WINNIPEG – The following is a glance at the news moving markets in Canada and globally.
– With the Omicron COVID-19 variant starting to become fast-spreading, the Canadian government advised residents on Thursday not to engage in non-essential foreign travel despite the holiday season. Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos said the measure will be in place for at least four weeks. The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) said last Friday that at its current rate, Omicron could cause at least 12,000 new COVID-19 cases a day by mid-January. The French government announced on Thursday it is restricting travel to and from the United Kingdom due to rising COVID-19 cases.
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– The Bank of England (BoE) raised interest rates for the first time in three years on Thursday. The BoE became the first major central bank in the world since the pandemic began to raise interest rates, as its borrowing cost is now 0.25 per cent. The U.K. pound rallied as high as 0.8 per cent after the decision was made. Economists are predicting the BoE will raise interest rates again in February to 0.5 per cent.
– Apple will delay bringing many of its workers back to the office indefinitely and will give affected employees US$1,000 to buy equipment for their home offices. Apple CEO Tim Cook announced the new plans in an email sent to employees on Wednesday. Earlier this week, Apple re-imposed a mask mandate at its stores and is closing others due to rising COVID-19 cases. Google, Amazon, Lyft and Uber are also pushing back office re-opening dates.
