· Bitcoin pulls back from brink of $50,000
Bitcoin pulled back from a record high on Monday and other cryptocurrencies slipped, as investors took profits from a record-breaking rally that had pushed bitcoin close to $50,000.
Bitcoin fell as much as 5.6% to $45,914 in Asian trading hours after having posting a record peak of $49,714.66 on Sunday, while rival crypto ethereum slid more than 8%.
· CDC chief warns it's too soon in U.S. to lift COVID-19 mask mandates
The head of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Sunday it is “absolutely” too soon to lift mask mandates, citing daily COVID-19 case numbers that despite recent declines remain more than double the levels seen last summer.
· GOP senators who voted to convict Trump are now facing backlash in their home states
· Chinese tech giants like Kuaishou are listing in Hong Kong instead of U.S. after Trump’s trade war
· Hong Kong Plans to Start Covid-19 Vaccination in Early March
Hong Kong can start vaccinations for Covid-19 in early March if everything goes as planned, the city’s Civil Service Secretary Patrick Nip said.
· Australia, New Zealand receive first vaccine shipments
The first shipment of Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccines arrived in Australia and New Zealand on Monday, officials said.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said that over 142,000 doses of the vaccine arrived at Sydney Airport in a major development in the country's response to the pandemic.
· India is set to become a vital Covid vaccine maker — perhaps second only to the U.S.
India could become the world’s second largest Covid vaccine maker, and analysts say the country has the capacity to produce for both its own population and other developing countries.
Most of the world’s vaccines have historically come from India. Even before Covid-19, the South Asian country produced up to about 60% of the world’s vaccines — and can do so at a relatively low cost.
“India has been a manufacturing hub for vaccines … even before the pandemic, and should therefore be a strategic partner in the global inoculation against COVID-19,” JPMorgan analysts wrote in a report last month.
Consulting firm Deloitte predicts that India will be second only to the U.S. in terms of coronavirus vaccine production this year. PS Easwaran, a partner at Deloitte India, said more than 3.5 billion Covid vaccines could be made in the country in 2021, compared to around 4 billion in the U.S.
Furthermore, companies in India are currently scaling up production to meet demand.
· Iran will further scale back its nuclear commitments if 2015 nuclear obligations not revived
Iran will further scale back its commitments under the 2015 nuclear deal if other parties to the pact fail to fulfill their obligations, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman said on Monday.
“We have no option but to respect the law. It does not mean ending all inspections by the U.N. nuclear watchdog,” Saeed Khatibzadeh said, referring to an Iranian law that obliges the government to harden its nuclear stance.
On Feb. 21, the law obliges the government to end the sweeping inspection powers given to the U.N. nuclear watchdog by the 2015 deal and limiting inspections to declared nuclear sites only.
· Protesters undaunted as Myanmar junta deploys more soldiers, armoured vehicles
· Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi remanded in custody until Wednesday as protesters gather
Myanmar’s ousted leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, has been remanded in custody until Wednesday, not Monday as previously thought, her lawyer told media.
Security forces in Myanmar deployed armored vehicles in major cities two weeks after the military overthrew Suu Kyi’s government and detained her on charges of illegally importing six walkie-talkie radios.
Hundreds of thousands have taken to the streets across the country for 10 days to denounce the coup, which derailed the Southeast Asian country’s tentative transition to democracy, and to call for Suu Kyi’s release.
· Oil hits 13-months highs on fears of Middle East tensions
Oil prices soared on Monday to their highest in about 13 months as fears of heightened tensions in the Middle East prompted fresh buying, while hopes that a U.S. stimulus and an easing of lockdowns will buoy fuel demand provided support.
Brent crude was up $1.09, or 1.8%, at $63.52 a barrel at 0428 GMT, after climbing to a session high of $63.76, the highest since Jan. 22, 2020.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures gained $1.28, or 2.2%, to $60.75 a barrel. It touched the highest since Jan. 8 last year of $60.95 earlier in the session.
Oil prices gained around 5% last week.
· Oil rises on fears of heightened tensions in Middle East
Oil prices rose to their highest in more than a year on Monday, after a Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen said it intercepted an explosive-laden drone fired by the Iran-aligned Houthi group, raising fears of fresh Middle East tensions.
The Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen said late on Sunday it intercepted and destroyed an explosive-laden drone fired by the Iran-aligned Houthi group toward the kingdom, state TV reported.
Reference: CNBC, Reuters
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