Concerns about soaring virus cases and new lockdowns sent equities and oil tumbling again Tuesday, while fears over a new strain in Britain and stuttering Brexit trade talks kept the pound under pressure.

UK government borrowing continued to soar in November on emergency action to support the virus-hit economy which nevertheless rebounded stronger than expected in the third quarter, official data showed Tuesday.

The board of the International Monetary Fund on Monday decided to immediately release $2 billion to help virus-hit Ecuador, the institution announced.

EU and UK trade talks inched onwards under renewed pressure Monday as transport chaos triggered by the emergence of a more contagious variant of the coronavirus in Britain overshadowed efforts to reach a Brexit deal.

Britain could face a shortage of fresh produce and greens due to transport chaos at the border as tortuous Brexit talks linger and more countries shut borders after the emergence of a more contagious Covid-19 variant in England.

A new round of pandemic relief checks for Americans will start going out next week, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Monday.

Wall Street stocks opened lower Monday as worries over a new highly-infectious strain of Covid-19 in Britain offset optimism from agreement on a long-delayed U.S. stimulus bill.

Iraq’s oil ministry on Monday announced reaching an agreement with Lebanon for exporting oil to Beirut in the year 2021 according to global prices.

Asian markets sank Monday as news of a US stimulus agreement was overshadowed by surging virus cases and the imposition of a strict lockdown in England, while the pound was also hit by fears over stuttering Brexit talks.

Oil prices also sank as the new containment measures hammered expectations for travel over the Christmas period, with the discovery of a mutated and more infectious strain of the coronavirus in Britain also leading several governments to ban flights from the country.

Negotiations for a post-Brexit trade deal teetered on the brink of failure Sunday, overshadowed by the coronavirus crisis and deadlocked over the issue of fishing rights.