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US companies never borrowed so much, ever. 2020 saw a record of $2.5 trillion, according to Bank of America. They argue that Covid-19 exacerbated the corporate debt market trends. High yield is now a little above 4%, while investment grade is right under 2%. 

Despite the negative effects of the pandemic on the global economy, the real personal income per capita in the US was higher last October than in October 2019 (without considering government stimulus). 

Following months of intense negotiation, a $900 billion stimulus bill was signed in the U.S. Out of the $900 billion, $166 billion of the bill (or 18%) is allocated to $600 stimulus checks (on top of another $120B in bringing back enhanced unemployment benefits). There are approximately 330M Americans, but amazingly the spend on direct payments is less than the aggregate increase in net worth of Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk since COVID lockdowns began....Some will call it wealth & income inequality or another proof of the K-style recovery...(source: IHS Markit)

Hong Kong stocks ended lower on Monday on worries over China-U.S. tensions, although losses were capped by policy support from Beijing. The Hang Seng index fell 0.7% to 26,306.68, while the China Enterprises Index lost 0.8% to 10,401.83.U.S. lawmakers will back $1.9 billion to fund a program to remove telecom network equipment that the U.S. government says poses national security risks as part of a $900 billion COVID-19 relief bill, two sources briefed on the matter said on Sunday. The Hang Seng telecommunications index fell 2.4% after the news. Hong Kong shares in China’s top chipmaker SMIC dropped 3.8% after the company said on Sunday that being put on a U.S. trade blacklist would pose a significant adverse impact to its research and development in its 10-nanometer and more advanced chip technology. Source: Reuters

Both Vietnam and Switzerland had foreign exchange market interventions and global current account surpluses exceeding 2% of gross domestic product (GDP), and a $20 billion-plus trade surplus with the United States. USA says there will be consequences with upcoming tariffs on Vietnam. See graph below increasing trends of Vietnamese exports to the US. This is especially meaningful considering the US has sought new trading partners in Vietnam to make up for lost ground with Chinese trading partners. Balance surplus for Vietnam will be taxed by US tariffs. Source: Reuters