Fight Night, The First Presidential Debate.

 Baltic Dry Index. 1654 -13  Brent Crude 42.28

Spot Gold 1881

Coronavirus Cases 29/9/20 World 33,408,740

Deaths 1,006,032

The only difference between the saint and the sinner is that every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future.

Oscar Wilde

Dress up the casino indexes and stocks for the month-end and end of quarter, is well underway and going smoothly so far. But will tonight’s presidential debate between two dubious, probity challenged 70+ year old, old age pensioners upset the casino’s applecart.

Despite living in the USA for many years, the only presidential debate I ever saw was a vice-presidential debate between Senators Bentsen and Quayle.  I was stuck on a delayed flight out of Kennedy to London, when the pilot suddenly put the TV feed onto the planes screens. It was back in the dinosaur days before each seat got its own screen.

Poor Senator Quayle made the mistake of comparing himself to Senator Jack Kennedy. In a scripted, well practised ambush, Senator Bentsen pounced.  The plane, mostly full of Americans erupted into cheers. I doubt that tonight’s elderly fight contestants can match it.

Happily, I will not waste my time watching it. The BBC and the rest of the extreme left wing media will be only to happy to tell me Biden won.

"Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYAZkczhdMs

Asian markets push higher after U.S. bounce

September 29, 20201:25 AM By Kane Wu, Pete Schroeder

(Reuters) - Asian markets largely opened higher on Tuesday, building on newfound momentum after bargain hunters helped a recovery in U.S. markets in the wake of last week’s selloff.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index .HSI was up 0.2% while Chinese shares opened higher with the blue-chip CSI 300 index .CSI300 up 0.41%.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS advanced 0.39% to 555.01.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei average .N225, however, dropped 0.61% as telecom stocks fell after Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp 9432.T announced a $38 billion take-private of its wireless carrier business, paving the way for price cuts in the sector. Shares going ex-dividend was also expected to dampen market sentiment.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO rose 0.22%, while New Zealand's S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 edged down 0.27% after rising in early trade.

Asian markets have been buoyed by positive signs around China’s economic recovery, although the coronavirus pandemic continues to wreak economic havoc globally and raise concern about high valuations.

Investors will remain cautious ahead of the first U.S. presidential debate later in the day (Wednesday 0100 GMT), and as lawmakers continue efforts to cobble together additional economic stimulus.

U.S. consumer confidence and home price data is also due later. Upcoming U.S. economic data should help show how well the country is positioned to rebound from pandemic lockdowns, and how necessary more stimulus will be.

“Globally, a loss of momentum and the renewed rise in COVID-19 infection rates points to the need for additional fiscal and monetary support. That policy outlook is continuing to provide a supportive backdrop to equities despite recent volatility,” ANZ Bank analysts wrote in a note.

---- U.S. traders posted strong gains on Wall Street on Monday, particularly in hard-hit sectors like hotels, banks and airlines which posted sizeable gains after several days of decline.

On Wall Street, Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 1.51%, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 1.61%, and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC was up 1.87%.

But there were still some signs of caution, as Europe is experiencing a rise in new COVID-19 infections and some U.S. states continue to grapple with high case numbers.

Safe-haven spot gold XAU= added 0.21% to $1,884.77 an ounce. U.S. gold futures GCc1 gained 0.54% to $1,883 an ounce.

More

https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-global-markets/asian-markets-push-higher-after-u-s-bounce-idUKKBN26K014

In other, more real world news, is the rump-EU ready to blink? Huawei goes Chinese. For now no big deal, but in 5 or 10 years, it’s the USA, Japan and Taiwan that will lose out.

EU negotiators willing to work on legal agreement with UK - The Times

September 29, 20201:29 AM

(Reuters) - European Union negotiators have signaled that they are willing to begin work on a joint legal text of a trade agreement with the UK, ahead of trade talks that resume on Tuesday, The Times reported on Tuesday.

EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier is ready to begin work on a joint draft version of a free trade agreement, known as a "consolidated legal text", this week, the newspaper reported bit.ly/2EHd1Nr.

Barnier expects Britain’s chief negotiator David Frost to provide more details of fishing quotas and the government’s future subsidy policy, the Times report said, adding that EU has also backed away from a threat to suspend trade and security talks.

Britain left the EU last January and is locked in negotiations on a new trade deal from 2021, as well as on implementing the divorce, as set out in the Withdrawal Agreement, especially on the sensitive Irish border.

Trade talks resume in Brussels on Tuesday. Lasting until Friday morning and also due to cover energy links and transport, they are the final round of negotiations scheduled so far.

