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☆ How do we solve a problem like Boeing?
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-13 | by ( Allison Morrow | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

New York CNN —It took decades for Boeing to build a reputation as one of the most reliable companies on the planet. The latest headache for Boeing came Monday, when a 787 Dreamliner flying from Australia to New Zealand plunged suddenly mid-flight, injuring several passengers. It’s not clear what, if any, culpability Boeing has here — it said it’s gathering information about what went wrong. So, how do we solve a problem like Boeing? “This can be really as big as a financial crisis,” considering how many businesses around the world rely on Boeing planes.

Persons: CNN Business ’, Tesla, Brian Jokat, it’s, can’t, ” Gad Allon, “, ” Allon isn’t, Matt Stoller, ” Stoller, that’s, “ There’s, ” Allon Organizations: CNN Business, New York CNN, Boeing, American, Regulators, Latam Airlines, CNN, Wall Street Journal, FAA, Airbus, Pilots, University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business, American Economic Liberties, Boeing isn’t Locations: New York, Australia, New Zealand, American

☆ Facing Another Boeing Crisis, the F.A.A. Takes a Harder Line
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-05 | by ( Mark Walker | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

When a Boeing 737 Max 8 crashed off the coast of Indonesia in 2018, killing all 189 people on board, the Federal Aviation Administration allowed other Max planes to keep flying. Less than five months later, in early 2019, another Max 8 crashed in Ethiopia, killing 157 more people. In early January, when a door panel blew out of a Boeing 737 Max 9 jet, the F.A.A. Within a day, it had grounded scores of similar Max 9 planes. The regulator also opened an investigation into Boeing’s compliance with safety standards and announced an audit of the Max 9 production line.

Persons: Max, ”, William J, McGee Organizations: Boeing, Max, Federal Aviation Administration, American Economic Liberties, Airbus Locations: Indonesia, Ethiopia

Political Cartoons View All 253 ImagesMicrosoft’s years-long relationship with OpenAI is the best known of the partnerships. Google and Amazon have more recently made multibillion-dollar deals with Anthropic, another San Francisco-based AI startup formed by former leaders at OpenAI. The European Union and the United Kingdom have already signaled that they might also scrutinize the relationship with Microsoft and OpenAI. Antitrust advocates welcomed the actions from both the FTC and Europe into the deals that some have derided as quasi-mergers. The companies have 45 days to provide information to the FTC that includes their partnership agreements and the strategic rationale behind them.

Persons: OpenAI, ”, Lina Khan, Khan, Microsoft didn't, Matt Stoller, Satya Nadella, Kara Swisher, Sam Altman, Nadella, “, ” Nadella, Altman’s, It’s, They’re, Kelvin Chan Organizations: Google, Microsoft, U.S . Federal Trade Commission, FTC, Anthropic, OpenAI, European Union, Antitrust, Big Tech, American Economic Liberties, “, Intel, Bloomberg, Economic Locations: San Francisco, United Kingdom, Europe, OpenAI, Davos, Redmond , Washington, Iowa, Switzerland, London

☆ Opinion | Why the Trump Trade Agenda Endures
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-16 | by ( Farah Stockman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

They met in the 1990s, at an event about the North American Free Trade Agreement, where they were the only people arguing against it. He was a conservative trade lawyer who filed anti-dumping cases on behalf of American steel companies and predicted that the treaty would hurt American jobs. Her worry was that NAFTA’s rules would hurt working people and override U.S. legal standards on food safety and the environment. She hailed from Wausau, Wis., where her family had run a scrapyard. After that first meeting, they kept in touch, swapping notes on how to throw sand in the gears of a free trade machine that seemed unstoppable.

Persons: Bob Lighthizer, Donald Trump’s, Lori Wallach Organizations: North American Free Trade, American Economic Liberties Locations: Wausau, Wis, Ashtabula , Ohio, Donald Trump’s U.S

☆ Billions are on the line for lenders as White House finalizes credit card late fee cap
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-20 | by ( Chelsey Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Signage is seen at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau headquarters in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 29, 2020. WASHINGTON — The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's ambitious rule proposal to crack down on credit card late fees, a $14.5 billion income stream for credit card companies, will potentially roll out in January, nearly a year after it was released. Global corporations and small banks alike are pushing back against the impending rule finalization with some help from business-friendly lawmakers. Late fees, which can reach $41 under a legislative loophole allowing banks to charge unimpeded under a certain threshold, disproportionately affect poor Americans and those with low credit scores, the American Economic Liberties Project reported. "In contrast to the CFPB's unfounded statements, late fees are not impermissible, so-called 'junk fees' that fail to serve any purpose," the Chamber wrote, referencing the Biden administration's overall initiative to shrink excessive surcharges.

