Results of a private survey on Monday showed China’s manufacturing activity expanded for the month of July — the fastest pace in nearly a decade, according to records.
The private survey showed that policy stimulus is helping the world’s second-largest economy in its recovery from the pandemic, said Julian Evans-Pritchard, senior China economist at Capital Economics, a consultancy. https://www.cnbc.com/2020/08/03/china-economy-caixin-markit-pmi-for-july-2020.html
“China’s Maritime One Belt Road Goes Digital As US Navy Spends Billions On Weapon Technology” https://gcaptain.com/chinas-one-belt-road-goes-digital-as-us-navy-invest-in-autonomous-ships/ “In 1890, in his book The Influence of Sea Power, the great Alfred T. Mahan wrote about an era of technological change and believed that, despite these changes, the importance of sea power remained unchanged. Mahan also believed that a strong merchant marine was as important to seapower and maritime influence as a nation’s naval might. Yet in 2020 only China, by investing heavily in shipbuilding and commercial shipping operations, is following the Mahanian doctrine. The United States Navy may still have the most powerful fleet of warships ever but there remain only 82 US flagged merchant ships in international trade while China has 3,897
…So while the Navy has announced an aggressive multi-trillion dollar plan to meet the “threat from china” by increasing the size of the US Naval fleet to over 500 ships, and has invested heavily in maritime digital products, the money is all flowing through defense contractors. Very little is entering the commercial side where it could help fix the Manhanian imbalance and assist us flagged commercial interests.
There is another problem with US Naval spending. While the US Navy spends it’s money researching and developing technology for war, China’s “One Belt One Road” strategy is not only funding cybersecurity and autonomous vessels, the country also is pouring money into technology for maritime logistics, infrastructure, and commercial ships.”
“Study: Inequality Robs $2.5 Trillion From U.S. Workers Each Year” https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/09/rand-study-how-high-is-inequality-us.html
Rand Corporation: “Trends in Income From 1975 to 2018” https://www.rand.org/pubs/working_papers/WRA516-1.html
See also “Wage Stagnation in Nine Charts” https://www.epi.org/publication/charting-wage-stagnation/
“…Under Paul Volcker’s leadership, the Federal Reserve consciously sought to overcome the high inflation of the late 1970s by breaking the bargaining power of U.S. workers, and reducing labor’s share of income. Thanks to the Reagan revolution, among other things, the central bank accomplished this objective too well. Now, instead of contending with inflationary pressures, the Fed must make increasingly audacious interventions in capital markets to ward off the perennial threat of consumer price deflation — even as asset prices rise to evermore spectacular highs.”
“There’s mounting evidence that the pandemic is dealing a lasting blow to the American economy, with millions of jobs vanishing forever.
The number of unemployed people classified as permanently losing their old jobs climbed by 345,000 in September to a seven-year high of 3.8 million, according to seasonally adjusted numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
…The percentage of unemployed Americans classified as permanently unemployed rose to 35.6% in September, up from just 11.1% in April.” https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/02/economy/permanent-job-losses-recession/index.html
See also “What the Disappointing Final Jobs Report Before the Election Tells Us About the Economy” https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/10/what-the-disappointing-jobs-report-says-about-the-economy.html
Meanwhile: “Subsidized cars help low-income families economically, socially” (Cornell University) https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-10/cu-sch100220.php
In “Subsidizing Car Ownership for Low-Income Individuals and Households,” published in the Journal of Planning Education and Research, Nicholas Klein, assistant professor of city and regional planning at Cornell University, reports insights from interviews with 30 people who gained access to inexpensive, reliable cars through the nonprofit Vehicles for Change (VFC). https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0739456X20950428 [scroll down to VFC for details about the program]
“Global markets struggle to make sense of Trump’s stimulus tweet storm” https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/07/investing/global-stocks/index.html
“Just hours after Trump’s decision to halt negotiations on a major economic stimulus package caused US stocks to plummet, he called on US lawmakers to approve smaller measures that would provide relief to airlines and small businesses.
“The House & Senate should IMMEDIATELY Approve 25 Billion Dollars for Airline Payroll Support, & 135 Billion Dollars for Paycheck Protection Program for Small Business,” Trump tweeted late on Tuesday. “Both of these will be fully paid for with unused funds from the Cares Act. Have this money. I will sign now!”
He later added that he was “ready to sign” a “Stand Alone Bill for Stimulus Checks ($1,200).”
