1) A controversy has arisen on the national political scene about removal of mail sorting machines in the USPS (United States Postal Service), some charging this is an attempt to interfere in the up coming national elections. Having already removed hundreds of machines, the USPS is poised to decommission 671 of the massive sorting machines, which is roughly 10% of its inventory. This represents the sorting ability of 21.4 million pieces of paper mail per hour. Presently, the USPS processes up to 500 million items each day. The removal is part of a long range plan, in response to American’s diminishing use of traditional letters.

2) The ride sharing services Uber and Lyft are preparing to shut down in California because of a new law that reclassifies their drivers from contract workers to employees. Under an order issued ten days ago for their drivers to be employees with state mandated pay, benefits and taxes, the two service providers have threaten to suspend services if the order is not resended until an up coming referendum in November to exempt them is held. This is a major case for the growing on-demand economy and what its future in America’s economy will be. Being forced to use employee drives would fundamentally change their business, making them far less competitive with traditional taxi services.

3) The woes of America’s airline industry continues with the announcement that American Airlines is suspending service to 15 U.S. cities this fall. The move comes in response to declining demand and as a federal requirement to service those locations comes to an end. This is the latest step taken by American Airlines to cut costs amid airlines racking up billions in losses during the pandemic. The company will slash 30% of its management and administrative jobs with about 25,000 of their workers furloughed by October. They have reached a deal with their pilots union to offer more leaves and early-retirement packages. Estimates are that domestic airlines will lose more than $20 billion dollars in revenue this year, while globally the industry could lose up to $84 billion dollars this year.

4) Stock market closings for – 20 AUG 20:

Dow 27,739.73 up 46.85
Nasdaq 11,264.95 up +118.49
S&P 500 3,385.51 up +10.66

10 Year Yield: down at 0.64%

Oil: down at $42.78

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