- Stock markets have been mostly continuing to rise, with the S&P 500, NASDAQ 100, Dow Jones and Nikkei 225 indices closing Friday at new all-time highs. The risk-on rally has been boosted by the passage of a new economic stimulus bill in the U.S., although individual payouts will be capped at $600.
- The price of Bitcoin has continued to rise strongly, with the cryptocurrency trading as high as $34,800 yesterday. An FCA regulatory ban on crypto CFDs will be implemented from this Wednesday on brokers operating from the U.K. with FCA regulation.
- Most major currencies are in strong, long-term bullish trends against the U.S. dollar, with the British pound again hitting a new multi-year high price after leaving the E.U. single market with an agreed trade deal last week. These trends are now reasserting themselves, with the dollar clearly the weakest major currency.
- Precious metals have surged since markets opened for the week a few hours ago, with gold trading as high as $1925 an ounce.
- OPEC is meeting today, which might impact the price of crude oil.
- The U.K. will today become the first country to begin vaccinating its population with the new Oxford/Astra-Zeneca vaccine. The British government has stated more than half a million vaccines are ready. India has approved a new locally produced corona vaccine, but some health experts have criticized the process as rushed as it has been approved without a phase 3 trial.
- Last Thursday saw a record high number of new confirmed coronavirus cases globally at 752,155, while deaths hit a record high the previous day at 15,126.
- Global coronavirus deaths have increased dramatically since early October to reach a level approximately 70% higher than the peak last April.
- Total confirmed new coronavirus cases worldwide stand at over 85 million with an average case fatality rate of 2.17%.
- The coronavirus vaccine drive has been criticized in the U.S. and E.U. for its relatively slow pace so far. It has been progressing fastest in Israel, which has already administered a first shot of the Pfizer vaccine to 12% of its entire population, while the U.S.A. has administered more than 4 million vaccines.
- The rate of new coronavirus infections appears to now be increasing most quickly in Andorra, Argentina, Bahrain, Bolivia, Canada, Cuba, Cyprus, Egypt, El Salvador, Honduras, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Japan, Kazakhstan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mali, Malta, Norway, Panama, Russia, Sweden, Thailand, Tunisia, the U.S.A., and the U.K.