U.S. stock futures ticked up ahead of open on Thursday after the S&P 500 and Dow each extended a rally to close at all-time highs amid a thinly-traded last week of 2021 on Wall Street. Contracts on the Dow, S&P, and Nasdaq were up modestly as the markets looked to build on earlier gains.  This week’s market swings were exaggerated by the low trading volumes. Economic and earnings calendars remain light for the final two trading days of the year, though investors will turn their attention on… Source link

This article first appeared in the Morning Brief. Get the Morning Brief sent directly to your inbox every Monday to Friday by 6:30 a.m. ET. Subscribe Thursday, December 30, 2021 What COVID-19 ‘on our terms’ means for the market, and everyone else Another day, another shattered record of COVID-19 infections in the United States — and yet another set of new milestones in the Dow (^DJI) and S&P 500 (^GSPC), as Santa Claus continues to bestow gifts on Wall Street. One of the aforementioned records… Source link

The NBA brings a fairly quiet slate to the table Thursday that consists of only four games. The big news surrounding the matchup between the Nets and Sixers is that Kevin Durant is expected to return to the floor after dealing with COVID-19. Kyrie Irving was also activated from the health and safety protocols, but he still is working his way back into shape. The game is being played in Brooklyn, so he wouldn’t have been eligible to play, anyway, given that he is not vaccinated. The… Source link

Dwayne Johnson has a response to Vin Diesel‘s request that they join forces again onscreen for the final “Fast & Furious” movie. In an interview with CNN, published Wednesday, the “Jungle Cruise” star, 49, was asked about an open Instagram letter directed to him from Diesel, in which the 54-year-old cajoled Johnson to rejoin the franchise for part 1 of the finale due out in 2023. The two actors have had well-documented tension that boiled over while making 2017’s “The Fate of the Furious” and… Source link

The first official recruit of Marcus Freeman’s coaching career, junior college linebacker C.J. Malauulu, transferred to Kent State in 2011. Malauulu soon realized he drastically underestimated the seismic culture shift that comes with moving from Southern California to Northeast Ohio. Malauulu showed up on a winter recruiting trip dressed in slippers and shorts, the wind chill welcoming him to a new world. When seeking a burrito after arriving, he was stunned when teammates directed him to… Source link

NC State is very upset about the Holiday Bowl’s cancellation.  The Wolfpack were slated to play UCLA on Tuesday but the game was canceled about six hours before kickoff when UCLA got the results of its last round of pregame COVID-19 tests. The tests showed that the Bruins wouldn’t be able to play the game and it was called off before teams began their pregame preparations.  Since UCLA was the team that was forced to back out of the game, NC State wants credit for the win. The Wolfpack were… Source link

Satellite Images Show Chaotic Scenes at Kabul Airport Satellite imagery from August 16 shows the chaotic scenes at Kabul Airport that morning as thousands of people flocked there in a bid to escape after the Afghan capital fell under Taliban control the previous day. (Credit: Maxar Technologies via Storyful) LOS ANGELES – Google has released its annual list of top searches for 2021 and one United States category includes the most-searched results for ‘how to help others.’ From… Source link

Jurors completed a sixth day of deliberations without a verdict in the criminal fraud case against former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes on Wednesday, and a docket entry confirming that a sealed 23-minute proceeding took place on Tuesday remained a mystery. Deliberations are scheduled to resume on Monday, Jan. 3, 2022, at 8:30 A.M. Pacific Time. Federal District Court Judge Edward Davila didn’t reveal why the matter was shielded from public view. Both the government’s lawyers and Holmes’… Source link

Longtime ESPN college basketball announcer Dick Vitale said on Wednesday that he is taking a step back from the broadcast booth amid his latest battle with cancer. Vitale announced in October that he had been diagnosed with lymphoma, his second cancer diagnosis in three months. After meeting with a throat specialist in Massachusetts this week, Vitale said it was recommended that he take a break. “I’ve been having some issues with my voice and I needed to see what was going on,” Vitale Source link

Peloton is ending the year on an ominous note, if the tale told by Google search volume is to be believed. U.S. search trends for Peloton show a 30% year-over-year drop in the fourth quarter of this year. U.K. and Germany showed an even larger year-over-year decline. “Historically, Google search trends data has correlated well with Peloton hardware sales,” wrote Raymond James analyst Aaron Kessler. “Based on our updated analysis, the search trends data indicates… Source link