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☆ Biden administration plans to reclassify marijuana, easing restrictions nationwide
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-30 | by ( Julie Tsirkin | Monica Alba | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

"DOJ continues to work on this rule," a Biden administration official said. "No one should be jailed for using or possessing marijuana," the president said during the speech. "Reclassifying marijuana as a Schedule III drug sends the message that marijuana is less addictive and dangerous now than ever before. US President Joe Biden speaks during the White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA) dinner at the Washington Hilton, in Washington, DC, on April 27, 2024. Nearly six in ten Americans say that marijuana should be legal for medical and recreational purposes, according to a Pew Research poll last month.

Persons: John Tlumacki, Biden, Joe Bidens, Tom Williams, Joe Biden, Barack Obama's, Jim Cole, Obama, Cole, Kevin Sabet, Brendan Smialowski, Brad Horrigan Organizations: Delta, Trade, Boston Globe, NBC, Drug, Department of Health, Human Services, DOJ, Biden, Internal Revenue, Justice's, DC Marijuana Justice, CQ, Inc, Getty, State, National Cannabis Roundtable, NBC News, Smart, Marijuana, Obama Administration, White, Correspondents ' Association, Washington Hilton, AFP, Management, CRA, Pew Research, Florida Supreme, Tribune, Service Locations: Wareham, deducting, New York, California, Washington ,, Florida

☆ A 32-year market vet warns the S&P 500 is set to fall 50%-70% in the years ahead with valuations at historic highs — and says that an imminently weakening labor market will be the catalyst for the cra
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-30 | by ( William Edwards | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

According to Bank of America, valuation levels explain 80% of the market's return over a 10-year period. Bank of AmericaThere are many ways to measure valuation levels in the overall market. Hussman says it's the most accurate indicator of future market returns that he's found. AdvertisementThe Conference BoardThird, the number of US states with a rising unemployment rate is spiking, meaning that the overall unemployment rate should see further upside. BullAndBearProfits.comThe US unemployment rate is already on a slight uptrend, having climbed from 3.4% in April 2023 to 3.9% as of February.

Persons: —, Jon Wolfenbarger, Merrill Lynch, John Hussman's, he's, Warren Buffett, Wolfenbarger, Stocks, Woflenbarger, Cam Harvey, Claudia Sahm, Louis Fed, Jeremy Grantham, John Hussman, David Rosenberg, Goldman Sachs, David Kostin, America's Savita Subramanian, Ian Shepherdson, Shepherdson Organizations: Service, Bank of America, Business, JPMorgan, National Federation of Independent Business, Board, Treasury, Bank, America's

☆ New Senate bill aims to kill proposed SEC rule on AI conflicts of interest
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-06 | by ( Emily Wilkins | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

More than 20 Republican lawmakers in the House and Senate sent Gensler a letter last fall, calling on the SEC to withdraw the rule. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.). The Senate bill currently lacks Democratic support, meaning it's unlikely to get much traction as long as Democrats control the Senate. If the final SEC rule is issued after the beginning of November, and not before it, then the rule could fall in the window of CRA, come January 2025. He also argued the precedent has been for the SEC to require firms to disclose potential areas of interest, not eliminate them completely.

Persons: Ted Cruz, Sen, Bill Hagerty, WASHINGTON —, Gary Gensler, Gensler, Sens, Cruz, Ritchie Torres Organizations: Republican, Republicans, U.S, Capitol, Washington , D.C, Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, Senate, CNBC, Democratic, Act Locations: Texas, Washington ,

☆ Argentine farmers: Milei victory an opportunity for 'radical change' for grains sector
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-20 | by ( Maximilian Heath | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Soy plants are seen in a farm near Pergamino, on the outskirts of Buenos Aires in Argentina April 27, 2021. REUTERS/Agustin Marcarian/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBUENOS AIRES, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Javier Milei's election as Argentine president offers an opportunity for "radical change" in policy for the grains sector, the country's main rural associations said late on Sunday, offering to work "side by side" with the libertarian. He also wants to eventually close the central bank and dollarize the economy - more radical ideas that he may struggle to implement. "A great opportunity has opened up to work together to make radical change to the current policies," the Argentine Rural Society (SRA) said in a statement. Meanwhile, the Argentine Rural Confederations (CRA) called for Milei to work with the farm sector and demanded tax deregulation.

