A pivotal actor in the meme stock craze that began during the pandemic continues to hold a powerful sway over the movement of shares in major U.S. corporations.

Gamestop’s CEO Ryan Cohen said the struggling video game retailer will focus on cutting costs and long-term profitability in an annual shareholder meeting Monday.

The investor at the center of the pandemic meme stock craze says he still believes GameStop’s management team can turn the struggling video game retailer around.

Shares of GameStop have soared following speculation that the man at the center of the pandemic meme stock craze owns a large number of shares of the video game retailer that may be worth millions.

Shares have fallen across Asia after a mixed session on Wall Street.

Asian shares are mostly higher after U.S. stocks rallied to records on hopes that inflation is heading back in the right direction.

GameStop and other meme stocks are roaring once again, surging to dizzying heights suddenly and sharply.

Reddit and Trump Media are the first notable social media companies to begin trading publicly in the last five years.

Think of movies about the financial system and your mind is almost sure to go to Gordon Gekko and “Wall Street” or Leonardo DiCaprio’s gyrating Jordan Belfort in “The Wolf of Wall Street.”.

Shares of GameStop have plunged after the company fired CEO Matthew Furlong, the former Amazon executive who was brought in two years ago to turn the struggling video game retailer around.

Stock indexes ended a bumpy day higher on Wall Street Friday while Treasury yields soared, after a healthy report on the U.S. job market strengthened expectations for coming interest rate hikes.

The stock market certainly shook when hundreds of thousands of regular people suddenly piled into GameStop early this year, driving its price to heights that shocked professional investors.

Robinhood has already changed how and which people trade stocks.

GameStop and other meme stocks are jumping again.

GameStop, the video-game retailer whose manic stock movements captivated Wall Street this year, said Wednesday it’s brought on a pair of Amazon veterans as its new chief executive and chief financial officer to aid in its much anticipated digital turnaround.

Meme stock GameStop is gearing up to name Ryan Cohen as its chairman on Wednesday when the video game retailer holds its annual shareholders meeting.

Two months after a market phenomenon took shares of GameStop to the moon, the video game retailer says that it will sell up to 3.5 million of its shares.

Shares advanced in Asia on Thursday after a broad decline on Wall Street led by selling of tech heavyweights like Facebook and Apple. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)BEIJING – Shares advanced in Asia on Thursday after a broad decline on Wall Street led by selling of tech heavyweights like Facebook and Apple. The Russell 2000 index lost 2.4% to 2,134.27. Banks have been volatile the last couple of weeks as investors try to gauge the impact of higher interest rates on the U.S. economy. Higher interest rates can slow economic momentum, but they also allow banks to charge more for loans.

FILE - In this Nov. 5, 2020 file photo, a sign for Wall Street is carved in the side of a building. Banks and energy stocks are leading major U.S. indexes mostly lower in the early going on Wall Street, while gains for some Big Tech companies like Microsoft nudged the Nasdaq slightly higher. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)BEIJING – Asian stock markets followed Wall Street lower Wednesday after European governments extended anti-coronavirus lockdowns, clouding the outlook for economic recovery. Overnight, Wall Street gave up most of the previous day's gains as technology, industrial and bank stocks fell. On Wall Street, the benchmark S&P 500 fell 0.8% on Tuesday to 3,910.52.

(AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)TOKYO – Asian stock prices followed Wall Street higher on Wednesday following a rally for major tech companies. Wall Street's benchmark S&P 500 index closed up 1.4%, led by gains for Apple, Amazon and other tech majors. A reversal in bond market trends at least temporarily sent investors back to companies they hope will thrive after the coronavirus pandemic ends. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which is weighted less toward tech, rose 0.1% to 31,832.74. The fall in bond prices drew investors who didn't want to pay high prices for stocks, especially tech stocks that looked most expensive.

FILE - In this Jan. 28, 2021 file photo, a pedestrian passes a GameStop storefront in Dallas. GameStop shares jumped around 12% in premarket trading Monday, March 8 after the video game retailer appointed a committee it said would aim to transform GameStop into a technology business. (AP Photo/LM Otero, File)NEW YORK – GameStop took a step toward a more digital future Monday, naming an activist investor to lead company efforts to push more of its business online. Ryan Cohen, the co-founder of the online pet supply company Chewy, will chair the company's new Strategic Planning and Capital Allocation Committee. Cohen took a huge stake in GameStop before the online frenzy over company shares began in January.

