From an economic perspective, most of the current figures continue to look worse, especially in developed economies including the United States. The US job market, retail sales and real estate figures have deteriorated for the first time since last April.
In Europe, many economic activity indicators, especially in the service sector, also contracted at the end of 2020. In Japan, some economists think that we could see spending numbers shrink to a double-digit level this quarter. Only in China, that the strong economic growth in the fourth quarter is registered.
Of course, the main cause has been the reimposition of serious curbs on economic activity including lockdowns in some cases, following the new Covid-19 outbreak, as infections worldwide approach 100 million and deaths exceed 2 million. The restrictions have been especially tight in France, Italy and…
