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☆ Can Harris’s Economic Plans Sway Small Business Owners to Vote Democratic?
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-28 | by ( Lydia Depillis | More About Lydia Depillis | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Presidential campaigns often use the backdrop of small businesses — record stores, diners, machine shops — to emphasize their candidates’ authenticity and hometown values. In speeches and ads, Vice President Kamala Harris has sought to infuse entrepreneurship into her brand — an avowed capitalist, but for the little guy. Her economic policy platform mentions “small business” 77 times, including a section aimed at addressing owners’ needs, such as easing licensing requirements and funneling more federal contracts their way. Ms. Harris’s focus on small business isn’t completely new. She also took on the issue as vice president, visiting businesses to hand out billions of dollars in loans funded by the American Rescue Plan Act.

Persons: Kamala Harris, Donald J, ” Regina Shelton — Organizations: Gallup, Pew, American, — Locations: Berkeley, Calif

$ 5.34 $ 5.34 Estimated Environmental cost + $ 22.02 Say a pound of beef costs $5.34 at your local supermarket. The Hidden Environmental Costs of Food Damage to the natural world isn’t factored into the price of food. The proponents of true cost accounting don’t propose raising food prices across the board, but they say that increased awareness of the hidden environmental cost of food could change behavior. (True cost accounting also typically includes things like labor rights and dietary health, but here we’re focusing on environmental costs.) Large disparities between the retail price of food and its environmental costs are found in the proteins many of us eat every day.

Persons: True Price, ”, Claire van den Broek, “ They’re, Alexander Müller, True, “, Scott Swinton, Roger Cryan, Mario Herrero, chickpeas Organizations: United Nations, Rockefeller Foundation, True, Sustainability, Michigan State University, American Farm Bureau Federation, New, Cornell University, Price, Beef, Oxford University, “, U.S . Department of Agriculture, Mountain, United Nations Food, Agriculture Organization Locations: Dutch, United States, Berlin, New York State, Denmark, Walmart.com, U.S, North America, Europe, Brazil, India, Netherlands, Germany

☆ Who Won Big in the Supreme Court’s Latest Term? The ‘Regulated Community.’
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-09 | by ( Lydia Depillis | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

As the dust settles from the high-octane Supreme Court term that ended last month, one clear winner has emerged: the “regulated community.”Three opinions limiting the power of federal agencies were met with cheers from a range of industries that, while not always in agreement, unite under that banner of mutual resistance to regulatory fiat. Their trade associations had written a slew of amicus briefs urging the justices to scrap a decades-old legal doctrine called Chevron deference, under which courts had deferred to administrative expertise.

Markets in Japan and Europe showed signs of a rebound early on Tuesday following a day of selling worldwide. Credit... Ava Pellor for The New York Times

Persons: Ava Pellor Organizations: The New York Locations: Japan, Europe

Signs of a slowing U.S. economy sowed panic among investors on Monday, with a sell-off in markets that began last week turning into a global rout. The moves were a sharp reversal in major stock markets, which for much of the past year have risen to new heights, propelled by optimism about cooling inflation, solid labor markets and the promise of artificial intelligence technology. South Korea’s benchmark Kospi index fell more than 10 percent at one point. Japanese stocks have been on a tear for more than a year, fueled by a weak Japanese yen. Adding to the pressure, foreign investors have started selling off positions in Japanese stocks over the last few weeks.

Persons: ”, Andrew Brenner, Goldman Sachs, Goldman, Jordi Basco Carrera, ’, Basco Carrera, Jitters, Jesper Koll, Koll, John Liu, Melissa Eddy Organizations: Federal, Nasdaq, National Alliance Securities, Equity, Technology, Samsung Electronics, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Nvidia, Intel, Allianz, Monex, Bank of Japan, Tokyo Stock Exchange Locations: Asia, Europe, Americas, Japan, U.S, Taiwan, Singapore, Australia, Hong Kong, China, Stocks, India, Netherlands, Switzerland, New York, Munich, “, New, Seoul, Berlin

