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FINANCIAL MARKETS
Asian stocks sink after Wall St losses on economy worries
BEIJING (AP) — Asian stock markets are following Wall Street lower today on worries economic recoveries might fade as coronavirus cases increase in the United States and some other countries.
The Shanghai Composite Index lost 1.2% today and the Nikkei in Tokyo shed 0.7%. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong retreated 1.9%.
The Kospi in Seoul lost 1.2% and Sydney’s S&P-ASX 200 declined 0.6%. India’s Sensex opened 0.6% lower.
Yesterday on Wall Street, the S&P 500 declined to 3,152.05. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.4% to 25,706.09.
The Nasdaq composite, dominated by tech stocks that are seen as relatively resilient to the pandemic, added 0.5% to a record 10,547.75.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-SMALL BUSINESS LOANS-CATHOLIC
AP: After lobbying, Catholic Church won $1.4B in virus aid
NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. Roman Catholic Church used a special and unprecedented exemption from federal rules to amass at least $1.4 billion in taxpayer-backed coronavirus aid.
In totaling the church’s haul, The Associated Press also found that tens of millions of dollars went to dioceses whose financial stress was due not simply to the pandemic, but also to recent payouts to victims of clergy sex abuse.
The Paycheck Protection Program the church tapped was intended to help small businesses and nonprofits pay workers amid a cratering economy. The church was able to maximize its take after lobbying for an exemption that gave all religious groups preferential treatment. That helped make the Catholic Church among the biggest winners in the U.S. government’s pandemic relief efforts.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-LATIN AMERICA
UN says Latin America and Caribbean are COVID-19 `hot spot’
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United Nations secretary-general says Latin America and the Caribbean have become “a hot spot” for the COVID-19 pandemic. Antonio Guterres said Thursday that several countries now have one of the highest per capita infection rates and absolute number of cases in the world.
The U.N. chief says in a video and report that a 9.1% contraction in GDP is expected this year in the region, adding that would be the “largest in a century.”
The report says “COVID-19 represents a massive health, social and economic shock” and is expected to result in the region’s “deepest recession in living memory.”
According to the report, unemployment in the region is expected to rise to 13.5% from 8.1% last year, affecting more than 44 million people, compared to over 18 million in 2019. The poverty rate is expected to rise to 37.2% from 30.2%, meaning 230 million people will be affected compared to 185 million last year.
TRUMP HOTEL-LAWSUIT
Appeals court pauses lawsuit over Trump hotel profits
RICHMOND, Virginia (AP) — A federal appeals court says subpoenas seeking financial records related to President Donald Trump’s Washington hotel can be kept on hold. On Thursday, the court agreed to extend the pause on the lawsuit — including the subpoenas — while the U.S. Department of Justice appeals the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The ruling from the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals means the records sought by the attorneys general of Maryland and the District of Columbia will likely not be released until after the November election.
On Thursday, the court agreed to extend the pause on the lawsuit — including the subpoenas — while the U.S. Department of Justice appeals the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The two jurisdictions filed the lawsuit in 2017. They argue Trump has violated the Constitution’s emoluments clause by accepting profits through officials who stay at the Trump International Hotel.
MEAT PACKING PLANTS-LAWSUIT
Worker advocates file meat plants discrimination complaint
UNDATED (AP) — Worker advocates have filed a civil rights complaint with the U.S. Department of Agriculture alleging that meat processing companies Tyson and JBS have engaged in racial discrimination during the coronavirus pandemic.
The complaint filed Wednesday alleges the meatpacking companies haven’t implemented appropriate social distancing on production lines or slowed production speeds. As a result, it says, Hispanic, Black and Asian workers have suffered.
The complaint alleges the policies violate the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which protects individuals from racial discrimination by recipients of federal financial assistance.
The companies have together received more than $150 million from USDA programs this year.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-BRAZIL
The Latest: Bolsonaro again urges reopening for Brazil
UNDATED (AP) — Two days after being diagnosed with COVID-19, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has made an online broadcast from the presidential residence as defiant as in previous occasions. He coughed once in his appearance Thursday, but did not show other symptoms of the disease that has killed more than 69,000 people in Brazil during the coronavirus pandemic.
Bolsonaro repeated his view that the looming economic crisis from the pandemic is more dangerous than the virus. He said mayors and governors need to reopen the country for business, saying that “otherwise the consequences will be harmful for Brazil".
Bolsonaro said he is working from home and on Friday will appoint a new education minister.
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