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Stocks stage first big rally of 2023 as hope grows that inflation will ease, Dow closes up 700 points

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Stocks close day, week higher

A Friday rally on the back of new economic data left stocks positive on the both the day and week when markets closed.

The Dow ended up 2.1% on the day and 1.5% on the week.

Meanwhile, the S&P 500 gained 2.3% Friday and 1.5% in the week.

The Nasdaq posted the biggest daily win, adding 2.6%. But it had the smallest weekly gain at 1%.

— Alex Harring

Where the 11 S&P 500 sectors stand with 30 minutes left in trading

All 11 S&P 500 sectors traded up as stocks rallied Friday afternoon.

Materials posted the biggest gain, adding 3.4%. Health care lagged the other 10 sectors, but was still up 1%.

All but one sector were on pace to close the week higher than where each started. Communication services was poised for the biggest gain despite trailing Friday, on track to finish the week up 3.8%. Health care was the sole sector on pace to close the week lower, at 0.1% down.

— Alex Harring

Biogen extends gains after drug approval

Shares of Biogen resumed trading shortly after 3 p.m. and extended their gains.

The biotech stock trading was up by more than 5.2% after the FDA granted accelerated approval to a new Alzheimer’s drug. The stock was up about 3.6% before it was halted at 2 p.m.

— Jesse Pound

Stocks trade up entering final hour of trading

The three major indexes all traded up as investors entered the final hour of trading.

The Dow gained 726 points, or 2.2%. The S&P 500 added 2.4%, while the Nasdaq rose 2.7%.

All three indexes are also on pace to end the week up. The Dow and S&P 500 are each on track to gain 1.5% for the week, while the Nasdaq is poised for a 1.1% advance.

— Alex Harring

Party City falls 50% on report of imminent bankruptcy

Party City‘s stock hit a 52-week low Friday, dropping approximately 50% after the Wall Street Journal reported the retailer was planning to file for bankruptcy within weeks.

A share of Party City stock traded around 17 cents at 2 p.m. That’s a 97% drop from the $6.55 price the stock closed at on Jan. 6, 2022.

The stock lost 93.4% of its value in 2022. Its share price has dropped for each of the past five years besides 2020, when it leapt up 162.8% as the pandemic prompted an unexpected shift in consumer spending to goods.

Trading halted in Biogen as FDA approves Alzheimer’s drug

Shares of Biogen have been halted for pending news as the Food and Drug Administration announced the accelerated approval of lecanemab, an Alzheimer’s drug developed by Biogen and Japanese firm Eisai.

Clinical trials of the new drug showed that it slowed cognitive decline in people with mild symptoms from Alzheimer’s disease. Biogen and Esai were also behind another Alzheimer’s treatment called Aduhelm which was controversially approved by the FDA last year.

The stock was up 3.56% on the day when it was halted at 2 p.m.

—Jesse Pound

Bond prices surge, yields fall as economic data signals cooling inflation

Bond prices rallied with stocks, sending yields down, after two key economic reports signaled inflation my be cooling off as the Fed raises interest rates.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury was down by 16.2 basis points at 3.56%. The 2-year Treasury yield fell 18.9 basis points to 4.264%. The yield on the 30-year Treasury was down 11.8 basis points at 3.68%.

The spread between the 10-year Treasury and the 3-month Treasury, a key inversion that signals a recession, is the largest since 1982.

Yields and prices move in opposite directions. One basis point equals 0.01%.

—Carmen Reinicke

Stocks making the biggest moves midday

Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading.

  • World Wrestling Entertainment — The wrestling entertainment stock surged 21% after WWE announced that founder Vince McMahon is returning to its board of directors and that the company is exploring strategic moves. McMahon stepped down as CEO last year after an investigation into sexual misconduct, but has remained majority shareholder. The Wall Street Journal reported that McMahon is returning to pursue a potential sale of the business.
  • R1 RCM — Shares of the healthcare technology firm soared more than 11% after the company raised its revenue outlook for 2023. The company also reaffirmed its projection for full-year 2022.
  • Costco Wholesale — Shares of the big-box retailer jumped more than 6% after it reported solid sales numbers for December. Costco posted net sales of $23.8 billion in December 2022, marking an increase of 7% year-over-year. Evercore ISI also added Costco to its “fab five” list, saying it’s a defensive stalwart.

Read the full list here.

— Sarah Min

First week of year signals volatility ahead for stocks, Goldman Sachs says

Investors may not want to get too excited about Friday’s rally.

“This first week of 2023 (and January) has come with the usual raft of major economic data points which on net point to the unusual post-pandemic era combination of a resilient labor market set against eroding business sentiment across the economy,” analysts at Goldman Sachs wrote in a Friday note. “Even as Corporate America continues to hire over 200,000 net new workers a month and post over 10mn job openings, both the Manufacturing and Service sector feels like things are getting worse.”

Of course, things getting worse is relative to one of the best GDP expansions the U.S. has seen, according to the note. This was partially fueled by pandemic stimulus through 2021.

“But this unusual combination we are now seeing of slow growth, high inflation, and elevated stock market valuations is likely to make for an uneven trading landscape in the year ahead,” Goldman said. That’s likely to mean modest returns for stocks this year.

—Carmen Reinicke

Tesla reverses slump, trades higher

Tesla reversed a more than 5% slump Friday following news that the electric vehicle maker would lower prices on some models of cars in China.

Later in the day, however, Tesla rose with the broader market. It was up 1.85% at midday.

Fed’s Barkin says rate hikes can be done ‘more deliberately’ now

Richmond Federal Reserve President Thomas Barkin said Friday the central bank has to keep working to bring down inflation but can do so with a little less intensity.

“We still have work to do,” the central bank official said in prepared remarks. “Inflation is too high, and we will need to stay on the case until it is sustainably back to our 2% target. We have forecasted additional rate increases this year.”

