Chevron mandates coronavirus vaccines for some of its workers.

A recent study found that the risk of contracting coronavirus is higher in the Middle East. Chevron has implemented a mandatory vaccine program for some workers to protect against this risk.

Chevron is mandating that some of its workers have the coronavirus vaccine. The mandate will be phased in over a period of 3 years.

Briefing on Business Every Day

Updated on August 23, 2021 

11:29 a.m. ET, August 23, 2021

11:29 a.m. ET, August 23, 2021

In Pascagoula, Mississippi, a Chevron refinery.Credit… Jonathan Bachman is a writer who lives in New York City /Reuters

Chevron, the world’s largest oil and gas company, has announced that some of its employees would be required to get coronavirus vaccines, making it the first big U.S. oil company to do so at a time when other large companies are putting similar demands on office workers.

Employees who travel abroad and expatriates, as well as the offshore work force in the Gulf of Mexico and certain onshore support workers, are subject to the requirement, according to the firm. After Exxon Mobil, Chevron is the second-largest oil and gas producer in the United States.

“Workers in specific occupations are obliged to be vaccinated against Covid-19 as part of our fitness for duty safety standard,” a Chevron spokesperson stated in an email. “In order to safeguard our workforce, we will continue to closely monitor medical data and follow the advice of health authorities.”

The Wall Street Journal had already reported the development.

This is a story that is currently breaking. Keep an eye out for more information.

In Brazil, people are queuing to get vaccinated. The transfer of emergency reserve money by the International Monetary Fund was the biggest such extension of currency reserves, known as Special Drawing Rights, in the organization’s history. Credit… The New York Times’ Victor Moriyama

WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Monday, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) released $650 billion in emergency reserve money to impoverished nations to aid in the fight against the coronavirus epidemic and debt repayment.

The distribution was the I.M.F.’s largest-ever increase of currency reserves, known as Special Drawing Rights. It occurred as the globe grappled with a two-track economic recovery, with poorer nations falling behind in vaccination their people and suffering slower development, and as the Delta form of the virus continues to cause an increase in infections.

In a statement, Kristalina Georgieva, the IMF’s managing director, said, “The allocation represents a major shot in the arm for the globe and, if utilized properly, a rare chance to fight this historic crisis.”

A Special Drawing Right is basically a line of credit that may be cashed in for hard currency by IMF member nations. Their value is adjusted every five years and is based on a basket of foreign currencies. Each of the 190 IMF member nations receives a part of the currency reserves based on its fund shares, which are proportional to the size of the country’s GDP.

In recent weeks, the currency reserves have been the focus of debate in the United States, with Republican legislators accusing the Biden administration of benefiting American enemies such as China, Russia, and Iran by supporting the distribution. Other nations voiced alarm last week when the Taliban overthrew Afghanistan’s government and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) halted the transfer of more than $400 million in SDRs to Afghanistan, citing pressure from its members.

The distribution was supported by the Treasury Department, and Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen said that the US would not participate in SDR transactions with enemies such as Russia and Iran, making it unlikely that they would gain much from the increased currency reserves.

The IMF said on Monday that $275 billion would be distributed to emerging and developing nations as a consequence of the revised allocation. It encourages rich nations to donate a portion of their reserve assets to those who are in desperate need.

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• Early Monday, U.S. equities surged ahead of an annual meeting of economists and central bankers later this week. On Friday, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell will talk, and he may disclose specifics on how and when the bank intends to begin winding down its bond-buying program. This year’s event, which is usually hosted in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, will be conducted virtually.

• The S&P 500 gained 0.8 percent, recouping all of its previous week’s losses. The Nasdaq composite increased by more than 1%.

• The National Association of Realtors reported that existing home sales increased by 2% in July over June, marking the second consecutive month of increases. From July 2020 to July 2021, sales increased by 1.5 percent. In July, the median price of a house sold was $359,900, up 17.8% from July 2020.

• For the first time since May, Bitcoin surpassed $50,000. PayPal said on Monday that users in the United Kingdom would be able to purchase, hold, and trade four cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and Bitcoin Cash.

• Stocks in Europe climbed, with the Stoxx Europe 600 index up 0.4 percent.

On Sunday, a C-17 military cargo aircraft landed at Kabul’s international airport. Commercial airlines have begun flying Americans and Afghan friends out of sites in the Middle East, including Qatar. Credit… The New York Times’ Jim Huylebroek

Commercial airlines have begun evacuating Americans and Afghan friends from military sites in the Middle East, as part of a pledge to assist the military in crises.

