The Leaders' Brief

Today on The Leaders' Brief - The UK signed a post-Brexit trade deal with the non-EU member European countries Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein, last week. Secretary of State for International Trade - Liz Truss told reporters after announcing the agreement, that the deal would boost sectors such as digital and cut tariffs on UK farm products. Notably, the UK is Norway's biggest trading partner outside the EU and with Iceland and Liechtenstein form the European Economic Area (EEA). Trade between the UK and the EEA was worth £22 Billion or approximately $31 Billion last year, of which £20 Biilion or $28.34 Billion was with Norway.  The Customs Authorities of China revealed this week that the year-on-year trade turnover between Beijing and Russia increased by 23.6% between January and May, amounting to $50.65 Billion. According to the Chinese customs officials, Russia's exports climbed by 35.3% in January-May reaching $22.92 Billion, and imports increased by 15.4% in the first five months of the year amounting to $27.73 Billion. The announcement comes at a time Moscow and Beijing have seen bilateral ties reach their best in years, particularly caused by a push from western sanctions on Russian and China. The Group of Seven comprising France, Canada, Germany, the UK, Italy, Japan, and the USA will kickstart their three-day summit today to discuss several issues pertaining to trade and foreign policy. While a change in US Presidency will certainly see several landmark proposals including a 15% global corporate tax, a large portion of the world would be keenly looking at what the countries decide about the equitable distribution of vaccines. After many rich powers hoarded COVID-19 vaccines, Boris Johnson wants the G7 to donate hundreds of millions of doses to poorer countries, many of which are far behind the West in vaccinating their populations. About egomonk: Website | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedInegomonk is a global intelligence platform delivering asymmetric outcomes by bringing organizations closer to the communities they want to serve and the leaders they wish to influence. If you wish to collaborate with us then email us at contact@egomonk.com.

Today on The Leaders' Brief - The World Bank has announced it had temporarily paused payments to operations in Mali after the military orchestrated the second coup in less than a year. The West African nation has been in a political crisis since August, last year. President Boubacar Keita was removed from power by the country's military who received strong support from the country's civilians but drew international criticism, inviting several sanctions. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), for the second time, suspended Mali, freezing all aid passing through its borders.  US tech giant Google announced it would make a series of changes to its advertising technology after being fined 220 Million Euros ($268 million) in France for abusing its ‘dominant position in online advertising. An investigation by the French Competition Authority found that Google gave preferential treatment to its DFP advertising server, which allows publishers of sites and applications to sell their advertising space and its SSP AdX listing platform.  India, which till a few months ago had become the COVID epicentre in the world averaging over 400,000 daily cases, appears to have finally contained the Delta variant. While the country still recorded over 90,000 cases and 2,000 deaths yesterday, a rapid vaccination drive, one of the biggest in the world, is gradually allowing Indian cities to open up. It should be noted that since the end of April a second COVID wave had crippled the Indian economy as several states had to impose strict lockdown measures to cut the COVID chain. According to data released last month the lockdowns had seen India's factory output fall significantly.  About egomonk: Website | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedInegomonk is a global intelligence platform delivering asymmetric outcomes by bringing organizations closer to the communities they want to serve and the leaders they wish to influence. If you wish to collaborate with us then email us at contact@egomonk.com.

Today on The Leaders' Brief - According to Reuters, the G7 group would support the push for a tax by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and has a "high level of ambition" for its eventual rate. Mr Biden would seek a 15% global corporate tax. If applicable, this would see the EU collect additional revenues of over $60 Billion. It should be noted that the move comes at a time when most countries have registered record levels of public borrowing due to the COVID induced economic slowdown.   A month after violence rocked Israel, the country's long-standing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has come closer than ever to losing his office. Last week, the country's opposition leader Yair Lapid announced a coalition deal that threatened to end Benjamin Netanyahu's 12-year rule as the country's Prime Minister. Lapid and far-right leader of the Yamina party Naftali Bennett will be sharing half terms as Prime Minister as part of the deal. The Prime Minister himself tweeted "All lawmakers who were elected with votes from the right must oppose this dangerous left-wing government."  Facebook-owned Instagram said that it is changing its algorithm after being accused of suppressing pro-Palestinian messages during last months Gaza conflict. The company said that it is changing the way it is showcasing content due to what it called was an unwanted side effect of its algorithm misrepresenting the company as having censored certain viewpoints. During the recent Gaza conflict, social media platforms were heavily used to spread messages of support on both sides. However, during the conflict, several Palestinians had complained that Instagram was discriminatory in deleting several posts that allegedly showed the ground reality of the situation. About egomonk: Website | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedInegomonk is a global intelligence platform delivering asymmetric outcomes by bringing organizations closer to the communities they want to serve and the leaders they wish to influence. If you wish to collaborate with us then email us at contact@egomonk.com.

Today on The Leaders' Brief - Britain's health secretary Matt Hancock said last week that the country's vaccine rollout was clearly working after the country reported zero COVID related deaths for the first time in almost a year. The UK is among the first European countries to gradually open up its economy and since last month has gradually allowed the easing of COVID restrictive measures which had followed a strong coronavirus wave.  US President Joe Biden's administration is freezing all oil and gas leases in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge pending an environmental review on the impact of drilling in the region. The leases were given by the erstwhile Donald Trump administration during the final months of his presidency. The suspension follows a January executive order that identified “alleged legal deficiencies” in the original leasing program and put in place a temporary moratorium on any oil and gas-related activities in the refuge. The Swiss bank and investment firm Credit Suisse is preparing litigation against Japan's SoftBank after the collapse of Greensill Capital that could see clients lose as much as $3 Billion. The Japanese conglomerate was an important investor in Lex Greensill's collapsed supply-chain finance empire. The Swiss bank had earlier announced that it would sever relations with Softbank as it was reviewing its risk and client relationships after being hit by the twin collapses of Greensill and Archegos Capital Management.  About egomonk: Website | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedInegomonk is a global intelligence platform delivering asymmetric outcomes by bringing organizations closer to the communities they want to serve and the leaders they wish to influence. If you wish to collaborate with us then email us at contact@egomonk.com.

Today on The Leaders' Brief - India, which continues to see full to partial lockdowns in most parts, saw factory activity fall to 50.8 in May from 55.5 a month earlier according to the Nikkei Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index, barely escaping contraction. However, on the good side, the country, which was recently averaging over 400,000 cases every day, saw an over 50% dip in numbers last week. Recent developments suggest that as states start easing COVID restrictive measures India may escape a devastating economic ruin.  In what can be called a major policy shift, Beijing increased its two-child limit to three to boost a rapidly decreasing birth rate. However, experts believe that the move will not be enough to counter the problem of a rapidly ageing population. Most Chinese living in urban areas have over the last few years, expressed that the higher cost of education through private facilities due to increased competitiveness makes them prefer having not more than one child.  Carmaker Daimler agreed to buy 3G and 4G licences directly from Nokia ending a years-long legal dispute that threatened production and sales of the company's cars and trucks. Under the new agreement, Nokia would license mobile telecommunications technology to Daimler and receive payment in return. Nokia said in a statement, “The parties have agreed to settle all pending litigation between Daimler and Nokia, including the complaint by Daimler against Nokia to the European Commission. The terms of the agreement remain confidential as agreed between the parties.” About egomonk: Website | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedInegomonk is a global intelligence platform delivering asymmetric outcomes by bringing organizations closer to the communities they want to serve and the leaders they wish to influence. If you wish to collaborate with us then email us at contact@egomonk.com.

Today on The Leaders' Brief - Last week, the US Senate advanced legislation to boost the country's ability to compete with Chinese technology, as relations between Washington and Beijing continue to deteriorate. The $250 Billion US Innovation and Competition Act of 2021, or USICA saw the 68 US senators voting in favour with 30 against it. The Bill plans to spend $190 Billion to strengthen US technology in general and another $54 Billion to increase the production of semiconductors, microchips, and telecommunication equipment. Tensions between Azerbaijan and Armenia escalated over the last week after the former arrested six Armenian soldiers, accusing them of trying to cross into its territory in the Kelbajar region. Last week, months after a ceasefire treaty between the two nations, the Azerbaijani government said that the Armenian soldiers had “tried to mine supply routes leading to Azerbaijan army positions” and “were surrounded, neutralised and taken prisoner”.  Mali's military released the country's interim president Bah Ndaw and Prime Minister Moctar Ouane, last week. The move came after months of international pressure calling for the country's military government to restore civilian rule. Mali has been under political crisis since August last year, witnessing two coups in a span of nine months. Previously President Boubacar Keita was removed from power by the country's military who received strong support from the country's civilians. However, global powers condemned the incident and placed the country under several sanctions. About egomonk: Website | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedInegomonk is a global intelligence platform delivering asymmetric outcomes by bringing organizations closer to the communities they want to serve and the leaders they wish to influence. If you wish to collaborate with us then email us at contact@egomonk.com.

