In this week’s recap, we see that US stocks were heavily influenced by updates on the progress of the US government’s stimulus plans. Republicans now offer $ 1.9 trillion versus Democrats at $ 2.2 trillion. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said a deal on the new aid was “almost ready.”
PayPal joins the cryptocurrency market Wednesday, thus allowing customers to buy, sell & hold Bitcoin & other virtual coins. PayPal customers can also use cryptocurrencies to shop at the 26M merchants on its network, starting in early 2021. PayPal shares +5.50% at $213.07 on the news, with Bitcoin surging over +7% to $12,760.00
U.S. Labor Department reports that initial weekly jobless claims came in at 787,000 falling by 55,000 for the week ending Oct. 17. Economists polled by Dow Jones expected gains to come in at 875,000. It is the 1st time since March that initial claims came in below 800,000.
The cost to service U.S. government debt now in excess of $27 trillion for the year came to $522.8 billion, which actually was the lowest total since 2017, due to low government bond yields, helped in part by the Federal Reserve, which helped keep debt service costs far lower.
IMF expects big downturns in Philippine, Malaysian and Indian economies; Remdesivir drug obtains authorization in the US as a treatment for Covid-19; the U.K. signs a trade deal with Japan; investment funds are focusing on European stocks; coronavirus threatens Europe’s economic recovery; Alibaba is spending $3.6B to take a controlling stake of Sun Art Retail Group; over 40M coronavirus infections worldwide; James Dyson is taking a big loss.
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