Money in a liquid state

January 13, 2021 | 6:09 pm

WATER and its liquid properties provide some paradigms for business and the economy. “Liquidity” for instance refers to the flow of money in the economy and on a personal level describes how much cash one has on hand, also called a cash flow. (Does this signify that cash just passes through and goes somewhere else?) A high level of liquid assets above operating expenses can describe an individual as swimming in cash.

Where one swims can also determine the perception of success in a career. Ponds are used for these aquatic exertions. Are you a small fish in a big pond? Or a big fish in a small one?

A pond is much smaller than a lake or an ocean. Fishes in the ocean provide a somewhat biblical slant (you will be fishers of men) though they can refer to job applicants too. Or even romantic prospects — there are so many fish in the sea. This one is a consoling thought for those who let one or two get away.

The combination of fishes and the pools of water they swim in can indicate career prospects. Thus, someone treading water in a large and profitable company with huge benefits, but occupying a low-tier position like senior manager in a structure where Vice-Presidents are a dime a dozen, is said to be a small fish in a big pond.

If this swimmer decides to move to a start-up fintech company in a low-rent office building, enticed by shares (sweat equity) and a glorified title like Chief Technology Officer (CTO), he is said to have turned into a big fish in a small pond. The big payoff is expected when the company lists with an IPO. This presumes that the IPO price kicks up on the first day of listing.

Why does anyone changing jobs feel compelled to describe himself as a small creature with fins swimming in a body of water? Why not simply admit that one has been forced to leave even if the big pond was indeed comfortable for fishes big and small? The pond as metaphor is intended to avoid embarrassing exchanges. Moves are somehow required to be perceived as voluntary, even planned.

Other watery metaphors are applied to economics and business.

The “trickle-down” effect refers to income distribution in macroeconomics. The theory holds that lower taxes at the top will trickle benefits to those lower down the income scale. This premise is contested by those who feel not even a splash coming from the top. The tax cut can even get out of the system into a safe haven.

A “pissing contest” which requires expelling liquid through a very small aperture, refers to the rat race. The supposition is that vitality (often associated with youth) allows the pisser to launch his liquid waste a longer distance. Here, the incontinent veteran suffers in comparison. The latter’s drippy effort on the amber stuff can make this urinary contest too one-sided. Size is not the issue here, only the speed and distance of delivery.

“Walking on water” is also a phrase used in business. It describes the divine attributes of those newly poached from stints abroad at stratospheric compensation levels and introduced as miracle workers — please welcome Divine Grace as our new CFO. She is known to walk on water, except in a storm. The new hire is expected to occasionally turn water into wine and raise assets from the dead.

“Passing water” is the reaction of cowed subordinates. The expulsion of liquid here is an involuntary reaction to water walkers. They also figure significantly in pissing contests. (See above)

Being “under water,” unless one’s business involves aquatic entertainment for socially distanced bar habitués drinking mojito and gazing through thick glass walls, denotes an unfortunate condition. It is ironically an illiquid state.

As for “sunk cost,” this refers to failed investments which should no longer affect future financial decisions. It is considered a bad strategy to tote up past losses when making new decisions, like acquiring a new company. This time let’s look closely at the valuation.

As for old acquaintances catching up with you, and how you’re doing in terms of the waterworks, it’s best to be vague. (I’m just keeping my head above water.) Such ambiguity allows conversation to move on to other problems, which can be dismissed as water under the bridge.

And in moments of economic difficulties, sometimes an offer of comfort can be irresistibly liquid. Need a drink?

Tony Samson is Chairman and CEO, TOUCH xda

ar.samson@yahoo.com

Scientists raise doubts about AstraZeneca vaccine efficacy

January 13, 2021 | 5:41 pm

SYDNEY — Australian scientists have raised questions over the efficacy of the AstraZeneca coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine in establishing herd immunity, calling for a pause on its widespread rollout as the country recorded one new coronavirus case on Wednesday.

The opposition to the vaccine casts a cloud over Australia’s immunization plans with 53 million doses of the AstraZeneca jab already on hand.

“The question is really whether it is able to provide herd immunity. We are playing a long game here. We don’t know how long that will take,” said Professor Stephen Turner, the president of the Australian and New Zealand Society for Immunology (ASI).

Mr. Turner added that the government must pivot towards getting more of the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines.

Experts, including Mr. Turner, cited data showing the AstraZeneca jab had 62% efficacy compared with over 90% for the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine.

In a statement, the ASI said Mr. Turner was speaking as an expert in immunology and that the body did not advocate a pause to the rollout as widely reported by local media.

Earlier, Turner told the Sydney Morning Herald the AstraZeneca vaccine is not one “I would be deploying widely because of that lower efficacy.”

