(Bloomberg) — Concerns are mounting over the economic impact of Shanghai’s lockdown on the Chinese economy, and even the global economy. A GDP growth target of 5.5% this year for China may be challenging, estimates Bloomberg Intelligence. The eastern half of the city has been locked down, as part of a two-stage plan to seal off the city’s 25 million people.
Cases are still rising in Shanghai, with a record 5,982 local cases recorded for Tuesday. Meanwhile Xuzhou, a city of 9.1 million northwest of Shanghai, will lock down for three days while it conducts mass Covid testing.
In the U.S., people above the age of 50 will be allowed to get a second booster, though the omicron wave is waning there.
Key Developments:
- Virus Tracker: Cases pass 484 million; deaths top 6.1 million
- Vaccine Tracker: More than 11.2 billion doses administered
- QuickTake: What we know about omicron and its subvariant BA.2
- Shanghai Residents Told to Stay Inside as Lockdown Tightened
- Why China Is Sticking With Its Covid Zero Strategy
Goldman Plans Full Return to Office in Hong Kong on April 19 (2:53 p.m.)
The Wall Street bank plans a full return to its offices in Hong Kong starting in the middle of next month as cases drop and the city begins to ease Covid measures.
Goldman Sachs will “welcome” all staff to return “in anticipated alignment with the government’s relaxation of social distancing measures and resumption of in-person school classes,” according to a memo. It added that if circumstances change, it will amend its approach accordingly.
It joins other banks in a phased return, with HSBC Holdings Plc allowing 30% of Hong Kong staff to work in the office from Friday.
Shanghai Lockdown to Hit World Economy Hard (9:45 a.m.)
Shanghai’s lockdown will have even greater ramifications for China and the world than the already significant impact from the lockdown in the tech hub of Shenzhen, according to Bloomberg Intelligence. Combined, the two will likely deliver the biggest hit to the Chinese economy since the nationwide lockdown in the first quarter of 2020. The damage may also spread further because Shanghai is such an important node in global supply chains.
Furthermore, the fact that a well-governed city like Shanghai has had to resort to city-wide lockdowns — after more targeted policies failed to stem the virus — suggests that other local governments may lean toward using strict tactics to achieve Covid Zero, widening the risk to the economy.
The city reported 5,982 Covid cases for Tuesday, while China overall added 8,655 local cases.
China’s 5.5% growth target for this year now looks even more challenging. Some help may come at the local government level, as seen by measures unveiled in Shenzhen to support consumption and corporates in the wake of the lockdown. At the national level, more stimulus will almost certainly come.
FDA Clears Way for Millions to Get More Boosters (7:35 a.m.)
U.S. regulators said people 50 and older will be able to get second booster shots of the Covid-19 vaccine from Moderna Inc. and Pfizer-BioNTech four months after getting the first.
Much of the decision was based on analysis of data from Israel, which focused on the benefits of a second booster dose in those 60 years and over and people at high risk of severe outcomes of Covid-19, though the fourth dose there was rolled out to older people at the height of the omicron wave. Cases in the U.S. are now easing though there are fears of a resurgence of the BA.2 strain.
The FDA also authorized a second booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for certain immunocompromised people 12 and older, and Moderna’s for a similar population 18 and older.
EU Drug Regulator Starts Rolling Review of Covid Vaccine HIPRA (7:30 a.m.)
The European Medicines Agency’s human medicines committee CHMP started a rolling review of HIPRA, which acts as a booster vaccine for adults who have already been fully vaccinated with a different Covid-19 vaccine.
HIPRA, also known as PHH-1V, is a protein-based vaccine is being developed by HIPRA Human Health.
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2022 Bloomberg L.P.