Stocks are off to a mixed start on Wall Street as gains for banks are offset by losses in technology companies and other parts of the market. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II, File)NEW YORK – Interested in trading some of the stocks that have rocked Wall Street recently fueled by social media buzz? Has the craziness of the comments talking up the so-called meme stocks on Reddit and other sites kept you away? Such stocks have forced Wall Street to pay much more attention to what smaller investors are doing, as they communicate with each on the internet and pitch ideas for stocks to pile into. The index underlying BUZZ updates what stocks it includes once a month, and they have to meet several criteria.

A Rocket Companies sign is displayed on the exterior of the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, Aug. 6, 2020, in New York. Shares of Rocket Companies, parent of Quicken Loans, began trading Thursday during the Detroit company's IPO at the NYSE. Quicken is the largest retail mortgage originator in the U.S. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)DETROIT – The stock price of Rocket Companies, parent company of Dan Gilbert’s Quicken Loans, shot up more than 70% over the last 24 hours after the company became the newest “meme” stock of Reddit. Rocket reported stronger-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings last Thursday, which impressed some Wall Street analysts. More: GameStop’s saga may be over; its effect on Wall Street isn’t

After weeks of going dormant, shares of GameStop have suddenly shot higher again, rising 18.6% Thursday after surging 75% in the last hour of trading Wednesday. After short-selling funds got badly burned by last month's sudden surge, many fewer GameStop shares are being sold short now. A day after testifying in a Congressional hearing about GameStop last week, he indicated he added another 50,000 shares after Feb. 3, doubling his GameStop stock position. On Wednesday, an hour or so before GameStop shares spiked, Cohen tweeted a photo of an ice cream cone from McDonald’s, along with an emoji of a frog. Even so, GameStop shares changed hands more times by midday Thursday than for Apple, a company with a market value nearly 180 times the size of GameStop.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq shed 3.5% on Thursday while the S&P 500 dropped 2.4%, led lower by heavy selling in technology and communications companies. That move raised the alarm on Wall Street that yields, and the interest rates they influence, will move higher from here. The Shanghai Composite index lost 1.5% to 3,530.08. AdThe S&P 500 index fell 96.09 points to 3,829.34. The Russell 2000 index of smaller company stocks lost 84.21 points, or 3.7%, to 2,200.17.

A rally in GameStop has been rare since it fell back to earth early this month. GameStop was an extreme example because some of its shares had been sold short multiple times. Gust Kepler, CEO of stocks and options platform BlackBoxStocks, said that he became aware around 3:30 EST Wednesday of “aggressive buying” of call options on GameStop shares. Speaking at the annual meeting of Los Angeles Daily Journal Wednesday, the Berkshire Hathaway vice chairman pinned the GameStop stock frenzy on small investors that he said were gambling on the stock market. One Redditor posted a chart in the forum showing the spike in GameStop's shares, adding: “TAKE THAT CHARLIE MUNGER.”___Associated Press writer Josh Funk in Omaha, Nebraska, contributed to this report.

Major indexes are off to a mixed start on Wall Street as gains for banks and industrial companies are offset by losses in Big Tech stocks like Apple and Amazon. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)BANGKOK – Asian stock markets followed Wall Street higher Thursday after the Federal Reserve chairman said the U.S. central bank is in no hurry to withdraw support for the economy. Overnight, Wall Street hit a new high after chairman Jerome Powell said the Fed sees no sign inflation might rise out of control. Global stock prices have soared over the past six months on hopes for a coronavirus vaccine and central bank promises of abundant credit to support struggling economies. The central bank earlier indicated it would let the economy “run hot” to make sure a recovery is well-established following the deepest slump since the 1930s.

