#near us is only showing it until this thurs. but NOW its saying its showing it on friday too . and that other theatres are showing it next | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

kaescarribean-blog · 5 years

Text

week one.

Hi - a little introduction for me: I’m Kaelynn, and I am a rising junior at the University of South Carolina! This semester, however, I’m missing beloved football season and taking a semester in St. Thomas, USVI, through the National Student Exchange program (NSE). Today is Saturday, August 17th, so that means I’ve been here for four days now, although it seems just a million times longer than that. I was so incredibly nervous for this trip for the two weeks leading up to it, with fear and anxiety that I wouldn’t make any friends, that I wouldn’t be able to find my way to the school, that I wouldn’t pack enough (I didn’t, so that was a valid fear), and everything in between. Now that I’m here, thats almost entirely out the window, and I could not be more happy or grateful for this experience!

tues. aug 13:

actually, this was my birthday. I was a little sad, because I would be without any friends or family, so I wasn’t too happy about this. I woke up at 4 am and drove to Logan intl in Boston, and the next thing I knew I was awkwardly walking around the airport trying to carry the three suitcases and backpack I had on me alone, scared, and very nervous. However, a good 6 hours later and I had already landed in St. Thomas. The airport was very small, with only two carousels for baggage claim. Because of this, a group of the NSE students found each other right off the bat and were lucky enough to grab a taxi together to the school. While this was a little difficult due to us not having a lot of info from housing, being among other people who I knew were just as confused as I was was surprisingly comforting. It was a familiar anxiety and excitement, exactly like being a freshman at USC was at first. We checked in and began setting up our dorms, and it wasn’t long before we met multiple other NSE kids as well - one being my suitemate (and now roommate, but that’s another story). The girls that I had met earlier came by my room and asked us to come to Kmart, which is the big store on the island for anything you need, and so we did. We took safaris there, which are essentially pickup trucks with benches and some windows in the back. They drive on the opposite side of the road, and roads are incredibly narrow, but the safari drivers never seem to notice and drive fast and precisely weaving throughout the island. In Kmart we noticed everything was a lot more expensive than on the mainland (what everyone calls the continental US here) - a pair of twin sheets cost something like 60 bucks! Another kid bought a can of peanuts for 7! This was a little worrisome, but we’ve come to know that everyyyyything here is pretty much expensive because it has to be imported. Gas here is 3.77 a gallon. I rest my case. We got to know some more NSE kids, got some stuff for our dorm, ate dinner together at the mediocre cafeteria, and then, when we were about to go to bed, we remembered something. The beach!! Our school has one within like a 3 minute walking distance, so we decided to rally everyone up, and get down to the water. It was amazing. The water was so warm and we could see clearly down to our feet even though it was pitch black outside, and it started to seem like things were going to turn out juuuuust fine here.

wed. aug 14:

Today, we had orientation. Then, we had orientation. After we had lunch, then some more orientation. Not much happened here besides just talking more to the NSE kids and getting to know everyone better, and throwing together an intense snapchat group (a lot of kids don’t have their service working for their phones) ((mine has been working the entire time, thank god for verizon)). When we finally finished up at orientation, I think we went to the beach? It feels like a million days has passed already, but I know I’ve gone everyday, which has been amazing. After this, we found out it was “ladies night” at a place downtown, so we all hopped in some insanely overpriced taxis and headed out. We stayed there for 6 hours, and we all got to know each other that much better. I may be developing an affinity to reggae music.

thurs. aug 15:

Again, lots of orienting to do. We had a convocation ceremony that my roommate and I decided to take advantage of island time for, and showed up a few hours late. We were so tired this was the way to go for us, and we still got to hear the president’s speech and talk to our college deans, so we didn’t miss much. Compared to USC’s 26,362 student body, UVI has 2,138. This is wayyyy different from what I’m used to, but kind of nice because you can talk to the president or your dean with incredible ease - they even gave out their cell phone numbers. I’ve never even seen my dean of college, even when I needed her to sign something I had to go through someone else to get it done! We had an NSE meeting finally so we could get some more information about the island and all the happenings of the next few days, and we did ice breakers in the beginning, but honestly, at this point it felt like looking around the room I was friends with everyone already and knew at least a thing or two about each of them. We’ve got a good group -- we want to meet some more locals, but honestly even though everyone says that all the people here are friendly, we’ve experienced some stand offishness from many of the local students on campus, so its comforting to at least have each other for now. We went to the beach around 4, I think, and some kids went snorkling and saw turltes and sting rays and lots of other fish, right in Brewers Bay! This is the beach we can walk to in a few minutes, so it’s nice to know we can always go here and get good snorkling! By the end of this day, I was exhausted, and got to do some more unpacking and organizational stuff that I hadn’t had a chance for before. Then, I went to bed. I felt tired, warmed by the sun, and overwhelmingly content.

fri. aug 16:

We had another early morning today as we were catching some safaris at 9 am on a university led island tour. Of course, on island time this meant not a soul was there at 9 am but rather everyone finally strolled in at 9:30, so we left then. Everyone at home talks about island time as if it’s relaxing, however honestly a few of us if not most are finding it kind of irritating and hard to plan around. If you come here, you’ve got to got to got to got to let that go and prepare yourself to play things by ear and go with the flow. On our island tour we saw the most amazing views - from a skyline view to another beach called Coki, to the top of the mountain, we were all saying “whoa” more times than can be counted. I went on a bus that had more locals than NSE students, so I got to learn so much from them including things like eating this fruit off a tree we passed, to the fact that half the island used to be a beach. We got home from this around 1pm, the earliest we’d been released all week, so we decided to again go down to Brewers Bay for some beach time. We were there for about 6 hours, from swimming to snorkling to laying out and walking around, we never got bored. We all decided to stay until sunset (which happens extremely early here to our disdain at a cool 6:45), and the sky put on a beautiful show for us. Everything is so beautiful that it looks like a post card. After this we showered and headed to a movie night held by the university and ate hamburgers there, and relaxed at the rec center for a while playing pool and dominos. Then, one of our friends roommate who is a friendly local took us out to show us this cool lookout where you could see stars, the entire university, the beach, and even some heat lightening (which the local said wasn’t heat lightening, but I think it must have been and they just don’t call it that). We threw together a plan to go to another island, St. John, and then went to bed to rest up for it. It was another night going to bed feeling so de-stressed and happy.

sat. aug 17:

