11 October 2020
Joe Biden’s widening lead in polls is providing a bullish cue to investment strategists: Wall Street now sees less chance of a contested election, and more chance of a "blue wave" — Democrats taking the House, Senate and White House — and the hearty stimulus that could follow.
Why it matters: A clear-cut Democratic win would "provide certainty to markets that have been nervous about election risks," Bloomberg reports, citing strategists from Citigroup to JPMorgan Chase.
- Shares of alternative energy companies, which analysts expect to prosper from policies under a Biden administration, climbed sharply after the Trump-Biden debate, per Reuters.
The Business cover of Thursday's N.Y. Times had the headline, "Wall Street Takes a Turn For Biden," with the online version: "Wait, Wall Street Is Pro-Biden Now?"
- "[I]nvestors are of the view that a 'blue wave' victory ... represents the best chance to get another large injection of federal money into an economy that continues to struggle."
But keep your eye on the ball! Goldman Sachs Portfolio Strategy Research told clients Friday night in the US Weekly Kickstart: "a vaccine is more important than the election which is more important than 3Q results."
- "Investors are focused on the implications of a 'blue wave' election ... However, the vaccine represents a more important factor than the election result for the path of equities. Our assessment of both vaccines and treatments remains optimistic."
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.