Australia has 10 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine, though neither AstraZeneca nor Pfizer have approval from the country’s drug regulator, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA).

AstraZeneca did not immediately respond to an email request for comment.

EFFECTIVE, SAFE, HIGH QUALITY
Australia’s chief medical officer, Paul Kelly, attempted to thwart the concerns around its efficacy, saying the AstraZeneca jab was “effective,” “safe” and of “high quality”.

“The great advantage of the AstraZeneca vaccine is it’s being made here in Australia,” Mr. Kelly said. “It will be available as soon as the TGA gives its tick, which we expect that it will in February.”

Mr. Kelly said Australia will have more data by February as well as “real-world information” coming from London, which has already rolled out the vaccine.

Australia has been more successful than many other countries in managing the pandemic, with total infections in the country of 25 million people at about 28,600, with 909 deaths.

Its success is largely attributable to closed borders and widespread compliance with social-distancing rules, along with aggressive testing and tracing programmes.

Given the low case numbers and community transmission rates, some experts say Australia could afford waiting for a more effective vaccine.

“The government needs to be flexible in its rollout decisions once we have a better understanding of the efficacy of the other vaccines,” said Adrian Esterman, chair of Biostatistics and Epidemiology at the University of South Australia.

Australia recorded one new local coronavirus case in its most populous state of New South Wales on Wednesday.

In Queensland, hundreds of hotel quarantine guests were forced to restart their isolation after a handful of cases in the facility were linked to the highly contagious UK virus strain. — Reuters

Indonesia starts vaccination drive as COVID-19 deaths hit record

January 13, 2021 | 5:41 pm

JAKARTA — Indonesia launched one of the world’s biggest COVID-19 vaccination campaigns on Wednesday with President Joko Widodo getting the first shot of a Chinese vaccine as his country fights one of the worst coronavirus outbreaks in Asia.

The drive aims to inoculate 181.5 million people, with the first to be vaccinated receiving the CoronaVac vaccine from China’s Sinovac Biotech, which Indonesia authorized for emergency use on Monday.

Dressed in a white shirt and wearing a mask, the president, who is known as Jokowi, got his shot at the presidential palace.

“Vaccination is important to break the chain of COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) transmission and give protection to us and safety to every Indonesian and help accelerate economic recovery,” Mr. Jokowi said after getting his injection.

Some other officials being vaccinated showed off their shot marks to waiting journalists and flexed their arms.

Minister of Health Budi Gunadi Sadikin has said nearly 1.5 million medical workers would be inoculated by February, followed by public servants and the general population within 15 months.

Unlike many countries, Indonesia intends to inoculate its working population first, rather than the elderly, partly because it does not have enough data from clinical trials on CoronaVac’s efficacy on older people.

Indonesia on Tuesday reported a daily record 302 coronavirus deaths, taking fatalities to 24,645. Its infections are at their peak, averaging more than 9,000 a day, with 846,765 total cases.

Indonesia’s stocks have risen in the last few days, helped by the launch of vaccinations, with the main index opening up around 0.7% on Wednesday.

“Vaccinations contributed a fairly positive market sentiment,” said Hans Kwee, director at investment manager Anugerah Mega Investama.

‘NOT ONE BULLET’
Southeast Asia’s largest economy suffered its first recession in more than two decades last year due to pandemic, with the government estimating a contraction of as much as 2.2%.

The government has said two-thirds of the 270 million population must be vaccinated to achieve herd immunity, with the cost of the programme expected to be more than 74 trillion rupiah ($5.26 billion).

Olivia Herlinda, a researcher at the Center for Indonesia’s Strategic Development Initiatives, said authorities had not taken into account the vaccine efficacy and virus reproduction rate to justify its herd immunity focus.

Epidemiologist Masdalina Pane said that vaccines had to be accompanied by increased testing and tracing.

“There’s not one bullet,” she said.

Mr. Budi said Indonesia’s testing and tracing needed improving, adding there was an imbalance in testing resources across the archipelago.

Indonesia has said its trials showed CoronaVac has an efficacy rate of 65.3%, but Brazilian researchers said on Tuesday the vaccine was only 50.4% effective.

Indonesia’s food and drugs authority BPOM did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Bambang Heriyanto, corporate secretary of Bio Farma, the Indonesian company involved in the trials, said the Brazilian data was still above the 50% benchmark set by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Turkish researchers said in December CoronaVac showed a 91.25% efficacy based on interim analysis.

Indonesia expects to get another 122.5 million doses of CoronaVac by January 2022, with about 30 million doses due by the end of the first quarter this year.

It has also secured nearly 330 million doses of other vaccines, including from AstraZeneca and Pfizer and its partner BioNTech. — Reuters

With some Republicans on board, US House Democrats press forward on impeachment vote

January 13, 2021 | 5:38 pm

WASHINGTON — With at least five Republicans joining their push to impeach President Donald Trump over the storming of the US Capitol, Democrats in the House of Representatives stood poised for a history-making vote to try to remove the president from office.

