Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin TOPLINE As jobless claims surged last week to 22 million nationwide, nearly half of all states have reported double-digit percent losses to the cash reserves they use to pay unemployment claims, according to a new analysis by the Wall Street Journal , raising the possibility that states may need a federal bailout in order to help keep the unemployed afloat. KEY FACTS Nearly 50% of states including California, New York and Massachusetts have drained almost half of their total trust fund reserve in funding unemployment payments for those out-of-work due to the coronaviru pandemic, per WSJ . With unemployment rising week over week, states could run out of money and need loans from the federal government, say economists . While the federal stimulus package pays for an additional $600 per week for those who are out of work due to the crisis,, states still pay the pre-coronavirus unemployment rate to … [Read more...] about Report: States Are Rapidly Draining Their Unemployment Funds
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Checks & Imbalances: Hunter Biden’s Art Price Tag Is ‘Pretty Much Unheard Of’
Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Today we look at Hunter Biden’s controversial art career and examine the Trump Organization’s recent job postings. This is the web edition of the free Checks & Imbalances newsletter, usually sent to inboxes on Fridays. You can subscribe here . Please support this work, if you can, by subscribing to Forbes . Hunter Biden’s Art Price Tag Is ‘Pretty Much Unheard Of’ Reporter Carlie Porterfield joins “Forbes Newsroom” to discuss the Hunter Biden art saga . Tip Me Any tips or suggestions? Email me at [email protected] or call/SMS/Signal 202.804.2744. Follow me on Mastodon at @[email protected] . Thanks! Senate Democrat Michael Bennet Asks Apple And Google To Ban TikTok From App Stores “Colorado Senator Michael Bennet (D) has called on Apple and Google to remove TikTok from their app stores , citing concerns that the app could share private American user data with … [Read more...] about Checks & Imbalances: Hunter Biden’s Art Price Tag Is ‘Pretty Much Unheard Of’
Fair Tax Act Of 2023 Has Rate That Varies
Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin I have been having silly arguments with Fair Tax enthusiasts. The Fair Tax Act of 2023 would be a tremendous simplification of federal taxation. It does not, however, reduce 70,000 pages to 131 and it does not entirely eliminate the Internal Revenue Code. Also it does not abolish the IRS. It renames parts of it and has $10 billion or so, currently spent by the IRS to be spent by numerous state revenue agencies instead. Over my forty year career I have not found state employees to be easier to deal with than federal employees, so I don't see what we would be gaining there. And while much simpler than the current system, there is still some complexity. That is what I would like to tell you about, because some of that complexity is worrisome. All section references are to the Internal Revenue Code of 2023 as specified by the Fair Tax Act of 2023. The Variable Rate Discussions of the sales tax proposed in the … [Read more...] about Fair Tax Act Of 2023 Has Rate That Varies
Norwegian Air Axes Up To 50% Of Employees As Coronavirus Layoffs Begin
Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Topline: As the coronavirus pandemic craters the world’s markets and disrupts the daily lives of millions, Norwegian Air said Thursday it would suspend around 4,000 flights and temporarily lay off up to 50% of its workers as businesses contend with sharp declines in revenue. 40% of Norwegian’s long haul fleet and 25% of its short haul fleet will be grounded until May, according to a press release. 50 employees from the South by Southwest music festival were let go after the 2020 event was canceled. Other layoffs include 145 drivers from the Port of Los Angeles as ships from China stopped arriving, the Washington Post reported . Travel agencies in Los Angeles as well as Atlanta, Georgia, have also laid off workers, as airlines suspend flights (and contend with President Trump’s new Europe travel ban), while a Seattle, Washington hotel chain shuttered an entire department, the Post reported. Christie … [Read more...] about Norwegian Air Axes Up To 50% Of Employees As Coronavirus Layoffs Begin
DNC Approves New Primary Calendar That Bumps Iowa, New Hampshire
The Democratic National Committee (DNC) approved a new calendar for the 2024 presidential primaries Saturday that bumps Iowa and New Hampshire from being the first in the nation, CBS News reported. The calendar gives South Carolina the first presidential primary election on Feb. 3, 2024, followed by New Hampshire and Nevada on Feb. 6, according to CBS News. Georgia and Michigan, swing states carried by President Joe Biden in the 2020 election, also will move up the calendar, while Iowa is completely out of the early primary window. (RELATED: Democratic New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen Snubs White House Over Primary Schedule Change) Iowa and New Hampshire both have laws that require that they hold the first presidential nomination processes of their kind on the books, which could lead to the DNC stripping them of delegates if they defy the primary calendar, CBS reported Friday. Iowa’s and New Hampshire’s members of the DNC voted against the new primary calendar. … [Read more...] about DNC Approves New Primary Calendar That Bumps Iowa, New Hampshire
Forex kitty swells by $8 billion in 2 days: FM shrugs off Adani shock to financial system
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. India has seen its foreign exchange reserve grow by $8 billion over the past few days, despite the Adani group calling off its follow-up issue. This proves that the country’s image remains intact on the global front, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said. The Union minister was addressing the media in a post-Budget meet in Mumbai on February 4. “FPOs (follow-on public offering) come and go. Foreign investors come and go. These fluctuations happen in every market. Our foreign exchange reserve has gone up by $8 billion in the last two days. This proves that our economy’s image and fundamentals have not been affected,” she said. The Reserve Bank of India’s foreign exchange reserves stood at $576.76 billion in the week ended January 27, latest data released by the central bank showed. Data for the past week has not been updated yet. After publication of the Hindenburg report on January 24, Adani group has lost around $117 billion in … [Read more...] about Forex kitty swells by $8 billion in 2 days: FM shrugs off Adani shock to financial system
2022 Year In Review: Crypto Policy Experiences Massive Turbulence In Congress Amid TerraUSD And FTX Failures
Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin What Happened In 2022 Even before a months-long winter engulfed the digital-assets market, 2022 was shaping up as the year that Washington began to get serious about regulating the cryptocurrency business. That resolve was bolstered throughout the year by a series of calamities that included a massive stablecoin failure of terraUSD and the associated luna, with contagion effects that impacted BlockFi, Celsius Network and Voyager Digital exchange that called into question the ability of crypto exchanges to be digital asset custodians that would protect investors’ assets. Essentially, the crypto industry managed to recreate the same risks of the traditional banking system, in which the institutions that were responsible for holding customer’s assets were simultaneously lending funds, leading to leverage, liquidity and capital conflicts. Before the year could end, the third-largest exchange, FTX – previously seen as a … [Read more...] about 2022 Year In Review: Crypto Policy Experiences Massive Turbulence In Congress Amid TerraUSD And FTX Failures
Some Are Clearly Missing The Point Of The 40-Year-Old New Wave Hit ’99 Luftballons’
Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin The suspected Chinese spy balloon – which Beijing maintains is a rogue weather balloon – has led to a serious diplomatic crisis, and even resulted in U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken canceling a weekend trip to China. While the Pentagon has said the balloon poses no threat to the United States, Blinken called the alleged surveillance an "irresponsible act" and a "clear violation of U.S. sovereignty and international law." The balloon's presence over the United States has added to already rising tensions between Washington and Beijing, and both Democratic and Republican lawmakers had been seen to be rather hawkish on China on Friday. Questions were asked about why efforts weren't made to shoot down or otherwise bring down the balloon. However, the timing of the incident could be seen as good news for the German New Wave pop group Nena, which already had plans for a summer European tour . Since the balloon was first … [Read more...] about Some Are Clearly Missing The Point Of The 40-Year-Old New Wave Hit ’99 Luftballons’