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Goldman Sachs has downgraded U.S. GDP forecasts and said a recession was on its way. The investment bank’s economic research team, led by Jan Hatzius, said economic activity would “contract sharply” for the rest of March and April as consumers and businesses cut back on spending. They expected a recovery after April, though that was uncertainty, but said their new forecasts “probably” met the criteria for a recession. They expected real GDP growth of 0% in the first quarter and a contraction of 5% in the second quarter. “This takes our 2020 GDP forecast down to +0.4%(from 1.2%). The uncertainty around all of these numbers is much greater than normal.” The team said the prospect of a recovery and strong growth in the second half were dependent on whether social distancing and warmer weather reduces the number of virus cases, how quickly reduced infections will bring a return to normality and how effective fiscal and monetary policy turns out to be. Goldman Sachs chief equity strategist David Kostin said, in a separate note, the S&P 500 could fall to as low as 2,000 points if the economic impact of the virus worsens but expected the index to reach 3,200 by the end of 2020.

Jack's not in the truck business, but he's a brilliant businessman and a heck of a nice guy.

Here's a new twist. Chinese billionaire Jack Ma (actually a good guy), via his Jack Ma Foundation and Alibaba Foundation, is donating 500,000 Coronavirus testing kits and one million surgical masks to the United States. He has already donated supplies to other countries including Japan, South Korea, Italy, Iran and Spain, with two million protective masks destined for distribution across Europe. The first consignment of 500,000 masks and other medical supplies such as test kits (pictured below), which was destined for Italy, arrived in Belgium on Friday. .

Fed Slashes Interest Rates to ZERO LinkedIn / March 15, 2020 The Federal Reserve cut interest rates to zero Sunday, saying "the coronavirus outbreak has harmed communities and disrupted economic activity." In addition, it is introducing a $700 billion program to shield the U.S. economy from the impact of COVID-19. It's the "largest single day set of moves" the Fed has ever taken. The low interest rates, which aim to make borrowing cheap for Americans and businesses in crisis, will likely remain until the economy recovers from the coronavirus downturn. Futures trading on Sunday pointed to an impending stock-market decline on Monday. The Fed's board of governors, who had been set to meet this Wednesday, were widely expected to cut rates to zero at that meeting, after they cut rates to a half a percentage point in another emergency cut on March 3. Sunday's latest emergency action suggests the Fed was concerned that waiting even three more days could be too late to prop up the economy. The Fed will no longer meet later this week. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MarketWatch / March 15, 2020 The Federal Reserve on Sunday threw in the proverbial kitchen sink to lessen the expected blow to the U.S. economy from the coronavirus. In a rare Sunday decision that comes three days before a scheduled formal meeting, the central bank slashed its benchmark interest rate to zero and implemented a bond-buying program, known as quantitative easing (QE), of at least $700 billion. “The virus presents significant economic challenges,” said Fed Chairman Jerome Powell. “Measures to stem the spread of the illness will have a significant effect on economic activity in the near term,” he added. Powell acknowledge the Fed can’t help businesses or workers who are hurt by the broad shutdown of normal day-to-day activity. That is the role for Congress and the administration, he said. The Fed’s job is to make sure financial markets are not dysfunctional and credit is flowing, he said. Powell said the economy would be weak in the April-June quarter, with a likely decline in output. What happens after that depends on developments with the pandemic, he said. The Fed cut its key benchmark rates by 100 basis points to a range of zero to 0.25%. That’s the “zero lower bound” for rates. Powell repeated that the central bank doesn’t intend to push the benchmark rate into negative territory, as some foreign central banks have. The vote to slash rates was not unanimous. Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester dissented, saying she preferred a half-point cut. The new round of QE will consist of open-ended purchases of $500 billion of Treasury securities and $200 billion of agency mortgage-backed securities. Powell said the asset purchases were designed to restore smooth Treasury market functioning so credit could flow to households and businesses. Some of the crises-era bond-buying programs were controversial with lawmakers. Powell used stark language to defend the new QE. The Treasury bond market is the foundation of the U.S. financial system, and the mortgage-backed securities market is closely aligned with that. “If they don’t function well, that will spread, Powell said. In a sign of a dovish stance, the Fed stressed rates would stay near zero for a long time. Specifically, the Fed said it expected to keep rates near zero “until it is confident the economy has weathered recent events and is on track to achieve its maximum employment and price stability goals.” That means rates will stay low as the Fed expects inflation to hit 2%. That has only happened a few times since the 2008 financial crisis and never for a sustained period. The Fed is “willing to be patient,” Powell said. Dow futures sank after the announcement Sunday. The Fed said it was willing “to use its full range of tools” to support the flow of credit in the markets, again pledging to do whatever it takes to keep short-term lending markets liquid. The Fed lowered the rate charged to banks for short-term emergency loans from its discount window to 0.25% from 1.75%, and eliminated reserve requirements for banks and said it would urge banks to tap their liquidity and capital buffers to lend to clients. To help foreign firms and banks who need dollars , the Fed activated dollar swap plans with the Bank of Canada, the Bank of England, the Bank of Japan, the European Central Bank and the Swiss National Bank. Powell stressed that he didn’t think the Fed was out of tools after today’s actions. He said Sunday’s decision was in lieu of a the meeting set for Tuesday and Wednesday. The Fed won’t release a “dot plot” showing the expected path of interest rates over the next few years or an economic forecast until June, he said

