Bedugul Coffee: Friday Briefing: U.S. House on verge of approving Biden's COVID-19 aid bill

Today's top stories

U.S. air strikes in Syria, why the chips aren't down for Hyundai, and what did the queen get Prince Harry for Christmas?

The U.S. House of Representatives will aim to pass President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus aid bill today in what would be the first major legislative victory of his presidency.

But in a blow to Democrats, the Senate parliamentarian - the official advisor on Senate rules - said the chamber cannot include Biden’s proposed $15-an-hour minimum wage in the bill.

Donald Trump’s hold on the Republican Party will be on full display as an annual gathering of prominent conservatives starts in earnest, with a key question being whether the former president will run again in four years.

Biden directed U.S. military air strikes in eastern Syria against facilities belonging to what the Pentagon said were Iran-backed militia, in a calibrated response to rocket attacks against U.S. targets in Iraq.

The decision to carry out the strikes was meant to send a signal that, while the United States wanted to punish the militias, it did not want the situation to spiral into a bigger conflict, according to a U.S. official.

↑ Joe Biden commemorates the 50 millionth COVID-19 vaccination at the White House, February 25, 2021. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

WORLD

↑ Thanoun Yahya, a 59 year-old an Iraqi Christian, walks at Al-Bishara church in Mosul, Iraq, February 22, 2021. REUTERS/Thaier al-Sudani

Ahead of Pope Francis' trip to Iraq next week, we look at the stark choice facing the scattered and dwindling Christian community in this Biblical nation - to stay or go.

Unidentified gunmen have kidnapped a number of schoolgirls, estimated to be more than 300, from the town of Jangebe in northwest Nigeria, the second such kidnapping in little over a week. A surge in armed militancy in the northwest has led to a breakdown of security in Africa’s most populous country.

Israel has led the world in COVID-19 vaccinations. Now it faces another challenge that other countries will have to grapple with: how to balance public health and the rights of the unvaccinated.

Prince Harry has said he stepped back from his royal duties because the “toxic” British press had been destroying his mental health. In an interview with James Corden, Harry also revealed his one-year-old son Archie’s first word was “crocodile” and said the queen had sent him a waffle maker as a Christmas present.

Business

Global stocks have fallen as a rout in global bond markets sends yields flying and spooks investors amid fears the heavy losses suffered could trigger distressed selling in other assets.

We take a look at big moves and liquidity woes in a U.S. bond 'tantrum without the taper'.

Hedge fund managers are getting concerned about the money that has flooded into high-flying stocks like Tesla and the popular ARK fund as bond yields spike and growth stocks take a hit.

Is home working the new normal or an aberration? As the finance industry prepares for life post-pandemic, commercial banks are moving quickly to harness working from home to cut costs, while investment banks are keen to get traders and advisers back to the office.

Amid a chip shortage that has forced production cuts worldwide, Hyundai bought chips when rivals didn't - its assembly lines are still rolling.