President Trump announced that he planned to sign executive actions that the White House is drafting to address expired unemployment insurance and to suspend payroll taxes, as congressional negotiations for coronavirus aid continue to drag on. Speaking to reporters Thursday, Trump said the orders could be signed Friday afternoon or Saturday morning. He said a legislative deal was still possible, however. “Probably tomorrow afternoon. They’re being drawn now,” Trump said when asked when the executive orders would be signed. “We’ll see what happens. It’s possible we’ll make a deal, but it’s also possible we won’t. But I would say probably tomorrow afternoon or maybe the following morning.” The president is traveling to Ohio, where he is expected to sign a long-awaited “Buy American” order requiring the government to buy essential medicines and medical supplies from U.S. manufacturers. In a tweet before leaving the White House, Trump said he had instructed the White House to “continue working on an Executive Order with respect to Payroll Tax Cut, Eviction Protections, Unemployment Extensions, and Student Loan Repayment Options.” Trump has pressed repeatedly for a payroll tax cut, a move backed by outside economic adviser Stephen Moore, a Washington Examiner columnist, but among lawmakers, the cut is less popular. A federal moratorium on evictions expired at the end of July, exposing tenants of more than 12 million rental units to eviction should they miss a payment. A $600-per-week supplement to unemployment benefits that passed as part of the CARES Act in March has also expired. Negotiations on a potential fourth stimulus bill have been underway for nearly two weeks; however, Democrats and the White House remain “trillions” of dollars apart, White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Thursday. Meadows said Thursday that Trump would take executive actions on unemployment aid and evictions if a deal could not be reached by the end of the week. “At this point, either we’re going to get serious about negotiating and get an agreement in principle, or it becomes extremely doubtful that we’ll be able to make a deal if it goes well beyond Friday,” he said. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, said on Thursday that Democrats were to blame for the lack of progress and that the chamber would be in session Monday. “The only thing that gets an outcome is the speaker and the president of the United States reaching an agreement,” McConnell said on Fox News on Wednesday. “And once they do that, I believe that the majority of my members will support it, but not every single one of them. I’ve been clear about that from the beginning.” Nick Note: No matter who does the happy checks, congress or Trump with executive orders and what ever the fine print. It will simply be more good money after bad. Let the capitalist system sort out the winners and losers. Your a bar tender at a disco. Time to learn how to use the internet and work from you house on the Amazon service desk. Instead of holding out false hope… Let the chips fall where they may. The capitalist system will deploy assets the best and in the most efficient way possible. Keeping the new abnormal business like airlines, restaurants, sports arenas, move theaters and their workers on life support is a colossal mistake. And society will pay a big a piece. As in a much deeper depression that will last far longer then it would have if we simply let dead broke people lose their rental apartments, let bushiness that will never be viable again to close down. Time to flush the toilet rather then trying to perfume the turds!!!!
Dr. Anthony Fauci says chance of coronavirus vaccine being highly effective is ‘not great’
- White House coronavirus advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci that the chances of scientists creating a highly effective vaccine — one that provides 98% or more guaranteed protection — for the virus are slim.
- Scientists are hoping for a coronavirus vaccine that is at least 75% effective, but 50% or 60% effective would be acceptable, too, he said.
- The FDA has said it would authorize a coronavirus vaccine so long as it is safe and at least 50% effective.
White House coronavirus advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci said Friday that the chances of scientists creating a highly effective vaccine — one that provides 98% or more guaranteed protection — for the virus are slim. Scientists are hoping for a coronavirus vaccine that is at least 75% effective, but 50% or 60% effective would be acceptable, too, Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said during a Q&A with the Brown University School of Public Health. “The chances of it being 98% effective is not great, which means you must never abandon the public health approach.” “You’ve got to think of the vaccine as a tool to be able to get the pandemic to no longer be a pandemic, but to be something that’s well controlled,” he said. The Food and Drug Administration has said it would authorize a coronavirus vaccine so long as it is safe and at least 50% effective. Dr. Stephen Hahn, the FDA’s commissioner, said last month that the vaccine or vaccines that end up getting authorized will prove to be more than 50% effective, but it’s possible the U.S. could end up with a vaccine that, on average, reduces a person’s risk of a Covid-19 infection by just 50%. “We really felt strongly that that had to be the floor,” Hahn said on July 30, adding that it’s “been batted around among medical groups.” “But for the most part, I think, infectious disease experts have agreed that that’s a reasonable floor, of course hoping that the actual effectiveness will be higher.” A 50% effective vaccine would be roughly on par with those for influenza, but below the effectiveness of one dose of a measles vaccination, which is about 93% effective, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Public health officials and scientists expect to know whether at least one of the numerous potential Covid-19 vaccines in development worldwide is safe and effective by the end of December or early next year, though there is never a guarantee. Drug companies Pfizer and Moderna both began late-stage trials for their potential vaccines last week and both expect to enroll about 30,000 participants.