Today on The Leaders' Brief - The $715 Billion budget that US President Joe Biden unveiled last week aims to address escalating tension due to alleged Chinese military aggression in the Indo-Pacific. Congress has been divided with one group made up of progressives calling for a 10% cut in military spending and another arguing for an increase in defence spending, particularly due to increasing threats from China and Russia. In sharp contrast to his predecessor, Mr Biden plans to increase the military budget by a mere 1.7% to $753 billion.  The United Nations Human Rights Council agreed last week, to launch an investigation probing whether Israel and Islamist group Hamas has conducted any crimes during the 11-day conflict last month. Violence erupted in Israel during Ramadan festivities after Palestine's Hamas group launched rockets targeting Israel in retaliation to clashes at the Al-Aqsa mosque, the third holiest site in Islam. Over 230 Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes following the attack. At at least 60 of them were children.  Protests erupted in Idlib after Syrian President Bashar al-Assad secured a fourth term with an improbable 95.1% vote share. However, the country's opposition in exile along with the international community have strongly contested the poll results. The foreign ministers of Germany, France, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States put out a joint statement, saying that the polls were “neither free nor fair” as they were held without UN supervision.  About egomonk: Website | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedInegomonk is a global intelligence platform delivering asymmetric outcomes by bringing organizations closer to the communities they want to serve and the leaders they wish to influence. If you wish to collaborate with us then email us at contact@egomonk.com.

Today on The Leaders' Brief - Days after the Indian Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) sent a notice to WhatsApp, calling its new privacy policy “discriminatory”, “unfair” and “irresponsible”, threatening the Facebook-owned messaging application with legal consequences, the social media company said that it will not restrict features if users decide to opt-out of its new privacy policy. After being served a notice by the Indian government, Facebook has promised to keep the privacy update optional, but it is unclear as to what step the social media giant would take once India's Personal Data Protection Bill is turned into an act. Iran has agreed to extend an agreement allowing the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to keep surveillance cameras at its nuclear sites for another month. Iran has steadily increased its nuclear activity, including the enrichment of uranium to a purity of over 20%, a step towards developing nuclear weapons in the last two years, violating the UN-brokered Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, popularly called the Iran Nuclear Deal.  Samoa has been plunged into a political crisis after Prime Minister-elect Fiame Naomi Mata'afa was sworn in as the country's first female prime minister at a ceremony in a tent outside the parliament. The country's first female Prime Minister was forced to take this extraordinary step as her challenger and current Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi has refused to leave office. The Supreme Court has also involved itself in the matter, ordering the appointment of a new leader.  About egomonk: Website | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedInegomonk is a global intelligence platform delivering asymmetric outcomes by bringing organizations closer to the communities they want to serve and the leaders they wish to influence. If you wish to collaborate with us then email us at contact@egomonk.com.

Today on The Leaders' Brief - A decision by the Alexander Lukashenko government to detain a journalist has sparked outrage in the USA and Europe. Belarusian authorities had sent a Mig-21 fighter jet to intercept a Ryanair plane flying from Athens to Lithuania and forced it to land in Minsk, flagging a false bomb alert. The 26-year-old journalist, who works for a Telegram channel called Belamova, is wanted in Belarus on extremism charges and is accused of organising mass riots.  Australia imposed COVID-19 lockdown measures in its second-largest city, Melbourne, after being unable to find the missing link leading to a fresh outbreak in the city. Under the restrictions, applicable for the next three days, home gatherings will be limited to five guests, public meetings would be limited to 30 people, and face masks will be mandatory in restaurants, pubs, and other indoor venues.  European Commission President Ursula Von Der Lyne told a news conference, last week, that problems between the EU and Britain do not stem out of the Northern Ireland Protocol but out of Brexit itself. In a report, The United Kingdom's Office of National Statistics revealed that imports of goods from EU countries, excluding precious metals, fell by 21.7%, while exports fell 18.1%. In comparison, the UK's trade with the rest of the world fell by only 0.4%. About egomonk: Website | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedInegomonk is a global intelligence platform delivering asymmetric outcomes by bringing organizations closer to the communities they want to serve and the leaders they wish to influence. If you wish to collaborate with us then email us at contact@egomonk.com.

Today on The Leaders' Brief - Described by the South China Morning Post as “President Xi Jinping's most trusted foreign policy aide”, Yang Jiechi, the director of China's Central Foreign Affairs Commission flew to Russia last week to discuss strategic ties between the long term allies. Of the two Chinese power plants built with Russian collaboration, the Tianwan plant, which has been operating since 2007, will see new units come up.  Indian police visited a Twitter office in the country to serve the company a notice after the social media company had labelled a tweet by the country's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Sambit Patra as “manipulative.” Additionally, Twitter along with Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp are also facing increasing pressure from the Indian government to comply with a set of new directives issued to govern the country's IT space. Israel announced the signing of a deal with Google and Amazon Web Services to set up regional data centres in the country as part of an over $1 Billion project. The two tech firms beat Microsoft, Oracle, and IBM to win the tender for the four-phase Nimbus project which intends to provide a comprehensive solution for the provision of cloud services to the government and increase economic efficiency. About egomonk: Website | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedInegomonk is a global intelligence platform delivering asymmetric outcomes by bringing organizations closer to the communities they want to serve and the leaders they wish to influence. If you wish to collaborate with us then email us at contact@egomonk.com.

Today on The Leaders' Brief - China's internet watchdog the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), said last week that it had found 105 applications, including ByteDance's Douyin, Microsoft's Bing and LinkedIn, and Baidu, were engaged in the improper collection and use of data. According to the internet watchdog, the 105 apps had violated Chinese laws by excessively collecting and illegally accessing users' personal information. The announcement comes less than a month after Beijing put in place measures outlining how apps should collect personal information.  White House press secretary Jen Psaki, announced last week that the Democrats have cut down US President Joe Bien's ambitious $2.25 trillion infrastructure spending plan by over $300 billion. The over $2 domestic trillion infrastructure spending plan proposed by the US President earlier this year had hoped to address several fronts, including competing with Chinese economic activity. On a domestic level, the plan addressed climate change, elder care, and affordable schooling.  The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has approved the $44 Billion merger deal between Virgin Media and Telefonica-owned O2. The deal would create a 50:50 joint venture and would see a total of 46 million video, broadband and mobile subscribers along with $15.5 Billion in revenues. The CMA had launched an inquiry into the deal as it felt the merger had the possibility to threaten competitiveness in the country's telecom industry. About egomonk: Website | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedInegomonk is a global intelligence platform delivering asymmetric outcomes by bringing organizations closer to the communities they want to serve and the leaders they wish to influence. If you wish to collaborate with us then email us at contact@egomonk.com.

Today on The Leaders' Brief - Last Friday, Japan extended its national emergency on Okinawa, hours after it approved two new vaccines for its vaccination drive. The move is a much-needed step for Japan as the country, scheduled to host the Olympics in a few months' time, continues to see one of the slowest vaccination drives in the developed world. Less than 5% of the country's total population had been vaccinated last week. The resolution to freeze the EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment was passed with a 599-30 majority at the European Parliament last Thursday, suggesting the possible escalation of trade tensions between Beijing and Europe. Announcing the pause on ratifying the EU-China Investment agreement, the European Parliament called the sanctions placed on European individuals by Beijing back in March, baseless and arbitrary.  Anglo-Dutch company oil giant Royal Dutch Shell has said that it will offload the last of its Nigerian assets in line with its desire to transform into a clean energy giant and achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. CEO Ben van Beurden told investors last Tuesday that the balance of risks and rewards associated with the company's onshore portfolio is no longer compatible with its strategic ambitions.  About egomonk: Website | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedInegomonk is a global intelligence platform delivering asymmetric outcomes by bringing organizations closer to the communities they want to serve and the leaders they wish to influence. If you wish to collaborate with us then email us at contact@egomonk.com.

Today on The Leaders' Brief - Last week, the US withdrew sanctions on a company and an individual involved with the construction of the contentious US-Germany undersea gas pipeline project, Nord Stream 2. The US state department said that it was in the US National interest to lift sanctions on Nord Stream 2 AG and its CEO Matthias Warnig, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The department, however, noted that the two remain engaged in sanctionable activity.  China's announcement that it was increasing curbs on crypto trade in the country has escalated concerns of crypto owners worldwide. Between May 19th and 20th, the crypto market saw $460 billion in losses, a large portion of which is not expected to be recovered. China, which has launched and is experimenting with its own digital currency, had since 2017 brought in several regulations to discourage crypto trade in the country. At that time China accounted for almost 90% of all bitcoin mining.  Australian air carrier Qantas announced a new voluntary redundancy program for the international crew as part of additional cost-cutting measures after revealing that it estimates losses at about $2 billion this year. The announcement came days after Australia said that it has no intention of lifting international border restrictions before mid-2022.  About egomonk: Website | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedInegomonk is a global intelligence platform delivering asymmetric outcomes by bringing organizations closer to the communities they want to serve and the leaders they wish to influence. If you wish to collaborate with us then email us at contact@egomonk.com.

Today on The Leaders' Brief - A recent decision by Ireland's High Court, dismissing US tech giant Facebook's complaint against Ireland's Data Protection Commission, could severely impact Facebook's data-based revenue model. Facebook had challenged the Preliminary Draft Decision (PDD) and the DPC inquiry leading to it by citing "devastating" and "irreversible" consequences for its business.  Recent reports by US media have stated that the Joe Biden administration has okayed the export of $735 million worth of precision-guided weapons to Israel, at a time the country is facing its worst violence in years. While Israel is known to have received US military and economic assistance since its formation, the timing of the deal threatens to dampen President Joe Biden's image among Democrat voters.  Officials from Canberra said last week that they have no intention of lifting international border restrictions before mid-2022. The country had closed its borders to non-nationals and non-residents in March 2020 and has allowed only limited international arrivals since then. Australia's decision to maintain strict border restrictions comes at a time its tourism industry is estimating losses of $5-7 Billion, threatening to jeopardise over 300,000 jobs.  About egomonk: Website | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedInegomonk is a global intelligence platform delivering asymmetric outcomes by bringing organizations closer to the communities they want to serve and the leaders they wish to influence. If you wish to collaborate with us then email us at contact@egomonk.com.

