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Massachusetts secretary of state and Kevin O'Leary debate Reddit short squeeze
The surge is shares of GameStop and moves Thursday by retail brokerages like Robinhood to restrict trading as a result is dominating the headlines this week. Both Interactive Brokers and Robinhood are planning to ease trading curbs Friday. This comes after Robinhood said Thursday it was raising more than a billion dollars from existing investors. It also drew at least $500 million on a line of credit from a group of banks in order to meet lending requirements from its central clearing house. William Galvin, Massachusetts secretary of state, and Kevin O’Leary, chairman of O’Shares ETFs and co-host of “Shark Tank," joined "Squawk Box" on Friday to debate whether Robinhood was right to take that move.
CNBC
News
WTI holds steady after tumbling day earlier
Oil steadied amid surprisingly robust economic data from Europe, while the spread of a new Covid-19 variant and lockdowns raised concerns about the near-term recovery in fuel demand. West Texas Intermediate futures held above $52 a barrel after the biggest decline in almost a week on Thursday. Three of the euro area’s four largest economies -- Germany, France and Spain -- rounded off the pandemic year suggesting the region can avoid a deeper...
Houston Chronicle
Markets
Hotel chains like Marriott, Hyatt, and Hilton are offering on-site COVID-19 tests in response to the CDC's latest rules for international travelers
Hotel giants like Marriott, Hyatt, and Hilton are now offering on-site COVID-19 tests at several of their international locations.
Business Insider
Companies
Dallas ISD to add 5 weeks of classes at some campuses
Dallas ISD trustees have voted unanimously to change the school calendar to prevent “COVID slide.” Derek Little, deputy chief academic officer for Dallas ISD, says 33% of students have fallen behind in reading; half are behind in math.
KRLD Radio Dallas
Careers & Education
US consumer spending fell 0.2% in December in face of virus
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. consumers slowed their spending by 0.2% in December, cutting back for a second straight month in a worrisome sign for an economy struggling under the weight of a still out-of-control pandemic. The decline reported Friday by the Commerce Department followed a seasonally adjusted 0.7% drop in November. It was the latest sign that consumers, whose spending is the primary driver of the U.S. economy, are hunkered down and...
Associated Press
Markets
Phillips 66 posts $539 million loss in fourth quarter
Phillips 66 said on Friday reported steep losses for the fourth quarter and the year as the coronavirus pandemic continued to depress travel and fuel demand. The Houston refiner said it lost $539 million in the last three months of the year, compared to a profit of $736 during the same period in 2019. For all of 2020, Phillips 66 said it lost nearly $4 billion, compared to a profit of $3.1 billion in 2019. Fourth quarter revenues plummeted more...
Houston Chronicle
Companies
Robinhood raises $1B amid GameStop lockout furor
Online brokerage Robinhood raised over $1 billion from its investors and millions more through lines of credit as it continues to handle the fallout from its decision to restrict trading on GameStop and other stocks temporarily, the company said.
Washington Examiner
Markets
