Free Republic

A downtick in COVID-19 cases is raising hopes that the omicron wave has peaked in the United States. To be sure, new case numbers remain high and hospitals are still overwhelmed in many areas. But, especially in the earliest hard-hit states like New York and Massachusetts, cases are clearly declining, and experts say cases appear to have peaked on a national basis as well.

The Delta surge appears to be peaking in the United States, meaning a decline in new infections and deaths may be on the way, according to a new analysis. The COVID-19 Scenario Modeling Hub, a group made up of a team of researchers who produce a short-term projections of various elements of the infectious disease, released its latest updated projections on the trajectory of the virus on Wednesday. As the surge peaks, some states may still see an influx in new cases and hospital admissions before the cases begin to taper off over the next few weeks. "Any of us...

Facebook lost nearly 6m users in the US last month, according to figures from Inside Facebook, sparking fresh concern that the social network’s growth is slowing. Total monthly active users on the site still grew by 1.7 per cent between the beginning of May and early June, taking its total to 687m, according to Inside Facebook, part of the Inside Network, which provides news and analytics tools for social media, virtual goods and mobile apps.But in the US there was a drop for the first time in a year, from 155.2m to 149.4m during the month of May. Canada also...

Market Outlook: Stocks Could Struggle Amid 'Buyer's Fatigue' Published: Friday, 23 Oct 2009 | 8:21 PM ET By: Patti Domm Executive Editor Stocks could struggle in the week ahead as the market's 7-month rally shows signs of tiring. There is another barrage of third quarter earnings reports, including names like ExxonMobil, Procter and Gamble, Aetna and Verizon. A trader at the New York Stock Exchange. Photo: Oliver Quillia for CNBC.com A trader at the New York Stock Exchange. But investor focus should shift to economic news with the first look Thursday at third quarter GDP. The number is significant in...