Some years later, Scania had reached another technical cross-roads: how would they fit in the new injection technology that was required for the engine to comply with the new Euro 3 emissions legislation? To solve the challenge, Scania’s engineers started the development of a completely new engine set-up: a V8 with a narrower, 72-degree angle. Around 12 prototypes were built, of which a couple still exist in less-visited corners of Scania’s R&D department. But it was at this point that a certain senior engineer stepped in: Bengt Gadefelt. “He warned that the 72-degree engine would have a very complex layout, especially the crankshaft. Finally, with another injection solution chosen, we chose to develop a totally new 90-degree 16-litre engine instead,” recalls Håkan Fransson, a retired former Scania Chief Engineer. Pictured - One of the prototypes of a 72-degree angle V8 that was developed to succeed the original 14-litre V8. It stayed a prototype and was never used. .

Scania Group Press Release / March 11, 2020 Polish Elmex Logistics Group recently took delivery of the first ten of 20 liquefied gas Scania R 410 trucks. Elmex operates a fleet of more than 200 vehicles in providing transport services throughout Europe. The network of liquefied filling stations in Europa is rapidly expanding and currently numbers around 250, of which five in Poland. .

Scania Group Press Release / March 13, 2020 This historical film tells the story of why Scania developed the first Scania V8 engine, the DS14, in the 1960s. When the Swedish authorities raised the speed limit and maximum gross weight permitted for heavy trucks, it created the need for a new, more powerful engine. Scania's engineers met that need with the now-legendary 350 horsepower V8 engine. More than half a century later, the Scania V8 remains a powerful tool for the most demanding transport operations. This is where that legend began. Learn more about the development of the first Scania V8: http://bit.ly/ScaniaV8History .

