President Donald Trump has a “small financial interest” in the maker of an anti-malarial drug that he has been touting as a “game changer” in treating coronavirus, according to The New York Times. Over the past two weeks, Trump and his Fox News allies have aggressively promoted hydroxychloroquine as a potential cure, despite top infectious-disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci and others urging caution and noting that there was not enough evidence of the drug’s efficacy.

The Times reports the president’s family trusts all have investments in a mutual fund whose largest holding is Sanofi, the manufacturer of Plaquenil, the brand-name version of hydroxychloroquine. Associates of the president, including Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, have also run funds that hold investments in the pharmaceutical firm.

Credit-https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-reportedly-has-financial-interest-in-hydroxychloroquine-manufacturer

On Friday morning, doctors, nurses, and other employees of Partners HealthCare, the largest health care system in Massachusetts, received an email from the company informing them they would not be receiving hazard or crisis pay for dealing with coronavirus cases. The letter was signed by the CEO, who makes at least $2 million a year and perhaps up to $6 million.

Dr. Anne Klibanski, the president and chief executive officer of Partners HealthCare, opened her “Dear Colleagues” note, which was obtained by Mother Jones, with an expression of “gratitude to all of you for providing exceptional patient care and for supporting each other and the community during these unprecedented times.” Klibanski said she and the company’s leadership team appreciated the “sacrifices each of you has made to ensure that care can be delivered when and where it’s needed.”

But next she gave her employees the bad news. Noting that some Partners workers have requested hazard pay, she wrote, “We understand why you may be worried about exposure and are vigilant in our efforts to help you and your colleagues stay safe and healthy. We have also heard you are worried about your family, friends, colleagues and patients.” But, she declared, “we do not calibrate pay and benefits based upon the patients’ condition and for this reason we do not offer hazard or crisis pay.” 

In other words, do your job during this crisis and don’t expect more pay. 

Doctors, nurses, and other health care workers across the United States have been called on to put in extra hours and to face enormous risks during the coronavirus crisis. A primary care physician who works at one of Partners HealthCare’s hospitals and who asks not to be identified says that although he is a half-time employee, he has had to work around the clock. But his pay remains the same: in the $90,000 range. There is no overtime compensation. Nurses, he adds, have been pressured to work within the COVID-19 clinic. He says he knows of one nurse with lupus who was hesitant to report to the clinic but was told that doing so was a condition of her employment. Doctors and nurses, he points out, have been raising with supervisors the issue of hazard pay. “Why are we not getting hazard pay?” this doctor asks. “We’re risking our lives. Partners says it doesn’t have the money to do that. But it has some rich hospitals, even if it is losing money now because it cannot bill for office visits and the big elective money-makers: colonoscopies, endoscopies, plastic surgery.”

In her letter, Klibanski pointed out that Partners HealthCare, which was founded by Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, does provide its employees with pay and benefits if they cannot work because they have contracted COVID-19 and that the company is providing eight weeks of pay and benefits to employees who are not needed because elective surgeries and other non-urgent procedures have been canceled or deferred. But these measures do not benefit those doctors, nurses, and other hospital workers who are treating coronavirus cases during this hellish pandemic. A week ago, CNN reported that 150 employees at Boston hospitals had tested positive for the coronavirus, with 86 of these cases in Massachusetts General and Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

Klibanski doesn’t have to worry about hazard pay herself. When she became head of the company last year, it was reported that her base annual salary would be $2 million. But it’s likely she pockets more than that. Her predecessor received a base salary of $2.3 million in 2017 plus additional compensation of $3.8 million. According to the Boston Business Journal, that year he earned “nearly three times as much as every other health system executive in the state.”

The letter to the Partners HealthCare employees was signed by the heads of 12 hospitals that are part of the company, including Dr. Peter Slavin, president of of Massachusetts General, and Dr. Elizabeth Nabel, president of Brigham and Women’s Hospital. They each earned $2.6 million in total compensation in 2017. 

A spokesperson for Partners HealthCare did not respond to a request for comment. 

The idea of providing extra pay to health care workers on the front lines of the coronavirus crisis has even been broached by President Trump. Earlier this week, he said his administration was exploring whether to provide hazard pay for doctors, nurses, and other health care workers, noting he was considering including additional pay for these workers in another coronavirus relief package. “We are looking at different ways of doing it, primarily through the hospitals,” Trump said on Fox News. He added, “If anybody’s entitled to it, they are.” 

Meanwhile, some hospitals in Massachusetts and elsewhere are furloughing health care workers and reducing their pay in response to the postponement of non-coronavirus procedures. Intermountain Healthcare, the largest healthcare provider in Utah and surrounding areas, has announced that about 600 employees may receive pay cuts due to shifting demands for medical care. The company noted that its executives would not receive their usual annual raises. This week, a Partners HealthCare spokesperson said the company was not planning any furloughs “at this present time.” 

The primary care doctor who works for Partners HealthCare notes that the leaders of the company “should be taking a huge pay cut right now. No one should be making millions of dollars when doctors and nurses are struggling. They should put that money in a fund for more pay and protective equipment to save our lives.”

In the letter rejecting the idea of hazard or crisis pay, Klibanski, Slavin, Nabel, and the others wrote: “Thank you for the courage you demonstrate every day and for the continued dedication to our patients, employees and community.”

—This is CNBC’s live blog covering all the latest news on the coronavirus outbreak. This blog will be updated throughout the day as the news breaks. 

The data above was compiled by Johns Hopkins University as of 3:43 p.m. Beijing time. 

Japan’s entertainment and technology giant Sony has unveiled a $100 million fund to support people around the world affected by the coronavirus.

Announced on Thursday, the fund is intended to help in three areas: assistance for those individuals engaged in frontline medical efforts; support for children and educators now working remotely; and, creatives in the entertainment industry.

