Total Covid-19 cases
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85,764,536Deaths
1,848,829EU regulators approve Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine
Donato Paolo Mancini in Rome, Michael Peel in Brussels and Hannah Kuchler in New York
EU regulators have approved US drugmaker Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine, paving the way for its rollout on a continent in urgent need of more supply.
The European Medicines Agency gave the greenlight for a conditional marketing authorisation on Wednesday, leaving only the formality of sign-off by the European Commission.
Moderna’s vaccine is the second to be approved by the Amsterdam-based regulator after BioNTech/Pfizer’s jab late last year.
The EU has ordered 80m doses of the Moderna vaccine, with an option to double the amount. The Massachusetts-based company expects to be able to manufacture up to 1bn doses this year.
“This vaccine provides us with another tool to overcome the current emergency,” said Emer Cooke, the head of the EMA. “It is a testament to the efforts and commitment of all involved that we have this second positive vaccine recommendation just short of a year since the pandemic was declared by the World Health Organization.”
Spanish lab finds more infectious variant in patients without UK links
Ian Mount
A Spanish genetics laboratory has discovered the new, more highly transmissible variation of Covid-19 first detected in Britain in two patients with no known links to the UK, indicating community transmission has begun in the country.
The Valencia region’s Fisabio Foundation discovered the new variety in samples taken from the patients about two weeks ago, said Fernando González Candelas, a researcher at Fisabio and professor of genetics at the University of Valencia.
“It’s clear that there is community transmission, but we don’t know at what level,” said Prof González Candelas.
Noting that the Ramón y Cajal Hospital in Madrid had only found the new variation in 1 per cent of the samples it tested for it, Prof González Candelas said, "There are indications that it is low but we can’t be sure of that."
The discovery comes as several Spanish regions tighten lockdown rules to push back a rising wave of infections. On Monday, Catalonia announced that for 10 days, starting on January 7, residents will be confined to their municipality, shopping centres of more than 400 square metres will remain closed and only essential stores will be allowed to open during weekends.
Spain’s health ministry reported Tuesday that the country had 296 cases per 100,000 people in the last 14 days, and 13,841 people were hospitalized for Covid-19, occupying 11.4 per cent of hospital beds. Like other EU countries, Spain has had a slow rollout of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, with only 139,339 doses administered of the 743,925 so far received.
Johnson outlines expectations for gradual reopening before end of March
Jim Pickard
Boris Johnson has predicted that schools could reopen after the February half term but said he remained “cautious” about that prospect.
Speaking in the House of Commons — ahead of an afternoon vote to approve England’s third national lockdown — he said the country would not emerge from its current “cocoon” in a “Big Bang”.
The legislation covering the new restrictions is in place until March 31 but the prime minister said the government did not expect the national lockdown to continue for three months.
Instead he hopes that the government would be able to slowly move different regions into lower tiers through an “evidence-led” process, he told MPs.
Mr Johnson said 1.3m people have so far had their first vaccination in the UK with close to 1,000 vaccination centres coming on stream at hospitals and GP centres. Some sports centres and exhibition centres will be repurposed as vaccine locations in the coming days, he added. Mr Johnson also declared: “We have now done more vaccinations in the UK than the rest of Europe combined.”
Keir Starmer, leader of the opposition party, called on the government to abandon its pay freeze for millions of public sector workers and put pressure on Mr Johnson to lift the universal credit out-of-work benefit.
Weekly deaths fall in England and Wales but remain elevated
Anna Gross
The number of deaths registered in England and Wales fell in the week to December 25 compared with the previous week, data released on Tuesday showed which has to be treated with caution due to less reliable reporting over the Christmas period.
There were 11,520 deaths registered in the final full week of December — 1,491 fewer than in the previous week — but still 45 per cent higher than the five-year average, according to the Office for National Statistics. All regions of England showed a higher number of deaths than the five-year average for the seventh week in a row.
The ONS estimated that the number of deaths that actually took place in that week, allowing for time taken for deaths to be registered, was between 12,683 and 16,574, up significantly from the previous week where the estimate was between 11,770 and 14,710.
A quarter of deaths in the last week mentioned the “novel coronavirus” in the notes, with 85 per cent of those cases recording it as the underlying cause of death.
The number of excess deaths for that week were above the five-year average for all age groups above 14 years.
Dr Jonathan Pearson-Stuttard, a research fellow at Imperial College London, noted that "a very interesting but potentially worrying statistic is that, unlike in previous weeks, excess deaths are higher than deaths involving Covid-19".
"This is important as it may suggest an increase in excess deaths in that second group – indirect impacts of the pandemic upon health system pressures that impact care pathways for non-Covid-19 conditions," he said.
Covid restrictions depress UK services activity in December
Bethan Staton
Business disruption, trade restrictions and closures imposed due to coronavirus meant service businesses in the UK reported falling activity during December, as a new wave of the pandemic quashed hopes of a rebound for the UK economy.
The final IHS Markit purchasing managers' index for services was 49.4 in December, an increase from the November reading of 47.6 but still below the 50 mark, indicating the majority of businesses reported a fall in activity during the period.
Managers who responded to the survey said the subdued business outlook was due to shrinking demand, as parts of the UK were placed under stringent coronavirus restrictions that closed restaurants and bars in the run-up to the usually busy Christmas period. The average PMI reading for the final quarter was 49.5, indicating a downturn in activity, compared with a healthy 57.1 in the third quarter.
