What we’re reading (1/14)
“Americans Won’t Be Banned From Investing in Alibaba, Tencent and Baidu” (Wall Street Journal). “The U.S. government is expected to let Americans continue to invest in Chinese technology giants Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., Tencent Holdings Ltd. and Baidu Inc., after weighing the firms’ alleged ties to China’s military against the potential economic impact of banning them.”
“A Vastly Faster Vaccine Rollout” (World Spirit Sock Puppet). “When a traveler introduced smallpox to New York City in 1947, the city—and in particular its health commissioner, Israel Weinstein—apparently ran an epic vaccination campaign, reaching 5 million people in the first two weeks...[f]or covid, the first New York City vaccine was given on the 14th of December, and if I understand, by the 10th of January, twenty seven days later, 203,181 doses had reportedly been given…[t]hat’s around eight thousand doses per day. A factor of fifty fewer…[w]hy is New York fifty times slower at delivering covid vaccines in 2021 than it was at delivering smallpox vaccines in 1947?”
“J&J’s One-Shot Covid Vaccine Is Safe And Generates Promising Immune Response In Early Trial” (CNBC). “Most of the volunteers produced detectable neutralizing antibodies, which researchers believe play an important role in defending cells against the virus, after 28 days, according to the trial data. By day 57, all volunteers had detectable antibodies, regardless of vaccine dose or age group, and remained stable for at least 71 days in the 18-to-55 age group.”
“Twitter And Facebook Have Seen $51 Billion Of Combined Market Value Wiped Out Since Booting Trump From Their Platforms” (Business Insider). “Companies across sectors have responded to the president's rhetoric in recent days by pausing political donations, making statements decrying his inflammatory remarks, and pulling products with links to right-wing movements. Facebook and Twitter possibly took the biggest retaliatory steps when they indefinitely banned Trump from their platforms on Thursday and Friday, respectively.”
“SEC Charges Alleged Mastermind Of Made-Up Stuff With Fraud” (Dealbreaker). “Of course, if in spite of the names of Funds III and IV there were, in fact, no Funds I and II, no decade-long track record of overperformance, no $250 million balance sheet to cover losses…”
