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☆ Powell is leader of the free world – for now
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Lauren Silva Laughlin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

As former President Donald Trump will attest, Powell will do what he thinks it’s right. This month, Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren, a left-wing firebrand, went on TV and called Powell a “dangerous man,” saying she doesn’t think that he should be Fed Chair. CNN television host Jake Tapper asked her if she had told Biden that Powell should be fired. Then Trump called Powell “a golfer who can’t putt, has no touch.” Trump wanted economic growth. Powell resisted and later responded saying that the Fed chair, more than anyone else, needs to be free from political pressures.

☆ JPMorgan Chase can be sued by Virgin Islands over Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking claims
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Dan Mangan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Epstein, who killed himself in a Manhattan jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal criminal child sex trafficking charges, was a JPMorgan client from 1998 through 2013. "Epstein's sex trafficking operation was impossible without the assistance of JPMorgan Chase, and later Deutsche Bank," Edwards said. In the Virgin Islands' suit, Rakoff sustained the government's claim that JPMorgan Chase benefited from participating in Epstein's sex trafficking, which included shipping women to his private island in the U.S. territory. The judge dismissed all other claims in the Virgin Islands' and accusers' cases. In a statement, U.S. Virgin Islands Acting Attorney General Carol Thomas-Jacobs said, "We are pleased that the U.S. Virgin Islands will continue to work alongside survivors to hold JPMorgan Chase accountable for enabling Jeffrey Epstein's heinous sex-trafficking venture."

[1/2] U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg delivers remarks during a discussion hosted by the Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C., U.S., September 12, 2019. A rare meeting of the Supreme Court Bar, comprised of attorneys admitted to practice law before the court, featured speeches from people who worked closely with Ginsburg including U.S. Trump also appointed conservative Justices Neil Gorsuch in 2017 and Brett Kavanaugh in 2018. Appointed to the Supreme Court by Democratic President Bill Clinton in 1993, she provided key votes in landmark rulings securing equal rights for women, expanding gay rights and safeguarding abortion rights. Ginsburg was the second woman ever named to the court, after Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

"Jamie Dimon knew in 2008 that his billionaire client was a sex trafficker," attorney Mimi Liu told Manhattan U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff at a hearing late Thursday, referring to the year Epstein was first criminally charged with sex crimes. "If Staley is a rogue employee, why isn't Jamie Dimon?" The lawyer continued: "Staley knew, Dimon knew, JPMorgan Chase knew" about Epstein's criminal conduct. Simon Dawson | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesA lawyer for JPMorgan disputed those arguments, "in particular the point about Jamie Dimon having any specific knowledge." Wexler also said, "Jamie Dimon has no recollection of reviewing the Epstein accounts."

Companies Conocophillips FollowWASHINGTON, March 13 (Reuters) - The oil industry on Monday cheered the U.S. government's greenlighting of ConocoPhillips' multibillion-dollar oil drilling project in Alaska's Arctic, but court challenges could mire the plans in further delays. President Joe Biden's administration approved a trimmed-down version of the $7 billion Willow project on federal lands in a pristine area on Alaska's north coast. Kristen Monsell, a senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, another group involved in the previous suits, said Monday's approval for the Willow project is "still inadequate in numerous respects." Senator Dan Sullivan, a Republican from Alaska, told reporters the state's lawmakers are prepared to defend the decision against "frivolous" legal challenges. Even if Interior could beat back the oil company's challenge, it would probably only mean another delay for Willow, he said.

☆ Silicon Valley is on a knife-edge after the collapse of SVB
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-12 | by ( Matt Turner | Dave Smith | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

With the failure of Silicon Valley Bank, we're witnessing the biggest bank collapse since the 2008 financial crisis. On the agenda today:Before we dive in: Insider's Warehouse Nation series was recognized with a Best in Business Award from the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing (SABEW). And up first today: Alison Brower, Insider's LA bureau chief, explains whether the Oscars still matter in Hollywood. The Slap still stings across Hollywood, and Academy Awards organizers are working hard to make sure tonight's ceremony sparkles, Insider's Alison Brower writes. Silicon Valley Bank's implosionSilicon Valley Bank employees react to the bank's collapse Getty ImagesSilicon Valley Bank had been a pillar of the startup ecosystem for four decades.

