Archives for March 2021

March
31, 2021

8 min read

This story originally appeared on The Conversation

By William G. Bain , University of Pittsburgh ; Georgios D. Kitsios , University of Pittsburgh , and Tomeka L. Suber , University of Pittsburgh

A year ago, when US health authorities issued their first warning that COVID-19 would cause serious “disruptions to everyday life,” doctors had no effective treatments to offer beyond supportive care.

There is no quick cure yet, but thanks to an unprecedented global research effort, various treatments are helping patients survive COVID-19 and stay out of the hospital entirely.

These address two general problems : the ability of the coronavirus to spread through the body, and the damage caused by the body’s immune system response.

When the virus enters the body, it takes over cells and uses them to replicate. In response, the body sends inflammatory signals and immune cells to fight the virus. In some patients, that inflammatory response can continue even after the virus is under control, leading to damage to the lungs and other organs.

The best tool is prevention, including the use of masks , masks and vaccines. The injections train the immune system to fight off attackers. With less risk of uncontrolled infection, they can reduce the risk of death from COVID-19 to almost zero . But vaccine supplies are limited, even with a third vaccine now licensed for use in the US , so treatments for infected patients remain crucial.

As a physician and physicians working with COVID-19 patients , we have been following drug trials and success stories. Here are six commonly used treatments for the disease today. As you will see, time matters.

Treatments that can keep you out of the hospital

Two promising types of treatments involve injecting antiviral antibodies into high-risk COVID-19 patients before the person becomes seriously ill.

Our bodies naturally create antibodies to recognize foreign invaders and help fight them. But the production of natural antibodies takes several days, and SARS-CoV-2 – the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 – replicates rapidly.

Studies show that injecting patients with antibodies soon after symptoms start can help protect against serious infections.

^{Treatments for COVID-19 and at what height are they used / Image: Georgios D. Kitsios , CC BY-ND}

Monoclonal antibodies

These laboratory-engineered antibodies can bind to SARS-CoV-2 and prevent the virus from entering and infecting cells. They include Bamlanivimab and the combination therapy casirivimab / imdevimab developed by Regeneron.

The FDA, the United States health agency, granted emergency use authorization for these therapies because they have been found to protect high-risk patients from hospitalization and death.

However, once patients are sick enough to need hospitalization, studies have not found a proven benefit from them.

Convalescent plasma

Another way to administer antibodies involves drawing blood from patients who have recovered from COVID-19. Convalescent plasma is administered primarily in research settings because the clinical evidence so far is mixed.

Some trials show benefits in the early stages of the disease . Other studies have shown no benefit in hospitalized patients .

Convalescent plasma may play a role as an adjunct therapy for some patients due to the growing threat of mutated SARS-CoV-2 variants , which can evade monoclonal antibody therapy. However, careful research is necessary.

Inpatient treatments

Once people get so sick that they have to be hospitalized, the treatments change.

Most have shortness of breath and low oxygen levels. Lack of oxygen occurs when the virus and the corresponding immune response injure the lungs, causing inflammation of the lung alveoli that restrict the amount of oxygen entering the blood.

Those hospitalized with COVID-19 generally need supplemental medical oxygen to help them breathe. Doctors typically treat patients receiving oxygen with the antiviral agent remdesivir and anti-inflammatory corticosteroids.

^{Most people hospitalized with COVID-19 have shortness of breath and low oxygen levels / Image: AP Images / David Goldman}

Remdesivir

Originally designed to treat hepatitis C, it prevents the coronavirus from replicating by interfering with its genetic components .

It has been shown to shorten the length of hospital stays , and doctors may prescribe it to patients receiving oxygen shortly after arrival at the hospital.

Corticosteroids

Steroids quell the body’s immune response and have been used for decades to treat inflammatory disorders.

They are also widely available, cheap, and well-studied drugs, which is why they were among the first therapies to enter clinical trials for COVID-19.

Several studies have shown that low-dose steroids reduce deaths in hospitalized patients receiving oxygen, including the sickest patients in the intensive care unit.

Following the findings of the landmark RECOVERY and REMAP-CAP studies, steroids are now the standard of care for hospitalized COVID-19 patients who are treated with oxygen.

Blood thinners

Inflammation during COVID-19 and other viral infections can also increase the risk of blood clots, which can cause heart attacks , strokes, and dangerous blood clots in the lungs .

Many patients with this disease are given anticoagulants heparin or enoxaparin to prevent clots from forming before they occur.

Early data from a large trial of COVID-19 patients suggests that hospitalized patients benefit from higher doses of blood thinners.

