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.

The board of the International Monetary Fund on Friday approved the release of a second tranche of aid valued at $1.67 billion for Egypt, saying public debt and Covid-19 threatened its economic recovery.

In June, the board approved a one-year, $5.2 billion financing package for Egypt. With the latest disbursement, more than $3.6 billion will have been released.

The United States on Friday announced it has imposed export controls on 77 Chinese companies including the country's biggest chipmaker, SMIC, restricting its access to U.S. technology over its alleged ties to China's military.

Wall Street stocks dipped from records early Friday as markets awaited resolution of a long-stalled economic relief package in Congress while the United States contends with a worsening coronavirus outbreak.