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☆ Many large U.S. cities are in deep financial trouble. Here's why
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-25 | by ( Carlos Waters | In Carloswaters | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Municipal governments across the United States are looking to rein in spending as pandemic-era stimulus dries up and inflation lingers for longer than expected. The group issued a AA investment grade general obligation bond rating for New York City in March 2024. The financial challenges within cities appear to be mounting despite high municipal credit ratings and robust demand for urban commodities like housing. "I think we can all agree that we're broke," said Houston Mayor John Whitmire in a March 2024 City Council budget hearing. Meanwhile, in the case of New York City, leaders remain optimistic about future returns.

Persons: Michael Rinaldi, Brad Lander, Sheila Weinberg, we're, Houston Mayor John Whitmire, Weinberg, We've, Lander, Eric Adams, Rinaldi, Adams Organizations: Fitch, AA, New, Truth, University of Denver, New York, Apple, Houston Mayor, Accounting, CNBC, Lander Locations: United States, U.S, New York City, Chicago, Houston, Portland , Oregon, New York

But few foresaw JPMorgan Chase and State Street quitting Climate Action 100+, a global investment coalition that has been pushing companies to decarbonize. All told, the moves amount to a nearly $14 trillion exit from an organization meant to marshal Wall Street’s clout to expand the climate agenda. Representative Jim Jordan, the Ohio Republican who compared the coalition to a “cartel” forcing businesses to cut emissions, called for more financial companies to follow suit. JPMorgan said it had built an in-house sustainable investment team to focus on green issues. And BlackRock will maintain some ties to the coalition: It has transferred its membership to an international entity.

Persons: Wall, Jim Jordan, Brad Lander, they’re Organizations: JPMorgan Chase, State, Ohio Republican, JPMorgan Locations: BlackRock, Brad Lander , New York

☆ NYC Comptroller: We have to make the energy transition from fossil fuels to cleaner renewable energy
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-31 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailNYC Comptroller: We have to make the energy transition from fossil fuels to cleaner renewable energyNew York City Comptroller Brad Lander joins "Squawk Box' to discuss the push by three of the city's pension funds to get some of the largest U.S. banks to disclose their financing ratios of clean energy to fossil fuel, the transition to renewable energy, and more.

Persons: Brad Lander Locations: York City

Homeless people and their advocates say the sweeps are cruel and a waste of taxpayer money. The AP submitted data requests to 30 U.S. cities regarding encampment sweeps and received at least partial responses from about half. “Unfortunately, it’s becoming a way of life, and that is 100% incorrect.”For homeless people, sweeps can be traumatizing. But never an end solution.”There are many reasons why someone might reject shelter, say homeless people and their advocates. We’re walking around saying, ‘What do you need?’”In Portland, the encampment dismantled in July was cleared again, in September and November.

Persons: Will Taylor, ”, Taylor, he's, …, ” Angelique Risby, it’s, Gavin Newsom, Newsom, David Sjoberg, ” David Ehler Jr, Crews, Sara Angel, “, Masood Samereie, ” Samereie, Roxanne Simonson, Sam Dodge, Dodge, Michael Johnson, aren't, Charise Haley, “ There’s, pare, Francis Zamora, Zamora, Brad Lander, ” Lander, Eric Adams, Charles Lutvak, Lutvak, Danielle Werder, Kieran Hartnett, who's, ____ Har, Casey, Thomas Peipert, Angeliki Kastanis, Christopher Weber Organizations: Contractors, U.S, The Associated Press, American Civil Liberties Union, Democratic, Republican, Supreme, ACLU, Northern, Politico, AP, San, Police, Public Works, Department of Emergency Management, Democratic New York City Locations: PORTLAND, Portland, West Coast, Los Angeles, New York, U.S, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Minneapolis, Miami, Albuquerque, Anchorage, Boulder , Colorado, California, San Francisco, Northern California, Denver, Connecticut, Colorado, “, New York City, Hennepin County, Boston

☆ NYC Comptroller urges Tesla board to hold Elon Musk accountable
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-22 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailNYC Comptroller urges Tesla board to hold Elon Musk accountableNew York City Comptroller Brad Lander joins 'Squawk Box' to discuss his letter to Tesla's board expressing concern after Elon Musk's support of an antisemitic conspiracy theory on his social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

Persons: Tesla, Brad Lander, Elon Musk's Organizations: Elon, Twitter Locations: New York City

☆ New York City investment chief calls on Tesla to sanction Musk unless he apologizes
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-21 | by ( Ross Kerber | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Lander's remarks make him the latest Tesla shareholder to call on the EV maker to rein in Musk. Musk endorsed an antisemitic post on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, on Nov. 15. It remains unclear whether Tesla's board will take any action. If Musk fails to do so, Tesla's board should consider actions such as docking his pay, suspending him or terminating him, Lander added. He wrote to Tesla board chair Robyn Denholm on Monday that failing to take action would show Tesla's code of business ethics to be "toothless."

