WASHINGTON—China has fallen short on meeting its pledges in the “phase one” trade agreement signed last year and the Biden administration will soon commence a review of the deal to determine a proper policy response.

Treasury Secretary nominee Janet Yellen said there would be no immediate moves to lift punitive tariffs on Chinese imports that were imposed by the Trump administration.

The New York Stock Exchange reversed its decision to delist three Chinese tech companies with ties to the Chinese military on Monday night.

The exchange announced on Dec. 31 that it would remove China Telecom, China Mobile, and China Unicom to comply with President Donald Trump's executive order, which banned all investments in Chinese companies that have ties to the Chinese military. The exchange now says it "no longer intends to move forward with the delisting action" after discussions with regulatory authorities.

Here is something many investors would have found difficult to believe during March’s stomach-churning selloff: 2020 would turn out to be a stellar year for the stock market.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is near a record, slipping about 0.1% Thursday alongside the S&P 500 in muted holiday trading. The market for initial public offerings is flourishing. Just weeks ago, home-rental startup Airbnb Inc. made a stock-market debut so stunning that its chief executive was briefly left speechless on live television.

At the close of trading next Thursday, the bull market will be ready to run into 2021 but probably at a slower pace.

January is the month that Wall Street tradition says sets the tone for the year — “so goes January, so goes the year,” as the saynig goes. This January could be challenging, with the spreading pandemic slowing the economy and the important Georgia Senate run off elections on Jan. 5.

On Jan. 20, Joseph Biden will be sworn in as president.

Getting last-minute gifts to loved ones without setting foot in stores is easier than in past years.

With the pandemic-fueled boom in online shopping, retailers set tight deadlines to guarantee holiday delivery, but they are also offering same-day options, from delivery to curbside pickup.

These good tidings have a downside in some cases. You may have to pay extra to get your late orders delivered on Christmas Eve.

The US government continues to reel from a large and sophisticated hacking campaign that affected top federal agencies, including the energy department, the treasury and commerce departments, and is even said to have targeted the agency responsible for the country’s nuclear weapons stockpile.

Authorities expressed increasing alarm over the hack, suspected to be the work of Russia, warning that it poses “a grave risk” to federal, state and local governments, as well as “critical infrastructure entities”.

With President Donald Trump soon departing Washington, now is a great time to assess his protectionist trade policies. From tariffs to his hectic bullying of other governments to renegotiate trade agreements to his support for American export subsidies, the Trump years were more than infuriating on trade matters; they were destructive.

This harsh conclusion is no surprise to those of us who understand international trade. We realized from the start that the president's trade philosophy is the mercantilist one that Adam Smith debunked nearly 250 years ago.

Awhile back, I wrote an article on the decommodification of the toilet. In Europe, people often have to pay to use public toilets. I was surprised on a visit to England when, in a country that offers totally free public healthcare, I had to fumble in my pockets for coins just to take a “wee.” (As the expulsion of urine is known in my home country.) In the United States, this experience is unknown, because there was a successful, unsung social movement to abolish paid toilets.

The Trump administration will begin blocking business transactions in the United States with popular Chinese-owned video-sharing app TikTok and messaging app WeChat starting on Sunday.

The Commerce Department announced the new rules barring TikTok and WeChat from U.S. app stores on Friday, but it could be rescinded depending on whether a deal that addresses national security concerns is reached.

The U.S. will ban the downloads of the Chinese apps TikTok and WeChat on Sunday, with a total ban on the use of the latter, citing national security and data privacy concerns.

A total ban on the use of TikTok will follow on Nov. 12, but Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said early Friday on Fox Business Network that access to that app may be possible if certain safeguards are put into place.