Raphael Stevens

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is under growing pressure to call for another nationwide lockdown in India as the overwhelmed health-care system struggles to fight a devastating second Covid-19 wave.But one member of Modi’s economic advisory council says state governments should have the final say in social restrictions instead.”All things considered, the current policy of leaving it to different states, to take local circumstances into account, and decide on a lockdown strategy – I think it is a better one on balance,” V. Anantha Nageswaran, part-time member of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia” on Tuesday.Calls for a national lockdown — like the one imposed last year between late-March and May — have grown louder as India’s health-care system buckles, and patients are turned away due to shortages of hospital beds, medical oxygen and medicines needed to treat the disease.Top White House coronavirus advisor Anthony Fauci also said in an interview with ABC News on Sunday that India needs to shut down in order to break the chains of transmission.So far, the central government has resisted calls for a lockdown, allowing states to step up their own localized restrictions, including lockdowns and curfews.Instead, the government is focusing its efforts on delivering global aid received — including oxygen concentrators, cylinders, and generation plants as well as anti-viral drug Remdesivir — to affected areas. The country is also stepping up its vaccination campaign.People aged 18 and over waiting to be inoculated against Covid-19 at a vaccination centre at Radha Soami Satsang grounds being run by BLK-Max hospital on May 4, 2021 in New Delhi, India.Hindustan Times | Hindustan Times | Getty ImagesNageswaran explained that at this point, the benefits of a nationwide lockdown will not significantly outweigh the costs. He added that the surge in cases is still relatively localized in different pockets instead of at a national level.India has reported more than 300,000 daily cases for 20 consecutive days. On Tuesday, however, the health ministry said its data showed a net decline in the total active cases over a 24-hour period for the first time in 61 days.India’s death toll from the coronavirus is close to 250,000.Economic growth trajectoryLast year’s national lockdown knocked India off its growth trajectory, pushing the economy into a technical recession. Prior to the second wave of infections, the economy was slowly on the mend — but economists are now predicting the recovery will be delayed in light of the current situation.There is a growing possibility that localized lockdowns will likely continue until June or beyond, and given the current pace of vaccination, any attempt to fully reopen the economy could result in a potential third wave of infections, Kunal Kundu, India economist at investment bank Societe Generale, said in a recent note.Kundu said the bank had a forecast of 9.5% year-on-year real GDP growth for India’s fiscal year ending in March 2022, that was below market consensus. But even that target is no longer tenable as it was based on the assumption that the economy will open up sooner due to a rapid pace of vaccination.”With localised lockdowns until June and beyond, this adds downside risk to our existing growth forecast. We now expect real GDP to clock growth of 8.5% for the current year,” Kundu said.India’s Covid crisisRead CNBC’s latest coverage of India’s battle with the coronavirus pandemic:WHO labels a Covid strain in India as a ‘variant of concern’ — here’s what we knowIndia’s worsening Covid crisis could spiral into a problem for the worldIndia is the home of the world’s biggest producer of Covid vaccines. But it’s facing a major internal shortageIndia’s economy will likely contract this quarter as Covid cases soar, economists warnHe added that India’s ability to track the new variants will be key to preventing subsequent waves. For that, the country “needs to earmark more fiscal resources for genomic surveillance and vaccine research,” and ensure all temporary Covid-19 care centers are still operational, he said.Nageswaran added that if India’s Covid-19 cases do not peak in the next two weeks, and if it drags into the next quarter, the country’s pre-pandemic level growth trajectory will be harder to achieve until the 2022-2023 financial year. More

With sustainable investments becoming an increasing part of the international agenda, pressure is piling on businesses to ensure they have a suitable strategy in place.BlackRock — the world’s largest asset manager and a forerunner in sustainable investments — was last week accused of inconsistency in its ESG agenda. ESG stands for environmental, social and corporate governance, and refers to a set of standards that measure a company’s performance in areas like carbon emissions and social responsibility.The investment firm was found to have links to an Indonesian palm oil company, which once again raised concerns around possible blind spots in the ESG investment process. But according to Singapore-based consultancy Asia Research and Engagement (ARE), there are several steps businesses can take to ensure their ESG strategy is considered and consistent.It’s no good having a commitment for 2050 and expecting all of the change to happen in 2049.Benjamin McCarronfounder and managing director, Asia Research and EngagementFirst, businesses must set out a strong intention to “manage whatever it is that needs to be managed,” Benjamin McCarron, founder and managing director of ARE told CNBC Tuesday. That could be internal policies or external investments.Then, leaders should set in place a time-targeted plan to meet those goals.”It’s no good having a commitment for 2050 and expecting all of the change to happen in 2049, so there needs to be a plan which is in place and which is progressive through time,” he said.An Acehnese worker harvests palm oil fruits at a palm oil plantation area in Kuta Makmur, North Aceh Regency.SOPA Images | LightRocket | Getty ImagesNext, they need to implement a transparent reporting system and have appropriate governance in place to ensure that reporting is adhered to.Finally, businesses need to start now. “Don’t leave it too late,” said McCarron.The advice comes as interest in ESG investments has been rising. In the first quarter of 2021, investments in sustainable funds hit a new high of nearly $2 trillion, marking the fourth quarter of gains, according to Morningstar.However, investors should continue to exercise caution to ensure companies are acting in accordance with their claims. Institutional investors should engage in dialogue, exert their voting rights and implement shareholder proposals to make sure companies are meeting the set goals.Meanwhile. it’s much easier for retail investors, said McCarron: “You can have whatever values you want. If you don’t want to own something, don’t own it.” More

