Saudi Arabia to gradually resume Umrah pilgrimage | Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia will allow pilgrims living inside the country to undertake the Umrah pilgrimage, beginning on October 4, after a seven-month pause due to the coronavirus pandemic, state news agency Saudi Press Agency has reported. In March, the country...
Markets lifted by Biden transition and vaccine optimism – business live | Business
Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of the world economy, the financial markets, the eurozone and business.
Global markets are gaining ground this morning on relief that Joe Biden can finally begin the formal transition from Donald Trump’s administration.
Nearly three weeks after election day, America’s General Services Administration has concluded that president-elect Biden is the apparent winner.
GSA chief Emily Murphy wrote in a letter to Biden on Monday that she “came to my decision independently, based on the law and available facts” Usually this is a formality, but the GSA has been delaying its certification while Trump’s legal challenges played out.
The move means that Biden’s team can, at last, obtain millions of dollars in transition resources, access government data and make contact with federal agencies.
It should help the Biden team to prepare for the challenges ahead, particularly the Covid-19 pandemic where cases and deaths are rising alarmingly across the country.
News of the GSA’s decision has lifted markets in the Asia-Pacific region, sending Japan’s Nikkei shooting up 2.5% to close at its highest level since May 1991.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 jumped by 1.2%, and South Korea’s Kospi 200 gained 0.5%.
Stephen Innes of Axi says the threat of the ‘power vacuum’ in Washington is fading, following the GSA’s move.
European markets are set for solid gains today too:
Yohannes Abraham, executive director of the Biden transition, says the GSA’s move is:
President Trump said on Twitter he had directed his team to cooperate on the transition. However, he’s yet to drop his legal action claiming – without evidence – that the election was rigged, despite a series of courtroom defeats.
The move came as to CEOs piled pressure on the GSA to start the transition process. More than 160 civic and business leaders, including David Solomon of Goldman Sachs and Larry Fink of BlackRock, signed a letter calling for a proper transition to begin.
Investors were also encouraged by Monday’s news that the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine can be up to 90% effective, boosting hopes of ending the pandemic.
The agenda
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