Prices for many items continued to rise in the US last month, despite a sharp increase in interest rates to stamp out inflation. The rate of inflation rose at 3.2% over the year to July, driven by higher housing, car insurance and food costs, the Labor Department said. That was up from 3% in June, […]
Category: Business
Older workers near retirement with no savings
A growing number of Americans face the prospect of retiring without a penny in savings. Only 1 in 10 low-income workers between the ages of 51 and 64 had any funds put away for retirement in 2019, compared with 1 in 5 in 2007 prior to the Great Recession, according to a recent analysis […]
US credit downgraded ‘Political Deterioration’ cited
Fitch Ratings has downgraded U.S. credit from the highest rating, citing the nation’s growing debt and its eroding political stability. “In Fitch’s view, there has been a steady deterioration in standards of governance over the last 20 years, including on fiscal and debt matters,” the ratings agency said Tuesday. “The repeated debt-limit political standoffs […]
Biden incandescent light bulb ban begins today
America’s ban on incandescent light bulbs, 16 years in the making, is finally a reality. Well, mostly. A rule issued in 2007, rolled back by the Trump administration, and updated last year by the Biden administration, effectively bans the sale of common incandescent light bulbs. The rule went fully into effect Tuesday, August 1. The […]
China’s latest salvo in the microchip war
China is due to start restricting exports of two materials key to the semiconductor industry, as the chip war with the US heats up. Under the new controls, special licences will be needed to export gallium and germanium from the world’s second largest economy. The materials are used to produce chips and have military applications. […]
Yellow Trucking Co shuttered after 99 years
Yellow Corp., a beleaguered trucking company that was once one of the U.S.’ largest transporters of goods, has ceased operations and is planning to file for bankruptcy, the Teamsters Union said in a statement on Monday. The company operated for nearly 100 years, but its financial challenges snowballed, leading it to accumulate more than […]
Other countries want US de-dollarization
The dollar has been the world’s reserve currency since World War II, but a combination of political and economic reasons is slowly chipping away at its supremacy. Nearly 60% of international reserves are held in dollar-denominated assets, according to the International Monetary Fund. The dollar is also the most widely used currency for trade. Now, […]
What is a ‘Lazy Girl Job’?
A new workplace term is going viral on social media to describe jobs that allow young professionals to achieve the elusive goal of work-life balance: the “lazy girl job.” A number of Generation Z TikTok users are promoting this new approach to work, which bucks the trend of the United States’ always-on, hustle culture that […]
What Recession? US on a Barbie spending spree!
The numbers are in and things look surprisingly rosy for the U.S. economy: The Federal Reserve is still cautious, but big brands – including Coca-Cola, Hilton and Visa — are singing praises to shoppers seemingly undeterred by companies’ raising prices. What’s more, Taylor Swift, Beyoncé and Barbie are enticing people to part with their money, […]
Hollywood’s biggest new star is Jesus
In Midlothian, Texas, about 25 miles south of Dallas, sits a 1,200-acre summer camp run by The Salvation Army. Lately, the lake where kids normally canoe is doubling for the Sea of Galilee. On its banks is a replica of the Biblical village of Capernaum. This is where Jonathan Roumie—when not interrupted by the occasional […]
UPS & teamsters reach deal; strike averted
A strike at shipping giant UPS appears to have been averted in the US, after the company reached a tentative deal with the union that represents much of its staff. The union said the agreement would “set a new standard” for all delivery workers, granting raises, more full-time jobs and “dozens” of new workplace improvements […]
UPS strike set for 1 week away will cost billions
In one week, unionized workers at UPS will walk out if a labor agreement isn’t reached — an action that would have major economic consequences. UPS and the Teamsters union have been in contract negotiations for months, with the union overwhelmingly voting to strike if a deal isn’t inked by July 31. Now, with just […]