Persons: Agustin Marcarian, Javier Milei's, Milei, Maximilian Heath, Adam Jourdan, Christopher Cushing Organizations: REUTERS, Argentine Rural Society, Argentine Rural Confederations, Thomson Locations: Pergamino, Buenos Aires, Argentina, BUENOS AIRES

☆ Argentine Farmers: Milei Victory an Opportunity for 'Radical Change' for Grains Sector
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-19 | by ( Nov. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

By Maximilian HeathBUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Javier Milei's election as Argentine president offers an opportunity for "radical change" in policy for the grains sector, the country's main rural associations said late on Sunday, offering to work "side by side" with the libertarian. Milei, a far-right libertarian, is pledging to reduce the size of the state and cut taxes. He also wants to eventually close the central bank and dollarize the economy - more radical ideas that he may struggle to implement. "A great opportunity has opened up to work together to make radical change to the current policies," the Argentine Rural Society (SRA) said in a statement. Meanwhile, the Argentine Rural Confederations (CRA) called for Milei to work with the farm sector and demanded tax deregulation.

Persons: Maximilian Heath BUENOS, Javier Milei's, Milei, Maximilian Heath, Adam Jourdan, Christopher Cushing Organizations: Reuters, Argentine Rural Society, Argentine Rural Confederations Locations: Maximilian Heath BUENOS AIRES, Argentina

☆ Argentina drivers hunt for fuel 'like water in the desert' amid shortage
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-30 | by ( Eliana Raszewski | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

"The truth is that I work with the car and it's like looking for water in the desert," said 38-year-old Cabify driver Raul Paretto. "It is distressing because you don't know on a day-to-day basis what can happen; we are living one day at a time." EXPORT HALT THREATOil executives cited planned halts at local refineries, which provide 80% of domestic supply, and the country's scarce foreign currency reserves that have held up imports. Argentina's government has fixed a local oil price at $56 per barrel, far below the international price around $86 to try to calm local inflation of nearly 140%. loadingA second industry source, also declining to be named, also said that the issue was not output, but issues in refining the crude oil and the hurdles to bringing in imports.

Persons: Sergio Massa, Javier Milei, Raul Paretto, Leonardo Villa, Jorge Chemes, Massa, Vaca Muerta, Eliana Raszewski, Claudia Martini, Maximilian Heath, Adam Jourdan, Barbara Lewis, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: Argentine Rural Confederations, Reuters, Thomson Locations: BUENOS AIRES, Argentine, Peronist, Buenos Aires, Argentina, Vaca

WASHINGTON, Oct 24 (Reuters) - U.S. regulators will begin grading banks on which communities and geographies they service via online lending under tougher new rules modernizing fair lending standards to be finalized on Tuesday. The changes to 1977 Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) regulations draw a line under a contentious multiyear effort that was delayed amid fierce lobbying by community groups and lenders, as well as by a change of presidential administrations. Conceived to prevent red lining, CRA regulations are central to banks' overall supervisory performance. Historically, CRA grades focused on how well banks serviced low-income communities where banks have branches. Banks on Tuesday said they supported fair lending but flagged concerns with the final rule.

Persons: Michael Barr, Michelle Bowman, Banks, Randy Benjenk, Lindsey Johnson, Pete Schroeder, Andrea Ricci, Michelle Price, Marguerita Choy Organizations: Federal, Fed, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Office, Covington, Consumer Bankers Association, Thomson Locations: U.S, Burling

☆ Goldman Sachs says home prices are now more unaffordable for the average buyer than they were during the 2008 housing bubble. Here are the 2 things they say would have to happen for home prices to cra
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-12 | by ( William Edwards | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

It's even tougher to buy a home right now than it was during the peak of the mid-2000s housing bubble. For one, the labor market remains very strong, meaning demand will be supported — if people still have jobs, they still have money coming in to save for a home. Goldman SachsIn the Great Recession, rising unemployment hurt housing demand, bringing down home prices. Another reason Karoui thinks things are different today is what's happened in the adjustable-rate mortgage market. During the Great Recession, for example, unemployment stayed around current levels for several more months following Treasury yield curve inversion before rising meaningfully.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, Lotfi Karoui, Karoui, Goldman, Jan Hatzius, Piper, Michael Kantrowitz Organizations: Wall, Conference, Equity

Scores of people set off on a 40-mile trek on foot from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. On Tuesday, President Biden held a meeting with Mr. Herzog, who serves as Israel’s mostly ceremonial president, at the White House. Several lawmakers critical of Israel said they would boycott Mr. Herzog’s speech to Congress to protest the Israeli government’s policies. Some members of the Israeli military reserves have campaigned against the law, and labor unions have threatened general strikes. Scores of protesters were also marching from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, carrying blue-and-white Israeli flags and chanting “De-mo-cra-tya!” — Hebrew for democracy.

