Xi & Zelensky Hold “Long & Meaningful” Call In 1st Since War Began
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky have held a phone call Wednesday, which is the first time the two leaders have spoken since the start of the Russian-Ukraine war.
Zelensky confirmed the “long and meaningful” conversation in a statement, saying “I had a long and meaningful phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping. I believe that this call, as well as the appointment of Ukraine’s ambassador to China, will give a powerful impetus to the development of our bilateral relations.”
A new Ukrainian ambassador to China is expected to be appointed, Zelensky confirmed in the statement issued on Twitter. There has long been a Chinese embassy and consulates in Ukraine, but it appears both sides want a fresh start in relations.
During the call, references were made to the possibility of future negotiations. Beijing has been putting itself forth as possible mediator, given Xi’s 12-point peace plan published in late February, but which has yet to gain traction either with Moscow or Kiev. According to more from Bloomberg, based on call readout statements from both sides:
Xi says negotiations are only solution for the war in Ukraine
Xi says China willing to boost ties with Ukraine
The phone call between Xi and Zelenskiy shows that China attaches importance to growing its relationship with Ukraine, Yu Jun, an official at the Foreign Ministry, says at a briefing in Beijing
China is highly concerned about humanitarian conditions in Ukraine
China says no timetable yet for the special envoy’s visit to Ukraine
China doesn’t say what other nations the Ukraine envoy will visit
Additionally, the timing of the phone call is a likely attempt to smooth over relations after Beijing’s ambassador to France, Lu Shaye, sparked intense controversy across Europe when in a weekend interview he questioned the sovereignty of post-Soviet countries, saying they don’t have “actual status” under international law.
China had quickly backtracked, calling statements of the lone ambassador merely a personal view. This after Baltic countries Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia summoned their Chinese ambassadors for an explanation. Statements of denunciation flew from other European officials and capitals as well.
Beijing’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs then issued the following clarification in follow-up on Monday: “China respects the sovereign status of the former soviet countries after the dissolution of the Soviet Union,” said spokesperson Mao Ning. Mao said Beijing’s position is “consistent and clear” but gave no indication whether Lu’s comment was considered incorrect.
Boeing Beats On Cash Flow, Hikes 737 Output In 7th Straight Money-Losing Quarter
Boeing was not only instrumental in helping today’s durable goods number smash expectations (3.2% vs Exp.0.7%) due to a 78.4% surge in non-defense aircraft orders (which was all Boeing): it also helped prop up the Dow when it reported Q1 earnings and released forward updates which were both better than expected, especially following recent negative news on 737 MAX fittings. Cash flow in the quarter, guidance for the year, and individual airplane production rate updates were all incremental positives.
Here are the details:
Q1 EPS -1.27 vs loss/shr $2.75 y/y, missing the exp. -97c
Defense, Space & Security operating loss $212 million, -77% y/y, missing exp. loss $194.8 million
Global services oper earnings $847 million, +34% y/y, beating exp. $695.9 million
Backlog $411 billion
Of note, Q1 free cash flow of $(786)MM was ahead of consensus of $(1.91)BN. The Defense margin was negative with a tanker charge and near breakeven adjusted for the charge which remains surprisingly low. The Services margin at 17.9% is strong.
Boeing’s operating margins improved across all three business units, a sign that it’s making progress to Calhoun’s goal of stabilizing work in its factories and across its supplier base. The company had a core operating margin of negative 2.5% in the first quarter, an improvement from negative 10.3% a year earlier.
Despite the stronger than expected FCF, Boeing notched its seventh straight money-losing quarter. An adjusted loss of $1.27 a share was worse than analysts’ average projection of a 97-cent loss, according to estimates compiled by Bloomberg.
The manufacturer’s defense business also continues to face execution problems, with the KC-46 tanker recording a $245 million pretax accounting charge. The potential costs of the 737 issue and defense overruns pose a “considerable risk” to its 2023 results, said Nick Cunningham, an analyst with Agency Partners. “Boeing’s runaway train of calamities may have slowed down, but it is still trundling on despite the brakeman’s best efforts,” Cunningham said in a report before first-quarter results were announced.
The mixed results underscore the fitful progress Boeing is making in turning around its finances and addressing quality lapses after years of crisis. A recent rush of commercial jet deliveries propelled the US planemaker past rival Airbus SE on a quarterly basis for the first time in almost five years.