Today on The Leaders' Brief - The number of active coronavirus cases in India fell by 165,000 at the start of last week, the biggest ever drop recorded by the country. Last Monday also saw the total number of daily cases drop below the 300,000 marks after almost two months. The death toll due to COVID, however, continued breaking records. Added to the country's COVID situation, India's western coast, which includes the state of Maharashtra, was ravaged by Tauktae, a severe cyclonic storm, which killed over 20 people in the last week. The ongoing clash between Palestine-backed militants and Israeli forces has placed the USA in a tricky spot in reviving the Iran nuclear deal. Weeks after Iranian President Hassan Rouhani voiced optimism saying that negotiations with the US and allies over rejoining the Iran Nuclear deal had made almost 70% progress, Israel witnessed its worst-ever violence in decades with the everyday conflict between Iran-supported Hamas group and Israeli forces.  The European Union and United States have started discussions to address metal tariffs imposed by US President Joe Biden's predecessor, Donal Trump. Under former President Trump, the USA had in 2018 imposed a 25% tariff on European steel and 10% on aluminium on grounds of national security. Since then the issue has continued to strain the EU-US relationship.  About egomonk: Website | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedInegomonk is a global intelligence platform delivering asymmetric outcomes by bringing organizations closer to the communities they want to serve and the leaders they wish to influence. If you wish to collaborate with us then email us at contact@egomonk.com.

Today on The Leaders' Brief - The USA, along with allies - UK and Canada, announced more sanctions against Myanmar's military government this week. The latest sanctions attempt to increase pressure by directly targeting the State Administrative Council, or SAC, the official name of the military government formed in February. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken underscored USA's resolve and that of its partners to apply political and financial pressure on the regime as long as it fails to stop violence and take meaningful action to respect the will of the people. Most parts of the United Kingdom saw a semblance of normalcy this week as the country continued the easing of lockdown measures. Last month, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson had announced the country's plans to reopen its economy, starting with the reopening of all shops, gyms, hairdressers, and outdoor hospitality areas in England. This week, most areas across Scotland, England, and Wales saw businesses such as pubs and restaurants, cinemas, and sports venues open for the first time in months. China became the second country in the world to successfully land on Mars, after its Tianwen-1 spacecraft successfully deployed its rover - Zhu Rong, onto the red planet's surface. Despite all of the economic and medical trouble the COVID pandemic has caused, the year 2020 saw several major landmarks in space research, including China's Tianwen 1 probe. Among the three mars missions, China's Tianwen-1 probe is the first space mission that sent a shuttle to Mars with a lander, a rover, and an orbiter.  About egomonk: Website | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedInegomonk is a global intelligence platform delivering asymmetric outcomes by bringing organizations closer to the communities they want to serve and the leaders they wish to influence. If you wish to collaborate with us then email us at contact@egomonk.com.

Today on The Leaders' Brief - India is seeing over 400,000 Covid cases every day and over 1,000 deaths due to the coronavirus while facing a severe shortage of medical equipment despite the government cutting no corners in their procurement of the same. The country's opposition has called on the government to take immediate measures including the central procurement of vaccines from all available sources, global and domestic, a free and universal mass vaccination campaign, free distribution of foodgrain and allocating a sum of $82 per month to those unemployed.  The Philippines recently rejected an annual fishing ban imposed by China and encouraged its boats to keep fishing in the country's territorial waters. The fishing moratorium imposed by China in 1999 runs from May 1 to August 16. The announcement came after Manila reported the latest incursions of Chinese vessels on its 200-mile Exclusive Economic Zone. Relations have deteriorated between the longtime allies since the Philippines announced it would send diplomatic protests each day as long as China allowed almost 200 ships to remain stationed at a disputed area in the South China Sea.  Nationwide protests for a fourth straight week continue to cause economic turmoil in Colombia. The country's third-largest city-Cali, which has emerged as the epicentre of the anti-government protests that started on April 28th against tax reforms, is running short of essential items, including petrol. The initial protests, called by the National Unemployment Committee were against a proposal to raise taxes on household products like milk and meat, slowly escalating to protesting against police brutality and increasing inequality.  About egomonk: Website | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedInegomonk is a global intelligence platform delivering asymmetric outcomes by bringing organizations closer to the communities they want to serve and the leaders they wish to influence. If you wish to collaborate with us then email us at contact@egomonk.com.

Today on The Leaders' Brief - Several west African nations are being forced to limit industrial activity to less than 50% of their full capacity due to a power outage in Ivory Coast and Ghana. News agency Reuters quoted a spokesman from Mali's energy ministry saying that electricity imports from Ivory Coast had fallen 30%, leading to a 100 MW generation deficit. Most cocoa producers in the country have reportedly dropped operational capacity by 50-70% and are incurring additional production costs as they have to now depend on diesel-powered generators which increase power costs by almost 300%.  South Africa's Reserve Bank is expected to keep its repo rate at a record low of 3.5% in its meeting tomorrow despite the possibility of inflation increasing in the coming months. Statistics revealed by the country two weeks ago had shown manufacturing output rise by 4% year on year in March after falling by a revised 2.5% in February, and factory production was up 3.4% month on month in March. The decision was taken at a time consumer prices had increased 0.68% over the previous month in March with an inflation rate of 3.2%.  Venezuelan Electoral Council President Pedro Calzadilla announced last week that the country would hold regional and local elections on November 21. The country's face of opposition, Juan Guaido, recognised by most western nations as the country's legitimate president called for Presidential and parliamentary elections to be held as well. The South American country has been under political crisis for the last two years, with opposition members routinely boycotting elections, including one held in December last year. About egomonk: Website | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedInegomonk is a global intelligence platform delivering asymmetric outcomes by bringing organizations closer to the communities they want to serve and the leaders they wish to influence. If you wish to collaborate with us then email us at contact@egomonk.com.

Today on The Leaders' Brief - Up till a month ago, ousting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, presently undergoing trial for criminal charges, from his seat was a likely possibility. However, Naftali Bennett, whose ultranationalist Yamina party is key to forming a coalition before President Rueven Rivlin's 28-day mandate ends, has decided to abandon coalition talks with Yesh Atid for a wider unity coalition government. The possibility of a rotation government with both Mr Bennett and Yair Lepid serving half terms as Prime Minister would need the support of Arab legislators.  The USA last week announced a strongly worded support for Australia in its ongoing trade tiff with Beijing. Welcoming the USA's support, Australian foreign minister Marise Payne said it should embolden other countries to stand up to Beijing when the Chinese government threatens their national values and interests. Miss Payne revealed that the Australian government is pushing for a more thorough investigation into the origins of the coronavirus. Greece's Tourism Minister Harry Theoharis announced the country's reopening for international tourists who have been vaccinated against Covid-19 from last Friday. The announcement is a much-needed development for a country that sees 16-20% of its GDP dependent on the tourism industry that has been crippled by the COVID pandemic. Estimated losses from the plunge in international tourism are about $2 trillion or roughly 2% of global GDP.  About egomonk: Website | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedInegomonk is a global intelligence platform delivering asymmetric outcomes by bringing organizations closer to the communities they want to serve and the leaders they wish to influence. If you wish to collaborate with us then email us at contact@egomonk.com.

Today on The Leaders' Brief - Last week, all of the southeastern USA faced a severe fuel shortage, with three states, North Carolina, Virginia, and Florida declaring a state of emergency. The situation is largely being blamed on a cyberattack that forced the Colonial Pipeline Company, which transports about 45 per cent of all petrol and diesel on the USA's east coast through its 8,850 km pipeline network, to shut down operations on May 7. Apart from threatening a fuel price surge, and exposing the vulnerability of the USA's cyberinfrastructure, the attack has caused fresh friction between Washington and the Kremlin. Taiwan is expected to raise its COVID-19 alert level this week, according to a statement made by the country's Health Minister Chen Shih-Chung. The Taiwanese health minister's comment in parliament describing the country's COVID situation as being very serious came as Taipei reported 16 local COVID cases, its highest single-day surge since the beginning of the pandemic, last Wednesday. Mr Shih-chung urged people to be more vigilant and businesses to tighten their disease prevention measures. A day before his comment, the country had reported six new cases prompting the Taiwanese government to tighten rules on public gatherings. The United Kingdom reported a stronger-than-expected economic growth of 2.1% in March from February, indicating the possibility of a sharp bounce-back post the COVID crisis. According to official figures, the country's economy contracted by only 1.5% in the first quarter this year. The figure is extremely encouraging for the United Kingdom and its trade partners, particularly because the contraction was reported at a time Britain was, for a large part, under strict lockdown measures due to a second COVID wave. March's 2.1% growth, however, comes from Britain starting to ease some restrictions in that month.  About egomonk: Website | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedInegomonk is a global intelligence platform delivering asymmetric outcomes by bringing organizations closer to the communities they want to serve and the leaders they wish to influence. If you wish to collaborate with us then email us at contact@egomonk.com.

