The UK appears to be experiencing a second wave of the coronavirus. Yesterday the number of new cases recorded equaled the previous peak earlier in the year - although there are signs local lockdowns of varying intensities are helping.
Infection rates in the US are also increasing and causing concern - but there are also some encouraging signs from vaccine research in Europe.
The final scheduled round of Brexit talks continues today, with markets eagerly awaiting any tangible progress. So far, financial services firms have shifted $1.2 trillion in assets and around 7,500 jobs outside the UK ahead of Brexit.
According to Good Judgment Inc., the chances of Joe Biden winning the US election increased by 78% during Tuesday night’s debate. The Democrat candidate campaign raised nearly $10 million during the event itself. Meanwhile in American politics, Treasury Secretary Stephen Mnuchin said he expects another serious attempt to secure a deal on a fiscal stimulus package with Congress.
The EU begins a two-day summit chaired by German Chancellor Angela Merkel to discuss a €1.8 trillion recovery package amid concerns about a possible delay. Merkel said that Germany will return to normal spending levels as soon as possible.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange suspended stock trading for a full day on Thursday as a malfunction in its electronic trading system caused the worst service outages ever suffered by the world's third largest stock market. Effects were limited by most other Asian markets being closed for holidays.
Today, a number of manufacturing activity data will be released in the eurozone, the UK and the US, as well as weekly unemployment claims in the US.