Fauci has previously said he worries about the “durability” of a coronavirus vaccine, saying if Covid-19 acts like other coronaviruses, it may not provide long-term protection.
Health officials say there is no returning to “normal” until there is a vaccine. Fauci’s comment came a day after the World Health Organization cautioned about the development of vaccines, reiterating that there may never be a “silver bullet” for the virus, which continues to rapidly spread worldwide. The phase three trials underway do not necessarily mean that a vaccine is almost ready to be deployed to the public, the agency said. “Phase three doesn’t mean nearly there,” Mike Ryan, executive director of the WHO’s emergencies health program, said during a virtual panel discussion with “NBC Nightly News” Anchor Lester
Nick Note: We now are starting to get a inkling of the disaster the much ballyhooed great white hope vaccine really is.
1. At best it will be as effective as the yearly flu shot. We all know what joke that isw
2. It will be effective for a matter of months
3. If you take it (assuming their are no deadly side effects) AT BEAST its only 50% EFFECTIVE.
I am not going to lower my odds of survival to 50/50. I am a professional risk taker and i WOULD never chance ANYTHING on those kind of odds. Mathematically 50/50 is a random bet! So after spending billions they are betting the economy on a AT BEAT a coin choice!!!!!! AND your life!!
Its obvious its not a normal time, Not the new normal, Its the new abnormal!!!!!
Will advise Trump to sign aid executive orders – Mnuchin
EPA-EFE/KEVIN DIETSCH
United States Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Friday he will recommend President Donald Trump to proceed with signing executive orders on the matters of unemployment insurance, evictions, student loans, and a payroll tax, aimed at combating the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Mnuchin explained he made this decision after today’s 90-minute negotiations on the aid package between him, White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Senate Majority Leader Chuch Schumer did not make “any progress.” Pelosi also previously commented the White House and Democrats are “still far apart” on reaching a new stimulus deal to support the economy. White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said President Trump should sign executive orders unilaterally addressing coronavirus stimulus spending after negotiations with congressional Democrats stalled again on Friday.
Why it matters: Friday was viewed as a self-imposed deadline to negotiate a new relief bill. But after an intense week of negotiations on Capitol Hill, White House and Democratic leadership failed to reach a deal on delivering much needed aid to Americans and businesses.
- Trump’s team has already drafted a series of orders that would implement a payroll tax holiday, address the housing crisis, provide more aid for student loans and make more money available for enhanced unemployment benefits.
- Trump is expected to sign the orders over the weekend.
- Meadows: “At this point I’m extremely disappointed we came up here today just to hear same thing over and over again the same thing as the last two weeks.”
- Mnuchin: “The chief and I will recommend to the president based upon our lack of activity today to move forward with some executive orders — again, we agree with the Speaker, this is not the first choice.”
- Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer: “It was a disappointing meeting. We reiterated in very strong terms our offer. We’ve come down $1 trillion from our top number … Unfortunately, they rejected it. They said they couldn’t go much above their existing $1 trillion and that was disappointing.”
- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that Democrats view these talks as an “opportunity” to deliver for the American people, “but we can’t have it be a missed opportunity to do that by settling for something so low, so beneath meeting the needs of the American people.”
What’s next: All leaders said they are willing to continue negotiations if the opposing party is open to compromise, but several lawmakers are wary that they’ll be able to find common ground.
US job cuts up 54% in July – Challenger
The number of job cuts in the United States in July was 54% higher than in June, according to a report by Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. published on Thursday. There were 262,649 dismissals in July, representing a 576% surge on an annual basis.