Today on The Leaders' Brief - The European Union launched a new lawsuit against AstraZeneca this week. The new case which will concern the merit of EU's legal proceedings would allow the 27-member bloc to seek financial penalties from AstraZeneca for breach of the supply contract. AstraZeneca had cut short its promise of delivering 3000 million doses to the block by over 60% to less than 100 million doses, slashing hopes of member countries to immunize their citizens before a larger third wave hit. A rail line between Chile and Bolivia that has remained defunct for 16 years is being reestablished in an attempt to boost regional trade. A test train was dispatched from the port of Arica in Chile last week, signalling the reactivation of freight traffic to Bolivia's La Paz after and could boost Bolivian exports through Chilean ports while bettering bilateral trade ties between the two South American countries. The Arica-La Paz railway line had been functional since 1913 and was destroyed in a deluge in 2001. The national statistical service of South Africa recently revealed that the country's manufacturing output rose 4.6% year on year in March after falling by a revised 2.5% in February, even as calls for a stricter lockdown continue to increase. The Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of Southern Africa has described the numbers as encouraging for the M&E industry as they signal a return to normal economic activity.  About egomonk: Website | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedInegomonk is a global intelligence platform delivering asymmetric outcomes by bringing organizations closer to the communities they want to serve and the leaders they wish to influence. If you wish to collaborate with us then email us at contact@egomonk.com.

Today on The Leaders' Brief - The World Health Organisation classified four variants of the 2019 coronavirus, including one first reported from India, last year, as a “variant of global concern.” The other three variants include those reported from the UK, South Africa and Brazil. According to preliminary investigations, the B.1.617 mutation first reported from India spreads more easily and has already been reported from 30 other countries. India, itself, has become the epicentre for the 2019 coronavirus and is reporting anywhere between 300-400,000 cases every day.  Jerusalem, for the past one week, has been experiencing what is being termed its worst violence in years. Tensions flared up between Palestine's Hamas group and Israeli forces this Monday after the former fired rockets towards Jerusalem in retaliation to clashes between Palestinians and Israeli security forces at a compound hosting Islam's third holiest site, the al-Aqsa mosque. According to the Palestinian Red Crescent over 700 Palestinians were injured in clashes.  The 27-member European Union is readying a fourth round of sanctions against senior Belarus officials in response to last year's controversial presidential elections that saw Alexander Lukashenka win a sixth term in office with over 80% of the vote share. Thousands of protestors have been arrested since last year, after the country's first and only president Alexander Lukashenka won the August 9th Presidential polls with an improbable 80% vote share. The country's opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who enjoys large popularity in the erstwhile Societ republic, continues to exile herself in Lithuania.  About egomonk: Website | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedInegomonk is a global intelligence platform delivering asymmetric outcomes by bringing organizations closer to the communities they want to serve and the leaders they wish to influence. If you wish to collaborate with us then email us at contact@egomonk.com.

Today on The Leaders' Brief - The United States has begun the process of withdrawing all its troops from Afghanistan in line with President Joe Biden's campaign promise of ending forever wars. Last week, the Pentagon deployed additional warplanes to bolster the protection of American and coalition troops during the withdrawal process. Earlier this year, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had called for urgent action in Afghanistan to prevent a "spring offensive by the Taliban" as the 14-month ceasefire window under the Doha agreement, signed in February, last year, headed towards completion.  German health minister Jens Spahn said last week that the country will allow the administration of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine to adults of all ages. The country is setting a target to start vaccinating those aged between 12 and 18 by the end of August. Legislation passed amidst protests last month allows Germany's federal government to impose night-time curfews in areas where cases exceed 100 per 100,000 residents on three consecutive days and even stricter curbs where cases go above 165 per 100,000.  In a significant development for the space tourism industry, Jeff Bezos-owned Blue Origin announced last week that its space tourism rocket, New Shepard will leave for its first commercial sub-orbital journey on July 20th. The space shuttle is designed to carry six passengers and the company said that it has started accepting bids for the final seat, without revealing any price details. New Shepherd, named after Alan Shepard who was the first American in space will complete a 30-minute journey in its inaugural passenger flight.  About egomonk: Website | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedInegomonk is a global intelligence platform delivering asymmetric outcomes by bringing organizations closer to the communities they want to serve and the leaders they wish to influence. If you wish to collaborate with us then email us at contact@egomonk.com.

Today on The Leaders' Brief - One of Asia's largest economies, Japan is continuing to see a rise in the number of COVID cases. Till last week, the country had recorded over 600,000 cases and 10,000 deaths due to the 2019 coronavirus. To prevent any catastrophic pressure on its health infrastructure, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga's cabinet took the decision to extend the emergency in four prefectures, adding Aichi and Fukuoka to the list. Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto and Hyogo have been under lockdown measures since April 17th. Depending on the extent of the measures imposed, Japan would see second-quarter GDP growth of 0.5% to 1%.  Last week, Somalia announced its decision to restore ties with Kenya. This comes six months after it had severed relations with Nairobi after the Kenyan government hosted the leadership of Somaliland, a breakaway state that Somalia doesn't recognise. Last December, after Nairobi hosted Muse Bihi Abdi, the president of Somaliland, Mogadishu blocked Kenyan imports of khat, an important part of bilateral trade between the sub-Saharan nations. Somalia also accused Kenya of interfering in the electoral process of Jubbaland.  In another step to the rapidly deteriorating relationship between China and Australia, Beijing, last week, announced that it has indefinitely suspended key economic dialogue with Canberra for what it called Australia's Cold War mindset and ideological discrimination. The announcement comes weeks after Australia decided to scrap two projects involving Beijing's Belt and Road initiative. China had called the move another unreasonable provocation by Australia, and Beijing's foreign ministry probing had said it was probing the possibility of taking further action. About egomonk: Website | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedInegomonk is a global intelligence platform delivering asymmetric outcomes by bringing organizations closer to the communities they want to serve and the leaders they wish to influence. If you wish to collaborate with us then email us at contact@egomonk.com.

Today on The Leaders' Brief - India's apex court said last week that the country needs to prepare for a stronger and more lethal covid wave as daily cases in the country topped 400,000 and deaths reported due to COVID crossed 4,000 in a single day. Added to the country's troubles is a severe shortage of medical oxygen, vaccines, and the COVID treating drug Remdesevir. Last Thursday, a Supreme Court bench of justices DY Chandrachud and MR Shah instructed the central government to not reduce oxygen supply to Delhi, which remains one of the worst affected regions in the country. China reported a rapid acceleration in its export growth for the month of April as COVID induced a pause on factory production in countries across the world pushing demand for Chinese goods. According to data revealed by China's customs agency, U.S. dollar-denominated exports rose 32.3% in April from a year ago, beating estimates by over 5%. A Reuters poll had estimated a 24.1% growth for the country's dollar-denominated exports. Imports, too, topped expectations, rising 43.1% in comparison to last year. Norwegian Telecom operator Telenor registered an impairment loss of approximately $779 million for its Myanmar unit as the country continues to reel from political uncertainty after its military, the Tatmadaw, deposed Myanmar's civilian government on February 1st. The year-long emergency declared by the Tatmadaw has seen over 700 deaths in clashes between civilians and government forces. The coup has also caused rebel groups to stir up in support of civilians demanding the restoration of the Aung San Suu Kyi led government with reported fighting between the Tatmadaw and Karen insurgents.  About egomonk: Website | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedInegomonk is a global intelligence platform delivering asymmetric outcomes by bringing organizations closer to the communities they want to serve and the leaders they wish to influence. If you wish to collaborate with us then email us at contact@egomonk.com.

Today on The Leaders' Brief - Two weeks after US President Joe Biden's administration took further steps in halting funds for former President Donald Trump's signature border wall at the US-Mexico border, the US government reunited four migrant families in a small but firm step towards reversing Mr Trump's hardline immigration policies. In the first month of his presidency, Mr Biden had formally terminated the erstwhile administration's two-year-old declaration of a national emergency at the U.S.-Mexico border and halted the flow of government funds toward the construction of the border wall in line with one of his major campaign promises.  Nepal has urged foreign donors to supply COVID vaccines and critical care drugs as the landlocked Himalayan country is seeing an increase in the number of COVID infections. Last week, Nepal, which shares a porous border with India, recorded over seven thousand cases in a single day, its highest daily surge since the start of the pandemic, while its neighbour recorded over 300,000. But unlike India, which is one of the largest economies in the world, Nepal has a GDP of only $20 million and has been struggling to repair its economy for the last five years due to its political instability.  Lebanon and Israel have resumed US-brokered indirect talks over their disputed maritime border after a gap of nearly six months. After over three decades of dispute over a triangular area of the Mediterranean Sea constituting about 2% of Israel's economic waters, the two Arab countries finally sat on the negotiating table to discuss a framework in October, last year, with talks ending inconclusively in November after four rounds. Israel and Lebanon share no diplomatic relations and each claim about 850 square kilometres of the Mediterranean Sea as being within their own exclusive economic zones.  About egomonk: Website | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedInegomonk is a global intelligence platform delivering asymmetric outcomes by bringing organizations closer to the communities they want to serve and the leaders they wish to influence. If you wish to collaborate with us then email us at contact@egomonk.com.

Today on The Leaders' Brief - Chad's military rulers named a new government after the demise of President Idriss Deby even as opposition leaders rejected the appointments. The landlocked African country had fallen into a political crisis after the battlefield death of its President, with the situation threatening the stability of the entire north-central African region. Tensions have remained high in the country, with over 650 people arrested for protests against the transitional government. At least six people were killed last week during demonstrations in the capital N'Djamena.  The Australian government has come under heavy criticism for its travel ban on India which came into effect this week. As per the federal order, any Australian arriving in the country from India faces fines and up to five years in prison. However, several critics such as Greens Senator Mehreen Faruqi have labelled the government's response as extreme and racist. Prime Minister Scott Morrison has dismissed accusations of racism saying that there is no politics or ideology in a pandemic.  President of the Philippines Rodrigo Dutrete said last week that he will not withdraw navy and coastguard boats patrolling the region as the country's sovereignty over the waters is "not negotiable". Mr Duterte said that while the Philippines is indebted to its good friend China for several things, including free COVID vaccines, his country's claims to the 200 mile EEZ is not bargainable. China's foreign ministry said that the Philippines should "stop actions complicating the situation and escalating disputes".  About egomonk: Website | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedInegomonk is a global intelligence platform delivering asymmetric outcomes by bringing organizations closer to the communities they want to serve and the leaders they wish to influence. If you wish to collaborate with us then email us at contact@egomonk.com.

