Stocks retreat from highs

Watch is on to see if Capitol Hill will reach deal for aid to workers, businesses amid pandemic

WallStreetcappeda solidweek of gains on a down note Friday as the wait drags on to see if Congress can reach a deal to send more cash to struggling workers and businesses.

The S&P 500 fell 0.4%, a day after it and other major indexes returned to record heights. The decline snapped a three- day winningstreakfor thebenchmark index, but it still notched a 1.3% weekly gain thatmore thanmade up its priorweek’s loss.

Hope that Congress may be nearing a deal tooffermorefinancial support for the economy has helped stocks set more record highs. The S&P clocked its 31st all-time high this year on Thursday. Enthusiasm about vaccines for COVID-19, which investors hope will get the economy back onthe roadtonormalcynext year, has also fueled traders’ optimism.

The S&P 500 index fell 13.07 points to 3,709.41. TheDowJones Industrial Average lost 124.32 points, or 0.4%, to 30,179.05. The

construction of a smaller facility than the original contract envisioned.

In a statement, Foxconn said the company “is optimistic that an amendment to theWEDCAgreement is within reach.”

The Wi s c o n s i n Economic Development Corporation this fall determined Foxconn was not eligible for tax credits in 2020 for hiring and investments made in 2019. The state’s economic development agency also said the Taiwan- based company was not in compliance with the agreement because of changes in plans for the complex under construction in southeast Wisconsin. The company challenged the decision.

In a Nov. 23 letter from Foxconn attorney Robert Berry to Jennifer Campbell, chief legal officer for WEDC, the company lists a number of different objectives regarding an amendment to the agreement.

Foxconn would like the agreement to “lower the taxpayer liability in exchange for a flexible business environment in Wisconsin.” The company also wants the contract to reflect that Foxconn reacts

“to customer demands and market conditions that at times dictate what we manufacture.”

Foxconn also wants “bipartisan support from other governing entities pursuant to an agreement endorsed by both the governor and Foxconn.”

WEDC CEO Missy Hughes sent a letter to Foxconn Board Chairman Jay Lee and encouraged the company to share its “investment projections with theWEDC.” Once the department has that information, “we will work rapidly to calculate and outline the state’s potential incentive range,” she said.