We’ve finally caught up with today! Going to St. John was unreal. We caught the 11 o’clock fast ferry out in Red Hook - the city part of town, which you have to take a safari or taxi to get to. As a side note, safaris are our - and I think everyone’s - preferred method of transportation because it is so much cheaper and honestly a better experience. Safaris are $1 if you remain on the west side (I think) of the island in the “country”, and $2 once you drive over the incredibly steep Rapoon Hill that brings you into the “city”. Then, we caught the local price of the ferry at only $12 roundtrip, and we were on our way! When we got there, there were many taxi drivers coming up to those coming off the ferry asking if we needed rides, so we got one very quickly and he helped us get to a beach that he thought was beautiful, fun, and what we were looking for. I don’t think I know what it was called, but it was exactly what he described! The water is the most amazing blue you’ve ever seen, and it simply has not worn off yet the beauty of everything that I’ve been surrounded and swallowed up into. We swam here and hung out all day. A while later, our taxi driver came to retrieve us, and brought us back into town. We all got some fries at a place called Tap and Still, due to the fact that we hadn’t eaten since 8:30 am and it was now around 4, and they were some of the absolute best I’ve ever had. Either that, or I was just insanely hungry. The ferry ride back was all of 14 minutes, and then we got another 45 minute safari back to campus. They stop running around 6:30/7pm (again, you don’t really know because of island time), so we wanted to come back in order to catch one in time. During the ride, it started down pouring, and because of how fast we were going rain was coming in through the windows slightly in the front bench and near the sides, so those of us that were sitting there got a bit soaked and then were freezing because of how cold it was! Never thought I’d be cold here, coming from Mass, but today I was definitely proved wrong. Then we got dinner, showered, and we’ve been in bed since. As has been the theme of this week, now I feel extremely tired, but over the moon happy and excited and mind blown and thankful that I will be spending my next four months in this place, with these people.

#PICS to go along with this week ~ next post

1 note · View note

glassandmetalwings · 6 years

Photo

You all thought I was done talking about Jurassic World Alive, didn’t you? While I’m not, but I’ve been a little less active with it as of late. Mostly because my feelings towards it have grown a but tepid. But we’ll get to that in a minute.

First up, I want to show you two lovely babies I made today. I should have made Deinocheirus like, four days after getting the game. We ran into one at the museum that specific day, and I got enough DNA from one attempt, but the game suddenly had connection problems and didn’t get to save that information. Therefore I didn’t have the DNA to make it. I was pretty salty.

Purussaurus Gen 2 (or any at all) was something I wanted since I first saw it in battle. It’s a big friend. Except none ever spawned anywhere near me; I didn’t even get it registered as seen until this Monday, and then it was too far away to get to. And then today I found three. Two spawned right on top of me.

So I have those lovely babies.

Now I want to talk about a feature that I’ve mentioned in the past: the daily dino (also called featured dino). Those green squares that you see in the third and four pictures are what these special supply drops look like. The first of those two images is actually the first thing you (supposedly) see when you log on after the drops have changed for the day. For the past two or three days, however, I actually haven’t gotten that image. And it’s kind of frustrating since I’m a very visual person.

Depending on the rarity of the dino, a few things change: the number of attempts you get and the time it takes for the dino to respawn at that spot:

Common (50 pts to create): 12 attempts, respawns after 1 hour Rare (100 pts to create): 5 attempts*, respawns after 3 hours Epic (150 pts to create): 3 attempts, respawns after 6 hours Legendary (200 pts to create): 1 attempt, respawns after 12 hours Unique (250 pts to create): 1 attempt, basically doesn’t respawn (24 hrs)

*This has recently been upped to 5 (from 3), likely with the addition of Legendary and Unique dinos being added to the featured dino list)

You may notice something here: you get fewer attempts to go after dinos that need more DNA, and if there’s only one green stop, you have to wait longer to try again. Which is in part a balance mechanic, but honestly could also use some tinkering.

However, as of today, I discovered something strange. At some point Ludia changed the mechanic. You may notice that, in the middle picture, there are two different dinos shown under the green stop: pyroraptor and t-rex. The notification today said the featured dino was pyroraptor. So why the rex, and why (when you click on the dino, as seen in the sixth pic) does it have a timer and a counter for attempts?

Well, look at the timer. Look at the number of attempts.

At some point, Ludia basically paired up featured dinos. Pyroraptor is today’s, but t-rex is tomorrow’s. I’m guessing this has to do with adding Unique dinos to the list; Mon/Tues is one pair of featured dinos, Wed/Thurs is a second pair, Fri/Sat is a third pair, and Sunday is the Unique. The number of possible attempts is the combined total (pyro and rex are both Epic, so they contribute three attempts each).

Due to an interesting mini-event last week (discussed later), it must have been added this week.

I actually really like this. You can prioritize and divide your attempts accordingly. For example, if they pair a Common and a Rare, you get 17 attempts. Over those two days, if you really wanted, you could use all 17 on the Rare. Or if they’re the same rarity, but one will benefit you more (either in battle or for a hybrid), you can focus on that.

It gives me more incentive to go looking if, say, euoplocephalus is the daily, but I know we’re supposed to have velociraptor the next day. I’m not particualrly in need of euoplocephalus (it has a hybrid but rarity-wise it’s the equilvalent of a Pidgey in Kanto), but raptor is great both for battle and towards making i. rex and indoraptor.

By the way, if you’re good enough at recognizing the photo cards, it’s easy enough to know the dinos for the week; all week they offer a special incubator with DNA of the week’s featured dinos, with the cards showing them next to the ad (see the last image). Which...actually brings me to my final point: why I’ve lost some interest in the game.

(As a quick aside, the three raptors shown in that last image are Charlie, Delta, and Echo, of Owen’s original raptor pack. Indoraptor debuted as the first Unique featured dino on the 23rd, followed by Blue as an Epic that Sunday, and then the other three in order the following three days (as Rares). They all have different stats and attacks-Blue even has plot armor-but other their specific days and the special incubator that week, I’m not sure if we’ll see them again.)

There are a couple things that are making me lose my interest. A major one is honestly the lack of communication and information. JWA doesn’t keep its news archived on the app-I can’t even double check what the daily dino is without seeing one at a stop. However, they’re more than happy to remind you about the special spots every few days, like the Walmart ones and the one-time AMC (even if you already got the AMC one).

In fact, when they revealed the daily dinos, the app took you to Ludia’s site to show the info regarding respawn rates and attempts by rarity. And the new blub vanished from the app after you read it, so it still isn’t easy to find again. Like I mentioned, they didn’t reveal this whole thing about paired dailies, nor when they added Legendary and Unique dinos to that list. At the very least, they could put a countdown at the greed spot telling you how long before it respawns.

But even more significantly...it feels so pay to play now. Like, even early on it was clear the fastest way to get rare and hybrid dinos was through the more expensive incubators. But I didn’t mind too much.

