Saga...

 

What happened at Archegos management appears to have become a problem for many banks.

 Banks lent the fund money assuming they could pocket lending fees and manage any risks along the way.  Last week it did not play out that way. The shares of Viacom  involved fell fast and the losses were apparently large enough that some of the banks involved either could not or did no swiftly exited their positions.

 Japanese bank may have lost $2 billion dollars last week, potentially as a result of Bill Hwang’s Archegos Capital Management.

The initial movements against Archegos were unpleasant. The share price declines   been magnified by banks had to sell down stock to recoup potential losses, throwing large blocks of shares into the market causing unusual volume.

 Volatility in Viacom, has been high recently, the halving of the stock from recent highs has taken the stock back to where it was just in January of this year.

 The rise is perhaps almost as notable as the swift decline and the losses mounted. Just a thought.

Breakthrough...

 

Washington state is investigating 102 potential cases of people becoming ill with COVID-19 more than two weeks after being fully vaccinated, the Washington State Department of Health reported.

The majority of those in Washington with confirmed vaccine breakthrough experienced only mild symptoms or no symptoms. However, eight people were hospitalized with COVID-19, and the state is investigating two "potential" breakthrough cases where patients died.

Both of those patients were more than 80 years old and suffered underlying health issues, according to the state.

The state said that the breakthrough cases are 0.01% of the 1.2 million fully vaccinated people in Washington state, which health officials say falls within the results of the clinical studies of the vaccines.

The Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines reduced the risk of getting COVID-19 in vaccinated people by up to 95%, according to the studies.

Plummeted...

 

Nursing homes deaths are way down. They have plummeted, falling by more than 90 percent between late December and March 2021. The main cause is straightforward: Nursing home residents have been among the first people to be vaccinated. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has swept the nation, killing more than 174,000 residents and staff of nursing homes and other long-term care facilities. The AARP Public Policy Institute,  created the AARP Nursing Home COVID-19 Dashboard to provide four-week snapshots of the virus’ infiltration into nursing homes and impact on nursing home residents and staff, with the goal of identifying specific areas of concern at the national and state levels in a timely manner. 

Happens...

 

Iowa Democrat Rita Hart withdrew her contest before Congress on Wednesday, ending her challenge of her state-certified, six-vote loss amid increasing pressure by Republicans to dismiss her case and growing skepticism by Democrats of overturning the House election.

Hart's decision came hours after House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy rallied with Hart's opponent, GOP Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, in Iowa, and two days after Hart lawyer Marc Elias asked the House Administration Committee to "count every vote."

Lobbyists...

 

The White House’s rollout of the biggest infrastructure package in at least five decades has sparked a lobbying frenzy in Washington, a mad dash among lawmakers and lobbyists to weigh in on the legislation and sway the Biden administration to include their pet projects or exclude the corporate tax hikes they don’t want to pay. The early jockeying for influence over the plan portends a fierce debate about the details that could last much of the year, if not longer.

On Capitol Hill, progressive Democrats are urging the Biden administration to spend more to combat climate change and tackle the goals of the Green New Deal.

 A small but growing group of blue-state Democrats is vowing to oppose the package unless it repeals Trump-era limits on state and local tax deductions. Nearly 60 other Democrats in both chambers are calling for a roughly $100 billion investment in public housing.

Take the money from one side, give it to another.. all in all is a disaster to the economy.  Just a thought.

Peter...

 LARRY KUDLOW: Wall Street may be waiting for President Joe Biden’s big announcement on infrastructure. President Biden expected to unveil his plans, this alleged infrastructure plan I should say, which frankly is going to be less about traditional infrastructure and a lot more about the Green New Deal and a massive, across-the-board, tax hike. 

Also buried in the plan is going to be social infrastructure, which will be a massive expansion of the welfare state with no work incentives.

Robing Peter to Pay Paul- The poor will continue to be poor.[Look at New York NYSH} and the rich would invest less. Less Jobs than more. Yoooo Goooo.

So we tax every one to give the money to certain businesses of the Government's choice to invest. The best free market ever. Just a thought.

 

Sleeping...

 

Wrong...

 

Experts boarded the massive container ship that blocked Egypt's vital Suez Canal and disrupted global trade for nearly a week, seeking answers to a single question that could have billions of dollars in legal implications: What went wrong?

As convoys of ships again began traveling in this artery linking East and West through the Mediterranean and Red Seas, hundreds more idled waiting for their turn. what caused the skyscraper-sized Ever Given to become wedged across the canal's southern single-lane on March 23.

When blame gets assigned, it could turn into years of litigation over the costs of repairing the ship, fixing the canal and reimbursing those who saw their cargo shipments disrupted. And since the vessel is owned by a Japanese firm, operated by a Taiwanese shipper, flagged in Panama and now stuck in Egypt, matters have quickly become an international morass.

Crisis...

 

 

Two House Republicans are demanding documents related to reporting that President Joe Biden's transition team was warned by Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials about the possible consequences of reversing his predecessors immigration policies.

 Representatives Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Tom McClintock (R-Calif.) accused the new administration of refusing to "accept responsibility for the growing humanitarian and security crisis."  

"This refusal to accept responsibility is startling in light of a news report that suggests the Biden Administration was warned that reversing President Trump's successful immigration policies would lead to a surge at the border,"  

The report referenced, published by NPR, featured former acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf stating that career agency officials stressed problems would arise at the U.S.-Mexico border if the new administration removed immigration policies such as "Remain in Mexico" and other asylum measures. The concerns were allegedly raised during multiple briefings the department held with Biden's transition team.

Reason...