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☆ Biden is set to use his first veto to save what Republicans call a "woke" rule that lets retirement fund managers consider companies' social and environmental records
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Jason Lalljee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The Senate voted to overturn a Labor Department measure allowing investment managers to make socially and environmentally conscious investing decisions. "Republicans' hypocritical resolution to nullify @USDOL's ESG rule ties investors' hands & would force their extremist views on investors," she wrote on Twitter following the vote. It's the latest back-and-forth in an ESG debate triggered by former President Donald Trump, who prohibited financial managers from making such considerations when he was in office. However, the White House has said that Biden will use his first veto as president to protect ESG considerations. As CNBC's Brian Schwartz reported this week, Trump allies and wealthy donors have funded Republicans' fight against ESG investing.

March 3 (Reuters) - Republican-backed bills introduced in legislatures in several U.S. states target the use of a planned merchant code for credit card transactions at gun retailers that is intended to detect suspicious firearms and ammunition sales. read moreMajor credit and debit card companies have committed to using the "merchant category code" for gun sellers, a development welcomed by gun control advocates who call it an important new tool for investigating suspicious purchases. FLORIDAA bill introduced in Florida is meant to prohibit banks and other companies in the payment-settlement process from assigning the code "separately from general merchandise or sporting goods retailers." The bill passed the state House of Representatives on Feb. 9 and is under consideration in the state Senate. West Virginia's bill was passed by the state House of Delegates on Feb. 3 and awaits further action in the state Senate.

☆ Analysis: US Republicans aim to stymie gun sale codes at state level
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Ross Kerber | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

"I don't want card companies to raise interest rates or fees on merchants as a way to dissuade them" from selling guns and ammunition, Owen told Reuters. Visa Inc (V.N) declined to comment on the state bills. Other payment card companies Discover, Mastercard Inc and (MA.N) American Express Co (AXP.N) did not respond to requests for comment. Owen, the Mississippi state legislator, said he expects that payment companies could address any technical issues the bills could create. "I think the credit card companies are going to have to adapt on a state-by-state basis," Owen said.

☆ Sen. Joe Manchin Urges Democrats to Pursue Spending Cuts With Republicans
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Siobhan Hughes | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

WASHINGTON—Sen. Joe Manchin, who has been a decisive vote in Senate Democrats’ narrow majority, called for his Democratic colleagues to hold talks with Republicans on cutting federal spending, ahead of a summer deadline to reach a deal on raising the country’s debt ceiling. “My Democratic friends don’t want to say a word about our out-of-control spending and are outright refusing to even talk to Republicans about reasonable and responsible reforms,” the West Virginia Democrat said in a speech on the Senate floor. “We’re going to pay our debts, we have to pay our sins of the past, but can’t we at least sit down and discuss?” he said. “Can we even talk about that and see if there’s a pathway forward?”

☆ Fair and Balanced? Murdoch’s private messages show Fox News was instructed to help Republicans
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

But a deposition and private messages made public in recent weeks has exposed that even Rupert Murdoch doesn’t treat Fox News like an actual news organization. But at Fox News, that’s not the case. It’s just striking to hear Fox leadership like Ryan talk openly behind the scenes about what the company is at its core. Fox News has accused Dominion of having “cherry picked” statements to unfairly malign the network. But it’s hard to see how, under any circumstances, these instructions to a supposed network news chief would be appropriate.

☆ Senate overturns federal rule on ESG investments, Biden vows to veto
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Christina Wilkie | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) talks to reporters during a news conference following the weekly Senate Republican policy luncheon at the U.S. Capitol on February 28, 2023 in Washington, DC. WASHINGTON — The Senate on Wednesday voted to overturn a Labor Department rule that permits fiduciary retirement fund managers to consider climate change and other factors when making investments on behalf of pension plan participants. The final vote in the Senate was 50-46, with two Democratic senators crossing party lines to support the repeal bill: West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin and Montana Sen. Jon Tester. President Joe Biden said Monday that he will veto the Senate bill if it comes to his desk — the first veto of his presidency. ESG funds are designed to attract socially conscious investors with stock picks that promote renewable energy, inclusive policies, or good corporate governance.