The balance sheet gross deleveraging continued with cash declining by $2.4BN, as debt (rated Baa2/BBB-) declined by $1.6BN. That said, on a net basis, the company used up more cash than it paid down debt.
Boeing reiterated all guidance for full-year 2023 including 737 shipments, and reiterated all medium-term guidance. The bank expects $4.5-$6.5BN in operating cash and $3-$5BN in free cash flow, net of $1.5BN in capex.
Of note, it officially specified a plan to break to 38/month on 737 in 2H23, while noting the underlying supply chain / production rate master schedule is unchanged following the fittings news. BA is at 3/month underlying rate now on 787 and reiterated the plan for 5/month by end of 2023.
As Bloomberg notes, the mixed results underscore the fitful progress Boeing is making in turning around its finances and addressing quality lapses after years of crisis. A recent rush of commercial jet deliveries propelled the US planemaker past rival Airbus SE on a quarterly basis for the first time in almost five years.
“This is an important year for us,” Chief Executive Officer Dave Calhoun told employees in a message Wednesday. “As demand surges across our markets, we must focus together on execution and meeting our customer commitments.”
The earnings were strong enough to help push shares higher 2.3% before the start of regular trading in New York. Through the close of Tuesday’s session, Boeing’s stock had risen 6.1% this year.
That said, continuing its recent momentum will be challenging as Boeing grapples with the 737 Max manufacturing flaw that Calhoun said will slow deliveries “over the next several months.” Bloomberg previously reported that Boeing would hike production rates this year, and Calhoun said last week that the latest snag wouldn’t alter its master schedule for suppliers.
Separately, Boeing executives are expected to detail their plans to manage the latest 737 setback on an earnings conference call Wednesday morning. The company affirmed its target of handing over between 400 and 450 of the narrowbody jets this year, delivering 70 to 80 of its 787 Dreamliners and generating free cash flow ranging between $3 billion and $5 billion.
“I think you’re going to see a bit of a relief rally in the stock,” Ken Herbert, analyst with RBC Capital Markets, said of Boeing’s plan to stay the course in 2023. Affirming the full-year guide implies that Boeing expects 737 deliveries to pick up later in the year as the latest disruption is resolved.
“They view the issue on the Max as near term and not something that’s going to require that much time – weeks and not months — to resolve,” Herbert said in an interview.
Investors will look for a more information on the scope of repairs needed to address faulty workmanship at Spirit AeroSystems Holdings Inc. affecting potentially hundreds of 737 Max and P-8 maritime patrol planes manufactured since 2019. The flawed parts, which were disclosed by Boeing and the supplier earlier this month, involve fittings that help attach the jets’ vertical stabilizer to the rear of its aluminum fuselage.
Boeing didn’t say when it plans to hike 737 output to a 38-jet monthly pace this year. Its goal is to reach a 50-jet monthly pace by 2025 or 2026. The company said it has increased production of the 787, another key source of cash, to a 3-jet monthly build rate. That’s a step to its goal of building five Dreamliners a month by year-end.
As Bloomberg concludes, returning the 737 Max to pre-crisis production levels is crucial if Boeing is to resume being the prodigious cash generator that made it a darling of Wall Street last decade.
The crypto community is calling out the alleged hypocrisy of Gary Gensler, the head of the United States securities regulator, after a 2018 video emerged of him stating that cryptocurrencies are on par with commodities or cash and are not securities.
The video came from a “Blockchain and Money” class in the Fall Semester of 2018 taught by Gensler, a former professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) before he became chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
On the topic of initial coin offerings (ICOs), Gensler said that “three-quarters of the market are not ICOs or not what would be called securities,” naming the U.S., Canadian and Taiwanese markets as the “three jurisdictions that follow something similar to the Howey test.”
“Three-quarters of the market is non-securities, it’s just a commodity, cash,crypto,” Gensler then said.
The below clip is from a Fall 2018 Graduate MIT course called “Blockchain and Money”
Gary Gensler – the current President of the SEC, was the professor.
The Hypocrisy speaks for itself 🐀
“So we already know in the US and in many other jurisdictions that 3/4 of the market… pic.twitter.com/rjRWeq5P8X
While Gensler briefly acknowledged that ICOs may spark a securities debate, he concluded that “three-quarters of the market is not particularly relevant as a legal matter.”
