The Day at a Glance | October 7 2020

The Top

· Trump halts fiscal package negotiations; he will only approve an agreement with limited aid to local and state governments.

· FDA approves stricter requirements for the approval of vaccines in the United States; the decision eliminates the possibility of seeing a vaccine before November.

· IMF suggests fiscal reform in Mexico and revises its growth forecast upwards (-9% vs -.10.5% prev. for 2020).

· FED meeting minutes are expected to be made public in the afternoon.

Economic environment

On social media, President Donald Trump assured that he has called on his representatives to suspend negotiations for a fiscal stimulus until after the election. The message was not well received among markets yesterday towards the end of session and Trump softened his rhetoric hours later, saying that he would only approve a package that would substantially reduce aid to local and state governments as he is not seeking to assist Democratic governments. Nevertheless, Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin notified Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi that negotiations will come to a stop. The news came hours after Chair of the Federal Reserve Jerome Powell once again warned that the lack of a new fiscal stimulus would limit the economy`s recovery, which is why approving further government aid was considered. Democrats and Republicans were negotiating a package that would include new deposits worth $1,200 dollars, extraordinary unemployment aid of $400 weekly dollars, $135 billion dollars for small businesses, direct aid to airlines, restaurants and entertainment, as well as aid to citizens with rent, mortgage and food payments. The terms for state government aid were still being negotiated as they were an essential part of the package for Democrats. Markets continue to expect to see a new stimulus package being approved before the election.