“December data confirm that the UK service sector has swung back into decline after the partial rebound seen during the third quarter of 2020, largely reflecting tighter restrictions on consumer services amid the worsening trajectory of the pandemic,” Tim Moore, economics director at IHS Markit, said.
As the UK announced a new national lockdown this week, Mr Moore said businesses would be bracing themselves for a “sustained period of subdued UK economic conditions” as England's third lockdown began.
Despite the gloomy near-term forecast, however, business expectations were more optimistic, with 59 per cent of respondents predicting a rise in activity over the next year and only 13 per cent a decline — the most positive outlook for nearly six years.
US Treasuries and Nasdaq futures sell off after Democrat wins Senate race
Naomi Rovnick in London and Hudson Lockett in Hong Kong
US government bonds and technology stock futures sold off sharply after a Democrat win in a key Senate race raised prospects of higher corporate taxes and a bigger fiscal stimulus that could feed through to inflation.
The sell-off pushed the yield on the 10-year US Treasury bonds up 0.05 percentage points to just above 1 per cent, its highest level since the market turmoil of last March.
Contracts that wager on the future direction of the benchmark S&P 500 index fell 0.7 per cent, while those on the top 100 stocks in the technology-focused Nasdaq dropped 1.9 per cent. Tech stocks have particularly benefited from the low-rate environment, while the Democrats have promised tougher antitrust rules on the sector.
“The market is taking a view that we will see more stimulus and this will have to be paid for,” said Stefan Keller, asset allocation specialist at investment house Candriam. “The fear is of higher taxes on the most successful companies of 2020, which are the tech giants.”
In a crucial Senate race in Georgia, the Associated Press declared a win for Democratic challenger Raphael Warnock, while his fellow Democrat Jon Ossoff clung to a narrow lead. A Democrat victory in both run-offs would result in a 50-50 split of the upper house with vice-president elect Kamala Harris able to break the tie in significant votes such as Budget resolutions.
Goldman Sachs analysts forecast a Georgia win would enable the Democrats to add $600bn of stimulus spending to the $900bn already agreed by lawmakers late last year.
Read more here.
Eurozone services activity still in decline in December
Valentina Romei
Eurozone services activity was stuck in a downturn in December as countries stepped up measures to limit the spread of coronavirus.
The IHS Markit eurozone purchasing manager index for services, a measure of the health of the sector, rose to 46.4 in December from 41.7 in the previous month.
However, this is lower than early estimates of 47.3 and is still below the 50 mark which indicates a majority of businesses reporting deteriorating business conditions.
Chris Williamson, chief business economist at IHS Markit said: “The eurozone economy contracted for a second successive month in December, deteriorating at a slightly faster rate than previously thought at the end of the year due to intensifying Covid-19 restrictions”.
“Service sector activity in particular fell more sharply than estimated by the earlier ’flash’ PMI estimate, as more countries stepped up their fights against rising virus case numbers”, he added.
The composite index, an average of services and manufacturing, rose to 49.1, lower than early estimates of 49.8.
Markit noted large country differences across the eurozone region, with increased activity in Ireland and Germany ahead of the end of the Brexit transition period. In contrast, Italy and Spain were the worst-performing countries.
Across eurozone businesses, there was a broad-based upturn in confidence.
Earlier on Wednesday, France’ statistics office published its consumer confidence data which also showed a sharp increase in expectations for personal financial situations and living standards for the year ahead. But analysts warn that this could fail to capture difficulties in rolling-out a Covid-19 vaccine.
Italian services activity stuck in deep downturn
Valentina Romei
Italy’s services activity contracted sharply in December, remaining stuck in a downturn for the fifth consecutive month.
The IHS Markit purchasing managers' index for Italy’s services, based on businesses’ view of the developments in their activity since the previous month, came in at 39.7 in December.
This is well below the 45.3 forecast by economists polled by Reuters and much lower than the 50 mark which indicates the majority of businesses reporting a deterioration. It was the lowest reading of any major European economy.
December’s PMI also marks the fifth consecutive reading below 50 for Italy’s services businesses, despite a marginal uptick from the 39.4 of the previous month.
Italy’s services activity “remained deep in a downturn amid further lockdown measures” said Lewis Cooper, economist at IHS Markit. “Business activity dropped substantially again, with client demand both domestically and abroad stifled further by measures”.
Italy has implemented a regional tiered set of coronavirus restrictions to deal with a high rate of infections in a bet to avoid a strict national lockdown similar to that in the spring.
As a result, companies continued to trim their staff numbers during December, although news of a vaccine brightened the outlook, with rising confidence for the year ahead.
Zahawi pledges ‘massive uplift’ in jabs administered this week
Harry Dempsey
The minister responsible for vaccine deployment has promised a “massive uplift” in the delivery of jabs this week, as scepticism grows over whether the UK will meet its ambitious target to vaccinate almost 14m people by mid-February.
“When you see the data for this week — January 4 to January 11 — you will see a massive increase in the numbers,” Nadim Zahawi said on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. In the weeks after “that number will continue to rise”, he added.
So far, the UK has delivered 1.3m doses of coronavirus vaccines, which is equivalent to just more than 300,000 inoculations a week on average.
Mr Zahawi avoided specifying when the UK would start administering about 300,000 jabs a day, which is the number required to reach the government’s target of 2m per week that would provide immunity to the most vulnerable people by the middle of next month.
Frontline health workers have questioned the feasibility of the mid-February vaccination target, suggesting that staff levels could hamper the government’s planned timeline.
