The direct economic harm caused by the Omicron variant of Covid-19 in highly vaccinated countries appears so far to be relatively modest and short-lived, but its indirect hit could prove significant if China resorts to repeated lockdowns in its effort to suppress the virus within its borders. Omicron led to a fresh surge in infections … Read more
The average number of daily deaths from COVID-19 in the US over the past week has climbed above 2,600, according to a New York Times tracker, now higher than the peak surge in the fall when the delta variant was the dominant variant and close to the peak last winter, before vaccines were available. Deaths … Read more
Font size The stock markets are closed on Friday because the Christmas holiday falls on a Saturday. Spencer Platt/Getty Images Shares closed higher on Thursday as studies of the Omicron coronavirus variant found infected people were at a lower risk of being hospitalized. Stronger US economic data also helped markets in the run-up to the … Read more