Bloomberg - Evening Briefing - China’s Covid crisis

China said it would bolster vaccinations of senior citizens, a move regarded by health experts as crucial to reopening an economy that’s been stuck in a loop of “Covid zero” curbs. But it stopped short of announcing mandates that helped raise inoculation rates in other countries. The push comes days after protests erupted in cities from Beijing to Shanghai and even Kashgar as frustrated citizens took to the streets, urging an end to the curbs put in place by Xi Jinping. Rising infection rates and popular anger have combined to trigger a fresh crisis for a Communist government already facing disrupted businesses and slowing growth. Some Chinese officials however are striking a conciliatory tone in the face of the unrest, saying local authorities must respond to and resolve “reasonable” Covid requests from the public in a timely manner. —David E. Rovella

Risk appetite has suddenly soured on one of the biggest corporate credit exchange-traded funds. More than $3 billion exited the $36 billion iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF on Monday, Bloomberg data show. That’s the biggest one-day outflow since the fund’s inception in 2002.

Ukraine should be free to strike military sites inside Russia as Vladimir Putin continues a campaign to destroy his neighbor’s critical infrastructure, and with it the ability of civilians to survive the winter, Latvia’s foreign minister said. His statement, in which he said allies should not fear escalation, comes as NATO continues to take great pains not to send Kyiv weapons that could provoke a direct confrontation with Moscow. The Biden administration meanwhile is weighing whether to label Russia’s Wagner Group, a mercenary outfit run by Putin aide Yevgeny Prigozhin, a foreign terrorist organization—part of US efforts to handicap the group’s attacks inside Ukraine and its growing presence in Africa.

Yevgeny Prigozhin Photographer: Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images

Stewart Rhodes, leader of the far-right “Oath Keepers” militia group, was convicted of the rare charge of seditious conspiracy on Monday for his role in the deadly Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol. Rhodes and his followers allegedly sought to stop the peaceful transfer of power and keep Donald Trump in power.

Banks in the US and Europe with around $42 billion of buyout debt stuck on their balance sheets are making the most of their last chance to get rid of it this year. Stabilization in the leveraged loan and high yield bond markets has led to an opening for big deals.

Royal Bank of Canada agreed to buy HSBC’s Canadian unit for C$13.5 billion ($10 billion) in cash, expanding its roster of business clients and bulking up its retail presence on the West Coast as HSBC pivots to Asia.

The fallout from the collapse of Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX crypto empire has spread to a new corner of the digital-asset market. Traders’ focus has turned to the price disparity between Bitcoin and a derivative called wrapped Bitcoin, which can be used on the rival Ethereum blockchain. Wrapped Bitcoin is backed 1-to-1 by the token, which is held in custody by the digital-trust firm BitGo. But while it normally trades on par with Bitcoin, a “persistent” discount emerged in mid-November.

New York City taxpayers may have to pay up to $300 million to settle a lawsuit accusing the city’s embattled Department of Correction of holding thousands of people in jail hours, in some cases days, after they paid bail. 

Bloomberg continues to track the global coronavirus pandemic. Click here for daily updates.

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The redesigned Toyota Prius hybrid has won critical applause for its improved body—it looks less like a medical appliance from and more like a teardrop. But still, this is arguably not be the electric vehicle consumers truly deserve. The next stage of EV development needs to focus on making cars that drivers want to drive, rather than simply because it’s “the right thing to do.” 

A new Prius plug-in hybrid prototype from Toyota  Photographer: Akio Kon/Bloomberg

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