Category: Breaking News

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Trump says U.S. election winner might not be known for months

(Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that Americans might not know the winner of the November presidential election for months due to disputes over mail ballots, building on his criticism of a method that could be used by half of U.S. voters this year. Election experts have said it might take several days after the Nov. 3 election until a winner is known as officials will need time to count mail ballots that arrive after election day. Speaking at a rally in Newport News, Virginia, Trump said he would prefer to find out quickly whether he won or lost, rather than wait for the mail ballots to come in. “I like watching television and have, ‘The winner is’, right? You might not hear it for months, because this is a mess,” he said. “It’s very unlikely that you’re going to hear a winner that night,” he said. “I could be leading and then they’ll just keep getting ballots, and ballots, and ballots and ballots. Because now they’re saying the ballots can come in late.” Court rulings this month have allowed officials in the battleground states of Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and North Carolina to count ballots that arrive after Nov. 3 as long as they were sent by Election Day.

Opinion polls show that more Democrats than Republicans plan to vote by mail to avoid exposure to COVID-19 in crowded polling places. Trump’s campaign has filed lawsuits in several states to restrict mail balloting.

Trump in recent days has refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he loses the election to Democrat Joe Biden and has said he expects the Supreme Court will have to declare a winner.

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Radio Free Wall Street

Important Announcement

Times are critical. After the nicey, nicey run up to the elections with the FED being accommodated. Happy checks for everyone and talks of vaccines for all. Oh I almost forgot, a great big stock market rally. And then all hell will break loose, like you cannot imagine. Riots in the streets and a stock market crash as it will take months to decide who the next President will be. I have a solution.

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Record infections in France as restrictions spark outcry

France reported a new record for daily coronavirus infections on Thursday a day after the government announced new restrictions on bars and restaurants in major cities which have provoked an outcry from local politicians and business owners. Figures from Public Health France showed that 16,096 people had tested positive for Covid-19 over the last 24 hours, a record — even though experts advise that testing during the first coronavirus wave in March-April captured only a fraction of cases.

The centrist government of President Emmanuel Macron announced a series of new measures on Wednesday to try to slow the spread of the disease, including the closure of all bars and restaurants in Marseille and earlier closing times in Paris and elsewhere.

Faced with criticism from the mayors of Paris and Marseille, legal challenges and calls from some bar owners to defy the new orders, Prime Minister Jean Castex called for “responsibility” and implied his opponents were playing politics. “What I don’t want is that we go back to March,” he said, referring to one of the strictest national lockdowns in Europe in which French people were required to fill out forms to leave their homes.

The southern port city of Marseille has been put on “maximum alert”, while Paris and 10 other cities are at “elevated alert” — the second tier on a new sliding scale system of infection control measures.

Public gatherings in all of these cities — which includes Bordeaux and Lyon — have been limited to 10 people, and attendance of large sporting events or concerts to 1,000. Marseille’s left-wing mayor objected that she had not been consulted about orders to shut bars, restaurants and sports facilities, and insisted that steps taken locally were started slowing the outbreak. “I am angry because there was no consultation,” Mayor Michele Rubirola, herself a doctor, told Franceinfo radio. “Why turn the screws when our numbers have been improving for a few days now?” Owners of restaurants, cafes and other businesses in Marseille said they would stage a protest against the new measures on Friday. Bernard Marty of the UMIH union, which represents the hospitality sector, warned of “insurrection,” with several restaurant owners vowing to ignore the closure orders. Mayor Anne Hidalgo of Paris, which will see its gyms and other indoor sporting facilities closed as well, said she had lodged a formal protest. “I do not think that the closure of bars after 10:00 pm is an appropriate measure,” Hidalgo told France 3 television. “It is hard to understand: how will it prevent the spread of the virus? How will the fact that we can no longer exercise help us, while sport is an important part of keeping us healthy with strong immune systems?” she asked. Paris hospital authority AP-HP said Thursday that an influx of coronavirus patients was forcing it to start cancelling non-emergency surgery starting this weekend.

The number of coronavirus patients in Paris hospitals had more than doubled in three weeks, from 150 to 330, and would probably reach 600 by month’s end, said deputy director Francois Cremieux. Numbers of Covid-19 patients in intensive care have followed a similar upward curve, from 50 three weeks ago to 132 on Wednesday and likely more than 200 by next week, he said.

With a quarter of critical care beds now taken up by coronavirus patients, AP-HP will start by cancelling 20 percent of operations to free up capacity, said Cremieux.

