DAILY DOSE: March 21, 2021
Posted on 03/21/2021
1. José Baselga led AstraZeneca Plc’s oncology research-and-development arm. José Baselga died at the age of 61 of Creuzfeldt-Jacob Disease, a rapidly progressive neurodegenerative disorder.
2. The Olympics in Tokyo is being planned to be held without foreign spectators.
3. The European Union is set to block the AstraZeneca COVID vaccine and ingredient exports to the U.K.
4. The crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border continues to get worse as illegal crossing escalate during a COVID-19 pandemic, as U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas attempts to get some level of control. The Biden administration’s policies have been favorable to encourage illegal immigration into the U.S.
5. China appointed two new members to the People’s Bank of China monetary policy committee. Economist Cai Fang from the government-linked Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and Wang Yiming, a former deputy director of the Development Research Center of the State Council, will join the central bank’s policy making committee.
6. Basketball superstar LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers left in the second quarter with a high right ankle sprain that will sideline him indefinitely. “Nothing angers and saddens me more than not being available to and for my teammates!” James tweeted later Saturday. “I’m hurt inside and out right now. The road back from recovery begins now. Back soon like I never left.”
7. The Turkish lira plunged 16% to near its all-time low as markets opened. This is after Turkey President Tayyip Erdogan fired the central bank governor, replacing him with Sahap Kavcioglu.