With eight days remaining in Mr. Trump’s term, the House will vote on Wednesday on an article of impeachment accusing the Republican of inciting insurrection in a speech to his followers last week before a mob of them stormed the Capitol, leaving five dead.

That would trigger a trial in the still Republican-controlled Senate, although it was unclear whether enough time or political appetite remained to expel Mr. Trump.

Democrats moved forward on an impeachment vote after a effort to persuade Vice President Mike Pence to invoke the 25^th Amendment of the US Constitution to remove Mr. Trump was rejected by Mr. Pence on Tuesday evening.

“I do not believe that such a course of action is in the best interest of our Nation or consistent with our Constitution,” Mr. Pence said in a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Despite the letter, the House passed a resolution formally calling on Mr. Pence to act. The final vote was 223-205 in favor.

While that was occurring, Mr. Trump’s iron grip on his party was showing further signs of slipping as at least four Republicans, including a member of the House leadership, said they would vote for his second impeachment — a prospect no president before Mr. Trump has faced.

Representative Liz Cheney, the No. 3 House Republican, said: “There has never been a greater betrayal by a President of the United States of his office and his oath to the Constitution.”

Mr. Trump “summoned this mob, assembled the mob, and lit the flame of this attack” on the Capitol on Jan. 6, Ms. Cheney, the daughter of former Republican Vice President Dick Cheney, said in a statement, adding: “I will vote to impeach the president.”

Three other Republican House members, John Katko, Adam Kinzinger and Fred Upton, said they would also vote for impeachment.

Republican leaders in the House did not urge their members to vote against impeaching Mr. Trump, saying it was a matter of individual conscience.

‘DEMONSTRATED NO REMORSE’
In his first public appearance since last Wednesday’s riot, Mr. Trump showed no contrition on Tuesday for his speech, in which he repeated his false claim that President-elect Joe Biden’s victory was illegitimate. Mr. Biden will be sworn in as president on Jan. 20.

“What I said was totally appropriate,” Mr. Trump told reporters on Tuesday in his first public foray since the assault on the Capitol.

At a meeting to set the rules for Wednesday’s impeachment vote, Democratic Representative David Cicilline told the House Rules Committee that the impeachment drive had the support of 217 lawmakers — enough to impeach Mr. Trump.

Mr. Cicilline, who helped craft the impeachment measure, said Mr. Trump “has had almost a week to do the right thing. He has refused to resign, he has failed to take responsibility, he has demonstrated no remorse.”

House Republicans who opposed the impeachment drive argued Democrats were going too far, as Mr. Trump was on the verge of leaving office.

“This is scary where this goes, because this is about more than about impeaching the president of the United States. This is about canceling the president and canceling all the people you guys disagree with,” said Republican Representative Jim Jordan, a leading Trump ally when the president was impeached in 2019 after encouraging the government of Ukraine to dig up political dirt on Mr. Biden.

The New York Times reported that the Republican majority leader of the US Senate, Mitch McConnell, was said to be pleased about the Democratic impeachment push, suggesting Mr. Trump’s party was looking to move on from him after the attack on Congress.

Mr. McConnell believes the impeachment effort will make it easier to purge Mr. Trump from the party, the Times said.

If Mr. Trump is impeached by the House, he would have a trial in the Senate to determine his guilt. A two-thirds majority of the Senate is needed to convict him, meaning at least 17 Republicans in the 100-member chamber would have to vote for conviction.

“I don’t think you would have a hard time finding 17 Republicans to convict” with a tightly drawn article of impeachment, a former Senate Republican leadership aide told Reuters. “I think for McConnell, there’s a very strong impulse for this (the Capitol assault) not to define the party.”

Ms. Pelosi on Tuesday named nine impeachment “managers,” who would present the House’s case for impeachment during a Senate trial, but it remained unclear how swiftly such a trial would take place if the House votes to impeach.

Mr. McConnell has said no trial could begin until the chamber returns from its recess on Jan. 19.

But Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who is set to become the majority leader after two Democrats from Georgia are seated and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris is sworn in, told reporters the Senate could be recalled to handle the matter.

Democrats could also use an impeachment trial to push through a vote blocking Mr. Trump from running for office again.

Rather than a two-thirds vote, a simple Senate majority is needed to disqualify Mr. Trump from future office. There is disagreement among legal experts as to whether a conviction on an impeachment charge would be needed before a disqualification vote. A different part of the Constitution, the 14^th Amendment, also provides a procedure for disqualifying Mr. Trump from future office with a simple majority of both chambers.

