1. Let the vaccinations begin…

There’s good news on the vaccine front out of the UK that could help the economy and stocks. With the UK Government giving approval to Pfizer’s vaccine, the Brits will be receiving jabs by next week. Meanwhile our local regulator, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) is likely to give the vaccine the nod soon, so Australians should start being vaccinated in January, which is ahead of schedule, and will not only mean our economy will reopen faster and recover more quickly than was expected, but the stock market is likely to keep rising ahead of a widespread vaccination program next year. Of course, markets will have pullbacks but stock experts say these short-term sell offs will be buying opportunities for savvy stock players.

2. Biden biding his time on tariffs

Is the US President-in-waiting keeping the tariff pressure on China to support us with our current trade battle with Beijing? President-elect Joe Biden told the New York Times that he’s not rushing to lift tariffs on China. At this stage, appearances suggest that he’s not playing an ‘in your face’ battle with China to support us and is simply saying he’s keeping the Trump tariffs on China in place as he considers his options. Right now, numerous governments are showing support for our plight, with many politicians from other countries telling their countrymen to buy Aussie wine, but eventually Joe Biden, supported by other major economies, will have to negotiate with China to play fair, or else Beijing will keep playing bully boy politics with other trading partners.

3. Afterpay sales surge during Black Friday and Cyber Monday

Over $2.1 billion of monthly underlying sales were made through Afterpay in November, an increase of 112% on November 2019. $1.0 billion in sales were in the United States compared to $0.9 billion in Australia, marking the first time the US has exceeded local sales. The company noted that kids clothing, toys and beauty products were amongst the most popular items in Australia, while thermal wear was popular in the US and beauty items and accessories topped the UK.

4. Grey elephant sale

Namibia has announced it is planning to auction off at least 170 elephants "due to drought and an increase in elephant numbers, coupled with human-elephant conflict incidences". Bloomberg reported that the ongoing drought in the country has increased the risk of conflict between farmers and elephants who may eat their crops. The elephants will be grouped by family and buyers must meet strict criteria to bid.

5. Dow and S&P 500, Nasdaq down on Wednesday

The Dow Jones ended the middle day of the trading week up 59.7 points or 0.20% to 29,883.79 and the S&P 500 moved 6.56 points or 0.18% higher to 3,669.01. The Nasdaq was down 5.74 points or 0.05% to 12,349.37.