Today on The Leaders' Brief - Months after gaming giant Epic games launched an all-out war against Apple for its app store policies the two companies started arguing the case in court this week. The tiff which began in August last year saw Apple remove Epic's popular mobile game Fortnite from its stores after it implemented its own in-app payment, bypassing Apple's 30% charges. Epic had deliberately rolled out the update bypassing Apple's store payment system as a sign of protest against what it believes is a monopoly by Apple in deciding what apps can appear on iPhones and demanding a cut as high as 30%. Assembly poll results for four states are indicative of a dip in the popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's BJP government that had grabbed federal power with an overwhelming majority for a second term in the country. Among them, West Bengal, with a population of over 90 million people and 294 assembly seats was set for the toughest battle. Several of Mr Modi's party workers, including the Prime Minister himself, had run their largest campaign in the state of Bengal since the beginning of this year and were hopeful of winning a large share of the seats if not a majority.  New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Arden's government is facing increasing criticism from Western allies for not doing enough to criticise China's alleged authoritarian policies. In what seemed like an attempt to counter such criticism, the Prime Minister said at the China Business Summit in Auckland that there are several differences between China and her nation, but such differences need not define their relationship. However, she mentioned that as days pass these differences are becoming difficult to reconcile.  About egomonk: Website | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedInegomonk is a global intelligence platform delivering asymmetric outcomes by bringing organizations closer to the communities they want to serve and the leaders they wish to influence. If you wish to collaborate with us then email us at contact@egomonk.com.

Today on The Leaders' Brief - About a week ago,China had announced that blueprints for the improved protection for its intellectual property, had already been drafted and were pending review. In an annual report on intellectual property protections, titled special 301, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative acknowledged that China had amended its patent, copyright and criminal laws in 2020. However, the report alleged that these steps fell short of the full range of fundamental changes needed to improve the IP landscape in China.  French President Emmanuel Macronhas unveiled a four-stage plan to reopen the economy that came into effect yesterday. As per the plan, the country would start easing lockdown measures by allowing secondary-school and high-school students to start returning to in-person classes and end domestic travel restrictions this week. France had entered a third national lockdown early last month, as it battled a fresh COVID wave that threatened to strain the country's health infrastructure.  The 27-member European Union is expected to announce a plan tomorrow to reduce dependency on foreign suppliers like China for goods in six key areas that include hydrogen, low-carbon industry, pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, batteries, and cloud and edge technologies.  The European Commission will conduct an in-depth review before deciding on appropriate measures that could include diversifying supply and demand. Not only relying on different trading partners whenever possible but also stockpiling and acting autonomously whenever necessary.  About egomonk: Website | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedInegomonk is a global intelligence platform delivering asymmetric outcomes by bringing organizations closer to the communities they want to serve and the leaders they wish to influence. If you wish to collaborate with us then email us at contact@egomonk.com.

Today on The Leaders' Brief - In another record, India has begun registering over 300,000 cases every day, and last week registered 3,9948 deaths in a single day. Not only is the situation in India appalling, but it is also alarming for a country surrounded by adversaries such as China and Pakistan. According to a report published by renowned Indian media house India Today on April 30th, the Chinese army has reinforced its presence in eastern Ladakh with permanent accommodations and depots even as two Asian Neighbours continue to engage in talks.  The COVID situation in India was an important contributor to oil prices falling from six-week highs last Friday. India is the third-largest oil consumer in the world. The other contributor was a weak Japanese crude import. The country saw imports fall by 25% in March from a year earlier to 2.34 million barrels per day. India's fuel demand has declined sharply in the first half of April from a month earlier. Diesel use slipped to 1.38mn b/d during the period, from 1.42mn b/d a month earlier. European Union regulators accused US tech giant Apple last Friday of distorting competition in the music streaming market. The accusation comes as support for Sweden-based music streaming platform Spotify that had, a few years ago, complained to the European Commission alleging that Apple had unfairly restricted rivals to its own music streaming service: Apple Music. Siding with Spotify, European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said that there were clear signs Apple's App Store rules were affecting music streaming rivals' business development and app developers more widely.  About egomonk: Website | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedInegomonk is a global intelligence platform delivering asymmetric outcomes by bringing organizations closer to the communities they want to serve and the leaders they wish to influence. If you wish to collaborate with us then email us at contact@egomonk.com.

Today on The Leaders' Brief - The COVID situation for India remains dire, and Prime Minister Modi, known for maintaining excellent bilateral ties with countries across the world, has requested all allies for medical aid. The USA, under President Joe Biden, has agreed to lift restrictions for the supply of vaccine-making materials to India after initially refusing to do the same. Among other countries, France will send medical equipment, ventilators, liquid oxygen containers and oxygen generators to India. French President Emmanuel Macron announced in a tweet written in Hindi on Tuesday, that France and India have always remained united and the country is doing all it can to help.  Several residents continue to flee Somalia's capital Mogadishu after a clash broke out between opposition forces and the government after a disagreement over elections. Fighting began last Sunday between pro-Government forces and opposition military units after the country's President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed moved to extend his term, which had officially ended in February, for another two years. The clashes which began at the capital Mogadishu have spread to other parts, and the political instability created could see extremist groups like Al Shabaab exploit the situation. The UK and Australia have agreed on "the vast majority" of a post-Brexit free trade deal after talks last week, according to a joint statement by the two countries. The two countries said that they aim to conclude a deal by June. Part of the joint statement read: "Both countries are confident the remaining issues will be resolved, and will now enter a sprint to agree on the outstanding details with the aim of reaching an agreement in principle." The development comes at a crucial time for Australia as it seeks to decrease trade dependency on China, with whom it shares the largest trade volume.  About egomonk: Website | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedInegomonk is a global intelligence platform delivering asymmetric outcomes by bringing organizations closer to the communities they want to serve and the leaders they wish to influence. If you wish to collaborate with us then email us at contact@egomonk.com.

Today on The Leaders' Brief - The USA, which remains the worst affected country due to the 2019 coronavirus, but continues to lead one of the most effective vaccination programmes in the world, is seeing a slow but steady dip in the number of weekly infections. The Centers of Disease Control and Prevention revealed last Monday that as of April 24, the seven-day average was 57,123 cases, a dip of almost 15% in comparison to the previous week. Most experts believe that, unlike previous dips, the slow down in the rate of infection will be permanent this time as the USA continues to immunise its population.  Myanmar witnessed its largest violence since February after the military clashed with the Karen National Union at its eastern border with Thailand days after Southeast Asian leaders said they had reached a consensus with the Junta on ending violence. Following reports of gunfire and smoke from a Tatmadaw camp at the Thailand-Myanmar border, the region's ethnic army the KNA said that they had captured the outpost. According to local media, over 240,000 people have been displaced by the conflict and the region has witnessed military airstrikes.  Apple's new software update is likely to hurt smaller firms dependent on digital advertising while providing its users with more privacy protection. The decision to allow iPhone and iPad users to choose how much information they wish to share with any third party application has reignited a tiff between Apple CEO Tim Cook and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. The privacy option could lead companies like Facebook to lose billions of dollars if a majority of users block the company from tracking them on iPhones.  About egomonk: Website | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedInegomonk is a global intelligence platform delivering asymmetric outcomes by bringing organizations closer to the communities they want to serve and the leaders they wish to influence. If you wish to collaborate with us then email us at contact@egomonk.com.

Today on The Leaders' Brief - Last week, Japan confirmed five cases of infection with a “double mutant” variant of the 2019 coronavirus. Revealing the development, Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato said that the country would take thorough measures to prevent the spread of infections by collecting, evaluating and analyzing information and strengthening border control and surveillance. Japan, which is scheduled to hold the Summer Olympics three months later, has declared emergency measures on several areas and is likely to see a slow down in economic activity at least for another three weeks.  Several political polls have suggested that Germany's ruling CDU has lost popularity to the Green party after Armen Laschet was chosen to succeed Angela Merkel as the CDU's chancellor candidate in this year's polls. The other contender for the position - Friedrich Merz, the former chairman of BlackRock Germany, is known to be a conservative leader and has criticised chancellor Merkel on several occasions. Several trends since the beginning of this year have suggested that the Greens are edging towards being able to claim a stake in the German government in its September polls.  Chad has fallen into a political crisis that threatens the stability of the entire north-central African region. The landlocked country, bordering six countries, including Sudan, Nigeria and Niger, lost its President Idriss Deby in battle with rebels last week. His son, Mahamat Idriss Deby Itmo, was named interim President by a transitional council of military officers. The late president, who took power in a rebellion in 1990 was key in maintaining the country's stability and an important ally for Western forces battling an insurgency in the region.   About egomonk: Website | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedInegomonk is a global intelligence platform delivering asymmetric outcomes by bringing organizations closer to the communities they want to serve and the leaders they wish to influence. If you wish to collaborate with us then email us at contact@egomonk.com.