United Airlines began offering help on Sunday, according to a spokesperson, but she refused to provide more information. On Sunday, a United aircraft departed Frankfurt and landed at a military facility in Qatar, according to FlightRadar24, a monitoring website. The identical aircraft was supposed to land at Ramstein Air Base in Germany and then fly to Dulles International Airport in Washington.

American Airlines said it will have three wide-body aircraft ready to help with the evacuations beginning Monday. United is donating four Boeing 777 aircraft. Delta Air Lines, Atlas Air, and Omni Air, two charter-flight providers, will each provide three aircraft, while Hawaiian Airlines will provide two.

In a statement, American Airlines stated, “The pictures from Afghanistan are devastating.” “Our pilots and flight attendants, who will be flying these flights as part of this lifesaving effort, are pleased and grateful,” said the airline.

Following the Berlin airlift, in which the United States and the United Kingdom combated a Soviet siege of West Berlin by delivering supplies over the course of 277,569 flights, the Civil Reserve Air Fleet was formed in 1951. The Defense Department is in charge of the program, with assistance from the Transportation Department. In peacetime, airlines who participate in the program are given first priority in transporting people and goods for the Defense Department, which is a profitable business.

Government authorities informed airlines last week that the fleet may be activated to assist with evacuations in Afghanistan. The Association of Flight Attendants, which represents United Airlines flight attendants, opened a bidding system over the weekend for its members to sign up to crew the flights.

“As a global airline and our country’s flag carrier, we embrace the obligation to react promptly to international issues like this one,” United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby stated on social media. “It’s a responsibility we take seriously and with great care.”

Participating airlines, who are transporting fewer customers due to the coronavirus epidemic, are not anticipated to be harmed by the flights. The demand for tickets for foreign flights that utilize the kind of bigger aircraft that will be used for the evacuations is particularly low.

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In Jackson Hole in 2019, Jerome H. Powell, the head of the Federal Reserve, and John Williams, the president of the New York Fed, pose. The Federal Reserve’s annual economic meeting will begin on Thursday. Credit… Reuters/Ann Saphir

Monday

• Existing home sales statistics will be published by the National Association of Realtors. After a four-month drop, sales rebounded in June, but rising costs and a supply deficit continue to threaten the industry.

Tuesday

• Earnings at Best Buy may improve in the second quarter, which ended at the end of July, since the latest retail sales statistics indicated a rise in electronics sales last month.

• Nordstrom earnings: Investors will discover whether Nordstrom’s attempts to recruit younger consumers and cut connections with malls helped the company grow sales.

Thursday

• Central bankers will convene online for the annual Jackson Hole conference, which is usually held in Wyoming. The Fed’s head, Jerome H. Powell, is scheduled to speak on Friday and is anticipated to give specifics on how and when the bank intends to begin winding down its bond-buying program, which is one of many measures the bank has implemented to mitigate the economic effect of the epidemic.

Friday

• Personal consumption expenditures: The chosen inflation measure of the Federal Reserve will reveal how much and how fast increasing prices will diminish. The Fed maintains that the current spike in inflation is just temporary.

• Consumer sentiment: The University of Michigan will release its final consumer sentiment rating for August. Consumer confidence fell more than 13 percent in early August compared to July, indicating a slowing in the economic recovery.

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Pfizer said it submitted data from 44,000 clinical trial participants in the United States, the European Union, Turkey, South Africa, and South America to the Food and Drug Administration. Credit… The New York Times’ Saul Martinez

The Food and Drug Administration gave full clearance to Pfizer-coronavirus BioNTech’s vaccine for individuals aged 16 and up on Monday, making it the first in the United States to go beyond emergency use designation.

Hospitals, universities, businesses, and other organizations will be required to provide vaccines as a result of the ruling. United Airlines has stated that with regulatory clearance, workers would be asked to produce evidence of vaccination within five weeks.

A number of colleges throughout the country, from Louisiana to Minnesota, have implemented a similar rule for all state employees. The Pentagon said on Monday that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin would issue vaccination recommendations to the country’s 1.4 million active duty military personnel.

