Raphael Stevens

In this articleDALISS-DKFrench police walk on street during the French midsummer Festival of Music on June 21, 2021 in Paris, France.Rafael Yaghobzadeh | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty ImagesLONDON — The coronavirus delta variant first discovered in India has now spread around the world, prompting further waves of infections in countries like the U.K.Now, there are increasing signs that mainland Europe is seeing a sharp rise in cases too.The EU is certainly worried about the spread of the highly infectious delta variant which evidence suggests is around 60% more transmissible than the alpha variant first found in England, causes more hospitalizations and slightly reduces the efficacy of vaccines.A number of European countries have introduced further restrictions on visitors from the U.K., but experts believe it’s only a matter of time before it takes off in mainland Europe — and there are strong signals it already has.On Tuesday, French Health Minister Olivier Veran said that the delta variant now represents some 20% of Covid-19 cases in France, up from last week’s estimate of it representing 9-10% of cases.Germany’s public health body, the Robert Koch Institute, said this week that the delta variant accounted for around 36% of the cases in the week of June 15 – 20, up 15% from the week before. Lothar Wieler, president of the RKI, also told officials the variant now already represents more than 50% of registered cases in Germany, Deutsche Welle reported Tuesday.Meanwhile, Italy’s national health institute said Friday that cases attributed to Covid variants delta and kappa (a “variant of interest,” according to the World Health Organization, that’s related to the delta variant) have surged in Italy in the past month, accounting for nearly 17% of total Covid cases.Spain and Portugal have also reported a rise in delta variant cases as have Poland, Russia, Switzerland and Turkey. In addition, the delta plus variant — a mutation of the delta mutation — has been detected in pockets of Europe too.Read more: Delta Covid variant has a new mutation called ‘delta plus’: Here’s what you need to knowToo little, too late?Germany and France are among the countries that have imposed quarantine restrictions on British travelers and Berlin has gone one step further, calling on the EU to take a unified approach when it comes to requiring British travelers who come to the bloc to quarantine.The move could likely be a case of acting too little, too late, experts note.”I doubt if European countries with their open economies and more limited border checks, quarantine measures and tracking and tracing will be able to push back delta for long … especially given that there is extensive local circulation already,” Tom Wenseleers, an evolutionary biologist and biostatistician at the Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium, told CNBC Tuesday.He noted that the actual number of infections in Europe caused by the delta variant could be much higher than estimates currently suggest.”I estimate that in Portugal 90% of the diagnosed cases now may be delta, but with a strong geographic focus around Lisbon. Many other countries in Europe, like Spain, Germany, Belgium, Luxemburg, Sweden and the Netherlands are not far behind though, with over 50% of all diagnosed cases now also estimated to be delta there,” he noted.The delta variant now accounts for 95% of all new cases sequenced in the U.K. and where Britain goes, it’s likely that the U.S. and Europe will follow, experts believe. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control said last week that it estimates that by the end of August the delta variant will represent 90% of all Covid viruses circulating in the EU.Vaccination to the rescue?Covid vaccination programs could come to the rescue if countries in Europe can deploy shots fast enough. A study by Public Health England in May showed that having both doses of the Covid vaccines developed by AstraZeneca-Oxford University and Pfizer-BioNTech (the vaccines most widely offered in Europe) provide effective protection against the delta variant. Both vaccines were significantly less effective after only one shot, however.As such, the race is now on in Europe to fully vaccinate millions of people and particularly the young who have been the last in line to receive a Covid shot. Data again from England shows that the young, unvaccinated, over-50s and people who have only had one dose of a Covid vaccine are the most at risk from infection by the delta variant.KU Leuven’s Wenseleers agreed that “vaccinating at maximum speed and asking people in particular risk groups to still exert caution will likely be the main options now” for the EU, “although more intensive border checks and tracking and tracing could help to buy some time until the vaccination campaign has progressed more, which will help to prevent resurgences,” he added.The wider economyTrouble is already brewing in the EU over the outlook for the summer tourism season and whether to let Brits and others into the region particularly when, for a number of EU countries like Greece and Portugal, tourism is a key component of their economies.How a potential new wave of delta-variant infections affects the region’s wider economy and reopening is also yet to be seen, but economists