Brussels have dropped its demands for the two sides to reach a broad agreement on all the outstanding areas of dispute before drafting a final agreement and expects UK to engage in detailed discussions on post-Brexit fishing quotas and the government’s future subsidy policy, the newspaper said.

https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu/eu-negotiators-willing-to-work-on-legal-agreement-with-uk-the-times-idUKKBN26K01U

EU Commission chief says still convinced post-Brexit deal possible

September 28, 20208:47 PM

LISBON (Reuters) - The European Commission chief said on Monday she was still convinced a post-Brexit deal was possible as the bloc and Britain kicked off a decisive week of talks on a new trade deal and on implementing their divorce agreement.

“We want an agreement, we are working hard (...) and I’m still convinced an agreement is possible,” Ursula von der Leyen told a news conference in Lisbon held alongside Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa.

https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-commission/eu-commission-chief-says-still-convinced-post-brexit-deal-possible-idUKKBN26J302

Sanctions-hit Huawei ramps up investment in Chinese tech sector

September 29, 20203:14 AM By Josh Horwitz

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Huawei Technologies has built up stakes in Chinese semiconductor companies and other tech businesses as the world’s largest telecoms equipment maker bolsters its supply chain in the face of pressure from the United States.

Habo Investments, set up by Huawei in April 2019, has closed 17 deals for stakes in Chinese tech companies since August last year, public records show.

The investment arm was established in response to what Huawei’s rotating chairman, Guo Ping, last week described as “suppression” by the United States after escalating restrictions that have cut off Huawei’s supplies of many overseas chips and effectively barred it from building its own.

“Since Huawei is only one company, we use investment and technology to help our supply chain partners become mature,” he said.

The company has emerged as a focal point in deteriorating U.S.-China relations with President Donald Trump’s administration alleging that its equipment could be used by Beijing for spying, which the Chinese company has denied repeatedly.

Huawei’s investment push also coincides with ramped-up government efforts to boost China’s semiconductor sector, which still lags behind leading chip producers including the United States, South Korea and Taiwan.

More

https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-huawei-tech-investment/sanctions-hit-huawei-ramps-up-investment-in-chinese-tech-sector-idUKKBN26K092

China’s economic growth to be 2 per cent in 2020 but coronavirus to keep Asia’s growth at lowest since 1967, World Bank warns

·         Growth in China is expected to come in at 2 per cent this year, boosted by government spending, strong exports and a low rate of new coronavirus infections

·         The World Bank said the East Asia and the Pacific region this year is projected to grow by only 0.9 per cent, the lowest rate since 1967

Published: 11:26am, 29 Sep, 2020

https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3103440/chinas-economic-growth-be-2-cent-2020-coronavirus-keep-asias

Finally, Wall Street’s finest. Finest, lying, cheating, stealing, banksters that is.

Inside the JPMorgan Trading Desk the U.S. Called a Crime Ring

The U.S. says the precious metals desk at JPMorgan was a racketeering operation. Now the bank is poised to pay a record penalty for spoofing. Here’s a look behind eight years of alleged conspiracy

By Tom Schoenberg   September 28, 2020, 9:00 AM GMT+1

Billionaires have Davos. For filmmakers, there’s Sundance. For the people who mine and trade and ship everything from iron ore to platinum, there’s London Metal Exchange Week. It’s a blur of symposiums and drinks, with a reliably lavish lunch thrown by JPMorgan Chase & Co. On a balmy October day in 2018, hundreds of guests crossed a courtyard in the shadow of the Bank of England to a medieval guild hall for champagne and sashimi courtesy of the bank and its top metals trader, Mike Nowak.

Nowak had plenty to celebrate. His global trading desk at JPMorgan was the powerhouse in futures contracts for gold, silver, platinum and palladium that account for tens of trillions of dollars in transactions annually. In his mid-40s, Nowak had run the precious metals desk for more than a decade. He had a young family, a house outside Manhattan and a seven-bedroom vacation home a few blocks from the beach in New Jersey.

But that world was unraveling. Unbeknown to Nowak, one of his former employees was turning on him.

That same day, the sun was barely up in Brooklyn when a trader named John Edmonds set off for a meeting with federal prosecutors. Edmonds, who’d worked for years on Nowak’s desk, took a four-hour car trip to Hartford, Connecticut, where he told authorities that Nowak’s crew wasn’t just buying and selling precious metals, but systematically cheating to help themselves and their top clients. Edmonds admitted to fraudulent trades that day in a sealed guilty plea. Soon, others from the precious metals desk provided accounts, setting off events leading to criminal charges against Nowak and four others from the bank.

Testimony by Edmonds and others also underpins a U.S. Justice Department criminal investigation into the bank itself that people familiar with the matter say will be resolved in coming days. They said the bank is expected to pay around $1 billion to settle with the Justice Department and U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Among the alleged misdeeds is so-called spoofing, or planting fake orders into the market to steer others into buying or selling at prices that favor the bank. In authorities’ years-long crackdown on spoofing — which has included the conviction of two former Deutsche Bank metals traders in Chicago late last week — the expected JPMorgan penalty would be several times the size of previous settlements.