The decision comes as the country’s battle against the pandemic has heated up once again, with the highly contagious Delta strain significantly delaying the country’s progress in the first half of the year. The Biden administration believes that this finding would encourage at least some of the estimated 85 million unvaccinated Americans who are eligible to get vaccinations to do so.

President Biden plans to celebrate it at 1:30 p.m. with a speech promoting immunization. On Monday afternoon, Eastern time. “Now is the time to get vaccinated if you haven’t already,” Trump said on Twitter.

“While millions of individuals have previously received Covid-19 vaccinations safely, we realize that the F.D.A. approval of a vaccine may now instill further confidence in being vaccinated,” said Dr. Janet Woodcock, acting F.D.A. commissioner, in a statement. “Today’s achievement brings us one step closer to changing the trajectory of the epidemic in the United States.”

Pfizer said it submitted data from 44,000 clinical trial participants in the United States, the European Union, Turkey, South Africa, and South America to the Food and Drug Administration. The vaccine was 91 percent efficient in preventing infection, according to the firm, a small decrease from the 95 percent effectiveness rate that the data indicated when the F.D.A. decided to approve the vaccine for emergency use in December. According to Pfizer, the reduction was due to researchers having more time to detect individuals who had been sick.

Three out of every ten unvaccinated individuals indicated they would be more inclined to be vaccinated if the vaccine was completely authorized, according to a recent survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation, which has been monitoring public views throughout the epidemic.

While Pfizer gathers the necessary evidence for full clearance, the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine will be approved for emergency use in children aged 12 to 15. A decision on whether or not to approve the vaccination for youngsters under the age of 12 may take months. Pfizer vaccines have been given to almost 92 million Americans so far, accounting for 54 percent of individuals who have been completely vaccinated. The majority of the others were given Moderna’s vaccination.

The FDA’s chief vaccine regulator, Dr. Peter Marks, said the Pfizer vaccine was approved after a thorough examination of hundreds of thousands of pages of data, which included inspections of the vaccine’s manufacturing facilities. “The public and medical community can rest assured that, although we authorized this vaccine quickly, it met all of our current high vaccination criteria in the United States,” he added.

The news was greeted positively by health professionals and state authorities. With the Delta variation driving increasing caseloads throughout the nation, Dr. Richard Besser, president of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and former acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, stated, “full approval could not come at a more critical moment.”

“It is past time for schools, workplaces, health care institutions, and other indoor gathering places to require Covid-19 vaccinations for all vaccine-eligible individuals,” he said.

According to some experts, complete permission may only persuade 5% of people who are unvaccinated to receive injections. Even if that is true, Dr. Thomas Dobbs, the chief health officer for Mississippi, a state especially severely affected by the Delta variety, says, “that’s still a big chunk of people.” He believes that licensing will assist to “break free this erroneous notion that vaccinations are a ‘experimental’ item.”

The Food and Drug Administration is in the middle of a coronavirus vaccine decision-making marathon. The next significant decision that authorities must make is whether or not to allow booster injections. The Biden administration said last week that, pending approval from the CDC, individuals who received the Pfizer and Moderna vaccinations eight months after their second injection would be eligible for a third dose beginning Sept. 20. Some individuals with immunological weaknesses have already been given third injections, but the risk-benefit analysis for the broader public is different.

Both Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna’s vaccines, which use comparable technology, have been shown to lose effectiveness over time, according to federal health authorities. This trend is merging with the development of the especially deadly Delta strain, they added, putting individuals who finished their vaccines at the beginning of the year more susceptible to infection.

Some health professionals have questioned whether the decision to suggest booster doses was premature, claiming that evidence indicates the vaccinations are effective against serious illness and hospitalization, even the Delta version. Boosters would only be necessary if the vaccinations failed to prevent hospitalizations due to Covid-19, according to several of those specialists.

Moderna’s application for complete approval of their vaccine is still being reviewed by regulators. It may take many weeks for that decision to be made. Johnson & Johnson is anticipated to submit a complete application for approval shortly.

Helene Cooper contributed to the story as a reporter.

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Service firms that cater to office workers have suffered as corporations postpone sending staff back to work. Credit… The New York Times/Gabriella Bhaskar

With a 10.5 percent unemployment rate, almost twice the national average, New York has trailed behind the rest of the country in its economic recovery. The city is now facing new difficulties, rather than the complete recovery it had hoped for.

• Overall employment is still more than 500,000 jobs lower than it was before the epidemic, with severe job losses in the leisure and hospitality sectors, as well as other blue-collar professions.