Policymakers indicated in December that they’re likely to take rates up another percentage point or so before pausing. Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic earlier in the day told CNBC he expects the central bank’s benchmark funds rate rising past 5%, from its current 4.25%-4.5% target range.

Barking did not specify how high he thinks the rate should go. However, he said the Fed now can move “more deliberately” after raising rates aggressively seven times in 2022.

—Jeff Cox

Health care, hospitality lead December job gains

Health care and social services was the top category for job growth in December, followed by leisure and hospitality, as the U.S. labor market continues to show strength despite the Federal Reserve’s aggressive rate hikes.

Meanwhile, two sectors that had been struggling in recent months — retail and transportation and warehousing — snapped back to growth in December.

Bank of America downgrades Chevron as oil prices cool

As oil prices cool, Bank of America is expecting Chevron won’t outperform as much as it did in 2022.

The firm expects a modest 9% upside after gaining more than 50% in share value last year. Analyst Doug Leggate also downgraded the stock to neutral from buy, citing limited upside as oil prices stabilize following the jump prompted by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“Put simply we see CVX as a victim of its own success – but with <10% upside to our estimate of fair value, we believe the appropriate rating vs North American peers is Neutral," Leggate said in a note to clients Friday.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more about Leggate’s call here.

— Alex Harring

Goldman’s Hatzius says jobs numbers consistent with ‘soft landing’

December’s employment report helps add to the narrative that the U.S. may be able to avoid a recession, Goldman Sachs chief economist Jan Hatzius said Friday.

“We’re growing at a below-trend pace that’s necessary to rebalance the economy. Wage growth is gradually decelerating, price inflation is pretty quickly decelerating,” Hatzius said on CNBC’s “Squawk of the Street.” “I think that should be encouraging for a soft landing.”

He spoke after the Labor Department reported a 223,000 increase in nonfarm payrolls and a 4.6% annual rise in average hourly earnings, the slowest pace for the latter metric since August 2021.

—Jeff Cox

Wells Fargo upgrades Lululemon

Wells Fargo analyst Ike Boruchow upgraded shares of Lululemon to overweight, calling the athletics apparel retailer a “rare name with momentum.”

“LULU’s top-line resilience in the past few years has been nothing short of stunning, with 2022E’s topline expected to be essentially double 2019 levels,” he said, expecting continued resilience in 2023.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read the full story here.

— Samantha Subin

Stocks typically rebound massively following big yearly losses

History shows that the stock market typically rebounds drastically following a year of big losses, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices.

Since 1936, of the nine prior years with double-digit losses, seven of those years experienced double-digit gains the following year (an average of 18%), according to the firm. The S&P 500 lost 19.4% in 2022, suffering its worst year since 2008.

Stocks rally on slower wage growth but are ignoring other message in jobs data

The December jobs report shows the economy is still adding jobs at a strong rate, but investors focused on the fact that wage growth is slowing, suggesting inflation may be ebbing.

Stocks rallied after the 8:30 a.m. ET employment report showed 223,000 jobs were created in December. Average hourly wages grew at an annual pace of 4.6%, less than the 5% expected by economists.

“The big move was the fact that average hourly earnings came in lower than expected. That suggests that investors are focused intently on inflation, and whether that inflation is moving toward the Fed’s target,” said Michael Arone, chief investment strategist at State Street Global Advisors.

But he also cautioned that the data could be double-edged, since it suggests the economy and employment are still strong. That could help keep inflation elevated and keep the Fed hiking more than markets might expect.

The Fed next meets Jan. 31 and Feb. 1. While some economists anticipate a half point hike after that meeting, traders in the futures market put greater odds on a smaller, 25 basis point hike. A basis point equals 0.01 of a percentage point.

“Data like today suggests the Fed could do 50 basis points,” said Arone. A more aggressive Fed could create more market volatility.

The Fed has been trying to slow the economy and the hot labor market through its rate hiking, which has taken the fed funds target rate range to 4.25% to 4.50%.

 Peter Boockvar, chief investment officer at Bleakley Financial Group said market expectations did not change after the jobs report, and the fed funds futures contract for February was pricing in another 32 basis points of hikes.

“It’s pricing 100% chance of a 25 basis point hike, and a 30% chance for an additional 25. Peak fed funds is still at 5%” for July, he said. “The market is still expecting the Fed to go another 60, almost 70 basis points,” he said. Boockvar said the end point for the Fed matters more than if it raises by 25 basis points or 50 when it next meets.

–Patti Domm

KeyBanc says Bed Bath & Beyond shares can fall to 10 cents amid bankruptcy warning

KeyBanc is expecting shares of Bed Bath & Beyond to fall to 10 cents as the beaten down retailer warns it could seek bankruptcy protection.

Analyst Bradley Thomas reiterated his underweight rating on shares, while slashing his price target to 10 cents from $2. That implies 94% downside from Thursday’s close.

Read more on the call from KeyBanc here.

— Samantha Subin

Services sector contracted in December, ISM survey shows

The services sector contracted in December amid a pullback in new orders and production, the Institute for Supply Management reported Friday.

The ISM Services index fell to 49.6% for the month, well below the Dow Jones estimate for a 55.1% reading. The gauge measures the percentage of businesses reporting expansion, with a reading below 50% indicating contraction.

New orders fell 10.8 percentage point while business activity and production dropped 10 points. Prices fell 2.4 points to 67.6%, still a high number but representative of some softening in inflation. Employment also fell, moving down 1.7 points to 49.8% and into contraction territory.

—Jeff Cox

Morgan Stanley says banks’ 4Q results hit by higher loan loss reserves and expenses

Jane Fraser speaks during the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., on Monday, April 29, 2019.

