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☆ Why Biden’s ban on drilling in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge likely won’t affect gas prices
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-07 | by ( Elisabeth Buchwald | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

The ban, announced on Wednesday, cancels seven Trump-era oil and gas leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and prevents drilling on more than 13 million acres in the federal National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska. The Biden administration has annouced a ban on oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. “There’s little power to drill, pipeline to carry the crude oil, roads and everything needed basically to drill for oil,” he told CNN. The ban on drilling in the region would “not at all” hurt consumers in the future, De Haan said. Meanwhile, extreme summer heat has prevented many US refineries from operating at full capacity, leading to elevated gas prices throughout the peak driving season.

Persons: Biden, Joe Biden, Patrick De Haan, ”, De Haan, Brent Organizations: New, New York CNN, Trump, Wildlife, National Petroleum Reserve, Asahi Shimbun, CNN, Brent, Labor, AAA Locations: New York, Alaska, Russia, Saudi Arabia, North

☆ ‘Immaculate disinflation’ is the new economic buzzword. But what does it mean?
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( Elisabeth Buchwald | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —Economists added yet another term to their lexicon in recent months: immaculate disinflation. That pain tends to come in the form of a higher unemployment rate, which hampers economic growth. Yet the nation’s unemployment rate actually fell from 3.6% in June 2022 to 3.5% in July 2023. That’s leading some economists to believe that immaculate disinflation may be possible. “I wouldn’t call this disinflation immaculate,” he said in a CNBC interview at last month’s Jackson Hole Fed conference.

Persons: there’s, that’s, aren’t, Jerome Powell, Powell, Alex Wong, Joe Biden’s, Jared Bernstein, ”, Jackson, “, Bernstein, Loretta Mester, ” Mester, it’s, Mester Organizations: New, New York CNN, CNBC, Fed, White, Cleveland Fed Locations: New York, United States

☆ The Fed cares a lot about jobs data — but it may be getting mixed signals
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-04 | by ( Elisabeth Buchwald | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

The answer matters a lot to Federal Reserve officials who closely monitor the labor market. Some Fed officials believe more rate hikes are needed to cool the labor market. But the gap between ADP and BLS data does not automatically narrow when comparing ADP to BLS estimates of only private-sector jobs. Between the two, it’s difficult to say which is a better predictor of the true state of the labor market. Ultimately, ADP and BLS data “become checks on each other,” she told CNN.

Persons: It’s, ” Nela Richardson, Richardson, Sarah House, ”, Erica Groshen, Groshen, ” Richardson, House, “ Organizations: New, New York CNN, of Labor Statistics, ADP, BLS, Federal Reserve, Fed, CNN, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Cornell University Locations: New York, Wells Fargo, “, United States

☆ Why the unemployment rate went up in August even though 187,000 jobs were added
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-01 | by ( Elisabeth Buchwald | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN —Usually when the economy adds a lot of jobs in a given month the unemployment rate ticks down. Despite the 187,000 new jobs added last month, the unemployment rate rose to 3.8% from 3.5% in July. And outside of the onset of the pandemic, the last time the unemployment rate rose that high in one month was November 2011. So, mathematically, when you divide 6.4 million by 167.8 million, you’ll arrive at the 3.8% unemployment rate. That can help explain why the unemployment rate rose, even though there were stronger-than-expected job gains in August.

Persons: you’ll Organizations: New, New York CNN, Labor Statistics, BLS Locations: New York

☆ Rising labor costs are making AI stocks even more attractive
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-30 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

AI stocks are soaring — the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite is up by about 33% this year. Around two thirds of Americans are worried about artificial intelligence taking their jobs, according to a recent Morning Consult poll. The rule essentially seeks to shift the risk of a bank failure to bondholders rather than depositors. But to get bondholders to bear the cost of banks’ potential failure, the banks would likely have to pay high interest rates. The rule unveiled Tuesday comes on the heels of a separate capital-bolstering rule the three agencies introduced in July.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, Goldman, Jenny Ma, ” Goldman, Elisabeth Buchwald, Greg Baer, ” Baer, Andy Jassy, Jassy, Brian Fung Organizations: CNN Business, Bell, New York CNN, Nvidia, Microsoft, Pew, Federal Reserve, Labor, Nike, Netflix, Apple, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Bank Policy Institute, Amazon, CNN Locations: New York, United States