See also “Billionaires have never been richer despite the pandemic”
“Billionaire wealth increased to $10.2 trillion at the end of July, up from a previous peak of $8.9 trillion in 2017, according to a report from Swiss bank UBS and PwC. The total number of billionaires has increased by 31 to 2,189 since 2017.” https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/07/business/billionaires-ubs-report/index.html
“Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Thursday that the White House won’t let differences over funding targets for Covid-19 testing derail stimulus talks with top Democrats.
Later, President Donald Trump said that he would raise his offer for a stimulus package above his current level of $1.8 trillion. House Democrats have passed a $2.2 trillion bill.
“I would. Absolutely I would. I would say more. I would go higher. Go big or go home, I said it yesterday,” the president told Fox Business.
“Nancy Pelosi doesn’t want to give anything. She thinks it helps her with the election,” Trump continued. “And I don’t think so. I think it hurts her with the election because everyone knows she’s holding it up. We’re not holding it up. She’s holding it up.”
The president also took a swipe at his Treasury secretary: “So far he hasn’t come home with the bacon.” https://www.cnbc.com/2020/10/15/mnuchin-says-hell-give-ground-on-virus-testing-in-stimulus-negotiations-with-pelosi.html
(10/14/20): Mrs. Pelosi continued to press for $75 billion for testing and tracing of the coronavirus, as well as a national plan for implementing tests. https://www.wsj.com/articles/pelosi-mnuchin-disagree-on-coronavirus-testing-continue-stimulus-talks-11602693608
The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits rose last week by the most in two months, to 898,000, a historically high number and evidence that layoffs remain a hindrance to the economy’s recovery from the pandemic recession. The economy is still roughly 10.7 million jobs short of recovering all the 22 million jobs that were lost when the pandemic struck in early spring. https://apnews.com/article/virus-outbreak-business-jobless-claims-united-states-economy-f904abdb3bc24f01e757915eb01a377a
“President Donald Trump is no longer winning on his signature issue: the economy.
In a CNN poll released Tuesday, Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden were tied among registered voters at 49% apiece on the question of who would handle the economy better. Among likely voters, Biden gets 50%, compared with 48% for Trump, a statistical dead heat.
It’s not an anomaly either. The two candidates were essentially tied on the issue in the last CNN poll taken August 28 – September 1.” https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/06/economy/2020-poll-trump-biden-economy/index.html
“Goldman Sachs thinks a blue wave of Democrats — meaning full control of government via the presidency (Joe Biden), Senate and House — come November could be good for the U.S. economy.” https://finance.yahoo.com/news/a-blue-wave-of-democrats-come-november-may-be-good-for-economy-goldman-sachs-181544426.html
“The SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) pandemic is the greatest threat to prosperity and well-being the US has encountered since the Great Depression. This Viewpoint aggregates mortality, morbidity, mental health conditions, and direct economic losses to estimate the total cost of the pandemic in the US on the optimistic assumption that it will be substantially contained by the fall of 2021. These costs far exceed those associated with conventional recessions and the Iraq War, and are similar to those associated with global climate change. However, increased investment in testing and contact tracing could have economic benefits that are at least 30 times greater than the estimated costs of the investment in these approaches.” Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Oct 12, 2020: “The COVID-19 Pandemic and the $16 Trillion Virus” https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2771764
China’s trade with the world surges as economies reopen https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2020/10/13/chinas-trade-with-the-world-surges-as-economies-reopen
China’s imports grew in September at their fastest pace this year, while exports extended strong gains as more trading partners lifted coronavirus restrictions in a further boost to the world’s second-biggest economy.
Exports in September rose 9.9 percent from a year earlier, customs data showed on Tuesday, broadly in line with analysts’ expectations and up from a solid 9.5 percent increase in August.
“The coastal Chinese city of Qingdao will test its more than nine million residents for Covid-19, authorities said, after the discovery of a dozen new cases linked to a local hospital—the country’s most significant virus scare in several months.
Mass testing has become a major part of how the Chinese government plans to eradicate coronavirus and keep the economy on track. Chinese authorities remain on high alert for potential Covid-19 outbreaks despite having largely brought the pandemic under control within the country’s borders.
While the daily new-case counts in the U.S. and Europe are in the tens of thousands, China’s are in the low two digits, and almost all the infections are brought in by people traveling from other countries. New arrivals who test positive are immediately placed in strictly enforced quarantine. Those efforts have helped China’s economy bounce back faster than those of major competitors, and officials are eager to prevent a second wave of infections that could derail the recovery. https://www.wsj.com/articles/covid-cluster-in-chinas-qingdao-prompts-city-wide-testing-11602502755
The next economic crisis: Empty retail space : As tenants stop paying and shrink their offices, commercial real estate is cratering. (10/18/20) https://www.politico.com/news/2020/10/18/next-economic-crisis-empty-retail-space-429994 “Commercial real estate is in trouble, and turbulence in the $15 trillion market is threatening to bleed over into the broader financial system just as the U.S. struggles to emerge from a recession.
