Tag: Hits

Categories
World News

Turkish Foreign money Hits a New Low, Once more

Turkish Currency Hits a New Low, Again

ISTANBUL — The Turkish lira hit new lows on Thursday after the Central Bank reduced interest rates for the fourth successive month in what has become President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s increasingly personal battle to turn an ailing economy around.

The lira plunged to 15.60 against the dollar in the hours after the rate cut, down 5 percent in the day. The cut was widely expected since Mr. Erdogan announced his intention last month to lower rates despite soaring inflation of more than 20 percent.

Mr. Erdogan has resisted following generally accepted policy of raising interest rates to contain inflation, choosing instead to drive rates down in an effort to encourage growth with an eye on elections 18 months away. He has promised to increase production and employment in what he casts as an “economic war of independence.”

Driving the lira down in value appears to be part of a policy to make Turkey more competitive in export markets. The lira has lost nearly 50 percent of its value this year.

Yet the currency crash has hit Turkish citizens with almost daily price increases and inflation rates of 21 percent, although analysts say unofficial rates are double that.

In a sign of how urgent the economic situation has become, soon after Thursday’s rate cut, Mr. Erdogan announced in a televised news briefing at the presidential palace that he would be raising the minimum wage in the new year by 50 percent.

“With this raise, we proved our determination to prevent our employees being crushed by price increases,” he said. He promised to prevent speculation on the currency and to end the volatility. “There is no need for such speculation. Our money is here, and it is the Turkish lira. We will not allow it to crash.”

Mr. Erdogan has taken increasing personal control over the country’s economy and monetary policy, changing the head of the Central Bank several times in recent years and explaining that because he was responsible to voters for the economic performance of the country, he should be involved in the decision making.

Yet it is his repeated interference and unorthodox policies that have scared investors and rattled markets.

Nureddin Nebati, the Turkish finance minister, reiterated Mr. Erdogan’s announcements in his own comments on Twitter. “We said, ‘We will not subjugate the minimum wage earner to inflation.’ We did not, we do not,” he wrote. The government was also reducing the tax burden on employers, he wrote.

But Mr. Erdogan’s political opponents were quick to cast criticism, while analysts pointed to the contrast with Britain and Norway, which both raised interest rates on Thursday to counter rising inflation in their economies, moves that were met favorably by the markets.

“This is now a deliberate evil,” Ugur Gurses, a financial analyst and former central banker, tweeted about the latest government moves. “It’s a shame for the country.”

A former prime minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, in light of the day’s crushing fall of the lira, derided the increase in the minimum wage. The wage had decreased in value by 110 U.S. dollars, which was more than the increase was worth, he said. “The word for taking $110 out of people’s pockets by pretending to give them 1,425 TL is ‘stealing’!” he said.

Mustafa Murat Kubilay, a financial analyst, said Mr. Erdogan’s latest moves were aimed at bolstering production and exports in the first quarter of next year to put him ahead for elections.

“As imports decrease because of increasing poverty, there would be a current account surplus,” Mr. Kubilay said. “The Central Bank reserves will increase, and, in the medium term, the aim is for currency price to stabilize.”

“Sacrificing income tax and the increase in the minimum wage is an indication that we have entered the election process,” he said.

The thinking was that if the pandemic were finished, along with Turkey’s drought, by next summer, and with the tourism and the construction sectors reviving with low-interest-rate loans, then conditions would be set for snap elections, Mr. Kubilay said.

But the plan was fraught with weaknesses, he said. He warned that there could be significant money flows out of the country, difficulty procuring imports needed for the country’s exports, and even a possible social explosion as people experienced deepening poverty.

Categories
World News

Dow jumps 200 factors, S&P 500 hits report as Powell prepares markets for Fed’s bond taper this 12 months

Dow jumps 200 points, S&P 500 hits record as Powell prepares markets for Fed's bond taper this year

Traders work on the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York, USA, 19 August 2021.

Wang Ying | Xinhua News Agency | Getty Images

Shares rose on Friday, heading for a successful week as Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell prepared the markets for the central bank to pull back on some of its monetary stimulus and said it will likely begin its monthly bond purchases in the amount of $ 120 billion this year.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 244 points, or 0.6%. The S&P 500 rose 0.8% to hit a record 4,505.16. The Nasdaq Composite gained 1.1% to hit a record 15,102.70.

The three most important stock averages will all close the week in the green. The Dow is up 0.9% since weekday, while the S&P 500 is up 1.4% and the Nasdaq Composite is up 2.5%.

The 10-year government bond yield featured in Powell’s speech this week eased slightly after the Fed chief made it clear that rate hikes would not follow immediately after the tapering ended.

“The timing and pace of the impending reduction in bond purchases will not be a direct signal of the timing of the rate hike, for which we have formulated a different and much more stringent test,” said Powell.

Powell also said inflation is solidly around the central bank’s 2% target rate, one of the targets of the Fed’s dual mandate. However, it “has a lot of ground to overcome” to meet its other goal of maximum employment, although there has been “clear progress” along the way, Powell added. The Fed has used the phrase “significant further progress” as a measure of when it will start tightening monetary policy.

