It will take months for the vaccine to help the economy

First vaccination in New York State 5:20

(CNN Business) -

- Here's some sobering news: The International Energy Agency once again lowered its forecast for 2021. The agency said it will take months for coronavirus vaccines to begin to reverse the damage caused by the pandemic in the economy.

On Tuesday, the agency cut its demand forecast for next year by 170,000 barrels a day, due to lower-than-expected purchases of jet fuel and kerosene.

“The understandable euphoria around the start of vaccination programs partly explains the higher prices, but it will be several months before we reach a critical mass of vaccinated and economically active people and therefore see an impact on demand of oil, "said the IEA in its monthly report.

• LOOK: Boris Johnson: The vaccine will allow us to recover our lives and make our economy move again

"In the meantime, the end of the year holiday season is coming soon with the risk of another spike in COVID-19 cases and the possibility of even more lockdown measures," he added.

Expectations about oil demand are important because they reveal information about the economy in general terms.

If planes stay at airports and people stay at home, they use less energy.

The IEA, which monitors the energy market trends of richer countries, tries to answer the same basic question as investors: how quickly will vaccines help?

Tightening of restrictions that could affect the economy

The Latest: The image of healthcare workers receiving the vaccine in the United States on Monday was a genuine moment of celebration.

At the same time, the virus is growing in key economies and forces politicians to impose new lockdowns.

These measures could lead their countries back into recession.

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• LEE: Germany, the largest economy in Europe, will go into lockdown: will a recession follow?

"Yesterday marked an important milestone in the United States, when the first members of the public began receiving the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine after it was approved," Deutsche Bank analysts wrote in a research note.

"However, the broader issue around the world was how authorities had to further tighten restrictions given the increasing number of cases before Christmas," they added.

Details, details: New York bans eating inside restaurants for at least two weeks.

London faces tighter restrictions as of Wednesday.

There the bars and pubs will be closed except for take away food orders.

Germany and the Netherlands enter "hard" lockdowns that will extend beyond Christmas, and the Italian government is considering new measures to curb the virus.

Germany will suspend activities from Wednesday due to covid-19 0:59

What can you expect from the economy in 2021?

On the other side of the world, Japan now has the highest number of COVID-19 patients in intensive care since the pandemic began.

South Korea recorded 880 new coronavirus cases on Monday, and the government is considering introducing the highest level of coronavirus restrictions.

• MIRA: In 2020, the world economy will suffer the worst fall since 1946, warns ECLAC's executive secretary

With these trends, the IEA preaches caution and warns of a possible third wave.

"Our central assumption is that vaccines will be introduced in OECD countries in the first quarter of 2021 and widely administered in the second and third quarters, allowing many activities to progressively return to normal," the agency warned in your report.

“However, there is still great uncertainty about the efficacy, availability and deployment of vaccines.

It is possible that, after the next Christmas season, a third wave of the virus will affect Europe and other parts of the world before the vaccines have time to take effect, ”he added.

Europe prepares to attack big tech companies

European regulators are preparing for their next battle with big tech companies.

The European Commission is expected to release a comprehensive set of policy drafts on Tuesday.

These would amount to the most aggressive legislative effort to reduce the power of big tech companies to date.

Tech giants to pay French digital tax 1:05

Companies such as Amazon, Google and Facebook will face new obligations to remove harmful and illegal content from their platforms, according to media reports.

Platforms marked "gatekeepers" will be subject to a list of dos and don'ts to preserve fair competition.

The threat: The European Union will threaten to dismantle repeat offenders who engage in anti-competitive behavior, the

Financial Times

reported

before the official announcement from Brussels.

• LOOK: SoftBank billionaire prepares for "the worst possible scenario" in the world economy.

  How likely is it to reach that condition?

"Europe is again at the forefront in the world and is taking quite drastic measures on the technology regulation front far beyond what any other country or region (...) is contemplating or following," said Thomas Vinje, partner. of the Brussels-based law firm Clifford Chance.

The UK also takes action

The UK, which left the European Union earlier this year, is also joining this trend.

Tech companies that fail to remove or limit the spread of illegal content will face fines of up to 10% of their annual turnover under the rules proposed by the government on Tuesday.

• LEE: The antitrust case against Facebook in the US: this is what you should know

"I am unashamedly protetech, but that cannot mean unchecked technology," UK Digital Secretary Oliver Dowden said in a statement.

"We are entering a new era of responsibility in technology to protect children and vulnerable users, to restore confidence in this industry and to enshrine in law safeguards for freedom of expression."

The rules proposed by the UK and the European Union increase pressure on Big Tech companies. In the US, the federal government and states have launched historic antitrust lawsuits against Google and Facebook, directly challenging their dominance.

2020, the year the electric car hype intensified

Our readers are well acquainted with the meteoric rise in Tesla shares this year.

But it is not the only company benefiting from increased enthusiasm for electric vehicles, poised to experience growing popularity in the coming years.

Look at this: Nio, a Chinese electric vehicle company, warned in March that it was running out of funds.

However, since the summer stocks have soared, reports CNN Business colleague Matt McFarland.

They are up about 920% this year, putting the company's value on par with General Motors.

Tesla to export vehicles from China to Europe 0:49

Electric vehicle experts say enthusiasm around the industry reached a new peak in 2020. Companies have raised more than $ 10 billion this year in fundraising rounds, in initial public offerings and through takeover companies. special purpose (SPAC).

Electric vehicle companies like Lordstown Motors and Arrival have merged with SPACs this year as a means of going public.

To some observers, however, the surge in EV stocks seems like an irrational exuberance.

They point to GM's decision to withdraw from an investment in electric truck maker Nikola following a report from a short seller alleging fraud.

Nikola, who has yet to sell a production vehicle, briefly was worth more than Ford in June.

"That a company as conservative and historic and foundational for the auto industry as General Motors was on the verge of merging with Nikola, I don't think you can question that there is a certain craze for electric cars," said Karl Brauer, motor analyst at iSeeCars car search.

Electric cars Petroleum Coronavirus vaccine