“I expect the infection rate has to get higher before governors resort to lockdowns again, although I wouldn't put it past Whitmer, Cuomo and Newsome.

“Then again, I think Whitmer might be concerned about being re-elected if she does put [Michigan] on lockdown, so maybe we're safe. New York and California? I expect it to happen again.

“In terms of Biden, I thought the administration admitted they didn't have the power to lock down the country. They can affect airports, trains, busses and things related to inter-state travel. I thought the mask mandate was still in effect, so I'm not sure the feds can do much more.”

As of May, the mask mandate in federal buildings was dropped for fully-vaccinated employees and visitors. But… not so fast.

Yesterday, the CDC offered new mask “guidance” for U.S. counties; they are now recommending indoor mask-wearing -- even for vaccinated folks -- where Covid cases are spiking.

Just so you know, that’s almost half of U.S. counties.

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Your Rundown for Wednesday, July 28, 2021...

When in Doubt… Regulate?

“The European Commission (EC) drafted a bill to put major restrictions on AI,” says our chief technology expert Ray Blanco.

“And while emerging technology should be scrutinized, what they’re proposing looks to be more fueled by a fundamental misunderstanding of artificial intelligence itself. Some of the wording in the legislation is far too broad… some ignorantly narrow.

“If the proposal goes through, it could cost European businesses more than $36 billion over the next five years,” Ray says. “It doesn’t stop there, however. Because the EC wants the U.S. to join in the ‘fight’ against what they deem as harmful artificial intelligence.

“I’m not saying that checks shouldn’t be in place for these systems, but small startups are many times the ones coming up with the most cutting-edge technology in some of these ‘high-risk’ categories.

“Slapping an estimated half-million dollars in extra compliance costs every time a company wants to deploy a system that falls under these wide categories could be too much of a financial weight for some.

“Keep in mind, all these fees come before the company even has a chance to bring their product to market,” says Ray. “That could keep technologies with huge potentials completely unknown… which is a huge blow to innovation in this field.

“Artificial intelligence technology is expected to add $15 TRILLION to the world economy in the next decade,” he says.

“The ‘when in doubt, regulate’ approach is not going to work here… especially when regulators don’t seem to understand the market they are trying to restrict.”

Ray concludes: “We all want to make sure advanced technologies like AI — that will change the world as we know it — are not allowed to run rampant.

“We’re in the middle of a tech revolution… and AI, robotics, biotech and other emerging technologies are ready to take off — despite politicians trying to grab the reins.”

Market Rundown for Wednesday, July 28, 2021

The S&P 500 Index is flat at 4,400.

Oil is up 0.53% to $72.02 for a barrel of WTI.

Gold’s down almost $3 to $1,796.90 per ounce.

Bitcoin is up 4.5% to $39,690.

Send your comments and questions to, TheRundownFeedback@StPaulResearch.com

We’ll talk more Friday; until then, take care…

For The Rundown,

Aaron Gentzler
Editor, The Rundown
TheRundownFeedback@StPaulResearch.com