Omicron

Hundreds of businesses rely on major commercial and arts gatherings for much of their annual income.

The U.K. is targeting the BA.1 subvariant of omicron while the U.S. is targeting the more recent BA.4 and BA.5 omicron strains.

Shanghai officials boast that their strategy to snuff out the spread of COVID-19 is preferable to a city-wide lockdown. For residents living through the current wave, the effects are jarring.

China's financial capital is not under a full lockdown, but strict anti-COVID measures still weigh on residents.

People also appear to be booking ahead more often, seen as a sign of renewed optimism.

Recent numbers suggest this economy is increasingly shrugging its shoulders at the pandemic.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics' "reference week," used to calculate employment, included Jan. 12 — when omicron was at its worst.

Running a microbusiness in a pandemic economy is tough. Businesses that rely on human interaction have to be creative to survive.

Despite good economic data like GDP growth, many Americans are not optimistic.

The latest poll from the Kaiser Family Foundation finds that job security and the economy concerns outweigh worries about getting sick.