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401(k) rollover advice rule is at risk. Here's what retirement savers need to know 2024-08-12 19:56:00+00:00 - Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su testifies before the Senate Appropriations Committee on May 9, 2024. Chip Somodevilla | Getty Images News | Getty Images 'Almost a certainty' courts will overturn However, the fiduciary rule's survival is in doubt following recent court actions, attorneys said. Two federal district courts in Texas issued a national "stay" of the regulation, in separate rulings in July. That effectively indefinitely delays the rule's Sept. 23 start date while the courts conduct a more detailed review of the lawsuits, which were filed by several insurance industry groups. "It is almost a certainty that both courts will overturn" the DOL regulation, said Fred Reish, a retirement law expert and partner at Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath. watch now One of the courts hinted at that outcome. "The Rule is almost certainly unlawful for a broad class of investment professionals in the industry — not just Plaintiffs," according to a July 26 order by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, in the lawsuit American Council of Life Insurers v. United States Department of Labor. The other case is Federation of Americans for Consumer Choice v. Department of Labor. The rule will "create a level playing field" for all trusted investment professionals, according to a Labor Department spokesperson. "The insurance industry can continue to advise investors and sell annuities, without giving advice that is imprudent, disloyal, or tainted by misrepresentations or overcharges," the spokesperson said. The agency referred questions about an appeal to the Department of Justice, which didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. Current retirement rollover advice rules stay in effect In the meantime, the current status quo remains in effect, attorneys said. Current rules let brokers give investment advice that earns them a higher commission but isn't in savers' best interests, the Labor Department said during the rulemaking process. Insurance products like annuities are a chief concern, attorneys said. The fiduciary rule is part of the Biden administration's broader crackdown on "junk fees" shouldered by U.S. consumers across the financial ecosystem. Meanwhile, industry groups say the court decisions are justified. "The stay of the effective date provides consumers with a needed reprieve from these devastating consequences as the court considers the substantial legal issues we have raised regarding this ill-advised rule," according to a joint statement from ACLI, the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors, NAIFA-Texas, NAIFA-Dallas, NAIFA-Fort Worth, NAIFA-POET, Finseca, Insured Retirement Institute and the National Association for Fixed Annuities.
SpaceX repeatedly polluted waters in Texas this year, regulators found 2024-08-12 19:55:00+00:00 - SpaceX's Starship launches its fourth flight test from the company's Boca Chica launchpad, designed to eventually send astronauts to the moon and beyond, near Brownsville, Texas, U.S. , in this handout picture obtained on June 6, 2024. Aerospace companies, including SpaceX, generally need to be in compliance with state and federal laws to gain approval from the Federal Aviation Administration for future launches. SpaceX was seeking permission to conduct up to 25 annual launches and landings of its Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket at its Boca Chica facility. Notices of violation could delay those approvals and result in civil monetary penalties for SpaceX, further probes and criminal charges. "In total, the Harlingen region received 14 complaints alleging environmental impacts from the Facility's deluge system," the regulator said in the document. TCEQ said its agency's office in the South Texas city of Harlingen, near Starbase in Boca Chica, received a complaint on Aug. 6, 2023, alleging that SpaceX "was discharging deluge water without TCEQ authorization." The notices and related investigative records, obtained by CNBC, have not been previously reported. The notice from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) last week came five months after the Environmental Protection Agency Region 6 office, which covers Texas and surrounding states, had also informed SpaceX that it violated the Clean Water Act with the same type of activity. Elon Musk's SpaceX violated environmental regulations by repeatedly releasing pollutants into or near bodies of water in Texas, a state agency said in a notice of violation focused on the company's water deluge system at its Starbase launch facility. A rush to rebuild On July 25, 2024, an environmental investigator with TCEQ "conducted an in-house compliance record review" to determine SpaceX's compliance with wastewater regulations. The investigation found that SpaceX discharged industrial wastewater without a permit four times between March and July of this year. Water deluge systems with flame deflectors diffuse heat, sound and energy generated by orbital test flights and rocket launches. But SpaceX didn't build that system into its launch site at Boca Chica before it began test flights of the largest rocket ever, Starship. SpaceX is developing Starship to transport people and equipment to the moon and, if Musk eventually realizes his grand vision, to colonize Mars. In its first test flight of Starship in April 2023, energy from the rocket caused SpaceX's concrete launchpad to explode, and its spacecraft also blew up in mid-air. Chunks of concrete were hurled into a nesting and migration site important to some endangered species nearby and a 3.5-acre fire chewed through Boca Chica State Park Land south of the launchpad. In response, environmental groups filed a lawsuit against SpaceX and the FAA, which had authorized its launches. With Musk pushing for another orbital test flight within one to two months, SpaceX rushed to rebuild the launchpad installing a new water deluge system to keep it from exploding again. The company bypassed a permitting process, according to the regulators, which would have required it to meet pollutant discharge limits, and say how it would treat its wastewater. SpaceX ran its first full-pressure test of the water deluge system in July 2023. About a month later, on Aug. 25, 2023, the EPA initiated a probe and requested information from the company regarding its wastewater discharges and more. The agency issued a formal notice of violation to SpaceX on March 13, according to records obtained by CNBC. On March 14, despite receiving the EPA notice a day earlier, SpaceX pressed ahead with its third test flight of Starship, again using its unauthorized water deluge system at the launch site. The company hit new milestones with the test flight and Musk appeared triumphant. NASA chief Bill Nelson congratulated SpaceX on "a successful test flight!" although the rocket was lost during its descent above the Indian Ocean. Environmental engineer Eric Roesch, whose ESG Hound blog focuses on business and sustainability, predicted SpaceX would need a water deluge system at the launchpad even before the first test flight of Starship. He was also among the first to call out SpaceX for using such a system without proper permits. Once the agencies had informed SpaceX it was in violation of environmental regulations, continuing with launch operations at Starbase put the company at greater legal risk, Roesch said in an interview. "Further wastewater discharges could trigger more investigations and criminal charges for the company or any of the people involved in authorizing the launches," he said.
Vance backs Trump’s support for a presidential ‘say’ on Federal Reserve’s interest rate policy 2024-08-12 19:52:04+00:00 - WASHINGTON (AP) — JD Vance has endorsed former President Donald Trump’s call for the White House to have “a say” over the Federal Reserve’s interest rate policies — a view that runs counter to decades of economicresearch suggesting that politically independent central banks are essential to controlling inflation and maintaining confidence in the global financial system. “President Trump is saying I think something that’s really important and actually profound, which is that the political leadership of this country should have more say over the monetary policy of this country,” the Republican vice presidential nominee said in an interview over the weekend. “I agree with him.” Last week, during a news conference, Trump responded to a question about the Fed by saying, “I feel the president should have at least a say in there, yeah, I feel that strongly.” Economists have long stressed that a Fed that is legally independent from elected officials is vital because politicians would almost always prefer for the central bank to keep interest rates low to juice the economy — even at the risk of igniting inflation. “The independence of the Fed is something that not just economists, or investors, but citizens should place a high value on,” said Carl Tannenbaum, chief economist at Northern Trust, a wealth management firm. Tannenbaum pointed to the recent experience of Turkey, where the autocratic President Recep Tayyip Erdogan forced the nation’s central bank to cut rates in response to inflation, with “horrible results.” Inflation spiked above 65% before Erdogan appointed different leaders to the central bank, who have since raised its key rate to 50% — nearly ten times the Fed’s current rate of 5.3%. By adjusting its short-term interest rate, the Fed influences borrowing costs for consumers and businesses, including for mortgages, auto loans and credit card borrowing. It can raise its rate, as it did aggressively in 2022 and 2023, to cool spending and slow inflation. The Fed also often cuts its rate to encourage borrowing, spending, and growth. At the outset of the pandemic, it cut its rate to near zero. On Saturday, Vice President Kamala Harris said she couldn’t “disagree more strongly” with Trump’s view. “The Fed is an independent entity, and, as president, I would never interfere in the decisions that the Fed makes,” she said. President Richard Nixon’s pressure on Fed Chair Arthur Burns to keep rates low leading up to the 1972 presidential election has been widely blamed for accelerating rampant inflation that wasn’t fully controlled until the early 1980s, under Chair Paul Volcker. Tannenbaum warned of potentially serious consequences if the Trump-Vance proposal for the White House to have some role in Fed policymaking were to take effect. “If it does carry through to proposed legislation ... that’s when I think you would begin to see the market reaction that would be very negative,” he said. “If we ignore the history around monetary policy independence, then we may be doomed to repeat it.” Trump has a combative history with the Fed’s current chair, Jerome Powell, whom Trump appointed in 2018. As Powell oversaw a series of modest interest rate hikes in 2018, Trump began attacking him, calling Powell “my biggest threat” that October after the stock market fell sharply. In 2019, the Fed began to cut rates amid a slowdown in manufacturing and uncertainty over the impact of Trump’s trade fight with China. In August that year, he asked on social media whether Powell was a greater enemy than China’s president Xi Jinping. He later ridiculed Fed officials as “boneheads. ” As COVID ravaged the economy in 2020, Trump attacked Powell for not cutting rates fast enough, and said he could fire Powell, though his legal power to do so is unclear. “I used to have it out with him, I had it out with him a couple of times very strongly,” Trump said last week. “I fought him very hard. We get along fine.” Historically, it has been common for many presidents, from Harry Truman through Ronald Reagan, to press Fed chairs to cut rates or to refrain from hiking them, though they typically did so in private meetings. Starting with President Bill Clinton in 1993, however, for about a quarter-century until Trump, presidents took a hands-off approach, said Sarah Binder, a political scientist at George Washington University and author of a book on Fed independence. “Presidents really restrained themselves,” she said. “They didn’t talk about monetary policy. They didn’t talk about interest rates. They were convinced that maybe if they just kept their mouth shut, the Fed would do the right thing.” When Trump attacked Powell in 2018 and 2019, the Fed chair received public and private support from members of Congress, including Republicans. But that was partly because the economy was doing well, Binder noted. When the economy struggles, she said, criticism of the Fed is often more widespread. Should Trump win re-election and the economy were to sour, it’s hard to know whether members of Congress would defend Powell again. “If the economy is much worse off, the question is, who comes to the Fed’s defense?” Binder asked. “And I think that’s really financial markets. They’re really the ones that are going to react in real time to what Trump is threatening to do.”
