Biden To Convene Leaders’ Summit For Democracy In December

President Joe Biden has announce that in December, he will bring together leaders from a diverse group of the world’s democracies at a virtual Summit for Democracy .

The virtual Summit will take place on December 9 and 10 to set forth an affirmative agenda for democratic renewal and to tackle the greatest threats faced by democracies today through collective action.

The summit will focus on challenges and opportunities facing democracies and will provide a platform for leaders to make both individual and collective commitments to defend democracy and human rights at home and abroad.

Ahead of the first summit, the U.S. State Department is consulting with experts from government, multilateral organizations, philanthropies, civil society, and the private sector to solicit bold, practicable ideas around three key themes: Defending against authoritarianism, addressing and fighting corruption and advancing respect for human rights.

Following a year of consultation, coordination, and action, President Biden will then invite world leaders for a second, in-person Summit.

“Both Summits will bring together heads of state, civil society, philanthropy, and the private sector, serving as an opportunity for world leaders to listen to one another and to their citizens, share successes, drive international collaboration, and speak honestly about the challenges facing democracy so as to collectively strengthen the foundation for democratic renewal,” the White House said in a statement.

Intercept Pharma Continues To Fall; Slips 8%

Shares of Intercept Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ICPT) slipped over 8% on Wednesday morning after the company announced convertible notes exchange, new issuance and stock repurchase.

ICPT is currently trading at $15.35, down $1.40 or 8.36%, on the Nasdaq, on a volume of 5.2 million shares, far above the three-month average volume of 693 thousand shares. Intercept has traded between $13.88 and $54.26 in the 52-week period. The stock has lost nearly 70% in that time frame.

The company said it has agreed with certain of the holders of its existing 3.25% Convertible Senior Notes due 2023 and 2.00% Convertible Senior Notes due 2026 to exchange $306.5 million principal amount of 2023 Notes and $114.7 million principal amount of 2026 notes for a newly issued series of Convertible Senior Secured Notes due 2026.

Intercept will also sell about $117.6 million new Notes for cash.

Intercept estimates that cash proceeds will be about $107.3 million and to use the proceeds for general corporate purposes.

Intercept expects to use $75.7 million of cash on hand to repurchase shares of its common stock in privately negotiated transactions at a price per share of $16.75, equal to the closing price of the Company’s common stock on August 10, 2021.

CANADA STOCKS-TSX opens higher on earnings optimism, higher gold prices

Aug 11 (Reuters) – Canada’s main stock index opened higher on Wednesday as optimism over a series of strong earnings reports and higher gold prices boosted the outlook for regional equities.

* At 9:30 a.m. ET (13:30 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index was up 34.27 points, or 0.17%, at 20,530.01.

FREYR Battery Down 28%

FREYR Battery (FREY) shares are sliding on Wednesday morning trade after reaching a high on Tuesday. There were no corporate announcements from the company today to impact stock movement.

Currently, shares are at $9.46, down 28.50 percent from the previous close of $13.23 on a volume of 2,584,642. The shares have traded in a range of $7.71-$15.28 on average volume of 635,968.

2 Moments From Mike Lindell’s 72-Hour Fraud Fest You Must See To Believe

Mike Lindell vowed to stay awake for all 72 hours of his marathon online “Cyber Symposium” ― an incongruous claim for a guy who sells bedding.

But this was about the MyPIllow CEO’s side gig of promoting Donald Trump’s election lies ― and there was no rest for him.

In a moment that aired on the right-wing network OANN, Lindell was told the symposium was about to break for lunch, and he wasn’t having it.

“There’s no breaks,” he yelled. “We’re streaming 72 hours! Livestreaming, around the world. This never stops!”

Addressing the audience at the Sioux Falls, South Dakota, event, he declared: “You guys can go eat. That’s fine, but I ain’t eating! I’m staying up here for 72 hours before they ruin our signal!”

Lindell exited the stage a few minutes later, but quickly returned, The Daily Beast reported.

In another odd moment, Lindell set out to prove how hacking can happen. So he asked the audience to vote for CNN or Fox News as the most destructive influence on the nation. He then promised to have a hacker flip the results.

Okayyyyyyyy.

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Long-Running Joke About Donald Trump Gets The Treatment In New Political Ad

Progressive PAC MeidasTouch’s new ad spotlights a “catastrophic” failure under former President Donald Trump that’s about to become a success for President Joe Biden.

The 79-second montage contrasts the Senate’s passing of a $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill on Tuesday with the long-running joke that became then-President Trump’s much-hyped “Infrastructure Week.” Trump repeatedly talked about advancing infrastructure legislation, but failed to accomplish anything.

The ad begins with footage of Trump and officials from his administration declaring, at various points during his time in office, that this was finally the week they would tackle America’s aging roads, bridges and other infrastructure systems.

The clip then cuts to footage of Biden’s inauguration, the initial unveiling of his infrastructure plan and its subsequent passing by the Senate in a bipartisan vote. The legislation awaits passage by the House.

“What Trump failed to do in 4 years, President Biden did in 7 months,” reads text that appears on screen. 

The video is the latest anti-Trump spot from attorney Ben Meiselas and his two brothers. It garnered more than 600,000 views in its first 10 hours online, although the effect that such viral clips have on swaying voters is still up for debate.

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