2020 U.S. ELECTION: What you need to know right now

[October 22, 2020]  (Reuters) - -President Donald Trump has a final shot at making his case for re-election before a vast audience of Americans when he faces off against challenger Joe Biden in the last televised debate before Election Day.

-Former President Barack Obama, stumping for Biden, made a scathing attack on Trump's record in office.

-U.S. intelligence agencies say Iran and Russia have tried to interfere in the 2020 presidential election.

-Biden's plan to raise corporate taxes would have a modest impact on profits at the big U.S. banks and probably not before 2022, analysts say.

-Republicans scored legal victories on election rules when the Supreme Court allowed Alabama to ban curbside voting and an Iowa court upheld a rule making it harder to fix problems with absentee ballot requests less than two weeks before the election.

-Lawyers at Jones Day, a firm that has earned millions of dollars as outside counsel to Trump's re-election campaign, have donated nearly $90,000 to Biden's campaign since last year compared to $50 to Trump's campaign, according to Federal Election Commission data.

GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE

-As Trump has pulled the United States inward under his "America First" presidency, China has had only halting success at capitalising on a global leadership vacuum, presenting openings for a more internationalist Biden administration if he wins the White House.

-U.S.-Saudi Arabia relations face a reset if Biden wins the election, entailing a likely re-examination of the kingdom's human rights record, the war with Yemen and its anti-Iran campaign.

President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden participate in their first 2020 presidential campaign debate held on the campus of the Cleveland Clinic at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, U.S., September 29, 2020. REUTERS/Brian Snyder/File Photo

INVESTOR VIEW

The prospect of a Biden victory weighs on the rouble and its outlook now appears more closely connected to the race for the White House than Russia's economic health. Investors say the Turkish lira is also vulnerable to a Biden win which could lead to sanctions on Ankara following its purchase of Russian S-400 missiles.

BY THE NUMBERS

-Biden appeared to take the lead over Trump in the battleground state of Florida where the race was a statistical tie the previous week, with 50% of likely voters saying they would vote for Biden, compared to 46% for Trump, Reuters/Ipsos opinion polls showed. They were neck and neck in Arizona with 49% backing Biden and 46% supporting Trump.

ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL

Expected events and Reuters coverage on Oct 22:

-Trump and Biden participate in the final televised presidential debate at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee (9 p.m. ET/0100 GMT Friday)

-Vice President Mike Pence campaigns in Michigan and Indiana

(Reporting by Gayle Issa; Editing by Frances Kerry)

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