“That Was a Hot Mess, Inside a Dumpster Fire, Inside a Train Wreck”
NFL postpones Titans-Steelers Week 4 game after positive Covid-19 tests
- The NFL postponed Sunday's Tennessee Titans vs. Pittsburgh Steelers game after the Titans revealed eight new Covid-19 cases.
- There is no official word on the matchup featuring the Minnesota Vikings and Houston Texans. The Vikings played the Titans on Sunday.
The National Football League postponed the Tennessee Titans versus Pittsburgh Steelers game for its upcoming Week 4 schedule due to eight positive Covid-19 cases.
The NFL said Sunday's game, scheduled for a 1 p.m. Eastern kickoff would be "rescheduled to allow additional time for further daily Covid-19 testing and to ensure the health and safety of players, coaches and game day personnel. Details on the new game date and time on either Monday or Tuesday will be announced as soon as possible," the league said in a statement.
On Tuesday, the NFL said the Titans returned positive tests from three players and five other team personnel. The team played the Vikings in Week 3, in a 31-30 win. The NFL said both clubs would suspend "in-person club activities."
With the both clubs unable to practice, the NFL also faced concerns about competitive fairness as the clubs' opponents had access to team facilities and able to have in-person practices. As of now, it appears the NFL allow the Vikings contest against the Houston Texans to stand this weekend.
In a statement posted on Twitter, the Vikings said they haven't received any positive tests, but the team did close its practice site.
U.S. Pending Home Sales Spike To Record High In August
Partly reflecting tremendously low mortgage rates, the National Association of Realtors released a report on Wednesday showing pending home sales in the U.S. jumped to a record high in the month of August.
NAR said its pending home sales index spiked by 8.8 percent to 132.8 in August after surging up by 5.9 percent to 122.1 in July. Economists had expected pending home sales to increase by 3.2 percent.
A pending home sale is one in which a contract was signed but not yet closed. Normally, it takes four to six weeks to close a contracted sale.
“Tremendously low mortgage rates – below 3% – have again helped pending home sales climb in August,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist. “Additionally, the Fed intends to hold short-term fed funds rates near 0% for the foreseeable future, which should in the absence of inflationary pressure keep mortgage rates low, and that will undoubtably aid homebuyers continuing to enter the marketplace.”
He added, “While I did very much expect the housing sector to be stable during the pandemic-induced economic shutdowns, I am pleasantly surprised to see the industry bounce back so strongly and so quickly.”
The much bigger than expected increase in pending home sales came as all four regional indices recorded increases in contract activity on a month-over-month basis in August.
Pending home sales in the West spiked by 13.1 percent, while pending sales jumped by 8.6 percent in both the Midwest and South. The Northeast saw a 4.3 percent surge in pending home sales.
Canada’s Economic Recovery Is Wildly Uneven Despite July Growth
Only a quarter of Canadian industries have recovered to pre-pandemic levels of output, signaling an uneven economic recovery.
Just five of the 20 industrial sectors tracked by Statistics Canada were producing more in July than February, data released Wednesday show.
While the economy as a whole has recovered to 95% of its pre-pandemic size, growth in most sectors remained muted, even as more businesses began to open in the summer.
The arts and entertainment sector has been hit hardest, with July output 53% below February levels. Accommodation and food services are down by a third.
The agriculture and utility sectors have grown since the pandemic began, as have finance and real estate. The retail trade sector, buoyed by generous government income supports, has seen small gains.
How growing consumer demand for tech solutions is accelerating innovation in financial services
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“That Was a Hot Mess, Inside a Dumpster Fire, Inside a Train Wreck”
Last night’s presidential debate between Vice President Joe Biden and President Donald Trump was so chaotic, it left newscasters and political analysts flustered. After more than an hour and a half of nonstop disarray—which included the president’s constant interruptions and under-his-breath remarks; the former VP’s now-famous retort, “Will you shut up, man?”; and moderator Chris Wallace struggling to keep order—multiple networks followed up with commentary, and let’s just say their pundits were reeling.
“I’m just gonna say it like it is: That was a shitshow,” CNN correspondent Dana Bash said.
