International Economic
Fed's Powell says 'probably a good time' to retire word transitory
Wall Street gave back the prior session's gains after the head of the US central bank said that it was probably a "good time" time to retire the word "transitory" when talking about inflation and to "try to explain more clearly what we mean".
All confirmed Omicron cases in EU thus far are asymptomatic or have shown mild symptoms
All confirmed cases of the Omicron variant of concern detected thus far in the European Union had thus far had been either asymptomatic or shown "mild" symptoms, the bloc's pandemic watchdog said.
US home prices growth decelerates in September
Home prices increase 19. 5% year-on-year in September, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller national home price index, down from the 19. 8% annual gain seen in August.
Chicago PMI drops in November
Economic activity in the Chicago area deteriorated more than expected in November due to a slowdown in new orders, according to data released on Tuesday.
Bitcoin: Market still hopeful that it will reach $70,000 by 2021
Bitcoin is about to close a month of November where volatility played a tremendous part in the cryptocurrency market. Over the past 30 days, the queen of digital currencies has seen its all-time high to date, only to embark on a remarkable 20% correction and consolidation that was cut short by the Omicron-triggered sell-off of November 26th. The monthly close points to falls that could be as much as 8%, but experts are calling for calm, as the 'crypto' accumulates a 101% boom so far this year.
Euro area inflation jumps past forecasts in November
The cost of living in the euro area surged past forecasts in November but economists were anticipating that it would soon peak.
Moderna CEO expects 'material' drop in vaccine efficacy against Omicron - FT
The head of one of the world´s leading vaccine manufacturers predicted that the Omicron variant of Covid-19 would result in a "material" decline in efficacy.
JP Morgan sees Brent oil price 'overshoot' to $150 per barrel in 2023
Analysts at JP Morgan predicted that underinvestment in new oil production capacity was set to drive Brent crude oil prices to $125 per barrel in 2022 and $150 in 2023.
US pending home sales jump 7.5% in October
Signed contracts on existing US homes, also known as pending sales, jumped 7. 5% month-on-month in October, according to the National Association of Realtors.
China pledges 1.0bn Covid-19 vaccine doses for Africa
China announced its intention to supply a further one billion doses of its Covid-19 vaccines to African countries on Monday.
Cryptos bounce back after the Omicron crash; Bitcoin holds $53,000
Cryptocurrencies got carried away on Monday as global markets rebounded sharply after the Black Friday stock market crash. This was due to the fact that investors reacted to fears of the new Covid-19 variant detected in South Africa: Omicron. In a clear "shoot first, ask questions later" move, as Oanda analyst Jeffrey Halley commented, investors and governments overreacted as, after the lessons learned from the Delta variant, they did not want to become complacent again.
CMA set to block Facebook acquisition of GIF platform Giphy
Facebook’s acquisition of animated GIF platform Giphy is set to be blocked by the UK’s competition watchdog, it was reported on Monday, which would mark the first time the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) puts the brakes on a Big Tech deal.
Russian energy minister warns against 'hasty' decisions on oil output
Russia's energy minister cautioned on Monday against hasty decisions in the wake of the discovery of the Omicron variant of Covid-19.
Spanish CPI hits near three-decade high in November
The cost of living in Spain hit a near three-decade high in November on the back of rising food and gasoline prices.
South Africa to avoid strict curbs, WHO urges caution
South African officials decided not to reimpose mobility restrictions in the wake of the detection of the new Covid-19 variant in the country that had been dubbed Omicron.
Omicron likely to fall 'some way short' of apocalyptic reboot of pandemic, Pantheon Macro says
Analysts at Pantheon Macroeconomics believed the most likely outcome from the appearance of the new SARS-CoV-2 variant, Omicron, would be "some way short of an apocalyptic reboot of the pandemic. ".
New Covid variant triggers alarm bells around the world
Authorities in the UK and many other European countries moved quickly to cut travel links with South Africa and several other countries in southern Africa following the detection of a new variant of Covid-19 with a large number of mutations on the so-called 'spike' protein.
CMA secures 'improved' pledge from Google on ad competition concerns
The Competition and Markets Authority announced on Friday that it had secured “improved commitments” from Alphabet subsidiary Google on its proposals to remove third-party cookies and other functions from its Chrome browser software.
Bitcoin loses $55,000 amid fears over new South African Covid-19 variant
Bitcoin and the cryptocurrency market succumb to the panic unleashed in the main financial markets on Friday, due to the alarm generated by a new variant of Covid-19 in South Africa, with numerous mutations. The queen of cryptocurrencies falls 6% and loses in intraday range $55,500 - support that has withstood until now the challenge during the recent correction from the historical highs at $69,000. The 'altcoins' are in the red and the total capitalization falls below 2.
German GDP seen slowing substantially in Q4
Germany's economy grew a tad less quickly than expected in the third quarter and economists believed that a notable slowdown was on the cards for the final three months of 2021.