☆ 2 Senate Democrats join GOP in rejecting socially conscious investing rule, rushing it back to Biden for a promised veto
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Warren Rojas | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The US Senate voted down a Biden-backed socially conscious investing rule 50-46. Two Democratic senators up for reelection in 2024 joined Republicans in opposing ESG. Wednesday's defectors, both of whom are facing tough reelection bids this cycle in states Donald Trump won by double digits in 2020, include Democratic Sens. The absence of Democratic Sens. Dianne Feinstein of California, Jeff Merkley of Oregon, and John Fetterman of Pennsylvania left Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer three votes down before deliberations even started.

☆ The Chips Act Becomes Industrial Social Policy
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( The Editorial Board | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Government subsidies are never free, and now we are learning the price U.S. semiconductor firms and others will pay for signing on to President Biden’s industrial policy. They will become the indentured servants of progressive social policy. Democrats last year snookered Republicans into passing their $280 billion Chips Act, which includes $39 billion in direct financial aid for chip makers and a 25% investment tax credit. Republicans hoped this would satisfy West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin , but after Chips passed he quickly flipped and endorsed the Inflation Reduction Act.

☆ Major Questions in the Student-Loan Forgiveness Case
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( The Editorial Board | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Oral argument didn’t go well Tuesday for President Biden’s decree wiping out $400 billion of student-loan debt, as most Justices were skeptical of such sweeping action without Congressional assent. But give Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar points for audacity in trying to diminish a Court precedent from last year. The current Court has been vigorous in enforcing the separation of powers when an administrative agency tries to hang an expansive new program on a tiny peg of legislative authorization. This has become known as the “major questions doctrine,” which the Court fortified in last year’s landmark West Virginia v. EPA ruling that struck down an Obama Administration plan to re-engineer the electric grid.

☆ Joe Manchin Declines to Describe Himself as a Democrat
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Dustin Volz | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Sen. Joe Manchin was often the decisive vote for or against Democratic legislation over the past two years. WASHINGTON—West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin declined to describe himself as a Democrat during a television interview on Sunday and didn’t say if he is running for re-election, highlighting the challenges facing the party’s thin majority in the Senate ahead of what is widely expected to be a tough mission to retain the chamber in 2024. “I identify as an American,” said Mr. Manchin when asked repeatedly during a Fox News appearance if he still considered himself a Democrat. “I’m an American through and through.”

☆ The 10 U.S. states where people earning $75,000 owe the most in taxes—none are New York or California
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Mike Winters | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Like most states, Oregon uses a progressive or marginal income tax, which collects at an increasing rate the more income you earn. Additionally, every dollar is taxed, unlike some marginal tax states where low earners are exempt from paying taxes. Here's a look at the 10 states where people earning $75,000 owe the most in state income taxes, based on Tax Foundation calculations. That's why effective tax rates are a better measure of a taxpayer's overall bill, according to the Tax Foundation. Every dollar above $10,200 is taxed 8.75% in Oregon, while many other states tax income under $75,000 around 5%.

☆ JPMorgan says little-known West Virginia fintech is positioned as 'bank of choice' for online gaming
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Hakyung Kim | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

JPMorgan says a little-known microcap financial holding company that began as a West Virginia community bank but is transitioning into a fintech is poised to become "the Silicon Valley Bank" of the online gaming industry. MVB Financial, with a market value of a little more than $330 million, is headquartered in Fairmont, West Virginia, population 18,000, about 70 miles south of Pittsburgh. Yet MVB, headed by CEO Larry Mazza, currently holds an 85% market share in banking for online gaming. "Over time, we see MVB as becoming 'the Silicon Valley Bank' of the online gaming industry," JPMorgan wrote. What's more, MVB Bank also provides banking services to support Credit Karma Money Spend and Save accounts.

☆ Joe Manchin said he identifies 'as an American' when asked if he still thinks of himself as a Democrat, again dodging a question on his party loyalties
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Cheryl Teh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Sen. Joe Manchin on Sunday again dodged a question about his loyalty to the Democratic Party. "I identify as an American," Manchin told Bartiromo. But he also did his fair share of making legislation happen for the Democratic Party when he pushed for the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022. But Manchin still holds a crucial seat for the Democratic Party in the 2024 election cycle. Manchin told CBS he doesn't see "much validity in the identity of being a Republican or Democrat."

