As U.S. investors returned to the markets Tuesday after a long weekend, they found Asian stock markets dropping on fears that a flu-like virus in China could spread and become a pandemic.
A top Chinese health official confirmed on Monday that the so-called coronavirus is now able to spread via human-to-human contact, similar to how influenza can be "caught" from a handshake or sneeze. The virus has already killed at least six people in central China, where it is believed to have originated, according to local reports. Confirmed cases of the virus, which resembles pneumonia in its symptoms, have jumped to nearly 300, adding a new element of worry for public health officials in Asia as tens of millions of people are set to travel in the coming days to celebrate the Lunar New Year.
That worry translated to a nearly 1.5 percent drop in the Shanghai Composite at Tuesday's close, its biggest decline in weeks. The Nikkei in Japan and Hang Seng in Hong Kong also closed lower. Hong Kong stocks had their worst day in five months, partly due to fears that the coronavirus could jump from the mainland and add a new burden on top of the protests that have crippled the region's economy.
The World Health Organization has convened an emergency meeting, scheduled for Wednesday in Geneva, to determine whether the outbreak constitutes a public-health emergency that would allow the WHO to deploy resources.
With the coronavirus now communicable through person-to-person contact, it resembles the early days of the SARS outbreak, which began with a similar type of virus and ultimately killed nearly 800 people in southern China in 2002 and 2003.
The capacity to burn coal for power went up in 2022 despite global promises to phase down the fuel that’s the biggest source of planet-warming gases in the atmosphere, a report Wednesday found.
Rob Hocking, SVP, Head of Product Innovation at CBOE, joins Cheddar News to break down how the VIX is calculated, what role the VIX plays in the options market, and how investors can use the VIX Index to manage risk.
Adam Coons, chief portfolio manager of Winthrop Capital Management, joined Cheddar News to discuss Wednesday's market session amid weak job market data and what lies ahead in the near-term future.
In a clash of fast casual titans, Chipotle Mexican Grill is filing a lawsuit against Sweetgreen for trademark infringement. The salad purveyor recently released a meal offering called "Chipotle Chicken Burrito Bowl," which Chipotle said is being marketed in a "very similar" way as its own products and includes many of the same ingredients.
The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell this week as the labor market continues to hold up in the face of the Federal Reserve aggressive campaign to cool the economy and bring down inflation.
Wall Street is drifting amid mixed trading Thursday, threatening to send the S&P 500 to its first losing week in the last four following some discouraging reports on the economy.
The upcoming trial in a voting machine company’s defamation lawsuit against Fox News for airing false allegations of vote fraud in the 2020 presidential election will not include testimony about the Jan. 6 uprising at the U.S. Capitol, a judge ruled Wednesday.
Ted Rossman, a senior industry analyst with Bankrate.com, joined Cheddar News to provide guidance on how to raise your credit score, especially for would-be homebuyers.
