US election: Democrats poised for a slim majority in Senate – TDS

Previewing this week's key events in the US, "polling data show a decisive lead for Joe Biden in the presidential election, even allowing for potential polling error and the idiosyncrasies of the Electoral College system," noted TD Securities analysts. "The balance of power in the Senate is a closer call, but Democrats appear poised for a slim majority."

Key quotes

"Business surveys have generally been signaling no let-up, even as the hard data have been showing some deceleration and a renewed uptrend in COVID cases and a fading of fiscal stimulus suggest downside risks."

"This week's FOMC meeting will be after the election but before the payrolls data. We don't expect any new policy announcements, and changes to the wording of the statement are likely to be minimal, but potential changes to the QE program and associated guidance will likely be discussed. We expect the Fed to make QE more accommodative by increasing the average maturity of purchases, but not yet."