Persons: Tesla, Elon Musk, Rishi Sunak, Kirsty Wigglesworth, Brad Lander, Lander, Lander's, Ross Gerber, Musk, Linda Yaccarino, Robyn Denholm, Henry Ford, Nazism, Kristin Hull, Nia, Tesla's, Ross Kerber, David Gaffen, Sheila Dang, Greg Roumeliotis, Matthew Lewis Organizations: British, New York, Reuters, Nia Impact, Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, SpaceX, Boring Company, Ford Foundation, White, Media, America, Defamation League, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, New, New York City, New York, Dallas

☆ Two Young Democratic Stars Collide Over Israel and Their Party’s Future
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-11 | by ( Nicholas Fandos | More About Nicholas Fandos | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +5 min

“This is pursuing a proven and failed strategy,” Ms. Ocasio-Cortez said in a recent radio interview. Calls for a cease-fire by Ms. Ocasio-Cortez and others drew a stern rebuke from the White House, and she faced backlash for voting against a bipartisan resolution that expressed strong support for Israel. Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, who did not agree to an interview, met in Washington last month with the families of Jewish hostages kidnapped by Hamas. was trying to infiltrate the Democratic Party “to impose the ideological litmus tests on Israel” and “cleanse” those who disagree with them. It remains far from clear how many left-leaning Democrats Mr. Torres is moving.

Persons: Ms, Ocasio, Cortez, it’s, Rashida Tlaib, Cori Bush of, Israel, ”, Brad Lander, “ I’m, Dan Goldman, Torres, “, lurch, Torres’s, Mr, Democratic Party “, Israel ”, combativeness, Waleed Shahid, Torres “, ” Jeremy Cohan Organizations: Democratic, White, Israel, Democrats, Democratic Socialists of America, Democratic Party, City Council, New York Locations: Queens, Bronx, Michigan, Cori Bush of Missouri, Gaza, Washington, Alexandria, New York City, New York, Israel, Tel, New

DocGo was already under scrutiny when its no-bid contract with New York City came to light, prompting questions about what services the company was providing — as well as the quality of those services. Neither the company nor city officials were willing to voluntarily disclose details of the contract. Earlier this month, New York City Comptroller Brad Lander said there were “numerous outstanding issues and concerns” that prompted him to reject the city's $432 million no-bid emergency contract with DocGo. DocGo began as a medical services company, describing itself on its website as delivering “high-quality medical care outside traditional hospital or clinic settings across our service lines: Mobile Health Care, Medical Transportation and Remote Patient Monitoring/Chronic Disease Management. The company has been trying to land a lucrative contract, valued in the billions of dollars, with the federal government

Persons: DocGo, Anthony Capone's, Capone, ”, Capone's, Lee Bienstock, Brad Lander, Lander, Eric Adams, “, Letitia James, ’ Organizations: New, Albany Times Union, Clarkson University, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, DocGo, city’s Department of Housing Preservation, New York Times, Mobile Health Care, Medical Transportation, Disease, We’re Locations: New York City, ”

NEW YORK (AP) — New York City's pension funds and the state of Oregon sued Fox Corporation on Tuesday, alleging the company harmed investors by allowing Fox News to broadcast falsehoods about the 2020 election that exposed the network to defamation lawsuits. New York City's pension funds are long-term shareholders of Fox Corporation, with shares valued at $28.1 million as of the end of July. In a statement, Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum said the Fox breached its fiduciary duties by disregarding legal risks. “The directors’ choices exposed themselves and the company to liability and exposed their shareholders to significant risks," she said. “That is the crux of our lawsuit, and we look forward to making our case in court.”