…Apartment buildings, on the other hand, have performed well — so far. Industry analysts are anxiously watching for signs of additional tenants missing rent now that the initial spurt of economic relief included in the $2 trillion CARES Act Congress passed in March is sputtering out.
Apartment property owners are also hemmed in by a nationwide ban on evictions for nonpayment of rent put in place by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last month. The order included no funding for rental assistance — effectively requiring landlords to subsidize struggling tenants’ housing until it expires Dec. 31.”
Results of a private survey on Monday showed China’s manufacturing activity expanded for the month of July — the fastest pace in nearly a decade, according to records.
The private survey showed that policy stimulus is helping the world’s second-largest economy in its recovery from the pandemic, said Julian Evans-Pritchard, senior China economist at Capital Economics, a consultancy. https://www.cnbc.com/2020/08/03/china-economy-caixin-markit-pmi-for-july-2020.html
“China’s Maritime One Belt Road Goes Digital As US Navy Spends Billions On Weapon Technology” https://gcaptain.com/chinas-one-belt-road-goes-digital-as-us-navy-invest-in-autonomous-ships/ “In 1890, in his book The Influence of Sea Power, the great Alfred T. Mahan wrote about an era of technological change and believed that, despite these changes, the importance of sea power remained unchanged. Mahan also believed that a strong merchant marine was as important to seapower and maritime influence as a nation’s naval might. Yet in 2020 only China, by investing heavily in shipbuilding and commercial shipping operations, is following the Mahanian doctrine. The United States Navy may still have the most powerful fleet of warships ever but there remain only 82 US flagged merchant ships in international trade while China has 3,897
…So while the Navy has announced an aggressive multi-trillion dollar plan to meet the “threat from china” by increasing the size of the US Naval fleet to over 500 ships, and has invested heavily in maritime digital products, the money is all flowing through defense contractors. Very little is entering the commercial side where it could help fix the Manhanian imbalance and assist us flagged commercial interests.
There is another problem with US Naval spending. While the US Navy spends it’s money researching and developing technology for war, China’s “One Belt One Road” strategy is not only funding cybersecurity and autonomous vessels, the country also is pouring money into technology for maritime logistics, infrastructure, and commercial ships.”
“Jack Ma’s Ant Group has just pulled off the biggest stock market listing in history.”
“The tech company behind China’s largest online payments platform priced its dual listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and Shanghai’s Star Market at 80 Hong Kong dollars ($10.32) and 68 yuan ($10.13) per share respectively, according to regulatory filings released Monday.
That means the IPO will raise over $34.1 billion and value the company at about $310 billion.”
https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/26/tech/ant-ipo-pricing-hnk-intl/index.html
“Dow tumbles 400 points on rising COVID-19 cases, stimulus limbo” https://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/us-stocks-october-26-2020
On Sunday White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows admitted the administration has effectively given up on trying to slow the spread of COVID-19 https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/pence-coronavirus-outbreak/2020/10/25/923bb382-16d5-11eb-befb-8864259bd2d8_story.html
Virus experts don’t anticipate COVID-19 vaccine for general public until summer 2021 https://katu.com/news/local/virus-experts-dont-anticipate-covid-19-vaccine-for-general-public-until-summer2021
Grocery stores are preparing for a second wave of panic buying — you should, too https://news.yahoo.com/grocery-stores-preparing-second-wave-160000506.html
8AM MDT, tomorrow morning, 27th
“U.S. economy needs over $1 trillion in fresh coronavirus stimulus, says world’s biggest hedge fund” https://www.cnbc.com/2020/09/01/bridgewater-associates-co-cio-greg-jensen-on-coronavirus-stimulus-need.html
“If the economy is hurting, why is the stock market climbing? Here’s one simple answer” https://www.kansascity.com/news/business/personal-finance/article245351860.html
Australia’s economy takes sharpest dive since the 1930s https://www.stltoday.com/business/australias-economy-takes-sharpest-dive-since-the-1930s/article_902f8429-6802-5a55-ac4d-f492fe7f4ddd.html
“The Indian economy contracted by 23.9 percent in the second quarter, the most drastic fall in decades, as lockdown restrictions meant to contain the spread of the coronavirus wiped out jobs and businesses.
