BORROWING BINGE REACHES RISKIEST COMPANIES — WSJ's Sam Goldfarb and Matt Wirz: "Investors' near-insatiable demand for even the riskiest corporate debt is fueling a Wall Street lending boom, offering lifelines for struggling companies even as the coronavirus pandemic still drags on the economy. "Companies such as hospital operator Community Health Systems Inc. and newspaper publisher Gannett Co. Inc. have issued a record $139 billion of bonds and loans with below investment-grade ratings from the start of the year through Feb. 10, according to LCD, a unit of S&P Global Market Intelligence. More than $13 billion of that debt had ratings triple-C or lower — the riskiest tier save for outright default — about twice the previous record pace." BIDEN TO SPEAK AT VIRTUAL MEETING OF WORLD'S MAJOR ECONOMIES — AP's Alexandra Jaffe: "President Joe Biden will speak at a virtual meeting of the world's major economies on Friday to discuss the coronavirus pandemic and global vaccination distribution, according to the White House. "Biden is expected to speak about the need for a global response to the pandemic and to recommit the U.S. to multilateral engagement, a stark contrast from President Donald Trump, who developed an isolationist foreign policy that saw the U.S. withdraw from major global agreements and alliances. Since entering office, Biden has reversed many of Trump's isolationist moves, including by rejoining the World Health Organization." INCOMING WTO CHIEF WARNS 'VACCINE NATIONALISM' COULD SLOW PANDEMIC RECOVERY — Reuters' Andrea Shalal: "The World Trade Organization's incoming chief on Monday warned against 'vaccine nationalism' that would slow progress in ending the Covid-19 pandemic and could erode economic growth for all countries — rich and poor. "Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala told Reuters her top priority was to ensure the WTO does more to address the pandemic, saying members should accelerate efforts to lift export restrictions slowing trade in needed medicines and supplies." BIDEN AND THE FED LEAVE 1970S INFLATION FEARS BEHIND — NYT's Jim Tankersley and Jeanna Smialek: "Presidents who find themselves digging out of recessions have long heeded the warnings of inflation-obsessed economists, who fear that acting aggressively to stimulate a struggling economy will bring a return of the monstrous price increases that plagued the nation in the 1970s. "Now, as President Biden presses ahead with plans for a $1.9 trillion stimulus package, he and his top economic advisers are brushing those warnings aside, as is the Federal Reserve under Chair Jerome H. Powell." BIDEN FACES QUESTIONS ABOUT COMMITMENT TO MINIMUM WAGE HIKE — AP's Will Weissert and Alexandra Jaffe: "The coronavirus has renewed focus on challenges facing hourly employees who have continued working in grocery stores, gas stations and other in-person locations even as much of the workforce has shifted to virtual environments. "Biden has responded by including a provision in the massive pandemic relief bill that would more than double the minimum wage from the current $7.25 to $15 per hour. But the effort is facing an unexpected roadblock: Biden himself. The president has seemingly undermined the push to raise the minimum wage by acknowledging its dim prospects in Congress, where it faces political opposition and procedural hurdles." JPMORGAN: MARKETS MOST COMPLACENT THEY'VE BEEN IN TWO DECADES — Bloomberg's Cecile Gutscher: "Global investors are the least fearful they've been in two decades, and perhaps the most greedy. A JPMorgan Chase & Co. gauge of cross-asset complacency based on valuations, positioning and price momentum is nearing the highest level since the time the dot-com bubble burst and some companies found out burning cash faster than they made it wasn't quite effective as a long-term survival strategy." | 
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