Thursday Briefing: U.S. weekly jobless claims fall more than expected

The Reuters Daily Briefing Thursday, May 6, 2021 by Linda Noakes Hello Here's what you need to know. Global pharma shares slide, an Anglo-French fish fight, and why the U.S. embassy is in the doghouse in China Today's biggest stories Carpenters work on building new townhomes in Tampa, Florida, May 5, 2021. REUTERS/Octavio Jones U.S. Fewer Americans filed new claims for unemployment benefits last week as the labor market recovery gains steam amid an economic boom, which is being fueled by a rapidly improving public health situation and massive government financial assistance. U.S. Representative Liz Cheney warned that the Republican Party is “at a turning point” as it prepares to try to remove her from leadership for rejecting former President Donald Trump’s false claims the election was stolen from him. President Joe Biden will today visit the Gulf Coast state of Louisiana, which has backed Republicans in U.S. elections for the past two decades, to tout his plans to invest in water and storm projects in cities that have been battered by hurricanes. Live Broadway shows will return to the stage starting September 14 after an 18-month hiatus. Tickets will go on sale from today and theaters will be allowed to fill 100% of capacity. People receive oxygen support for free at a Sikh temple in Ghaziabad, India, May 6, 2021. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui WORLD Hopes that India’s deadly second wave of COVID-19 was about to peak were swept away as it posted record daily infections and deaths and as the virus spread from cities to villages across the world’s second-most populous nation. The country's top scientific adviser has warned of a possible third wave of infections. France has despatched two maritime patrol boats to the waters off the British Channel island of Jersey, after Britain deployed two of its naval vessels in an escalating row over post-Brexit fishing rights. Hong Kong democracy activist Joshua Wong will face an additional 10 months in jail for participating in an unauthorised assembly on June 4 last year to commemorate the 1989 crackdown on protesters in and around Beijing's Tiananmen Square. The resumption of student visa applications at U.S. missions in China got off to an acrimonious start when netizens took exception to an American embassy social media post they interpreted as likening Chinese students to dogs. BUSINESS Shares in pharmaceutical firms involved in the production of COVID-19 shots have slumped on Biden's plan to back intellectual property waivers on vaccines. Biden's vaccine shift is a logical move but has risky side effects, says Breakingviews columnist Aimee Donnellan. Natural gas suppliers, pipeline companies and banks that trade commodities have emerged as the biggest market winners from February's U.S. winter blast that roiled gas and power markets. The deep freeze caught Texas's utilities off-guard, killed more than 100 people and left 4.5 million without power. ViacomCBS beat Wall Street quarterly revenue estimates driven by strong streaming revenue and advertising growth following the March launch of its rebranded Paramount+ service. IBM has introduced what it says is the world's first 2-nanometer chipmaking technology, which could be as much as 45% faster than the mainstream 7-nanometer chips in many of today's laptops and phones and up to 75% more power efficient. Quote of the day "The richest countries should make the momentous decision to pay two thirds of the $60 billion cost of vaccinating the world" Gordon Brown Former British prime minister U.S. backs giving poorer countries access to COVID-19 vaccine patents Video of the day SpaceX's Starship makes first successful landing The feat marks a key milestone for the private rocket company of billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk in its development of a reusable heavy-lift launch vehicle to eventually carry astronauts and large cargo payloads to the moon and Mars. And finally… Child's burial 78,000 years ago a Homo sapiens milestone Scientists have found the oldest-known human burial in Africa, the continent that gave rise to our species, in a discovery that sheds light on the development of early complex social behaviors. More from Reuters COVID-19 Investigations Breakingviews Legal News Thanks for spending part of your day with us. Share your thoughts You are receiving this email because you signed up for newsletters from Reuters. No longer want to hear from us? Unsubscribe from The Reuters Daily Briefing. Terms, conditions, and privacy statement © 2021 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved. 3 Times Square, New York, NY 10036