18 August 2020
The S&P 500 closed at a new high on Tuesday for the first time since February, before the coronavirus pandemic was declared.
Why it matters: It’s among the fastest-ever recoveries on record and comes as millions of Americans remain out of work during one of the worst economic downturns in U.S. history.
- Further coronavirus spread is expected to hamper any sign of a recovery.
- Meanwhile, the stock market has been grinding higher amid unprecedented actions from the Federal Reserve and fiscal support from Congress, though the prospects of another stimulus package remain uncertain.
The backstory: The S&P 500 surpassed the previous record close of 3,386.15 set on Feb. 19.
- As the coronavirus began to spread in the U.S. and states started to mandate closures, the stock market began a steep decline and eventually fell 34% to its pandemic low-point on March 23.
Between the lines: This is the shortest period of time it's taken for the S&P 500 to set a new record after a previous bull market high, per Barron's.
- CNBC notes that it's the third-fastest rally ever when measured from the time it took for the S&P to reach a new high after its bottom.
Worth noting: The Nasdaq was the first to recover to a new record and continued to hit new highs in recent weeks, powered by high-flying tech stocks.
- The Dow is still roughly 5% below the all-time high set in February, though it's rallied more than 50% from its low point during the stock market's sell-off in March.
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.