☆ Former NYC corrections union chief convicted of bribery wins early prison release
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Jonathan Stempel | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Norman Seabrook, (C) the head of New York City's prison guard union, exits the Manhattan District court house in New York, U.S., July 22, 2016. Seabrook, 63, the former head of the Correction Officers' Benevolent Association, has spent 21 months in prison after unsuccessfully appealing his August 2018 conviction. "The sentence Huberfeld originally received reflected an approximate equivalence between the conduct of the bribe giver, Huberfeld, and the bribe taker, Seabrook," Hellerstein wrote. The correction officers union has about 20,000 active and retired members. The case is U.S. v Seabrook, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No.

Feb 23 (Reuters) - A group of four conservative-leaning U.S. states is challenging a new rule from Wall Street's top regulator that requires certain investment funds to reveal more about how they vote on shareholder ballots, including on pay packages for top executives. The new rule, which the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission adopted in November, will put shareholders at increased risk of loss, encouraging political activism and raising administrative costs, according to the office of Utah's attorney general. West Virginia, Texas and Louisiana also joined the lawsuit, which was filed on Tuesday before the 5th U.S. Republican legislators and elected officials have voiced increasing opposition in recent years to what they view as progressive activism among large Wall Street investors and attempts to enable this through regulation. Reporting by Douglas Gillison in Washington Editing by Matthew LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ U.S. Senator Jon Tester will again run in 2024, in boon for Democrats
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Moira Warburton | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Senator Jon Tester will run for reelection, he said on Twitter on Wednesday, in a major win for Democrats who are defending seats in several battleground states in 2024. Tester, who has represented Montana in the U.S. Senate since 2007, is a reliable moderate who has won three tight races in the past in the increasingly Republican state. Even with an incumbent's advantage, Tester will likely still face a tough battle for reelection. Upcoming races in states like Montana, West Virginia, Ohio and Arizona all present challenges to the Democrats' ability to hold onto their Senate majority going into 2025. Reporting by Moira Warburton in Washington; Editing by Richard Cowan and Alistair BellOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ West Virginia’s Tax-Cut Crossroads
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( The Editorial Board | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

West Virginia lawmakers want their state to become a destination for people and investment, and GOP Gov. Jim Justice has proposed a major tax cut to help. Mr. Justice’s plan would cut West Virginia’s top income-tax rate to 3.25% from 6.5%. “It will take us three years to pull it off,” Mr. Justice said in his State of the State address. “But absolutely it is that aggressive pathway that will absolutely put unbelievable money right back into all of our pockets.”

☆ Chesapeake Energy to reduce drilling amid natgas price slump
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Liz Hampton | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Feb 22 (Reuters) - U.S. natural gas producer Chesapeake Energy Corp (CHK.O) on Wednesday said it would pull back on drilling and completing wells this year as natural gas prices have crashed to a quarter of what they were last summer. Earlier this month, Comstock Resources Inc (CRK.N) said it would cut drilling rigs to seven from nine this year. Henry Hub natural gas futures on Wednesday briefly dipped below $2 per million British thermal units (mmBtu) for the first time since September 2020, and were down from last year's $8 peak. Chesapeake, which previously announced plans to sell its oil position to focus on gas production, on Tuesday said it would sell oil assets in South Texas to chemical maker INEOS for $1.4 billion. Rival shale oil producer Diamondback Energy (FANG.O) on Wednesday said it was increasing its non-core asset sale target to at least $1 billion by the end of this year, up from $500 million previously.

☆ West Virginia asks judge to dismiss lawsuit seeking to overturn state restrictions on abortion pill
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

West Virginia's attorney general is urging a judge to dismiss a lawsuit seeking to overturn the state's restrictions on the abortion pill. GenBioPro sued West Virginia in January, arguing that the Food and Drug Administration's powers to approve and regulate medications pre-empt the state's restrictions on the abortion pill. GenBioPro has asked the court to declare unconstitutional West Virginia's law that bans abortion with a few exceptions. West Virginia does not allow patients to obtain a prescription for mifepristone through telemedicine appointments. "West Virginia retains the police power to regulate how drugs may be prescribed and dispensed by medical professionals," Morrisey argued.

