Wall Street May Be Warming to the Possibility of a Biden Presidency
https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-colum...presidency
EXCERPT: . . .So what was driving the market action on Wednesday? In the past few days, a raft of new state and national polls have indicated that Joe Biden is running well ahead of Trump. If Biden goes on to win the White House, and the Democrats also gain control of the Senate—which the current polling suggests is a genuine possibility—a Biden Administration would almost certainly push through a big stimulus package, which would give a much-needed boost to the economy and corporate earnings, at least in 2021.
“I think that the market is finally working out the idea that a Democratic sweep is the best outcome for economic growth, certainly for next year,” Ian Shepherdson, the chief economist at
Pantheon Macroeconomics, told me, after the stock market closed on Wednesday. “There will be more stimulus under Democrats than Republicans. I think it will be targeted stimulus. And then, of course, you’ve got Biden’s Build Back Better thing, which is a multitrillion-dollar program. The two things together are going to be far bigger than any possible tax increase.”
Other analysts agree that a Biden Administration, especially with a Democratic sweep, would have positive implications for the economy.... (
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Court reinstates fraud conviction for Hunter Biden business partner (excerpt): A federal appeals court reinstated the fraud conviction of Hunter Biden’s former business partner on Wednesday, reversing a lower court judge who had granted his request for a retrial
Hunter Biden was not implicated in the scheme, which defrauded the Oglala Sioux Indian tribe out of the proceeds of bond sales. But the scheme was committed under the auspices of a broader business venture in which Hunter Biden was involved, and the perpetrators invoked his name to bolster their legitimacy, according to testimony and a consultant’s slide presentation presented at trial. A lawyer for Hunter Biden
has said his name was invoked without his knowledge and that he cut ties with the perpetrators when he learned of their misconduct... (
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Hunter Biden’s Longtime Business Partner Will Face Sentencing In Fraud Case Following Appeals Court Reversal (excerpt): . . . Archer met with then-Vice President Joe Biden on April 16, 2014, days before Hunter Biden joined the board of Burisma Holdings. A Senate report released last month identified multiple wire transfers to bank accounts and companies co-owned by Archer and Biden that were flagged for suspicious financial transactions. The report said that Burisma wired more than $3.5 million from May 2014 to February 2016 to Biden and Archer’s company... (
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Communist mainland China supports Biden, while HK differs (South China Morning Post)
https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/art...it-too-far
https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/art...d-backfire
(excerpts)
Huan Liu: The outpouring of support for US President Donald Trump in Tuesday’s letters section surprised me (“
Why Chinese glee over Trump’s Covid-19 diagnosis could backfire”, October 6). I could not wrap my head around the logic behind Ms Grace Chan’s support for Trump’s re-election which, according to her, was that he is more anti-China than Biden, a sentiment that I suspect is behind most Hongkongers’ support for the leader of the United States.
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Grace Chan, Tseung Kwan: I hope that Trump will recover quickly, because many people, including me, support him continuing in office. Democratic candidate Joe Biden is too pro-China; if he wins the presidency, it is unlikely that he will counter the Chinese Communist Party like Trump has done.
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Eric Lui, Tseung Kwan: . . . While I was looking at what the world’s response was, I was surprised to find that many internet users ... on [mainland] Chinese social media, were gloating over his situation and laughing at him. Trump’s administration has already passed sanctions against Chinese officials and companies. He might respond to those taunting him with even harsher measures against China. The consequences could be even worse if Trump’s health were to deteriorate. Let’s not indulge in Schadenfreude. These tasteless comments give the impression that the Chinese are uncivilised. We should stop these remarks and perhaps should be wishing Trump a speedy recovery instead.
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Morris Givner, Nova Scotia: In the liberal Western media’s rabid pursuit of painting US President Donald Trump in the darkest colours, they have unprofessionally tended to ignored his major accomplishments. Unlike many previous presidents in the country’s long history, Trump has avoided leading American troops into costly and unnecessary wars. He has also forced China to address the trade imbalance with the US, which has cost millions of American jobs. He demanded that countless American companies reconsider their outsourcing of jobs and know-how to cheap labour in Asia and Mexico. Also, in 2018, the US recorded the lowest unemployment numbers in half a century. Trump has also renegotiated fairer free trade agreements for the US. And in terms of cross-Atlantic relations, Trump has demanded that European Union nations pay their fair share of Nato expenses for the protection of western Europe. It is destructive, dangerous and unprofessional when the media doesn’t research and present all the important facts to the public.