Rollin' Rollin' Rollin' --- BLACKOUT !!!
The Southeast of our Country is undergoing one HUGE Heat wave. Temperatures in "Death Valley" hit 130 degrees !! That may be a record for highest ever on earth!! (There was a 134.1 reading in 1913 but many scientists say there were errors with that) Record or not, ITS HOT !!! Now, you'd THINK with all that sun that solar panels would pump out enough energy. If you DID think that.. you're wrong. REALLY wrong. Californians are dealing with rolling blackouts to keep the entire power grid from shutting down....
Asian and White High School Students. Apply to Yale, NOW !!.. The Department of Justice finished a multi-year study and found the Yale discriminated on the basis of race in their admission process. Prior court decisions have allowed race to be used on a limited basis in order to diversify the campus. The DOJ concluded Yale's use of race was "anything BUT limited" and found "Asian-American and white students have one-tenth to one-fourth the likelihood of being admitted as African-American applicants with comparable academic credentials" The DOJ gave Yale two weeks to respond or face a lawsuit
So, get those applications in NOW to "Eli Yale Slave Trader" University because a Biden administration will have new DOJ people...probably from Yale... and this case will be forgotten... and...
In China, the country award its "First Covid-19 Vaccine Patent" to CanSino Biologics. Saudi Arabia and Mexico will begin Phase 3 trials.. The patent was approved several weeks after it was alleged that suspected Chinese hackers had targeted biotech firm Moderna, a leading US-based coronavirus vaccine research developer, to steal data. China calls the allegations, "baseless".
In Venezuela, Despot Maduro announced that he will, "set an example and be the first to try the Russian Covid-19 vaccine". ..Hmm.. that could work out REAL well for the rest of the world.. Just sayin...
Out in Seattle .. A BLM protest rally went through the streets of suburban Seattle and demanded, "white people give up your houses to black people" while others yelled, "open your wallets".. . The protesters think the "gentrification" of the neighborhood means that, "white people bought the land at below market prices and kicked black people out"
Portland told Seattle, "Oh yeah? That's all ya got? Hold my beer" .. Protesters threw bricks at police and police vehicles and overwhelmed the officers. The State police had LEFT after helping protect the Federal courthouse and properties. Crowds shouted, "Save a Life. Kill a Cop. Save a Life. Kill a Cop" .. Protesters chased down a truck and pulled the driver out and beat him unconscious. No Police responded. In fact, 60 calls to 911 last night were not responded to because police were "at the protest". Hmm.. and the geniuses in charge there think they need LESS cops? ..
NYC is trying to give Chicago a run for it money. 40 shot in 48 hours. 4 Dead. There was even a shooting at a "prayer vigil about the shootings" .. The Mayor's office continues to report arrests in 2020 are DOWN even though the NYPD says they are UP 40%. .. and in the "stuff you don't see because it happens behind the scenes":
NY Governor Cuomo has packed the NY Parole Board with "Criminal Rights Activists" (Forget the days of "Citizens rights" or "Victims Rights"). So, now they let the NEW crooks out without bail.. and the OLD crooks out, too !!!
You can thank them for releasing such "Gems" as Sam Ayla. Sam and his two friends tortured two mothers in Westchester in front of their four young children. Then laughed as they shot two mothers in in front of the horrified youngsters. The judge in the case went as far as to "note to the parole board that due to the horribly violent nature of his crimes it is this courts view the Sam Ayla spends life in prison" .. Well, get ready citizens of NY. Thanks to Governor Cuomo, Here comes Sam !! .. You think, "Son of Sam" is next?? He ONLY killed six people and that was a long time ago... and..
NY Democrat politicians are "aghast and outraged" that the NYPD has endorsed TRUMP for President. The "woke" politicians in the city cannot believe their eyes. The Mayor cuts their funding and sides with the criminals and you are "Shocked" that the police want someone ELSE in charge? What do you expect them to do? Bend over and chant, "Thank you sir may I have another" like in Animal House? ... and..
In Da SWAMP: Vacation is OVER!!! Speaker Pelosi has called Congress back from recess to deal with the Post Office mess. The new postmaster is trying to "Right the Ship" in the face of ever increasing losses. By losses, I mean almost $9 BILLION last year. Democrats fear that the postmaster (who isn't appointed directly by the President but is picked by a board of governors and approved by the Senate, which is of course Republican controlled) is making cuts and potentially slowing service ahead of mail-in-balloting for the November election. The USPS has said several times it will make no cuts prior to the election but Pelosi doesn't buy it....
