COVID-19 confirmed in pet cat in the UK
The virus responsible for COVID-19 has been detected in a pet cat in the UK.
The UK’s Chief Veterinary Officer has confirmed that the virus responsible for COVID-19 has been detected in a pet cat in the UK.
The infection was confirmed following tests at the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) laboratory in Weybridge on Wednesday 22 July.
Although this is the first confirmed case of an animal infection with the coronavirus strain in the UK, there is no evidence to suggest that the animal was involved in transmission of the disease to its owners or that pets or other domestic animals are able to transmit the virus to people.
The advice from Public Health England is for people to wash their hands regularly, including before and after contact with animals.
All available evidence suggests that the cat contracted the coronavirus from its owners who had previously tested positive for COVID-19. The cat and its owners have since made a full recovery and there was no transmission to other animals or people in the household.
Chief Veterinary Officer Christine Middlemiss said:
Tests conducted by the Animal and Plant Health Agency have confirmed that the virus responsible for COVID-19 has been detected in a pet cat in England.This is a very rare event with infected animals detected to date only showing mild clinical signs and recovering within in a few days.There is no evidence to suggest that pets directly transmit the virus to humans. We will continue to monitor this situation closely and will update our guidance to pet owners should the situation change.
Yvonne Doyle, Medical Director at Public Health England, said:
This is the first case of a domestic cat testing positive for COVID-19 in the UK but should not be a cause for alarm.The investigation into this case suggest that the infection was spread from humans to animal, and not the other way round. At this time, there is no evidence that pets can transmit the disease to humans.In line with the general advice on fighting coronavirus, you should wash your hands regularly, including before and after contact with animals.
The pet cat was initially diagnosed by a private vet with feline herpes virus, a common cat respiratory infection, but the sample was also tested for SARS-CoV-2 as part of a research programme. Follow-up samples tested at the APHA laboratory in Weybridge confirmed the cat was also co-infected with SARS-CoV2 which is the virus known to cause COVID-19 in humans.
Pet owners can access the latest government guidance on how to continue to care for their animals during the coronavirus pandemic.
The case has been reported to the World Organisation for Animal Health in line with international commitments. There have been a very small number of confirmed cases in pets in other countries in Europe, North America and Asia.
Notes to editors:
The World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) has also produced a factsheet outlining the latest science on infection in animals which can be accessed here.
Gapping down
In reaction to disappointing earnings/guidance:
- HAS -7.7%
Other news:
- SLDB -5.3% (provides update on clinical hold of IGNITE DMD Phase I/II)
- WIMI -4.1% (files for 4.2 mln ADS offering)
- VXX -1.4% (trading lower with US futures up this morning)
- TSLA -0.8% (BMW to offer fully electric 5-Series)
Analyst comments:
- FSLR -2.7% (downgraded to Neutral from Buy at ROTH Capital)
- REG -1.1% (downgraded to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank)
- ALB -0.7% (downgraded to Sell from Hold at Berenberg)
- ADM -0.7% (downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse)
Gapping up
In reaction to strong earnings/guidance:
- ABCB +7.9%, SAP +2.8% (also intends spin-off of Qualtrics) RPM +1.7%, AVY +1.3%, ACI +0.9%, VLRS +0.6%, LECO +0.6%
Select metals/mining stocks trading higher:
- AUY +8.1%, SLV +6.5%, GDX +4.2%, GOLD +4%, NEM +3.1%, GLD +2%
Other news:
- TCRR +41.5% (reports RECIST responses with first TC-210 dose tested in advanced mesothelin-expressing solid tumors)
- CNXM +20.4% (CNX Resources (CNX) to acquire remaining public stake in CNX Midstream Partners LP; expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2020)