Mr. Trump has said he plans to run again in 2024. — Reuters

When it comes to New Year’s resolutions, losing weight and quitting smoking are among the most popular

January 13, 2021 | 5:12 pm

To kick the smoking habit, a doctor recommended anticipating roadblocks and determining specific triggers so that that they can be managed.

Losing weight and quitting smoking are among the most popular resolutions at the start of the new year.

“Kung desidido ka, hindi mo na ipipilit ang bawal [If you’ve already made up your mind, then you’re not going to do what’s not healthy for you],” said Dr. Patrick Siy, an endocrinologist, during a recent health forum organized by the Philippine Society of Endocrinology, Diabetes & Metabolism (PSEDM) and the Philippine College of Chest Physicians (PCCP).

To kick the smoking habit, Dr. Glynna Ong-Cabrera, an internal medicine and cardiovascular and pulmonary physiotherapist, recommended five Ds, a few of which can also be used to curb the desire to stress eat.

“Anticipate your roadblocks and determine your specific triggers so you can manage them,” she said. “Triggers can be managed with the five D’s: delays, distraction, doing something else, deep breathing, and drinking water.”

DIET AND EXERCISE
To shed pounds, the two most important aspects to focus on are diet and exercise. Diabetics have to limit their intake of carbohydrates and sugary drinks, as well as set aside time for physical movement 30 minutes a day.

Portion control must be enforced, even during special occasions. “You will never run out of occasions to attend. There’s always a birthday or an anniversary you’ll be invited to. If you’ve made the decision to live healthy, you can still enjoy special occasions, but you have to limit your intake,” said Mr. Siy.

The ideal meal serving, he added, would be to fill a fourth of a standard-sized, nine-inch plate with lean protein such as fish or chicken, a fourth with complex carbohydrates such as brown rice, and the rest with fruits and leafy vegetables.

Considering the other food items that constitute one’s diet is also important. Milk tea, for instance, has tapioca pearls that contain sugar; three-in-one coffee is equivalent to a three-fourths cup of rice; and sugar-free mamon is equivalent to one cup of rice (one can have sugar-free mamon instead of rice, said Mr. Siy).

VAPING IS STILL SMOKING
Quitting smoking, meanwhile, will not only benefit smokers but also those around them, because secondhand smoke exposure can also cause an increased risk for health problems such as lung cancer and high blood pressure.

Ms. Ong-Cabrera pointed out that cigarette contains toxins including formaldehyde (used for embalming corpses), naphthalene (used to kill cockroaches); and cadmium (used to manufacture batteries and plastics).

E-cigarettes are just as harmful. Over 80 chemicals that have been found in e-liquid and e-cigarette vapors as of 2019. These chemicals include acrolein (an herbicide used to kill weeds) and propylene glycol (used to make paint solvent).

As of February 2020, 2,807 e-cigarette or vaping product use-associated lung injury (EVALI) cases were reported to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, resulting in 68 deaths.

In the Philippines, the first vaping-related illness was confirmed by the Department of Health in November 2019. The Lancet Respiratory Medicine also reported that those who use e-cigarettes, or use it with tobacco, were at a five-times or seven-times increased risk of a COVID-19 diagnosis, as compared to non-users.

“It [vaping] is not a smoking cessation strategy because it also entails a lot of ill effects,” said Ms. Ong-Cabrer. “Ang nag-quit because of vape, hindi nag-quit ’yun. Nag-shift lang [Those who quit smoking because of vape didn’t really quit. They just shifted to a different type of smoking].” — Patricia B. Mirasol

He was one of Asia’s richest men, now he’s fending off debt collectors

January 13, 2021 | 4:36 pm

Shares of property tycoon Pan Sutong’s Goldin Financial Holdings Ltd. plunged and with most of his properties locked up as collateral for loans, he has fallen off the list of the world’s 500 wealthiest people. Goldin Financial’s eponymous skyscraper is at the heart of an asset grab by creditors after the company failed to make timely payments on its outstanding debt. Photo via Goldin Financial/goldinfinancial.com

In just five years, Hong Kong property tycoon Pan Sutong has gone from ranking among Asia’s wealthiest people to having his company’s flagship skyscraper seized by creditors chasing more than $1 billion of debt.

It’s a swift fall from grace for Mr. Pan, 57, who was Asia’s fourth-richest man in 2015 with a net worth of $27 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. But after shares of his Goldin Financial Holdings Ltd. plunged and with most of his properties locked up as collateral for loans, he has fallen off the list of the world’s 500 wealthiest people.

Mr. Pan’s initial wealth came not from property but from dealing in and then manufacturing electronics, an area he ventured into after moving to Hong Kong from California, where he’d spent his teens skipping school and hanging out at his family’s chain of Chinese restaurants. Pan transitioned to property investing in 2008, a few years into a red-hot boom that would mint numerous fortunes in Hong Kong and make it one of the world’s most expensive real estate markets.

