Gold Prices Mixed In Cautious Trade

Gold prices were mixed on Tuesday after falling sharply the previous day amid strength in the dollar.

Spot gold slid 0.3 percent to $1,906.73 per ounce, while U.S. gold futures were up 0.1 percent at $1,912.25 per ounce.

The dollar hovered near a six-week high against its rivals after staging an impressive rally overnight on fears that European countries will again go into lockdowns.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will outline new lockdown restrictions later today to fight the second wave of coronavirus.

Earlier in the day, Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey downplayed the prospect of negative interest rates in the future.

As escalating Covid-19 cases threaten the economic outlook, the central bank was looking hard at how it could support the economy further, Bailey said in a British Chambers of Commerce webinar.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell and U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin will speak later in the day at a Congressional panel.

As lawmakers in Washington struggle to agree a stimulus package, Powell will tell the panel that the Fed remains committed to using all tools, for as long as it takes, to limit lasting damage to the economy, according to the text of his remarks released on Monday.

EU's Barnier to talk Brexit in London on Wednesday – BBC

LONDON (Reuters) – EU chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier is due in London on Wednesday for informal Brexit talks, BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg said on Twitter, citing EU sources.

AutoZone Inc. Q4 adjusted earnings Beat Estimates

AutoZone Inc. (AZO) reported earnings for its fourth quarter that rose from the same period last year.

The company’s profit totaled $740.46 million, or $30.93 per share. This compares with $565.23 million, or $22.59 per share, in last year’s fourth quarter.

Excluding items, AutoZone Inc. reported adjusted earnings of $740.46 million or $30.93 per share for the period.

Analysts had expected the company to earn $24.79 per share, according to figures compiled by Thomson Reuters. Analysts’ estimates typically exclude special items.

The company’s revenue for the quarter rose 14.0% to $4.55 billion from $3.99 billion last year.

AutoZone Inc. earnings at a glance:

-Earnings (Q4): $740.46 Mln. vs. $524.25 Mln. last year.
-EPS (Q4): $30.93 vs. $20.95 last year.
-Analysts Estimate: $24.79
-Revenue (Q4): $4.55 Bln vs. $3.99 Bln last year.

South African Poultry Industry Invests $60 Million in Expansion

South African poultry producers have invested more than half of the funds they committed as part of a so-called master plan to grow the industry as the government earlier this year raised tariffs to counter cheap imports.

Around 1 billion rand ($60.2 million) of the 1.7 billion rand pledged for expansion by 2022 has already been invested and 5% more chickens are being produced for slaughter each week, Izaak Breitenbach, a general manager of the South African Poultry Association, said Tuesday in an emailed statement.

South Africa’s government and industry representatives signed off on the strategy for the industry in November. At the time, companies committed to investing 1.5 billion rand in production facilities by the end of this year and a further 1.7 billion rand toward setting up 50 contract farming operations. Together, the investments should create as many as 4,600 jobs.

Poultry is the second-largest component of South Africa’s agriculture industry and employs about 110,000 people. The government in March increased import duties on frozen bone-in and boneless chicken pieces from all nations excluding the European Union and member states of the Southern African Development Community.

Curbs on Short-Term Rentals Backed by EU Court in Blow to Airbnb

The European Union’s top court backed French rules designed to alleviate a shortage of long-term rentals, in a blow to companies that specialize in vacation rentals such as Airbnb Inc.

A French rule requiring Parisians to get permission from local authorities to repeatedly rent out apartments and houses for brief stays is in line with EU laws, the Court of Justice ruled Tuesday.

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo described the decision in a tweet as a “victory” that “marks a turning point for the supervision of seasonal rentals and constitutes a step forward for the right to housing for all.”

The ruling is in contrast to a December case where the court struck down a French law that tried to force Airbnb and similar companies to follow stricter rules that apply to real estate agencies.

While Airbnb wasn’t part of this latest case, it said the court’s ruling “will help clarify the rules for hosts who share secondary homes in Paris” and that the company plans to work “closely with local authorities on proportionate regulation that puts local families and communities first and works for all.”

The cases are: C-724/18, Cali Apartments, C-727/18, Procureur general pres la cour d’appel de Paris and ville de Paris.

Boris Johnson says UK is at a 'perilous turning point' and tells Brits to work from home

U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Tuesday that Britain was at a "perilous turning point" and that he had to act now to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

In a marked change in tone, Johnson reversed the lifting of lockdown measures in the country, telling people to work from home once again if possible.

He warned that the new measures, which include the early closing of pubs and restaurants from Thursday, could be in place for up to six months.

It comes after a surge in coronavirus cases in recent days which have led to localized lockdown measures in parts of northern England. Groups of more than six people are also no longer allowed to meet up.

To date, the country has reported over 400,000 coronavirus cases and 41,877 related deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

– Holly Ellyatt contributed to this report

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