What we’re reading (10/22)
“I Should Have Worn A Mask” (Wall Street Journal). Op-ed in the WSJ from Chris Christie today: “For seven months I was very careful about mask wearing, social distancing and hand washing. As someone with asthma, I knew I faced heightened risk. Then, at the Rose Garden nomination event for Judge Amy Coney Barrett, and during debate preparations with President Trump, I let my guard down and left my mask off. I mistook the bubble of security around the president for a viral safe zone. I was wrong. There is no safe zone from this virus.”
“Weekly Jobless Claims Slump To The Lowest Level Since The Pandemic” (CNBC). “New filings for jobless claims in the U.S. totaled 787,000 last week, the lowest total since the early days of the coronavirus pandemic. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been expecting 875,000 for the week ended Oct. 17. The total reflected a decline of 55,000 from the downwardly revised 842,000 from the previous week. The last time the weekly claims total was lower was the 282,000 on March 14, just before an avalanche of layoffs that occurred in conjunction with efforts to combat the virus.”
“Asset Managers in $300bn Drive To Build Private Lending Funds” (Financial Times). The “shadow banking system” is coming out of the shadows a bit, it seems: “Asset managers are seeking to raise almost $300bn to plough into private lending deals with groups such as Goldman Sachs and Oaktree hoping to lure investors away from frothy public markets. Publicly traded debt and equity securities have surged in price this year after central banks and governments across the world unleashed trillions of dollars worth of stimulus to dull the economic blow from the pandemic. Managers argue that private credit — including funds set up to lend directly to companies — is one area that has not yet become saturated. It has also benefited from post-financial crisis regulations that pushed banks to tamp down lending to riskier clients.”
“Airlines Don’t Deserve Another Taxpayer-Financed Bailout” (Los Angeles Times). “Congress and President Trump, having doled out $25 billion in payroll grants plus a similar sum in low-interest loans to the airline industry in April, are seeking a second bailout, possibly as part of a general stimulus bill. The urge to rescue the airlines flows from good intentions, but it is not a smart way to help the economy and it will reward CEOs for serial mismanagement and self-enrichment.”
“Turkey Farmers Fear That, This Year, They’ve Bred Too Many Big Birds” (Washington Post). “The coronavirus pandemic will interrupt 50 years of steadily increasing turkey consumption, threatening to change holiday traditions forever. Social distancing and travel challenges will mean more, smaller holiday gatherings this November — thus smaller home-cooked turkeys on the table, fewer holiday restaurant reservations and, in an increasing number of households, no turkey at all.”
