NEWSLETTER
Thursday / September 29Sep 29
Tuesday / December 28
Indirect talks between Iran and the United States on salvaging the 2015 Iran nuclear deal resumed on Monday.
Despite insufficient progress in reining in its atomic activities, Tehran has focused on lifting sanctions.
The seventh round of negotiations, the first meeting under Iran's new President Ebrahim Raisi, ended 10 days ago due to some new Iranian demands for the bargaining text.
Western powers said progress was too slow and they had "weeks, not months" before the 2015 deal became meaningless.
"If we work hard in the days and weeks ahead, we should have a positive result.... It's going to be very difficult; it's going to be very hard. Difficult political decisions have to be taken both in Tehran and in Washington," the talks' coordinator, European Union envoy Enrique Mora said.
"The most important issue for us is to first reach a point where Iranian oil can be sold easily and unhindered," Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said.
US stocks
US stock indexes rose on Monday as markets reopened after the Christmas holiday.
The S&P500 saw the year's 69th record closing at 4,791.19, up approximately 1.4%. The index also closed at an intraday record for the first time in more than a month.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 36,302.38, up 351.82 points, or roughly 1%. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose nearly 1.4% to 15,871.26.
New research shows that the covid omicron strain has a lower risk of hospitalization than others.
Energy stocks led gains in the SP500 index as technology stocks and oil prices rose.
Covid scare
Goldman Sachs will employees and office visitors in the US to get the booster COVID-19 vaccine starting next year.
Apple closed its stores to customers at its New York City retail locations on Monday, citing an increase in Covid-19 cases in the city. Customers will still be able to take orders online outside of stores, the company's website noted on Monday.
Meanwhile, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has shortened the recommended isolation period for asymptomatic Americans with COVID-19 from 10 to five days.
President Joe Biden pledged on Monday to alleviate the lack of COVID-19 testing.
Biden's adviser, infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci, recommended on Monday that the federal government consider mandating vaccinations for domestic air travel.
China's vehicle manufacturing
Chinese authorities will allow full foreign ownership of passenger car production in the country from January 1, 2022.
China has gradually withdrawn the limits of foreign ownership in the domestic auto industry.
But foreign investment remained banned in 31 areas, including broadcasting, rare earths, film production and distribution, and tobacco products, according to a statement Monday by the Ministry of Commerce and the National Development and Reform Commission.
In sectors such as medical institutions, foreign entities should form joint ventures, often with majority-owned local partners.
North Korea party meeting
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has kicked off a week-long ruling party meeting that he uses to make major policy announcements for the new year.
The 4th Plenary Session of the 8th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) met on Monday, state news agency KCNA reported.
"Kim has used speeches around the new year holiday in the past to make friendly overtures to the U.S. and South Korea, but also to reveal nuclear weapon developments and other military plans," NK News, a Seoul-based website that monitors North Korea, said in a report on Monday.
North Korea said it was open to continuing negotiations with the United States and the South, but said Washington and Seoul needed to take steps to end "hostile policies" such as sanctions and military exercises.