Kyle Grillot | Bloomberg via Getty Images

Banks reporting fourth-quarter results next week will miss earnings estimates because they’ll need to plow money into loan loss reserves ahead of an expected downturn, according to Morgan Stanley analysts led by Betsy Graseck.

The companies will likely “incorporate a more severe economic outlook” into their scenarios for loan defaults this year, forcing them to set aside more than expected in reserves, Graseck wrote in a note published Friday.

On top of that, banks are likely to disclose bigger-than-expected increases to 2023 expense guidance because of wage inflation, Graseck wrote. She expects the median big bank to guide to about 4% expense growth, above the consensus of 3%.

Her pessimistic view on banks is shared by Deutsche Bank analyst Matt O’Connor, who cut his recommendation on Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase shares to hold from buy on Friday.

For her part, Graseck cut her price targets for Goldman Sachs and Citigroup shares by 7.3% and 8.9% respectively, thanks in part to her thesis.

On the other hand, she favors Wells Fargo, JPMorgan and Northern Trust heading into earnings because each bank could surprise to the upside on revenue and expenses, Graseck wrote.

—Hugh Son

Tesla falls to fresh 2-year low

Tesla shares reached their lowest level in about two years Friday after the electric car maker cut its Model 3 and Model Y vehicles. The stock traded 5.6% lower, dragging down the Nasdaq Composite.

Jobs report boosted expectations for soft landing, but recession clock is ticking, Shah says

Investors cheered Friday’s jobs report as signaling that a soft landing – a scenario in which the Federal Reserve tames inflation but doesn’t push the economy into a recession – is more likely.

“A lower unemployment rate and weaker average hourly earnings growth is certainly going to get equity market bulls’ attention,” Seema Shah, chief global strategist at Principal Asset Management said in a Friday note. “Indeed, expectations for a soft landing in the economy have likely been boosted in light of today’s jobs report.”

Still, investors may not want to cheer the news too much as it likely won’t change the Fed’s actions in the coming months.

“Yet, with the unemployment rate back to the historic low of 3.5%, how realistic is it to expect wage growth to move meaningfully lower? The Fed will likely be skeptical,” she said. “And so, with the record low unemployment rate indicating that there is still so much work ahead of them, Fed policy rates are set to rise above 5% within just a few months and a hard landing looks to be the most likely outcome this year. The recession clock is ticking.”

—Carmen Reinicke

Stocks open higher after better than expected jobs report

U.S. stocks opened higher Friday after investors cheered the December jobs report, which showed the labor market remains resilient but that wages aren’t gaining as much as expected amid the Fed’s interest rate hikes to tame inflation.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 255 points, or 0.77%. The S&P 500 gained 0.68%, while the Nasdaq Composite jumped 0.44%.

—Carmen Reinicke

Wages improve but jobs report keeps Fed on track to raise rates

Wage growth in December was less than the 5% annual pace expected by economists, but it should not influence the Federal Reserve’s rate hiking path when it meets in February.

Some economists expect the Fed will raise rates by a half percentage point, while traders in the futures market have been betting on a quarter point hike.

“This is steady as she goes for the Fed. There’s no reason to stop raising rates at this time,” said Diane Swonk, chief economist at KPMG. “They still have wages growing at 4.6%, which is above the 3% to 4% they think is necessary to bring inflation down to their 2% target. The trend is the right direction for the Fed. Average hours worked continued to tick down.”

The economy added 223,000 jobs in December, more than the 200,000 expected by economists. Average hourly wages increased 0.3% on a monthly basis.

“We’ve got 4.5 million new pay checks for the year. That’s the second strongest year on record,” said Swonk. She said 2022 was second to 2021, when there were 6.7 million jobs created. “The only thing close was 1946 when soldiers returned to civilian work after World War II.”

December jobs report should add investor confusion, market volatility

Investors are so far cheering the December jobs report, which showed wage gains may have moderated, signaling progress in the fight against high inflation. Still, it’s likely to lead to choppy markets.

“While the easing of wage pressures may initially be cheered by markets, workers are still not keeping up with inflation, therefore pressuring consumption trends,” said John Lynch, Chief Investment Officer for Comerica Wealth Management.

“This report should add to investor confusion and heighten market volatility in the weeks ahead,” he added. “It also complicates the Fed’s battle against inflation, though the minutes from the December monetary policy meeting reiterate the committee’s resolve.”

“A 50-basis point move is back on the table for the next FOMC meeting in a few weeks,” he said.

—Carmen Reinicke

U.S. economy adds more jobs than expected in December

The U.S. economy added 223,000 jobs last month, slightly more than a Dow Jones consensus forecast for a 200,000 gain. This is yet another sign that the economy remains strong even as the Federal Reserve tries to tame inflation through higher rates. However, wages grew at a slightly slower-than-expected pace, increasing 0.3% versus an estimate of 0.4%.

— Fred Imbert

Stocks making the biggest premarket moves

Southwest projects fourth-quarter loss after mass flight cancelations

Last month’s operational meltdown was a costly one for Southwest, the airline said Friday.

The airline released guidance for its fourth quarter results that projected a net loss for the period, due in part to charges of between $725 million and $825 million from flight cancelations. Between $400 million and $425 million was lost revenue from the flights, while the rest comes from reimbursements to customers, premium pay to employees and other factors.

Shares of Southwest were down 2.7% in premarket trading.

— Jesse Pound

Citi downgrades U.S. equities, saying valuations are expensive

Citi has cut its rating on U.S. equities to underweight heading into the new year, partially due to the dollar’s strength waning.

“We are no longer dollar bulls, which helped keep us Overweight in 2022,” Robert Buckland wrote in a Friday note. “Valuations remain expensive compared to elsewhere.”

He also noted that earnings expectations look too optimistic, especially given the 2023 recession that Citi economists are forecasting.