Several members of the crypto community were stunned by Gensler’s remarks.
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong commented a mere “Wow” in response to an April 26 Twitter post shared by cryptocurrency researcher “zk-SHARK.”
Erik Voorhees, the founder of crypto trading platform ShapeShift, asked, “When does someone get arrested for fraud?” in an April 25 tweet to his 658,900 followers.
Farokh Sarmad, the founder of Web3 podcast Rug Radio called Gensler “disgusting” in a tweet to his 346,200 followers, while a systems engineer, named “JD” called on the SEC Chair to provide an explanation behind the change in opinion.
Not everyone saw eye to eye though.
U.S. lawyer Preston Byrne explained that professors and law enforcers work in “different capacities” and that Gensler shouldn’t be held to the same views he had back then.
I see a lot of people giving Gary Gensler a hard time over this but it’s important to note the different capacities in which he’s speaking. As a professor, he can talk about what things are in the abstract. As a law enforcer, he’s required to enforce the laws as they’re written. https://t.co/mYhd7Hm8I9
Another U.S. lawyer, blockchain technology specialist Jonathan Schmalfeld, challenged Byrne’s opinion, stating that Gensler’s interpretation of the Howey test shouldn’t change by virtue of his capacity. The response prompted a second explanation from Byrne:
“I mean when I talk with clients about this stuff there are three answers, what I think the law is, how I think enforcers will interpret it, and what the law ought to be. Right now he’s limited to giving only one of those answers by virtue of his position.”
“There Appears To Be A Deal”: McCarthy Makes Late-Night Concessions On $4.8 Trillion Debt-Limit Package
As House Republicans’ $4.8 trillion debt-limit package hangs in the balance, Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and his top lieutenants made several concessions in order to secure enough votes to pass the Limit, Save, Grow Act.
The changes, aimed at winning over holdout Midwestern Republicans who threatened to sink the bill, were the result of a marathon House Rules Committee meeting that stretched into early Wednesday morning, and include an amendment which softens a provision repealing several biofuel tax credits, according to Punchbowl News.
2) After signaling he was resistent to changes of the bill, McCarthy altered provisions to ethanol tax credits to please midwestern Republicans. Especially the Iowa delegation.
McCarthy can only lose four Republican votes and pass the measure, which he hopes will kick off negotiations with President Joe Biden and Democratic leaders.
The House GOP leadership, which promised regular order and a floor open to amendments, made just one amendment in order: a tweak to the Limit, Save and Grow Act that, among other things, puts in place new work requirements for 2024 instead of 2025. Party leaders had previously said that change was unworkable.
More importantly, McCarthy’s leadership team eliminated the repeal of three biofuel tax credits. For the remaining two — created by the Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act — the GOP said they didn’t apply to taxpayers who made investment decisions based on the credits. -Punchbowl News
Meanwhile, McCarthy’s drafted amendment pulls funding from the Inflation Reduction Act for green building construction, DoE loan guarantees, deferred maintenance for national parks, air pollution for states and municipalities, as well as a neighborhood access and equity grant program.
More on the cuts:
4) Fox was told overnight by one senior Republican source that McCarthy was “trying to pull a rabbit out of a hat.”
We’ll know more after today’s 9am closed-party meeting, however as of late Tuesday night there were several holdouts remaining, including GOP Reps. Tim Burchett (TN) and Matt Gaetz (FL) as staunch No’s, Scott Perry (PA), Andy Biggs (AZ) as ‘non-committal’ and ‘skeptical,’ and Reps. Matt Rosendale (MT), Eli Crane (AZ) and Nancy Mace (SC) – the latter of whom told reporters she’s “still a no.”
“I’m a hard no,” Tim Burchett told us. Biggs signals he’s a NO. So does Gaetz. Nancy Mace told me: “I’m still a no.” Iowa members mum.
McCarthy can’t lose more than four Rs on debt limit package
Gripes from conservatives are nothing new for McCarthy. Remember January? Republican hardliners are known to get everything they want and still bellyache. CBO says this proposal cuts spending by $4.8 trillion over the next decade — which is exactly what conservatives want. But they’re still balking.