Read More: JPMorgan Is Set to Pay $1 Billion in Record Spoofing Penalty

More

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-09-28/inside-the-jpm-precious-metals-desk-called-a-crime-ring-by-prosecutors?srnd=premium-europe

Why did I take up stealing? To live better, to own things I couldn't afford, to acquire this good taste that you now enjoy and which I should be very reluctant to give up.

Cary Grant. To Catch A Thief.

Covid-19 Corner                       

This section will continue until it becomes unneeded.

Global Deaths Reach 1 Million; ‘New Poor’ Emerge: Virus Update

Bloomberg News

September 28, 2020, 11:52 PM GMT+1 Updated on September 29, 2020, 5:48 AM GMT+1

Global confirmed deaths hit 1 million as major developed and emerging economies are struggling to contain the coronavirus almost 10 months after it first emerged.

Health professionals estimate that the real death toll from the pandemic could be double as many parts of the world are battling a renewed jump in cases. In the U.S., warning signs are emerging that the country faces more deaths and serious illnesses as winter approaches. Germany warned of a surge in infections and Moscow reopened temporary hospital wards.

The pandemic is creating a class of “new poor” across East Asia and the Pacific with 38 million more people expected to sink into poverty in 2020, according to the World Bank. The triple shock of the pandemic, the containment measures and the global recession means the region will grow only 0.9% this year, its weakest expansion since 1967 -- and poverty will increase for the first time in 20 years.

Key Developments:

• Global Tracker: Cases top 33 million; deaths exceed 1 million
• Warning signs are flashing ahead of U.S. winter
• U.K. dangles threat of tougher London rules as cases soar
• Why the True Covid Death Toll May Be Way Over 1 Million
• Who’s succeeding against the coronavirus and why: QuickTake

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-09-28/trump-warns-of-more-cases-states-get-rapid-tests-virus-update?srnd=coronavirus

Australian firm says its nasal spray reduced coronavirus growth in animal study

September 28, 20202:59 AM

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian biotech company Ena Respiratory said on Monday that a nasal spray it is developing to improve the human immune system to fight common cold and flu significantly reduced the growth of the coronavirus in a recent study on animals.

A study on ferrets showed the product dubbed INNA-051, which could be used complementary to vaccines, lowered the levels of the virus that causes COVID-19 by up to 96%, the company said. The study was led by British government agency Public Health England.

Ena Respiratory said it would be ready to test INNA-051 in human trials in less than four months, subject to successful toxicity studies and regulatory approval.

The company has raised A$11.7 million ($8.24 million) for the development of the spray. Investors include venture capital firm Brandon Capital Ltd, the Australian federal government, pension funds and biotech giant CSL Ltd CSL.AX.

Several companies across the world are in the pursuit of developing a coronavirus vaccine. Australia has entered into agreements with some drug companies investing billions to secure potential vaccines for COVID-19, which has killed over 992,000 people worldwide.

Australia has so far reported 875 deaths and just over 27,000 coronavirus cases, far less than the numbers reported in other developed countries.

https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-australia-nasalspr/australian-firm-says-its-nasal-spray-reduced-coronavirus-growth-in-animal-study-idUKKBN26J04T?feedType=mktg&feedName=uktechnology&WT.mc_id=Newsletter-UK&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2018%20Template:%20UK%20TECHNOLOGY%20ROUNDUP%202020-09-28&utm_term=NEW:%20UK%20Technology%20Roundup

Experts warn of 'huge surge' in COVID-19 cases in fall, winter

Sept. 27, 2020 / 3:54 PM / Updated Sept. 27, 2020 at 4:37 PM

Sept. 27 (UPI) -- Experts are predicting a surge in COVID-19 cases in the fall and winter months as new cases rise while some areas continue to lift restrictions related to the pandemic.

The University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation's model forecasts that daily deaths from the coronavirus could surge from 765 to 3,000 by late December.

The United States leads the world in cases and deaths, reporting 7,093,285 cases and 204,606 deaths, according to data gathered by John's Hopkins University.

IHME Director Dr. Chris Murray said the model shows a "huge surge" beginning in October and accelerating through the end of the year, warning that the winter surge may have already begun in Europe.

"Cases are exploding there. So we know it's coming and we expect it to hit the U.S. pretty soon," he said.

Murray added that changes in behavior due to easing of coronavirus restrictions and an increase in indoor activities due to cooler weather are likely to contribute to the surge.

"First, as case counts have come down in some states, we tend to see that people become less careful, they tend to have more contact," Murray said. "But then the most important effect is the seasonality of the virus, that people go indoors, transmission happens more."

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, warned U.S. cities and counties to brace for "the challenge" of fall and winter as the nation averages more than 40,000 cases nationwide.

