Recap October 18: Unemployment Down – 2nd Quarantine (Recap ep093)

Day Trading Academy

In today’s recap, we talk about the overall rapid reduction of unemployment in the U.S. and a possible second quarantine due to a new wave of coronavirus infections.

U.S. unemployment still has a long way to go to return to the under 4% rate before the pandemic & resulting recession, but the overall rapid reduction to 7.9% last month is an average, uneven growth of jobs, is the rule across the country. The jobless rate has fallen to just 6.6%, in the so called conservative Red States, but remains at a much higher rate of 10.5%, in the more leftist Blue States.
A 2nd wave of the coronavirus sweeping Europe, with 100K new cases reported daily. Germany had its highest ever increase in confirmed cases over the past 24 hours, as France declared a public health state of emergency & Italy also surpassed its daily record for newly diagnosed cases, while a debate is taking place in the U.K. over a need for a nation-wide lockdown.
U.K. Prime Minister Johnson is threatening to go through Brexit without a deal, but this will create disruptions to trade at the end of the transition period of 2020, possibly shaving over $25B off the domestic economy in 2021, compared to a situation of a limited free trade deal, agreed upon with the E.U.
A rocket built by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ space company has tested technology designed to return humans to the Moon in 2024. The New Shepard booster, in development by Blue Origin, can land vertically on the ground & return from space. The rocket carries sensors, a computer & software designed to help space vehicles perform precision landings on other planetary bodies.
With 90% of middle class Venezuelan families falling into poverty over the past decade, professionals have turned to making food & face masks or selling cleaning products, as the coronavirus pandemic quarantine, further weakens an economy, already collapsing under a 6-year recession, with inflation galloping ahead at 3,000%.

Saudi Arabia failed to become a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council; Norway is accusing Russia of being behind a cyber-attack; Azerbaijan denounces Armenia of trying to attack its gas & oil pipelines; China suspends purchases of Australian coal

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