Comments by German health minister, Jens Spahn
This has been in the works for a while now, with the EMA expected to announce its decision some time today. They have sped up its usual authorisation procedures after having come under pressure from bloc members amid the messy vaccine rollout.

AUD/USD trades to a high of 0.7815, the highest level since March 2018
The market continues to stick with the reflation narrative on the session and that is leading to equities climbing higher after earlier on.

Bloomberg reports, citing people familiar with the talks
This comes less than a week after the bloc boosted its original order of 200 million doses to 300 million doses.

Comments by UK finance minister, Rishi Sunak
– March budget will be excellent opportunity to take stock
– Will lay out next steps on virus support measures at March budget
This follows the earlier of additional grants totaling £4.6 billion to aid businesses amid the third national lockdown in the UK.

Boris Johnson to brief the media later in the day
I don’t think much else needs to be said following the national lockdown announcement yesterday . But we’ll see what else Johnson has in store for the public as the UK begins the seven-week lockdown; restrictions set to be reviewed next on 15 February.

Gold held off the dollar advance from yesterday and stays in a good spot above $1,940 in trading today
A surge in ETFs was part of the reason bolstering gold to start the new year, as holdings in SPDR Gold Shares increased by 1.5% – the biggest daily jump since September.
That shows that real money flows

The implications are likely to be short-term, if any that is
The emphasis of the Georgia runoffs only adds to the uncertainty in the opening week but I would argue that any major implications from the results are to be short-lived.

Bild reports on the matter
This doesn’t come as much of a surprise, as similar extensions are also likely across the region given the virus situation in Europe. German authorities will formalise a decision some time this week, with the current lockdown set to run until 10 January.

Comments by ECB policymaker, Pablo Hernandez de Cos
– Would not need full PEPP envelope if financial conditions persist
– Yield curve control is an option worth exploring
One of the less talked about issues as we start the new year is the divide among ECB policymakers at their last meeting in December.

Easy come, easy go for Bitcoin
Mainstream media is filled with Bitcoin coverage to start the new year, following the surge over the Christmas and New Year’s holidays to a record near $35,000.