NEW YORK: Wall Street stocks scaled new heights Friday as a lackluster US jobs report was seen as bolstering the case for US President Joe Biden’s $1.9-trillion stimulus plan. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq ended at records for a second straight day following the jobs data. Analysts also cited progress on coronavirus vaccines as a factor in extending the rally.

GENEVA: A picture taken on July 15, 2020, in Geneva shows Nigerian former Foreign and Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala facing a TV camera during an interview following her hearing before World Trade Organization 164 member states’ representatives. —AFP

HAWTHORNE: An Amazon.com Inc. delivery driver walks past a row of vans outside of a distribution facility in Hawthorne, California. Amazon workers at a large US distribution center will begin voting tomorrow on whether to unionize after labor regulators rejected a request by the e-commerce giant to delay the process. — AFP

WASHINGTON: President Joe Biden on Friday seized on feeble US employment data to argue the world’s largest economy needs his $1.9 trillion pandemic relief package, which cleared a key Senate hurdle without support from the Republican opposition. 

KUWAIT: Kuwait reported 846 positive coronavirus cases yesterday, one day after it reported 940 new cases on Friday, bringing total infections to 170,036. Meanwhile, total deaths stood at 964 yesterday as two new fatalities were reported Friday and zero deaths yesterday.

BANGKOK: Foreign investors flocked to Myanmar as it began its democratic transition a decade ago, but this week’s military coup is likely to accelerate a trend of Western withdrawal-and China’s expansion.

LONDON: Royal Dutch Shell yesterday became the latest oil major to reveal huge annual losses as the coronavirus pandemic slashed energy demand and prices in 2020. Shell dived into a net loss of $21.7 billion (18.1 billion euros) last year as factories shut and planes were grounded.

DUBAI: Economic recovery in the Middle East and North Africa is expected to accelerate this year following a double whammy shock, but growth will be uneven due to unbalanced access to the coronavirus vaccine, the IMF said.

NEW YORK: What a difference a week has made for video game retailer GameStop, which soared on Wall Street in January only to plummet some 70 percent since Monday. So is it game over for the stock market saga, which saw amateur investors challenge hedge funds with billions of dollars in assets?