Bloomberg - Evening Briefing - Lack of immunity

Evening Briefing
Bloomberg

When it comes to protecting the world from the coronavirus, two doses of a vaccine may be better than one. But doubling the number of jabs each person needs could complicate efforts to immunize billions of people. The latest results from vaccine front-runners highlight that conundrum. And there is more bad news, albeit from a small study. Recovering from Covid-19 may not offer lasting protection from future infections for those with only mild cases, according to a report on virus antibodies that suggests caution regarding so-called herd immunity, and more darkly, vaccine durability. While President Donald Trump said daily White House pandemic briefings would resume in the face of out-of-control U.S. infections, he has also been focusing attention on anti-police brutality demonstrations. Trump said he would deploy hundreds of armed federal agents to cities run by Democratic mayors, as he has done in Portland, Oregon. Furious critics contend such an escalation—which in Portland has involved federal employees in combat gear without insignia severely injuring protesters and engaging in detentions deemed unconstitutional by legal observers—is an election-year maneuver given recent polls favoring Joe BidenDavid E. Rovella

Bloomberg is mapping the pandemic globally and across America. For the latest news, sign up for our Covid-19 podcast and daily newsletter.

Here are today’s top stories

On Tuesday, Biden unveiled a $775 billion plan to bolster child care and care for the elderly. The proposal by the former vice president and presumptive Democratic nominee would be financed by taxes on real-estate investors with incomes of more than $400,000 as well increased tax compliance by high-income earners.

The number of people infected with the coronavirus in parts of the U.S. is reportedly far higher than publicized rates in those regions. The findings suggest many people who didn’t show symptoms or seek medical care may have kept the virus in circulation. California now has 400,000 cases and New York has added more states to its quarantine list. Across the globe, 14.7 million people have been confirmed to be infected and 611,000 have died. The U.S. is still by far the worst hit country in terms of both categories, with 3.8 million confirmed infections and 141,000 dead.

Judy Shelton, a former adviser to Trump’s campaign and his selection to join the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors, had her nomination advanced in a party-line vote of the Senate Banking Committee. A strict inflation hawk, Shelton long favored returning the U.S. to the gold standard and has questioned the need for a central-bank-controlled benchmark interest rate.

The inferno on the $4 billion USS Bonhomme Richard caps a dismal few years for the U.S. Navy, James Stavridis writes in Bloomberg Opinion. The retired admiral and former NATO supreme allied commander points to a litany of black eyes, including a series of corruption scandals; two deadly collisions involving $3 billion Arleigh Burke-class destroyers; the mishandled prosecution of an accused war criminal; and the coronavirus outbreak on a nuclear aircraft carrier in which one crew member died, the commanding officer was relieved of duty and the acting secretary of the Navy quit under pressure.

U.S. banks may soon cut back on their real estate holdings to prepare for a world in which fewer workers make a daily commute to the office.

Frackers are in crisis, endangering America’s energy renaissance, Bloomberg Businessweek reports. Even before the pandemic, West Texas was reeling and Wall Street was running out of patience with the industry. But now things are much worse.

What’s Joe Weisenthal thinking about? The Bloomberg news director says the huge hit to economies caused by the pandemic forced nations to recognize that massive fiscal action was necessary. The news out of Europe Tuesday suggests that might be permanent. Not only have European leaders agreed on a huge bailout, but also a mechanism for joint debt-pooling at the European Union level. If this new economic infrastructure persists, Joe says, it could represent a major upgrade in Europe’s ability to use fiscal policy to boost its economy going forward. We’ve also seen in the U.S. how fiscal support to lower-end workers and the unemployed can create a sharp rise in economic activity. So there’s at least the potential for 2020 to mark a turning point for a more robust role for state spending in order to bolster demand.

What you’ll need to know tomorrow

What you’ll want to read in Bloomberg Pursuits

Swiss Watch Exports May Be In Big Trouble

The Swiss watch industry faces a 30% drop in exports this year as the pandemic slashes international travel and key markets outside China still grapple with the outbreak. The Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry gave the forecast after shipments declined 36% to 6.9 billion francs ($7.4 billion) in the first half. A full-year decline that big would be the worst performance in decades.

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