For the record, this is a problem that Congress created itself. No Congressman wants a Post Office in their district closed no matter how little its used. Most Congressmen don't want to talk about reigning in the out of control pension costs...and they do not vote for adequate money to run the place. ..and.. a Serious question:
Would ANY of you CARE if they stopped delivering mail six days a week? If they stopped delivering on Saturday they'd save $2 Billion a year. It doesn't fix the problem. But, its a START. 80% of my regular mail is junk. How about no delivery on Wednesday or Saturday? Save $4 billion and I only have to throw out junk mail 4 days a week !! .. Sound simple? It is !!! Why don't they do it? Postal Workers would stop getting overtime and their union doesn't like that idea...
SPORTS: Jim Herman wins the Wyndham by a shot over Billy Horschel in a shocker. Herman is one of those pros that misses a bunch of cuts then gets hot out of nowhere. Herman missed three of four cuts since the "restart" and had the WORST score of EVERYONE on Sunday last week. After barely making the cut this week he finished with 61-63.
Herman got a "late start" on the PGA Tour playing his first event when he was 32 years old. He was a "Club Pro" in NJ when the owner of the club pulled him aside after they played a round together. The owner said, "I've played with a bunch of PGA Tour golfers. You're as good as they are. You should leave here and go try out for the Tour" .. That golf course owner?... Donald J. Trump.
NFL: Are any of you doing Fantasy Football Drafts this year? Is it worth the time? Are they gonna have a real season? If they do, will some of your players, "Opt Out" ??
One guy who was cleared as, "Ready" is Alex Smith. I won't relive his injury because most of you are eating breakfast.. but..it was BAD.. Smith had 17 surgeries over 2 years. Smith is excited to be back and ready to practice with the Washington Football Team formerly known as the Redskins. (FOKARS).. Hmm.. The Washington FOKARS .. What do you think?
NHL: Islanders over Caps in OT, Stars over the Flames in OT, Flyers beat Canadians 1-0, Chicago beats Vegas 3-1, and Blues over Canucks in OT.
CELEBRIDIOTS:
On Wednesday, senior Trump adviser Jenna Ellis compared Democratic vice presidential contender Kamala Harris to Marge Simpson, who’s voiced by actress Julie Kavner. Kavner and the show fired back with this video .. Here.. Which on one hand.. is very funny.. and on the other.. is this what we do now? We have cartoons talking politics? Is an endorsement from Homer Simpson a good thing? .. Oh.. and Marge .. if as you say, you "Teach your children not to name call" you are a failure at that .. your son Bart has taught me DOZENS of great insults !!!
Comedian/Actor Chris D'Elia has been "Cancelled" after a few girls made accusations over social media that he sent lewd text messages to them when they were minors. Chris was booted from his part in a Zack Snyder movie and was scrubbed out of an already made Netflix film, "Army of the Dead. D'Elia made this comment about the allegation. "I know I have said and done things that might have offended people during my career, but I have never knowingly pursued any underage women at any point” .. I have no idea if he is guilty of anything or not.. but.. what happened to the court system and due process? ..
..and the winner is... Josephine Skriver!! ..Winner of What? .. Sports Illustrated's "Rookie of the Year" .. Josephine thanked SI and all her fans for the award. She said, "I've worked SOOOO hard. You have NO IDEA .. It's not just refusing the pizza Raj tries to give me.. I spent HOURS a day in the mirror practicing my "kissy face" . and.. my "pouty face".. and the "oops, my bikini came untied, I had better fix it" move.. and after years of hard work, I NAILED the "stare into the distance and look lost face".. NAILED IT, I SAY !!! "
From SeekingAlpha.com
President Trump has signaled that he is considering punitive action against more Chinese firms as the acrimony between Washington and Beijing continues unabated. Many China experts believe he will ratchet up the pressure leading into the election. Recent executive orders targeted ByteDance (BDNCE), Tencent (OTCPK:TCEHY) and Huawei.
Home improvement behemoths Home Depot (NYSE:HD) and Lowe's (NYSE:LOW) are expected to report same-store sales growth of 10.9% and 14.3%, respectively, this week for fiscal Q2. The surge in demand, which surprised even veteran executives, is being driven by people remaining at home during the pandemic who are devoting time and resources to home upgrades. Foot traffic at HD is up 35% since April.
