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☆ UAW wants U.S. to bar loans, subsidies for Hyundai over workplace issues
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Oct 21 (Reuters) - The United Auto Workers (UAW) union on Friday called on the Biden administration not to award any subsidies, loans or other taxpayer support until Hyundai Motor (005380.KS) agrees to address workplace issues. A Reuters investigative report in July documented children, including a 12-year-old, working at a Hyundai-controlled metal stamping plant in rural Luverne, Alabama, called SMART Alabama, LLC. The union called on Hyundai to instead "improve working conditions for the U.S. workers who make Hyundai vehicles." Hyundai is lobbying the Biden administration to revise a law approved in August that immediately barred electric vehicles outside North America from receiving $7,500 consumer tax credits. The UAW has previously sparred with Hyundai and unsuccessfully sought to organize workers at its Alabama plant and at other foreign-owned auto plants.

☆ Rent got cheaper in September—here are the 10 cities where it dropped the most
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( Mike Winters | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

U.S. rent price growth is showing signs of leveling off, as the median rent price in September decreased month-over-month for the first time this year, by 2.48%. After soaring by nearly 20% earlier in 2022, year-over-year price growth has dropped to 8.79% in September, a Rent.com analysis found. Rents are still high, though: The national median rent price is now $2,002, compared to $1,840 at the same time last year. The downturn in rental prices follows a real estate market that has only recently started to cool off due to rising mortgage rates. Median rent prices are derived from all available inventory using data pulled from a network of rental listing sites including Rent.com, Apartment Guide and Redfin.

read moreThe yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury hit 4.338% earlier, the highest since November 2007. The two-year U.S. Treasury yield , which typically reflects interest rate expectations, surged to 4.639%, the highest since August 2007. We'll continue to see more calls for a slowdown (in Fed policy) as we feel more and more pain in risk markets," he added. The gap between yields on two- and 10-year Treasury notes , was at -27.5 basis points, that's the steepest since mid-September. The 10-year TIPS breakeven rate was last at 2.525%, reflecting the average inflation the market has priced in for the next decade.

☆ Korean auto giant Hyundai investigating child labor in its U.S. supply chain
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN Business —Hyundai Motor Co, Korea’s top automaker, is investigating child labor violations in its U.S. supply chain and plans to “sever ties” with Hyundai suppliers in Alabama found to have relied on underage workers, the company’s global chief operating officer Jose Munoz told Reuters on Wednesday. Following the Reuters report, Alabama’s state Department of Labor, in coordination with federal agencies, began investigating SMART Alabama. Authorities subsequently launched a child labor probe at another of Hyundai’s regional supplier plants, Korean-operated SL Alabama, finding children as young as age 13. The executive also pledged that Hyundai would push to stop relying on third party labor suppliers at its southern U.S. operations. The letter said that the use of child labor violated international standards Hyundai committed to in its Human Rights Charter and its own code of conduct for suppliers.

Due to the cold air mass plunging south before expanding east, southern cities actually woke up colder than northern cities. New York City's Central Park dipped to 42 degrees, the coldest temperature since April 29, and Charlotte's 30-degree reading set its fifth earliest freeze on record. For many locations, the early season snow was also record-setting. While not record-setting, add Chicago to the list of places that recorded the first measurable snow of the season this week. This cold snap will be short-lived, with temperatures expected to rebound beginning Friday and lasting into next week.

NEW YORK/SAN FRANCISCO, Oct 19 (Reuters) - A group that works with union pension funds is pressing Hyundai Motor Co (005380.KS) to respond to reports of child labor at U.S. parts suppliers, warning of potential reputational damage to the Korean automaker. In addition, the letter cited a recent federal and state investigation into children working at another Hyundai supplier in the state. Reuters first documented child labor practices at Hyundai-owned SMART Alabama LLC earlier this year. "Hyundai will continue to closely review the labor operations of its suppliers to ensure full compliance with all local, state and federal laws," Gabriel said in an email. "I think investors like us need to step out and say, 'the value of the fines is not capturing your risk even remotely.

