The move comes after Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte’s economic adviser Riccardo Fraccaro said on 26 November that European Central Bank monetary policy should support the eurozone by “cancelling sovereign bonds bought during the pandemic or perpetually extending their maturity.”

The sale comes amid tighter restrictions from the United States in May, which blocked the Chinese tech giant's access to software and semiconductors made with US technologies.

BANGKOK (Sputnik) - The Thai Ministry of Public Health signed a contract with UK pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca on Friday to procure 26 million doses of its coronavirus vaccine.

Earlier in the month, positive vaccine-related developments buoyed British stocks somewhat, yet the latter still under-performed on market jitters over soaring coronavirus cases, new ‘lockdown tiers’ and stalled Brexit negotiations ahead of a year-end deadline for a trade deal between the UK and the European Union.

Global banks are scrambling to report and close the accounts of US citizens suspected in a massive dragnet operation launched by the US aimed at collecting taxes from expatriates, with severe penalties imposed for numerous offences, a top expert on citizenship renunciation revealed.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Caracas resumed direct oil deliveries to China after more than a year of hiatus due to the US sanctions, Reuters agency reported on Friday, citing Refitiv Eikon tracking data and internal documents of Venezuelan PDVSA state oil company.

Google was found guilty of failing to follow up on the requests of citizens exercising their right to oblivion and promptly remove unwanted personal data from its search results.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) announced on Friday that it reached an agreement with India's pharmaceutical company Hetero on producing over 100 million doses of Russia's coronavirus vaccine Sputnik V per year in India.

The world's most popular cryptocurrency previously topped the $19,000 mark, nearly reaching its record-high prices from 2017. In the meatime, Bitcoin's market value has been estimated at $355.9 billion, surpassing previous records.

In April, the US asset manager BlackRock clinched a contract with the European Commission to help it integrate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors into the EU banking framework, as well as its banks’ business strategies and investment policies.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The global energy sector may prove more vulnerable to cyberattacks next year as companies are switching to 5G technologies, which will connect a large number of devices to global networks, increasing the attack surface, Group-IB, a Singapore-based cybersecurity firm, said in a report on Wednesday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Economic activity in France has decreased by 10 percent over the month-long nationwide lockdown amid the second coronavirus outbreak, compared to a 30 percent decline when the COVID-19 quarantine was first introduced in the country in spring, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire told the France Inter broadcaster on Wednesday.

Last week the world's most popular cryptocurrency hit $18,000 for the first time since its record price of $19,783 was registered almost three years ago.

Tesla CEO and product architect Elon Musk, now the second-richest man in the world, plans to expand on an already active construction project near Berlin, Germany, and build what he believes will be the world’s “largest battery-cell plant.”

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Global oil prices continued to rebound on Tuesday, with Brent crude trading at the highest level since March, gaining over 1 percent since Tuesday morning.

Amid vaccination breakthroughs by multiple trials, the question of whether the Covid-19 vaccine will be enforced on the public by companies and state bodies has become ever more prominent.  

According to Norwegian "Hotel King" Petter Stordalen, bankruptcies don't come at the beginning of crises. Therefore, a wave of bankruptcies never seen in history is to ensue in 2021, he predicted.

In January, the Tesla and SpaceX founder ranked 35th among the richest people in the world, however, he's gained over $100 billion this year - more than any other billionaire from the top 500 businesspeople in 2020, according to Bloomberg.

The Boeing 747-400 was one of 31 British Airways jets to be decommissioned by the national airline. It made its last flight to Castellón in Spain in August to be scrapped by Welsh-based company eCubes.