"You don't want to enter into the fall and winter with a community spread at that level, because if you do, you got a difficult situation that's going to be really challenging," he said.

Johns Hopkins data shows that at least 24 states are reporting an increase in new cases compared to the previous week.

California, which leads the nation in COVID-19 cases with 802,308, reporting 4,071 new cases on Sunday and added 55 new deaths for the third-highest death toll at 15,587.

Second-place Texas reported 1,292 cases for a total of 735,132 cases and 37 new deaths for the fourth-highest death toll at 15,522.

Florida reported 1,882 new cases on Sunday bringing its total to 700,564 -- third place in the nation -- and 10 new deaths for the fifth-highest death toll in the country at 13,032 as Gov. Ron DeSantis signed an executive order Friday transitioning the state into Phase 3 of reopening allowing restaurants and bars to operate at 100% capacity.

---- New York reported 866 new cases placing it fourth in the nation with 455,626 cases and six new deaths for the nation's highest total at 33,131, including probable deaths. On Saturday, it reported more than 1,000 cases for the first time since early June.

New Jersey, which ranks second in the nation in deaths at 16,103 after three new deaths on Sunday, also recorded its highest daily case numbers since June 4 at 712 for a total of 202,850, ninth in the nation.

https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2020/09/27/Experts-warn-of-huge-surge-in-COVID-19-cases-in-fall-winter/4701601226955/

Next, some vaccine links kindly sent along from a LIR reader in Canada. The links come from a most informative update from Stanford Hospital in California.

World Health Organization - Landscape of COVID-19 candidate vaccines. https://www.who.int/publications/m/item/draft-landscape-of-covid-19-candidate-vaccines

NY Times Coronavirus Vaccine Tracker. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/science/coronavirus-vaccine-tracker.html

Stanford Website. https://racetoacure.stanford.edu/clinical-trials/132

Regulatory Focus COVID-19 vaccine tracker. https://www.raps.org/news-and-articles/news-articles/2020/3/covid-19-vaccine-tracker

Some useful Covid links.

Johns Hopkins Coronavirus resource centre

https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

Rt Covid-19

https://rt.live/

Covid19info.live

https://wuflu.live/

London is too full of fogs and serious people. Whether the fogs produce the serious people, or whether the serious people produce the fogs, I don't know.

Oscar Wilde

Technology Update.

With events happening fast in the development of solar power and graphene, I’ve added this section. Updates as they get reported. Is converting sunlight to usable cheap AC or DC energy mankind’s future from the 21^st century onwards.

Ground testing completed for Rolls-Royce ACCEL electric aircraft tech

By Ben Coxworth

September 25, 2020

Last year, we heard how Rolls-Royce was developing what it claims will be the world's fastest electric airplane, the ACCEL. Now, the company has announced that it has completed ground testing of the technology that will be used in the aircraft.

To recap our previous coverage, plans call for the single-seater ACCEL to incorporate three axial 750R electric motors in its 500-hp powertrain. Power will be provided by a battery pack consisting of over 6,000 individual cells, offering a range of 200 mi (320 km) on a single charge.

Rolls-Royce claims that the plane's top speed should be over 300 mph (480 km/h).

The technology has now been tested in a full-scale replica of the aircraft's core, called the ionBird. This name pays tribute to the term "iron bird," which describes the propulsion-testing rigs traditionally used in the development of conventional aircraft.

The ground testing involved running the propeller up to its full speed of approximately 2,400 rpm, optimizing the performance of the system, and gathering data for further analysis.

ACCEL should be making its first flight later this year, with its attempt at a record-breaking flight scheduled for early next year.

"The completion of ground-testing for the ACCEL project is a great achievement for the team and is another important step towards a world record attempt," says Rob Watson, director of Rolls-Royce Electrical.

The ionBird can be seen in action, in the video below.

Source: Rolls-Royce

https://newatlas.com/aircraft/ground-testing-rolls-royce-accel/?utm_source=New+Atlas+Subscribers&utm_campaign=c29518f69a-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_09_28_08_16&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_65b67362bd-c29518f69a-90625829

Call me sceptical of flight by battery. The plane is forever flying dead weight batteries. The plane can never burn off the battery weight. There has to be a better way/weigh.

 

Month End. A Debate. Taxes. Bunker Time?

 Baltic Dry Index. 1667 +62  Brent Crude 41.65

Spot Gold 1861

Coronavirus Cases 28/9/20 World 33,161,767

Deaths 1,002,217 

Freedom is the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.

George Orwell.

It is the run up to the end of month, end of quarter, figures in the casinos. The first of the presidential debates between septuagenarians Biden and Trump.

The “final” round of Brexit negotiations is due to start this week. 

Coronavirus cases officially reach 33 million, deaths attributed to Covid-19 pass 1 million. It’s anyone’s guess as to the real numbers.