Scania Group Press Release / March 10, 2020 Today, the tenth of March, is International V8 Day, a time for the V8 engine to be celebrated around the world. And the perfect day to make a visit to Charles Russell Transport in Cheltenham in the South West of England. Charles Russell Transport is where the past, present and future come together. Besides a fleet of 35 Scania trucks (of which 20 are V8s) that handle today’s tough transportation tasks, it keeps a unique collection of vintage V8s. And both the company and its exhibition space are going for growth. On entering the gates of Charles Russell Transport’s premises in Cheltenham in the South West of England, you might be fooled into thinking you were on a farm. Yet the picturesque rural setting of this haulage business is home to an amazing collection of Scania V8s: an exhibition featuring every model ever produced, all presented in an increasingly crowded space. The latest addition to the company’s “Scania V8 museum” is a 1986 R142, which has been stripped down to component level. Now waiting to have its cab installed, it is then due to be refurbished and repainted to get it back into pristine condition, just like all the other trucks in the collection. Classic truck enthusiast and founder of the company Charles Russell has his own personal favourite: the 1972 140 Super. “That’s because of the iconic status of the model,” he says. Restoring vintage vehicles Having now taken a step back from the day-to-day operations of the business he founded in 1969, Russell still takes great pleasure in lovingly restoring his vintage vehicles, and spends as much time as possible on each project himself. Ever the businessman though, he always tries to minimize the cost of refurbishment. For his latest R142 project, he bought a similar V8 for parts and sold on the cab for more than he had spent on the entire vehicle. “I display my vehicles at classic-truck shows, and even I display some on behalf of Scania in Great Britain,” he says. Russell’s interest in collecting all things V8 and Scania started in a modest way in the 1980s with a series of posters and memorabilia. But it was without doubt his love of the engine that sparked his passion: “In my opinion, the Scania V8 is the best diesel engine ever produced.” Classic Scania V8 collection Rather like the business itself, his V8 collection is starting to outgrow the company’s current premises, so they are investing heavily to support expansion for the next generation. One reason that the company has survived and thrived is the fact that it takes a specialist approach to haulage. The handling of industrial machinery accounts for 80 per cent of the business, while the rest involves abnormal and interesting loads including large sculptures, boats and aircraft. Coming from a farming background, Russell started out transporting livestock to local markets. As the business grew, he moved into transporting industrial machinery, which is when he acquired his first crane truck so he could load and unload on site at customers’ factories. As this side of the business grew, in 1980 Russell started transporting industrial machinery to various parts of Europe. “Then I decided to offer customers an additional service: installing their machinery. That way, with our complete package, they’d only have one company to deal with.” One-stop shop for transport and installation The concept of a one-stop shop has since become the bedrock of the business. Customers’ requirements are assessed, and the manpower and equipment needed are organised so that all the work can be carried out without the help of any subcontractors. Assignments might involve anything from the transportation and installation of a single machine to the relocation of a complete factory. Russell’s son Ben, who works as Operations Director, says: “We operate a tailor-made IT system that is designed for abnormal loads and machinery. Customer demands have increased and timescales have shortened so we have to respond rapidly.” Indeed, the company carries out 20 to 30 jobs a day, and ensuring that the trucks are fully loaded as much of the time as possible is key. Quality customer care Customer care is a strong feature of the business. When tendering for his first major customer (one he has retained until the present day), Russell said, “If we don’t get it right, you don’t need to pay us.” The customer has never had any cause for complaint. Quality customer care is something that Charles Russell Transport has in common with Scania, which makes them a good fit. Russell bought his first Scania 141 for the company in 1983. “I kept it for three years and sold it for more money than it cost,” he says. “As a young businessman I thought that was a great deal. That day, I became converted to Scania for the reliability, the day-to-day running costs and the residual value of their trucks.” Runs a fleet of 35 Scania trucks Today, the company runs a fleet of 35 Scania trucks, 20 of which are V8s, with the new generation of vehicles due to be delivered in 2019. Along with their acquisition of new vehicles, Charles Russell Transport provides workforce training in the new technologies and features that the new trucks have. The company also runs its own apprenticeship scheme to prepare the next generation to support the business. While transporting industrial machinery accounts for most of the company’s business, helping out in the art world is probably the most fun and most demanding of their activities. They work with some of the most prestigious names in the large-sculpture domain, though they are very discreet about their clientele. Charles Russell Transport has been involved in installing works in locations as diverse as New York, Hong Kong, Mexico and Paris. Monumental sculptures to Doha One of the company’s most challenging art projects to date was transporting a series of monumental bronze sculptures from a foundry in the UK to Doha in Qatar. In total the sculptures weighed more than 200 tonnes, each one weighing up to 29 tonnes. They ranged in height from five to 15 metres, with a width of up to seven metres. During this three-year project, Charles Russell Transport’s full range of services were enlisted, including the instalment of the sculptures at the Sidra Medical and Research Centre in Doha. .