☆ Trump Cites Opportunity Zones as a Triumph. Their Success Is Middling.
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-02 | by ( Lydia Depillis | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

“This was one of Birmingham’s white-whale buildings,” Mr. Flachsbart said of a former Red Cross office that had been renovated into 192 rental residences. (“One of the greatest programs ever for Black workers and Black entrepreneurs,” he called the incentive in an appearance this week at a National Association of Black Journalists conference.) But the relatively low-income areas covered by the incentive, known as opportunity zones, didn’t benefit equally. On Mr. Flachsbart’s tour of new projects in downtown Birmingham, the stops dry up in the historically African American northwest quadrant. There, developable lots and vacant buildings haven’t received as much of the capital flowing toward the buzzier parts of downtown.

Persons: Alex Flachsbart, Mr, Flachsbart, Donald J, Trump, ”, haven’t Organizations: Red, Democrats, National Association of Black Journalists Locations: Alabama, Birmingham

☆ Antitrust Regulator Tells Chains: Back Off Your Franchisees
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-12 | by ( Lydia Depillis | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In the long-simmering conflict between franchisers and franchisees, the federal government has weighed in on behalf of the smaller guys. In a business relationship that has become fundamental to American commerce, franchisers — brands like McDonald’s and Jiffy Lube — license the right to operate their concept to individual entrepreneurs, who provide start-up capital and may own one location or many. On Friday, the Federal Trade Commission issued a policy statement and staff guidance that cautioned franchisers not to restrict their franchisees’ ability to speak to government officials or to tack on fees that weren’t disclosed in documents provided to prospective franchise buyers. In a news release, the commission said it was acting amid “growing concern about unfair and deceptive practices by franchisers — to ensure that the franchise business model remains a ladder of opportunity to owning a business for honest small business owners.”

Persons: franchisers, weren’t, franchisers —, ” Organizations: Federal Trade Commission

☆ For L.G.B.T.Q. People, Moving to Friendlier States Comes With a Cost
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-11 | by ( Lydia Depillis | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

When Stefanie Newell decided to move to Denver last year, the choice was about acceptance. Feeling comfortable as a transgender woman didn’t seem possible in San Antonio, her hometown, in the midst of a flood of Texas legislation targeting the L.G.B.T.Q. In San Antonio, she lived with her mother, and the cost of living was generally low. Just driving her stuff two states north wiped out her savings. “I thought I was well prepared, and when I arrived I was flat broke,” said Ms. Newell, 25.

Persons: Stefanie Newell, ”, Newell, “ It’s Organizations: Denver Locations: San Antonio, Texas, Denver, United States

☆ Dilemma on Wall Street: Short-Term Gain or Climate Benefit?
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-20 | by ( Lydia Depillis | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A team of economists recently analyzed 20 years of peer-reviewed research on the social cost of carbon, an estimate of the damage from climate change. They concluded that the average cost, adjusted for improved methods, is substantially higher than even the U.S. government’s most up-to-date figure. That means greenhouse gas emissions, over time, will take a larger toll than regulators are accounting for. In fact, the news from Wall Street lately has mostly been about retreat from climate goals, rather than recommitment. Banks and asset managers are withdrawing from international climate alliances and chafing at their rules.

Locations: Banks

☆ Inflation Remains Steady, With Signs of Further Cooling
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-31 | by ( Lydia Depillis | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Inflation remained essentially flat in April while showing signs of progress, the Commerce Department reported Friday, in a closely watched measure that will guide the Federal Reserve in any decision to loosen interest rates in the coming months. The Personal Consumption Expenditures price index rose 2.7 percent from a year earlier, the same level as in March. After stripping out volatile food and fuel prices for a clearer reading of price trends — called the core index — inflation remained steady at 2.8 percent on an annual basis. On a monthly basis, inflation also remained flat, with prices rising 0.3 percent in April. That “core” index showed a slight moderation, rising 0.2 percent from the previous month, compared with 0.3 percent in March.

