(Bloomberg) — Jetblue Airways reported that customers were becoming more hesitant to book flights because of the increase in coronavirus cases, which is forcing many North American companies to re-evaluate their business plans. Shares in healthcare company MedAvail plunged after it cut guidance, citing lingering Covid uncertainties.
A large Canadian landlord forecast a return to normal soon in the business hub of Toronto, though it also believes a transition period will take place before everyone is back in their offices.
The situation appeared more firmly on the bleak side in much of Asia. Australia is struggling to control outbreaks after months of lockdown in its main cities and Japan’s serious cases have continued to rise.
Key Developments:
- Global Tracker: Cases top 204.7 million; deaths pass 4.3 million
- Vaccine Tracker: More than 4.56 billion doses administered
- One of the world’s few delta-free havens eyes reopening
- China’s mahjong dens were major driver of infections
- Understanding the debate over booster shots: QuickTake
- Masks and rules return to Shanghai banks preparing for the worst
MedAvail Cites Covid for Guidance Cut (8:42 a.m. NY)
Shares in MedAvail slumped 33% in premarket on Thursday after the healthcare company cut its revenue guidance for the full year.
“Primarily due to lingering COVID-19 uncertainties, we have encountered unanticipated headwinds with the timing of Boards of Pharmacy regulatory approvals and we are cautious that clinics will return to pre-Covid volume levels in the second half of 2021.”
JetBlue Sees Short-Term Demand Hit on Covid (8:28 a.m. NY)
JetBlue Airways said more customers are holding off on booking trips and others are seeking refunds for planned travel because of increased cases of coronavirus.
The carrier expects illnesses linked to the delta variant to peak in about six to eight weeks, as it has in other countries, CEO Robin Hayes said in a Bloomberg Television interview.
Separately, in a note on Southwest Airlines, Morgan Stanley said its long-term story remained intact and the impact from the delta variant was manageable.
Toronto Soon Back to Business, Landlord Says (8:15 a.m. NY)
Allied Properties Real Estate Investment Trust, a Canadian landlord to companies including Aon Plc and Morgan Stanley, says the business districts of Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver will come roaring back to life soon.
With more than 60% of Canada’s population fully vaccinated, some of Allied’s tenants are mapping out plans to bring more employees back in the weeks ahead, Chief Financial Officer Cecilia Williams said in an interview.
Greece Gears Up for Measures as Cases Rise (6:45 a.m. NY)
The Greek government will be ready to announce its policy on indoor spaces for the autumn and winter by the end of August, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said Thursday. Daily increases in new coronavirus cases in Greece have been reaching levels not seen since early April.
Amid a slow down in vaccination rates, a new attempt is needed to get citizens inoculated, especially the young, as people return from summer holidays from Aug. 20 onward, he said. There are no current plans to make vaccinations mandatory beyond health sector workers, Mitsotakis said.
Virus Resurgence Clouds Baidu Outlook (6:05 a.m. NY)
Baidu Inc. delivered a conservative outlook for the current quarter as a resurgent pandemic outbreak in China overshadowed the internet search giant’s push into newer arenas like cloud and smart devices.
Revenue for the three months ended June climbed 20% from a year earlier to 31.35 billion yuan ($4.8 billion). The company predicted sales of 30.6 billion yuan to 33.5 billion yuan for the September quarter, versus the 33.1 billion yuan seen by analysts.“The Covid-19 situation in China is evolving and business visibility is limited,” Baidu said in a statement Thursday.
Israel to Expand Booster Drive (4:43 p.m. HK)
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett instructed health services providers to prepare to expand the coronavirus booster drive to a younger age group next week.
Bennett said he expected to get the final go-ahead from an advisory team later Thursday. Health Ministry Director General Nachman Ash said earlier this week that officials are considering lowering the minimum age to 40 or 50.
Israel began offering a third dose of vaccine to people age 60 and older on Aug. 1, becoming the first country to widely provide such access to boosters.
Tokyo Serious Cases Continue to Rise (4:03 p.m. HK)
Tokyo’s daily case total came in at 4,989, slightly off last week Thursday’s record tally of 5,042, though up from 4,200 cases Wednesday. Serious Covid-19 cases in Tokyo rose to a record 218, up from 197 the previous day.
U.K. Economy Benefits From Reopening (3:16 p.m. HK)
The U.K. economy grew more than expected in June, as lighter coronavirus restrictions led to renewed strength in the nation’s dominant services.
Gross domestic product rose 1%, more than the 0.8% predicted by economists, the Office for National Statistics said Thursday. That made growth for the second quarter at 4.8%, close to the 5% pace the Bank of England predicted last week.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak promised the U.K. won’t see a return to the austerity policies of last decade and that he is “united” with Prime Minister Boris Johnson over plans to rebuild the economy after the pandemic.
Calls for Tighter Sydney Lockdown (3:09 p.m. HK)
Australia is facing its worst Covid-19 crisis yet, and experts say a lockdown of its biggest city needs to be ramped up to prevent further deterioration to the nation’s vaunted record in stamping out the pathogen.
Though Sydney has been in lockdown for nearly two months now, the curbs are generally looser than those that helped Melbourne beat back the virus last year; daily cases have surged from 12 on June 26, when the stay-at-home order was first announced, to records of around 350 this week.
The situation is putting Australia in the worst of both worlds: half the population of 26 million people are cooped up again, but the delta variant is still spreading to new cities and regions. National capital Canberra on Thursday became the latest to order a lockdown after one case were found.
End of Lockdowns Lifts Hungarian Bank Earnings (3:01 p.m. HK)
OTP Bank Nyrt., Hungary’s largest lender, posted higher-than-expected second-quarter net income as the easing of pandemic restrictions in eastern and southern Europe helped reduce risk costs.
Though Hungary’s vaccination campaign has slowed to a trickle after a strong start earlier this year, case numbers have remained low, allowing the government to remove almost all constraints on economic activity.
South Korea Says More May Be Needed (2 p.m. HK)
South Korea said that virus cases could increase under its current social distancing rules, and indicated additional measures may be needed. The country reported 1,987 more coronavirus cases on Wednesday, after infections hit a daily record of 2,223 on Tuesday.
Virus Spread in Tokyo Out of Control (1:30 p.m. HK)
A member of a Tokyo Metropolitan Government coronavirus advisory panel of experts said it was now impossible to control the spread of Covid-19 in the capital.
The comments on behalf of the panel by Norio Omagari at a Thursday meeting with Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike came as the city and national governments consider whether to extend a state of emergency in Tokyo, which is experiencing its worst-ever wave of virus cases.
China Partly Shuts World’s Third-Busiest Port (12:30 p.m. HK)
China partly shut the world’s third-busiest container port after a worker became infected with Covid. All inbound and outbound container services at Meishan terminal in Ningbo-Zhoushan port were halted Wednesday until further notice.
It’s the second shutdown of a Chinese port due to an outbreak recently, after the closure of Yantian port in Shenzhen from late May for about a month.
Japan Plans Spectator-Free Paralympics (9:40 a.m. HK)
The Japanese government and organizers are planning to hold the Paralympic games without spectators in Tokyo and other areas covered by the state of emergency, local broadcaster NTV reported.
A decision has not yet been formally made on whether fans could attends the Paralympics, after the Olympic Games ended Sunday mostly without spectators. Organizers had expressed hope the Covid situation might improve enough to make fans a possibility, but that is looking unlikely with Japan reporting a record 15,812 cases on Wednesday, according to a tally by NHK.
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