1) Missouri, in what some are calling the lawsuit heard round the world, is suing China, to hold the global heavyweight responsible for the losses of life and commerce from the COVID-19, which originated in Wuhan, China. Other states are also filing class action suits in U.S. federal courts, but Beijing is aware that sovereign nations, including the U.S., have wide immunity from such claims. Experts warn that a potential decoupling of the world’s largest economies, the United States and China, is causing further concern. Even before the pandemic, there were concerns as China took dramatic steps in recent decades to grow its reach in the world. China is part of massive shifts in the balance of global powers, with some countries reasserting themselves and others finding it difficult to keep up with technological advancements and reap their economic rewards.

2) The giant ExxonMobil has low debt, high yield, and commitment to its dividend. Chevron is like ExxonMobile having a relatively low leverage (in the industry), and long histories of annual dividend increases behind them. But then the pandemic upended the supply/demand dynamics of the oil industry which sent company’s shares tumbling. This has brought the two oil companies dividends into question, and therefore the desirability of the stock as an investment. Major foreign oil companies are facing the same dilemma. Royal Dutch Shell and BP (British Petroleum) have both said they plan to also cut their dividends because of the shift. The dividends can be supported as long as the average oil price sticks around the $40 level.

3) US government has seized a $1 billion dollars in bitcoin as the cryptocurrency rockets past $15,000 per coin, the highest value since January 2018. The organization Silk Road was the most notorious online criminal marketplace of its day, until its founder was prosecuted in 2015 leaving a billion-dollar question of where did all the money go? It remained in the digital wallet for many years before a unit within the Internal Revenue Service, that tracks digital currencies, noticed 54 new transactions from the wallet, prompting the seizure of currency. Analysts noted the movement of more than 69,000 bitcoins in a single transaction from a digital wallet tied to Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht, which held the fourth-highest bitcoin balance of any in the world. But the Silk Road founder is serving two consecutive life sentences in a maximum-security federal prison, which prompted the government to seized the money, however, the government must prove its case before it can keep the forfeited assets.

4) Stock market closings for – 6 NOV 20:

Dow 28,323.40 down by 66.78
Nasdaq 11,895.23 up by 4.30
S&P 500 3,509.44 down by 1.01

10 Year Yield: up at 0.82%

Oil: down at $37.49

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