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☆ The evolution of the Volkswagen bus — from Type 2 to the electric ID Buzz
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( Sydney Boyo | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The Volkswagen Type 2 bus, known for its split windows, rear engine and distinctive colors, is making a comeback. In 2024, Volkswagen will deliver its electric ID Buzz line to North America . From 1950 to 2003, four generations of the Type 2 bus were sold in the U.S., with nearly 1 million total deliveries, according to VW. "After the Eurovan, the minivan segment was sort of on the decline," said Jeffrey Lear, product manager of electric vehicles for Volkswagen of America. It is the bus segment."

Persons: Damon Ristau, Jeffrey Lear, Lear, We'll Organizations: Volkswagen, VW, America Locations: North America, U.S, America, Europe, American

SEOUL, Aug 24 (Reuters) - North Korea appears to have made progress in its space program, despite a second rocket failure on Thursday, but its unusually quick launch pace may be causing problems, analysts said. North Korea's second attempt to place a spy satellite in orbit failed after the booster experienced a problem with its third stage, state media reported. South Korea scheduled nearly a year between each of the three launches of its new Nuri rocket, none of which failed as spectacularly as the North Korean attempts. North Korea plans to launch the Chollima-1 three times in less than six months. "I am not sure if North Korean leadership knows the characteristics of large-scale science," he said.

Persons: Jeffrey Lewis, James Martin, Chang Young, Kim Jong, Yang Uk, Nuri, Yang Moo, Kim, Lee Choon, Hyonhee Shin, hyang Choi, Josh Smith, Gerry Doyle Organizations: James, James Martin Center, Nonproliferation, Korea Aerospace University, Asan Institute, Policy Studies, University of North Korean Studies, South Korea's Science, Technology Policy Institute, Thomson Locations: SEOUL, North Korea, South Korea, Pyongyang, Seoul, Korea, Korean

☆ ‘Splash Spots’ Reinvent the Hydrant Spray Cap and Save Water
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-18 | by ( James Barron | More About James Barron | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

He and an industrial designer named Colin Kelly came up with four prototypes called Splash Spots that have eye appeal. The Fire Department worries about low water pressure when hydrants are open, a potentially serious problem when a call comes in and fire trucks go out. Sprinkler caps, which firehouses can make available on request, cut the flow to 25 to 30 gallons a minute, by Kelly’s calculations. Splash Spots send out about half that, and unlike the Fire Department’s sprinkler caps, they can be turned on and off, saving even more when a sprinkler is not needed. “I was out for a run over the July 4 weekend, and I passed a street with a hydrant with a spray cap,” Gordon said.

Persons: Colin Kelly, ”, Jeffrey LeFrancois, Kelly, ” Gordon Organizations: Chelsea, Management Association, Fire Department Foundation, Department Locations: Meatpacking

☆ Some former mobsters who were prosecuted by Rudy Giuliani are thrilled that the ex-Trump attorney got hit with RICO charges, mob lawyers say: report
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-18 | by ( Lloyd Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Rudy Giuliani gained notoriety as a prosecutor for going after New York City mafias in the 1980s. Recently, he was indicted on RICO charges — the same prosecutorial tool he used to take down mafias. A lawyer who represented prominent New York mobsters said his clients are "fucking thrilled." "I don't want to say the language, but they really ripped Rudy a new a------," he told the outlet. Former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, who witnessed Giuliani's political rise in the city, also chimed in and told Politico that the indictment was "more than Shakespearean."

Persons: Rudy Giuliani, Giuliani, Donald Trump, Georgia's, Murray Richman, Genovese, Rudy, Jeffrey Lichtman, Gambino, John Gotti, Lichtman, Ted Goodman, Rudy Giuliani fearlessly, Murray Richmond, John Alite, Alite, Richman, Trump, — Rudy, Bill de Blasio, de Blasio Organizations: New York City mafias, New York mobsters, Service, Racketeer, La, La Cosa Nostra, Trump, Former New York, Politico Locations: New York City, Wall, Silicon, New York, La Cosa, Former New York City, Giuliani

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russia's Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu visit an exhibition of armed equipment on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the Korean War armistice in this image released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency on July 27, 2023. The fact North Korean hackers may have obtained information about the Zircon does not mean they would immediately have that same capability, said Markus Schiller, a Europe-based missile expert who has researched foreign aid to North Korea's missile programme. Last month, North Korea test-launched the Hwasong-18, the first of its ICBMs to use solid propellants. "North Korea announced that it was doing the same thing in late 2021. If NPO Mash had one useful thing for them, that would be top of my list," he added.