He now joins other investors in the city who over-extended themselves during the boom, only to be undone as months of civil unrest and the coronavirus pandemic plunged Hong Kong into its worst recession on record.

Tang Shing-bor, a veteran investor known as the “Shop King” for his vast holdings of retail properties, is seeking to sell billions of dollars of real estate. A group of investors who paid $5.2 billion for The Center in the world’s most-expensive office deal, have been unable to flip floors as the market ground to a halt last year.

“Asset seizures are very company-specific,” said Edward Chan, a credit analyst at S&P Global Ratings in Hong Kong. “If property seizures happen then the company must be in a very bad financial position, with high debt and leverage.” Mr. Chan declined to comment specifically on Goldin Financial’s situation because S&P doesn’t cover the developer.

Even a $1.1 billion loan in September from CK Asset Holdings Ltd., backed by Hong Kong’s second wealthiest man Li Ka-shing, wasn’t enough to help Goldin Financial.

The loan, offered to a unit that owned the firm’s flagship Goldin Financial Global Centre office tower, was to repay borrowings of HK$3.4 billion by intermediary parent companies, Debtwire reported in August. It’s unclear why the CK Asset loan wasn’t used to clear the debt, but the security trustee on the loan is applying to a Bermuda court for Goldin Financial to be wound up. The next court hearing will be held on February 12, according to a Goldin Financial filing.

Mr. Pan, and Goldin Financial, racked up around HK$38 billion ($4.9 billion) of debt between May 2017 and September 2020 for four Hong Kong properties, according to stock exchange filings and data compiled by Bloomberg. At least $1 billion of that debt remains outstanding and tied to Goldin, according to company filings last month.

The latest available figures show Goldin’s net debt to Ebitda, a key measure of leverage, was about nine times at the end of 2018. That compares with a ratio of 2.3 times at the end of 2019 for Sun Hung Kai Properties Ltd., the city’s biggest developer, and around 2 times for smaller developer HKR International Ltd.

Mr. Pan moved from manufacturing consumer electronics such as mobile phones and MP3 players to property in 2008, when he renamed his electronics firm Goldin Properties Holdings Ltd. and purchased a listed company, christening it Goldin Financial. Goldin Properties was delisted in 2017 and Mr. Pan owns a controlling stake in both firms.

Goldin Financial’s downfall can be traced back to Mr. Pan’s strategy of splitting ownership of properties between the company and his own private interests.

Between 2011 and 2020, Pan and Goldin Financial purchased one commercial and two residential properties. Goldin Financial took a 60% ownership stake, while Pan eventually held 40% privately. There was a similar ownership structure for a majority stake in a third residential plot.

But starting in 2018, Mr. Pan decided he wanted to take full ownership of one of the residential properties and a majority stake in another, which are located in Kowloon’s prestigious Ho Man Tin neighborhood and offered good profit potential.

In turn, he sold his share in the other two assets to his listed company. These included 40% stakes in the Goldin Financial Global Centre, his firm’s flagship office tower that was saddled with debt, and an expensive land parcel near the former Kai Tak airport that would have been costly to develop.

As a result, Mr. Pan became sole guarantor for a HK$7.19 billion loan for one of the residential developments, according to people familiar with the matter. At least four banks involved in the loan didn’t agree to the terms of the deal and exited, they said, declining to be identified as they aren’t authorized to speak publicly. This made it harder for Goldin Financial to close subsequent credit lines.

Mr. Pan didn’t respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson for Goldin Financial said the company doesn’t comment on Mr. Pan’s investments that aren’t related to the company and wouldn’t provide information about its own financial situation beyond previous announcements.

The Kai Tak project subsequently hit snags. In late 2019, Goldin Financial failed to raise a loan partly to fund development of the site, the people said. The firm later sold the plot for about HK$3.5 billion, less than half what it had paid in 2018, stock exchange filings and a government land tender announcement show.

The company’s eponymous skyscraper is at the heart of an asset grab by creditors after Goldin Financial failed to make timely payments on its outstanding debt. In July, lenders of the HK$3.4 billion loan demanded immediate repayment, while holders of a HK$6.8 billion senior bond threatened to take over the office block, which had been pledged as security.

Eventually, the receivers linked to the bonds successfully applied to Hong Kong’s High Court to take control of the 27-story building, and were granted ownership in September. They have since entered an agreement to sell the building after a months-long tender.

Goldin said in an exchange filing on Sunday that it’s been told by the receivers that the skyscraper’s sale will be sufficient to repay both the bond and the outstanding loan. The listed company also said that its board is confident that once the sale is completed, legal proceedings relating to the bond and the loan “will be resolved amicably.”

