Raphael Stevens

U.K. health authorities have said they are urgently investigating a rare polio virus outbreak in sewage samples in London.
Wastewater surveillance in east London discovered a number of samples had tested positive for vaccine-derived polio virus between February and May, the UKHSA said Wednesday.
It marks the first re-emergence of the virus since Britain was declared polio-free in 2003.

U.K. health authorities have said they are “urgently” investigating a rare poliovirus discovery in sewage samples in London.
Picture Alliance | Getty Images

U.K. health authorities have said they are urgently investigating a rare polio virus discovery in sewage samples in London, potentially putting Britain’s polio-free status at risk for the first time in almost two decades.
A number of waste samples from the Beckton sewage treatment works in Newham, east London tested positive for vaccine-derived polio virus between February and May, the U.K. Health Security Agency said Wednesday.

The virus has since continued to evolve and is now classified as a “vaccine-derived” polio virus type 2, the UKHSA said, adding that it is looking to establish if any community transmission is occurring.
The agency has declared a national incident and informed the World Health Organization of the situation.
“We are urgently investigating to better understand the extent of this transmission and the NHS has been asked to swiftly report any suspected cases to the UKHSA, though no cases have been reported or confirmed so far,” Dr. Vanessa Saliba, consultant epidemiologist at UKHSA, said Wednesday.
Polio is a rare virus that can occasionally cause serious illness, such as paralysis, in people who are not fully vaccinated. The disease was previously common in the U.K. in the 1950s, but the country was declared polio-free in 2003.
The UKHSA said the risk to the general public is extremely low, but urged parents to ensure their children have been fully immunized against the disease. It is common practice in the U.K. for children to receive an inactivated polio vaccine as part of their routine vaccination program; with three shots given before the age of one and another shot given at ages three and 14.

“Most of the U.K. population will be protected from vaccination in childhood, but in some communities with low vaccine coverage, individuals may remain at risk,” Saliba said.
Each year, it is usual for one to three “vaccine-like” polio viruses to be detected in Britain’s sewage system.
Such detections have always been one-off findings, and have previously occurred when an individual vaccinated overseas with the live oral polio vaccine returned or traveled to the U.K. and briefly “shed” traces of the vaccine-like polio virus in their feces.
However, this marks the first time a cluster of genetically-linked samples has been identified repeatedly over several months.

Vaccination status

Scientists say that this suggests there has been some community spread between closely-linked individuals in north and east London.
So far, the virus has only been detected in sewage samples, and no associated cases of paralysis have been reported, according to the UKHSA.
While vaccination against polio is commonplace in the U.K., immunization rates vary across the country, with communities with lower uptake at greater risk.
Vaccine coverage for childhood vaccines, in particular, has waned nationally and especially in parts of London over recent years.
The U.K.’s National Health Service said parents should contact their doctor’s surgery to check their child’s vaccines are up to date.
“The majority of Londoners are fully protected against Polio and won’t need to take any further action, but the NHS will begin reaching out to parents of children aged under 5 in London who are not up to date with their Polio vaccinations to invite them to get protected,” Jane Clegg, chief nurse for the NHS in London, said.
“Meanwhile, parents can also check their child’s vaccination status in their Red Book and people should contact their GP surgery to book a vaccination, should they or their child not be fully up to date,” she added.
In 2004, Britain switched from using an oral polio vaccine to an inactivated polio vaccine, which is administered via injection and prevents infection.
Generally, those who do become infected with polio display no symptoms, though some can develop a flu-like illness up to three weeks later. In rarer cases, the virus can attack nerves in the spine and base of the brain, potentially leading to paralysis. On occasion, it can attack muscles used for breathing, which can be fatal.
Medical professionals said the early detection of the virus would be important for monitoring its spread and preventing more severe cases.
“In populations with low vaccine uptake it is possible that the live polio vaccine can spread from one person to another. If this is sustained, over time (one or two years) this vaccine derived virus can mutate to become fully virulent again and can start to cause paralysis in people who have not been vaccinated,” said Paul Hunter, professor of medicine at the University of East Anglia.

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Daimler Truck’s CEO told CNBC on Wednesday that shortages of parts are slowing the production of thousands of its vehicles.
Martin Daum, an industry veteran, said the squeeze is among the worst he’s seen in his more than 25-year career.
Inflationary pressures, too, are weighing heavily on Daimler Truck’s production, as the costs of energy and raw materials are now significantly higher.

Supply chain disruptions are still rippling across the globe, and the head of the world’s largest truck maker has warned that parts shortages are slowing the production of thousands of its vehicles.
Daimler Truck CEO Martin Daum told CNBC on Wednesday that the current supply chain squeeze is among the worst he’s seen in his more than 25-year career, resulting in major bottlenecks across the company’s suite of brands.

“We are facing enormous pressure on the supply chain,” said Daum, whose trucks are used for other vital industries such as logistics and construction.
“I would say it’s one of the worst years ever in my long career in trucking, where we sometimes have to touch a truck three, four times to add the missing parts,” he added.
The Mercedes-Benz Truck maker said earlier this month that there were signs that a prolonged chip shortage appeared to be easing. Microchips, or semiconductors, are a critical component of modern auto manufacturing, and they fell into short supply during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic and resultant factory closures.
But Daum said that shortages of other parts are also continuing to slow the production of thousands of trucks across its international network of factories.
“We have, in a couple of factories, more than 10,000 trucks where one or two parts are missing and we desperately search the world for those parts,” he said.

