President-elect’s ambitious initiative will face steep challengesCoronavirus – live coverageUS politics – live coverageJoe Biden’s promise to carry out 100m coronavirus vaccinations in his first 100 days in power is “absolutely a doable thing”, Dr Anthony Fauci said on Sunday. Related: ‘He just cries and cries': families grapple with US deportations amid pandemic We're inheriting a huge...
Incoming chief of staff trails flurry of action in first daysRobert Reich: Biden cannot govern from the centerUS politics – live coverageJoe Biden will sign a series of executive orders in his first days in office, attempting to roll back damage done at home and abroad by Donald Trump, whom the Democrat will replace as president on Wednesday. Related: America is broken – can Biden and Harris put...
This Republican party traffics in conspiracy and thuggery – the new president must be bold on healthcare, equality and moreBiden must find words for a wounded nationI keep hearing that Joe Biden will govern from the “center”. He has no choice, they say, because he will have razor-thin majorities in Congress and the Republican party has moved to the right. Related: Abraham Lincoln is America's...
Will we shrug our shoulders while the American workforce hemorrhages women and millions of people fall into poverty? Related: The Chinese government is trying to rebrand forced sterilization as feminism | Arwa Mahdawi Continue reading...
Ex-counsellor: Capitol attack distracts from accomplishmentsTrump isolated and enraged ahead of Biden inaugurationFormer Trump counsellor Kellyanne Conway defended her president’s legacy on Friday night, telling HBO Real Time host Bill Maher: “You can’t deny that many people are better off.” Related: Trump saw the economy was his ticket to a second term – then Covid struck Related: Can Joe...
Joe Biden inherits dual crises but few people a year ago would have put much money on him becoming president Coronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageNo time to waste. That was the message from Joe Biden as he announced plans for a $1.9tn (£1.4tn) stimulus package only days before his inauguration as US president next week. Combatting the health and economic crises he will inherit...
Only Joe Biden’s $2tn infrastructure plan can create the long-term demand the US economy so badly needsWith the Democrats’ stunning sweep of Georgia’s two Senate run-off elections giving them control of both houses of Congress as of 20 January, the idea of $2,000 stimulus cheques for every household is sure to be back on the agenda in the US. But although targeted relief for the unemployed should...
Plan includes $160bn in vaccination funds and $1tn in relief to families, including $1,400 stimulus checksJoe Biden has unveiled a $1.9tn coronavirus relief proposal, aimed at urgently combating the pandemic and the economic crisis it has triggered. As the US faces its deadliest stage of the pandemic, Biden described the moment as “a crisis of deep human suffering”.The ambitious, wide-ranging plan...
US economy sheds jobs for first time since April, jobless rate stays at 6.7%UK regulator approves Moderna vaccine; UK orders 10m more dosesEurozone jobless rate in surprise fall; youth unemployment risesStrong German industrial data fuels hopes economy can avoid double dipUK house prices rise at slowest monthly rate since JuneClosing summary 2.50pm GMT Just after Wall Street opened, the main indices...
US lost 140,000 jobs in December, down from a gain of 245,000 in November, ending seven months of jobs growthThe recovery in the US jobs market collapsed in December, the last full month of Donald Trump’s presidency, as coronavirus infections soared across the country.The US lost 140,000 jobs in December, down from a gain of 245,000 in November, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)....
Wall Street surges as Democrats take control of US SenateUS Congress certifies Joe Biden as next president hours after Capitol siegeUK construction enjoys rebound at end of 2020Introduction: Shares boosted as calm returns after US Capitol drama 3.38pm GMT On Wall Street, the Dow Jones and tech-heavy Nasdaq have surged to fresh record highs after the stronger-than-expected ISM service sector survey....
Nearly every state has failed to meet federal standards in getting benefits to 87% of recipients within three weeks amid Covid crisisEugene Williams of Daytona Beach, Florida, lost his job with a restaurant food distributor when the pandemic hit in March 2020, and had been receiving unemployment benefits without issue until June, when he accidentally entered “return to work” in verifying his weekly...
Institution says pandemic has led to sharpest rise in government debt in more than 30 yearsCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageThe World Bank has called for rapid and decisive action to prevent a new debt crisis as it said the Covid-19 pandemic could result in a decade of disappointment for the global economy.In its half-yearly health check, the Washington-based institution...
C Nicole Mason, who coined the term to describe a recession that affects women disproportionately, sets out what is needed for an equitable recoveryFor the first time in history, the US is in a “shecession” – an economic downturn where job and income losses are affecting women more than men. The term was coined by C Nicole Mason, president and chief executive of the Institute for Women’s Policy...
The coronavirus and a near-catastrophic election showed Donald Trump is a symptom not a cause of what ails US societyIf America learns nothing else from these dark times, here are seven lessons it should take from 2020: Related: Ted Cruz and other Republican senators oppose certifying election results Related: Hundreds of thousands more US Covid deaths possible amid vaccine chaos Robert Reich, a former...
Incoming US Treasury secretary was paid for events at Goldman Sachs, Barclays and othersThe incoming US Treasury secretary, Janet Yellen, has been paid at least $7m (£5.1m) for speaking engagements at government-regulated banks, consultancies and hedge funds over the past two years, according to newly disclosed documents.The former Federal Reserve chair disclosed a list of more than 50 paid speaking...
Institutional investors help cryptocurrency to 47% gain in December as interest in US dollar declines Bitcoin has continued its end-of-year Santa Claus rally, surging to a new high of more than $28,500.The cryptocurrency gained more than 5% to hit $28,572 on Wednesday. It is up 47% since the start of December and is on track for its biggest monthly gain since May 2019. Continue reading...
Analysts predict a holiday retail boom even as unemployment hits shocking levels, particularly for Black and brown workersWalter Almendarez doubts there will be any presents beneath his artificial Christmas tree – not for his daughter, his nephews or anyone else. Related: Trickle-down economics doesn't work but build-up does – is Biden listening? | Robert Reich Continue reading...
Profits are soaring for the likes of Amazon and Walmart but their workers have received only modest pay raisesSomething doesn’t add up in the United States. Profits at retail companies are booming due to the Covid-19 pandemic. But the retail workers who have ensured those profits while facing serious health risks, are being rewarded with paltry pay rises. Related: Which NYPD officers have most complaints...
Centre for Economics and Business Research says it expects this to happen half a decade sooner than it forecast a year agoChina will overtake the US as the world’s biggest economy before the end of the decade after outperforming its rival during the global Covid-19 pandemic, according to a report.The Centre for Economics and Business Research said that it nowexpected the value of China’s economy...