The sale will put Goldin Financial in the unenviable position of going from landlord to tenant as the building housing its headquarters passes from its ownership, a move that mirrors Pan’s own decline in fortunes. — Apple Lam and Shawna Kwan/Bloomberg

Half of women put off by macho language in job adverts

January 13, 2021 | 4:04 pm

While 80% of women said they would not consider working in engineering, 56% were interested in the job once the advert had been rephrased, including replacing the word “engineer” with “network coordinator.”

LONDON — Biased language in some job adverts in Britain deters as many as one in two women from applying, a study said on Wednesday, amid a push to attract more women to male-dominated sectors.

Openreach, which operates most of the country’s broadband network, found that women’s interest in applying for an engineering job increased by more than 200% when changes were made to language in an advert.

The company asked 2,000 women about two different adverts for the same job, and found they were put off by macho phrases like “being on the road in your van” and “getting your hands dirty” and mention of climbing a telegraph pole.

“We were amazed to see just how much of a difference language makes,” said Kevin Brady, human resources director for Openreach, which is seeking to recruit women for 500 out of 2,500 new engineering jobs this year—10 times historic levels.

“We hope that this will be the catalyst for helping to break down barriers stopping women from considering a role in engineering.”

While 80% of women said they would not consider working in engineering, 56% were interested in the job once the advert had been rephrased, including replacing the word “engineer” with “network coordinator.”

The new advert also listed skills in more neutral language, stipulating that applicants should not be afraid of heights and be good at getting things done.

Just over 3% of Openreach engineers are women compared to 11% of engineers nationally.

With a quarter of respondents, who were aged 18 to 55, saying they still believed certain roles were more suited to men, the researchers said the findings had implications for many other industries.

Lawmaker Caroline Nokes, chair of parliament’s women and equalities committee, said encouraging more women into engineering had been a battle for decades.

“This study takes a big step towards removing barriers which would stop women even considering themselves for roles they are perfectly capable of doing.”

Hilary Leevers, chief executive of Engineering UK which works to increase diversity in the sector, urged other companies to review the language they used in advertisements.

The study, carried out with linguistic specialists Linguistic Landscapes, also showed 55% of respondents were possibly considering a new career because of the pandemic.

“There has never been a more important time to tear down barriers to recruitment and open up previously closed sectors,” Openreach’s Mr. Brady said. — Emma Batha/Thomson Reuters Foundation

US to require negative COVID-19 tests for arriving international air passengers

January 13, 2021 | 3:16 pm

All travelers aged two and older must comply except passengers who are only transiting through the United States. The CDC will also consider waivers of testing requirements for airlines flying to countries with little or no testing capacity.

WASHINGTON — Nearly all air travelers will need to present a negative coronavirus test to enter the United States under expanded test testing requirements announced on Tuesday.

Under the rules taking effect Jan. 26, nearly all travelers including US citizens must show a negative test within three days of departure or documentation of recovery from COVID-19, under an order signed by US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Robert Redfield.

All travelers aged two and older must comply except passengers who are only transiting through the United States. The CDC will also consider waivers of testing requirements for airlines flying to countries with little or no testing capacity, including some places in the Caribbean.

The order dramatically broadens a requirement imposed on Dec. 28 for travelers arriving from the UK as a more transmissible variant of the virus circulated there.

In an interview, Dr. Martin Cetron, director of CDC’s global migration and quarantine division, said, “We have to really up the ante… We have to take these mutations seriously.”

Canada imposed similar rules for nearly all international arrivals starting Jan. 7, as have many other countries.

The CDC confirmed last week it had circulated a proposal to expand the testing requirement after discussing the idea for weeks. Some senior White House officials opposed it, and officials briefed on the matter said last week that US public health officials had essentially given up winning approval until President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. took office.

At a White House meeting on Monday, Mr. Redfield again made an urgent case to adopt the testing requirements, people briefed on the meeting said. He raised concerns that vaccines could potentially not be effective against virus variants.

Airlines for America, an industry trade group, praised the testing plan. Airlines had also wanted a ban to be dropped on most non-US visitors who have recently been in Brazil and most of Europe, but the White House opted not to end it.

Mr. Cetron said the entry restrictions should “be actively reconsidered.”

Mr. Cetron confirmed the CDC has discussed the idea of expanding the testing requirement to domestic US flights but emphasized the new order only applies to international flights. — David Shepardson/Reuters

Global investors call for end to seafarers marooned at sea due to coronavirus

January 13, 2021 | 2:24 pm

LONDON — A group of leading investors on Wednesday called for an end to a crisis involving hundreds of thousands of seafarers stuck on ships for many months due to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), warning that the situation was creating bigger risks every day.

About 90% of world trade is transported by sea, and coronavirus restrictions in many jurisdictions are affecting supply chains.

