TheChek News Flow

•American border authorities have been expelling migrant children from other countries into Mexico, violating a diplomatic agreement with Mexico and testing the limits of immigration and child welfare laws.

• Republicans and Democrats are succeeding in one of their chief goals this year: to motivate large numbers of infrequent voters or nonvoters to come off the sidelines for what supporters of both nominees call the most crucial election of a lifetime.

• More than 99,000 coronavirus infections were reported across the US on Friday, setting the single-day record for cases as the nation’s outbreak continues, with Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin reporting the country’s highest infection rates.

• The risk of another severe economic downturn in Europe is rising as new lockdowns take effect Germany, France, Belgium, where the authorities are desperate to prevent a surge in coronavirus infections from overwhelming hospitals.

• When Democratic vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris was attorney general of California, she didn’t pursue corporate malfeasance unless the potential impact on residents was strong, highlighting her pragmatism and politician’s knack for recognizing winning issues.

• Investors who buy 10-year MTA bonds right now are capturing a yield of about four percent, roughly three percentage points more in annual interest than they would get buying the safest long-term municipal debt.

• Americans are “voting with an urgency never seen before in the approach to a presidential election, as a record 90M people have cast ballots despite an array of challenges: a pandemic, postal delays, long lines and court rulings that have tested faith in the country’s electoral system.”

• Democrats are increasing their outreach to black voters after losing three key states in 2016 primarily because of diminished support from them—and the worry that not enough black men will cast ballots, or that they will decide to vote for Trump.

• British prime minister Boris Johnson announced plans to close pubs, restaurants, and most retail shops throughout England, a stark reversal in the face of projections that the country could face a deadly winter from the coronavirus.

• Joe Biden’s campaign, concerned about any possible perception of foreign meddling in the presidential election or any comparison to Russian interference on Trump’s behalf in 2016, has refused nearly all contact with foreign officials or members of Washington’s diplomatic corps.

• Prodded by anti-tax Republicans, Congress has cut the IRS budget steadily since 2011, but the cuts haven’t saved the government money, says Robert Frank, because fewer audits create more noncompliance, a feedback loop that further drains money from the Treasury.

WALL STREET JOURNAL

• Donald Trump and Joe Biden entered the final week of their campaign “chasing each other through the most competitive states, as polls suggest the Democrat has a broader potential path to victory against a Republican most pollsters and pundits underestimated four years ago.”

• Advances in Covid-19 treatment have shortened hospital stays, easing capacity strains, but the recent surge in hospitalizations reaching deeper into the country is testing some regions’ ability to cope.

• From mid-March to mid-September, Americans spent 60M fewer hours commuting as lockdown orders forced many employees to clock in from home—but instead of using the extra time to enjoy hobbies or happy hour, most funneled it into work and chores.

• Story says Trump “has drawn new voters into the electorate and energized his supporters from 2016, but he has also pushed away others, including some who identify as Republican or even approve of his job performance.”

• China’s official manufacturing purchasing managers index, a key gauge of factory activity, remained in expansionary territory for an eighth consecutive month, pointing to continued recovery across the world’s second-largest economy.

• Secretary of State Mike Pompeo ended an Asian tour focused on criticism of Beijing with a last-minute stop in Vietnam, which is in the midst of several disputes with its neighbor China in the South China Sea.

• Videogames were a multibillion-dollar industry before the pandemic, but with spending on movies and dining out plummeting, spending on videogames and equipment has hit all-time highs every month since March, with people who were already players playing more, and new players increasingly taking up gaming.

• In the music business, many established artists are becoming free agents at a time when, despite the pandemic, revenues are growing, deals are becoming more generous, and the balance of power between labels and artists is tilting toward musicians.

• H.O.T.S.: DIS wants to become a top player in the streaming business, and a studio reorganization could change the way movie franchises like Star Wars and Marvel reach audiences; Airbus will increase production rates of the short-haul workhorse next year, throwing a lifeline to a battered industry; Improving results help XOM justify its dividend policy but it will take a while until it can fund those payouts without getting smaller or borrowing more.

• Front page story reports that “Renewed lockdowns across Europe and the final stretch of the presidential campaign have contributed to a rise in market volatility, with Friday’s session again generating big swings.”

• +/- AAPL: In a clear acknowledgment of the political hostility facing big tech companies, Apple’s annual report contained numerous disclosures about the risks facing its businesses, including material financial risk posed by legal challenges to App Store policies.

• Millions of people in Slovakia will participate in an ambitious government experiment that seeks to help the country regain control of the pandemic by testing almost everybody in its 5.4M population over the age of 10 for the coronavirus.

• Big Read story says that “Angered by his management of the pandemic and his election comments, some business leaders have distanced themselves from the president—and the rift could be a long-term problem for Republicans.”

• Lex Column: Third-quarter results at NatWest, formerly known as Royal Bank of Scotland, peg it firmly among its British peers; A $500M vaccine bond raised by US-backed vaccine alliance Gavi and the International Finance Facility for Immunization, underlines the role of capital markets in aid flows; Big tech companies have myriad side hustles—and the biggest is AMZN’s advertising business.

• Comment: Stakeholder capitalism, which seeks to shift the focus of companies from boosting shareholder returns to carrying out various social missions, has grown increasingly popular during the pandemic, says Merryn Somerset Webb, but this “corporate paternalism” can get in the way of succeeding at business.

• The Drudge Report posted a 45 percent decline in web traffic in September as the site alienated its core readers by turning against Trump ahead of the 2020 presidential election.

• + MCD: For a limited time, McDonald’s is bringing the McRib sandwich to all of its restaurants on December 2, marking the first nationwide distribution of the oddly beloved barbecue bite since 2012. Sunday

• A federal judge ordered the US Postal Service to take “extraordinary measures” to deliver mail-in ballots to Wisconsin and around Detroit in time to be counted for Election Day, even if that means using a priority mail service.

• + FB: The company’s latest VR headset, the Oculus Quest 2—which at $299 costs $100 less than the original and includes a faster processor—has received five times as many preorders as its 2019 predecessor.