Persons: Kim Jong, Sergei Shoigu, ScarCruft, Lazarus, Tom Hegel, SentinelOne, Hegel, Obama, Nicholas Weaver, Matt Tait, Weaver, Vladimir Putin, Markus Schiller, Schiller, Jeffrey Lewis, James Martin, James Pearson, Christopher Bing, Chris Sanders, Alistair Bell Organizations: Russia's, North, Korean Central News Agency, KCNA, REUTERS, NPO Mashinostroyeniya, Pyongyang LONDON, Reuters, North Korean, United Nations, Soviet Union, NPO, Intercontinental Ballistic Missile, Mash, James, James Martin Center, Nonproliferation Studies, Korea, Thomson Locations: Pyongyang, WASHINGTON, Russian, Reutov, Moscow, Russia, Washington, New York, North Korea, Soviet, United States, Crimea, Korean, Europe, London

☆ Feds vote to reduce bottlenecks in connecting new power sources to the energy grid
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-31 | by ( Catherine Clifford | In Catclifford | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

Also, power generators will have to meet certain requirements to keep their place in the queue, including a financial deposit. Deadlines and penalties for transmission providers: Transmission providers will have strict deadlines to to respond to power generators waiting in the queue, and will face penalties if they miss those deadlines. Also, power generators will be able to add a source of power to a single interconnection request. It can be so expensive to build new transmission, sometimes power generators can't afford the cost and have to cancel their power generation plans completely. Also, power generators wait for an average of five years in these queues because grid operators are flooded with interconnection queue applications.

Persons: Jeffrey Lamb, LADWP, Al Seib, George Rose, Rob Gramlich, Gramlich, Joseph Rand, Rand, Gregory Wetstone Organizations: Sylmar, Pacific DC, Los Angeles Department of Water, Los Angeles Times, Getty, Aera Energy, CNBC, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, FERC, Vw, American, Renewable Energy Locations: Columbia, Oregon, California, Southern California, Angeles, Los Angeles , CA, CA, San Joaquin Valley, McKittrick , California, North, Lost, Kern County, Bakersfield, United States, Milford , Utah, Milford, Smithfield, ACORE

☆ Former Richmond Fed President Lacker: Real Fed funds rate isn't sufficient for 2% inflation
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | 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 EmailFormer Richmond Fed President Lacker: Real Fed funds rate isn't sufficient for 2% inflationJeffrey Lacker, former president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, joins 'Squawk on the Street' to discuss measuring monetary policy with the real federal funds, the transitory impact of housing disinflation, and a pullback in bank lending due to the Fed rate hikes.

Persons: Lacker, Jeffrey Lacker Organizations: Former Richmond Fed, Real, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond

☆ The Fed has paused before. Here’s what happened next
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-25 | by ( Elisabeth Buchwald | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

The Fed had a similar predicament in 2006After raising interest rates 17 consecutive times between June 2004 and June 2006, Fed officials became concerned that they could inadvertently damage the economy if they continued to hike rates. When the Fed met again in September, many officials expressed concerns that raising interest rates after a short, six-week pause would broadcast the wrong message. Lacker continued to be the sole Fed official who favored raising interest rates until his term expired at the end of the year. “It’s pretty easy to believe that the Fed will find that it didn’t raise rates enough and so choose to raise rates somewhat further before stopping and, later on, reducing rates,” he said. Fed officials then opted for a pause in the fall of 1994 and raised rates further in the winter.

