Notes Today: 

• U.S. stocks rallied into the close on Thursday amid optimism about negotiations over raising the nation’s debt ceiling. Looking a bit more promising.

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  Some 42% of Americans aged 56-64 have zero retirement account savings, according to the US Census Bureau. 

• 2 poultry workers in England have tested positive for bird flu, officials say however no indication of human-to-human transmission. 

• Death toll mounts in Italy’s worst flooding for 100 years.
• Our planet is having 100 year something or other every other month now...