☆ US financial regulators green lit new rules aimed at reducing the cost of bank failures
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-29 | by ( Elisabeth Buchwald | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN —US financial regulators on Tuesday signed off on new rules to prepare large and regional banks in the case of failure. But the FDIC backed deposits that exceeded that limit when Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank failed earlier this year, to reduce the risk of more bank failures. In total, the three bank failures depleted $31.5 billion from the DIF, according to FDIC estimates. Had the proposed rule been in place prior to the three bank failures, it could have prevented many uninsured depositors from causing a bank run, the agencies said. That could make it easier for the FDIC to seize and sell a failed bank, something the agency struggled to do in a timely manner with SVB and Signature Bank.

Persons: Greg Baer, ” Baer, Martin Gruenberg, ” Banks Organizations: New, New York CNN, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Federal Reserve, Currency, FDIC’s, Insurance Fund, Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank, Bank, JPMorgan Chase, Bank Policy Institute, FDIC Locations: New York

☆ Key San Francisco Fed official who oversaw supervision of SVB will retire
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-29 | by ( Elisabeth Buchwald | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN —Azher Abbasi, head of supervision at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco — and a key official with direct oversight over failed Silicon Valley Bank — will retire at the end of October, the regional reserve bank announced this week. Abbasi and Mary Daly, president of the San Francisco Fed, came under scrutiny after a post-mortem report undertaken by the Federal Reserve found problems with how SVB was supervised. The San Francisco Fed declined to share additional details with CNN about Abbasi’s departure. Outside of the report, there have been concerns about potential conflicts of interest regarding Greg Becker, the former CEO of SVB, serving as a director on the San Francisco Fed board, potentially having a say over how SVB was supervised. Willardson previously worked at the Minneapolis Fed in a variety of positions from 1990 to 2022, including as senior vice president for supervision, regulation and credit for eight years.

Persons: New York CNN — Azher Abbasi, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco —, Abbasi, Mary Daly, SVB, San Francisco Fed, Greg Becker, Niel Willardson, Willardson Organizations: New, New York CNN, Federal Reserve Bank of San, San Francisco, Federal Reserve, Fed, CNN, San Francisco Fed, Minneapolis Fed, Deposit Insurance Corporation Locations: New York, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, San Francisco Fed, midsized

☆ What happens in Jackson Hole doesn’t stay in Jackson Hole
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( Elisabeth Buchwald | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

New York CNN —Most of the year, people visit Jackson Hole, Wyoming, to ski, fly fish or simply enjoy the region’s vast natural beauty. Setting the stage: the economic backdropInflation has slowed significantly since last year’s Jackson Hole conference, alongside glimmers of a cooling labor market. A look back at past Jackson Hole conferencesLast year’s Jackson Hole conference was notable not just because it was the first time in two years that economists gathered in person. Months after Bernanke’s Jackson Hole speech, he unveiled a whole new phase of bond-purchasing in what has now become known as QE2. A columnist for the Financial Times went so far as to say that Draghi “certainly stole the show this year [at Jackson Hole].”No matter what comes out of the conference this year, it’s clear that what happens in Jackson Hole doesn’t stay in Jackson Hole.

Persons: Jackson, Jerome Powell, He’ll, Michael Cahill, Goldman Sachs, Powell, —, Ben Bernanke, ”, Cahill, “, Bernanke’s Jackson, Bernanke, Janet Yellen, “ it’s, ” Cahill, Michael Woodford, John Williams, Williams, European Central Bank Mario Draghi Organizations: New, New York CNN, Federal, Kansas City Fed, Jackson, Fed, Traders, Goldman, CNN, Columbia University, ” New York Fed, San Francisco Fed, European Central Bank, ECB, Financial Times Locations: New York, , Wyoming, Woodstock, Jackson

☆ Will Chinese deflation help cure the West’s inflation problem?
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-22 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

New York CNN —The Chinese economy has hit a rough patch. What’s happening: Chinese consumer spending, factory production and investments in long-term assets like property or machinery all slumped last month. On Monday, the Chinese government surprised investors by deciding not to cut an important interest rate that influences mortgages. The beauty company is “mindful of the headwinds that have emerged in China’s economy,” said the report. And even still, many regional banks have struggled to prevent deposit outflows.