India’s decline was the worst among the world’s top economies, with the U.S. economy shrinking 9.5 percent in the same quarter and Japan’s 7.6 percent.
Economists say once the impact on the country’s vast “informal” work force is taken into account, the damage might be even worse.” https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/31/world/asia/india-economy-gdp.html
Tracking America’s recovery https://www.cnn.com/business/us-economic-recovery-coronavirus#Your%20Travel
“Study: Inequality Robs $2.5 Trillion From U.S. Workers Each Year” https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/09/rand-study-how-high-is-inequality-us.html
Rand Corporation: “Trends in Income From 1975 to 2018” https://www.rand.org/pubs/working_papers/WRA516-1.html
See also “Wage Stagnation in Nine Charts” https://www.epi.org/publication/charting-wage-stagnation/
“…Under Paul Volcker’s leadership, the Federal Reserve consciously sought to overcome the high inflation of the late 1970s by breaking the bargaining power of U.S. workers, and reducing labor’s share of income. Thanks to the Reagan revolution, among other things, the central bank accomplished this objective too well. Now, instead of contending with inflationary pressures, the Fed must make increasingly audacious interventions in capital markets to ward off the perennial threat of consumer price deflation — even as asset prices rise to evermore spectacular highs.”
“A Historian of Economic Crisis on the World After COVID-19” https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/08/adam-tooze-how-will-the-covid-19-pandemic-change-world-history.html
Soaring wealth during pandemic highlights rising inequality (9/21/20) https://apnews.com/article/virus-outbreak-stock-prices-financial-markets-stock-markets-archive-28a44dd1a025d9b9af5a8d4ff8c5a033
“The richest one-tenth of Americans owned more than two-thirds of the nation’s wealth, according to Fed data through the end of March, the latest period for which figures are available. The top 1% owned 31%.” See https://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/z1/dataviz/dfa/distribute/chart/#quarter:122;series:Net%20worth;demographic:networth;population:1,3,5,7;units:shares;range:2005.1,2020.1
“The Top 1% of Americans Have Taken $50 Trillion From the Bottom 90%—And That’s Made the U.S. Less Secure” https://time.com/5888024/50-trillion-income-inequality-america/
“The iron rule of market economies is that we all do better when we all do better: when workers have more money, businesses have more customers, and hire more workers. Seventy percent of our economy is dependent on consumer spending; the faster and broader real incomes grow, the stronger the demand for the products and services American businesses produce.
…A 2014 report from the OECD estimated that rising income inequality knocked as much 9 points off U.S. GDP growth over the previous two decades—a deficit that has surely grown over the past six years as inequality continued to climb. That’s about $2 trillion worth of GDP that’s being frittered away, year after year, through policy choices that intentionally constrain the earning power of American workers. See https://www.oecd.org/newsroom/inequality-hurts-economic-growth.htm
“There’s mounting evidence that the pandemic is dealing a lasting blow to the American economy, with millions of jobs vanishing forever.
The number of unemployed people classified as permanently losing their old jobs climbed by 345,000 in September to a seven-year high of 3.8 million, according to seasonally adjusted numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
…The percentage of unemployed Americans classified as permanently unemployed rose to 35.6% in September, up from just 11.1% in April.” https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/02/economy/permanent-job-losses-recession/index.html
See also “What the Disappointing Final Jobs Report Before the Election Tells Us About the Economy” https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/10/what-the-disappointing-jobs-report-says-about-the-economy.html
Meanwhile: “Subsidized cars help low-income families economically, socially” (Cornell University) https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-10/cu-sch100220.php
In “Subsidizing Car Ownership for Low-Income Individuals and Households,” published in the Journal of Planning Education and Research, Nicholas Klein, assistant professor of city and regional planning at Cornell University, reports insights from interviews with 30 people who gained access to inexpensive, reliable cars through the nonprofit Vehicles for Change (VFC). https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0739456X20950428 [scroll down to VFC for details about the program]
8AM MDT, tomorrow morning, 4th
“Fed chair warns of economic tragedy if America can’t control the coronavirus” https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/06/economy/fed-powell-coronavirus-stimulus/index.html
“Fed’s Jerome Powell Calls For More Economic Aid, Warning ‘Weakness Feeds On Weakness’ https://www.npr.org/2020/10/06/920770414/feds-jerome-powell-calls-for-more-economic-aid-warning-weakness-feeds-on-weaknes
“Fed’s Jerome Powell pushes for more coronavirus stimulus” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33l_Oo4ACbA
“Trump says he’s calling off stimulus negotiations with Democrats ‘until after the election’ https://www.cnbc.com/2020/10/06/trump-says-hes-calling-off-stimulus-negotiations-with-democrats-until-after-the-election.html
Stocks took a 600 point dive Tuesday afternoon after President Donald Trump said he ordered an end to stimulus negotiations until after the November election. https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/06/investing/dow-stock-market-stimulus/index.html
8AM MDT, tomorrow morning, 7th
“Global markets struggle to make sense of Trump’s stimulus tweet storm” https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/07/investing/global-stocks/index.html
“Just hours after Trump’s decision to halt negotiations on a major economic stimulus package caused US stocks to plummet, he called on US lawmakers to approve smaller measures that would provide relief to airlines and small businesses.