The year-to-date figure reached 1,847,696, rising by 212% from the 592,556 recorded in the same timeframe last year. The market conditions caused 77,092 layoffs, followed by 63,517 dismissals due to the coronavirus pandemic, while 60,831 people lost their jobs in July because of the demand downturn. This year, 1,074,904 cuts in total have been attributed to COVID-19.
“The downturn is far from over, especially as COVID cases rise around the country. Consumers are buying fewer goods and services, businesses are closing, and bankruptcies are rising,” Senior Vice President of Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. Andrew Challenger noted.
July’s job cuts brought the total so far this year to 1.848 million, up 212% from the same period in 2019. The year-to-date layoffs are just 109,180 away from the record 1.957 million job cuts announced in 2001.
The weak labor market data raises the risk of a sharper slowdown in job growth in July. The Labor Department will publish its closely watched, and broader, monthly employment report on Friday. According to a Reuters survey of economists, nonfarm payrolls likely increased by 1.6 million in July, down from the record 4.8 million jobs created in June.
According to Challenger, Gray & Christmas, COVID-19 was cited as the reason for 63,517 job cuts in July. The respiratory illness has been blamed for 1.075 million layoffs so far this year. The balance of job cuts in July were attributed to market conditions, a downturn in demand and bankruptcies.
Several retailers including J.C. Penney and Lord & Taylor have filed for bankruptcy since March. Job cuts remained concentrated at bars, restaurants, hotels and amusement parks. The automotive sector cut 83,853 jobs. Hiring announcements totaled 246,507 in July, almost matching layoffs.
“It is clear that many job losses are now permanent, and it will be challenging for many workers to find new jobs and feel safe taking jobs that are public-facing,” said Challenger.
Dr. Osterholm: Americans will be living with the coronavirus for decades
NYC health commissioner quits over de Blasio’s COVID-19 response
U.S. job growth slows sharply in July
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. employment growth slowed considerably in July amid a resurgence in new COVID-19 infections, offering the clearest evidence yet that the economy’s recovery from the recession caused by the pandemic was faltering. Nonfarm payrolls increased by 1.763 million jobs last month after a record 4.791 million in June, the Labor Department said on Friday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 1.6 million jobs were added in July. The unemployment rate fell to 10.2% from 11.1% in June, but it has been biased downward by people misclassifying themselves as being “employed but absent from work.” At least 31.3 million people were receiving unemployment checks in mid-July.
“The steam has gone out of the engine and the economy is beginning to slow,” said Sung Won Sohn, a finance and economics professor at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. “The loss of momentum will continue and my concern is that the combination of the virus resurgence and lack of action by Congress could really push employment into negative territory.”
The labor market step-back is more bad news for President Donald Trump, who is lagging in opinion polls behind former Vice President Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic Party nominee for the Nov. 3 election. It also piles up pressure on the White House and Congress to speed up negotiations on a second aid package, which have been dragging over differences on major issues including the size of a government benefit for tens of millions of unemployed workers. A $600 weekly unemployment benefit supplement expired last Friday, while thousands of businesses have burned through loans offered by the government to help with wages. The economy, which entered into recession in February, suffered its biggest blow since the Great Depression in the second quarter, with gross domestic product dropping at its steepest pace in at least 73 years. Infections of the respiratory illness soared across the country last month, forcing authorities in some of the worst affected areas in the West and South to either shut down businesses again or pause reopenings, sending workers back home. Demand for goods and services has suffered. The slowdown in hiring challenges the U.S. stock market’s expectation of a V-shaped recovery. The S&P 500 index .SPX is up nearly 50% from its March trough. As COVID-19 cases spiral, and Republicans and Democrats bicker over another stimulus package, economists see a W-shaped recovery. Economists estimate the Paycheck Protection Program that gave businesses loans that can be partially forgiven if used for employee pay saved around 1.3 million jobs at its peak. The extra $600 weekly unemployment checks made up 20% of personal income and helped to boost consumer spending in May and June. Nick Note: Excuse me for a minute here…. I am confused. The economy has lost the most jobs in its history. 22million (counted) at best 10 million people have been hired back… most conditionally and part time. By my math 12 million people have permanently lost there jobs. If you net it out its the most ever. And 10 million of the 12 million have no work, no training, no prospects and no chance but to end up (after the elections and the happy checks end) homeless destitute, sick and really oppressed. I guess they are right slavery is back. And they will have a hell of a lot to worry about besides what lives matter or not, chock holds and cops kneeling on their necks,
US Tops 2,000 Deaths In 24 Hours: Johns Hopkins
https://youtu.be/O3b3LtPt4N8
The United States has recorded more than 2,000 coronavirus deaths in 24 hours, the highest number of daily fatalities in three months, Johns Hopkins University’s real-time tally showed Thursday.