Persons: ”, Jason Pride, Michael Reynolds, Lisa Shalett, Edward Moya, Estee Lauder, Moya, “, Elisabeth Buchwald, Moody’s, ‘ Barbie ’, “ Barbie ”, Jordan Valinsky, Greta Gerwig, “ Oppenheimer, “ Barbie Organizations: CNN Business, Bell, New York CNN, Federal Reserve, Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, European, Apple, Intel, Ford, Starbucks, Nike, Saudi, Comerica Inc, National Bancorp, UMB Financial Corp, Bank of New York Mellon, State, Northern Trust, & $ Locations: New York, China, Europe, Beijing, Asia, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Silicon

☆ S&P downgrades five US banks following Moody’s lead
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-21 | by ( Elisabeth Buchwald | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

New York CNN —S&P Global Ratings downgraded five regional US banks by one notch and signaled a negative outlook for several others on Monday. Following the banking turmoil earlier this year that began with Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse, many regional banks have had to pay higher interest rates on deposits to keep customers from pulling their funds. And even still, many regional banks have struggled to prevent deposit outflows. Overall, 90% of the banks S&P rates have stable outlooks. The remaining 10% have negative outlooks and none have positive outlooks, S&P said Monday.

Persons: New York CNN —, Moody’s Organizations: New, New York CNN, Comerica Inc, National Bancorp, UMB Financial Corp, Bank of New York Mellon, State, Northern Trust, & $ Locations: New York, Silicon

☆ Inflation may be cooling — but drivers can’t seem to catch a break
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-12 | by ( Elisabeth Buchwald | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Another hefty expense is car insurance, up 17.8% from a year ago. Car repairs and car insurance were the second- and third-largest annual price increases, respectively, tracked by the CPI. Paul Baxter, a mechanic who owns Bullet Proof Off-Road & Auto, a car repair shop in Mesa, Arizona, said he’s paying 30% more for car parts compared to before the pandemic. To keep the lights on, he marks up car parts he sells to customers by 20% to 30%, he told CNN. Paul Baxter, who opened his auto shop in 2016, has had to raise prices due to the rising cost of car parts.

Persons: there’s, Hunter Scott, Scott, ” Scott, they’re, Pam Franks, “, haven’t, ” Franks, Roszell, Kristin Brocoff, hasn’t, CarMD, Paul Baxter, Baxter hasn’t, Paul Baxter Baxter, Baxter, who’s, ”, Ted Canty, Canty, he’s, we’re Organizations: New, New York CNN, Navy, Craigslist, Metro, CNN, Bureau of Labor Statistics, CPI, Farm, Toyota, state’s Department of Insurance, P Global, Auto, FedEx, Social Security, Volkswagen, Security Locations: New York, Arlington , Virginia, Washington , DC, Washington, DC, skyrocket, Louisiana, Pineville , Louisiana, United States, Mesa , Arizona, Wimauma , Florida

☆ Is it time to worry about stagflation?
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-10 | by ( Elisabeth Buchwald | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —For the past two years, economists have been worrying about the risks of high inflation rates. But far less attention has been given to inflation’s sibling: stagflation. Stagflation is the combination of high inflation and a slowing economy. The current state of stagflation: Last year, then-World Bank President David Malpass warned that stagflation risks were high because of supply chain disruptions stemming from lockdowns in China and bans on Russian oil. What’s happening now: The risk of stagflation varies significantly across different regions of the globe.

Persons: Stagflation, David Malpass, Janet Yellen, ”, Lan Ha, stagflation, Andrew Kenningham, “, That’s, ” Kenningham, ” Ha, Ha, Parija Kavilanz, don’t, Dallin Hatch, Biden, Joe Biden, Trump, Matt Egan, It’s Organizations: CNN Business, Bell, CNN, Federal, World Bank, Euromonitor, Capital Economics, Bank of England’s, National Institute of Economic, Social Research, Trump Locations: Israel, lockdowns, China, Europe, Germany, Ukraine, Saudi Arabia

☆ CPI: Consumer prices rose by 3.2% annually in July, picking up for the first time in 13 months
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-10 | by ( Alicia Wallace | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Minneapolis CNN —For the first time in more than 12 months, the pace of consumer price hikes accelerated on an annual basis. The Consumer Price Index rose 3.2% for the year through July, up from June’s 3% annual increase, according to data released Thursday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Core CPI, which excludes the more volatile food and energy prices, increased 0.2% from June and was up 4.7% from the year-ago period. July is the the fourth consecutive month that annual core CPI has eased, and the 4.7% rate landed 0.1 percentage points below consensus expectations. Shelter prices rose 0.4% month on month and were up 7.7% for the year ending in July.

