Biden’s Inaugural Speech to Plead for Healing in Wake of Riot

Joe Biden ascends to the presidency on Wednesday with an inaugural speech outlining how he’ll tackle the health and economic crises he inherits while attempting to knit the country back together, just two weeks after the outgoing president’s loyalists waged a deadly riot to block the change of power. The incoming president will call on the US to abandon the divisiveness stoked by Donald Trump, whose four-year term ends with nearly 400,000 Americans dead of Covid-19, a sharp economic downturn and the worst political crisis since Watergate, after the Capitol attack.

US Economy Is Spiraling and Needs Urgent Action, Biden Aide Warns

A top economic adviser to President-elect Joe Biden warned the US economy is “spiraling downward” and called for swift action to address vulnerabilities that the global pandemic has drawn into focus. Brian Deese, who will serve as director of Biden’s National Economic Council, said that the incoming administration’s US$1.9 trillion spending plan would generate “the kind of robust recovery we need.”

New Home Construction in Canada Drops From Elevated Levels

New home construction fell in December from historically elevated levels but remains robust. Home starts declined to 228,300 units last month on an annualized basis, down 12.6% from a revised 261,200 units in November, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. said. The new construction is a sign the country’s housing market is slowing somewhat but continues to benefit from historically low interest rates and robust demand.

UK Offers Payments to Fishermen Hit by Brexit Trade Obstacles

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said fishermen hit by Brexit trade disruption will receive payments from the government after new paperwork snarled up fish exports to the European Union. “We’ll make sure they get help,” Johnson told as he announced a 23 million-pound (US$31 million) compensation fund for the fishing industry. The money is to help businesses which have been held up by “bureaucratic delays” through no fault of their own, Johnson said.

China’s Growth Beats Estimates as Economy Powers Out of Covid

China’s economy roared back to pre-pandemic growth rates in the fourth quarter as its industrial engines fired up to meet surging demand for exports, pushing the full-year expansion beyond estimates and propelling its global advance. Gross domestic product climbed 6.5% in the final quarter from a year earlier, pushing growth to 2.3% for the full year. That leaves the world’s second-largest economy driving global growth and potentially passing US GDP sooner than previously expected.

Philippine Banks’ Rebound to Beat Revival From Asian Crisis

Philippine banks will recover faster from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic than they did from the Asian financial crisis due to record-low interest rates, higher capital and a stable economy, the head of the nation’s bankers group said. Lenders in the Southeast Asian nation may bounce back in three to four years -- about half the time it took after the 1997 crisis -- as banks aggressively provision for probable losses, said Cezar Consing, president of the Bankers Association of the Philippines.

Oil Falls Near US$52 With Virus Surging and Dollar Strengthening

Oil futures edged lower after China reported new virus cases and the dollar rose, while physical crude prices in Asia weakened. Brent crude for March settlement lost US$0.35 to US$54.75 per barrel.

Source: Affin Hwang Research - 19 Jan 2021