☆ UK's Sunak will invite Biden to Northern Ireland peace anniversary
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-12 | by ( Elizabeth Piper | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, March 12 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will invite U.S. President Joe Biden to Northern Ireland in April to help celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, which largely brought an end to three decades of political violence. Sunak said on Sunday that he would issue a formal invite to the celebrations, which are due to take place in the middle of April. The Good Friday Agreement was a peace deal that largely ended the "Troubles", three decades of violence that had convulsed Northern Ireland since the late 1960s. It was signed on April 10, 1998, and partially brokered by the U.S. government of then President Bill Clinton. "What I'm concentrating on now is talking to everyone in Northern Ireland so we can find a positive way to move forward and get power-sharing up and running - that's my priority," Sunak said.

☆ Trump is publishing a book of 150 private letters he's received, including at least one of the 'love letters' he got from Kim Jong Un — and a signed version will set you back $399
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Cheryl Teh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Donald Trump is releasing a new book titled "Letters to Trump." This is his second book under Winning Team Publishing, a company run by Donald Trump Jr., his oldest son. "Letters to Trump" is up for preorder and will be released for general sales on April 25, per Winning Team Publishing. No book highlights his iconic relationships like 'Letters to Trump,'" Sergio Gor, the cofounder of Winning Team publishing, told Axios. This is Trump's second book published with Winning Team Publishing.

How 31 Presidential Budgets Compared With RealityYear of budget 1994 Deficits Budgets Reality Spending Taxes and other revenueYou have probably heard of the main reason for this: The president’s budget has no force of law. But the president’s budget is often not predictive for another reason: Unexpected, cataclysmic events end up changing the trajectory of federal spending far more than shifts in any line item in a budget table. Bill ClintonDeficits Budgets Reality Spending Taxes and other revenueMr. Clinton’s budgets matched actual spending and revenue far more than those of the presidents who followed him. Another was the Budget Control Act, a bipartisan bill that reduced federal spending across the government that Mr. Obama had not proposed. And as we’re often reminded during budget season, budgets are also important because they tell you about a president’s goals and values.

☆ The Justice Department investigated Jeffrey Epstein's death. Then it went silent.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Jacob Shamsian | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +25 min

Jeffrey Epstein's death in a federal jail was seen as a shocking Justice Department failure. But more than three years later, the office still hasn't released its report into the circumstances of Epstein's death. "We all took it by surprise," Mark Epstein told Insider. Barr tasked the Justice Department's inspector general, Michael Horowitz, and the FBI with investigating "the circumstances of Mr. Epstein's death." Mark Epstein told Insider that he spoke to his brother about once a month in the years before his death.

☆ Analysis: Biden's focus on deficit in budget is targeted at Republicans
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Trevor Hunnicutt | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Biden's increasing emphasis on the deficit now doesn't mean the White House sees an imminent crisis looming from the nation's $32 trillion debt. Instead, the White House hopes to draw a sharp contrast with Republican threats to refuse to raise the debt limit without sharp spending cuts. Including this fiscal plan in Biden's agenda can help shore up his economic credibility before his expected 2024 re-election campaign, the White House believes. That doesn't mean that what the White House is proposing is going to happen, of course. Reuters GraphicsNearly six in ten people told Pew Research Center in January that reducing the deficit should be a top Biden administration priority.

☆ Boomers Greed Ruined Economy for Gen Z, Millennials
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Alex Yablon | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

The boomers' economy is brittle, stingy, and built on undersupply. While inflation may be cooling a bit, future prosperity for millennials, Gen Zers, and beyond depends on reversing this economywide bottleneck created by boomers. Boomers shrank the labor force they need nowThe baby boomers ensured the labor market of the generations after them would be inadequate in a few major ways. The boomer ethos on housing, which views homes not as places to live but as financial assets, is mirrored in the rest of the economy boomers made. They make loans, investment, and housing more expensive — putting the economy on a diet instead of growing the pie.