The Associated Press talked to a few parents and financial experts for their tips, and included in their advice was teaching kids early on about money, keeping the discussions simple but interesting and letting kids practice investing. KEEP IT SIMPLEParents should make sure kids understand money basics before they try to conquer investing. Kids need to understand what stocks are, why people invest and how the markets work before they can understand investing. AdThere are plenty of good resources — websites, apps, books — available to help guide the way in talking with kids about money and investing (or to help bolster parents' own knowledge). Parents can also help kids identify companies they are interested in and track them using fictitious money just for fun.

In this image from video provided by the House Financial Services Committee, Keith Gill, a GameStop investor, also known in social media forums as Roaring Kitty, testifies during a virtual hearing on GameStop in Washington, Thursday, Feb. 18, 2021. “Today, the world shall know his name,” cheered one online fan on the social media website Reddit, superimposing a headshot of Gill over a boxer's body. “The idea that I used social media to promote GameStop stock to unwitting investors and influence the market is preposterous,” Gill told lawmakers. GameStop shares soared as high as $483 in January but have since fallen back, trading Thursday afternoon at around $45. Ad"It is tragic that some people lost money and my heart goes out to them,” Gill said.

The episode has been portrayed as a victory of the little guy over Wall Street titans, but not everyone is buying it. The head of the panel, Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., is homing in on hedge funds, which she says have a history of “predatory short-selling." Chicago-based Citadel is one of the biggest hedge funds, and its separate securities-dealing business handles an estimated 25% of all U.S. stock trading. Not coincidentally, it inflicted billions in losses on the hedge funds that had placed bets that the stocks would drop. GameStop stock plunged 60%, to $90 on Feb. 2, wiping out hundreds of thousands of dollars in a few hours.

(House Financial Services Committee via AP)WASHINGTON – The CEO of Robinhood defended the trading platform to Congress Thursday for its actions during the GameStop trading saga, while apologizing to customers for restricting their ability to trade at the height of the frenzy. AdTenev said Robinhood imposed the trading restrictions because regulators had increased capital requirements tenfold due to the spike in trading volume. Gill earned a handsome profit and a legion of online followers for making the case for GameStop shares on Reddit and YouTube long before the big price surge in January. Beyond Robinhood’s actions during the GameStop frenzy, lawmakers raised concern about its business model generally and possible downsides of its “democratization” of stock trading. The company offers commission-free trading, but critics say customers pay another, hidden price because Robinhood provides their data on buying and selling to Wall Street firms.

The GameStop saga has been portrayed as a victory of the little guy over Wall Street giants but not everyone agrees, including some lawmakers in Washington. GameStop shares soared 1,600% in January before falling back to earth. GameStop stock plunged 60%, to $90 on Feb. 2, wiping out hundreds of thousands of dollars in a few hours. A raft of lawsuits were filed against Robinhood in federal court by platform users who suffered losses when they were frozen out of GameStop trading. There are indications that contrary to the populist fable, it was the Wall Street titans that mostly benefited in the end from the GameStop rollercoaster.

AdAlthough another day of choppy trading on Wall Street left the major U.S. stock indexes nearly flat Thursday, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq composite still hit all-time highs. The S&P 500 rose 0.2% to 3,916.38. Wall Street is still digesting solid corporate earnings and signs of a decline in new virus cases. The index is up 15.7% so far this year, while the S&P 500 is up 4.3%. Molson Coors fell 9.1% for the biggest decline in the S&P 500 after its profits fell short of expectations because business shutdowns in Europe hurt sales.

FILE - A street sign is displayed at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Monday, Nov. 23, 2020. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)BEIJING – Major Asian stock indexes were mostly higher on Thursday after President Joe Biden held his first conversation with Chinese leader Xi Jinping since taking office. In their phone conversation, Biden and Xi appeared to have struck a conciliatory tone, Jeffrey Halley of Oanda said in a commentary. Shares in Aphria and Tilray, Canadian companies that agreed to combine in December, also rose. The stocks are also benefiting from optimism that industry friendly legislation measures could become law under the Biden administration.

