President Biden and Chinese Premier Xi Jinping speak on the phone for the first time with the new U.S. leader immediately raising the topics of trade and human rights. U.S. consumer prices are in focus as Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell stresses the need for a jobs drive to propel the economy, while revealing the central bank “explicitly” seeks to target an average inflation of 2 per cent annually. In vaccine news, the WHO grants the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine its backing despite recent EU criticism over the drug’s efficacy. Earnings seasons is in full swing in Europe. Italian lender Unicredit posts a revenue loss for the fourth quarter but says it is determined to return more than €1bn to shareholders. And we hear from a slew of European chief executives, including the CEO of Schneider Electric.

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