By Echo Wang (Reuters) – Wall Street closed lower on Thursday, retreating late in thin holiday volume from record highs set early in the session on strong U.S. data including a drop in weekly claims for U.S. unemployment benefits. With one trading day left, the S&P 500 was set to end the year more than…

By Katanga Johnson WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Global stock markets reversed gains after a day-long rally on Thursday even as fresh U.S. economic data indicated that a recent uptick of Omicron COVID-19 variant-related infections has not yet led to a surge in layoffs, a positive sign for the economy. Thin trading volumes, which led to a…

By David Shepardson (Reuters) -A U.S. trade group representing major passenger and cargo airlines asked the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Thursday to halt deployment of new 5G wireless service at some airport locations. AT&T and Verizon Communications are set on Jan. 5 to deploy C-Band spectrum 5G wireless service that they won in an…

By Sabrina Valle HOUSTON (Reuters) – Exxon Mobil Corp on Thursday signaled a return to annual profit for 2021 as stronger oil and gas prices drove as much as $1.9 billion in operating gains in the fourth quarter. The largest U.S. oil producer issued a snapshot of final quarter results that showed it expects sequentially…

  By Steven Scheer JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel’s government said on Thursday it would give additional aid to El Al Airlines to help compensate for the reimposition of a COVID-19 entry ban on foreign tourists and restrictions on overseas travel by Israelis. Israel’s flag carrier will receive tens of millions of dollars from the state…

(Reuters) -The iShares ESG MSCI EM Leaders ETF suffered heavy outflows this week, according to public data, leading to a tenfold drop in the assets managed by the exchange-traded fund focused on sustainable emerging-market companies. Finland’s Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Company owned 13 million shares in the ETF in September, making it the No.1 investor…

  By John McCrank NEW YORK (Reuters) – The dollar ticked up against a basket of rival currencies in holiday-thinned trading on Thursday as a dip in weekly jobless claims data helped ease fears that a surge of COVID-19 infections would curb the economic recovery. New claims for U.S. unemployment benefits fell in the week…

  STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – The world’s biggest furniture brand IKEA is raising prices by an average of 9% as it faces increasing costs in transport and raw materials, the owner of most of its stores worldwide said on Thursday. IKEA had previously said it was leasing more ships, buying containers and re-routing goods between warehouses…

  By Brendan Pierson NEW YORK (Reuters) – Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd fueled opioid addiction in New York state, a jury found on Thursday, a setback for a company still facing thousands of other opioid-related lawsuits around the United States. The verdict, which followed a nearly six-month New York state court trial in a case…

  By Medha Singh and Bansari Mayur Kamdar (Reuters) -The S&P 500 and the Dow hit all-time highs on Thursday, extending a record-setting run as a dip in weekly jobless claims allayed fears over the economic damage from a rampant surge in COVID-19 infections in the United States. The blue-chip Dow was set to rise…