More good economic news in the U.S. this week, with first-time jobless claims falling to 613k, a decrease of more than 150,000 from a week earlier and the lowest level of the pandemic. ...more
With Wednesday’s passage in the House, the $1.9 trillion Covid relief bill is heading to President Biden’s desk for an anticipated Friday signature, “cementing one of the largest injections of federal aid since the Great...more
With Vice President Harris acting as the tiebreaker (and following a 15-hour amendment vote-a-rama), the Senate voted on Thursday to move forward with the White House’s $1.9 trillion Covid relief measure....more
In Washington: The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is finalizing new guidelines to shorten its recommended coronavirus quarantine period from 14 days to between 7 and 10 days. The agency hopes more people...more
The official transition to a new administration and early Cabinet selections helped drive Wall Street to new highs on Tuesday, with the Dow topping 30,000 for the first time and the S&P 500 up 1.6% to another new high, too....more
As we thought, stocks rallied on Monday thanks to Moderna’s news of promising results for its Covid-19 vaccine, with the Dow and S&P 500 hitting new record highs....more
The European Union has unveiled a new antitrust probe and accompanying charges against Amazon over alleged the “use of non-public business data from independent sellers on its marketplace that could benefit the company’s own...more
Microsoft made a huge gaming move on Monday with its $7.5 billion acquisition of ZeniMax Media, the “parent company of gaming studios like Bethesda,” and maker of titles like “The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Doom, Quake and...more
Despite an earlier White House promise to postpone, American and Chinese trade negotiators met via videoconference on Monday to discuss “the status of the trade deal both nations signed in January, a pact that continues to...more
Consumer spending at stores and auto dealerships increased in June, the second straight month, but the recent uptick in coronavirus cases could slow future growth....more
In Washington: Congressional leaders will soon name the chair of the coronavirus oversight commission, which was created by the CARES Act to increase transparency and oversight of the coronavirus relief funds. Retired...more
In Washington: The House will now require masks during committee hearings, per new guidance issued by the Capitol physician last night. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) had discussed the idea with Democrats during a conference...more
In Washington - The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) urged organizers of large gatherings that involve shouting, chanting, or singing to “strongly encourage” attendees to use cloth face coverings to lower...more
In Washington - Senate lawmakers are now saying they won’t pass another coronavirus relief package before the August recess. Previously, members said they were aiming to have something finalized for the 4 July recess but...more
With HBO Max entering the fray today, we’ve got your latest dispatch from the streaming wars, including thoughts on Max’s ability to deliver on its promise to “crush” Netflix despite a very crowded playing field, a spendy...more
Tesla sues to reopen its California factory; Elon threatens to move the company out of state. The company asked a federal judge to reopen the factory, arguing that the “local government’s insistence that it remain closed . ....more
The current COVID-19 pandemic is causing significant concern in the financial markets, reviving memories of the 2008 financial crisis. The sudden and almost complete shutdown of many non-essential businesses due to the...more
The emergence of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) as a pandemic has caused global stock markets to plummet, and has seen countries around the world take measures to try to stop its spread, including the imposition of travel...more
As the world grapples with the health threat posed by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), the secondary threats of the coronavirus—including economic and financial consequences—have come into clear view....more
It’s been a week or so, and we’re running out of ways to say that this is bad. But it certainly is. Your bear market stats for the day: the biggest daily drop by percentage for both the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial...more
Go ahead and put Tuesday, March 11th in the history books. The same day the WHO declared the COVID-19 outbreak as an official pandemic, the US stock market’s 11-year bull run officially came to an end, with the Dow closing...more
Monday on Wall Street was the equivalent of a well-forecast storm that still managed to blow meteorologists’ minds. The deadly combination of diving oil prices and yet more COVID-19 worries spelled disaster for U.S. markets,...more
BlackRock Inc. will sell out of all companies “that get more than 25% of sales from thermal coal.” This threshold, however, won’t affect larger, diversified miners—which includes some of the biggest coal shippers....more
Mr. Dow’s wild ride ended on an upswing yesterday, with the DJIA adding back nearly 600 points and the three primary US indices up between 1.7 and 2.3%....more
Markets proved that last Friday’s 600-point Dow drop wasn’t an isolated incident, as all major US indices were down nearly 4% (at least) in a nasty Monday of trading....more