Some patients get so sick that they need special care to receive high levels of oxygen or a ventilator to help them breathe.

There are several therapies available for intensive care patients, but patients have not been found to benefit from high doses of blood thinners.

Treating the sickest patients

Intensive therapy patients with COVID-19 are more likely to survive on steroids, studies show. However, low-dose steroids alone may not be enough to curb excessive inflammation.

Tocilizumab

It is a laboratory-generated antibody that blocks the interleukin-6 pathway, which can cause inflammation during COVID-19 and other illnesses.

New results from the REMAP-CAP trial that have not yet been peer-reviewed suggest that a single dose of tocilizumab given within one to two days after ventilation reduced the risk of death in patients already on low-dose steroids.

Tocilizumab has also been shown to benefit patients with high levels of inflammation in early results from another trial .

These innovative therapies can help, but careful supportive care in intensive care units is also crucial. Decades of extensive research have defined basic management principles to help patients with severe lung infections who need ventilators.

These include avoiding under-inflation and over-inflation of the lung by the ventilator, treating pain and anxiety with low levels of sedative medications, and periodic placement of certain patients with low oxygen levels in the abdomen , among many other interventions. The same key principles are likely to apply to COVID-19 patients to help them survive and recover from a critical illness that can last for weeks or months.

Medical progress since the beginning of the pandemic has been impressive. Doctors now have vaccines, high-risk outpatient antiviral antibodies, and various inpatient treatments. Continued research will be crucial to improving our ability to fight a disease that has already claimed more than 2.5 million lives worldwide.

^{This article was translated by El Financiero . This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article .}

March
30, 2021

7 min read

This story originally appeared on ValueWalk

Friday‘s great run gave way to yesterday‘s consolidation, and stock bulls appear in need of more before taking out the psychological 4,000 mark. The Archegos crash isn‘t causing contagion fears the way GameStop in late Jan did. The current volatility and put/call ratio simply doesn‘t reflect that.

Q4 2020 hedge fund letters, conferences and more

The theme is still one of reflation – while inflation expectations are rising, and so are the inflation data for those who care to examine them closely enough, true inflation isn‘t yet here with us. Markets are merely transitioning to a higher inflation environment already, not buying the Fed‘s transitory explanation. Commodities are basing at the conquered levels before another run higher.

Make no mistake though, the current S&P 500 upswing is heavily reliant on the defensive sectors – technology isn‘t standing in the way, utilities and consumer staples are doing great, and so are several areas within the real estate sector such the residential one, or REIT ETFs that can be expected to keep doing well. Couple that with value stocks not really retreating, and you get the current view of S&P 500 advance structurally.

Credit markets though are a little lagging behind – thanks to the return of rising yields, working its predictable magic on investment grade corporate bonds as well. Such were my points from yesterday‘s extensive analysis, diving into the big picture across the markets and the economy:

(…) With 10-year Treasury yields at 1.67%, last week‘s decline didn‘t reach far before turning higher. Remembering stock market woes the first breach of 1.50% caused, stocks have coped well with the subsequent run up – while in the old days of retirees actually being able to live off interest rate income, a level of 4% would bring about trouble for S&P 500, now the level is probably just above 2%. Yes, that‘s how far our financialized economy has progressed – and I look for volatility to rise, and stocks to waver and likely enter a correction at such a bond market juncture. As always, I‘ll be keeping a close eye on the signs, emerging or not, as we approach that yield level.

The bond market isn‘t merely anticipating an economic recovery that has good chances of overheating still this year, it‘s also reacting to:

(…) the fresh money avalanche, activist fiscal and moterary policy to hit the markets as a tidal wave. Modern monetary theorists‘ dream come true. Unlike during the Great Recession, the newly minted money isn‘t going to go towards repairing banks‘ balance sheets – it‘s going into the financial markets, lifting up asset prices, and over to the real economy. So far, it‘s only PPI that‘s showing signs of inflation in the pipeline – soon to be manifest according to the CPI methodology as well.

Any deflation scare in such an environment stands low prospects of success.

Continuing:

(…) For deflation to succeed, a stock market crash followed by a depression has to come first. And as inflation is firing on just one cylinder now (asset price inflation not accompanied by labor market pressures), it isn‘t yet strong enough to derail the stock bull run. The true inflation is a 2022-3 story, which is when we would be likely in a full blown financial repression and bond yields capped well above 2% while inflation rate could run at double that figure. Then, the Fed wouldn‘t be engaged in a twist operation, but in yield curve control, which the precious metals would love, for they love low nominal and negative real rates.

