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Even though the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted several economies, it has given a much-needed boost to some unorthodox businesses. Telehealth is one of them. While there was a limited usage of telehealth before the pandemic, Canada has seen a notable acceleration in that space in the last couple of months.
What is telehealth?
Telehealth is an emerging trend that distributes healthcare beyond the hospitals’ walls, with the help of video chats or teleconferences. The technological infrastructure will lower the overall medical treatment cost, and one can get it anywhere, anytime. According to Markets and Markets’s research, the telehealth market is expected to grow to US$55.6 billion by 2025 — a staggering growth rate of approximately 17% compounded annually.
No wonder large investors have attracted to this emerging health care space. Loblaw, the country’s largest food and pharma retailer, recently invested $75 million in a telehealth company — Maple. Maple offers online consultations with the help of a mobile or a computer app. Under the deal, Maple will provide virtual care to Loblaw’s Shoppers Drug Mart customers…CLICK for complete article
America’s big banks make more than $11 billion worth of overdraft and related fees every year, and 2020 could break even more records due to the uncertainty caused by the pandemic. They’re counting on customers being disorganized, strapped for cash–or both.
But now, those practices are coming under intensified scrutiny.
The Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) recently released a report concluding that the biggest banks, “engage in a number of abusive practices that combine to drain massive sums from their customers’ checking accounts”.
The bulk of those fees, according to CRL, are “shouldered by banks’ most vulnerable customers, often driving them out of the banking system altogether”.
Last year, the report found that JPMorgan Chase pocketed $2.1 billion in income from overdraft and insufficient funds fees, followed by Wells Fargo and Bank of America (BAC) with $1.7 billion and $1.6 billion, respectively. According to CRL, TD Bank’s overdraft fees represent about one-third of its non-interest income.
The banks typically charge overdraft fees when the customer overdraws on their checking account. Rather than allowing a debit card to be declined or a check to bounce, the bank will cover the difference and charge an overdraft fee, usually about $30 to $35. CLICK for complete article
Economists have come up with every variation of applying a letter of the alphabet to the economic recovery. Whether it’s an “L,” a “W” or a “V,” there is a letter that suits your view. But what is a “K”-shaped recovery?
Take a closer look at the letter “K.” It’s a “V” on the top, and an inverted “V” on the bottom.
According to Investopedia:
“A K-shaped recovery occurs when, following a recession, different parts of the economy recover at different rates, times, or magnitudes. This is in contrast to an even, uniform recovery across sectors, industries, or groups of people. A K-shaped recovery leads to changes in the structure of the economy or the broader society as economic outcomes and relations are fundamentally changed before and after the recession.
Creative Destruction
Following the economic shutdown, much of the data shows strong signs of improvement. However, several different economic phenomena are driving a K-shaped recovery.
One of the more interesting aspects of the recovery has been that of “creative destruction:”
“Creative destruction is a concept in economics which since the 1950s has become most readily identified with economist Joseph Schumpeter. Schumpeter derived it from the work of Karl Marx and popularized it as a theory of economic innovation and the business cycle.
According to Schumpeter, the ‘gale of creative destruction’ describes the ‘process of industrial mutation. The process continuously revolutionizes the economic structure from within, incessantly destroying the old one, incessantly creating a new one’” – Wikipedia
Industries like technology, retail, and software services are leading the way in “creative destruction.” Technology companies like Apple Inc., Alphabet Inc., and Microsoft Corp. saw earnings expand during the economic recession. General merchandise retailers such as Target, Walmart, and Costco, along with online video entertainment giants Netflix Inc., Walt Disney Co., and YouTube, made sizeable gains as the economy closed. Biotech, Pharmaceuticals, and, of course, “Work From Home” firms like Slack and Zoom blossomed with online retailers like Amazon and Shopify.
However, while the “fire of necessity” gave birth to a host of new companies, simultaneously others got lost. Travel, airlines, cruises, movie theaters, traditional retailers, and real estate remain under significant financial pressures. CLICK for complete article
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Don’t Say You Weren’t Warned
Posted by Michael Campbell
on Saturday, 10 October 2020 10:48
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