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☆ Opinion | We Were Wrong About President Biden
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Frank Bruni | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

On this airborne ego trip, he had a bed, and I don’t mean a seat that flattened into one. He had an office, with a desk bigger than those of some earthbound executives. President.” He’d upgraded from his old surname, as illustrious as it was, to a kind of divinity. I never flew with President Barack Obama. But I visited him in the White House several times.

☆ Opinion | Tim Scott Faces Long Odds
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( Jamelle Bouie | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Scott is obviously not the first Black person to vie for the Republican presidential nomination. That distinction goes to Frederick Douglass, who received one vote at the 1888 Republican convention. Alan Keyes ran for the Republican nomination in 1996, 2000 and 2008; Herman Cain ran and withdrew in 2011; and Ben Carson ran in 2016. Tim Scott, however, would be the first Black Republican officeholder to run for the party’s presidential nomination, should he move past the exploratory phase. Even then, there were few Black people elected to national office, with a total of eight serving between 1914 and 1965.

☆ Healthcare, college education, and childcare started getting worse decades ago. Now we're all finally feeling it.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-08 | by ( Juliana Kaplan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +16 min

Americans are accruing billions in debt to pay for things like education and healthcare. But that would require shifting the idea of childcare, education, and healthcare and thinking of them as public goods — not businesses. That ultimately meant millions in funding for public childcare. "If the US health system was a country, it would be about the fourth-largest country in the world," Cooper said. There's much less government involvement in the US healthcare system than in other countries, Cooper said.

☆ Reader mailbag: From M&A and MBAs to Elon Musk and bitcoin, all your questions answered
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

It's easier to leverage misinformation for personal gain within the world of finance than perhaps any other industry. I'm not the type to suggest the only real information you can get on the markets is from established news outlets. Do you think the legacy media is fearful of Elon Musk's new Twitter? I just think the discourse on Twitter is very different from what you'd find on a media website. My position on bitcoin, and the wider digital-currency ecosystem, is that it's too often a solution looking for a problem.

☆ 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.

☆ Why Blackouts, Power Outages Are Becoming More Common
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Taylor Dorrell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

Power outages have increased 64% from the early 2000s, and weather-related outages — many driven by the worsening climate crisis — have increased 78%. A record-breaking blizzard in Buffalo, New York, this winter caused power outages throughout the city, resulting in the deaths of 47 residents. In 2021, a heat wave led to power outages and the deaths of hundreds in the Pacific Northwest. While regional organizations might use fees to penalize companies for power outages, it's now much harder to pinpoint and hold a person or entity responsible. In the meantime, the climate crisis will continue to wreak havoc on an aging grid system that puts profits over reliability.

☆ First Republic seeks new ways to escape unrealized losses
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

March 21 (Reuters) - First Republic Bank's (FRC.N) efforts to secure a capital infusion continued without success on Tuesday, as the troubled regional lender started to plan for the possibility it may need to downsize or get a government backstop. Bloomberg News reported U.S. officials and Wall Street leaders seeking to aid First Republic were exploring the possibility of government backing that would help overcome the issue of the bank's unrealized losses. JPMorgan is advising First Republic on its options to raise capital from investors, a source familiar with the situation previously said. "There are a number of factors lifting the (financial) stocks, including the comments by Yellen. "We believe First Republic remains in crisis," said Jason Benowitz, senior portfolio manager at CI Roosevelt.

☆ First Republic slumps after report of potential government backing in deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

March 21 (Reuters) - Shares of First Republic Bank (FRC.N) tumbled 14% in extended trade on Tuesday following a report that a potential deal for the troubled bank could rely on government backing to encourage buyers. Potential government backing in a deal to save First National could involve conditions at the expense of the bank's shareholders, said Dennis Dick, a trader at Triple D Trading in Ontario, Canada. While a sale of the entire bank remains possible, First Republic is currently focused on raising capital, the third source said. First Republic's shares had surged as much as 60% on Tuesday before closing up 30%, but even so First Republic's stock has lost over 80% in value in the past two weeks. JPMorgan is advising First Republic on its options to raise capital from investors, a source familiar with the situation previously said.

☆ The US's B-29 bomber was more expensive than the nuclear bomb it dropped on Japan at the end of World War II
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Miguel Ortiz | We Are The Mighty | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The Manhattan Project cost about $2 billion, or nearly $30 billion in 2021 dollars. The US's B-29 bomber program cost $3 billion, or just over $44.5 billion in 2021 dollars. In total, the program cost about $2 billion, or nearly $30 billion in 2021 adjusted for inflation. It was pushed through though because it was necessary for the Manhattan Project to work and the war to be won. It was also incapable of carrying and delivering the atomic bomb being developed by the Manhattan Project.

☆ US presidents who faced sex scandals before and during their time in office
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-18 | by ( Katie Balevic | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: 1 min

Franklin D. Roosevelt cheated with his wife's secretary, records show. Eleanor and Franklin D. Roosevelt. CORBIS/Corbis via Getty ImagesRoosevelt, who was in office from 1933 until his death in 1945, had a longtime affair with his wife's secretary, according to The New York Times. FDR married Eleanor Roosevelt, his fifth cousin once removed, in 1905. The couple continued a civil marriage, but there's some evidence Roosevelt's affair with Rutherfurd likely continued during his presidency, according to The Times.

