MIEX Offical

With negotiations for a pre-election federal stimulus bill coming down to the wire, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) threw a wrench in the works on Thursday, saying that the $1.8 trillion plan recently proposed by the White House as a compromise with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and top Democrats is “a much larger amount than I can sell to my members.” With Pelosi and the White House still trying to find common ground between the $1.8 trillion plan and Democrats’ $2.2 trillion plan, McConnell added that he would not put a bill that large on the Senate floor for a vote.  Without support from McConnell and at least some of his Republican caucus, no deal that the White House makes with Pelosi stands any reasonable chance of becoming law.  According to Pelosi spokes Drew Hammill, Mnuchin told Pelosi Thursday afternoon that Trump would “weigh in” with McConnell about bringing a comprehensive bill to the Senate floor for a vote if Pelosi and the White House ar...

In a contentious interview with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) reiterated that she is not prepared to accept the White House’s $1.8 trillion proposal for the next round of federal coronavirus aid legislation. Asked by Blitzer about a recent tweet from fellow liberal Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) suggesting that Democrats should accept the Trump administration’s offer in order to force Senate Republicans into accepting a plan more expensive than the one they want, Pelosi said, “that isn’t what we’re going to do.”   Khanna has taken the position that if the White House can meet the Democratic ask for Covid-19 testing and tracing funding along with adequate legislative language to create a testing plan, Democrats should accept a $1.8 trillion package.   On CNN Tuesday evening, Pelosi said Khanna is “not negotiating this situation,” adding that the majority of her caucus wants to hold out for a larger bill.   She has repeatedly said the Wh...

Although US stimulus deadlock is still far from breaking, gold prices stay above $1,900, currently down 0.07% to $1,929, while heading into the European open on Monday.   With the US Treasuries off from trading, due to the Columbus Day holiday, commodities couldn’t react to the weekend challenges to American President Donald Trump’s coronavirus (COVID-19) aid package. Although the Republican leaders’ readiness to offer $1.8 trillion propelled markets on Friday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s rejection suggests no more money is going to flow through the Congress before the US presidential election.   Even so, the risk-on sentiment gains mildly optimism from Asia as the Chinese central bank reused FX trading routes to ease the strong domestic currency. Also favoring the market mood could be Australia’s easing of travel restrictions.   On the contrary, Brexit and COVID-19 woes in Europe raise bars for the risk-takers, which in turn challenge the gold prices’ furthe...

Earlier today, payments company Square SQ +1.8% announced that it had purchased $50 million worth of bitcoin, a development that generated significant visibility.   Square, which was cofounded by Twitter TWTR +0.3% CEO Jack Dorsey, bought more than 4,700 units of the digital currency, enough to account for roughly 1% of the organization’s assets as of the end of this year’s second quarter.   Square revealed this transaction shortly after business intelligence firm MicroStrategy MSTR +7.1% purchased more than $400 million worth of bitcoin over the last few months.   MicroStrategy revealed in August that it had acquired $250 million worth of the cryptocurrency, and announced an additional $175 million investment in September.   Several experts commented on the recent purchase made by Square, weighing in on its implications.   Tim Enneking, managing director of Digital Capital Management, described this latest news as “a tremendous endorsement” ...

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin are continuing to hash out the terms of the next federal coronavirus aid bill this week, but progress is slow. Pelosi and Mnuchin spoke over the phone on Monday for an hour to “discuss the justifications for various numbers” in the new bill, according to Pelosi spokesperson Drew Hammill.   In a call with House Democrats Monday evening, Pelosi said talks with Mnuchin are progressing “very slowly,” Politico reported.   Hammill said the two top negotiators, who suddenly resumed urgent conversations last week after negotiations fell apart in August, plan to speak again Tuesday.   Federal supplemental unemployment benefits remain a major point of contention between Democrats and the White House and GOP.   The clock is ticking for Congress to pass an aid bill before November, with just 28 days before the election and any Senate votes delayed until at least October 19 because of ...

The announcement that President Donald Trump tested positive for coronavirus triggered a sell-off in early morning trading around the world on Friday that tapered off by day’s end. Tech stocks, however, failed to recover, as Wall Street investors prepare for increased volatility in the weeks leading up to the election.   The tech-heavy Nasdaq ended the day down 251 points, or 2.2%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 134 points, or 0.5%, and the S&P 500 fell 1%.   Tech stocks were among Friday’s biggest losers, with Tesla and Netflix falling 7% and 5%, respectively, while Apple and Microsoft were each down 3%.   Cboe's VIX Index, which measures volatility expectations based on options contracts, at one point jumped up more than 7%, reaching its highest point since early September, when tech stocks corrected and the Nasdaq had its fastest 10% plunge in history.   U.S. airline stocks proved a bright spot in the Friday market after House Spea...

  It seems everyone is speculating on which will be better for the U.S. stock market: a re-election of President Donald Trump or an election of former Vice President Joe Biden to the Presidency. While opinions can be heated and often driven by one’s political predilections, in reality, the outcome of the election may not matter all that much to the markets. Both candidates have presented their economic visions for the future, and both have received positive reviews on their plans. For those willing to hear a few positive things about the ‘other’ candidate, here are a few points on why each candidate can potentially help the stock market move higher in 2021 and beyond: Donald Trump can be viewed as more favorable because: The Tax Cut and Jobs Act of 2017    will remain intact under Trump.  The Act lowered corporate income taxes to a maximum of 21%, making U.S. corporations more competitive on the global stage. The Act also allowed more certainty for planning and capit...