The Weekly Rundown

Headlines (Politics, General News)

• The U.K became the first country in the world to approve the AstraZeneca/University of Oxford vaccine. The U.K government already ordered 100 million doses of the vaccine, and AstraZeneca has signed contracts with over 90 governments that would inoculate 1.46 billion people with the vaccine.
• Russia-led Nord Stream 2 finished installing pipes for the German section of the Gas pipeline. The pipeline, estimated to cost $11.6 billion, will compromise European energy security making it more dependent on Russian gas, according to Washington.

Economy and Central Banks

• In 2021 the eurozone economy is expected to grow at its fastest rate since the single currency was established, according to a Financial Times poll of 33 economists. They predict that the GDP will rise by an average 4.3%.
• Following President Donald Trump’s signing of the $900 billion relief stimulus on Sunday night, the U.S House of Representatives approved an increase in the payment from $600 to $2000.
• The EU and China have signed a major investment deal that will give the EU more access to the Chinese market. However the deal poses a threat of irritating president-elect Joe Biden.
• The Trump administration imposed even higher tariffs on EU products which are set to begin on the 12th January,  resulting in increased tariffs on aircraft parts and beverages from France and Germany. This comes after the USTR said the EU ‘improperly’ imposed tarrifs on $4 billion worth of U.S products last month, however the EU measures were permitted by the WTO.
• Last week 787,000 Americans applied for unemployment benefits, which is down 19,000 from the week before and the lowest figure since November. This beat expectations of 833,000.

Finance and Markets

• This year, investment banks all over the world earned a record of $124.5 billion in fees as companies, tech companies in particular, rushed to raise capital to survive the pandemic. Fees underwriting IPOs surged 90% to $13 billion, the highest figure since 2000.
• GQG Partners more than doubled its assets to $62 billion this year. They reported net client inflows of $18.2 billion in the first nine months of 2020.
• The Euro surged to its high of the year on Wednesday, taking its gains in 2020 near to 10%, rising against the dollar to a peak of $1.2309, its highest level since 2018. The British pound crossed its high of the year of $1.3625, and continues to trade above the $1.36 level, boosted by the announcement of the post-Brexit trade deal.
• Bankers expect a significant fall in corporate fundraising, following record borrowing in 2020. Global bond issuance surged by nearly a quarter to $5.35tn in the year to December 22 compared with the same period in 2019. Bank of America analysts predict new issuance of US-investment grade bonds will drop 76%.

Tech

• Amazon is on track to control 10.2% of U.S digital advertising spending this year. This compares to Facebook’s 23.5% and Google’s 29.8%. By 2022, Amazon’s market share is predicted to be almost 13%.
• Dan Loeb called on Intel to offload its microprocessor manufacturing arm, reasoning that it had fallen behind rivals TSMC and Samsung in this area. CEO Bob Swan has said that he will decide early next year whether to outsource advanced manufacturing, or abandon it entirely.
• Chinese regulators are considering taking action to break up Jack Ma’s Ant Group. The tech giant, Ant Group may be forced by regulators to divest its portfolio, composed of technology and fintech companies, into a new holding company. The fintech giant has 81 equity investments overall worth $21.6 billion.

Companies

• Following the Brexit trade deal, European based Airlines, Wizz air and Ryanir are set to comply with EU regulation and take away UK shareholders voting rights.
• India’s transport minister Nitin Gadkari told national daily the Indian Express on Monday that EV-maker, Tesla Inc, will come to India early next year.
• U.K based estate agency, Connells, has agreed to buy rival Countrywide for £134 million. The takeover has been a saviour for Countrywide as shares have fallen by 98% over the past 5 years.