1. The Public accounts Committee has asked the Bank of England to investigate the use of 50 billion pounds in issued banknotes. It is reported that only 20% of the banknotes issued in the UK are traded, while the remaining 50 billion GB notes are unaccounted for. These notes can be used for overseas transactions or savings, undeclared household savings in the UK or underground transactions.
2.Japan’s Kyodo news agency: a number of Japanese government sources have revealed that around the airframe modification of the Air self-Defense Force Fmur15 fighter plane to carry long-range cruise missiles, the government has asked the US government involved in the project to reduce related funding. This is a measure taken because the initial cost of the conversion greatly exceeds the estimated amount. It seems that the US side did not agree to Japan’s request on the grounds that the initial cost increase was due to a lack of spare parts, which was unexpected.
3. Denmark: plans to completely stop oil and gas exploration and exploitation in the North Sea by 2050. This means that Denmark’s previously announced bid for oil and gas exploration in the North Sea is null and void. Denmark is the largest oil producer in the EU since Britain left the EU in January, producing an average of about 100000 barrels a day, according to BP. Britain produces an average of about 1 million barrels of oil a day.
4.The United States: 245000 new non-farm payrolls were added in November, falling for the fifth month in a row, with an expected growth rate of 469000, a previous value of 638000, and an unemployment rate of 6.7%, an estimated 6.8%, and a previous value of 6.9%.
5.Challenger, Gray & Christmas: the number of layoffs announced in the United States in November was 64797, an increase of 45.4% over the same period last year, bringing the total number of layoffs so far this year to 2227725. Most of the layoffs in November came from entertainment / leisure companies, with a total of 11666 layoffs announced. Technology companies ranked second, with a total of 11431 layoffs.
6.CNET: on November 30th, NASA astronaut Kate Rubins harvested the first-ever radish crop planted on the International Space Station. NASA called it a “historic harvest”. A variety of vegetables have been grown, including lettuce, cabbage, mustard and kale, many of which have been sent back to Earth for analysis. The purpose of these plant experiments is to one day provide fresh food for astronauts going to the moon and Mars.
7. Warner Bros. in the United States has announced an operation plan that has shocked Hollywood and the global film industry. It plans to release all its films on the streaming platform HBO Max while landing in North American theaters in 2021, canceling the “cinema window”. Warner Bros. ‘decision is expected to affect at least 17 films, including blockbuster films such as Matrix 4, the new suicide squad, and sand dunes.
8. Fed Kashkali: if the vaccine is widely adopted, the economy is likely to be strong in the second half of 2021. There is very good news about the vaccine, which is much better than expected six months ago. The 6.7% unemployment rate is misleading, and the real unemployment rate is about 10%, comparable to the peak of the Great Depression. We still have a long way to go to fully recover the economy.
9. It is reported that in fiscal year 2020, US military equipment exports totaled 175 billion US dollars, an increase of 2.8 % over the same period last year. Us exports of fighter jets and guided missiles rose significantly during the year, with two major military industrial companies, Lockheed Martin and Raytheon, receiving large orders.
10.Global patent applications fell 3 per cent in 2019, the first drop in a decade, according to the World intellectual property Index, a benchmark annual report released by the World intellectual property Organization. Trademark and industrial design applications increased by 5.9% and 1.3% respectively.
11.As many as 92% of the glaciers in the Alps could disappear by the end of the century because of climate change, according to researchers at the University of Abel in Wales. Runoff, water storage, alpine ecosystems and local residents’ drinking water, crops, irrigation, sanitation and hydropower are all affected.
12.WTO: as major economies resumed production and relaxed blockades, global trade in manufactured goods partially resumed in the third quarter of this year, led by electronic, textile and automotive products, with mask trade growing by 102 per cent. Clothing trade also showed signs of rebounding in the third quarter, with shipments falling only 4 per cent in September from a year earlier, thanks to increased imports from North America and Europe. Clothing trade fell 15 per cent in July from a year earlier.