Nvidia swings again — plus, an industrial name tied to the data center boom gets an heir-apparent 2024-08-12 19:42:00+00:00 - Every weekday, the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer releases the Homestretch — an actionable afternoon update, just in time for the last hour of trading on Wall Street. Markets meander: The S & P 500 was struggling to hold onto slim gains Monday. It's been a choppy session for stocks, with Treasury yields falling and oil rallying. Nvidia was one of the stocks leading Monday's market to the upside. Shares of the artificial intelligence chipmaker soared 4.5%, driven partly by a note from UBS that acknowledged a potential multi-week delay in Blackwell shipments but said the gap will largely be filled by customers taking on more H200s. That seems reasonable to us. Blackwell is Nvidia's next-generation chip platform. Nvidia has been an extreme example of the recent market volatility. While still up a stunning 120% year to date, the stock has lost more than 20% from its all-time intraday high on June 20. Next boss: Eaton announced Monday that Paulo Ruiz has been named president and chief operating officer and will be added to the board of the electrical component company, effective Sept. 2. The promotion sets up Ruiz to become the next CEO of Eaton, which the Club owns for its exposure to providing power solutions to data centers. Craig Arnold, who reached the company's mandatory officer retirement age of 65, plans to step down next year at the end of May. Ruiz is getting a great hand from Arnold, who turned Eaton from a good company to a great one since taking over in 2016. We don't know much about Ruiz except that he led Eaton's industrial business for the past two years. We're interested in learning about his approach to M & A and portfolio management on future conference calls. Inflation: Over the next two days, investors get two major inflation reports: the producer price index on Tuesday and the consumer price index on Wednesday. The market has recently become obsessed with the health of the labor market — half of the Fed's dual-mandate — following a soft employment report earlier this month but fewer initial jobless claims last week. The Fed still needs more progress on price stability — the other half of its mandate — to cut interest rates. Central bankers received good news Monday ahead of the PPI and CPI data. The three-year inflation outlook from the New York Fed's survey of consumer expectations fell to 2.3%, the lowest reading in survey history. Up next: In addition to the key inflation readings this week, the consumer will be in focus with earnings from two major retailers and Thursday's July retail sales report. Home Depot kicks things off Tuesday morning. We're interested in hearing management's thoughts on the repair and remodel market and if they think demand will pick up after the Fed starts to cut rates later this year. We think lower mortgage rates are the key to unlocking more sales in this area, which is why we own Stanley Black & Decker shares. Lowe's reports earnings on Aug. 20. (See here for a full list of the stocks in Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust's portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED. Every weekday, the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer releases the Homestretch — an actionable afternoon update, just in time for the last hour of trading on Wall Street.
Covid cases on the rise: Is it too late for a vaccine? 2024-08-12 19:42:00+00:00 - With Covid cases surging this summer, the upcoming rollout of updated vaccines in the fall raises an important question: Will they arrive in time to make a difference? Covid waves haven’t followed a seasonal, predictable pattern like the flu, which typically starts spreading in the fall and peaks in late winter and spring. Flu shots, which take two weeks to be fully protective, are generally recommended in September or October. The new Covid vaccines, which target the KP.2 strain, a descendant of the highly contagious JN.1 variant that emerged last winter, are expected to be distributed in the coming weeks. Even if the vaccines are available within the next month, immunologists and infectious disease experts don’t expect them to have much effect on the current summer wave. The shots will be important, however, as the U.S. heads into the fall and winter, when cases usually rise again. “History tells us that if there’s going to be a new, significant major wave of Covid, it’s more likely to come in the fall than at this time this year,” said John Moore, a professor of microbiology and immunology at Weill Cornell Medical College. “In 20/20 hindsight, could it have been done earlier? It’s really hard to critique the current plan because it’s both logical and reasonable.” “You’re kind of damned if you do and damned if you don’t,” he added. Covid can surge throughout the year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Data from the four years of Covid shows that it does peak in winter — December and January — and also in the hot summer months of July and August. In 2024, cases started rising in June and are still high, the CDC’s wastewater data tracker shows. Despite the double waves, the Food and Drug Administration has been following a routine similar to how the annual flu shot is updated. Vaccine experts select the Covid strain in the spring for a vaccination campaign in the fall. Ideally, public health officials would aim to administer Covid vaccines shortly before each wave to decrease transmission, infection and severe illness, said Akiko Iwasaki, an immunologist at Yale University. But until the U.S. can get the timing down, “perhaps the right thing to do at this time is to give two boosters per year, one in the early summer and one in the fall,” she said, adding that the time frame for the fall vaccine rollout is a “good but tricky question.” “Of course, such boosters have to be well matched to the circulating variant,” she said. In fact, in February, the FDA and CDC did recommend a booster for people at higher risk for the most severe complications of Covid — primarily those ages 65 and older. The goal was to offer protection ahead of another likely summer surge. Only about 10% of adults 65 or older got the two-dose 2023-24 booster, and the summer wave happened anyway. Last fall, when CDC data showed a rise in hospitalizations, some doctors criticized the FDA for waiting too long to roll out the updated Covid vaccines. Has the FDA considered changing the fall vaccine rollout schedule, now early September? In an emailed response, an FDA spokesperson directed NBC News to comments CDC epidemiologist Ruth Link-Gelles made at the FDA advisory committee meeting in June. Link-Gelles highlighted the challenges in determining the optimal timing for administering the Covid vaccines. “For flu and RSV, we have years and years of data with very similar trends over time,” she said. “So you can’t quite set your watch to when those seasons are going to start, but you can get very close. For Covid, that’s not true at all. We’ve seen surges in summer, in August the last few years. So it becomes a little bit of a game to try to play to time Covid vaccine introduction.” Many people, including young healthy adults, most likely wouldn’t need more than one Covid shot a year, said Dr. Isaac Bogoch, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Toronto. “I think it’s impossible to make a blanket statement for a population of over 300 million people,” he said. “There are some people who are at risk for severe Covid who have had a long duration between now and their most recent vaccines who may be at greater risk, and maybe in those situations, a vaccine is a reasonable idea before the fall campaign.” How long a person is protected from Covid after an infection can vary based on a number of factors, including the severity of infection, the strain and a person's age and health. Studies have shown protection can last three months or longer. Dr. Ofer Levy, the director of the Precision Vaccines Program at Boston Children’s Hospital, warned against a false sense of security among those who become infected during the summer surge. Even if someone does get infected, the vaccines will still be important, as natural infection doesn’t offer the same level of protection, Levy said. “Does natural infection give you some protection? Yes, you better believe it does,” Levy said. "However, it’s not the same level of protection offered by vaccines.” Weill Cornell's Moore says the FDA is right to stick to the fall schedule. “I’m not trying to trivialize what’s going on at the moment, but if there’s going to be a bigger surge, it’s going to be later in the year,” Moore said.