He also downgraded Japan, noting that it “remains a highly cyclical stock market and is vulnerable to an appreciation in the yen.”

—Carmen Reinicke

JPMorgan downgrades Silvergate Capital

JPMorgan downgraded crypto bank Silvergate Capital, citing concern around the company’s huge fourth-quarter withdrawals.

“While the challenging backdrop for the crypto settlement business was a factor in the worse than expected results being released, we also believe that concerns voiced by short-sellers (on Twitter) likely also contributed to Silvergate’s customers withdrawing deposits from the platform at a greater than anticipated level,” JPMorgan said. “The implications to the company’s business from the significant reduction in client deposits has near- as well as longer-term impacts,” 

Shares fell more than 15% in the premarket after plunging more than 40% on Thursday.

— Sam Subin

Tesla shares fall after EV maker cuts China prices again

Tesla fell 5% in the premarket after the Elon Musk-led company lowered prices for its Model 3 and Model Y vehicles in China. The EV maker said the cars would now be priced at 229,900 yuan (about $33,374) and 259,900 yuan, respectively.

Reuters calculations show these prices are 13%-24% from four months ago. Tesla had lowered prices in October in an effort to prop up sales against rivals in China such as BYD.

— Fred Imbert, Jihye Lee

Deutsche Bank downgrades Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase

Deutsche Bank analyst Matt O’Connor downgraded Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase to hold from buy, citing a weakening macro outlook.

“In some ways, it’s tempting to get more positive given stocks are already down sharply, inflation seems to be slowing and Fed rate hikes may be coming to an end,” he said. “But our gut is that stocks will set new lows and fully (or close to it) price in a US recession suggesting there’s more risk from here.”

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Sam Subin

European markets mixed ahead of key euro zone inflation data

European markets were cautious on Friday morning ahead of key inflation data for the euro zone, which is expected to show a further slowdown in consumer price increases.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index hovered just above the flatline in early trade, with basic resources adding 1.2% while utilities fell 0.4%.

Flash euro zone consumer price index inflation figures are due late morning. After France, Germany and Italy all reported better-than-expected slowdowns over the course of the week, investors are hopeful that inflation has passed its peak across the 20-member common currency bloc.

WWE shares rise in extended trading

— Rebecca Picciotto, Sarah Min

Leon Cooperman says new bull market isn’t coming anytime soon

Billionaire investor Leon Cooperman said he’s still holding a cautious view on stocks and the economy, but he’s finding cheap stocks to buy after the recent correction.

“I would basically take the position that we’re in a market of stocks rather than a stock market,” Cooperman said on CNBC’s “Closing Bell Overtime” Thursday. “I think anybody looking for a new bull market anytime soon is looking the wrong way.”

CNBC Pro subscribers can read the full story here.

— Yun Li

Where the major averages stand this week

Stocks are set to close out the first trading week of the year with losses. As of Thursday’s close, here are where the major averages stand:

  • The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 0.66% week to date, on pace for its fourth negative week in five.
  • The S&P is down 0.82% week to date, on pace for its fifth negative week in a row for the first time since its 7-week streak ending 5/20/2022.
  • The NASDAQ is down 1.54% week to date, on pace for its fifth negative week in a row for the first time since its 7-week streak ending 5/20/2022.   

— Chris Hayes, Sarah Min

Stock futures open higher

U.S. stock futures opened higher Thursday night after the major averages declined on the back of strong jobs data that could point to further rate hikes, and as investors looked ahead to the December jobs report Friday.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose by 21 points, or 0.06%. S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 0.13% and 0.19%, respectively.

— Sarah Min

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US

Mega Millions jackpot grows to $785 million for Tuesday drawing

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Mega Millions jackpot jumps to $785 million


Mega Millions jackpot jumps to $785 million

00:36

BOSTON – The Mega Millions jackpot grew to $785 million after no one matched all winning numbers for Friday night’s drawing. 

It’s the fourth-largest prize in the game’s history. The one-time cash option is $395 million.

The winning numbers for Friday, December 30 were: 1, 3, 6, 44, 51 Mega Ball 7. 

This drawing was the 22nd since the jackpot was last won back on October 14.

Mega Millions’ largest ever jackpot was $1.537 billion, won in South Carolina in October 2018.

Tickets are $2 each. Drawings are held every Tuesday and Friday at 11 p.m.

The odds of winning Mega Millions are one in 302.6 million.  

CBSBoston.com Staff

The CBS Boston team is a group of experienced journalists who bring you the content on CBSBoston.com.

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US

Mega Millions drawing produces no winner, jackpot grows to $785 million

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CNN
 — 

There was no jackpot winner in Friday night’s Mega Millions drawing, which means the top prize will rise to an estimated $785 million dollars on Tuesday night.

The numbers drawn Friday were 1, 3, 6, 44, 51 and the Mega Ball was 7.

One player in Ohio matched the five white balls Friday night, taking home a $1 million prize.

The game’s top prize of $1.537 billion was won in 2018, and in July 2022, a winner in Illinois picked all six numbers for $1.337 billion.

Tuesday’s jackpot would be the fourth-largest in the game’s history.

A winner choosing annuity payments over 29 years would receive $785 million, while a winner choosing the cash option would receive $395 million, according to lottery officials.

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World

Taliban minister defends closing universities to women as global backlash grows | Taliban

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The minister of higher education in Afghanistan’s Taliban government has defended his decision to ban women from universities – a decree that triggered a global backlash and protests inside the country.

Afghanistan’s Taliban-run administration announced earlier this week it had closed universities to women partly due to female students not adhering to its interpretation of the Islamic dress code and interaction between students of different genders.

Female university students were turned away from campuses on Wednesday and the higher education ministry said their access would be suspended “until further notice”. Dozens of women gathered outside Kabul University on Thursday to protest in the first major public demonstration in the capital since the decision.