Supply chain disruptions are causing a production backlog at the world’s largest truckmaker, Daimler Trucks.
Bloomberg | Getty Images

Inflationary pressures, too, are weighing heavily on Daimler Truck’s production, as the costs of energy and raw materials are now significantly higher — with some price hikes easier to pass on than others.
“We are, at the moment, pushing those price increases on the raw materials side through, so we can at least hold our margins in that business,” he said. The company is also in negotiations over employee pay raises.
Still, the truck manufacturer, whose other brands include Freightliner, Western Star and Fuso, noted some bright spots. In the United States alone, Daum said, it sees pent-up demand for some 200,000 trucks as it continues to catch up with supply shortfalls through 2020 and 2021.
“That, in my opinion, makes me optimistic that we will see a not too bad 2023. And not too bad is a German expression for it could be a good 2023,” he said.
Daimler Truck last month reported an 8% year-over-year increase in first-quarter sales, with group revenue up 17% over the same period.

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Jackpot is looking to grow the U.S. lottery business by putting it online.
The company has raised money from top sports executives, and NBA superstars James Hardin and Joel Embiid and NHL great Martin Brodeur round out some of the big name investors.
The platform hopes to attract a new, younger demographic.

Courtesy: Jackpot

Online lottery ticket company Jackpot announced Wednesday that it closed on $35 million in series A funding, led by some of the biggest names in sports who see the promising growth potential in digital lottery sales.
The cash infusion could enable Jackpot to start rolling out its website and app later this year in select locations where online lottery ticket sales are allowed. For example, the company said it could operate in states including New York, New Jersey, Texas, Ohio and Oregon.

Funding for the round was led by Accomplice Ventures, a venture capital firm co-founded by DraftKings board member Ryan Moore and Courtside Ventures, an early-stage investor in sports, digital media, fitness and gaming businesses. Also among the investors: the Kraft Group, which owns the New England Patriots; the Haslam Sports Group, which owns the Cleveland Browns; Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin; DraftKings CEO Jason Robins; and Boston Red Sox president Sam Kennedy. NBA superstars James Hardin and Joel Embiid and NHL great Martin Brodeur round out some of the big name investors.
“What we are doing is really just allowing you to buy that lottery ticket without ever leaving your couch,” Akshay Khanna, Jackpot co-founder and CEO of North America, told CNBC in an interview.
The $100 billion-a-year lottery business is still mostly cash-based, with buyers getting tickets at bodegas, convenience stores, gas stations and other locations.
Jackpot, which says it wants to transform the business to be more in sync with the online buying habits of today’s consumers, will make its money by charging a convenience fee on purchases. The company added that it’s currently working with local regulators in select states for clearance to roll out the service.
“Over a dozen states have been incredibly receptive to this because they’ve realized that this is actually a fundamentally different channel for the same product,” said Khanna.

In 2021, Jackpot said its research shows 53% of Americans bought lottery tickets but that only about 5% of those were purchased online. Khanna said that making the lottery tickets more widely accessible online will help increase sales revenue for states.
“We certainly think this will appeal to a potentially younger and more diverse demographic,” Khanna said. “It’s one of the reasons why states that are supportive of this model, because one of the goals here is to expand this product to people who maybe traditionally would not have been those that purchase lottery tickets.”
But some critics, like the National Council on Problem Gambling, warn that making access to buy lottery tickets easier could present a slippery slope for at-risk individuals.
“Any form of online gambling inherently gives the user a sense of anonymity and is much easier to hide than other forms of gambling,” said Jaime Costello, the group’s director of programs, in an email. “These characteristics, paired with the instant access to purchasing, results, etc., increase the risk of problems for individuals purchasing lottery tickets online.”
Khanna said Jackpot will have age verification controls and that the company is investing in order to comply with state regulations.

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Mortgage applications to purchase a home rose 8% last week compared with the previous week, bolstered in part by demand for adjustable-rate mortgages, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.
A big jump in mortgage rates may have actually spurred homebuyer demand, perhaps as consumers worried rates would move even higher.
“The average loan size, at just over $420,000, is well below its $460,000 peak earlier this year and is potentially a sign that home price-growth is moderating,” said Joel Kan, an economist for the MBA.

Mortgage applications to purchase a home rose 8% last week compared with the previous week, bolstered in part by demand for adjustable-rate mortgages, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted index. Applications were, however, 10% lower than they were in the same week one year ago.
A big jump in mortgage rates may have actually spurred homebuyer demand, perhaps as consumers worried rates would move even higher. Mortgage rates surged to the highest level since 2008, while making their biggest one-week jump last week in 13 years.

Meanwhile the average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($647,200 or less) increased to 5.98% from 5.65%, with points rising to 0.77 from 0.71 (including the origination fee) for loans with a 20% down payment. Rates are now nearly double what they were one year ago.
Read more: Sales of existing homes fell in May
“Purchase applications increased for the second straight week – driven mainly by conventional applications – and the ARM share of applications jumped back to over 10%,” wrote Joel Kan, an MBA economist. “The average loan size, at just over $420,000, is well below its $460,000 peak earlier this year and is potentially a sign that home price-growth is moderating.”
Adjustable-rate mortgages offer lower interest rates and can generally be fixed for terms of five, seven or 10 years. While these loans are considered riskier, because they have the potential to adjust to higher or lower rates, they are underwritten much more strictly than they were during the last housing boom more than a decade ago that eventually led to an epic housing crash.
Buyer demand may also be increasing because the supply of homes for sale is finally growing. Active inventory nationwide is now up 17% year over year according to Realtor.com. Homes are now selling faster than they were a year ago.
Applications to refinance a home loan fell 3% for the week and were 77% lower than the same week one year ago. The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 29.7% of total applications from 31.7% the previous week.

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