SpaceX repeatedly polluted waters in Texas this year, regulators found 2024-08-12 19:40:00+00:00 - The Summary Elon Musk’s SpaceX violated environmental regulations by releasing pollutants into or near bodies of water in Texas, a state environmental agency said in a notice last week. The report from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality came five months after the Environmental Protection Agency also notified SpaceX that it had violated the Clean Water Act. The violations could threaten SpaceX’s ambitions to increase Startship launches from its Starbase facility. Elon Musk’s SpaceX violated environmental regulations by repeatedly releasing pollutants into or near bodies of water in Texas, a state agency said in a notice of violation focused on the company’s water deluge system at its Starbase launch facility. The notice from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) last week came five months after the Environmental Protection Agency Region 6 office, which covers Texas and surrounding states, had also informed SpaceX that it violated the Clean Water Act with the same type of activity. The notices and related investigative records, obtained by CNBC, have not been previously reported. TCEQ said its agency’s office in the South Texas city of Harlingen, near Starbase in Boca Chica, received a complaint on Aug. 6, 2023, alleging that SpaceX “was discharging deluge water without TCEQ authorization.” “In total, the Harlingen region received 14 complaints alleging environmental impacts from the Facility’s deluge system,” the regulator said in the document. Aerospace companies, including SpaceX, generally need to be in compliance with state and federal laws to gain approval from the Federal Aviation Administration for future launches. SpaceX was seeking permission to conduct up to 25 annual launches and landings of its Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket at its Boca Chica facility. Notices of violation could delay those approvals and result in civil monetary penalties for SpaceX, further probes and criminal charges. SpaceX didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. SpaceX Starship on June 5 in Brownsville, Texas. Brandon Bell / Getty Images file A rush to rebuild On July 25, 2024, an environmental investigator with TCEQ “conducted an in-house compliance record review” to determine SpaceX’s compliance with wastewater regulations. The investigation found that SpaceX discharged industrial wastewater without a permit four times between March and July of this year. Water deluge systems with flame deflectors diffuse heat, sound and energy generated by orbital test flights and rocket launches. But SpaceX didn’t build that system into its launch site at Boca Chica before it began test flights of the largest rocket ever, Starship. SpaceX is developing Starship to transport people and equipment to the moon and, if Musk eventually realizes his grand vision, to colonize Mars. In its first test flight of Starship in April 2023, energy from the rocket caused SpaceX’s concrete launchpad to explode, and its spacecraft also blew up in mid-air. Chunks of concrete were hurled into a nesting and migration site important to some endangered species nearby and a 3.5-acre fire chewed through Boca Chica State Park Land south of the launchpad. In response, environmental groups filed a lawsuit against SpaceX and the FAA, which had authorized its launches. With Musk pushing for another orbital test flight within one to two months, SpaceX rushed to rebuild the launchpad installing a new water deluge system to keep it from exploding again. The company bypassed a permitting process, according to the regulators, which would have required it to meet pollutant discharge limits, and say how it would treat its wastewater. SpaceX ran its first full-pressure test of the water deluge system in July 2023. About a month later, on Aug. 25, 2023, the EPA initiated a probe and requested information from the company regarding its wastewater discharges and more. The agency issued a formal notice of violation to SpaceX on March 13, according to records obtained by CNBC. On March 14, despite receiving the EPA notice a day earlier, SpaceX pressed ahead with its third test flight of Starship, again using its unauthorized water deluge system at the launch site. The company hit new milestones with the test flight and Musk appeared triumphant. NASA chief Bill Nelson congratulated SpaceX on “a successful test flight!” although the rocket was lost during its descent above the Indian Ocean. Environmental engineer Eric Roesch, whose ESG Hound blog focuses on business and sustainability, predicted SpaceX would need a water deluge system at the launchpad even before the first test flight of Starship. He was also among the first to call out SpaceX for using such a system without proper permits. Once the agencies had informed SpaceX it was in violation of environmental regulations, continuing with launch operations at Starbase put the company at greater legal risk, Roesch said in an interview. “Further wastewater discharges could trigger more investigations and criminal charges for the company or any of the people involved in authorizing the launches,” he said. Years of violations Roesch also pointed out that after receiving a notice of violation from the EPA, SpaceX was required to apply for a permit within 30 days. The company didn’t submit its application until July 1, about 110 days later, according to a copy of its application made available through the TCEQ’s public records office. “They’ve been violating wastewater regulations for years, and they continue to do so seemingly with the FAA’s blessing,” Roesch said. Kenneth Teague, a coastal ecologist based outside of Austin, evaluated the 483-page SpaceX permit application. Teague, who has more than three decades of water quality and coastal planning experience, told CNBC the application was full of holes, missing basic details about water discharge volumes, the temperature of the effluent and outfall locations. Teague said he’s especially concerned about the concentration of mercury in the wastewater from the SpaceX water deluge system. The levels disclosed in the document represent “very large exceedances of the mercury water quality criteria,” Teague said. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, mercury is “one of the most serious contaminants threatening our nation’s waters because it is a potent neurological poison in fish, wildlife, and humans.” Teague said high temperature discharges, and pollutants like mercury in high concentrations, could cause “significant negative impacts,” like killing off the “little critters” that make up seabirds’ diet. “The SpaceX application fails to address this very serious concern,” he said. CNBC reached out to the FAA on Friday. The agency didn’t provide a comment for this story but announced on Monday that it’s postponing public meetings that had been planned for this week. The meetings were for an environmental assessment for “SpaceX’s plan to increase the launches and landings of its Starship/Super Heavy vehicles scheduled at the Boca Chica Launch Site in Cameron County, Texas.” The FAA didn’t provide a reason for the postponements and said new dates will be announced in the future.
The New York Times Will Stop Endorsing Candidates in New York Races 2024-08-12 19:31:26+00:00 - The New York Times editorial board will no longer make endorsements in New York elections, including in races for governor and mayor of New York City, The Times’s Opinion editor said. The change will be immediate: The paper does not plan to take a stance in Senate, congressional or state legislative races in New York this fall, or in next year’s New York City elections, when Mayor Eric Adams is seeking a second term against a growing field of challengers. Kathleen Kingsbury, The Times’s Opinion editor, said in a statement that The Times remained a journalistic institution “rooted in New York City.” She did not give a reason for the shift but said that “Opinion will continue to offer perspective on the races, candidates and issues at stake.” The Times’s editorial board, the part of the Opinion section that makes the endorsements, operates separately from The Times’s newsroom. The board will continue to endorse in presidential elections, as it has since 1860.