The figures for vaccinations delivered last week in England are set to be released on Thursday, while the government will begin providing daily updates on vaccination numbers from Monday.
Informa expects physical events to return this year
Patricia Nilsson
Informa has said that 2021 is “likely to be a year of return of physical events”, as the world’s biggest exhibitions operator hopes that vaccinations will prompt a recovery in customer confidence.
The FTSE 100 company on Wednesday said it had extended its blanket postponement of events outside of China to late spring, but added that 90 per cent of non-Chinese exhibitions planned for this year were now scheduled to run from June onwards.
Stephen Carter, chief executive, said the decision to delay events to June “should serve us well as markets gradually open up and customer confidence recovers in the latter half of 2021.”
Informa, which also publishes academic journals and owns the 282-year-old shipping industry journal Lloyd’s List, makes about two-thirds of its revenues and profits from events, following the 2018 purchase of rival UBM in a £4bn deal.
With a large chunk of its operations having ground to a halt, the company has previously estimated that annual revenue for 2020 would reach about £1.7bn, down by roughly a third compared with the previous year.
The company said on Wednesday that it had ended a year-long search for a new chairman, appointing the former chief executive of Rolls-Royce John Rishton. Mr Rishton, who is a non-executive director at Informa, has previously also sat on the board of Unilever. He is set to take over from the current chair Derek Mapp in June.
Vaccine news helps to ease Spanish services decline
Valentina Romei
News of vaccines helped to ease the contraction in Spain’s services activity more than expected in December, a closely watched survey showed on Wednesday.
The IHS Markit purchasing manager index for Spain’s services, a measure of the health of the sector, rose to a five-month high of 48 in December from 39.5 in the previous month.
This is higher than the figure of 45 forecast by economists polled by Reuters, but still below the 50 mark which indicates a majority of businesses reporting a deterioration in activity.
Hopes have risen that activity will increase over the coming year, according to the survey, which reported growing confidence among Spanish businesses that by this time next year the pandemic will be under control.
However, Spanish businesses continued to report slowing incoming business and declining employment levels in December.
Paul Smith, economics director at IHS Markit said: “Whilst vaccines and their rollout will clearly unlock the pathway to recovery, the latest data provide a timely reminder that dealing with the virus and associated restrictions will continue to bear down on sector performance for some time to come.”
Spain implemented a national curfew which was less strict than measures in other European countries, but its economy has suffered from a larger dependence on the hospitality sector. The latest PMIs indices point to the country facing a slow economic recovery from one of the largest economic downturns in Western Europe.
Topps Tiles buoyed by DIY boom but expects lockdown hit
Harriet Clarfelt
Topps Tiles rode the crest of a DIY wave in its first quarter ending in December, with retail like-for-like sales rising by a fifth, buoyed by strong demand from professional tile fitters and homeowners.
This marked a significant uptick from the same three months of 2019, when retail revenue edged down 5 per cent.
In contrast, markets served by the FTSE 250 group’s commercial division face a “more protracted recovery” from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, it said on Wednesday, although Topps Tiles noted that the business’s performance remains in line with its plans.
It can continue trading under England’s fresh lockdown restrictions which came into force this week, thanks to building supplies exemption rules.
However, the tougher nationwide rules will affect sales and “it is very difficult to estimate the level of impact or how long this may last”, said chief executive Rob Parker.
Topps Tiles expects margins to endure “some pressure” because of extra delivery costs pertaining to greater levels of digital trading.
As of Boxing Day 2020, Topps’ adjusted net cash pile stood at £28.5m, reflecting a “fundamentally stronger” balance-sheet position than during the spring 2020 lockdown. In the first quarter, Topps repaid £5m received as part of the government’s Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme. It also cancelled an unused £5m revolving credit facility deriving from the scheme.
Zahawi says UK has set a “very stretching” vaccination target
Oliver Ralph
The UK minister responsible for Covid-19 vaccinations has said that the government has set a “very stretching target”, but that it is one which is achievable.
The government wants to vaccinate almost 14m people by the middle of next month, with a plan that will increase the number of jabs delivered to 2m per week by the end of January.
Speaking on Sky News, Nadim Zahawi said: “I’m confident that with this plan the NHS has put together, we will deliver this.”
He said that if the government can hit the vaccination target in the four top priority categories of people it has identified, which include the elderly and people in care homes, then hospitalisations and deaths would start to fall.
Greggs to expand despite pandemic hit
Alice Hancock
Greggs, the UK bakery chain, has continued to expand despite warning that it does not expect sales to return to pre-pandemic levels until 2022 at the earliest.
The Newcastle-based company said on Wednesday that it opened 84 new shops during 2020 and closed 56, bringing the total estate to 2,078. It plans to open another 100 shops this year.
Despite strict government restrictions causing steep declines in footfall on high streets and in travel hubs, Greggs said that total sales in the three months to the end of January 2 had declined just 14 per cent to £293m and that it had finished the year with net cash of £37m.
But the company warned that it expected to report a pre-tax loss of up to £15m for the year to March and had been forced to make 820 redundancies.
“The significant uncertainty over the duration of social restrictions, along with the impact of higher unemployment levels, makes it difficult to predict performance. However, we do not expect that profits will return to pre-Covid levels until 2022 at the earliest,” the company added.
Greggs’ chief executive Roger Whiteside said that the company had been boosted by its tie-up with the delivery company Just Eat and a partnership with the supermarket Iceland to sell its products for baking at home.
