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Referendum set for South Dakota voters on controversial carbon dioxide pipeline law 2024-07-11 19:41:07+00:00 - After years spent trying to gain regulatory approval for a proposed carbon dioxide pipeline intended to snake through the Midwest, the effort could be complicated even further if South Dakota voters reject a law passed by the Legislature that pipeline opponents say is an attempt to squelch local control and speed approval of the pipeline. State officials this week validated the referendum for the Nov. 5 general election, enabling voters to decide whether to reject a package of regulations approved by the Legislature earlier this year. Pipeline opponents argue the regulations would strip county officials of the ability to pass stringent rules that can all but ban such pipelines, while legislative leaders say they intended to add requirements to help landowners even as they limited the role of county governments. The law takes away authority from local governments and consolidates it with the three-member state Public Utilities Commission, said Jim Eschenbaum, chairman of the South Dakota Property Rights and Local Control Alliance, formed by landowners and local officials to oppose the project. “I honestly believe a majority of South Dakotans think this pipeline is foolishness. I’m one of them,” he said. “I think it’s just of bunch of hooey and a big taxpayer boondoggle.” Iowa-based Summit Carbon Solutions has proposed the $5.5 billion, 2,500-mile (4023.4 kilometers) pipeline network that would carry planet-warming emissions from more than 50 ethanol plants in Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota to be sent deep underground in North Dakota. Summit has faced opposition and setbacks throughout the Midwest. But North Dakota regulators are reconsidering an earlier denial of a permit, and last month the Iowa Utilities Commission gave conditional approval to Summit. Last year, South Dakota regulators denied Summit’s application for a permit, but company officials have said they will file another application this summer. The pipeline is seen as crucial for a potential future aviation fuel market for the Midwest-based ethanol industry, which buys roughly one-third of the nation’s corn crop. In opposing the pipeline, some landowners question the forced use of their property and raise the danger of ruptures that could release hazardous CO2 gas. They also are critical of lucrative federal tax credits for carbon capture projects. House Majority Leader Will Mortenson said he believes the pipeline will ultimately be built whether the regulations are in place or not, so he helped introduce the new law because it adds new requirements, such as minimum depth requirements for the pipeline, liability on pipeline operators for damages and disclosures of pipelines’ plume models. The law also allows counties to impose a surcharge of $1 per linear foot on CO2 pipelines whose companies claim federal tax credits. “If this gets shot down, that pipeline’s going to get built with no landowner protections and no plume study released and with(out) a whole bunch of the other benefits that we fought real hard to get included,” Mortenson said. Mortenson, an attorney, said he sees the benefit for the ethanol industry, but also understands farmers’ and ranchers’ concerns and sees the need for the regulations in the law. While supporters have called the law a “landowners bill of rights,” Republican state Rep. Karla Lems opposed the legislation, calling it “the pipeline bill of rights.” She said the law sets the stage for other companies like Summit and future solar and wind projects to roll through, unhindered by local concerns. Lems’ family has land that was in the paths of Summit’s proposed pipeline and another pipeline project that was canceled last year. Asked for comment, Summit spokeswoman Sabrina Ahmed Zenor called the law “pro farmer, pro ethanol and pro business. It protects landowners and provides property tax relief.” ___ Dura reported from Bismarck, North Dakota.
Hackers join the fight to inform the public about Project 2025 2024-07-11 19:36:43+00:00 - It looks like hacktivists have joined the fight to shine a light on Project 2025, the far-right blueprint for reshaping the government to achieve ultraconservative goals if Donald Trump is elected president in November. Google searches for “Project 2025” have skyrocketed in recent weeks, likely due in part to celebrities, including Taraji P. Henson at the BET Awards last month, drawing attention to the extremist plan. A group of hackers has joined the effort to pull back the curtain on Project 2025. On Tuesday, the cybersecurity news outlet CyberScoop reported that a collective comprised of self-described “gay furry hackers" that calls itself SiegedSec gained access to Heritage Foundation data. Specifically, the collective said it gained access to a website hosting content produced by members of the Heritage Foundation, the organization that assembled Project 2025 with the help of several members of Trump’s former administration. Per CyberScoop: Self-described “gay furry hackers,” SiegedSec said it released the data in response to Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025, a set of proposals that aim to give Donald Trump a set of ready-made policies to implement if he wins this fall’s election. Its authors describe it as an initiative “to lay the groundwork for a White House more friendly to the right.” The data, reviewed by CyberScoop, includes Heritage Foundation blogs and material related to The Daily Signal, a right-wing media site affiliated with Heritage. The data was created between 2007 and November 2022. The group says it gained access to the data on July 2 and released it to provide “transparency to the public regarding who exactly is supporting heritage (sic),” a spokesperson for the group who goes by the online handle “vio” told CyberScoop in an online chat Tuesday. A SiegedSec spokesperson who goes by “vio” told CyberScoop that the data the group accessed includes “full names, email addresses, passwords, and usernames” of people associated with Heritage. But a Heritage spokesperson denied that the organization was “hacked,” telling CyberScoop that “an organized group stumbled upon a two-year-old archive of The Daily Signal website that was available on a public-facing website owned by a contractor.” Nonetheless, Heritage folks don’t sound happy about this data dump. The Daily Dot shared excerpts of angry text messages sent from Mike Howell — a former Trump administration official and the executive director of the Heritage Foundation's Oversight Project — to vio. Howell confirmed the authenticity of the texts to The Daily Dot via X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. No one likes to be targeted by hackers — so Howell’s apparent discomfort with the situation is understandable. But it's unsurprising that openly promoting an authoritarian agenda could draw the ire of many people, including so-called "gay furry hackers."
Home insurance costs — already soaring — are likely to keep climbing. Here's why. 2024-07-11 19:32:00+00:00 - Why houses are becoming unaffordable for most Americans Insurance companies are jacking up their premiums on homeowners to account for their rising losses from storms like Hurricane Beryl. Although that will take a financial toll on millions of Americans, it could mean big profits for property and casualty insurers like Allstate and Progressive in the coming year. Investors have bid up shares in the sector roughly 19% so far this year, outpacing the S&P 500's 17% gain. Meanwhile, keeping homeowners' insurance has become increasingly challenging for many people, particularly those who live in the growing number of areas around the country prone to natural disasters. For example, Oklahoma residents saw their home coverage costs surge 42% between 2018 and 2023, while rates in Arkansas and Texas soared 32.5% and 60%, respectively, according to an analysis from S&P Global. Insurance rate hikes have long been a way for property insurers to offset the cost of catastrophic events. Hurricanes account for most insured catastrophe losses, according to investment research firm CFRA. Hurricane Ian in 2022 is a reminder of the risks facing insurers. It was among the costliest storms in U.S. history at just over $118 billion, according to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Hurricane Katrina in 2005 was the costliest hurricane in history, with total losses of $200 billion. Double-digit increases Across the U.S., most insurers lifted their rates for homeowners' coverage by double digits last year, according to S&P Global. For instance, Progressive's rates rose 10.4% in 2023, up from a 2.9% hike the previous year; Allstate's rates jumped 10.2%, up from 4.3% in 2022. Affordable housing providers, in particular, are facing sharply higher premiums — nearly 1 in 3 policies experienced rate increases of at least 25% in the most recent coverage renewal period, according to one analysis by a coalition of housing organizations. The U.S. experienced 28 separate billion-dollar weather and climate disasters in 2023, the most ever, according to NOAA. That surpassed the previous high of 22 such events in 2020. The current hurricane season is already one for the record books despite just getting underway. Beryl, the second named storm of the season, became the earliest storm to develop into a Category 5 hurricane in the Atlantic. NOAA is forecasting an above normal season with up to 25 named storms, up from 20 named storms and seven hurricanes in 2023. That could drive home insurance costs even higher. "If this grim forecast comes to fruition, it will likely buoy pricing for many lines of property-casualty insurance and reinsurance, providing certain underwriters' shares with a catalyst," CFRA analysts said in a report. Property damage from a natural disaster "is one of the largest financial risks" a homeowner can experience, according to a May study by the Federal Reserve. Almost 2 in 10 U.S. adults reported being financially impacted by a natural disaster or severe weather event in the past 12 months, the study found. Insurers are also reducing their exposure to outsized losses by cutting their business in disaster-prone states like California and Florida, with major insurance companies including Allstate and State Farm no longer renewing policies in extreme-weather areas. Farmers Insurance pulled out of the Florida market in 2023, while State Farm is scaling back coverage in California. AAA last year also decided not to renew some policies in Florida, a state that has seen an increase in powerful storms and coastal flooding. Homeowners — who depend on their insurance policies to help with the steep price of paying for damages to their property in the event of accidents and bad weather — are forced to find another insurer at a higher premium when insurers say they're backing out. Highest premiums in two decades The industry has been raising premiums for about six years now, CFRA said. Cumulative rate increases over the years have compounded pressure on homeowners. Premiums for property and casualty insurance are now at their highest levels in more than two decades, according to the U.S. government data from the producer price index. As a result, Wall Street expects Progressive's earnings to nearly double in 2024 after jumping by 50% in 2023. "We got ahead of the curve as far as pricing." said Progressive CEO Tricia Griffith, during a May conference following its first quarter report. "We're seeing that with our growth and hope to continue to see that." Analysts expect Travelers to report a 36% jump in 2024 earnings per share following a modest gain in 2023. Allstate's profit is expected to skyrocket compared to weak growth in 2023 as it moves past the big cost impact from Hurricane Ian.