At this point, however, it’s starting to require so much DNA just to level up a dino. My raptor is at level 12, and has been for awhile, even with me going after every raptor I see. The coin cost to bring it to the next level is absurd. She’s gotta be level 15 to even start to make i. rex (which, as a Legendary, will cost as least 200 of its own DNA to make, and we’ve talked about how much raptor and rex DNA that can be).

And guess what? To make indoraptor, do you know what you need? A level 20 i. rex and a level 20 raptor. That’s so much DNA, even if you get lucky and make 90 points of hybrid DNA every time. So much t-rex and raptor DNA, and so many coins.

The best, if not only, way to make this an achievable goal (both in terms of DNA and coins) is to buy the more expensive incubators. The in-game cash you get from battle incubators isn’t nearly enough for anything.

Look at the second to last pic-the one on the left. If you’re a reasonable person who can only buy premium currency in small amounts, $5=about 500 cash. Every week there are at least three limited edition incubators. One will always be that week’s featured dinos (bottom row), and the other two will be things like ‘powerful carnivores’, ‘dinos with stun attacks’, or even ‘pure, 100% hybrid DNA’.

They’ll range from approximately $20-$50. Sometimes they won’t even be for sale in cash; it will be in real UDS, like you see on the middle-right incubator. Likely at the expense of the people who do drop $100 to buy cash in massive bulk, which gets them extra.

Leveling is agonizingly slow.

Long story short, if you want to get even moderate entertainment out of this game, or make any progress at all, you have to put money in it. A lot of money. Like, at least $100 per week, and then some.

Yeah, there is stuff to buy in GO, but coins are relatively easy to earn (even as a member of Instinct), and it doesn’t cost you a kidney if you want to use real USD to buy more coins. The most expensive event box, which I’d say gives you more than enough stuff, will set you back about $12. And minus bag and storage expansions (and perhaps the occasional incubator or raid pass), it’s nothing you can’t ultimately do without.

I’m starting to really accept that this game exists almost exclusively as a money sink, to ride the hype of Fallen Kingdom and milk as much out of the fans as it can. As far as I can tell, there’s no intention for longevity, unlike GO. When the hype putters out so will the game; they’ll stop fixing bugs or doing updates.

And yeah, the combination of those things bugs me a lot. Like...just let me collect dinos so I can take cool pictures. That’s all I want in life.

#this got long so I stuck it under the cut #Wings joins the DPG

3 notes · View notes

liliannorman · 4 years

Text

Busy beavers may be speeding thaw of Arctic permafrost

Beavers have been moving into more and more parts of Alaska’s Arctic wilderness. It now appears they’re changing the landscape in ways that could further fuel climate change. A new study shows how.

Permafrost is soil that has stayed frozen for more than two years. In some cases, it hasn’t thawed in thousands of years. In many places, this layer of permanently frozen soil can be more than 10 meters (33 feet) thick. But owing to climate change, many long-frozen parts of Earth’s surface have lately been warming. This causes uneven sinking of surface areas and makes some areas mushy.

Explainer: CO2 and other greenhouse gases

This thaw also is releasing long-held stores of carbon dioxide. A potent greenhouse gas, it can warm Earth’s atmosphere. Earth’s climate had already warming. Indeed, the Arctic is warming faster than almost any place on Earth.

“Around the year 2000, beavers really started increasing their presence in northwest Arctic Alaska,” says Benjamin Jones at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. He studies how areas with permafrost underneath them have been changing. He was part of an international team that focused on the Baldwin Peninsula in the state’s far northwest. They chose this site because there are loads of high-resolution aerial and satellite photographs of the area. Some had been taken as far back as the 1950s. These would allow the team to see when and where any changes to the landscape might have occurred.

The detailed images can show features a few meters (yards) long, Jones notes. Among these: beaver dams. Master landscape architects, beavers build dams to back up water. They also build lodges in now-flooded areas. There, the swimming rodents store food and avoid predators.

Computer analyses helped Jones and his team track beaver dams over a 17-year period. Before 2000, photos showed evidence of few, if any, beavers. Two years later, there were two beaver dams in a 100-square kilometer (78.8-square mile) area. It was near the tip of the peninsula. By 2019, that area had 98 dams — nearly a 50-fold increase. For the whole northern part of peninsula, the number of dams went up more than fourfold from 2010 to 2019.

The amount of surface water also increased. In 2002, lakes and ponds near the peninsula’s tip covered 594 hectares (2.3 square miles). By 2019, there were 644 hectares (2.5 square miles). Beaver dams led to about two-thirds of the increase, Jones’ group found.

The team reported its findings in Environmental Research Letters on June 30.

These aerial photos show part of an area Benjamin Jones and his team studied. Arrows mark spots where beavers built dams or lodges.Jones et al./Environmental Research Letters, 2020 (CC BY 4.0)

Beaver-friendly sites

The beavers were damming low-lying regions — ones that had been rich with icy permafrost, Jones observes. These areas have a mix of mounds and low-lying areas. For beavers to build dams there “makes a lot of sense,” Jones says. The low areas let them back up water easily. The affected landscape is known as thermokarst (THUR-moh-karst). Its dirt and rock often settles unevenly as the permafrost there starts to m

The beavers’ landscape engineering may boost climate change. Warming here, in the Arctic, already had been increasing at a growing pace. As dams form ponds, more liquid water can come in contact with ice in the ground. That can more quickly thaw the permafrost below. The reason, Jones says, is that water conducts heat very well. That concept also explains why frozen meat defrosts faster in water than in air.

The team has several ideas about why more beavers moved in. Climate change is one likely factor. “The Arctic tundra is much shrubbier now than it was in the distant past,” notes Jones. Beavers can use shrubs for food and for dams. Also, warmer winters mean beavers can now stay year round in some places that were once too cold. Finally, he notes, beaver numbers have been rebounding from widespread hunting in the 1800s.

“We’ve always known that beavers are engineers,” says Audrey Sawyer. She’s a hydrogeologist at the Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center. It’s part of Ohio State University in Columbus. Sawyer studies how surface water interacts with groundwater. She finds especially interesting the study’s discovery of a so-called feedback cycle. As permafrost thaws, beavers move into thermokarst regions. The dams they build back up more surface water. And that “leads to more changes in permafrost.”

A beaver looks out over a range of rocks and ice in Alaska. FatCamera/iStock/Getty Images Plus

Dams make a difference

“When you start to get beavers in certain areas, it’s amazing how many dams they’ll build,” says Bethany Neilson. She’s an environmental engineer at the University of Utah in Logan. She didn’t take part in the new study. She has, however, worked at the Arctic Long Term Ecological Research site in Toolik, Alaska. She has also recently studied beaver impacts on surface and groundwater in parts of Utah.

