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Thursday 13th of May 2021
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How to Read "Gilgamesh" @NewYorker Misc. |
A carnelian tree was in fruit,
hung with bunches of grapes, lovely to look on.
A lapis lazuli tree bore foliage,
in full fruit and gorgeous to gaze on.
To me, this is the most dazzling passage in the poem: the engulfing darkness, in which Gilgamesh can see nothing for hours—he is just an organism, in a hole—and then, suddenly, light, color, beautiful globes of purple and red hanging from the trees. God’s world, made for us, or so we thought.
Gilgamesh does not linger in the garden. He at last finds Uta-napishti, the man who gazed on death and survived. Gilgamesh wants to know, How did you do this? Unhelpfully, Uta-napishti explains:
“No one at all sees Death,
no one at all sees the face [of Death,]
no one at all [hears] the voice of Death,
Death so savage, who hacks men down. . . .
Ever the river has risen and brought us the flood,
the mayfly floating on the water.
On the face of the sun its countenance gazes,
then all of a sudden nothing is there!”
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Hamas launched rockets at Tel Aviv and toward Jerusalem early on Thursday and Israel vowed to keep pummelling the Islamist faction in Gaza @Reuters. Law & Politics |
There was no immediate word of casualties from the pre-dawn salvo, which set off sirens as far as northern Nahalal, 100 km (62 miles) from Gaza, sending thousands of Israelis to shelters.
At least 67 people have been killed in Gaza since violence escalated on Monday, according to the enclave's health ministry. Seven people have been killed in Israel, medical officials said.
With world powers demanding de-escalation of a conflict beginning to recall the Gaza war of 2014, Washington planned to send an envoy, Hady Amr, for talks with Israel and Palestinians.
"My expectation and hope is this will be closing down sooner than later, but Israel has a right to defend itself," Biden said on Wednesday after speaking to Netanyahu.
Biden did not explain the reasons behind his optimism. Netanyahu's office said he told the U.S. president that Israel would "continue acting to strike at the military capabilities of Hamas and the other terrorist groups active in the Gaza Strip".
On Wednesday, Israeli forces killed a senior Hamas commander and bombed several buildings, including high-rises and a bank, which Israel said was linked to the faction's activities.
Hamas signalled defiance, with its leader, Ismail Haniyeh, saying: "The confrontation with the enemy is open-ended."
Israel launched its offensive after Hamas fired rockets at Jerusalem and Tel Aviv in retaliation for Israeli police clashes with Palestinians near al-Aqsa mosque in East Jerusalem during the fasting month of Ramadan.
These escalated ahead of a court hearing - now postponed - that could lead to the eviction of Palestinian families from East Jerusalem homes claimed by Jewish settlers.
"Israel has gone crazy," said a man on a Gaza street, where people ran out of their homes as explosions rocked buildings.
Many in Israel also holed up in shelters as waves of rockets hit its heartland, some blown out of the sky by Iron Dome interceptors.
"All of Israel is under attack. It's a very scary situation to be in," said Margo Aronovic, a 26-year-old student, in Tel Aviv.
The fatalities in Israel include a soldier killed while patrolling the Gaza border and five six civilians, including two children and an Indian worker, medical authorities said.
U.S. energy corporation Chevron said it had shut down the Tamar natural gas platform off the Israeli coast as a precaution. Israel said its energy needs would continue to be met.
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COVID-19: Make it the Last Pandemic A Summary IPPPR Law & Politics |
COVID-19 remains a global disaster. Worse, it was a preventable disaster. That is why the recommendations of the Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response are urgent and vital.
The world needs a new international system for pandemic preparedness and response, and it needs one fast, to stop future infectious disease outbreaks from becoming catastrophic pandemics.
The alert system was too slow — and too meek. The World Health Organization was under-powered. The response has exacerbated inequalities. Global political leadership was absent.
Vaccine variants are emerging as SARS-CoV-2 spreads, and ever new ones are possible.
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09-MAY-2021 :: The Invisible Microbe COVID19 posted two record high weeks of Infections and that is the ''reported'' number Misc. |
For the rest of the World and India in particular it remains the case of a virulent plague that “travelled through the air as if on wings, it burned through cities like fire”
"My concern right now is that this virus has huge kinetic energy”, said @DrMikeRyan
Benito Modi whose hyper incompetence even the Die Hard BJP ''Deadenders'' are finding it impossible to defend positively aided and abetted the “Kumbh Mela [which] may end up being the biggest super spreader event in the history of this pandemic.” Professor Ashish Jha
It is clear daily COVID related deaths are running at 10x the Official number and each Funeral Pyre is a testament to the Prime Minister a testament to what You can decide.
I appreciate the Dollar is on the slide but I would venture shorting the Rupee is a No Brainer Trade at this juncture.
Whilst Topol and his ilk indulge in their vaccine Modi level Hubris let me point this out
Africa which as to date emerged relatively unscathed from the health element of COVID19 might be casting a weary glance over its shoulder at India and would certainly be prudent to do so.
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India’s New Covid Cases Have Peaked, Cambridge Tracker Shows @business [i sincerely hope so] Misc. |
The number of new coronavirus infections in India has peaked, according to a new tracker developed by researchers at Cambridge Judge Business School and the National Institute of Economic and Social Research.
“But there is substantial variation among states and union territories in their trajectories, with cases continuing to increase over the next two weeks in areas such as Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Tripura,” the researchers wrote.
India reported a record 414,188 new cases on May 7 -- about 32% higher than the world’s previous peak reported by the U.S. last year but with just a fraction of the testing and vast undercounting -- and official data suggest daily deaths could continue near the unprecedented 4,000-level.
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The Markets The Lotos-eaters World Of Finance |
In 1929, President Herbert Hoover assured the country that things were already “back to normal,” Liaquat Ahamed writes in Lords of Finance.
The US NFP printed 266,000 versus 1,000,000 expected which was the biggest miss relative to expectations in Non Farm Payrolls since at least 1998. @bespokeinvest
On 28th March when the Bears had gotten hold of the US 10 Year, I wrote that I expected the 10 Year to target 1.45% well we got real close on Friday before the market reversed
Ten- year yields initially plunged to a more than two-month low of 1.46%, then reversed to end the day at 1.58%. However, I am resetting my target Yield to 1.25% now.
Given the volume of money Printing and the extraordinary stimulusI have to say that the US Recovery is actually really weak and I believe it will be very short lived and the Penny will drop soon with the Bond Market and the Shorts will be forced to cover.
The Consensus View appears to be that the Global economy is going to accelerate big time and that its going to BOOM!
I beg to differ
Partying responsibly. @BobNeiwen
Furthermore The Central Banks are in a corner.
They have fired a lot of bullets and even if there was a meaningful bounce they cannot raise rates.
Here is why central banks are trapped and cannot raise rates even if inflation rises: @dlacalle_IA Feb 2
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The Markets The Lotos-eaters Gold and Silver Have finally got the Big MO Commodities |
28-MAR-2021 :: GOLD HAS COMPLETED ITS CONSOLIDATION AND IS HEADED BACK TO ATHS
Silver is the single most important asset that I’m focused on. @TaviCosta
If I had to boil down my entire macro thesis into one position, it would undoubtedly be that.
Once silver breaks above $30, I believe we will see an explosive move to new highs.
04-JAN-2021 :: What Will Happen In 2021 I expect Gold to top $2,500 this year and Silver to reach $50.00
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09-MAY-2021 :: The Invisible Microbe COVID19 Africa |
For the rest of the World and India in particular it remains the case of a a virulent plague that “travelled through the air as if on wings, it burned through cities like fire”
"My concern right now is that this virus has huge kinetic energy”, said @DrMikeRyan
Africa which as to date emerged relatively unscathed from the health element of COVID19 might be casting a weary glance over its shoulder at India and would certainly be prudent to do so.
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Turning To Africa Africa |
We are getting closer and closer to the Virilian Tipping Point
“The revolutionary contingent attains its ideal form not in the place of production, but in the street''
Political leadership in most cases completely gerontocratic will use violence to cling onto Power but any Early Warning System would be warning a Tsunami is coming
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Ethiopia Lost $500 Million on Telecom License Mobile-Money Move @bpolitics @Habesh_ Africa |
Ethiopia’s decision to exclude mobile money from the terms of two new telecom licenses cost the government about $500 million from bid levels, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said.
The block imposed to allow the country to build its own expertise in phone-based financial technology will be lifted after about a year, Abiy said at the launch of Telebirr, a mobile-payments service.
