Here are the top news, trends, and analysis investors need to get their trading day started:
1. Dow wants to contribute to Wednesday’s record despite the turbulence in the Capitol
The Department of Labor said Thursday that initial jobless claims were 787,000 last week, lower than estimates of 815,000. However, those numbers are still historically elevated compared to pre-pandemic levels, with the 7-day average of new daily US Covid infections rising to a record high.
Ahead of Friday’s government employment report, the ADP’s look at December employment trends at U.S. companies showed a decline in private sector positions for the first time since the beginning of the coronavirus. For most of the pandemic, ADP estimates were below the final government figure.
2. 10 year Treasury yield over 1%; Bitcoin over $ 38,000
The yield on 10-year government bonds remained above 1% Thursday morning after the Democrats expected to win both of the Georgian Senate runoffs. Investors eased bonds, pushed prices and yields, and bought riskier assets like stocks and bitcoin.
The world’s largest cryptocurrency passed the $ 38,000 mark and hit a record high on Thursday as it continued its massive rally. Bitcoin is up 29% in the first few days of 2021 and is up 380% in the last 12 months.
3. Congress confirms Biden as the next president
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi calls a joint congressional session to certify Joe Biden as the next US President on January 6, 2021 at the US Capitol in Washington.
Jim Lo Scalzo | Pool | Reuters
Congress early Thursday confirmed the electoral college election for Biden, the day after Trump supporters breached the Capitol in a chaotic attempt to avoid formal recognition that the president lost the election. Shortly after confirmation, White House spokesman Dan Scavino tweeted Trump’s statement, promising “an orderly transition on January 20,” the day of Biden’s inauguration, but also upholding the unsubstantiated claim that he had actually won.
Members of the National Guard arrive in Washington on Wednesday, January 6, 2021 to secure the area outside the U.S. Capitol.
Jacquelyn Martin | AP
The process of Congressional vote counting for the electoral college was interrupted on Wednesday afternoon when rioters stormed the US Capitol. A woman among the invaders was shot dead by the Capitol Police. Three other people died from medical emergencies.
4. The US Trade Group asks Pence to seriously consider invoking the 25th Amendment
Vice President Mike Pence arrives to chair a joint congressional session at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, on January 6, 2021.
Saul Loeb | AFP | Getty Images
The National Association of Manufacturers, a trade organization that represents 14,000 US companies, urged Vice President Mike Pence to “think seriously” about using the 25th amendment to the constitution to remove Trump from office. Jay Timmons, CEO of the manufacturing group, is a former executive director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee. Two US Democrats were working on a letter to Pence asking him to refer to the amendment.
Members of Trump’s cabinet harshly criticized the violence that was taking place in the Capitol. However, officials stopped criticizing the president, who urged his supporters to take action at a pro-Trump rally on Wednesday morning.
A civil servant confirmed to CNBC’s Eamon Javers that national security adviser Robert O’Brien is considering stepping down over the riot. O’Brien’s deputy Matthew Pottinger has reportedly resigned. Stephanie Grisham, Chief of Staff to First Lady Melania Trump, and Sarah Matthews, Assistant Secretary of the White House, resigned Wednesday.
Mick Mulvaney, Trump’s former chief of staff, announced on CNBC on Thursday that he was stepping down as special envoy for Northern Ireland. “Those who choose to stay, and I’ve spoken to some of them, choose to stay because they fear the president might make someone worse,” said Mulvaney. But he added that other officials could resign after Wednesday’s uprising in the U.S. Capitol.
5. Democrats win majority in Senate
Democratic Senate nominees Jon Ossoff (L) and Raphael Warnock (R) take to the stage during a rally with US President-elect Joe Biden outside Center Parc Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia on Jan. 4, 2021.
Jim Watson | AFP | Getty Images
During the siege of the Capitol, Democrat Jon Ossoff was predicted to win the second of two runoff elections to the Senate on Tuesday in Georgia. The defeat of Republican David Perdue, whose tenure in the Senate ended on Sunday, along with the planned victory of Democrat Raphael Warnock over Republican Senator Kelly Loeffler, divides the 100th Senate in half. The Democrats, however, take over the majority as Vice President-elect Kamala Harris would be the casting vote. After Biden’s inauguration, the Democrats will control the Senate, the House and the White House.
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