The latest news on Super Bowl commercials. ___10 p.m.Smartphone-based stock market investment service Robinhood bought its Super Bowl spot in December after a successful year, unaware that it was about to make global headlines. Ad___9:45 p.m.Jeep starred iconic singer Bruce Springsteen in his first ever ad promoting the idea of unity. Most brands that have money to spend on Super Bowl ads are already household names, but the big game is also a chance for upstarts to make a big splash. ___7:15 p.m.General Motors used humor in a Super Bowl ad to promote its ambitious push to get more Americans to buy electric vehicles.

(Courtney Crow/New York Stock Exchange via AP)TOKYO – Wall Street closed out a winning week Friday as the S&P 500 notched its fifth gain in a row and its biggest weekly increase since November. The benchmark index rose 0.4% and ended the week 4.6% higher, more than making up for its decline in January. The latest gain nudged the S&P 500 to another all-time high. The market largely shrugged off a dismal jobs report for January that showed the U.S. economy remaining in dire straits due to the pandemic. The S&P 500 index rose 15.09 points, or 0.4%, to 3,886.83.

GameStop and a handful of other stocks whose meteoric rise last month shocked Wall Street began falling back to Earth this week. The GameStop episode is “a wake-up call that is likely to permanently affect the business models of institutional investors,” analysts at Barclays Capital wrote in a research note this week. GameStop's unlikely gains were the product of a tug-of-war between small investors and big institutions. “Retail investors now have tools to band together and move the markets.”Some investors bought GameStop to make money while forcing losses on big Wall Street institutions. Ad“As more retail investors get drawn into WSB, the clout of retail options investors also grows,” the Barclays analysts wrote.

FILE - Pedestrians pass a GameStop store on 14th Street at Union Square, Thursday, Jan. 28, 2021, in the Manhattan borough of New York. Followers of YouTube personality Roaring Kitty, inspired by his enthusiasm for buying stock in the underdog retailer GameStop, made him an icon in the social media frenzy that shocked Wall Street. GameStop shares dropped 42% on Thursday, continuing to plummet from a high of $483 a week ago to around $53. “I was a little late to the game," said Will Binette, 21, of Albuquerque, New Mexico, who bought one share of GameStop last week when it was $380. One such contract gives an investor the right to sell a stock at a later date at a certain price.

(Colin Ziemer/New York Stock Exchange via AP)TOKYO – Asian shares rose Friday, echoing a rally on Wall Street, as hopes grew for a gradual global economic recovery from the damage of the coronavirus pandemic. Wall Street was cheered by strong company earnings and optimism that Washington can reach a deal for another round of fiscal stimulus for millions of Americans. Wall Street continues to be focused on company earnings. Shares of eBay rose 5.3% and PayPal climbed 7.4% after both companies reported results that beat Wall Street's expectations. AdIn Washington, President Joe Biden urged Democrats lawmakers to “act fast” on his economic stimulus plan but also said he’s open to changes.

Asian shares mostly fell Thursday as caution set in over company earnings reports, recent choppy trading in technology stocks and prospects for more economic stimulus for a world battling a pandemic. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)BANGKOK – Asian shares mostly fell Thursday as caution set in over company earnings reports, recent choppy trading in technology stocks and prospects for more economic stimulus for a world battling a pandemic. AdWall Street ended with modest gains, with the S&P 500 inched up 3.86 points, or 0.1%, to 3,830.17, after swinging between a gain of 0.6% and a loss of 0.3%. Those gains were primarily kept in check by declines in companies that rely on consumer spending and technology stocks. AdGameStop and other recently high-flying stocks notched modest gains Wednesday.

(Colin Ziemer/New York Stock Exchange via AP)NEW YORK – Now, even the pros on Wall Street are asking if the stock market has shot too high. But Wall Street kept justifying the gains by pointing to massive support from the Federal Reserve, lifesaving deliverance from COVID-19 vaccines and efforts by Congress to pump more stimulus into the economy. All the fervor has Wall Street openly debating whether the market is in a dangerous bubble, after months of batting away the possibility. For all the worries, much of Wall Street is still optimistic, forecasting more gains ahead. If earnings rise a lot and stock prices make only modest moves, prices would look more reasonable, and that's precisely what much of Wall Street expects to happen.

