Quick Overview is up to date

• Initial U.S. Jobless claims increased to 1.42 million in the week ended July 18, up 109,000 from the prior week in a clear sign of a pause in the economic recovery.

• After days of quarreling, the EU approved a 750 billion euro  ($870 billion) fund to combat effects of the pandemic and thereby raising hopes of more fiscally integrated block.

• Treasury Secretary Mnuchin says that a stable U.S. dollar is the goal of the Trump administration.
• Ray Dalio however says the U.S. is already endangering the dollars stability by being “our own worst enemy”.

• Treasury’s Mnuchin is objecting to using taxpayer money to help taxpayers “We’re not going to use taxpayer money to pay people more to stay home”. Depressing economic effects coming up? The GOP is considering extending the extra unemployment benefits at a reduced level of $400 through December - $100 per week...

• Bloomberg: Corporate insiders, who’s buying correctly signaled the bottom in March, are now mostly sellers. Almost 1,000 corporate executives and officers have unloaded shares of their own companies this month.

• Insiders seem to have, um, ramped up their selling. What do they know??  

• Judy Shelton, a gold bug, one of Trump’s economic advisor is getting support to join the FED from Louisiana Senator John Kennedy. Shelton is a conservative economist who has argued the nation would be better off returning to the gold standard. Back to the gold standard – remarkable. However, as just one of 19 interest-rate-setters at the Fed, her influence at the central bank would be limited.

• Bloomberg Gold ETF holdings: looks like a new high - along with gold.
• 
  
  

• MotherJones: Trumpachieved a longstanding goal in weakening environmental protection: The administration significantly narrowed the 50-year-old National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)…. This move is the latest in a litany of rollbacks.

• Arctic Sea Ice is falling off a cliff
• 
  
  

• An alliance from various sectors that includes Microsoft, Nike, Starbucks and Unilever unveiled a plan called ‘Transform to Net Zero’ to help businesses globally achieve zero carbon emissions

• People’s Daily China: By the end of 2020, the catering industry in China shall ban the use of plastic straws as the nation strides on with environmental protection ambition.

• Twitter bans 7,000 QAnon accounts, limits 150,000 others as part of broad crackdown.

• FT: 70% of Britons supported mandatory face masks.

• The CDC says Corona Virus infections far exceed reported cases.

.

• Florida becomes state with second-highest virus cases in US

• Florida lawyers are offering free or discounted living wills for teachers who may be required to return to the classroom this school year.

• Arizona, with 7 mil people is exceeding the EU’s 420 mill people death toll.

• Following massive public outrage Sinclair will not air conspiracy theory suggesting Dr. Fauci created the coronavirus.

• North Korean leader Kim Jong Un declares state of emergency after 1st apparent case of coronavirus. First? Really?

• http://www.investmenttools.com/futures/overview.htmCoronavirus cases are again climbing in Spain and France.