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OPEC+ Clinches Oil Deal with Compromises – Top 10 Global News

1. Futures Rise as Jobs Miss Boosts Stimulus Bets

American equity-index futures gained and Treasury yields rose after a report showing U.S. employment gains slowed in November bolstered expectations for more federal stimulus. S&P 500 futures gained along with those on the Nasdaq 100 and Dow Jones. The dollar headed for its biggest weekly decline in five days. U.S. Labor Department figures showed non-farm payrolls increased by a less-than-forecast 245,000 from the prior month, as the unemployment rate dipped 0.2% to 6.7%. Energy companies led the Stoxx Europe 600 index higher, with U.K. equities outperforming as negotiators edged closer to a Brexit trade agreement. The euro strengthened for the fourth day after data signalled the German economy’s resilience to the coronavirus pandemic.

Futures on the S&P 500 Index increased 0.3% early morning New York time, the highest ever.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index climbed 0.3%, the highest in a week.

The MSCI All-Country World Index rose 0.2%, the highest on record.

2. OPEC+ Finds Its Way to an Exhausting Compromise on Oil Cuts

After five days of difficult talks that exposed new rifts between core members, OPEC+ agreed to gently ease output cuts next year. The deal appeared to satisfy the oil market and most of the cartel’s members, but strained the group’s unity and set up testing times ahead. After a split emerged between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, the cartel couldn’t agree on what had been widely expected before this week: a full three-month delay to the scheduled January output increase. Instead, ministers resolved to add 500,000 barrels a day of production to the market next month, then hold monthly meetings to decide on subsequent moves. The maximum change in any month will be 500,000 barrels a day in either direction.

3. U.S. Hiring Rebound Markedly Slows Amid Virus Surge

The U.S. labour-market rebound markedly slowed in November, indicating the surge in Covid-19 cases is hitting workers and curbing the broader economic recovery. Nonfarm payrolls increased by 245,000 from the prior month, as the unemployment rate dipped 0.2 percentage point to 6.7%, according to a Labor Department report Friday. The labour-force participation rate and employment-population ratio both declined, in negative signs for the economy. The data raise the chances that President-elect Joe Biden will inherit an even weaker labour market next year, with the recovery at risk of stalling during the wait for widespread vaccine distribution. With millions still enduring long-term joblessness, the report may also help push Congress to pass new fiscal aid and could make Federal Reserve officials more inclined to provide new stimulus when they meet Dec. 15-16.

4. Ant, Grab Win Singapore Digital Bank Licenses Along With Sea

Ant Group and a venture led by Grab Holdings won licenses to run digital banks in Singapore, paving the way for the technology giants to expand their financial services in the Southeast Asian hub. Sea Ltd. is also among the four winners announced Friday by the Monetary Authority of Singapore after almost a year of deliberation. A consortium involving China’s Greenland Financial Holdings Group is the other successful candidate. Singapore joins the U.K. and Hong Kong in opening up its banking system to purely digital entrants, as it seeks to inject innovation and competition into a market dominated by traditional lenders. The permits are coveted given the city’s status as a rapidly growing wealth management centre and a gateway to Southeast Asia, where the digital lending market is expected to quadruple in five years.

5. India’s Gold Imports Slump as Festival Fails to Light Up Demand

Gold imports by India tumbled last month as the festival of lights failed to revive demand in the world’s second-biggest consumer. Overseas purchases fell 41% in November from a year earlier to 33.1 tons. Still, imports showed an improvement from the 29 tons in October. Jewellers in India may be staring at one of their worst years for sales in 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic, high prices and a weak economy slam the ability of buyers to purchase gold. Demand during Diwali, the biggest occasion for the country’s more than 90 crore Hindus to purchase jewellery, was only about 70% of last year’s levels. India’s imports in the January to November period are down 63% from a year earlier to 220.2 tons.

6. Glaxo-Backed Vaccine Shows Strong Immune Response in Early Trial

A Covid-19 vaccine project supported by GlaxoSmithKline is headed for advanced trials after showing a strong immune response in early studies. Sichuan Clover Biopharmaceuticals Inc. of China said its shot induced neutralizing antibodies and proved to be safe in a study of 150 adults and elderly volunteers. The vaccine uses adjuvants — agents that boost a vaccine’s response — from both Glaxo and Dynavax Technologies Corp. Advanced-stage trials using Glaxo’s adjuvant are planned to begin this month, while studies using the Dynavax system will start in the first half of 2021, according to a statement Friday. The Clover vaccine showed long-term stability at refrigerator temperature. That would allow it to be used widely, including in developing nations.

