November, 2020

• 10 November

  Trump is leaving office as he governed: Recklessly

  

  President Donald Trump’s petulant decision to fire Defense Secretary Mark Esper, via Twitter of course, was both shocking and predictable. It’s shocking that a president who just lost an election would fire a member of his cabinet at the start of what is supposed to be a peaceful transfer of power. Then again, that president is Trump and that defense ...

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• 10 November

  Case for a Covid vaccine lottery

  

  Hopes for a Covid-19 vaccine breakthrough by the holidays have never been higher, with Pfizer reporting that its vaccine prevented 90% of infections in trials. A vaccine should be available in early 2021 — or possibly earlier — if Pfizer and other strong candidates continuing large-scale clinical trials around the world receive an emergency use authorisation. The big question is ...

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• 10 November

  Apple must ask why good help is hard to find

  Apple Inc’s decision to suspend new business with a key supplier highlights just how hard it is for the world’s biggest tech company to find partners that are both reliable and do the right thing by their workers. The problem may be of its own making. Pegatron Corp won’t get any new contracts after the Taipei-based company was found to ...

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• 10 November

  Johnson has Joe Biden problem on Brexit now

  As Brexit trade talks enter a make-or-break final negotiating stretch, the impending changes in Washington can’t help but influence things. President-elect Joe Biden isn’t going to express a view over fishing quotas or the impasse on state subsidies. But his election increases the costs for Prime Minister Boris Johnson of a failure in the negotiations. A hard split won’t just ...

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• 10 November

  France ready to spend more amid surge in unemployment

  

  Bloomberg France is prepared to further ramp up spending to support any firm, from mom-and-pop shops to its national flag carrier, as rising unemployment and a resurgence of the Covid-19 pandemic cast a longer shadow over the economy. Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire pledged that if needed the state will pump more public money into Air France and expand funding ...

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• 10 November

  UK’s Land Securities sees $1.2bn wiped from property values

  

  Bloomberg Land Securities Group Plc slashed the value of its properties by 945 million pounds ($1.2 billion) as the coronavirus pandemic forces thousands of stores to close. The company, one of the UK’s largest real estate investment trusts, incurred most of the damage in retail assets that were written down by more than 20% outside London and about 17% in ...

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• 10 November

  US grapples with distribution over vaccine hope

  

  Bloomberg A Covid-19 vaccine from Pfizer Inc may be on the horizon, but the cost of distributing vaccines across all 50 states and who will pay for that operation remains a huge stumbling block. What is clear is that much of the financial burden and logistical challenge of getting a vaccine to people has fallen on the shoulders of state ...

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• 10 November

  Global stock rally tempers after virus vaccine euphoria

  

  Bloomberg The global rally in stocks paused on Tuesday while haven assets found support amid concern that a promising coronavirus vaccine study still has hurdles to clear. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fluctuated, with banks leading gains and tech stocks the biggest decliners, the day after news from Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE about their anti-viral treatment sent global stock ...

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• 10 November

  India stocks extend record rally as vaccine results fan optimism

  

  Bloomberg Stocks in India’s $2.2 trillion market joined a global rally as vaccine results fuelled optimism of an exit from the pandemic after local benchmarks closed at record highs. The S&P BSE Sensex climbed 1.1% to 43,067.84 in Mumbai, while the Nifty 50 rises by 1%. Both gauges closed at fresh peaks Monday and have gained about 8% so far ...

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• 10 November

  Too early to say whether Covid-19 will permanently affect oil demand

  

  Abu Dhabi / WAM Suhail bin Mohammed Al Mazrouei, Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, stated that changes to oil prices are caused by supply and demand, and it is too early to say whether the coronavirus pandemic will permanently affect demand, which is the main factor for determining oil prices. The trust in oil markets is gradually returning, due to ...

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