Why I’m calling the US election for Biden and the Democrats October 27, 2020 Given the absolute lunacy of this past year, the American presidential campaign of 2020 has followed a strikingly consistent pattern. Since the coming of the virus in the spring, Democratic challenger Joe Biden has held a clear (if not quite overwhelming) lead over the incumbent Donald Trump. Last Thursday’s Real Clear Politics aggregator of polls [...]
US election: Nervous New Yorkers sleepwalking toward polling day October 27, 2020 Taking a bus from New York’s John F Kennedy airport and through Long Island provides an insightful snapshot into some of the realities of 21st century America. In the one hour it took yesterday to drive from one of America’s largest airports to my accommodation in Brooklyn, I saw poverty that was akin to that [...]
How much is Donald Trump worth? Judging by his Scottish golf resorts, not as much as you think October 26, 2020 You might have missed the news in the avalanche of election stories pouring out of America, but earlier this month, Donald Trump received planning approval for a new golf course at his Aberdeenshire resort. But before you get too excited (or outraged), understand that it is unlikely to ever be built. The President’s Scottish properties [...]
Betfair: Closing stages of White House race offer plenty of uncertainty October 23, 2020 We are into the closing stretch. Record numbers of Americans have already voted. The final TV debate is done. It’s an opportune moment to recall 2016 – at this point, 11 days out, the Clinton email scandal resurfaced. The story usurped many scandals surrounding Trump and probably cost her the presidency. Come the crunch, the [...]
‘Britain is better off with Biden’: Former chancellor backs Trump rival for President October 23, 2020 Boris Johnson’s former chancellor has become the first Conservative MP to lend his name to a presidential candidate by publicly backing Joe Biden to become US President. Sajid Javid today said “Britain is better off with Biden”, as he laid his case for the Democrat to take the reins from incumbent President Donald Trump while [...]
The US Election countdown – don’t just brace for volatility. Trade it October 23, 2020 | City Talk If 2020 hasn’t been turbulent enough already, the US election is well and truly underway. As the future of the country’s leadership remains uncertain, financial markets are braced for further volatility. The “strength of the U.S. dollar” is a popular topic within the campaign messaging of both candidates this year. Ultimately, that strength is based [...]
Donald Trump and Barack Obama lash out at each other in rival election rallies October 22, 2020 Barack Obama and Donald Trump have mounted vicious attacks on each other last night at opposing rallies as polling day draws closer. Obama, who was speaking at a Joe Biden drive-in rally in Philadelphia, called Trump a “crazy uncle”, a peddler of conspiracy theories and someone who is eroding democracy in the US. The President, [...]
Betfair: Trump’s magnetism creates trading opportunities across the board October 21, 2020 The last frenetic week of election betting could be described as contrarian to conventional wisdom. Previously, with reference to Betfair Exchange’s database from previous elections, I noted how this year’s odds diverge wildly from both current polls and historic betting trends. The mismatch has become more stark than ever. Two weeks out, Biden’s 8/13 odds [...]
Record 30m Americans vote early ahead of US election October 20, 2020 Almost 30m US citizens have already voted ahead of November’s presidential election, more than a fifth of 2016’s total tally of ballots. With early voting today having opened in the swing state of Florida, over 29.6m in person or postal votes have already been counted. In 2016, there were 136.6m votes cast in total, but [...]
Pfizer: no emergency approval for Covid-19 vaccine until after US election October 16, 2020 US-based pharmaceutical giant Pfizer said today that the earliest it plans to file for authorisation for its Covid-19 vaccine would be the third week of November. Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said in an open letter that filing depended on when data on the effectiveness of the vaccine would be available. Bourla said this data could [...]