Fed's Evans says will look for recovery dynamics in spring

Jan 4 (Reuters) – Chicago Federal Reserve President Charles Evans on Monday said he’d welcome a rise in 10-year Treasury yields if that is consistent with a rebound in economic activity, adding he would expect to have a better idea of the outlook in the months ahead.

“We are going to be looking in the spring, I think, as to what the recessionary dynamics might look like, from that point on – or, the recovery dynamics, let me put it that way,” Evans said at an annual meeting of the Allied Social Science Associations.

Herald morning quiz: January 5

Test your brains with the Herald’s morning quiz. Be sure to check back on nzherald.co.nz at 3pm for the afternoon quiz.

To challenge yourself with more quizzes, CLICK HERE.

How Do You Feel About the Semester to Come?

Teachers and students, staff and parents: how do you think the spring of 2021 will go? What are you worried about? What are you hopeful for? What will look different, you think, in the months to come?

We will feature some responses in an upcoming issue of the Coronavirus Schools Briefing. Subscribe here, and thanks.

How Do You Feel About the Spring Semester?

Teachers and staff, students and parents, we’d love to know how optimistic you feel about the next few months of learning.

Portrait PR Expands To Southeast, Opens Nashville Branch

EXCLUSIVE: Ashton Lunceford and Mia Hansen’s Portrait PR is expanding to the Southeast with the launch of a new branch in Nashville, TN.

The company, founded in 2016 by Lunceford and Hansen, will maintain its roster of clients and services in its offices in Los Angeles and New York City as it grows its business in the Southeast region. Existing clients include Sophia Lillis, Lance Reddick, Jake McDorman, Rudy Pankow, Scoot McNairy, Alanna Ubach and Eloise Mumford, among others.

Hansen began her personal PR career at Guttman Associates and had her own company Aquarius PR for ten years before deciding to work with other companies, including MLC PR. Lunceford began her career working with Hansen at Aquarius PR and then spent several years working at other agencies before deciding to reunite with Hansen.

“We are thrilled to be expanding our presence in Nashville and the entire Southeast,” said Lunceford and Hansen in a statement. “There is such a great energy in the city and a wide range of amazing talent and opportunities. With everything and everyone being so mobile these days, this addition to our LA and NYC coverage will really help us offer clients a well-rounded national support system. We have been working hard to adapt to all of the changes the pandemic has brought to media and feel that this is a great step forward.”

Read More About:

NBC Affiliate Agreements Renewed By Major Station Groups Nexstar, Tegna

Major TV station groups Nexstar and Tegna have renewed NBC affiliate agreements covering a combined 53 markets.

While Nexstar is the No. 1 owner of local TV stations in the U.S., Tegna is the largest NBC affiliate owner. The new agreements cover affiliates in 33 markets owned by Nexstar and its partners, as well as stations in 20 markets owned by Tegna.

The Tegna NBC affiliates cover 17% of U.S. viewers in nearly 21 million households, including 10 of the top 25 markets in terms of NBC ratings.

Nexstar COO and CFO Tom Carter called NBC programming “a great complement to the high-quality local news and exclusive content produced by our stations.” He added that the new affiliate deals “recognize the value of the network’s news, sports, and entertainment programming, and reflect the importance of our stations to NBC and to the viewers of the local communities we serve.”

Tegna CEO Dave Lougee said the multi-year pact “allows our stations to continue providing consumers and advertisers with premium network content.”

Read More About:

Covid hospital admissions reach record high as strain on NHS grows

Hospital admissions of people with coronavirus have reached a record high, NHS England figures showed on Monday.

A total of 3,145 admissions in England were reported for January 2, passing the previous peak of 3,099 set on April 1, 2020.

The number comprises all patients admitted in the previous 24 hours who were known to have Covid-19, plus any patients diagnosed in hospital with Covid-19 in the previous 24 hours.

This is a breaking story – more to follow.

Child critically hurt in water incident in Miranda

A child has been critically hurt in a water incident in Miranda.

Emergency services were called to the Miranda Holiday Park just after 8pm, police said.

St John paramedics treated one patient who police confirmed was a child.

A St John incident report said they were called to a “water incident”. However, police said it was possible a medical event had occurred.

A helicopter was also sent to the scene and the victim was taken to Starship Children’s Hospital in a critical condition, St John said.

Trump Georgia Call Preceded by Fresh Suit Over Election Results

President Donald Trump sued Brad Raffensperger a few days before the phone call in which he told the Georgia secretary of state to “find” votes for him that is now being scrutinized for potential wrongdoing.

In one of his final acts of 2020 Trump sued Raffensperger and Georgia Governor Brian Kemp in a last-ditch effort to force the state to “de-certify” its election result and allow its GOP-led legislature to declare the winner instead.

Trump’s New Year’s Eve suit filed in federal court in Atlanta rehashed conspiracy theories previously raised by his campaign and allies about rampant voter fraud in Georgia and accused the state of using improper rules for mail-in ballots. The president alleges Georgia allowed unqualified individuals, including felons and people who are underage, to register and vote. The president also claims Georgia accepted votes from dead people and violated state law by sending unsolicited absentee ballots to voters.

The suit complains that President-elect Joe Biden won the state by “only 11,779 votes” out of 5 million. That’s one less than the number of votes Trump told Raffensperger to “find” in the Jan. 2 call.