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☆ The U.S. Built a European-Style Welfare State. It’s Largely Over.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Claire Cain Miller | Alicia Parlapiano | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +14 min

expansion Child care provider grants Food assistance ’20 ’20 ’20 ’20 ’20 ’20 ’20 ’20 ’20 ’20 ’20 ’20 ’21 ’21 ’21 ’21 ’21 ’21 ’21 ’21 ’21 ’21 ’21 ’21 ’22 ’22 ’22 ’22 ’22 ’22 ’22 ’22 ’22 ’22 ’22 ’22 ’23 ’23 ’23 ’23 ’23 ’23 ’23 ’23 ’23 ’23 ’23 ’23 ’24 Emergency food benefits Free school meals Through Sept. 2026 Remote WIC services Paused work requirement No expiration Meals outside of school No expiration Food benefit increase WIC increase Health care ’20 ’20 ’20 ’20 ’20 ’20 ’20 ’20 ’20 ’20 ’20 ’20 ’21 ’21 ’21 ’21 ’21 ’21 ’21 ’21 ’21 ’21 ’21 ’21 ’22 ’22 ’22 ’22 ’22 ’22 ’22 ’22 ’22 ’22 ’22 ’22 ’23 ’23 ’23 ’23 ’23 ’23 ’23 ’23 ’23 ’23 ’23 ’23 ’24 Medicaid continuity Through Dec. 2025 A.C.A. subsidies Subsidized COBRA Housing ’20 ’20 ’20 ’20 ’20 ’20 ’20 ’20 ’20 ’20 ’20 ’20 ’21 ’21 ’21 ’21 ’21 ’21 ’21 ’21 ’21 ’21 ’21 ’21 ’22 ’22 ’22 ’22 ’22 ’22 ’22 ’22 ’22 ’22 ’22 ’22 ’23 ’23 ’23 ’23 ’23 ’23 ’23 ’23 ’23 ’23 ’23 ’23 ’24 Foreclosure ban Eviction ban Through Sept. 2025 Rental aid Through Sept. 2030 Housing vouchers Unemployment ’20 ’20 ’20 ’20 ’20 ’20 ’20 ’20 ’20 ’20 ’20 ’20 ’21 ’21 ’21 ’21 ’21 ’21 ’21 ’21 ’21 ’21 ’21 ’21 ’22 ’22 ’22 ’22 ’22 ’22 ’22 ’22 ’22 ’22 ’22 ’22 ’23 ’23 ’23 ’23 ’23 ’23 ’23 ’23 ’23 ’23 ’23 ’23 ’24 Self-employed qualify Relaxed rules Extended duration Extra $600/week Extra $300-$400/week Extra for self-employed Extra $300/week Note: The selection of programs is not comprehensive, but it represents those with the highest costs or those affecting the most people. PROGRAM DURATION ’20 ’20 ’20 ’20 ’20 ’20 ’20 ’20 ’20 ’20 ’20 ’20 ’21 ’21 ’21 ’21 ’21 ’21 ’21 ’21 ’21 ’21 ’21 ’21 ’22 ’22 ’22 ’22 ’22 ’22 ’22 ’22 ’22 ’22 ’22 ’22 ’23 ’23 ’23 ’23 ’23 ’23 ’23 ’23 ’23 ’23 ’23 ’23 ’24 Emergency food benefits Gave all households maximum Free school meals For all children Remote WIC services Waived need to appear in person Through Sept. 2026 Paused work requirement For adults without kids Meals outside of school Summer meals made permanent No expiration Increase in max. PROGRAM DURATION ’20 ’20 ’20 ’20 ’20 ’20 ’20 ’20 ’20 ’20 ’20 ’20 ’21 ’21 ’21 ’21 ’21 ’21 ’21 ’21 ’21 ’21 ’21 ’21 ’22 ’22 ’22 ’22 ’22 ’22 ’22 ’22 ’22 ’22 ’22 ’22 ’23 ’23 ’23 ’23 ’23 ’23 ’23 ’23 ’23 ’23 ’23 ’23 ’24 Foreclosure moratorium For federally backed mortgages Eviction moratorium Rental assistance New emergency program Through Sept. 2025 Housing vouchers Additional funding Through Sept. 2030 Note: While funding for emergency housing vouchers is available through September 2030, vouchers cannot be issued to new households after September of this year. PROGRAM DURATION ’20 ’20 ’20 ’20 ’20 ’20 ’20 ’20 ’20 ’20 ’20 ’20 ’21 ’21 ’21 ’21 ’21 ’21 ’21 ’21 ’21 ’21 ’21 ’21 ’22 ’22 ’22 ’22 ’22 ’22 ’22 ’22 ’22 ’22 ’22 ’22 ’23 ’23 ’23 ’23 ’23 ’23 ’23 ’23 ’23 ’23 ’23 ’23 ’24 Benefits for self-employed Including gig workers Relaxed rules Work searching not required Extra weeks of benefits Up to 53 additional Extra $600 per week Extra $300-$400 per week Depending on the state Extra for self-employed $100 more per week Extra $300 per weekAnother is support for families with young children.