In Utah, a warming climate is likely to lower how much water flows through streams and otherwise cut water supplies. The beavers’ actions could help hold water on the surface, Neilson’s team found. And those areas could provide places with cooler water for fish and other species. But that helpful effect might last only until the dams fail, she adds. Her team shared its findings last May 20 in Science of the Total Environment.

Indeed, the beavers’ activity in Alaska could cause lasting harm.

“Permafrost is a feature that has been part of the underground landscape in high latitudes for a long time,” says Sawyer at Ohio State. Frozen plants, animals and other life forms stored in permafrost will thaw. These all contain carbon.

“The amount of carbon that is stored in permafrost is immense,” Neilson notes. Thawing that permafrost will now release a large share of that carbon into the air, she adds, “which can create additional climate change.” Why? The thawed material will rot and break down. In the process, it will release carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.

The work by Jones’s group is “a great reminder of the importance of beavers as a keystone species,” Sawyer adds. That’s a species whose presence or absence can alter an ecosystem dramatically through its impacts on other living things. Now, she adds, science needs to consider their impacts on climate, too.

Busy beavers may be speeding thaw of Arctic permafrost published first on https://triviaqaweb.tumblr.com/

0 notes

covid19updater · 3 years

Text

COVID19 Updates: 06/10/2021

Italy: Cruise passengers test positive for Covid-19 in Italy LINK

India: New Indian variant appears to be an entirely different lineage from the other Indian variants. The Indian variants we were aware of until now were spin offs of the same lineage -- b.1.617.1, b.1.617.2 and b.1.617.3. This new one is b.1.1.28.2

UK: Care England allegedly sent a letter to Matt Hancock offering to provide empty facilities where discharged hospital patients could be isolated, according to a committee member. But the health secretary says he 'doesn't recollect that correspondence'.

South Africa: 9 June 2021: #COVID19 in South Africa A large jump in #COVID19 cases, with 8,881 new cases reported today Test positivity rate spikes too, up to 16.5% today South Africa well and truly into its 3rd wave now, even if not officially

UK: Delta variant makes up 91% of cases. UK Health Secretary Hancock tells the committee that the Delta variant, first identified in India, now makes up 91% of cases of the coronavirus in the UK.

Europe: WHO warns delta variant taking hold in Europe LINK

Russia: Russia’s “R”to 1.15 in past 24 hours, highest level since October 14 last year. Moscow’s “R”from 1.24 to 1.43 in past day, highest level since October 1. Reproduction rate in & Moscow growing, amid new daily highs in covid cases. Russia reported 11,699 new cases

Ukraine: Ukraine reiterates it won’t allow foreigners given Sputnik vaccine into country, if they don’t provide (-) covid test

India: Discovery of several thousand unreported deaths in India’s state of Bihar, raises suspicion many more covid victims haven’t been included in official figures. Health Department in Bihar, revised total covid related death toll to > 9,429, from about 5,424 Wednesday;

Java/Sumatra: Case numbers have risen sharply in Java and Sumatra three weeks after holidays that followed the Islamic fasting month, when millions ventured across the archipelago, ignoring a temporary travel ban, Reuters reports;

Taiwan: A cluster of cases across 4 Taiwan semiconductor plants is still growing, w/43 new cases reported today;

Philippines: A delay in covid vaccine deliveries to Philippines forced some cities in capital region to close sites, complicating Manila’s efforts to ramp up its immunization drive;

Indonesia: Indonesia reported 8,892 new daily covid cases TH, the highest since February 23, taking its overall number of cases to 1,885,942. Data from its coronavirus taskforce also showed 211 Covid-19 deaths reported on Thursday, taking total deaths to 52,373;

World: Terrifying video reveals how normal breathing can spread Covid more than 7ft through the air in 90 seconds without a face mask - but just 2.4ft when you're wearing a covering LINK

UK: In the weeks before Boris Johnson finally put India on the Red List, *at least 20,000 people* who could have been infected with Delta variant arrived from the country. LINK

World: A new kind of #COVID19vaccine, known as a protein subunit vaccine, could be available this summer. LINK

UK: Matt Hancock insists that the borders to India were not shut faster because the data at the time did not show it was necessary. Mr Hancock says sequencing data was not available immediately to show the dangers of the Delta variant.

World: LabCorp, Quest Diagnostics suggest their antibody tests help show a vaccine’s effectiveness. Regulators aren’t so sure. LINK

US: @cdcgov has now analyzed the VAERS data on #Covid vaccine myocarditis in teens and young adults. It is terrible. Based only on received reports - and remember, most side effects go unreported even when they are serious - the rate is as high as 40 times the background rate... But that likely sharply underestimates the real rate - because CDC used a very long window (31 days) to determine the background rate - when in reality most cases occur within days of the second dose

China: Chinese mRNA vaccine developer raises a record $200m LINK

Italy: #Italy has a surprise rise in #Covid19 cases today The country's been hammering down infections; hopefully this is just a blip with 2,079 new cases detected, 111 higher than last Thurs. UK, USA, Italy all had 1st cases of Delta/Indian variant around same time, only UK suffered

Portugal: An 18% increase for #Portugal as the situation continues to deteriorate. 910 new cases of #Covid19 and 6 further deaths. #Lisbon has 557 of the cases

Bolivia: I was hoping #Bolivia was near its peak as infections slowed down, but today a big new national record. 3,839 #Covid19 cases today, up more than 500 on last Thursday. 70 new deaths

Brazil: #Brazil's death rate has started ticking up a little the last two days. 2,484 more #Covid19 deaths Meanwhile 87,097 new cases diagnosed, the second highest daily total in more than two months. However the only higher day was last Weds, so actually the rate's down slightly.

World: Persistence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in lung tissue after mild COVID-19 LINK

US: CDC: heart inflammation cases in ages 16-24 higher than expected after mRNA COVID-19 shots LINK

South Africa: 10 June 2021: #COVID19 in South Africa With 9,147 new #COVID19 cases reported today, South Africa now officially enters the 3rd wave 7-day average of cases up to 5,959 = 31% of 2nd wave's peak, therefore breaching the new wave threshold of 30%

World: A hotel housing security staff and media for the G7 summit in Cornwall is to shut completely following an outbreak of #COVID19

US: CDC plans "emergency meeting" on rare heart inflammation following COVID-19 vaccines LINK

0 notes

ecotone99 · 4 years

Text

[HR] Dog

Hey guys, first time to ever post my writing public so I welcome any critique so I can improve! Thanks!