☆ Corporate Tax Breaks Surge in Push for Chip and Electric-Vehicle Factories
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Konrad Putzier | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The Ohio tract where a planned Intel computer-chip factory, lured by state grants and tax credits, is expected to create thousands of jobs. States and cities, flush with pandemic-stimulus cash, are ramping up their pursuit of new jobs by showering companies with big tax breaks. States and local governments, including in Georgia, Michigan and West Virginia, agreed to give out at least $1 billion in subsidies eight times in 2022, according to an analysis from Good Jobs First, a nonprofit research group that is often critical of subsidies. These tax breaks, cash grants and other incentives went to companies in return for opening a factory.

Feb 21 (Reuters) - A Texas federal judge on Tuesday refused to set an accelerated trial schedule for a lawsuit by anti-abortion groups seeking to end U.S. sales of the abortion pill mifepristone, in a case that could severely disrupt access to medication abortion nationwide. Mifepristone is approved for medication abortion in the first 10 weeks of pregnancy in combination with another drug, misoprostol. Medication abortion accounts for more than half of U.S. abortions. Medication abortion has drawn increasing attention since the U.S. Supreme Court last year reversed its landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling, which had guaranteed abortion rights nationwide. President Joe Biden, a Democrat, directed federal agencies to expand access to medication abortion in response to the decision, which has allowed more than a dozen Republican-led states to adopt new abortion bans.

☆ Newly discovered letter that George Washington wrote in 1787 hints at money problems
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( Joshua Zitser | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A historical documents dealer announced the discovery of a long-lost letter from George Washington. The 1787 letter shows that the future first president was once hard-pressed for cash. In the letter, Washington wants to sell a 1,644-acre tract of land, called Washington's Bottom, in western Pennsylvania. "To raise money is the only inducement I have to sell it," Washington wrote. Now, the historical documents dealer is putting the letter up for sale, valuing it at $50,000, according to a press release.

☆ Get paid up to $10,000 to move? That's great for remote workers, but economists say it's not a good investment for the cities footing the bill
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-19 | by ( Robert Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

The more than 2,000 people who received Tulsa Remote grants have a median income of more than $85,000. For starters, he found the income generated by recipients of the Tulsa Remote program was just a sliver of the $80 billion the 468,000-plus workers in the Tulsa metro area generated in 2021. A Brookings Institution analysis of the Tulsa Remote program published in September found that the program was generally effective at bringing high-skilled labor to the area. He compared the impact of the incentive program to the opening of a Honda manufacturing plant in Greensburg in 2007. A previous audit from Hoffer's office in 2019 identified two major flaws in the Think Vermont program.

☆ A GOP senator says Republican lawmakers are frustrated with Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg because he wants 'everything to be climate and politically correct'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-19 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Hill Republicans are increasingly voicing their issues with Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. Sen. Capito told The Hill that Buttigieg had a "push" for everything "to be climate and politically correct." The Department of Transportation has defended Buttigieg's performance in handling recent crises. Secretary Buttigieg has been a vocal champion of President Biden's bipartisan infrastructure law. "Before, if you got your flight delayed, you weren't like 'oh that damn Elaine Chao,'" a Democratic operative told The Hill, referring to former President Donald Trump's transportation secretary.

☆ Party City is planning to close 22 stores after filing for bankruptcy — here's the full list
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Avery Hartmans | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Party City is closing 22 stores after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January. Cartersville: Cartersville Crossing, 451 E Main St.IowaWaterloo: Crossroads Commons Shopping Center, 1415 Flammang Dr.IllinoisBradley: Bradley Commons, 2060 N State Rte. MichiganHolland: Felch Street Shopping Center, 3050 Beeline Rd., Ste. 20Felch Street Shopping Center, 3050 Beeline Rd., Ste. TexasCorpus Christi: Five Points Shopping Center, 4101 Hwy.

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