US stocks on Thursday closed lower over renewed investor concerns on covid19 second wave impact on the economy. A number of US states have now reported a record rise in virus hospitalizations as well as deaths.
Meanwhile, the number of initial jobless claims for the week ending July 4 fell by 99,000 to land at 1,314,000, the US Department of Labor announced on Thursday. The four-week moving average decreased by 636,500 to 19,085,500, the report noted.
According to Bloomberg, Washington is said to be preparing retaliatory measures against France over its digital tax measures. This comes after Trump’s Government pulled out of talks on the implementation of a global digital taxation system in June with European countries. The US says it will implement measures against the countries if they implement their digital own taxes.
Tesla
Shares of carmaker Tesla have continued to rise to all-time highs over the last two weeks hitting over $1,400 on Wednesday’s session. CEO Elon Musk will soon get the first paycheck of his $56 billion payout package after the firm’s six-month average market capitalization reached a record of $138 billion according to CNBC.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk says the company is “very close” to developing a level five autonomous driving technology that is expected to enable car navigation without a driver present in a vehicle. In a speech at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) hosted by Shanghai, Musk noted he believes that basic options for the technology will be finished by the end of the year.
READ; Tesla Beats Toyota to Become World’s Most Valuable Automaker
On Wednesday, Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett announced he has donated $2.9 billion to philanthropic causes since the start of 2020, bringing his total philanthropic donations to over $37 billion since 2006. According to CNBC, Warren donated the funds in form of Berkshire’s class B shares to five foundations which is in line with his commitment to giving away at least 99% of his wealth before he passes away.
The five foundations Warren Buffett donates to annually are the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, the Sherwood Foundation and the NoVo Foundation.
