MNI EUROPEAN OPEN: COVID Vaccine Acceptance & Sharing Headlines Eyed

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

• US TO BEGIN SHARING UP TO 60MN ASTRAZENECA VACCINE DOSES WITH WORLD (AP)
• U.S. TRADE CHIEF MEETS PFIZER, ASTRAZENECA ABOUT VACCINE SUPPLY (BBG)
• CHINA'S XI STRESSES EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURING AS TOP PRIORITY (CCTV)
• MERKEL'S CDU FALLS TO HISTORIC LOW IN NEW POLL (BBG)
• UK PM JOHNSON: WE'RE ON TRACK TO LIFT ALL RESTRICTIONS BY JUNE 21 (THE TIMES)
• JAPAN'S DEFENSE MINISTRY TO OPEN MASS VACCINATION CENTRE IN TOKYO (RTRS)

Fig. 1: U.S. Dollar Index (DXY)

Source: MNI - Market News/Bloomberg

UK

CORONAVIRUS: Boris Johnson has said there is now a "very good chance" of ending coronavirus restrictions completely on June 21 in his most optimistic assessment yet. The prime minister said that he still expects a third wave of the virus but vaccination had built "some pretty robust fortifications" against it. While cautioning that the virus was not "totally licked", Johnson expressed confidence that legal restrictions on social contact would come to an end as planned. This would mean the return of mass gatherings, nightclubs, conferences and other events that did not reopen last summer. Scientific advisers are also increasingly optimistic that infection rates, hospital admissions and deaths will continue to fall for at least another month, allowing an end to emergency coronavirus laws on Midsummer's Day. (The Times)

CORONAVIRUS: Covid passports to allow travel to the US, France, Italy and Germany could be in place by June 28 under plans being considered by ministers. Grant Shapps, the Transport Secretary, has called a meeting of his G7 counterparts at the summit in Cornwall on June 11-13 to create a system that could allow vaccinated travellers free entry into countries around the world. He wants to establish agreed international standards under which a "green list" country could accept digital proof of vaccination, a negative test or immunity as a condition of entry. The aim is to have pilot bilateral "travel corridors" where holidaymakers and business travellers could use Covid passports as early as June 28 to sidestep tests and quarantine if they are vaccinated. (Telegraph)

POLITICS: Boris Johnson will on Tuesday tell his Cabinet to be "totally focused on the public's priorities" in an attempt to move on from a series of Downing Street leak controversies. (Telegraph)

EUROPE

FISCAL: Paris and Berlin will jointly present their respective national stimulus plan to the press on Tuesday before submitting them to the European Commission, their economy ministers announced on Monday. "With my counterpart Olaf Scholz, tomorrow we will present our national recovery and resilience plans at a joint press conference. The European recovery plan is underway. This is very good news for Europe! " French Minister Bruno Le Maire wrote on Twitter. (Le Matin)

CORONAVIRUS: The European Medicine's Agency has not yet received sufficient information about Russia's Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine to approve it, but if approval does come soon, Germany will buy it, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Monday. (RTRS)

CORONAVIRUS: One in four adults in the European Union have received at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Monday, as the bloc seeks to leave behind its supply woes and pick up the pace of its inoculation drive. "So far, 129 million vaccines have been administered in the EU," von der Leyen told EU lawmakers Brussels. "Approximately 26% of adults have received at least one dose." Her comments come after she said last week that the EU's vaccination campaign is on track and the bloc will meet its key goal of vaccinating 70% of adults in July. (BBG)

GERMANY: Chancellor Angela Merkel's government aims to open Covid-19 vaccinations to all adults by early June, dropping Germany's rules that regulated who's at the front of the queue. The country also intends to allow people who have been fully immunized or who have recovered from the disease privileges such as going shopping and visiting hairdressers without needing negative coronavirus tests, Merkel said after talks with regional leaders on Monday. Officials didn't agree though on firm details. (BBG)

GERMANY: Support for Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative bloc has dropped to an historic low of 23%, one point lower than a week ago, Bild newspaper reports citing a poll by INSA. Greens unchanged at 23%, SPD drops to 16%, AfD at 12%. INSA has conducted polls since 2012. INSA polled 2,082 citizens between April 23-26. (BBG)