☆ AI-generated audio of Joe Biden and Donald Trump trashtalking while gaming is taking over TikTok
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Allegra Rosenberg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

On TikTok, faked audio created by AI of Joe Biden and Donald Trump gaming has become a hit meme. But the ease with voice AI can be used for jokes also shows how easy it is to fake convincing quotes. The Biden Cinematic UniverseOn the @bidenandfriends TikTok account, "Sleepy Joe" plays Minecraft and other video games with his best (and worst) buddies. Other political and celebrity figures pop up in various installments, but the core trio of Trump, Biden, and Obama seems to persist across the lore. "I remember when people thought AI would kill us all, but this is how we use it," commented one TikTok user.

☆ Explainer: What is the Good Friday Agreement and when was it signed?
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Feb 23 (Reuters) - The Good Friday Agreement largely ended the "Troubles", three decades of violence that had racked Northern Ireland since the late 1960s. It was signed on April 10, 1998 - which fell that year on Good Friday in the Christian Easter holiday. The deal was formally two interlinked agreements: a treaty between the British and Irish governments and an agreement between the Northern Irish parties. "North-south" bodies were created to encourage cooperation between Northern Ireland and Ireland, while "east-west" institutions linked Britain and Ireland. Overall, Northern Ireland has enjoyed peace for much of the 25 years since the agreement was signed, with only a small number of splinter groups involved in sporadic attacks.

☆ Photos show how the affair between Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky came to light, fracturing a nation's trust and both of their reputations
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-18 | by ( Katie Balevic | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Former White House intern Monica Lewinsky said she fell for the president's "lethal charm." President Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky at a White House function. Getty ImagesIn an affair that would shape history, Monica Lewinsky said she fell for former President Bill Clinton's "lethal charm" when she was a White House intern in 1995. Their first dalliance was in November 1995 during a colleague's birthday party at the White House when Lewinsky lifted her jacket to show him the straps of her thong, The Washington Post reported in 1998. "I just knew that he was in love with me," Lewinsky recalled, The Post reported.

☆ Biden to name Fed's Lael Brainard as top economic adviser - source
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Feb 13 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden is expected to name Federal Reserve Vice Chair Lael Brainard to the White House's top economic policy position as early as Tuesday, a source familiar with the matter said on Monday. Brainard would replace White House National Economic Council (NEC) Director Brian Deese, who has announced his resignation. In addition Biden confidant Jared Bernstein is expected to replace Cecilia Rouse as chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, the source said. The White House declined to comment. "Under normal circumstances I would have thought that her advice to Biden would be very pro stimulus," he said.

☆ Who is Jared Bernstein, new chief White House economist?
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Andrea Shalal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Americans remain unimpressed by Biden's economic performance, with prices of many basic goods and mortgage rates high. Bernstein, who played the double bass in jazz bands and worked as a social worker in New York City, has long been a voice for progressive economic policy. He served in the Labor Department under former President Bill Clinton and then as Biden's chief economist when he was vice president. At the Economic Policy Institute, a Washington think tank, he wrote and testified to Congress extensively on the shrinking U.S. middle class, a bedrock Biden theme. U.S. business groups worry that Bernstein's labor ties and anti-free trade stance could hamper efforts to bolster trade ties with other countries.

☆ Biden taps Fed's Brainard, Bernstein for top economic jobs as part of White House reshuffle
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Emma Kinery | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

In recent weeks, Jeff Zients has replaced Ron Klain as White House chief of staff. Kate Bedingfield, White House communications director, said she plans to leave at the end of the month. The pair will have tremendous influence over economic policy at a tricky time for the United States. As NEC director, Brainard will be tasked with crafting the president's economic agenda and coordinating economic responses between various agencies. "He is an expert on worker empowerment and a worker-centric economic policy, which has long been the heart of my economic vision."

☆ Factbox: Some potential successors to Brainard at the Fed
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Meanwhile, analysts and Fed observers are already swapping notes on potential replacements for Brainard at the Fed from a bench of economists aligned with Biden's Democrats, who control the U.S. Senate. MARY DALYDaly is president of the San Francisco Fed, ascending to that position in 2018 after 22 years at the regional Fed bank, including a stint as its director of research. Furman has been a prominent, Twitter-savvy commentator on macroeconomic and Fed policy. He has a PhD from the University of Virginia and served as a Fed economist for a little over a year in the mid-1990s. With a PhD from Stanford University, he's held staff positions at the Fed board and the San Francisco Fed, where he also served as president before moving to the New York Fed role in 2018.

