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Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Billionaire Mark Cuban says President Trump is wrong to the think the economy can open up as early as May 1. And when it does open, it will take years to return to post-pandemic norms. “I wish he was right, but he’s not,” Cuban said in an interview on Sunday with Chris Wallace of FOX News Sunday. “People aren’t going to just venture outside. They're not going to go to large gatherings. They're not going to feel confident right off the bat. There’s going to be a lot of trepidation. And that concern is going to lead to people holding back on spending money,” he says. Some people are appalled by the rising stock market as unemployment explodes — over 16 million people have filed for unemployment in just 15 business days due to mandated government shutdowns of business. Retail, restaurants, travel, sports and entertainment have been particularly hard hit. “It speaks of a vast transfer of wealth orchestrated by the … [Read more...] about Mark Cuban Says Economy Will Never Be The Same Post-Pandemic

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

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

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’

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’

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

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin If you need to replace your gas furnace or air conditioning, you now have a new opportunity to save big on your utility bills. If you can replace your old heating-cooling units with a heat pump, you can qualify for up to $8,000 on the spot in a federal credit. Although the credit is indexed to your income, it’s a major deal on something that will heat and cool your home in one unit. “These heating and cooling systems, once considered useful only in warmer climates, have in the past few years become far more sophisticated,” writes Robert Gebelhoff in The Washington Post . “They are now the best chance we have to phase out fossil fuels as a means of heating and could set the stage for a climate policy revolution.” “For every unit of electricity a heat pump uses,” Gebelhoff notes, “it can generate 2.5 to 5.5 units of heat, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency. In other words, heat pumps have an … [Read more...] about How A Heat Pump Can Deflate Your Utility Bills Big Time

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

“The Office” dominated streaming in 2020. According to The Hollywood Reporter , Nielsen data shows that the NBC classic was the most streamed series of 2020. Last year, it streamed for 57.13 billion minutes on Netflix in the United States, which made it the clear winner. (REVIEW: ‘ Westworld ’ Season 3 Ends With The Possible Deaths Of Multiple Characters) View this post on Instagram A post shared by The Office (@theoffice) As for original content on streaming, “ Ozark ” topped the chart with 30.46 billion minutes streamed. Season three dropped in late March . View this post on Instagram A post shared by OZARK (@ozark) Obviously, “The Office” leading the rankings for 2020 is the least surprising news ever. In fact, I would have been surprised if any other show came out at the top of the list. “The Office” is a classic show with … [Read more...] about ‘The Office’ Was The Most Streamed Show In 2020, ‘Ozark’ Was The Most Streamed Original Series

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin May 2, 2022 4:41pm ET: Story updated. Last month, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) sought public comment on a request from FTX US to modify its derivatives clearing organization (DCO) license to offer a new kind of crypto margin trading to U.S. retail customers. FTX US is requesting the ability to use a new kind of ‘non-intermediated’ model of crypto derivatives trading, meaning there is no intermediary used to hold customer’s funds. As crypto exchanges typically take collateral from the customer directly, the FTX US model would directly custody the margin from retail customers and liquidate positions held by the exchange on a 24-7-365 basis. Under the FTX US model, the customer’s positions will be reviewed for potential margin calls every 30 seconds. Sam Bankman-Fried, the CEO of FTX, recently described this model to Congress as, “...a 24/7 risk engine that is unlike the traditional system where there … [Read more...] about The FTX US Proposal That Shook Congress And The Crypto Derivatives World