ITALY/BTPS: Italy plans to sell up to 2.75 billion euros ($3.3 billion) of 0 percent bonds due Apr 1, 2026 in an auction on Apr 29. Italy plans to sell up to 2.5 billion euros ($3 billion) of 0.6 percent bonds due Aug 1, 2031 in an auction on Apr 29. Italy plans to sell up to 2 billion euros ($2.4 billion) of 0.9 percent bonds due Apr 1, 2031 in an auction on Apr 29. Italy plans to sell up to 1.25 billion euros ($1.5 billion) of floating bonds due Apr 15, 2026 in an auction on Apr 29. (BBG)

FINLAND: Finland's government is still struggling to overcome disagreements over budget plans that had pushed it to the brink of a breakup. The negotiations intended to hammer out a spending framework for the next four years ended up exposing tensions within the five-party coalition half way through its term. Social Democrat Prime Minister Sanna Marin and the left-leaning parties are pushing for "social justice" and are willing to spend on job creation, while the Center Party and Swedish People's Party seek a faster return to fiscal prudence than their peers. Progress was made in talks on Monday, but many issues still remain unresolved, Marin told reporters after adjourning the meeting for the day. The parties are exploring whether they have enough common ground to still govern together. The talks, originally scheduled to last two days, will resume at 12 p.m. in Helsinki on Tuesday, their seventh day. (BBG)

U.S.

FED: The Federal Reserve is expected to announce it will begin trimming its $120 billion in monthly asset purchases before the end of the year as the U.S. economy recovers strongly from Covid-19, according to economists surveyed by Bloomberg. That's a bit earlier than forecast in the March survey but leaves Fed asset purchases untouched for several more months, with the first interest-rate increase still not expected until 2023. In contrast, the Bank of Canada said last week it would scale back its purchases of government debt and accelerate the timetable for a possible rate increase, though the European Central Bank meeting on April 22 left its crisis-fighting tools unchanged. In the survey, about 45% of the economists expect the Federal Open Market Committee to announce tapering in the fourth quarter with 14% seeing that happening in the preceding three months. (BBG)

FISCAL: President Joe Biden's top economic advisor on Monday defended a plan to raise the capital gains tax on the nation's wealthiest households as neither too large a burden nor a barrier to business investment. Brian Deese, the director of the National Economic Council, said during a press conference that the president's plan would raise the capital gains tax for 0.3% of U.S. households — those that make over $1 million in annual income. (CNBC)

FISCAL: A CNN reporter tweeted the following on Monday: "Sen. Joe Manchin told me that he wants the infrastructure bill split up into two packages to increase the chances of getting bipartisan support - a position at odds with Durbin. Manchin said he wouldn't get rolled. "I don't know how you get rolled unless you want to get rolled." Durbin said this when asked about calls to split up the more than $2 trillion proposal. "I hope not. And the reason I hope not is time is not on our side, we have so many things to do... So the sooner the better, to keep everything together and move it in a package that works."" (MNI)

FISCAL: President Joe Biden is hitting the road after his prime-time address to a joint session of Congress on Wednesday, as he looks to build support in key swing states for his infrastructure and family-assistance legislative proposals. The "Getting America Back on Track Tour" will see Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, their spouses and cabinet members visit approximately a dozen states in the days following the speech, according to a White House official who requested anonymity to discuss the schedule before it was formally announced. (BBG)

CORONAVIRUS: White House chief medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci said Monday that Americans should begin to see a turning point in the pandemic "within a few weeks." The United States has been averaging about 3 million Covid-19 vaccination shots per day, Fauci said. Meanwhile, the nation reported a seven-day average of 58,164 new Covid cases per day as of Sunday, according to a CNBC analysis of data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. That's down 14% from a week ago. (CNBC)

CORONAVIRUS: With infections falling to the lowest level since November, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said he is increasing allowable capacity to 33% from 20% at outdoor stadiums, to 50% from 25% at casinos, to 50% from 33% at gyms outside New York City, and to 75% from 50% at office buildings. (BBG)

CORONAVIRUS: New Jersey starting on May 10 will relax some gathering restrictions, allowing bigger crowds to attend high school proms and graduation ceremonies, Governor Phil Murphy said on Monday. (BBG)