The Nasdaq looks ugly, giving many stocks in the broader market their time in the sun 2024-07-11 19:30:00+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. Market rotation: The S & P 500 was having a rough day — falling roughly 1%. The Nasdaq was even worse — sinking 2%. However, most stocks were up with about 6 to 1 advancers to decliners on the New York Stock Exchange. For weeks the criticism about the record rally has been its narrow leadership, with the mega - cap tech stocks and growth/momentum stocks carrying the major stock measures higher. The reverse happened Thursday as those stocks became a source of funds to buy the rest of the market, especially the housing stocks, solar stocks, real estate stocks, utilities, cyclical, and small caps. These are the companies that benefit most from lower interest rates. Leadership : When examining the action, will the cool June consumer inflation print be the catalyst of a change in market leadership from growth into value? We think it is way too early to know and we don't see changes to our portfolio happening given the balance we already have between growth and artificial intelligence beneficiaries and Federal Reserve rate cut plays. Still, these kinds of vicious rotations — the small-cap Russell 2000 surged roughly 3.5% on Thursday — have a habit of lasting around three days. That allows stocks that have lagged to catch up. Things to consider : Those rotations also usually start when least expected, so we are always conscious about taking some profits on loved tech stocks on the way up as we did with Meta Platforms and Palo Alto Networks on Monday, and slowly adding quality but out-of-favor stocks on the way down. If the market continues to take down some of the AI winners into next week, it could be an opportunity to add more exposure. We recently looked at some buy levels to consider for investors with no Big Tech exposure. 2 or 3 rate cuts: A rate cut of 25 basis points in September was starting to get penciled in before Thursday's consumer price index, but there was still plenty of debate around whether that would be the only cut this year. After the market saw the CPI for June fall 0.1% month over month, the prospects of two or more cuts became more likely and the market now sees a roughly 50% probability of three cuts by the end of the year, according to CME FedWatch. Up next: Wall Street will be clamoring Friday morning to see whether the June producer price index, a measure of wholesale inflation, will confirm the cool-down seen in the CPI. Headline PPI is expected to increase 0.1% month over month and 2.3% year over year. Banks also kick off second-quarter earnings season before Friday's opening bell, with Club name Wells Fargo as well as JPMorgan and Citigroup set to report. Our other Club financial stock Morgan Stanley reports earnings this coming Tuesday. (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. Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on July 11, 2024 in New York City. Spencer Platt | Getty Images
Gen Zers are willing to buy fixer-upper homes. Some already regret the decision, new report finds 2024-07-11 19:25:00+00:00 - About 1 in 5 Gen Zers, or 22%, say a lack of affordable starter homes poses as a barrier towards homeownership, according to a new report. Some believe fixer-upper homes might be the answer to the issue. A fixer-upper is an existing house that needs varying degrees of maintenance work and is typically offered at a low purchase price, by Redfin's definition. More than half, 57%, of Gen Zers polled said they are willing to put an offer in on a fixer-upper, according to a new report by Clever Real Estate. The site surveyed 1,000 Generation Z adults 18 and older; 126 of the total were homeowners. However, some of those who went that route are already rethinking their decisions. To that point, of the 40% of Gen Z homeowners who did buy a fixer-upper, about 27% regret it, the report found. Given the survey's small base of homeowners, it's hard to say how fixer-upper regrets might play out on a larger scale. But experts say it's not unusual for buyers of such properties to feel overwhelmed. "A lot of them are first-time buyers; they don't really know the true costs of homeownership and how these renovations and repairs can really be a lot," said Jaime Dunaway-Seale, a data writer at Clever Real Estate. More from Personal Finance: These 5 strategies can help you build a better budget Here's where U.S. rents are rising — and falling — the fastest What smaller, new homes means for homebuyers Buying a fixer-upper home can mean savings in the short term, but would-be buyers need to keep renovation costs in mind, as well as the home's current functionality, said Marine Sargsyan, staff economist at Houzz, a home renovation and design site. For example, if your new home doesn't have a usable bathroom that might delay your ability to move in. "Functionality above everything. Anything you have in your house has to function," she said. "If it doesn't, then see how much it's going to cost for you to replace [it]."
Ofwat accused of showing ‘contempt’ to customers over water bill price rises 2024-07-11 19:16:00+00:00 - Politicians and campaigners have condemned proposed water bill rises for England and Wales, accusing the industry regulator of showing “contempt” to customers who have endured poor service, sewage dumping and leaks. Ofwat’s recommendation on Thursday that households pay on average £94 more over five years to fund improvements in environmental standards was described as a “bitter pill” by the chancellor, Rachel Reeves. The regulator also put struggling Thames Water into unprecedented special measures, allowing extra scrutiny of Britain’s biggest supplier, as fears grow over whether it may have to go through a painful restructuring or be temporarily nationalised. The UK’s private water companies have faced a barrage of public anger, after years of taking out millions in bonuses and dividends while underinvesting in an ageing network led to high levels of leaks and sewage overflows. In March, data revealed that untreated human waste was discharged for more than 3.6m hours into rivers and seas last year, up 105% on the previous 12 months. Ofwat’s plans to pay for the necessary repairs by raising household bills were met with anger by activists and politicians. The former Undertones singer turned water campaigner Feargal Sharkey accused the watchdog of charging customers twice by “allowing water companies to put up bills by a large amount to pay for infrastructure they should have already paid for”. Keir Starmer said the Conservatives had let the water industry “get completely out of hand”, and Labour would look at “possible further regulation” to tackle pollution and rising bills. On Thursday, water bosses met the environment secretary, Steve Reed, to promise to fix sewage leaks and serve customers better. Ofwat’s review, its first assessment of English and Welsh water companies’ spending plans for 2025-30, ruled they could spend £88bn over the five-year period, which would be recovered from bills. The figure is £16bn lower than companies had proposed but still raised concerns that consumers were paying the price for previous underinvestment by water companies, which have paid out £78bn in dividends since 1989, and accumulated £60bn in debt. Sharkey added: “I am now so outraged with the contempt Ofwat is showing to customers that we should be taking to the streets outside parliament to show that we will no longer take their greed, their incompetence and their complete and utter disregard for customers and the environment.” The price review was seen as critical for debt-laden Thames Water. Ofwat took the unprecedented step of putting the company into a “turnaround oversight regime”, subjecting it to extra scrutiny and forcing it to regularly report on the progress of moves to reduce sewage spills by 64%, cut leaks by 19% and slash supply interruptions by 66%. The review is seen as unlikely to have improved investor sentiment towards the company, which could be put into a government-handled administration if it fails to raise fresh funds. Such a collapse could mean Thames’s £15.2bn of debts being added to the public purse. Water company executives signed up to a set of reforms after meeting Reed on Thursday. The new measures ensure funding for vital infrastructure is ringfenced for upgrades that benefit consumers and the environment, and is refunded if it is not spent. Companies have also pledged to make the interests of customers and the environment their “primary objective”, and that households and businesses will see compensation for water supply outages double. Consumers will also receive payments if suppliers issue “boil water notices”, as occurred this year when a parasite caused a spate of illness in Devon. Reed said: “The new government will force water companies to tackle illegal sewage dumping into our rivers, lakes and seas. Firm action should have been taken much earlier to ensure money was spent on fixing the sewage system, not siphoned off for bonuses and dividends.” Starmer said Labour was devising a plan to “get to grips” with the governance of water. He said this would not involve nationalising the entire industry, which some campaigners have called for. It would, however, potentially involve more regulation and “something I’m very keen on, which is to have sort of personal responsibility from the top”. The Liberal Democrats called for “insulting price hikes by water companies” to be blocked. Their environment spokesperson, Tim Farron, said: “It is a national scandal that these disgraced firms are demanding more money from families and pensioners in a cost of living crisis, all while dumping raw sewage into our rivers.” 