Persons: “ Don’t, ”, Julia Pollak, Joe Biden, ” Biden, “ We’ve, Kurt Rankin, Dow, “, Joe Brusuelas, Brusuelas, Tamara Charm, Brandon Bell, Danielle DiMartino Booth, DiMartino Booth, — CNN’s Elisabeth Buchwald Organizations: Minneapolis CNN —, Bureau of Labor Statistics, BLS, CPI, Federal Reserve, PNC, Nasdaq, RSM US, CNN, San, Services, “, McKinsey, Quill Intelligence, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas Locations: Minneapolis, June’s, San Francisco, Austin , Texas

☆ We’re way past hard seltzer: The spiked drinks keep coming
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-05 | by ( Elisabeth Buchwald | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

What started the spiked beverage trend? Spiked beverages have been around for a while. For decades, it was “generally frowned upon” for non-alcoholic beverage brands to enter the alcoholic beverage market, Stanford said. Hard seltzer, meanwhile, had $3.8 billion in sales over the past 12 months, a 14% decline compared to last year. The nostalgia generationEvery year, the alcoholic beverage industry gets a new class of (legal) drinkers to sell to.

Persons: It’s, Casey Brooke Lawson, ”, Duane Stanford, Stanford, Jamie Wideman, Caleb Bryant, seltzer, Seltzer, Timothy A, Clary, Dan White, “, Bryant, Adam Rogers, Coke, Jack Daniel’s Tennessee, Brown, Forman, Absolut, Nielsen, Hard seltzer, who've, Ilene Bergenfeld, SunnyD Organizations: New, New York CNN, MTN, Beverage Digest, Brands, “, Molson Coors, CNN, Coca, Getty, Coors, Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey, Delight, Harvest Hill Beverage Company Locations: New York, Fresca, AriZona, Mintel, United States, AFP, Topo Chico

The global financial system relies on the promise that the US government will always pay back its debts. Although the timing was a surprise, Fitch's downgrade wasn't shocking. This May, Fitch put the country’s perfect AAA rating on watch as the debt ceiling fight raged on. The downgrade, said Fitch, reflected the “expected fiscal deterioration” of the country over the next three years. The rating agency cited the “high and growing” government debt, which currently stands at more than $32 trillion (that’s just under $100,000 for every single person in America).

Persons: Fitch, Read Organizations: Treasury Locations: America

☆ Fitch downgrades US long-term credit rating to AA+ from AAA
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-01 | by ( Elisabeth Buchwald | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

“I strongly disagree with Fitch Ratings’ decision,” said Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen in a statement on Tuesday. The last time the US debt was downgraded by another major credit rating agency, S&P, came in 2011. Until 2011, US debt had carried a perfect credit rating since Moody’s Investors Service first assigned the United States a AAA rating in 1917. The country’s new Fitch rating puts it on par with Austria and Finland but below Switzerland and Germany. S&P has maintained its AA+ rating on the US after the 2011 downgrade while Moody’s has kept its AAA rating.

Persons: CNN — Fitch, “, Fitch, ” Fitch, Biden, ”, Janet Yellen, Karine Jean, Pierre, —, Chuck Schumer, Spokespeople, Kevin McCarthy, Moody’s, Larry Summers Organizations: CNN, AAA, Biden, Fitch, AA, Republican, Republicans, Moody’s Investors Service, Dow Jones, Nasdaq, Twitter Locations: United States, Austria, Finland, Switzerland, Germany

☆ How you could be impacted by higher bank capital requirements
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( Elisabeth Buchwald | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Their risk-level assessments have been the basis for informing how much capital they need to hold on top of baseline requirements. Silicon Valley Bank accumulated a lot of paper losses, or unrealized losses, from holding bonds while the Fed hiked interest rates. But it did not need to hold capital to protect depositors from those losses. Some also expressed concerns that banks would pass on their higher capital costs to consumers in the form of higher fees to maintain their profit levels. However, UBS, Citizens Bank and Capital One will have to hold more capital.