Sony also said that its 110,000 employees would be able to provide their support through a matching gift program.

The group said its entertainment industry efforts will be across music, pictures, games and animation. “(Sony will) seek ways to support up-and-coming creators, artists and all those in professions supporting the industry, who have been impacted by the cancellation or postponement of concerts and live events, or the shutting down of film and television productions,” it said in a statement. There were no details available.

The first disbursement from the fund is $10 million of support for the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund for WHifO. The fund is backed by the UN Foundation and Swiss Philanthropy Foundation, as well as Medecins Sans Frontières, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

Sony will explore ways to leverage its technologies in support of education activities, and cooperate with educators to implement these measures.

“Sony extends its condolences to the families of those who have passed away as a result of the COVID-19 crisis, and extends its sympathies to all those who have been impacted,” said Kenichiro Yoshida, president and CEO, Sony Corporation. “We will do all we can as a global company to support the individuals on the front lines of the battle against COVID-19, the children who are our future, and those who have been impacted in the creative community.”

Japan has seen more than 2,500 confirmed cases of the disease, and 71 deaths, as of Thursday. But as the number of cases appears to be accelerating the Japanese government response is being increasingly criticized.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, said on Wednesday, that the country was “barely holding the line” in the fight against the virus. And many commentators believe that a decision to declare a state of emergency in the country is now a question of when, not if.

Despite that government measures seem half-hearted. Abe also announced that two reusable, cloth face masks would be sent to each of Japan’s 50 million households, starting from the week after next.

TITUSVILLE, Fla. (WESH-TV) — A gender reveal party mixed with explosives has sparked a 10-acre fire in Florida. WESH-TV reports it happened Saturday in Brevard County. 

The county has been prohibiting open burning because of an increase in fires. Officials say to follow the rules in order to avoid straining medical resources during the coronavirus pandemic.

                                              Source-www.wptv.com

Automakers are offering 0% financing, deferred payments and online tools in an attempt to salvage sales as the coronavirus pandemic cripples the auto industry.

As a result of skyrocketing jobless claims, weakening consumer confidence and state orders for residents to stay at home and nonessential businesses such as dealer showrooms to close, automakers this week are expected to report their worst sales declines in years.

“Markets with significant virus activity and stay-at-home legislations should be expected to experience declines of 80% or more after those restrictions go into effect,” said Tyson Jominy, vice president of data and analytics at J.D. Power.

As of Monday, 35 states had enacted “stay at home” or “essential business” mandates that affect 231 million people, or 70% of the U.S. population, according to J.D. Power. Many states are allowing dealer service departments to operate but not sales and showrooms.

Automakers are scheduled to report first-quarter vehicle sales on Wednesday. They are expected to decline across the board for every major automaker, according to Edmunds.

Online sales

Some automakers and dealers are attempting to push online sales to supplement lower showroom traffic. 

General Motors has been one of the leaders in offering online vehicle sales tools through its “Shop, Click, Drive” purchasing process. The online program allows much, if not all, of the sales process to be done online. Customers still may need to physically sign some paperwork depending on the state laws, but the vehicle can be delivered to a customer’s home.

Shop, Click, Drive launched in 2013; however, the program has never accounted for substantial sales as it was viewed by some dealers as a threat to their business. That sentiment is changing amid the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Mike Bowsher, owner of Georgia-based Carl Black Automotive Group and four GM franchised new car dealerships.

“It has taken on great importance recently,” he said. “There’s a lot of good going to come out of this, forcing the network to get into the 21st century overnight and learn how to do more online sales. ... Everybody’s being forced into this.”

While the online sales aren’t fully supplementing the decline in showroom traffic, Bowsher said sales leads and sales through the online program have significantly increased from a couple a day to 10 to 12 a day for his dealerships.

Steve Majoros, Chevrolet U.S. vice president of marketing for GM, said the traffic and usage of the platform is up “anywhere from two to almost four times” what the company typically experiences.

“Times like now, catalyst moments like this, are exactly why we’ve been focused on this for seven years or more with Shop, Click, Drive,” he told CNBC during a phone interview Monday. “The intention and the spirit all along was to allow customers to self-direct on their online discovery, purchase and delivery experience.”

Majoros declined to release specific details on the sales of Shop, Click, Drive. However, he said the base for many of the metrics was in the thousands. “We’re seeing a lot of traffic on new vehicles,” he said.

Porsche earlier this month announced additional incentives for dealers to join a digital sales pilot that the company launched last fall. The program, Porsche says, allows customers to complete the majority of the car-buying experience online with one, short visit to the dealership for final signatures.

Individual dealers and dealer groups also are offering online sales and services. For example, North Carolina-based Sonic Automotive is now offering a “no contact sales and service pickup and drop-off option.”

“Knowing that your vehicle is essential to your daily life, we’re open for business! We’re keeping our service lanes and virtual sales showroom open,” Sonic CEO David Smith wrote in a message to customers.

Financing deals

In another attempt to spur sales, many automakers are offering special financing options and deferred payments. 

Both GM and Fiat Chrysler are offering well-qualified new car buyers 0% financing for 84 months and deferred payments of 90 days. Ford Motor is offering up to three months of deferred payment, and the company will pay for three additional months – allowing six months of payment assistance.

Honda, Nissan and others also are offering deferred payment options to well-qualified customers who purchase select new vehicles.

Such deals, according to Caldwell, should help generate some sales, but they won’t be enough to keep sales in the black.

“They’re doing what they can,” she said. “There are some people that do need to buy cars ... I think after this is all said and done, we’ll probably see a lot of deals as well as automakers try to get back to normal sales and production levels.”

Source- www.cnbc.com