In the capital, about two dozen women marched in the streets, chanting for freedom and equality. “All or none. Don’t be afraid. We are together,” they chanted.

In video obtained by The Associated Press, one woman said Taliban security forces used violence to disperse the group.

“The girls were beaten and whipped,” she said. “They also brought military women with them, whipping the girls. We ran away, some girls were arrested. I don’t know what will happen.”

US secretary of state Antony Blinken said the Taliban were trying to sentence Afghanistan’s women “to a dark future without opportunity” by barring them from attending universities.

“Afghan women deserve better. Afghanistan deserves better,” he later tweeted. “The Taliban have just definitively set back their objective of being accepted by the international community.”

Acting higher education minister Neda Mohammad Nadeem, in his first comments on the matter, told Afghan state broadcaster RTA that several issues had prompted the decision.

“We told girls to have proper hijab but they didn’t and they wore dresses like they are going to a wedding ceremony,” he said.

“Girls were studying agriculture and engineering, but this didn’t match Afghan culture. Girls should learn, but not in areas that go against Islam and Afghan honour.”

The higher education minister said that the Taliban “asked the world not to interfere in our affairs” as he said discussions over female education were ongoing.

Blinken called on the Taliban to reverse the ban.

“We are engaged with other countries on this right now. There are going to be costs if this is not reversed,” the US secretary of state told a news conference, declining to provide specifics. “We will pursue them with allies and partners.”

US-led forces withdrew from Afghanistan in August 2021 after 20 years of war as the western-backed former government collapsed and the militants, who enforce a strict interpretation of Islam, seized Kabul.

Since the Taliban took over, students and professors say university classes have been separated by gender and female students have adjusted their attire to meet instructions such as covering their face and wearing dark colours.

The Taliban-led administration had already drawn criticism including from foreign governments for not opening girls’ high schools at the start of the school year in March, making a U-turn on signals it would do.

In a sign of stricter enforcement of restrictions on teenage girls’ education, a letter from the education ministry on Thursday instructed all educational institutions not to allow girls above grade 6 to access their facilities.

Though high schools in most provinces have been closed, some have remained open and many tutoring centres and language classes have been open to girls. Nadeem said religious education remained open to female students.

In the capital, about 50 mainly female protesters assembled outside Kabul University while holding banners and chanted: “Education is our right, universities should be opened.”

The previous day students in Nangahar University in eastern Afghanistan also protested and male medical students walked out of exams in protest at their female classmates being excluded. Several cricket players have also publicly opposed the ban.

Large-scale protesting has become rare in Afghanistan since the Taliban took over the country, as they are often shut down forcefully by security agencies. The scattered protests that have occurred are a sign of the discontent the Taliban’s policy has generated, advocates say.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report



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US

Evacuations in Boulder County as Sunshine Wildland Fire grows to 16 acres – Boulder Daily Camera

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A wildfire that started as a structure fire in Sunshine Canyon before being spread by strong winds has forced evacuations in the Boulder County foothills that will remain in place overnight.

The Boulder County Sheriff’s Office posted on Twitter at 1:54 p.m. Monday that they were responding to a structure fire in the 2900 block of Sunshine Canyon Drive. That fire then spread to grassland and was quickly fueled by winds out of the west at 20 to 25 mph.

The evacuation area includes Pine Brook Hill after an update to the area at 7:20 p.m. Monday. The map of the evacuation area can be found at bouldercounty.maps.arcgis.com.

Initial evacuation orders earlier Monday included the area west of Foothills Community Park. Boulder County spokeswoman Jennifer Churchill said it is estimated there were 937 residents under mandatory evacuation at one point, and the area included 389 structures, 346 of which were homes.

County officials did not anticipate lifting any further evacuation orders Monday night.

By 5 p.m., the fire had grown to 16 acres and was being referred to as the Sunshine Wildland Fire. Initial estimates at 3 p.m. had the fire at about 18 acres, but updated mapping reduced that number.

By 7:20 p.m., crews had reached 25% containment on the fire and hoped that calmer winds overnight would help firefighting efforts.

Churchill said she did not have any information on if any structures other than the one in the initial call were damaged.

A separate set of crews were dealing with the original structure fire, but according to scanner traffic that fire had been contained to only one home and was under control.

 

Boulder open space rangers during the day were attempting to locate hikers in the area, and anyone recreating in the Mount Sanitas area was asked to evacuate the area. Anne U. White trail and Bald Mountain open space are also closed.

An evacuation area has been opened at the East Boulder Community Center, 5660 Sioux Drive, and will be open as a shelter overnight.

Evacuees can take large animals to the Boulder County Fairgrounds at 9595 Nelson Road in Longmont and smaller animals to the Humane Society of Boulder Valley at 2323 55th St. in Boulder.

There are no mandatory evacuation orders in the city of Boulder. Areas west of Ninth Street between Linden and University avenues were under an evacuation warning, but those residents were given the all clear just before 5 p.m.

Boulder Fire-Rescue tweeted that “limited fire spread and improving weather conditions” led to the decision to lift the evacuation warning, but asked residents to continue to monitor the situation.

Westbound traffic is closed at both Sunshine Canyon and Linden drives west of Boulder.



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Health

Officials urge mask-wearing as ‘tripledemic’ grows: What parents should know

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In addition, COVID-19 cases and deaths rose by 50% over the past week, despite the rate previously remaining flat for a long period of time, according to the CDC.

SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images, FILE

Students wearing face masks arrive with their parents on the first day of classes for the 2021-22 school year at Baldwin Park Elementary School, Orlando, FL.

With the ongoing surge, health officials highly recommend wearing a face mask when in crowded, indoor spaces to avoid both spreading and catching viruses.

The CDC continues to recommend mask-wearing for children and adults on public transportation, including trains, planes and buses.

