🇺🇸 White House officials are planning a farewell ceremony for Donald Trump as he leaves Washington for the last time as president. He won't be attending Joe Biden's inauguration. https://bloom.bg/39X4H7Z

💊 Like all new drugs, Covid-19 vaccines come with some safety concerns and side effects. Here's what you need to know about vaccine-related deaths and allergies. https://bloom.bg/3oVx1xG

💉 And global gaps in access to vaccines are raising concerns about dangerous new versions of the pathogen. Vast numbers of countries have yet to begin their vaccination campaigns. https://bloom.bg/3oZ5QSz

🎮 This coding prodigy had a string of flops before hitting it big with battle-royale shooting game PUBG. Now his firm is aiming for an IPO that could value it at up to $27 billion. https://bloom.bg/35W4dOa

🇺🇸 Donald Trump is expected to grant a flurry of pardons in his final act as president. Sources say he isn't giving himself clemency in anticipation that he might later be charged with federal crimes. https://bloom.bg/3sG47UG

🖲 Sci-fi action game Cyberpunk 2077's disastrous rollout sparked an investor lawsuit, customer uproar and two apologies from the developer's CEO. Here's an inside look at how the project imploded: https://bloom.bg/35Va06r

👶 To defeat the pandemic, children will have to be immunized, experts say. Pfizer and Moderna have started recruiting for studies to show their shots are safe and effective for kids. https://bloom.bg/35T1wNi

✈ Airlines have been looking forward to Covid vaccines to rescue their battered industry. But European carriers are becoming fearful that a recovery will arrive too late for summer travel.
https://bloom.bg/3iqVgBm

🇺🇸 Donald Trump departs Washington with Americans more politically divided than when he arrived. It's an ignominious end to one of the most turbulent presidencies in American history.
https://bloom.bg/39GbFOm

Hello, here's what we're reading (and watching) right now:

💸 Wealthy investors rushed to offload Alibaba stock after China launched a probe into its alleged monopolistic practices, according to Citigroup’s private bank. https://bloom.bg/2XXgltS

🚀 A team at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory is proposing a mission that will let us see planets in other solar systems. We spoke with the scientist behind what could be the most powerful telescope ever built, with a little help from the sun. https://bit.ly/3qARHLU

📈 Taiwan became the world's best stock market during Trump's presidency. Its benchmark index surged 92% since 2017, in part due to the trade war. https://bloom.bg/3p24VAL

🇺🇸 It's inauguration day in the U.S. Joe Biden plans to begin immediately unwinding Trump’s policies with at least 15 executive actions, including moves to rejoin the Paris climate accord and the WHO. https://bloom.bg/39JXwQe

📝 Donald Trump granted clemency to dozens of people, including his former strategist Steve Bannon and the rapper Lil Wayne. The list of pardons and commutations doesn’t include the president himself.
https://bloom.bg/3bXFXz0

📈 Billionaire Jack Ma resurfaced for the first time in nearly three months, sending Alibaba Group's stock soaring. Speculation had grown recently about Ma’s whereabouts. https://bloom.bg/3sKidnJ

🇺🇸Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. was sworn in as the 46th president of the United States, taking control of a nation wracked by a deadly pandemic, persistent unemployment and growing social unrest: http://bloom.bg/2XYcn41

🚫China imposed sanctions on former Secretary of State Michael Pompeo and other Trump administration officials, saying they had made “crazy moves” that harmed U.S.-China ties: http://bloom.bg/3p6RWOc

📈U.S. stocks rallied as investors grew optimistic that recent federal spending will revive growth and bolster corporate earnings: http://bloom.bg/2Y19dfQ

📩 President Joe Biden said Donald Trump left him a "very generous letter" before leaving Washington on Wednesday. https://bloom.bg/2M7g4BN (If you missed it, watch our two-minute inauguration recap here: https://bloom.bg/2LHfye5)

🚫 Twitter locked the official account for the Chinese embassy in the U.S. after a post defended Beijing’s policies in Xinjiang. Critics say China is engaged in the forced sterilization of minority Uighur women there. https://bloom.bg/39PsaHR

💉 New York is looming toward a vaccine shortage, Hong Kong is set to approve Pfizer’s shot and Biden will re-engage with the WHO. Here's the latest virus news: https://bloom.bg/2Kx2MOv

😷 Joe Biden will issue a sweeping set of executive orders to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic. The new president will seek to overhaul testing, stabilize the supply chain and boost vaccine distribution. https://bloom.bg/3qGjQRK

✈️ Biden will also order people to wear masks in airports and on planes, and enforce quarantines for international travelers. A negative Covid-19 test will be required before flying to the U.S. https://bloom.bg/35VvgJp

⛽ And a Bloomberg analysis finds that total direct emissions from the world's biggest oil company may be twice as much what it reports publicly.
https://bloom.bg/3sEod1v

📉 Bitcoin tumbled below $30,000 from recent record highs. Analysts warn the drop below the key level could be a sign of further losses ahead. https://trib.al/toAL46m

⛽ Millions of barrels of Venezuelan crude, embargoed by the U.S., have been surreptitiously going to China. Documents reviewed by Bloomberg show the lengths to which some traders disguised the oil’s origin and got it to Asia. https://trib.al/3tG92dD

🔍 These are the 50 companies worth watching in 2021. We tracked about 2,000 companies in fields including finance, retail and technology, and came up with a shortlist. Explore: https://trib.al/Z4g3E0V

Hello 👋 Here’s what we're following right now:

💰 China's growing power is scaring ordinary savers out of Hong Kong. Outflows this year could reach $36 billion to the U.K. alone, says Bank of America. https://bloom.bg/2KIQu5J