Probably a good week to ride out events in the safety of cash and precious metals.

Chinese stocks underpin Asia; markets wary of virus spike, U.S. presidential debate

September 28, 20201:59 AM

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Chinese stocks drove Asian markets higher on Monday, though sentiment was still cautious ahead of a U.S. Presidential debate and as a spike in new coronavirus cases undermined global economic recovery hopes.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS advanced 0.5% to 550.47, but still within striking distance of a two-month low of 543.66 hit last week.

The index is set to end the month deep in the red after three straight monthly gains as the pandemic continues to wreak economic havoc around the world and raises investor anxiety about sky-high valuations.

Chinese shares opened higher and helped to underpin Asian markets after a tentative start, with the blue-chip CSI 300 index .CSI300 up 0.85%. Shanghai's SSE .SSEC climbed 0.5%.

Encouragingly, data over the weekend showed profits at China’s industrial firms grew for the fourth straight month in August buoyed in part by a rebound in commodities prices and equipment manufacturing.

Elsewhere, Japan's Nikkei .N225 was 0.75% higher, partly on a lower yen, while South Korea's KOSPI index .KS11 gained 1.1%.

Australia's main share index .AXJO reversed early losses to edge up, led by positive news on the coronavirus front with new infections in the country's second-most populous state of Victoria down sharply and allowing authorities to ease some of the mobility restrictions.

The broad gains in Asia follow a Wall Street rally on Friday though analysts expect the gains to be short-lived as expectations for economic growth start to falter.

Particularly worrying is a resurgence of COVID-19 cases in Europe, dousing earlier hopes that authorities might have started to exert some control on the outbreak and raising further strains on businesses already grappling with losses.

“Clouds have started to gather over the developed world as political uncertainty increases in the U.S. and Europe grapples with a resurgence in COVID-19 cases,” Kerry Craig, Global Market Strategist, J.P. Morgan Asset Management.

More

https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-global-markets/chinese-stocks-underpin-asia-markets-wary-of-virus-spike-u-s-presidential-debate-idUKKBN26J02B

Grocers Stockpile, Build ‘Pandemic Pallets’ Ahead of Winter

Resurgence of Covid-19 cases and the impending holiday rush prompt retailers to sideline lean-inventory strategies

September 27, 2020

Grocery stores and food companies are preparing for a possible surge in sales amid a new rise in Covid-19 cases and the impending holiday rush.

Supermarkets are stockpiling groceries and storing them early to prepare for the fall and winter months, when some health experts warn the country could see another widespread outbreak of virus cases and new restrictions. Food companies are accelerating production of their most popular items, and leaders across the industry are saying they won’t be caught unprepared in the face of another pandemic surge.

Southeastern Grocers LLC secured holiday turkeys and hams over the summer, months before it normally starts inventory planning, said Chief Executive Anthony Hucker. And grocery wholesaler United Natural Foods Inc. has loaded up on extra inventory of cranberry sauce, herbal tea and cold remedies, said President Chris Testa.

“We started talking about Thanksgiving in June. That’s earlier than we ever have,” he said.

Associated Food Stores recently started building “pandemic pallets” of cleaning and sanitizing products so it always has some inventory in warehouses, said Darin Peirce, vice president of retail operations for the cooperative of more than 400 stores. The company is establishing protocols so it can better manage scenarios of high demand.

We will never again operate our business as unprepared for something like this,” he said.

These changes, a reaction to the sudden and massive shortages grocers experienced in the spring, amount to a shift from the just-in-time inventory management practices that have guided the fast-moving retail business for decades.

Now, food sellers are stockpiling months, rather than weeks, worth of staples such as pasta sauce and paper products to better prepare for this winter, when people are expected to hunker down at home. Ahold Delhaize USA, SpartanNash Co. SPTN -2.55% and others say they are buying more food as soon as they can, stocking warehouses with wellness and holiday items. Many retailers are expanding distribution capacity, augmenting warehouse space and modifying shifts.

They say they want to be ready for a potential Covid-19 surge that experts are warning could hit as soon as this fall, as daily reported cases are increasing again in many states after falling in the summer. More than 200,000 people have died from the coronavirus in the U.S.

More

https://www.wsj.com/articles/grocers-stockpile-build-pandemic-pallets-ahead-of-winter-11601199000

In dirty tricks US Presidential campaign news, The New York, Never Trump newspaper, has jumped in with both feet ahead of tomorrow’s first presidential debate.

Trump frequently paid no federal income taxes in years leading up to presidency - New York Times

September 27, 202010:31 PM

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump paid just $750 in federal income taxes in both 2016 and 2017, after years of reporting heavy losses from his business enterprises to offset hundreds of millions of dollars in income, the New York Times reported on Sunday, citing tax-return data.