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 The Environment Agency has previously said water company bosses ought to be jailed for serious pollution. Ofwat belatedly brought in powers to block executive bonuses if a company has committed serious criminal breaches. The water bill rises are expected to pile further pressure on households struggling with the cost of living crisis. View image in fullscreen Rachel Reeves said the proposed new charges would be a ‘bitter pill’ for households. Photograph: Lucy North/PA Mike Keil, the chief executive of the Consumer Council for Water, said: “Millions of people will feel upset and anxious at the prospect of these water bill rises and question the fairness of them, given some water companies’ track record of failure and poor service.” Doug Parr, policy director for Greenpeace UK, said: “It’s now glaringly obvious that these water firms will continue to demand dividends and bonuses for continuing to not do their job for as long as they are allowed to do so. The regulator can’t solve this without full government backing for a more interventionist approach.” The Green MP Siân Berry, the party’s former leader, called for the water companies to be nationalised, saying this would allow government to “invest affordably in the creaking infrastructure without all the harm falling on to our bills”. Ofwat’s chief executive, David Black, said: “Let me be very clear to water companies. We will be closely scrutinising the delivery of their plans and will hold them to account to deliver real improvements to the environment and for customers.” Water UK, which represents water companies, reacted angrily to the limits in the planned spending. A spokesperson said: “Today’s announcement is the biggest ever cut in investment by Ofwat. If it doesn’t put this right, Ofwat will be repeating the mistakes of the past.” The body argued that new housing would be blocked, improvements in river water quality would be slowed and water shortages would become more likely if companies were not allowed to spend the more than £100bn they had proposed. Despite this, shares in the listed water companies rose on Thursday, with South West Water’s owner, Pennon, up 11%, indicating investors believe Ofwat’s verdict was positive for the industry. The biggest bill increases Ofwat allowed were for Southern Water, with a £183 rise to £603; Dŵr Cymru in Wales, which will increase bills by £137 to £603, and Hafren Dyfrdwy, whose bills will be rising by £128 to £524. Ofwat said companies would invest £10bn to tackle storm overflows, with a target to reduce spills by 44% from levels in 2021. A string of new environmental targets will be introduced, including tasking companies in England to limit spills to 16 incidents a year by 2029.
He plays rich on screen, but dreams of full-time work: 'Why can’t I get a living wage?' 2024-07-11 19:00:00+00:00 - Editor’s note: This is part of NBC News’ Checkbook Chronicles, a series of profiles highlighting the financial realities of everyday Americans. Doug Sharp, 59, Los Angeles After getting a business degree from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, steady work has been hard to find. Driving for Uber and Lyft has helped bring in some money, but not enough to offset expenses. Has found some acting work as an extra, and even landed a small speaking part. Doug Sharp isn't a rich man — but he has played one in Hollywood. Sharp, 59, lives in L.A. and until recently got the bulk of his income by driving for Uber and Lyft, while moonlighting as a paid extra. It's the chance to earn the spotlight and others who share his passion for acting that keeps him going after years of failing to find any other kind of full-time work. Primary source of income: Sharp says he struggles to make ends meet, having survived the past few years off a generous pandemic unemployment reimbursement. He has begun taking delivery orders on UberEats, but said the pay on that platform barely makes it worth it. What keeps Sharp going is acting — a notoriously fickle endeavor but one he says has upside potential. He recently obtained a small speaking part in an upcoming production featuring at least two Hollywood A-listers — and saw his daily pay rate go from about $200 to nearly $1,200. "The money for background is good, and there's always the possibility of being upgraded to principal," he said. "That has happened to me — I have not found a replacement for it." Still, it's not consistent enough for him to obtain full Screen Actors Guild benefits, so his health insurance is through Medicaid. Living situation: Sharp lives alone, and said his housing situation is unstable. It includes periodically renting from a friend as well as an unauthorized arrangement he wasn't comfortable discussing on the record. Economic outlook: After nearly a decade of making steady pay driving for Uber and Lyft, Sharp has effectively quit both platforms for now, in part because, he said, their base pay and regular rates are no longer enough make it worth it to utilize the platforms, especially for what’s needed to live in Los Angeles. Acting remains enjoyable — Sharp said he is not a celebrity hound and simply enjoys being around other people. "The older you get, the less parts there are," he said. "However the pool of older guys is smaller — and shockingly I always play the rich white guy, because that’s what I look like. But I didn’t I know look like rich white guy until started playing one." Yet the gigs have been hardly steady enough to make a career out of. "What I can tell you is I barely work," Sharp said. "In May I worked two days, in April I worked four days, in March I worked two days, in February, I worked two days, in January, I worked one day." Budget pain points: Sharp struggles with buying basic necessities, to the point that he found himself recently trying to return goods around his residence back to Home Depot and Walmart for cash or credit. He owns a car, a Fiat 500, but is trying to obtain a new one through a rental company so that he can get back to driving for Uber and Lyft — even at the reduced rates. However, he's not sure his credit score will be good enough for him to obtain the new vehicle. Outlook: Sharp said he basically started his life over in his 40s, when he obtained a business degree from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. But he graduated in 2013, when the economy was still emerging from the global financial crisis, and couldn't land a job. Uber, and later Lyft, provided a lifeline, and he enjoyed the work. But over the years, their rates got lower and lower. Still, returning to those platforms remains his key financial objective. In the meantime, Sharp struggles with depression and anxiety. "The one thing people hate are educated white men, who look rich but who are poor," Sharp said. "They think 'Oh, he must be lazy, or on drugs what is his problem? I get this — I’ve watched my friend group move away." "I am ashamed about where I am in my life as it relates to my finances and not knowing how to fix it,” he continued. Finding a full-time job — even at a fast-food restaurant, and even in a labor market that the Federal Reserve says remains relatively healthy — has been a lot more difficult than one might imagine. "I do qualify for food stamps, I do qualify for [Medicaid]," he said. "I'm not embarrassed about that, but when I’m willing to work — and bust my ass, why is it that I can’t get a living wage?" Ironically, fast-food jobs are now quite difficult to obtain, Sharp said, not least because their hourly wages are now higher than in many other industries thanks to California's new $20 minimum wage for workers in the sector. "It’s embarrassing because it seems like there's a piece of the puzzle that I’m not telling," Sharp said. "I'm doing everything I can."