7. U.K. Grants Five Passports a Minute to Hongkongers as China Tightens Grip

The U.K. is granting the most special travel documents to Hong Kong residents since the 1997 handover, bolstering predictions of a mass exodus as China tightens its grip over the former British colony. Some 216,398 Hong Kong residents received British National (Overseas) passports during the first 10 months of the year, higher than any annual figure stretching back to 1997. In October alone, the office issued 59,798 Hongkongers with BNOs, or 52% higher than in the same period last year, and the highest monthly figure since the Passport Office began readily compiling them in 2015. That translates to more than five every minute, based on an average eight-hour working day.

8. Europe Vaccination Plans; U.S. Sees Record Cases: Virus Update

European nations are rushing to draw up large-scale coronavirus vaccination programs, with the U.K. hoping to inoculate millions of Britons before the year is out. Sweden expects to get enough doses in the first quarter to immunize a fifth of the population and Norway sees its program starting in early 2021. Spain is aiming at vaccinating up to 20 million people by June. The U.S. posted another day of record Covid-19 infections and deaths, as overburdened hospitals around the nation brace for a surge in cases after Thanksgiving. In Asia, Japan’s Osaka prefecture raised its virus alert to the highest level following a rise in serious cases. South Korea’s number of newly confirmed cases climbed to the highest since early March.

9. BlackRock, Storebrand Pressure Indian Bank Over Coal Mining Loan

Shareholders of India’s largest bank are raising concerns about a proposed loan to Adani Enterprises Ltd. to help fund the opening of the controversial Carmichael coal mine in northern Australia. Officials from New York-based BlackRock Inc. and Norway’s Storebrand ASA have contacted the State Bank of India, which is majority-owned by the Indian government, about the loan. The loan’s value is expected to be as much as 5000 cr rupees ($678 million). The Carmichael mine has been the focus of environmental protestors since it was proposed in 2010, with demonstrations most recently at a Nov. 27 cricket match in Sydney between Australia and India. Adani changed its trading name in Australia to Bravus Mining and Resources last month, possibly to help dampen controversy about the mine, which is located in Galilee Basin in the northeastern Queensland province. The project has become a target of anger from climate-change activists in the country, which saw record temperatures and widespread wildfires this year.

10. Angry India Farmers Are ‘Ready to Die’ in Showdown With Modi

As India’s virus numbers swell and the economy stumbles, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has another crisis to deal with: Tens of thousands of angry farmers vowing to camp outside the capital for months. The farmers — mostly from Punjab, often called India’s bread-basket — want him to repeal three laws passed in September that allow them to sell crops directly to private firms instead of licensed middlemen at state-controlled markets. While Modi has said the laws will help them earn more cash, farmers fear those companies won’t give them minimum prices set by the government.

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U.S. Pitches China’s Belt & Road Alternative – Top 10 Global News

1. Record Equity Rally Eases while Treasuries Advance

The global stocks rally eased on Friday as investors assess valuations following a record rise in equities this month and the enduring pandemic in parts of Europe and the U.S. Oil retreated amid rising tensions among OPEC+ members. Futures on the S&P 500 edged higher amid lower-than-average market volumes with reduced trading hours for U.S. stocks and bonds. Treasuries advanced and the dollar headed for a second weekly decline.

S&P 500 futures climbed 0.3% by early morning New York time.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index was little changed.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.2%.

The MSCI Emerging Markets Index was little changed.

2. U.S., Taiwan to Push an Alternative to China’s Belt and Road

An informal U.S.-led alliance to provide an alternative to China’s Belt and Road Initiative will provide greater transparency to countries seeking funding to develop their infrastructure. Taiwan and the U.S. are moving ahead with a plan to finance infrastructure and energy projects in Asia and Latin America, using capital raised from the private sector to ensure greater transparency. The plan, initiated with the signing of an agreement between the U.S. and Taiwan in September, aims to raise funds through bonds aimed at Taiwanese banks, insurers and other private capital. It is an opportunity for both Washington and Taipei to counter China’s global infrastructure spree amid concerns about Beijing’s commitment to international projects and worsening finances among developing countries.