• Many businesses have abandoned efforts to return workers to work as soon as possible. Based on lobby badge swipes, Boston Properties, which controls roughly 12 million square feet of property in the New York area, claimed approximately 40% of prepandemic tenants had returned to its buildings earlier in the summer. That percentage had dropped to about 30% in August.

• It’s unclear if any suburban employees will ever return to the city and their sometimes-difficult commutes. Greenberg Traurig, a worldwide legal company, has scaled down its planned Manhattan presence in favor of two new Long Island locations, where many of its attorneys and investment customers moved during the epidemic.

• New York attracts more foreign visitors than any other American metropolis. Visitors from Europe, on the other hand, are still banned. Domestic visitors are flocking to New York in greater numbers, but they don’t stay as long or spend as much as international visitors.

There are some encouraging indications. Despite the city’s sponsorship of an official Homecoming Week, trade fairs and other major events have been canceled. READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE

To keep local people informed, several states have their own Covid-tracking applications. Credit… COVID Alert NY; Google

Maintaining social distance remains a worry when some individuals return to work or school after more than 18 months of pandemic disruption, particularly with the highly infectious Delta strain spreading nationally. If you’re returning to the workplace or school, J. D. Biersdorfer, The New York Times’ Tech Tip writer, offers a few easy ideas for utilizing your smartphone to remain informed and secure.

Keep up to speed on mask mandates, vaccination requirements, quarantines, and other Covid-related news by checking school, municipal, and state websites on a regular basis.

Carry your card with you: Vaccines are now required by certain institutions, events, and jobs, and many New York businesses need evidence and will begin enforcing it next month. Although your physical immunization card acts as evidence, you may keep it at home and go digital instead.

Change your commute: Taking public transportation makes commuting more difficult. Both Apple and Google added coronavirus-related business information to their mapping applications last year, while a more recent Google Maps update also highlights congested locations so you can avoid them.

Fuel up: If a drive-through window isn’t available for picking up your breakfast or lunch from afar, there are alternative options, such as placing a pickup order with your neighborhood restaurant or bodega.

Video on the go: Your company’s favorite videoconferencing software now has a mobile version, allowing you to skip the conference room and have a meeting anywhere, even if you don’t have access to a computer.

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The CEO of a hedge fund defends his company’s bet on GameStop.

Gabriel Plotkin, the founder and CEO of the hedge fund Melvin Capital, testified before the House Financial Services Committee, defending his firm’s long-term strategy of betting on GameStop stock falling.

Melvin Capital was not bailed out during these events, contrary to popular belief. Citadel approached us proactively to become a new investor, similar to how others participate in our fund. Citadel saw a chance to purchase cheap and make profits for its investors if and when the value of our fund increased. Melvin was dealing with a tough situation, but we always had margin access and weren’t looking for a financial injection. Furthermore, none of Melvin’s short holdings are part of any attempt to intentionally depress or manipulate the stock’s price lower. Nothing about our precarious situation stops a business from accomplishing its goals. It’s simply Melvin’s opinion on whether or not it will. In the case of GameStop, we had a research-based viewpoint well before the current occurrences. In fact, from Melvin’s creation six years ago, we’ve been short GameStop because we thought, and still think, that its business model of selling new and old video games in physical shops is being displaced by digital downloads through the internet. And that tendency only increased in 2020, when individuals began downloading video games at home as a result of the epidemic. As a consequence, the gaming industry enjoyed its greatest year ever, but GameStop lost a lot of money. A group on Reddit started making postings regarding Melvin’s particular assets in January 2021. They used information from our Securities and Exchange Commission filings to urge others to trade in the other way. Many of these postings included anti-Semitic insults aimed at myself and others. Ordinary investors who were duped into buying GameStop for $100, $200, or even $483 have now lost a substantial amount of money. Melvin began closing down its stake at GameStop at a loss when the hysteria erupted, not because our investing theory had changed, but because something unusual was taking place. Many other Melvin holdings, both long and short, that were the subject of identical postings were also cut at substantial losses.

Gabriel Plotkin, the founder and CEO of the hedge fund Melvin Capital, testified before the House Financial Services Committee, defending his firm’s long-term strategy of betting on GameStop stock falling. Financial Services Committee…Credit…Credit…Credit…Credit…Credit…Credit…C

Citadel, a hedge fund, poured billions of dollars into Melvin Capital when the latter’s gamble on GameStop backfired, resulting in massive losses. Citadel is now returning part of its funds.