As I wrote on Twitter, it‘s a question of time when gold starts anticipating the policy turn, snifffing it out just like the Fed having to abandon hawkish positions of late 2018, or the runup to the repo crisis of autumn 2019. We got quite a few decoupling signs, some on prolonged basis, but gold isn‘t yet leading commodities the way it did both before and after the corona deflationary shock.

Let‘s not forget about the currencies and arbitrage opportunities there – the yen carry trade is still very much alive, making it a no brainer to borrow in declining currency while parking the proceeds elsewhere – and the one-way trading in $USDJPY in 2021 is a fitting testament thereof. A powerful argument against deflation on our doorstep, by the way.

Quite to the (deflationary shock) contrary at the moment – both commodities and precious metals are under pressure in today‘s premarket session. Another undoing of the miners‘ outperformance?

Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).

S&P 500 Outlook

Daily consolidation on average volume – no hinting at serious troubles down the road. Buy the dip mentality still rules the day.

Credit Markets

High yield corporate bonds (HYG ETF) chart looks a bit tired to the upside – the bulls had to defend against a serious downswing yesterday first. Contracting volume precedes rising volume, and the best the bulls can hope for, is sideways trading coupled with downswing rejection followed by another move higher.

Technology and Value

Technology (XLK ETF) repelled an intraday downswing while value stocks (VTV ETF) merely couldn‘t keep up all the gained ground during the day. So far so good in the run up or base building on the path to new all time highs.

Gold in the Spotlight

The daily resilience in the miners would come under heavy pressure today, and GDX can be expected to close lower. Would they still show outperformance vs. the yellow metal? I wouldn‘t bet the farm on it – it appears the Mar 04 game plan will be tested soon instead.

Miners to gold (black line) still keeps painting a bullish picture on the weekly chart, as it refuses to follow the yellow metal to the downside. Where would it be should the $1,670 support zone get tested again – would that level be sufficient enough to power a rebound?

Silver, Miners and Copper

Silver clearly illustrates the sectoral weakness – the selling waves get harder to repel, and upswing attempts are happening on lower volume. While copper goes sideways, the white metal is breaking lower, and its miners aren‘t showing any strength at all.

Summary

S&P 500 keeps consolidating Friday‘s gains without signs of upcoming, groundbreaking weakness. With volatility at around 20, the path of least resistance remains overall higher – until tech says no more. Again, no hint at that today still.

Gold is again approaching the $1,670 support, and miners‘ performance will send as valuable clues just as before the Mar 08 bottom. Given today‘s downswing, that will be an even more important indication, bearing medium-term consequences as well.

Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for both Stock Trading Signals and Gold Trading Signals.

Thank you,

Monica Kingsley

Stock Trading Signals

Gold Trading Signals

www.monicakingsley.co

mk@monicakingsley.co

All essays, research and information represent analyses and opinions of Monica Kingsley that are based on available and latest data. Despite careful research and best efforts, it may prove wrong and be subject to change with or without notice. Monica Kingsley does not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. Her content serves educational purposes and should not be relied upon as advice or construed as providing recommendations of any kind. Futures, stocks and options are financial instruments not suitable for every investor. Please be advised that you invest at your own risk. Monica Kingsley is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading her writings, you agree that she will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make. Investing, trading and speculating in financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Monica Kingsley may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in her writings, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.

Friday‘s great run gave way to yesterday‘s consolidation, and stock bulls appear in need of more before taking out the psychological 4,000 mark. The Archegos crash isn‘t causing contagion fears the way GameStop in late Jan did. The current volatility and put/call ratio simply doesn‘t reflect that.

Q4 2020 hedge fund letters, conferences and more

The theme is still one of reflation – while inflation expectations are rising, and so are the inflation data for those who care to examine them closely enough, true inflation isn‘t yet here with us. Markets are merely transitioning to a higher inflation environment already, not buying the Fed‘s transitory explanation. Commodities are basing at the conquered levels before another run higher.

Make no mistake though, the current S&P 500 upswing is heavily reliant on the defensive sectors – technology isn‘t standing in the way, utilities and consumer staples are doing great, and so are several areas within the real estate sector such the residential one, or REIT ETFs that can be expected to keep doing well. Couple that with value stocks not really retreating, and you get the current view of S&P 500 advance structurally.