Persons: Isaac Herzog, Biden, Herzog, Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, Netanyahu’s, ”, “ Organizations: Doctors, U.S, White, Mr, ”, United States Embassy Locations: Israel, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, United States

☆ Meet a first-generation Gen-Zer with $60,000 in student debt who says it's 'hard to be excited' about Biden's new plans for relief: 'There's just no clear messaging'
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-15 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Olivia Bissanti, 23, has $60,000 in federal and private student debt. As a first-generation college student, Bissanti was the first in her family to achieve a higher education and navigate the financial system that comes along with it. Six months after graduating from college in 2021, Bissanti started making payments on her private student loans. Olivia Bissanti (right), 23, has $60,000 in private and federal student debt. At the end of June, the Supreme Court struck down President Joe Biden's plan to cancel up to $20,000 in student debt for federal borrowers.

Persons: Olivia Bissanti, she's, hasn't, Bissanti, I've, Joe Biden's, overreached, —, Biden, Biden's, it's, There's, Bharat Ramamurti, that's Organizations: Service, Education Department, —, Supreme, Higher, National Economic Council Locations: Wall, Silicon

☆ Diners are shocked to see a 4% 'employee healthcare' fee on their bills at an LA restaurant — but the owner says it's common
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Diners are increasingly noticing restaurant surcharges. A Los Angeles eatery received blowback after a diner tweeted about its 4% healthcare surcharge. Some questioned if the owner would cancel an employee's health insurance on a slow night. If the restaurant has a slow day or u opt-out, do staff not get health insurance that day?" "As most LA diners will know, Alimento's 4% healthcare surcharge is hardly unique," he wrote.

Persons: Dave Anthony, Mr Dave Anthony, Lord, Anthony, Alimento, Zach Pollack, Instagram, Pollack, Condie, surcharges, Vinny's Organizations: Industry, Service, Twitter, Affordable, ACA, California Restaurant Association, Restaurant Association, Jon, Daily Mail, CRA Locations: Los Angeles, Wall, Silicon, Italian, Silver Lake, North America, California, San Francisco, Dallas

☆ Canada Revenue Agency investigating 600 employees over pandemic benefits -Globe and Mail
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

June 30 (Reuters) - The Canada Revenue Agency is investigating about 600 of its employees in a review of cases in which workers may have inappropriately received pandemic benefits payments, the Globe and Mail said on Friday. Twenty employees are no longer with the tax agency and more may depart, the newspaper quoted the CRA as saying. The CRA said 600 employees represent less than 1% of its total workforce, according to the paper. The Canada Emergency Response Benefit was rolled out in 2020 to offer broad support to millions of Canadians who lost their jobs amid coronavirus shutdowns. Reporting by Bharat Govind Gautam in Bengaluru; Editing by William Mallard and Edwina GibbsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Globe and Mail, Bharat Govind Gautam, William Mallard, Edwina Gibbs Organizations: Canada Revenue Agency, Globe and, CRA, Thomson Locations: Canada, Bengaluru

☆ Canada's revenue agency investigates employees over pandemic benefits, 20 let go
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

June 30 (Reuters) - The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) on Friday removed 20 of its employees from services and said it was investigating about 1% of its total workforce thereby digging deeper into cases wherein workers may have inappropriately received pandemic benefits payments. The tax agency is investigating a "limited number" representing about 600 of its employees, CRA said in an emailed statement. CRA said the number of people being removed from service is "likely" to increase toward the completion of the review. The Canada Emergency Response Benefit was rolled out in 2020 to offer broad support to millions of Canadians who lost their jobs amid coronavirus shutdowns. It provided financial support to employed and self-employed Canadians who were directly affected by COVID-19.

Persons: Bharat Govind Gautam, Mrinmay Dey, Gokul, William Mallard, Edwina Gibbs, Franklin Paul Organizations: Canada Revenue Agency, Franklin Paul Our, Thomson Locations: Canada, Bengaluru

☆ The Senate just passed a bill to block student-loan forgiveness and immediately end the payment pause
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The Senate just passed a bill to overturn student-debt relief and end the payment pause. On Thursday, the Senate passed a bill — first introduced in March — to overturn Biden's plan to cancel up to $20,000 in student debt for federal borrowers making under $125,000 a year by a vote of 52-46. Chuck Grassley and Bill Cassidy — sponsors of the bill — wrote an opinion piece in Fox News urging their colleagues in the Senate to pass the legislation to overturn student-loan forgiveness. Before the vote, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer wrote on Twitter that "the Senate GOP is pushing a terrible measure to end the pause on student loan payments and overturn @POTUS's student loan cancellation program. But to overturn his landmark student debt relief program just to score political points?