🇲🇽 Mexico’s president says he’s infected with Covid-19. The nation has seen record increases in cases and fatalities in the past week. https://bloom.bg/3ofbuyH

💹 Robinhood saw a huge boost among rookie traders. But now they’re giving up the DIY investing apps and turning to financial advisers for help instead. https://bloom.bg/3qSzdXp

💉 As Covid-19 rages, governments are debating whether to prioritize giving as many people as possible a first shot of vaccine, or to reserve supply for a second dose. Here's why delaying the second shot is messy. https://bloom.bg/3cf2t6F

⚠ The world is witnessing the greatest rise in inequality on record, according to Oxfam. While the rich have already bounced back, the world's poorest are likely to feel the effects of the pandemic for years. https://bloom.bg/3sOl92V

📈 Cryptocurrency enthusiasts counting on Bitcoin to surge back above $40,000 face faltering demand for the biggest fund tracking the digital asset, according to JPMorgan Chase. The pace of flows into the fund "appears to have peaked." https://bloom.bg/3og91nF

🇺🇸 House Democrats triggered the start of an unprecedented trial by delivering a single article of impeachment against Donald Trump to the Senate. https://bloom.bg/36flPo6

🌎 Ice melting has accelerated so much over the past 30 years that it’s now in line with the worst-case climate warming scenarios outlined by scientists. https://bloom.bg/36cpcfG

🇹🇼 And a shortage of auto chips has made global leaders realize how dangerously dependent they are on Taiwan for semiconductors. Meanwhile, China is pushing the world to avoid official dealings with the island democracy. https://bloom.bg/3oiywF0

🇩🇪 Germany is urging the EU to limit vaccine exports as a standoff with drugmaker AstraZeneca worsens. AstraZeneca has said that planned deliveries of its Covid-19 jab would face delays. https://bloom.bg/3sROxFv

💰Private equity titan Leon Black paid Jeffrey Epstein $158 million between 2012 and 2017 — after the sex offender pleaded guilty to felony charges. Here's what Black, one of America's richest men, got for his money. https://bloom.bg/3a5VutL

😄 And it seems that money can buy happiness after all. A new study refutes the theory that above a certain income level dollars don't help your sense of well-being. https://bloom.bg/3qPHEm8

📈 Hello, here’s what we’re following in markets right now:

• On any given day, there may be a dozen tiny, profitless companies that mysteriously go from obscure penny stocks to viral sensations. Here's how it happens. https://bloom.bg/3pquPi2

• GameStop’s surge accelerated as shares nearly doubled on Tuesday. Michael Burry of “The Big Short” fame called the rally “unnatural, insane and dangerous.” https://bit.ly/2YeTD0t

• And short-squeezed hedge funds are now getting hit on their bullish bets too. https://bloom.bg/3pmhSWv

💉 French drugmaker Sanofi has agreed to produce 125 million doses of BioNTech and Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine in an unusual collaboration to speed vaccinations efforts in the EU. https://bloom.bg/3qZmpya

💸 GameStop has continued its skyward march in U.S. premarket trading after an Elon Musk tweet. The stock rose as high as $260, up 76% from the last close. https://bloom.bg/3cc8mBv

⛏ And the conviction of billionaire Beny Steinmetz has been hailed as a milestone in the fight against corruption in mining. But it's not clear whether he'll ever set foot in prison. https://bloom.bg/3sZy8Pe

📈 In 11 hours of pure market mania, a new band of day traders sent a range of fringe stocks to gains of 100% or more. We tracked what happened in real time: https://trib.al/2utSoai

🤔 You might be wondering whether you should also buy GameStop, AMC and other Reddit-hyped stocks. This is what some financial pros say: https://trib.al/14AMN5I

🇨🇳 And in pandemic news: After strict border curbs, mass testing and hard lockdowns, China is using a new method to tackle coronavirus outbreaks: anal swabs. https://trib.al/az9KVer

🇬🇧 Britain may help the EU shore up its Covid-19 vaccine supplies as AstraZeneca faces severe disruption. The EU failed to convince the drugmaker to divert doses from the U.K. to make up for a production glitch in Europe. https://bloom.bg/39nYt1A

📈 GameStop resumed its rally in early U.S. trading, after a brief outage of the Reddit forum whose users have fueled the stock’s surge. The shares were up 24% at $431 at 6:15 a.m. New York time. The stock has advanced more than 1,700% this year.
https://bloom.bg/3ou8jmS

⛽ And oil and gas companies knew they would face a fight with President Joe Biden, who had campaigned on tackling climate change. But nobody expected fossil fuel to come under such an immediate attack. https://bloom.bg/3ooqH0n

💹 Robinhood drew down some of its bank credit lines to ensure it has enough cash to clear trades, sources say. https://bloom.bg/2Yqot6o

In a Bloomberg TV interview, Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev said the company did so to protect its financial position. Watch the clip below, or the full video here: https://bloom.bg/3r7q5hL

It’s tapped at least several hundred million dollars, a significant amount of money for a firm that was valued at about $12 billion a few months ago, according to one of the people.

📈 GameStop and other day-trader favorites surged back after Thursday’s tumble as brokerages said they would start to ease trading restrictions, setting the scene for another wild day on the markets. https://bloom.bg/3punZbl

💰 Meanwhile Robinhood raised more than $1 billion from existing investors and drew millions more from bank credit lines to weather the storm. https://bloom.bg/36lqMvI

📮 And away from markets: Poland has a new billionaire — thanks to a pandemic-fueled boom in postal lockers. https://bloom.bg/2NN9ykA