☆ Low-cost airline Breeze is launching 19 new routes next year from $29 one-way as it beefs up its leisure network — see the full list
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( Taylor Rains | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Fares start at $99 one-way and will be a one-stop, no-plane change BreezeThru via Charleston or Richmond, depending on the day. Fares start at $99 one-way and will be a one-stop, no-plane change BreezeThru via Las Vegas. Fares start at $69 one-way and will be a one-stop, no-plane change BreezeThru via Orlando. Fares start at $29 one-way. Fares start at $89 one-way and be a one-stop, no-plane change BreezeThru via White Plains.

☆ Amazon has changed how warehouses work in America. Some unions are using it as a chance to organize.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( Sindhu Sundar | Juliana Kaplan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Amazon has said warehouse workers can take breaks for activities like using the bathroom, talking to coworkers and managers, and grabbing snacks. A worker on an Amazon warehouse floor can be tasked with packing hundreds of boxes an hour. A worker on an Amazon warehouse floor can be tasked with packing hundreds of boxes an hour. But the Amazon Labor Union, a new union led by current and former Amazon workers, said its Staten Island victory had energized other workers. "There's one Amazon facility that's being built right behind the Victorville facility as we speak," he said.

A Reuters investigative report in July documented children, including a 12-year-old, working at a Hyundai-controlled metal stamping plant in rural Luverne, Alabama, called SMART Alabama, LLC. read moreFollowing the Reuters report, Alabama's state Department of Labor, in coordination with federal agencies, began investigating SMART Alabama. The executive also pledged that Hyundai would push to stop relying on third party labor suppliers at its southern U.S. operations. Munoz told Reuters: "Hyundai is pushing to stop using third party labor suppliers, and oversee hiring directly." SL and Smart Alabama did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

REUTERS/Joshua Schneyer/File PhotoOct 14 (Reuters) - Hyundai Motor Co's (005380.KS) air taxi unit has picked aerospace supplier Honeywell International Inc (HON.O) to develop avionics systems for its eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) aircraft, the companies said, ahead of an announcement next week. "We want to see the FAA come out with its set of certification rules, quickly. Honeywell's collaboration with Supernal is its first with an air taxi firm established by an automaker. The company, which is a big supplier to Boeing Co (BA.N) and Airbus SE (AIR.PA), also has investments in other eVTOL firms - Lilium, Vertical Aerospace and Volocopter. The company expects the overall market for air taxis to be about $120 billion per year by 2030, Fymat added.

☆ A blue-collar worker who never made more than a $52,000 salary, but built a 25-unit real estate portfolio, shares the 4 strategies he used to come up with cash to buy investment properties
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( Kathleen Elkins | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

One real estate investor used various strategies to get upfront cash to build his portfolio. Buying real estate requires upfront cash: In most cases, you need money for a down payment and closing costs. Still, he managed to build a 25-unit real estate portfolio in about four years, which Insider verified. Plus, he was generating positive cash flow and starting to see how real estate investing could help him build long-term wealth. He was watching a lot of real estate content on YouTube at the time and learned through one video that you can buy real estate with an IRA.

☆ Landing cut roughly a third of its Alabama staff — but first the real estate startup had the laid-off workers train their cheaper, Mexico City-based replacements
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( Alex Nicoll | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The furnished-apartment rental company Landing laid off 110 employees last week. According to the company, it launched its Mexico operation in 2020, which has grown to include at least 100 employees. The two laid-off employees described training the Mexico City-based colleagues over Slack, Zoom, and the business-messaging application Intercom. However, two laid-off employees disagreed with this assessment and told Insider that while some employees had been moved into markets earlier this summer, they still required the help of a centralized operations team. "One of Bill's 10 business principles is to execute relentlessly," the laid-off employee said.

Still, these six Black Republicans seem unmoved, even if Black voters overall appear to present more of an uphill challenge. Herschel Walker and Former ambassador Nikki Haley speak with the press during Herschel's Unite Georgia Bus Stop rally at the Global Mall in Norcross, Ga., on Sept. 9, 2022. It’s a bigger picture.”The Black vote was critical in turning Georgia blue in the 2020 presidential election and pushing Biden to the presidency and ultimately Warnock into the Senate. “I know Herschel Walker votes more conservative. Even with the recent allegations, these voters point out that between Warnock and Walker’s policies, they prefer Walker’s because he is anti-abortion.

