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The coronavirus continues raging like a wildfire across the country. The U.S. reported a record of 116,255 cases of coronavirus on Thursday, according to Covid Tracking Project data.
That shattered the previous record set just one day earlier of 103,000 cases of coronavirus. Yesterday was the first time the U.S. reported more than 100,000 cases in a single day.
Over the past week, the U.S. has confirmed about 650,600 cases of coronavirus. That is a record for a seven-day period. In comparison, it is more than Germany’s overall total since the start of the pandemic.
Cases of coronavirus, of course, are not a good indication of the seriousness of the outbreak.
But hospitalizations are. And the numbers make for grim reading.
Rising levels of Covid hospitalizations have accompanied the latest wave of cases. About 53,322 people were in hospitals with cases of coronavirus on Thursday. That is a three-month high. And 17 states reported a record level of Covid patients, the highest number of states since late April.
Public health officials worry that a surge in coronavirus cases will strain hospital resources. Rural areas are particularly vulnerable. This could potentially lead to a rise in fatality rates. These rates have been lower than when the outbreak began in the U.S. earlier this year.
On Thursday there were a further 1,124 U.S. deaths tied to coronavirus. That was up from 1,116 on Wednesday but lower than 1,529 deaths reported on Tuesday. The Tuesday number was the highest death tally in nearly six months. The seven-day fatality average stands at 922 a day, the highest since late August.
Dr. Anthony Fauci had warned a Senate committee in June that the daily case rate in the U.S. could rise above 100,000 a day. That would occur, Fauci warned, if the pandemic was not contained and our citizenry did not comply with social-distancing and mask guidelines recommended by medical experts.
At the time, the U.S. was averaging just around 40,000 infections a day. During the summer surge that primarily hit sunbelt states, the country’s seven-day average peaked at 66,700 a day. That same metric is now at nearly 93,000, a record.
The Big News
Children and Covid
A new study looked at children infected with the coronavirus that causes Covid-19. It found that children appeared to clear the virus much faster than adults. That is likely due to the finding that children infected with the coronavirus produce weaker antibodies and fewer types of them than adults do. These results go a long way to explaining why many children do not become seriously ill from the virus.
The Fed Holds Steady
The Federal Reserve has decided to just lay low for now. The central bank decided to leave interest rates near zero. Fed chairman Jay Powell said that America’s economic outlook remained “extraordinarily uncertain.” He reiterated that the U.S. could benefit from “more fiscal support.” But he strenuously avoided discussing the election.
Bitcoin Is Soaring
Bitcoin is soaring. The cryptocurrency’s price jumped well above $15,000 on Thursday. It is approaching the heights it last reached in late 2017. As with gold, Bitcoin has become very attractive to investors seeking a safe haven from both the pandemic and the uncertainty around the U.S. election and economy.
Trump Interferes With Covid Science Again
Last month, a House of Representatives coronavirus-crisis sub-committee released an eye-opening report. It documented 47 instances where the Trump administration interfered with U.S. government scientists working on the coronavirus. In each case, scientists had either been forcibly sidelined or had their recommendations changed by people in the Trump administration.
Can Nasal Spray Stop the Virus?
A nasal spray that blocks the absorption of the SARS-CoV-2 virus completely protected ferrets it was tested on. That is according to a small study released on Thursday by an international team of scientists. The study was limited to animals and not yet been peer-reviewed. If the spray is proved to work in humans, it could provide a new and easy way of fighting the pandemic.
The Coronavirus Numbers
Here are the numbers from Friday at 8 a.m. ET from Johns Hopkins University:
- 48,801,037 Infected Worldwide
- 1,235,335 Deaths
- 9,610,965 Infected in the U.S.
- 234,944 Deaths in the U.S.
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What’s Next
Today, I wanted to share with you some investing insights.
These come from some of the top investing minds in the world – the people that run the Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust in the UK. They have been both heavy and very successful investors in technology stocks.
Its net asset value per share rose by 76% over the last six months alone. Over the past ten years, the return was an outstanding 674%.
In its half-year report, management writes that stock market returns are driven by “a small number of exceptional companies.”
They add: “When we believe we have identified an exceptional company that is pursuing a large opportunity, we look beyond the cycle of feast and famine (stock price volatility). With a longer time frame, such oscillations matter less, and the picture of compounding growth becomes clearer.”
“For the companies that do succeed (not all do), the returns are transformational and they have a disproportionate impact on the portfolio. This is why we approach our task with optimism. It is more important to identify the factors that will allow a company to prosper than to enumerate the potential pitfalls along the way.”
Two quick notes:
One group of investors is definitely happy with the presidential election result.
That is investors with money invested in Japanese stocks.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index hit a 29-year high on Friday. It closed at 24,325.23. That was its highest level since November 1991!
And gold looks to be breaking out, trading above the $1,950 level.
This urgent briefing reveals little-known details on the biggest IPO of 2020. Click here ASAP for urgent details.
Yours in Health & Wealth,
Tony Daltorio