The NFL is open to private equity team ownership of up to 10%, Commissioner Roger Goodell says 2024-07-11 18:56:00+00:00 - The National Football League is considering allowing minority private equity ownership for its 32 teams of up to 10%, Commissioner Roger Goodell said in an exclusive CNBC interview Thursday. “As sports evolve, we want to make sure our policies reflect that,” Goodell said in an interview with CNBC’s Julia Boorstin at Allen & Co.’s annual Sun Valley Conference. “We’ve had a tremendous amount of interest [from private equity firms], and we believe this could make sense for us in a limited fashion, probably no more than 10% of a team. That would be something we think could complement our ownership and support our ownership policies.” The NFL hopes to set its new ownership policies by the end of the year, Goodell said. The 10% cap would be a starting point, and the league is open to raising it in time, he said. While other major U.S. sports leagues, including the National Basketball Association, Major League Baseball, the National Hockey League and Major League Soccer all allow private equity ownership of up to 30%, the NFL has resisted taking money from institutional funds, such as private equity, preferring limited partners to be individuals or families. But franchise valuations have steadily risen as the NFL has signed lucrative media deals, meaning fewer people can afford team ownership. In 2023, Josh Harris, co-founder of private equity firm Apollo Global Management, headed a group that paid $6.05 billion for the Washington Commanders — the most money ever spent on a U.S. professional sports franchise. “Unless you’re one of the wealthiest 50 people [in the world], writing a $5 billion equity check is pretty hard for anyone,” Harris told CNBC “Squawk Box” co-anchor Andrew Ross Sorkin at the CNBC CEO Council Summit in Washington, D.C., last month. Harris tapped 20 people to help raise money for his bid, including former NBA superstar Magic Johnson; former Google CEO Eric Schmidt; and David Blitzer, the Blackstone Group senior executive who previously partnered with Harris to buy the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers and the NHL’s New Jersey Devils. “Raising that amount of capital was unique; it had never been done before,” Harris said. “I think it may be leading to some rethink into the consideration of letting private equity, as an example, or institutional investors into the NFL.” The National Women’s Soccer League allows private equity firms to take majority control of franchise teams, unlike the other U.S. professional sports leagues. Private equity incentives around reaching investment targets and exit thresholds could alter the motivations for ownership in ways that make the bigger sports leagues uncomfortable. Minority stakes typically come with little or no decision-making power on the team. That is likely comforting to the NFL if it allows private equity investors, but it has also limited the number of individuals interested in taking smaller stakes in teams. “These people are really rich and successful. They’re used to being the center of the universe. And now you go, I need a quarter of a billion dollars. Fantastic, what do I get? Nothing,” Ted Leonsis, the owner of the Washington Capitals, Wizards and Mystics, told ESPN in May. “Do you have any control? Any role? No, you’re passive investors. You’ll get your name on a website somewhere or something and you get to tell people I own a piece of an NFL team.” Private equity firms, tasked with finding investment vehicles to make returns on their assets under management, may be better suited to minority ownership.
Rome’s airport is named for da Vinci, Venice’s for Marco Polo. Milan’s Malpensa? Silvio Berlusconi 2024-07-11 18:52:15+00:00 - ROME (AP) — Silvio Berlusconi, a cruise-ship singer, media mogul and three-time premier who dominated Italian politics for three decades, is getting a new act following his death last year. Milan’s Malpensa Airport, Italy’s second-busiest passenger airport, is being renamed for the billionaire businessman-turned-politician, Italy’s transport minister announced Thursday. Italy’s civil aviation authority approved the proposal, and Transport Minister Matteo Salvini said the new name will be Milan-Malpensa Silvio Berlusconi international airport. The proposal had generated opposition, with Milan’s center-left Mayor Beppe Sala firmly opposed and unions launching a counter-proposal to name the airport after La Scala’s famous prima ballerina, Carla Fracci. But Salvini, a longtime ally of Berlusconi on Italy’s center-right, announced the decision had been made officially. “A great satisfaction for a great Italian,” Salvini said in a social media post. Some of Italy’s other big airports are named for historically famous Italians, such as Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci airport, Venice’s Marco Polo airport and Verona’s airport, named for the Latin poet Valerio Catullo. Berlusconi, who died last year at age 86 of chronic leukemia, was Italy’s longest-serving premier, admired by some as a charismatic statesman who put Italy on the world stage but reviled by others as a populist who used political power for personal gain. Malpensa is Italy’s second-busiest passenger airport, with 26 million passengers passing through last year, compared to the 40 million passengers who transited Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci airport, according to Assaeroporti, the Italian association of airport operators. Located in Italy’s industrial heartland, Malpensa far outpaces Rome in terms of cargo transport, moving 672,000 tons last year compared to Rome’s 190,000 tons, the association said.
Theater festivals offer to give up their grants if DeSantis restores funding for Florida arts groups 2024-07-11 18:47:48+00:00 - Leaders of two performing arts festivals said Thursday that they would gladly give up their grants if Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis restores the $32 million in state funding he nixed for more than 600 Florida arts groups, explaining the reason for his veto as being because the two theatrical events were “a sexual festival.” Leaders of The Orlando Fringe and Tampa Fringe described the governor’s description as inaccurate on Thursday at a news conference, but they said it was important for the state’s arts groups to be funded because they play critical roles in their communities. The Orlando festival had been slated to get $70,500, and the Tampa festival was in line to receive $7,500 before the veto. “Like you, we the Orlando and Tampa Fringe festivals care greatly about the citizens of Florida,” they said in an open letter to the governor. “Given that common ground, we hope that you read this letter with an open mind and fully consider the proposal below.” Asked to respond to the letter, a DeSantis spokeswoman referred to the governor’s June 27 remarks when he cited the Fringe festivals as something to which taxpayers would be reluctant to have their money directed. “When I see money being spent that way, I have to be the one who stands up for taxpayers and say, ‘You know what? That is an inappropriate use of taxpayer dollars,’ ” DeSantis said. Critics decried the veto, saying it was an extension of DeSantis’ culture wars in which he has supported laws limiting what can be said in classrooms about sexual orientation and gender identity and prohibiting the teaching of an academic framework outlining the ways systemic racism is part of American society. Arts and cultural groups across Florida have been scrambling to fill holes in their budgets ever since DeSantis vetoed the arts funding last month from the state’s $116.5 billion budget. Arts leaders across the state said it was the first time they recall a Florida governor eliminating all grant funding for arts and culture, and it came as arts organizations that survived COVID-19 pandemic closures were still recovering with smaller attendance and revenues. Florida’s arts and cultural industry generates $5.7 billion in economic activity a year, including $2.9 billion by nonprofit arts and culture organizations, and supports more than 91,000 full-time jobs, according to a study from Americans for the Arts in collaboration with the state Division of Arts and Culture and Citizens for Florida Arts Inc. ___ Follow Mike Schneider on the social platform X: @MikeSchneiderAP.
Biden looks to French elections to boost his political case — but it's complicated 2024-07-11 18:35:00+00:00 - WASHINGTON — As President Joe Biden faces increasing calls to leave the presidential race from members of his own party, he's sought to bolster his case for staying in by pointing across the Atlantic Ocean to another election that defied dire polling and panic on the center and left. Speaking on MSNBC’s "Morning Joe" on Monday, one day after France’s right-wing National Rally party and its allies finished third in seats won in France’s snap parliamentary elections, Biden contrasted the French result with his own election this fall. The right lost despite leading after first-round voting and in public opinion polls. "France rejected extremism," Biden said. "Democrats will reject it here as well." Biden reiterated the point on a call with some of his biggest campaign donors and backers that same day, as a person on the call told NBC News. "One of the things that’s happening around the world is the extreme right, the extreme MAGA conservatives of France, the [Marine] Le Pen party and others, they're getting killed, they’re getting kicked because people are going, 'Whoa, we’re not going there,'" Biden said, according to the source. (His comment was first reported by The New York Times.) But France's vote wasn’t as simple as the narrative Biden served up. The elections were a rejection of the far right but also of French President Emmanuel Macron and his centrist coalition. It’s the latest data point in a trend that is ricocheting around the world — one that experts say should have Biden very concerned. Voters, dissatisfied with the post-Covid economy and, in some cases, angered over influxes of immigrants, are dealing incumbents setback after setback at the ballot box. And as Biden confronts intense political backlash following his dismal debate performance last month, surveys show American voters expressing similar dissatisfaction with the status quo, which has helped former President Donald Trump build narrow polling leads nationally and in battleground states. "It’s a bad time to be an incumbent," said Ian Bremmer, president and founder of the Eurasia Group, a geopolitical risk firm, adding that electorates around the globe are pushing for change. "No matter what you think of Biden’s record, no matter how much you think he accomplished, this is just a hard time for an incumbent to win." In France, Macron's Ensemble alliance won far fewer seats than it did in 2022, finishing second to the left-wing New Popular Front. National Rally won its highest-ever seat total, as well as a plurality of the vote — a point Trump was quick to highlight on his Truth Social page Monday. (Still, National Rally's vote share only translated to a third-place finish in actual parliamentary seats, due to strategic voting from the center-left.) Across the English Channel days earlier, voters in the United Kingdom ejected the Conservative Party from power for the first time in 14 years, with the left-of-center Labour Party winning an overwhelming victory. In both cases, deep dissatisfaction with incumbents led to sweeping change. Richard