Gold prices volatile
Gold prices tumbled on Monday after the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine news sparked a broader market rally. Investors fled safe haven assets such as gold, which had surged on worries about the pandemic.
But the price of the gold is still hovering just under $1,900 an ounce — not far from all-time highs above $2,000 earlier this year.
While gold has been volatile, it has benefited from many of the same trends that have lifted bitcoin as well as silver, platinum and other precious metals the past few months. And many analysts are confident gold will just keep on climbing. - CNN
Budget webinar on Nov 19
The annual budget seminar organised by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (CA Sri Lanka) will be held on Thursday, November 18 from 9.00 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. with a host of eminent speakers and panellists who will share their insights on the Government’s National Budget for the year 2021.
For the first time in the event’s history, the budget seminar will be held on a virtual (online) platform.State Minister of Money and Capital Market and State Enterprise Reforms . Ajith Nivard Cabraal will deliver the keynote speech on “Thinking Behind the Budget Proposals. “The guest speakers will be Secretary to the Treasury S. R.Attygalle and Governor of the Central Bank Prof. W. D. Lakshman.
Oil funds expect record gains
The battered oil and gas sector ran riot on Monday, with the sector’s popular enchmark Energy Select Sector Fund (XLE) jumping nearly 15%. The catalyst was news that Pfizer and BioNTech may have hit the jackpot with a Covid-19 vaccine - a development that has injected a heavy dose of optimism into global financial markets. 
The pharmaceutical giants announced they have developed BNT162, an mRNA vaccine that has been more than 90% effective in preventing Covid-19 infection in nearly 44,000 test subjects.