Comments by Ifo economist, Klaus Wohlrabe
That’s not an encouraging assessment, with the subdued services activity also somewhat reflected by the weaker PMI readings in January last week . If tighter restrictions are prolonged to Easter, a double-dip recession is certainly on the cards.

Rumors fly as WallStreetBets sparks a run on shorts
The balance of power in stock markets has shifted. This week’s drama in the shares of GameStop (GME) is one of the best signs yet that the power of retail traders can’t be doubted.

Forex news for New York trade on
Markets:
– Gold down $15 to $1854
– US 10-year yields down 2 bps to 1.85%
– S&P 500 down 12 points to 3841
– WTI crude down $1 to $52.14
The extremely strong manufacturing and services PMIs from Markit were a reminder that the US economy continues to recover even amongst the

Closing changes for the main markets:
That’s a strange dynamic. It was neither tech nor large caps leading but small caps managed to clock a big gain.
On the week:

Weekly forex futures positioning data from the CFTC for the week ending Tuesday:
There hasn’t been much going on with this report for months but euro longs are starting to tick higher.

The US just crossed 400,000
Biden is speaking from the White House about the pandemic and said there is little that can be done to change the trajectory of the pandemic.

Hitting back against early election reports

Via Reuters
Japan health ministry reports that girl in Tokyo under 10 years old is found to have London COVID-19 variant. Thought to be as a result of community infection as the girl has not travelled to the UK.

EU countries see lower deliveries
Markets want to see a fast vaccination program. Slow downs like these will be overlooked as long as supply does not grind to a halt. 

Better prospects for RBNZ. 
Last night’s CPI data for : 
New Zealand confirms a brightening picture for NZD
Bond yield spread between the 10y’s is falling (favouring AUDNZD selling- orange line on chart)