He also noted that Greggs continued to see “good opportunities” for new shops, “with those sites accessed by car performing particularly well.”
Hong Kong luxury flat rents fall 11.5%
George Russell in Hong Kong
Hong Kong luxury flat rentals fell 11.5 per cent in 2020, the steepest year-on-year decline since the financial crisis, according to a property agent.
Rents fell 2.6 per cent in the last quarter of the year compared with the previous quarter, data from Savills show.
Hong Kong Island rents fell 3.1 per cent in the quarter, while those in Kowloon declined 1.5 per cent and the New Territories 3 per cent.
“As corporates have cut salaries and housing allowances, tenants have had every incentive to negotiate rental terms and generally landlords have been willing to accept cuts rather than face the risk of prolonged vacancy,” said Simon Smith, head of research at Savills.
Mr Smith said the annual fall was the “sharpest decline since the crisis”.
The agency said travel restrictions have also slowed the flow of new arrivals to Hong Kong.
Savills forecast that the first half of 2021 would be likely to see further falls in rents while the second half may see “greater stability”.
Muslim body to rule on China vaccine’s halal status
George Russell in Hong Kong
Indonesians hoping to be inoculated against Covid-19 would have to wait for a religious ruling on the halal status of the vaccine, state media reported on Wednesday.
The Antara news agency reported that the government would not begin administering vaccines unless the Indonesian Ulema Council — the country’s Islamic decision-making body — approved them for use by Muslims.
Masduki Baidlowi, spokesman for the country’s vice-president Ma’ruf Amin, told Antara that the council’s assessment teams have been investigating China’s Sinovac vaccine.
Budi Gunadi Sadikin, Indonesia’s health minister, said the vaccine also required an emergency-use authorisation from the Drug and Food Control Agency.
Joko Widodo, Indonesia’s president, said on Wednesday that 29.55m vaccine doses would be distributed by March 31.
Houston hospital offers $500 for staff jabs
George Russell in Hong Kong
A Texas hospital said on Tuesday it is offering its employees a $500 bonus if they are vaccinated against Covid-19.
In a letter to staff, Marc Boom, Houston Methodist chief executive, said the bonus would be given to employees in early March.
Vaccination is not mandatory for employees but Dr Boom said it would be “eventually”.
He added: “We recognise the vital importance of all of us getting vaccinated to protect our patients, our community, ourselves and our family and friends.”
Covid-19 vaccine tracker
FT reporters
Since the first cases of coronavirus were identified at the start of last year, pharmaceutical companies have raced at unprecedented speed to develop a safe and effective vaccine to help stop the spread of Covid-19.
In total there are now more than 230 vaccine candidates, according to the World Health Organization, using an array of different techniques to trigger antibodies and virus-fighting cells to fend off infection.
Keep track of the progress of these vaccines and the number of doses administered here.
China blocks WHO team sent to probe Covid’s origins
Christian Shepherd in Beijing
Beijing has barred the entry of a 10-member World Health Organization team investigating the origins of the coronavirus pandemic.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director-general, said on Tuesday that he was “very disappointed” after China blocked the arrival of the virologists by not approving their visas.
“Two members [of the team] had already begun their journeys and others were not able to travel at the last minute,” Mr Tedros said.
He added that the WHO had been in contact with Chinese officials who said they would expedite the visa approval procedure.
More than 86m people have been infected worldwide by coronavirus, which has claimed more than 1.8m lives.
Read more here
Baseball legend gets jab in signal to African-Americans
Hank Aaron waits to receive his vaccination at Morehouse School of Medicine
George Russell in Hong Kong
Baseball great Hank Aaron was vaccinated against Covid-19 on Tuesday in a bid to convince more African-Americans to take the jab.
“I was proud to get the Covid-19 vaccine earlier today at Morehouse School of Medicine,” Mr Aaron wrote on Twitter. “I hope you do the same!”
The 86-year-old senior vice-president of the Atlanta Braves played for the Atlanta and Milwaukee teams between 1954 and 1976.
Former UN ambassador and US civil rights leader Andrew Young and former cabinet secretary Louis Sullivan were vaccinated at the same time as Mr Aaron. Mr Young is 88 and Dr Sullivan is 87.
According to US health department data, African-American adults are less likely than non-Hispanic white adults to have received a flu vaccine in the past year or to have ever received a pneumonia vaccine.
US futures slip as Georgia tallies votes
Hudson Lockett in Hong Kong
Wall Street stock futures and several Asian equity indices fell as results flowed in from Georgia’s run-off elections, which will determine control of the US Senate.
Futures for the S&P 500 slipped 0.7 per cent during Asian trading hours on Wednesday, while those for the technology-focused Nasdaq Composite Index were down 1.3 per cent.
Yields on 10-year US Treasuries edged up 0.04 percentage points to 0.993 per cent. Bond prices fall as yields rise.
In Asia, Chinese tech stocks climbed despite a move by the Trump administration to ban transactions with apps including payments platforms Alipay and WeChat Pay, affiliated with Alibaba and Tencent, respectively.
The Hong Kong-listed shares of Alibaba rose 3.2 per cent while Tencent gained 1.9 per cent.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell almost 1 per cent, while China’s CSI 300 of Shanghai- and Shenzhen-listed shares, which on Tuesday hit its highest level since the 2008 financial crisis, shed 0.2 per cent.
Japan’s Topix stock index rose 0.3 per cent while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 benchmark fell 1.3 per cent.
