Executive Summary
• The U.S. continues to see increases in COVID-19 cases, but moving averages point to some easing.
• Vaccine development progress continued, with more human testing and larger samples.
• Economic indicators continued to improve but there are signs of a slowing recovery.
• Regular state unemployment benefits will start expiring but there are other extension programs;
Congress’ $600 extra payment ended in July; President Trump’s $300 extra payment is limited;
Congress has not agreed on a further relief package, but is feeling the election pressure.
• U.S. equities had a strong August, led by tech. Tech stocks saw a sharp decline on September 3
and 4, but that could be temporary profit-taking given high valuation levels.
Read the full report here. Market Matters 09-04-2020