Shares were down 46% to about $120 in morning trading Tuesday, Feb. 2, following a 31% decline a day earlier. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)GameStop shares plunged 60% Tuesday in a further reversal of the recent blockbuster gains that grabbed people's attention far beyond Wall Street. GameStop shares fell $135 to $90. The 60% drop was the worst yet for the stock and follows a 31% decline a day earlier. Investors on Reddit and other social-media portals have banded together in recent weeks to snap up shares of GameStop, AMC and other struggling chains.

Stocks were broadly higher in afternoon trading Tuesday, but shares of closely watched companies like GameStop and AMC Entertainment were falling sharply. (Colin Ziemer/New York Stock Exchange via AP)BEIJING – Asian shares opened mostly higher on Wednesday although markets in Shanghai and Hong Kong were lower. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 rose 0.7% to 28,552.31 and the Kospi in South Korea edged 0.1% higher to 3,100.35. Overnight, Big Tech companies and banks helped power a broad rally on Wall Street Tuesday, though shares in GameStop and other recent high-flying stocks hyped by online traders plunged. The price of silver, which spiked 9% Monday, fueling speculation the precious metal was also being hyped up by online traders, sank by more than 10%.

(AP Photo/Patrick Sison, File)Popular online trading platform Robinhood said Monday that it has lined up $3.4 billion to help meet its funding requirements amid a spike in trading on Wall Street fueled by small investors driving up shares in GameStop and other stocks. Robinhood needed to secure funding in order to meet deposit thresholds required by organizations that handle the trading orders placed by investors on its platform. Last week, Robinhood, Charles Schwab and other retail brokerages placed limits on trading of GameStop, AMC, Express and other stocks popular with small investors. The move led to a swift backlash from customers and criticism from some lawmakers claiming small investors were being treaded unfairly. GameStop stock vaulted from below $20 earlier this month to close around $350 as of last week.

Shares of Pan American Silver surged about 12%, First Majestic Silver rose 22% and Hecla Mining spiked 28%. In the process, they've done heavy damage to those hedge funds in a stunning reversal of financial power on Wall Street. AdSome of these smaller traders believe the hedge funds that were pillaged last week are behind the surge in silver. Meanwhile, GameStop shares dropped 28% to $233 but the stock price has been tremendously volatile of late. Even so, hedge funds' exposure to the stock market remains close to record levels.

A woman walks past a bank's electronic board showing the Hong Kong share index in Hong Kong, Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2021. Asian stocks followed Wall Street higher Tuesday after President Joe Biden invited Republicans to a meeting to discuss economic aid, while silver eased off an eight-year high. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)BEIJING – Asian stocks followed Wall Street higher Tuesday after President Joe Biden invited Republicans to a meeting to discuss economic aid, while silver eased off an eight-year high. Market benchmarks in Shanghai, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Seoul all advanced. The Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.5% to 3,523.71 while the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo added 1% to 28,376.20.

Asian stock markets gained Monday after coronavirus vaccine maker AstraZeneca agreed to increase supplies to Europe amid rising worries about the disease. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)BEIJING – Asian stock markets gained Monday after coronavirus vaccine maker AstraZeneca agreed to increase supplies to Europe amid rising worries about the disease. On Friday, Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 index lost 1.9% after GameStop, a video game vendor, and some other shares that were expected to decline were sent soaring by day traders. On Sunday, the EU announced AstraZeneca has agreed to supply 9 million additional doses of its coronavirus vaccine to Europe. Hopes for aid, along with the Federal Reserve’s pledge to keep low-cost credit plentiful, have carried the S&P 500 and other major indexes to record highs.

Melvin Capital is also exiting GameStop, with manager Gabe Plotkin telling CNBC that the hedge fund was taking a significant loss. Last week they gave us the Great GameStop Stock Uprising. Online spaces are being used to radicalize people toward extremism, to plan hate crimes and attacks," she said. It’s the same thing as when Jim Cramer gets on CNBC smashing buttons.”AdIn 2017, the hashtag “MeToo" began going viral as women — and some men — shared their experiences of sexual assault on social media. Social media also helped Black Lives Matter activists organize rallies, record police violence and communicate during the marches sweeping the U.S. and other countries following the death of George Floyd last summer.

