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Coronavirus tracker: switching to tracking fatalities

Coronavirus tracker: switching to tracking fatalities

The United States officially has the most coronavirus cases, with almost 86,000 confirmed at the latest count. Sadly, because deaths are mounting and testing rates vary so substantially from country to country, it's becoming more prudent to track fatalities, rather than confirmed cases.

This latest version of our tracker, inspired by the work of John Burn-Murdoch, tracks the fatalities of those countries most affected. As always it reveals some hopeful, and some worrying, trends about the spread of coronavirus.

The good news

1) Italy's death count has crossed 8000, but crucially the curve is flattening, showing the effects of almost 3 weeks of full lockdown. Iran's is also slowing.

2) Australia & Canada are a fair bit earlier in their infection cycle, and may be able to flatten their curve by implementing some best practice policies (testing, social distancing) a bit earlier than other countries.

The bad news

1) The US will probably win the race that no-one wants to win, by likely becoming the first country with 100,000 cases. Its fatality curve also appears to be steepening, not getting flatter. Deaths have increased from 200 to 1209 in just 1 week, equivalent to daily growth of 29%.

2) Many other countries on lockdown, including the UK where Prime Minister Boris Johnson tested positive for coronavirus, remain on trajectories similar to that of Italy and Iran.

3) Brazil has now recorded almost 100 fatalities, with president Jair Bolsonaro arguably taking the most anti-scientific line of any world leader, arguing that Brazilians "never catch anything".

Our advice? Same as ever, keep self-isolating, keep sticking to the advice of trusted professionals and epidemiologists.

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Starbucks issues apology after viral “Bearista” cup meltdown

Holiday cheer turned into chaos this week for Starbucks after the coffee giant’s new “Bearista” holiday cup sent fans into a frenzy. 

Dropped alongside its 2025 holiday menu, the $30 beanie-wearing glass bear tumbler sparked long lines, sellouts, and even in-store scuffles before Starbucks stepped in with an apology.

“The excitement for our merchandise exceeded even our biggest expectations,” the company said in a statement to People. “Despite shipping more Bearista cups to our coffeehouses than almost any other item this holiday season, the Bearista cup and some other items sold out fast.”

Within hours of launch, frustrated fans flooded Starbucks’ social media pages and even store hotlines. Some customers waited in line before dawn and others said their stores received only a handful of cups. In one Houston location, the craze even turned physical, with police reportedly called to break up a brawl. Meanwhile, the cup is already reselling on sites like eBay, with listings topping $600.

“We understand many customers were excited about the Bearista cup and apologize for the disappointment this may have caused,” Starbucks said. While in-store customers may be upset, investors seem happy about the viral hit, as the stock has risen over 3% on Friday.

If you’re still hoping for a Bearista at market price, that may not be on order: the chain didn’t disclose how many cups were made or whether a restock is planned.

business

Target tells workers to smile, wave, and greet shoppers if they come within 10 feet of them

Target just rolled out a new rule for store employees: smile, make eye contact, and greet or wave when a shopper comes within 10 feet — and if they get closer, within four feet, ask whether they need help or how their day is going, according to a new Bloomberg report.

Dubbed the 10-4 program internally, the rule mirrors rival Walmarts own 10-foot policy, formalizing behavior Target had previously only encouraged.

business

Monster surges on energy drink buzz, while Celsius sinks on distribution concerns

Shares of Monster Beverage climbed 5% after the bell on Thursday, and held most of those gains into early trading on Friday, following strong Q3 results.

The energy drink giant topped market expectations, with quarterly sales up 17% year over year to $2.2 billion and adjusted net profits growing 41% to $524.5 million — 11% ahead of Wall Street’s estimates. In the report, Monster highlighted its zero-sugar line and new product launches, with a stack of novel flavors already released this year, as bright spots.

During a call with analysts, Chief Executive Hilton Schlosberg said that the global energy drink category “remains healthy with robust growth,” The Wall Street Journal reported, adding that demand for more affordable caffeinated drinks is rising as coffee has become “really expensive.”

Meanwhile, rival beverage business Celsius saw shares fall as much as 23% on its Q3 results yesterday — despite beating expectations, with revenue jumping 173% — largely due to concerns about a change in the company’s distribution channel, as its newly acquired Alani Nu brand joins the PepsiCo distribution network.

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