Provided by Dow Jones
By Joe Wallace and Xie Yu Political unrest in Washington didn t dent the stock market s ongoing rally Thursday, with U.S. stocks climbing toward fresh records. Financial and technology stocks led Thursday s gains, pushing the S&P 500 up 1.5% and putting the broad index on pace to close at its first record of 2021. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also rose, adding 338 points to 31168.83, while the Nasdaq Composite jumped 2.1%, putting both of those benchmarks on track for new closing highs as well. Investors largely looked past Wednesday s violent clash between pro- Trump protesters and law enforcement in the Capitol building that left four people dead, instead focusing on what the shift of political power from Republicans to Democrats means for the market, analysts said.
Provided by Dow Jones
By Joe Wallace and Xie Yu U.S. stocks rose Thursday as investors looked past the political unrest to focus instead on prospects for higher government spending. The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 0.4%, or 138 points, adding gains after closing at a record high Wednesday. The benchmark S&P 500 index rose 0.7%, while the Nasadaq Composite Index advanced 1.1%. Nasdaq and the sector took a beating Wednesday when investors pushed into other stocks that are more dependent on economic growth. Investor sentiment was boosted by Democrat Jon Ossoff s victory in the second of two Senate runoff races, which was called shortly after U.S. markets closed Wednesday. The two Georgia seats handed Democrats control of the Senate, raising the prospect of additional stimulus for the U.S. economy after President-elect Joe Biden takes office.
Posted by John Chan | Dec 29, 2020
New announcements from China’s regulatory authorities have revealed broad plans to rein in Alibaba and Ant Group, as part of a concerted effort to strengthen state supervision of Jack Ma’s business empire. On Tuesday, multiple outlets reported that Ant Group, whose IPO was scuttled at the eleventh hour in early November, will fold its financial operations into a holding company that could be regulated much more like a bank. Bloomberg News
The fintech giant is planning to move any unit that would require a financial license into the holding company, pending regulatory approval, said the people, who asked not be named because the matter is private. The plans are still under discussion and subject to change, the people said. Ant declined to comment.
GT investigates: Review of 40-day response
How COVID-19 was detected and stemmed in Wuhan
By GT staff reporters, Published: 2020/12/17 00:50:00
Medical staff celebrate the closure of all 16 makeshift hospitals in Wuhan, Central China s Hubei Province on March 10 2020 when COVID-19 was finally brought under control in the city. Photo: Cui Meng/GT
Editor s Note: December 27, 2019 marks the starting point for China s battle against the novel coronavirus. It was on that day that Zhang Jixian, a doctor at the Hubei Provincial Hospital of Integrated Chinese and Western Medicine, first reported cases of what was then called a pneumonia of unknown origin. One year has passed, with the wounds the lethal virus inflicted on Wuhan gradually healing, although some Western countries are still leveling blame against China for its initial anti-virus response. It is meaningful and necessary to review the first 40 days following December 27, 2019, to see how the medical