World's Largest Condom Maker Switches To Medical Gloves Amid Disappointing Prophylactic Sales

Hey, these new condoms fit like a glove!

Spending more time indoors under lockdowns, closures and other curbs might seem a natural catalyst for more sex -- and condom use -- but the world's biggest maker of the prophylactics says otherwise.https://t.co/2YfyBBZpxo

— Nikkei Asia (@NikkeiAsia) January 6, 2022

Of course we had been clued-in on Malaysian latex years ago by a Nikkei wholly-owned subsidiary, the Financial Times and more specifically by one Bryce Elder:

January 27, 2020
So, Did You Buy Your Malaysian Latex Glove Stocks Last Week?
This was the story we were going for when we got sidetracked with "Meanwhile at the Church of the Perpetually Offended".

Following up on January 22's "FT Alphaville's Bryce Elder Is a Genius: Pandemic Coronavirus Edition".
From FT Alphaville's Markets Not Live column, January 27:

....To the wider market, and Wuhan’s got us all in check. Nearly everything (except the Malaysian latex glove sector) is down after the advance of the coronavirus, or 2019-nCoV, failed to slow through an extended Chinese New Year. The outbreak has reached “a grave and complicated stage”, Beijing officials said at a presser on Sunday. Most worryingly the virus appears to be contagious during the incubation period, when there are no visible symptoms, which means the Sars comparisons we’ve been using over the past few weeks may be optimistic.

As of midnight Monday, per Beijing data, there were 2,744 cases confirmed with the total approximately doubling every two days over the past week. “If this speed continues, within just a few days the number of confirmed 2019-nCoV cases will exceed the peak of confirmed Sars cases in China and Hong Kong combined in 2003,” says Deutsche Bank, which has some graphs, because in times of fear and uncertainty analysts make graphs....MUCH MORE

And after the Jan. 22 heads-up we see:

• TOPGLOV:KLS price reached a new 52-week high of 5.47 at 09:00 GMTJanuary 23, 2020
• TOPGLOV:KLS trading volume exceeds daily average by +363.29%January 22, 2020
• TOPGLOV:KLS price reached a new 52-week high of 5.42 at 15:07 GMTJanuary 22, 2020
• TOPGLOV:KLS price moved over +6.07% to 5.42 January 22, 2020

Another new high today.
Is it any wonder our headline for Mr. E's January 8th return was: "FT Alphaville: Bryce Elder Is In Da House! Bryce Is In Da House!"

Bryce Elder, your source for all things Malaysian. Or latex. Or gloves.

Got that? Over seven weeks before the W.H.O. declared covid-19 a pandemic, Mr. Elder was on top of the action. Just amazing. And a bit scary.

You can find him here.