Persons: Biden, —, Joe Biden's, Democratic Sens, Joe Manchin, Jon Tester, Independent Sen, Kyrsten Sinema, Chuck Grassley, Bill Cassidy —, Chuck Schumer, Massachusetts Sen, Elizabeth Warren, New Jersey Democratic Sen, Bob Menendez Organizations: Service, Democratic, Independent, Republicans, GOP, Fox News, Senate, Twitter, House Republicans, New, New Jersey Democratic Locations: Massachusetts, New Jersey

☆ Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin says he will vote with Republicans to overturn Biden's student-debt relief plans, saying it 'forces hard-working taxpayers who already paid off their loans' to 'shoulder th
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Following the procedural vote, Manchin released a statement of support for "overturning reckless student loan plan." Instead, we should be focusing on bipartisan student debt reforms that reduce the cost of higher education and help all Americans." "But make no mistake: voting for this CRA isn't just a vote against the President's student debt cancellation plan. And Schumer wrote on Twitter on Wednesday that "Senate Republicans talk a big game about helping working families. Sen. Bill Cassidy, one of the sponsors of the bill, wrote on Twitter that "Biden's so-called student debt "forgiveness plan" doesn't actually forgive or cancel the debt.

Persons: Democratic Sen, Joe Manchin, —, Joe Biden's, — Kyrsten Sinema, John Tester, Manchin —, Biden, Manchin, Chuck Schumer, Massachusetts Sen, Elizabeth Warren, Warren, It's, Schumer, Sen, Bill Cassidy, doesn't Organizations: Democratic, GOP, Service, Privacy, Republicans, Biden, Manchin, Massachusetts, Twitter

☆ These are the 2 House Democrats who voted with Republicans to overturn Biden's student-loan forgiveness
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-25 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The House passed a bill on Wednesday to overturn Biden's student-debt relief plans. The measure passed by a vote of 218-203 — but it wasn't just Republicans who voted in favor of the legislation. Democratic Reps. Jared Golden of Maine and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington joined Republicans in voting in favor of overturning Biden's student-debt relief policies. The bill to overturn student-debt relief now heads to the closely divided Senate, where it faces an uncertain path ahead. "House Republicans just voted to throw 260K public servants back into debt & force 36 million Americans to immediately pay back months of paused student loans," Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren wrote on Twitter on Wednesday.

☆ The House just passed a bill to block student-loan forgiveness and end the payment pause immediately
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-24 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A bill to overturn Biden's student-debt relief passed the House by a vote of 218-203. Along with blocking broad debt relief, the bill would also end the payment pause. The bill would overturn President Joe Biden's plan to cancel up to $20,000 in student debt for federal borrowers, along with immediately ending the ongoing student-loan payment pause, throwing borrowers back into repayment earlier than expected. Pierce said that means the bill will "unwind debt relief already delivered to hundreds of thousands of public service workers across the country. This will happen because the seventh and eighth payment pauses also give credit towards Public Service Loan Forgiveness for each paused month covered by these executive actions,."

☆ The GOP's bill to permanently block Biden's student-debt relief could cause public servants' loan balances to unexpectedly balloon if it passes, advocacy groups say
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-23 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The SBPC and AFT released a report analyzing the impacts of a GOP bill to overturn student-debt relief. GOP Rep. Virginia Foxx rejected that idea during a hearing last week as Democrats said loans would be reinstated under the bill. However, the text of the CRA statute could suggest the GOP bill might do far more than block Biden's broad debt relief and the student-loan payment pauses. "This resolution will unwind debt relief already delivered to hundreds of thousands of public service workers across the country. The report also estimates that two million public servants making progress toward payments in PSLF could lose "at least some progress toward relief."

