Infected.

First Lady Melania (50) and President Donald Trump (74) announced Thursday that they are infected with the COVID-19 but feel just fine. Melania Trump said she and the president were 'feeling good' as they began their White House quarantine after testing positive for the Chinese Wuhan virus. White House physician Sean Conley said medical staff will keep a 'vigilant watch'. Dr. Conley also has said in a memo that while the two will be staying at home in the White House, he expects the president to “continue carrying out his duties without disruption while recovering.” But on Friday Trump checks into the Walter Reed Medical Center for more testing and will remain there for a few days. May the Trumps recover soon, fully. The world is watching some with condolence and others with glee. And too, the world leaders and luminaries are not immune to infection as leaders from Europe, North and South Americas, Africa, Asia, Australia are infected along with their populations… Pandemic devastation has no prejudice, indiscriminate, and perdurable...

Meanwhile, in America, the economic plight of the struggle for women is four times higher than men as 865,000 women dropped out of the workforce compared to 216,000 men by the pandemic. While politicians debate, demonstrator loot and destroy, virtue-signalers scream, the women across the country are struggling to figure out how to keep their jobs while also making sure their children are cared for, safe, and learning every day. Women are being pushed out of work. Where is the justice, equality, high virtue… on women who are the foundation, essence of humanity…?

‘SMS’ Highlights of the week of 2020 (September 27 – October 3, 2020) 

1.  Global Leadership Infection by Chinese Wuhan Virus.  World leaders, US politicians are not immune from the novel coronavirus infection…  Many global leaders have tested positive or been exposed to the coronavirus, and some have succumbed to the pandemic.   The COVID-19, a novel coronavirus has spread rapidly over the last eight months, impacting every inhabited continent and resulting in more nearly 35,000,000 infected and 1,030,000 dead (reported, but the real figure may be much higher) cases globally.  Well, the American first family just announced that Donald and Melania are now in quarantine on 2 October immediately after testing positive for Covid-19. It comes just 30 days away from the race for the presidency. There are others like the Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson (recovered), German Chancellor Angela Merkel (recovered), Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Michel Barnier the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, Iraj Harirchi, Iran’s deputy health minister, Pierre Nkurunziza, Burundi’s president-elect (dead), US Senators Rand Paul, Ted Cruz, Mitt Romney…, the Australian home affairs minister Peter Dutton, Wife of Canadian PM Justin Trudeau Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, Prince Albert II of Monaco, Prince Charles (UK), Italy, Nicola Zingaretti of Italy, French minister of culture Brune Poirson, Spanish health emergency chief Fernando Simon and Deputy Prime Minister Carmen Calvo, and Bego?a Gómez, the wife of Spanish prime minister Pedro Sanchez…  The list goes on...  But as expected, there is no data from China and Russia, and from other unable and unwilling countries to share information. The Chinese Wuhan virus is truly a pandemic of global proportions. And it’s not stopping anytime soon. Be vigilant and do not take the chance.

2.  Presidential Debate: Who Won…?         German publication Der Spiegel likened the televised debacle to a “car accident.”  And the Irish Times called it: Pity.” The Times of India wrote “The US embarrassed itself before the world for 100 minutes. "The Times of India concluded that ultimately “America lost” on Tuesday. Great Britain’s The Guardian agreed to call it “a bad night for the world.” The Guardian’s editorial staff wrote, “this dark, horrifying, unwatchable fever dream will surely be the first line of America’s obituary.” Also, in the U.K, The Times described the 90-minute “chaotic" debate as “an ill-tempered and at times incomprehensible squabble between two angry septuagenarians who palpably loathe each other.”  But a Telemundo poll of the network’s Spanish-speaking viewers found that two-thirds thought President Donald Trump won the first debate against former Vice President Joe Biden. A photo of the poll during Telemundo’s post-debate coverage shows 66% thought Trump won, while only 34% chose Biden as the winner. Also, an NBC/Marist poll released in early September showed Biden was dramatically underperforming with Latino voters in the state of Florida. Among Florida Latino voters… But the entire world was appalled by the U.S. presidential debate. Some say the real loser was the moderator Chris Wallace. Your thought?

3.  More Than 860,000 Women Dropped Out of Labor Force.  During the Chinese coronavirus pandemic, new data shows that women are still being disproportionately impacted by today’s crisis. Between August and September, nearly 1.1 million workers ages 20 and over dropped out of the labor force, meaning they are no longer working or looking for work. Of those workers, 865,000 of them were women, a number that is four times higher than the 216,000 men who also left the workforce, according to a National Women’s Law Center analysis.  Many say, “As families across the country struggle to figure out how to keep their jobs while also making sure their children are cared for, safe and learning every day, it’s women who are being pushed out of work.” While all women are undoubtedly feeling the brunt of today’s pandemic, and Black Women and Latinas both saw double-digit unemployment rates in September at 11.1% and 11%, respectively, according to NWLC data. That’s compared to White men having an unemployment rate of 6.5% and White women having an unemployment rate of 6.9%. Pray for quick economic recovery, for all the families, and particularly for the women who are the foundation of humanity.

Global Coronavirus status as of 10-3-2020:  34,440,000+ cases; 1,025,200 Dead;  US cases: 7,312,500+; US Dead: 208,405+  Details @: https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

US Market on 10/3/2020:   DOW-27,682; S&P500-3,348; NASDAQ-11,075; Gold $1,906.50; Oil: 36.98;   US 10-Year: 0.692% 

Mahalo. I welcome and value your thoughtful comments, “like” and “share” of this publication. 

~ S. Vincent Shin

    www.dhirubhai.net/in/vshin

“Stay Curious” and “Think for Yourself” and always decide on your own term. This is my research and analysis of the highlights of the events that shake, move, and shape the market and people. Perhaps you should take a closer look at them, do additional research and analysis if these are interesting to you. This “SMS” weekly Highlights is presented for general knowledge, the resource for management, and perhaps as a tool for career development, and building wealth.

References and Image credits to Bloomberg News, The Wall Street Journals, Getty image, AP Photo, Reuters, CNBC, NBC News, Auto Spies, Honolulu StarAdvertiser..., and special thanks to Image & Visual Consultant @U.Y. All references, news, and images are from open source and public domain.