Stoked by the surge in online commerce during the pandemic, certain car manufacturers are rolling out direct car sales via the internet, bypassing their traditional dealer networks who have been forced to shut down showrooms. Peugeot parent PSA expects to deliver more than 100K vehicles via the direct channel. Volkswagen (OTCPK:VWAGY) is pursuing the same strategy for its electric cars. It plans to release 75 battery-powered models in the next 10 years. Rather than allowing its dealers to set their own prices, VW will sell its flagship ID.3 car at a standardized price in Germany regardless of how it is purchased. Daimler (OTCPK:DDAIF), already selling autos directly in South Africa and Sweden, plans to roll out in Austria next year.
Google (GOOG, GOOGL) is in talks to invest in India-based social-media firm ShareChat, the Economic Times reports. ShareChat is looking to raise $150M-$200M to help it step up to fill the gap left by banned Chinese apps such as ByteDance's (BDNCE) TikTok and Helo; ShareChat owns a short-video app, Moj, as well as a social-media platform competing with now-banned Helo. Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) has also reportedly held its own ShareChat investment talks.
Virgin Galactic (NYSE:SPCE), the space tourism brainchild of billionaire Richard Branson, has pushed the date of its maiden voyage into 2021. The trip, originally planned for this year, will transport six passengers into the lower thermosphere on the SpaceShipTwo during which they will experience a few minutes of weightlessness. About 700 customers have made prepayments on the $225K discounted flights, but this is hardly a rounding error compared to the ~$108M it consumed in H1. Predictably, short-sellers are circling the cash-hungry firm, currently valued at $3.9B. Its long-term plan to enter the traditional airline market with a supersonic jet that can travel between distant cities in just a few hours.
ByteDance (BDNCE) is literally caught in the middle of the U.S./China squabble over TikTok. Chinese users and observers perceive that submitting to U.S. demands to divest the short-form mobile video platform's U.S. operations within 90 days would be a face-losing sign of weakness. Last week, it announced that it may seek legal action against President Trump's executive order but it is unclear if management intends to follow through. The company's sole realistic option, according to one observer, is to ensure that it receives a reasonable price for TikTok's U.S. business.
The People's Bank of China rolled over maturing medium-term loans at unchanged rates for the fourth straight month. In a one-off for the month, though, it's rolling 700B yuan worth (about $100.7B) of one-year medium-term lending facility loans; that amount exceeds the two batches of MLF loans expiring in August (about 550B yuan total). It also injected another 50B yuan into the market via seven-day reverse repos. It's a signal that the central bank means to keep liquidity rates healthy for commercial lenders to manage upcoming government bond sales.
Gold miners are enjoying an extended rally, exclusive of the COVID-19 sell-off in March, as the price of the ore continues to climb, up ~28% this year. Prices topped $2,000 per ounce before running into profit-taking. The bad news is the expected long-term rise in mining costs due to the difficulties in extracting the precious metal in less-hospitable places. The grade of ore being mined, the amount of metal per ton of rock extracted, is also falling, now 1.46 grams per ton, far below more than 10 grams in the early 1970s. Executives, wary of the costly overexpansion during the last run-up, have used the bull market to pay down debt and increase dividends rather than start new projects.
What else is happening...
FDA OKs quick saliva test for COVID-19. Intelsat (OTCPK:INTEQ), with Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC), launches first four-frequency satellite. U.S. Postal Service halts delivery box removal until after election. CureVac (NASDAQ:CVAC) vows "ethical" profit margin on COVID-19 vaccine. U.S. health officials fear "twindemic" as flu season nears. Utilities cash in on green energy subsidies before expiration.
Today's Markets
In Asia, Japan -0.83%. Hong Kong +0.65%. China +2.34%. India +0.11%. In Europe, at midday, London +0.34%. Paris +0.18%. Frankfurt +0.13%. Futures at 6:15, Dow +0.27%. S&P +0.33%. Nasdaq +0.59%. Crude -0.12% to $41.89. Gold +0.53% to $1,960.20. Bitcoin -0.09% to $11,883.00. Ten-year Treasury Yield -13 bps to 0.696%
Today's Economic Calendar
8:30 Empire State Mfg Survey 10:00 NAHB Housing Market Index 4:00 PM Treasury International Capital
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