Credit markets though are a little lagging behind – thanks to the return of rising yields, working its predictable magic on investment grade corporate bonds as well. Such were my points from yesterday‘s extensive analysis, diving into the big picture across the markets and the economy:

(…) With 10-year Treasury yields at 1.67%, last week‘s decline didn‘t reach far before turning higher. Remembering stock market woes the first breach of 1.50% caused, stocks have coped well with the subsequent run up – while in the old days of retirees actually being able to live off interest rate income, a level of 4% would bring about trouble for S&P 500, now the level is probably just above 2%. Yes, that‘s how far our financialized economy has progressed – and I look for volatility to rise, and stocks to waver and likely enter a correction at such a bond market juncture. As always, I‘ll be keeping a close eye on the signs, emerging or not, as we approach that yield level.

The bond market isn‘t merely anticipating an economic recovery that has good chances of overheating still this year, it‘s also reacting to:

(…) the fresh money avalanche, activist fiscal and moterary policy to hit the markets as a tidal wave. Modern monetary theorists‘ dream come true. Unlike during the Great Recession, the newly minted money isn‘t going to go towards repairing banks‘ balance sheets – it‘s going into the financial markets, lifting up asset prices, and over to the real economy. So far, it‘s only PPI that‘s showing signs of inflation in the pipeline – soon to be manifest according to the CPI methodology as well.

Any deflation scare in such an environment stands low prospects of success.

Continuing:

(…) For deflation to succeed, a stock market crash followed by a depression has to come first. And as inflation is firing on just one cylinder now (asset price inflation not accompanied by labor market pressures), it isn‘t yet strong enough to derail the stock bull run. The true inflation is a 2022-3 story, which is when we would be likely in a full blown financial repression and bond yields capped well above 2% while inflation rate could run at double that figure. Then, the Fed wouldn‘t be engaged in a twist operation, but in yield curve control, which the precious metals would love, for they love low nominal and negative real rates.

As I wrote on Twitter, it‘s a question of time when gold starts anticipating the policy turn, snifffing it out just like the Fed having to abandon hawkish positions of late 2018, or the runup to the repo crisis of autumn 2019. We got quite a few decoupling signs, some on prolonged basis, but gold isn‘t yet leading commodities the way it did both before and after the corona deflationary shock.

Let‘s not forget about the currencies and arbitrage opportunities there – the yen carry trade is still very much alive, making it a no brainer to borrow in declining currency while parking the proceeds elsewhere – and the one-way trading in $USDJPY in 2021 is a fitting testament thereof. A powerful argument against deflation on our doorstep, by the way.

Quite to the (deflationary shock) contrary at the moment – both commodities and precious metals are under pressure in today‘s premarket session. Another undoing of the miners‘ outperformance?

Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).

S&P 500 Outlook

Daily consolidation on average volume – no hinting at serious troubles down the road. Buy the dip mentality still rules the day.

Credit Markets

High yield corporate bonds (HYG ETF) chart looks a bit tired to the upside – the bulls had to defend against a serious downswing yesterday first. Contracting volume precedes rising volume, and the best the bulls can hope for, is sideways trading coupled with downswing rejection followed by another move higher.

Technology and Value

Technology (XLK ETF) repelled an intraday downswing while value stocks (VTV ETF) merely couldn‘t keep up all the gained ground during the day. So far so good in the run up or base building on the path to new all time highs.

Gold in the Spotlight

The daily resilience in the miners would come under heavy pressure today, and GDX can be expected to close lower. Would they still show outperformance vs. the yellow metal? I wouldn‘t bet the farm on it – it appears the Mar 04 game plan will be tested soon instead.

Miners to gold (black line) still keeps painting a bullish picture on the weekly chart, as it refuses to follow the yellow metal to the downside. Where would it be should the $1,670 support zone get tested again – would that level be sufficient enough to power a rebound?

Silver, Miners and Copper

Silver clearly illustrates the sectoral weakness – the selling waves get harder to repel, and upswing attempts are happening on lower volume. While copper goes sideways, the white metal is breaking lower, and its miners aren‘t showing any strength at all.

Summary

S&P 500 keeps consolidating Friday‘s gains without signs of upcoming, groundbreaking weakness. With volatility at around 20, the path of least resistance remains overall higher – until tech says no more. Again, no hint at that today still.

Gold is again approaching the $1,670 support, and miners‘ performance will send as valuable clues just as before the Mar 08 bottom. Given today‘s downswing, that will be an even more important indication, bearing medium-term consequences as well.

Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for both Stock Trading Signals and Gold Trading Signals.

