01.News

Dow rises more than 100 points as Boeing jumps 5%, Nasdaq hits record

U.S. stocks rose on Thursday, extending their recent record-setting run as better-than-expected economic data boosted sentiment.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 130 points, boosted by a 5% jump in Boeing shares. The S&P 500 rose 0.3% after hitting a second record closing high in a row in the previous session, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained 0.6% to a fresh all-time high.

First-time claims for unemployment insurance totaled 712,000 last week, lower than an estimate of 780,000 from economists surveyed by Dow Jones. Jobless claims also fell for the first time in three weeks as the labor market showed resilience even in the face of a worsening pandemic.

The Labor Department is set to release its closely watched jobs report for November on Friday. The U.S. economy is expected to add 440,000 jobs while the unemployment rate is estimated to decrease to 6.7%, according to Dow Jones.

“With some rumblings of stimulus progress and positive momentum on the vaccine front, labor market watchers could be ever hopeful for a more meaningful decrease in jobless claims in the long run,” said Mike Loewengart, managing director of investment strategy at E-Trade Financial.

On Capitol Hill, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer issued a joint statement calling on Republicans to work with them on another round of coronavirus relief funding, using a bipartisan proposal from Senate moderates as a starting point.

“Democratic leaders appear to have yielded on their insistence on a multi-trillion dollar fiscal stimulus package, raising the odds that a deal can be reached before the end of the year,” Jan Hatzius, Goldman Sachs’ chief U.S. economist, said in a note Thursday.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell did not endorse the $908 billion proposal after it was released on Tuesday, and the Kentucky Republican has repeatedly said he believes the next round of stimulus should be smaller at around $500 billion.

Meanwhile, the coronavirus infections have accelerated in the U.S. where more than 100,000 patients are currently hospitalized, according to data from the COVID Tracking Project. That is significantly above the peak during the first wave in the spring, when cases were concentrated in the northeastern part of the country.

The U.S. also reported a record 2,800 Covid deaths on Wednesday, the highest single-day death toll ever reported, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

On Wednesday, the U.K. became the first country to grant emergency approval to the Covid-19 vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech. Regulators in the U.S. are expected to make determinations on that vaccine and a similar vaccine from Moderna later this month, possibly allowing distribution to begin before the start of 2021.

Elsewhere, the House of Representatives unanimously passed a bill that would require Chinese companies to adhere to U.S. auditing standards if they want their stocks to be to be listed on exchanges in the United States. The bill now goes to President Donald Trump, who is expected to sign it into law.

02.Listening

You can play some air guitar if you like

Bobby: Hi Kelly - just a minute while I turn the music down! 

Kelly: Thanks - wow that music was loud!

Bobby: I like to listen to music as loud as I can.

Kelly: But your neighbors must hate it.

Bobby: I actually never thought of that.

Kelly: That's selfish Bobby! 

Bobby: But how can I play my air guitar without loud music? 

Kelly: You need to buy some headphones and then you can listen as loudly as you want. 

Bobby: Can I sing for you Kelly, to thank you for such a good idea?

Kelly: No singing, thanks, but you can play some air guitar if you like.

03.Reading

UN: Food Has Run Out for Nearly 100,000 Refugees in Ethiopia

The United Nations says food has now run out for the nearly 100,000 Eritrean refugees in Ethiopia's northern Tigray area.

"The camps will have now run out of food supplies – making hunger...a real danger, a warning we have been issuing since the conflict began nearly a month ago," U.N. spokesman Babar Baloch said in Geneva on Tuesday. He added that the U.N. is worried about attacks and human rights violations at the camps.

It has been a month since Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced that fighting had started in Tigray between federal forces and local Tigray forces. Each government says the other is illegitimate after a dispute over holding elections during the coronavirus health crisis.

Communications and transportation links to the six million people who live in the Tigray area have been cut. The U.N. and others have made appeals to deliver food, medicine and other supplies.

Abiy, last year's Nobel Peace Prize winner, has refused to negotiate with Tigray leaders. Just a few days ago, Abiy said his army was victorious, but Tigray soldiers continue to fight. Most Tigray leaders have fled the area and are in hiding.

Under growing international pressure, Ethiopia's government has said it will permit aid to go through a "humanitarian corridor." But the U.N. wants a neutral path to enter the area.

Ethiopia has assisted Eritrean refugees for nearly 20 years, "but now we fear they are caught in the conflict," Baloch said.

In Tigray, the 96,000 Eritrean refugees are in a very difficult position. They live in camps in Ethiopia near the border of their homeland, Eritrea, which they fled. There are reports that some have been attacked or abducted. The U.N. has warned that any such actions would be "violations of international norms."

Eritrea has remained almost silent as the Tigray leaders accuse it of joining the conflict at Ethiopia's request. Abiy's government has denied the accusation.

The U.N. said about two million people in Tigray also need assistance. Before the conflict the number was one million. In addition, one million people have lost their homes, including more than 45,000 Ethiopians who have fled into Sudan as refugees.

-----

Words in This Story

illegitimate – adj. not allowed according to rules or laws

pandemic – n. an occurrence in which a disease spreads very quickly and affects a large number of people over a wide area or throughout the world

sovereign – adj. having independent authority and the right to govern itself

corridor – n. a narrow area of land that is known for something specified

abduct - v. to take someone away from a place by force

norms – n. standards of proper or acceptable behavior