timelets

... PM Lee said that to exit the circuit breaker, three things must be done.

First, Singapore must open up incrementally, making sure that the country is safe each step of the way. This is what New Zealand and Germany are beginning to do very cautiously, he said.

Singapore must also scale up testing substantially, to quickly detect any new cases that pop up.

"This we are progressively doing, not only by procuring test kits and equipment from other countries, but also by developing and manufacturing our own test kits."
...
The country must also make full use of IT so that contact tracing can take place much more efficiently.

"For these to work, we will need everyone's cooperation to install and use these apps, like what the South Koreans have done.

https://www.straitstimes.com/politics/prime-minister-lee-hsien-loong-to-address-nation-on-covid-19-situation-at-5pm

“Risks to the outlook associated with global economic growth and international trade were still seen as significant despite some encouraging geopolitical and trade-related developments,” said minutes of the Oct. 29-30 policy meeting, which were released on Wednesday.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/fed-officials-cut-rates-amid-worries-on-trade-global-growth-11574276730

At the time, the president said a final deal would be finished in three to five weeks.
...
Trade negotiators had originally hoped a deal could be signed by Mr. Trump and China’s President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of an economic summit in Chile on Nov. 16-17. But that summit was canceled, effectively removing what had served as a de facto deadline.

Looming now are plans by the Trump administration to impose 15% tariffs on smartphones, toys and other products from China on Dec. 15. The levies are expected to directly hit consumers as Mr. Trump gears up for his 2020 re-election campaign.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/stalled-u-s-china-trade-talks-raise-threat-of-another-impasse-11574202440

Brazil, which overtook the U.S. as the world’s biggest soybean exporter several years ago, stands to gain ground. The U.S. share of world soybean exports is expected to drop to 31% this season, the lowest on record, while Brazil’s portion is forecast to swell to 52%, which would be its largest ever.



At an agricultural forum in Beijing last fall, according to Mr. Schickler, China’s deputy agriculture minister said China would not easily forget the current standoff, and China is building alternatives for soybean imports so it will never again be so dependent on a single source.

According to Mr. Sutter, the CEO of the Soybean Export Council, Chinese companies are working to develop soybean production in Russia, where soybeans haven’t yet become a major crop.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/farmers-built-a-soybean-export-empire-around-china-now-theyre-fighting-to-save-it-11562260248

Over the past 10 years, 40 of the largest independent oil and gas producers collectively spent roughly $200 billion more than they took in from operations.

Shale wells produce a lot of oil and gas early on, but taper off quickly, meaning drillers must continuously plow money back into the ground to maintain output. The Journal previously reported that thousands of wells drilled in the last five years are producing less oil and gas than companies forecast to investors.

Infusions of money from Wall Street, eager for a piece of the fracking action, fueled growth at Pioneer and other shale companies. Frackers tapped investors for more than $176 billion in financing from 2015 to 2018, using debt and sales of new shares to continue increasing production.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-leader-of-americas-fracking-boom-has-second-thoughts-11561388670