Based on statements from other Fed officials, a reduction in the announcement could be made at the Fed meeting on September 21-22.

The financial market reaction on Friday is a sign that the central bank has so far been successfully preparing investors for their monthly $ 120 billion in 2013. Markets seem relieved that the Fed is not planning to hike rates anytime soon, said Michael Arone, Chief Investment Strategist for the US SPDR business at State Street Global Advisors.

“Rate hikes are far, far away and investors are excited about them,” he said. “I think Powell deserves credit for mastering asset reductions and avoiding a tantrum. The market appears to be well prepared for the reductions to begin.”

The speech also signaled that the Fed is not nearly as nervous about prices as some in the market and in Washington, said Adam Crisafulli, founder of Vital Knowledge.

“Powell spends most of the speech addressing inflation concerns,” he said of the speech, adding that Powell “is addressing concerns about rate hikes and telling markets that the threshold for rate hikes is much higher than a cut.”

Cornerstone Wealth’s chief investment officer, Cliff Hodge, noted that Powell held firm to the Fed’s view that increased inflation is temporary, despite the fact that the Department of Commerce on Friday reported the largest increase in consumer spending since 1991. The PCE index rose 4.2% in July on the same date last year and 0.4% on the previous month.

“He successfully threaded the needle to communicate that the taper is likely to begin this year while reiterating the idea that the taper is not a tightening,” Hodge said. “We believe that this September, subject to further setbacks from the Delta variant, is likely to result in a number of blowout jobs and set the table for the official reduction announcement at the FOMC meeting in September.”

Energy stocks led the S&P higher after being hit hardest on Thursday. Occidental Petroleum was up 7%, Cimarex Energy was up 6% and Marathon Oil was up 5%.

Workday’s shares were up 11% after reporting strong earnings and subscription income currently, up 23% year over year. Gap rose nearly 2% after the apparel retailer’s quarterly earnings report beat sales and bottom line, while Peloton stocks fell after the exercise equipment maker’s fourth quarter financial results missed Wall Street’s estimates. The peloton fell 8%.

The three major US indices closed the regular trading session lower on Thursday. The Dow had a four-day winning streak while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite both broke a five-day winning streak.

Market participants also observed new developments in Afghanistan that appeared to weigh on investor sentiment. The Pentagon confirmed Thursday that explosions near Hamid Karzai International Airport in Afghanistan killed 13 US soldiers and injured 18.

CNBC Pro’s Stock Picks and Investment Trends:

“The markets don’t like uncertainty and uncertainty in Afghanistan is high and feels like it is rising,” said Bob Doll, chief investment officer of Crossmark Global Investments.

The indices are on track to end the month higher. The Dow was up 1.4% in August. The S&P 500 is up 2.5% this month and the Nasdaq Composite is up 2.9%.

– Jeff Cox, Patti Domm, and Yun Li contributed to this report.

Categories
World News

With #MeToo Case In opposition to Kris Wu, China Hits Out at Celebrities

With #MeToo Case Against Kris Wu, China Hits Out at Celebrities

China’s ruling Communist Party has seized on the high-profile detention of a Canadian Chinese pop singer in Beijing on suspicion of rape to deliver a stark warning against what it regards as a social ill: celebrity obsession.

In less than a month, the pop singer Kris Wu, 30, has gone from being one of China’s biggest stars, with several lucrative endorsements and legions of young female fans, to perhaps the most prominent figure in the country to be detained over #MeToo allegations. The police said over the weekend that Mr. Wu was being investigated after weeks of public accusations of sexual wrongdoing against him, though officials provided few details.

Born in China and raised partly in Canada, Mr. Wu rose to fame as a member of the Korean pop band EXO, before striking out on his own as a singer and actor. He built a huge following in China with his manicured good looks and edgy swagger. He amassed endorsement deals with many domestic and international brands, including Bulgari and Louis Vuitton.

Mr. Wu has not been formally charged, but his career in China has already taken a big hit. After mounting public pressure, more than a dozen brands cut ties with him. His Weibo social media account, where he had over 51 million followers, was taken down shortly after the news of his detention. His songs have also disappeared from Chinese music platforms.

Chinese women’s rights activists have hailed the detention as a rare victory for the country’s fledgling #MeToo movement. But the Communist Party’s official news outlets have largely cast the investigation into Mr. Wu as proof that the party, led by Xi Jinping, one of its most hard-line leaders in decades, defends the interests of ordinary people.

Guo Ting, a gender studies scholar at the University of Hong Kong, said, “Xi has tried to reinvent the party as the legitimate party for the people and the party of Chinese socialism for the people.” By going after Mr. Wu, she added, the party is “targeting the so-called rich and powerful, while evading the real kind of gray area of that wealth and power within the party elite.”

When the accusations against Mr. Wu first emerged weeks ago, the party’s propaganda outlets largely stayed quiet. But after his detention, they put out commentaries and news reports hailing it as a lesson to celebrities.