In August, authorities accused Alexander City, Alabama-based SL Alabama in federal court of violating child labor laws. The action against SL Alabama, which supplies lights and mirrors for Hyundai and Kia assembly plants in the U.S. South, came following a July Reuters article that documented child labor practices at another auto parts supplier in the state, Hyundai-owned SMART Alabama LLC. SL Alabama agreed to implement new monitoring and training programs, the federal regulator said. "Our investigation found SL Alabama engaged in oppressive child labor," said Kenneth Stripling, DOL's Wage and Hours Division Director in Birmingham, Alabama, in the statement. Regulators said plant operators are accountable for child labor violations even when unauthorized employees are brought in by third-party recruiting firms.

☆ Mississippi teen dies days after being shot by police
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( Julianne Mcshane | The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

A Black teenager in Mississippi has died days after local police shot him in the head outside a discount store, and his relatives are questioning officers’ actions. Police shot Jaheim McMillan, 15, Thursday in the parking lot of a Family Dollar store in Gulfport, the state's second-largest city after Jackson, which lies about 160 miles to the north. Gulfport Police Chief Adam Cooper said an officer engaged an armed suspect, since identified as McMillan, resulting in shots being fired. The officer "has been placed on non-enforcement duties in accordance with procedures," according to the news release from police. McMillan’s family doesn’t believe he was armed, and their supporters are calling for the release of camera footage of the shooting.

☆ An exclusive look at the 19-slide pitch deck a real-estate-investing startup aimed at millennials and Gen Zers used to raise a total of $9 million
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( Jordan Pandy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Fintor raised $6.2 million in October, bringing its total funding to $9 million. The fractional-real-estate firm caters to younger investors by making buy-ins low — as little as $5. Its CEO, Farshad Yousefi, walked Insider through the pitch deck Fintor used to raise the money. Backers including Public.com, Hustle Fund, 500 Global, and Graphene Ventures contributed $6.2 million to Fintor's latest funding round, bringing the total raised since 2021 to $9 million. Yousefi argued that investing in real estate via traditional means — like buying a home, getting a mortgage, and renovating it yourself — can turn off younger investors.

Last week, Killnet targeted the websites of several U.S. states, successfully knocking Colorado.gov offline for more than a day and briefly interrupting Kentucky.gov. Killnet frequently posts lists of targeted websites on its Telegram channel, encouraging fellow Russia supporters with entry-level hacker skills to join it in trying to disrupt them. The U.S. Department of Transportation and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. It listed the city of Chicago’s general air travel website, flychicago.com, which was inaccessible Monday, but not that of its major airports, like O’Hare International or Midway International. Similarly, it targeted Hawaii’s state website for air travel, which was also inaccessible, but not Honolulu International.

☆ Factbox: Automakers accelerate drive to secure battery raw materials
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

read more08-Dec-2021 - Belgium's Umicore (UMI.BR) will supply cathode materials for Volkswagen's European battery cell factories under a joint venture. MERCEDES BENZ (MBGn.DE):23-Aug-2022 - Mercedes-Benz strikes cooperation agreement with Canada to secure access to lithium, nickel and cobalt. read more04-Oct-2021 - BHP Group (BHP.AX) will supply nickel sulphate from Western Australia to Toyota and Panasonic's joint venture. read moreFORD (F.N)22-July-2022 - Ioneer Ltd signs binding offtake agreement with Ford to supply lithium from Rhyolite Ridge in Nevada. read more22-Sept-2021 - Ford partners with startup Redwood Materials to form a "closed loop" or circular supply chain for electric vehicle batteries, from raw materials to recycling.

☆ A 55-year-old who never made more than $52,000 a year built a 25-unit real estate portfolio in 5 years and is now financially independent: 'If I can do it as a basic blue-collar worker raising a famil
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-09 | by ( Kathleen Elkins | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

A former cop who never earned more than $52,000 built a 25-unit real estate portfolio. He spends time managing his investments, including a 25-unit real estate portfolio, which Insider verified. Here's how Mark built a 25-unit real estate portfolio in just five years on a salary that never exceeded $52,000 a year. He agreed, called up a real estate agent he knew in the area, and told her he wanted to invest in real estate. "At that time, I had not read any real estate books, I had not watched any YouTube videos, and I really didn't know anything about buying real estate," said Mark.

