Updated Mar 17, 2020 - Economy & Business

Wall Street rebounds from worst day in 30 years

Traders working at the NYSE on Monday. Photo: Michael Nagle/Xinhua via Getty Images

Stocks closed up 6% on Tuesday afternoon, making up almost half of the losses from the stock market's worst day since 1987.

Why it matters: Stocks rose as measures to shield companies and the economy from the coronavirus impact — including an announcement by the Fed and a White House stimulus plan that includes sending cash payments to Americans — came to light.

By the numbers: The stock market is more volatile now than during the 2008 financial crisis.

The S&P 500 rose 5.9% on Tuesday, after closing 12% lower on Monday.
The Dow rose 5.1% (or 1,048 points), while the Nasdaq jumped 6.2%. Both indices slumped about 13% yesterday.

Go deeper

Dave Lawler

21 mins ago - World

Nuclear free-for-all: The arms control era may be ending

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

The mushroom clouds over Hiroshima and Nagasaki have remained unreplicated for 75 years in part because the U.S. and Soviet Union — after peering over the ledge into nuclear armageddon — began to negotiate.

Why it matters: The arms control era that began after the Cuban Missile Crisis may now be coming to a close. The next phase could be a nuclear free-for-all.

Go deeper (3 min. read)

Rashaan Ayesh

2 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Pelosi, Schumer demand postmaster general reverse USPS cuts ahead of election

Schumer and Pelosi. Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer sent a letter to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy on Thursday calling for the recent Trump appointee to reverse operational changes to the U.S. Postal Service that "threaten the timely delivery of mail" ahead of the 2020 election.

Why it matters: U.S. mail and election infrastructure are facing a test like no other this November, with a record-breaking number of mail-in ballots expected as Americans attempt to vote in the midst of a pandemic.

Go deeper (1 min. read)

Alison Snyder

2 hours ago - Science

CRISPR co-discoverer on the gene editor's pandemic push

Photo illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios. Photos: Brian Ach/Getty Images for Wired and BSIP/UIG via Getty Images

The coronavirus pandemic is accelerating the development of CRISPR-based tests for detecting disease — and highlighting how gene-editing tools might one day fight pandemics, one of its discoverers, Jennifer Doudna, tells Axios.

Why it matters: Testing shortages and backlogs underscore a need for improved mass testing for COVID-19. Diagnostic tests based on CRISPR — which Doudna and colleagues identified in 2012, ushering in the "CRISPR revolution" in genome editing — are being developed for dengue, Zika and other diseases, but a global pandemic is a proving ground for these tools that hold promise for speed and lower costs.