CORONAVIRUS: President Joe Biden is expected to announce Tuesday that the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has updated its guidance for wearing masks outdoors, three people familiar with the expected announcement said. Ahead of his first address to Congress on Wednesday, the President will give remarks on the state of the pandemic on Tuesday. The three people familiar with the expected announcement said Biden will announce new CDC guidance on whether vaccinated people need to wear masks outdoors, though the final language of the expected announcement is still unclear. One of Biden's top coronavirus advisers, Dr. Anthony Fauci, strongly hinted that the guidance would be updated this week, telling CNN's Jim Acosta Sunday he didn't want to get ahead of the CDC, but they "will be coming out with updating their guidelines of what people who are vaccinated can do and even some who are not vaccinated." (CNN)

POLITICS: The nation's political center of gravity shifted further to the Republican-led South and West on Monday, with Texas, Florida and other Sun Belt states gaining congressional seats while chillier climes like New York and Ohio lost them. (ABC)

POLITICS: The Republican-led campaign to recall California Gov. Newsom reached the number of signatures needed to qualify for the ballot, state officials announced Monday. Newsom could face a statewide vote by the end of year, which would mark the second time a sitting governor has had to face a recall election in the state's history. (Axios)

OTHER

GLOBAL TRADE: TSMC intends to set aside at least NT$1t to invest in and develop every new generation of semiconductors from 2nm and beyond, Taiwan Vice Premier Shen Jong-chin told reporters. TSMC will spend heavily on the latest technology and keep it in Taiwan. (BBG)

CORONAVIRUS: U.S. trade chief Katherine Tai met with key officials at Pfizer Inc. and AstraZeneca Plc about raising production of Covid-19 vaccines and a proposed waiver of intellectual-property protections as the daily number of confirmed cases keeps rising. Tai met virtually with Ruud Dobber, the executive vice-president of AstraZeneca's biopharmaceuticals business unit, and separately with Pfizer Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Albert Bourla, the office of the U.S. Trade Representative said in statements Monday. (BBG)

CORONAVIRUS: The U.S. will begin sharing its entire stock of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines with the world once it clears federal safety reviews, the White House said Monday, with as many as 60 million doses expected to be available for export in the coming months. (AP)

CORONAVIRUS: The World Health Organization said it will decide by the end of the week whether to grant Sinopharm's COVID-19 vaccine emergency use listing, in what could kickstart the Chinese jab's global distribution. The WHO's technical advisory group launched its review of Sinopharm on Monday, making it the first Chinese vaccine to be reviewed by a global regulator. "We expect that Sinopharm will have a decision before the end of this week," said Mariangela Simao, WHO Assistant Director General for Access to medicines, vaccines and pharmaceuticals. She added that a decision on Sinovac, which will go under review starting May 3, was "likely by the end of next week." (CGTN)

JAPAN: Japan will open a mass vaccination centre in central Tokyo next month, officials said on Tuesday, part of the country's bid to speed up its COVID-19 inoculation campaign as the Olympic Games looms. No decision has been made on which vaccine will be used or how many people will get shots each day, Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato told reporters. "We will announce the details once the defence ministry and local authorities have come up with a plan," Kato said. The government will also support innoculation efforts in Osaka, in western Japan, he added. Japan imposed a third state of emergency in its major population centres on Sunday, as the country attempts to combat a fourth wave of infections with just 87 days remaining until the Olympics is scheduled to begin. (RTRS)

BOJ: The Bank of Japan left its main policy levers unchanged and took a more optimistic view of the growth outlook while cutting its price forecast for this year as the world's third-largest economy enters a renewed virus emergency. The BOJ maintained its interest rate and asset purchase settings, according to its policy statement Tuesday, an outcome expected by all 44 economists surveyed by Bloomberg. In its quarterly outlook report, the bank raised its growth forecast for the fiscal year started this month to 4% from 3.9%, despite the start of new emergency restrictions that some economists warn could risk a double-dip recession. At the same time it sharply lowered its price forecast for this year to 0.1% in a further signal that it won't be changing policy for some time to come. (BBG)

SOUTH KOREA: "We have become able to say that the South Korean economy has come out of a dark and long tunnel, and it is back on track for economic growth," South Korean President Moon said. He referred to an announcement by the Bank of Korea that the nation's gross domestic product had expanded 1.8 percent in the first quarter of 2021. It marks faster-than-expected growth exceeding the level posted ahead of the COVID-19 pandemic, Moon noted. In spite of such a positive sign, many people here are still suffering difficulties amid a lingering crisis, he said, stressing the need for "inclusive growth." "In particular, the issue of the gap (widened by the coronavirus outbreak) and inequality is a national task that should be addressed with focused capabilities," he said. (Yonhap)

