President-elect Joe Biden will tonight unveil a Covid-19 stimulus package that could be as big as $2 trillion. The plan will include direct payments of $2,000, extending unemployment benefits, money for state and local government and tax credits, according to congressional officials. While Biden has said that he is seeking the support of Republican lawmakers in passing the package, Democrat control of all three branches of the legislature means he does not require it to pass his plans.  
 

Intel is bidding farewell to CEO Robert Swan, who has been at the helm for two years, as the semiconductor pioneer faces pressure from activist investor Daniel Loeb. He'll be replaced in mid-February by Patrick Gelsinger, a former chip designer and 30-year Intel veteran who has led software maker VMware since 2012. News of the shakeup sent Intel shares up 7%.  Then overnight, rival manufacturer Taiwan Semiconductor announced strong earnings, and plans to spend as much as a staggering $28 billion to expand manufacturing and solidify its tech dominance.  These divergent trajectories just might be one of the most important trends in the world today.

First-time claims for unemployment insurance jumped to 965,000 last week amid signs of a slowdown in hiring due to pandemic restrictions, the Labor Department reported this morning.  The total was worse than Wall Street estimates of 800,000 and above the previous week’s total of 784,000.

With Northwest Quadrant Wealth Management a Registered Investment Advisor I am Josh Fenili.