3. OPEC+ Calls Last-Minute Talks Ahead of Decision on Oil Cuts

Saudi Arabia and Russia summoned the OPEC+ alliance for last-minute talks on Saturday, just before it’s due to decide whether to delay January’s output increase. A clear majority of OPEC+ watchers expect the group to maintain their supply curbs at current levels for a few months longer due to lingering uncertainty about the strength of demand. However, the decision is by no means certain amid public complaints from Iraq and Nigeria, and private discord with the United Arab Emirates. The 23-nation network known as OPEC+ made vast production cuts during the depths of the pandemic to offset a historic collapse in fuel demand. The alliance had planned to ease some of the curbs at the start of 2021 in anticipation of a global economic recovery

4. India Enters Recession as Virus Pummels No. 3 Asian Economy

India entered an unprecedented recession with the economy contracting in the three months through September due to the lingering effects of lockdowns to contain the Covid-19 outbreak. Gross domestic product declined 7.5% last quarter from a year ago, a marked improvement from a record 24% contraction the previous quarter. Prime Minister Narendra Modi imposed one of the world’s strictest lockdowns in March, sapping demand for non-essential goods and services. Despite the measures to stem the pandemic, the country is now home to the second-highest Covid-19 infections after the U.S. at 93 lakh cases. The second straight quarterly decline in GDP pushes Asia’s third-largest economy into its first technical recession. Financial and real estate services — among the biggest components of India’s dominant services sector — shrank 8.1% last quarter from a year ago, while trade, hotels, transport and communication declined 15.6%. Manufacturing gained 0.6%, electricity and gas expanded 4.4% and agriculture grew by 3.4%.

5. Bitcoin Edges Lower to Extend Biggest Slump Since Pandemic Hit

Bitcoin and many of its major peers edged lower on Friday in the wake of some of the biggest declines since the onset of the pandemic, a sell-off that has stirred fresh doubt about this year’s craze for cryptocurrencies. The most-traded digital coin slipped as much as 2.6% before paring the decline.  The sell-off was kicked off by worries over the prospect of tighter crypto rules in the U.S. and profit-taking after a big rally. Even with the slump, Bitcoin has more than doubled this year — an advance that has split opinion. Crypto believers tout a broadening investor base and the search for a hedge against dollar weakness as reasons for a durable boom. Critics point to a history of big swings, including a spectacular boom and bust three years ago.

6. Pfizer Vaccine Goes to Malaysia: Covid-19 Updates

Malaysia agreed to use Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine for 20% of its population, while Russia hopes to start supplying its shots next month to Hungary. Ireland, the first western European country to reimpose a lockdown, will order an easing of coronavirus curbs on Friday. Germany’s patients in intensive care rose to record levels. AstraZeneca’s vaccine looks like it’s headed for an additional global trial as the drugmaker tries to clear up uncertainty around favourable results in its current study. Tokyo posted a record 570 cases just one day before a request for bars and restaurants to close early takes effect. New York’s new infections reached a seven-month high, while hospitalizations rose to their highest level since June.

7. Qatar Inks Deal for Minority Stake in Turkish Stock Exchange

Qatar announced a series of high-profile investments in Turkey, its biggest ally in a years-long rift with Gulf heavyweights Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, including the purchase of a stake in the country’s main bourse. Doha-based sovereign wealth fund Qatar Investment Authority signed a memorandum of understanding with its Turkish counterpart known as TWF to purchase a 10% stake in Borsa Istanbul AS. The agreement for a minority stake in the company that runs the main Turkish stock exchange, for an undisclosed amount, was unveiled at a ceremony at the presidential palace in Turkey’s capital Ankara. Qatar also signed another preliminary deal to invest in a multibillion-dollar port project in Istanbul and finalized an earlier agreement to buy a stake in Istinye Park, one of Istanbul’s largest shopping malls that’s popular among tourists from the Middle East.

