The Day at a Glance | October 5 2020

The Top

· Biden is still ahead of Trump by 7 percentage points in polls after the presidential debate.

· The United States Senate will extend sessions until October 19th, which will give more time to choose a Supreme Court Justice and reach a fiscal agreement.

· Consumer confidence in Mexico continued to improve in September; even though it`s still set at 2018`s lowest levels.

· Economic indicators: Retail sales exceed estimates in Europe (3.7% annual in October vs 2.2% e.); markets awaiting non-manufacturing ISM (56.3 e.).

Economic environment

United States Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell announced that sessions will not resume until October 19th, after three senators tested positive for COVID-19. McConnell`s intention is to allow the voting of a new Supreme Court Justice nominee once the 3 Republican senators have recovered. However, this measure will indirectly give more time for the approval of a new fiscal package. Last week brought no agreements between Democrats and the White House , but the Democrats in the House of Representatives did not close sessions before approving a $2.2 trillion dollar package that includes all proposals. Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin presented a $1.6 trillion dollar counter-proposal after President Trump`s requested the approval of a package even though it was larger than what the Republicans wanted. Now, the Senate will be in charge of approving any fiscal aid before the election. The Republican party still has a 53-47 majority in the upper house, although some legislators are opposed to a package that is worth more than $1 trillion. The chances of seeing an agreement is still low as any modification to what was already approved in the House of Representatives will require extraordinary sessions in the lower house.