 

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Trump Says White House Could Veto FDA’s Vaccine Rules

Trump Says the vaccine has to be approved by the HiM not the FDA

(Bloomberg) — President Donald Trump signaled that he could overrule any tightening of U.S. rules for the emergency clearance of a coronavirus vaccine, a move that could increase concerns that the race to find a Covid-19 shot is being politicized ahead of the presidential election. The Food and Drug Administration is expected to soon issue final guidelines for an emergency-use authorization. Regulators and drugmakers have in recent weeks vowed to adhere to science, not politics, in deciding when a vaccine is ready to reach the market. At a news conference on Wednesday, Trump said it “sounds like a political move” when asked whether the FDA was considering stricter standards for an authorization, suggesting that the White House could intercede if it thought the agency was too rigorous.“That has to be approved by the White House,” Trump said. “We may or may not approve it.” If a vaccine shows promising early signs of being safe and effective, it could be allowed to reach the market on an emergency basis before full results from a clinical trial are available. Companies including Pfizer Inc., Moderna Inc., AstraZeneca Plc and Johnson & Johnson have vaccine candidates in late-stage clinical trials. Some of those studies could produce efficacy data as soon as October. Trump is trailing Democrat Joe Biden in polls ahead of the November election, with surveys showing that a majority of Americans disapprove of the president’s handling of the virus. Trump has sought to focus on other topics while claiming that his administration is doing a good job handling the virus. The president has been promising that a coronavirus vaccine will be approved within weeks — a gambit to turn a pandemic inoculation into an October surprise for his struggling re-election campaign. Trump and his supporters have also questioned whether government employees are trying to sabotage his efforts to combat the virus. In August, the president attacked the FDA for harboring “deep state” staff slowing vaccine and drug work to hurt him politically. There’s no evidence that’s the case. FDA officials have indicated they would hold a vaccine to a higher standard than other medications that typically receive emergency waivers from the agency. Peter Marks, head of the agency’s biologics office, earlier this month described what he called an EUA-plus program that would accelerate the review of a vaccine but require data standards similar to those that are used when the FDA is considering a full approval. Marks also said at the time that the FDA would like companies to have a median of two months of follow-up on trial participants after they receive the vaccine. “That’s what we’re hoping for,” Marks said. “Most adverse events will happen about a month and a half after vaccination.” He also said any plan for an emergency authorization would include longer-term follow-up once the vaccine is on the market. The FDA has been attempting to rebuild trust as Trump publicly pushes for a vaccine to be authorized by the Nov. 3 election. FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn has been criticized for exaggerating the benefit of a plasma treatment the agency authorized for use against the virus last month. Hahn has tweeted several times since that outside FDA advisers would review vaccine data.

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Dow Rides Tech, Stimulus Hopes Higher

https://youtu.be/mWHqZ-oC_9Y

The Dow rose Thursday as an Apple-infused rebound in tech and signs U.S. lawmakers are ready to resume talks on stimulus lifted investor sentiment. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.88%, or 234 points. The S&P 500 was up 0.96%, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 1.34%. Tech awoke from its slumber this week, with Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) gaining more than 2% and leading the rebound in the Fab 5. Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) and Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) added more than 1%

Investor sentiment on stocks was also boosted by signs U.S. lawmakers are still seeking to get a deal done on further stimulus before the U.S. election.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin reportedly plans to resume talks with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to iron out differences on a fresh round of stimulus to boost the economy. Sectors tied to the progress of the economy such as industrials and financials also found their footing. Financials were pushed higher by a 6% jump in Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS) after UBS upgraded its rating on the stock to buy from neutral, citing opportunity ahead for higher trading revenue. UBS suggested a closely fought U.S. presidential election could trigger volatility, boosting Goldman’s trading revenue. JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM), Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) and Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) all traded higher, with the latter up more than 3%. On the economic front, the latest jobs data showed an expected rise in weekly jobless claims, but analysts played down the importance of the headline number. The Labor Department reported that 870,000 people filed for unemployment insurance in the week ended Sept. 19, up from the prior week’s 866,000 and above economists’ forecasts of 840,000.

“[Pandemic unemployment assistance] initial claims and continuing claims remain the more important area to watch in our opinion. This week’s data was especially encouraging,” Jefferies (NYSE:JEF) said.

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Bullard: US economy may be within reach of full recovery by year-end

Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard, in the most upbeat comments by a central banker since the start of the Covid-19 outbreak, said the U.S. economy may surge at a 35% annualized rate in the third quarter and the nation may be close to a complete recovery by year-end. Rapid expansion in gross domestic product in the third quarter “may put the U.S. economy within reach of a sort of ‘full recovery’ by the end of 2020,” Bullard, who doesn’t vote on monetary policy this year, said in comments prepared for a virtual presentation to the Global Interdependence Center Thursday.

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US initial jobless claims up by 4,000 to 870,000

Slightly more Americans applied for state unemployment benefits in the week ended Sept. 19 than in the prior week. Jobless claims rose 4,000 to 870,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. Claims in the prior week were raised by 6,000 to 866,000. The number of people already collecting economic benefits, known as continuing claims fell 167,000 to 12.58 million. These claims are reported with a one-week lag. This is the lowest level of continued claims since mid-April. Jobless claims have been drifting lower lately. Roughly half of the 22 million payroll jobs that were lost in March and April have been regained as people return to work. The prospects for this trend to continue are mixed and economists say high unemployment will remain a problem for at least a couple of years. The Labor Department’s weekly unemployment claims report did showed a significant drop in the total number of people claiming benefits across all unemployment programs, including several emergency programs that extend benefits. That number fell by 3.7 million to 26 million in the week ending September 5th.

