Bloomberg - Evening Briefing - Omicron is looking weaker

The omicron variant of Covid-19 may be less likely to land patients in the hospital than the delta strain, according to three studies of preliminary data. Researchers in Scotland suggest the variant is associated with a two-thirds reduction in the risk of hospitalization when compared with the earlier mutation, though omicron was 10 times more likely to infect people who’d already had the virus. There’s more on the accumulating evidence that omicron seems weaker than its predecessors. —David E. Rovella

Bloomberg is tracking the coronavirus pandemic and the progress of global vaccination efforts.

Aircraft passengers are twice or even three times more likely to catch Covid-19 during a flight since the emergence of omicron, according to the top medical adviser to the world’s airlines. And those fashionable cloth masks some prefer could be a really bad choice when it comes to the new, furiously transmissible mutation. 

Airline passenger numbers in the U.S. totaled 1.98 million on Dec. 21, compared with 992,167 the same weekday a year earlier, according to the Transportation Security Administration. Above, a sign requires protective face masks for all travelers in the security line the Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport in Romulus, Michigan, on Dec. 22. Photographer: Emily Elconin/Bloomberg

President Joe Biden extended the pause on federal student-loan repayments by another three months as the U.S. faces a fresh wave of Covid-19 cases from omicron, removing a near-term threat to millions of Americans’ finances.

As expected, U.S. regulators gave emergency authorization to Pfizer’s Covid-19 pill for infected people at high risk of severe complications. The U.K., which reported a record number of new cases, said it plans to buy millions more antiviral pills from Pfizer and Merck. The head of Germany’s public-health institute warned that the omicron variant could soon swamp hospitals and other critical infrastructure there; United Arab Emirates cases have increased tenfold since the arrival of omicron and Poland recorded 775 deaths in last 24 hours, its highest daily toll since April. Here’s the latest on the pandemic.

Wealthy Asians are breaking records as they pour money into alternative assets through private banks and high-end investment firms to escape low interest rates and volatile listed markets.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission is pushing forward with antitrust scrutiny of Amazon’s cloud computing business. Lina Khan, the head of the agency and a vocal critic of the online retailer, is advancing a probe started several years ago by her predecessor.

Lina Khan  Photographer: Graeme Jennings/Washington Examiner

Tesla shares jumped after Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk said he’s sold enough stock to make his total sales about 10%, removing a key overhang on its shares. The electric carmaker’s value rose back above $1 trillion.

Warm weather, no state income taxes, palm-fringed beaches and condos have made Florida the quintessential U.S. retirement destination. But a little shore town in New Jersey seems to be taking some of its shine. Here’s America’s new retirement hotspot.

New Jersey’s answer to Florida Photographer: Johnrob/iStock Unreleased

• China’s yuan is propelling emerging currencies like never before.
• Madagascar minister swam 12 hours to shore after helicopter crash.
• A year since Brexit, guess what’s happened to the U.K. economy?
• The best and worst places to be as omicron upends the holidays.
• Colorado wolf pack kills cattle for first time in 70 years.
• Bloomberg Businessweek: Alexa just can’t keep your interest.
• As Bob Iger departs, Disney investors look for the exits, too.

Bloomberg newsrooms all over the world are made up of journalists expert in their fields, a fact made clear every year by the numerous books they publish. Here are just a few for your consideration: Amazon Unbound: Jeff Bezos and the Invention of a Global Empire, by Brad Stone; Press Reset: Ruin and Recovery in the Video Game Industry, by Jason Schreier; House of Gucci: A Sensational Story of Murder, Madness, Glamour and Greed, by Sara Forden; and Flying Blind: The 737 Max Tragedy and the Fall of Boeing, by Peter Robison.

Peter Robison Source: Bloomberg

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