1. European Stocks Rise With U.S. Futures; Yuan Falls
Global stocks and U.S. futures rose as investors focused on the beginning of earnings season and the prospect for more economic stimulus. The Europe Stoxx 600 Index gained 0.7%, Nasdaq 100 Index futures added 1.4% and the MSCI Asia Pacific Index rallied to the highest since mid-2018. Chinese stocks advanced on optimism that President Xi Jinping is planning to further open parts of the economy to foreign investment. Crude oil and gold declined, while the dollar index strengthened.
Markets globally have marched higher in the past week with investors growing confident in the likelihood of more economic stimulus. Earnings season is also coming into focus as companies prepare to deliver third-quarter results in the coming days.
2. AstraZeneca’s Covid Antibody Drug Heads Into Advanced Trials
AstraZeneca started late-stage trials for an antibody medicine against Covid-19 with a large investment from the U.S., after President Donald Trump thanked a similar therapy for his recovery. The drug will be assessed for its ability to avoid infections for as much as a year in some people and as a precautionary medicine once patients have been exposed to the virus in others.
Astra is one of a number of companies exploring monoclonal antibodies as a way to prevent and treat Covid-19, which could be key for high-risk populations who may not respond well to a vaccine. The U.S. has already secured hundreds of thousands of doses of the experimental treatments.
3. China to test an entire city of 90 lakh people for Covid in ‘five days’
China reported a new cluster of coronavirus infections in the eastern port city of Qingdao, ending a streak of over two months without local transmission, showing the risk of second waves in countries that have achieved eradication of COVID-19. The city found three asymptomatic cases linked to a hospital which treats Covid-19 patients coming from abroad. Expanded testing of hospital patients and staff then found another nine infections — of the total of 12 in the cluster so far, six are asymptomatic. More testing is underway and aims to cover the entire city of 9.5 million within five days.
4. Saudi Arabia’s National Commercial Bank buys Samba Financial Group in $14.8 billion deal
Saudi Arabia’s National Commercial Bank said it will purchase rival lender Samba Financial Group in a deal valued at $14.8 billion (INR 1 lakh cr), creating what would become the Saudi’s largest bank. The bank will control some $223 billion in assets and a market capitalisation of $46 billion after the merger is completed.The new bank will control a quarter of all banking in the kingdom. This merger fits into the Saudi’s Vision 2030 plan, the brainchild Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. That plan calls for Saudi Arabia to reduce its reliance on oil exports while creating new jobs for its millions of young people.
5. China grants $90 million to Sri Lanka after visit by top official
China announced Sunday that it was providing a $90 million grant to Sri Lanka, two days after the island nation’s president sought help from China. This looks like a move to disprove a perception that China-funded megaprojects are “debt traps” of developing countries.
Calling the financial assistance a “timely grant,” the Chinese Embassy in Colombo said that it would be used for medical care, education and water supplies in Sri Lanka’s rural areas. and that it would contribute to the well-being of Srilankans.
6. Trump says in an interview he no longer has COVID-19 and is not a transmission risk
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday his doctors had found he no longer had COVID-19 and would not be a transmission risk to others as he returns to holding big rallies during the final weeks of the race for the White House. Trump’s physician said on Saturday the president had taken a test showing he was no longer infectious and there was no evidence “of actively replicating virus,” but did not directly say whether Trump had tested negative. Trump said he was no longer on medications for the coronavirus. “I beat this crazy, horrible China virus,” he said, adding “it seems like I’m immune.
7. China Bans Australian Coal Imports as Political Relations Sour
China has suspended purchases of Australian coal as it continues to tightly control imports of the fuel amid soured political relations with Australia. Chinese power stations and steel mills have been verbally told to immediately stop using Australian coal. Ports have also been told not to offload Australian coal. The ban marks an escalation in tensions that have already jolted agricultural exports from China’s biggest supplier of commodities Coal is one of the few resources in which China is largely self-sufficient, as it mines and burns about half the world’s supply, and its utilities use lower-quality thermal coal for just a small fraction of their needs. Higher-quality coking coal is a different story – China produces less of it and the country’s steel-making giants are still reliant on overseas suppliers, where Australia is dominant.
8. Collapse of global tax discussions could cost $100 billion
The global economy could shed more than 1% of output if international talks to rewrite cross-border tax rules break down and trigger a trade war, the OECD said on Monday, after countries agreed to keep up negotiating till mid-2021. Nearly 140 countries agreed on Friday to extend talks after the pandemic outbreak and U.S. hesitation before the presidential election squashed hopes of reaching a deal this year. Public pressure is growing on big, profitable multinationals to pay their share under international tax rules after the COVID-19 pandemic strained national budgets. The aim is to update international tax rules for the age of digital commerce, in particular to discourage big Internet companies like Google, Facebook and Amazon from booking profits in low-tax countries like Ireland regardless where their customers are. In the absence of a new international rulebook, a growing number of governments are planning their own digital services taxes, which has resulted in threats of trade retaliation from the Trump administration.
9. Buffett-Led Boom Proves Short-Lived for Most Japan Trading Firms
A share-price surge in Japan’s trading firms triggered by Warren Buffett’s $6 billion investment is already fading, due to a lack of fresh catalysts and a downturn in commodity markets. Shares of two of the five “sogo shosha” — as the commodity-centric Japanese conglomerates are called — are now trading below levels before Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. announced its stake purchase. The August announcement, among the largest-ever investments by Buffett in Japan, not only sparked a rally in stocks, but also boosted overall investor interest in the trading companies.
The failure of share prices to sustain the higher levels despite Buffett’s vote of confidence highlights the challenges faced by the shosha as the coronavirus pandemic erodes demand for commodities. It also speaks to the challenges for a Japanese equity market heavily weighted toward so-called value shares, with the benchmark Japanese indices lagging the global indices for a fifth straight year in 2020.
10. Singapore Airlines convert A380 Aircraft into A Restaurant: Tickets Sold in 30 Minutes
Singapore Airlines said all seats on its Airbus A380 pop-up restaurants were reserved within 30 minutes of bookings opening Monday. With flights largely grounded by the coronavirus pandemic, Singapore Airlines is trying novel ways to raise money, including using two A380 superjumbos parked at Changi Airport as temporary restaurants on Oct. 24 and 25.
The airline suffered a record $827 million net loss in the quarter through June and is laying off about 20% of its workforce, is also selling a range of first- and business-class meals and offering a service whereby a private chef reheats, plates and serves customers in their homes.