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·         Biden signs 'Buy American' order, pledges to renew U.S. manufacturing

President Joe Biden vowed on Monday to leverage the purchasing power of the U.S. government, the world’s biggest single buyer of goods and services, to strengthen domestic manufacturing and create markets for new technologies.

 

·         Houston's 1st COVID-19 vaccine drive-thru opens

Against the backdrop of a milestone in the city's COVID-19 vaccination efforts, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner offered on Monday a grim record and a reminder of the dire need to expand vaccines to high-risk residents.

The 3,039 new cases reported by Turner are the most recorded for a single day in the city throughout the course of the pandemic.

·         UK jobless rate rises to highest since 2016

Britain’s unemployment rate rose to 5.0%, its highest since early 2016, in the three months to November as the coronavirus pandemic continued to take its toll on the economy and the country went back into a lockdown, official figures showed.

 

·         Britain confident of AstraZeneca, Pfizer vaccine supplies - minister

 

·         UK warns against booking holidays, hotel quarantine announcement due

 

·         EU sustainable investment rules need better corporate data: banking report

European Union rules aimed at defining sustainable investments should help reduce “greenwashing” by businesses, but better quality corporate data is needed to ensure they work effectively, a banking report said on Tuesday.

 

·         China, New Zealand ink trade deal as Beijing calls for reduced global barriers

China and New Zealand signed a deal that upgrades their existing free trade pact on Tuesday, giving exports from the Pacific nation greater access to the world’s second-largest economy.

 

·         New Zealand may approve first COVID vaccine next week.

New Zealand may approve a COVID-19 vaccine as early as next week, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Tuesday, a day after the country confirmed its first case of the new coronavirus in the community in months.

“We’re making swift progress towards vaccinating New Zealanders against the virus, but we’re also absolutely committed to ensuring the vaccines are safe and effective,” Ardern said in a statement.

 

·         Some BOJ policymakers called for making ETF buying flexible, minutes show

Several Bank of Japan policymakers said the central bank must seek ways to make its risky asset purchases more flexible as the coronavirus pandemic prolongs its massive stimulus programme, minutes of its December meeting showed.

Another board member said while the current arrangement already allows the BOJ to buy exchange-traded funds (ETF) flexibly, it was “worth looking for further ideas,” the minutes showed on Tuesday.

The debate suggests that tweaks to its ETF purchases will be among key components of the BOJ’s policy review in March, reflecting growing concern among the policymakers over the rising cost and diminishing return of prolonged easing.

 

·         Japan's lower house to pass controversial extra budget focusing on travel campaign

Japan’s powerful lower house of parliament is expected to pass on Tuesday this year’s third extra budget despite criticism it focuses too much on a government tourism campaign, rather than address imminent medical needs as COVID-19 infections spike.

 

·         Indonesia’s central bank expects billions of foreign funds to return – supporting the rupiah

 

·         Taiwan economy seen growing 3.61% in fourth quarter on boost from exports: Reuters poll

 

Taiwan’s economy is expected to have expanded 3.61% year-on-year in the fourth quarter, a Reuters poll showed, as the export-dependent island continued to shake off the coronavirus jolt with a return of strong shipments and consumer confidence.

 

 

·         COVID-19 has shown global complacency, Refinitiv CEO Craig says

 

Refinitiv CEO David Craig said on Tuesday that the COVID-19 pandemic had shown how fragile and complacent the world was so leaders should challenge their thinking in a volatile world.

“We’re more fragile than we thought and we’re probably more complacent than we ought to be and we’re certainly more connected than we have ever been,” Craig said at a virtual meeting of the World Economic Forum.

“This pandemic - if there’s a positive - its going to challenge our thinking,” Craig said, adding that businesses traditionally prepare for the last crisis but not the next one.

 

·         Oil drops as U.S. stimulus wrangles, rising COVID-19 cases hit sentiment

Oil prices fell on Tuesday as fading hopes for a rapid approval of new U.S. economic stimulus and mounting new coronavirus cases raised questions over the pace of any recovery in demand.

Brent crude was down 28 cents, or 0.5%, at $55.60 by 0431 GMT, while U.S. crude fell 25 cents, or 0.5%, to $52.52. Both rose nearly 1% on Monday.

Having recently hit 11-month highs, oil is caught between lingering doubts over any recovery in demand as the pandemic continues to rage, offset by optimism for more stimulus from the newly installed Biden administration in the United States to support economic growth as vaccines are rolled out.

 

·         China to conduct military drills in South China Sea amid tensions with U.S.

China said on Tuesday it will conduct military exercises in the South China Sea this week, just days after Beijing bristled at a U.S. aircraft carrier group’s entry into the disputed waters.

 

·         China's peak Lunar New Year air travel season fizzles as COVID cases rise

 

·         Taiwan air force flexes muscles after latest Chinese incursion

Armed and ready to go, Taiwan air force jets screamed into the sky on Tuesday in a drill to simulate a war scenario, showing its fleet’s battle readiness after dozens of Chinese warplanes flew into the island’s air defence zone over the weekend.

 

·         Indian police fire tear gas in clash with farmers on Republic Day

Reference: CNBC, Reuters