Dog

Timmy loved the river most of all. Daddy used to not let him go near it without him, but this year, he let him start playing in its shallow waters without him. It was spring so the water was still chilly but Timmy loved seeing the fish jump out of the water and the sound of water rushing over the rocks. Daddy had gone into town so Timmy took his dog Lucy with him for company. Lucy was the only thing Timmy loved more than the river (well besides Daddy of course) because she had been with him his whole life.

At first, Timmy had hated Lucy. She was big, and mostly hairless unlike all the other animals Daddy had shown him so growing up she had scared him because of how ugly she was. But Daddy said Lucy was a special dog and that Timmy would learn to love her. And love her he did! Whenever Daddy left, Timmy and Lucy would roam the countryside and have the best adventures! Running in the fields, playing in the water, playing fetch in the yard, they had become inseparable the past couple of years.

“Hey girl, wanna swim in the water?” Timmy asked.

Lucy looked up at him and whined. Timmy could never get over how smart Lucy was! It was almost like she could understand him when he spoke! Timmy smiled and pet her head, one of the few parts of her that still had hair.

“That’s ok old girl, I know it’s too cold for you” he said.

Timmy and Lucy walked along the shore, Timmy kicking rocks while Lucy followed behind, occasionally picking one up to throw in the river. Daddy had always told Timmy to treat Lucy with respect because she was family and a poor old dog has to be shown love and respect or they’d go bad. But Timmy had seen Daddy get mad at Lucy before and he hit her so hard, he thought Lucy might just up and run away right then and there! But Lucy never did. She would just wine and scurry away, staying in her cage until Daddy stopped being mad. Timmy once asked him why he hit Lucy like that and he had said, laughing,

“Dogs are not like people my boy. Sometimes, the only thing they understand is smack or two. If Lucy misbehaves, you HAVE to make sure she knows it so she won’t do it again!”

But Timmy didn’t like when Daddy hit her and didn’t think he could ever bring himself to hurt her. She was so skinny, so frail, that he just felt too sorry for her to cause her any pain. Daddy said she was an old dog but would probably live for many years to come if we took care of her.

Timmy spotted something stuck between some of the rocks near the water. It was a bright red and had caught his eye. He walked up and saw it was one of those little books Daddy called ‘Magazines’. But it didn’t look like any of the ones Timmy had ever seen in their house. It had a red border and dark background with ‘Time’ written in the same bright red color. Below the letters, was a picture and it looked just like Lucy!

“Look girl, this dog looks just like you!”

But Timmy looked closer and saw the dog in the picture looked a little different from Lucy, her eyes and hair a different color, face a little wider. He had never seen another dog like Lucy before and was enthralled.

“And look at this Lucy, someone dressed her like a daddy!”

Below the picture Timmy sounded out the other words, they were smaller and sort of rubbed out so they were hard to read. After a moment he finally figured out what they said:

Person of the Year: Mothers

“Huh. Wonder what that word means Lucy? Moo-thur” he said, slowly saying the word as best he could manage.

Lucy looked up at Timmy, tears in her eyes. A whimper escaped her lips from under the muzzle.

And just for a moment, Timmy thought he heard a word amongst the whimper. But dismissed it, knowing dogs couldn’t talk because Daddy said so. He smiled, shook his head, and rubbed the top of her head.

“It’s ok girl, I know you’re tired. We can go back now. We’ll show Daddy what we found and maybe he’ll tell us what that word means!”

Once more, Timmy thought he heard words in the whimpers. But he turned around and began walking to the house.

“My… Baby....”

submitted by /u/snaptrappin [link] [comments] via Blogger https://ift.tt/36YDEpt

#Blogger #Story

0 notes

touristguidebuzz · 6 years

Text

The Best Korean Restaurants In The Metro

Out of Town Blog The Best Korean Restaurants In The Metro

List of Best Korean Restaurants In Metro Manila

For years, Korea has taken the Philippines by storm. Whether it’s about K-drama, K-pop or Korean foods, Filipinos have embraced Koreans and their lifestyle. This is evident by the number of Korean restaurants throughout Metro Manila which locals have been patronizing for quite some time now.

Don’t be left out. Check out these places now and enjoy an authentic Korean meal.

Korean Ramyeon

Sodam Restaurant photo via Sodam FB

Sodam Restaurant

In 2016, Sodam was named #1 Buffet Restaurant, Top 3 Most Popular Restaurant, Top 3 Most Popular Korean Restaurant, Best Korean Restaurant in San Juan City and got featured In Korean Barbecue Collection 2016 via Zomato. This buffet restaurant is one of the cheapest all-you-can-eat restaurants where you can feast on Korean foods like Korean barbecue and Bulgogi.

How Much: Php339- weekday (lunch) Php379-weekend (lunch) Php365- daily (dinner) Location: 17 J. Abad Santos Drive, Little Baguio, San Juan City Contact no.: (02) 2469069 ext:917 Operating hours: Daily from 11:30am-2:30pm and 6:00pm-10:00pm

Kimchi

Ye Dang Korean BBQ Restaurant

If you’re looking for authentic Korean restaurant, Yedang should be your go to place. You’ll know this is the real thing by looking at its loyal visitors who are mostly Korean. It just shows that the food they’re serving at Yedang has the taste of home to these patrons. Do try their extensive barbecue menu but don’t forget their precious Bibimbab.

How Much: Around Php1,200.00-1,400.00 for 2-4 persons. Location: 88, Meralco Commercial Complex, 88 Meralco Avenue Corner Julia Vargas, Ugong, Pasig City, 1604 Metro Manila Contact number.: (02) 636 1461 Operating hours: Daily from 10:30am- 11:00pm

Korean-style fried chicken

Sambo Kojin

Sambo Kojin is a Japanese fusion and Korean barbecue restaurant often found in malls and offer a wide array of buffet foods like Sandubu Chige (spicy soft tofu), Chapchae, Kimchi Pancake (Dalgjin) and hotpot. It’s advisable to book a table to avoid the long cue.

How Much: Children from 4- 4’6? Php380 3 – Below 4 ft. Php330 Below 3 ft. free Php688- Mon to Fri (lunch) Php838- Mon-Thurs (dinner) Php888- Fri (dinner) Php888- Weekends, Holidays (lunch and dinner) Location: 15 West Ave, Quezon City, 1104 Metro Manila, SM Megamall, Eastwood, SM Southmall, SM Fairview Contact number.: (02) 9212973 Operating hours: Mon- Fri from 11:30am-2:00pm and 6:00pm-10:00pm Sat-Sun from 11am-2pm and 5:30-10:00pm

Don Day Fresh Korean BBQ

Another reasonably priced Korean buffet restaurant is Don Day Fresh where you can delight in as much as you can grill pork and beef. They have sides like kimchi and soups included in their menu. The restaurant is also big enough to accommodate groups of people.