8. Brexit Britain’s Food Supply Is Imperiled by Christmas and Covid

A scarcity of warehouse space because of Christmas demand and the pandemic is putting the U.K. at risk of shortages of some food products as it prepares to leave the European Union’s single market. With five weeks to go before the end of the Brexit transition period, large manufacturers and industry groups are warning that the capacity of the food supply chain is at its peak and can’t withstand any further shocks. There have been numerous warnings about potential Brexit disruption from companies and even U.K. ministers, such as lines of trucks on the highway regardless of whether there’s a trade deal or not. The trouble is that the latest contingency planning couldn’t come at a worse time as Christmas goods take up storage space.

9. Euro-Area Economic Confidence Slumps Amid New Virus Restrictions

Economic confidence in the euro area fell sharply in November, the first deterioration in seven months after governments imposed new restrictions to halt the spread of the coronavirus. A European Commission sentiment index dropped to 87.6 from 91.1 the previous month, with retailers, services providers and consumers particularly pessimistic. An indicator for employment expectations declined for a second month. Many governments took new steps to curb economic activity in November, threatening to pitch the currency bloc back into a slump in the final quarter. Germany extended its partial lockdown until at least Dec. 20, while France is planning to keep restaurants closed until a month after that.

10. China Targets Australian Wine, Says Ties Have Taken ‘Nosedive’

China is set to impose anti-dumping duties of more than 100% on Australian wine from this weekend, adding to a series of sweeping trade reprisals this year and further escalating tensions with Canberra. The anti-dumping deposits will take effect Nov. 28 and range from 107.1% to 212.1%, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said. Australia responded by warning Beijing that its actions could create a perception among businesses and countries around the world that trade with China is risky.

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Moderna Vaccine 95% Effective – Top 10 Global News

1. U.S. Futures Rise on Vaccine News; Bonds Decline

More positive news on a Covid-19 vaccine delivered a jolt to U.S. equity futures, sending stocks tied to an economic reopening higher while erasing a rally in tech companies where investors had parked money during the lockdown. S&P 500 contracts jumped alongside those on the Russell 2000 Index after Moderna’s vaccine was shown to be 94.5% effective in a preliminary analysis of a large late-stage clinical trial. The vaccine news adds yet another driver to global stocks after optimism last week spurred a rotation into value and cyclical sectors, and out of more defensive industries.

Futures on the S&P 500 Index climbed 1% as of early morning New York time.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose 1.5%.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index surged 1.4%.

The MSCI Emerging Market Index rose 1.3%.

2. Moderna Vaccine Found Highly Effective at Preventing Covid

Moderna said its Covid-19 vaccine was 94.5% effective in a preliminary analysis of a large late-stage clinical trial. The highly positive readout comes just a week after a similar shot developed by Pfizer and BioNTech was found to be more than 90% effective in an interim analysis. Both shots rely on a technology called messenger RNA that has never been used to build an approved vaccine. A preliminary analysis of data from more than 30,000 volunteers showed Moderna’s vaccine prevented virtually all symptomatic cases of Covid-19.

3. RCEP: Asia-Pacific nations sign the world’s biggest trade pact

China and 14 other countries have agreed to form the world’s largest free trade bloc, encompassing nearly a third of all economic activity, in a deal many in Asia are hoping will help hasten a recovery from the shocks of the coronavirus pandemic. The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, or RCEP, was signed virtually on Sunday on the sidelines of the annual summit of the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). In the online ceremony, leaders of RCEP countries took turns standing behind their trade ministers who, one by one, signed copies of the agreement, which they then showed triumphantly to the cameras. It will account for 30% of the global economy, 30% of the global population and reach 220 crore consumers. RCEP will help reduce or remove tariffs on industrial and agricultural products and set out rules for data transmission.

Officials said the accord leaves the door open for India, which dropped out due to fierce domestic opposition to its market-opening requirements, to rejoin the bloc.

4. S&P hits all-time closing high as Biden says no US shutdown

Wall Street jumped as encouraging earnings stoked risk appetite and United States President-elect Joe Biden’s COVID advisory team said it was not considering a nationwide shutdown, but oil prices slid as Libyan output rose and investors worried the resurgent pandemic could hurt global demand. The bellwether S&P 500 and the small-cap Russell 2000 both reached record closing highs.

