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1. Wall Street looks set to bounce after two-session decline
2. Gold hits all-time high as U.S.-China tensions flare
As stocks surge, gold has also been moving higher, with prices hitting a record high Monday morning as relations between the U.S. and China continue to deteriorate. Gold jumped above $1,943 per ounce before moderating some of those gains later in the session.
Silver joined Monday’s rally, jumping 7% to more than $24 per ounce, hitting its highest level since September 2013. The dollar fell to a nearly two-year low on increased bets that the Federal Reserve could flag another accommodative policy shift when it meets Tuesday and Wednesday, implying lower interest rates for longer.
3. Republicans to unveil their coronavirus relief plan
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican from Kentucky, wears a protective mask while walking to the Senate floor at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Thursday, July 23, 2020.
Al Drago | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is expected to unveil Monday the Republicans’ answer to another major coronavirus economic aid package. White House economic advisor Larry Kudlow said Sunday that the bill, worth about $1 trillion, will include a second round of $1,200 stimulus payments to Americans. Republicans want to replace the expiring the $600 per week supplement to state unemployment checks with about 70% wage replacement. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin also said Sunday, “We can move very quickly with the Democrats on these issues. We’ve moved quickly before and I see no reason why we can’t move quickly again.” House Democrats passed their vision for a $3.4 trillion coronavirus relief bill in May.
4. Moderna starts phase 3 study of Covid-19 vaccine
Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel attends a meeting with President Donald Trump, members of the Coronavirus Task Force, and pharmaceutical executives in the Cabinet Room of the White House, Monday, March 2, 2020, in Washington.
Andrew Harnik | AP
Shares of Moderna, already up nearly 275% this year, added another 8% in premarket trading after the biotech company said Monday that it started a phase 3 study of its experimental coronavirus vaccine with 30,000 participants. It’s the largest Covid-19 vaccine trial in the world. On Sunday, Moderna said it received an additional $472 million from the U.S. government for development of its vaccine candidate. Moderna said the new funding will support its late-stage clinical testing. In April, Moderna got $483 million from the government when its experimental coronavirus vaccine was in an early stage trial conducted by the National Institutes of Health. Pfizer, Novavax and Britian’s AstraZeneca also received U.S. government funding for coronavirus vaccine efforts.
5. Florida passes New York in total coronavirus cases
Carmen Garcia prepares to have her nose swabbed by a nurse through a glass pane in the Aardvark Mobile Health’s Mobile Covid-19 Testing Truck on July 17, 2020 in Miami Beach, Florida.
Joe Raedle | Getty Images
Florida recorded more than 12,400 new daily coronavirus cases on Friday, passing New York in total infections. As of Monday morning, Florida had more than 423,800 and New York had over 411,700. California still leads the nation in total cases, with more than 452,200. It’s worth noting that New York and Florida have populations of around 20 million each while California has a population of 39.5 million, according to the Census Bureau.
However, New York’s more than 32,600 coronavirus deaths are, by far, the most of any state. Nationally, after Friday’s new cases of 70,000-plus, new infections in the U.S. stepped down over the weekend, with over 66,000 on Saturday and 55,000 on Sunday. Following five days of virus deaths over 1,000, the U.S. recorded 558 on Sunday.
