The Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe, made a surprise announcement today that he will be leaving office due to health issues. Abe has served as Prime Minister for eight years over two terms. He has been instrumental in leading Japan in the 21st century, especially considering the deep recession the country has been experiencing for decades. Though many of Shinzo Abe’s policies have been well-received, the coronavirus pandemic, with all of its negative effects on the global economy, has erased most of the progress Japan achieved under Abe’s leadership. It is not yet known who will succeed Abe as Japan’s next Prime Minister.
In the United States, Donald Trump has formally accepted the Republican presidential nomination. He did so in a gathering on the White House front lawn, which drew much criticism after footage revealed a large percentage of the audience was seated in close proximity, not following the social distancing guidelines, and most of them were not wearing masks or other protective gear.
Trump’s speech to accept the nomination also raised a few questions, especially from his opposition. The President bragged about the millions of jobs created during his term, but omitted the fact that more than twice than those jobs were lost amid the coronavirus outbreak in the United States, the seriousness of which is largely blamed on Trump’s administration. Trump also repeatedly attacked his opponent, Joe Biden, even though the latter did not mention Trump by name even once in his own speech last week.
Aside from politics, the markets are still moved by yesterday’s announcement by the Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell that the central bank will keep interest low and allow inflation to soar past 2%.
The expectation for a softer monetary policy by the Federal Reserve weakened the dollar and supported the growth of US stock indices. Gold prices are also on the rise once more.
The markets are more alarmed in Europe, where France posted its biggest daily increase in coronavirus cases since the peak of the outbreak earlier in 2020 - more than 6,000 new cases were confirmed yesterday. Spain, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom also remain areas of concern.