Persons: “, ”, Bill Adams Organizations: Commerce Department, Federal Reserve, Comerica Bank Locations: U.S

☆ Can Billions in New Subsidies Keep Family Farms in Business?
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-30 | by ( Lydia Depillis | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has a line about the state of small-scale agriculture in America these days. It’s drawn from the National Agricultural Statistics Service, which shows that as the average size of farms has risen, the nation had lost 544,000 of them since 1981. “That’s every farm today that exists in North Dakota and South Dakota, added to those in Wisconsin and Minnesota, added to those in Nebraska and Colorado, added to those in Oklahoma and Missouri,” Mr. Vilsack told a conference in Washington this spring. “Are we as a country OK with it?”Even though the United States continues to produce more food on fewer acres, Mr. Vilsack worries that the loss of small farmers has weakened rural economies, and he wants to stop the bleeding. Unlike his last turn in the same job, under former President Barack Obama, this time his department is able to spend billions of dollars in subsidies and incentives passed under three major laws since 2021 — including the biggest investment in conservation programs in U.S. history.

Persons: Tom Vilsack, It’s, “, ” Mr, Vilsack, Barack Obama Organizations: National Agricultural Statistics Service Locations: America, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Nebraska, Colorado, Oklahoma and Missouri, Washington, United States

☆ Live Updates: The April Jobs Report
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-03 | by ( Lydia Depillis | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

PinnedIt’s been a hot spring for the American labor market, and while the summer forecast is milder, it’s not clear when the cool-down will begin. The last three months have seen an upswing in job creation, bending what had been a bumpy but definite downtrend since the post-pandemic resurgence. Does that mean the labor market is taking off again without ever having touched down? Workers are quitting their jobs at even lower rates than they were in 2019. “You don’t have that cost of onboarding and starting over again if you can hold on to them.”

Persons: It’s, ”, Stephen Brown, Belinda Román, “ Organizations: Labor Department, North, Capital Economics, Institute for Supply Management, National Federation of Independent, Workers, St, Mary’s University Locations: North America, San Antonio

☆ U.S. Employers Added 175,000 Jobs in April
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-03 | by ( Lydia Depillis | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The American job market may be shifting into a lower gear this spring, a turn that economists have expected for months after a vigorous rebound from the pandemic shock. Employers added 175,000 positions in April, the Labor Department reported Friday, undershooting forecasts. The unemployment rate ticked up to 3.9 percent. “It’s not a bad economy; it’s still a healthy economy,” said Perc Pineda, chief economist at the Plastics Industry Association. We cannot continue robust growth indefinitely considering the limits of our economy.”

Persons: It’s, ”, Perc Pineda, “ Organizations: Labor Department, Plastics Industry Association

☆ Federal Money Is All Over Milwaukee. Biden Hopes Voters Will Notice.
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-01 | by ( Lydia Depillis | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Across Milwaukee, residents can see evidence of federal money from laws passed under the Biden administration, if they know where to look. It shows up in a growing array of solar panels near the airport. Some money has yet to be spent, like $3.5 million to rebuild the penguin exhibit at the local zoo and $5.1 million to repair the roof of Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport. That presents both an opportunity and a challenge to Mr. Biden’s re-election campaign as it seeks to show Americans how federal investments have improved their lives. Doing so is difficult because the laws delegated many spending decisions to state and local officials, obscuring the money’s source.

Persons: Biden, Biden’s Organizations: H.I.V, Milwaukee County, American, Infrastructure Law, Milwaukee Mitchell International Locations: Milwaukee

☆ New Migrants Get Work Permits. Other Undocumented Immigrants Want Them, Too.
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-15 | by ( Miriam Jordan | Lydia Depillis | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Sam Sanchez, a Chicago restaurateur, was incensed when President Biden announced last September that his administration would extend work eligibility to nearly half a million Venezuelans, many of them migrants who had recently crossed the border illegally. What about his undocumented employees like Ruben, a Mexican father of two U.S.-born children who has been in the United States since 1987, and Juan, another Mexican worker, who has trained dozens of new hires at Moe’s Cantina? “It’s offensive that my employees and other immigrants are being leapfrogged by new arrivals,” said Mr. Sanchez, who is on the board of the National Restaurant Association. Having built lives and families since entering the country unlawfully many years ago, they have been waiting for Congress to give them a path to work legally. “For those of us here a long time trying to do everything right, it’s just not fair that we are forgotten,” said Juan, 53, whose last name was withheld out of concern about his immigration status.

