Today’s Top Stories: April 20, 2020
Today’s Top Stories is brought to you by My Daily Grind News.
Coronavirus update:
2,422,525 confirmed infections, up from 2,182,734 Friday.
166,235 confirmed deaths, up from 147,632 Friday.
Relevant COVID-19 stories:
- The latest: Iowa sees largest 1-day jump in COVID-19 cases
- US coronavirus: Governors say testing still isn’t adequate enough to lift restrictions
Economy Update:
Editorial: Remember that historic oil deal President Trump made a week or two back?
As in all things, Everything Trump Touches Dies.
Oil took its biggest drop in US history, falling 38 percent today, down to unheard of since the ’80s $12 a barrel.
Oh, boy! DEFLATION is the word of the day. And central bankers and economists cannot do a thing about demand that has fallen off a cliff.
The classic “pushing on a string” concept is in full force.
They should have listened to actual people: Give people relief to make up for lost wages. One for one. NO MONEY to corporations. Send it straight to consumers.
That way, and it’s the ONLY WAY, we’d prop up consumption.
But no, they gave away TRILLIONS to corporations–AGAIN!
Dow is down about 300 points, but the trend is UP. This week may be brutal for the stock markets, especially as the energy sector (a key indicator for aggregate demand) tanks.
Upcoming economic reports this week:
- Tuesday – Existing home sales
- Thursday – Weekly jobless claims
- Thursday – New home sales
- Friday – Consumer sentiment index
Source: https://www.marketwatch.com/tools/calendars/economic
Relevant Economy stories:
- U.S. Oil Tumbles Toward Biggest One-day Drop in history, Down 38 Percent
- With Crude’s Fall, Energy Stocks Also Head South
Check out Gig Economics–Learn how to thrive in the gig economy. Don’t ever be that cube monkey again!
Offbeat Story of the Day:
On Friday, the mayor of an Illinois city announced that he had directed the police department to “more strictly enforce” the statewide stay-at-home order, which was put in place to stem the spread of coronavirus. Early Sunday, his wife was discovered out at a city bar.
“I have directed the police department to use their discretion in issuing citations or making arrests for those refusing to follow the state-issued stay at home mandate,” said Alton, Illinois Mayor Brant Walker during a coronavirus update posted Friday on Facebook.
Less than 48 hours later, on Sunday at approximately 1 a.m., officers located “several individuals” at a local bar called Hiram’s Tavern, according to a press release from the Alton Police Department. It detailed the individuals, who were not explicitly named, were “clearly disregarding the executive order and public pleas for compliance.”
Walker said in a Facebook post Monday that he was told by the city’s police chief that officers were “investigating and stopping a social gathering in downtown Alton” at around 1 a.m. Sunday — and that his wife was apparently there.
“I was also made aware that my wife was in attendance at this prohibited social gathering,” he explained in the statement. He added that he told the police chief to give her no “special treatment” and “treat her as he would any citizen” violating the order.
“My wife is an adult capable of making her own decisions, and in this instance she exhibited a stunning lack of judgement,” he said. “She now faces the same consequences for her ill-advised decision as the other individuals who chose to violate the “Stay At Home” order during this incident.”
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