* Biden ends support for Saudi Arabia’s military operations in Yemen
* J&J seeks approval from US regulators for its Covid-19 vaccine
* House removes Marjorie Taylor Greene from committee assignments
* Senate rejects minimum wage bill in Biden’s relief package
* EU diplomat tells Russia ties are low over case of Kremlin critic Navalny
* US warship sails near Chinese-controlled Paracel Islands
* Bank of England says negative interest rates may be near
* US job cuts rose to highest January total since 2009
* US factory orders rose in December–eighth straight monthly gain
* US jobless claims fell to two-month low last week:

The year is still young, but not too young to see trends that could define 2021 for leaders and laggards in US and world equity markets. Reviewing a set of exchange traded funds as proxies highlights three key trends that deserve monitoring: leadership in energy shares, small-cap stocks and markets in Asia ex-Japan.

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* Researchers explore mixed vaccine shots as COVID-19 variants surge
* House GOP keeps Liz Cheney in leadership, rebuking Trump loyalists
* Treasury yield curve at steepest level since 2017
* Biden pushes ahead on his proposed $1,400 stimulus checks
* Survey: nearly 70% of Americans support Biden’s $1.9 trillion relief plan
* Global economic rebound slowed for a third month in January
* Is tighter liquidity in China a new global headwind?
* Sen. Klobuchar (D-Minn.) unveils sweeping antitrust reform bill
* Lazy investing strategy has been a winning strategy
* US Services PMI indicates “sharp upturn in business activity” in January
* US private payrolls rebounded modestly in January after December decline:

It’s a tempting idea, and one that’s been bubbling for some time. The recent outperformance of tech stocks relative to the broad equity market has helped fuel the notion that this sector deserves to be treated differently.

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* Senate Dems may pass Biden’s relief package without GOP support
* Today’s ADP estimate of US payrolls for Jan expected to post slight gain
* Jeff Bezos will step down as Amazon CEO
* Eurozone consumer inflation rebounded much more than expected in January
* Europe’s economy continued to contract in January amid weak services sector
* China’s services sector growth slowed in January amid coronavirus resurgence
* US crude oil (West Texas Intermediate) rises to nearly $55 a barrel, a 1-year high:

The expected risk premium for the Global Market Index (GMI) continues to hold in the mid-5% range. In today’s revision, the long-run projection ticked down to 5.4% for January, slightly below the previous month’s 5.5% estimate. The forecast is a long-term outlook for this multi-asset-class index’s performance over the “risk-free” rate via a risk-based model (details below).

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* GOP pushes Biden to embrace smaller relief bill
* China’s top diplomat warns US not to cross ‘red line’ on human rights issues
* Mynamar coup complicates Biden’s Asia strategy
* CBO projects that US economic expansion will continue in 2021
* US construction spending rose for a third month in December
* Eurozone economy contracted 0.7% in final quarter of 2020
* US Manufacturing PMI reaches record high in January
* US ISM Manufacturing Index: sector growth slowed in January:

Stocks in emerging markets continued to lead the major asset classes in January as the top monthly performer.
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* Biden invites Republican senators to White House for relief talks
* Myanmar’s military seizes power and detains civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi
* Russia arrests thousands amid protests over jailed opposition leader Navalny
* Reddit investor mania turns to precious metals
* China’s economy expected to overtake US earlier than previously forecast
* China manufacturing growth slowed, sliding to 7-month low in Jan
* Eurozone manufacturing growth remained “resilient” in January
* UK manufacturing growth slowed to 3-month low in January
* US Consumer Sentiment Index stabilized in January via slight decline
* Chicago region factory activity continued rising at strong pace in January
* How might US cryptocurrency regulation change with the Biden administration?
* US pending home sales fell in December–fourth straight monthly decline
* US consumer spending fell for a second month in December:

● The Inflation Myth and the Wonderful World of Deflation
Mark Mobius
Summary via publisher (Wiley)
The Inflation Myth and the Wonderful World of Deflation illustrates our rapidly changing world where constant technological innovation leads to cheaper and better products. These changes are no longer reflected in the ways we measure inflation. Renowned investor and author Mark Mobius persuasively argues that what we believe to know about inflation today does not reflect the reality any longer. It is a myth, a legend, a fable, and, yes, a falsehood for a number of reasons.

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