COVID-19 disease wave in Europe could negatively impact global economic recovery

The Fed’s balance sheet hit a new record of $8.7 trillion. Total assets will continue to grow in the coming weeks. The Fed’s balance sheet is now 37.4% of U. GDP. Reducing the QE program leads to slower growth, but it is still growing. At the next Fed meeting, policymakers will discuss a more rapid reduction in bond purchases.

Moderna announced FDA approval for a booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in the United States for adults from 18 years and older.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is considering a diplomatic boycott of the upcoming 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics to protest China’s human rights record.

The EU would propose obliging stock exchanges to provide investors with data on stock and bond transactions, with the exchanges receiving reasonable compensation for their data.

The Turkish lira is in free-fall, which increases the cost of food, medicine, and other necessities and threatens the country’s financial system. The lira has lost 34% of its value against the dollar in eight months.

The White House says OPEC must meet current demand, ensure adequate supply in the market. Japan is preparing to release its oil reserves to the market. Amid such news, oil prices lost about 3% on Friday, declining for the fourth week in a row for the first time since Marc  2020.

In the commodities market, lumber futures (+28.01%), natural gas (+5.97%), coffee (+5.25%), cocoa (+2.65%), and wheat (+2.16%) showed the biggest gains by the end of the week. WTI oil futures (-6.33%), heating oil (-5%), platinum (-4.89%), Brent oil (-4.27%), palladium (-2.91%), silver (-2.23%), and orange juice (-2.23%) showed the biggest drop.

Asian stock indices traded flat on Friday. Japan’s Nikkei added 0.5% (-0.18% for the week), Australia’s ASX 200 gained 0.23% on Friday (-0.84% for the week), China’s benchmark CSI 300 increased by 1.08% (-0.09% for the week), while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 1.07%, ended the week -1.53%, becoming the leader of the fall among Asian indices. China kept its loan prime rate at 3.85%. Last week, the People’s Bank of China asked financial institutions and businesses to strengthen their currency risk management and refrain from unilateral bets on the yuan. Currency volatility could increase in the future as foreign central banks have begun to adjust monetary policy.