Nigel William Crawford and Jim Buttery via The Conversation | This pause in the trials doesn’t necessarily mean it’s not safe. Rather, it indicates the testing is progressing as it should, with due consideration of safety. In a sense, this is what phase 2 and 3 clinical trials are designed for — to pick up any potential safety issues and investigate them further.
Just Eat, one of the UK’s leading online food delivery platforms, has added cryptoasset payment options for its France subsidiary. The company has partnered with cryptocurrency payment provider Bitpay to allow its users to pay in bitcoin. The move means Just Eat users will now be able to order food from across 15,000 restaurants in France and pay using bitcoin…
We do not expect ECB policy action this week, but guidance is that the ECB has its finger on the trigger for more PEPP (Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme). Communication will not be easy, but EUR appreciation, record low core inflation and Fed policy should make for very dovish tones. We expect €500bn more PEPP in December, but inflation expectations urgently need attention too. Front-end rates will likely be supported by FX concerns, but credit risks are increasingly underpriced in by the market. Beyond verbal intervention, we think the ECB has limited options to weaken EUR for now.
According to the latest OECD’s data for the month of August, Spain is at the back of the bunch, with 93.2 points. It is the only country which has slowed down, losing 1.4 whole points and becoming the country signalling lower growth. The final Q2’20 GDP data for the Eurozone does not leave Spain in a good position either. The decline in the country’s economic activity stands out as being the most negative, with a drop of 22.1%, ahead of France, which declined by 18.9%, Italy by 17.7% and Portugal by 16.3%.
Santander Corporate & Investment | Global sales of electric cars and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles increased 72% annually and 5% monthly to 253,000 units in July (the 4th best monthly figure in history). Europe recorded remarkable growth (199% in yearly terms and 22% monthly), due to incentives and requirements to cut average emissions in the EU. Meanwhile there was a slight recovery in China (+44% on a yoy basis, but -5% monthly). Germany, France and the UK made the largest contributions to sales growth.
Spain is ranked 30th in the UN’s Global Innovation Index (GII) and 21st in the new brand value indicator. For the first time in its 13-year history, the renowned GII includes brand value as one of its main indicators. With a score of 33.29 out of 100 on the Global Innovation Index (GII) global brand value indicator, Spain is among the countries whose brand value to GDP ratio is lower than expected for the size of the economy.
London-listed stocks rallied yesterday as the pound sank, after Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that the UK will walk away from Brexit negotiations if a deal is not reached by mid-October.
Last week in financial markets saw the euro rise above the $1.20 threshold. ECB chief economist Philip Lane intervened recalling market participants that the exchange rate “mattered”. The single currency traded down to $1.18 shortly after the comments. Currency appreciation amid near-zero inflation in the euro area is unwelcome for future price developments. Christine Lagarde’s message next Thursday after the governing council will likely echo Lane’s comments.
Naturgy signed last week with Snowy Hydro its first energy sales contract with a retailer in Australia to build a 218 MW wind farm in Victoria. Some days later, the company has increased its presence in the country with the award by the Australian Capital Territory of 107 MW wind farm and a battery energy storage system of 20 MWh. With both operations, Naturgy doubles its presence in the region, reaching a renewable capacity of near 600 MW and becoming the Top-3 independent wind energy producer.
It will take three years for global oil demand to recover from Covid to its new normal assuming we have a vaccine or a cure. According to estimates from BoA Global Research, long term oil demand will peak at 105 million barrel/day by 2030 on electric car proliferation, and then decline to 95 mn bd by 2050. If heavy vehicles also switch to alternative fuel, electric or more likely hydrogen, demand could drop to 76 mnb/d by 2050.