Ethio Telecom, the state-owned operator, will run Telebirr.
“This decision has cost us a high price,” the prime minister said.
“When it was decided to open up the telecom market about two years ago, one of the key areas of contention was the issue of mobile money.”
The government has long been in the process of selling two new telecom licenses -- a policy that’s at the heart of Abiy’s economic-reform plan.
The move will open up one of the last major markets yet to welcome international investors, and is intended to trigger a wider privatization program to raise foreign-exchange and boost productivity.
The issue of mobile money has been vital to the progress of the auction.
Financial technology is a major revenue and profit driver for African telecom operators, who are filling a gap left by traditional banks and taking advantage of soaring smartphone use.
“Though Ethiopian mobile penetration lags behind peers, investment and lowered prices should lead to strong growth in takeup of mobile services,” Bloomberg Intelligence analyst John Davies said in a note.
“The value to international investors depends on agreements with the government and how it chooses to regulate the market.”
Ethiopia has received a license bid from a consortium including Vodafone Group Plc, Vodacom Group Ltd. and Kenya’s Safaricom Ltd.
Another offer was made by MTN Group Ltd., Africa’s largest wireless carrier, and China’s Silk Road Fund.
The country is yet to announce the result.
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Safaricom Ltd. reports FY EPS -6.8% 2021 Earnings here @SafaricomPLC #SafaricomFYResults N.S.E Equities - Commercial & Services |
Par Value: 0.05/-
Closing Price: 40.85
Total Shares Issued: 40065428000.00
Market Capitalization: 1,636,672,733,800
EPS: 1.71
PE: 23.88
Safaricom reports FY Earnings through 31st March 2021 versus through 31st March 2020
FY Total Revenue 264.0265b versus 262.5557b +0.6%
FY Service revenue 250.3518b versus 2512141b
FY Handsets and other Revenue 12.3165b versus 10.4878b
FY Direct Costs [80.0151b] versus [74.7010b] +7.1%
FY Expected credit losses [ECL] on financial Assets [3.0097b] versus [1.6696b] +80.3%
FY Other Expenses [46.0348b] versus [47.5597b] [3.2%]
FY Earnings before [EBITDA] 134.1292b versus 138.0415b [2.8%]
FY Depreciation and Amortisation [37.9643b] versus [36.5477b]
FY Earnings before Interest and taxes [EBIT] 96.1649b versus 101.4938b [5.3%]
FY Profit before Income Tax 93.6355b versus 105.7730b [11.5%]
FY Profit after Tax 68.6762b versus 73.6579b [6.8%]
FY EPS 1.71 versus 1.84 [6.8%]
Final Dividend 0.92cents a share [+Interim 0.45 =1.37]
Commentary
Service Revenue declined 0.3% FY21 [with a decline of 4.8% IN 1H and +4.00% growth in 2H
Recovery in 2H was driven by return to charging on zero rated M-PESA transactions in Q4
Double digit growth in mobile data and fixed data growth,
One month active customers grew 9.9% YoY to 31.45m [The Demographic dividend]
M-PESA revenue declined 2.1% YoY with a decline of 14.5% YoY in 1H FY21 and recorded significant recovery in 2H FY21 growing 10.1% YoY attributed to the lapse of free fees in Q4
Total M-PESA transaction value grew 58.2% YoY to 22.04 Trillion while volume of M-PESA transactions grew 29.8% YoY to 11.68b
Mobile Data Revenue grew 11.5% YoY
Active 4G devices grew 39.8% YoY to 8.5m while data customers using more than 1GB in our network grew 31.1% YoY to 6.1m
Capital Expenditure stood at 34.96b
Overall capex spend declined 3.2% YoY in FY21
Borrowings As at 31st March 2021 Bank Borrowings were 14.77b while Cash and Cash Equivalents stood at 26.74b
Key Highlights
Voice Revenue declined 4.6% to 82.5520b
Voice outgoing minutes per subscriber grew 19.1% YoY and incoming minutes grew 16.2%
ARPU declined 10.3% YoY
Messaging Revenue declined 11.7% to 13.6024b
Voice and Messaging are now 38.4% of service revenue
M-PESA Revenue declined 2.1% to 82.6474b
Mobile Data Revenue grew 11.5% to 44.7932b
Usage per data Subscriber grew 32.7% supporting ARPU growth of 3.7% YoY
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