☆ Meta's chief business officer will leave the company after 13 years
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( Ashley Capoot | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Marne Levine, vice president of global partnerships and business development for Facebook Inc., speaks during the Fortune's Most Powerful Women Summit in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2019. Meta 's Chief Business Officer Marne Levine is stepping down after 13 years with the company, Meta announced in a release Monday. Levine previously served as vice president of global public policy at Facebook, chief operating officer at Instagram and vice president of global partnerships, business and corporate development at Facebook. Levine was named Facebook's chief business officer in the summer of 2021, a few months before it changed its name to Meta to indicate its focus on the yet-to-be-developed metaverse. "I'm grateful for our partnership, her commitment to Meta, and the energy she brought to the company every day."

☆ Larry Summers says he's encouraged the Fed can pull off a soft landing, but not to get hopes up
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-05 | by ( Ramishah Maruf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —After a shocking jobs report, Larry Summers, treasury secretary under Bill Clinton, said he is more encouraged the Fed can pull off a soft landing, but cautioned it is a “big mistake” to think the economy is “out of the woods” on Fareed Zakaria GPS Sunday. Friday’s job’s report saw an astonishing 517,000 jobs added in January and unemployment tick down to 3.4%, the lowest since 1969. Economists had predicted 185,000 jobs, expecting a slower jobs market after almost a year of aggressive rate hikes from the Federal Reserve. It brings up the question: Can the United States pull off a soft landing, bringing down inflation without triggering a recession? “That some in the Republican Party may bow to the demands of the extremists does not mean that the President of the United States should do that.”

☆ Count on a springtime re-election announcement for Biden if he follows Trump, Obama, Bush and Clinton's examples
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-04 | by ( Nicole Gaudiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

President Joe Biden reelection bid looks increasingly likely, and more a question of when. Clinton, Bush, Obama and Trump launched re-election bids between April and June during the year before the election. Here's a look at Biden's predecessors' announcements:Donald TrumpTrump never left campaign mode after his golden escalator ride in 2015. Photo by Brooks Kraft LLC/Corbis via Getty Images)Bush filed paperwork to run for reelection on May 16, 2003. "The American people will decide whether or not I deserve a second term," the president told reporters, according to the Associated Press.

☆ Democrats Revive Push for National Paid Family Leave Policy
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Natalie Andrews | Catherine Lucey | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

President Biden campaigned on providing parental leave and included 12 weeks of paid leave in his early proposal for families. WASHINGTON—Democrats are renewing their push for a national paid time off policy for medical reasons and caregiving, despite long odds of passing such legislation in the newly divided Congress. It has been 30 years since then-president Bill Clinton signed into law the Family and Medical Leave Act, which provides 12 weeks of unpaid leave a year for medical and family reasons to workers at larger companies, and bars employers from retaliating against workers for taking it.

☆ Biden calls for expanding federal workers' access to leave
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Andrea Shalal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, Feb 2 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden will call on Thursday for government agencies to expand federal workers' access to paid and unpaid leave as he joins with former President Bill Clinton to mark the 30th anniversary of the 1993 Family and Medical Leave Act. The law, the first Clinton signed after taking office, guarantees that certain workers may take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave without losing their jobs or health insurance benefits. On Thursday, he will issue a presidential memorandum calling on federal agencies to support access to leave without pay for federal workers, including during their first year of service. She said the Biden administration would "do whatever we can do by executive action" to advance protections for workers while continuing to push for national legislation ensuring paid family and medical leave. Heather Boushey, a member of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, said such changes would buttress the strength of the U.S. economy.

The White House will likely appoint Federal Reserve Vice Chair Lael Brainard to run the National Economic Council and Jared Bernstein to lead the Council of Economic Advisers, sources familiar with the matter tell CNBC. The appointments are expected to be announced after incoming White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients assumes his role, as soon as next week. Bernstein is a member of the board he is expected to head, the White House Council of Economic Advisers. The White House is holding a ceremony on Wednesday to thank outgoing White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain and welcome Zients to the position. Current White House NEC Director Brian Deese is expected to depart imminently, sources said.

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