A Democratic victory in the two Georgia run-offs would give the party control of both chambers of Congress and the White House, possibly paving the way for both greater government stimulus spending and a rollback of some of the Trump administration’s business-friendly policies.
But the outcome was still too close to call with US media reporting about 95 per cent of the vote counted.
Grammys postpone awards as pandemic grips LA
Peter Wells and Anna Nicolaou in New York
Los Angeles authorities have warned that the US entertainment capital is in the middle of an “unprecedented and dangerous surge” in coronavirus cases, forcing the city into extreme lockdown measures and the postponement of the annual Grammy Awards.
Tuesday’s decision to postpone the music industry’s biggest night, originally scheduled for the end of the month, came a day after local ambulances were ordered not to transport patients with little chance of survival and to conserve oxygen because emergency rooms were being overwhelmed.
“We’re likely to experience the worst conditions in January that we’ve faced the entire pandemic — and that’s hard to imagine,” Barbara Ferrer, the Los Angeles county public health director, said on Monday.
Read more here
Australia to bring forward vaccine rollout schedule
Alice Woodhouse in Hong Kong
Australia’s health minister said the country will roll out Covid-19 vaccines earlier than previously stated after assessing safety data.
Greg Hunt told a radio programme that Australia would begin vaccinations from early March, instead of the end of that month. He added that the programme could begin even earlier.
Mr Hunt said the schedule was in line with other countries that have been successful in combating the virus, including Japan, South Korea, New Zealand and Taiwan.
“They’re all looking at a very similar timeframe, so it puts in the group of countries that have been highly successful but are absolutely thorough,” he said.
The Australian government has faced criticism that it would begin vaccinations later than countries such as the US or the UK.
Scott Morrison, prime minister, has maintained that Australia’s success in controlling outbreaks of coronavirus has bought it time to fully assess the safety of the jabs.
Healthcare workers, frontline staff, such as those operating hotel quarantine, aged care workers and residents will receive the vaccine first.
Australia expects to have inoculated its population by October.
Hong Kong slaps ban on Air India flights
George Russell in Hong Kong
Hong Kong health officials on Tuesday banned Air India from flying into the Chinese city until January 19 after two arriving passengers tested positive for Covid-19.
The passengers were on board a flight from Delhi to Hong Kong on December 30 2020.
The health department said five other passengers failed to comply with pandemic prevention requirements but did not provide further details.
Australian services end 2020 on strong note
George Russell in Hong Kong
Australian services output gained momentum at the end of 2020 as business activity and new orders saw faster growth throughout December, according to data released on Wednesday.
The headline IHS Markit Australia Services Business Activity Index rose to 57.0 in December from 55.1 in November, signalling a “robust increase” in activity.
A reading above 50 designates an expansion while a reading below 50 signifies a contraction.
The latest reading was the highest in five months and marked the fourth consecutive monthly improvement.
“The Australian service sector ended a turbulent year firmly in expansion territory, with business activity increasing at the fastest pace since July,” said IHS economist Usamah Bhatti.
Canada arrests US man over border violation
George Russell in Hong Kong
A US man who sought to bypass Canada’s strict entry requirements was fined and put on probation, the country’s border protection agency said on Tuesday.
The Canada Border Services Agency said Lyell Sullivan Buttermore sought to enter the country at the Lansdowne border crossing in Ontario, opposite Alexandria Bay, New York.
He claimed his work was essential and exempt from restrictions enacted during the pandemic that have largely stopped Americans from crossing the border.
Mr Buttermore presented a letter to support his claim but the agency said officers were “quick to note inaccuracies in the documentation”.
The agency determined that he had forged the employment document and was actually seeking entry to visit his girlfriend.
Tape covers shelves of non-essential goods that cannot be sold at a Montreal supermarket
Mr Buttermore pleaded guilty to immigration misrepresentation and was sentenced in the Ontario Court of Justice in Brockville to a conditional discharge with 12 months of probation.
He was also ordered to make a C$2,000 (US$1,580) donation to a local mental health agency.
There have been 611,424 cases of Covid-19 in Canada, including 16,074 deaths.
Chief medical officer Theresa Tam said on Tuesday that the country faced difficulties in combating the pandemic in the new year. “Two weeks ago, Canada had just exceeded 500,000 cases of Covid-19,” she said.
“Now, with the current momentum … the five months it took to reach our first 100,000 cases has now shortened to just over two weeks for the latest 100,000-case increase.”
Sydney to stage cricket match despite risk warning
Jamie Smyth in Sydney
Australian authorities have imposed some of the world’s toughest restrictions to blunt the Covid-19 pandemic, but the cricket-mad nation has balked at cancelling the traditional New Year international match.
Authorities insist the Sydney event will go ahead despite a warning from health experts that it could be a “super spreading” event.
The match between Australia and India begins on Thursday, with the number of spectators reduced to 10,000, less than a quarter of the Sydney Cricket Ground’s capacity.
Two virus clusters detected in the city have alarmed the Australian Medical Association, which called on Wednesday for crowds to be banned to avoid unnecessary risks.
“We watched the New Year’s Eve fireworks on TV and we can do the same with the [cricket match],” said Danielle McMullen, AMA New South Wales president.
“The risk of gathering thousands of people together surely outweighs the benefit,” she added.
Some epidemiologists have called for the match to be cancelled altogether, warning a stadium setting creates potential for “super emission”.
