Can a “boneless chicken wing” truly be called a wing? That’s the question posed by a new class-action lawsuit filed last week in federal court by a Chicago man who purchased a round of boneless wings in January at a Buffalo Wild Wings in Mount Prospect, Ill. Based on the name and description of the […]
Category: Business
Biden to America: Tax the rich but bail them out
Suddenly, no one is all that certain about the financial health of regional banks in the United States. Over the course of the weekend, the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank went from a big financial story that might warrant an explainer in this newsletter to a big national story with potentially far-reaching ramifications for the […]
Meet SVB’s ‘Woke’ board of directors
One is a Hillary Clinton mega-donor who went to a Shinto shrine to pray after Donald Trump won the White House. Another worked for President Obama before her own political career spectacularly failed. A third is a prolific contributor to Democrats, including Nancy Pelosi — who owns a Napa Valley vineyard just 15 minutes from […]
White House to U.S.-‘Don’t call it a Bailout’
After Silicon Valley Bank careened off a cliff last week, jittery venture capitalists and tech startup leaders pleaded with the Biden administration for help, but they made one point clear: “We are not asking for a bank bailout,” more than 5,000 tech CEOs and founders begged. On the same day the U.S. government announced extraordinary […]
What role did ESG & DEI play in bank failures?
Three USA-based banks have failed in four days. All of the banks appeared to have been hiring managers for their “identity,” rather than for skill, and were investing heavily in the environmental, social, and governance priorities known as ESG and in the diversity, equity, inclusion priorities known as DEI. They are now being rescued by […]
Biden to approve major Alaska drilling project
The Biden administration is soon set to approve ConocoPhillips’ Willow Project, a major oil drilling project on Alaska’s North Slope, according to a congressional source familiar with the details. The decision will be announced next week, the source confirmed. The expected approval is a victory for Alaska’s bipartisan congressional delegation and a coalition of Alaska […]
Biden’s America: Bank lines today, bread lines tomorrow
First Republic Bank customers lined up to withdraw their money Saturday as fears of a more significant banking crisis have spread throughout the industry. In what looks an awful lot like the lead-up to the banking crisis in 2008, trading in several regional U.S. banks was halted on Friday amid a massive sell-off after the […]
Market will have to crash for Congress to raise debt limit
There’s one way to force President Joe Biden and Congress to solve the looming crisis over the debt limit: a financial market crash. That’s a view held by several economists and a former White House official, mindful that Congress rarely acts unless an emergency forces lawmakers to. “For that drama not ending in tragedy, key […]
‘Bank run’ collapses Silicon Valley lender
A bank that caters to many of the world’s most powerful tech investors collapsed on Friday and was taken over by federal regulators, becoming one of the largest lenders to fail since the 2008 Global Financial Crisis. California’s banking regulators shut down Silicon Valley Bank and put it into receivership under the Federal Deposit Insurance […]
Are movie theatres a thing of the past?
George Mitchell’s family owned a movie theater in Niantic, Connecticut, that they were forced to close after the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a significant decline in business. “When the pandemic came, our business dropped to zero,” Mitchell said. “It was the end.” But while COVID-19 dealt the final blow to some theaters like the Mitchells’, […]
50% of U.S. say they’re worse off than last year
Following a year marked by record inflation, rising interest rates and a volatile stock market, many Americans found themselves in a worse financial situation at the start of 2023. In fact, 50% of Americans said they are worse off than they were a year ago, according to a Gallup poll conducted in January, only the […]
Biden’s decision on massive Alaska oil project set for this week
As Alaska awaits a decision from President Biden on a major oil and gas development project, the president of the state’s largest labor union is urging the president to approve the plan to build a sustainable “climate future.” “We hope that he will find it in our favor and we’ll be able to develop this […]