The number of coronavirus cases worldwide has surpassed 35.7 million. The United States is still the most affected country, with over 7.6 million cases, followed closely by India with 6.6 million. The new cases found each day in the US vary between 30,000-40,000, while India has seen a steady decline from the record highs of over 95,000 per day at the peak of its local outbreak to below 60,000 this week.
Meanwhile, the United Kingdom saw an all-time maximum of daily infections yesterday, adding over 12,000 new Covid-19 cases to its tally. The country is officially experiencing a second wave of the pandemic whose numbers are worse than the during the previous outbreak.
In Covid-related news, US President Donald Trump has been released from the hospital where he was admitted on Friday. Trump is expected to continue his convalescence in the White House as he still has an election campaign on his hands, not to mention his regular duties as head of state.
The House of Representatives is ready with a stimulus package worth slightly over $2 billion, which reportedly has the support of the White House. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin still has to confirm that there has been progress, and then the bill needs to also pass through the Republican-controlled Senate.
In Europe, ECB President Christine Lagarde spoke about the disappointing performance of the economy in recent days and suggested that if the need arises, the central bank could offer more stimulus in the form of lower interest rates.
Lagarde will give yet another speech later, joined by the ECB’s chief economist Philip Lane. Her US counterpart, Jerome Powell will also give a speech later today regarding the state of the American economy.
Today is not a great day for stocks, as US indices are lower than yesterday due to the stimulus stalemate. There also aren’t many earnings reports to interest investors. One possible opportunity for profit is to look at renewable energy companies since UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the country will be bumping up its dependence on wind energy in the coming years.