☆ Alabama’s arguments in voting rights case are rooted in white supremacy
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-08 | by ( Bradley E. Heard | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

Stripping away the right of communities of color to equal representation is just the latest effort by anti-voter politicians to destroy voting rights in America. Just 16 years ago, the Voting Rights Act was reauthorized unanimously by the Senate and signed into law by President George W. Bush. Now, politicians are showing that they do not want Black communities to have a fair voice in government by blocking any attempt to restore federal protections for voting rights, such as the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and the Freedom to Vote Act. This ongoing assault on voting rights calls for a renewal of the civil rights movement. We must stand against politicians who wish to strip away our democracy and threaten our voting rights.

☆ These are the 10 states where renters are most behind on payments — and high-cost California didn't make the list
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-07 | by ( Kate Dore | Cfp | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

South Dakota has the highest percentage of renters behind on payments, at 26%, according to a new study. Renters across the U.S. are feeling the sting of soaring inflation, rising housing costs and the end of the national eviction ban. Some 15% of American households, around 6 million, are behind on rent this fall, according to a recent report from MyEListing.com, a commercial real estate website. South Dakota, Alabama and New Jersey renters are struggling the most with payments, the report found, based on an analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data, and Americans ages 40 to 54 are having the most difficulty. These inflated costs, along with higher day-to-day expenses, have strained many Americans' budgets, with 20% or more renters behind on payments in some states, according to the MyEListing.com report.

☆ I'm a former firefighter who made a $20,000 profit in my first year on Airbnb. Here's how I grew my portfolio to 5 properties in Colorado ski towns and Alabama.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-06 | by ( Claire Turrell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Jake Cohen is an Airbnb owner who rents out properties in Colorado and Alabama. In 2007, my parents bought another property in Palm Springs, California, and when the manager left, they asked if I would run it. Today, I'm a full-time Airbnb owner who owns five rental properties in Steamboat and Denver, Colorado, and Gulf Shores, Alabama. When we bought the property, it was in a pretty rough state; it had foundation issues and needed remodeling throughout. We still rent out our two homes in Denver and our apartment in Steamboat on Zillow and Airbnb — whichever books first.

☆ Young Black activists are done waiting their turn for political office. They're taking on the 'John Lewis generation' of elder lawmakers who they say are out of touch.
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-29 | by ( Elvina Nawaguna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +30 min

Most members of the Congressional Black Caucus are twice as old as the median Black person living in the US. The Congressional Black Caucus, a powerful voice for Black Americans, is significantly older than those it speaks for. Clay had replaced his father, William Lacy Clay Sr., a civil-rights icon and founding Congressional Black Caucus member who had represented the area since 1969. Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty ImagesThe Congressional Black Caucus is reckoning with a leftward shift it's struggled to embrace. A spokesperson for the Congressional Black Caucus did not respond to Insider's request for comment.

WASHINGTON, Sept 28 (Reuters) - The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has ordered Regions Financial Corp (RF.N) to pay $191 million in fines and refunds, after the regulator said the Birmingham, Alabama-based bank charged customers illegal overdraft fees for years. From 2018 to 2021 Regions charged roughly $141 million in illegal fees, which will be refunded, the CFPB said in a statement on Wednesday. The bank will also pay a $50 million fine. "Regions Bank raked in tens of millions of dollars in surprise overdraft fees every year, even after its own staff warned that the bank's practices were illegal," CFPB Director Rohit Chopra said in the statement. "Too often, large financial firms make a calculation that continuing to break the law is more profitable than following it."

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz was the only GOP committee member to oppose the bill. Other numbers to know:155 miles per hour: How fast the maximum sustained winds of Hurricane Ian were as of Wednesday morning, per the National Hurricane Center. 23 percentage points: Democrat Beto O’Rourke’s edge over Republican Gov. Last night, Democratic Gov. Tim.”Oklahoma Senate: Former President Donald Trump endorsed Republican Sen. James Lankford in his Senate bid, after conspicuously not endorsing the GOP incumbent in his primary.

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