Tokyo’s stock benchmark soared 4% and other Asian markets have surged after oil prices dropped, easing fears inflation was set to accelerate.

The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits rose to the highest level in three months as the fast-spreading omicron variant disrupted the job market.

The United Kingdom’s central bank has become the first in a major advanced economy to raise interest rates since the coronavirus pandemic began.

President Joe Biden signs his first executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House on Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021, in Washington. Researchers at University of Michigan’s Research Seminar in Quantitative Economics are seeing some signs for optimism as they make forecasts looking ahead. “With the ongoing vaccine roll-out, the end of the pandemic is in sight, letting us focus on how the post-pandemic economy might look like.”Below are the U-M experts’ “five things to watch” and “five things to watch out for” in the country’s economy this year. Five things to watch for:Getting the vaccines out quickly is the most important economic/social task. Five things to watch out for:

LANSING, Mich. Economists project Michigans tax revenues this fiscal year will plummet between $3.1 billion and $3.6 billion below prior estimates due to the coronavirus pandemic. The numbers were released Thursday before a Friday meeting at which legislative experts and Gov. Gretchen Whitmers administration will try to get a handle on the budget outlook two months after the crisis hit the state. One-third of the workforce has filed for unemployment benefits at a time schools and businesses are closed and travel is restricted to curb the spread of COVID-19. The number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus (COVID-19) in Michigan has risen to 50,079 as of Saturday morning, including 4,825 deaths, state officials report.