“Good Morning America” spoke with Dr. Elizabeth Murray, a mom of two and a pediatric emergency medicine physician at Golisano Children’s Hospital in Rochester, New York, to answer parents’ questions about wearing face masks once again.

1. When and where should kids wear face masks?

Both children and adults should wear face masks when possible in indoor, crowded settings, according to Murray, who is also a spokesperson for the American Academy of Pediatrics.

In the absence of mask mandates, Murray said that families need to make the best decisions for themselves, knowing that each family and each individual child is unique.

“It would be so awesome and so easy if we could just kind of say, ‘You always do this,’ or, ‘You never do that,’ and it really is not at that point,” she said. “But as we head into the holidays and we want to make sure we’re healthy to see our families, now is the time to really take those precautions.”

Murray gave the example of her own family, noting that her oldest daughter, at age 13, can make decisions on her own about where and when a mask would help.

“She is able to, at her age, to kind of make decisions of, ‘I’m in a big group working close with a bunch of people, so now is a good time for me to wear a mask,’ versus, ‘I’m sitting in a study hall with three other students and we’re all spaced out so I probably don’t need to wear a mask at this point,'” said Murray. “She also is really active in a lot of extracurricular activities that are really important to her, so she is more comfortable wearing a mask during school or in large group activities because she wants to make sure that she stays healthy so she can participate in her cross-country meet and participate in her school play and things like that.”

On the other hand, Murray said her 6-year-old daughter struggles with wearing a face mask in school, where it is not required.

“We found that [wearing a mask] is really not something we were able to do with her because nobody else is doing it,” Murray said. “So for her, we’re focusing on other things like making sure she does a really good job of washing her hands. At any sign of an illness, we’re making sure we’re keeping her home so she won’t be spreading illness. And we do outdoor activities or other things with smaller groups of people where she’s not having as many exposures.”

2. Did wearing face masks during the COVID-19 pandemic cause the surge of illness now?

According to Murray, children’s immune systems were not permanently damaged by wearing masks during the pandemic.

“The mask just helps to decrease transmission of a lot of the common illnesses,” said Murray. “Now that people are not wearing masks anymore, now that schools are back in an in-person setting and now that it’s fall and winter when we see some of these germs start to come around, it makes sense that everything is back.”

She continued, “We had years when kids just were not seeing as much illness and now everybody’s getting sick because all of the germs are back at once.”

3. What type of face masks should children wear?

Murray recommends that children wear “high-quality” masks that they feel comfortable in and will wear.

“There are different styles that can work equally well, so really making sure that you have a mask that your child likes and fits comfortably on their face is important,” she said. “Sometimes it’s hard to find smaller masks but there are good resources out there.”

Experts say it is fine for kids to use clips or bands to relieve pressure on their ears when wearing a mask.

One technique to check the quality of your child’s mask is to hold the mask up to the sun. If you can see light through the mask as you hold it stretched, it’s not thick enough.

4. At what age can a child start wearing a face mask?

5. Do adults need to wear face masks too?

Yes, adults are also encouraged to wear face masks in crowded, indoor settings. Murray said it is especially important for parents and caregivers to wear masks in order to set an example for their children.

6. What else can parents do to protect their kids from flu, RSV and COVID-19?

Murray said it is critical that children and adults are up to date with their vaccinations.

Children ages 6 months and older are eligible to get a flu vaccine as well as a COVID-19 vaccine, with “rare exceptions,” according to the CDC. Both vaccinations are free and are widely available at doctors’ offices and local pharmacies.

Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images, FILE

A boy receives a Covid-19 vaccine at a L.A. Care Health Plan vaccination clinic at Los Angeles Mission College in the Sylmar neighborhood in Los Angeles, Jan. 19, 2022.

Murray said she also encourages her patients and others to stay home if they are sick and to keep their children home from school and activities if they are showing symptoms of illness.

“I think people have a lot of pressure to get back to work and all of those things, but still we really need to make sure that regardless of what you’re sick with, when people are ill, they need to stay home,” she said.

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World

EU Parliament ‘under attack’ as Qatar corruption scandal grows – POLITICO

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Police launched a fresh wave of raids on political figures in Brussels over alleged corruption involving Qatari interests Monday, in a scandal that threatens to trash European Union democracy.

“The European Parliament,” said its president, Roberta Metsola, at a session in Strasbourg on Monday, “is under attack.”

The focal point for that attack, for now, is the Parliament’s Socialists and Democrats (S&D) group. In Brussels, police raided the parliamentary office of Greek MEP Eva Kaili, who is currently in a jail cell as she awaits a court appearance, slated for Wednesday.

Meanwhile, her colleagues in Strasbourg expelled her from the S&D group as her MEP colleagues prepared to strip her of her vice president title.

Several other S&D members — not directly implicated but under scrutiny for their connections to those charged and their advocacy on behalf of Qatar — also agreed to step away from key assignments, including MEP Marie Arena as chair of the Parliament’s human rights subcommittee.

In all, Belgian police tallied six arrests (though two individuals, Kaili’s father and the trade union boss Luca Visentini, have been released) and searched 19 private homes. The cops’ cash haul includes €600,000 in a private home, “several hundred thousand euros” in a suitcase nabbed at a Brussels hotel, and €150,000 at Kaili’s apartment. Her family’s assets in Greece have been frozen.

After blocking access to IT equipment over the weekend, police said they retrieved the data on Monday. In addition to Kaili’s office, two assistants’ offices were also marked “Access Forbidden” on Monday afternoon. One labeled F. Giorgi — Kaili’s partner, also under arrest — and the other labeled E. Foulon and G. Meroni. The latter is a former assistant to Pier Antonio Panzeri, the ex-MEP at the center of the alleged scandal.

“European Democracy is under attack,” Metsola told the plenary as she vowed to open an internal probe.

