President Donald Trump on Saturday signed into law a temporary extension of a subsidy program for small businesses battered by the coronavirus,
The legislation extends the June 30 deadline for applying for the program to Aug. 8. Lawmakers created the program in March and have modified it twice since, adding money on one occasion and more recently permitting more flexible use of the funding despite some grumbling among GOP conservatives.
About $130 billion of $660 billion approved for the program remains eligible for businesses to seek direct federal subsidies for payroll and other costs such as rent, though demand for the Paycheck Protection Program has pretty much dried up in recent weeks.
The Democratic-controlled House voted on Wednesday to approve the extension of the program after the Republican-controlled Senate did the same.
Stocks in Asia Pacific were higher in Monday trade, with stocks in mainland China leading gains regionally.
The Shanghai composite soared 4.24% in morning trade while the Shenzhen component rose 3.29%. The Shenzhen composite also jumped 3.1%
Jackson Wong, asset management director at Amber Hill Capital, told CNBC in an email that “bull sentiment” in mainland Chinese shares was “driving the markets.”
Wong said the “sudden surge” in trading volume, as well as a break out for the Shanghai composite last week, raised investor expectations that “another bull run is coming.” Some of the reasons he suggested for the uptick in sentiment included the country being less affected by the coronavirus outbreak at the moment.
Bank of Communications’ Hao Hong agreed partly with Wong’s assessment, telling CNBC that the Shanghai composite has “broken through” its 850-day long-term moving average.
“The market continues to believe that the central bank will ease more, as seen by China’s recent credti and monetary expansion,” Hong,
Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index also saw robust gains, rising 3.15% in morning trade.
Elsewhere in the region, the Nikkei 225 in Japan rose 1.55% while the Topix index added 1.45%. South Korea’s Kospi advanced 1.38%.
Supreme Court Rules Trump Cannot Block Release of Financial Records Two rulings clear the way for prosecutors in New York to see President Trump’s financial records, but the justices stopped Congress for now.
The Supreme Court on Thursday cleared the way for prosecutors in New York to see President Trump’s financial records, a stunning defeat for Mr. Trump but a decision that probably means the records will be shielded from public scrutiny under grand jury secrecy rules until after the election, and perhaps indefinitely.
In a separate decision, the court ruled that Congress could not, at least for now, see many of the same records. The vote in both cases was 7 to 2. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. wrote both majority opinions.
The court’s decision in favor of the New York prosecutors was a major statement on the scope and limits of presidential power, one that will take its place with landmark rulings that required President Richard M. Nixon to turn over tapes of Oval Office conversations and forced President Bill Clinton to provide evidence in a sexual harassment suit.
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