Haass, president emeritus at the Council on Foreign Relations, said these contests and recent elections in India and South Africa serve as "a warning that Joe Biden is highly vulnerable as an incumbent at a time of high dissatisfaction, something that may lead many to either stay home or vote for Donald Trump." "The 'age' issue only makes a bad situation worse for Biden," Haass added. Biden allies who spoke with NBC News said there were differentiating factors in the U.S. that had them feeling more positive. For one, the U.S. economy is stronger than the economies across Western Europe — even as many Americans are expressing similar levels of dissatisfaction. Biden backers predict that as the economy continues its post-Covid rebound, that sentiment will bounce back as well ahead of November. What’s more, Trump, a former president who has inspired deep feelings in the American electorate, is no blank slate or relatively lesser-known challenger like other incumbents have faced. Different electoral and governmental systems can’t be discounted, either. "Folks have been looking for signs to confirm what they're looking to report," said David McGonigal, an associate director at National Security Action, a group that seeks to boost Biden’s foreign policy agenda. "People are very eager to write off Democrats in November, to say that elections abroad are spelling bad news for Biden’s chances in November. This is at least one piece of evidence to the contrary." Bremmer said the anti-incumbent energy is strong enough that it could engulf not only Biden but a potential replacement, should Biden depart the race, because voters may tie them together. At the same time, he said the U.S. could "easily be an exception" to this trend because of the deep political divisions that exist there. "So few seats and so few votes are actually up for grabs," Bremmer said. "And because Trump is almost uniquely unpopular as an outsider." The international right has amassed new clout amid the wave of anti-incumbent sentiment. Nigel Farage, a Trump ally and darling of the right wing, saw his Reform U.K. party capture roughly 14% of the vote in the United Kingdom, winning seats in Parliament for the first time. In last month’s European Parliament elections, Germany's far-right AfD party saw huge gains, as did National Rally, which sparked Macron to call the snap domestic elections. Meanwhile, right-wing parties throughout Europe are seeking to form a coalition that could increase their influence in that body should it be formally recognized by the European Parliament. "The tide is rising," Marine Le Pen, National Rally’s longtime leader, said following the French vote Sunday. "It didn’t rise high enough this time, but it’s still rising. And as a result, our victory, in reality, is only delayed." Macron’s move to call snap elections after National Rally's surge in the European Parliament elections amounted to a gamble that French voters would not want to hand over power to the untested and staunchly anti-immigrant right-wing party, particularly with the Olympics about to get underway. National Rally's momentum was thwarted when left-wing and centrist candidates across the country put aside differences and urged unity against the far right, a long-standing practice in France referred to as the “cordon sanitaire.” Many candidates ended up dropping out of three-way races, giving their left-wing or centrist opponent a bigger lane to keep the right-wing candidate at bay. But with Macron’s group losing 76 seats and finishing third in the popular vote, it was clear the electorate wasn't very interested in maintaining the status quo even if it also wasn’t game to elevate the National Rally to power. "With this vote, whether on the right or on the left, [people] were very strongly against the establishment," said Alexandre Pesey, founder and executive director of the Institut de Formation Politique, a conservative training institute in Paris. Gérard Araud, the former French ambassador to the U.S., said the political realities in France and the U.S. were "striking" in their similarities. "It’s the same rebellion of 35% of our citizens who are simply saying: 'We want to toss the table. We don’t have access to the table anymore,'" Araud said. "The problem is we, the elite, we really shouldn’t really frown upon these people. They feel our contempt. And in a sense, they are rejoicing at our anger or our grief. All our indignation is rejoicing them. So in a sense, we really should listen to them." Even as both Macron and Biden pursued immigration policy changes — though not as substantial as their right-wing critics have advocated for — their actions have swayed few on the issue. Pointing to other policy initiatives, Araud said Biden and his administration have sought to address the concerns of disaffected people. "The problem is, the Biden administration has tried to respond to their concerns with reindustrialization, with the Inflation Reduction Act," Araud said. "Apparently, it doesn’t work."
Apple settles EU case by opening its iPhone payment system to rivals 2024-07-11 18:35:00+00:00 - The EU on Thursday accepted Apple’s pledge to open its “tap to pay” iPhone payment system to rivals as a way to resolve an antitrust case and head off a potentially hefty fine. The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm and top antitrust enforcer, said it approved the commitments that Apple offered earlier this year and will make them legally binding. Regulators had accused Apple in 2022 of abusing its dominant position by limiting access to its mobile payment technology. Apple responded by proposing in January to allow third-party mobile wallet and payment service providers access to the contactless payment function in its iOS operating system. After Apple tweaked its proposals following testing and feedback, the commission said those “final commitments” would address its competition concerns. “Today’s commitments end our Apple Pay investigation,” Margrethe Vestager, the commission’s executive vice-president for competition policy, told a press briefing in Brussels. “The commitments bring important changes to how Apple operates in Europe to the benefit of competitors and customers.” Apple said in a prepared statement that it is “providing developers in the European Economic Area with an option to enable NFC [near-field communication] contactless payments and contactless transactions” for uses like car keys, corporate badges, hotel keys and concert tickets. Competition watchdogs on both sides of the Atlantic have been investigating Apple’s payment tech. A sweeping justice department lawsuit filed in March accuses the company of engineering an illegal monopoly in smartphones, including charges that it limits access to contactless payment for third-party digital wallets. The EU deal promises more choice for Europeans. Vestager said iPhone users will be able to set a default wallet of their choice while mobile wallet developers will be able to use important iPhone verification functions like Face ID. The commission had charged the company with denying others access to Apple Pay, which it said is the biggest NFC-based mobile wallet on the market. Mobile wallets rely on NFC, which uses a chip to wirelessly communicate with a merchant’s payment terminal. Analysts said there would be big financial incentives for companies to use their own wallets rather than letting Apple act as the middleman, resulting in savings that could trickle down to consumers. Apple charges banks 0.15% for each credit card transaction that goes through Apple Pay, according to the justice department’s lawsuit. Apple must open up its payment system in the EU’s 27 countries plus Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein by 25 July. skip past newsletter promotion Sign up to TechScape Free weekly newsletter Alex Hern's weekly dive in to how technology is shaping our lives 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 “As of this date, developers will be able to offer a mobile wallet on the iPhone with the same ‘tap-and-go’ experience that so far has been reserved for Apple Pay,” Vestager said. The changes will remain in force for a decade and will be monitored by a trustee. Breaches of EU competition law can draw fines worth up to 10% of a company’s annual global revenue, which in Apple’s case could have amounted to tens of billions of euros. “The main advantage to the issuer bank of supporting an alternative to Apple Pay via iPhone is the reduction in fees incurred, which can be substantial,” said Philip Benton, a principal analyst at research and advisory firm Omdia. To encourage iPhone users to switch away from Apple Pay to another mobile wallet, “the fee reduction needs to be partially passed onto the consumer” through benefits like cashback or loyalty rewards, he said. Banks and consumers could also benefit in other ways. If companies use their own apps for tap-and-go payments, they would get “full visibility” of their customers’ transactions, said Ben Wood, chief analyst at CCS Insight. That data would allow them to “build brand loyalty and trust and offer more personalised services, rewards and promotions directly to the user”, he said.
Some smaller news outlets in swing states can’t afford election coverage. AP is helping them 2024-07-11 18:29:12+00:00 - NEW YORK (AP) — Many of the swing states in this fall’s election contain small, independent news organizations that can’t afford comprehensive election coverage. The Associated Press said Thursday that it will help them in coming weeks and months. Newsrooms that are members of the Institute for Nonprofit News or Local Independent Online News Publishers and are based in Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Arizona and Nevada will be able to get AP campaign coverage this summer and fall along with detailed counts of what happens on election night, AP said. The move comes through a $1.5 million grant from the Knight Foundation, a nonprofit that funds journalism endeavors. The Institute for Nonprofit News estimated that some 50 of its members would be eligible for the material. The publishers group said that all but a few of its 140 members in those states would qualify. Through a Google News Initiative announced earlier this year, the AP is providing election night information — vote counts and charts — to some 100 small newsrooms across the country, and more are eligible. Thursday’s announcement broadens that to the election’s runup as well. “Members of the INN Network regularly do the most consequential journalism around, and are sometimes the only source of accurate, independent coverage in a community,” said Jonathan Kealing, chief network officer of the Institute for Nonprofit News. “This collaboration with AP will allow them to augment their own essential local coverage with the AP’s vast array of election reporting and resources.” In a certain sense, the project could enable AP to reach some news consumers it may have lost earlier this year: The Gannett and McClatchy news chains, with more than 230 outlets across the country, said in March they would no longer use AP journalism because of financial pressure on the news industry. There was no immediate information available on whether the AP-Knight collaboration would spread beyond the swing states. The initiative is among a total of $6.9 million that Knight is spending to provide political data, polling and training to newsrooms this elections season. ___ David Bauder writes about media for the AP. Follow him at http://twitter.com/dbauder.
