WASHINGTON—Spending on U.S. construction projects increased 0.9 percent in November as strength in home building offset weakness in other parts of the construction industry. The November gain followed a bigger 1.6 percent rise in October and left construction spending up 4.4 percent through the first 11 months of 2020 compared to the same period in…
US Stocks in 2020: A Year for the History Books
NEW YORK—The year 2020 was a wild one for Wall Street, bookended by the end of the longest bull market in history with the battering of equities by the COVID-19 shutdowns, and a bungee-cord rebound on hopes for economic recovery that resulted in the shortest bear market on record. After closing at a record high…
US Jobless Claims Dip but Show Recovery Has Long Way to Go
Fewer Americans sought unemployment benefits last week, but the modest drop did little to dispel concerns that the U.S. job market and wider economy face an arduous recovery from the devastation inflicted by the coronavirus pandemic in 2020. The final major economic data point for a year that saw a recession of historic magnitude erupt…
US Treasury Yields 2020 Drop Makes Way for Slow Grind Back in 2021
NEW YORK—The U.S. Treasuries market took investors on a bumpy ride in 2020, with yields plunging to historic lows in the early part of the year before a partial grind back in the second half. Investors are looking for yields to edge up further as the calendar flips to 2021. Expectations that a vaccine against…
A Historic Oil Price Collapse, With Worries Headed Into 2021
NEW YORK—This year was like no other for oil prices. Even as global prices end the year at about $51 a barrel, near the average for 2015–2017, it masks a year of volatility. In April, U.S. crude plunged deep into negative territory and Brent dropped below $20 per barrel, slammed by the COVID-19 pandemic and…
Fed Extends Main Street Loan Program as Last-Minute Applications Surge
The Federal Reserve on Tuesday said it had extended the end date for its Main Street Lending Program by eight days to process a rush of applications submitted since the Trump administration said it was terminating the emergency credit facility and several others set up by the U.S. central bank. The program, targeted at small-…
In Pandemic, Fed Showed Its Muscle in Markets Still Matters
The U.S. Federal Reserve’s response to the coronavirus pandemic began on Feb. 28 with a 44-word statement of faith in the economy from Chair Jerome Powell, an old-school measure aimed at calming nosediving financial markets. Within weeks, though, its actions became so groundbreaking they cast the U.S. central bank as creditor to the world and…
US Plants Hope to Maintain Production Despite Virus Threat
OMAHA, Neb.—U.S. factories have been cranking out goods during much of the pandemic at rates that are remarkably close to normal. However, manufacturers are concerned they may not be able to keep pace until most of the country is vaccinated because the coronavirus continues to surge in areas where many plants are based. Safeguards that…
Tech’s Reign Over US Stock Market to Be Tested in 2021
NEW YORK—Investors are weighing how big to go on U.S. technology stocks in the coming year, as pricier valuations, regulatory risks and a revival of the market’s beaten-down names threaten to dim their allure. A surge in technology and internet-related shares helped lift U.S. indexes to record highs this year. Gains in Apple, Amazon, and…
Big Tech Bets and Cryptocurrencies Power 2020’s Top US Funds
NEW YORK—Outsized bets on large U.S. technology companies and emerging cryptocurrencies fueled the year’s top-performing U.S. mutual fund and exchange-traded funds as the coronavirus pandemic upended global markets, while funds that bet on oil and gas companies fell nearly 100 percent, according to data from fund-tracker Morningstar. The year was a challenge like few others…
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