Thank you,

Monica Kingsley

Stock Trading Signals

Gold Trading Signals

www.monicakingsley.co

mk@monicakingsley.co

All essays, research and information represent analyses and opinions of Monica Kingsley that are based on available and latest data. Despite careful research and best efforts, it may prove wrong and be subject to change with or without notice. Monica Kingsley does not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. Her content serves educational purposes and should not be relied upon as advice or construed as providing recommendations of any kind. Futures, stocks and options are financial instruments not suitable for every investor. Please be advised that you invest at your own risk. Monica Kingsley is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading her writings, you agree that she will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make. Investing, trading and speculating in financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Monica Kingsley may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in her writings, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Unbroken is a film that portrays the life of Louis Zamperini. What does a film about an Olympic champion, WWII bomber, and a prisoner of war have to do with being an entrepreneur? If you know the story of Louis Zamperini, then you probably already know: this man had guts.

Louie, as his friends knew him, is an example of perseverance. As a child he was frequently bullied by other children for his Italian origin, which caused him to misbehave and drink alcohol to the disappointment of his parents. His older brother decided to step in and train him to be a long-distance runner — something that would help Louie build discipline and focus. He became so good that when he grew up, he earned the nickname “The Torrence Tornado” (for the Californian city where he was born) and managed to qualify for the 1936 Berlin Olympics. In the joust, Louie managed to place eighth in the 5,000 meter race.

Later, this incredible man decided to join the military and become a bomber in a B24 Liberator for the US Air Force on the Pacific front during WW II. In 1943, his plane was severely damaged in combat and crashed into the ocean during a rescue mission.

Louie and two companions were adrift on an inflatable raft for 47 days, enduring storms, a shark attack, the death of one of the survivors and a lack of rations (they ate birds and fish, and drank rainwater).

The athlete and his remaining friend were captured by Japanese sailors and became prisoners of war locked up in different concentration camps. Louie was treated cruelly by the camp chief for being a former Olympian and an American soldier.

One day, two Japanese journalists helped Louie send a message home saying that he was alive (the government had declared him dead at the front). However, the Japanese tried to force him to record anti-American propaganda, to which the soldier refused. The director of the concentration camp had every prisoner there beat him to teach him a lesson.

Louie managed to endure the mistreatment and, at the end of the war, managed to return to his family to tell of his incredible journey.

It was a movie that, in fact, was very real. He had an extraordinary life and refused to give up no matter what the situation. The adventure of an entrepreneur is based on the same character traits that define Zamperini.

Here are five key lessons you can learn from this great character:

1. Luck isn’t needed. Zamperini did not grow up with any skill or advantage. In fact, in many ways, he had disadvantages. His family came to California when he was a child and did not speak any English, which made him an easy target for annoyance. He got into a lot of trouble in his youth. He worked hard to train and become a runner, a situation that eventually led him to the Olympics.

Whether it’s true or myth, the repeating line on the tape is: “If you can take it, you can do it.” That ability to withstand the challenges and obstacles that life throws at you is what defines an entrepreneur. Do not regret the difficulties that life gives you: accept them. Run towards conflict and overcome all challenges. Innovation comes from solving the world’s problems, not from having an easy answer. Be glad that it is difficult: for that reason you will be extremely good.

^{Photo: Louis Zamperini before his death / W ikipedia}

2. Big risks lead to big rewards. It is important that, as an entrepreneur, you get involved in small and calculated risks. Your ability to take and survive risks will help you increase your self-confidence. When you do this, you can develop the courage you need to face future problems.

Zamperini certainly understood that taking risks sometimes leads to failure, but it will pay off big rewards in the end. Taking risks is part of the entrepreneurial journey, and the more you develop the ability to be comfortable with discomfort, the greater your reward.

3. Failure is part of the journey. Never let your failures define you or you will lose the game. As a child, it seemed that this Olympic champion was going to be a failure. He got into fights, drank at eight, and robbed strangers and neighbors. By the time he was a teenager, his parents knew the local police very well.

I wouldn’t call that a great start, but with the support of others and some initiative, Zamperini turned things around. It would have been easy to give up and be defined as a failure, a lost cause. Why are you on the entrepreneurial journey? Don’t let others define your success. You can always find the right support and take the initiative to keep improving. The path of an entrepreneur is never straight, simple or easy.

4. The right support makes all the difference. Speaking of support, it is debatable whether Zamperini would have achieved success at the Olympics without the support of his mentors. It was not only his parents who did not give up on him, his brother, the school coach and even the police became guides to lead him on a path that would eventually lead to the Olympics. Also, remember that you can give that support and motivation to other people who are starting.

5. Never give up. Not only was Zamperini very clear about the message of never giving up, he literally wrote a book about it. At the age of 97, he published a book called Don’t Give Up, Don’t Give In: Lessons From An Extraordinary Life. If anyone is qualified to share advice and wisdom it was this man.

You can learn a little more about the life of this incredible man in the movie Unbreakable (2014):

^{With information from Martha Elena Violante.}