CHICAGO—The year of 2021 ended as one of the most violent on record in Chicago, as a rise in the number of shootings left more people dead than in any single year in a quarter century, according to statistics released by the police department on Saturday. According to the department, 2021 ended with 797 homicides….

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is a price-weighted index consisting of 30 stocks. It’s one of the oldest and best-known measures of stock market performance. The blue-chip index closed at a new all-time high Wednesday, dating all the way back to 1896. Dow Jones stocks have returned an average of about 19 percent in 2021. Eighteen Dow components have underperformed the…

Investors experienced another great year for stocks in 2021. LPL Financial Chief Market Strategist Ryan Detrick recently recapped LPL’s top 27 charts and tables of 2021, reflecting the trends he was watching in a strong year for stocks. Here are eight of the best LPL charts of the year. Stocks got off to a strong…

President Biden urges the Supreme Court not to block his vaccine mandate for private employers, Australians celebrate the New Year with spectacular fireworks over the Sydney’s famous Harbor Bridge and Opera House, and we take a look at some of the most heartwarming things that happened in 2021.

Here’s a rundown of some of the main issues of the year that passed as we enter 2022. Pandemic, Policies, and Division The low severity of the Omicron variant despite its high transmissibility gave cause for optimism on the cusp of turning the year after the initial scare of its discovery in South Africa in…

SILVER SPRING, Md.—Average long-term U.S. mortgage rates moved slightly higher in the final week of 2021. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the average rate on the benchmark, 30-year home loan ticked up to 3.11 percent this week from 3.05 percent last week. A year ago, the 30-year rate stood at 2.67 percent. The…

BLUE RIDGE, Ga.—On a gray yet sunbeam-pierced afternoon in Blue Ridge, Georgia, many Americans said they feel weary of COVID-19 concerns. For many visitors and residents of the small tourist town, 2021 was a year spent overshadowed. Their individual hopes and dreams for next year hid behind COVID-19 worries like faces behind masks. “With COVID…

To round out the year, I recap moments from 2021 and what they taught us—from an unending pandemic to failed leadership and moments of inspiration and hope—and things we need to reflect upon as we move into a new year. As Americans, we have to learn from the pains and mistakes of 2021. Hosted by…

Commentary Despite the problems, this was a pretty good year for California. Here’s a review. Surviving COVID. January 2021 began with the continued resurgence of COVID-19, mainly the Delta Variant. It soared to more than 100,000 new cases a day in the state, before dropping quickly in March. Fall saw a smaller rise in cases….

The public markets saw a record number of IPOs and capital raised in 2021. Around 1,500 companies went public via traditional IPO, direct listing or via SPAC merger. Public listings in 2021 raised over $490 billion. Here is a look at the five best-performing IPOs of 2021. (The worst-performing IPOs will come in another article.) Results are based…