Persons: Andy Barr, Biden Organizations: Consumer Financial, Washington , D.C, WASHINGTON, Consumer, Global, Rep, Office, American Economic Liberties, U.S . Chamber, Commerce, Federal Reserve Locations: Washington ,, Ky

☆ What's next in Google's court battle with the US Justice Department?
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-16 | by ( Companies Need To Integrate Climate Reporting Across Functions To Comply With California S New Law | Henry Engler | October | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Judge Amit Mehta of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia will rule sometime in 2024 on whether any of Google's actions broke antitrust law. APPEALS LIKELYNo matter who prevails when Mehta issues his ruling, experts say there will be an appeal. Google's default search agreements have prevented this from happening, they say. Google may also be required to spin off its Chrome browser, which has the Google search engine as its default. Chrome has almost 60% of the computer browser market, according to the Justice Department's amended complaint filed in 2021.

Persons: Amit Mehta, Mehta, Megan Gray, Lee Hepner, Bing, Satya Nadella, Department's, Diane Bartz, Matthew Lewis Organizations: U.S . Justice Department, Google, U.S, District, Supreme, Justice Department, Apple, Android, American Economic Liberties, Thomson Locations: Columbia, Washington

☆ Social Security, Medicare, and other key programs Americans rely on could become 'vulnerable' depending on an upcoming Supreme Court ruling, a former federal official says
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-02 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The Supreme Court is hearing oral arguments in a case challenging the CFPB's funding structure. A former FDIC official said an adverse ruling could risk Social Security and Medicare. Any agency that doesn't rely on annual funding from Congress would be jeopardized, she said. AdvertisementAdvertisementStill, advocates and lawmakers have stressed the importance of preserving the CFPB's funding structure to protect consumers from the potential fallout. A bad decision in the Supreme Court could wreck the financial security of millions of families and turn our economy upside down."

Persons: —, Sheila Bair —, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation —, Bair, Dodd, Frank Wall, Shahid Naeem, Massachusetts Sen, Elizabeth Warren, Warren Organizations: FDIC, Security, Service, Financial, Community Financial Services Association of America Ltd, Federal Reserve, Fifth Circuit, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Social Security, Frank Wall Street Reform, Consumer Protection, American Economic Liberties Project, Congress Locations: Massachusetts

☆ What to expect when Google faces the DOJ in the first major tech monopoly trial in decades
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-11 | by ( Lauren Feiner | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +13 min

While the trial marks the tech sector's first major anti-monopoly proceeding in decades, Google is squarely in the middle of its antitrust battles. What the trial is aboutA key focus of the trial will be on two kinds of agreements Google has made with other companies. "The cases have very compatible theories, and the core message from both is that Google's monopoly power has been abused, harming competition and hurting consumers," Weiser said. Walker wrote that the abundance of places where consumers can use online search shows that Google hasn't foreclosed competition. In addition to experts like economists, expect to see Google executives called to the stand, potentially including CEO Sundar Pichai.

Persons: Sundar Pichai, Jonathan Kanter, It's, it's, Google's, Microsoft's Bing, Phil Weiser, Weiser, Elijah McClain, Aaron Ontiveroz, Bing, Global Affairs Kent Walker, Walker, Rebecca Haw Allensworth, Bill Kovacic, Tim Cook, Joe Biden, Anna Moneymaker, Allensworth, conscientiously, What's, Google's Walker, Lee Hepner, Matt Schruers, Bard, OpenAI, Schruers Organizations: US Department of Justice, Getty, Department of Justice, Microsoft, DOJ, Google, of, Apple, Microsoft's, CNBC, Aurora, MediaNews, Denver, Global Affairs, Insider Intelligence, Amazon, Vanderbilt Law School, George Washington University Law School, FTC, White House, Mozilla, American Economic Liberties, Computer & Communications Industry Association Locations: U.S, Europe, Eastern, of Virginia, Colorado, Washington , DC

☆ Student-loan borrowers' biggest defender in the government is in jeopardy
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-09 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

The ruling could have significant implications for student-loan borrowers — and consumers nationwide. As federal borrowers have been gearing up for the return to loan repayment in October, the agency cracked down on companies that it accused of illegally charging borrowers for normally free debt-relief services. The Supreme Court is hearing oral arguments on the case on October 3. The CFPB's enforcement actions against this type of illegal conduct are important to protecting borrowers' financial security and obtaining their money back." Now consumers will have to wait and see how the Supreme Court views a top federal consumer watchdog's constitutionality.

