Stocks closed sharply lower Friday in an ugly start to the month of May as investors showed disappointment with earnings from big tech companies and with President Donald Trump’s threat to impose import tariffs on China in retaliation for its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. How did the major indexes fare? The Dow Jones Industrial […]
How much worse can it get? More than 30 million Americans—about one-sixth of the U.S. workforce—have now been laid off in the last six shattering weeks. One in six. It’s almost impossible to grasp such a mind-numbing figure. And while layoffs have hit both younger and older workers, it’s a good bet that when the […]
Will the U.S. stock market retest bear-market lows put in on March 23? That is perhaps the most prevalent question on Wall Street. And while there’s no way of knowing the answer for sure, if history is any guide, when the stock-market slips into a bear market, typically defined by a decline of at least […]
“ ‘Don’t be fooled by the recent rebound in stocks; the investment scene is beginning to resemble the 1929 market crash and the early 1930s Great Depression.’ ” That’s A. Gary Shilling, longtime economist and president of A. Gary Shilling & Co., delivering his gloomy take in a recent op-ed published on Bloomberg News. “This […]
The IRS started cutting stimulus checks in mid-April, and it’s already gotten money to nearly 90 million people. That’s good news for everyone who’s received the payments and now has $1,200 in hand to use as they see fit as the country copes with the coronavirus outbreak and its massive health and financial consequences. But […]
The National Archives said Friday it has no record of any files from a congressional office that might contain evidence of a sexual misconduct complaint against Joe Biden from 27 years ago, when he was a U.S. senator. “The short answer is no — we don’t have those. Those records are with the Congress,” John Valceanu, […]
Florida health officials have halted the publication of up-to-the-minute death statistics related to the coronavirus pandemic that have, by law, been compiled by medical examiners in the state. The death count compiled by the Medical Examiners Commission was often found to be higher than the figures provided by Florida’s Department of Health, the Tampa Bay […]
The hardest-hit parts of the United States may be past the peak of the pandemic. Other places may be lifting their lockdown restrictions. But deadly pathogens don’t eradicate themselves; once Americans stop staying home, the coronavirus will continue to spread. The expectation is the U.S. won’t return to normal until there’s an effective vaccine against […]
Abdullah Abdullah previously served as Afghanistan’s ‘chief executive’ under a power-sharing deal with Ashraf Ghani (AFP Photo/WAKIL KOHSAR) A bitter feud between Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and his rival Abdullah Abdullah appeared closer to resolution Friday after Abdullah said the two men had moved forward in talks. “We have made progress in negotiations & reached […]
Mortgage rates have dipped to a record low for the second time in as many months amid the global coronavirus outbreak. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dropped to an average of 3.23% during the week ending April 30, a decrease of 10 basis points from the previous week, Freddie Mac FMCC, -1.21% reported this week. This […]