Harris Accepts Democratic Nomination as DNC Draws to a Close

Friday Feeling

Check out this week's playlist here!

Pep Rally - Missy Elliot

All About the Benjamins - Diddy, Lil' Kim, The LOX, The Notorious B.I.G

Ernesto - Mario Donatone

One - U2

31 - Mike Edel

Harris Accepts Democratic Nomination as DNC Draws to a Close

Yesterday evening, Vice President Kamala Harris officially accepted the party’s nomination at the Democratic National Convention and heralded a “new way forward.”

Thanking the President for his service, Harris declared that “[Biden’s] record is extraordinary” before discussing her vision for the future, Israel-Gaza and her opponent in the Presidential Race, Donald Trump.

Speaking on Israel-Gaza, Harris said that “I will always stand up for Israel’s right to defend itself and I will always ensure Israel has the ability to defend itself.” Here, the Vice President indicated that her Administration would work to end the war in Gaza ensuring that Israel is secure, and hostages are released. She also said that such an end to the war would mean that Palestinians “can realize their right to dignity. Security. Freedom. And self-determination.” In doing so, Harris thus reiterated the status quo of the Biden administration vis-à-vis Israel-Gaza, while underlying that “President Biden and I are working around the clock” to secure such an outcome.

Commenting on the wider instability in the region, Harris said that “I will never hesitate to take whatever action is necessary to defend our forces and our interests against Iran and Iran-backed terrorists.”

Attention then turned to Donald Trump, where Harris warned that the Republican Nominee was a “unserious man” but a serious threat. Here, she cited the unrest caused on 6 January and also Trump’s conviction (in May, Donald Trump was found guilty on all 34 counts for falsifying business records, marking the first time any sitting or former president had been criminally convicted).

Harris also warned that a “Trump tax… would raise prices on middle class families by almost $4,000 a year”. Such figures are based on analysis compiled by the left-of-centre think tank the Centre for American Progress which considers the potential impact of Trump’s proposed 10% import tariff on the US’ $3tn imports along with his plans for a 60% tariff on Chinese goods.

With some polls pointing to a Trump victory, the Democrats will be hoping that the DNC will build momentum for the party especially in key swing states like Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, Georgia and Arizona.

That said, as we looked at earlier this week an aggregation of polls conducted by RealClearPolitics points to the incumbent VP holding a margin of 1.4 percentage points, putting her ahead of Trump in the presidential race. Race to the WH and 270toWin also put Harris 2.9 and 1.6 percentage points ahead of the Republican nominee, respectively.

As we looked at yesterday, according to Statista Research Department, the most important of these issue for voters in the US are inflation (25%), Immigration (11%), Healthcare (10%), Jobs and the Economy (10%) and Abortion (8%).

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UK Consumer Confidence Misses Expectations

The GfK consumer confidence missed expectations this morning, coming in at -13 points against projections of a -12pt print. This comes in line with last month’s figure and is perhaps indicative of how concerns remain for millions of households across the county, not least with monetary conditions remaining tight.

While the personal financial situation indicator over the next 12 months rose three points, the general economic situation over the next 12 months fell four points, marking the first decline since February.

The major purchase index also rose three points, with one director at GfK stating “The three-point jump in the Major Purchase Index is great news for retailers with more shoppers agreeing that now is a good time to buy big-ticket items.”?