SWC’s Fast Five

The Dow is manic, e-commerce is not COVID’s fault, AstraZeneca gets sent to the principal’s office, hello unasked-for non-interest loan that’s coming due and is chess like golf but without the shoes?

So, here’s this week’s Fast Five:

1 So, about the Dow

At 30,000, the milestone is attention grabbing but it doesn’t mean things are much better than when the Dow was at 29,999. What does matter is that the Dow has clawed back all its losses from the pandemic. It is up 61.5 percent since dropping below 18,600 on March 23.

2 E-commerce up at Walmart 79 percent, Target 155 percent in third quarter

E-commerce is skyrocketing across retail brands and industry executives say that staggering growth is not a byproduct of the pandemic but a permanent shift in how people shop.

3 Settle down AstraZeneca

AstraZeneca and Oxford University on Wednesday acknowledged a manufacturing error that is raising questions about preliminary results of their experimental COVID-19 vaccine.

4 Chickens coming home to roost on the temporary payroll tax deferral

The August executive action let employers stop collecting the 6.2 percent Social Security payroll tax in the final four months of 2020. While most organizations balked, the administration required executive-branch employees to participate. Allowing forgiveness at this point would give a windfall to federal employees and nothing to millions of other workers. What to do

5 Is chess fun now?

Chess, a game that can be traced back at least 1,500 years, is suddenly one of the coolest games topping wish lists this holiday season and retailers are struggling to keep it in stock.