Dr. Kavita Patel is slamming the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for not effectively updating its Covid mask guidance. “I think the CDC’s credibility is eroding as quickly as the cases of coronavirus are eroding,” said Patel on CNBC’s “The News with Shepard Smith.” “That’s not good news, because, we do need workplace guidance, we need school guidance.” “There are men and women working on the lines outside on telephone and electricity lines, and they’re still wearing masks because, in the absence of this guidance, we’re making it up,” Patel said. “That actually puts more of us at risk, so this is time to step up. These are the hard parts of government and public health communication, but we desperately need someone to do it.”Maine Republican Senator Susan Collins has said her confidence in the agency is being undermined by conflicting CDC guidance.”I used to have the utmost respect for the guidance from the CDC,” Collins said during a Congressional hearing on the pandemic response Tuesday. “I always considered the CDC to be the Gold Standard. I don’t anymore.”The CDC did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.Meanwhile, Alaska Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski has said federal mask requirements were endangering the work of fishermen.”You’re out on a boat. The winds are howling. Your mask is soggy wet,” Murkowski said during the hearing. “Tell me how anybody thinks that this is a sane and a sound policy?” Patel, who served in the Obama Administration as director of policy for the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs and Public Engagement, echoed Murkowski’s concerns.  More

An Abbott Labs employee gets the BinaxNOW rapid Covid-19 antigen test at her workplace.Abbott LabsAbbott Labs has a team of “virus hunters” working with health officials around the world to monitor Covid-19 variants, as some mutated strains show an ability to evade detection, CEO Robert Ford said during an interview that aired Tuesday as part of CNBC’s Healthy Returns event.”They’re constantly looking for new viruses, and in this case we set up a team to be able to monitor all the mutations that could exist,” he said of its pandemic defense coalition. “It can’t just be a U.S. thing, you have to partner with all the countries, all the universities, all the different collection sites, then I think that’s the way to go.”The Food and Drug Administration alerted clinical staff in January that new variants can cause false negative Covid-19 test results. The agency identified three tests, none of which were made by Abbott, that could be less accurate because the part of the SARS-CoV-2 genetic sequence the tests were looking for had mutated in some of the variants.Ford also made it clear that with the pace at which Covid-19 is mutating, there is no time to waste. Scientists need to “chase these mutations,” he said.In the meantime, scientists are developing a new generation of tests that look for parts of the virus that are less likely to mutate and lead to false negative results.Antigen testing, like that used in Abbott’s popular Binaxnow Covid-19 tests, targets proteins in the virus that are less likely to mutate over time. More

In this articleJCOMJ2 Global CEO Vivek Shah told CNBC on Tuesday the company is looking to spinoff its cloud fax service as management looks to unlock value in both businesses.The Los Angeles-based digital media company in April announced the separation plan, which would create a new publicly traded company called Consensus.”I think they’re both underappreciated and I think part of the reason they’re underappreciated is that they’re inside of one company,” Shah said in a “Mad Money” interview with Jim Cramer.”I think this is going to create a tremendous amount of value and I think it’s great to do it from a position of strength.”J2 had a market cap of $5.5 billion at the end of Tuesday.The online fax product is used primarily in the healthcare sector, where hospitals can share medical documents for patients while doing away with traditional fax machines, the company said. The fax service made up about 22% of the $1.49 billion in revenue J2 Global brought in in 2020, according to its annual report.J2 Global, whose portfolio includes the websites IGN, Mashable and Humble Bundle, is projecting that Consensus will generate as much as $342 million of revenue this year.The split will give J2 and Consensus their own dedicated leadership, focus and balance sheets, leaving the two companies with a clear set of peers to compete with, Shah said.”Consensus in the near term to me is really a play on the shift from on-prem to cloud,” he said. “Longer term, where the company is really focused is going from a document-centric to a data-centric construct.”As part of the separation, Scott Turicchi, president and chief financial office of J2, will be elevated to chief executive of Consensus. Shah will retain his seat at the top of J2.The spinoff will not require approval from shareholders, who are slated to receive about 80% of common stock in the new company.The deal is slated to close in the third quarter.Shares of J2 have rallied more than 25% from the beginning of the year. Since the announcement of the spinoff, however, the stock is down 4% at $122.83.Questions for Cramer? Call Cramer: 1-800-743-CNBCWant to take a deep dive into Cramer’s world? Hit him up! Mad Money Twitter – Jim Cramer Twitter – Facebook – InstagramQuestions, comments, suggestions for the “Mad Money” website? [email protected] More