- MNOV +18.3% (announces SARS-CoV-2 vaccine joint development with BioComo and Mie University Japan)
- AERI +9.4% (reports positive topline results for AR-1105 Phase 2 clinical trial in patients with macular edema due to retinal vein occlusion)
- MRNA +8.4% (receives additional funding to support expanded mRNA-1273 clinical development plan)
- IAG +7.8% (restarts operations at Rosebel Gold Mine)
- GSS +7.1% (to sell Bogoso-Prestea Gold Mine for a purchase price of up to $95 million to Future Global Resources Limited)
- RIGL +6.1% (announces publication of data analysis of TAVALISSE in the British Journal of Haematology)
- BSIG +5.3% (divests affiliates Barrow, Hanley, Mewhinney & Strauss and Copper Rock Capital Partners)
- AMRN +2.5% (presents data from the REDUCE-IT REVASC analysis)
- PCG +1.9% (provides update on equity exit financing over-allotment outcome)
Analyst comments:
- KTB +5.1% (upgraded to Buy from Sell at Goldman)
- TPR +4.5% (upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman)
- BLMN +3.5% (upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan)
- BIIB +2.6% (upgraded to Overweight from Underweight at Morgan Stanley)
- AAL +2% (upgraded to Mkt Perform from Underperform at Raymond James)
- AMZN +1.9% (target raised to $3600 at Telsey Advisory Group)
- PHM +1.8% (upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Wells Fargo)
Early premarket gappers
- Gapping up:
- MNOV +33.7%, TCRR +29.8%, AERI +14.1%, IAG +11.2%, MRNA +8.1%, ABCB +7.9%, AUY +7%, SLV +6.8%, GSS +5.9%, GDX +4.5%, GOLD +3.9%, NEM +3.4%, SAP +3.2%, GLD +2.1%, PCG +1.2%, NVS +0.7%, BSIG +0.6%, AZN +0.6%, VLRS +0.6%
- Gapping down
- WIMI -7.8%, SLDB -5.3%, VXX -1.2%, EQT -0.9%, MAC -0.8%
Why ‘tracking difference’ is a vital metric for passive ETFs
The total expense ratio is the ‘price tag’ of a fund — but it does not tell the full story
In theory, the overwhelming majority of ETFs are very simple creatures. They are passive vehicles, designed to replicate the return of a diversified index of securities, whether that be equities, bonds or something more outlandish.
In practice, though, the more closely one looks under the hood, the more complex these beasts really are.
As a result, an ETF will rarely deliver precisely the return of its target index. In most cases it will underperform its benchmark, although outperformance is not unheard of. The divergence is known as the tracking difference.
Most obviously, managers of ETFs levy an annual management charge, although this will typically be much lower than for actively managed products, and a handful are actually free.
This, together will other small charges such as auditing, legal and custodian fees and the cost of licensing the underlying index, comprises the total expense ratio, the “price tag” of the ETF.
If the TER is 0.3 per cent, a novice investor might expect an ETF to undershoot its target by 30 basis points every year.
However, matters are not that simple because, despite its name, the total expense ratio does not include all expenses.
Every time the target index is rebalanced, such as with the quarterly rejigs of the UK’s FTSE 100 share index, an ETF needs to buy and sell securities to maintain accurate replication. All this activity inevitably incurs transaction costs,
“This will cause a drag on investors’ returns, since the index performance does not reflect these costs,” said Anaelle Ubaldino, a quantitative financial adviser at Koris International, a French investment advisory firm linked to TrackInsight, the FT’s partner for the ETF Hub.
So-called “smart beta” ETFs, which are not based on market capitalisation-weighted indices, will have to trade more often, incurring higher transaction costs. For instance, an equal-weighted ETF will need periodically to rebalance, selling stocks that have risen in value and buying those that have fallen.
Tracking difference can also result from discrepancies between the holdings of the ETF and its target index.
This can result from “sampling”, which occurs when there are so many securities in an index it is unrealistic for the ETF to hold them all. Instead, the manager will create a portfolio designed to be representative of the underlying index but which may differ in performance to some extent. This divergence can be either positive or negative.