“Wu Yifan has money, he’s handsome and he has the status of being a ‘top star,’” read a commentary in The Global Times, a Communist Party-run newspaper, referring to the singer by his Chinese name. “Perhaps he thought that ‘sleeping with women’ was his advantage, maybe even his privilege.”

“But on this precise point he has made a mistake,” the newspaper noted.

Some of the rhetoric noted that foreign citizenship did not place celebrities beyond the reach of the law, pointing in part to continuing tensions between China and Canada as well as rising anti-Western sentiment among Chinese.

CCTV, China’s state broadcaster, said in a commentary, “No one has a talisman — the halo of celebrity cannot protect you, fans cannot protect you, a foreign passport cannot protect you.”

The state news media’s approach reflects the Chinese government’s recent crackdown on the entertainment industry and the culture of celebrity worship that Beijing has accused of leading the country’s youth astray. The authorities have stepped up censorship, cracked down on the widespread practice of tax evasion within the industry and ordered caps on salaries for the country’s biggest movie stars.

Concerns about the outsize influence of celebrities on the country’s youth reached a peak in May when fans supporting contestants in a boy band competition spent huge sums of money buying — then apparently dumping — yogurt drinks to vote for their favorite idols. The government promptly issued regulations aimed at cracking down on what they called “chaotic” online fan clubs and their “irrational” behaviors. The authorities on Monday said they had already taken down thousands of “problematic groups” as part of an ongoing effort to address “bad online fan culture.”

The authorities “are concerned about the impact on the youth,” said Bai Meijiadai, a lecturer at Liaoning University in northeastern China who studies fan culture. “They want to see the youth studying and working, not spending excessive amounts of money to chase stars.”

Mr. Wu, too, had an army of fans eager to open their wallets to bolster his image by buying albums and even making donations to charities in his name. He has also sought to use his influence to pressure his critics into silence, according to his accuser and a producer of a popular showbiz program.

The producer, Xiao Wei, said his show, “Xiu Cai Kan Entertainment,” had been compelled to remove a video it had posted online in which its hosts criticized Mr. Wu after the allegations of sexual misconduct had emerged. Mr. Xiao said the short-video platform Douyin had told the program that they had been contacted by Mr. Wu’s lawyers.

“This is an age of stars, fans and traffic,” Mr. Xiao said in an interview. “Money has become the only criterion to success — this is not right.”

China’s Tightening Grip

    • Xi’s Warning: A century after the Communist Party’s founding, China’s leader says foreign powers would “crack their heads and spill blood” if they tried to stop its rise.
    • Behind the Takeover of Hong Kong: One year ago, the city’s freedoms were curtailed with breathtaking speed. But the clampdown was years in the making, and many signals were missed.
    • One Year Later in Hong Kong: Neighbors are urged to report on one another. Children are taught to look for traitors. The Communist Party is remaking the city.
    • Mapping Out China’s Post-Covid Path: Xi Jinping, China’s leader, is seeking to balance confidence and caution as his country strides ahead while other places continue to grapple with the pandemic.
    • A Challenge to U.S. Global Leadership: As President Biden predicts a struggle between democracies and their opponents, Beijing is eager to champion the other side.
    • ‘Red Tourism’ Flourishes: New and improved attractions dedicated to the Communist Party’s history, or a sanitized version of it, are drawing crowds ahead of the party’s centennial.

The police investigation into Mr. Wu came weeks after a university student, Du Meizhu, now 18, accused the singer of enticing young women like herself with the promise of career opportunities, then pressuring them into having sex.

Ms. Du’s public accusations were met with an outpouring of support, but also criticism from the singer’s fans, prompting debates about victim shaming, consent and abuse of power in the workplace.

Some women’s rights activists saw Mr. Wu’s detention as a sign that feminist values had finally permeated the mainstream to the extent that the authorities could no longer afford to look the other way. They said they were hopeful that it would encourage more women to come forward to share their experiences and that it could lead to wider avenues for legal recourse for sexual assault survivors.

“This time, progress was made very suddenly, but it was very satisfying,” said Li Tingting, a gender equality activist in Beijing. “Everyone is looking forward to what will happen in the future.”

But it remained unclear if the police in Beijing were looking specifically into Ms. Du’s complaints. The authorities last month released initial findings about her allegations that said she had hyped her story to “enhance her online popularity.”

Ms. Du did not respond to requests for comment. Emails to Mr. Wu’s studio and his lawyer received no response. Mr. Wu denied the allegations on his personal Weibo account last month, saying he would send himself to jail if they were true.

Despite the surprise development, activists know that China’s #MeToo movement is tightly constrained by the government’s strict limits on dissent and activism. Women who have previously come forward with accusations of sexual harassment and assault against prominent men have often become targets of threats and defamation lawsuits. Feminist activist accounts and chat groups on Chinese social media sites are routinely shut down.

The swift manner in which the authorities have addressed the complaints against Mr. Wu contrasts with how they responded to #MeToo accusations against Zhu Jun, a prominent television personality at CCTV, the state broadcaster. Mr. Zhu was accused by a former intern, Zhou Xiaoxuan, in 2018, of forcibly kissing and groping her in 2014 while she was working on his program, accusations that he has denied. Ms. Zhou has sued Mr. Zhu for damages, but three years later, her complaint remains unresolved.

