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What you need to know about the coronavirus right now

Pfizer said its experimental COVID-19 vaccine was more than 90% effective, a major victory in the fight against a pandemic that has killed more than a million people, battered the world’s economy and upended daily life.

Pfizer and German partner BioNTech SE are the first drugmakers to release successful data from a large-scale clinical trial of a coronavirus vaccine. If authorized, the number of doses will initially be limited and many questions remain, including how long the vaccine will provide protection.

Futures tracking the S&P 500 hit a record high after Pfizer said its experimental vaccine was more than 90% effective in preventing COVID-19 based on initial data from a large study.

India’s Tata launches faster test
India’s Tata Group launched a COVID-19 test kit that it says will process results more easily and faster than the RT-PCR method considered the gold standard for detection, at a time when cases are still rising in the country. The nasal swab test, developed jointly by Tata and the government, is also more accurate than the rapid antigen test currently favored in India.

Hungary shuts secondary schools, extends curfew
Hungary will close secondary schools, universities and restaurants and extend its night-time curfew from Tuesday to curb a fast rise in infections, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said. The premier, who has up to now refrained from imposing tough measures in a bid to protect the economy, said on Monday large gatherings will also be banned and sports events held behind closed doors.

Iran reports record daily cases
Iran’s health ministry reported on Monday a rise of 10,463 in the number of daily coronavirus cases, bringing total cases in the Middle East’s worst-affected country to 692,949. Ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari told state TV that 458 people had died from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, pushing the death toll to 38,749.

In Nigeria, looters target warehouses stocked with COVID-19 relief
Looters have been targeting state warehouses across Nigeria stocked with COVID-19 relief supplies which they say should already have gone to the poor and hungry. Authorities denied accusations of food hoarding or plans to sell the supplies. The National Governors Forum, which brings together the heads of Nigeria’s 36 states, said some of the looted items were a “strategic reserve ahead of a projected second wave of COVID-19.”

From Breakingviews - Corona Capital: EU pain, Supply chains, Airlines.
Europe’s second wave of lockdowns is imposing less economic pain than the first, and Norway says “no” to pumping more state money into Norwegian Air. Catch up with the latest pandemic-related financial insights.

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Election result

With cases soaring, Biden to announce COVID-19 task force
The United States became the first country to surpass 10 million coronavirus infections, according to a Reuters tally on Sunday, as a third wave of the virus surges across the nation. The milestone came on the same day as global coronavirus cases exceeded 50 million.

President-elect Joe Biden, who spent much of his election campaign criticizing President Donald Trump’s handling of the pandemic, pledged on Saturday to make tackling the pandemic a top priority. Biden will announce a 12-member task force on Monday charged with developing a blueprint for containing the disease once he takes office in January.

Biden’s healthcare advisers have held talks with drugmaker executives on the government’s Operation Warp Speed program to accelerate development of a possible COVID-19 treatment, a Biden spokesman said.

Joe Biden’s campaign urged the Trump political appointee who heads the U.S. General Services Administration to approve an official transition of power despite President Donald Trump’s refusal to concede. The Biden campaign warned that U.S. national security and economic interests depended on a clear signal the country would engage in a “smooth and peaceful transfer of power.”

Trump could issue a flurry of pardons during his final days in power. Here is an overview of Trump’s pardon power, which is sweeping but not absolute.

Investors expecting an imminent COVID-19 vaccine are beginning to buy bank stocks and industrials in anticipation of a roaring return in consumer confidence, though many remain wary of risks in sectors ravaged by the pandemic.

Here are 10 numbers that help explain an historic U.S. election that was conducted in the middle of both a worldwide pandemic and global economic recession. The data is derived from voting figures available through Saturday afternoon.

China, which has held off on congratulating U.S. presidential election winner Joe Biden even as leaders of other countries have done so, said on Monday it would follow custom in responding to the result. “We noticed that Mr. Biden has declared election victory,” foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a daily media briefing.

Taiwan’s top China policy maker sought to reassure nervous lawmakers that Joe Biden will continue U.S. support for the Chinese-claimed island, which has benefited from strong backing by the outgoing administration of Donald Trump.

The United States is Britain’s closest and most important ally, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said, expressing confidence he could achieve much on everything from trade to climate change with Joe Biden.

The Mexican president’s hesitation over congratulating Joe Biden on his U.S. presidential election win drew flack from several Latino Democratic lawmakers, warning it risked souring a restart to bilateral ties after years of tension under Donald Trump.