With major stock market indexes hitting a string of new highs, investors around the world are looking to explain what's driving prices higher. Is it a boom in corporate profits? Optimism about the ongoing U.S. recovery? Improved forecasts for the global economy? Hopes that Congress will cut corporate taxes?

The Biden administration is pausing approvals of pending applications for liquefied natural gas exports to countries with which the United States does not have free trade agreements, citing environmental concerns related to climate change as a key reason for the move.