Monday Morning Briefing: Trump hails FDA's authorization of plasma treatment for coronavirus, after slamming agency

What you need to know about the coronavirus today

Plasma treatment authorized
President Donald Trump hailed the Food & Drug Administration’s authorization of a coronavirus treatment that uses blood plasma from recovered patients, a day after accusing the agency of impeding the roll-out of vaccines and therapeutics for political reasons.

The FDA, explaining its decision, cited early evidence suggesting blood plasma can decrease mortality and improve the health of patients when administered in the first three days of their hospitalization.

Equity markets gained for a second straight session on Monday as the news about the treatment boosted risk assets and markets geared up for the U.S. Federal Reserve’s annual Jackson Hole meeting later in the week.


Track the spread of the virus with this state-by-state and county map.

Seoul orders masks on, indoors and out
South Korea’s capital on Monday ordered people to wear masks in indoor and outdoor public places for the first time, as it battles a surge in coronavirus cases. South Korea’s coronavirus battle has been complicated by a fight between President Moon Jae-in’s administration and the Sarang Jeil Church, the second religious group at the center of a major cluster of cases.

Get children back to school, says British prime minister
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson called on parents to send their children back to school next month after the summer holidays. “The risk of contracting COVID-19 in school is very small and it is far more damaging for a child’s development and their health and well-being to be away from school any longer,” Johnson said.

Auckland lockdown extended
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern extended a coronavirus lockdown in the country’s largest city, Auckland, until the end of the week and introduced mandatory mask wearing on public transport across the nation. Neighboring Australia reported its lowest one-day rise in new coronavirus infections in almost two months on Monday, raising hopes that a deadly second wave is subsiding.

Bali tourism plan on hold
The Indonesian island of Bali has postponed a plan to reopen its biggest tourism hub to international visitors on Sept. 11, due to the rising level of coronavirus cases, its governor said. Tourism is Bali’s main source of income and travel restrictions have hammered the economy.

From Breakingviews - Corona Capital: Pearson’s CEO, Afterpay, Tourism
Pearson’s new boss is expected to work some Disney magic as the virus hastens the shift to online textbooks, and Australia’s Afterpay buys now in Europe – and may pay later. Catch up with the latest financial insights.

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Politics

Republicans will make their case this week that the United States’ economic and political future depends on the re-election of Donald Trump at a party convention designed to highlight his pre-pandemic record as president and sow doubt about opponent Joe Biden.

This week’s Republican National Convention will be a four-day celebration of President Donald Trump, featuring a younger generation that may be hoping for a shot at the White House in 2024, as well as a St. Louis couple who brandished guns at anti-racism protesters.

Democrats and Republicans chose Wisconsin and North Carolina, two battleground states that will help decide the Nov. 3 presidential election, to host their nominating conventions before the coronavirus forced them to scale back the events.

Russian government-supported organizations are playing a small but increasing role amplifying conspiracy theories promoted by QAnon, raising concerns of interference in the November U.S. election.

White House adviser Kellyanne Conway said she will be leaving the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump at the end of August, citing the need to focus on her family. “I will be transitioning from the White House at the end of this month,” she said in a statement. Her departure, about two months before Trump seeks re-election, comes at a crucial time for the president. It leaves him without one of his more passionate spokespersons about his political and policy choices.

When Donald Trump was elected president in 2016, almost immediately, and with evident relish, he set about trying to demolish Barack Obama’s carefully crafted foreign policy legacy. But despite the widespread ill-feeling Trump has provoked, not all his policy legacy will be hurled out of the window, and neither long-term allies nor strategic rivals expect a soft touch from Biden, vice president under Obama and a former senator with decades of foreign policy experience.

COVID Science

Some 172 countries are engaging with the WHO-led COVAX plan designed to ensure equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines, the World Health Organization said on Monday, but more funding is urgently needed and countries should now make binding commitments.

“Initially, when there will be limited supply (of COVID-19 vaccines), it’s important to provide the vaccine to those at highest risk around the globe,” the WHO’s director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a media briefing.

Italy kicked off human trials of a potential COVID-19 vaccine, joining a global effort to develop a response to the virus which has shown signs of resurging in Europe.

Rome’s Lazzaro Spallanzani institute, a hospital specializing in infectious diseases will conduct trials on 90 volunteers over the coming weeks, with the hope a vaccine may be available by spring of next year.

Follow the money

Exclusive: Foxconn, other Asian firms consider Mexico factories as China risks grow

Taiwan-based electronics manufacturers Foxconn and Pegatron are among companies eyeing new factories in Mexico, people with direct knowledge of the matter said, as the U.S.-China trade war and coronavirus pandemic prompt firms to reexamine global supply chains.

8 min read

Exclusive: ByteDance investors seek to use stakes to finance TikTok bid

ByteDance investors are in talks to use their stakes in the Chinese technology firm to help finance their bid for its popular short-video app TikTok, according to people familiar with the matter.

5 min read

Hedge funds in long haul to tackle lack of Black money managers

When the death of George Floyd forced companies to reflect on why there were so few Black people in their senior ranks, top banks and private equity firms pledged to do better. But one corner of the finance world - the hedge fund industry - made fewer public statements.

6 min read

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