The call for an investigation was echoed by MEPs in Strasbourg, and across the bloc. “Europe’s credibility is at stake,” said German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock.

For watchdogs, however, the threat to Europe’s credibility has always been clear. The scandal is not an attack but “self inflicted damage,” tweeted The Good Lobby founder Alberto Alemanno in response to Metsola’s speech. “The EU Parliament and most of its members have historically resisted stricter integrity rules and effective enforcement system.”

The EU’s transparency register is full of loopholes and voluntary elements: The Parliament’s subcommittee on human rights, for example, hosted Panzeri’s NGO, Fight Impunity, to deliver reports, even though it was not listed in the transparency register.

Based on its activities, Fight Impunity should have been entered in the database, said the register’s secretariat in an email. But since they’re not legally obligated to register, there’s no way to punish them for breaching the register’s code of conduct.

Similarly, a proposal for an independent EU ethics panel has been stalled in the Commission. Vice President for Transparency Věra Jourová has cited legal hurdles and lack of interest in an ethics body that would apply to all the institutions and actually have enforcement power.

On Monday, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen expressed fresh determination to create an overarching watchdog body. “It is very critical to have not only strong rules but the same rules covering all the EU institutions and not to allow for any exemptions,” she told reporters.

But for all the talk of protecting trust and promoting transparency in EU institutions, top officials resisted early opportunities to put it into practice. Commission spokesperson Dana Spinant quickly shut down questions when journalists tried to press von der Leyen about tweets by Margaritis Schinas, a Commission vice president, in which he had praised Qatar’s labor reforms ahead of the World Cup.

It was a similar (virtual) scene in Strasbourg, where a Parliament spokesman declined to take questions from reporters in an online press conference.

“Our way of open, free, democratic societies are under attack,” Metsola declared in Strasbourg. “The enemies of democracy for whom the very existence of this Parliament is a threat, will stop at nothing. These malign actors, linked to autocratic third countries have allegedly weaponized NGOs, unions, individuals, assistants and Members of the European Parliament in an effort to subdue our processes.”

In Budapest, Viktor Orbán, who leads a country the European Parliament declared “no longer a democracy,” seized his moment. The Hungarian prime minister tweeted a morning greeting to the parliament, with a photo of former world leaders in stitches. The caption: “And then they said … The EP is seriously concerned about corruption in Hungary.”

Pieter Haeck, Sarah-Taïssir Bencharif, Clothilde Goujard, Nektaria Stamouli, Gabriel Rinaldi, Wilhelmine Preussen and Suzanne Lynch contributed reporting.

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Health

Measles outbreak in central Ohio grows to more than 50 children, driven by ‘lack of vaccination’

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CNN
 — 

A measles outbreak in central Ohio is growing, sickening more than 50 children, with many of them needing hospitalization, according to data updated Tuesday by Columbus Public Health.

None of the children had been fully vaccinated against measles.

Since the start of the outbreak in November, at least 58 measles cases have been identified in Columbus and Franklin, Ross and Richland counties, and there have been 22 hospitalizations, according to Columbus Public Health.

Of those cases, 55 were in unvaccinated children. The other three were only partially vaccinated, meaning they received one dose of their MMR or measles, mumps and rubella vaccine when two are needed for a person to be considered fully vaccinated.

Experts recommend that children get the vaccine in two doses: the first between 12 months and 15 months of age, and a second between 4 and 6 years old. One dose is about 93% effective at preventing measles if you come into contact with the virus. Two doses are about 97% effective.

Nationwide, more than 90% of children in the US have been vaccinated against measles, mumps and rubella by age 2, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“Measles can be very serious, especially for children under age 5,” Columbus Public Health spokesperson Kelli Newman wrote in an email Monday.

All of the Columbus cases have been in children: 12 in infants younger than 1, 28 in toddlers ages 1 to 2, 13 in children ages 3 to 5, and five in ages 6 to 17.

That corresponds to about 71% of cases being reported in 1- to 5-year-olds.

While the specifics of each hospitalized measles case can vary, “many children are hospitalized for dehydration,” Newman wrote. “Other serious complications also can include pneumonia and neurological conditions such as encephalitis. There’s no way of knowing which children will become so sick they have to be hospitalized. The safest way to protect children from measles is to make sure they are vaccinated with MMR.”

Some of the children visited a grocery store, a church and department stores in a mall while they were contagious, according to Columbus Public Health’s list of exposure sites.

Measles is a highly infectious disease that can spread through the air when an infected person coughs or sneezes or if someone comes into direct contact with or shares germs by touching contaminated objects or surfaces.

“Measles can be a severe illness and can commonly lead to complications which require hospitalization, especially in young children,” Dr. Matthew Washam, medical director of epidemiology and infection control at Nationwide Children’s in Columbus, wrote in an email Tuesday.

In the Ohio outbreak, the hospitalized children have been seen at Nationwide Children’s Hospital.

“Most children can usually recover at home with supportive care and can receive antibiotics for less severe complications, such as ear infections. Some children develop more severe complications, such as dehydration requiring intravenous fluids, pneumonia and/or croup which require respiratory support, or rarely more severe complications such as encephalitis,” Washam wrote.

“The mainstay of treatment for all children with measles is supportive care,” he added. “In the hospital, this can include intravenous fluids, antibiotics for secondary bacterial infections, and respiratory support amongst other supportive care measures. Some children with measles may also be treated with vitamin A given the association of lower vitamin A levels with more severe measles illness.”

The measles outbreak is “very concerning,” said Dr. Nora Colburn, an adult infectious diseases physician at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus, who has been watching the outbreak closely along with her colleagues.

“What’s really driving this is unfortunately a lack of vaccination, which is just heartbreaking,” said Colburn, who also serves as the medical director of clinical epidemiology for the Richard M. Ross Heart Hospital at the OSU Wexner Medical Center.

