Gold Eases As Dollar Gains Ground On Safe-haven Demand

Gold prices fell slightly on Monday and the dollar pushed higher as Brexit talks remain deadlocked and many European nations halted flights to and fro from the U.K. amid unease over a new coronavirus strain that is shutting much of the United Kingdom.

Spot gold dipped half a percent to $1,871.86 per ounce, while U.S. gold futures were down 0.8 percent at $1,874.70.

U.S. lawmakers agreeing to a $900 billion stimulus bill on Sunday is not helping the precious metal.

The British pound and oil were hit by fears over stuttering Brexit talks. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s office said that the EU is “continuing to make demands that are incompatible with our independence.”

The Prime Minister will chair an emergency response meeting today to review the situation after Canada as well as European countries, including Germany, France, Italy and the Netherlands, ordered a suspension of flights from Britain.

All of London and much of southeastern England is now under strict “Tier 4” lockdown restrictions after the discovery of a new strain of the Sars-CoV-2 virus, which is said to be up to 70 percent more transmissible.

RealPage To Be Taken Private By Thoma Bravo For $88.75/Share Cash – Quick Facts

Software and data analytics firm RealPage, Inc. (RP) announced Monday that it has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by private equity firm Thoma Bravo in an all-cash transaction that values RealPage at approximately $10.2 billion, including net debt.

Under the terms of the agreement, RealPage stockholders will receive $88.75 in cash per share of RealPage common stock upon closing of the transaction. The purchase price represents a premium of 30.8% over RealPage’s closing stock price of $67.83 on December 18, 2020.

The RealPage Board of Directors has unanimously approved the agreement with Thoma Bravo and recommends that RealPage stockholders vote in favor of the transaction at the special meeting of RealPage stockholders to be called in connection with the transaction.

Upon completion of the transaction, RealPage expects to continue operating under the leadership of Chairman and CEO Steve Winn and the existing RealPage leadership team based in Richardson, Texas.

The parties expect the transaction to close in the second quarter of 2021, subject to customary conditions, including approval by the holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of RealPage common stock.

Upon completion of the transaction, RealPage will become a privately held company, and its common stock will no longer be listed on the NASDAQ stock market.

Oil Prices Plunge 5% On Demand Worries

Oil prices fell about 5 percent on Monday as a fast-spreading new coronavirus strain fueled worries about a slower recovery in fuel demand.

Benchmark Brent crude slumped $2.59, or nearly 5 percent, to $49.66 a barrel, after having risen 1.5 percent to its highest since March on Friday.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down $2.49, or 5.1 percent, at $46.75, after having climbed 1.5 percent on Friday to their highest level since February.

All of London and much of southeastern England is now under strict “Tier 4” lockdown restrictions after the discovery of a new strain of the Sars-CoV-2 virus, which is said to be up to 70 percent more transmissible.

The World Health Organization said the same mutation of the Covid-19 virus has also been detected in the Netherlands, Denmark and Australia.

Canada as well as European countries, including Germany, France, Italy and the Netherlands, ordered a suspension of flights from Britain.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will chair an emergency response meeting later today to review the situation.

He will also hold crisis talks with senior ministers and officials amid the looming prospect of a no-deal Brexit.

An official said Brexit trade talks remain difficult with “significant differences” between the two sides.

Today’s declines in oil prices come after seven weeks of gains on optimism over the rollout of coronavirus vaccines.

Cognizant Acquires Inawisdom; Terms Not Disclosed – Quick Facts

Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. (CTSH) announced Monday that it has acquired UK-based Inawisdom, a privately-held consultancy specializing in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and data analytics to help businesses make better, faster decisions that improve business outcomes. Financial details were not disclosed.

Inawisdom focuses on delivering cloud-native, full-stack solutions leveraging proven consulting methodologies and an analytics and machine learning platform built using Amazon Web Services (AWS).

Inawisdom marks Cognizant’s ninth acquisition in 2020 to expand capabilities for clients globally in the key focus areas of data and artificial intelligence, cloud, digital engineering, and Internet of Things. Cognizant has invested more than $1.1 billion this year alone for acquisitions in these areas.

Mutant Covid has now spread to five different countries outside the UK

A new strain of coronavirus has now spread to at least six countries across the world, according to reports.

Mutant Covid has been detected so far in Italy, Denmark, the Netherlands, Australia and Belgium, as well as the UK.

This is a breaking story. More to follow.

Vietnam says to meet U.S. trade officials this month

HANOI (Reuters) – Vietnamese and U.S. officials will meet late this month to discuss trade issues, Vietnam’s trade ministry said on Monday, after the U.S. Treasury last week labelled the Southeast Asian country a currency manipulator.

“Vietnam regretted the USTR (United States Trade Representative) decision on October 2 to launch section 301 investigation over Vietnam’s currency and timber,” the ministry told Reuters in an emailed statement.

The ministry said it was “extremely important for the two sides to maintain talks at the moment.”