Biden’s Pick to Lead F.D.I.C. Faces Little Resistance in Senate Hearing 2024-07-11 18:16:17.116000+00:00 - With a broad smile and crisply delivered answers, Christy Goldsmith Romero, President Biden’s nominee to take over the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, appeared to cruise through her Senate confirmation hearing on Thursday. Ms. Goldsmith Romero’s testimony, before the Senate Banking Committee, is the first step in a process that could put her in charge of the regulator that oversees smaller banks, administers the fund that protects bank depositors’ cash and steps in when a bank fails; it was recently roiled by revelations of widespread sexual harassment and abuse of junior employees by their longtime managers. Over the course of the hearing on Thursday, Ms. Goldsmith Romero’s testimony drew praise not only from Democrats but also from some Republicans, suggesting that she was likely to be confirmed for the position. Ms. Goldsmith Romero is a lawyer who, after the financial crisis, spent more than 12 years in an office created by Congress to investigate fraud and other misconduct by banks that received money from the government’s roughly $450 billion crisis rescue package. Her work exposing fraud often put her at odds with not only bankers but also some government officials who were concerned about the potential damage it would do to overall public opinion of the bailout.
Labour faces legal dilemma over plan for immediate ban on new North Sea licences 2024-07-11 18:07:00+00:00 - The Labour government is grappling with a legal dilemma over its plan to impose an immediate ban on new North Sea oil and gas exploration before the industry’s latest licensing round closes. The party swept to power last week with the pledge to end new North Sea exploration licences but its plans have been cast into doubt by the timing of an ongoing licensing round. The new government will need to decide whether or not to cancel the process, which could end up granting a small number of new North Sea licences in breach of its pledge to end new oil and gas exploration. But cancelling the mechanism, which is run by the industry regulator, the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA), could leave the new government vulnerable to a volley of legal actions from the companies, which may have spent millions preparing their bids. The government is expected to take legal advice on how to implement its North Sea policy, without risking a legal challenge from oil and gas companies, before taking a final decision on the live licensing round. Tessa Khan, the executive director of Uplift, which campaigns against fossil fuels, said it would be “shocking” if a newly elected government failed to deliver on a manifesto pledge to stop North Sea development. “People in this country voted for change, not more of the same rip-off energy system where oil and gas companies walk off with massive profits and we’re all left with higher bills, declining jobs and a worsening climate crisis,” she said. “Finally, we have a government that is prepared to move the UK to a better, fairer energy system,.” Ministers are also under pressure from trade unions to safeguard millions of jobs that rely on the North Sea industry while they switch to greener sectors. The Labour party manifesto said it would “ensure a phased and responsible” transition away from drilling in the North Sea that would recognise “the proud history of our offshore industry and the brilliance of its workforce”. Labour’s pledge to end new North Sea drilling was central to its promise to turn Britain into a clean energy superpower. The party promised to rule out new oil and gas while doubling onshore wind, tripling solar power and quadrupling the UK’s offshore wind power capacity. A government spokesperson said: “As previously stated, we will not issue new licences to explore new fields. We will also not revoke existing oil and gas licences and will manage existing fields for the entirety of their lifespan.” The government was forced to deny reports that the energy secretary, Ed Miliband, had defied his own officials by ordering an immediate ban on new licences, including those still being considered by the regulator. The spokesperson said the report, published in the Daily Telegraph, was a “complete fabrication” which “invents meetings and decisions that have not taken place”. 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 “We are working with the North Sea Transition Authority to ensure a fair and balanced transition in the North Sea,” the spokesperson added. The latest licensing round, which launched in the autumn of 2023, involved 76 oil and gas companies submitting 115 bids to carry out exploration work across 257 “blocks” of the North Sea, Irish Sea and east Atlantic. However, bids for a small number of fields were still awaiting a decision from the NSTA when Rishi Sunak called the snap election in May. In the same month the NSTA said: “Further consideration is being given to a small number of remaining applications and a few more may be offered at a later date.” A spokesperson for the NSTA declined to comment on the regulator’s previous statement. He said: “We follow the policy direction set by the government of the day.”
Water bills in England and Wales: how much more might you be paying? 2024-07-11 18:00:00+00:00 - Consumers face a sharp rise in water costs after the industry regulator gave permission for companies to increase bills to pay for stopping sewage spills and fixing leaking pipes. Ofwat published its assessment of English and Welsh suppliers’ spending plans for 2025-30 on Thursday, ruling that they could put bills up by an average of £94 over the next five years – about a third less than the amount they had proposed. So how much are bills going up in your area and will it be enough to fund the investment your local water and wastewater company needs? Thames Water Ofwat took the unprecedented step of putting Thames into a form of special measures, meaning the debt-saddled supplier – which has said it could run out of money by next June without a cash injection from investors – will face increased scrutiny. Britain’s biggest water company will attempt to find new investors to fund the plan, as it aims to stave off a potential temporary nationalisation. It has been allowed to spend £16.9bn of a proposed nearly £22bn. Southern Water Ofwat also criticised Southern, saying its business plan “fell short” of minimum expectations, but still allowed it the biggest bill increase in the country. In 2021, Southern received a £1bn cash injection to save it from possible renationalisation, and it has been repeatedly criticised for sewage dumping in bathing waters. It will be allowed to spend £6.9bn, 12% lower than it proposed, but including expenditure on an underground pipeline to connect a proposed reservoir in Oxfordshire via the Thames, as well as a water recycling plant in Hampshire to tackle shortages in the region. Severn Trent Its business plan was rated “outstanding” and the company raised £1bn last year to help fund it. It asked for £12.9bn and will be allowed £11.8bn, including £4.8bn on new assets and service improvements, such as better water quality. It will also tackle storm overflows and reducing nutrient pollution. United Utilities The company – which has faced anger over sewage dumping in Windermere – will be allowed to spend £12bn of the £13.7bn it requested. Projects include a £1bn project to improve the Haweswater aqueduct, a huge water pipeline from the Lake District to Lancashire and Greater Manchester. South West Water In an area of the country characterised by beach sewage spills and increasing pressure on resources from population growth and tourism, the company is being allowed to spend £3.6bn, 7% less than proposed. It will work on projects including a £839m programme to build a new reservoir filled from Cheddar springs and the River Axe, and a separate reservoir scheme to repurpose a quarry in the Mendip hills. Yorkshire Water Ofwat said the company could deliver projects and services for £909m less than it asked for, allowing it to spend £7.3bn. Its work will include reducing sewage spills and cutting the amount of phosphorus entering rivers. 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 Northumbrian Water Northumbrian is being allowed to spend £5.7bn, 7% lower than it proposed. The company has been criticised for refusing to release details about the scale of raw sewage discharges into the North Sea. Ofwat hopes Northumbrian can reduce pollution incidents by 30% by investing £882m to tackle storm overflows. Wessex Water Ofwat said Wessex’s plan showed a “poor level of ambition” and did not meet “quality expectations despite opportunities to make improvements”. The company has only been allowed to spend £3.7bn, 34% lower than its plan, and bills will fall by £12 on average. Wessex is tasked with cutting pollution incidents by 30%, a more stretching target than it had set itself. It will also develop a project to recycle wastewater from a treatment works via a wetland and the River Stour. Anglian Water Anglian has the green light to spend £9.4bn, 4% lower than it had proposed. It plans to spend £562m on storm tanks and infrastructure to increase storage capacity by the equivalent of 112 Olympic-sized swimming pools, in an effort to reduce storm overflows by 37%. It hopes to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 15%. Dŵr Cymru The company has been allowed to spend £5.2bn, 12% lower than proposed. Ofwat wants to see a 35% reduction in leakage and for it to help customers reduce their water use by 15%. A significant project will see Dŵr Cymru focus on improving the water quality in special area of conservation (SAC) rivers, of which there are nine in Wales – the Cleddau, Eden, Gwyrfai, Teifi, Tywi, Glaslyn, Dee, Usk and Wye. Hafren Dyfrdwy Ofwat will allow the Welsh company to spend £226m over the next five years, 14% lower than it proposed. It plans to replace 15,430 water meters with smart meters during the period, and is spending £2m to enhance its septic tank treatment site.
