Newsletter Dec 10, 2021

Early data on the Omicron variant shows the strain is evading protection from COVID vaccines, but the symptoms are less severe than the Delta.
3 things you must know

  • Omicron affecting vaccinated but symptoms considered mild

    There's good news and bad news on the Omicron front. Almost two weeks after the Omicron variant of COVID was deemed a “variant of concern” by the World Health Organization, early data has indicated that the majority of cases in the U.S. are primarily among those that have been vaccinated. However, most of the reported cases of the virus strain are proving to be "mild" compared to the Delta variant.

    SEE HOW BOOSTERS ARE WORKING AGAINST OMICRON

  • Initial unemployment claims hit another half-century low

    Sometimes it seems as if the U.S. Labor Department is pulling its numbers from a random lottery drawing. Thursday;s figures show there were 184,000 initial unemployment claims in the week ending Dec. 4, a drop of 43,000. This was the second time in the last month where numbers fell to these levels following the 182,000 recorded in the week ending on Nov. 20. The last time comparable numbers were seen was in the week ending on Sept. 6, 1969.

    FIND OUT WHY THESE NUMBERS ARE FLUCTUATING WILDLY

  • Home refinance demand surges on drop in mortgage rates

    The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage saw a drop in the first week of December from the previous week, causing refinancing applications to surge 9%. The Mortgage Bankers Association’s weekly applications survey for the week ending Dec. 3 showed demand for new mortgages fell after four straight weeks of gains.

    SEE HOW INTEREST RATES ARE IMPACTING THE MARKET
Markets
DJIA 35,754.69 0.00%
S&P 500 4,667.45 -0.72%
Nasdaq Composite 15,517.37 -1.71%
Japan: Nikkei 225 28,437.77 -1.00%
UK: FTSE 100 7,307.41 -0.19%
Crude Oil Futures 71.36 0.59%
Gold Futures 1,771.00 -0.32%
Yen 113.67 0.18%
Euro 1.13 -0.08%
* As of market close
Democrats abandon Biden over mandates

Two Democrats, Joe Manchin, (D-W.Va.), and Jon Tester, (D-Mont.), joined with 50 Republicans in the Senate on Wednesday to veto Biden’s vaccine or test mandate for businesses with over 100 employees, but Biden said that he would veto the resolution. The Biden mandate had required businesses with over 100 employees to either vaccinate their staff or test them weekly in a measure meant to fight the virus' spread.

FIND OUT HOW BIDEN PLANS TO GET AROUND THE VETO

China blasts boycott; France breaks ranks

China warned Western nations on Thursday that they would "pay the price" for a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics as a French minister said they would not be joining the US-backed effort.

Washington unveiled its decision not to send a diplomatic delegation earlier in the week, saying it was prompted by widespread rights abuses by China against the Muslim Uyghur minority in Xinjiang. Australia, Britain and Canada followed suit, but France is breaking ranks with allies.

FIND OUT WHY FRANCE HAS DECIDED NOT TO JOIN BOYCOTT

OnePlus hints at 10 Pro launch at CES 2022

If you have already asked Santa for a new cellphone for Christmas, you might want to rethink the timing. OnePlus will reportedly launch its new 10 Pro model in early January 2022. It is believed that the company will also be debuting the rumored OnePlus 10 Pro at the highly anticipated Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2022 next week in Las Vegas.

SEE WHY TECHIES ARE EXCITED ABOUT THE POSSIBLE LAUNCH

'Rings' on the screen

Twenty years ago today saw the release of the first "Lord of the Rings" trilogy on the silver screen. What was the movie title and who directed it?

Thursday's answer: Franklin Roosevelt was the first U.S. president to visit the Soviet Union for the 1945 Yalta Conference that ended World War II.
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