are keeping a close eye on it.CNBC Health & Science Read CNBC’s latest global coverage of the Covid pandemic:Moderna says Covid vaccine shows promise in a lab setting against variants, including delta These groups look to be most at risk from the Covid delta variant right now Australia’s Perth city locks down in stepped up fight against delta variant Vaccines work against Covid — but not enough people are getting the shots, U.S. doctor says”The Delta wave is rolling in,” Holger Schmieding, chief economist at Berenberg Bank, said in a note Wednesday. “Following the UK with a lag of roughly seven weeks, recorded SARS-CoV-2 infections are apparently starting to edge up in the Eurozone amid major regional variations.”Assessing whether the “new wave” puts Berenberg’s above-consensus forecasts for growth in the euro zone and the U.K. at risk (it has forecast GDP growth of 4.7% in the euro zone this year and 7% in the U.K.), Schmieding believed that forecasts would not be impacted to a significant extent.”Thanks to rapid vaccination progress, we consider it unlikely that medical systems in the U.K. or on the continent will come under such pronounced strains again that new serious restrictions to economic activity will be needed again to keep the medical risks under control … However, we have to watch the risks carefully.” More

A woman receives a dose of Covid-19 vaccine during mass vaccination at Tanah Abang Textile Market in Jakarta, Indonesia on June 19, 2021.Agung Kuncahya B. | Xinhua News Agency | Getty ImagesAsia’s struggle against the coronavirus is far from over but an expected pickup in Covid vaccine distribution in the coming months may ease the situation, according to investment bank HSBC.India has been the worst-hit country this year, suffering from a devastating second wave where cases rose sharply between February and early May. Though the daily reported infection numbers have come down significantly from a peak of over 414,000 cases in a day, the South Asian nation is still reporting on average 50,000 cases a day.Countries like Indonesia, Malaysia and Nepal have faced a sharp rise in cases recently while infection levels remain elevated in other places. Nations such as Singapore, South Korea, Japan and China have also faced pockets of outbreak lately.”It’s easy to think, or tempting to think, that we’re through it all, but reality is, if you look at Asia ex-India, we’re looking at record numbers of daily infections right now,” Frederic Neumann, co-head of Asian economics research at HSBC, said Wednesday on CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia.””There’s still a terrible human toll in many parts of Southeast Asia and, actually, still in India,” he said.Delta variantExperts say that the closely watched coronavirus mutation known as delta variant is partly responsible for the surge in new cases seen in many parts of the world. First discovered in India and now present in over 80 countries, delta is said to be more contagious than previous variants.While it remains unclear if the variant is more lethal than previous strains, its increased transmissibility, particularly in environments with low inoculation and minimal social distancing, implies it will likely infect more people in absolute terms, according to analysts from political risk consultancy, Eurasia Group.”Countries with younger populations and more humid climates could accordingly experience more severe outbreaks than previous waves, even if the proportions of young people with severe illness remain the same,” the Eurasia Group analysts said in a recent note. They added that in many emerging markets there is a growing risk of overwhelmed health-care systems.Asia is a considerable distance behind North America and Europe as far as vaccines are concerned. Data showed that just over 23% of the population has received at least one Covid vaccine dose, compared with over 40% or more in the other two regions.”We are by no means through this,” HSBC’s Neumann said. “That means when we look into the third quarter, there’s still a risk of at least pockets of disruptions coming through. We just need these vaccines. We need more supply. We need to roll them out.”Economic recoveryNeumann said that based on publicly available information, HSBC projects that a lot of Asian countries will not reach herd immunity until the beginning of 2022, at the earliest.”That means, some of the restrictions remain in place, particularly on travel, and that means, unfortunately, still a little bit of a bumpy road for the next several months,” he said.When a country reaches herd immunity, it means the virus can no longer spread rapidly as most of the population will either be fully vaccinated or would have become immune through infections.In a note, Neumann and other HSBC analysts said that they expect local demand growth in the region to pick up steam over the next six months. That is set to happen on the back of a sharp, expected uptick in vaccine distribution, they said.Exports remain strong despite ongoing transportation disruptions and supply chain bottlenecks, according to the bank.”The latter should slowly fade as demand recalibrates towards services and factories catch up on lost time. Still, the crunch has revealed that more investment in capacity is urgently needed – expect capex to soar as the region tip-toes out of the pandemic,” the HSBC analysts wrote.The investment bank predicted Asia, excluding Australia and New Zealand, will grow 6.6% year-on-year in 2021 — compared with a 0.9% contraction last year — and 4.6% in 2022. More

