Dollar and Yen Jump, Shares and Oil Prices Slip After Trump Tests Positive for COVID-19

US President Donald Trump said on Friday that he and his wife, Melania Trump, had tested positive for COVID-19.

The dollar is rallying against the euro and falling against the yen on Friday morning due to the persistence of coronavirus risks and the situation with the US stimulus package, while the news that US President Donald Trump has contracted COVID-19 has strengthened the risk aversion, according to trading data.

The euro fell against the dollar to $1.1721 from the previous close of $1.1747 per euro. The dollar fell against the yen to 105.12 yen from 105.5 yen at the last close. The dollar increased by 0.2% to 93.9 points.

The situation surrounding the coronavirus continues to be the main factor on the foreign currency market. Traders are continuing to monitor the US stimulus package, while supporting risk aversion and news that the US president has contracted the coronavirus.

Shares, Oil Prices Slip After Trump Contracts COVID-19

World oil prices are down 2% on Friday morning, with the decline in oil prices accelerating after US President Donald Trump announced that he and his wife Melania had contracted the coronavirus, trading data showed.

The price of December futures for North Sea Brent crude decreased by 1.98% to $40.12 per barrel. The cost of November futures for WTI fell by 2.01% to $37.94 per barrel.

S&P 500 futures fell 1.8% in Asian trading after the news.

US President Donald Trump — who reported earlier on Friday that he and his wife, Melania, tested positive for COVID-19 — feels fine and is expected to continue carrying our his duties, the US leader's physician said.

https://sputniknews.com/us/202010021080637847-dollar-yen-jump-after-trump-tests-positive-for-covid-19/

Stock futures plunge after President Trump confirms he has coronavirus

U.S. equity futures plunged by more than 1.6%, or 500 Dow points after President Trump confirmed through a tweet that he and the first lady tested positive for coronavirus.

The S&P 500 is down 1.5%, or 51 points. The Nasdaq is declining by 1.8%, or more than 200 points.

The Dow Industrials had only been down 50 points before the announcement.

"Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19," the president wrote. "We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!"

In Asia, Japan's Nikkei ended the trading session down 0.8%, after returning from a day in which that market saw its trading day halted following a technical failure.

Markets in Hong Kong and China were closed for a second day due to holidays.

https://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/stock-futures-plunge-after-president-trump-confirms-he-has-coronavirus

US Court Refuses to Dismiss Trump Admin Lawsuit Seeking Bolton’s Book Proceeds

A US federal judge has declined an attempt by former national security adviser John Bolton to dismiss a lawsuit by the Trump administration that would appropriate the proceeds of his recently published tell-all book.

The US government has argued that Bolton did not follow the nondisclosure agreement he signed that gave him access to classified information, and thus forfeits the money he has made from book sales. However, Bolton claims former National Security Council records management senior director Ellen Knight gave him the go-ahead to publish the material.

Judge Royce C. Lamberth of the US District Court for the District of Columbia rejected Bolton’s bid on Thursday, saying that “while the government may not prevent Bolton from publishing unclassified materials, it may require him to undergo a reasonable prepublication review process. The … agreements are thus consistent with the First Amendment,” according to the Washington Post.

However, the Trump administration previously tried unsuccessfully to have publication of Bolton’s book “The Room Where It Happened” blocked in June, arguing it contained classified information. Word of the book’s potentially sensitive contents first broke in January in the days prior to Trump’s impeachment trial, at which time the National Security Council demanded Bolton remove the classified information from the book.

Bolton was part of the Trump administration from April 2018 to September 2019, serving as Trump’s national security adviser until their considerable disagreements on foreign policy toward Venezuela, the Koreas and several other countries came to a head and Trump fired Bolton. The depths of their differences in demeanor and philosophy only became fully known with the publication of Bolton’s book, which characterized the US president as capricious, petty and small-minded.

Mark S. Zaid, a lawyer who specializes in national security and whistleblower cases, told the Post the ruling sets “a horrible new precedent.”

“Before this case the … Government had never pursued anyone for simply sharing a draft manuscript with lawyers, literary agents or publishers, even though by law it was improper to do so,” Zaid said. “As long as the manuscript was approved before actual publication, the US Government was satisfied. But now the rules have changed, and any dissemination can create liability.”

Indeed, the Trump administration has pursued a parallel case against Edward Snowden, the former CIA employee and National Security Agency contractor who leaked a deluge of information about the government’s domestic surveillance programs in 2013.

On September 29, the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia entered a final judgment and permanent injunction against Snowden, ruling his 2019 book “Permanent Record” had violated nondisclosure agreements he had signed with both agencies by his not submitting the manuscript for prepublication review by them.

The ruling also covered 56 speeches by Snowden and created a “constructive trust for the benefit of the United States over those sums and any further monies, royalties, or other financial advantages” he might get from the works.

Snowden has lived in Moscow since fleeing the United States with the damning material.

https://sputniknews.com/us/202010011080635294-us-court-refuses-to-dismiss-trump-admin-lawsuit-seeking-boltons-book-proceeds/

Photographer Went Undercover With Looters Expecting To Find White Supremacists. Instead, He Found Anarchists

A furloughed photographer who documented protests starting on May 31 expected to find white supremacists behind widespread looting but instead found anarchists, according to a New York Times opinion column.

Jeremy Lee Quinn started photographing a Black Lives Matter protest in Santa Monica, California, May 31 when someone notified him that people were looting a nearby shoe store, New York Times’ editorial board member Farah Stockman wrote in a Wednesday column. When Quinn arrived, he saw young people running out of the store carrying shoeboxes while a group of black-clad men wearing masks behaved like supervisors as the store was looted.

Quinn witnessed a black-clad white man break a store window with a crowbar the following day, though he didn’t take anything from the shop, Stockman wrote.

After reviewing videos of looting across the country, Quinn noticed similar groups of masked black-clad supervisors, so he dressed the same way and attended a protest, Stockman wrote. Quinn thought the supervisors would be tied to white supremacy groups, instead, he found a group of “insurrectionary anarchists.”

Quinn decided to march alongside groups of “black bloc” anarchists across the country to learn more about them, according to Stockman. He said that though he respects their optimistic goal to create a society free of hierarchy, some of their tactics made him uncomfortable since they could aid President Donald Trump’s reelection.

Anarchists advertised the protests on social media, drawing “cultlike energy” to events in Portland, Oregon, and Washington, D.C., Quinn told Stockman. He marched with protesters who launched fireworks at a federal court building in Portland, Oregon, and with protesters who heckled diners in Washington, D.C.

https://dailycaller.com/2020/10/01/photographer-anarchists-white-supremacist-protest-riot-looting/

Expecting DS to pull a continuity of government takeover.

Eyes open I'd expect they'll make their move in the next 24 hours.

Trump to continue presidential duties: White House doctor

Sky News Australia

Donald Trump's doctor has released a statement confirming the US President would continue to perform his duties despite he and his wife testing positive for coronavirus.

"This evening I received confirmation that both President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump tested positive for the SarsCoV2 virus," the letter read.

"The President and First Lady are both well at this time and plan to remain at home within the White House during their convalescence.

"The White House medical team and I will maintain a vigilant watch,

"Rest assured, I expect the president to continue carrying out his duties without disruption while recovering and I will keep you updated on any future developments."

The positive tests follow revelations Trump Senior Adviser, Hope Hicks, tested positive for COVID-19.

It remains unclear whether the president had coronavirus during the presidential debate with former vice president Joe Biden.

>>10881396