Mr. Wu, by comparison, is not part of the party establishment.

Professor Guo, of the University of Hong Kong, said, “It is still a state capitalist system and Wu Yifan is not a part of that official establishment,” adding, “His nationality and his status, I think, make it easy for the party to on one hand cut him off, while still maintaining its own legitimacy.”

Categories
Health

Fauci Needs to Make Vaccines for the Subsequent Pandemic Earlier than It Hits

Fauci Wants to Make Vaccines for the Next Pandemic Before It Hits

In a way, the world was lucky with the new coronavirus. By sheer coincidence, scientists coincidentally spent years studying coronaviruses and developing the exact tools needed to make Covid vaccines once the virus’s genetic sequence was released.

But what if the next pandemic comes from a virus that causes Lassa fever, or from the Sudanese Ebola tribe, or from a Nipah virus?

Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, director of the National Institute for Allergies and Infectious Diseases, promotes an ambitious and expensive plan to prepare for such nightmare scenarios. It would cost “a few billion dollars” a year, take five years to get results, and employ a huge cadre of scientists, he said.

The idea is to produce “prototype” vaccines to protect against viruses from around 20 families that could trigger a new pandemic. With research tools proven successful for Covid-19, researchers would uncover the molecular structure of each virus, learn where antibodies should hit it, and how to get the body to make those exact antibodies.

“If we get the funding, which I think we will, it will likely start in 2022,” said Dr. Fauci, adding that he had promoted the idea “in discussions with the White House and others”.

Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, thought it likely that the necessary funding would be made available and called the project “imperative.”

“As we begin to think about a successful end to the Covid-19 pandemic, we must not lapse into complacency again,” said Dr. Collins.

Much of the financial support would come from Dr. Fauci are coming, but a project of this size would require additional funding that would have to be provided by Congress. This year’s budget for the Institute for Infectious Diseases is just over $ 6 billion. Dr. Fauci did not specify how much additional money would be needed.

Logically, if surveillance networks discovered a new virus spilling from animals to humans, scientists could stop it by immunizing people in the outbreak by quickly making the prototype vaccine. And if the virus spreads before the world realizes what’s happening, the prototype vaccines could be used more widely.

“The name of the game would be to try to limit spillovers to breakouts,” said Dr. Dennis Burton, a vaccine researcher and chairman of the Department of Immunology and Microbiology at the Scripps Research Institute.

The prototype vaccine project is the brainchild of Dr. Barney Graham, Associate Director of the Vaccine Research Center at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. He presented the idea in February 2017 at a private meeting of the institute directors.

Year after year, viruses threatened to turn into pandemics, said Dr. Graham: H1N1 swine flu in 2009, Chikungunya in 2012, MERS in 2013, Ebola in 2014, Zika in 2016. Each time scientists tried to make a vaccine. Her only success was a partial one, with an Ebola vaccine that helped control the epidemic but was not effective against other Ebola strains. The other epidemics receded before the vaccines could be made or tested.

Updated

July 24, 2021 at 11:34 a.m. ET

“We were tired,” said Dr. Graham.

But researchers over the past decade have come up with new tools that could make a big difference. They enabled scientists to see the molecular structures of viruses, isolate antibodies that block the viruses, and figure out where they bind. The result was an opportunity for “structure-based design” for new vaccines that more precisely target the pathogen.

When he won the pitch for Dr. Graham heard was Dr. Fauci thrilled. “It struck me and others on the board as something that was really feasible,” said Dr. Fauci.

Dr. Graham published a review paper in Nature Immunology in 2018 outlining the proposal. But without the urgency of an impending pandemic, his idea remained just that.

But now many believe that the time has come.

The Institute for Allergies and Infectious Diseases has created a table for each of the 20 virus families that shows what is known about the anatomy and susceptibility of each pathogen, said Dr. John Mascola, director of the institute’s vaccine research center.

Understand the state of vaccine mandates in the United States

“We are at a different level of knowledge and vaccine development for each virus family,” said Dr. Mascola. Vaccinations against Lassa fever and the Nipah virus, for example, are in the early stages. Chikungunya and Zika vaccines are more advanced.

Work to fill the gaps in vaccine development would be done through research grants to academic researchers. “There’s a lot of enthusiasm” among academic researchers, said Dr. Barton Haynes, director of the Duke Human Vaccine Institute. Although the proposal is not known to the public, Dr. Fauci, he discussed it in conversations with a scientific audience.

The program would also enter into collaboration agreements with pharmaceutical companies to quickly manufacture prototype vaccines, said Dr. Fauci.

That happened during the shooting because of Covid-19. The SARS and MERS epidemics prompted scientists to work on a coronavirus vaccine. This led to the discovery that coronaviruses use a spike protein to infect cells, but the spike changes shape easily and must be held in position to be useful as a vaccine. Researchers found that it can do this with tiny molecular changes in the spike protein.

Days after the sequence of the new coronavirus was released, scientists had developed vaccines to fight it.

