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Amateur investors jumping into the stock market led to a pandemic boom, but now many are pulling back.

Unfortunately, my whole entire portfolio crumbled down and I now was at negative 8%.

I did imagine that going for plus 100% to negative 8%.

And a rebound in retail sales figures, what it means for the federal reserve.

Plus, why some influencers are changing their tune on pushing products. It's Wednesday,

February 15th. I'm Amari for Tolly for the Wall Street Journal. This is the PM edition of

What's News, the top headlines and business stories that moved the world today.

US retail sales saw a sharp rebound in January as Americans spent more on cars,

clothes and dining out. The Commerce Department says retail sales rose a seasonally adjusted

3% from December, marking the largest monthly increase in nearly two years.

Wall Street Journal reporter Austin Hufford says the strong numbers

may complicate matters for the federal reserve as it seeks to bring down higher prices

and slow the economy by raising interest rates.

Economists say that the tight jobs market where the US added half a million jobs in January

contributed to the strong retail numbers that month. For the federal reserve,

this means that the US economy could be more resilient than previously thought.

There was also strong jobs growth to start the year. Employers added more than

half a million jobs to the economy in January, according to the Labor Department and the

unemployment rate fell to 3.4%, its lowest level in 53 years.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that the US could become

...