FT View: Joe Biden and Donald Trump have been exposed to unrelenting scrutiny. And yet neither will have as lasting an influence on US life as Amy Coney Barrett, who is cruising towards confirmation to the Supreme Court as something of an enigma..

 Cole Smead, president of Smead Capital Management, explaining in a CNBC interview on Thursday how "young, dumb" investors have created a "total nightmare" in the current climate.    "They are buying bullish call options that expire inside two weeks. There was ($500 billion) of bullish call options bought in a four-week stretch by small retail traders," Smead said. "In '99 it was $100 billion, in '07, it was $100 billion." 

• US Initial jobless claims climbed (unexpectedly) to 898,000, an increase of 53,000 from the previous week's revised level of 845,000.

• Housing appears to be a bright spot in the U.S. economy, but some data suggest a weaker outlook ahead for the sector.

 Priceless  response to the originalist Barrett:

•  And how's Trumps Trade War going?

•  China's stock market value climbs past 2015 high

• FXI iShares China

• China Population 1.4 Billion, Total Covid-19 Cases 85,611, Total Death 4,634.

 Covid-19 Live Updates: White House Embraces ‘HerdImmunity’ Declaration (AKA  cull the herd)

According to my math:

Take the US population of 331 Million

Herd Immunity is achieved at doubtful 40%  = 132 Million People would have to get the virus.

The Current death rate is 2.7 % but benefit of doubt lets say its 2%

That would imply that 2.6 million people would need to die  to achieve this herd immunity - 

at 40%. In reality it's probably more like 70%. 

Is THIS country OK with THAT # - REALLY? 

I'm going to have a whisky ...

Suburbs bound "currently": no big  surprise that apartment rental vacancy rates have risen downtown while falling in suburbs.

Not so  good for ESS and AVB "currently".

Zuckerberg’s Facebook (AKA the plague on humanity) says it will “finally” ban anti-vaccination ads. 

 Clean Energy appears to be performing as advertised - "by the left". (DailyShot)

Bloomberg: Since the pandemic, we’ve had the U.S. and China both say they are developing their own respective digital currencies, and now Christine Lagarde the head of the ECB, mentions that the “ECB is seriously looking at the creation of a digital euro…  She also says that the new digital euro wouldn’t “ever” replace the euro, just be a supplement to the cash euro.”  

This is probably note particularly good for the Bitcoins of the world.

 (Reuters) - Radiation levels downwind of U.S. hydraulic fracturing drilling sites tend to be significantly higher than background levels, posing a potential health risk to nearby residents, according to a study by Harvard researchers released on Tuesday.

Bloomberg: High-end Real Estate sales jumped 42% in the third quarter from a year earlier, while sales of mid-priced homes climbed just 3% and  affordable purchases declined 4%.

• In September, the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers rose 0.2 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis; rising 1.4 percent over the last 12 months, not seasonally adjusted. The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.2 percent in September (SA); up 1.7 percent over the year

 

• Real average hourly earnings for all employees decreased 0.1 percent from August to September

Nasdaq had its best day since April, U.K. gets more virus controls and a Johnson & Johnson vaccine study was halted. Get ready for Tuesday.

• FT: UK public borrowing is set to reach £350bn this year, or 17% of gross domestic product, the highest peacetime level in more than 300 years 
• Nearly half of British firms are financially vulnerable and unprepared for the future, according to Microsoft's boss Nadella.

 Quick Overview is up to date

Facebook (AKA the plague  on humanity) announced it will now ban content that “denies or distorts the Holocaust,” reversing its earlier policy. 

Bloomberg: If Democrats do sweep the November elections and increase capital gains taxes, it would be unlikely to cause more than a temporary slide in the U.S. stock market, according to JPMorgan 

Most daily stuff is up to date (I think)