Breakfast briefing; Markets rally despite the pandemic | interest.co.nz

It was less in NZD terms. The expected rise in SMP didn’t actually amount to much, and the expected rise in the WMP price turned into a retreat.

Markets may have been too hasty in judging the US Administration has lost its Build Back Better program, with brighter prospects for a re-vote in mid January for the US$2 tln measure.

Back in the US, they have recorded their slowest population growth ever, to 332 mln.

In Turkey, there has been a sharp rebound in their currency value – after the Government said it would guarantee all Turkish lira savings accounts from default risk.

In Australia, the RBA minutes from its December monetary policy meeting show the central bank sticking to the line that it won’t lift rates until it sees stronger wages growth.

And while their Government remains an effective climate-change denier, saying only what is necessary to hold it in international forums, their companies are in fact shifting faster to deal with the problem.

In NSW there were 3057 new community cases reported yesterday, and another big jump, with 18,798 active locally acquired cases, and 2 deaths.

Wall Street has opened its Tuesday session with the S&P500 up +1.1% and gaining back the bulk of yesterday’s fall.

Their 1-5 curve is also much steeper +95 bps, while their 3m-10 year curve is steeper as well at +145 bps.

German power price hit another fresh ATH as Europe is bracing for freezing weather, boosting demand and sending prices surging at a time when supply just can’t keep up.

Whether for or against him Trump’s firm policy of returning USA production home is now showing up.

Menlo Park alone probably has a bigger GDP than Russia, but the companies based there don’t really “produce” anything of value, other than returns to shareholders.

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