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☆ Analysis: Fall in India nominal GDP growth in FY24 to challenge fiscal math
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Ira Dugal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

At least four leading economists expect nominal GDP growth to come in between 8% and 11% as inflation slows and real GDP growth eases from an estimated 7% this year, when pandemic-related distortions and pent-up demand pushed up growth rates. Das said he expects nominal GDP growth of 8%-9% in FY24, with inflation and real GDP growth seen declining. A growth of 8-9% would bring that number close to the 7.6% nominal growth seen in 2019/20, before the Covid crisis hit. State Bank of India and rating agency ICRA estimate the nominal GDP growth at around 10% for next financial year. "Higher-than-budgeted nominal GDP growth,(will help) to keep fiscal deficit as a percentage of GDP at 6.4%, with downside risks," it said.

☆ Analysis: Russian gold removed from some Western funds after Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Peter Hobson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

But the data, compiled by Reuters, shows Russian gold being removed at a significantly faster pace than that from other countries. One said he had asked the bank paid to store his fund's gold to allocate as little Russian metal as possible to it. Russian gold removed from such funds was often reassigned to other owners in the same location, the bankers said. JP Morgan, which stored around 1,050 tonnes of gold for the funds, trimmed Russian gold by 13% and non-Russian gold by 9%. However, the two largest funds, BlackRock's (BLK.N) iShares Gold Trust and the World Gold Council's SPDR Gold Shares, actually increased their proportion of Russian gold.

☆ Black Californians could get $223,000 each in reparations — and it could even help close the state's homeownership gap
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( Alcynna Lloyd | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

In 2020, CA Governor Gavin Newsom formed a task force to decide how the state could best administer reparations to Black residents. The task force has proposed providing upwards of $223,200 for each qualifying resident. However, few leaders have brought forward proposals that are as sweeping in scope as the one produced by California's special task force. The reparations proposal could help Black Californians obtain homeownershipAccording to the California Housing Finance Agency, Black Americans have the lowest homeownership rate in the state. Other states have also awarded reparations to their Black constituentsWhile the California proposal is sweeping in its scope, Newsom's office has the benefit of being able to study examples of reparations programs elsewhere.

☆ America’s gun epidemic is deadlier than ever, and there are vast disparities in who’s dying
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Deidre Mcphillips | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

The researchers found that firearm mortality rates increased for most demographic groups in recent years – especially during the pandemic – and vast disparities persisted. With infant mortality in the United States, when you look at Black infants versus White infants, there’s over a two-fold (difference in) mortality rate. There are two key factors driving community gun violence, says Jonathan Jay, an assistant professor at Boston University School of Public Health: disadvantage at the neighborhood level and exposure to gun violence at the individual level. “Gun violence is most likely in spaces that show signs of physical disinvestment. The gun suicide rate increased 10% while the non-gun suicide rate decreased by 8%, and the gun homicide rate increased 45% while the non-gun homicide rate increased only 6%.

☆ Remaking the River That Remade L.A.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Michael Kimmelman | Photographs Adali Schell | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +33 min

Remaking the River That Remade L.A.February 1938 was a wet month in Los Angeles. Reservoirs overflowed, dams topped out and floodwaters careered down Pacoima Wash and Tujunga Wash toward the Los Angeles River. The Los Angeles River was never a storybook river of the kind that, like the Hudson or the Seine, we associate with great cities. Among the naysayers is a venerable organization called Friends of the Los Angeles River, founded by the Texas-born poet and performance artist Lewis MacAdams. “With all the problems L.A. is facing,” he said, “even if it costs $50 billion to fix the river, we should just effing do it.”The headwaters of the Los Angeles River aren’t easy to find.

☆ Yellen touts U.S. battery investments in election battleground Ohio
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( David Lawder | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

CLEVELAND, Oct 27 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen hailed the beginnings of a Midwest "Battery Belt" on Thursday as a result of the Biden administration's investments in clean energy, infrastructure and semiconductors. "Since January of last year, companies have announced over $100 billion in EV, battery, and charging investments here in America," Yellen said, citing plans for a $4.4 billion battery plant in central Ohio announced earlier this month by Honda Motor Co and LG Energy Solution . "The wave of new battery investments in the Midwest has been so significant that some commentators are dubbing the region as the new 'Battery Belt,'" Yellen said. Yellen also said that bill provides bonus incentives that will encourage investments in low-income communities and cities and sectors that have seen chronic disinvestment and job losses. "This is a place-based investment strategy designed to broaden economic opportunity across all communities," Yellen said.

☆ US math skills suffered their biggest-ever setback during COVID, with just 26% of 8th graders meeting the mark
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Results from the Nation's Report Card found drastic declines in math scores for fourth and eight graders. Just 26% of eight graders are proficient in math, down from 34% in 2019. Cardona said that while the pandemic is partly to blame, years of disinvestment in education is a major factor. The results were stark — math scores for eighth graders dropped in nearly every state, with just 26% of them proficient in the subject, down from 34% in 2019. For fourth graders, the average math score fell by five points, and reading scores for both grades fell by three points.

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