Wednesday's talks were the first high-stakes meeting between the government of President Emmanuel Macron and union bosses since nationwide protests and strikes against the legislation started in mid-January. The talks, ahead of a new day of walkouts and marches planned for Thursday, lasted about an hour. Borne told reporters that she was open to further talks but that she would not backdown on the retirement age. Labour representatives complain they are not being listened to despite weeks of protest marches and unrest against the pension overhaul. Chabanier said the unions told Borne the only way out of the deadlock was for the government to withdraw the reform.

☆ Home prices suddenly jump after several months of declines
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Diana Olick | In Dianaolick | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Home prices nationally rose 0.16% in February, when seasonally adjusted, according to Black Knight. By fall, the rate shot over 7%, and home prices began cooling more quickly. In December and January, however, mortgage rates began pulling back, and homebuyers were quick to take advantage. "Conscious of changing mortgage rates, home buyers are taking advantage of any rate declines," Lawrence Yun, NAR's chief economist, said in the February sales release. Mortgage rates began rising again in February and then fell back slightly in March due to market fears over the U.S. banking system, amid several bank collapses.

Online searches by Americans for flights to Europe trips are surging despite soaring air fares, a worsening economic outlook and risks of gridlock at some of the airports in Europe. The travel boom is promising record profit margins at some U.S. carriers, which are ramping up transatlantic capacity to cash in on Americans' thirst for travel to Europe. Travel website Kayak said searches for travel to Europe this summer are up 77% from last year. There is still untapped travel demand for Europe even after a busy summer last year, said Hayley Berg, lead economist at Hopper. Average fare for a round-trip flight to Europe, meanwhile, has risen 31% from last year, Hopper data shows.

☆ Kuwait court reinstates previous parliament
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-19 | by ( Ahmed Hagagy | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

KUWAIT, March 19 (Reuters) - Kuwait's Constitutional Court on Sunday ruled that last September's parliamentary election, in which the opposition made gains, was void and that the previous assembly must be reinstated. Kuwait's crown prince last year dissolved parliament and called early polls in an effort to end prolonged domestic political feuding that has hindered fiscal reform. However, Justice Mohammad bin Naji on Sunday said the court had declared that dissolution of parliament as void and had annulled the early elections held in September. "The constitutional authority of the dissolved parliament shall be restored as of the date of this ruling," he told the court session attended by reporters. "Kuwait does not deserve such farces," MP Saleh Ashour said on Twitter after the court ruling.

☆ US releases a third of electronics detained under China forced labor law, data shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Nichola Groom | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

March 14 (Reuters) - U.S. customs officials have released more than a third of the electronic equipment, including solar panels, detained since last year under a new law meant to weed out products made with forced labor, according to data released on Tuesday. According to the data, CBP has released 552 electronics shipments worth $345 million out of a total of 1,627 industry shipments valued at $841 million that were held for examination. While it was unknown what percentage of those shipments are solar equipment, Reuters reported last year that as of late October, CBP had detained more than 1,000 shipments of solar energy equipment. Just 17 electronics shipments, worth $7 million, have been denied entry into the U.S. market. The data also shows detainments peaked in the federal government's fiscal fourth quarter that ended in September and have steadily declined since then.

