We’ve summarised the top stories of the last week into an easily digestible briefing, so that you can stay up to date on what’s happening around the world. You can subscribe to receive the briefing in your inbox each week.

Business & Economics

1. China’s central bank has banned all cryptocurrency transactions. This move was taken on the grounds that virtual transactions often fund illegal activities and that digital tokens “endanger the safety of people’s assets”. This is the latest in a series of crackdowns since 2019, when crypto trading was officially banned – but continued on online exchanges. The price of bitcoin fell 11% on the day of the announcement.

2. Britain continues to face a large shortage of lorry drivers, leaving many supermarkets understocked. In an attempt to alleviate the problem, Britain will issue up to 5,000 temporary visas to foreign drivers, and may employ up to 2,000 military personnel to fill in the labour shortage. However, many worry this will barely scratch the required number of workers which stands at 100,000.
   
   
3. China’s Evergrande missed an 83.5 million USD offshore bond payment on Friday. Its shares (down 80% since January) fell by more than 12% despite rising 17% the day before. The crisis was caused by restrictions introduced to control real estate developers’ debt. To keep the business afloat the company sold homes off plan at discounted rates, but now the company is struggling to finance itself. The prospects for a bail-out are uncertain.

4. The Bank of England expects inflation to top out at 4% at the end of they year. The announcement follows the MPC’s decision to hold interest rates at 0.1%. Two of the nine members, including the governor, voted to stop buying government bonds. However, the Bank wants to alleviate the present supply chain issues holding growth back and see the impact of the furlough scheme ending.

5. Pret A Manger has announced that it is hiring for 3,000 new jobs after the same number of jobs were cut last year. The move is in response to increased demand as workers return to the city. The CEO of Pret, Pano Chitou, told the Today Program that he aims to open 200 new stores in the UK and expand to five overseas territories. He also discussed how the shortfall in HGV drivers was affecting fruit supply. The firm has also announced a 5% pay rise across the company, which brings store pay to £9.40 and hour, above the £8.91 minimum.

6. The National Audit Office (NAO) has said that 134,000 pensioners, mostly women, have been underpaid by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). Women who were on meagre pensions could claim up to 60% of their spouse’s from the state. Some women have been underpaid since 1985, but compensation for many is only available for the past 12 months of missed payments. The amount due is £1.05 billion (£8,900 per pensioner on average).

7. The UN has predicted growth this year to be 5.3% across the globe, the highest in 50 years. However, it predicts that in 2022, growth will lower to 3.6%, leaving world income levels 3.7% below the pre-pandemic trend line. The report said that many southern countries were hit harder than in the 2008 financial crisis and that rising food prices pose a threat to a north-south recovery.

Politics

1. France, frustrated with the recent Aukus agreement, stopped defence talks with the UK. The new marine defence pact required Australia to scrap its deal with France in favour of one with the US and UK.

2. Germans are preparing for a national election, which will see Angela Merkel, Germany’s second longest-serving chancellor, step down after 16 years of service. Latest polls make the election too close to call – Merkel has spoken out in favour of Armin Laschet, the Christian Democratic Union candidate, in a rare political move.

3. There has been a resurgence of the common cold, with some people reporting their worst colds ever. The cause for this rise in illnesses can be explained by the Covid-19 pandemic, since people are not used to respiratory diseases and immune systems may have been weakened by lockdown. The severity of the common cold has prompted concerns about a ‘twindemic’; experts warn that the flu season might be particularly stringent this year.

4. Hong Kong chose its Election Committee, which will decide its Chief Executive in December. Out of 1500 members, only one has voiced views against Beijing.
   
   
5. India will reopen its borders for vaccine exports. Companies like the Serum Institute, the world’s largest producer of vaccines, will soon start exporting their vaccines to other countries. Estimates suggest that India will be able to produce over 1 billion vaccines in the last three months of the year.

6. Russian elections unsurprisingly led to another supermajority for the leading party United Russia. The election was fixed, with Russian authorities using predatory methods to gain votes. Putin will start his 22^nd consecutive year of being either the Russian president or prime minister.

7. The Chinese government said it would stop supporting the construction of foreign coal plants. The move marks the removal of a major part of the Belt and Road initiative, as China places itself at the forefront of the battle against climate change.

8. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has been confirmed for a third term after calling for an early election. However, the Liberal Party still failed to secure an overall parliamentary majority. Critics of the election called it unnecessary and overly political during the major crisis presented by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Written by Faris Lovejoy and Vimal Kamath