President Joe Biden has picked Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to serve a second four-year term at the helm of the central bank, while nominating Lael Brainard, the only Democrat on the Fed’s seven-member board, to serve as second-in-command at the Fed.
Amid rising COVID-19 cases, Austria announced it would implement a full national lockdown. The country will also require COVID-19 vaccinations for all eligible citizens – the first such measure in Europe.