NEW YORK — Stocks marched higher on Wall Street Thursday, putting the market on track for its first three-day rally in six weeks, even as the astonishing scale of the downturn slamming the economy because of the coronavirus becomes more apparent. Nearly 3.3 million Americans applied for unemployment benefits last...
Wall Street Looks for First Back-To-Back Gain in Six Weeks
NEW YORK — Stocks are higher in another day of bumpy trading Wednesday as Congress moves closer to passing a $2 trillion package to help the economy deal with damage caused by the coronavirus. If the market ends higher, it would mark the first back-to-back gain since a brutal sell-off...
Coronavirus Suddenly Upends Campaign Themes for Both Parties
WASHINGTON — The coronavirus pandemic and the nation's crashing economy are scrambling the themes both major political parties thought would carry them to victory in November for control of the White House and Congress. Shattered, certainly for now, is President Donald Trump's ability to tout a brawny economy and record stock market prices as...
Congress Closing in on Nearly $2 Trillion Virus Aid Package
WASHINGTON — Top congressional and White House officials say they expect to reach a deal Tuesday on a nearly $2 trillion measure aimed at easing the economic damage inflicted by the coronavirus pandemic. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and congressional leaders engaged in final negotiations after a tumultuous but productive day on...
Trump Says He Intends to Reopen Country in Weeks, Not Months
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Monday that he wants to reopen the country for business in weeks, not months, and he claimed, without evidence, that continued closures could result in more deaths than the coronavirus pandemic. "We can’t have the cure be worse than the problem," Trump told reporters...
Fed to Buy Unlimited Government Debt and Lend to Businesses
WASHINGTON — In its boldest effort to protect the U.S. economy from the coronavirus, the Federal Reserve says it will buy as much government debt as it deems necessary and will also begin lending to small and large businesses and local governments to help them weather the crisis. The Fed's...
Dow Drops More Than 900 Points, Ending Worst Week Since 2008
Wall Street ended the week the same way it began: In full retreat from the coronavirus. Stocks fell sharply and the price of oil sank Friday as federal and state governments moved to shut down bigger and bigger swaths of the nation’s economy in the hope of limiting the spread...
Wall Street Gains Momentum After Another Rocky Start
NEW YORK — Stocks are gaining momentum in afternoon trading on Wall Street Thursday in a market marked by less volatility than recent days as global authorities rush to support an economy decimated by the coronavirus pandemic. The S&P 500 rose 1.8% after bouncing between a gain of 2.5% and...
Judge Clears Major Hurdle in T-Mobile's $26.5B Sprint Bid
NEW YORK — A federal judge has cleared a major path to T-Mobile's $26.5 billion takeover of Sprint, as he rejected claims by more than a dozen states that the deal would mean less competition and higher phone bills. Though the deal still needs a few more approvals, T-Mobile expects...
US Added a Solid 128,000 Jobs in October Despite GM Strike
WASHINGTON — U.S. employers added a solid 128,000 jobs in October, a figure that was held down by a now-settled strike against General Motors that caused tens of thousands of workers to be temporarily counted as unemployed. The unemployment rate ticked up from 3.5% to 3.6%, still near a five-decade...