Today on The Leaders' Brief - In a move that would worsen the already deteriorating relationship between Australia and China, Canberra has cancelled two bilaterals between Beijing and the state of Victoria. The deals were among four projects the Australian federal government vetoed to cancel under legislation that gives the government power to overrule international agreements by lower-level administrations that violate national interest. Two deals were signed in 2018 and 2019 by the Victoria government and China's National Development and Reform Commission. The other two deals vetoed were agreements signed by the Victoria Education Department with Syria and Iran in 1999 and 2004 respectively. US President Joe Biden plans to almost double the capital gains tax rate for wealthy individuals to 39.6% to help pay for a series of social spending that addresses long-standing inequality, according to American media reports. Under the plan, applicable for those earning $1 million or more, wealthy individuals could find themselves paying federal taxes of over 40%. The plan, if rolled out, would be in line with Mr Biden's desire to equalize the capital gains and income tax rates for wealthy individuals. Mr Biden, has on a few occasions, had called the present tax rates unfair.  After weeks of indirect talks with Iran that western powers labelled ‘constructive', the United States of America has shared with Tehran details of sanctions it is prepared to lift under a return to the Joint Comprehensive Plan Of Action. The development comes at a time Iran has threatened to continue enriching weapons-grade uranium to a purity of over 60% after an explosion and power cut at its Natanz plant. Iran says Israel was responsible for the outage.   About egomonk: Website | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedInegomonk is a global intelligence platform delivering asymmetric outcomes by bringing organizations closer to the communities they want to serve and the leaders they wish to influence. If you wish to collaborate with us then email us at contact@egomonk.com.

Today on The Leaders' Brief - India saw a new COVID record, registering a single-day rise of 314,835 cases last Thursday. The country's capital, New Delhi, according to State Chief Minister - Arvind Kejriwal, required 700 tonnes of medical oxygen every day to sustain the demand. Other large cities like Mumbai, too, continue to face an acute shortage of both medical oxygen and the COVID treating drug Remdesivir. In such a situation, India has to mass order, medical oxygen from countries having a surplus. India, however, is facing transportation challenges.  The European Union is contemplating a legal case against AstraZeneca for failing to meet its supply commitments. After several media houses reported about the possibility of a lawsuit against the vaccine manufacturer, EU officials clarified that the decision has not been taken yet to file legal proceedings. AstraZeneca, too, said that it is not aware of any legal proceedings "and continues to hold regular discussions on supply with the commission and member states". The possibility of a legal case, however, remains open. According to several media reports, all EU member countries, barring France and Germany, were in favour of legal action against the company in a meeting held last Wednesday.  Leading chip manufacturer Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company approved a $2.89 billion spending to increase capacity in response to the global chip shortage that continues to impact operations of several companies, particularly those in the carmaking sector. Aided by this growth in demand, TSMC had recorded 18% higher revenue in January-February compared to the same period last year. But despite operating at 100% capacity the chip maker remains short of meeting the growing demand. About egomonk: Website | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedInegomonk is a global intelligence platform delivering asymmetric outcomes by bringing organizations closer to the communities they want to serve and the leaders they wish to influence. If you wish to collaborate with us then email us at contact@egomonk.com.

Today on The Leaders' Brief - As the Myanmar coup heads towards completing two months, the European Union imposed sanctions on 10 of Myanmar's military leaders, this week. Two giant military conglomerates were also blacklisted by the 27 member bloc. The decision, in line with sanctions imposed by the USA, and the UK, will include asset freezes and visa bans and is likely to impact the Tatmadaw's treasury. The country's military has arrested several elected leaders including President Win Myint and Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, calling the last election results fraudulent.  Syria is preparing to hold its second presidential elections since a civil war broke out in the country in 2011. The previous election held in 2014 had seen president Bashar al-Assad win an overwhelming 92% of votes. However, the country's opposition along with the USA and the EU had dismissed the elections as undemocratic and illegitimate. Since then, aided by Russian military interventions and declining western influence in the region, Mr Assad has been able to amass unparalleled power and is expected to win another term in May.  The Bank of England and the Treasury has announced a task force to explore the possibility of a central bank digital currency. The announcement comes a day after British finance minister Rishi Sunak told the Bank to look at the case for a new 'Britcoin', aimed at tackling some of the challenges posed by cryptocurrencies. The task force would be jointly led by the Bank's deputy governor for financial stability, Sir Jon Cunliffe, and the Treasury's director general of financial services, Katharine Braddick.  About egomonk: Website | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedInegomonk is a global intelligence platform delivering asymmetric outcomes by bringing organizations closer to the communities they want to serve and the leaders they wish to influence. If you wish to collaborate with us then email us at contact@egomonk.com.

Today on The Leaders' Brief - The United Kingdom has asked its regulatory authorities to investigate the $40 Billion takeovers of Softbank-owned British chip manufacturer Arm Holdings by American tech firm NVIDIA, creating more complications for the deal. Last September, Japanese conglomerate SoftBank announced it was offloading the British chipmaker it had bought for a record amount of $31.4 Billion five years ago. Apart from in the United Kingdom, the deal saw increasing complications in China in the form of several lawsuits a week ago.  Tanzanian president Samia Suluhu, in her first foreign trip this month, signed a deal with Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and French oil company Total's chief executive Patrick Poyanne to develop the world's longest heated crude oil export pipeline. The over $3.5 Billion East African Crude Oil Pipeline expects to be operational by 2025, carrying over 216,000 barrels of Ugandan crude oil every day. Tanzania will earn a little over $13 from each barrel passing through the pipeline, 80% of which falls under its borders.  The US House of Representatives passed legislation this week allowing banks to provide services to cannabis companies in states where it is legal. The development is an important landmark for the country's cannabis industry which is still in its nascent stage, with the crop being legal for medical purposes in 36 states, and legal for recreational purposes in 18 states.  About egomonk: Website | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedInegomonk is a global intelligence platform delivering asymmetric outcomes by bringing organizations closer to the communities they want to serve and the leaders they wish to influence. If you wish to collaborate with us then email us at contact@egomonk.com.

Today on The Leaders' Brief - India has been reporting over 200,000 daily cases since 15 April, and several parts, including its capital - Delhi have been placed under partial lockdown. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held meetings with executives and medical researchers for two consecutive days to discuss ways in which the new coronavirus variant could be restricted from spreading. Researchers are yet to determine whether the new variant spreads faster or is more lethal, but the rapidity at which the virus is infecting India's population is alarming and Mr Modi hopes the use of 3Ts: tracking, testing, and tracing, to break the chain.  China reported positive growth after having effectively controlled the coronavirus according to Chinese authorities. The country's economy grew at a record 18.3% in the first quarter this year, compared to the same quarter last year. However, growth in terms of GDP was relatively low as Beijing had seen a 6.8% contraction in the first quarter, last year. According to statistics released by Beijing, Industrial output for March rose 14.1% over a year ago, and retail sales grew 34.2%. The first quarter of 2020 had seen Beijing registering massive losses in its manufacturing sector as well as consumer spending due to a lockdown it had imposed to contain the 2019 coronavirus.  Last week, the US announced sanctions against the Kremlin for alleged cyber-attacks. Saying that Russia was responsible for last year's "SolarWinds" hack that targeted the US federal government leading to a series of data breaches, the White House called the sanctions a move to deter "Russia's harmful foreign activities". The US sanctions target 32 entities and officials accused of trying to influence the 2020 US presidential election and other acts of disinformation online and bars US financial institutions from purchasing Ruble-denominated bonds from June. The Kremlin has responded by saying that such acts would get a decisive response.  About egomonk: Website | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedInegomonk is a global intelligence platform delivering asymmetric outcomes by bringing organizations closer to the communities they want to serve and the leaders they wish to influence. If you wish to collaborate with us then email us at contact@egomonk.com.

Today on The Leaders' Brief - Tod Wolters, a top US general posted in Europe said that there was a "low to medium" risk of Russia invading Ukraine as the UK - an NATO ally, ordered warships to sail to the Black Sea. The decision, which is yet to be officially confirmed, comes as Russian troops continue to build up along Ukraine's border. Ukraine has been fighting Russian separatists in the eastern Donbas region for months now and is apprehensive of the Kremlin planning another invasion. Such concerns come after Russia placed more troops on Ukraine's eastern border than at any time since the Crimean annexation of 2014.  American banking group, Citigroup is planning to close consumer banking operations across 13 countries as it does not have the scale to compete in these markets. The bank would now only offer industry banking services, completely doing away with retail banking in the 13 markets that include Australia, Bahrain, China, India, Indonesia, South Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Poland, Russia, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam. It is expected that the banking group will now try and look for takeovers of its consumer banking services, possibly from local players.  USA's National Aeronautics and Space Administration or NASA awarded SpaceX a $2.9 billion contract to build a moon lander as early as 2024, picking it over Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin and defence contractor Dynetics Inc. Last year SpaceX completed its maiden taxi service carrying NASA astronauts. NASA plans to send a crew to the ISS aboard another SpaceX rocket on April 27th. “NASA rules,” the billionaire entrepreneur who leads several other companies such as Tesla and Neuralink wrote on Twitter after SpaceX won the contract.  About egomonk: Website | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedInegomonk is a global intelligence platform delivering asymmetric outcomes by bringing organizations closer to the communities they want to serve and the leaders they wish to influence. If you wish to collaborate with us then email us at contact@egomonk.com.

