Today's news headlines: 

‘Biden assures Zelenskiy of US support in Russia standoff’. US President Joe Biden showed support for Ukraine in a phone call on Thursday, vowing not to hold talks with Russia about the country without Ukrainian representatives present. A senior US official commented Russian aggression would be met with unprecedented economic penalties in a commitment to protect Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. (Bloomberg)
 
‘Boris Johnson braced for big Tory rebellion over Covid measures’. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson faces rebellion over new Covid restrictions as a Tory majority in North Shropshire risks being overturned in next week’s parliamentary by-election. Boris Johnson came under pressure earlier this week following accusations of Downing Street Christmas parties during last winter’s lockdown, with new details emerging that his communications director was present at an event and handed out awards. (Financial Times)

Today

Asian stocks slipped along with European futures overnight as the economic risks of new restrictions sweeping major economies were weighed against optimism over vaccine efficacy against Omicron. Oil prices fell further overnight while the US Dollar remained steady on a trade-weighted basis. Bond yields ticked marginally higher.

Events

German Consumer Price Index YoY (Nov): 5.2% (est. 5.2%)
UK Industrial Production (Oct): -0.6% (est. 0.1%)
UK Manufacturing Production (Oct): 0% (est. 0.2%)
US Consumer Price Index YoY (Nov): 1:30PM
US University of Michigan Sentiment Survey (Dec): 3:00PM

Interbank rates:

GBP/USD – 1.3215
GBP/EUR – 1.1700
EUR/USD – 1.1295
USD/CAD – 1.2710

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