Persons: ”, Brad Lander, Fox's, Donald Trump's, “, Democrat Joe Biden, Lachlan Murdoch, Ellen Rosenblum Organizations: —, Fox Corporation, Fox News, Voting Systems, Oregon, Dominion, Democrat, Fox Corp, Smartmatic, Fox Locations: York, Oregon, Delaware, New York City, Trump, Smartmatic USA

Fox, which has maintained it is proud of its dishonest 2020 election coverage, still faces an even larger, $2.7 billion lawsuit from election technology company Smartmatic. That is the crux of our lawsuit, and we look forward to making our case in court.”A spokesperson for Fox Corporation declined to comment on the lawsuit. A spokesperson for the New York City Comptroller’s office said the pension funds held 857,000 shares of Fox Corporation stock valued at $28.10 million. Fox Corporation, led by Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch, has kept the current Fox News leadership team that oversaw the network’s lie-filled 2020 coverage in place. Earlier this year, Fox News settled a defamation case with a Venezuelan businessman who had filed a lawsuit against the company over its 2020 election coverage.

Persons: “, Brad Lander, ” Ellen Rosenblum, ”, Rupert, Lachlan Murdoch, Viet Dinh, Ray Epps, Fox, Abby Grossberg Organizations: CNN, Fox Corporation, Fox News, Fox, Voting, New, Dominion, FBI Locations: York, Oregon, Delaware, New York City, Viet, Arizona, Venezuelan

NEW YORK (AP) — The Trump Organization has sold its right to operate a public golf course in the Bronx, city officials confirmed, offloading control of the publicly-owned property to a company that is seeking to build a casino in New York City. Bally’s Corporation, a gaming and entertainment company, will take over the job of running the 18-hole course, known as Trump Golf Links Ferry Point, according to a spokesperson for the city’s comptroller. That argument was rejected by a state judge last year, a ruling that would have allowed the Trump Organization to operate the course through the expiration of its lease in 2035. In a statement, city Comptroller Brad Lander said he was “delighted that Trump’s name will no longer deface city parkland.”Emailed inquiries to Bally’s and the Trump Organization were not returned. Under the new deal, Bally’s will take over full operations, management and maintenance of the golf course, removing the Trump Organization from any involvement with the property, according to the comptroller’s spokesperson.

Persons: Bill de Blasio, Brad Lander, “, Bally’s, ” Dan Kastanis Organizations: Trump Organization, Bally’s Corporation, Trump, U.S . Capitol, New, New York Democrats, New York Times Locations: Bronx, New York City, Whitestone, New York, New

☆ A New York City Migrant Contractor Faces Scrutiny in Sexual Assault Cases
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-20 | by ( Jay Root | More About Jay Root | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

New York City has put DocGo in charge of key tasks, including helping to manage its main intake center at a Manhattan hotel. The police in the Buffalo suburb of Cheektowaga, where some migrants relocated from New York City are staying, say they are investigating the interactions DocGo had with the victims and suspects in two alleged sexual assaults before the police arrived. In one instance, a migrant was accused of assaulting another migrant staying at one of the hotel shelters DocGo operates, and in another instance a migrant was accused of assaulting a DocGo subcontractor. DocGo’s chief executive, Anthony Capone, said the company was “devastated by what happened” and was fully cooperating with law enforcement. After the assault allegations, New York City temporarily halted migrant relocations to Buffalo, and Ms. Hochul has sent National Guard troops to the hotels where they are staying.

Persons: DocGo, Brian Gould, “ We’re, ”, Anthony Capone, Hochul, Brad Lander Organizations: New York City, National Guard Locations: York City, Manhattan, Buffalo, Cheektowaga, New York City, DocGo, Albany, New York, Rockland County

☆ UPS and Teamsters to restart talks in effort to avoid strike
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LOS ANGELES, July 25 (Reuters) - United Parcel Service (UPS) (UPS.N) and the Teamsters union representing 340,000 employees at the package delivery firm plan to meet on Tuesday in an effort to avert a threatened strike on Aug. 1. The scheduled meeting, which both sides have confirmed, would be the first since UPS labor contract negotiators deadlocked on July 5. One estimate put the potential economic impact of a 10-day UPS strike at more than $7 billion, the costliest in modern times. That estimate from Michigan-based Anderson Economic Group includes UPS customer losses of $4.6 billion, lost wages of $1.1 billion and company losses of $816 million. "The vast, vast, vast majority of shareholders are eager to see a strike averted," New York City Comptroller Brad Lander told Reuters.