Today on The Leaders' Brief - In his first face-to-face White House summit since assuming office in January this year, US President Joe Biden met Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga. The development comes a month after US officials, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin met and their Japanese counterparts, Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi for what they called “two plus two” security talks. After meeting on Friday, President Biden and Prime Minister Suga announced in a joint statement their decision to collaborate in ensuring peace and stability in and around Taiwan.  Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent tweet appealing to citizens to keep the Kumbh Mela symbolic is indicative of the dire situation India is facing due to a second COVID wave. India saw a single-day rise of over 200,000 cases last week, at a time the state of Uttarakhand is hosting lakhs of people in the country's once-in-a-decade religious festival, and four important states are holding elections. Though the country has enough vaccine doses to immunize its citizens, according to health minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan, the situation for India remains alarming.  Researchers at the University of Oxford reported last Thursday that the risk of rare blood clotting post-COVID was about eight times higher than that after vaccination. The announcement comes as AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson's shots are facing visible backlash from various countries over concerns of fatal blood clots as a side effect. Various health regulators have, however, advised the continued use of both vaccines saying that the benefits outweigh the risks.  About egomonk: Website | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedInegomonk is a global intelligence platform delivering asymmetric outcomes by bringing organizations closer to the communities they want to serve and the leaders they wish to influence. If you wish to collaborate with us then email us at contact@egomonk.com.

Today on The Leaders' Brief - Anglo-Swedish vaccine maker AstraZeneca has seen its shares steadily decline since February reaching its lowest on March 3rd after several European countries reported that its coronavirus vaccine was causing rare blood clots in some recipients. Another COVID vaccine manufacturer, Johnson & Johnson faces questions over its single-shot vaccine for similar blood clots being reported in a few patients. The European Commission has decided not to renew vaccine contracts next year with both AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson. The USA has announced it will start withdrawing troops from Afghanistan from May 1st after almost two decades. The US announcement comes a month after Secretary of State Antony Blinken called for urgent action in Afghanistan to prevent a "spring offensive by the Taliban" as the 14-month ceasefire window under the Doha agreement, signed in February, last year, headed towards completion.  Swedish electric car maker Polestar recently raised $550 million in external funding. Announcing the investment, Polestar said that this was the first time external investors backed the company and Polestar is in talks with global investors about possible additional fundraising. The company is fast gaining popularity as an emerging rival of electric carmaker Tesla.  About egomonk: Website | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedInegomonk is a global intelligence platform delivering asymmetric outcomes by bringing organizations closer to the communities they want to serve and the leaders they wish to influence. If you wish to collaborate with us then email us at contact@egomonk.com.

Today on The Leaders' Brief - In a decision that has alarmed environmentalists over the world, Japan announced that it will release over 1 million tonnes of contaminated water from the defunct Fukushima nuclear station into the sea. The decision has received a mixed response from world powers. Among those opposing the decision are Japan's immediate neighbours- South Korea and China. Amongst supporters, both the IAEA and the United States have called the development an important step in decommissioning the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. According to the announcement made by the Japanese government the first release of water will take place in about two years time. Despite stern warnings from western powers including USA, Russian troops continue to gather around the Crimean peninsula, raising concerns about the possibility of Moscow attacking Kyiv. After Russia sent troops near the Ukrainian border, the European Union and the USA promised unwavering support to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelinskiy in Ukraine's confrontation with Russia-backed separatists holding parts of the country's eastern Donbas region. A few weeks ago, Russia announced the start of mass military drills. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced, assuring that the military movements are a routine drill and pose no threat to Ukraine. Meanwhile, the UK and the USA have warned Russia of consequences if it does not deescalate troops from the Donbas region. In an attempt to better its investments in developing health care based AI systems, Microsoft has announced that it would buy artificial-intelligence-based speech-recognition developers Nuance Communications, for about $16 billion. In acquiring Nuance, Microsoft is hoping to bolster its offerings for the fast-growing field of medical computing. Nuance has an established set of customers and a wide array of speech and text data related to health care and is responsible for creating production tools such as Dragon. Announcing its plans, Microsoft said that the acquisition would double the size of the healthcare market where it competed, to almost $500 billion.  About egomonk: Website | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedInegomonk is a global intelligence platform delivering asymmetric outcomes by bringing organizations closer to the communities they want to serve and the leaders they wish to influence. If you wish to collaborate with us then email us at contact@egomonk.com.

Today on The Leaders' Brief -  In a move that threatens to change global trade dynamics and increase tensions between European nations and China, the 27-member European Union has placed provisional duties on a set of Chinese aluminium products. The European Commission said on Monday that an investigation had revealed that Chinese exporters increased their share of the EU market by 5% between 2017 and 2020, at a time prices had declined by 9%. According to the investigation, the share of Chinese aluminium exports to the EU increased from 6.2% in 2017 to 11.2% in 2020, during which period EU producers started registering losses. India recorded the highest number of coronavirus deaths in over 5 months. According to statistics released by the country's health ministry, India reported 131,968 new infections and 780 deaths on Friday. Almost half of these infections were reported from the Western State of Maharashtra which houses the country's financial capital Mumbai. The situation has forced Maharashtra's state government to reimpose lockdown measures in all parts of the city, severely hurting trade and commerce. While India is the largest vaccine manufacturer in the world, it remains unclear whether New Delhi would be able to supply enough doses to meet the sharp increase in demand for COVID vaccines. Pakistan is likely to source a majority of its LNG requirements from Russia to make up for its gas shortages in the near future. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Moscow has offered Islamabad liquefied natural gas supplies after meeting his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mahmoud Kureishi. Mr Lavrov said that he discussed ways in which the two countries could better their bilateral ties, including in energy and trade. Russia and Pakistan are working on a 1,100km gas link project named the Pakistan Stream gas link. The project, agreed upon by the two countries in 2015, expects to deliver 12.4 billion cubic meters of gas annually.  About egomonk: Website | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedInegomonk is a global intelligence platform delivering asymmetric outcomes by bringing organizations closer to the communities they want to serve and the leaders they wish to influence. If you wish to collaborate with us then email us at contact@egomonk.com.

Today on The Leaders' Brief - Four major states in India, with a combined population of over 200 million people are voting to elect their state legislators this month. Among them, Assam is ruled by the federal ruling party - BJP, Tamil Nadu's incumbent AIADMK remains a BJP ally. Of the other two states, namely Kerala and West Bengal, the former saw a communist government for the last five years and the latter is ruled by a regional party, the Trinamool Congress. Both have become an important battleground for the country's political future. But as everyday rallies, large gatherings and long queues outside polling booths have become the norm in these states, a fresh surge of coronavirus cases in the country, increasing by almost 100,000 every alternate day threaten a completely different crisis in the country; that of a new health emergency.  In a move that further damages the prospects of ending the ongoing US-China trade war, the US Department of Commerce blacklisted seven Chinese entities involved in the country's next-generation supercomputer programme, last week. According to the DoC, technology being developed by these companies could serve military purposes, including the development of nuclear and hypersonic weapons. The entities or groups spearheading China's supercomputing development and plans for chip self-sufficiency will now need the approval to trade with American companies and would be denied American technology.  Nineteen people were sentenced to death in coup-hit Myanmar, last week, for allegedly killing an associate of an army captain, as announced by the Myawaddy TV station, a broadcasting service owned by the country's military. Announcing the sentences, a first since the Tatmadaw took control of the country's government on February 1st this year, Myawaddy TV said that the killing took place on March 27 in the North Okkalapa district of the country's biggest city, Yangon. The area has been placed under martial law. Despite increasing protests even after the death of over 600 people by security forces and over 18 countries calling for the restoration of democracy and the release of political prisoners, the Tatmadaw remains undeterred.  About egomonk: Website | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedInegomonk is a global intelligence platform delivering asymmetric outcomes by bringing organizations closer to the communities they want to serve and the leaders they wish to influence. If you wish to collaborate with us then email us at contact@egomonk.com.

Today on The Leaders' Brief - U.S. President Joe Biden's proposed federal budget, released last Friday, could be called a polar shift from his predecessor Donald Trump's fiscal approach. The Democrat President has earmarked a total of $769 billion for non-defence programs and focuses on several domestic issues such as public health programmes and aims to ramp up the fight against climate change. In fact, the proposed $1.5 trillion budget for 2022 increases funding for domestic programs by 16% at 3.3% of the country's GDP while increasing the military budget by a mere 1.7%. The plan is expected to be strongly debated in Congress. The United Kingdom's Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation has advised Britain to avoid using AstraZeneca shots for those aged below 30 over concerns of blood clotting at a time the country is preparing to ease lockdown restrictions. Wei Shen Lim, chair of the British health advisory board told a press briefing that based on available data and evidence, it was preferable for adults aged under 30 to be offered an alternative to the AstraZeneca jab. He, however, pointed out that “We are advising a preference for one vaccine over another vaccine for a particular age group, really out of the utmost caution, rather than because we have any serious safety concerns”.  In the highest ever antitrust fine in the country, Chinese regulators have fined Alibaba Group Holding a record $2.75 billion for violating anti-monopoly rules and abusing its dominant market position. The Jack Ma owned corporation has seen its businesses being targeted by Chinese authorities on several occasions since October, last year, including a decision to freeze the planned $37 Billion public listing of Alibaba's fintech firm Ant Group, after the company had cleared almost every hurdle. China's State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) had launched an antitrust probe into Alibaba soon after the IPO was halted in December last year. About egomonk: Website | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedInegomonk is a global intelligence platform delivering asymmetric outcomes by bringing organizations closer to the communities they want to serve and the leaders they wish to influence. If you wish to collaborate with us then email us at contact@egomonk.com.

