As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic response that included lockdowns, many small businesses folded while big companies thrived, a senator said, calling this phenomenon a “wealth transfer.”  Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) criticized the response to the pandemic, particularly the shutdowns, in a March 22 interview on EpochTV’s “American Thought Leaders” program. “There was nothing in…

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic response that included lockdowns, many small businesses folded while big companies thrived, a senator said, calling this phenomenon a “wealth transfer.”  Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) criticized the response to the pandemic, particularly the shutdowns, in a March 22 interview on EpochTV’s “American Thought Leaders” program. “There was nothing in…

Commentary It was a very bad year for the flu. The pathogen came in two large waves. This is only obvious in retrospect. At the time, not so much. Life went on as normal. There were gatherings. There were parties. There was travel. There were no masks. Doctors treated the sick. Traditional public health reigned…

News Analysis Office buildings continue to sit mostly empty in major cities across the United States, jeopardizing the future of America’s downtowns more than two years after the COVID-19 pandemic prompted the mass adoption of remote work. Data from Kastle Systems, a provider of access control systems for thousands of office buildings, shows that office…

Commentary In March 2020, when COVID-19 first exploded onto the scene, sports fans waited with bated breath to see which teams, and which leagues, would bow out on precautionary grounds. The answer quickly became clear: all of them. But actions that were more justifiable at that particular juncture, when we knew nothing about what was…

HARRISBURG, Pennsylvania—Hundreds of health care workers gathered on the Pennsylvania Capitol steps Tuesday to protest COVID-19 vaccine mandates. Some had already lost their jobs; others face deadlines and uncertainty. Get fully vaccinated by a certain date or expect to be fired, their employers say, in an effort to comply with President Joe Biden’s national vaccine…

Caterpillar Inc. said on Thursday that inflation may force it to further hike prices across the board as the manufacturer tries to navigate through production delays that resulted in the company’s first revenue miss this year. “This has been the first quarter where it (supply chain challenges) started to impact us significantly,” Chief Financial Officer…

Commentary Last week, I visited South Florida for four days, and what a shock: Everything was open. The beaches, the hotels, the restaurants (with some sensible safety and social distancing restrictions). The classrooms are full. The other strange thing about being in Florida was that people were happy. They were playing tennis and golf. They…

Commentary In Naperville, Illinois, the school board announced it would distribute $10 million back to taxpayers this year. Yes, a tax refund. In a news release, Superintendent Dan Bridges told residents that he “understands the great burden many of our families have faced during the COVID-19 pandemic and hopes that this reimbursement lessens that burden.”…

LONDON—A major chunk of the recovery in companies’ earnings expected in the first quarter is at risk of being pushed back further as lockdowns and mobility restrictions in several countries cloud hopes of a swifter economic recovery, investment banks said. China announced lockdowns in four cities and European countries unveiled tighter and longer coronavirus restrictions…