Persons: Ben Bernanke, Bernanke, “, ” Michael Moskow, ”, Cathy Minehan, Jeffrey Lacker, Lacker, Jerome Powell, Liu Jie, Athanasios Orphanides, Austan Goolsbee, William English Organizations: New, New York CNN, Federal, Traders, Fed, Committee, Washington , D.C, Bloomberg, Getty, Chicago Fed, Boston Fed, Richmond Fed, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, European Central Bank, Food Forum, Yale University Locations: New York, Washington ,, Xinhua, Chicago

☆ The Supreme Court’s Conservatives Even Control Which Cases the Justice - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( Jeffrey L. Fisher | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

More often, the cases were relatively low-profile — lower court decisions refusing, for example, to apply civil rights protections that are already established. And here’s the thing: In many of those cases, the court ultimately reversed by an overwhelming vote. The lower court decisions were indefensible. But for the court to reverse a lower court decision refusing to honor a civil liberty, the case first has to be put on its docket. Seven years before, the Supreme Court had chastised the Louisiana courts for allowing exactly this kind of unconstitutional gamesmanship.

Persons: Hodges, David Brown, Brown’s, Brown, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan Locations: . Louisiana, Louisiana

☆ How surgeons in Ukraine are saving soldiers' lives with a simple tube grown from human cells
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-25 | by ( Adam Barnes | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

It's a small tube called the human acellular vessel (HAV) designed to treat traumatic vascular injuries mostly due to blasts and shrapnel. Why vascular injuries are so dangerousVascular injuries are a leading cause of preventable death in military combat and a leading cause of amputation. They're lab-grown from human vascular cells in about eight weeks and then sanitized to be ready as an off-the-shelf replacement blood vessel. HumacyteVascular surgeons often treat traumatic vascular injuries with grafts. Humacyte plans to file an application with the FDA later this year for HAVs to treat traumatic vascular injuries.

Persons: HAVs, —, Oleksandr Sokolov, Sokolov, Humacyte, Laura Niklason, they're, Niklason, Niklosan, Jeffrey Lawson Sokolov, HAVs aren't, Miechia, Esco, What's Organizations: Service, FDA's, International, Ukrainian Ministry of Health, Humacyte, Humactye, FDA, HAVs Locations: Ukraine, It's, Afghanistan, Russia

☆ Fmr. Richmond Fed President Lacker: There's a strong case the Fed will ultimately have to do more
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | 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 EmailFmr. Richmond Fed President Lacker: There's a strong case the Fed will ultimately have to do moreJeffrey Lacker, former Richmond Fed president, joins 'Squawk on the Street' to discuss Lacker's thoughts on the Federal Reserve's upcoming meeting, why the real interest rate is important, and the lagged impact of rate hikes.

Persons: Lacker, Jeffrey Lacker Organizations: Richmond Fed, Federal

☆ A Pier Deal Is Full of Developer Perks, but Is It Good for the City?
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-11 | by ( Matthew Haag | Dana Rubinstein | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

“From an economic development standpoint, it’s a giveaway,” said Jeffrey LeFrancois, the chair of Manhattan Community Board 4, which covers a stretch of the West Side that includes the pier. “Given that Vornado has already had the ability to do this the past 13 years and done nothing, it’s outrageous that they are taking this pier from taxpayers for pennies on the dollar.”Mr. LeFrancois said the terms were particularly friendly because Vornado, which primarily operates office buildings in New York City, has been eager to find new revenue sources as companies jettison physical offices. The relationship is mutually beneficial: Developers get to build on city land, and the mayor gets to point to new projects as evidence that he is leading New York out of the pandemic. In Queens, the mayor has touted a plan to redevelop a swath of the borough that will include the new soccer stadium and what officials have described as the largest construction of entirely affordable housing since the Mitchell-Lama developments of the 1970s. Like other stadiums in the city, the new one will not pay property taxes, although the team that will play there, the New York City Football Club, will pay some rent.

