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A Blue Ribbon Committee of Housing Policy leaders released a COVID-19 Crisis report on August 7 that estimates 30 to 40 million Americans may face eviction over the next several months.
Aristotle wrote in "Politics" that the purpose of political community is not living, but living well. One measure of how well a political community is living is the quality of the opportunity for education. Clearly, the COVID-19 crisis has disrupted the traditional classroom learning model. America's school system failed the teachers, students and parents.
Puerto Rico's elections were a mess. On Sunday, August 9, Puerto Rico was forced to partially suspend voting for primaries marred by a lack of ballots, as officials called on the president of the Commonwealth's elections commissioner Juan Ernesto Davila to resign. The primaries for voting centers that had not received ballots by early Sunday afternoon were expected to be rescheduled, while voting would continue elsewhere, the commission said.
On August 4th the port of Beirut was the scene of a horrific explosion, which killed more than 150 people, injured 6,000 and left some 300,000 homeless. The damages are estimated to be in excess of $15 billion. The city’s hospitals, already struggling due to the COVID-19 pandemic, were damaged by the blast and swamped with injured. On top of already raging economic and political crises, the explosion now raises the question of food security. Prior to the explosion, 80 percent of Lebanon’s imports passed through Beirut’s port. Without a functioning port in Beirut, the country now relies on a handful of secondary ports, chief among them being Tripoli in the north, to import food and to export its products.
In truth, high-tax blue states are net "receivers" of federal funds, New York foremost among them, according to Matthew Schoenfeld, a Chicago-based municipal bond portfolio manager. He gored one of the sacred cows of New Yorkers (and many municipal analysts). What's more, Mr. Schoenfeld did it publicly — in the Wall Street Journal's Opinion Page on July 22, 2020. Governor Andrew Cuomo, (D.NY) has repeatedly flouted a list of "donor states" topped by New York, which "gives" $29 bln. a year more than it "got" from 2015 through 2018. The source of the Governor's claim is the Rockefeller Institute's "Giving or Getting" which was published in 2017.
One of the great lessons from the Puerto Rico bankruptcy was never to draw to an inside straight — in other words, state and local government politicians need to play the hand that is dealt.
Despite positive polling, the Biden Administration's first major piece of legislation was successful because enough Democratic senators agreed to tow the party line. But the process did not occur as smoothly as some may have believed. We think that going forward, passing and implementing future major legislation will require a significant amount of political horse-trading. Even that will not assure victory, because each side will be seeking to satisfy their constituents, especially with the 2022 mid-terms looming in the background.
The National Emergency has been extended according to a letter from President Joe Biden to The Congress of the United States.
At press time, the US EPA issued two actions to protect public health from "Forever Chemicals" in the nation's drinking water. The topic is featured in the movie Dark Waters, a 2019 American legal thriller that dramatizes Robert Bilott's case against DuPont after they contaminated a town in West Virginia with unregulated chemicals (PFAS) in the production of Teflon. The EPA's announcement followed a timely MAGNY discussion on the roughly 50,000 U.S. public water systems and the challenges of funding and replacing the aging infrastructure.
Extreme winter weather hit 44 states and caused power outages for millions of Americans. Texas reported 10 deaths due to the cold temperatures. Smith's ESGradings has conducted decades of research on climate change. This year's events are due, in part, to La Nina.
American Dream bondholders went on real roller coaster ride that rivals the mall's Nickelodeon Universe Theme park.
The Executive Director of Hiawatha Academies in Minnesota submitted a proposal to consolidate the elementary program at the Northrop location and close Hiawatha Leadership Academies - Morris Park (HLA-Morris Park).
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Smith's Research & Gradings focuses on the people, sectors and news that matter the most to you. Smith's analysis is an indispensable part of Wall Street and the world's capital markets. Our approach was inspired by the need for a consistent analytical approach across all asset classes. Smith's Gradings are a time-tested, performance proven, and principles-based approach to risk. We go beyond the numbers to connect the dots for the world's decision makers. We can enhance the performance of investments in assets around the globe, while helping to ensure the safety of portfolios here at home.
Let a subscription to The Global Economic Doctor provide you with access to sovereign news, analysis and insights. Concise and powerful, the Global Economic Doctor spans the globe, giving you a read on how today’s market developments and key players are impacting your business around the planet.