Persons: Sam Sanchez, Biden, Ruben, Juan, “, ”, Sanchez, it’s Organizations: National Restaurant Association Locations: Chicago, Mexican, United States, Moe’s

☆ Consumers Hate ‘Price Discrimination,’ but They Sure Love a Discount
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-06 | by ( Lydia Depillis | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Perhaps that’s why, in late February, the internet revolted over Wendy’s plan to test changing its menu prices across the day. If the Breakfast Baconator winds up costing $6.99 at 7 a.m. and $7.99 three hours later, what in life can you really count on anymore? The company later issued a statement saying it would not raise prices during busy parts of the day, but rather add discounts during slower hours. Nevertheless, the episode won’t stop the continued spread of so-called dynamic pricing, which describes an approach of setting prices in response to shifting patterns of demand and supply. It might not even stop the growth of “personalized pricing,” which targets individuals based on their personal willingness to pay.

☆ How to Revive a Burned Forest? Rebuild the Tree Supply Chain
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-04 | by ( Lydia Depillis | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

After the smoke cleared, Mr. Harland found creeks running black with soot and the ground hardening more with every day that passed. A former timber industry executive, Mr. Harland knew the forest wouldn’t grow back on its own. Nor did he have the money to carry out a replanting operation, since growing for timber wouldn’t pay for itself; most of the nearby sawmills had shut down long ago anyway. Then a local forester Mr. Harland knew suggested he get in touch with a new company out of Seattle, called Mast. After visiting to scope out the site, Mast’s staff proposed to replant the whole acreage, free, and even pay Mr. Harland a bit at the end.

Persons: Don, Harland Organizations: Montana : Flames Locations: Montana, Long, Seattle

☆ U.S. Employers Add 275,000 Jobs in Another Strong Month
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-08 | by ( Lydia Depillis | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

If the economy is slowing down, nobody told the labor market. Employers added 275,000 jobs in February, the Labor Department reported Friday, in another month that exceeded expectations even as the unemployment rate rose. It was the third straight month of gains above 200,000, and the 38th consecutive month of growth — fresh evidence that four years after going into pandemic shutdowns, America’s jobs engine still has plenty of steam. Previously reported figures for December and January were revised downward by a total of 167,000, reflecting the higher degree of statistical volatility in the winter months. That does not disrupt a picture of consistent, robust increases.

Persons: We’ve, we’re, ”, Rubeela Farooqi Organizations: Employers, Labor Department

Among registered voters nationwide, 26 percent believe the economy is good or excellent, according to polling in late February by The New York Times and Siena College. The movement occurred disproportionately among older Democrats, a constituency already likely to vote for Mr. Biden. And the share of voters saying they approve of the job Mr. Biden is doing in office has actually fallen, to 36 percent in the latest poll, from 39 percent in July. Inflation has pervaded economic sentiment since mid-2022, confronting voters daily with the price of everything from eggs to car insurance. Nearly two-thirds of registered voters in the Times/Siena poll rated the price of food and consumer goods as poor.

Persons: Biden doesn’t, Mr, Biden Organizations: The New York Times, Siena College, Times Locations: Siena

☆ Economic Dividend of Immigration Faces Legal and Logistical Hurdles
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-29 | by ( Lydia Depillis | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The U.S. economic recovery from the pandemic has been stronger and more durable than many experts had expected, and a rebound in immigration is a big reason. A resumption in visa processing in 2021 and 2022 jump-started employment, allowing foreign-born workers to fill some holes in the labor force that persisted across industries and locations after the pandemic shutdowns. Immigrants also address a longer-term need: replenishing the work force, a key to meeting labor demands as birthrates decline and older people retire. International instability, economic crises, war and natural disasters have brought a new surge of arrivals who could help close the still-elevated gap between labor demand and job candidates. But that potential economic dividend must contend with the incendiary politics, logistical hurdles and administrative backlogs that the surge has created.

