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A man walks past an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei 225 index at a securities firm in Tokyo Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021. Shares rose in Asia on Thursday after Wall Street rallied on expectations of more stimulus for the economy, despite chaotic scenes in Washington as Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Asian shares track Wall St rally on hopes for stimulus

Jan. 6, 2021 11:00 PM EST

Shares rose in Asia on Thursday after Wall Street rallied on expectations of more stimulus for the economy, despite chaotic scenes in Washington as Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol. As Congress reconvened after disruptions to the process for recognizing the outcome of the U.S. presidential election,...

Kwanzaa in Louisville on heels of social justice movement

Dec. 27, 2020 9:34 AM EST

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — On June 19, droves of African Americans in Louisville celebrated Juneteenth, many for the first time, as a response to the changing social climate of the United States and the growing Black Lives Matter movement. The June holiday celebrates the day former slaves in Texas learned they...

People wearing face masks to protect against the spread of the coronavirus reflected on the electronic board of a securities firm in Tokyo, Wednesday, Dec.16, 2020. Asian shares are higher Thursday, Dec. 17, 2020 on hopes the U.S. Congress may finally deliver fresh aid to help businesses and families weather the pandemic. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)

Asian shares climb on hopes US to finally get more stimulus

Dec. 17, 2020 12:35 AM EST

Shares were mostly higher in Asia on Thursday, buoyed by hopes the U.S. Congress may finally deliver fresh aid to help American businesses and families weather the pandemic. Benchmarks rose in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Shanghai but fell in South Korea. Overnight, the S&P 500 edged close to a record after the...

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell testifies before a House Financial Services Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2020. (Greg Nash/Pool via AP)

Fed keeps rate near zero and sees brighter economy in 2021

Dec. 16, 2020 5:57 PM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve said Wednesday that it will keep buying government bonds until the economy makes “substantial” progress, a step intended to reassure financial markets and keep long-term borrowing rates low indefinitely. The Fed also reiterated after its latest policy...

The New York Stock Exchange is seen in New York, Monday, Nov. 23, 2020. U.S. stocks are ticking higher and heading back toward record highs on Friday, Dec. 4, despite discouraging data detailing how much damage the deepening pandemic is doing to the job market. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

More record highs for stocks as hopes grow for economic aid

Dec. 4, 2020 4:49 PM EST

Wall Street closed out a solid week for stocks Friday with more record highs as traders took a discouraging jobs report as a sign that Congress will finally move to deliver more aid for the pandemic-stricken economy. The S&P 500 rose 0.9%, notching its third all-time high this week. The Dow Jones Industrial...

FILE - In this March 16, 2020 file photo, a United States flag is reflected in the window of the Nasdaq studio, which displays indices and stocks down, in Times Square, New York. Nasdaq is looking to become more diverse, proposing new rules that would require all companies listed on its U.S. exchange to publicly disclose consistent, transparent diversity statistics about their board of directors. The listing rules would also require most Nasdaq-listed companies to have, or explain why they don’t have, at least two diverse directors. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

Nasdaq seeks mandatory board diversity for listed companies

Dec. 1, 2020 3:26 PM EST

Nasdaq is pushing for the more than 3,000 companies listed on its U.S. stock exchange to make their boardrooms less overwhelmingly male and white by hiring directors that better reflect the country's diverse population. The company filed a proposal Tuesday with the Securities and Exchange Commission that, if...

A street sign is displayed at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Monday, Nov. 23, 2020. Stocks are mostly lower as Wall Street heads into the Thanksgiving holiday. The S&P 500 index slipped 0.4% in the early going Wednesday, but it's still holding on to a gain of almost 11% for the month. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Asian shares mixed after Wall Street takes pause on optimism

Nov. 25, 2020 9:03 PM EST

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares were mixed Thursday, after Wall Street took a pause from the optimism underlined in a record-setting climb earlier in the week. A reality check appeared to be setting in amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, and a batch of discouraging data on the U.S. economy, including jobless...