Renault Trucks Press Release / March 2, 2020 . . .

Volvo Group Press Release / March 11, 2020 . . . . . .

1. It is now said the virus dies out at 77 degrees Fahrenheit ( 25 degrees Celsius) 2. Keeping your throat wet advantageously passes it through your system (which might explain why your supermarket is sold out of beer). 3. The virus was banned from West Virginia, and as a result the US state has no cases (Virginia now regrets splitting apart). . .

https://www.westernstartrucks.com/Trucks/4800/

The 4800 looks like a professional vocational (construction) truck. The only negative is Daimler mistakenly doesn’t offer the Cummins X12 in it. The 4700, with all the gaudy and tacky plastic chrome trim, is based on the “el cheapo” 114SD platform. (If I’d wanted a Freightliner.......)

Ford Trucks International Press Release / March 13, 2020 Welcome to Ford Trucks Global ! https://www.fordtrucksglobal.com/ .

Europe is now the 'epicentre' of the coronavirus (aka. Covid-19) with more daily cases on the continent than China was suffering at the height of its outbreak, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said today. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus made the stark assessment today as he lamented the 'tragic milestone' of 5,000 global deaths from Covid-19. He added that Europe now has 'more reported virus cases and deaths than the rest of the world combined, apart from China'. .

CNBC / March 13, 2020 Oil prices jumped more than 5% in extended hours on Friday after President Donald Trump said the Department of Energy would purchase crude for the nation's strategic petroleum reserve (SPR). The move comes as U.S. energy companies, and shale producers in particular, have been battered by falling oil prices. On the week oil fell more than 24%, in its largest weekly decline since the financial crisis. "Based on the price of oil, I've also instructed the Secretary of Energy to purchase at a very good price large quantities of crude oil for storage in the U.S. strategic reserve," Trump said as he addressed the nation from the Rose Garden on Friday. "We're going to fill it right up to the top, saving the American taxpayer billions and billions of dollars, helping our oil industry [and furthering] that wonderful goal — which we've achieved, which nobody thought was possible — of energy independence." U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose $1.61, or 5.1%, to trade at $33.13 per barrel. International benchmark Brent crude was up $1.71, or 5.1%, to trade at $34.93 per barrel. As of March 6, the SPR held a total of 635 million barrels of crude oil. Its current storage capacity is 713.5 million barrels. That would leave a gap of 80 million barrels that the U.S. could fill. At today’s prices, that much crude would cost taxpayers about $2.6 billion. “It puts us in a position that’s very strong and we’re buying it at the right price,” Trump said. The U.S. established the SPR after the 1973-74 oil embargo to make sure the country had enough supplies if there was another threat to imports.

Dr. Marty Makary, a medical professor at Johns Hopkins University, says "we’re about to experience the worst public health epidemic since polio.” “Don’t believe the numbers when you see, even on our Johns Hopkins website, that 1,600 Americans have the virus,” he said. “No, that means 1,600 got the test, tested positive. There are probably 25 to 50 people who have the virus for every one person who is confirmed.” He added: “I think we have between 50,000 and half a million cases right now walking around in the United States.” “Our American hospitals have had very little room to take on increased capacity,” Makary said. “Most ICUs function at full capacity or near full capacity. We only have 100,000 ICU beds in the United States. We could see 200,000 new patients that need critical care up to 2 million.” “We’re watching what’s happening in Italy very closely,” Makary said. “China was not transparent. Iran was not transparent. But Italy has been extremely transparent, and what we’re seeing there is a hospital system that’s entirely overrun, even with the quarantine, which we have not done. So I think we need to prepare for the worst and hope for the best.” That means stopping nonessential activities and travel for as long as needed to contain the spread of the virus, he said, along with working from home. “We’ve got to abandon this idea that this virus is contained,” Makary said. “It is at large, and assume it’s on every door handle and on every car door and with every handshake.” https://finance.yahoo.com/news/marty-makary-on-coronavirus-in-the-us-183558545.html

I hope this virus goes away, as SARS did, when warmer summer weather arrives. And like SARS to date, does not return.