Marathon Oil reaches $241 million settlement with EPA for environmental violations in North Dakota 2024-07-11 17:46:59+00:00 - The federal government announced a $241.5 million settlement with Marathon Oil on Thursday for alleged air quality violations at the company’s oil and gas operations on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation in North Dakota. The Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Justice said the settlement requires Marathon to reduce climate- and health-harming emissions from those facilities and will result in over 2.3 millions tons worth of pollution reduction. “This historic settlement — the largest ever civil penalty for violations of the Clean Air Act at stationary sources — will ensure cleaner air for the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation and other communities in North Dakota, while holding Marathon accountable for its illegal pollution,” said Attorney General Merrick Garland. Marathon officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Houston-based Marathon operates 169 well pads in North Dakota, where the company extracts oil and natural gas. A proposed consent decree for implementing the settlement says the company does not admit any liability over the allegations, but that the two sides agree it will avoid litigation and serve the public interest. A spokesperson for the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation based at the Fort Berthold Reservation did not immediately respond to a request for comment either. While Marathon is the country’s 22nd-largest oil producer based on 2022 data, the federal agencies said, it’s also the seventh-largest emitter of greenhouse gas emissions in the oil and gas industry. Much of its emissions come from flaring, the industry practice of burning waste gases, including methane, which the EPA says is 25 times more potent of a contributor to climate change than carbon dioxide. While flaring burns off methane and other pollutants, it’s not completely efficient, so significant quantities still get released into the atmosphere, which the agencies said can have health impacts on nearby communities. The settlement is part of an EPA climate change enforcement initiative that focuses in part on reducing methane emissions from oil and gas production and from landfills. It calls for Marathon to eliminate the equivalent of over 2.25 million tons of carbon-dioxide emissions over the next five years, which the agencies said was tantamount to taking 487,000 cars off the road for one year, and will also eliminate nearly 110,000 tons of volatile organic compound emissions, which contribute to asthma and other respiratory diseases. “This settlement is a major win for the health and future of our Tribal communities, including people and families who are often overburdened by pollution,” said KC Becker, the EPA’s regional administrator. “As a result of the agreement, Marathon has and will continue to take comprehensive measures to come into compliance and reduce harmful emissions across hundreds of production sources. These investments will improve air quality and reduce respiratory illnesses across the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation and western North Dakota.” The agencies said the case is the first of its kind against an oil and gas producer for “violations of major source emissions permitting requirements under the Clean Air Act’s Prevention of Significant Deterioration program.” They also said the $64.5 million civil penalty Marathon must pay is the largest-ever penalty imposed for “stationary source violations,” which include facilities such as oil and gas tank systems. The settlement is the largest of 12 similar efforts by the Biden administration to target emissions from the oil and gas industry, with a penalty that’s more than double the 11 previous settlements combined, according to David Uhlmann, EPA assistant administrator for the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. Marathon also agreed to invest $177 million in extensive compliance measures, much of of it by the end of the year, that the agencies said will “significantly reduce” harmful emissions from 169 existing facilities on state land and on the reservation, as well as at new facilities built in North Dakota. The settlement is part of a complaint and proposed consent decree officially filed Thursday in federal court in North Dakota. The complaint alleges that Clean Air Act violations at nearly 90 Marathon facilities resulted in thousands of tons of illegal pollution. And it alleges that Marathon submitted artificially low estimates of its emissions to avoid permitting requirements. The consent decree is subject to a 30-day public comment period, but the settlement was welcomed by environmental watchdogs. “It’s encouraging to see EPA holding Marathon accountable for flagrant violations of the Clean Air Act,” Jen Duggan, executive director of the Environmental Integrity Project, said in a statement. “Failing to obtain permits for dozens of oil and gas operations, and releasing thousands of tons of illegal air pollution as a result, is irresponsible and endangers air quality, public health and the global climate. These penalties, along with requirements to reduce pollution, should send a warning signal to other oil companies that don’t follow the rules.” In May, ConocoPhillips said it was buying Marathon Oil in an all-stock deal valued at about $17.1 billion. The deal, worth $22.5 billion when including $5.4 billion in debt, comes as energy prices have surged and big oil companies have reaped huge profits. The acquisition was expected to close by the end of the year. In its latest financial report, Marathon said it earned $297 million in the three-month period that ended March 31, posting revenue of $1.55 billion. Thursday’s settlement did not appear to rattle investors. Marathon’s stock closed up 1.6% Thursday. It has risen about 18% so far this year. ___ AP writer Richard Jacobsen in San Francisco contributed to this report.
Amazon Prime Day presents opportunities for shoppers, and scammers too 2024-07-11 17:46:00+00:00 - Amazon Prime Day offers consumers deep discounts on appliances, electronics and other products, but it also provides an opportunity for cybercriminals to take advantage of their affinity for a good deal. Bad actors are known to prey on shoppers' eagerness to buy online during the retail holiday, which is one of the most anticipated shopping events of the year. Indeed, Amazon said scams tend to spike around the event, which this year will take place July 16 and 17. Last year, around Prime Day, Amazon shoppers reported three times as many scams as usual to the company. Customer reports of bad actors trying to dupe them rose from roughly 5,000 a week to more than 14,000 a week, Scott Knapp, Amazon's director of worldwide buyer risk prevention told CBS News. Criminals target consumers by email, text message, and even phone, according to Knapp. Notably, there's been a recent uptick in cybercriminals successfully deceiving consumers by phone. Fake product reviews, phishing and "smishing" attempts, whereby criminals send shoppers links used to steal their information, aren't unique to Amazon or Prime Day. They typically spike around any big sales event, including Black Friday or the Christmas shopping season, according to the Better Business Bureau (BBB). "More deals are great for consumers, and more people out shopping is great for businesses large and small. Just be careful, and don't get so caught up in the excitement that you fall for phishing scams, misleading advertisements and lookalike websites," the BBB warns. Counterfeit products In addition to criminals creating fake websites to try to obtain Prime members' personal information, they also pose as legitimate third-party sellers on Amazon.com, but hawk fake merchandise. "The only sure thing about the marketplace is that any big shopping event is associated with a rise and influx in the availability of counterfeit products," Saleem Alhabash, professor of digital advertising at Michigan State University. "There is always market awareness by counterfeiters that these are high-volume days — and from a psychological perspective, consumers know there's a time limit for getting that good deal, and scammers harp on that in making the counterfeit product available." An abnormally low price for an expensive product could be a telltale sign a product is inauthentic. Of course, that's harder to detect during Prime Day, when shoppers expect deeply discounted prices on popular goods. "In terms of spotting malicious activity, we say that if you see an expensive brand offered at a much lower price that seems too good to believe, that's a red flag," Alhabash said. "But that can be tricky with a sales event like Prime Day, because the whole idea is to sell things at lower prices." Cybercriminals are using Amazon Prime Day as an opportunity to ratchet up the types of scams they target consumers with year round. There is a wide range of fraudulent activity to be alert to this year. The high volume of third-party sellers on Amazon.com also presents an opportunity for scammers to pose as legitimate businesses. Oftentimes, they purport to be selling a hot product, like a stick vacuum cleaner or high-end blender, but after taking consumers' credit card information they'll send them a subpar knockoff, or nothing at all. "They present as sellers of brand name products, and they charge a lot of money," said Ram Bala, associate professor of AI & analytics at the Leavey School of Business at Santa Clara University. "As the number of sellers has increased, it's harder to keep track of who is a scammer and who isn't." Amazon's Knapp said the company has "zero tolerance" for counterfeit products in its store, and removes knockoffs from its site as soon as it identifies them. "Then we go after bad actors who try to sell counterfeit in the store," Knapp said. Additionally, to date, Amazon has taken action against more than 40,000 phishing websites and 10,000 scammy phone numbers. AI reviews Fake reviews have also proliferated online, aided by generative AI tools like ChatGPT that make it easy for cybercriminals to rapidly produce product reviews. "If a consumer is looking at a review right now, they may be AI-generated or augmented," Saoud Khalifah, founder of Fakespot, told CBS MoneyWatch. "People are using tools like ChatGPT to help them with their jobs, but they're being used to write reviews, too." Still, fake reviews are likely to be riddled with grammatical errors and contain sentences that don't make sense. They also tend to be vague and lack details about the product they relate to, according to Khalifah. Sellers of fake products often generate dozens of fake reviews to draw attention to their pages. If an item has 100 five-star reviews generated in the span of a day, that may be a tip off that they're not authentic. According to Fakespot, categories of products that are relatively insulated from fake reviews include Apple products, video game chairs, computers and books. Bluetooth headphones, clothes, stick vacuums and electric brooms typically have the most fake reviews, as do cheaper electronics, in the $30 - $50 range. "That's because it's a highly competitive category, with so many products and sellers competing with each other, and the listing that wins out is the one with the most reviews," Khalifah said. Phishing and smishing scams Phishing scams and so-called smishing scams, in which criminals make contact via SMS or text message, are abundant and can be highly sophisticated, too. "Scammers are refining their techniques, and the most common scam type is they are creating fake websites that are Amazon lookalikes in order to get you to engage in a fraudulent loop," Zulfikar Ramzan, chief scientist at Aura, told CBS MoneyWatch. Phishing emails could offer consumers fake deals, and direct them to a website that appears to be Amazon, but is in fact a replica. Signs of a scammy website can be found in its URL. It might contain Amazon somewhere in the address, but with a zero could in the place of the letter "o," for example. "The only apparent distinction could be in the address bar at top," Ramzan said. "Before you make your purchase, triple check to make sure you're not purchasing from a site other than Amazon.com. Scammers could have Amazon somewhere in the address, but it won't be in the right place." Avoid accidentally visiting copycat sites altogether by accessing the store through Amazon's app, Ramzan advises. "Don't click a link in an email and expect it to take you to a legitimate site." The BBB warns that "photos can be stolen from other websites, so don't believe what you see. If logos or other images on the website appear blurry, take that as a red flag for a scam." Amazon's Knapp said criminals most often attempt to obtain Prime members' credentials by claiming that an order needs to be confirmed, or that they need to re-instate their Prime memberships. An email or text from a cybercriminal might tell its recipient that there's a problem with an order, and that they must click on a link to verify their address or credit card info. It's phony, and criminals do this to collect personal information. Similarly, they prey on shoppers' eagerness to get deals before they expire by telling victims there's a problem with their Prime membership, and that they must hand over their credit card details to reinstate the membership so they can shop for deals on Prime Day. "These messages are all variations on things we've classically seen," Knapp said.
