December, 2020

• 14 December

  Walmart adds freezers to prep for vaccine rollout

  Bloomberg Walmart Inc says it’s preparing its more than 5,000 pharmacies across the US to receive Covid-19 vaccine doses, including adding freezers and dry ice to handle any cold-storage demands. The preparations underway at Walmart and Sam’s Club pharmacies also include creating processes to tell customers when to get their first and second doses and entering agreements with states about ...

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• 14 December

  Costco tops profit expectations in Q1

  Bloomberg Costco Wholesale Corp topped Wall Street’s profit expectations during the first quarter amid continued high demand for food and supplies, even as the warehouse chain said pandemic-related costs remain elevated. Profit climbed to $2.62 a share in the period ended on November 22, the company said. Analysts had expected $2.06 on average, according to estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Costco ...

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• 14 December

  Top court spurns partisanship in denying Trump polls case

  

  Bloomberg In rejecting President Donald Trump’s call to overturn the US election outcome, the Supreme Court sent a message about its role in the American system of government: We do law here, not partisan politics. With a brief, the court effectively killed any chance that Trump and his allies would succeed in using baseless claims of widespread fraud to reverse ...

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• 14 December

  Brexit gets one more shot after UK PM’s call with EU

  

  Bloomberg UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen agreed to give talks on a post-Brexit trade deal one more shot after speaking by phone on Sunday, a sign that they may be able to salvage an accord after days of pessimism. In a joint statement issued following their conversation, they said that “despite the ...

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• 14 December

  California roars back with Biden’s ‘picks’

  

  Bloomberg After four years on the outs in Washington, California is roaring back. The Golden State, a favourite target of President Donald Trump, is regaining its stature as a source of policy ideas and personnel under President-elect Joe Biden. He’s recruited prominent Californians for key jobs in his administration such as Senator Kamala Harris as his vice president and Attorney ...

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• 14 December

  Merkel orders Germany into hard lockdown as Covid infections swell

  

  Bloomberg Germany will enter a hard lockdown from Wednesday, with non-essential stores shuttered, employers urged to close workplaces and school children encouraged to remain at home. The tighter restrictions — including a ban on gatherings over the New Year — will last until at least January 10 as a looser shutdown failed to halt a surge in daily coronavirus infections ...

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• 13 December

  EU sees vaccine approval

  Bloomberg European Council President Charles Michel expects the first Covid vaccines to be approved in the European Union “in the coming weeks, maybe even before the end of the year,” he said in a France Inter radio interview. The EU has decided to follow its regulatory process and “not to play” with approval, Michel said. Michel said the UK used ...

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• 13 December

  DBS to start members-only digital bourse for crypto assets

  

  Bloomberg DBS Group Holdings Ltd will set up a digital exchange for cryptocurrencies for firms and wealthy clients, while allowing fund raising via asset tokenisation on a platform run by the largest bank in Southeast Asia. The planned setup is in partnership with Singapore Exchange Ltd, which will hold 10% in the new bourse, the Singapore-based lender said in an ...

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• 13 December

  Barclays weighs shrinking office space to cut costs globally

  

  Bloomberg Barclays Plc is looking to reduce its real estate expenses in the UK, US and India as the shift to remote working adds fuel to its cost-cutting ambitions. The bank could announce changes early next year although the board has not taken a final decision on the extent and timing of any measures, people with knowledge of the matter ...

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• 13 December

  Treasury takes no action on Hong Kong banking sanctions

  

  Bloomberg The US Treasury Department said it hasn’t identified any banks or other financial institutions linked to a group of people sanctioned in October over China’s crackdown on Hong Kong. The decision, announced in a report required by Congress, is likely to come as a relief to major banks that had sought to unwind any connection to those sanctioned for ...

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