Financial News

Financial News:

European shares open higher…Manchin not on board yet

BANGKOK (AP) – Shares have opened higher in Europe after Asian shares followed Wall Street lower. In early trading in Europe, the FTSE 100 in London gained 0.6%, while Germany’s DAX added 0.4%. In Paris, the CAC 40 climbed 0.5%. In Asian markets, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng closed 1.3% lower and the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo lost 0.7%. In Seoul, the Kospi fell 0.7%. The Shanghai Composite index shed 0.6%. On Wall Street, futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow are each up 0.3%.

WASHINGTON (AP) – Sen. Joe Manchin is signaling that he’s still not ready to back his party’s $2 trillion social and environment legislation as party leaders scramble for a pathway to advance the long-stalled package – preferably by Christmas. The West Virginia Democrat spoke to President Joe Biden by phone Monday but declined to describe the conversation. Democrats must have Manchin’s backing because the Senate is evenly divided and Republicans oppose the legislation unanimously. Manchin has been pushing for months for Democrats to curb the bill’s size and drop some initiatives, including one requiring paid family and medical leave.

LONDON (AP) – Britain’s jobs market appears to have brushed aside the ending of a salary support plan that supported millions of jobs during the coronavirus pandemic. The Office for National Statistics finds that the number of workers on payroll rose by a record 257,000 in November to a record 29.4 million. Despite the buoyant jobs news, the Bank of England is not expected to raise interest rates on Thursday for the first time since the pandemic began in early 2020, amid concerns over the rapid spread of the omicron variant of the coronavirus.

TOKYO (AP) – Japanese automaker Toyota is beefing up its electric vehicle lineup, offering 30 new fully electric models by 2030. President Akio Toyoda says Toyota plans to sell 3.5 million electric vehicles globally in 2030. That’s up from its earlier plan to sell 2 million zero emission hydrogen and battery electric vehicles a year worldwide by 2030. Toyota now sells about 10 million vehicles globally a year.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Philadelphia is the latest large city to require proof of vaccination to dine indoors. City officials announced Monday that vaccination proof will be required starting Jan. 3 for bars, restaurants, indoor sporting events, movie theatres and other places where people eat indoors close to each other. For the first two weeks of the mandate, patrons and employees can show proof of a negative COVID-19 test taken within 24 hours of entry. Employees and children ages 5-11 will also have some extra time to get vaccinated under the policy, with a first dose required by Jan. 3 and full vaccination required by Feb. 3.