Bloomberg - Evening Briefing - The coming crypto crash

Pfizer and BioNTech said initial lab studies show a third dose of their Covid-19 vaccine may be needed to neutralize the omicron variant, results that may accelerate booster drives and lead to strain-specific shots. Company researchers observed a 25-fold reduction in neutralizing antibodies that fight the variant (compared with the original strain of the virus) in people who got just two shots. However, boosting with an additional dose restored protection to a level similar to the initial two-shot regimen, the companies said. In the epicenter of South Africa’s omicron wave, there was news that many cases are yielding only mild infections. But there’s a wrinkle, too: a different version of omicron has appeared. Here’s the latest on the pandemic. —David E. Rovella

Bloomberg is tracking the coronavirus pandemic and the progress of global vaccination efforts.

Bitcoin was swinging between gains and losses following one of the biggest one-day selloffs of 2021. Crypto was finally embraced by many institutions in 2021, but next year is looking less rosy. Money-managers are warning that the controversial, volatile asset class is ripe for a big selloff. Almost three-quarters of institutions said in a new poll that crypto isn’t an appropriate investment for most retail investors, with digital assets a “top contender” for a “major correction.”

The Bank of France and the Swiss National Bank said they had successfully attempted foreign exchange transactions using digital currencies. The experiment, they said, provided them with “tremendous” insight into the novel technology. 

President Joe Biden said the U.S. and some of its NATO allies plan a meeting with Russia aimed at de-escalating tensions over Ukraine, where they’ll consider President Vladimir Putin’s concerns about the alliance. Biden said that he hopes to announce the meeting by Friday, which will include “at least four of our major NATO allies.”

Russia has massed troops and armor on Ukraine’s border, potentially auguring a second invasion of that country in seven years. Above, Russian soldiers during a military parade in Moscow in 2020.  Photographer: Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg

Marking the biggest exchange initial public offering since Euronext went public in 2014, Saudi Tadawul Group—owner of Saudi Arabia’s stock exchange—surged on its trading debut after raising $1 billion. The shares rose as much as 22% on bets that buoyant Middle East stock markets will attract more listings from private companies and cash from investors around the world. 

While everyone has been focused on omicron and a potential superpower confrontation over Ukraine, the U.S. Congress managed to come up with a solution both parties can live with on raising the nation’s debt limit. The good news? Markets won’t be roiled by the possibility of a debt-limit breach, let alone an actual economy-destroying default, Jonathan Bernstein writes in Bloomberg Opinion. The bad news? The debt limit, what he calls the stupidest law in the nation, survives.

No such quiet comity is in the offing between Senate Democrats and at least one colleague who has spent the past four months holding up Biden’s economic program. Democrat Joe Manchin (who along with Arizona Democrat Kyrsten Sinema has reportedly been raking in Republican donations) returned to the microphone this week, repeating his opposition to Biden’s “build back better” package without saying exactly what the problem is.

Joe Manchin  Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg

Everyone has heard how the pandemic has prompted many Americans to quit their jobs. The “great resignation” has U.S. workers bailing on bosses in record numbers—more than 24 million from April to September of this year alone. But Germany, Japan, and other wealthy nations are seeing shades of the same trend.

• Goldman Sachs says young U.S. workers plan early retirements.
• Kickstarter will move its crowdfunding platform to blockchain.
• How Microsoft’s Halo Infinite went from disaster to triumph.
• India’s top defense official was killed in a helicopter crash.
• Star U.K. money manager warns of worst returns in 20 years.
• Venezuela is resurrecting its oil fields with backpacks of cash.
• Trump aide Meadows faces contempt case over Capitol attack.

For the second year in a row, the best saloon on the planet is the one at the Connaught Hotel. The prestigious London bar, renowned for such high-styled drinks as the signature martini for two, served on a black lacquer trolly with engraved crystal glasses, was given the award by the World’s 50 Best Bars.

Expert drink makers at the No. 1 Connaught include (from left) Maura Milia, Giorgio Bargiani and Ago Perrone.   Source: The Connaught

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