NORTH KOREA: President Moon Jae-in said Tuesday that the time is drawing near for the two Koreas to resume dialogue, stressing the significance of their historic summit deal three years earlier. "The time is approaching again when (we) should end long deliberation and restart dialogue," he said during a weekly Cabinet meeting. He was speaking on the third anniversary of the signing of the Panmunjom Declaration with North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un. The agreement, reached during the Moon-Kim summit held at the border village, calls for joint efforts to achieve co-prosperity, establish lasting peace and get the two Koreas reunited. (Yonhap)

CANADA: As Ontario continues to get a handle on the surging third wave of COVID-19 cases and crushing patient loads at intensive care units, the Canadian Armed Forces is preparing for a potential deployment of medical personnel to the province after a recent request for assistance. "There are over 1,900 patients with COVID-19 in the province of Ontario's hospitals and of those, 659 are being treated in intensive care for COVID-related illnesses. Nearly 450 patients that are in critical care require a ventilator to breathe," an unclassified warning order obtained by Global News on Monday said. (Global News)

CANADA/RATINGS: S&P affirmed Canada at AAA; Outlook Stable

TURKEY: President Recep Tayyip Erdogan imposed an almost 3-week lockdown starting Thursday. All students will enroll in remote schooling during the lockdown period, which runs until May 17, Erdogan said in a press conference following Monday's cabinet meeting in Ankara. The daily number of cases should be lowered to below 5,000 so that Turkey can reopen economy along with the rest of Europe, Erdogan said. On Sunday, Turkey reported 38,553 new cases of Covid-19 and 347 deaths, bringing the death toll from the pandemic to 38,358. (BBG)

TURKEY: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called on President Joe Biden to immediately reverse his declaration that 1915 massacres of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire constituted genocide, a move he said was upsetting and diminished bilateral ties. Biden's historic declaration on Saturday has infuriated its NATO ally Turkey, which has said the announcement had opened a "deep wound" in relations that have already been strained over a host of issues. In his first comments since Biden's statement, Erdogan said "the wrong step" would hinder ties and advised the United States to "look in the mirror," adding Turkey still sought to establish "good neighborly" ties with Armenia. (NBC)

BRAZIL: Researchers at Brazil's Butantan Institute have detected 3 new strains of Covid-19 in Sao Paulo state, according to a statement. (BBG)

BRAZIL: Brazil's biosafety commission CTNBio, linked to the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovations, approved the commercial use of the Russian vaccine Sputnik V, CNN Brazil reports, citing a statement sent by the government. (BBG)

BRAZIL: There is institutional commitment to proceed with a tax reform in Congress, Lower House speaker Arthur Lira said after meeting with Economy Minister Paulo Guedes. Lira said that the reform should be divided into parts. Deadline for releasing the tax reform report is March 3, he said. (BBG)

RUSSIA: The White House is hammering out the details of an increasingly likely European summit between President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin, which could happen as soon as early summer, according to sources familiar with the planning. The planning comes as the Biden administration is preparing to send Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Ukraine next month, according to a Ukrainian government source close to the ongoing negotiations. The visit could ease the European country's anxiety over a potential meeting between Biden and Putin this summer on the heels of the US President's meetings with Group of 7 and NATO allies. The fact that the Biden administration would deploy its most senior diplomat to Ukraine in the weeks before a potential summit sends a clear signal that Washington stands with the Eastern European nation and values it as an ally. (CNN)

IRAN: A group of boats from Iran's elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps harassed two U.S. Coast Guard ships earlier this month in the Persian Gulf, Navy officials said, the first such incident in a year. The incident occurred April 2, just as the U.S. and Iran announced they would conduct negotiations toward renewing the 2015 multilateral nuclear accord. Those talks began earlier this month in Vienna. The episode hasn't been previously disclosed. (WSJ)

OIL: OPEC and its allies appear set to press on with raising crude production, despite the coronavirus crisis enveloping key oil consumer India, delegates told S&P Global Platts, though they'll have another couple of days to pore over market data and forecasts. (Platts)

OIL: The country's average of oil exports in April from the southern terminals in Basra are stable at 2.7m b/d, state-run Al-Sabah newspaper said, citing Basra Oil Co. director Khalid Hamza. Output from Basra fields for this month 2.57m b/d in accordance with OPEC+ output cut deal. (BBG)

