Written by Gary
Stocks are down for the 3rd week in a row (SPY -1.2%). August 2020 Leading Economic Index somewhat improves and Apple has quietly dropped 22% from its peak.
The Market in Perspective
| Here are the headlines moving the markets. | |
 | CDC reverses controversial coronavirus guidance that said people without symptoms may not need a testThe new guidance says that people without symptoms who have been in close contact with an infected person “need a test.” |
| These charts show how wildfires are getting larger, more severe in the U.S.The U.S. is halfway through wildfire season, and this year is already one of the worst in history. Human-caused climate change has made blazes more frequent and intense. |
| WHO says the coronavirus is killing about 50,000 people a week: ‘That is not where we want to be’“The energy has not gone out of this pandemic,” Dr. Mike Ryan, executive director of the WHO’s emergencies program, warned Friday. |
| ‘Pandemic fatigue’ leads to resurgence of coronavirus in Europe where cases hit fresh records in France and Spain“Pandemic fatigue” has set in across parts of Europe, where the outbreak is on the rise again in some countries that were hailed early on for stamping out massive outbreaks. |
| The list of countries where travelers can go live and work remotely is growingMore nations are inviting travelers to trade their home offices for the chance to live and work abroad during the global pandemic. |
| WHO says parts of Europe reporting ‘worrying’ rise in coronavirus hospitalizationsHospitalizations have doubled every eight days in the U.K., and parts of France have reported reaching capacity in their intensive-care units, WHO’s Maria Van Kerkhove said. |
| Coronavirus live updates: CDC reverses controversial testing guidance; Europe faces second waveThe coronavirus has infected more than 30.2 million people globally as of Friday, killing at least 946,685 people so far. |
| Trump says U.S. will manufacture enough coronavirus vaccine doses for every American by AprilPresident Donald Trump said Friday the U.S. will manufacture at least 100 million coronavirus vaccine doses before the end of the year with enough to inoculate every American by April |
| Moderna expects to make 20 million doses of coronavirus vaccine by 2020 endModerna said on Friday it expects to produce 20 million doses of its experimental coronavirus vaccine by the end of the year. |
| UPS to offer buyouts to some employeesUnited Parcel Service said on Thursday it was offering buyouts to some employees, as Chief Executive Carol Tomà aims to curb costs at the delivery firm. |
| Watch live: The World Health Organization holds a press briefing on the coronavirus pandemicIsrael on Friday entered a second nationwide lockdown, shuttering restaurants, hotels, gyms and more, amid soaring new cases and as the Jewish High Holiday season begins. |
| Moderna trial investigator worries about political pressure in vaccine approval process“My only hope is that Dr. Hahn and the political appointees in the FDA stand up and basically say, ‘No, we cannot have political pressure lead the FDA into making a decision,'” said Dr. Carlos del Rio of Emory University. |
| The 2020 Emmys will be an awards show like no other: ‘How could it possibly go wrong?’As the first major entertainment industry awards ceremony to be conducted since the coronavirus pandemic began, all eyes will be on host Jimmy Kimmel and the team at ABC on Sunday night. |
| Stocks Suffer Longest-Losing Streak In Over A Year As Dollar Dump ContinuesStocks Suffer Longest-Losing Streak In Over A Year As Dollar Dump Continues Tyler Durden Fri, 09/18/2020 – 16:00 Stocks are down for the 3rd week in a row – yeah we know!!! – leaving levered-call-buying RH’ers facing something they likely haven’t seen in their trading careers (this is the longest losing streak since August 2019)… |
| “Absolutely Terrified” Democrats Demand Emergency Investigation Into Durham Probe“Absolutely Terrified” Democrats Demand Emergency Investigation Into Durham Probe Tyler Durden Fri, 09/18/2020 – 15:50 In August, Attorney General William Barr refused to commit to withholding any report by DOJ watchdog John Durham before the November election – causing Congressional Democrats to froth at the mouth over an “October surprise” meant to hurt Joe Biden. |
| Bitcoin & The Tragedy Of Monopolized Fiat MoneyBitcoin & The Tragedy Of Monopolized Fiat Money Tyler Durden Fri, 09/18/2020 – 15:35 Authored by Jeffrey Wernick, op-ed via CoinTelegraph.com, Why the government should make a monetary transition to Bitcoin, and the problems that cryptocurrency would help solve, such as preemptive war and national debt. |
| France Suffers Most COVID-19 Deaths Since Spring; Finance Minister Tests Positive: Live UpdatesFrance Suffers Most COVID-19 Deaths Since Spring; Finance Minister Tests Positive: Live Updates Tyler Durden Fri, 09/18/2020 – 15:30 Summary: France suffers another 10k+ new cases; 50 deaths Finance Minister Brunp Le Maire tests positive US Deaths top 200k Global cases top 30 million UK mulls COVID ‘circuit breaker’ London weighs ‘localized’ lockdown Moderna reveals vaccine won’t be widely available until next year * * * Update (1440ET): France reported another day of 10k+ new COVID-19 cases as Nice adopt more local restrictions, while health officials reported 50 new deaths, the largest daily death toll in France since May. |
| UK DIY sales soar but clothing stores fall behindThe amount of retail sales continued to climb in August, but some sectors are still struggling. |
| TikTok and WeChat: US to ban app downloads in 48 hoursThe ban on downloading the apps in the US takes effect on Sunday unless President Trump intervenes. |
| No new 2p or £2 coins to be made for 10 yearsCoin mountains in storage mean The Royal Mint has no plans to produce any more for a decade. |
| Tax collection: Old view to newTax collection: Old view to newThis journey of history is reflected in mythology as polytheism moving towards monotheism. In politics, it is from many tax-collectors to one tax-collector. |
| Govt not reneging on its GST promise to states: FMGovt not reneging on its GST promise to states: FMShe said the Centre’s transfer to the states, including grants and tax transfers, exceeded its total revenue collection, which had plummeted by over 29 per cent, and it was managing its own spending via borrowings. |
| ’11 industrial corridors to come up by FY25′’11 industrial corridors to come up by FY25’Of these, five projects- Dholera Special Investment Region, Shendra Bidkin Industrial Area, Integrated Industrial Township Greater Noida, Integrated Industrial Township Vikram Udyogpuri and integrated Multi Modal Logistics Hub at Nangal Chaudhary- have already been approved, the department said in a note. |
| August 2020 Leading Economic Index Somewhat Improves – Growth Will Likely Be Weak Leading Into 2021Written by Steven Hansen The Conference Board Leading Economic Index (LEI) for the U.S. increased 1.2 percent in August to 106.5 (2016 = 100), following a 2.0 percent increase in July and a 3.1 percent increase in June – and the authors say “the slowing pace of improvement suggests that this summer’s economic rebound may be losing steam heading into the final stretch of 2020”.
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| Where Should I Retire?: ‘I hate the humidity and can do with a lot less snow and ice, and my husband hates the extreme heat’ ” where should we retire?We want upscale shopping and less extreme weather than New Jersey for $7,000 a month. |
| Initial data from a pair of clinical trials may revive interest in arthritis drugs as COVID-19 treatmentsThere is some renewed hope for rheumatoid arthritis drugs like Eli Lilly’s Olumiant and Roche’s Actemra as possible COVID-19 treatments after a series of clinical setbacks this summer seemed to close the door on the category’s potential. |
| How the Trump administration ban on TikTok could create a security problem for usersThe same order is blocking downloads of WeChat, owned by Tencent Holdings, also based in China. |
Summary of Economic Releases this Week
Earnings Summary for Today
leading Stock Positions
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