Sampling is often seen in bond funds, which can contain thousands of instruments, some of them lightly traded.
Other factors can also cause a divergence between the underlying holdings of the index and the ETF.
“When the index holdings are spread across time zones and currencies, or when they are not readily available to trade on the secondary market, it is harder for the ETF issuer to replicate the index accurately,” said Ms Ubaldino.
Cash drag is another potential source of a discrepancy in returns between the ETF and its benchmark. This occurs when dividend or coupon payments are reinvested later than the index accounts for.
This results in the ETF holding cash and being under-leveraged for a period, something that is beneficial for investors when the underlying index is falling but will lead to a degree of underperformance when it is rising.
One practice that is almost always a positive is securities lending, a fairly common practice among ETF issuers. The ETF manager is often able to lend some of the underlying holdings, for a fee, to a hedge fund or other institution that wishes to borrow them in order to short the security in question.
In theory this entails a small degree of risk for the ETF, of the borrower being unable to return the security at the agreed date and the collateral it lodged with the ETF being insufficient to cover the cost of repurchasing the holding in the market. However, the risk is slight and ETF providers instead reap a small, but steady, income stream to offset against other costs.
The importance of tracking difference may at first seem minimal. However, small deviations in this measure can add up over time.
The example above shows the performance of two ETFs and their benchmark index. Based on expense ratio only, investors would be indifferent between the two funds, as they both stand at 50 basis points, or 0.5 per cent, a year. However, looking at their tracking difference, investors would find that ETF A has generated better overall performance than ETF B.
“Tracking difference is critically important when selecting passive ETFs,” said Ms Ubaldino. “It paints the full picture of how well an ETF tracks its index and should thus be investors’ preferred metric for ETF comparison.”
Banking veteran departs Revolut after one year
Executive brought in to help digital bank ‘grow up’ defects to Allica Bank
Richard Davies, the banking veteran brought in to lead Revolut’s efforts to “grow up” after a wave of criticism, is leaving the company to run a new banking start-up.
Mr Davies will take charge of business lending specialist Allica Bank late next month, subject to regulatory approval.
“In the aftermath of Covid, it’s such an important time for the UK small and medium-sized business market, and the chance to lead a newly licensed bank that can be part of the solution is a great opportunity,” Mr Davies said.
Mr Davies joined Revolut a year ago with a mission to strengthen the digital banking group’s governance and help it move it on from a series of controversies around compliance and an aggressive internal culture.
Critics have previously pointed to high executive turnover as a sign of problems within the company, but Mr Davies said he was leaving on good terms.
“It was a difficult decision . . . and I wouldn’t want to transition if we hadn’t already made massive progress,” he said.
Revolut said Mr Davies will continue to serve as an adviser to its European business, and will remain a non-executive director of its international holding company.
In February, Revolut became Europe’s joint-most valuable fintech after a $500m investment round. Last week it raised a further $80m at the same $5.5bn valuation, despite the significant revenue hit caused by the pandemic.
Allica, which is controlled by UK investment group Warwick Capital Partners, received its full banking licence last September and opened its first savings accounts earlier this year.
It is the latest in a string of new banks that have received licences since the financial crisis, but its predecessors have struggled to break the dominance of the largest high street lenders. Last week the Bank of England warned that “many of these new banks have underestimated the development required to become a successful and established bank”.
Mr Davies said the business lending market had been further damaged by the coronavirus crisis, creating an opportunity for Allica.
“There is a disruption to the market that needs solving urgently,” Mr Davies said. “There’s great demand from good businesses that aren’t as impacted by coronavirus . . . [and] there is no one really that’s trying to provide a solution.”
Mr Davies previously held senior commercial banking roles at HSBC, TSB, and Barclays, and was the first chief executive of OakNorth Bank.
John Maltby, Allica chairman, said: “As a respected leader and innovator of business banking and fintech, Richard’s appointment is testament to Allica Bank’s progress.”