U.S. consumer spending rebounded strongly in January as the government doled out additional pandemic relief money to low-income households and new COVID-19 infections dropped, setting up the economy for faster growth in the first quarter.
Canada's drug regulator approved AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine on Friday, the third inoculation to get a green light. The vaccine was approved under Canada's interim order system, which allows for accelerated approvals similar to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's emergency use authorizations.
Brazil's national debt started this year at a record high, central bank figures showed on Friday, while rock-bottom official borrowing costs kept interest payments as a share of the economy anchored at historic lows. Government debt rose to 89.7% of gross domestic product in January, up half a percentage point from the previous month and the highest level on record.
MEXICO CITY-- Mexico ran up a $1.24 billion trade deficit in January, its first deficit in eight months with both exports and imports down from a year earlier. Exports fell 2.6% from January 2020 to $32.7 billion, while imports decreased 5.9% to $33.94 billion, the National Statistics Institute said Friday. Exports of manufactured goods were down 2.6% from a year earlier, with vehicles and auto parts shipments up 1.7% and exports of other factory-made goods down 3.2%.
Brazil's national debt opened this year at a record high 89.7% of gross domestic product, while the public sector posted a primary surplus of 58.4 billion reais, the central bank said on Friday.
Brazil's unemployment rate ended last year at 13.9%, figures showed on Friday, extending a recent dip as workers returning to the labor market found jobs, but the average jobless rate in 2020 was the highest since comparable records began in 2012.
* Aussie, Kiwi fall more than 1% * Pound knocked below $1.39. * Bitcoin slips 5% * Graphic: World FX rates https://tmsnrt.rs/2RBWI5E. By Ritvik Carvalho. The U.S. dollar rose against most major currencies on Friday, lifted by an increase in U.S. bond yields overnight, while risk currencies such as the pound, Aussie and Kiwi dollar took a knock lower.
NEW DELHI-- India's economy, one of the hardest hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, started growing again last quarter, but the recovery is being driven by those with the highest incomes, while the poor are still struggling. The South Asian nation said Friday that its gross domestic product grew by 0.4% in the three months through Dec. 31 after shrinking by more than 15% over the previous two quarters. The rebound was driven by India's biggest companies and richest consumers.
Portugal last year recorded its steepest economic contraction since 1936 as both domestic and external demand weakened due to the COVID-19 pandemic, especially in tourism. Gross Domestic Product fell 7.6% in 2020, the National Statistics Institute data showed on Friday, almost double the 4.1% fall in 2012 during an austerity programme linked to an international bailout.
U.S. households are getting a boost from pandemic-aid programs, priming the economy for a surge in growth this year. The Commerce Department is set to report Friday on how much Americans earned and spent in January-- key indicators of the economy's health. Economists predict that consumer spending grew solidly last month while income soared, the latter by as much as 9.5%.
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