The country, which has seen a major resurgence in coronavirus since the end of June, added 2,060 deaths in one day as well as more than 58,000 new cases, the Baltimore-based university showed at 8:30 pm (0030 GMT Friday).
The last time the US recorded more than 2,000 deaths in 24 hours was on May 7.
Nick Note: Trump has a plan. He is going to tell the stupid money the plague is no big deal and going away by itself……… We no longer get good number since the data is going to the White House first… Not the CDC like it use to!!!! . You will be barraged with reports that:
The people testing positive is dropping—– NOT TRUE, You will be told the hospitalizations are dropping_____NOT TRUE. And you will be told the death rate is—— Plunging!!!!!!! ALSO ——not true. Next just in time for the elections, Trump will tell you their is a working vaccine developed at WARP Speed.
Well let me put it to you this way. The Lithium Crystals are exploding…… I am not your doctor. I urge you before you become a big Pharma Guinea pig that you counsel with Capable, Trusted medical paraprofessionals. Who are on you side before they stick the needle in your arm! Otherwise they may just create a Lithium IMPLOSION black hole in your lungs….
Trump promises to defeat ‘China virus’ And have the vaccine by Election DAY
United States President Donald Trump proclaimed on Thursday his country would “defeat the China virus” as he touted the latest progress made in developing a treatment for the disease. “We have made tremendous strides and have a bounty of…
President Trump says he’s “optimistic” that a vaccine will be ready around Election Day, and it “wouldn’t hurt” his chances against former Vice President Joe Biden. But having a vaccine available for widespread public use before 2021 is unrealistic, according to public health experts, including the Coronavirus Task Force’s Dr. Anthony Fauci. Mr. Trump told Geraldo Rivera’s radio program “Geraldo in Cleveland,” on WTAM, Thursday that a vaccine could “in some cases” be ready sooner than November 3, but “right around that time.” Asked about this on the White House South Lawn a couple hours later, the president said he’s “optimistic” about a vaccine being ready around that date. “I’m optimistic that it’ll be probably around that date. I believe we’ll have the vaccine before the end of the year, certainly, but around that date, yes, I think so,” Mr. Trump sad. Nick Note: This is as political as it gets. And its a grave mistake. Phase 3 human studies have barely started and their are issues. Trump Touts over and over again vaccine by election day, OMG!
Crude Oil Traders remain Cautious Despite a Plunge in U.S Crude Oil Stockpiles
The API reported a drop in 8.587 million barrels of crude oil for the period ending July 31. That was far better than the 3.3 million barrel draw forecasted by selected energy analysts. Brent crude prices have continued to converge around the $44 per barrel supported by recent positive macros, coming from emerging markets, that showed signs of upward gains in manufacturing and business sentiments across these economies coupled with the recent bullish run at America’s equities market, assuring most oil traders that the worse is definitely over. These as kept the price of crude ranging between the $40-$45 as oil traders are looking for clear macros about the world’s economic stability. At one stage, crude oil prices surged to the highest level in nearly two weeks. However geopolitical risks such as the recent massive explosion near Lebanese capital increased fears among oil traders on concerns about Middle east oil supply routes.
Oil traders are indeed in a precarious situation, partly because there is no clear direction on where energy demand will go in the short term, and there are concerns for the medium and long-horizon too.
Although geopolitical uncertainty has now become the new norm, the price of Brent crude is expected to remain above the $40 support level in the next few weeks in spite of the resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic. Nick Note: Oil cannot possible maintain prices at these levels. Its the vaccine battle cry of the soon to be wiped out bulls both in oil and the stock market. Trillions of bets are being placed on a vaccine that has not been certified yet, never mind produce or distributed, that at best will give 50% of the people who take the three doses(not counting the potential for disastrous side defects) in the best case some immunity for 90 days max. And it will take a year or more to inoculate significant portions of the population. This can only end badly…. very badly indeed.