The Market

The numbers: Consumer confidence stumbled for the second straight month in December, hitting its lowest level since during the worst of the cornavirus lockdowns in May. The index of consumer confidence fell to 88.6 this month from a revised 92.9 in November, the Conference Board said Tuesday. Economists polled by …

Dear Moneyist, Perhaps you can lead me to the proper channels so I can take action. I am a mother to 5 young boys: 3 are biologically mine and, earlier this year, I received a $ 500 stimulus payment for each of them. Last year, my partner’s 2 young boys …

SoftBank Group Corp.’s investment arm on Monday filed to raise more than $ 500 million for a blank-check company as it looks to take advantage of investor appetite for growth stocks. Softbank 9984, +1.62%, which has invested heavily in private technology companies in recent years through its “vision funds,” intends …

The numbers: The Chicago Fed’s national activity index, which is designed to gauge overall U.S. economic activity, declined to 0.27 in November from a revised 1.01 in the prior month. It is the smallest gain after the sharp decline in May. The index’s three-month moving average, which tries to smooth …

“ ‘We’re the most bullish on the market that we’ve been in about a year.’ ” That’s Meghan Shue, head of investment strategy at Wilmington Trust, explaining to CNBC why she’s optimistic that the stock market has some upside over the next nine to 12 months. She said a combination …

After days of frenetic talks and only hours ahead of a government shutdown, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said late Sunday a bipartisan deal had been reached on an almost $ 900 billion coronavirus relief package. “Moments ago, in consultation with our committees, the four leaders of the Senate and …

MARKETWATCH FRONT PAGE As a brutal year draws to a close, Wall Street is optimistic about 2021 as the first round of COVID-19 inoculations take place, even though plenty still could go awry. See full story. Fed lending dispute resolved, Capitol Hill eyes coronavirus stimulus votes Sunday Democratic Congressional leaders …

Netflix Inc. has a lighter-than-usual crop of new releases scheduled for January 2021. Original offerings include Season 3 of “Cobra Kai” (date TBA), the “Karate Kid” sequel series starring William Zabka and Ralph Macchio that aired its first two seasons on YouTube; “History of Swear Words” (Jan. 5), an “education …

The New Year is normally a time to launch long-term financial goals, but millions of Americans are taking it one day at a time. More than one-third, 38%, of people say they’ll be in “survival mode” in 2021, according to Fidelity Investments’ annual New Year Financial Resolutions Study released Tuesday. …