How Much: Php399- Unlimited Pork Barbecue (lunch) Php499- Unlimited Pork and Beef (weekdays) Location: Sunshine Boulevard Plaza Quezon Avenue Corner Scout Santiago Street, South Triangle Quezon City and 75 Kalayaan Avenue Diliman Quezon City Telephone no.: (02) 7097500 Operating hours: Daily from 11:00am-2:30pm and 5pm-10pm

Bibimbap at Korea Garden Restaurant photo via FB Page

Korea Garden Restaurant

Tucked in a rather unassuming part of Makati is this gem where Korean dreams are made of. The interiors are well-maintained though they don’t have a tabletop grill like typical Korean Restaurants do. Their menu includes Spring Onion Cakes, Kimbop and Bogumbop and many more authentic Korean dishes.

How Much: At least Php1,200.00 for 2 persons Location: 128 Jupiter Street, Bel-Air, Makati City Telephone number.: (02)8955443, (02)8964361 Operating hours: Daily from 11:30-10:00pm

Buljib Samgyupsal at Samgyupsalamat

Samgyupsalamat

The name of the restaurant translates to “Pork Belly Thank You” coming from Korean term, samgyupsal which means pork belly and salamat, Filipino term which means thank you in English. The atmosphere of the restaurant isn’t your typical Korean but their menu says otherwise. They offer buffet menu as wells as Korean noodle dishes and sides.

How Much: Php399- Unlimited Pork (lunch) Php449- Unlimited Pork and Beef (lunch) Php449- Unlimited Pork (dinner) Php499- Unlimited Pork and Beef (dinner) Location: 4 Captain Ticong, Malate, Manila, Metro Manila Contact no.: (02)484 3084 Operating hours: Mon from 11:30am-2:00pm Tues-Sat from 11:30am-12:00am Sun from 12:00pm-11:00pm

Hwaroro Korean Grill Restaurant

HwaRoRo is the perfect Korean restaurant to go to if you’re more of a night person since their Kalayaan branch is open until late hours. If the other restaurants played it simple in terms of decorations and motif, HwaRoRo is quite extravagant with their design even having a photo area which features the picture of Gyeongbokgung Palace as a backdrop.

They also have different photo displays of celebrities who have visited the place. You can either dine ala carte or feast on their buffet.

How Much: Around Php800.00 for two persons Location: Kalayaan Plaza, 89 Kalayaan Avenue, Diliman, Quezon City Telephone number.: (02) 435 7447 Ext 5007004 Operating hours: Daily from 11:00am-12:00am

Bibimbap

Soga Miga

If you love Samgyeopsal, you must head to Soga Miga because they serve one of the tastiest versions of the dish. The quality of their food is superb and the only downside is the limited serving. It’s a family-owned restaurant hence the way they designed the place with tables attached to each other much how family would gather together.

How Much: Around Php1,200.00 for 2 persons Location: Molito Complex, Madrigal Ave. cor. Alabang-Zapote Rd. Contact no.: 807-3008 Operating hours: Daily from 11:00am-11:00pm

Korean BBQ photo via Yoree FB Page

Yoree

Yoree is owned by Amado Group Corporation. This restaurant shows their love for their loyal customers by using smokeless grill which makes sure that the overall dining experience is unforgettable. They have set meals and ala carte meals.

How Much: Around Php1,500.00 for 2 persons Location: The Forum, 7th Avenue Corner Federacion Drive, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City Contact no.: (02)8660432/+63 9294660032 Operating hours: Daily from 11:00am-3:00pm and 5:30pm-10:00pm

The Best Korean Restaurants In Metro Manila

*Food Prices may change without prior notice.

We will constantly update this list, please recommend your favorite Korean Restaurant in the Metro by posting comments below.

See Also:

Beating the Summer Heat: 6 Affordable Beach Trips near Metro Manila

For Your Purrfect Weekend: List of Cat Cafes in Metro Manila

Weekend Getaways: Long Weekend Holiday destinations Near Metro Manila

The Best Korean Restaurants In The Metro Melo Villareal

0 notes

topinforma · 7 years

Text

New Post has been published on Mortgage News

New Post has been published on http://bit.ly/2psmTwU

If you’re 50 or older, your health insurance may get more expensive.

President Trump promised an overhaul of the Affordable Care Act. (Evan Vucci/AP)

Many seniors won’t fare well under the American Health Care Act, which passed the House last week.

I’m not trying to scare you, but the GOP’s effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as Obamacare, may mean the amount you need to save for retirement just got higher.

“Americans face two big problems as they get older: a shortage of retirement savings and the skyrocketing cost of health care,” wrote Ben Steverman for Bloomberg in “Washington is making it tougher to retire.”

There are some winners under AHCA. Healthy and wealthy individuals win. Young adults and upper middle-income folks without any preexisting conditions also benefit.

Here’s who will lose: • Seniors who rely on Medicaid. A change in how the program is funded, which will cap Medicaid outlays, could leave a lot of poor elderly folks without health care.

“A state like Florida, which has a large senior population, could see costs rise fast as its population ages with time,” reports Dylan Matthews for Vox. “But a per capita cap wouldn’t keep up with that. To get around that, the state might be motivated to kick off older seniors and focus enrollment on younger ones.” For more details read: “These are all the people the Republican health care bill will hurt”

• In most states, older Americans will pay more. “Insurance companies could charge a 64-year-old customer five times the price charged to an 18-year-old one, to cite the most extreme example,” Margot Sanger-Katz reports in the New York Times. “The changes in the subsidy formula would also require older middle-class Americans to pay a much larger share of their health insurance bill. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that far fewer older Americans would have insurance coverage under this bill than under the Affordable Care Act.”

• Got a preexisting condition? You lose. Before there was Obamacare, insurance companies routinely refused coverage for people with preexisting conditions such diabetes, arthritis or heart disease. Or, if people could get coverage, they were charged high premiums, copays and deductibles.

“Companies argued it was the only way to prevent people from waiting to buy insurance until they were already sick,” wrote Maggie Fox for NBC News. “Some supporters of the AHCA say it’s about personal responsibility. After all, why should all the customers of a health insurance plan pay for people who wait until they are sick or injured to buy coverage? But medical groups from the American Medical Association to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) say health insurers often made up their own definitions of preexisting conditions. And they often denied coverage to people born with such conditions, or who developed them in childhood.”