Persons: Sen, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Shahid Naeem, Naeem, Dodd, Frank Wall, Bill Clark, Devin Watkins, they're, beholden Organizations: Service, Supreme, Financial, Community Financial Services Association of America Ltd, Consumer Financial, Federal Reserve, Fifth Circuit, Trump, Fifth, Financial Services Association of America, American Economic Liberties, Congress, Frank Wall Street Reform, Consumer, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp, Inc, Getty, Competitive Enterprise Institute, American Association of, Social Security Locations: Wall, Silicon, Washington , DC

☆ Top regulators defend stricter merger guidelines, call 'hysteria' overblown
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-10 | by ( Chelsey Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON — Two of the nation's top corporate regulators on Thursday defended new guidelines on merger enforcement that have attracted pushback from the business community. "Which mergers go through and which ones do not can be hugely consequential for people's lives," Lina Khan, Federal Trade Commission chair said at an event hosted by the nonprofit American Economic Liberties Project. Khan was joined at the event by Jonathan Kanter, assistant attorney general for the Justice Department's antitrust division. "I think a lot of the hysteria is perhaps overblown, that we're not blocking every merger," Kanter said. The draft guidelines were released jointly by the Federal Trade Commission and the Justice Department's Antitrust Division in July.

Persons: Antitrust Jonathan Kanter, Lina Khan, Khan, Jonathan Kanter, Kanter, There's, Sen, Elizabeth Warren, Neil Bradley, Bradley Organizations: Antitrust, Federal Trade, American Bar Association Antitrust, Marriott Marquis, Washington , D.C, WASHINGTON —, Federal Trade Commission, American Economic Liberties, Justice, Justice Department's Antitrust, Albertsons, U.S . Chamber of Commerce, DOJ, FTC Locations: Washington ,

It has already taken aim at meatpacking, ocean shipping and consumer junk fees. "We cannot accept bad mergers that lead to mass layoffs, higher prices and fewer options for workers and consumers," Biden said. Hannah Garden Monheit, the new director of Competition Council Policy at the National Economic Council, told Reuters the administration would "use all the tools that we have" to curb anti-competitive practices. [1/2]U.S. President Joe Biden speaks as he convenes a meeting of the White House Competition Council in the State Dining room at the White House in Washington, U.S., July 19, 2023. Biden has repeatedly called for federal agencies, Congress and private companies to address surprise fees that can jack up consumers' cost by 20%.

Persons: Joe Biden, Biden, I've, Hannah, Monheit, Sean Heather, Evelyn Hockstein Morgan Harper, Harper, Elizabeth Warren, Andrea Shalal, Diane Bartz, Leah Douglas, Leslie Adler, Heather Timmons, Daniel Wallis, Diane Craft Organizations: White House Competition Council, WASHINGTON, White, Biden, House, Competition, National Economic Council, Reuters, U.S . Chamber of Commerce, Competition Council, REUTERS, Consumer Financial, Bureau, American Economic Liberties, Big Tech, Google, Democratic, Federal Trade Commission, Department of Agriculture, D.C, Thomson Locations: U.S, Washington , U.S, Washington

☆ Biden creates new competition role on National Economic Council
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( Andrea Shalal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Summary White House readying actions in new corporate sectorsCompetition Council to have fifth meeting on WednesdayIndustry chafes at 'regulatory overreach'WASHINGTON, July 18 (Reuters) - President Joe Biden has created a new role on the National Economic Council (NEC) to tackle anticompetitive business practices, naming NEC member Hannah Garden-Monheit as Director of Competition Council Policy, the White House said on Tuesday. One may be the retail sector, which National Economic Council Director Lael Brainard singled out last October before leaving her job as Federal Reserve vice chair, arguing it had "ample room" to "recompress margins" after COVID-19 price hikes. "Institutionalizing competition policy within the National Economic Council and the White House is another critical step ... to make sure we right the wrongs of failed antitrust enforcement and competition policy enforcement for the last several decades." Columbia University Professor Timothy Wu, who led the White House antitrust push until December, said Biden's decision to create a specific role centered on the competition council reflected its importance. "Creating a White House director of competition policy is a big deal — it cements the White House role in antitrust policy and ensures a lasting impact," he said.

