Dow sank 172 (but off early lows), decliners over advancers 3-1 & NAZ declined a big 154. The MLP index fell 2 to the 143s & the REIT index was off 4+ to the 362s. Junk bond funds did little & Treasuries were in demand. Oil pulled back 1+ to the 47s & gold retreated 6 to 1882.
AMJ (Alerian MLP index tracking fund)
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Congress reached a deal on a $900B coronavirus relief package, a long-delayed effort to boost an American health-care system & economy buckling under the weight of the pandemic. Congressional leaders announced agreement on a bill — which would send new federal assistance to households, small businesses & health-care providers for the first time in months & provide $1.4T to fund the gov thru Sep 30 — after days of start-&-stop efforts to finish a deal. They have not yet released text of the legislation, which they hope to pass in the next day. “At long last, we have the bipartisan breakthrough the country has needed,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said yesterday. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi & Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called the plan a “package that delivers urgently needed funds to save the lives & livelihoods of the American people as the virus accelerates.” They called the plan inadequate & noted they would soon push for more relief spending after Pres-elect Biden takes office.
Congress agrees to $900 billion Covid stimulus deal after months of failed negotiations
A highly contagious new variant of the coronavirus is causing countries in Europe & elsewhere to block travel from Britain. The UK last week warned of a new coronavirus variant that is thought to be up to 70% more transmissible than the original strain of the disease. According to the World Health Organization, the new variant has so far been identified in Denmark, the Netherlands & Australia. News of the strain forced the British gov to backtrack on plans to let families mix over Christmas, locking down London & other areas in southern England where infections by the Covid mutation are heavily concentrated. Over the weekend, several countries announced plans to shut their borders to Britain. In Europe, France, Germany, Italy, Ireland & the Netherlands have all barred flights from the UK, while Austria & Sweden are reportedly preparing to do the same.
New Covid strain makes UK a global pariah as countries impose travel bans
Dr Scott Gottlieb said that existing Covid-19 vaccines will likely provide protection against the new strain of the coronavirus circulating in the UK. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Sat implemented strict lockdowns in London & large parts of southern England in response to rising coronavirus infections. He said the growth in cases appeared to be stemming from a new variant of the coronavirus that is about 70% more transmissible than existing strains. Gottlieb, a former Food & Drug Administration commissioner, said that the evidence does suggest the new variant transmits more easily. But, he cautioned, “it doesn’t seem to have mutated the surface proteins of the virus in a way that they would slip past our vaccines or prior immunity. In fact, we don’t think that that’s the case.” The fact the coronavirus has mutated is not surprising, Gottlieb said. “Some viruses like flu evolve their surface proteins very quickly, and that’s why we need a different flu vaccine every season,” said Gottlieb, who led the FDA in 2017-2019. “Some viruses can’t really change their surface proteins, like measles. This [coronavirus] seems to fall some place in between. It’s not going to change its surface proteins very rapidly, that spike protein, but it will change it over time.”
Dr. Scott Gottlieb says new Covid strain ‘will not slip past our vaccines very easily’
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