Rachel Reeves to announce economic advisory council to boost UK growth 2024-07-11 17:29:00+00:00 - Rachel Reeves is poised to announce the creation of a new council of economic advisers to help guide Labour’s number one “national mission” of expanding the economy. After last week’s general election landslide, the chancellor of the exchequer has lined up the appointment of a leading academic from the London School of Economics (LSE) to chair the council, which will help to inform the government’s growth policies. John Van Reenen, an innovation expert and former Downing Street policy adviser under Tony Blair’s New Labour government, will head the body, which is expected to sit within the heart of the Treasury. Sources close to the government said there would be three other members of the council from the outset, including Anna Valero, a senior policy fellow at the LSE who has worked closely with Van Reenen for more than a decade. An academic with a focus on productivity, Valero was a member of Jeremy Hunt’s economic advisory council, convened by the former chancellor in the wake of Liz Truss’s disastrous mini-budget in an attempt to rebuild confidence in financial markets. Hunt quietly disbanded the council last year. Valero was among a group of leading economists to endorse Labour’s plans for the economy in a letter to the Guardian before the general election. Reeves’s ambition for the council is to draw a wide range of perspectives on the economy from leading independent experts, the sources said. The new chancellor has promised to usher in a “decade of national renewal” by fixing the foundations of the economy. Two of Reeves’s closest advisers who worked with the chancellor on Labour’s preparations for government, Spencer Thompson and Neil Amin-Smith, will also be appointed to the new body. Thompson, a former economist at the Institute for Public Policy Research thinktank, has advised Labour on economic policy since 2020. Amin-Smith was the violin player in the electropop band Clean Bandit before leaving behind Glastonbury and Grammy awards in 2016 for a career at the Institute for Fiscal Studies. A Cambridge-educated economist, he joined Labour from the Treasury two years ago. 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 As well as creating the council, Labour is reshaping the machinery of Whitehall to help deliver its agenda for government. This includes the formation of “mission delivery boards”, which are expected to include senior figures from the worlds of business and economics, and other specialist fields. A Treasury spokesperson said formal appointments were yet to be announced.
Philadelphia labor union powerbroker gets 6 years for bribery and theft 2024-07-11 17:16:50+00:00 - READING, Pa. (AP) — A former Philadelphia labor leader who wielded significant clout in Pennsylvania politics was sentenced on Thursday to six years in prison for bribing a City Council member and stealing nearly $600,000 from the union he ran for nearly three decades. John Dougherty, 64, was convicted in December of embezzlement, conspiracy and dozens of other counts in a 2019 indictment, which accused him of using the politically powerful electricians’ union as his “personal bank account” and a source of jobs for family and friends. In 2021, a separate jury convicted Dougherty of bribing a City Council member to do the union’s bidding. Dougherty apologized before the judge for his conduct, saying he “got out of control.” “I’m here to take full responsibility. It’s embarrassing. I’m sick,” Dougherty said. Noting that he’d been under federal investigation for years, he said: “I knew better, I let the lines get blurred, I got over my head.” Dougherty still has influential backers. His brother — Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Kevin Dougherty — was in the packed courtroom gallery Thursday as supporters took the stand and testified about the defendant’s charitable works, his staunch union advocacy and his devotion to family. Dougherty received nearly 250 letters of support from political and civic figures, including one from former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell — who served two terms as Philadelphia’s mayor — and another from Sister Mary Scullion, a much-admired homeless advocate in the city. U.S. District Judge Jeffrey L. Schmehl, who handed down the sentence in federal court in Reading, said it was clear that Dougherty had done many good things for the community and the union rank-and-file as he built Local 98 into a powerhouse. “But somewhere along that trip you lost your way,” the judge said. “You really did lose your way. You lost your integrity and you lost your responsibility.” Dougherty must report to prison by Sept. 4. Schmehl has not yet determined how much restitution he owes. Prosecutors asked that he repay $2.1 million to Local 98 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, where Dougherty served as business manager from 1993 until his 2021 resignation. They had pushed for a 14-year prison term, saying Dougherty systematically ripped off the electricians’ union and deprived the citizens of Philadelphia of the right to honest service from the elected official he bribed. Dougherty was so powerful that no one in his orbit questioned his conduct, and he threatened retaliation against anyone perceived as disloyal, Assistant U.S. Attorney Frank Costello said in court Thursday. “The defendant has shown little if any remorse or responsibility,” Costello said. Known as “Johnny Doc,” Dougherty was a longtime power broker in Democratic politics, steering tens of millions in union campaign contributions to candidates for office, including his brother, who was elected to the state’s high court in 2015. Federal prosecutors said Dougherty also used the union’s money to buy groceries, restaurant meals, tickets to concerts and sporting events, and other personal items. He paid contractors with union funds for work on his house, his relatives’ houses and a neighborhood bar he owned, and arranged for friends and family members to be on the union payroll, according to the indictment. A co-defendant in last year’s trial, former union president Brian Burrows, was sentenced last month to four years in prison. Dougherty also was convicted of bribing Philadelphia council member Bobby Henon. Prosecutors said Dougherty gave Henon a no-show union job. Henon subsequently held up a lucrative cable contract for Comcast Corp. — forcing Comcast to steer electrical work to Dougherty’s friend — and took other official actions under Dougherty’s sway. Henon was sentenced to 3 1/2 years in prison. “Henon did whatever Dougherty wanted. He got what he paid for,” said Costello, the prosecutor. A third criminal case against Dougherty, involving extortion charges, ended in a hung jury in April. Dougherty’s lawyers acknowledged the labor boss had abused his position of trust in the 5,000-member local, but said he performed “tremendous and tireless work” on its behalf. The defense also said Dougherty provides daily care for his gravely ill wife. “I know my dad is far from perfect. I understand and believe in the idea of accountability,” his daughter, Erin Dougherty, said on the witness stand. But she begged the judge to sentence her father to home confinement so he could continue to tend to her mother.