PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION Trump vs. Biden
Apr 29, 2020
New April polls between Donald Trump and presumed Democratic nominee Joe Biden still show a substantial lead for the former Vice President.
New polls from trusted polling organizations show a healthy six-point lead average for Biden over Trump in the general election. USA Today/Suffolk shows a large 10-point lead, while a FOX News poll from the beginning of the month shows the two candidates tied at 42 percent.
Approval ratings for Trump have been falling since he began public press conferences surrounding the country’s response to COVID-19. Biden’s numbers have remained steady despite an accusation of past sexual misconduct that many deem credible.
The Democratic National Convention starts on August 17, where Biden’s candidacy for the general electionwill be made official. Many are eagerly anticipating his choice for a running mate, which Biden has said will be a woman.
A new study from the Centre on Research on Energy and Clean Air has found that Europe's lockdown is resulting in fewer deaths from air pollution. Even though COVID-19 is inflicting a terrible death toll around Europe, the research found that an estimated 11,000 premature deaths were avoided due to improvements in the continent's air quality.
PM 2.5 levels are down 10 percent on the same period last year which is allowing people with conditions like asthma to breathe more easily. The research estimated that 2,083 premature deaths from air pollution have been avoided in Germany, along with 1,752 in the UK and 1,490 in Italy.
US: 84% of US small firms are paying less than 50% of rent due in May, and 40% are skipping rent altogether this month (based on a survey from Alignable)
US: Missing rent is going to generate tremendous losses for commercial real estate firms.
For many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), PPP loan amounts will be insufficient to replace lost revenue, according to Moody's.
US: some updates on the epidemic.
Part of the reason for this persistently high rate is improved testing.
European bank shares remain under pressure.
European share valuations are near record lows relative to the US.
South Korea is headed for deflation.
Commodity funds posted their largest total monthly flow ever in April, mostly in gold and energy-focused ETFs.
Without government support, the survival of the US shale sector is now in question.
Many US shale companies are relatively small and are unlikely to weather this shock.
With shale production expected to collapse, speculators are betting on natural gas (gas production will decline with oil).
World: Which manufacturing sectors will be hit the hardest?
(I apologize for typos, if any. Please consider the environment before printing this mail.)