To avoid mounting political risks in the USA as we move toward a key election, buy blue-chip foreign stocks. Go global. One reason is the fluffy quality of many high-rise US tech stocks, even after correction has begun. But political risks outweigh market ones.

If the US Attorney-General charges state and local government officials, Democrats all, for sedition, our US liberty is at risk. If postal voting in a pandemic period is considered a way to fiddle election results by the Occupied White House, our ability to vote out incompetent or divisive leaders is cut. If paranoia afflicts White House officials, they need psychiatric help. If our president listens to a woman discussing cancer cure hopes and responds that a vaccine would be great, I question whether he is all there just as he argues that his rival is losing it. If schemes to boost the economy with a payroll tax holiday go ugly, we need to focus on the alliance between anti-spend business-booster Republicans and the Administration. If aid programs are looted we need to lock up the looters and banksters.

Overshadowing all this is erratic US foreign policy vis-à-vis China, Russia, Ukraine, Iran, Israel, Brazil, Saudi Arabia. Consider the mindless Trump statements pooh-poohing visible climate change disasters, police abuse of Black Americans, and lest we forget, the corona-virus. I leave it to the White House to set US policy on TikTok but not on We Chat. And not on vaccines, climate change, or the Four Freedoms celebrated in the FDR garden on Roosevelt Island see from my apartment window (also visible from east-facing Trump Tower ones.)

Today we got modestly upbeat jobless numbers, 860,000 new applicants in August, vs 875,000 forecast. This is like a rounding error and markets are not making much of it. More for paid subscribers follows with a report on our latest buy's unsuspected assets, discovered by Harry Geisel and confirmed by Chris Loew in Japan. US markets fell hard but there was scattered recovery after lunch.

Green from Green

*Canadian Solar, CSIQ, was an idea I got from Vienna's Max Deml of Oeko-invest, a newsletter about green shares. I kept an eye on it but only last week finally saw a price break big enough to grab some shares. Now our Harry discovered that in addition to solar panels and supplies to Canada and the US, CSIQ owns 15% of the Canadian Solar Infrastructure Fund of Japan, traded as 3048590008 in Tokyo, one of the top environmental funds there. Yesterday it closed at ¥115,500 (divide by 100 more or less for US$s.) While Max properly warned us that CSIQ is Chinese controlled, it also reports in GAAP as a listed Toronto stock and is not investing in Xinjiang, Tibet, Mongolia, or Hong Kong. But Max failed to tell us about the fund CSIQ runs. It is not something US retail investors can buy on their own unless, like Chris, they live in Japan. CSIQ fell 3.1% today on no news.

*Another dual listed Canadian, Algonquin Power, via its Liberty Utilities sub, raised $600 mn (plus 15% for the underwriters) with a 10-year senior unsecured note for its planned spend on unregulated wind energy. It was an AQN first tapping of the 144A-Reg S market. US retail investors may not buy it on issue, only on the secondary market. For Canadians as it depends of their province. AQN also offers hydro, solar, thermal, water, and sewage operations mostly on both sides of the US-Canada border.

*BP plc BP can earn as much as $2.5 bn per year with its trading arm, according to Royal Bank of Canada which raised its target price to £3.1 from £2.9. Twelve UK shares make up an ADR. BP fell 2.3%.

*Insiders were buying Ormat ORA, a bonus (US) stock at $29. Nevada's ORA produces and stores geothermal energy. The storage is to replace solar power at night. The stock fell 2.82%.

*Schlumberger Ltd SLB lost its gains in Europe today. The higher oil price resulted from a hurricane. SLB.

*Canada's Alimentation Couche-Tard rose 1.6% to C$33. ANCUF is in focus because Quebec is blocking a bid on its local telco from Anglophone Canada's BCE.

*Azure Power jumped 2.4%. That AZRE boilerplate report is working despite my skepticism. 

*Veolia is up a bit. VEOEY is gaining by plotting to buy its biggest French rival ute and waterworks.

*Our Hoegh prefs HMLP are up 0.4% on shortages of LNG which it ships in vessels burning it.

Drug dealers

*Celgene, a sub of Bristol-Myers, a US stock I own, sued Dr Reddy's of India for violating its patent for mulitple myeloma drug Revlimid. They settled on RDY limiting its volume starting in March 2022 and only hitting full output 2026. RDY hit a 52-wk high at $66.49 but fell to $64.9. BMY fell 0.9%.

*Zymeworks insiders sold $1.8 mn worth of shares before its Azymetric and Efect platforms were selected by Canada's Immuno Precise Antibodies (IPA) for developing coronavirus jabs. The ZYME platforms create bi-specific and multi-specific combos. The research will be funded by the Canadian Natl Research Council but the financing was not disclosed. IPA is planning to list on Nasdaq. ZYME rose 3% on its 1^st virus deal. Spanish antibody specialist Grifols fell 0.6% despite this. GRFS.

*Teva TEVA gave back its gains earlier this week falling to $8.96 but then rose to $9.22. Israeli stocks do not trade on Friday and this week, because of the Jewish New Year, will also not trade on Sunday. However buoyant Compugen is up a bit all the same. CGEN is $17.91. 

*Despite insider brass selling $15.25 worth of Beigene, the BGNE share rose 0.7%.

*Astra-Zeneca AZN is up 1% because markets like its caution over corona-virus jab side effects.

*Eisai ESALY is up again on hopes of success either in Japan or in New Jersey where it is building a campus.

Technology is Contagious

*Finnish Nokia NOK was top ranked for telecom software and service market share according to Analysis Mason with $4.5 bn of sales out of a global industry total of $66.9 bn.

*Ericsson ERIC is up 0.82%, NOK's biggest rival from Sweden. 

*Nikola NKLA is under SEC investigation over the Hindenberg allegations and NIO lost 09.% in sympathy, although it doesn't produce fake photos of its products. Tesla fell 3%+/

*GE which rose in double digits yesterday today gained another 4.4%. 

*Mercado Libre MELI followed its US rivals down, off 3.83% today to $964.54. It was recommended at that price by Jim Cramer this morning.

*Nintendo NTDOY, which hit a new high this week today fell 1.5% to $7.37. 

*Vodafone VOD, about to get cash for its Egyptian telco from Saudi, stil fell 1.725. 

*About the only sector share in the black is MultiChoice, MCHOY, whose cellphones serve Africans.

*And CAE of Canada, tipped by a pilot's mom.

Finance

*Gold and its miners are down.

*AIA Group, AAIGF, the Asia insurer, is down 2.4% in Hong Kong.

*Hang Seng Bank, HSNGF, did not trade today. It runs the local index, which earns it a profit but its banking arm is in trouble because Hong Kong is under pressure from Beijing. 

*Aberdeen Asia Pacific Income Fund (FAX) is up 1¢ but its usually more buoyant sister fund Aberdeen Global Income Fund, (FCO), is down 1.54% to $7.01. 

*Swiss Helvetia Fund SWZ is down 0.9%. 

*Japan Small Cap Fund, JOF, is up 3 cents. There is a new government with a lot of familiar faces.

*Korea Fund KF is down 1.5%. 

*Mexican REIT Fibra Uno FBASF gave back 1.28%--a penny. FBASF is 77¢.

*Templeton Emerging Income Fund, TEI, a biggie, did not trade. Its Chinese counterpart blocked shareholders heading for the exit.

*Bank of Nova Scotia BNS is up because its survey showed that millennials are willing to invest in real estate even during the pandemic.