“For measles, it is the most infectious disease we have,” she said. “And so it is very concerning as an infectious disease physician, as also a mother of a young child and as a community member.”

During the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, while most people stayed home and some health-care facilities were closed, many children missed their routine immunizations, including the MMR vaccine – and they still may not have gotten all their recommended shots. That’s true around the world as well as in the US.

“The concern now is that we’ve had this global dip in vaccination coverage as a result of the pandemic, probably not actually from vaccine hesitancy or refusal but just there were a lot of kids that missed their checkups during the pandemic, and we really haven’t completely caught those kids up,” said Dr. Sean O’Leary, chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Committee on Infectious Diseases and professor of pediatric infectious disease at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and Children’s Hospital Colorado.

“Measles is such a contagious disease that when you see those dips, we really worry about the potential for large outbreaks,” he said. “You need to really maintain a high vaccination coverage to keep measles from spreading.”

About 90% of unvaccinated people who are exposed to measles will become infected, according to Columbus Public Health, and about 1 in 5 people in the US who get measles will be hospitalized.

While the measles outbreak spreads across central Ohio, the United States has been battling a surge of respiratory illnesses, such as flu and RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus, and the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

Pediatric hospitals nationwide have been overwhelmed by this rise in respiratory infections and are bracing for the possibility of even more cases over the holiday season.

“I can’t even imagine if your hospital is already chock full and all of a sudden you’ve got to deal with measles, because measles is a really problematic infection-control situation, too. You need negative-pressure rooms, everyone has to wear N95 masks, and it’s incredibly contagious in a hospital,” O’Leary said.

“There’s a lot of risk particularly to immunocompromised patients that are also in children’s hospitals,” he said. “It’s a real problem.”

Nationwide Children’s Hospital confirmed to CNN in an email Tuesday that it has seen a surge in other respiratory illnesses, such as flu and RSV, but remains able to keep caring for patients.

“The current surge in respiratory illnesses such as the flu and RSV is being seen locally. While we are experiencing some visits and admissions related to measles, volumes are relatively low compared to flu and RSV. Measles poses a greater strain on resources related to public health efforts, including contact tracing, containment, education, and immunizations,” the hospital statement said. “While busy, our hospital remains able to continue to provide care for patients.”

With each of these respiratory illnesses, it sometimes can be difficult to determine which infection a person has as the symptoms – such as fever, cough, and runny nose – can be similar.

“To have RSV, influenza, Covid at the same time as the holidays, and then now we have measles on top of it, which can have overlapping symptoms of fever and cough and fatigue, it can be really challenging to kind of sort out which infection is what,” Colburn said, adding that it is important for anyone with symptoms to stay home and get tested.

Measles symptoms may include fever, cough, runny nose, watery eyes and a rash of red spots. In rare cases, it may lead to pneumonia, encephalitis or death.

“Wearing your mask, especially in crowded areas, is really important, especially for our immunocompromised patients. I really worry about measles in adult patients who cannot get the MMR vaccines,” she said. “We can’t give it to severely immunocompromised patients or pregnant women. So it’s really important that everybody else gets vaccinated to cocoon those very vulnerable people and decrease the circulation of measles in our community.”

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US

Powerball: Jackpot grows to record $1.9 billion as no tickets matched all winning numbers Saturday

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CNN
 — 

The Powerball jackpot has now grown to an estimated $1.9 billion after no winning tickets were sold in Saturday night’s drawing, according to the California Lottery Association.

The winning numbers were 28-45-53-56-69 and the Powerball was 20. The next Powerball drawing is set for Monday.

Saturday’s estimated $1.6 billion draw had been the “world’s largest lotto prize ever offered,” Powerball said.

But unfortunately for ticket buyers, the odds of winning the massive prize remain long – just 1 in 292.2 million.

Having no winners Saturday would “tie the game record for the number of consecutive drawings without a grand prize winner,” Powerball said. Saturday’s drawing at the Florida Lottery draw studio in Tallahassee was Powerball’s 40th since the jackpot was last won August 3 by a ticket in Pennsylvania.

Saturday’s jackpot, which had a lump-sum option of an estimated $782.4 million “breaks the world record for the Largest National Lottery Jackpot in the Guinness World Records,” California Lottery tweeted ahead of the numbers dropping.

The Guinness World Records’ “Greatest jackpot in a national lottery” was set by Powerball in January 2016, when three tickets won a $1.586 billion jackpot.

Powerball tickets are $2 per play and are sold in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.



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Business

Asia-Pacific markets mixed; South Korea GDP grows slowest in year

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People cross a street in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong.

Marc Fernandes | Nurphoto | Getty Images

Shares in the Asia-Pacific were mixed Thursday as investors digest economic data in the region.

The Hang Seng index led gains in the wider region, jumping more than 3% in early trade before paring gains to about 1.74%, boosted by tech stocks. The Hang Seng Tech index rose more than 4% early in the session and was last up 2.19%.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.55% and the Kospi added 1.52%. The MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 1.23%.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 was 0.19% lower while the Topix lost 0.49%. Mainland China’s Shanghai Composite and the Shenzhen Component were fractionally lower at the end of the morning session.

South Korea’s third-quarter GDP grew 0.3% from the previous quarter, according to official advance data — the slowest growth since the third quarter of 2021. China’s industrial profits for January to September fell 2.3% compared to a year ago, the National Bureau of Statistics reported.

The Bank of Japan begins its two-day meeting on monetary policy Thursday. In corporate news, Samsung Electronics announced its third quarter earnings after releasing estimates earlier this month.

Overnight on Wall Street, the Nasdaq fell 2.04% to close at 10,970.99. The S&P 500 shed 0.74% to 3,830.60. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 2.37 points, roughly flat for the day and ending at 31,839.11.

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