Record Start

What's Happening Today

Good morning and welcome to the new Balance newsletter! Each day, we'll share the most important news to help you get your day started, as well as some of the top articles from The Balance and beyond.

Today, the Dow is climbing after the S&P 500 and the Dow closed at record highs yesterday, kicking off the new year with a strong start. However, investors will have to consider how the latest surge in coronavirus cases will impact the stock market, as daily COVID-19 cases hit a new record of 1 million yesterday.

Many holiday travelers have also been feeling the effects of the latest spike, as airlines canceled thousands of flights over the past week due to staffing shortages and bad weather. Starbucks announced a new "vaccine or test" policy for its 220,000 workers amid the surge, a month ahead of the president's vaccine mandate for U.S. employees, which kicks in on Feb. 9.

And Biden's Build Back Better agenda still faces an uncertain future after lawmakers failed to pass the sweeping and expensive social infrastructure package (paid family leave, subsidized child care, etc.) before the holidays.

- Kristin

Editors' Picks

U.S. Covid Infections Top 1 Million After Holiday Backlog (Wall Street Journal)

Democrats Hit Pause on Biden's Climate, Social Spending Package (The Hill)

Can You Build a Better Child Tax Credit? (The Balance)

Biden Aims to Trim Meat Prices by Boosting Competition (The Balance)

Off the Charts

Many Americans could see a rise in wages to start the new year, as wage hikes went into effect in 21 states, according to a report by AARP. Four more states expect to raise minimum wages later in the year.

The hourly increases range from $0.22 in Michigan, where the new minimum will be $9.87, to $1.50 in Virginia, bringing the minimum wage to $11. California became the first state to set the minimum wage at $15 an hour statewide for employers with 26 or more employees.

Number of the Day

$744 - That's the typical surprise medical bill families have faced for childbirth expenses—one of the more common such bills now illegal under many circumstances.

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