The controversy deepened on Wednesday when authorities revealed a man who attended the first match in the four match series on December 27 in Melbourne had tested positive for Covid-19.
Health officials have asked several thousand fans to get tested and self-isolate.
The NSW state government has played down the concerns, although it has mandated mask wearing in all parts of the venue during the match.
Brad Hazzard, NSW health minister, said the match was important for morale.
“You have to think about people’s mental health, the desire to get out there and have aspects of a normal life, recreational aspects, sport, they all give us a sense of wellbeing.”
Greece to reopen primary schools next Monday
George Russell in Hong Kong
Greece’s government said the country’s primary schools would reopen on January 11, according to official media.
Education authorities shut down most educational institutions in mid-November 2020.
Primary school students received a combination of educational television and remote instruction, with the TV broadcasting lessons in the mornings and remote instruction from 2-5pm.
The Athens News Agency quoted Domna Michailidou, deputy minister of labour and social affairs, as saying that kindergartens, nurseries and pre-schools would also reopen next Monday.
Singapore sets new worker entry rules
The Port of Singapore is a backdrop as resident walks at sunset on Tuesday
George Russell in Hong Kong
Singapore’s government has announced that from Wednesday, newly arrived foreign workers would have to undergo an additional seven-day testing regime after completing a mandatory 14 days of self-isolation.
The workers would be allowed to move into their dormitories only after completing the additional testing regime.
The city’s Covid-19 task force said the new requirements were designed to minimise the risk of an imported coronavirus-positive case transmitting the virus into the dormitories.
“The 14-day [stay at home notice] and a polymerase chain reaction exit test reduces the risk of a missed positive Covid-19 case to very low levels,” the labour ministry said in a statement.
Of the roughly 58,000 Covid-19 cases recorded in Singapore since the pandemic began, about 54,000 were among migrant workers living in dormitories.
Hong Kong business conditions deteriorate
Alice Woodhouse in Hong Kong
Hong Kong’s economy entered a steep downturn in December after a fourth wave of coronavirus infections sparked tighter social distancing measures, according to a private survey.
The IHS Markit Hong Kong purchasing managers’ index slipped back to 43.5 last month from 50.1 in November. Readings above 50 mean conditions are improving.
The November reading, which was the highest since spring 2018, showed conditions had stabilised in the territory following the knock from the pandemic, protests and US-China tensions.
The effects of the pandemic resulted in the highest incidence of supply chain delays in the 20-year history of the survey.
Output and new orders fell as strict anti-virus measures hit demand. Job losses rose to the highest level since April and the drop in headcount was among the sharpest since the global financial crisis, Markit said.
Renewed lockdowns in key export markets also hit demand from overseas customers, while shipping delays deterred orders.
“The hit to demand has also been exacerbated by record supply chain delays and rising costs, as the pandemic has reduced international transport capacity and led to logistics bottlenecks,” said Chris Williamson, chief business economist at IHS Markit.
Health officials this week extended social distancing measures for another two weeks.
North Korean leaders meet despite virus risk
Kim Jong Un, centre, chairs a Workers’ party congress meeting in Pyongyang
Edward White in Seoul
About 7,000 top North Korean officials have gathered in Pyongyang for a rare political meeting this week, despite the risk posed by the coronavirus pandemic still raging around the world.
The ruling Workers’ party congress, presided over by dictator Kim Jong Un, has drawn 250 party leaders, 4,750 delegates and a further 2,000 observers, North Korea’s state media reported.
Photos from the opening day on Tuesday showed attendees not wearing masks.
International experts and officials from foreign governments have expressed doubt over North Korea’s claim of zero cases of domestic Covid-19 transmission following the swift lockdown of its borders in January.
The meeting also comes against a backdrop of uncertainty over how North Korea plans to survive what many believe is the worst economic crisis since the devastating famine of the mid 1990s.
The country has been battered by coronavirus-prompted border closures, tough economic sanctions, flooding and typhoon damage.
In his opening remarks on Tuesday, leader Kim Jong Un repeated an admission made last year that North Korea has failed to meet its aims for developing the economy and stressed the need for greater self-reliance.
“The five-year economic development strategy period wrapped up last year, but the results in most areas fell extremely short of our goals,” Mr Kim said, according to a translation from South Korea’s Yonhap news agency.
The secretive state’s congress, last held in 2016, is being closely-watched for the unveiling of a new medium-term economic plan, movements of top cadres, as well as any signals to US president-elect Joe Biden over the stalled nuclear talks.
US hospital admissions hit new high as Sunbelt surges
Peter Wells in New York
Hospitalisations in the US topped 130,000 for the first time as several Sunbelt states experienced their highest levels of coronavirus patients since the pandemic began.
The number of people currently in US hospitals with coronavirus rose to 131,195 from 128,210 on Monday, according to Covid Tracking Project data.
California and Texas, which rank first and second by population, made the biggest contributions to that total as their own tallies hit records of 22,485 and 13,308, respectively.
Hospitalisations also hit records in Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.
Virginia, classified as a southern state by the Census Bureau but with weather perhaps not favourable enough to put it in the Sunbelt, was the only other US state where hospitalisations reached a new peak.
Masked travellers walk through National Airport in Arlington, Virginia
States reported a further 214,378 cases, up from 177,752 on Monday, according to the CTP.
Tuesday’s figure was slightly below the average over the past week of 215,632 a day, which is a record rate and means more than 1.5m people in the US have tested positive over the past seven days.
