Such trust may be required to run a business that does business in dangerous or inhospitable locations.

As a trained electrical engineer and 28-year-old company veteran, Mr. Woods speaks with the same confidence as his better-known predecessors. But he has made less of a profile than Lee R. Raymond, who dismissed climate change concerns in the 1990s and early 2000s, and Rex W. Tillerson, whose international prowess helped him become President Trump’s first secretary of state between 2006 and 2016.

While Mr. Raymond and Mr. Tillerson were dominant figures in the industry, they left Mr. Woods with many problems that were at least partially obscured by higher oil and gas prices.

Mr. Raymond’s public skepticism about climate change damaged the company’s reputation. Mr. Tillerson was slow to take advantage of the shale drilling to stimulate the American oil industry. His foray into the former Soviet Union and Iraq turned out to be an expensive failure. When he bought XTO for over $ 30 billion a decade ago to gain fracking expertise and valuable natural gas fields, gas prices were at their peak. As the price of commodities fell in recent years, the company lost money and wrote off much of the investment over the past month.

“Darren Woods inherited a company that has been placing big bets in recent years that have been unsuccessful,” said Fadel Gheit, a retired Wall Street analyst who worked as a research and development engineer prior to its merger with Exxon in 1999 Was mobile.

“Exxon Mobil is like a big cruise ship,” he added. “You can’t change course overnight. You can weather the storm but you can’t go far. You need to transform to stay relevant. “

Economy & Economy

Updated

Apr. 10, 2020, 4:09 pm ET

Mr Raymond declined to comment. Mr. Tillerson did not respond to a request for comment. Exxon answered questions mainly by referring to previous public statements by Mr. Woods and the company.

Casey Norton, a company spokesman, said the acquisition of XTO “brought the people and technology in addition to potential resources” that helped the company thrive in shale fields in the Permian Basin.

In the early years of his tenure, Mr. Woods followed the strategy set out by Mr. Tillerson by borrowing and investing heavily to expand production. The pandemic forced Mr. Woods to change direction. The company now plans to spend a third less on exploration and production by 2025 than originally planned.

The changes Exxon is making may seem big in absolute terms, but seem tinkering when compared to the activities of European oil companies. BP has announced that it will increase its investment in low-carbon companies tenfold over the next decade to $ 5 billion a year while cutting oil and gas production by 40 percent. Royal Dutch Shell, Total of France and other European companies are taking similar steps at different speeds.

The only major American oil company getting close to setting European targets is Occidental Petroleum. The company recently pledged to achieve zero net carbon emissions by 2040 and use fuel by 2050. A facility is being built in Texas to capture carbon dioxide from the air and push crude oil out of the ground, keeping the greenhouse gas underground forever.

“We have moved from the slate era to the energy transition era, so there is greater divergence in strategy between companies, the greatest in modern times,” said Daniel Yergin, energy historian and author of The New Map : Energy, Climate and the Clash of Nations. “” Now the big debate is whether the oil summit will peak in the 2020s or 2030s or 2050s. “

Exxon executives have stated that an energy transition is underway and necessary. But they also claimed that it would make no sense for the company to get into the solar or wind energy business. Instead, the company invests in breakthrough technologies. One such project involves using algae to make fuel for trucks and airplanes. Exxon has talked about this project for years but has not yet started commercial production.

Exxon refineries could one day also become major hydrogen producers, which many experts believe could play an important role in reducing emissions. The company relies on carbon capture and sequestration. One project is to channel carbon emitted from industrial operations into a fuel cell that can generate electricity, reduce emissions and at the same time produce more electricity.

“Breakthroughs in these areas are critical to reducing emissions and would make a significant contribution to the achievement of the goals of the Paris Agreement, which we support,” Woods said in a message to staff in October, referring to the 2016 global climate agreement.

Energy experts said it is possible that Exxon could develop new uses for carbon dioxide, such as reinforcing concrete or making carbon fiber, which could replace steel and other materials.

“If Exxon and other big players in the oil industry crack these nuts, the whole discussion about hydrocarbons will change,” said Kenneth B. Medlock III, senior director at Rice University’s Center for Energy Studies. “This type of change is slow until it is no longer that way. Think of the wind and sun that were slow until they weren’t. “

A sharp spike in oil and gas prices could also allay some of the company’s concerns, at least temporarily. In the past few weeks, as oil prices have risen on optimism about a coronavirus vaccine, Exxon’s stock has soared.

Vijay Swarup, Exxon’s vice president of research and development, said in a recent interview that the company understood that it needed to cut emissions and develop better fuels, lubricants and plastics.

“As we develop this way to get there, we can’t stop providing affordable, scalable power,” said Swarup.

However, John Browne, a former BP executive director, said it was not clear that Exxon and the other major American corporations were reshaping their businesses appropriately for a low-carbon future.

“You can choose to just go ahead and harvest and say, ‘Let’s see what happens in the long run,” he said. “It’s a pretty risky strategy these days.”

Lauren Hirsch contributed to the coverage.