There are some real dangers lurking in the economy of the Lone Star State beyond the deflation of Donald Trump by his Republican Party opponents.

First of all, with oil prices under water, the Houston market for real estate, both personal and office, is also threatened. The days of bidding wars and rent increases are over.

Then too, with the Mexican peso losing height, the border shopping malls and boutiques are also under threat. Mexicans can no longer afford to spend money in Los Estados Unidos.

Then there is Zika, which will hit our southernmost regions as soon as the hot weather comes. Texas, unlike Florida, makes it particularly hard for pregnant women who might have been infected by a mosquito (or a sex partner) to have an abortion.

But most importantly, the whole claim of Texas as a bellwether for low-tax high-growth policies for the rest of the country is facing its own Alamo.

New Yorkers constantly run into problems over one aspect of Texas life: how you pronounce “Houston”. Our Dutch-influenced lower Manhattan street is called “House-ton” whereas Texans say “Hughes-ton.” But we are in the same country . So the attacks on Donald Trump in last night’s debate seem to have boosted Wall St.

Bad News

*We were hit by a boomerang from Benitec Biopharma (BNTC) last week. BNTC announced that it will wind down its hepatitis C program in phase II clinical trials up completion of the cohort 4 inoculation against the virus using its TT-034. This is the most advanced of its patented gene-silencing technology, DNA-directed RNA interference.

Following the overnight Australian report of its 2015 results the share has lost 53% of its value and the warrants, just purchased last week, are down 39%. Trading has been halted. Benitec will have to go to the well for more financing almost immediately, watering down our stake. Maxim, the brokerage which did the underwriting and Nasdaq listing has downgraded Benitec to hold from buy, a polite way to say sell on Wall St. And it lacks a CEO.

The main reason for ending the hep C program is that the board decided there were so many alternative ways to treat the disease that had come to market in the 2 years since the “first-in-human” carefully esclated dosage trials began, that there was no interest among pharma companies to partner with BNTC. Moreover, it was apparently also difficult to get patients to enroll in the trial now being discontinued. This will result in no financial obligations for BNTC.

The hidden reason for the trial ending is that the Australian firm has blown through most of the money raised by the ADR issue and more since last summer, US$13.8 mn or A$18.8 mn at the then exchange rate. Its losses in the last 6 mos. Of 2015 hit A$16.1 mn, not leaving much over. The former CEO misjudged the urgency of raising money right as China’s markets crashed, and his replacement has not yet been found.

Its chief scientific officer, Dr David Suhy, says that the Hep C trials showed that the DD RNAi jab “transduces hepatic tissues, expresses the anti-HCV shRNA, and has a favorable safety profile.” There were “no significant adverse event” in the 4 cohorts who received the study drug.