In a report that Trump dismissed as “fake news,” the Times said the Republican president also paid no federal income taxes in 10 of the previous 15 years through 2017, despite receiving $427.4 million through 2018 from his reality television program and other endorsement and licensing deals.

The disclosure of previously private tax information came little more than a month before the Nov. 3 election between Trump and Democrat Joe Biden. Democrats were quick to seize on the report to paint Trump as a tax dodger and raise questions about his carefully groomed image as a savvy businessman.

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer took to Twitter to ask Americans to raise their hands if they paid more in federal income tax than Trump.

Calling the report “total fake news” at a White House news conference, Trump again cited an ongoing audit as his reason for not releasing his returns. In a statement to the Times, Alan Garten, a lawyer for the Trump Organization, said Trump had paid millions of dollars in personal taxes over the last decade, without weighing in on the specific finding of minimal income taxes.

---- The Times said it had obtained tax-return data covering over two decades for Trump and companies within his business organization. It did not have information about his personal returns from 2018 or 2019.

The Times also reported that Trump was currently embroiled in a decade-long Internal Revenue Service audit over a $72.9 million tax refund he claimed after declaring large losses. If the IRS rules against him in that audit, he could have to pay over $100 million, according to the newspaper.

https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-trump-taxes/trump-frequently-paid-no-federal-income-taxes-in-years-leading-up-to-presidency-new-york-times-idUKKBN26I10N

Up next, is the “Old Lady of Threadneedle Street” really flirting with negative interest rates? How high do they want to see the Sterling price of gold go?

BoE's Tenreyro says evidence on negative rates is 'encouraging'

September 26, 20209:55 PM  By Reuters Staff

LONDON (Reuters) - The Bank of England’s investigation into whether negative rates might help the British economy through its current downturn has found “encouraging” evidence, policymaker Silvana Tenreyro said in an interview published late on Saturday.

Tenreyro told the Sunday Telegraph that she did not expect Britain to continue to enjoy a fast V-shaped recovery, due to headwinds from local flare-ups in COVID-19, rising unemployment and a “very weak” global economic outlook.

Britain’s central bank said in August that it was taking a closer look at the case for cutting interest rates below zero, and in September it said it would take a detailed look at the idea’s technical feasibility during the fourth quarter.

However Governor Andrew Bailey said this did not mean the BoE was committed to going ahead with the idea, which would potentially see people charged for holding deposits with banks.

Tenreyro said evidence from the euro zone and Japan showed that cutting interest rates below zero had succeeded in reducing companies’ borrowing costs and did not make it unprofitable for banks to lend.

“The evidence has been encouraging,” she said, adding that cuts in interest rates below zero had been almost fully reflected in reductions in interest rates charged to borrowers.

“Banks adapted well – their profitability increased with negative rates largely because impairments and loss provisions have decreased with the boost to activity and the increase in asset prices,” she said.

So far, the BoE has responded to the coronavirus pandemic by cutting interest rates to a record-low of 0.1% and expanding its asset purchase programme by 300 billion pounds ($382 billion).

Tenreyro said she expected Britain’s rebound from the historic 20% slump in output during the lockdown in the second quarter looked set to lose pace as COVID-19 cases rose again.

More

https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-boe-tenreyro/boes-tenreyro-says-evidence-on-negative-rates-is-encouraging-idUKKBN26H0ZH

In man made climate change news, what went wrong? Why did “Mother Nature” go off script?

Alps surprised by early snowfall, Swiss town sees new record

26 September, 2020

BERLIN (AP) — Parts of Switzerland, Austria and Germany were surprised by unseasonably early snowfall overnight, after a sharp drop in temperatures and heavy precipitation.

The Swiss meteorological agency said Saturday that the town of Montana, in the southern canton (state) of Valais, experienced 25 centimeters (almost 10 inches) of snowfall — a new record for this time of year.

Authorities were out in force across mountainous regions in the two Alpine nations to clear roads blocked by snow and ice.

In parts of Austria, snowfall was recorded as low as 550 meters (1,805 feet) above sea level.

https://apnews.com/article/switzerland-austria-archive-043acd7ac31a67f2f109ff6f883be631

Finally, is the USA following Franklin Roosevelt’s 1930s Japan playbook? A playbook that ended in war, and nuclear war at that.                                                     

U.S. tightens exports to China's chipmaker SMIC, citing risk of military use

September 26, 20202:23 PM  By Reuters Staff

SHANGHAI/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States has imposed restrictions on exports to China’s biggest chip maker SMIC after concluding there is an “unacceptable risk” equipment supplied to it could be used for military purposes.

Suppliers of certain equipment to Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation 0981.HK will now have to apply for individual export licenses, according to a letter from the Commerce Department dated Friday and seen by Reuters.