A further 3,478 deaths were attributed to coronavirus by states, up from 1,545 on Monday.
That is the second-biggest one-day increase in fatalities since the start of the pandemic, trailing the 3,903 reported on December 30, according to CTP data.
California, Texas, Missouri and Arizona each reported at least 250 deaths apiece on Tuesday, with the last two revealing records of 263 and 253, respectively.
The US has averaged 2,666 deaths a day over the past week, just shy of a record rate of 2,680 on December 22.
Asia equities track Wall Street gains
Alice Woodhouse in Hong Kong
Asia stocks rose on Wednesday following a rebound in the US as investors eyed Senate elections in Georgia.
In Japan, the Topix gained 0.3 per cent, the Kospi in South Korea climbed 1 per cent, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.4 per cent.
The S&P 500 closed up 0.7 per cent on Tuesday in the US and the tech-focused Nasdaq Composite added 1 per cent as investors awaited the result of run-off Senate elections in Georgia.
S&P 500 futures were flat.
Colombia braces for more serious 2nd wave
Gideon Long in Bogotá
Colombia has recorded its highest number of new coronavirus cases in a single day since the start of the pandemic, suggesting it is entering a second and possibly more widespread wave of the disease.
The health ministry said on Tuesday it had registered 16,835 new cases in the previous 24 hours, beating the previous record of 16,314 set on the last day of 2020.
At the peak of the first wave of Covid-19 in August, the daily number of new cases never rose above 14,000.
In total, Colombia – the third most populous country in Latin America with 50m inhabitants – has recorded over 1.7m cases – the 11th highest total in the world - and more than 44,000 deaths.
The government has ordered 40m doses of vaccine and says it expects to begin a mass-vaccination programme in February.
Switzerland CPI records 0.1% decline
George Russell in Hong Kong
Swiss consumer prices fell 0.1 per cent in December 2020, as falling travel and pharmaceutical prices were offset by increases in rents and cars, the country statistics office said on Tuesday.
Inflation was recorded at 0.8 per cent lower than December 2019 and average annual inflation in 2020 was minus 0.7 per cent, the Federal Statistical Office said.
“This decrease is due in particular to lower prices for international package holidays, petroleum products and for air transport,” the agency said, citing the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
“In contrast, prices for housing rentals and new cars increased,” it added.
US states release grim infection and fatality figures
Peter Wells in New York
Texas reported its second-biggest one-day increase in confirmed coronavirus cases on Tuesday as hospitalisations topped 13,000 for the first time.
A further 26,543 people tested positive over the past 24 hours, the state health department revealed this afternoon, up from about 16,000 on Monday and second only to a tally of more than 27,000 on December 29.
In addition to the new infections, 1,312 historical cases stemming from older tests reported by laboratories were added to the state total, which now stands at 1.62m and is second only to California. The number of people in Texas hospitals with coronavirus rose to 13,308 from 12,961 on Monday.
During the height of its summer surge, hospitalisations in the state reached a peak of 10,893 on July 22. A further 250 deaths were attributed to coronavirus, up from 52 yesterday and compared with 241 on Tuesday last week. That took the death toll in Texas since the start of the pandemic to 28,219, a tally second only to New York.
Meanwhile, California reported more than 300 coronavirus fatalities on Tuesday, taking the overall death toll in the state over 27,000.
A face mask adorns a statue of singer Tony Bennett in San Francisco
A further 368 deaths were attributed to coronavirus, the health department revealed this afternoon, up from 97 on Monday.
The latest figure ranks as the sixth-biggest one-day increase in deaths since the start of the pandemic.
A record 585 fatalities were reported on January 1. The state has attributed an overall 27,003 fatalities to coronavirus, a tally that ranks behind New York and Texas.
Over the past week, California has averaged about 353 coronavirus deaths a day, a record rate. Adjusted for population, an average of 0.9 people per 100,000 have died each day over the past week.
That puts it among the 20 highest rates by US state but is half that of top-ranked Kansas, according to a Financial Times analysis of Covid Tracking Project data.
Arizona reports fatality record in Sunbelt surge
Peter Wells in New York
The western US state of Arizona reported more than 200 coronavirus deaths for the first time on Tuesday, marking a record one-day increase in the death toll.
A further 253 deaths were attributed to coronavirus, the health department revealed this morning, reflecting data catching-up from three deaths on Monday and zero on Sunday, but surpassing the previous record of 172 reported on July 30.
Over the past week, Arizona has averaged about 97 deaths a day, not far from a record rate of about 100 on December 22. Arizona is among several Sunbelt states that are now eclipsing levels of cases and hospitalisations experienced when they were hit hard during the summer.
Deaths tend to lag behind increases in these two metrics. On Tuesday, Arizona's health department revealed a further 5,932 coronavirus cases reported over the past 24 hours. That brought the state's average over the past week to 8,607 infections a day, just shy of a record rate of 8,863 on Sunday.
University of Arizona students walk on campus
Adjusted for population, Arizona averaged 112.1 infections per 100,000 people over the past week, according to a Financial Times analysis of data from Covid Tracking Project on Monday. That is the highest rate of new coronavirus infections in the US at present, ahead of Rhode Island and California, which ranked second and third with rates of 95.8 and 95.8, respectively.
The number of people hospitalised with coronavirus in Arizona topped 4,600 for the first time, according to data on Monday from Covid Tracking Project, a level that is nearly one-third higher than its summer peak.