In December the United Nations (UN) General Assembly urged all countries to designate seafarers and other maritime personnel as key workers. The non-binding resolution came after an earlier call in June by UN chief Antonio Guterres.

In a letter sent to Mr. Guterres in late December, the investor group, which represents over $2 trillion in assets, said that it was “no longer solely a shipping industry problem”.

Shipping industry officials say many sailors are at breaking point and many have been at sea for longer than an 11-month limit laid out in a maritime labor convention.

This is the first time that such a group of investment companies have joined the efforts to ensure seafarers do not have to exceed their maximum working limit, while also calling for key worker status to accelerate their transfers from ships even during lockdowns.

Vincent Kaufmann, chief executive of the Ethos Foundation, which includes Swiss pension funds, described the situation involving an estimated 400,000 merchant sailors as “a humanitarian tragedy as well as a major supply chain risk for many companies.”

“If nothing is done, it’s just a matter of time before something disastrous happens,” Jenn-Hui Tan, with Fidelity International which is leading the investor group, told Reuters separately.

“The performance of some of the companies we invest in will ultimately be linked to the safety of cargoes being handled by seafarers. Ensuring that the rights and interests of seafarers are represented helps lower the operational risks.” — Jonathan Saul/Reuters

MR.D.I.Y. Philippines making an impact on the environment

January 13, 2021 | 1:50 pm

The largest home improvement retailer in Southeast Asia, MR. D.I.Y. planted its 100 seeds and turned over cash proceeds from The Good Bag, Reusable Bag campaign last January 8, 2021, to ABS CBN Foundation Inc. Bantay Kalikasan Mother Nurture campaign for the benefit of La Mesa Watershed.

The ceremonial turnover kick-started with a short program where MR.D.I.Y. Philippines Marketing Manager Mark Charles Salecina said, “The Good Bag campaign aims to do good not only to our valued customers but gather funds to adopt 100 trees for La Mesa Watershed by selling reusable eco bags at the 100 MR.D.I.Y. stores nationwide. MR.D.I.Y. Philippines wants to give back something good to the community by protecting the environment.”

D.I.Y. Philippines Chief Operating Officer (COO) Ms. Roselle Marisol Andaya expressed her gratitude and said, “Today, before MR.D.I.Y. Philippines turns over the cash proceeds from the successful campaign to the foundation, as well as plant 100 more trees, which coincide with the most recent 100^th store opening at SM Hypermarket Novaliches, I would like to sincerely thank our valued customers who supported this campaign, our hardworking team of MR.DIYers across all departments in the smooth execution of The Good Bag campaign, and more importantly, to ABS CBN Foundation Inc. for initiating sustainability programs for our environment and allowing us, retail establishments to somehow contribute to such a worthwhile endeavor.”

The cash donation of Three Hundred Seventy-Four Thousand Seventy-Four pesos (Php375,074.00) was received by Ms. Sarah Agcaoili, Officer-in-Charge & Operations Head and Mr. Mar Zeri Ramirez, Officer-in-Charge & Operations Manager of ABS CBN Foundation Inc. Bantay Kalikasan-Save the La Mesa Watershed.

The day ended with planting seedlings which signifies our efforts to do good for the environment as these ensure we have enough trees, clean air and water now and for the next generations to come.

For more MR.D.I.Y corporate social responsibility (CSR) updates, please visit MR. D.I.Y. official Facebook at @mrdiyPHand corporate website atwww.mrdiy.com/ph.

Pandemic cut traffic congestion in most countries last year — report

January 13, 2021 | 1:48 pm

Congestion declined sharply on the gridlocked roads of crowded cities, including Los Angeles (pictured), Bengaluru, and Mexico City in 2020, location technology company TomTom said.

NEW YORK/LONDON — Coronavirus-induced lockdowns caused annual traffic congestion to fall in most countries for the first time in at least 10 years, disrupting long-held traffic patterns like the dreaded morning commute to work, a report released on Tuesday showed.

Congestion declined sharply on the gridlocked roads of crowded cities, including Los Angeles, Bengaluru, and Mexico City in 2020, location technology company TomTom said. The pandemic is expected to weigh again on traffic congestion this year, said Nick Cohn, TomTom’s senior traffic expert.

“We’re going to see continued restrictions through the first half of the year, and I think we’re going to see a lot of ups and downs before we’re really getting back to any normal driving patterns and traffic activity levels,” Mr. Cohn told Reuters in an interview.

TomTom’s report is based on data from 416 cities in 57 countries. It has published its traffic index for 10 years.

The downturn in congestion in the United States was more prolonged compared with Europe last year because US coronavirus cases stayed relatively high during the summer and early fall, Cohn said.

