Bitcoin could be headed for a breather in the new year. The red-hot cryptocurrency continued its longest monthly win streak in more than a year on Monday after grazing a new all-time above the $28,000 mark on Sunday. Based on the charts, that run might be put on pause come 2021, Mark Newton, founder and president […] Read more
Fitch Ratings raised its forecast this week for China’s economic growth next year, based on increased domestic demand and expectations for coronavirus vaccine deployment. Fitch now expects China’s gross domestic product to expand 8% in 2021, up from the 7.7% rate forecast in September. “This would be well above our estimate of China’s long-term growth […] Read more
The current health and economic crisis has impacted both life and work in many ways. Chief among those impacts has been the stunning amount of business closures. Any crisis can potentially tank a local economy, causing serious financial and social distress for the members of that community. The ripple effects can impact consumers, other businesses and even local officials, causing even […] Read more
The U.K. government believes “significant differences” still remain with the EU, as the two sides make a final push to clinch a post-Brexit trade deal. Talks are ongoing in Brussels on Monday afternoon, but both sides remain divided over three issues: fisheries, competition rules and governance of their potential deal. They have been stuck on […] Read more
Data giant S&P Global has agreed to buy IHS Markit in a deal worth $44 billion that will be 2020′s biggest merger, creating a heavyweight in the increasingly competitive market in financial information. The mega-deal, which includes $4.8 billion of debt, is a sign that deal-making activity is accelerating as breakthroughs in developing Covid-19 vaccines improve the economic outlook. […] Read more
Deutsche Bank upgraded its global growth outlook for 2021 but cautioned that two key risks could still spoil the economic recovery from the coronavirus crisis. In the bank’s latest report out Wednesday — entitled “Hope on the horizon” — Deutsche Bank researchers updated their calls due to what it called “the incredibly positive” coronavirus vaccine news […] Read more
Despite the upturn in the global economic outlook following multiple coronavirus vaccine breakthroughs, gold’s bullish cycle will continue, according to analysts at Citi and Goldman Sachs. The traditional safe haven asset hit an all-time high in August of $2,074.88 per ounce, amid fears that the coronavirus crisis looked set to continue indefinitely. However, demand for the […] Read more
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin’s decision to allow key pandemic relief programs to expire is like stripping lifeboats from the Titanic, according to Carl Weinberg, chief economist at High Frequency Economics. Mnuchin announced Thursday that he will not extend the Federal Reserve’s emergency lending programs that used Congress’ CARES Act funds beyond Dec. 31. The move is […] Read more
United Arab Emirates — The International Monetary Fund downgraded its outlook for Middle East and Central Asian economic recovery, predicting a 4.1% contraction for the region as a whole — 1.3 percentage points worse than its previous assessment in April — in its latest regional outlook report released Monday. Jihad Azour, director of the IMF’s […] Read more
U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Friday that he would seek a no-deal Brexit unless there is a fundamental change of approach from the European Union. “Unless there’s a fundamental change of approach, we’re going to go to the Australia solution, and we should do it with great confidence,” Johnson said, accord to Reuters, after negotiators failed […] Read more