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House Democrats push to renew efforts for second round of $1,200 stimulus checks

The stimulus stalemate has left lawmakers at odds over how to get more relief to millions of Americans who need it. Earlier this month, Senate Republicans attempted to get a smaller bill through Congress as the standoff between both parties continued. But that relief bill did not include a second round of $1,200 stimulus checks, a measure that both parties had all but signed off on. The bill failed to get the 60 votes it needed to advance. Still, House Democrats pushed back on the stimulus check exclusion on Tuesday during a congressional hearing with Federal Reserve Still, House Democrats pushed back on the stimulus check exclusion on Tuesday during a congressional hearing with Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.

“The economic impact payments must be made because the rent must be paid,” said Rep. Al Green, D-Texas.

“If we do not do this, we will put persons at risk of being evicted at a time when we are having a pandemic that is still taking lives in this country,” he said.

Green also said a new Government Accountability Office report that found the Treasury Department does not have adequate data on the number of people who qualify for the first stimulus checks, but who have not yet received them, is cause for concern. The number excluded, including gig workers, could be in the millions, he said. The IRS is in the process of mailing letters to about 9 million Americans to notify them that they may be eligible for the money. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., also spoke out about the prospect of a second round of payments, asking Mnuchin, “Yes or no, do you believe another stimulus check could help stabilize the economy?” Mnuchin: Administration does support another stimulus payment “I do,” Mnuchin said. “The administration does support another stimulus payment.” The likelihood and timing of that money still remains unclear. House Democrats and Senate Republicans had both put forward proposals that included a second round of direct payments. Other issues, however, have made it impossible for both sides to come to an agreement, at least for now. “We obviously can’t pass a bill in the Senate without bipartisan support,” Mnuchin said. “Our job is to continue to work with Congress to try to get additional help to the American public.” In response, Tlaib urged Mnuchin to push for more stimulus checks. “I think you need to be very clear with the senators … that direct payments to individuals is critical to preventing economic collapse in our country,” Tlaib said. Some experts have speculated that the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and the ensuing fight over the nomination to fill the now vacant seat, could make it impossible for Congress to come up with another coronavirus stimulus deal now. In a separate interview with CNBC on Tuesday, Larry Kudlow, director of the National Economic Council, dismissed that idea as “not necessarily a given.” The two parties were already at odds before the judicial issues came up, he said. The White House is advocating for another package targeting “kids and jobs,” Kudlow said. That would include more than $100 billion to help schools and another $100 billion to extend Paycheck Protection Program funds to small businesses. “I wish we could break the stalemate, because even though I think the economy is improving nicely, I think it could use some help in some key targeted places,” Kudlow said.

 

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House passes bill to avoid govt shutdown

House passes spending bill to avoid government shutdown, sends it to Senate
Key Points
  • The House passed a funding bill to avoid a government shutdown, sending the legislation to the Senate ahead of a Sept. 30 deadline.
  • Democrats and the Trump administration earlier reached a spending deal, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said.

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    The House passed a bill Tuesday that would fund the government into December and avoid a shutdown before a Sept. 30 deadline. After clearing the House in an overwhelming vote, the legislation heads to the Republican-held Senate. Earlier Tuesday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she reached a spending agreement with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Republicans. Pelosi said the proposal would include $8 billion for nutrition assistance for schoolchildren and families. It renews Pandemic EBT, a program that provides food benefits while schools are closed set to expire at the end of September, for a full year. It also adds increased accountability for farm aid money to prevent it from gong to large oil companies, according to Pelosi. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell had criticized a lack of farm assistance funds in a bill House Democrats released Monday. The bill would fund the government through Dec. 11, avoiding a potentially chaotic shutdown during the coronavirus pandemic and before the Nov. 3 election. Lawmakers then aim to hash out an agreement to fund the government through Sept. 30, 2021, the end of the next fiscal year. Lawmakers have said they want to get past the shutdown threat to focus on passing more coronavirus relief, which they have failed to do for months amid disagreements over the size of a fifth aid package. Pelosi said the agreement included nutritional assistance for schoolchildren and additional accountability for farm aid.

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200,000 coronavirus fatalities, U.S. hits Trump’s upper limit for doing ‘a very good job’

The United States witnessed another painful milestone on Tuesday as the tally of coronavirus-related fatalities surpassed 200,000. In March, President Trump said that keeping the nation’s death toll between 100,000 and 200,000 — numbers that seemed inconceivable at the time — would signal that his administration had done “a very good job.”