LL Flooring files for bankruptcy and will close 94 stores. Here's where they are. 2024-08-12 19:31:00+00:00 - Kati Weis's Colorado PFAS reporting gets lots of attention. Go "Behind the Story" Household items containing toxic "forever chemicals" will be banned under new Colorado law 11:06 LL Flooring, a specialty flooring company formerly known as Lumber Liquidators, is holding closing sales at 94 retail locations across the U.S. after it filed Sunday for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Delaware. The company is currently in negotiations with multiple parties to sell its business, LL Flooring said in the statement. While operating under the Lumber Liquidators brand name, the company was in the spotlight after a "60 Minutes" report found some its flooring contained dangerous levels of formaldehyde. In 2019, it agreed to pay $33 million in fines for misleading investors about levels of the chemical in its Chinese-made laminate flooring. In announcing the bankruptcy, LL Flooring blamed "several macroeconomic and operational challenges" for putting a strain on its business. "After comprehensive efforts to enhance our liquidity position in a challenging macro environment, a determination was made that initiating this Chapter 11 process is the best path forward for the company," LL Flooring CEO Charles Tyson said in the statement. The bankruptcy will also provide LL Flooring with the time and flexibility to close some of its stores while also pursuing the sale of the rest of the business, he added. The provider of hard and soft flooring alternatives said it is continuing to serve customers at more than 300 retail stores across the U.S. It also remains open for business online. LL Flooring said it is shuttering 94 of store locations at which it is currently hosting "closing sales." The company said its financial advisors helped determine which stores it made sense to close and which to keep open. The more than 90 locations that will close their doors are still open for business in the interim, though. Here's a list of LL Flooring stores that are closing by state: Alabama Tuscaloosa, AL Arizona Mesa, AZ Phoenix, AZ Prescott Valley, AZ California Bakersfield, CA Burlingame, CA Elk Grove, CA Fairfield, CA Fresno, CA Rancho Cucamonga, CA Salinas, CA S. San Diego, CA Santee, CA Torrance, CA Visalia, CA Colorado Longmont, CO Loveland, CO Thornton, CO Connecticut Milford, CT North Haven, CT Norwalk, CT Waterbury, CT Florida Clearwater, FL Florida City, FL Gainsville, FL St. Augustine, FL Tampa, FL Georgia Cumming, GA Roswell, GA Illinois Bloomington, IL Champaign, IL Crystal Lake, IL E Peoria, IL Geneva, IL Mundelein, IL South Elgin, IL Indiana Greenwood, IN Lafayette, IN Muncie, IN Iowa Davenport, IA Louisiana Broussard, LA Lake Charles, LA Massachusetts Framingham, MA Leominster, MA Maryland Edgewood, MD Lutherville, MD Michigan Battle Creek, MI Kentwood, MI Minnesota Chanhassen, MN Rochester, MN St. Cloud, MN Mississippi Hattiesburg, MS Missouri Chesterfield, MO Joplin, MO N. Kansas City, MO Nevada Las Vegas, NV New Jersey Mount Holly, NJ Woodbridge, NJ Woodbury, NJ New York Medford, NY New Hartford, NY Staten Island, NY Westbury, NY North Carolina Burlington, NC Ohio SE Cincinnati, OH W. Columbus, OH Reynoldsburg, OH Solon, OH Oregon Albany, OR Pennsylvania Exton, PA Fairless Hills, PA Philadelphia, PA Tennessee Clarksville, TN Franklin, TN Jackson, TN Texas Abilene, TX Arlington, TX College Station, TX Denton, TX Fort Worth, TX Houston Galleria, TX Katy, TX Killeen, TX McAllen, TX S. San Antonio, TX Sherman, TX Utah Riverdale, UT Virginia Woodbridge, VA Washinton Bellingham, WA Olympia, WA Yakima, WA West Virginia Beckley, WV Parkersburg, WV Wisconsin Menomonee Falls, WI
Google and Selena Gomez partner to fund teen mental health in the classroom 2024-08-12 19:22:06+00:00 - The unprecedented mental health crisis for children in the United States often surfaces where they spend much of their days: school. With that in mind, Google’s philanthropic arm is directly financing high school wellbeing projects on a classroom crowdfunding platform. Google.org on Monday flash funded all mental health-related listings on DonorsChoose, an online charity where members help purchase supplies requested by public school teachers. With $10 million in new gifts and the help of actress Selena Gomez, the Silicon Valley giant hopes to center mindfulness as an educational goal at the start of the academic calendar. Districts have turned to teachers for psychological help after the coronavirus pandemic brought alarming levels of childhood depression, anxiety and fights. But experts say that increased attention has not translated to more philanthropic money overall toward mental health. Google.org committed earlier this year to back nonprofits that support kids’ mental health and online safety. Monday’s announcement — which will also provide $500 vouchers for eligible DonorsChoose campaigns in the near future — ups that pledge to $25 million. The move comes amid widespread criticism and lawsuits claiming Google-owned YouTube and other social media sites have fueled the childhood mental health crisis by deliberately designing addictive features. Justin Steele, Google.org’s Director for the America, said its initiative highlights Google’s efforts to lead this “important conversation” and “be one part of contributing to positive solutions.” Its internet browser’s own data has showcased the rising interest; Steele said searches for “teen mental health” doubled over the last four years. “Obviously, we want people to be able to take advantage of all the amazing things technology has to offer,” Steele said. “But we also want them to be able to do it in a healthy and safe way.” Google.org is giving $6 million overall to DonorsChoose. The technology company also announced $1.5 million in donations to the Jed Foundation, the Steve Fund and Child Mind Institute — groups focused on emotional wellbeing among young adults, people of color and children, respectively. The organizations will design half-hour training sessions to help educators navigate new mental health challenges. Teachers can earn $200 DonorsChoose credits upon course completion. Gomez’s Rare Impact Fund, which seeks to drive more money into this “underfunded field,” is receiving $1.25 million. The “Only Murders in the Building” star has been vocal about her own bipolar diagnosis. In a Monday blog post, Gomez said she knows firsthand that “caring adults” can make a big difference for teenagers. “As young people find their way through the world, it’s crucial that they get guidance in building healthy, positive and productive mental health habits,” Gomez wrote. “Few people are in a better position to help do this than teachers.” The need to address behavioral issues in high school was further emphasized by a recent report from The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Students said they faced bullying and missed school due to safety concerns at higher rates than previous years in data released August 6. Yes, Mindful Philanthropy Executive Director Alyson Niemann acknowledged, the greater focus on mental health has brought minimal funding boosts for nonprofits in this space. But she said the dollars don’t match the new levels of awareness. One major barrier is that donors don’t know which solutions work, according to Niemann. School-based mental health support is one of the most effective remedies, she said. That’s where many students begin the path to treatment and find trusted adults in teachers or coaches. DonorsChoose CEO Alix Guerrier emphasized that teachers are not substitutes for mental health professionals. But he said DonorsChoose has seen a fourfold increase over the past four years in the number of mental health submissions. Such requests include saucer chairs for a “calm corner” and meditative stuffed animals that guide deep breathing. “There is no limit to teachers’ creativities,” Guerrier said. Mental health has long been a priority for Aileen Gendrano Adao in her Los Angeles classrooms. The high school English teacher said she asks students to ground themselves with three deep breaths at the start of class. Wall posters affirm students’ self-worth. She said DonorsChoose gives her the freedom to creatively engage with students — especially when districts lack the money to meet needs that emerge in real time. As Asian Americans faced racially motivated attacks during the pandemic, she obtained graphic novels about Asian American identity. She hopes this additional funding encourages educators to prioritize mental health. “Schools are transforming in a way that’s needed and necessary to heal from post-pandemic chaos,” she said. “There’s an investment. People are seeing us and wanting us to be better and whole again. ___ Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. For all of AP’s philanthropy coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy.
Texas launches new investigation into Houston’s power utility following deadly outages after Beryl 2024-08-12 19:20:00+00:00 - AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas’ attorney general launched an investigation Monday into Houston’s electric utility over allegations of fraud and waste following Hurricane Beryl, adding to the mounting scrutiny after widespread power outages left millions without electricity for days. The latest investigation of CenterPoint Energy comes after state regulators and Republican Gov. Greg Abbott have also demanded answers about storm preparations and the response to Beryl, a Category 1 hurricane that knocked out power to nearly 3 million people around the nation’s fourth-largest city. The storm was blamed for at least three dozen deaths, including those of some residents who died in homes that were left without air conditioning in sweltering heat after the storm’s passage. “My office is aware of concerning allegations regarding CenterPoint and how its conduct affected readiness during Hurricane Beryl,” Ken Paxton, the state’s Republican attorney general, said in a statement. “If the investigation uncovers unlawful activity, that activity will be met with the full force of the law.” The utility pledged its support of the investigation. “We look forward to cooperating with the Texas Attorney General or any other agency and have made clear our commitment to upholding the values of our company,” CenterPoint spokesperson John Sousa said. Paxton did not cite any specific allegations of waste or fraud in his announcement and his office did not respond to requests for comment. Abbott has demanded answers from CenterPoint for what he called its slow restoration efforts and poor communication with customers in the days leading up to the storm. The state’s Public Utility Commission has launched its own investigation, and lawmakers grilled the company’s top executive over its failures at a hearing last month. CenterPoint has largely defended its storm preparedness and said that it deployed thousands of additional workers to help restore power. The utility provider has also begun a monthslong plan to replace hundreds of wooden utility poles and double its tree-trimming efforts after the governor pressed for swift action. Beryl damaged power lines and uprooted trees when it made its Texas landfall on July 8. It’s the latest natural disaster to hit Houston after a powerful storm ripped through the area in May, leaving nearly 1 million people without power. Many residents fear that chronic outages have become the norm after Texas’ power grid failed amid a deadly winter storm in 2021. CenterPoint has previously faced questions over the reliability of Houston’s power grid. In 2008, Hurricane Ike, a Category 2 storm, knocked out power to more than 2 people million and it took 19 days to fully restore electricity. The city of Houston created a task force initiative to investigate the company’s response and determined it needed to automate parts of its grid to minimize outages. CenterPoint received millions of dollars in federal funding to implement this technology years ago. However, according to executive vice president Jason Ryan, it’s still a work in progress. Some utility experts and critics say the company hasn’t adapted its technology fast enough to meet the extreme weather conditions Texas will continue to face. ___ Lathan is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