Persons: Joe Biden, Hannah Garden, Biden, Monheit, Lael Brainard, Morgan Harper, Timothy Wu, Andrea Shalal, Josie Kao, Matthew Lewis Organizations: Competition Council, Industry, National Economic Council, NEC, Competition, Reuters, Economic, Reserve, U.S . Chamber, Commerce, Council, Consumer Financial, Bureau, American Economic Liberties, Columbia, White, Thomson Locations: WASHINGTON, U.S, Wednesday's, Washington

☆ Microsoft-Activision ruling highlights Lina Khan's struggles to fight tech
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( Lauren Feiner | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Khan first emerged in antitrust circles for her critiques of how antitrust enforcement overlooked potential abuses by Amazon . The ruling means the parties are closer to being able to complete their merger by their July 18 deadline. "In the coming days we'll be announcing our next step to continue our fight to preserve competition and protect consumers." It's not the first time a judge has looked dubiously on the FTC's antitrust enforcement theories under Khan. WATCH: Judge denies FTC request for preliminary injunction to stop Microsoft-Activision deal

Persons: Lina Khan, Lina Khan's, Khan, Joe Biden, Jacqueline Scott Corley, Corley, Microsoft's, we'll, It's, Matt Stoller, Stoller, –, Microsoft — Organizations: Energy, Securities and Exchange Commission, Federal Trade, Microsoft, Activision Blizzard, FTC, Activision, PlayStation, Nintendo, U.K, Competition, American Economic Liberties, Twitter, Biden, CNBC, YouTube Locations: Rayburn

☆ Ticketmaster has a total stranglehold on the live event industry. Here's how some states are trying to break that.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( Madison Hall | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Rafael Henrique/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty ImagesA California legislator is trying to strike back at Live Nation Entertainment's grip on the live events space. It was actually the ticket-buying experience for a minor-league hockey game that could lead to a large legislative setback for Live Nation Entertainment. The extent of Live Nation Entertainment's graspIn June, the American Economic Liberties Project released a report detailing the extent of the stranglehold Live Nation Entertainment has on the live events industry. Brown explained to Insider that Live Nation Entertainment has been able to become so powerful in the industry as it's vertically integrated very effectively. Live Nation Entertainment is under federal pressureThe federal government is also cracking down on Ticketmaster's reign in the entertainment industry.

Persons: Rafael Henrique, California Sen, Scott Wilk, Sen, wasn't Taylor, Wilk, Pat Garafolo, Krista Brown, Brown, Joe Biden, Samuel Corum, Amy Klobuchar, Richard Blumenthal, Klobuchar, It's, Blumenthal Organizations: Getty, California State Senate, Service, Nation Entertainment, Ticketmaster, California Senate, American Economic Liberties, Entertainment, Department of Justice, DOJ, Federal Trade Commission, Live, New York Times, Live Nation Entertainment Locations: California, Wall, Silicon, United States, AFP, Minnesota

☆ New report shows Ticketmaster controls the vast majority of the live event business, and any promises of 'transparency' just mean they'll overcharge concertgoers more brazenly
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-17 | by ( Madison Hall | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Live Nation Entertainment announced new "transparent" pricing where it will display fees at the beginning of the transaction. While this has been on Biden's agenda for months, he hasn't addressed the grip Live Nation Entertainment has on the entertainment industry. Republican state Sen. Scott Wilk introduced a bill in early 2023 to ban exclusivity contracts in the ticketing industry. Ultimately, she said, it's up to the Department of Justice to investigate and potentially take action on Live Nation Entertainment. According to the New York Times, the DOJ opened an antitrust investigation into Live Nation Entertainment in late 2022.