☆ U.S. solar installations fell 16% in 2022, but market rebounding -report
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Laila Kearney | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Utility-scale solar installations fell by about a third year-over year to 11.8 gigawatts, the lowest since before the COVID-19 pandemic, the report said. The residential segment, meanwhile, rose by 40%, with a record 700,000 homeowners installing rooftop solar in 2022, the report said. The report projects steady growth, averaging 19% a year, until 2027. The greater availability of solar panels is expected to boost installations this year, after projects were slowed by U.S. restrictions on solar panels from China's Xinjiang over concerns about forced labor. Reuters reported this week that U.S. imports of Chinese solar panels are picking up after months of gridlock stemming from the forced labor protection law.

☆ Why Everyone Is Moving to Florida: Jobs, Economy, Cost of Living, Taxes
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Emil Skandul | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

For other states to compete, they will need to pay attention to what Florida is doing right. Floridians pay no income tax and fewer taxes overall than people in states like New York, California, or Massachusetts. But a low tax rate isn't the only thing people care about. Despite having a budget half the size of New York's and a larger population, Florida, by many metrics, is able to do significantly more with the taxes it collects. Florida is also outshining New York and other major population centers in tackling the soaring cost of housing.

[1/5] Plants grow through an array of solar panels in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, U.S., May 6, 2022. REUTERS/Brian SnyderMarch 6 (Reuters) - U.S. imports of solar panels are finally picking up after months of gridlock stemming from implementation of a new law banning goods made with forced labor, according to two Chinese solar companies. The gains are a relief to major Chinese suppliers including Trina Solar (688599.SS) and Jinko Solar (JKS.N), who are finally getting products into the lucrative U.S. market after long delays. Trina rival Jinko Solar Holding Co Ltd (JKS.N) has also had shipments released from detention, a source close to the company said. It would not specify how many of those were solar products.

☆ U.S. solar panel imports from China grow, alleviating gridlock, officials say
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/4] John Podesta, the White House senior advisor for clean energy, delivers a speech during the CERAWeek energy conference in Houston, Texas, U.S., March 6, 2023. REUTERS/Callaghan O'HareMarch 6 (Reuters) - U.S. imports of solar panels from Chinese suppliers are increasing as customs officials have clarified rules around complying with a new law banning goods made with forced labor, a White House official said on Monday. Trina Solar Co Ltd (688599.SS), a major Chinese solar manufacturer, told Reuters that more than 900 megawatts of solar panels has cleared U.S. customs in the last four months, with less than 1% of those products being detained for examination. Trina rival Jinko Solar Holding Co Ltd (JKS.N) has also had shipments released from detention, a source close to the company said. Reporting by Richard Valdmanis in Houston Editing by Chris Reese and David GregorioOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Kuwait re-appoints Sheikh Ahmad Nawaf al-Sabah as PM - state news agency
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

KUWAIT, March 5 (Reuters) - Kuwait's crown prince re-appointed Sheikh Ahmad Nawaf al-Sabah as prime minister and asked him to nominate a cabinet, state news agency KUNA reported on Sunday, more than a month after the government resigned due to renewed friction with parliament. Crown Prince Sheikh Meshal al-Ahmad al-Sabah, who has taken over most of the ruling emir's duties, moved last year to end feuding by naming Sheikh Ahmad as premier, dissolving parliament and calling early polls, in which opposition members made gains. Kuwait bans political parties but has given its legislature more influence than similar bodies in other Gulf monarchies. While Kuwait has strong fiscal and external balance sheets, frequent political bickering and institutional gridlock have hampered investment and reforms aimed at reducing its heavy reliance on oil revenues. Reporting by Mahmoud Mourad; Writing by Ghaida Ghantous; Editing by Emelia Sithole-MatariseOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Shark Tank investor Kevin O'Leary says energy stocks are the new gold and touts optimism for the US economy
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Jennifer Sor | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Energy stocks are gold in the market, according to "Shark Tank" investor Kevin O'Leary. "If you didn't own energy in the last 18 months, you missed the market," he said in a recent interview. O'Leary is bullish on the market this year, despite warnings of a recession and a stock crash from commentators. He previously made the case that the US could still sidestep a recession in 2023, despite warnings of an impending downturn from other Wall Street forecasters. That's contrary to what other Wall Street experts have said, warning of an impending downturn and market crash as the economy shows signs of stress.