The Iowans, generally team players in the House GOP, have been the most difficult pocket to mollify. Party leaders underestimated the mettle of the four-person Iowa delegation and their unwillingness to roll back Democratic-passed tax breaks for the ethanol industry.
The operating theory inside leadership ranks was that Iowa Reps. Ashley Hinson, Zach Nunn, Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Randy Feenstra were team players, so they’d kowtow to McCarthy when he asked. But the Hawkeye State Republicans, led by Hinson, didn’t back down under pressure from the leadership. In fact, the leadership backed down.
Remember: Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) is 89 years old. Hinson is 39, Nunn is 43, and Feenstra is 54. All of these House Republicans may be looking at the Senate as a viable next step.
McCarthy and other senior Republicans remain confident that they’ll pass the measure by week’s end. They note today will be the first time in weeks that House GOP lawmakers will all be in the same room.
“I think we’re doing well. I think we’re doing fine,” said House Majority Whip Tom Emmer Tuesday night. “It just depends on when the speaker decides he’s ready to go.”
US Durable Goods Orders Unexpectedly Soar In March… Thanks To Boeing
After declining for two straight months, analysts expected US durable goods orders to bounce modestly (+0.7% MoM) in preliminary March data released today. Instead the print soared 3.2% MoM rescuing the YoY from dropping negative for the first time since Aug 2020…
Source: Bloomberg
Core orders (ex-Transports) rose 0.3% MoM (better than the 0.2% drop expected) highlighting that this headline surge was all Boeing – with a 78.4% MoM surge in non-defense aircraft and parts orders
Source: Bloomberg
On the negative side, the value of core capital goods orders,a proxy for investment in equipment that excludes aircraft and military hardware, fell 0.4% last monthwith a big downward revision to -0.4% MoM in February.
The Biden administration is preparing for the possibility of Ukraine’s long-awaited counteroffensive failing, Politico reported on Monday.
Pentagon documents allegedly leaked by Airman Jack Teixeira revealed that the US doesn’t believe Ukraine can regain any significant territory in its counteroffensive, which is expected to be launched in the spring. The information in the leaks was based on an assessment made in February.
According to Politico, more current assessments also don’t expect much Ukrainian success. Two Biden administration officials said they don’t think Kyiv has the ability to sever Russia’s land-bridge to Crimea in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia oblasts.
The report said US intelligence “indicates that Ukraine simply does not have the ability to push Russian troops from where they were deeply entrenched.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in March that his forces need more Western weapons before they can launch a counteroffensive.
The administration is expected to face criticism from hawks who believe Biden hasn’t given Ukraine enough weapons, as well as those who have been calling for the US to push for diplomacy. The US is also worried that many of its European allies will favor negotiations between the warring sides if Ukraine’s offensive fails.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, the administration has discouraged peace talks and recently came out against the idea of a ceasefire in Ukraine. The administration has left it up to Zelensky when to pursue peace talks, and he still maintains they can’t happen until Russia is driven out of all the territory it controls, including Crimea.
But now, according to Politico, there is a discussion among administration officials about convincing Ukraine to accept more modest goals and agree to a temporary ceasefire. Possible incentives for Kyiv include giving Ukraine NATO-like security guarantees and more military aid.
In the early days of the Russian invasion, Russian and Ukrainian officials were engaged in peace talks, and Moscow’s primary demand was for Ukrainian neutrality. But now Kyiv stands to lose much more as Russia maintains any settlement must include recognizing the areas it annexed in the Donbas and the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia oblasts as Russian territory.
GM Kills Chevy Bolt, Paving Path for Electric Pickups
General Motors Chair and CEO Mary Barra announced that production of the Chevrolet Bolt EV and Bolt EUV would be halted by the end of 2023. This aligns with the GM’s plan to transition the Bolt production line in Orion, Michigan, into manufacturing electric trucks.
During a Tuesday morning earnings call with investors, Barra confirmed the seven-year run of the Bolt would come to an end and be retooled for electric truck production:
“We’ve progressed so far that it’s now time to plan the end of Chevrolet Bolt EV and EUV production, which will happen at the end of the year.”