Before Obamacare, insurers could charge patients with preexisting conditions more, or even refuse to cover them. The new Republican health-care plan will let them do it again. (Daron Taylor/The Washington Post)

Read this from NBC News: ““U.S. House passes health care bill that would allow states to deny coverage for preexisting conditions”

“AARP is deeply disappointed in today’s vote by the House to pass this deeply flawed health bill,” AARP’s Executive Vice President Nancy LeaMond said in a release. “The bill will put an Age Tax on us as we age, harming millions of American families with health insurance, forcing many to lose coverage or pay thousands of dollars more for health care. In addition, the bill now puts at risk the 25 million older adults with preexisting conditions, such as cancer and diabetes, who would likely find health care unaffordable or unavailable to them.”

Don’t rely on political rhetoric. Read the following stories: • 50 health issues that count as a preexisting condition Rolling back protections for people with preexisting conditions could increase health-care costs for an estimated 130 million Americans, reported Alicia Adamczyk for Money.

• How the American Health Care Act leaves near-elderly people behind “Proportionally, the group of people that would see the most coverage losses under the AHCA is the population of people aged 50 and older,” a report in The Atlantic by Vann R. Newkirk II said. “Although they’re more likely to have coverage in the first place, owing to more stable employment and a higher likelihood of public-insurance coverage, estimates show the uninsured rate of people over 50 would skyrocket from around 13 percent currently to just under 30 percent by 2026.”

This still isn’t a done deal. The House measure now goes to the Senate. “There are many other problems with this bill from both a liberal and conservative perspective,” wrote Jake Novak for CNBC. “It simply does not fix the growing problems with Obamacare and actually makes them worse by increasing its fiscal liabilities.”

By the way, if you have health insurance and think all this reworking of Obamacare isn’t your problem, think again.

Read this analysis from Salon: “The American Health Care Act will affect you, even if you’re insured through your employer”

I’d like to hear from you. What are your thoughts about the GOP’s answer to Obamacare? Are you worried your health-care costs will rise? Send your comments to [email protected].

Retirement Rants & Raves In this feature your voice matters. This is a space in which you can rave or rant about anything related to retirement. So what’s on your mine about your retirement or your planning for retirement (I would especially love to hear from young adults)?

Send your comments to [email protected]. Please include your name, city and state. In the subject line put “Retirement Rants & Raves.”

Last week’s question: Should you pay off your mortgage before you retire? Lots of you had an opinion about retiring mortgage-free.

Daniel, 62, of Saint Paul, Minn., wrote, “We used retirement funds to pay off our mortgage just before the end of the year.”

But before this couple paid off their mortgage they created a pro and con list. Here’s some of what they realized.

Con: “This decision took a lot of money out of a pretax savings/investment account.”

Pros: “Paying off the mortgage lets me invest in after-tax investments, which further diversifies our portfolio and starts to generate an income stream from our savings. That income will be reinvested until I retire but will provide a nice boost to retirement income when the time comes as well as a pool of money for emergencies. The increased cash flow allows us to pay for things with cash and not worry about financing anything.”

Here’s a good analysis of the pros and cons of keeping a mortgage into retirement from Bankrate.com: Keep the mortgage or pay off the house?

“I was raised by Depression-era parents who pounded into us that debt was bad,” wrote Brian Flanagan of Guilford, Conn. “When I bought my home, I started off with a 30-year mortgage. When things started going crazy in the mortgage market, I refinanced twice. The first time I refinanced into a 15-year mortgage, the second time into a 10-year mortgage. Then I paid that one off early. I retired at 61 after working 38 years for that really rare private-sector company that had a pension, a 401(k) and early retirement medical benefits that will take me to Medicare. I thank God that I didn’t listen to the conventional wisdom of the eighties and nineties about the way to make it was to job hop, and to buy all the house you could afford.”

Read this: The Benefits of Mortgage Repayment

Don DeArmon of Frederick, Md., wrote, “As for the ‘psychology’ of having a paid-off mortgage or being ‘debt-free’ as one approaches retirement: We will still have a big mortgage, but it is far outmatched by what the house will be worth upon sale. Some people want to remain in the same houses they raised their children in. Okay, but realize that represents a major financial and lifestyle choice. We intend to downsize and travel.”

“From years of listening to you I strived to work toward paying off my mortgage before retirement,” one reader, who asked to remain anonymous, wrote. “It’s liberating and freedom! Thanks coach!”

More on the issue from a previous column: Is that tax break worth it?

Live chat this week Join me on Thurs. May 11 at noon (ET) for a live discussion with Erin Currier, director of financial security and mobility for The Pew Charitable Trusts. The project conducts original research to assess differences in family balance sheets across diverse U.S. households and the degree to which Americans’ short-term economic security relates to their longer-term economic mobility.

Currier will be discussing recent reports by Pew on income volatility and financial shocks. .

Send your questions: Join Michelle Singletary on Thursday at noon for a weekly financial chat

Newsletter comments policy Please note it is my personal policy to identify readers who respond to questions I ask in my newsletters. I find it encourages thoughtful and civil conversation. I want my newsletters to be a safe place to express your opinion. On sensitive matters or upon request, I’m happy to include just your first name and/or last initial. But I prefer not to post anonymous comments (I do make exceptions when I’m asking questions that might reveal sensitive information or cause conflict.)

Have a question about your finances? Michelle Singletary has a weekly live chat every Thursday at noon where she discusses financial dilemmas with readers. You can also write to Michelle directly by sending an email to [email protected]. Personal responses may not be possible, and comments or questions may be used in a future column, with the writer’s name, unless otherwise requested. To read more Color of Money columns, go here.

0 notes

liliannorman · 4 years

Text

Busy beavers may be speeding thaw of Arctic permafrost

Explainer: CO2 and other greenhouse gases

The team reported its findings in Environmental Research Letters on June 30.

These aerial photos show part of an area Benjamin Jones and his team studied. Arrows mark spots where beavers built dams or lodges.Jones et al./Environmental Research Letters, 2020 (CC BY 4.0)

Beaver-friendly sites

A beaver looks out over a range of rocks and ice in Alaska. FatCamera/iStock/Getty Images Plus

Dams make a difference

Indeed, the beavers’ activity in Alaska could cause lasting harm.

Busy beavers may be speeding thaw of Arctic permafrost published first on https://triviaqaweb.tumblr.com/

0 notes

its-veso · 7 years

Text

NZD: Trading RBNZ - Views From 10 Major Banks

Nomura: RBNZ On Hold; Risk On NZD Pullback.

The 9 February Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) meeting poses a short-term event risk for NZD. New Zealand’s economic fundamentals, higher commodity prices and positive global sentiment have supported NZD in early 2017. We expect this to remain the case over the medium term, but in the short term we see risk of a NZD pullback given the skew in market positioning, if the RBNZ leans against the current market pricing for the start of the tightening cycle. This is currently for late 2017, but we do not expect the first RBNZ rate hike until 2018.