EU warns Elon Musk ahead of Trump interview to keep hate speech off X 2024-08-12 19:18:00+00:00 - Elon Musk, co-founder of Tesla and SpaceX and owner of X Holdings Corp., speaks at the Milken Institute's Global Conference at the Beverly Hilton Hotel,on May 6, 2024 in Beverly Hills, California. Apu Gomes | Getty Images The European Commission on Monday warned X Corp. owner Elon Musk and CEO Linda Yaccarino that the company may face penalties and restrictions in Europe if it doesn't address the spread of illegal content, including incitements to violence and hate speech, on its social media platform. "I am writing to you in the context of recent events in the United Kingdom and in relation to the planned broadcast on your platform X of a live conversation between a US presidential candidate and yourself, which will also be accessible to users in the EU," Thierry Breton, European commissioner for the internal market, wrote in a letter that was posted Monday on X. "We are monitoring the potential risks in the EU associated with the dissemination of content that may incite violence, hate and racism in conjunction with major political - or societal - events around the world, including debates and interviews in the context of elections," wrote Breton. "I therefore urge you to promptly ensure the effectiveness of your systems and to report measures taken to my team," he added. Thierry Breton, France's European Union commissioner for internal market and consumer protection, industry, research and energy. JOHN THYS Following receipt of the letter, Yaccarino called it "an unprecedented attempt to stretch a law intended to apply in Europe to political activities in the US." "It also patronizes European citizens, suggesting they are incapable of listening to a conversation and drawing their own conclusions," Yaccarino wrote on X. Musk, who is also CEO of Tesla , is set to host Donald Trump on Monday evening on Spaces, the streaming platform of X. Billed as an unscripted conversation by Musk, the Spaces session will be one of the few campaign events Trump does this week. The Republican former president is still trying to find his footing in a newly competitive race against Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris. The commissioner reminded Musk of due diligence obligations set out in the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA) — legislation requiring social networks and streaming media platforms to prevent the spread of hate speech and other harmful content on their platforms — amid an investigation of X into potential breaches of the law. Breton warned Musk that the EU was prepared to "make full use of our toolbox" to protect EU citizens from "serious harm." Given X Corp.'s reported 300 million users worldwide (of which one-third are based in the EU), X is "designated as a Very Large Online Platform" with a legal obligation to follow European laws and specifically the Digital Services Act, wrote Breton. Riots that have taken place in the U.K. in recent weeks were sparked by disinformation that spread on X and other social media platforms, falsely identifying the perpetrator of attacks on children attending a dance class in an English town as an asylum-seeker. Riot police hold back protesters near a burning police vehicle after disorder broke out on July 30, 2024 in Southport, England. Rumours about the identity of the 17-year-old suspect after deadly stabbing attack in Southport sparked a violent protest with unrest spreading across England and Northern Ireland. Getty Images | Getty Images News | Getty Images Since then, Musk has made a series of incendiary comments about the situation in the U.K. on X. At one point, he suggested the violence taking place on British streets could end up in a civil war, writing, "Civil war is inevitable." Musk's comments have been denounced by British officials. A spokesperson for U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said last week there is "no justification" for such comments. Musk also shared an image of a fake headline that was made to look like it had come from "The Telegraph" newspaper's website, falsely claiming that the U.K. was building "detainment camps" on the Falkland Islands for rioters. He has since deleted the image, which had also been posted by the co-leader of the far-right Britain First party, Ashlea Simon. U.K. officials had already been critical of Musk even before disinformation over the stabbings occurred. In an interview published by the Times newspaper last week, the U.K.'s technology minister, Peter Kyle, said that Musk is "accountable to no one" and that dealing with platforms like his can be like negotiating with foreign governments "simply because of the scale and scope that they have." Riot police officers push back anti-migration protesters outside on Aug. 4, 2024 in Rotherham, U.K. Christopher Furlong | Getty Images
British energy giant reports violating toxic pollutant limits at Louisiana wood pellet facilities 2024-08-12 18:39:33+00:00 - NEW ORLEANS (AP) — British energy giant Drax Global, already under scrutiny for running afoul of environmental laws in multiple states, has disclosed to the state of Louisiana that its wood pellet production facilities emit hazardous air pollutants above their permitted limits. Drax is a key provider for British utilities and one of the renewable energy industry’s largest players, earning $1.53 billion in profits last year. It operates seven wood pellet production facilities across four states and paid out $2.5 million in fines for violating air emissions limits in Mississippi in 2020 and $3.2 million pollution-related settlements in Louisiana in 2022. Following pressure from lawsuits brought by environmental advocacy groups, the company agreed to install pollution controls in 2021 in its three production facilities across Mississippi and Louisiana. But it appears that the new controls did not bring the company within its permitted limits for more dangerous chemicals known as hazardous air pollutants at its Louisiana plants. The company conducted testing in August 2023 and about six months later informed the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality that both facilities should be considered a “major source” of hazardous air pollutant emissions. The tests revealed that Morehouse BioEnergy LLC and LaSalle BioEnergy LLC emitted high rates of probable carcinogens acetaldehyde and formaldehyde and a total of more than 38 tons per year of toxic or hazardous air pollutants emitted from each site, company documents said. The current permitted limit for each facility is 10 tons for a single pollutant or 25 tons for a combination of hazardous air pollutants. Michelli Martin, a spokesperson for the company, said in an emailed statement that Drax chose to test the Louisiana facilities based on new industry data, and was intended to “ensure full transparency” with authorities and “make necessary updates in 2024.” Drax said it was applying to update its permit to allow for the higher amounts of emissions. Drax had been able to avoid testing for these pollutants in Louisiana for years because the Clean Air Act contains a “loophole” for wood pellet production, allowing states to make these determinations on a case-by-case basis, said Patrick Anderson, an attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center. By contrast, Drax subsidiary Amite BioEnergy LLC in Mississippi has been required to test for hazardous air pollutants since 2021. Last year, the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality notified Drax that its facility was in violation of permitted levels of hazardous air pollutants. The Drax facility in Mississippi is currently spending $200,000 on mitigation plans, which appears to be part of a penalty still under negotiation related to the site’s hazardous air pollution violations, Anderson said. Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality Spokesperson Jan Schaefer said the agency was unable to comment on issues that “remain a matter of open enforcement.” The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality did not respond to requests for comment. Spurred by the EU’s classification of biomass as renewable energy, the wood pellet industry has rapidly grown in southern states despite concerns over its impacts on neighboring communities and the environment. The predominantly Black community living near the Drax plant in Gloster, Mississippi, has been outspoken about the facility’s pollution in their community, saying it has increased asthma and led to unwanted exposure to air particles. But the two northern Louisiana communities, which share nearly identical plants to the one in Gloster, have lacked vocal opposition. That’s because Drax has been an economic boon, said Kay King, CEO of the nonprofit Morehouse Economic Development Corporation, which helped bring Drax to rural Morehouse Parish. King said the company was a lifeline for the region’s pine plantations and that it had “diligently” responded to pollution issues in the past. Martin, the Drax spokesperson, stated that “in the event there is a need to engage with the community on mitigation actions, Drax will take aggressive action as determined and in cooperation with” the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality.” ___ Jack Brook is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow Brook on the social media platform X: @jack_brook96.
Trump Media stock drops 5% after quarterly loss and GOP nominee's return to X 2024-08-12 18:38:00+00:00 - Shares in Trump Media and Technology Group fell slightly more than 5% on Monday after the company reported scant revenues and a net loss in its first full quarter as a public company. Meanwhile, Donald Trump returned to X early Monday in advance of his interview with X owner Elon Musk later in the day, raising some doubt about whether the former president would continue favoring Truth Social, the social media platform owned by Trump Media. In a fundraising email late in Monday's trading session, however, the Trump campaign said he's "back on X for a short time." Shares in Trump Media have been subject to significant volatility since it began trading in late March thanks in part to competing bets from Wall Street traders about how much the stock would fall. But the stock has lost half its value since mid-May, and has fallen more than 40% following a brief surge in the wake of the July 13 assassination attempt on Trump, the Republican nominee for president. That has equated to billions in paper losses for Trump Media's largest shareholder: the former president himself. Still, the company's market value was $4.72 billion as of Monday's close. With rare exceptions, Trump has almost exclusively posted to Truth Social since the platform came into being in February 2022. But in its initial public offering, the company officially warned that if Trump stopped posting to Truth Social, investors would be materially harmed. While Trump is contractually obligated to post on Truth Social before he does so on any other platform, the rule does not apply to posts related to his campaign and politics. Trump, who was once a prolific tweeter, last posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, in August 2023. “They want to silence me because I will never let them silence you,” Mr. Trump said in a campaign video posted to his account Monday, which was reinstated by Musk in 2022 after Twitter's former ownership banned it in the wake of the January 6, 2021 riot. “They’re not coming after me. They’re coming after you.” In its quarterly report, released late Friday, Trump Media addressed the launch of its streaming service, Truth+, this month. It also said it was exploring “numerous other possibilities for growth,” including mergers and acquisitions. It added it was debt free and had $344 million in cash and cash equivalents. “From the beginning, it was our intention to make Truth Social an impenetrable beachhead of free speech, and by taking extraordinary steps to minimize our reliance on Big Tech, that is exactly what we are doing,” CEO Devin Nunes, the former California Congressman, said in the quarterly report.