The latest move marks a shift in U.S. policy from earlier this year, when applicants seeking “military end user” licenses to sell to SMIC were told by the Commerce Department that the licenses weren’t necessary, according to three people familiar with the matter.

SMIC said it had not received any official notice of the restrictions and said it has no ties with the Chinese military.

“SMIC reiterates that it manufactures semiconductors and provides services solely for civilian and commercial end-users and end-uses,” SMIC said.

“The Company has no relationship with the Chinese military and does not manufacture for any military end-users or end-uses.”

SMIC is the latest leading Chinese technology company to face U.S. trade restrictions related to national security issues or U.S. foreign policy efforts. Telecoms giant Huawei Technologies [HWT.UL] had its access to high-end chips curtailed by its addition to a Commerce Department blacklist known as the entity list.

“There’s been a lot of coverage on the Trump administration’s actions regarding TikTok, but the more significant action - from a global economic standpoint and that will have considerable ripple effects through global supply chains - are the increasing restrictions on SMIC and other Chinese national champions like Huawei,” said Nicholas Klein, a Washington lawyer who specializes in international trade. He said these actions are more likely to draw a retaliatory response from Beijing.

More

https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-china-smic/u-s-tightens-exports-to-chinas-chipmaker-smic-citing-risk-of-military-use-idUKKBN26H0LQ

"Anybody has the right to evade taxes if he can get away with it. No citizen has a moral obligation to assist in maintaining the government."

J. P. Morgan.

Covid-19 Corner                       

This section will continue until it becomes unneeded.

India Cases Top 6 Million; Deaths Milestone Looms: Virus Update

Bloomberg News

September 28, 2020, 12:01 AM GMT+1 Updated on September 28, 2020, 6:10 AM GMT+1

Covid-19 infections topped 6 million in India, the new epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic. The official global death toll neared one million, though experts say the real tally may be almost double that.

South Korea reported the fewest cases in seven weeks as it brings its latest outbreak under control. Australia’s prime minister urged the removal of further curbs after Melbourne eased its curfew, while Thailand moved to extend its emergency rules through October.

The U.K. is preparing to enforce a social lockdown across much of northern Britain and potentially London amid a second wave, the Times of London reported. Any vaccine is unlikely to fully immunize everyone, former U.S. Food and Drug Administration head Scott Gottlieb said.

Key Developments:

• Global Tracker: Cases top 32.9 million; deaths exceed 996,000
• Covid-19 death toll nears 1 million, but real number may be double
• Germany has its own Dr. Fauci — and actually follows his advice
• Less than 1% chance of catching Covid-19 flying, says JetBlue
• Early Covid treatments could be ‘bridge’ to vaccine, Fauci says
• Modi offers Indian vaccine production capacity to help humanity
• Who’s succeeding against the coronavirus and why: QuickTake

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-09-27/new-york-city-cases-still-alarming-in-some-areas-virus-update?srnd=coronavirus

Early Covid Treatments Could Be a ‘Bridge’ to Vaccine

By Jason Gale

September 27, 2020, 12:13 AM GMT+1

Monoclonal antibodies that stop the coronavirus from spreading in the body are among promising strategies for averting severe illness from Covid-19 before vaccines arrive, said Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Antibody-based medications, other blood products from recovered patients and antivirals are being investigated as early treatments, Fauci said. The aim is to prevent patients from developing the serious lung damage for which Gilead Sciences Inc.’s remdesivir and the anti-inflammatory drug dexamethasone are administered.

“We are focusing very heavily now on treatment of early infection and, or prevention of infection,” Fauci told the Journal of the American Medical Association in an interview Friday. “And that’s the bridge to the vaccine.”

Immunization against SARS-CoV-2 could begin in the U.S. in November or December, Fauci said, though it will probably take until at least the third quarter of 2021 for enough Americans to have been protected against the pandemic virus to significantly diminish its threat. Fauci said 100 million doses of vaccine may be produced by December, with all six companies supplying the U.S. slated to have made 700 million doses by next April.

----Blockbuster studies published by the journal Science on Thursday showed about 14% of critical Covid-19 patients have impaired levels of a substance called interferon that helps orchestrate the body’s defense against viral pathogens.

Read More: Covid Doctors Find a Turning Point in Life-Threatening Cases

The finding opens up new strategies for identifying high-risk patients and treating them with interferon infusions or, in some cases, removing interferon-blocking antibodies from their blood in a procedure called plasmapheresis.

Interferon, which is already being studied in dozens of clinical trials, might improve the effectiveness of antiviral drugs if they are administered early in an infection, according to Stanley Perlman, a professor of microbiology and immunology at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, who has studied coronaviruses for 38 years.

More

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-09-26/early-covid-treatments-could-be-bridge-to-vaccine-fauci-says?srnd=premium-europe

U.S. Midwest sees surge in COVID-19 cases as four states report record increases

September 26, 20209:07 PM

(Reuters) - Four U.S. states in the Midwest reported record one-day increases in COVID-19 cases on Saturday as infections rise nationally for a second week in a row, according to a Reuters analysis.

