CNBC.com's MacKenzie Sigalos brings you the day's top business news headlines. Today, on the one-year anniversary of the World Health Organization's declaration of a pandemic, the "After Hours" team dives into why women are shouldering the majority of the economic fallout. Plus, Steve Kovach explains Roblox's big bet on the metaverse.
It's been a year since the World Health Organization officially declared Covid a pandemic on March, 11, 2020.
In that time, there have been more than 29 million Covid cases in the U.S. and 527,720 people have died. Now, after months of adapting to everything from mask-wearing to working from home, more than 60 million people have received at least one dose of Covid vaccine.
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Questions still remain about how the pandemic will end and what living in a post-pandemic world looks like. But one year in, CNBC Make It has put together a comprehensive guide, from information on the current vaccines and variants to how to continue to be productive as you work remotely to what endemic Covid-19 could mean for you.
Welcome to the metaverse, the sci-fi dream behind Roblox's $38 billion valuation
Gaming company Roblox went public Wednesday and ended its first trading session with an eye-popping $38 billion market cap.
Money Report
It's natural to wonder why a money-losing company that makes video games for an audience of mostly children and teens attracted such a lofty valuation. (Although its impressive growth throughout the pandemic-fueled gaming boom in 2020 surely helped.)
That's where the metaverse comes in. It's a concept that's been thrown around in science-fiction for decades. The metaverse is difficult to understand unless you're a huge geek, so let's use the most accessible pop culture example. Imagine if the virtual world depicted in the novel and movie "Ready Player One" actually existed. That's what Roblox is trying to build.
Biden signs $1.9 trillion Covid relief bill, clearing way for stimulus checks, vaccine aid
President Joe Biden signed the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package Thursday afternoon as Washington moves to send fresh aid this month.
With his signature, the president checks off his first priority in the White House. He also will give a prime-time address Thursday describing how the country will proceed in fighting the virus a year after the World Health Organization declared it a pandemic.
The plan will send direct payments of up to $1,400 to most Americans. Direct deposits will start hitting Americans' bank accounts as soon as this weekend, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Thursday.