Persons: Brad Lander, Lander, Lisa Baertlein, Jamie Freed Organizations: United Parcel Service, Teamsters, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, UPS, Anderson Economic Group, York, Reuters, New York Retirement Systems, Thomson Locations: ANGELES, Michigan, York City, Los Angeles

☆ New York City pension chief urges pay clawbacks at Bank of America
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( Ross Kerber | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Since the financial crisis of 2008, provisions to recover pay have been strengthened at top U.S. banks to limit risk-taking. Bank of America did not admit wrongdoing in its July 11 agreements with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Lander oversees public-employee pension funds with some $300 million worth of Bank of America (BAC.N) stock. It said Bank of America charged multiple fees to customers who did not have enough funds in their accounts from February 2018 until February 2022. The bank said it voluntarily reduced overdraft fees and eliminated all nonsufficient fund fees in 2022.

Persons: Brad Lander, Lander, Wells, Michael Garland, Ross Kerber, Matthew Lewis Organizations: New York, of America's, Bank of America, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Reuters, Bank of, Human, of America, Thomson Locations: New, Charlotte , North Carolina, Reuters , New York City, New York City, Boston

Toyota shares closed up 3.4%, outperforming the 1.2% gain in the Nikkei index (.N225). BOARD INDEPENDENCENew York City Comptroller Brad Lander said in a statement the Toyota board was not adequately independent. The New York comptroller's office oversees a pension system with $243 billion in assets under management. Those funds held 6.7 million shares in Toyota Group companies, including Toyota Boshoku (3116.T) and Toyota Tsusho (8015.T) as of end March. The New York pension system has also urged both Ford (F.N) and General Motors (GM.N) to move rapidly toward electrification and to disclose more about their lobbying on vehicle standards.

Persons: Akio Toyoda, Glass Lewis, Toyoda, CalPERS, Brad Lander, Daniel Leussink, David Dolan, Maki Shiraki, Kevin Krolicki, Jamie Freed, Christopher Cushing, Leslie Adler Organizations: Toyota Motor Corp, California Public Employees, New York, Toyota, Tokyo Stock Exchange, Nikkei, The, Toyota Group, Ford, General Motors, Lexus, Thomson Locations: TOKYO, New York City, York, Tokyo

One of them, Glass Lewis, recommended shareholders vote against re-electing Toyoda, citing what it said was his responsibility for the lack of a sufficiently independent board. Toyota on Friday did not immediately comment on the votes against the re-election of Toyoda. The New York comptroller's office oversees a pension system with $243 billion in assets under management. BOARD INDEPENDENCENew York City Comptroller Brad Lander said the Toyota board was not adequately independent, in a statement explaining the vote by the funds it oversees. The New York pension system has also urged both Ford (F.N) and General Motors (GM.N) to move rapidly toward electrification and to disclose more about their lobbying on vehicle standards.

Persons: Akio Toyoda, Glass Lewis, Toyoda, CalPERS, Brad Lander, Elon, Daniel Leussink, David Dolan, Maki Shiraki, Kevin Krolicki, Jamie Freed Organizations: Toyota Motor Corp, California Public Employees, New York, Toyota, Tokyo Stock Exchange, The, New, Ford, General Motors, Thomson Locations: TOKYO, New York City, York, New York, Tokyo

One of them, Glass Lewis, recommended shareholders vote against re-electing Toyoda, citing what it said was his responsibility for the lack of a sufficiently independent board. CalPERS, which declined to comment, is the largest U.S. public pension fund with some $450 billion in assets under management. The New York City pension funds held 6.7 million shares in Toyota Group companies, including Toyota Boshoku (3116.T) and Toyota Tsusho (8015.T) as of end March. BOARD INDEPENDENCENew York City Comptroller Brad Lander said the Toyota board was not adequately independent, in a statement explaining the vote by the funds it oversees. The New York pension system has also urged both Ford (F.N) and General Motors (GM.N) to move rapidly toward electrification and to disclose more about their lobbying on vehicle standards.

Persons: Akio Toyoda, Glass Lewis, Toyoda, CalPERS, Brad Lander, Daniel Leussink, David Dolan, Maki Shiraki, Kevin Krolicki, Jamie Freed, Christopher Cushing Organizations: Toyota Motor Corp, California Public Employees, New York, Toyota, Tokyo Stock Exchange, The, New, Toyota Group, Nikkei, Ford, General Motors, Lexus, Thomson Locations: TOKYO, New York City, York, Tokyo

☆ We need a CEO focused on Tesla, not Twitter or SpaceX: NYC Comptroller Brad Lander
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailWe need a CEO focused on Tesla, not Twitter or SpaceX: NYC Comptroller Brad LanderA group of 17 Tesla investors sent an open letter to the board accusing the company of mismanagement. New York City Comptroller Brad Lander joins 'Squawk Box' to discuss his decision to sign on as one of the investors.