A vehicle passes in front of a GameStop store in Vernon Hills, Ill., Thursday, Jan. 28, 2021. The online trading platform Robinhood is moving to restrict trading in GameStop and other stocks that have soared recently due to rabid buying by smaller investors. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)Robinhood has lifted some restrictions on buying stocks being driven by Reddit’s WallStreetBets group, allowing users to purchase GameStop, AMC and others after restricting them on Thursday. Robinhood came under fire on Thursday after shutting down the stock buying frenzy, citing “market volatility,” while users of the trading app accused the company of market manipulation. AdMost of the stocks that were restricted on Thursday have seen an increase since buying was allowed again Friday morning.

GameStop's stock is back to the races Friday, and the overall U.S. market is down again, as the saga that's captivated and confused Wall Street ramps up the drama. AdThe assault is directed squarely at hedge funds and other Wall Street titans that had bet the struggling video game retailer’s stock would fall. Wall Street’s focus remains squarely on GameStop and other moonshot stocks. After their success with GameStop, traders have been looking for other downtrodden stocks in the market where hedge funds and other Wall Street firms are betting on price drops. These last few weeks I've started caring again; feeling impassioned again; wanting more again.”Most of Wall Street and other market watchers say they expect the smaller-pocketed investors who are pushing up GameStop to eventually get burned.

What’s going on with GameStop’s stock doesn’t make sense to a lot of people. AdHere's a look at how we got here:___WHAT IS HAPPENING WITH GAMESTOP’S STOCK? A big reason for that is how deeply hated GameStop's stock was by hedge funds and other professional investors on Wall Street. Later, if the stock price does as they expect, they can buy the stock at a lower price and keep the difference. ___WHERE DOES WALL STREET SEE GAMESTOP'S STOCK ENDING UP?

Michigan Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib slammed Robinhood on Thursday after the popular investment app restricted support for Reddit-driven stocks. Robinhood messages posted to various company pages like GameStop, AMC and Nokia, inform users that the stock is not supported on Robinhood, or not available for purchase. We fundamentally believe that everyone should have access to financial markets. Related: Robinhood sends market volatility warning to brokerage app usersThe #RobinHood drama is real this morning. The online trading app is not allowing people to buy recent popular stocks like $NOK $AMC & $GMEHowever you can sell your current options.

The online trading platform Robinhood is moving to restrict trading in GameStop and other stocks that have soared recently due to rabid buying by smaller investors. The frenzy surrounding shares of GameStop, AMC and others has drawn in an influx of investors with little or no experience trading stocks. That poses a challenge for brokerages that cater to small investors, said Andy Nybo, managing director at Burton-Taylor International Consulting. The company has forced huge, ground-shaking changes for the brokerage industry, such as its decision to charge zero commissions for customers trading stocks and exchange-traded funds. AdZiad Cohen, another Robinhood user, said he'll ditch the trading portal once he sells his GameStop shares.

Asian shares skidded on Thursday as a reality check set in about longtime economic damage from the coronavirus pandemic, giving Wall Street its worst day since October. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)Robinhood is warning its brokerage app users about “market volatility” while small-pocket investors continued their battle with the big players on Wall Street by pouring money into companies like GameStop and AMC. Easy-access trading apps like it are at the center of the war between groups of small investors communicating on social media and Wall Street short sellers. Here are some specific articles from Robinhood Learn to help make sense of market volatility: -- The stock market has been super volatile – How can I make sense of it? Amid significant market volatility, it’s important as ever that we help customers stay informed.

This Thursday, Dec. 17, 2020 photo shows the logo for the Robinhood app on a smartphone in New York. Friday morning update: Robinhood lifts some restrictions on buying Reddit-driven GameStop, AMC stocksRobinhood messages posted to various company pages like GameStop, AMC and Nokia, inform users that the stock is not supported on Robinhood, or not available for purchase. We fundamentally believe that everyone should have access to financial markets. Since the halt, stocks impacted have dropped in value. Related: Robinhood sends market volatility warning to brokerage app usersThe #RobinHood drama is real this morning.