Trump plans to sue Justice Department over Mar-a-Lago search and prosecution 2024-08-12 18:35:00+00:00 - An attorney for former President Donald Trump has filed a legal notice announcing that his client plans to sue the Justice Department and the FBI for $115 million for alleged "malicious political prosecution" and "abuse of process." The notice, a copy of which NBC News obtained Monday, baselessly accuses DOJ leadership and special counsel Jack Smith of having perpetrated a "malicious political prosecution aimed at affecting an electoral outcome to prevent President Trump from being re-elected" — a frequent accusation that Trump makes online and during campaign events. "This malicious prosecution led President Trump to spend tens of millions of dollars defending the case and his reputation," Trump attorney Daniel Z. Epstein wrote in a notice of claim against the department. Epstein is a former Trump White House lawyer who is now vice-president of America First Legal, the legal group founded by former Trump adviser Stephen Miller. The filing complains that the FBI's court-approved search for classified documents at Trump's Florida estate in August of 2022 was improper, as was Trump's subsequent indictment for the scores of sensitive classified documents that agents turned up during the search. Trump had pleaded not guilty. Documents seized during the FBI search of Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate on Aug. 30, 2022. Department of Justice via AP file The filing, which was first reported by Fox News, said the search violated "well-established protocol" involving former presidents and cites a Trump social media post after the search saying the government could have had the records "anytime they wanted." "All they had to do was ask," the Truth Social post said. The filing does not mention the multiple requests from the National Archives and the Justice Department for Trump to return the records. The DOJ had also issued a subpoena for the return of such documents in May of 2022, and an attorney for Trump signed a declaration stating they had all been returned that June. The search warrant was executed after investigators got information that they had been misled. The notice of claim maintains DOJ's "process" was "unconstitutional." It says Smith "brought a lawless criminal indictment" that stemmed from the search in July of last year, and noted that the case was dismissed by U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon last month. Cannon, who Trump nominated to the bench, dismissed the case on the grounds that Smith's appointment as special counsel and the funding for his probe were illegal. Other federal judges have rejected similar arguments involving previous special counsels. Smith is appealing Cannon's decision. The Justice Department declined to comment. Steven Cheung, a spokesperson for Trump's campaign, said the action is part of Trump's fight against the “weaponized Department of Justice" and that the criminal case against Trump "should be immediately dismissed in order to bring unity back to our Nation." The notice filed by Trump is a necessary step in filing most civil damages claims against the government. There is no concrete time limit for a response, but if a claimant has not received a “final disposition” within six months of sending the claim, then the claimant can treat that silence as a denial and file suit. The filing suggests that the suit would be filed in the same Florida district where Cannon sits. The filing was signed on Aug. 7, one day before the two-year anniversary of the search. The claim form says, “Failure to completely execute this form or to supply the requested material within two years from the date the claim accrued may render your claim invalid.” The filing says Trump is seeking "$15 million in actual harm due to his legal costs in defending the Special Counsel proceedings before the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida." It's unclear how much of that money came from Trump personally. NBC News has reported previously that Trump appeared to be using money from a political action committee for his legal fees. He's also seeking $100 million in punitive damages. In a pending appeal of writer E. Jean Carroll's $83 million defamation verdict against Trump, his attorneys have argued the verdict should be reduced in part because the punitive damages are about four times the amount of the compensatory damages. The amount he's seeking in this case is over six times the amount of compensatory damages. It's unclear what would happen to the action if Trump is elected president again in November, and whether he would be able to direct the Justice Department to pay what he's seeking.
The Guardian view on record payouts for CEOs: the way they live now | Editorial 2024-08-12 18:31:00+00:00 - When The Spirit Level was published 15 years ago in the latter days of Gordon Brown’s premiership, its analysis of the corrosive social impact of inequality turned it into an instant bestseller. Since then, as they noted in the Guardian last month, the authors Kate Pickett and Richard Wilkinson have been invited to give more than 1,000 presentations of their groundbreaking research, which has now been updated in a new report. The book’s core observation remains the same: by reinforcing “the idea that some people are worth much more than others”, extreme inequality damages the social fabric and gives the lie to political rhetoric about “all being in this together”. But as the latest analysis of CEO pay by the High Pay Centre confirms, such considerations continue to be treated with blithe indifference at the very top of business. According to the thinktank’s report, pay for the leaders of the UK’s 100 biggest listed companies now stands at the highest level on record. The average chief executive in 2023 benefited from more than 100 times the pay of the average full-time worker in Britain. AstraZeneca’s CEO, Pascal Soriot, was the highest-paid, receiving £16.85m, compared with £15.3m in 2022. This year, Mr Soriot, who has undoubtedly done a good job, is on course to receive £18.7m – 1,000 times the minimum wage. “For whomsoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance,” as Matthew 13:12 has it. But this gospel observation was in relation to knowledge of the kingdom of heaven, rather than salaries and long-term share bonuses. In the City of London, insecurity about the post-Brexit future is being leveraged to promote a more material focus on mammon. The soaring wealth of Mr Soriot and others has been justified by reference to the going rate for bosses in the United States, although academics in the field have failed to locate evidence that such stratospheric pay is necessary to retain executive talent. Banks are meanwhile removing post-crash obstacles to greater self-enrichment among employees. Following the scrapping of an EU-imposed bonus cap by Kwasi Kwarteng during his 38 days as chancellor, Barclays announced last week that staff would be allowed to receive up to 10 times their salaries in payouts. Rivals are preparing to follow suit. Disappointingly, the new Labour government has chosen not to reverse Mr Kwarteng’s act of largesse. But as Mr Wilkinson and Ms Pickett suggest, the bigger picture of a country in which the gap between the rich and the poor has gone back to 1930s levels needs urgently to be addressed. The same market logic that is deployed to justify absurd remuneration at the top has been used to impose austerity on lower earners. People notice such things and the unfairness fuels alienation, destroys political trust and undermines the sense of a common good in which all are invested. The chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has refused to rule out raising inheritance tax or capital gains tax in her autumn budget, presenting the need to raise revenues as an economic necessity following years of Tory misrule. But achieving a more equitable distribution of rewards is also an ethical imperative. The High Pay Centre recommends giving workforce representatives a say in the setting of top executive pay. Anything that helped rein in the current excesses would be a move in the right direction.