“The House & Senate should IMMEDIATELY Approve 25 Billion Dollars for Airline Payroll Support, & 135 Billion Dollars for Paycheck Protection Program for Small Business,” Trump tweeted late on Tuesday. “Both of these will be fully paid for with unused funds from the Cares Act. Have this money. I will sign now!”
He later added that he was “ready to sign” a “Stand Alone Bill for Stimulus Checks ($1,200).”
See also “Billionaires have never been richer despite the pandemic”
“Billionaire wealth increased to $10.2 trillion at the end of July, up from a previous peak of $8.9 trillion in 2017, according to a report from Swiss bank UBS and PwC. The total number of billionaires has increased by 31 to 2,189 since 2017.” https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/07/business/billionaires-ubs-report/index.html
“Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Thursday that the White House won’t let differences over funding targets for Covid-19 testing derail stimulus talks with top Democrats.
Later, President Donald Trump said that he would raise his offer for a stimulus package above his current level of $1.8 trillion. House Democrats have passed a $2.2 trillion bill.
“I would. Absolutely I would. I would say more. I would go higher. Go big or go home, I said it yesterday,” the president told Fox Business.
“Nancy Pelosi doesn’t want to give anything. She thinks it helps her with the election,” Trump continued. “And I don’t think so. I think it hurts her with the election because everyone knows she’s holding it up. We’re not holding it up. She’s holding it up.”
The president also took a swipe at his Treasury secretary: “So far he hasn’t come home with the bacon.” https://www.cnbc.com/2020/10/15/mnuchin-says-hell-give-ground-on-virus-testing-in-stimulus-negotiations-with-pelosi.html
(10/14/20): Mrs. Pelosi continued to press for $75 billion for testing and tracing of the coronavirus, as well as a national plan for implementing tests. https://www.wsj.com/articles/pelosi-mnuchin-disagree-on-coronavirus-testing-continue-stimulus-talks-11602693608
The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits rose last week by the most in two months, to 898,000, a historically high number and evidence that layoffs remain a hindrance to the economy’s recovery from the pandemic recession. The economy is still roughly 10.7 million jobs short of recovering all the 22 million jobs that were lost when the pandemic struck in early spring. https://apnews.com/article/virus-outbreak-business-jobless-claims-united-states-economy-f904abdb3bc24f01e757915eb01a377a
“President Donald Trump is no longer winning on his signature issue: the economy.
In a CNN poll released Tuesday, Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden were tied among registered voters at 49% apiece on the question of who would handle the economy better. Among likely voters, Biden gets 50%, compared with 48% for Trump, a statistical dead heat.
It’s not an anomaly either. The two candidates were essentially tied on the issue in the last CNN poll taken August 28 – September 1.” https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/06/economy/2020-poll-trump-biden-economy/index.html
“Goldman Sachs thinks a blue wave of Democrats — meaning full control of government via the presidency (Joe Biden), Senate and House — come November could be good for the U.S. economy.” https://finance.yahoo.com/news/a-blue-wave-of-democrats-come-november-may-be-good-for-economy-goldman-sachs-181544426.html
“Coronavirus pandemic to cost Americans $16 trillion, study finds” (CBS News 10/13/20) https://www.cbsnews.com/news/coronavirus-pandemic-cost-americans-16-trillion/
“The SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) pandemic is the greatest threat to prosperity and well-being the US has encountered since the Great Depression. This Viewpoint aggregates mortality, morbidity, mental health conditions, and direct economic losses to estimate the total cost of the pandemic in the US on the optimistic assumption that it will be substantially contained by the fall of 2021. These costs far exceed those associated with conventional recessions and the Iraq War, and are similar to those associated with global climate change. However, increased investment in testing and contact tracing could have economic benefits that are at least 30 times greater than the estimated costs of the investment in these approaches.” Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Oct 12, 2020: “The COVID-19 Pandemic and the $16 Trillion Virus” https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2771764
China’s trade with the world surges as economies reopen https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2020/10/13/chinas-trade-with-the-world-surges-as-economies-reopen
China’s imports grew in September at their fastest pace this year, while exports extended strong gains as more trading partners lifted coronavirus restrictions in a further boost to the world’s second-biggest economy.