☆ U.S. banks' CDS prices surge as contagion concern widens
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Mehnaz Yasmin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

March 15 (Reuters) - A jump in the cost for Wall Street banks to insure bonds against default on Wednesday was another worrisome indicator of credit stress for investors amid the crisis at Credit Suisse and at U.S. regional banks. Swiss bank Credit Suisse (CSGN.S) fell to a record low on Wednesday. Five-year credit default swaps for the flagship Swiss bank hit a new record high. Credit default swaps on Credit Suisse also inverted on Wednesday with the two-year rising above the five-year, and both hit a new 52-week high, according to data from Ortex. Some analysts believe that the larger banks are resilient and are more worried about the smaller and mid-sized banks.

☆ Zara is opening or revamping nearly 30 stores in the US by 2025 — here's where they're located
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Avery Hartmans | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Inditex is planning to open at least 10 new Zara stores across the US by 2025. At least a dozen other Zara locations will be revamped or enlarged, the retailer said. "This is a market in which for every $100 of fashion sold, we take less than $0.50 of that," García Maceiras said. Foot traffic is up at Zara stores around the world, and Inditex reported a 23% jump in store sales in 2022 across its portfolio of brands, which includes Zara, Bershka, and Massimo Dutti. Inditex plans to invest 1.6 billion euros, about $1.7 billion, in expanding its stores and warehouses worldwide, including a new Zara store on Paris' Champs Elysées, and at least 10 new locations across the US.

SVB's meltdown sparked a partisan battle in Washington on Monday, with Democrats arguing that a Trump-era change to bank oversight rules undermined the stability of regional banks. In the money markets, indicators of credit risk in the U.S. and euro zone banking systems edged up. [1/3] U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the banking crisis after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank, in the Roosevelt Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S. March 13, 2023. On Monday morning, U.S. bank regulators sought to reassure nervous customers who lined up outside SVB's Santa Clara, California, headquarters, offering coffee and donuts. A furious race to reprice interest rate expectations also sent waves through markets as investors bet the Fed will be reluctant to hike next week.

Biden said his administration's actions over the weekend meant "Americans can have confidence that the banking system is safe", while also promising stiffer regulation after the biggest U.S. bank failure since the 2008 financial crisis. Shares in U.S. banking giants JP Morgan Chase (JPM.N), Morgan Stanley (MS.N) and Bank of America (BAC.N) nevertheless weakened. But your second thought is, how big was that crisis, how big were the risks that this step had to be taken?" U.S. regulators stepped in on Sunday after the collapse of SVB, which had seen a run after a big bond portfolio hit. [1/3] U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the banking crisis after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank, in the Roosevelt Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S. March 13, 2023.

Germany's Commerzbank (CBKG.DE) fell as much as 12.7%, while Credit Suisse (CSGN.S) hit a new record low after falling 15%. Biden said his administration's rapid actions at the weekend should reassure Americans that the U.S. banking system is safe, and promised stiffer bank regulation after the country's biggest bank failure since the 2008 financial crisis. "Americans can have confidence that the banking system is safe. But big U.S. banks including JP Morgan Chase (JPM.N), Morgan Stanley (MS.N) and Bank of America (BAC.N) also weakened. In the money markets, a closely watched indicator of credit risk in the U.S. banking system edged up, as did other indicators of credit risk in the euro zone.

[1/3] U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the banking crisis after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank, in the Roosevelt Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S. March 13, 2023. Germany's Commerzbank (CBKG.DE) fell as much as 12.7%, while Credit Suisse (CSGN.S) hit a new record low after falling more than 15%. Dowding said he did not think that a lot of the issues affecting U.S. banks would be present in European lenders. It said Silicon Valley Bank UK had loans of around 5.5 billion pounds and deposits of around 6.7 billion pounds as of March 10. U.S. banks lost more than $100 billion in stock market value late last week following SVB's failure, while European banks have now lost a similar amount, a Reuters calculation showed.

☆ Premarket stocks: From Wile E. Coyote to edibles: Recession forecasts are getting weird
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

And for the US economy, it could likely mean a “Wile E. Coyote moment,” Summers said — if we run off the cliff, gravity will eventually win out. AntibioticsWhen describing the state of the economy, Summers doesn’t just rely on Looney Tunes. “Will working people be better off if we just walk away from our jobs and inflation remains 5% or 6%?” Powell replied. Before the Bell: Is it necessary to increase the unemployment rate to successfully fight inflation? In a related action, the government shut down Signature Bank, a regional bank that was teetering on the brink of collapse in recent days.

