Plus, Treasury Secretary Mnuchin said the Trump administration is open to resuming talks with Democratic leaders on a new coronavirus relief bill as cases in the U.S. surpass 5 million, and Amazon is in discussions to take over old JCPenney and Sears stores to convert them into Amazon fulfillment centers.
Stocks were higher to start Monday with the Dow jumping 220 points, or 0.8%. the S&P 500 gained 0.3%, while the Nasdaq traded 0.2% higher.
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have criticized the four executive orders signed by President Donald Trump this weekend that would continue expanded unemployment benefits at $400 a week and the moratorium on evictions, and defer payroll taxation – which he promised to slash permanently if he’s re-elected. Trump made the move after Republicans and Democrats failed to come to agreement on a new coronavirus stimulus bill on Friday. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called Trump’s executive actions “absurdly unconstitutional” and “way off base.” “While he says he’s going to do the payroll tax, what he’s doing is undermining Social Security and Medicare, so these are illusions,” Pelosi told “Fox News Sunday.” “It’s a stunt, there’s no doubt about it. It’s most likely… unconstitutional, bypassing Congress to spend money that he has no authority to direct. …It’s going to hurt not hurt not just elderly Americans but every American.” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the Trump administration is open to resuming coronavirus aid talks with Democratic leaders and would be willing to offer more aid money to try to reach a compromise. “The president is determined to spend what we need to spend,” Mnuchin said. “We’re prepared to put more money on the table.”
The U.S. surpassed 5 million confirmed coronavirus cases over the weekend, while deaths rose to more than 163,000. Microsoft founder and billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates said it’s “mind-blowing” that the U.S. government hasn’t improved COVID-19 testing that he described as slow and lacking fair access. “You’re paying billions of dollars in this very inequitable way to get the most worthless test results of any country in the world,” Gates told CNN. “No other country has this testing insanity.” Gates pointed to the long lines at commercial labs and delays in obtaining test results, meaning that “you pay as much for the late result as the timely result.” Meanwhile, “very wealthy people have access to these quick-turnaround tests. … It’s mind-blowing that you can’t get the government to improve the testing because they just want to say how great it is,” Gates added. In other news, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said there’s a “vast global gap” in funding needed to fight the coronavirus and said the agency must “fundamentally scale up the way we are financing” the efforts. Still, Tedros cited “green shoots of hope” in combatting the virus’ spread, even as global cases approach 20 million.
China said it will sanction 11 Americans in retaliation for similar measures imposed by the U.S. last week. Those sanctioned include Senators Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, Tom Cotton, and Pat Toomey; Congressman Chris Smith; Human Rights Watch Executive Director Kenneth Roth; National Endowment for Democracy President Carl Gershman; Freedom House president Michael Abramowitz. “In response to the U.S.’s wrong behaviors, China has decided to impose sanctions on those individuals who behaved badly on Hong Kong-related issues,” said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian, though he did not specify what the sanctions would entail. On Friday, the U.S. said it was placing sanctions on 11 Chinese officials and their allies in Hong Kong, including Chief Executive Carrie Lam, over their roles in curtailing political freedoms in the former British colony. Treasury Secretary Mnuchin said the U.S. “stands with the people of Hong Kong and we will use our tools and authorities to target those undermining their autonomy.”
Kodak shares are down more than 25% at the time of writing after the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation said it was reviewing a previously announced $765 million loan for the former photography pioneer to produce drug ingredients. “Recent allegations of wrongdoing raise serious concerns,” the federal agency said in a tweet. “We will not proceed any further unless these allegations are cleared.” The review of funding comes as the SEC is reportedly investigating how Kodak disclosed the deal with the government, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal. As news of Kodak’s deal with the government broke at the end of July, shares skyrocketed from under $2 to $60, with 284 million shares changing hands. The stock was so volatile the the day after the announcement, which at one point sent the stock up as much as 600%, that it was halted 20 times during the session.
And Amazon is in discussions with mall owner Simon Property Group about using some JCPenney and Sears stores as Amazon fulfillment centers. “For Amazon, more fulfillment centers near residential areas would speed up the crucial last mile of delivery,” The Wall Street Journal said. “For Simon, turning over what was once prime mall space to fulfillment centers shows it would be willing to relinquish an essential way to bring in more mall traffic to secure a steady tenant.” Simon Property Group declined to comment on the report. The Wall Street Journal said it is unclear how many of the stores inside Simon malls may be under consideration.
Stocks We’re Watching
Aerpio Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ: ARPO): Aerpio shares are up more than 27% over the last week after the company announced that it has reached an agreement with the U.S. government to evaluate its razuprotafib in a new randomized, investigational trial for the prevention and treatment of Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome in patients with moderate to severe COVID-19. Wesley H. Self, MD, MPH Associate Professor and Vice Chair for Research in the Department of Emergency Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Aerpio COVID-19 Steering Committee said, “A Tie2 activator that can be administered without an IV to stabilize the pulmonary vasculature would be a breakthrough for reducing the devastating effects of COVID‐19 associated pulmonary pathology. This therapeutic could result in fewer COVID-19 patients requiring mechanical ventilation, earlier recovery with decreased time in the hospital and ICU and an overall reduction in morbidity and mortality.”