SWC’s Fast Five
Dive into the Nobel Prize season – it will make you feel better about the world, so we share a deeper look here along with hurricane record making, COVID good news / bad news, today’s neurosis in the stock market and, yes, it is Christmas shopping time.
So, here’s this week’s Fast Five:
1 The Nobel shows us the noble.
While we allow ourselves to get caught up in the day’s hot mess of news, the Nobel Prize season reminds us that the hard work, intellect, passion and giftedness of our fellow humans is poured out for all our good.
2 Hurricane Delta marks a first as it heads to Louisiana today.
Forecast to make landfall this evening near Lake Charles, Louisiana, Hurricane Delta could mark the first time on record that a major hurricane hit the same location twice in one season. It is the 25th named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season.
3 COVID cases on the rise in 39 states but there is good news, too.
For months, public health officials have predicted one comparison to the 1918 flu epidemic would stand: We’d have a terrible winter. No one really knows what the next few months will bring. But as COVID-19 cases rise in 39 of 50 states, there are a few clues about what’s likely to happen, both good and bad.
4 Worried about the stock market? It’s on track for its latest, biggest weekly advance.
This week it indicates an expectation of more certainty, less volatility for the coming election though it is drumming its fingers for further U.S. stimulus.
5 Merry Christmas!
Add last-minute holiday shopping to the list of time-honored traditions being upended by the coronavirus pandemic. Retailers are kicking off the holiday season earlier than ever this year in hopes of avoiding big in-store crowds and shipping bottlenecks in November and December.