Questions posed by the conservative justices during arguments on Tuesday over Biden's debt relief indicated that the conservative-majority court could strike down the plan as an unlawful overreach of executive power. "If Congress can't or won't step up, and the court won't let presidents do so, what are we left with? Its conservative justices already have invoked it to scuttle a pandemic-era residential eviction moratorium, a COVID-19 vaccination-or-testing mandate for large businesses and federal limits on carbon emissions from power plants. In some instances, like Biden's unilateral effort to extend the eviction moratorium, he took executive action following congressional inaction. "I'm concerned that we're going to have a problem in terms of the federal government's ability to operate," Jackson said.

☆ Biden’s Regulatory Deluge
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( The Editorial Board | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

If you thought the GOP takeover of the House means gridlock in Washington prevails, think again. President Biden is leading an unprecedented expansion of the administrative state. In two years his Administration has imposed 517 regulatory actions with some $318 billion in total costs. By the same point in his Administration, President Obama had imposed 740 comparable rules with a cost of $208 billion. Across four years President Trump imposed 1,340 rules at a cost of $64.7 billion.

☆ Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas talks President Biden, infrastructure funding, and governing without gridlock at the local level: 'We've got to get stuff done'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-26 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas strives for collaboration as he works on tough policy issues. And he looks at Kansas City — whose Chiefs won Super Bowl LVII earlier this month — as an example of resiliency. What have been some of the most tangible and immediate benefits of the law for Kansas City? Mayor Lucas speaks during the Kansas City Chiefs' victory celebration in Kansas City, Missouri, on February 15, 2023. In Kansas City, we've said: "How do we keep talking to people even if everybody's mad at each other in the room?"

REUTERS/Cole Burston/File PhotoFeb 24 (Reuters) - Airports are taking steps to avoid gridlock during the upcoming holiday travel seasons, with some limiting flights during peak hours to avoid the long lines and luggage piles that marred last summer. While smoother holiday travel is expected for Europe and North America, airlines and airports which learned tough lessons on holiday travel in 2022, are taking a more prudent approach as global traffic rebounds roughly to pre-pandemic levels. Despite extensive planning and hiring this year, some airlines and airports are still wrestling with industry staff shortages, including baggage handlers. Germany's Lufthansa AG (LHAG.DE) said it has cut summer flights by an unspecified amount due to shortages of personnel like ground handlers at airports in Frankfurt and Munich. U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Canada Border Services Agency were not immediately available to comment on staffing.

☆ Labor showdown looming at NJ Transit, one of nation’s largest commuter railroads
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Chris Isidore | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

But NJ Transit is adamant they won’t negotiate at all,” said Jim Brown, president of the New Jersey Transit portion of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen. “NJ Transit is currently engaged in active and ongoing mediation. Those rules unique to commuter railroads can mean it can take three times as long for a strike to be allowed. A freight rail strike would have kept about 30% of the nation’s freight from moving and been a crippling blow to the nation’s economy and supply chain. Phil Murphy’s press office declined to respond on the state of negotiations at NJ Transit when asked for a comment by CNN late last year, referring all questions to NJ Transit.

Biden, who earlier last year signed into law a 1% tax on corporate stock buybacks, used his speech to call for that to be quadrupled, as well as renew his calls for higher taxes on billionaires. If companies sense such a tax is imminent, it might spur them to speed up buybacks and eventually shift toward paying dividends instead. "If this tax encourages companies to raise their dividends instead of buying back shares, all in all, it's not a bad thing." Other topics were also watched by investors, particularly remarks on China, a key area of interest for investors. BUYBACKS & BILLIONAIRESCorporate stock buybacks, where public companies buy back their own shares, thereby juicing the price of the shares as a way to return cash to shareholders, have grabbed headlines this year.

☆ Investors' reactions to Biden's State of the Union speech
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SINGAPORE, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Following are reactions from analysts and investors to U.S. President Joe Biden's State of the Union speech on Tuesday, in which he challenged Republicans to lift the debt ceiling and support tax policies that are friendlier to middle class Americans. DAMIEN BOEY, CHIEF MACRO STRATEGIST, BARRENJOEY, SYDNEY"The most important caveat is that you gotta pass this gridlock that is at the house and the senate. "That is particularly topical because you're going to hit the debt ceiling when you get to August. "So Biden's whole pitch is about inflation coming down, but it is not my problem because it is here before I got here. Biden should be clearer about how they are going to develop the supply chain away from China.

