The Opening Belle

The one-year loan prime rate (LPR) was kept unchanged at 3.85%, while the five-year LPR remained at 4.65% - as widely expected by the market.

The Reserve Bank of Australia discussed the case for additional monetary easing to support jobs and the overall economy, including slashing the cash rate toward zero and buying longer-dated government bonds, the central bank's October meeting minutes showed.

"Members noted that the larger balance sheet expansions by other central banks was contributing to lower sovereign yields in most other advanced economies than in Australia," it added.

Members considered the nature of the forward guidance, agreeing to place more weight on actual, not forecast, inflation in its decision-making.

"Members indicated that they would also like to see more than just progress towards full employment before considering an increase in the cash rate, as the board views addressing the high rate of unemployment as an important national priority."

Cannot Speculate On Details Of Easing (but I'll do it anyway)...

One Option Is To Buy Longer Dated Bonds - Bond Purchases Would Be Regular, Aimed To Bring Down Yields

Some Room To Cut Cash Rate Further

However, Mr Barnier is understood to have given no indication that the EU is prepared to cede to the prime minister’s other demand: that the EU accept that it will have to make concessions to get a deal, particularly on fishing rights.

“There is no point in resuming talks and going round and round in circles again,” a government source said. “We need to know that they too are prepared to make the concessions needed for a deal.”

Lord Frost and Mr Barnier are expected to talk again in the next two days.

In a sign that progress may be possible, Maros Sefcovic, deputy vice-president of the European Commission, suggested that Brussels accepted that any deal “has to be a fair agreement for both sides”. He was echoing comments made by Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, at the weekend in which she said the EU was “ready to compromise” and that fishing rights needed to be on the table.

Downing Street said that despite a “constructive discussion”, Brussels still needed to move further.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin “continued to narrow their differences” on a coronavirus relief package, a Pelosi aide said Monday, as time draws short to reach agreement on a bill that could pass by Election Day.

“The Speaker continues to hope that, by the end of the day Tuesday, we will have clarity on whether we will be able to pass a bill before the election,” Pelosi spokesman Drew Hammill said on Twitter. “The two principals will speak again tomorrow and staff work will continue around the clock.”

A welter of dividing lines remain between the two sides, including the scale of assistance to state and local authorities, tax credits Democrats want for lower-income families, liability protections that Republicans are pushing but Democrats oppose, and a repeal of a credit for past business-tax losses that Republicans want to keep.

 A) From sources familiar with today’s House Democratic Caucus conference call.

House committee chairs told rank and file members that “language” continues to be a problem in getting a universal coronavirus agreement.— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) October 20, 2020 

 C) From sources familiar w/Hse Dems conference call:

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) told Democrats they can’t make matters worse. She also pushed for direct payments— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) October 20, 2020 

 From colleague John Roberts. Meadows says he spoke w/Mnuchin on coronavirus bill. Says there’s progress but no one is “popping the champagne corks yet“— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) October 19, 2020 

 Trump isn’t backing out of the debate.

“President Trump is committed to debating Joe Biden regardless of last minute rule changes from the biased commission in their latest attempt to provide advantage to their favored candidate,” Bill Stepien says.— Chris Megerian (@ChrisMegerian) October 20, 2020 

Moderna Inc. Chief Executive Stéphane Bancel said the federal government could authorize emergency use of the company’s experimental Covid-19 vaccine in December, if the company gets positive interim results in November from a large clinical trial.

Mr. Bancel, speaking during The Wall Street Journal’s annual Tech Live conference Monday, said if sufficient interim results from the study takes longer to get, government authorization of the vaccine may not occur until early next year.

 UPDATE: 700,000+ views in less than 3 hours

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They can stop one man, but they can't stop an Army. #ExposeGoogle pic.twitter.com/2b8xUxUuj1— James O'Keefe (@JamesOKeefeIII) October 20, 2020