1. AstraZeneca Vaccine Gains Wider Acceptance — the vaccine developed jointly by Oxford University and AstraZeneca is being approved by a rising number of regulators, paving the way for its generalized use. The Australian medicine regulator gave provisional approval for the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine on Tuesday, ahead of a national vaccination campaign due to start next week. The World Health Organization on Monday approved the vaccine for emergency use, which should allow developing countries a wide access to the jab. AstraZeneca has pledged not to profit from the sale of the vaccine, which is sold at the cheapest price of any available vaccine—at €1.80 ($2.20) a dose, for example, in the European Union, compared to €18 a dose for the Moderna vaccine and €12 for the Pfizer jab.
2. Covid-19 Was Spreading in China Before First Confirmed Cases — new evidence from China is affirming what epidemiologists have long suspected: The coronavirus likely began spreading unnoticed around the Wuhan area in November 2019, before it exploded in multiple different locations throughout the city in December. Chinese authorities declined to give the WHO team raw data on these cases and potential earlier ones. In examining 13 genetic sequences of the virus from December, Chinese authorities found similar sequences among those linked to the market, but slight differences in those of people without any link to it, according to the WHO investigators.
3. U.S. Retail Sales Rose Strongly on Stimulus in January — The U.S. economy’s recovery picked up as consumers used stimulus checks to boost retail spending in January to its largest increase in seven months. The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta’s GDPNow model on Wednesday predicted the economy will grow at a 9.5% seasonally adjusted annual rate in the first quarter, up sharply from a 4.5% estimate a week ago. Minutes from the Fed’s January policy meeting separately showed that policy makers expected the end-of-year federal stimulus package and progress toward widespread vaccinations would improve the outlook for the economy.
4. Saudi Arabia Set to Raise Oil Output Amid Recovery in Prices — the Kingdom plans to announce a reversal of those cuts when a coalition of oil producers meet next month, the advisers said, in light of the recent recovery in prices. The output rise won’t kick in until April, given the Saudis already have committed to stick to cuts through March. Brent crude, the international oil benchmark, has hit $64 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate, the main grade of U.S. crude, crossed $60.