Persons: hasn't, —, Biden, Krista Brown, Sen, Scott Wilk, Wilk, Brown Organizations: Nation Entertainment, Service, Ticketmaster, American Economic Liberties, Nation, Congress, Entertainment, California's State Senate, Department of Justice, New York Times, DOJ, Live Nation Entertainment Locations: United States, California's

☆ Opinion | How to Fix the National Drug Shortage
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Peter Coy | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

If a drug manufacturer wants to supply a hospital, nursing home or other institution, it has almost no choice but to go through one of these organizations. The manufacturers pay fees to the group purchasing organization for access to its customers. The fees paid by manufacturers might ordinarily be considered illegal kickbacks under the federal anti-kickback law. That safe harbor sticks in the craw of the group purchasing organizations’ critics. “It’s the biggest scam in America, in my opinion,” Phillip Zweig, the executive director and co-founder of Physicians Against Drug Shortages, told me.

Persons: “, ” Phillip Zweig, Zweig, Sara Sirota, Critics, Todd Ebert Organizations: Department of Health, Human Services, Physicians, BusinessWeek, American Economic Liberties, Federal Trade Commission, Akorn Pharmaceuticals, Bloomberg, India’s pharma, Healthcare, Chain Association Locations: America, United States, India

☆ FTC's Lina Khan presses ahead with sprawling antitrust plans in the face of GOP opposition
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Chelsey Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +10 min

As she made history in leading the agency, Khan's sprawling oversight plans and focus on fair competition in markets drew pushback from GOP leaders who denounced them as "politicized." The backlash to Khan's antitrust platform has come from across the Republican caucuses in Congress — even as many GOP lawmakers have backed antitrust policies or slammed Big Tech companies. watch nowKhan has defended her positions, telling CNBC on May 10 that the FTC enforces antitrust laws passed by Congress. Jordan and other GOP House members have criticized the plan as a "power grab." But an FTC spokesperson said Khan's agency has jurisdiction over all fees except banking and airlines.

Persons: Lina M, Khan, Graeme Jennings, Lina Khan, Pete Buttigieg's, Rohit Chopra, Christine Wilson, Noah Joshua Phillips, Joe Biden's, Matt Stoller, Stoller, Lina, Republican Sens, Chuck Grassley, Mike Lee, Ken Buck, Jim Jordan, Grassley, David Cicilline, Sen, Amy Klobuchar, Elon Musk, Musk, Jordan, Jon Schweppe, Jordan tweeting, they're, Mo Cayer, Khan . Jordan, noncompetes, Trump, Wilson, Leslie Overton, Harkrider, Biden Organizations: Commerce, Science, Capitol, AFP, Getty Images, Biden, Federal Trade, Southwest Airlines, Republicans, Consumer Financial Protection, FTC, Yale University Law School, Washington , D.C, New Yorker, Columbia Law School, American Economic Liberties, Big Tech, Republican, GOP, CNBC, Congress, Rhode Island's, Committee, Twitter, GOP House, Elon, The New York Times, Times, University of New, Democratic, Junk Locations: Washington , DC, London, Washington ,, New, Iowa, Utah, Colorado, Ohio, House, Minnesota, University of New Haven, Connecticut, Khan ., Axinn

☆ Airlines and F.A.A. Try to Head Off Summer Travel Meltdowns
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Niraj Chokshi | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The number of Americans who will fly this summer could eclipse the prepandemic high from 2019. The recovery from the pandemic has been punctuated by several major travel meltdowns, stranding millions of travelers and angering lawmakers and regulators. In recent months, the Transportation Department has proposed requiring greater transparency around airline fees and requiring companies to more fully compensate people whose flights are delayed or canceled. “This pattern they had last year of canceling flights at the last minute, in many cases due to crew shortages, that’s just unacceptable. They’re not going to be able to do that again, I don’t think, not without some serious repercussions.”

☆ How UnitedHealth Group grew bigger than the nation's biggest banks
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( Charlotte Morabito | In Charlottemorabito | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

UnitedHealth Group has the highest price per share of any company on the Dow Jones Industrial Average and it's the tenth heaviest-weighted stock on the S&P 500. In fact, not only is UnitedHealth the biggest health-care conglomerate in the United States based on market cap and revenue, it's even bigger than JPMorgan Chase, the nation's largest bank. "If I had to pick one stock, only one stock to buy, I'd buy United[Health]," said Ana Gupte, principal at AG Health Advisors. "UnitedHealth Group is committed to improving the health system for everyone, advancing evidence-based practice and aligning incentives across the system to ensure people get the right care at the right time in the right place," UnitedHealth Group told CNBC. Watch the video above to learn how UnitedHealth Group grew so big and what that means for the U.S. health-care system.

