Business

A historic number of workers have become their own bosses amid the COVID-19 pandemic, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (pdf).

The U.K.'s competition regulator ordered Facebook’s parent company, Meta, to sell the animated image-sharing platform Giphy on Tuesday, a move that is set to unwind an 19 month-old acquisition and deal a blow to the recently rebranded company.

Buried deep within the massive infrastructure legislation recently signed by President Joe Biden is a little-noticed “safety” measure that will take effect in five years. Marketed to Congress as a benign tool to help prevent drunk driving, the measure will mandate that automobile manufacturers build into every car what amounts to a “vehicle kill switch.”

United States consumer confidence has plummeted to a decade-low in November. The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index fell to 66.8 in November, down sharply from the October figure of 71.7 and well below consensus forecasts of 72.4.

The chief economic adviser for financial services firm Allianz warned that the new coronavirus variant Omicron could shake up the markets, exacerbate supply chain woes, amplify record-high inflation pressures — and possibly result in 1970s-style “stagflation.”

A citywide tactical alert was lifted throughout a majority of Los Angeles on Saturday after the city was hit with multiple smash-and-grab robberies. Los Angeles Police are on high alert after the city underwent at least six flash mob style robberies on Black Friday.

Three quarters of individuals in a recent poll believe that the nation will likely face an economic recession during the next 12 months, The Hill reported, citing a Hill-HarrisX survey which found that 33% view a recession as "very likely," while 42% think that a recession is "somewhat likely."

US President Joe Biden said on Friday that he is not concerned about the plunge in the US stock market and he had expected it over concerns related to the new Omicron coronavirus variant."I expected it," Biden told reporters when asked if he is worried about the stock market plunge.

Treasury yields slide as investors shed riskier assets and pile into havens.

The Dow Jones fell over 900 points just after opening bell on Nov. 26, with other major Wall Street stock indexes—and risk assets more generally—also seeing sell-offs as news of a new COVID-19 variant spreading in South Africa seems to have sparked a broader risk-off sentiment among investors.