A few token remarks by Barnier
– We need a school of patience
Not much details being given, but the European Commission is also out with a comment saying that they do not exclude that Brexit talks can continue after the transition period ends. Good stuff, eh? You can never trust a Brexit „deadline“.

Latest data released by NFIB – 8 December 2020
The election outcome was also seen as a factor, with NFIB noting that „there was clearly a disappointment for some small business owners“.

The Daily Telegraph’s political editor, Gordon Rayner, updates on the situation
Still no decision on when Boris Johnson will go to Brussels. Tomorrow is still possible, UK sources are saying, but EU sources saying there hasn’t been a discussion yet with No10 over which day it will be.
Just be reminded that the EU has now put

Latest data released by ZEW – 8 December 2020
Once again, this feeds into the narrative that the market continues to be largely more forward looking and that will dictate sentiment in risk trades in the big picture.

Latest data released by Eurostat – 8 December 2020
The secondary release can be found . Little change compared to the second estimates so there really isn’t much of anything new to gather from the release here.

Bloomberg reports, citing a document on the package
Fiscal measures are to comprise around ¥40 trillion, partly financed by ¥19.2 trillion in spending from a third extra budget. This is a bit on the higher end of reports on what ruling party lawmakers are calling for in terms of new measures.

BBC Brussels correspondent, Nick Beake, confirms
Meanwhile, The Daily Telegraph’s political editor, Gordon Rayner tweets that:
UK sources say little chance of a Brexit trade deal today. But PM won’t walk away if there is still any chance of a deal being done. UK feel under less time pressure than EU because we could ratify a deal

Several news sources reporting on the matter
A few media outlets reporting with the same, suggesting that there has been „no decisive progress made so far although some progress has been made“, citing a senior EU diplomat on the matter.

The meeting is reportedly taking place now with a statement expected to follow
Just watch out for this as it may be a precursor to some high-level verbal agreement that may see the UK drop the offensive elements in the Internal Market Bill.

No reason was given from the Chinese customs bureau
This just adds to the ongoing tensions between China and Australia. All the other reasons and excuses for other trade halts/bans were lame at best so why bother.