Dow went up 50, advancers over decliners 4-3 & NAZ lost 20 from yesterday's record close. The MLP index added 2+ to the 152s & the REIT index was off 1 to 371. Junk bond funds were mixed & Treasuries rose in price. Oil slid lower in the 45s & gold gained 5 to 1871.
AMJ (Alerian MLP index tracking fund)
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Despite renewed momentum on Capitol Hill to pass a coronavirus relief deal, a bipartisan proposal unveiled last week has run into familiar obstacles, potentially thwarting the chances of a year-end agreement. The biggest sticking points are ones that have plagued negotiations for months: Reps maintain that a liability shield for businesses is needed, a "poison pill" for Dems. At the same time, Dems want to include Bs in new funding for state & local govs, which their GOP colleagues have lambasted a "blue-state bailout." Unless the 2 sides can compromise on the issues, the $908B deal could fall apart. "State and local money is tied to liability protection," Sen John Cornyn said. "So there's either going to be none for both of those or both of those that are going to be provided for. My hope is that we'll do both." The aid package, details of which are set to be released, allocates about $300B in funding for small businesses thru the Paycheck Protection Program, $240B in aid for state & local govs, $180B to extend boosted unemployment benefits at $300 per week thru Mar & includes liability protections for businesses that remain open during the pandemic. It would also funnel $16B into vaccine distribution, testing, & contact tracing, put $82B into education & give $45B for transportation. The bill text has not been finalized yet. An expanded group of bipartisan lawmakers met last evening to discuss liability protections. After the meeting, Sen Mitt Romney said that it was a "productive meeting" with "good faith discussions." At issue for the group is how to retroactively protect businesses with one possibility being federal liability protection for coronavirus-related suits based on injuries that occurred in 2020. The group is weighing pausing potential lawsuits in 2021 to allow states to craft their own laws. An alternative, he said, is scrapping liability protections & state & local aid from the bill altogether.
Bipartisan COVID-19 relief deal in jeopardy as McConnell refuses to endorse
The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) said that data from Pfizer's (PFE) coronavirus vaccine trials was consistent with recommendations put
forth by the agency for an emergency use authorization. It also said the
vaccine was highly effective & did not raise any specific safety
concerns. In documents published ahead of an advisory meeting
Thurs to review the vaccine, FDA staff also said data submitted
appeared to show the vaccine was 82% effective after the first dose. PFE's vaccine recommends 2 doses about 3 weeks apart. The
agency added that 2 doses of the vaccine were “highly effective” in
preventing confirmed cases of Covid-19 at least 7 days following the 2nd dose. The
FDA has indicated it would authorize a vaccine that's safe & at least
50% effective. The flu vaccine, by comparison, generally reduces
people’s risk of getting influenza by 40-60% compared with people
who aren't inoculated, according to the CDC. “As such, FDA has
determined that the Sponsor has provided adequate information to ensure
the vaccine’s quality and consistency for authorization of the product
under an EUA,” the agency said. The FDA is expected to decide on whether to authorize PFE's vaccine within days. The UK today began mass inoculations with the vaccine based on its approval of emergency use. The
documents posted today offer a glimpse of the FDA's view of the
vaccine. The stock rose 99¢.
If you would like to learn more about PFE, click on this link:
club.ino.com/trend/analysis/stock/PFE?a_aid=CD3289&a_bid=6ae5b6f7
FDA says Pfizer Covid vaccine provides some protection after first dose, meets success criteria
The global tally for confirmed cases of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 rose above 67.6M, according to Johns Hopkins University,
while the death toll rose above 1.5M. The US has the highest
case tally in the world at 14.9M & the highest death toll at
283K, or more than a 5th of the global total. The US counted
202K new cases yesterday & at least 1522 people died. In the last week, the US has averaged 201K cases a day & a
record of 2249 deaths, beating the previous 7-day average death
toll of 2232 set on Apr 17. There are a record of
102K COVID-19 patients in US hospitals,
topping Sun's record of 101K.
Brazil has the 2nd highest death toll at 177K & is 3rd by
cases at 6.6M. India is 2nd worldwide in cases with 9.7M & 3rd in deaths at 141K. Mexico has the 4th highest
death toll at 110K & 12th highest case tally at 1.2M. The
UK has 62K deaths, the highest in Europe & 5th highest in the
world with 1.7M cases for 7th highest in the world.
Global cases top 67.6 million and U.S. records most deaths in a week since start of the outbreak
The fate of the relief bill in Congress & the rise in Covid cases are getting a lot of attention. The US economy seems to be doing reasonably well under the circumstance, but that is subject to change given all the uncertainty out there.
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