Serena Williams of The United States reacts as she winces in pain in her Ladies’ Singles First Round match against Aliaksandra Sasnovich of Belarus during Day Two of The Championships – Wimbledon 2021Jed Leicester | Getty Images Sport | Getty ImagesSerena Williams’ bid for a record-equaling 24th Grand Slam singles crown ended in tears at Wimbledon as an ankle injury forced her out of her first-round match with Aliaksandra Sasnovich.The 39-year-old, who has seven Wimbledon singles titles on her glittering CV, had broken to lead 3-1 against her Belarusian opponent when she turned her left ankle badly.When world No 100 Sasnovich broke straight back, Williams – her right thigh already heavily strapped – was forced to leave the court for a medical time-out and, while the American made her way back onto Centre Court in an attempt to compete, the tears were in evidence as she could barely move.Read more stories from Sky SportsEngland end 55 years of hurt to knock out GermanyUkraine stun Sweden to set up England clashChris Woakes and Joe Root lead the way as England ease to victory over Sri Lanka in first ODISasnovich levelled the match at 3-3, but another slip from Williams left her laying on the ground and, amid gasps from the crowd, she was helped to her feet by the chair umpire and the retirement was confirmed.Williams’ injury-hit exit followed that of Adrian Mannarino, who was forced off court after a knee injury during his match against Roger Federer.Williams has been on 23 Grand Slam titles since the 2017 Australian Open – but her last two visits to Wimbledon have yielded finals.Having lost to Simona Halep in 2019 and Angelique Kerber in 2018, sixth seed Williams arrived with ambition of finally levelling Margaret Court’s supreme tally, but she was left distraught and released a statement via her Instagram feed.”I was heartbroken to have to withdraw today after injuring my right leg,” said Williams.”My love and gratitude are with the fans and the team who make being on Centre Court so meaningful. Feeling the extraordinary warmth and support of the crowd when I walked on – and off – the court meant the world to me.” More

New travel companies are making it easier for remote workers to live and work abroad without the long-term commitment.So-called “workcations” are on the rise, with 74% of Americans who are working from home saying they would consider taking one, according to a report published in March by The Harris Poll.But rather than booking a hotel room at the nearest beach, travel companies are enticing workers to venture farther from home with international itineraries and accommodations that are suited to their work schedules.Work by day, explore by nightSojrn (pronounced “sojourn”) designs month-long trips that allow remote workers to work abroad while learning about a topic related to the location. Travelers can explore philosophy in Greece, wine in Italy, wellness in Bali or Spanish skills in Colombia — all while maintaining their regular work hours.The company arranges lodging and workspaces, as well as logistical items such as SIM cards and airport transfers, the company’s founder and CEO Tara Cappel told CNBC. Every trip includes one theme-based activity per week, with optional activities that can be added if work schedules permit, she said.Trips of a month or more aren’t just for full-time remote workers, said Cappel. They also work for office workers who are negotiating annual periods of remote work.”People aren’t going to be happy just going back to where it was before,” said Cappel, adding that they “are going to be more open to traveling differently and bringing their work with them if they can.”Prices for Sojrn’s month-long Tuscany wine trip range from around $3,900 to $5,800, depending on accommodations.Anna RicheySojrn opened bookings in April. The Tuscany wine trip sold out in six hours, while the Bali wellness trip was fully booked in one weekend, she said. Now, around 4,500 people are on the waitlist for 2022 trips, said Cappel.To keep up with demand, the company is organizing new trips for 2022 with themes such as conservation in South Africa, cuisine in Mexico City, fashion in Paris and history in Rome, she said. The U.S. company is also launching its first domestic trip next year — jazz in New Orleans.Flexible stays in EuropeIf a month is too long — or too little — to stay in one place, remote workers can organize their own trips through companies like Floasis, a website with accommodations that are vetted for remote work.”Being remote workers ourselves, we knew how frustrating it was to get bad surprises when it comes to booking a stay,” said co-founder and CEO Kristina Kutan. “That’s why we make sure that each of our [locations] is tested and approved by a remote worker.Lola Casamitjana, the firm’s co-founder and chief commercial officer, said the remote work lifestyle was inevitable.”The pandemic was only an accelerator,” she said. “It was the kick that brought down the last walls, making it clear … we were now in dire need for new, more fulfilling ways to live and work.”Remote work stays in this castle in Manche, France start at 350 euros ($420) per week.Courtesy of FloasisAfter a year of planning, the website launched last week, said Casamitjana, with listings that have workspaces, inspiring surroundings and communities for workers to connect with.Accommodations are in Europe and Morocco and vary from village houses and seaside apartments to a Portuguese winery, French castle and Greek eco-farm. Most places can be booked by the night, week or month, and some include breakfast and yoga classes in the rate.  “This year we are focusing on Europe and want to reach 1,000 listings by the end of 2021,” she said.More options for work-travel tripsCompanies such as Remote Year have been catering to remote workers long before the pandemic. Launched in 2014, the company has retreats as short as one week as well as its namesake 12-month programs that traverse four continents.Unsettled organizes semi-structured work-travel trips that focus on connecting like-minded people together. Trips range from one to four weeks.For people who want to combine work, travel and social good into one trip, there’s Venture with Impact. Its week- and month-long trips are small — about four to 10 people — and the company matches participants’ skills and interests with needs in places, such as Mexico and Thailand. The 2021 itinerary includes trips to Medellin, Colombia and Lisbon, Portugal, though the exact dates haven’t been announced online.Read more about remote work The time to negotiate an annual month of remote work may be nowHere’s what it costs to work remotely in 4 global hotspotsMore travel hotspots are opening to people who work from homeFor those who aspire to the “digital nomad” lifestyle, WiFly Nomads is a training program that teaches people how to become a remote worker, while simultaneously getting a small taste of the lifestyle. Five-day programs are held in Bali and cost around $4,000, according to the company’s website.Due to uncertainty surrounding Covid restrictions, the next program is anticipated to launch in early 2022, said Kate Smith, WiFly Nomads’ founder and CEO. In the meantime, the company is running 12-week online programs that teach people how to land a remote job.”This has been of particular interest to those who don’t want to return back to the office after working from home,” she said. More

Before Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger became known as iconic business partners, steering the Berkshire Hathaway empire, they were just two guys from Omaha, Nebraska, who, apparently, were a lot a like.They discovered that thanks to a well-known doctor in town, Dr. Edwin Davis, who told Buffett in a 1957 meeting he trusted him to manage money because the investor reminded him of someone named Charlie Munger.”Well, I don’t know who Charlie Munger is, but I like him,” Buffett responded to Davis, the investing legend recalled in an interview with CNBC’s Becky Quick, which aired Tuesday as part of a special, “Buffett & Munger: A Wealth of Wisdom.”Warren Buffett (L), CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, and Vice Chairman Charlie Munger attend the 2019 annual shareholders meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, May 3, 2019.Johannes Eisele | AFP | Getty ImagesDavis and his wife, Dorothy, made it a goal to eventually connect Buffett and Munger, Buffett said. It happened over dinner two years later, in 1959, when Munger, then a lawyer in Los Angeles, was back in Omaha after his father, Alfred, died.”About five minutes into it, Charlie was sort of rolling on the floor laughing at his own jokes, which is exactly the same thing I did,” Buffett, 90, said. “I thought, ‘I’m not going to find another guy like this.’ And we just hit it off.””We got along fine,” Munger, 97, said, adding: “What I like about Warren is the irreverence. We don’t have automatic reverence for the pompous heads of all civilization.”Their friendship and business relationship blossomed from there, as Buffett continued building his investment firm and Munger toiled in law.In the early 1960s, Munger said he finally heeded Buffett’s advice about his career path. “It took me a long time to wise up that [Buffett] had a better way of making a living than I did. But he finally convinced me that I was wasting my time.”Munger started his own investment firm, which would go on to post an average annual compound rate of 19.8% between 1962 and 1975, far better than the Dow Jones Industrial Average’s 5% over that span, according to Buffett’s famous 1984 essay, “The Superinvestors of Graham-and-Doddsville.”Buffett said he remembers having long phone conversations with Munger back then. Added Munger: “We had fun in the early days because it was like hunting expeditions.”Buffett began to buy shares of Berkshire Hathaway in 1962, ultimately taking control of the company three years later and building it into the influential conglomerate it is today. He serves as chairman and CEO.In 1978, Munger became vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, a position he still holds.”I just knew instantly Charlie was the kind of guy that I was going to like, and I was going to learn from,” Buffett said, reflecting on their initial meeting. “You know, it wasn’t anything calculated, a decision or anything like that. It was natural. And we have had nothing but fun.” More