Today on The Leaders' Brief - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced this week that the country plans to reopen its economy next week, starting with the reopening of all shops, gyms, hairdressers, and outdoor hospitality areas in England. International travel, however, would continue to be restricted, and invite hefty fines. While Europe is under attack from a fresh COVID wave prompting several countries including France to declare or extend new lockdown measures, a swift vaccination program by the UK has created room for the country to plan a road map for businesses to reopen. To help companies access finance, the United Kingdom plans to launch a government-backed loan scheme offering maximum loans of approximately $14 million. Iran and western powers engaged in constructive talks last Tuesday. The USA, which withdrew from the Iran Nuclear Deal in 2018 under then-president Donald Trump, was, however, not present in the meeting. After agreeing on the 25-year deal, Iran's President Hassan Rouhani had said that cooperation with China was very important for the implementation of the JCPOA. China, which had seen its relationship with the US hit rock bottom under President Trump, had voiced strong support for Tehran, notifying the security council that it did not recognize the US move. Russia and the three European Nations had supported China in trying to uphold the failing agreement. Australia and New Zealand will create a quarantine and COVID-testing free travel bubble from April 19 according to an announcement by New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. Jacinda Arden was elected to a second term as Prime Minister with an overwhelming majority last year due to her effective response to the coronavirus with New Zealand recording a little over 2,000 confirmed cases and a total of 26 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic. Meanwhile, Australia has recorded about 29,000 cases and a little over 900 deaths.  About egomonk: Website | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedInegomonk is a global intelligence platform delivering asymmetric outcomes by bringing organizations closer to the communities they want to serve and the leaders they wish to influence. If you wish to collaborate with us then email us at contact@egomonk.com.

Today on The Leaders' Brief - After weeks of unheeded requests to remove over 200 Chinese vassals from the Whitsun Reef, the Philippines announced it would send diplomatic protests each day as long as China allows the ships to remain stationed at the disputed area that Manila claims is a part of its 200-mile exclusive economic zone. Last Tuesday the Japanese foreign ministry announced in a statement that the country's foreign minister Toshimitsu Motegi had expressed strong concerns about the situation with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi over the telephone. The USA, which remains at loggerheads with China over several issues and accuses Beijing of trying to intimidate and provoke other nations by parking its vessels near the Reef, deployed aircraft careers into the East and South China Seas.  India started this week with a record rise in the number of coronavirus infections in the country. Last Monday, India become the second country after the United States to record over 100,000 new cases in a single day. With elections ongoing in four important states in the country, the situation is expected to worsen in the coming weeks. The state of Maharashtra, home to the country's financial capital Mumbai accounted for over half of this number, registering 57,074 new cases overnight. The state capital Mumbai has announced additional lockdown curbs last Sunday creating alleged unrest among small traders. NATO voiced concern over what it said was a big Russian military build-up near eastern Ukraine last week. Among the allies, the United States of America has asked the Kremlin to explain the "provocations", with its state department saying that the USA is ready to engage in the situation. The movements of the Russian military were suggestive of a likely invasion by Moscow on the erstwhile Soviet Republic. Both the European Union and USA have promised unwavering support to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelinskiy in Ukraine's confrontation with Russia-backed separatists holding parts of the country's eastern Donbas region.  About egomonk: Website | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedInegomonk is a global intelligence platform delivering asymmetric outcomes by bringing organizations closer to the communities they want to serve and the leaders they wish to influence. If you wish to collaborate with us then email us at contact@egomonk.com.

Today on The Leaders' Brief - Two months after Myanmar's military, the Tatmadaw, took control of the country's government, its most prominent civilian leader and Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi has been charged under the official secrets act that could jail her for a 14-year period. According to the activist group, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, the death toll due to a military crackdown has crossed 550 and thousands have been detained. The deteriorating situation in the country presently threatens billions of dollars worth of foreign investments from countries including Singapore, Japan, and the USA. China recently convicted seven of Hong Kong's most prominent pro-democracy campaigners including media tycoon Jimmy Lai and veteran politician Martin Lee, for unlawful assembly. The activists, some of whom face additional charges could face jail terms of up to five years. China has been at loggerheads with Western nations over its Hong Kong policies after Beijing passed the controversial National Securities Law, last year. Last month, China passed a legislation to amend Hong Kong's electoral process under which the Chinese Communist Party will have indirect authority to vet prospective MPs, undermining all possibilities of the existence of an effective opposition in the region. Taiwan based chip maker, the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., announced plans to invest $100 billion in the next three years towards expanding its manufacturing capacity. The $100 billion at approximately $33 billion over the next three years represents a roughly 43% increase over last year's $20.7 billion expenditure on manufacturing and research. The investment appears to be critical in meeting rising demand that has accelerated over the past year as the pandemic substantially increased global demand for digitization. About egomonk: Website | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedInegomonk is a global intelligence platform delivering asymmetric outcomes by bringing organizations closer to the communities they want to serve and the leaders they wish to influence. If you wish to collaborate with us then email us at contact@egomonk.com.

Today on The Leaders' Brief - With its unemployment rate still hovering around the 6% mark and COVID positive cases continuing to climb by tens of thousands, US President Joe Biden hopes a $2 trillion stimulus for infrastructure development will boost the country's economy. USA remains the worst affected country in the world and global and local lockdowns had seen its economy shrink by 3.5% last year. At the same time, its greatest trade and political rival China grew by a little over 2% and has been able the COVID pandemic to less than 50 weekly cases. Most economists predict an Asia-centric post-pandemic recovery for the world, and China appears to be in a position to make the most out of it. Airplane manufacturer Boeing expressed concern last week about losing out to competitors due to Washington and Beijing's trade spat. Addressing the US Chamber of Commerce Aviation Summit last Wednesday, Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun said he is hopeful that intellectual property, human rights, and other things can be separated from trade to encourage a free trade environment between the USA and China and ensure the American company does not lose out on the Chinese market. The company sells approximately 25% of its jetliners to China and has been under immense pressure from US authorities for the large share it holds in the Chinese domestic airline market share since the Trump era.  French President Emmanuel Macron announced the country's third lockdown last week as France continued to see a sharp surge in daily COVID infections. France has registered over 4.6 million COVID positive cases and registered nearly 100,000 deaths. President Macron had initially decided to avoid lockdowns in the country, after suffering heavy economic losses due to its two previous lockdowns. According to the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies, the two coronavirus lockdowns in 2020 caused the French economy to suffer its worst economic marker since World War II with its GDP falling 8.3%. About egomonk: Website | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedInegomonk is a global intelligence platform delivering asymmetric outcomes by bringing organizations closer to the communities they want to serve and the leaders they wish to influence. If you wish to collaborate with us then email us at contact@egomonk.com.

Today on The Leaders' Brief - China has signed a 25-year cooperation agreement with Iran, as both countries continue to face US trade sanctions on several fronts. The decision comes at a time Beijing received almost 27 million barrels of cheap Iranian oil, passed off as crude from other origins. Both countries have found a common enemy in form of the USA and the partnership is likely to complicate US President Joe Biden's desire to bring Iran to the table for talks over re-establishing the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action popularly called the Iran Nuclear Deal. Canada has decided to stop the use of AstraZeneca's coronavirus vaccine for people aged below 55, due to concerns over reports of blood clots among recipients in Europe. Provincial health authorities in the country, including in Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia, and Alberta, halted the AstraZeneca shots last week after Canada's National Advisory Committee on Immunization recommended the pause. The decision comes as a major setback both for Canada and the Anglo-Swedish firm responsible for manufacturing the easy-to-store cheaper vaccine.  French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire confirmed reports that Paris and the European Union are close to a bailout deal for Air France. ”It is a matter of days,” according to the French minister before the carrier that registered a net loss of over $8.4 billion last year could see a bailout package that may include major concessions. Among EU countries, France and the Netherlands, each of which owns a 14% stake in Air France-KLM, had previously provided the company with a combined bailout package of over $12.2 billion in loans and credit guarantees. About egomonk: Website | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedInegomonk is a global intelligence platform delivering asymmetric outcomes by bringing organizations closer to the communities they want to serve and the leaders they wish to influence. If you wish to collaborate with us then email us at contact@egomonk.com.

Today on The Leaders' Brief - Acknowledging that COVID has posed the biggest challenge since World War 2, with a casualty of over 2.7 million, 24 world leaders, including the heads of all G7 countries said that the world must now "be better prepared to predict, prevent, detect, assess and effectively respond to pandemics in a highly coordinated fashion". Given the developments over the past year, the call for action to put in place preventive measures against future pandemics undoubtedly holds the highest priority for every country.  The USA has threatened tariffs on six countries, including the United Kingdom and India over their digital tax policies. The other four countries include Austria, Italy, Spain, and Turkey. U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said in a statement last week that the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) would initiate steps to impose potential tariffs, including filing public notices and collecting public comments as part of investigations launched by the erstwhile Trump administration into taxes aimed at American internet companies and e-commerce platforms. Under the provisions of Section 301 of the US Trade Act, the USA would hold rights to levy tariffs of up to 25% on goods being exported from the said countries. Brazilian. President Jair Bolonaro announced Monday, a major cabinet reshuffle after several ministers resigned over the COVID crisis. The development comes days after the country's former defence minister Fernando Azevedo e Silva and foreign minister Ernesto Araujo tendered their resignations. Former Attorney General Andre Levi also resigned immediately after. Notably, the new shuffle puts more military personnel in ranks closer to the Brazilian President as he prepares to fight federal elections next year. About egomonk: Website | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedInegomonk is a global intelligence platform delivering asymmetric outcomes by bringing organizations closer to the communities they want to serve and the leaders they wish to influence. If you wish to collaborate with us then email us at contact@egomonk.com.