Abuja, Nigeria CNN —Nigeria was forced Wednesday to delay plans to replace its banknotes with a redesigned currency after chaotic scenes at ATMs as millions of people struggled to get their hands on the new cash. The new naira notes are, however, “fortified with security features that make them difficult to counterfeit,” President Buhari said last year. Across the country, banks have increasingly become targets of mounting anger over the frustrating search for the new naira notes. Angry Nigerians vandalise Bank premises over frenzy of new naira notes. Nigerians are desperately relying on their banks to distribute new bills after the February 10 deadline to exchange the old currency saw many scrambling to deposit their old notes.

A far-right faction of House Republicans is pushing against continued US aid to Ukraine. Those concerns ratcheted up amid House Speaker Kevin McCarthy's tumultuous journey to secure the gavel last month. Kyiv, for its part, has kept a close eye on Congress' dynamics since the GOP won a narrow House majority in the November midterms. "This GOP House majority will demand more oversight, transparency, and accountability to ensure assistance to Ukraine is used as intended," McCaul said in a statement. "Most Europeans don't think that suddenly the US is going to cut support to Ukraine," Araud said, adding that nobody anticipates Washington will "dump Ukraine."

☆ Sen. Kyrsten Sinema pulls in cash from Wall Street, real estate titans as she mulls reelection bid
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Brian Schwartz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

Real estate and private equity leaders, who have long helped to fill Sinema's campaign coffers, contributed to a healthy cash haul for the senator in the final months of last year. At the lunch, Sinema discussed the incoming Congress and how the tight margins in both chambers could create gridlock, according to attendees. Sinema's campaign had already seen more than $2 million from the securities and investment industry since the 2018 election cycle. The Sinema campaign saw dozens of contributions totaling over $145,000 from people who work at Apollo Global Management, another giant private equity firm, since October. Suzanne Clark, CEO of the massive pro-business lobbying group U.S. Chamber of Commerce, also donated $1,000 to Sinema's campaign on Dec. 31, the new FEC filing shows.

Labor shortagesAs the pandemic swooped in, air travel was among the industries most affected, as more than 90% of flights were grounded. Today, labor shortages exist throughout the economy, but the problem drags on in the air travel sector, where more extensive employee training is usually required. Steven Senne / APOutdated technology and infrastructureThere is near-universal agreement that the infrastructure underpinning segments of America's air travel system is outdated and vulnerable. Rep. Sam Graves, R-Montana, said the incident highlighted "a huge vulnerability in our air transportation system." Air travel should be predictable and consistent, and you shouldn’t have to wonder if air traffic control is going to be working today as you head to the airport.

☆ Kuwait aims to build political cohesion with new amnesty for jailed critics
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Ahmed Hagagy | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

KUWAIT, Jan 19 (Reuters) - Kuwait's emir has pardoned dozens of jailed critics under a new amnesty as the Gulf state builds on efforts to end domestic political feuding that has hampered fiscal reforms and as tensions surface between the new government and parliament. The amnesty decreed by Emir Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Sabah, published in the Official Bulletin on Wednesday pardoned 34 Kuwaitis, most of them convicted for voicing public criticism. Kuwait bans political parties but has given its legislature more influence than similar bodies in other Gulf monarchies, and political stability in the U.S.-allied country has traditionally hinged on cooperation between the government and parliament. Opposition MP Mubarak Al-Hajraf, who has submitted a request to question the finance minister, in a Twitter post thanked the emir and the crown prince for the "generous amnesty". Reporting by Ahmed Hagagy Writing by Ghaida Ghantous Editing by Frances KerryOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Explainer: A looming U.S. debt ceiling fight is starting to worry investors
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Here is a Q&A about the implications for markets:WHAT IS THE DEBT CEILING? The debt ceiling is the maximum amount the U.S. government can borrow to meet its financial obligations. Outstanding government debt, nominal gross domestic product and federal limit to borrowWHEN WILL THE UNITED STATES HIT THE DEBT CEILING? Goldman Sachs estimated the debt ceiling would be reached between August and October. Declining as debt ceiling loomsDO BOND PRICES REFLECT U.S.

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