WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – The following is Tuesday’s updated status check of developments in the U.S. that can influence economic, health and political outcomes:
- With the VIX down 1.6% to maintain moderately elevated 24.84, U.S. stocks had a mixed session Tuesday with a much different composition than Monday’s Nasdaq blowout. In fact the Nasdaq ended in the red by 0.81%/-86.71. The blue-chip DJIA ended +0.60%/+159.53. S&P +0.17%/+5.46. After hours the DJIA and S&P were staying about even.
- Congress’s second day back in town and all the preliminary listening sessions were in full swing on the Phase 4 virus response legislation which is many ups and downs away from its first votes. Trump conceded on more testing funds, saying if doctors say it’s needed, “I’m OK with it.”As expected Senate Leader McConnell didn’t mention a payroll tax holiday among the outline items he sketched on the Senate floor.
- Speaking of the president, his return to the podium for a solo virus briefing after more than two month hiatus was almost everything his staff had wished for, a sober reading of the virus metrics, good words about masks and distancing, only brief extemporaneous excursions into “it will disappear” and no castigations of reporters during the brief Q&A. Dr. Birx kept offstage. Earlier Wht Hse’s McEnany said the NYT should be “ashamed” for casting her in a bad light in the weekend story. Trump’s headline: “Will be worse before it gets better.”His head-scratcher: Wishes jailed Esptein crony Ghislaine Maxwell “well.”
- The NIH’s Fauci was his usual measured self an hour before Trump on CNN, saying rough adherence to the guidelines is “patchy.” The CEO of Labcorp was on CNBC saying demand for testing is simply outstripping testing capacity and most important is getting the incidence of virus down. In GA, the judge recused herself at the request of the gov, so the challenge to Atlanta’s mask mandate postponed.
- Total virus deaths 141,400 (NYT tracker). Cases surging in most of the U.S. but fatalities not sharply elevated, at least not yet.
- Chicago’s mayor vows to fight any incursion by militarized federal law enforcers as threatened by the president after another bad night in Portland.
- Biden’s speech in New Castle, DE, had been previewed so no surprises. Called for $775 bln spending over a decade for caregivers, the third plank of his economic plan. As usual, he took no questions.
- Fed wild-card nominee Shelton got through committee, almost ensuring confirmation by the full Senate.
- Upcoming data: Wednesday’s MBA mortgage apps at 7a ET, FHFA index at 9a, existing home sales 10a.
- Two U.S astronauts had a more than six-hour spacewalk doing routine maintenance.
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