☆ Misclassifying employees as gig workers creates 'a race to the bottom' for businesses, Biden's top labor and antitrust regulators say
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-14 | by ( Ethan Dodd | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Businesses have an incentive to misclassify workers as contractors to undermine their competitors, according to the DOJ Antitrust Division. It's just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to those called "gig workers" — freelancers, contractors, on-call workers, and temp agency workers, who for decades have increasingly replaced full-time employees as independent contractors. Not so for gig workers. In 2018, 20% of workers were contract workers, and 65% of part-time workers and over half of contract workers went without benefits, according to NPR. "Our goals are the same," Abruzzo said, as NLRB and DOJ Antitrust want to end "misclassification and employment structures that cause vertical constraints on competition."

☆ Arizona's terrible NHL team is begging voters for $200 million to build a permanent home, but stadiums are consistently huge money pits
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-04 | by ( Brent D. Griffiths | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Arizona's terrible NHL team is stuck using a college arena for its games as it awaits a public vote. This May, voters will decide the future of a $2.1 billion plan that includes the Coyotes' new arena. The NHL's Arizona Coyotes are for the moment stuck in an arena that is three times smaller than any other in the league. The professional team might need the facility for a few more years, but they can't even emblazon their own logo on center ice. The city also paid $50 million to the NHL to keep the team in the city while the franchise navigated bankruptcy.

☆ Elizabeth Warren: Crypto giants are ‘collapsing under the weight of their own fraud’
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Allison Morrow | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —Senator Elizabeth Warren, a longtime crypto critic, warned recent turbulence in the digital asset space will only continue unless a host of regulators strengthen protections for investors. “For all their talk of innovation and financial inclusion, crypto industry giants — from FTX to Celsius to Voyager — are collapsing under the weight of their own fraud, deceit and gross mismanagement,” she said. “Crypto fraud is a big problem, but it’s one we can fix,” Warren said. And without naming Bankman-Fried directly, Warren praised the SEC for charging “crypto crooks” with defrauding ordinary investors. “All our regulators need to get in the game,” Warren said, calling on environmental and banking officials to step up.

Labor shortagesAs the pandemic swooped in, air travel was among the industries most affected, as more than 90% of flights were grounded. Today, labor shortages exist throughout the economy, but the problem drags on in the air travel sector, where more extensive employee training is usually required. Steven Senne / APOutdated technology and infrastructureThere is near-universal agreement that the infrastructure underpinning segments of America's air travel system is outdated and vulnerable. Rep. Sam Graves, R-Montana, said the incident highlighted "a huge vulnerability in our air transportation system." Air travel should be predictable and consistent, and you shouldn’t have to wonder if air traffic control is going to be working today as you head to the airport.

☆ U.S. targets non-compete clauses that block workers from getting better jobs
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Noncompete agreements "block workers from freely switching jobs, depriving them of higher wages and better working conditions, and depriving businesses of a talent pool that they need to build and expand," said FTC Chair Lina Khan in a statement. The training repayment would be banned if it "is not reasonably related to the costs the employer incurred for training the worker," the proposed rule said. FTC Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter said in 2020 that surveys have estimated that 16% to 18% of all U.S. workers are subject to noncompete provisions. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce indicated that it opposed the proposed rule. Ardagh Glass S.A. and O-I Glass Inc, the two largest U.S. glass container makers, had noncompete provisions that affected more than 1,700 workers.

☆ Southwest airlines flight delays and cancellations are only the tip of the iceberg
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( William J. Mcgee | William J. Mcgee Is The Senior Fellow For Aviation At American Economic Liberties Project | A Nonprofit Fighting Concentrated Economic Power | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

I can tell you without hesitation: Both the airlines and the Transportation Department are at fault. Only Congress and the Transportation Department oversee airlines, and the department and its subsidiary, the FAA, have long struggled with a dual mandate to both promote and regulate airlines. Obviously the airline industry also has become too big to care, despite the $54 billion taxpayer bailout during Covid. Since then, the U.S. airline industry has returned to profitability and, in some cases, notched record revenues. Domestic airlines are mistreating passengers with impunity and are clearly unafraid of backlash from consumers, the media or the Transportation Department.

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