U.S. colleges slash majors in effort to cut costs, leaving some students scrambling 2024-08-12 18:29:00+00:00 - California colleges grapple with drop in enrollment California colleges grapple with drop in enrollment 04:15 Christina Westman dreamed of working with Parkinson's disease and stroke patients as a music therapist when she started studying at St. Cloud State University. But her schooling was upended in May when administrators at the Minnesota college announced a plan to eliminate its music department as it slashes 42 degree programs and 50 minors. It's part of a wave of program cuts in recent months, as U.S. colleges large and small try to make ends meet. Among their budget challenges: Federal COVID relief money is now gone, operational costs are rising and fewer high school graduates are going straight to college. The cuts mean more than just savings, or even job losses. Often, they create turmoil for students who chose a campus because of certain degree programs and then wrote checks or signed up for student loans. "For me, it's really been anxiety-ridden," said Westman, 23, as she began the effort that ultimately led her to transfer to Augsburg University in Minneapolis. "It's just the fear of the unknown." At St. Cloud State, most students will be able to finish their degrees before cuts kick in, but Westman's music therapy major was a new one that hadn't officially started. She has spent the past three months in a mad dash to find work in a new city and sublet her apartment in St. Cloud after she had already signed a lease. She was moving into her new apartment Friday. For years, many colleges held off making cuts, said Larry Lee, who was acting president of St. Cloud State but left last month to lead Blackburn College in Illinois. College enrollment declined during the pandemic, but officials hoped the figures would recover to pre-COVID levels and had used federal relief money to prop up their budgets in the meantime, he said. Colleges face new reality "They were holding on, holding on," Lee said, noting colleges must now face their new reality. Higher education made up some ground last fall and in the spring semester, largely as community college enrollment began to rebound, National Student Clearinghouse Research Center data showed. But the trend for four-year colleges remains worrisome. Americans are increasingly skeptical about the value and cost of a bachelor's degree with the majority saying they feel the U.S. higher education system is headed in the "wrong direction." That skepticism comes as the cost of college has soared in recent years and as Americans have accumulated $1.7 trillion in student debt, a burden that has made it harder for some to buy homes or achieve other hallmarks of middle-class life. Between 1980 and 2023, the average price of college tuition, fees and room and board skyrocketed 155%, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. The average tuition for private colleges is now $39,723, U.S. News and World Report found. Only 1 in 4 American's say a bachelor's degree is necessary to secure a well-paying job, according to a March survey from the Pew Research Center. To be sure, employment opportunities and earnings for young men without college degrees have improved in the last decade: One in three U.S. companies eliminated bachelor's degree requirements from some job postings this year, recent data from Intelligent, a college prep company, shows. Still, college-degree holders in general continue to hold a substantial edge over those without a college degree when it comes to job salaries. The typical college grad now earns about $60,000 annually, compared with $36,000 for people with only high school degrees, according to data from the New York Federal Reserve Bank. Even without growing concerns about the cost of college and the long-term burden of student debt, the pool of young adults is shrinking. Birth rates fell during the Great Recession of 2007 to 2009 and never recovered. Now those smaller classes are preparing to graduate and head off to college. "It's very difficult math to overcome," said Patrick Lane, vice president at the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education, a leading authority on student demographics. Complicating the situation: the federal government's chaotic overhaul of its financial aid application. Millions of students entered summer break still wondering where they were going to college this fall and how they would pay for it. With jobs still plentiful, although not as much as last year, some experts fear students won't bother to enroll at all. "This year going into next fall, it's going to be bad," said Katharine Meyer, a fellow in the Governance Studies program for the Brown Center on Education Policy at the nonprofit Brookings Institution. "I think a lot of colleges are really concerned they're not going to make their enrollment targets." Many colleges like St. Cloud State already had started plowing through their budget reserves. The university's enrollment rose to around 18,300 students in fall 2020 before steadily falling to about 10,000 students in fall 2023. St. Cloud State's student population has now stabilized, Lee said, but spending was far too high for the reduced number of students. The college's budget shortfall totaled $32 million over the past two years, forcing the sweeping cuts. Some colleges have taken more extreme steps, closing their doors. That happened at the 1,000-student Birmingham-Southern College in Alabama, the 900-student Fontbonne University in Missouri, the 350-student Wells College in New York and the 220-student Goddard College in Vermont. Cuts, however, appear to be more commonplace. Two of North Carolina's public universities got the green light last month to eliminate more than a dozen degree programs ranging from ancient Mediterranean studies to physics. Arkansas State University announced last fall it was phasing out nine programs. Three of the 64 colleges in the State University of New York system have cut programs amid low enrollment and budget woes. Other schools slashing and phasing out programs include West Virginia University, Drake University in Iowa, the University of Nebraska campus in Kearney, North Dakota State University and, on the other side of the state, Dickinson State University. Experts say it's just the beginning. Even schools that aren't immediately making cuts are reviewing their degree offerings. At Pennsylvania State University, officials are looking for duplicative and under-enrolled academic programs as the number of students shrinks at its branch campuses. Particularly affected are students in smaller programs and those in the humanities, which now graduate a smaller share of students than 15 years ago. Professors affected too "It's a humanitarian disaster for all of the faculty and staff involved, not to mention the students who want to pursue this stuff," said Bryan Alexander, a Georgetown University senior scholar who has written on higher education. "It's an open question to what extent colleges and universities can cut their way to sustainability." For Terry Vermillion, who just retired after 34 years as a music professor at St. Cloud State, the cuts are hard to watch. The nation's music programs took a hit during the pandemic, he said, with Zoom band nothing short of "disastrous" for many public school programs. "We were just unable to really effectively teach music online, so there's a gap," he said. "And, you know, we're just starting to come out of that gap and we're just starting to rebound a little bit. And then the cuts are coming." For St. Cloud State music majors such as Lilly Rhodes, the biggest fear is what will happen as the program is phased out. New students won't be admitted to the department and her professors will look for new jobs. "When you suspend the whole music department, it's awfully difficult to keep ensembles alive," she said. "There's no musicians coming in, so when our seniors graduate, they go on, and our ensembles just keep getting smaller and smaller. "It's a little difficult to keep going if it's like this," she said.
DirecTV is pushing its pay TV bundle — without a satellite dish 2024-08-12 18:25:00+00:00 - Coach Prime wants consumers to know they can watch DirecTV without a satellite dish. The company best known for providing the traditional TV bundle through satellite dishes posted on the sides of houses and on top of buildings is rolling out the next iteration of its ad campaign, “For the Birds,” with NFL star-turned-college football coach Deion Sanders joining the flock. The focus of the ad campaign: DirecTV is a streaming company, too. As pay TV distributors — both satellite and cable companies — have seen customers flee for streaming, DirecTV is trying to get the message out that a clunky satellite dish is no longer needed for its service. “We’ve been selling a streaming product for some time, right? It’s not new to us. But many customers didn’t know,” said Vince Torres, chief marketing officer at DirecTV. “We built this as an alternative. … We know that 80% of people prefer not to put the dish on the side of their house.” Further, the company’s research showed 75% of consumers thought a satellite dish was still required for DirecTV even though it’s had a streaming option since 2016, Torres said. “That’s a very, very large percentage of prospects.” Prime time Colorado head coach Deion Sanders speaks with Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders (2) between plays during the home opener game between the Colorado Buffaloes and the the Nebraska Cornhuskers on Saturday, September 9, 2023 at Folsom Field in Boulder, CO. This research and shape-shifting media landscape led DirecTV to refocus its marketing efforts — even as Torres contends the company is still a satellite TV provider and values those customers. The ad campaign that rolled out earlier this year features pigeons voiced by actors Henry Winkler and Steve Buscemi who look through windows while people are watching DirecTV, wondering how it’s possible without a satellite dish on their rooftop. The pigeons lament the loss of the dishes. Winkler’s Frank said he “loved doing my business on those things,” while Buscemi’s Bobby quips, “them dishes kept the rain off our beaks.” While the changes in media played into his interest in the commercial, Buscemi said in an interview he was sold on perfecting the voice and character of a New York City pigeon. “For me, it was more about the creative part of it,” Buscemi said. “I just really thought these characters were very funny.” There’s been a roughly 50% increase in prospects coming to DirecTV’s website since the launch of the ad campaign, Torres said. Sanders’ inclusion comes just before one of the busiest times of the year for U.S. sports: beginning with college football and the NFL, followed by the start of the NBA and the NHL, as well as MLB’s postseason. Sanders, once known as “Prime Time” in the NFL and now known as “Coach Prime,” as the coach of the NCAA’s Colorado Buffaloes, dons a cowboy hat and gold chain, essentially playing himself. “We have a long history TOGETHER — dating all the way back to 2011,” Sanders said in an email interview. “It was only fitting for us to reunite once again. Coach Prime put his wings back on for DirectTV!” In a 2011 ad campaign, Sanders was an NFL version of Tinker Bell, wearing a DirecTV football jersey under his wings. Sanders had been suspended on strings when filming that commercial, so voicing the pigeon has been a different experience, he said. Cord cutting The industry has shape-shifted since Sanders’ last ad campaign with DirecTV, too. Satellite TV providers like DirecTV and EchoStar’s Dish were once some of the biggest distributors of the TV bundle. The competition ramped up when cable TV companies began offering broadband. For a while, the solution for satellite companies was then to concentrate on customers in rural areas, where cable broadband was sparsely available, said Craig Moffett, an analyst at MoffettNathanson. But the rivalry between cable and satellite over pay TV subscribers has dissipated since streaming has caused many to ditch the bundle. “All of this is in the context of the cord-cutting phenomenon, and the media companies taking more and more of their best content, including sports, and putting it on streaming platforms, so what’s left of the TV package isn’t very good to sell,” Moffett said. The first quarter of this year was the worst ever for traditional pay TV subscriber losses, according to MoffettNathanson, which estimated that total losses topped 2.37 million for the first time ever. Although DirecTV’s financials are now private — a result of private equity firm TPG acquiring a 30% stake in DirecTV from AT&T in 2021 — the company has roughly 11 million customers across satellite and streaming, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition on anonymity due to the private nature of the financials. MoffettNathanson estimates DirecTV added more than 20,000 streaming customers earlier this year. The majority of those customers still have a satellite dish. For DirecTV’s streaming options, consumers can use their own device, like a Roku. But the company also provides its own hardware, called a Gemini box. DirecTV offers two streaming options — DirecTV Stream, a contract-free internet TV bundle, and DirecTV via internet, which requires a signed contract and is only available through the Gemini device. Based on Antenna data, DirecTV Stream has the smallest percentage of monthly gross additions when compared with Hulu + Live TV, Philo, Sling TV and YouTube TV — although it often is among the services with the lowest monthly rate of subscriber losses. “The challenge for consumers now is that it’s increasingly difficult to find what you want to watch,” Torres said about the division of content among various TV and streaming services. “It’s our version of the entertainment industry’s road rage.” The device allows viewers to switch between streaming apps like Netflix and the DirecTV guide without changing remote controls or inputs or leaving apps. Other pay TV providers also offer similar options, such as Comcast’s X1 set top box, as well as the Xumo streaming device, a joint venture between Charter Communications and Comcast. Sticking with sports The “For the Birds” ad campaign for DirecTV emphasizes customers don’t need a satellite dish anymore for service. The pigeons are voiced by former NFL star Deion Sanders, and actors Steve Buscemi and Henry Winkler. DirecTV also tries to set itself apart with a focus on sports, a main selling point for the company for some time. Until the 2023 NFL season, DirecTV had been the sole provider of the “Sunday Ticket” package of games since its inception in 1994. Google’s YouTube TV, a competitor to DirecTV’s streaming options, is now the owner of the rights to “Sunday Ticket.” But DirecTV still offers “Sunday Ticket” to bars, restaurants and other businesses, many of which rely on the subscription that shows all out-of-market NFL games to draw big crowds. Nonetheless, streaming has also shaken up live sports, the highest-rated TV programming. Amazon’s Prime Video and Netflix have exclusive NFL games, while legacy media companies have nabbed exclusive game rights for their growing streaming services. On the residential consumer front, DirecTV is still pushing the idea that it has the most complete live sports package offered by a pay TV and streaming provider. Its streaming offering includes all nationally broadcast games and regional sports networks — a rarity for internet TV bundles. This is where Coach Prime comes into play ahead of football season, Torres said. “He’s highly recognizable, he’s fun to work with, and he’s effective at getting messages out,” said Torres. “When you think about this challenge that we face, how do we continue to build on this brand message that we’re trying to educate the U.S. population with, who better to join the flock than Coach Prime.” Disclosure: Comcast, which owns CNBC parent NBCUniversal, is a co-owner of Hulu.