A currency trader watches computer monitors at the foreign exchange dealing room in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 29, 2021. Asian stock markets were mixed Friday after Wall Street rebounded from its biggest loss in nearly three months, while Japan reported December factory output weakened. All rights reservedTOKYO – Asian stock markets were mixed Friday after Wall Street rebounded from its biggest loss in nearly three months, while Japan reported December factory output weakened. Overnight, Wall Street's benchmark S&P 500 index gained 1%, recovering some of its loss from the previous day's 2.6% fall after American unemployment data were better than expected. On Wall Street, the S&P 500 rose to 3,787.38, escaping the red for the year so far.

Those are the news items that have been driving asset values in recent months.”Powell also noted that the Fed is keeping rates low and buying bonds to support economic growth. The Fed’s drive to keep long-term rates low have helped hold down mortgage rates and fueled home sales and price increases. “Frankly, we welcome somewhat higher inflation," Powell said. The Fed believes that inflation sustainably at 2% guards against deflation, a drop in prices and wages. And since interest rates include expected levels of inflation, that gives the Fed more room to cut interest rates.

On Wall Street, though, it's become a battleground where swarms of smaller investors see themselves making an epic stand against the 1%. Big bets they made that GameStop's stock would fall went wrong, leaving them facing billions of dollars in collective losses. All the wild action pushed GameStop's stock as high as $380 on Wednesday, up from $18 just a few weeks ago. Two investment firms that had placed bets for money-losing GameStop's stock to fall have essentially thrown in the towel. But Andrew Left, who runs Citron, said that does not change his view that GameStop's stock will eventually go down.

Asian shares skidded on Thursday as a reality check set in about longtime economic damage from the coronavirus pandemic, giving Wall Street its worst day since October. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)Asian shares skidded on Thursday as a reality check set in about longtime economic damage from the coronavirus pandemic, giving Wall Street its worst day since October. Daily deaths had been mostly in single-digit figures until recently, but are now surpassing 100 people a day. On Wall Street, a sell-off in technology companies sent shares tumbling in a reversal from the market's recent moves to record highs. As a whole, analysts expect S&P 500 companies to say their fourth-quarter profit fell 5% from a year earlier.

The resulting action is wild, with GameStop's stock soaring nearly 145% in less than two hours Monday morning, only for the gains to disappear quickly afterward. Many are pitching it as a battle of regular people versus hedge funds and big Wall Street firms. It took just five days for GameStop's stock to double after announcing its board shakeup. Holding till infinity,” posted one user on a Reddit discussion about GameStop stock. “What happened with GameStop’s stock is a reminder of how times are changing.”

A woman walks past a bank's electronic board showing the Hong Kong share index at Hong Kong Stock Exchange in Hong Kong Monday, Jan. 25, 2021. Asian shares rose Monday amid some hope for recovering economies slammed by the pandemic, as market attention turned to upcoming company earnings. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)TOKYO – Shares fell in Asia on Tuesday after a choppy session on Wall Street yielded mixed results as the market struggled to find direction. Hong Kong led other regional markets lower, dropping 1.9% to 29,587.91. The Nasdaq composite, which is packed with tech stocks, rose 0.7% to 13,635.99 and another record.

Black Friday shoppers wear face masks as the leave Saks Fifth Avenue flagships store empty handed, Friday, Nov. 27, 2020, in New York. Crowds at stores were dramatically diminished as shoppers shifted online. Black Friday is projected to generate $10 billion in online sales, a 39% bump from the year ago period, according to Adobe. And Cyber Monday, the Monday after Thanksgiving, will remain the biggest online shopping day of the year with $12.7 billion in sales, a 35% jump. At a popular shopping area in St. Petersburg, Florida, several storefronts were empty, and the only line was at a plasma donation center.

GameStop's new CEO, George Sherman, says the company "is in a tough place" and "needs to make some changes" to keep up with the video game industry. GRAPEVINE, Texas - GameStop's new CEO, George Sherman, says the company "is in a tough place" and "needs to make some changes" to keep up with the video game industry. Video game console sales of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One X are also drying up, as Sony and Microsoft tease new consoles for next year. GameStop predominantly relies on selling physical copies of video games, which made up 22.2% of its sales in the the most recent quarter. With further advances, 5G and cloud streaming could make streaming video games through the cloud more viable.