That, said Dr. Fauci, is what pandemic preparation can do. He would like to have prototype vaccines for 10 of the 20 virus families in the first five years of his work.

“It would take quite a bit of money,” admitted Dr. Fauci a. “But after what we’ve been through, it’s not out of the question.”

Categories
World News

S&P 500 hits new file after sizzling inflation information, sturdy earnings

S&P 500 hits new record after hot inflation data, strong earnings

The S&P 500 inched out a new high on Tuesday as investors weighed a hotter-than-expected inflation report and a strong start to second-quarter earnings season.

The broad index traded 0.12% higher, reaching an intraday record. The Dow Jones Industrial average shed about 41 points, or 0.12%. The measure closed at a record just below 35,000 the day prior.

The Nasdaq Composite gained about 0.4% and also hit another intraday high as investors went back into their favorite tech stocks amid the competing market crosscurrents. Apple and Amazon each gained more than 1% and both are outperforming the market this month.

Inflation rose at its fastest pace in nearly 13 years, the Labor Department reported Tuesday. The consumer price index increased 5.4% in June from a year ago; economists surveyed by Dow Jones expected a 5% gain. Core CPI, excluding food and energy, jumped 4.5%, the sharpest move for that measure since September 1991 and well above the estimate of 3.8%.

“A white-hot June CPI print has the markets jittery this morning,” Cliff Hodge, chief investment officer at Cornerstone Wealth, said. “Moving forward we expect these inflation numbers to begin to cool. June 2020 was the absolute low for Core CPI during the pandemic shutdown, so the comparisons get tougher from here. Used car prices soared 45% year over year which is not likely to persist in coming months.”

The latest inflation data came after big banks and PepsiCo posted blowout second-quarter earnings reports. But with stocks at record highs and the Dow Jones Industrial Average just shy of 35,000, expectations likely ran higher than the official estimates reflected.

JPMorgan Chase shares dipped even after posting second-quarter earnings of $11.9 billion, or $3.78 per share, which exceeded the $3.21 estimate of analysts surveyed by Refinitiv.

Banks set aside billions of dollars for loan losses amid the pandemic, but have been releasing those reserves as consumers performed better than expected. JPMorgan released $3 billion in loan loss reserves after taking just $734 million in charge-offs. That gave the firm a $2.3 billion benefit, allowing the bank to top earnings expectations. Investors may be giving less credit to JPMorgan’s earnings beat due to this loan loss reserve release.

Goldman Sachs also shares edged lower after the firm reported second-quarter earnings of $15.02 per share, topping analysts’ expectation of $10.24 earnings per share. The bank posted its second-best ever quarterly investment banking revenue as a rush of IPOs hit Wall Street last quarter.

PepsiCo shares added more than 2% after the company crushed estimates for its second-quarter earnings and revenue, fueled by returning restaurant demand. The drink and snack giant also raised its forecast.

Meanwhile, shares of Boeing fell more than 3%, weighing on Dow sentiment, after the plane maker cut 787 Dreamliner production following the detection of a new flaw.

Overall earnings reports are expected to be stellar for the second quarter over the coming weeks with profit growth estimated at 64% year-over-year for the quarter, according to FactSet. That would be the biggest quarterly profit increase since 2009.

Banks’ earnings are expected to more than double for the second quarter, with an estimated 119.5% estimated year-over-year growth rate, according to analysts polled by FactSet.

In the regular trading session on Monday the Dow rose 126.02 points to close just below 35,000. The blue-chip measure is up 14% this year. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite gained 0.3% and 0.2%, respectively, to record closes.

“High expectations for earnings and each companies’ forward guidance will push markets higher or disappointment may create a small pullback in equity markets,” said Jeff Kilburg, chief investment officer at Sanctuary Wealth. “Eyes will be on the major banks to set the tone for the next few weeks of earnings.”

Bank of America, Citigroup, Wells Fargo and Morgan Stanley all ended Monday higher as well. They will report their earnings later in the week.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is scheduled to appear in front of Congress Wednesday and Thursday to provide an update on monetary policy. He has maintained that the Fed’s easy policies will remain intact until there’s more progress on its employment and inflation goals.

Categories
Business

Anheuser-Busch to present away free beer when America hits its vaccination objective.

Anheuser-Busch to give away free beer when America hits its vaccination goal.

Brewing giant Anheuser-Busch said on Wednesday that he would offer Americans another incentive to get vaccinated: free beer.

The company said in a statement that it will buy “America’s next round” of beer, seltzer or soft drink once the country meets President Biden’s goal of giving 70 percent of the adult population at least one coronavirus vaccination by July 4 receive. 63 percent of American adults have received at least one dose.

“We are proud to perform in times of need as well as at times of great celebrations, and last year was no different,” said Michel Doukeris, CEO of Anheuser-Busch. “We look to brighter days with renewed optimism and are proud to work with the White House to make a meaningful impact on our country, our communities and our consumers.”

Reaching your vaccination goal by Independence Day may not be easy. The pace of vaccination in the US has slowed, but the greatest advances in recent weeks have been in vaccinating 12-15 year olds who are not eligible for the free beer. However, progress has been made to reach some groups, including Latinos and those without college degrees, with the highest rates of vaccination reluctance, according to the Kaiser Foundation.