OIL: The Canadian government has ordered Trans Mountain Corp to halt work on a section of its oil pipeline expansion project in Burnaby, British Columbia, for four months to protect hummingbird nests, government spokeswoman said on Monday. (RTRS)

CHINA

POLICY: Chinese President Xi Jinping emphasizes that high-quality development of equipment manufacturing industry is the top priority in the nation's economic development, CCTV reports. Xi made the comment when visiting Guangxi Liugong Group in southern China province on Monday China encourages development of private companies, Xinhua News Agency cites Xi as saying during his Guangxi trip. (BBG)

PBOC: China is unlikely to raise interest rates because inflation is under control despite rising commodity prices and global inflation, the 21st Business Herald reported. Monetary policy changes in emerging countries have a limited impact on China and the PBOC will maintain its strategic focus on "not making a sharp turn", it said citing Xie Yaxuan, the chief macro analyst at China Merchants Securities.

MARKETS: The worsening COVID-19 outbreak in India and the panicked reaction on global markets will have a limited spillover effect on China's financial markets as investors had previously shifted to safer assets in response to the recent weakness of the dollar index and fears of a U.S. stock market correction, the China Securities Journal reported. Chinese producers of pharmaceutical ingredients may benefit from India's shortage, it said.

GREEN POLICY: China's green goals of achieving carbon peak and neutrality by 2030 and 2060 may lead to a sharp drop in local tax revenues particularly in some resource-dependent provinces, while other provinces may need to share the low-carbon transformation costs and technologies, Caixin reported. The mining, power and construction industry account for as much as 48% of the revenue of Shanxi province and 39% in Inner Mongolia, while Shanghai, Beijing, Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces account for the lowest proportion, Caixin said citing a report by Sequoia. Most of the 3,000 coal-fired generating units and 5,000 coal mines will be shut down, possibly leading to asset shelving, the newspaper said. (MNI)

OVERNIGHT DATA

CHINA MAR INDUSTRIAL PROFITS +92.3% Y/Y

AUSTRALIA ANZ ROY MORGAN WEEKLY CONSUMER CONFIDENCE 112.4; PREV. 114.0

The three-day lockdown of the Perth and Peel region following the emergence of new COVID-19 infections led to a fall of 1.4% in consumer confidence. Not surprisingly, sentiment in Perth fell the most (-8.2%), but Brisbane (-4.9%), Sydney (-3.6%) and Melbourne (-4.4%) were also impacted. Both the 'current' and 'future economic conditions 'took a hit following arise in the past two weeks. This fall is possibly due to the uncertainty surrounding the new strains of the virus. We know, however, from previous experience that a quick resolution of the lockdown will see sentiment (and spending) rebound very quickly. (ANZ)

SOUTH KOREA Q1, P GDP +1.8% Y/Y; MEDIAN +1.2%; Q4 -1.2%
SOUTH KOREA Q1, P GDP +1.6% Y/Y; MEDIAN +1.1%; Q4 +1.2%

SOUTH KOREA MAR RETAIL SALES +18.5% Y/Y; FEB +10.0%
SOUTH KOREA MAR DISCOUNT STORE SALES +2.1% Y/Y; FEB +15.0%
SOUTH KOREA MAR DEPARTMENT STORE SALES +77.6% Y/Y; FEB +39.6%

CHINA MARKETS

PBOC INJECTS CNY10BN VIA OMOS TUES; LIQUIDITY UNCHANGED

The People's Bank of China (PBOC) injected CNY10 billion via 7-day reverse repos with the rate unchanged at 2.2% on Tuesday. This leaves liquidity unchanged given the maturity of CNY10 billion reverse repos today, according to Wind Information.

• The operation aims to keep liquidity reasonable and ample, the PBOC said on its website.
• The 7-day weighted average interbank repo rate for depository institutions (DR007) decreased to 2.2250% at 09:26 am local time from the close of 2.2356% on Monday.
• The CFETS-NEX money-market sentiment index closed at 37 on Monday vs 32 on Sunday. A higher index indicates increased market expectations for tighter liquidity.

PBOC SETS YUAN CENTRAL PARITY AT 6.4924 TUES VS 6.4913

The People's Bank of China (PBOC) set the dollar-yuan central parity rate higher at 6.4924 on Tuesday, compared with the 6.4913 set on Monday.

MARKETS