Persons: wouldn’t, ”, Banks, aren’t, Steven Kelly, won’t, SVB, Jonathan McKernan, Michelle Bowman, Kelly, ” Kelly, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley Organizations: New, New York CNN, Federal Reserve, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Huntington Bank, Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank, Valley Bank, FDIC, ”, Manufacturers, JPMorgan, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, UBS, Citizens Bank, Capital, Nasdaq Locations: New York, Basel, Banc, California, Silicon

☆ Billionaire investor Leon Black is accused of raping teen in Jeffrey Epstein’s NY townhouse
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( Allison Morrow | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN —A woman is suing the billionaire investor Leon Black, accusing him of raping her at Jeffrey Epstein’s Manhattan townhouse when she was 16 years old. The lawsuit describes in gruesome detail the woman’s account of a sexual assault that left her bleeding and sobbing. A spokesman for Black, Whit Clay, echoed Estrich’s denial, saying the law firm “has an agenda” and that its credibility has been impugned by the dismissal of the previous suit. An internal Apollo investigation that documented his $158 million payment to Epstein found no wrongdoing. The latest suit is the third to publicly accuse Black of rape.

Persons: New York CNN —, Leon Black, Jeffrey, Jane Doe, ”, Black, Susan Estrich, ” Estrich, Whit Clay, “, Jeanne M, Christensen, ” Black, Epstein, Cheri Pierson, ” Epstein, Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell, Sen, Ron Wyden, ” Black’s, Doe, — CNN’s Elisabeth Buchwald, Ramishah Maruf Organizations: New, New York CNN, Apollo Global Management, New York Times, Street, CNN, Finance Locations: New York, Manhattan, New York City

☆ Three takeaways from Fed Chair Powell following July hike decision
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Elisabeth Buchwald | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —Roughly every six weeks Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell delivers a report card that rates the economy’s future performance. This comes along with each decision the central bank makes on interest rates. The latest move — to raise interest rates by a quarter point — came on Wednesday. That’s generally been difficult because the higher interest rates go, the higher the unemployment rate goes, which increases the likelihood of a recession. Powell often gets asked questions that aim to get some clarity on what Fed officials would need to see to start cutting interest rates.

Persons: New York CNN —, Jerome Powell, —, Powell, “, Powell doesn’t, ”, ” Powell, he’d Organizations: New, New York CNN, Fed, Bank Locations: New York, Silicon

☆ The responsible investing boom is over. Can anything replace ESG?
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

New York CNN —Environmental, social and corporate governance, or ESG, investing is on a downward spiral. But in 2022, the pace of inflows quickly eased as a confluence of political, geopolitical and market events severely damaged interest in ESG investing. ESG investing took off and became a buzzword — the “artificial intelligence of six years ago,” said Jenkins. Alphabet reported revenue of $74.6 billion, marking a 7% jump compared to last year and beating Wall Street’s estimates. Banc of California reported a much smaller decline in net income of $2.4 million last quarter.

Persons: ESG, Larry Fink, ”, Robert Jenkins, Jenkins, “, ” Jenkins, he’s, What’s, Clare Duffy, Catherine Thorbecke, Wall, ” Thomas Monteiro, —, Elisabeth Buchwald, Jared Wolff, Wolff, PacWest Organizations: CNN Business, Bell, New York CNN, BlackRock, CNN, Lipper, Pleiades Strategy, Google, Microsoft, Wall, Bancorp, Western Bank, Beverly, Santa, Bank Locations: New York, YOLO, Ukraine, Banc, California, Santa Ana, United States

☆ Banc of California set to merge with rival PacWest
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-25 | by ( Elisabeth Buchwald | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —PacWest Bancorp (PACW) is set to merge with Banc of California in a $400 million equity deal, according to a joint announcement the banks released Tuesday afternoon, ahead of their second-quarter earnings results. The move aims to restore confidence in the sector after the collapse of three regional banks earlier this year. Banc of California reported a much smaller decline in net income of $2.4 million last quarter. PacWest has been under considerable pressure after Silicon Valley Bank failed in March, sending shock waves across regional banks in the United States. Once the deal closes, PacWest shareholders are set to receive 0.66 of a share of Banc of California for each share they own.