☆ House Republicans are planning to vote on a bill this week to deprive over '40 million hard-working' student-loan borrowers of debt cancellation, the White House says — and if passed, Biden will veto
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Republicans are planning to bring a bill overturning student-debt relief to the House floor for a vote this week. The White House said in a Monday statement that Biden will veto the bill if it makes it to his desk. "This resolution is an unprecedented attempt to undercut our historic economic recovery and would deprive more than 40 million hard-working Americans of much-needed student debt relief," the OMB said. Biden's broad debt relief plan has been blocked since November due to two conservative-backed lawsuits that paused the implementation of the plan. While the resolution could pass the House given the Republican majority, if faces a much trickier path in the Democratic-controlled Senate and White House.

☆ Student-loan borrowers need more 'individual responsibility,' a top GOP lawmaker says as the House advances a bill to block Biden's debt cancellation
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A GOP resolution to block student-debt cancellation advanced out of the House education committee on Wednesday. The bill heads to a full House vote, but it's unlikely to pass a Democratic-controlled Senate. 45 is the first step in restoring individual responsibility and solving the root challenges of the student loan system." Republicans have expressed similar sentiments since the lead up to Biden's announcement of broad debt relief. "Let's be clear: this resolution to eliminate student debt relief would hurt millions of student borrowers and their families," he added.

☆ Millions of student-loan borrowers would be forced into 'abrupt and unplanned repayment' if Republicans' plan to overturn Biden's debt cancellation gets passed, 261 advocacy groups tell Congress
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The House could likely take a first vote this week on a bill that would overturn student-debt relief. 261 advocacy groups urged congressional leaders on Monday to ensure that doesn't happen. They said the bill could force borrowers into an "abrupt" return to repayment and block targeted relief. "It will also force the Department of Education to unwind loans forgiven under Public Service Loan Forgiveness for first responders, nurses, educators, servicemembers, and hundreds of thousands of other public service workers across the country," they continued. Along with the CRA, McCarthy's bill to raise the debt ceiling — which passed the House two weeks ago — had spending cuts attached that included banning student-loan forgiveness.

☆ House Republicans are planning the first vote to overturn Biden's student-loan forgiveness next week
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

In March, Republican lawmakers introduced a resolution to overturn Biden's student-debt relief. The House education committee is planning to vote on the bill next week, a spokesperson confirmed to Insider. Even if the resolution passes the House, it likely won't progress in a Democratic-controlled Senate. That hasn't stopped Republicans from coming up with their own plans to block debt relief from happening. Along with the CRA, Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy's bill to raise the debt ceiling — which passed the House last week — including banning Biden's student-loan forgiveness and blocking any future relief.

WASHINGTON, May 3 (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate on Wednesday voted to repeal President Joe Biden's suspension of tariffs on solar panels from four Southeast Asian nations, a measure aimed at supporting the small domestic manufacturing industry. Biden has vowed to veto the legislation, which passed the House of Representatives last week. The House resolution that passed the Senate was introduced under the Congressional Review Act (CRA), a law that allows Congress to reverse federal agency rules. Top clean energy trade groups had called on members of Congress to oppose the measure. The Solar Energy Industries Association projected that its passage would result in cancellation of 14% of the industry's planned new capacity this year and the loss of $4.2 billion in investment.

Companies U.S. House of Representatives FollowApril 28 (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives on Friday voted to repeal President Joe Biden's suspension of tariffs on solar panels from four Southeast Asian nations, a move solar project builders say would stall clean energy development. The White House has warned that it opposes the legislation, saying in a statement that Biden would veto it. Panels from the four nations, which host manufacturing facilities owned by Chinese companies, account for about 80% of U.S. supplies. Solar project developers say tariffs will increase their costs and slow development of clean power facilities needed to combat climate change. Months later, the department issued a preliminary decision to impose tariffs on solar products Chinese companies make in those countries that match current tariffs on goods they make in China.

☆ US House to vote on repeal of Biden solar policy
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Nichola Groom | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Companies U.S. House of Representatives FollowApril 28 (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to vote Friday on whether to repeal President Joe Biden's suspension of tariffs on solar panels from four Southeast Asian nations, a move solar project builders say would stall clean energy development. The bipartisan effort to restore tariffs on solar imports from Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam is aimed at boosting domestic solar manufacturers who say they cannot compete with cheap products made overseas, primarily by Chinese companies. Panels from the four nations, which host manufacturing facilities owned by Chinese companies, account for about 80% of U.S. supplies. Biden last year waived tariffs on solar products from the four nations as the Commerce Department was considering whether those imports were dodging duties on goods made in China and violating U.S. law. Months later, the department issued a preliminary decision to impose tariffs on solar products Chinese companies make in those countries, that match current tariffs on goods they make in China.

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