According to two individuals briefed on the issue but were not allowed to talk publicly about it, Citadel has informed Melvin of its intentions to recover $500 million of the $2 billion it invested in late January. The money will be returned to Citadel towards the end of September, according to the individuals, when the third quarter comes to a conclusion.

The Wall Street Journal was the first to report about Citadel’s strategy.

Melvin received the financial injection in late January, when it was dealing with a massive reversal in its GameStop short bet. GameStop’s stock has been stagnant in recent years as the business has tried to transition from a brick-and-mortar video game store to a more contemporary e-commerce corporation. However, the company’s price soared in January when new directors from Chewy.com, a pet-products retailer, were appointed and tiny investors poured into the shares, prompted by the WallStreetBets Reddit community.

Melvin suffered significant losses as it attempted to recoup the expenses of its erroneous transaction. Some of its other short bets, such as its bet on AMC Entertainment, were also harming the firm.

On Jan. 25, Citadel, a Chicago-based firm, and Point72 Asset Management, a Stamford, Conn.-based firm where Melvin’s creator, Gabriel Plotkin, previously worked, stepped in with a combined $2.75 billion in cash. According to one of the individuals informed on Melvin’s performance, the infusions helped stabilize the stock, which has produced double-digit gains since February 1.

According to an investor letter obtained by The New York Times, Melvin is still down 41% for the year through July due to its steep losses in January.

Citadel takes a share of Melvin’s income as part of its investment, in addition to the profits it earns on its money, according to the two individuals. Citadel was also offered the option to withdraw at least part of its funds as early as the third quarter of this year, according to these sources, which it is now doing. (Investors in hedge funds are usually obliged to keep their money in the fund for a longer length of time.) Citadel, which has $38 billion in assets under management, is up roughly 9% through mid-August, according to one of the individuals informed on the firm’s performance.

Mr. Plotkin remained silent. Citadel’s founder, Kenneth C. Griffin, did not reply to calls for comment.

Point72 isn’t going anywhere.

“I have the same agreement as Ken,” said Steven Cohen, CEO of Point72, “and no intentions to redeem.”

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• According to a source informed on the agreement who spoke on the condition of anonymity, Rachel Maddow, MSNBC’s top-rated anchor, has extended her contract with the cable news network, extending her 13-year tenure for many more years.

  Ms. Maddow, 48, will create new initiatives with NBCUniversal, the network’s parent firm, in addition to presenting her program, the source added. The deal’s financial details were not revealed. Ms. Maddow’s contract was scheduled to end the following year.

• A California Superior Court judge decided Friday evening that a California statute that classifies many gig workers as independent contractors while providing them with certain limited benefits is unconstitutional and unenforceable.

  The judgment is unlikely to have an immediate impact on the new legislation, and it will almost certainly be challenged by Uber and other so-called gig economy firms. It reignited the argument over whether ride-hailing drivers and delivery couriers are workers entitled to full benefits or independent contractors who run their own companies and pay their own bills.

• The Pentagon said on Sunday that Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III has authorized six commercial airlines to supply passenger aircraft to assist with the expanding US military operation removing Americans and Afghan allies from Kabul, Afghanistan’s capital.

  The present activation includes four United Airlines aircraft, three American Airlines planes, three Atlas Air planes, three Delta Air Lines planes, and two Hawaiian Airlines planes. Commercial flights are unlikely to be impacted much, according to the Pentagon. United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby described it as “a responsibility we do with the greatest care and cooperation.”

• GM said on Friday that it was extending the recall of Chevrolet Bolt electric vehicles that were discovered to be at danger of overheating and catching fire due to manufacturing flaws.

  Bolts from the 2020 to 2022 model years, as well as a few 2019 Bolts that were not covered by a prior recall, are being recalled, according to the firm. G.M. has issued a recall for all 141,000 Bolts it has manufactured, dating back to the 2017 model year.

  G.M. estimated that the move would cost $1 billion, in addition to the $800 million it had set up for past Bolt recalls. It also said that it will seek compensation from LG Chem, its battery provider.

Chevron mandates coronavirus vaccines for some of its workers. Walgreens has a vaccine that is available for purchase and will be distributed to the company’s employees. Reference: walgreens covid vaccine.

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