1) China has warned the U.S. that it may start detaining Americans. Repeated warnings have been made to U.S. government representatives and through multiple channels, including the U.S. Embassy in Beijing. The Chinese have warned that the U.S. should drop prosecutions of the Chinese scholars in American courts, otherwise Americans in China might find themselves in violation of Chinese law. The U.S. began arresting Chinese scientists, who were visiting American universities to conduct research, and charged them with concealing their active duty status with the People’s Liberation Army from U.S. immigration authorities. This tactic is referred to as ‘hostage diplomacy’, which China has used on other countries, such as Canada, Australia and Sweden on what officials from those governments have said are bogus allegations. In September the State Department issued a travel advisory, recommending Americans avoid China travel for a number of reasons, including a warning that the Chinese government detains other countries’ citizens “to gain bargaining leverage over foreign governments”.
2) The oil giant ConocoPhillips is doubling down on crude oil with a major acquisition. Conoco is taking over Concho Resources, a fracker in the Permian Basic with a $9.7 billion dollar ‘all-stock’ takeover. This will make Conoco the largest independent oil-and-gas company in the U.S., with daily production of more than 1.5 million barrels of oil. This will also leave Conoco more exposed to the same forces that have swiftly moved against fossil fuels, and therefore the results of next months elections. Because of the volatility , many investors refrain from the oil market, which met Conoco didn’t have to spend much on the deal. Concho is being acquired at just $10,700 per acre in the Permian Basin, much less than the $40,000 previously paid for the shale oilfield.
3) The private space company SpaceX has launched another 60 Starlink internet relay satellites into orbit, with another set due to launch in a few days. There are now 835 Starlinks in orbit for the rapidly expanding global network, which will eventually number thousands, for high speed internet to any point on the earth. Present plans are to launch at least 120 new Starlinks every month.
4) Stock market closings for – 19 OCT 20:
Dow 28,195.42 down 410.89
Nasdaq 11,478.88 down 192.67
S&P 500 3,426.92 down 56.89
10 Year Yield: up at 0.76%
Oil: down at $40.68