In the United States, Los Angeles, New York, and Miami were the most congested cities, though traffic in each city dropped from 2019 levels by 36%, 30% and 26%, respectively, TomTom data showed.

Overall, Moscow was the most congested city in 2020, but traffic fell 8% from 2019. Bengaluru was the most congested city in the world in 2019, but it fell to sixth in 2020 with nearly a 30% drop in traffic year-on-year.

Traffic in London and Paris was almost 20% lower than in 2019, and traffic in Madrid and Rome dropped 35% and 29%, respectively. Berlin experienced only a 6% traffic fall compared with 2019.

Traffic patterns like the daily morning commute to work—a mainstay for decades—could shift because of increased flexibility around remote work for employees, Mr. Cohn said.

“In the US, Canada, and Mexico, if you look at peak travel patterns, the morning peak seems to have melted away,” he said. “We have never seen that before.”

Traffic congestion during rush hours last year decreased by 25% globally, said Stephanie Leonard, TomTom’s head of traffic innovation and policy.

As more people return to office following vaccine distributions, congestion levels could rise if commuters choose to avoid public transit and drive to the office instead, said John Kilduff, partner at Again Capital LLC in New York. — Reuters

New Brazil data shows disappointing 50.4% efficacy for China’s CoronaVac vaccine

January 13, 2021 | 12:39 pm

SAO PAULO — A coronavirus vaccine developed by China’s Sinovac Biotech was just 50.4% effective at preventing symptomatic infections in a Brazilian trial, researchers said on Tuesday, barely enough for regulatory approval and well below the rate announced last week.

The latest results are a major disappointment for Brazil, as the Chinese vaccine is one of two that the federal government has lined up to begin immunization during the second wave of the world’s second-deadliest coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak.

Several scientists and observers blasted the Butantan biomedical center for releasing partial data just days ago that generated unrealistic expectations. The confusion may add to skepticism in Brazil about the Chinese vaccine, which President Jair Bolsonaro has criticized, questioning its “origins.”

“We have a good vaccine. Not the best vaccine in the world. Not the ideal vaccine,” said microbiologist Natalia Pasternak, criticizing Butantan’s triumphant tone.

Last week, the Brazilian researchers had celebrated results showing 78% efficacy against “mild-to-severe” COVID-19 cases, a rate they later described as “clinical efficacy.”

They said nothing at the time about another group of “very mild” infections among those who received the vaccine that did not require clinical assistance.

Ricardo Palacios, medical director for clinical research at Butantan, said on Tuesday that the new lower efficacy finding included data on those “very mild” cases.

“We need better communicators,” said Gonzalo Vecina Neto, a professor of public health at the University of Sao Paulo and former head of Brazilian health regulator Anvisa.

Piecemeal disclosures about Chinese vaccine trials globally have raised concerns that they are not subject to the same public scrutiny as US and European alternatives.

Mr. Palacios and officials in the Sao Paulo state government, which funds Butantan, emphasized the good news that none of the volunteers inoculated with CoronaVac had to be hospitalized with COVID-19 symptoms.

Public health experts said that alone will be a relief for Brazilian hospitals that are buckling under the strain of surging case loads. However, it will take longer to curb the pandemic with a vaccine that allows so many mild cases.

“It’s a vaccine that will start the process of overcoming the pandemic,” Ms. Pasternak said.

DELAYS AND DISAPPOINTMENT

Researchers at Butantan delayed announcement of their results three times, blaming a confidentiality clause in a contract with Sinovac.

In the meantime, Turkish researchers said last month that CoronaVac was 91.25% effective based on an interim analysis. Indonesia gave the vaccine emergency use approval on Monday based on interim data showing it is 65% effective.

Butantan officials said the design of the Brazilian study, focusing on frontline health workers during a severe outbreak in Brazil and including elderly volunteers, made it impossible to compare the results directly with other trials or vaccines.

Still, COVID-19 vaccines in use from Pfizer Inc. with partner BioNTech SE and Moderna Inc. proved to be about 95% effective in preventing illness in their pivotal late-state trials.

The disappointing CoronaVac data is the latest setback for vaccination efforts in Brazil, where more than 200,000 people have died since the outbreak began—the worst death toll outside the United States.

Brazil’s national immunization program currently relies on CoronaVac and the vaccine developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca Plc—neither of which has received regulatory approval in Brazil.

Anvisa, which has stipulated an efficacy rate of at least 50% for vaccines in the pandemic, has already pressed Butantan for more details of its study, after it filed for emergency use authorization on Friday.

The regulator said it will meet on Sunday to decide on emergency use requests for CoronaVac and the British vaccine.

AstraZeneca failed to deliver active ingredients to Brazil over the weekend, leaving the government scrambling to import finished doses of the vaccine from India to begin inoculations. — Eduardo Simões/Reuters

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