Exports in September rose 9.9 percent from a year earlier, customs data showed on Tuesday, broadly in line with analysts’ expectations and up from a solid 9.5 percent increase in August.
“The coastal Chinese city of Qingdao will test its more than nine million residents for Covid-19, authorities said, after the discovery of a dozen new cases linked to a local hospital—the country’s most significant virus scare in several months.
Mass testing has become a major part of how the Chinese government plans to eradicate coronavirus and keep the economy on track. Chinese authorities remain on high alert for potential Covid-19 outbreaks despite having largely brought the pandemic under control within the country’s borders.
While the daily new-case counts in the U.S. and Europe are in the tens of thousands, China’s are in the low two digits, and almost all the infections are brought in by people traveling from other countries. New arrivals who test positive are immediately placed in strictly enforced quarantine. Those efforts have helped China’s economy bounce back faster than those of major competitors, and officials are eager to prevent a second wave of infections that could derail the recovery. https://www.wsj.com/articles/covid-cluster-in-chinas-qingdao-prompts-city-wide-testing-11602502755
Stimulus talks come down to a Trump loyalty litmus test https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/21/politics/stimulus-state-of-play-nancy-pelosi-steve-mnuchin/index.html
The Fed Saved the Economy but Is Threatening Trillions of Dollars Worth of Middle-Class Retirement : The Federal Reserve has bailed out the stock and bond markets and stabilized the economy with its rock-bottom rates — but at the expense of Social Security and pension funds. https://www.propublica.org/article/the-fed-saved-the-economy-but-is-threatening-trillions-of-dollars-worth-of-middle-class-retirement
The next economic crisis: Empty retail space : As tenants stop paying and shrink their offices, commercial real estate is cratering. (10/18/20) https://www.politico.com/news/2020/10/18/next-economic-crisis-empty-retail-space-429994 “Commercial real estate is in trouble, and turbulence in the $15 trillion market is threatening to bleed over into the broader financial system just as the U.S. struggles to emerge from a recession.
…Apartment buildings, on the other hand, have performed well — so far. Industry analysts are anxiously watching for signs of additional tenants missing rent now that the initial spurt of economic relief included in the $2 trillion CARES Act Congress passed in March is sputtering out.
Apartment property owners are also hemmed in by a nationwide ban on evictions for nonpayment of rent put in place by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last month. The order included no funding for rental assistance — effectively requiring landlords to subsidize struggling tenants’ housing until it expires Dec. 31.”
“As Washington delays stimulus, the Fed is running out of ways to help the economy” https://www.cnbc.com/2020/10/28/the-fed-.html
“Dow sheds 800 points as coronavirus cases spike, stimulus talks hit impasse” https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2020/10/28/dow-sheds-550-points-covid-19-cases-spike-stimulus-hits-impasse/6052613002/
“The U.S. economy is on track to shrink by 4.3 percent this year, according to the International Monetary Fund. While that is about the same rate as the global economy, it puts the U.S. behind countries including South Korea, Australia, Taiwan and China, which will see at least 1.9 percent in economic growth. Meanwhile, the U.S. is expected to take on debt levels it hasn’t seen since World War II. The country’s federal debt increased by $5.6 trillion, which economists believe is manageable now with low interest rates. But such a high debt level could slow down economic growth in the future.” https://www.nbcnews.com/business/economy/whatever-happened-trump-s-opening-america-again-task-force-n1244203 Meanwhile, with a current unemployment rate of 7.9 percent, 40 million people still face eviction, bankruptcies are at record levels, and the number of Americans living in poverty has grown by 8 million since May.
Also, despite the elevated number of coronavirus cases, Trump said Tuesday the U.S. is “rounding the turn” on the pandemic https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/trump-says-we-re-rounding-turn-covid-19-spreading-faster-n1244942 and the White House claimed the pandemic is over https://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/ej-montini/2020/10/27/white-house-says-covid-pandemic-over-did-we-miss-miracle/3754590001/