Organizations: Office

☆ Nature Has Value. Could We Literally Invest in It?
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-18 | by ( Lydia Depillis | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Picture this: You own a few hundred acres near a growing town that your family has been farming for generations. Turning a profit has gotten harder, and none of your children want to take it over. You don’t want to sell the land; you love the open space, the flora and fauna it hosts. But offers from developers who would turn it into subdivisions or strip malls seem increasingly tempting. But the idea has gained traction among environmentalists, money managers and philanthropists who believe that nature won’t be adequately protected unless it is assigned a value in the market — whether or not that asset generates dividends through a monetizable use.

☆ January Jobs Report U.S. Job Growth Expected to Be Solid
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-02 | by ( Lydia Depillis | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

PinnedThe labor market is looking more like 2019 every month, and that’s not a bad place to be. The share of people quitting their jobs, which surged during the pandemic, is back to 2019 levels. A broad measure of wages, salaries and benefits known as the Employment Cost Index has been falling since early 2022. Employment growth has been narrowing, with sectors like education, health care and government, which vary less with economic cycles, powering most of the gains. Most of those displaced workers have shifted to positions where their skills are still needed, keeping joblessness in check — so far.

Persons: that’s, “, ”, Satyam Panday Organizations: Labor Department, Bureau of Labor Statistics

☆ Job Market Starts 2024 With a Bang
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-02 | by ( Lydia Depillis | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The United States produced an unexpectedly sizable batch of jobs last month, a boon for American workers that shows the labor market retains remarkable strength after three years of expansion. Employers added 353,000 jobs in January on a seasonally adjusted basis, the Labor Department reported on Friday, and the unemployment rate remained at 3.7 percent. The report also put an even shinier gloss on job growth for 2023, including revisions that added more than 100,000 to the figure previously tallied for December. All told, employers added 3.1 million jobs last year, more than the 2.7 million initially reported. After the loss of 14 percent of the nation’s jobs early in the Covid-19 pandemic, the labor market’s endurance despite aggressive interest rate increases has caught economists off guard.

Organizations: Employers, Labor Department Locations: States

☆ Private Equity Is Starting to Share With Workers, Without Taking a Financial Hit
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-28 | by ( Lydia Depillis | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In 2018, Anna-Lisa Miller was working with agricultural cooperatives in Hawaii, helping them reinvest in their communities through shared ownership. Then she came across an investor presentation from a different universe: KKR, one of the world’s largest private equity firms. In it, a KKR executive, Pete Stavros, discussed a model he had been developing to provide employees with an equity stake in companies it purchased, so the workers would reap some benefits if it was flipped for a profit. By that time, Mr. Stavros had decided to start an organization to promote his model more broadly, hoping to reach the 12 million people who work for companies that private equity firms own. Ms. Miller saw it as a way to move much faster.

Persons: Anna, Lisa Miller, Miller, Pete Stavros, Stavros Organizations: Project Equity, KKR, KKR doesn’t Locations: Hawaii

☆ ‘We’re All Climate Economists Now’
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-23 | by ( Lydia Depillis | More About Lydia Depillis | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

There were papers on the local economic impact of wind turbine manufacturing, the stability of electricity grids as they absorb more renewable energy, the effect of electric vehicles on housing choices, how wildfire smoke strains household finances. Janet Currie, the incoming president of the American Economic Association, chose an environmental economist, Michael Greenstone of the University of Chicago, to deliver the conference’s keynote lecture. He focused on the global challenge of shifting to renewable energy and the corresponding potential to alleviate air pollution that is particularly deadly in developing countries like India and Indonesia. “This isn’t just a series of topics, but it’s a big, interrelated problem,” Dr. Currie said. “Not only economists but everybody else is realizing that this is a first-order problem, and it’s affecting most people in some way.

Persons: Monika Piazzesi, Janet Currie, Michael Greenstone, Dr, Currie, “ Organizations: American Finance Association, American Economic Association, University of Chicago Locations: Venice, India, Indonesia

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