5. Crackdowns Everywhere Show Xi Strengthening Party Grip on China

The past few weeks have shown that Chinese President Xi Jinping can move extremely fast when he hones in on long-term threats to the Communist Party. And right now they revolve around the convergence of technology, finance and Hong Kong. Since unveiling a goal last month to double the size of the economy by 2035, China has embarked on a sweeping crackdown of some of its most valuable companies. The shock suspension of Ant Group’s $35 billion IPO was quickly followed by more anti-monopoly rules to rein in former tech darlings Tencent and Alibaba, leading to a $290 billion equity sell-off last week. At the same time, he’s moved to further snuff out any opposition in Hong Kong’s legislature, the most democratic institution under Chinese rule. The moves reflect an increased urgency among China’s top leaders to stem growing threats to their rule, whether it be a 2008-style financial crisis, a colour revolution or a new class of billionaires becoming more powerful by the day. And while some of the measures are prudent steps to de-risk the economy, one common thread runs through them all: The need for the Communist Party to control all the levers of power.

6. Hong Kong’s Exchange Unveils Proposal to Speed Up IPO Process

Hong Kong’s stock exchange unveiled a proposal to shorten the time gap between IPO pricing and trading to as little as one day, a move that will bring one of the world’s busiest listing venues in line with rival bourses. Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Ltd. proposed an electronic platform called FINI (Fast Interface for New Issuance) that would allow IPO market participants, advisers and regulators to interact digitally. The web-based service will shorten the time gap between pricing and trading to as little as one business day from the current average of five days, reducing market risk.

7. Morgan Stanley Says Go Risk-On and ‘Trust the Recovery’ in 2021

Morgan Stanley strategists said an expected “V-shaped” economic recovery, greater clarity on Covid-19 vaccines and continued policy support offer a favourable environment for stocks and credit next year. Their outlook for 2021 recommended investors overweight equities and corporate bonds against cash and government debt, and sell the U.S. dollar. Volatility is set to decline, and investors should be “patient” in commodity markets. “This global recovery is sustainable, synchronous and supported by policy, following much of the ‘normal’ post-recession playbook,” said the strategists, “Keep the faith, trust the recovery.”

8. Macron Says EU Can’t Go Back to Relying on U.S. Under Biden

French President Emmanuel Macron said the European Union must push on with its efforts to develop the capacity to act independently in technology, international finance and defense, even after President-elect Joe Biden takes over in the U.S. Macron said that EU leaders mustn’t let the defeat of Donald Trump persuade them that they can return to relying on the U.S. to underwrite European security and to defend the bloc’s interests. As examples of EU vulnerabilities, Macron pointed to recent developments in cloud computing services that could leave European data subject to U.S. law and the tensions over the Iran nuclear accord, in which the Trump administration had leverage over the Europeans because of the dollar’s status as a global reserve currency.

9. Over 90% of U.K. Workers Lack Skills Needed in Next Decade

More than 90% of the U.K. workforce lack all the skills they need to do their job well in 2030, underscoring the challenge as the country seeks to reshape its economy following Covid-19 and Brexit. About 3 crore workers need to upskill or retrain, according to an analysis published by McKinsey. 9 out of 10 employers already say they are struggling to recruit people with the skills they need. Skills are climbing up the U.K. agenda as workers seek to remain relevant amid rising unemployment in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic and companies adapt to new demands. Many Britons have not undertaken training in years, with a government survey showing just 62% of employees received any form of workplace instruction — even health and safety or new hire inductions — in 2017. Almost half of the people in the lowest socioeconomic group have had none since they left school.

10. The American Consumer Is Flush With Cash After Paying Down Debt

Eight months into the pandemic, Americans’ household finances are in the best shape in decades. It’s a seemingly incongruous thought, what with the widespread business lockdowns earlier in the year and a coinciding surge in unemployment — and it certainly doesn’t apply to all families equally. But it points to just how strong the U.S. economy was going into the virus outbreak, and how powerful the combined monetary and fiscal response was from the Federal Reserve, Congress and the Trump administration. Record-low mortgage rates, reflecting the ultra-easy Fed policy, have prompted a steady wave of refinancing and allowed homeowners to reduce monthly payments or tap equity. Americans are also holding more cash, helped in part by stimulus from the government.