Barra acknowledged the loyalty of Bolt owners but noted that some customers were furious by the EV’s defects, which led to battery fires. GM had to recall 142,000 vehicles as a result. Some Bolt customers faced delays in receiving new batteries, while others could not drive their vehicles due to the fire risk. This manufacturing mishap hindered GM’s progress in the EV market.
In 2023, GM has three new EV models for mass-market across the Chevrolet brand, including the Silverado truck, Blazer, and Equinox. The new models might rekindle GM’s EV growth strategy after the Bolt fizzle.
If Anything, Strategists Want To Sell Europe Rally
By Michael Msika, Bloomberg Markets Live reporter and strategist
Strategists are bemused by the rebound in European equities since mid-March, expecting the sustained campaign of interest rate hikes to eventually stall the rally.
They are sticking to their gloomy outlook for the rest of 2023, unconvinced by a 10% advance in the Stoxx Europe 600 so far. The benchmark index is set to fall to 450 points by year-end, according to the average of 15 forecasts in a Bloomberg strategist survey, implying a drop of 4% from Friday’s close.
“Monetary policy has been tightened by the sharpest pace in 40 years, which is resulting in a sharp deterioration of credit and monetary conditions,” says Bank of America strategist Milla Savova. “We expect this to lead to recessionary growth conditions over the coming months, which, in turn, would be consistent with a meaningful widening in risk premia.”
The BofA strategists expect earnings forecast downgrades to add to the headwinds, cutting their year-end target for the Stoxx 600 to 410 from 430 last month, implying nearly 13% downside from here. For Savova and her team, the low point for stocks should come early in the fourth quarter, when the economic cycle is expected to bottom, dragging the benchmark to as low as 365.
European equities have recouped all the losses induced by the banking turmoil in the US and the collapse of Credit Suisse. The Stoxx 600 surged to the highest since February 2022 this month, buoyed by an economic recovery in China, and rapid intervention by authorities to contain the banking crisis. The trouble is that manufacturing data for the continent have continued to deteriorate, while inflation remains too high for central banks to stop hiking rates.
The largely downbeat assessment from sell-side strategists is mirrored by the actions of the investment industry. According to the BofA European fund manager survey in April, 70% of investors expect weakness in the region’s equity market over coming months in response to monetary tightening, up from 66% last month. Meanwhile, 55% see stocks heading lower in the next 12 months, up from 42%. Sticky inflation leading to more central bank tightening is seen as the most likely cause of a correction, followed by weakening macro data, the survey showed.
While most strategists in our survey have stuck to their forecasts or slightly adjusted their view downward in the past month, some found justification for an increase. State Street Global Advisors, for instance, raised its target to 475 from 455, although this only implies limited upside for the rest of the year.
“The financial contagion from the banking sector in March had been very well contained so far and markets have rebounded,” says Frederic Dodard, head of EMEA portfolio management at State Street Global Advisors. The firm continues to favor European equities over other regions, but sees a modest risk from negative guidance and additional downgrades to companies’ 2023 and 2024 earnings forecasts, he added.
The first-quarter earnings season has kicked off with some positive surprises, and there could be more to come. But this shouldn’t be extrapolated as a signal of stronger stock performance, according to JPMorgan strategists. Low profit expectations have been easy for companies to beat, while the numbers also got a leg up from economic activity that was better than in the first-quarter of 2022, they argue.
“The question is whether the stocks will rally much further on the back of beats, post an already strong rally,” say strategists led by Mislav Matejka. “We advise to use any strength on the back of positive first-quarter results as a good level to reduce from.”
Russia’s neighbors in Europe have upped their military spending since the invasion of Ukraine in early 2022.
But, as Statista’s Katharina Buchholz notes, even before the war – over the course of the past decade – expenditure on defense had already increased substantially in these nations.
Its military expenditure rose by 640 percent from 2021 to 2022 and a still very significant 52 percent per year on average in the past five years compared to the five before that. In 2022, defense spending made up a third of Ukrainian GDP, according to the data.
Some of the next biggest spending increases could be seen in Lithuania and Latvia – two of Russia’s direct neighbors -, but also in other Eastern European countries like Hungary (average annual increase of 18 percent), Bulgaria (+16 percent), Slovakia (+15 percent) and Romania (+14 percent). Because military projects are usually large, one-time expenses and updates to them are infrequent, annual average are used for the chart. According to these annual averages, Russia has actually spent slightly less in the past 5 years on its military than it did in the five years prior to that. However, between 2021 and 2022, spending increased by 9 percent in the country.
