Stocks fall as economy's pain deepens, head for weekly loss

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are pulling lower on Friday after reports showed the pandemic is deepening the hole for the economy, as Washington prepares to throw it another lifeline. The S&P 500 was down 0.5% in afternoon trading, with stocks of companies that most need a healthier economy taking the...

U.S. retail sales fell in December for 3rd straight month

NEW YORK (AP) — Americans cut back on spending in December for the third-straight month as a surge in virus cases kept people away from stores during the critical holiday shopping season. The U.S. Commerce Department said Friday that retail sales fell a seasonally adjusted 0.7% in December from the month...

Asian shares mixed following Biden speech, Wall St retreat

Asian shares were mixed on Friday after a late slide in several Big Tech stocks left major indexes lower on Wall Street. U.S. futures were trading slightly lower after President-elect Joe Biden announced his plans to propose a $1.9 billion package to help along a recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. Biden...

The Latest: China says COVID-19 hospitalizations above 1,000

BEIJING — China says it is now treating more than 1,000 people for COVID-19 as numbers of cases continue to surge in the country’s north. The National Health Commission said Friday that 1,001 patients are under care for the disease, 26 of them in serious condition. It says 144 total new cases were...

Cuba tweaks socialist model to encourage work amid crisis

HAVANA (AP) — For more than 60 years, Cuba supplied at least some rice, milk, beans, sugar, chicken, electrical power and even cigarettes to its people nearly free of cost regardless of whether they worked, allowing many to survive without a job or depend solely on remittances. But this year, the...

VIRUS TODAY: Unemployment claims in US rise to 965,000

Here’s what’s happening Thursday with the coronavirus pandemic in the U.S.: THREE THINGS TO KNOW TODAY — The number of people seeking unemployment aid soared last week to 965,000, the most since late August, offering evidence that the resurgent virus has caused a spike in layoffs. The Labor...

US unemployment claims jump to 965,000 as virus takes toll

WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of people seeking unemployment aid soared last week to 965,000, the most since late August and a sign that the resurgent virus has likely escalated layoffs. The latest figures for jobless claims, issued Thursday by the Labor Department, remain at levels never seen until the...

US jobless claims jump to 965,000 as layoffs remain high with economy in grip of virus

US to block cotton from China region targeted in crackdown

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. government announced Wednesday that it will halt imports of cotton and tomatoes from the Uighur region of China in its most sweeping action yet to pressure the Communist Party over its campaign against ethnic minorities. Officials said Customs and Border Protection will use its...

Biden's Commerce nominee says she has 'blueprint' for US

President-elect Joe Biden’s nominee to lead the Commerce Department said Wednesday if confirmed she will take much of what she has learned improving her home state of Rhode Island’s economy and apply it at the federal level. “Right before COVID, Rhode Island had a record number of jobs and...