Saturday Brief – February 20th 2021

20 February, 2021

Americas

Stocks on Wall Street ended mixed as investors sold tech shares that have rallied throughout the health crisis, like Facebook and Netflix, and bought Deere, Caterpillar and other economically sensitive cyclical stocks https://t.co/qxoKJRwAAf pic.twitter.com/9uRqg8PmBl
— Reuters Business (@ReutersBiz) February 20, 2021

#Covid_19: Daily Summary (February 20th)
➡ News
➡ Regional/national data
➡ Vaccine trackerhttps://t.co/chh8SvZo3T
— Christophe Barraud (@C_Barraud) February 20, 2021

#Housing | US Existing Home Sales Hit A 3-Month High Despite Headwinds https://t.co/qJeLECqNin
— Christophe Barraud (@C_Barraud) February 19, 2021

Measures of prices paid and charged by U.S. businesses jump to the highest levels in records back to 2009, fanning concerns of accelerating inflation https://t.co/PT8Bj7qy98
— Bloomberg Economics (@economics) February 19, 2021

House Democrats unveil full $1.9 trillion #Covid relief bill with minimum wage increase – CNNhttps://t.co/7CN9EDqU61
— Christophe Barraud (@C_Barraud) February 20, 2021

Actual US Gov’t spending last 12 months: $8.1 Trillion. Yeah, like 40% of GDP. Actual fiscal deficit last 12 months: $4.6 Trillion. Yeah, like 20% of GDP. Another 10% coming soon through reconciliation, too. And infrastructure? Most important but always last. No end in sight.
— Jeffrey Gundlach (@TruthGundlach) February 20, 2021

Lawrence Summers warned that the Fed will likely be pressured into raising interest rates sooner than markets expect, and perhaps as early as next year https://t.co/FHzKnHwE56
— Bloomberg Economics (@economics) February 19, 2021

The IMF is weighing in on the debate over Biden’s $1.9 trillion stimulus proposal, saying that it sees only limited inflation risk https://t.co/n4kC3eaKcN
— Bloomberg Economics (@economics) February 19, 2021

Rising Treasury yields are a sign of optimism in the economic recovery, said a senior Federal Reserve official Friday, signaling no inclination from the central bank to take steps to halt the shift https://t.co/uNBbwGdobI
— Bloomberg Economics (@economics) February 19, 2021

U.S.-#Iran Standoff Shows Difficulty of Salvaging Nuclear Deal – Bloomberghttps://t.co/mxgx1NZP3K
— Christophe Barraud (@C_Barraud) February 20, 2021

Asia

Taiwan raises 2021 GDP growth forecast to 4.64%.https://t.co/VmK9pcEpmt
— Nikkei Asia (@NikkeiAsia) February 20, 2021

China’s loan prime rates were kept steady for a 10th month in February https://t.co/s0qtcQ8AsU
— Bloomberg Economics (@economics) February 20, 2021

China increased its mining quota for the first batch of rare earths by 27% from a year earlier, with demand for the strategic minerals unabated despite the pandemic https://t.co/aKMf7MwbU3
— Bloomberg Asia (@BloombergAsia) February 20, 2021

G-7 leaders tiptoed around the issue of China during their first, virtual, gathering of 2021 and failed to disguise a growing sense that it’s a problem they will need to confront soon https://t.co/QZcde7KBvc
— Bloomberg Economics (@economics) February 19, 2021

Thailand Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha survived a no-confidence vote in parliament after a four-day debate https://t.co/geT1WZpSBZ
— Bloomberg Asia (@BloombergAsia) February 20, 2021

Europe

#Europe #Covid_19: Daily Summary (February 20th)
Special focus on ⚠ #France ⚠
*Data for #Germany, #Spain and #Italy https://t.co/BUAiB8pLcq
— Christophe Barraud (@C_Barraud) February 20, 2021

The U.K. has vaccinated more of its people than anywhere else in Europe, but the next challenge is to make testing a part of daily life https://t.co/H1yaxcFrE0
— Bloomberg Asia (@BloombergAsia) February 20, 2021

French President Emmanuel Macron and other G-7 leaders discussed the need for digital platforms such as Facebook and Twitter to promote democratic values and freedom of expression https://t.co/oO3vYMIPCY
— Bloomberg Economics (@economics) February 19, 2021

EU officials are meeting next week to discuss possible sanctions against Russia, in response to the jailing of opposition leader Alexei Navalny. https://t.co/wsxPtxp1eo
— POLITICOEurope (@POLITICOEurope) February 20, 2021