Persons: ”, Jeffrey LeFrancois, Vornado, Mr, LeFrancois, ” Mr, Adams, Mitchell Organizations: Manhattan Community, New York City Football Club Locations: New York City, New York, Queens

WASHINGTON, June 7 (Reuters) - The U.S. economy is strong amid robust consumer spending but some areas are slowing down, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Wednesday, adding that she expects continued progress in bringing inflation down over the next two years with a strong labor market. Yellen said that inflation can subside while maintaining a strong labor market, with unemployment in the 4% range, up slightly from the 3.7% reading in May. "We've always thought an unemployment rate with four as the first digit is a very strong labor market," Yellen said. She said the economy has slowed somewhat, easing pressures in the labor market, but "we still have a very healthy labor market, wage gains are significant." Asked about former Richmond Federal Reserve President Jeffrey Lacker's view that the federal funds rate, at 5.0-5.25% now, will have to rise to 6% to tame inflation, Yellen said that was a decision for the Fed.

Persons: Janet Yellen, Yellen, We've, Jeffrey Lacker's, David Lawder, Susan Heavey, Doina Chiacu, Chizu Nomiyama, Andrea Ricci Organizations: Treasury, CNBC, Federal, Richmond Federal, Securities and Exchange Commission, European Union, Thomson Locations: U.S

☆ Fmr. Richmond Fed President Lacker: Fed will have to go above 6% 'when all is said and done'
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | 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 EmailFmr. Richmond Fed President Lacker: Fed will have to go above 6% 'when all is said and done'Jeffrey Lacker, former president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, joins CNBC's 'Squawk Box' to discuss the Fed's next move and more.

Persons: Lacker, Jeffrey Lacker Organizations: Richmond Fed, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond

☆ Shake Shack settles with activist investor, adds independent director
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

But Shake Shack said on Tuesday that Engaged Capital would support the board's full slate of directors at the 2023 annual meeting of stockholders. The company has named Jeffrey Lawrence, former finance chief at apparel retailer FIGS Inc (FIGS.N) and Domino's Pizza Inc (DPZ.N), as an independent director. It has also mutually agreed with Engaged Capital to add another director with restaurant operations experience. Engaged Capital did not immediately respond to Reuters request for additional comments. In May, Shake Shack posted a smaller-than-expected first-quarter loss, benefiting from higher prices for its menu items that offset pressures from rising prices of beef and other cost pressures.

☆ U.S. to send nuclear submarines in new pledge to protect South Korea from North's threats
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Alexander Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

The United States will deploy nuclear-armed submarines to South Korea for the first time in decades — part of a new agreement that will signal Washington's commitment to defend Seoul against rising nuclear threats from North Korea, U.S. officials said. The plan to dock the ballistic missile submarines in South Korea, which hasn't happened since the 1980's, headlines an effort to make U.S. deterrence against Kim Jong Un's regime "more visible," according to senior administration officials. President Joe Biden and his counterpart, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, will unveil the new agreement in Washington on Wednesday, the officials said. In return, an official added, South Korea would reaffirm its commitment to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, known as the NPT, which bars countries from seeking nuclear weapons. Yoon's visit follows the largest U.S.-South Korea joint military exercises in years, aimed largely at countering the North Korean nuclear threat.

☆ North Korea's next nuke test a matter of 'when,' not 'if,' US Army general says, warning its on the way to a key nuclear capability
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

A top US Army general warned that North Korea is on its way to developing a key nuclear capability. Gen. Paul LaCamera also said this week that Pyongyang's next nuclear test is only a matter of time. LaCamera also said North Korea is slated to carry out a seventh nuclear test at some point in the future. North Korea conducted six nuclear tests between 2006 and 2017, and each underground test produced explosive yields progressively larger than the one before it. Ju Ae has become a regular figure at North Korea's military-oriented events in recent months after spending years cloaked in mystery.

☆ Mountain Valley Pipeline's West Virginia water permit tossed by court
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Clark Mindock | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Circuit Court of Appeals found several defects in the review the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection conducted before issuing the permit. They told the court the agency ignored Equitrans' history of violating state water regulations when it issued the permit under the Clean Water Act. A spokesperson for the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection said they're reviewing the decision. The permit is one of the last remaining hurdles for the multi-billion dollar project, which would carry natural gas between West Virginia and Virginia. For West Virginia: Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, Michael Williams and Lindsay See of the state attorney general’s office and Jason Wandling of the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection.