Minnesota reported 1,418 new cases, Montana 343 new cases, South Dakota reported 579 and Wisconsin had 2,902 new cases.

In the last week, seven mostly Midwest states have reported record one-day rises in new infections -- Minnesota, Montana, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Wisconsin and Wyoming. Minnesota and Utah reported record increases two days in a row.

The United States recorded 58,461 new cases on Friday, the highest one-day increase since Aug. 7. The United States is reporting nearly 46,000 new infections on average each day, compared with 40,000 a week ago and 35,000 two weeks ago. (Graphic: here)

All Midwest states except Ohio reported more cases in the past four weeks as compared with the prior four weeks, according to a Reuters analysis.

Some of the new cases are likely related to an increase in the number of tests performed. In the last week, the country has performed over 1 million coronavirus tests three out of seven days -- a new record, according to data from The COVID Tracking Project, a volunteer-run effort to track the outbreak.

However, hospitalizations have also surged in the Midwest and are not influenced by the number of tests performed.

Wisconsin’s hospitalizations have set new records for six days in a row, rising to 543 on Friday from 342 a week ago. South Dakota’s hospitalizations set records five times this week, rising to 213 on Saturday from 153 last week.

“Wisconsin is now experiencing unprecedented, near-exponential growth of the number of COVID-19 cases in our state,” Governor Tony Evers said in a video posted on social media.

More

https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-health-coronavirus-usa/u-s-midwest-sees-surge-in-covid-19-cases-as-four-states-report-record-increases-idUKKBN26H0YP?il=0

Next, some vaccine links kindly sent along from a LIR reader in Canada. The links come from a most informative update from Stanford Hospital in California.

World Health Organization - Landscape of COVID-19 candidate vaccines. https://www.who.int/publications/m/item/draft-landscape-of-covid-19-candidate-vaccines

NY Times Coronavirus Vaccine Tracker. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/science/coronavirus-vaccine-tracker.html

Stanford Website. https://racetoacure.stanford.edu/clinical-trials/132

Regulatory Focus COVID-19 vaccine tracker. https://www.raps.org/news-and-articles/news-articles/2020/3/covid-19-vaccine-tracker

Some useful Covid links.

Johns Hopkins Coronavirus resource centre

https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

Rt Covid-19

https://rt.live/

Covid19info.live

https://wuflu.live/

 

Technology Update.

With events happening fast in the development of solar power and graphene, I’ve added this section. Updates as they get reported. Is converting sunlight to usable cheap AC or DC energy mankind’s future from the 21^st century onwards.

First Solar’s Thin-Film PV Modules Chosen For Largest Urban Solar Power Plant In Europe

September 25th, 2020 by Zachary Shahan 

A solar power plant being built in Bordeaux, France, on a former landfill is expected to be the largest “urban” solar PV power plant in Europe. The factory is using solar modules from American solar presenter delivernment is firm First Solar (Nasdaq:FSLR).

“In the world of solar PV, there are conventional crystalline solar PV modules, and there’s First Solar, which produces ‘thin film’ solar modules using CdTe chemistry. As the price of crystalline solar PV modules has fallen off a cliff, First Solar has also somehow driven down the price of its thin-film solar modules at the same time, keeping itself competitive in the hyper-competitive solar energy market and overall energy market.”

This week, First Solar shared that JP Energie Environnement (JPee) has decided to use First Solar’s Series 6 solar modules for its 59-megawatt (MW)_DC Labarde solar power plant built on a former landmine. It’s an interesting project, to say the least.

The Series 6 modules are some of the most reliable in the solar industry. First Solar backs that up with a 25 year product warranty. Additionally the company notes that “First Solar is one of only five modules in the world to pass Atlas 25+, the Thresher and TUV Long-Term Sequential Tests.” Also buried on the module product page is the news that First Solar’s thin-film solar PV modules have “the best environmental profile in the industry.” They are the “lowest carbon” solar modules on the market, if First Solaris to be believed.

JPee, which is headquartered in Caen, France, currently operates 263MW_DC of wind and solar power plants that create enough electricity for 230,000 average French homes.

“The land was designated as a wasteland, unfit for residential or commercial buildings, or agricultural use. JPee, however, secured a 35-year lease for the 600,000-square meter site and began developing the Labarde solar project, which was selected under successive rounds of the PV tenders organized by France’s Commission de Régulation De L’Énergie (CRE).”

More

https://cleantechnica.com/2020/09/25/first-solars-thin-film-pv-modules-chosen-for-largest-urban-solar-power-plant-in-europe/

US Politics Betting Odds

https://www.oddschecker.com/politics/us-politics