☆ 'That's how capitalism works,' Biden says of SVB, Signature Bank investors who lost money in failed banks
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Emma Kinery | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the banking crisis after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank, in the Roosevelt Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S. March 13, 2023. WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden sought to assure customers of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank on Monday that their money was safe — insured by the Deposit Insurance Fund — but said investors in the failed banks' securities aren't going to get the same guarantee. "Investors in the banks will not be protected," Biden said Monday in a White House speech. Signature Bank in New York, which was shuttered Sunday over similar systemic contagion fears as SVB, had been a popular funding source for cryptocurrency companies. Instead the money will come from the fees that banks pay into the Deposit Insurance Fund."

☆ Stocks week ahead: US banks sitting on unrealized losses of $620 billion
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-12 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

US banks were sitting on $620 billion in unrealized losses (assets that have decreased in price but haven’t been sold yet) at the end of 2022, according to the FDIC. What’s happening: Back when interest rates were near zero, US banks scooped up lots of Treasuries and bonds. The result is that most banks have some amount of unrealized losses on their books. “Unrealized losses weaken a bank’s future ability to meet unexpected liquidity needs,” he added. Before the Bell: Do we need unemployment to rise in order to ease inflation rates?

☆ Show me the money: The highest revenue raising taxes in Biden's proposed budget
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-11 | by ( Emma Kinery | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Many of the proposed taxes are more of messaging signals as the president prepares to launch a potential re-election bid and enter the 2024 campaign season. Raise corporate tax rate to 28%: $1.326 trillionBiden's budget calls for increasing the corporate income tax to 28% from the current 21%. Increasing taxes on the highest earners, including large corporations, is central to its implementation. Impose minimum income tax on 0.01%: $436.61 billionIncrease the wealthy's ACA tax: $344.37 billionBiden's budget calls for increasing the 3.8% Affordable Care Act tax to 5% on Americans earning more than $400,000. If enacted, the income tax hike would reverse cuts made by former President Donald Trump in his 2017 tax bill.

SummarySummary Companies Tech bank's troubles panic marketsFears spread over fallout from rising interest ratesBanks vulnerable as bond values dropLONDON, March 10 (Reuters) - For months, investors had shrugged off the threat of rising interest rates. In SVB's case, venture capital clients, unable to raise cash elsewhere, pulled money from the bank, forcing its hasty sale of bonds at a loss. In February, U.S. regulators said U.S. banks had unrealised losses of more than $620 billion on securities, underscoring the scale of the risks. Jason Benowitz, senior portfolio manager at CI Roosevelt, said SVB's risks were not unique with many banks sitting on such unrealised losses because rates have moved so rapidly. "The SVB situation is a reminder that many institutions are sitting on large unrealised losses," said AJ Bell investment research director Russ Mould.

☆ How universities became giant piggy banks for hedge-fund billionaires
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Catherine Liu | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

The move also marked the beginning of a new way to manage endowment funds. The arrangement has been a boon for the hedge-fund managers who received university endowment cash, but the benefits for the schools are trickier to parse. As Eaton put it in his book, universities directed funds to "wherever those allocations would generate the largest further investment returns." Eaton estimated in 2017 that tax breaks for university endowments cost federal coffers up to $19 billion a year. As the influence of billionaires and hedge-fund managers has grown, universities have moved further away from their ultimate goal: educating people.

☆ Hitler's nephew fought in the US Navy in WWII, but he had to get special permission from the president and FBI to do it
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Hitler's nephew fought in the US Navy in WWII but had to receive permission from the president and FBI. In a letter to FDR, William Hitler asked for the chance to fight "against tyranny and oppression." After the war, William changed his last name to Stuart-Houston and lived a quiet life in New York. In the letter, William identified himself as "the nephew and only descendant of the ill-faced Chancellor and Leader of Germany," according to Warfare History Network. After the war, William remained in service until 1947.

☆ Where New York’s Asian Neighborhoods Shifted to the Right
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-05 | by ( Jason Kao | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +15 min

In last year’s governor’s election, voters in Asian neighborhoods across New York City sharply increased their support for Republicans. And predominantly Asian areas — precincts with a majority of eligible Asian voters — have undergone a pivotal shift. Detail area Detail area Detail area Detail area Detail area Detail area Note: The precinct in Kensington is mostly Indian and Bangladeshi. Detail area Detail area Detail area Detail area Detail area Detail area Flushing, 2022 Murray Hill Bayside Flushing Northern Blvd. Detail area Detail area Detail area Detail area Detail area Detail area state senate race Bensonhurst Sunset Park McDonald Ave. 65th St. New Utrecht Ave. 8th Ave.

☆ Let's ditch the 5-day workweek and the 8-hour workday, says a professor writing a book on how to fix work
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-05 | by ( Juliana Kaplan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

He thinks a shorter week and a shorter work day are overdue, and that we're heading in the right direction. People do want to work, Bruno said, but they don't want to be resentful about being there. When it comes to a shorter workweek, Bruno said, "I'm very confident it would bring people in, because what are you saying to those people? Senator Bernie Sanders is calling for a shorter workweek; Rep. Mark Takano has reintroduced his proposal to make a 32-hour workweek law in the US. Have you tried out a shorter workweek or workday?

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