The Day at a Glance | December 27 2021

The Top

*China to remove limits on foreign investment in its domestic automotive sector starting in January 2022; manufacturers in the sector could be owned by foreigners.

*Holiday purchases during December increased 8.5% annually in the U.S.: Mastercard SpendingPulse.

*White House will not give up until social spending plan is approved: Kamala Harris.

*The Central Bank of China committed itself to more proactive and focused use of monetary stimuli to back growth.

*New record of COVID-19 infections was logged at a worldwide level as the Omicron variant spreads around the world (982,820 daily cases on Dec. 23 2021).

Economic environment

Strong consumption during holiday season in the United States. According to a report published by Mastercard SpendingPulse, sales in the United States increased 8.5% compared to the Nov 1 – Dec 24 2020 period. The report assures that consumers spent more on clothing – said sales increased 47% annually – jewelry (32%) and electronics (16%). In fact, these three categories logged sales of up to 20% more than their pre-pandemic levels. Department stores logged a 21% increase in sales during the holiday season, while online sales increased 11% (and accounted for 21% of the total amount of sales during the period). Although Black Friday remained as the most important day for sales volumes, many consumers moved their purchases forward due to concerns of supply chain and inventory issues among stores, according to Mastercard.