Three-year inflation outlook hits record low in New York Fed consumer survey 2024-08-12 18:25:00+00:00 - Consumers grew more confident in July that inflation will be less of a problem in the coming years, according to a New York Federal Reserve report Monday that showed the three-year outlook at a new low. The latest views from the monthly Survey of Consumer Expectations indicate that respondents see inflation staying elevated over the next year but then receding in the next couple of years after that. In fact, the three-year portion of the survey showed consumers expecting inflation at just 2.3%, down 0.6 percentage point from June and the lowest in the history of the survey, going back to June 2013. The results come with investors on edge about the state of inflation and whether the Federal Reserve might be able to reduce interest rates as soon as next month. Economists view expectations as a key for inflation as consumers and business owners will adjust their behavior if they think prices and labor costs are likely to continue to rise. On Wednesday, the Labor Department will release its own monthly inflation reading, the consumer price index, which is expected to show an increase of 0.2% in July and an annual rate of 3%, Dow Jones estimates show. That’s still a full percentage point away from the Fed’s 2% goal but about one-third of where it was two years ago. Markets have fully priced in the likelihood of at least a quarter percentage point rate cut in September and a strong likelihood that the Fed will lower by a full percentage point by the end of the year. While the medium-term outlook improved, inflation expectations on the one- and five-year horizons stood unchanged at 3% and 2.8%, respectively. However, there was some other good inflation news in the survey. Respondents expect the price of gas to increase by 3.5% over the next year, 0.8 percentage point less than in June, and food to see a rise of 4.7%, which is 0.1 percentage point lower than a month ago. In addition, household spending is expected to increase by 4.9%, which is 0.2 percentage point lower than in June and the lowest reading since April 2021, right around the time when the current inflation surge began. Conversely, expectations rose for medical care, college education and rent costs. The outlook for college costs jumped to a 7.2% increase, up 1.9 percentage points, while the rent component — which has been particularly nettlesome for Fed officials who have been looking for housing costs to decline — is seen as rising by 7.1%, or 0.6 percentage point more than June. Expectations for employment brightened, despite the rising unemployment rate. The perceived probability of losing one’s job in the next year fell to 14.3%, down half a percentage point, while the expectation of leaving one’s job voluntarily, a proxy for worker confidence about opportunities in the labor market, climbed to 20.7%, a 0.2 percentage point increase for the highest reading since February 2023.
Treasury pledges low-carbon investment relief to appease oil and gas industry 2024-08-12 17:51:00+00:00 - The Treasury has sought to defuse a bitter row with the North Sea oil and gas industry by promising to keep investment reliefs on low-carbon projects, aiming to protect jobs and soften the expansion of the energy windfall tax. The chancellor, Rachel Reeves, said last month that she would expand the levy on energy industry profits as part of her plan to plug a £22bn “hole” in the public finances that Labour said had been left by the previous Conservative government. However, energy bosses and unions representing North Sea workers warned that the changes could hit jobs and investment in the UK, especially in Scotland, where much of the industry is located and where Labour won back dozens of seats in Keir Starmer’s general election landslide. In talks held in Aberdeen, the UK’s oil capital, on Monday to placate industry concerns, the Treasury minister, James Murray, said the government was committed to protecting jobs and investment in Scotland. Speaking to the Guardian, he said the Treasury would retain a generous 80% decarbonisation investment allowance for the industry, despite wider measures to raise billions of pounds from energy firms. “The chancellor set out the decision to remove unjustifiably generous allowances. But the decarbonisation allowance will remain,” he said. “We are absolutely committed to managing the energy transition in a way that protects jobs and investment. We want to make sure the energy transition, which is vitally important to make UK energy secure, and to bring down the cost of energy bills, is done in a way that protects jobs and investment.” The Treasury last month said the energy profits levy, first introduced by the Conservatives in 2022, would run for a year longer than planned, to 31 March 2030. It will be increased from a rate of 35% on energy industry profits to 38%, on top of a 40% headline tax rate. An investment allowance of 29% will also be axed. After meeting Murray and bosses from firms including BP and Shell, David Whitehouse, the chief executive of Offshore Energies UK, the industry lobby group, said thousands of jobs and billions of pounds in economic value were at risk. “The minister again heard in no uncertain terms direct from senior business leaders about the impact these proposals are already having for businesses of all sizes and their skilled people right across the whole of the UK,” he said. Peter Welsh, of the GMB trade union, said: “The minister says he’s up to listen. We hope the government will, because change should be done with workers and their industries and not to them.” skip past newsletter promotion Sign up to Business Today Free daily newsletter Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning Enter your email address Sign up Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy . We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. after newsletter promotion Before the general election, Labour said it planned to raise about £6bn by expanding the energy windfall tax, using the revenue to help fund the creation of Great British Energy, a state-owned clean power company headquartered in Scotland. Murray declined to say whether the latest changes would raise more revenue than planned, saying further details would be in the 30 October budget. However, he indicated that tax rises could form a key plank of Reeves’ plans. “Our inheritance [from the Conservatives] is even worse than thought. That means there will be some difficult decisions around spending, welfare and tax,” he said.
Bank of America no longer forecasts a U.S. recession in 2024 2024-08-12 17:34:00+00:00 - A highly-dreaded U.S. recession is no longer in the works, according to Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan. The nation's second-largest bank is not predicting an economic downturn "anymore," Moynihan told CBS' Margaret Brennan on "Face the Nation" Sunday. "Last year, this time, it was a recession," he stated. "This year we talked about now there's no recession." BofA's latest prediction suggests the Federal Reserve's efforts at taming inflation while keeping the U.S. economy afloat are working. Consumer spending has softened, Moynihan said, citing the lender's vantage point of having a customer base of 60 million. People in July and August spent at a growth rate of about 3% this year — half the rate it was in 2023, BofA found. Consumers "have money in their accounts, but they're depleting a little bit. They're employed, they're earning money, but if you look at — they've really slowed down," he said. The positive scenario puts the Fed in the position of working to ensure that its policy moves do not slow the economy too much, the bank chief said. "We've won the war on inflation, it's come down. It's not where people want it yet, but we've got to be careful that we don't try to get so perfect that we actually put us in recession," he said, quickly adding that BofA does not believe that will occur. But not all analysts agree with the lender's optimistic view, with one recent report, in particular, prompting some economists to warn the country is not out of the woods yet: A disappointing jobs report earlier this month factored into a three-day stock-market rout and helped spark debate over whether the nation is looking at the start of a recession. BofA researchers say "we go to 2% growth, then 1.5% growth over the next six quarters and kind of bump along at that growth rate plus or minus," according to Moynihan. Further, the BofA team expects the Fed to cut rates twice this year, first in September and then again in December, with four additional reductions in 2025, he relayed. BofA holds the view of many in looking to an eventual Fed funds rate of 3% to 3.5%, which Moynihan noted differs from the last 15 years or so. "People who entered the business world in 2007, 2008 have not seen this kind of interest rate environment," the bank executive said. "We're getting back to normal, and that's going to take a while for people to adjust to, both on the corporate side and commercial side and on the consumer side."