Puxin Reports Adj. Profit In Q2; Student Enrollments Up 18.1% – Quick Facts

Puxin Limited (NEW) reported second quarter adjusted net income per ADS of RMB 0.51 ($0.07), compared to a net loss per ADS of RMB 0.71, a year ago. Adjusted EBITDA was RMB 80.4 million ($11.4 million), compared to a negative adjusted EBITDA of RMB 25.8 million.

Second quarter net revenues decreased by 5.0% to RMB 601.1 million ($85.1 million) from last year. The company said this decrease was primarily due to the adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the demand for study-abroad tutoring services. Net revenues of K-12 tutoring services increased by 14.0% to RMB 419.7 million ($59.4 million).

Student enrollments increased by 18.1% year-on-year to 856,674 from 725,118.

HK raises concerns over China involvement in COVID-19 tests

Some fear cells collected from nasal and throat swabs for coronavirus testing can also be used to generate DNA profiles.

Hong Kong has been at the forefront of the coronavirus pandemic and is now joining the global race for a vaccine.

The city is also launching voluntary mass coronavirus testing next month to combat what is being seen as a third wave.

The government has enlisted the help of medical experts from mainland China, but, as Al Jazeera’s Divya Gopalan reports, not everyone supports the move.

Gold Edges Higher As Dollar Eases

Gold prices were a tad higher on Monday as the dollar eased on improved risk appetite, making bullion cheaper for holders of other currencies.

Spot gold rose half a percent to $1,950.37 per ounce, while U.S. gold futures were up 0.6 percent at $1,959.10 per ounce.

Hopes for a coronavirus treatment as well as signs of a thaw in U.S.-China tensions limited further gains in the safe-haven metal.

The dollar is moving lower as investors looked ahead to the U.S. Federal Reserve’s annual Jackson Hole meeting later in the week, where Chair Jerome Powell will talk on the Fed’s monetary policy framework review. It is expected that the U.S. central bank will reiterate its pledge for ultra-low rates.

Risk sentiment received a boost today after the U.S. FDA announced an emergency use authorization for the use of convalescent plasma in helping treat patients with Covid-19.

President Donald Trump hailed the FDA’s decision and claimed the treatment could reduce the mortality by 35 percent.

Investors also cheered a report in the Financial Times saying that the Trump administration is considering by-passing normal U.S. regulatory standards to fast-track an experimental coronavirus vaccine from the U.K. for use in America ahead of the nation’s upcoming presidential election.

Meanwhile, a Bloomberg report citing people familiar with the matter said that Trump’s team is privately seeking to reassure U.S. companies that they can still do business with the WeChat messaging app in China.

COVID-19 Cases Fall To Lowest Level In 2 Months

The coronavirus infection rate in the United States reached its lowest level in two months, and the numbers are going back to the below 40,000 mark.

With 34,567 new cases reporting in the last 24 hours, the total number of infections in the country rose to 5703725 as of Johns Hopkins University’s latest update Monday. This is less than half the number of infections reported a month ago.

The death rate also is comparatively low in the U.S.

With just 449 deaths reported in the last 24 hours, the total death toll in the U.S. reached 176809. There were days when more than 2000 deaths were reported in 24 hours in the country.

As U.S. colleges and universities are under pressure to begin in-person classes in the fall semester, some institutions have been forced to move to online instruction after reporting outbreaks in the campus.

Universities in at least 19 states have reported COVID-19 outbreaks, according to CNN. It reportedly includes the University Of Notre Dame and the University of Alabama.

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden said he would comply with experts’ recommendation to impose lockdown in the country if he were elected.

On Sunday, FDA issued an emergency use authorization for the use of convalescent plasma in patients who are hospitalized, to treat the deadly disease.

Globally, COVID death toll crossed 800,000. Confirmed cases increased to 23,454,467, as per Johns Hopkins.

Auto start-up Luminar to go public in $3.4 billion deal

(Reuters) – Autonomous vehicle start-up Luminar Technologies Inc said on Monday it would go public through a merger with blank-check firm Gores Metropoulos Inc for about $3.4 billion.

The deal includes $400 million of cash from Gores Metropoulos and $170 million financing into Luminar by investors including tech billionaire Peter Thiel and Volvo Cars Tech Fund.

Luminar makes lidar sensors and software for autonomous vehicles.

Germany COVID concerts: Experiment to study virus transmission

Restart-19 is studying the movement of people and flight of the tiny airborne particles that can carry viruses.

Scientists in Germany have held three pop concerts to study the risk of virus transmission during large events.

The mass experiment, staged with nearly 2,000 people in the city of Leipzig, comes at a time the country has banned all such gatherings until at least the end of October.

Al Jazeera’s Um-e-Kulsoom reports.

Auto start-up Luminar to go public in $3.4 billion deal

(Reuters) – Autonomous vehicle start-up Luminar Technologies Inc said on Monday it would go public through a merger with blank-check firm Gores Metropoulos Inc for about $3.4 billion.

The deal includes $400 million of cash from Gores Metropoulos and $170 million financing into Luminar by investors including tech billionaire Peter Thiel and Volvo Cars Tech Fund.

Luminar makes lidar sensors and software for autonomous vehicles.