Speaking of "handling it properly"........ Why are US health officials working in secret on the Coronavirus, rather than openly for their employers – the American people? Since when is your health classified information? --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Government officials respond to Reuters report on secrecy of coronavirus discussions Reuters / March 13, 2020 WASHINGTON - The head of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention testified on Thursday on Capitol Hill that public health officials discussed coronavirus information in classified rooms on occasions “too numerous to count.” On Wednesday, Reuters reported that the White House ordered federal health officials at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to treat top-level coronavirus meetings as classified. The officials said that dozens of such discussions have been held since mid-January in a high-security meeting room at HHS, which oversees the CDC. The Reuters story focused on meetings at HHS that sources said were held in a SCIF (sensitive compartmented information facility). SCIFs are intended to be used for classified matters. The sources, who all spoke on condition of anonymity, said they could not describe the interactions in the SCIF because they were classified. But they said topics included the scope of the outbreaks, quarantine issues and travel restrictions.

Jack Roberts, Heavy Duty Trucking (HDT) / March 12, 2020 Daimler subsidiary Western Star has a new vocational truck coming soon. But you won’t be able to see the fully revealed vehicle until this summer. At the Conexpo-Con/Agg construction trade show in Las Vegas, Nevada, March 9-12, Western Star gave attendees a sneak-peek at the new truck, which it said draws upon Daimler Trucks’ global engineering resources for the new design. “When developing new products, we first evaluate what our customers need, and apply our vocationally focused design and development expertise together with our global technology and engineering resources to create a solution that will benefit our customers’ profitability,” said David Carson, senior vice president, vocational sales and marketing, Daimler Trucks North America. “We’re deeply committed to the vocational market and are looking forward to adding the toughest Western Star yet to our portfolio.” The new Western Star truck is part of parent company DTNA’s recently announced segment strategy to deepen its focus on segment-specific needs, Carson noted. The new structure strengthens DTNA’s customer- and application-focused commitment to vocational customers, he said, while the new truck leverages the global design and engineering resources of Daimler. In 2019, Western Star introduced an enhanced version of its best-selling truck model, the 4700, which includes updates such as a refreshed interior, more powertrain options, additional body-builder-friendly features, and new active safety features. Western Star recently built its 200,000th truck, and its newest truck will continue Western Star’s emphasis on productivity, driver comfort and safety, while retaining the distinctive styling of a Western Star truck, according to company officials. Video - https://www.westernstartrucks.com/TheNext/Default.aspx

I am not suggesting this news coming out today is the truth. I would only suggest that the full truth behind the virus is unknown to us. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A prominent Chinese official has promoted a conspiracy theory that the United States military could have brought the novel coronavirus to China -- and it did not originate in the city of Wuhan, as thought. Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian republished a video of Robert Redfield, the director for the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), addressing a US Congressional committee on March 11. In the clip, Redfield said some influenza deaths in the US were later identified as cases of Covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. Redfield didn't say when those people had died or over what time period, but Zhao pointed to his remarks in support of a growing conspiracy theory that the coronavirus did not originate in Hubei province in central China. "CDC was caught on the spot. When did patient zero begin in US? How many people are infected? What are the names of the hospitals? It might be US army who brought the epidemic to Wuhan. Be transparent! Make your data public! The US owes us an explanation!" the Foreign Ministry official said. Hundreds of athletes from the US military were in Wuhan for the Military World Games in October 2019. https://www.dvidshub.net/feature/2019MilGames .

Volvo has created the smartest VHD ever so as to meet your toughest demands, and yet nobody here seems to appreciate it.

The red truck appears to have a locally installed high roof, I assume installed in the UK. The blue one is a factory unit. I saw many FM's in Allentown on their way to Europe. American market F-model parts books showed the high sleeper in some of the common illustrations.

Factory-built. .