Persons: “, ”, Jared Wolff, Wolff, PacWest, SVB, Warburg Pincus Organizations: New, New York CNN — PacWest, Western Bank, Beverly, Santa, Bank, Federal Reserve, Centerbridge Partners, Wall Locations: New York, Banc, California, Santa Ana, United States

☆ The Fed has paused before. Here’s what happened next
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-25 | by ( Elisabeth Buchwald | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

The Fed had a similar predicament in 2006After raising interest rates 17 consecutive times between June 2004 and June 2006, Fed officials became concerned that they could inadvertently damage the economy if they continued to hike rates. When the Fed met again in September, many officials expressed concerns that raising interest rates after a short, six-week pause would broadcast the wrong message. Lacker continued to be the sole Fed official who favored raising interest rates until his term expired at the end of the year. “It’s pretty easy to believe that the Fed will find that it didn’t raise rates enough and so choose to raise rates somewhat further before stopping and, later on, reducing rates,” he said. Fed officials then opted for a pause in the fall of 1994 and raised rates further in the winter.

Persons: Ben Bernanke, Bernanke, “, ” Michael Moskow, ”, Cathy Minehan, Jeffrey Lacker, Lacker, Jerome Powell, Liu Jie, Athanasios Orphanides, Austan Goolsbee, William English Organizations: New, New York CNN, Federal, Traders, Fed, Committee, Washington , D.C, Bloomberg, Getty, Chicago Fed, Boston Fed, Richmond Fed, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, European Central Bank, Food Forum, Yale University Locations: New York, Washington ,, Xinhua, Chicago

☆ Billionaire Leon Black made a $158 million payment to Jeffrey Epstein. Senators want to know why
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-25 | by ( Elisabeth Buchwald | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —The Senate Finance Committee is looking into whether billionaire investor Leon Black’s $158 million payment to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein was part of a greater strategy to avoid paying over $1 billion in federal gift and estate taxes. “The payments were inexplicably large; well in excess of what Black paid any other financial advisors and far higher than the median compensation of Fortune 500 CEOs at the time,” Wyden said in a statement released Tuesday. “At every stage of the committee’s investigation, Black has refused to answer questions or provide any documents that could demonstrate how Epstein’s compensation for tax and estate planning services was determined or justified,” Wyden said in the statement. Black has cooperated extensively with the Committee, providing detailed information about the matters under review,” Whit Clay, a spokesman for Black, said in a statement to CNN. An internal Apollo investigation that documented his $158 million payment to Epstein following the New York Times’ reporting, however, found no wrongdoing.

Persons: Leon Black’s, Jeffrey Epstein, Epstein, Ron Wyden, Wyden, Dechert, ” Wyden, “, Black, Mr, Whit Clay, ” Epstein, Dechert didn’t, Joanna Rose, ” Organizations: New, New York CNN, Finance, Apollo Global Management, Oregon Democrat, Dechert LLP, Apollo, Fortune, CNN, New York Times Locations: New York

☆ Americans aren’t rebuilding their savings fast enough
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( Elisabeth Buchwald | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Fairly well, but at the expense of their nest eggs, according to a new analysis from the JPMorgan Chase Institute. A separate analysis that Wheat co-authored found that Americans have 10% to 15% more in their bank accounts today, compared to 2019. In June 2021, the top-income quartile of Chase customers had a median cash buffer of 43 days, while the lowest-income quartile had a median cash buffer of 22 days. At the same time, Americans weren’t spending as much money on goods and services when many businesses were forced to close. Cash buffers are drying up because families aren’t replenishing their savings when they dip into them, Wheat said.

Persons: ”, Chris Wheat, Wheat, That’s, quartile Organizations: New, New York CNN, JPMorgan Chase Institute, “, CNN Locations: New York

☆ From car repairs to insurance: How are costly auto expenses impacting you?
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( Elisabeth Buchwald | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: 1 min

And if you depend on your car to get around, the price increases are likely inescapable. For instance, car repairs are up 20% compared to a year ago, the third-largest annual price increase tracked by the Consumer Price Index. Another hefty expense is car insurance, up 17% from a year ago, according to June CPI data. If you own or lease a car and are willing to share how you’re dealing with these expenses on record for possible inclusion in a future story, please fill out the form below. We will not include anything in an upcoming article, though, without first reaching out to you and interviewing you.

Organizations: New, New York CNN, Consumer Locations: New York

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