☆ Putin wanted to boast about Russia launching a nuclear-capable ICBM — but the launch failed so he couldn't, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A recent Russian test launch of its Sarmat missile appears to have failed, two US officials told CNN. But Putin didn't mention the Sarmat launch in his annual speech, his first since invading Ukraine. The Kremlin tipped off the US in advance about the planned test launch using deconfliction channels, one of the unnamed officials told the outlet. Footage from a prior Sarmat test launch. Russia's most recent notable test launch of the Sarmat missile was in April, just after its invasion of Ukraine began.

☆ One Owns the Kansas City Chiefs. The Other, the Philadelphia Eagles. But Who Owns the Best Homes?
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-11 | by ( Libertina Brandt | Sarah Paynter | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Clark Hunt, an owner of the Kansas City Chiefs, left, and Jeffrey Lurie, right, the owner of the Philadelphia EaglesThis weekend, Clark Hunt, an owner and the chairman of the Kansas City Chiefs, and Jeffrey Lurie , owner of the Philadelphia Eagles, will watch their teams battle it out in Super Bowl LVII at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz. While both the Hunt family and Mr. Lurie have helped build championship-worthy teams on the field, off the field they have built up impressive multimillion-dollar real-estate portfolios.

☆ Watch CNBC's full interview with Jeffrey Lacker
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | 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 EmailWatch CNBC's full interview with Jeffrey LackerJeffrey Lacker, Virginia Commonwealth University professor and former president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, joins 'Squawk on the Street' to break down disinflation and the Fed rate hike decision.

☆ Secure 2.0 changes 3 key rules around required withdrawals from retirement accounts
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( Greg Iacurci | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

President Joe Biden signed a $1.7 trillion legislative package on Dec. 29, 2022 that has several updates for retirement savers. Raising the RMD age to 73 (and eventually 75)Currently, savers have to start taking RMDs at age 72. The new law raises the RMD starting age in two tranches: to 73, starting in 2023, and to 75, starting in 2033. Eliminating RMDs from a Roth 401(k)Starting in 2024, investors in employer retirement plans likes Roth 401(k) accounts will no longer have to take RMDs. This change aligns Roth 401(k) with Roth IRAs, which don't require distributions during one's lifetime.

☆ Families can make a tax-free rollover from 529 plans to Roth individual retirement accounts starting in 2024
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Greg Iacurci | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Maskot | Maskot | Getty ImagesMillions of 529 accounts hold billions in savingsThere were nearly 15 million 529 accounts at the end of last year, holding a total $480 billion, according to the Investment Company Institute. watch nowHowever, that investment growth is generally subject to income tax and a 10% tax penalty if used for an ineligible expense. A transfer would skirt income tax and penalties; investments would keep growing tax-free in a Roth account, and future retirement withdrawals would also be tax-free. The rollover can only be made to the beneficiary's Roth IRA — not that of the account owner. Some education savings experts think 529 accounts have adequate flexibility so as not to deter families from using them.

☆ California woman admits to unwittingly funding foiled plot to kidnap Iran critic
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK — A California woman pleaded guilty on Thursday in connection with her unwitting role in a foiled plot to kidnap a prominent Iranian opposition activist living in New York City and take her back to Tehran. But authorities said four Iranians who plotted to kidnap the activist and paid an American private investigator to watch her used Bahadorifar as a go-between. Bahadorifar pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to violate U.S. economic sanctions on Iran by helping channel money to the investigator. Her lawyer, Jeffrey Lichtman, told The New York Times that Bahadorifar was herself a victim of a “cancerous” Iranian regime. An Iranian intelligence officer and others were charged in New York last year with attempting to kidnap Alinejad and take her back to Iran.

☆ All central banks were too slow to respond to inflation, says fmr. Fed President Jeffrey Lacker
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | 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 EmailAll central banks were too slow to respond to inflation, says fmr. Fed President Jeffrey LackerJeffrey Lacker, former president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, joins CNBC's 'Squawk Box' to weigh in on the Fed's latest decision to raise its key interest rate by 50 basis points.

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