The offer from Anheuser-Busch comes because other companies and federal states have introduced their own promotional gifts to promote vaccinations. West Virginia Governor Jim Justice said Tuesday that the state would be giving away guns and other prizes, including trucks and lifetime hunting and fishing licenses, to vaccinated residents.

Other states, including California, New Mexico and Ohio, have started lottery drawings to give out cash prizes to those vaccinated.

Categories
Business

Scrounging for Hits, Hollywood Goes Again to the Video Recreation Nicely

Scrounging for Hits, Hollywood Goes Back to the Video Game Well

LOS ANGELES — For 28 years, ever since “Super Mario Bros.” arrived in cinemas with the tagline “This Ain’t No Game,” Hollywood has been trying and mostly failing — epically, famously — to turn hit video games into hit movies. For every “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider” (2001), which turned Angelina Jolie into an A-list action star, there has been a nonsensical “Max Payne” (2008), an abominable “Prince of Persia” (2010) and a wince-inducing “Warcraft” (2016).

If video games are the comic books of our time, why can’t Hollywood figure out how to mine them accordingly?

It may finally be happening, powered in part by the proliferation of streaming services and their need for intellectual property to exploit. “The need for established, globally appealing I.P. has naturally led to gaming,” Matthew Ball, a venture investor and the former head of strategy for Amazon Studios, wrote last year in an essay titled “7 Reasons Why Gaming I.P. Is Finally Taking Off in Film/TV.”

After years of inaction and false starts, for instance, Sony Pictures Entertainment and its PlayStation-powered sibling, Sony Interactive, are finally working together to turn PlayStation games into mass-appeal movies and television shows. There are 10 game adaptations in the Sony Pictures pipeline, a big leap from practically none in 2018. They include “Uncharted,” a $120 million adventure based on a 14-year-old PlayStation property (more than 40 million copies sold). “Uncharted” stars Tom Holland, the reigning Spider-Man, as Nathan Drake, the treasure hunter at the center of the game franchise. It is scheduled for release in theaters on Feb. 18.

Sony is starting production on “The Last of Us,” a series headed to HBO and based on the post-apocalyptic game of the same title. Pedro Pascal, “The Mandalorian” himself, is the star, and Craig Mazin, who created the Emmy-winning mini-series “Chernobyl,” is the showrunner. Executive producers include Carolyn Strauss, one of the forces behind “Game of Thrones,” and Neil Druckmann, who led the creation of the Last of Us game.

Sony games like Twisted Metal and Ghost of Tsushima are also getting the TV and film treatment. (Contrary to speculation, one that is not, at least not anytime soon, according to a Sony spokesman: God of War.)

In the past, Sony Pictures and Sony Interactive operated as fiefs, with creative control — it’s mine; no, it’s mine — impeding adaptation efforts. When he took over as Sony’s chief executive in 2018, Kenichiro Yoshida demanded cooperation. The ultimate goal is to make better use of Sony’s online PlayStation Network to bring Sony movies, shows and music directly to consumers. PlayStation Network, introduced in 2006, has more than 114 million monthly active users.

“I have witnessed a radical shift in the nature of cooperation between different parts of the company,” said Sanford Panitch, Sony’s movie president.

The game adaptation boom extends far beyond Sony.

“Halo,” a series based on the Xbox franchise about a war between humans and an alliance of aliens (more than 80 million copies sold), will arrive on the Paramount+ streaming service early next year; Steven Spielberg is an executive producer. Lionsgate is adapting the Borderlands games (roughly 60 million sold) into a science fiction film starring Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart and Jamie Lee Curtis.

Buoyed by its success with “The Witcher,” a fantasy series adapted from games and novels, Netflix has shows based on the “Assassin’s Creed,” “Resident Evil,” “Splinter Cell” and “Cuphead” games on the way. Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy, the duo behind HBO’s “Westworld,” are developing a science-fiction show for Amazon that is based on the Fallout video game franchise.

And Nintendo and Illumination Entertainment, the Universal Pictures studio responsible for the “Despicable Me” franchise, have an animated Mario movie headed to theaters next year — another new collaboration between a game publisher and a film company.

Today in Business

Updated 

May 21, 2021, 3:55 p.m. ET

Still, Hollywood’s game adaptation track record is terrible. Why should the coming projects be any different?

For a start, the games themselves have evolved, becoming more intricate and cinematic. “Games have stories that are so much more developed and advanced than they used to be,” Mr. Panitch said.

There are also signs that Hollywood has figured out how to make game-based films that satisfy both audiences and critics. “Pokémon Detective Pikachu,” which paired animated creatures with live actors, collected $433 million worldwide in 2019 for Warner Bros. and Legendary Entertainment — and was the first major game adaptation in three decades to receive a “fresh” designation on Rotten Tomatoes, the review-aggregation site. Since then, two more adaptations, “Sonic the Hedgehog” (Paramount) and “The Angry Birds Movie 2” (Sony) have been critical and commercial successes.