☆ The messy, high-stakes world of private equity's fossil-fuel dilemma
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Rebecca Ungarino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

Most major private-investment firms are working to cut down on emissions their portfolio companies send into the atmosphere. It's also set targets to get three-quarters of its majority-owned power-and-energy portfolio companies' emissions that they generate directly and indirectly covered by Paris-aligned climate goals by 2025. A growing number of private-equity firms' pension-fund limited partners are under pressure themselves to either invest around environmental, social, and governance matters or shun investing through those lenses altogether. Firms' plans with their upstream investments tend to draw the most attention because they're involved in drilling for new oil and gas. If you're a private-equity firm and you continue to make new upstream investments, I don't believe you have a Paris-aligned plan.

☆ Biden's EV push: EPA set to propose strict new auto pollution limits
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailBiden's EV push: EPA set to propose strict new auto pollution limitsHosted by Brian Sullivan, “Last Call” is a fast-paced, entertaining business show that explores the intersection of money, culture and policy. Tune in Monday through Friday at 7 p.m. ET on CNBC. Brad Lander, New York City comptroller, and Vivek Ramaswamy, Strive Asset Management co-founder, join the show to discuss the White House's electric vehicle push.

Companies BlackRock Inc FollowBOSTON, April 5 (Reuters) - New York City pension leaders will press external fund managers, including private market fund managers, on Wednesday for details on their plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions, officials said. Public, and private market managers that have faced less pressure on climate issues to date, run most of the roughly $240 billion in New York City pension fund assets. Boards overseeing the majority of that money have approved new expectations for those managers, New York City Comptroller Brad Lander said, which will be announced on Wednesday. Lander urged BlackRock Inc last fall to take stronger environmental steps such as phasing-out high emitting assets. Lander said the plans recently approved by New York City pension boards extend similar calls to other external managers, including those that manage the 25% of pension assets held in fixed income and the 25% in private markets.

☆ Starbucks shareholders want more information about the company’s anti-union efforts
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Danielle Wiener-Bronner | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

New York CNN —Starbucks’ investors have voted in favor of an independent review of the company’s aggressive anti-union efforts. The assessment would include remedies if it finds that Starbucks has broken its own stated commitment to workers rights. Starbucks workers rally in celebration of the first anniversary of the union's founding on December 9, 2022 in New York City. Over the past year and a half, Starbucks has been waging a bitter fight against unionization efforts. During a hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee about the company’s labor practices on Wednesday, one former employee said he was wrongfully fired after organizing.

[1/2] Starbucks workers attend a rally as they go on a one-day strike outside a store in Buffalo, New York, U.S., November 17, 2022. REUTERS/Lindsay DeDario//File PhotoNEW YORK, March 29 (Reuters) - Starbucks shareholders approved a proposal for the coffee chain to conduct an independent assessment of its labor practices as it contends with hundreds of newly unionized U.S. cafes, according to voting results filed on Wednesday. The city's public pension funds and a coalition of other shareholders, who combined hold about 2.2 million Starbucks shares, proposed the assessment. "It is clear from the vote result in the proposal that our investors share our commitment to our partners," Starbucks said in its regulatory filing disclosing the results. The Seattle-based company said it will use findings of the review to "understand how we can best support our partners."

☆ ESG is about preventing risk, not bringing returns, says NYC comptroller
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailESG is about preventing risk, not bringing returns, says NYC comptrollerBrad Lander, New York City Comptroller, joins 'Squawk Box' to discuss the pushback against anti-ESG pushback, if Sen. Mike Braun means to be prevent New York City pension funds from shareholder engagement and more.

Jan 24 (Reuters) - Shareholder resolutions filed by New York City's top pension official will ask top Wall Street banks including JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) and Bank of America (BAC.N) to set stricter 2030 greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets for portfolio companies. The new resolutions ask banks including Bank of America, Goldman Sachs Group (GS.N) and JPMorgan to commit to reducing emissions in their energy lending and underwriting. Lander cited plans outlined last year by Citigroup (C.N) for emissions across its energy loan portfolio to drop 29% by 2030 from 2020. Currently the other three banks have goals to reduce the "emissions intensity" of their financing, a measure of emissions relative to output that climate activists say does not go far enough. Representatives for JPMorgan, Bank of America and Goldman Sachs declined to comment on the resolutions.

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