UniCredit: RBNZ On Hold; Staying Flat On NZD For Now.

The RBNZ is set to follow the RBA and leave the OCR unchanged at 1.75%. Importantly, the latest labor data in New Zealand show that wage pressures remain subdued: in 4Q16 the unemployment rate unexpectedly rose to 5.2% against an expected fall to 4.8% (due to the participation rate rising to a record 70.5%). Coupled with the underutilization rate up to 12.8% from 12.2% previously, this suggests that wage growth in New Zealand will be able to be further absorbed without raising pressure on the RBNZ to start tightening soon. Indeed, the current forward curve also reflects only one 25bp rate hike on a 12M horizon and one full point on a 2Y time line, implying that the prospect of rate hikes by the RBNZ seems to be more a story of 2018 than of this year. That said, we think that prospects of higher commodity prices could further keep the NZD (and the rest of commodity FX) on a firm footing. The risk in the short term, however, is deterioration in risk appetite due to some flaring up of political concerns about France. This needs close monitoring as it would weigh on high-beta currencies such as the NZD. For now we would advise keeping exposure flat.

Deutsche Bank: Neutral Stance From RBNZ.

The RBNZ has good reasons to be sanguine ahead of today’s meeting. Inflation accelerated faster in Q4 than they forecast and early indicators suggest that headline inflation in Q1 could also beat. Moreover, inflation expectations have bounced back close to 2%. Still, the RBNZ will be cautious not to jinx it by shifting to a hawkish bias unnecessarily early, with the TWI already trading 5% above the November forecast. Specifically, it is unlikely for the OCR path in the MPS to be lifted materially. All things considered, a neutral stance seems appropriate for now and would come as no surprise to the market.

Credit Agricole: No Change From RBNZ. Limited Impact On NZD.

The RBNZ will decide on monetary policy this evening. In line with market expectations we expect the RBNZ to leave interest rates unchanged at 1.75%. Still, the central bank may be inclined to adjust its rate profile higher, especially when considering that growth proved more resilient on the back of higher dairy prices and strong tourism, migration and construction activity. If anything the latest development may suggest that slack is likely to be used up more quickly than assumed by the RBNZ. Inflation is now back near at the centre of the central bank’s target band and according to this week’s data inflation expectations continued to rise. The one thing in the RBNZ’s favour, in terms of limiting its impact on the currency, is that that rates market already anticipates the RBNZ raising rates once this year. As such any currency impact on the back of a more upbeat guidance is likely to prove limited.

ANZ: RBNZ To Remain In A Holding Pattern; Mixed Directional Signals For NZD.

Directional signals for the NZD remain mixed as conflicting global forces (reflation and prospects for a turn in the liquidity cycle) weigh, and the USD oscillates. The localised story remains very NZD-supportive and needs to be acknowledged. That said, we consider the interest rate market (and NZD) to be a little too aggressive in erring towards an OCR hike (with ~18bps priced in by September). We expect the RBNZ to remain in a holding pattern until the first half of 2018. Given two false starts to the tightening cycle, having inflation near its 2% target and merely projected to get there is insufficient; the whitesof-the-eyes of inflation need to turn up. Moreover, interest rates have already started to rise via the credit channel of monetary policy, which takes pressure off the RBNZ to follow suit. Tighter financial conditions flag a potential turn in New Zealand’s economic credentials.

BTMU: Scope For RBNZ To Disappoint This Week.

The RBNZ will likely maintain its current monetary stance and with the market yield curve priced for about 40bps of hikes by year-end, we see scope for disappointment that could see the New Zealand dollar reverse some of its recent gains. While the RBNZ’s concerns over too low inflation are now probably receding, we doubt they will rush to raise rates given the risks of a NZD overshoot

NAB: RBNZ Sight Easing Bias To Disappear This Week; AUD/NZD Range-Bound N-Term.

The higher inflation dynamic forms the backdrop to the RBNZ’s next Policy Statement on 9 February. The slight easing bias from November will surely disappear. The key question is whether the Bank is willing at this stage to move straight to a tightening bias. The market prices in a full hike by November and two more next year. This is at odds with the RBNZ’s November projection of a flat OCR profile for the next three years. The RBNZ could well be the next major central bank off the block in beginning a tightening cycle. The Fed’s tightening cycle is underway of course, but it doesn’t seem likely that the RBA, BoE, ECB or BoJ will be tightening policy ahead of the RBNZ. This view is consistent with the relative economic outlooks across the respective central bank domains. It’s another way of saying that NZ’s economic growth, relative to potential, remains on a relatively stronger footing than most other regions, a supportive factor for the NZD crosses. AUD/NZD has been range-bound, mainly within 1.0250- 1.0800 since mid-May. For some time we’ve maintained the view that the cross would remain range-bound and that remains the case for 2017. The 1.05 level is consistent with our medium-term model which puts emphasis on relative NZ-AU unemployment rates.

Wesptac: RBNZ On Hold, NZD/USD To Rise 0.25 cent On Outcome.

We expect the RBNZ to remain on hold at 1.75% at Thursday’s MPS, and to retain a neutral bias, which shouldn’t ruffle markets much. There’s a small risk of a hawkish shift. Our central scenario is defined by a broadly unchanged policy stance, although the OCR track would round up to 1.8% for the three years ahead instead of remaining rounded down to 1.7%. This outcome, which we give an 70% probability, would represent only a modest shift in a hawkish direction and thus elicit only a modest response from markets (2yr yield up 3bp, NZD/USD up 0.25 cent).

Barclays: RBNZ On Hold.

On RBNZ, with rising US rates and modest pace of inflation, we expect the bank to keep rates on hold (Thursday).

RBC: NZD To Feature At this RBNZ mmeeting; Look For Some Pullback.

NZD: The strength of the currency is likely to feature at this RBNZ meeting (Thur). Though trade-weighted NZD has pulled back a little from the late Jan high, it remains ~4% above the RBNZ’s forecast for the current quarter. Central bank jawboning on the currency is most effective when there are hikes to price out in the forward curve and OIS markets are priced for a ~40% chance of a hike by the September meeting. Coupled with the tendency for NZD to reverse direction in Feb/March, we look for NZD to retrace some of its early 2017 gains.

The article is published by one of the foremost sources of Forex trading information. Link to the original article above.

from eFXNews http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Efxnews/~3/7pRDcxajfT0/nzd-trading-rbnz-views-10-major-banks

#eFXNews NZD: Trading RBNZ - Views From 10 Major Banks

0 notes