“Quality has definitely been improving,” said Geoff Keighley, creator of the Game Awards, an Oscars-like ceremony for the industry.

The most recent game-to-film entry, “Mortal Kombat” (Warner Bros.), received mixed reviews but has taken in $41.2 million in the United States since its release last month, a surprisingly large total considering it was released simultaneously on HBO Max and theaters were still operating with strict coronavirus safety protocols.

Mr. Panitch acknowledged that “video game movies have a checkered history.” But he added, “Failure is the mother of invention.”

Game adaptations, for instance, have often faltered by trying to rigidly replicate the action and story lines that fans know and love. That approach invites comparison, and movies (even with sophisticated visual effects) almost always fail to measure up. At the same time, such “fan service” turns off nongamers, resulting in films that don’t connect with any particular audience.

“It’s not just about adapting the story,” said Michael Jonathan Smith, who is leading Sony’s effort to turn Twisted Metal, a 1995 vehicular combat game, into a television series. “It’s about adapting how you feel when you play the game. It has to be about characters you care about. And then you can slide in the Easter eggs and story points that get fans absolutely pumped.”

“Uncharted” is a prequel that, for the first time, creates origin stories for the characters in the game. With any luck, such storytelling will satisfy fans by giving them something new — while also inviting nongamers, who may otherwise worry about not knowing what is going on, to buy tickets. (The producers of “Uncharted” include Charles Roven, who is known for the “Dark Knight” trilogy.)

“It’s a question of balance,” said Asad Qizilbash, a senior Sony Interactive executive who also runs PlayStation Productions, an entity started in 2019 and based on Sony’s movie lot in Culver City, Calif.

Unlike in the past, when Sony Pictures and Sony Interactive pledged to work together and ultimately did not, the current collaboration “has weight because there is a win for everyone,” Mr. Qizilbash added. “We have three objectives. Grow audience size for games. Bring product to Sony Pictures. Showcase collaboration.”

The stakes are high. A cinematic flop could hurt the game franchise.

“It’s risky,” Mr. Qizilbash allowed. “But I think we can do it.”

Categories
World News

Bitcoin (BTC) worth plunges to $30,000, hits lowest stage since January

Bitcoin (BTC) price plunges to $30,000, hits lowest level since January

Bitcoin fell to nearly $ 30,000 at one point on Wednesday morning, continuing a major sell-off in cryptocurrency markets that began a week ago.

On the day just before noon ET, the digital currency fell 13% to $ 37,490, according to Coin Metrics. It only hit $ 30,001.51 as sales increased on Wednesday morning before some of those losses were reduced. The cryptocurrency has not traded below $ 30,000 since the end of January.

At its intraday lows, Bitcoin lost more than 40% over the past week.

That means that after Tesla announced it would buy $ 1.5 billion in cryptocurrency, Bitcoin has now wiped out all profits. It’s also down more than 50% since it hit a record high of $ 64,829 in mid-April.

Other cryptocurrencies also fell on Wednesday. According to Coin Metrics, ether, the digital currency that powers the Ethereum blockchain, fell more than 20% to $ 2,699. Dogecoin, a cryptocurrency that started as a hoax and was raised by Musk, fell more than 18% to around 39 cents.

Additionally, the Coinbase cryptocurrency exchange was temporarily unavailable for some users as the coins fell on Monday morning.

Bitcoin prices fell sharply amid the global sell-off of stocks.

Luke MacGregor | Bloomberg | Getty Images

The announcement that it would suspend Bitcoin payments came just three months after Tesla announced it had bought $ 1.5 billion in Bitcoin and would accept Bitcoin in exchange for its products.

Earlier this week, the Tesla CEO suggested that the company may have sold its Bitcoin holdings, but later clarified that it “did not sell Bitcoin”.

On Tuesday, three Chinese banking and payment companies issued a statement warning financial institutions not to engage in any virtual currency-related business, including trading or exchanging fiat currency for cryptocurrency.

China’s hard line on digital currencies isn’t new. In 2017, the authorities closed the local cryptocurrency exchanges and banned so-called ICOs (Initial Coin Offerings), a way for companies in this area to raise money by issuing new digital tokens.

Traders in China once had a large stake in the Bitcoin market, but after the crackdown, their influence was significantly reduced. Chinese cryptocurrency operations have been relocated abroad.

“The crypto markets are currently processing a cascade of messages fueling the bear for price developments,” said Ulrik Lykke, executive director of the crypto hedge fund ARK36.

In the Bitcoin market alone, more than $ 250 billion evaporated last week, Lykke said. While that number seems “astronomical,” such moves are not uncommon in the volatile crypto market, he added.

“In terms of Bitcoin’s outlook, things may look bleak right now, but historically this is just one more hurdle Bitcoin has to overcome and a small one compared to what it has done in the past,” said Lykke.

Bitcoin is still up over 30% since the start of the year and around 300% in the last 12 months.

Categories
Politics

Biden job approval hits 53%, majority assist infrastructure plan: NBC Information ballot

Biden job approval hits 53%, majority support infrastructure plan: NBC News poll

United States President Joe Biden speaks about his $ 2 trillion infrastructure plan during an event at Carpenters Pittsburgh Training Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on March 31, 2021.