Despite the steep increases, the share of GDP spent on defense remained in line with the NATO goal of 2 percent in the Baltic countries, which are NATO members. Western European countries like Germany but also Italy, Spain or the Netherlands, stayed quite far behind this goal despite moderate increases in spending. Other European nations at and slightly above the 2-percent mark are Poland, the UK, Estonia, Croatia, Serbia and Greece.
However, their spending had been at these levels since before the invasion of Ukraine.
Asian countries like India and China have grown their defense expenditure steadily over the past ten years.
Comparing to the GDPs of the respective countries, however, expenditure has grown roughly in line with GDP since 2013 and stood at around 2.4 percent in India and less than 2 percent in China last year.
One African country where defense expenditure has decreased substantially throughout the decade is crisis-ridden South Sudan, which saw a significant dip of -17 percent per year on average.
Africa was the continent whose spending dipped the most between last year and 2021. Several countries spent less on their military in 2022, for example Nigeria, Mozambique, Mali and Zimbabwe. Over the last ten years up until 2021, however, military spending had actually recovered on the continent from a low in 2018, before dipping again last year. Some African nations have bucked last year’s trend and grew their defense spending – in absolute and relative terms – throughout the decade and into 2022. These include Burkina Faso – which grew expenditure by an annual average of almost 30 percent and doubled the share of GDP it spends on defense from around 1.5 percent in 2013 to more than 3 percent in 2022. Togo meanwhile had a similar average annual increase in the given time frame, but grew military spending as a share of GDP from 1.5 percent to more than 5 percent.
A new study by by German researchers has concluded that face masks can cause carbon dioxide poisoning when worn even for short periods and may have contributed significantly to stillbirths when worn by pregnant women, as well as testicular dysfunction and cognitive decline in children, among other destructive health issues.
As reported by the Daily Mail, the research, published in the journal Heliyon, comprises a review of 43 previously published studies on exposure to CO2, mask-wearing, and pregnancy.
Face masks may raise risk of stillbirths, testicular dysfunction and cognitive decline due to build-up of carbon dioxide, study warns. https://t.co/baumRMLxZh
The study notes that even short-term exposure to concentrations of CO2 as low as 0.3% caused brain damage, increased anxiety, and impaired memory in both pregnant rats and young mice in one study.
In another, when male mice were exposed to 2.5 percent CO2 for four hours, testicular cells and sperm were destroyed. The equivalent amount for humans would be 0.5 percent of CO2 over the same time period.
Yet another experiment discovered that stillbirth and birth defects occurred in pregnant rats that were exposed to just 3 percent CO2, which would be equal to 0.8 percent for humans.
The study also points to research that found just five minutes of mask wearing resulted in CO2 levels increasing to between 1.4 percent and 3.2 percent.
While they note that the review provides ‘circumstantial evidence’ only, the researchers allude to a surge in stillbirths during the pandemic, saying that masks could have contributed.
Swedish researchers previously found that the stillbirth rate increased from seven per 1000 births to 21 per 1000 births after the pandemic, while a leading UK hospital saw a four-fold increase in its stillbirth rate.
“Circumstantial evidence exists that popular mask use may be related to current observations of a significant rise of 28 percent to 33 percent in stillbirths worldwide,” the German researchers asserted.
They also note that research indicates “reduced verbal, motor, and overall cognitive performance of two full standard deviations in scores in children born during the pandemic.”
Dr Kevin Bass, cell and molecular biology PhD, has a detailed thread on the study, which can be linked through to below:
Before beginning, I want to point out that during the pandemic, I dismissed others’ concerns about the topic and insisted on masking. I masked my children in public and I regret doing so. Anti-maskers made me angry. I was wrong. I am sorry.
The findings dovetail with a report published by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) that concluded “no evidence could be presented” to prove medical-grade face masks protected vulnerable people from COVID at all.
Thanks for admitting this 3 years later after all the demeaning crap you put everybody through. pic.twitter.com/I9WGPkeHzw
Scores of studies have come to the same conclusion, yet people are still wearing masks despite all of this, some schools are still forcing children to wear masks, and some airlines and travel companies are still enforcing mask wearing.