That put it alongside other sunbelt states including Alabama, Arkansas, California, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas, where hospitalisations hit record levels on Monday, according to Covid Tracking Project data.
US stocks rise day after Wall Street sell-off
FT reporters
US equities rebounded on Tuesday following a sharp sell-off on the first trading day of the new year, as investors eyed run-off Senate elections in Georgia that could determine the direction of the dollar, fiscal stimulus and US tax policy.
The benchmark S&P 500 closed 0.7 per cent higher, while the tech-focused Nasdaq gained 1 per cent — a day after Wall Street suffered its worst trading day since October.
The Cboe’s Vix index, which measures the expected volatility of the S&P 500 over the next 30 days, rose as high as 28.6 — above its long-run average of about 20 — as the number of Americans in hospital with coronavirus hit a new peak.
Read more here
Singapore says vaccine supply confidential
George Russell in Hong Kong
Singapore said it had secured enough vaccine doses to inoculate all its citizens and permanent residents but would not disclose the number, citing confidentiality.
Health minister Gan Kim Yong told the country's parliament that the first Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines arrived in late December and deliveries from Moderna and Sinovac would follow.
“The vaccines will arrive in Singapore in batches, given high global demand especially from countries with high rates of infection,” he said.
“I am not at liberty to disclose the specific quantity ordered, due to commercial sensitivities and confidentiality undertakings in our advance purchase agreements with the vaccine manufacturers,” he told parliament.
Mr Gan said he expected the full amount of vaccines required by the city state of 5.6m people would be delivered by the third quarter of this year.
Germany struggles to control second wave
Guy Chazan in Berlin
Germany is extending its lockdown until the end of January and banning non-essential travel in those areas worst-hit by the coronavirus pandemic, as it battles to control an upsurge in new infections.
“We are appealing to people to reduce their contacts to an absolute minimum,” Angela Merkel told reporters after a videoconference with the leaders of Germany’s 16 federal states.
The chancellor said infection rates were still too high and many hospitals were reaching the limits of their capacity. Germany also had to be “particularly careful” in view of the new viral variant spreading from the UK that was much more infectious than previous forms of the coronavirus, she said.
Read more here
Armenian leader tests positive, says Russian report
Armen Sarkissian and his family spent New Year in the UK
George Russell in Hong Kong
Armenian president Armen Sarkissian has tested positive for Covid-19 while receiving medical treatment in London, Russia’s Tass news agency reported on Tuesday.
Mr Sarkissian and his family spent New Year in the UK and the president underwent surgery on his leg on January 3, Tass said, citing comments attributed to the president’s office in the Yerevan newspaper Hraparak.
“However, the president also developed symptoms of the novel coronavirus. [He is] self-isolating and will temporarily continue his activities remotely,” his office was quoted as saying.
England’s schools in disarray after exam U-turn
Bethan Staton and Jasmine Cameron-Chileshe in London
The plans of secondary school leaders and pupils across England were in disarray on Tuesday as ministers discussed replacement assessments for GCSEs and A-levels and reversed a decision to go ahead with vocational exams, which were due to begin on Wednesday.
Boris Johnson’s shock announcement on Monday of a national lockdown and the requirement that all schools switch to online teaching came after the UK prime minister had insisted for weeks that schools were safe.
The cancellation of GCSE and A-level exams in England, which was announced as thousands of pupils were preparing to sit their mocks, also placed a question mark over how exam-year students would be assessed.
Read more here
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Mexico can look forward to an 80 per cent drop in Covid-19 mortality once a fifth of the population has been vaccinated, according to the country’s coronavirus tsar, Hugo López-Gatell. “What we want, in the first place, is to reduce mortality, this is crucial,” the deputy health secretary told a news conference.
New coronavirus cases among the Cleveland Browns are threatening the playoffs for the US National Football League, after the team’s head coach and four other players and staff tested positive on Tuesday. The Browns said special teams coordinator Mike Priefer will serve as acting head coach.
Chris Whitty, England’s chief medical officer, has warned that some social-distancing restrictions could be in place next winter. Speaking at a press briefing, Prof Whitty said the risk level of coronavirus would decline over time, adding: “We will get to the point where we say this level of risk is one we can tolerate.”
The global economic recovery from Covid-19 will rely heavily on the successful rollout of vaccines, the World Bank has warned, adding that any delay risks more than halving this year’s growth rate. The multilateral lender forecast on Tuesday that world gross domestic product would grow 4 per cent in 2021.
Budget carrier easyJet said it was reviewing flight schedules
Airlines prepared to cancel flights and called for further state support after the UK government imposed a new lockdown to try to control the spread of coronavirus. British Airways and easyJet were both reviewing their already depleted flight schedules on Tuesday, but promised to keep flying some routes.
Retail sales for General Motors reached pre-pandemic levels in the fourth quarter, but the carmaker’s sales for the year still dropped 12 per cent compared with 2019. GM reported on Tuesday that it sold more than 771,000 vehicles in the fourth quarter, up 5 per cent from the same period a year earlier.
Paperchase looks set to be the first retail casualty of 2021 after the UK stationery group filed a notice of intent to appoint administrators less than two years after a previous financial restructuring. The notice gives the company, majority-owned by private equity group Primary Capital, 10 days’ protection from creditors.
Fashion retailer Next said it expects profits in the coming financial year to recover to almost pre-pandemic levels, even if its stores remain closed for two months and stock deliveries are disrupted. The company said that its central guidance was for pre-tax profit of £670m for the year to January 2022.
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