Jonathan Ernst | Reuters

More than half of Americans say they support President Joe Biden’s performance to date and agree with his sweeping proposal for an infrastructure, according to a new NBC News poll.

Poll results, released on Sunday, showed that 53% of respondents approve of Biden’s inauguration, including 90% Democrats, 61% of Independents and 9% of Republicans, while 39% of respondents disapprove of Biden’s performance.

The president also received support for his coronavirus bailout package, approved in March, and his $ 2 trillion infrastructure proposal, which is designed to help boost the post-pandemic economy.

The poll found that 46% of Americans thought the president’s $ 1.9 trillion Covid relief bill, which included direct payments to Americans and expanded unemployment insurance, was a good idea. while 25% thought it was a bad idea and 26% had no opinion.

Additionally, 61% of respondents said the worst of the U.S. pandemic is over, while only 19% think the worst is yet to come.

Biden’s infrastructure plan, which aims to revitalize U.S. transportation infrastructure, water systems, broadband, manufacturing, and combat climate change, was also popular with respondents. 59% said the plan was a good idea, 21% disagreed, and 19% disagreed.

Reactions varied across party lines: 87% of Democrats, 68% of Independents and 21% of Republicans said they supported the infrastructure plan.

CNBC policy

Read more about CNBC’s political coverage:

“What we don’t know is whether this is part of a 100-day honeymoon or something that is more permanent and permanent for the Biden-Harris administration,” said Democratic pollster Jeff Horwitt of Hart Research Associates, who conducted the poll with the Republican pollster Bill McInturff conducted by Public Opinion Strategies, NBC News told.

“What we do know is that Joe Biden’s presidency is timely,” said Horwitt.

The president also received high marks for his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, which received 69% approval, as well as his handling of the economy, which received 52% approval.

Regarding the unification of the country and dealing with racial relations, 52% and 49% of respondents agreed.

Participants were less satisfied with Biden’s handling of relations with China, arms issues, and border security and immigration. The poll also found that 80% of people still believe the US is largely divided, despite Biden’s promises to unite the country.

The survey polled 1,000 adults across the country from April 17th to 20th. The error rate is plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.

Categories
World News

Market hits an all-time excessive after blowout financial information and powerful financial institution earnings

US stocks rose to record levels Thursday after major companies reported strong gains and new economic data suggested a rebound in consumer spending and the labor market.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 300 points to hit an all-time high. The S&P 500 gained 0.9% and also reached an intraday record. The Nasdaq Composite gained 1.1%.

Technology stocks rallied as bond yields fell. Netflix, Facebook, and Alphabet each rose more than 2%, while Amazon, Microsoft, and Apple each gained at least 1%. The 10-year government bond yield fell 9 basis points to 1.54%. Higher rates tend to undermine future profits for growth-oriented companies.

Retail sales rose 9.8% in March as additional incentives boosted consumer spending, the Commerce Department reported Thursday. That number beat the Dow Jones estimate of 6.1%.

A separate report dated Thursday showed that initial unemployment insurance claims had dropped to their lowest level since March 2020. The Department of Labor reported 576,000 new jobless claims for the week ending April 10. The economists polled by Dow Jones expected a total of 710,000.

Shares of UnitedHealth, a Dow member, rose 4% after results beat predictions on the road and health insurer raised its guidance for 2021.

Pepsi stock rose 0.3% after the snacks and beverages maker posted a nearly 7% increase in sales in the most recent quarter, beating estimates.

The market has continued to improve in recent sessions, given the economic reopening and trillion dollar incentives to hit new records. The S&P 500 was up nearly 10% in 2021, with Energy and Finance being the most recent year to date.

“I am incredibly optimistic about the markets and you are right to be concerned about our shortcomings,” said Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock, in an interview on Squawk Box. “If we don’t have sustained economic growth that is sustainable for the next 10 years, our deficits will play a role and raise interest rates … I believe, due to monetary incentives, tax incentives and cash on the verge of profits, markets are fine. The Markets will continue to be stronger. “

Citigroup shares erased previous gains, most recently trading 0.4% lower. The bank posted results that exceeded analysts’ estimates for first quarter earnings, with strong investment banking revenues and a higher than expected release of loan loss provisions.

Bank of America stocks rose as profits spilled over the last quarter on booming trade and investment banking results and the release of credit risk reserves. However, stocks fell 2%.

The new public crypto exchange Coinbase gained 1.7% in volatile trading after it was revealed that Ark Invest’s Cathie Wood was charged on the first day of trading.

On Tuesday, the Food and Drug Administration called for a break in J & J’s Covid-19 vaccine administration after six people in the United States developed a rare blood clot disorder. The announcement sparked a sell-off when the Games reopened earlier this week, but is not expected to have a material impact on the pace of U.S. vaccine rollouts.

Did you like this article?
For exclusive stock selection, investment ideas and CNBC Global Livestream
Sign up for CNBC Pro
Start your free trial now