The NASDAQ and S&P 500 both recorded new highs on Friday, despite the U.S. economy losing jobs in December.
Non-Farm Payrolls came in well below expectations, with figures showing that 140,000 jobs were lost last month. Many in the markets had expected 71,000 jobs to be added, however with the coronavirus pandemic worsening, many businesses were forced to make layoffs.
This is the first time in 8 months that payrolls have been negative, stretching back to the first peak of the outbreak in March/April.
As of writing the S&P 500 was up 0.36% and NASDAQ 0.61%
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NYSE considering Alibaba ban
In a week where many were questioning the whereabouts of Jack Ma, the company founded by the billionaire was today under threat of being blacklisted.
After days of indecision, the New York Stock Exchange went ahead with removing several Chinese companies from the exchange.
The three companies initially removed were China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom last week, following a Trump administration executive order.
Now many believe that Alibaba and Tencent, the two most valuable Chinese companies, could be next.
Regarding the matter, U.S. Senator Ben Sasse stated that, “Chinese firms that reject fundamental transparency requirements and have ties to the Chinese military shouldn’t benefit from American investment”.
London crisis, as 1 in 30 have COVID-19
The FTSE 100 continued its strong start to 2021 on Friday, once again rising, despite reports that London was in a state of emergency due to increasing COVID infections.
It was today reported that close to 1 in 30 Londoners are now infected with the coronavirus, with hospitals across the city close to being fully occupied.
London’s Mayor Sadiq Khan took to twitter to break the news.
His tweet read, “I have declared a major incident in London because the threat this virus poses to our city is at crisis point, one in 30 Londoners now has COVID-19. If we do not take immediate action now, our NHS could be overwhelmed, and more people will die”.
Quote of the day – “Sheer will and determination is no substitute for something that actually works.”
Jason Klatt
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