“Once in a while, however, the future turns out to be very different from the past. It’s at these times that accurate forecasts would be of great value. It’s also at these times that forecasts are least likely to be correct. Some forecasters may turn out to be correct at these pivotal moments, suggesting that it’s possible to correctly”
― Howard Marks

1. U.K. to Become First to Roll Out Covid-19 Vaccine; Moderna to Seek FDA Approval — the British government is preparing to distribute the coronavirus vaccine manufactured by Pfizer and BioNTech as soon as next week; Meanwhile, Moderna said it would submit a filing to regulators this week, requesting emergency authorizations to distribute its vaccine. The U.K. government also asked the regulator to review the vaccine developed by AstraZeneca in conjunction with Oxford University, even though its Phase three trials raised questions after a mistake that saw some subjects inoculated with only half a dose in their first injection.
Moderna released the final results from its Covid-19 vaccine trial and said Monday that its shots showed 94.1% efficacy, confirming that the vaccine is highly effective at preventing the disease. Furthermore, An advisory group to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has called an emergency meeting to decide on recommendations for who should be first in line for scarce Covid-19 vaccinations. The Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices is set to meet Tuesday to vote on guidance for how states should distribute vaccines after they are approved for emergency use by the Food and Drug Administration.
2. Bitcoin Tops 2017 Record — Cryptocurrency Bitcoin rose to as high as $19,850 on Monday, topping its previous intraday record of $19,783 that was set on Dec. 17, 2017, before dropping slightly but remaining well above $19,000. Bitcoin has seen its price rise in concert with a wide range of other assets, from equities to gold, as the Federal Reserve and other central banks around the world have injected trillions of dollars of liquidity into capital markets, keeping interest rates on government bonds low. Bitcoin investing has gotten easier too. PayPal now lets all its U.S. users buy and sell Bitcoin directly through its service. In July, U.S. regulators allowed banks to hold cryptocurrency assets for customers.
3. McConnell Calls for Congress to Focus on Narrow Stimulus — Democrats had pushed for more than $2 trillion in aid, while McConnell has consistently advocated for a package of about $500 billion. Negotiations have been deadlocked for months and fully broke down ahead of the November election. While the last few days have seen a flurry of activity signaling a potential restart of talks, McConnell threw some cold water on optimism by saying that the “underlying reality” of the two parties’ policy differences were always the main impediment to reaching a deal and that those are “still with us.”
4. U.K., EU Pause Brexit Talks — The two sides’ negotiators said in tweets on Friday they have paused talks because the “conditions for an agreement are not met” and will now brief their respective political leaders. The U.K. and EU haven’t yet reached agreement on three key issues: access to British fishing waters, the competitive level playing field for business, and how any overall agreement is enforced, according to the statement.
5. Boeing Wins First Big 737 MAX Order Since Grounding Ended — Europe’s largest airline had ordered 75 additional of the 737 MAX, the aircraft that was grounded last year following two fatal air crashes. The latest order increases Ryanair’s order book to 210 jets. Ryanair again selected the 737 8-200, a higher-capacity version of the 737-8, the companies said in a statement, citing the airplane’s additional seats and improved fuel efficiency and environmental performance.

The week ahead — Economic data from Econoday.com: