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When Amazon Raises Its Minimum Wage, Local Companies Follow Suit. Many small-business owners do not welcome the pressure.

When Amazon Raises Its Minimum Wage, Local Companies Follow Suit

Tad Mollnhauer, who runs two printing and shipping retail stores near Orlando, Fla., said entry-level workers typically earned about $10 to $12 an hour. But these days, anyone paying that rate risks losing workers to Amazon. (The state’s minimum wage is under $9 an hour but will rise to $10 this year under a referendum approved by voters in November.

The minimum will rise a dollar a year after that, hitting $15 an hour in 2026.) Mr. “Their network and their resources are spread out around the country,” allowing Amazon to pay above-market wages in some places, he said. Jay Carney, a senior vice president for Amazon, said the company was conscious of the impact its policy might have on other employers. ‘I’ve Never Seen Anything Like This’: Chaos Strikes Global Shipping. Off the coast of Los Angeles, more than two dozen container ships filled with exercise bikes, electronics and other highly sought imports have been idling for as long as two weeks.

‘I’ve Never Seen Anything Like This’: Chaos Strikes Global Shipping

In Kansas City, farmers are struggling to ship soybeans to buyers in Asia. In China, furniture destined for North America piles up on factory floors. Around the planet, the pandemic has disrupted trade to an extraordinary degree, driving up the cost of shipping goods and adding a fresh challenge to the global economic recovery. South Korea Leads World in Innovation as U.S. Exits Top Ten. South Korea returned to first place in the latest Bloomberg Innovation Index, while the U.S. dropped out of a top 10 that features a cluster of European countries.

South Korea Leads World in Innovation as U.S. Exits Top Ten

Korea regained the crown from Germany, which dropped to fourth place. The Asian nation has now topped the index for seven of the nine years that it’s been published. Singapore and Switzerland each moved up one spot to rank second and third. The Morning: Full employment - clareluxor - Gmail. Bigger 401(k) accounts mean little to most Americans, data show. Wednesday Morning: The new trustbusting - clareluxor - Gmail. Attenborough: 'Curb excess capitalism' to save nature. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell Calls for Congress to Spend Stimulus Money.

Jerome Powell, chairman of the Federal Reserve, gave a speech on Tuesday and, as a result, likely can expect a barrage of incoming tweets shortly.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell Calls for Congress to Spend Stimulus Money

Put simply, Powell says that, due to the pandemic of which the president* told us not to be afraid, an economic calamity is looming unless a lot of somebodies in Washington get scared enough to freaking do something. America's 1% Has Taken $50 Trillion From the Bottom 90% The Stock Market Is Near Correction Levels.

What if I told you the fastest stock market recovery in history is just a misunderstanding?

The Stock Market Is Near Correction Levels

You’ve probably seen headlines like this one: Or this one: Doesn’t it seem off that the stock market is blazing past record highs while the economy is in freefall? And at the same time a record 50 million Americans are sitting around without a job? It should. NPR Choice page. Medical Experts Tell Government: ‘Shut It Down Now, And Start Over’ As the coronavirus pandemic continues to spread throughout the U.S. despite mask mandates and social distancing measures, more than 150 medical experts, scientists and other health professionals signed a letter organized by a prominent consumer group and delivered to government leaders Thursday calling for new shutdowns to bring case counts down and “hit the reset button” to implement a more effective response.

Medical Experts Tell Government: ‘Shut It Down Now, And Start Over’

The letter, which was organized by consumer group U.S. PIRG and sent to the Trump administration, congressional leaders and state governors, urges leaders to “shut it down now and start over,” saying the government must “take bold action to save lives.” The signatories call for closing all non-essential businesses and opening restaurants for takeout only, with Americans leaving their houses “only to get food and medicine or to exercise and get fresh air.” Trump's Labor Secretary is Reaching Cartoonish Levels of Supervillainry – BillMoyers.com. Trump’s Labor Secretary is Reaching Cartoonish Levels of Supervillainry A board on the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange shows the Standard & Poor's numbers, Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2013.

Trump's Labor Secretary is Reaching Cartoonish Levels of Supervillainry – BillMoyers.com

The U.S. government has filed civil charges against Standard & Poor's Ratings Services for improperly giving high ratings to toxic mortgage bonds before the financial crisis. (AP Photo/Richard Drew) Did Obama's Last 3 Years See More Jobs Created Than Trump's First 3? In February 2020, we received multiple inquiries from readers about the veracity of social media posts and news articles which claimed that the U.S. economy had added 1.5 million more jobs during former President Barack Obama’s final three years in office, than it did during President Donald Trump’s first three years.

Did Obama's Last 3 Years See More Jobs Created Than Trump's First 3?

On Feb. 17, Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-New York, tweeted that Obama had “created 1.5 million more jobs in his last 3 years than Donald Trump has in his first 3 years.” How Trump's three years of job gains compares with Obama's. "We're producing jobs like you have never seen before in this country," he said during a recent speech in Michigan.

How Trump's three years of job gains compares with Obama's

But you don't have to go back far to find three years of better job growth. Just to back to the previous three years under Barack Obama. During Trump's first 36 months in office, the US economy has gained 6.6 million jobs. But during a comparable 36-month period at the end of Obama's tenure, employers added 8.1 million jobs, or 23% more than what has been added since Trump took office. The average monthly gain so far under Trump is 182,000 jobs. On Friday, the Labor Department reported that employers added a fairly robust 225,000 jobs in January. Trump administration proposes rule that would take benefits from people with SSDI.

Arthur Delaney reports for The Huffington Post on a Trump administration proposed rule which would make it harder to receive Social Security disability benefits and Medicare, if you are under 65.

Trump administration proposes rule that would take benefits from people with SSDI

Trump boasts the US economy is the best it's ever been under his watch. Here are 9 charts showing how it compares to the Obama and Bush presidencies. Trump’s 'blue-collar boom' is a myth. If you’re beating inflation by 1%, is that a “boom”? (2) What the 1% Don't Want You to Know. (2) Endnote 3: The Origins of Conservatism. (2) How American CEOs got so rich. (2) How American CEOs got so rich. (2) How American CEOs got so rich. (2) Banned TED Talk: Nick Hanauer "Rich people don't create jobs". (2) Wealth Inequality in America. U.S. income inequality is only getting worse. Now what?

The Stock Market’s 25% Gain Is Totally Due To Higher Valuations And Not Earnings. The S&P 500 closed at 3,141 on Friday, up 634 points for the year or 25.3%. Over the same 11 months the Dow 30 has risen 4,724 points or 20.3% to 28,051. When you compare these gains vs. the S&P 500 earnings being slightly down for 2018, all the increase has come from investors valuing the earnings at a higher multiple. While earnings have been flat valuations have risen At the beginning of the year FactSet’s analysis had the S&P 500 earnings to be approximately $174 for 2019.

The S&P 500’s P/E multiple on its forward earnings was 14.4x. The decrease in earnings has been driven by lower profit margins since revenues have increased in the low-single digits. 9 charts comparing Trump economy to Obama, Bush administrations - Business Insider. Banks Want Efficiency. Critics Warn of Backsliding. Other changes to regulation, some put into place and others still under consideration, range from making it easier for big banks to pass the Fed’s annual “stress test” of their financial health to allowing some to borrow more.

One idea being floated could quietly reduce capital levels at the biggest American banks over the course of the business cycle. The tinkering is being driven by Randal K. Shareholder Value Is No Longer Everything, Top C.E.O.s Say. It was an explicit rebuke of the notion that the role of the corporation is to maximize profits at all costs — the philosophy that has held sway on Wall Street and in the boardroom for 50 years. Milton Friedman, the University of Chicago economist who is the doctrine’s most revered figure, famously wrote in The New York Times in 1970 that “the social responsibility of business is to increase its profits.” This mind-set informed the corporate raiders of the 1980s and contributed to an unswerving focus on quarterly earnings reports.

It found its way into pop culture, when in the 1987 movie “Wall Street,” Gordon Gekko declared, “Greed is good.” American Capitalism Is Brutal. You Can Trace That to the Plantation. Former Shale Gas CEO Says Fracking Revolution Has Been 'A Disaster' For Drillers, Investors. Kamala Harris claims Trump’s tariffs cost $1.4 billion per month. That’s Mostly True. ‘Robots’ Are Not 'Coming for Your Job'—Management Is. China Faces New ‘Long March’ as Trade War Intensifies, Xi Jinping Says. ‘No One Wants to Give In’: Rally Riches Too Tempting to Abandon. These five charts show how bad the student loan debt situation is.

Most Americans with student debt are young. But adults 60 and older — who either struggled to pay off their own loans or took on debt for their children or grandchildren — are the fastest-growing age cohort among student loan borrowers. Hedge-Fund Ownership Cost Sears Workers Their Jobs. Now They're Fighting Back. On Tax Day, Still 'No Evidence' Trump Tax Cuts Are Trickling Down to Workers. From ruined bridges to dirty air, EPA scientists price out the cost of climate change. Almost one-third of Chinese cities are shrinking, but urban planners told to keep building. Should I buy bitcoin? Consult the Quartz flowchart. Ajit Pai Promised New Jobs and 'Better, Cheaper' Internet. His ISP Pals Have a Different Plan. New York's iconic Chrysler Building to sell for $150 million - Chrysler Building deal. Mike Meru Has $1 Million in Student Loans. How Did That Happen?

Here’s where it’s cheaper to take an Uber than to own a car. Disney heiress criticizes CEO pay. Says the rich should pay more taxes. He was awarded $65.6 million for his performance last fiscal year, the result of a pay bump for extending his tenure at Disney through 2021 and stock awards in excess of $35 million. This year, however, the company eliminated a $500,000 boost to his base salary, keeping it at $3 million. It also cut his potential cash bonus from $20 million to $12 million and reduced his long-term incentive pay from $25 million to $20 million, the company said in a securities filing Monday. Recruit Is Japan’s Top Contender for Global Internet Domination. It was one of the most infamous companies in Japan, rocking the nation with a corporate scandal that ousted a prime minister and then nearly collapsing under a mountain of debt. 'Foxconn Was a Major Con': Backed by Trump Promises and $4 Billion in Subsidies, Company Admits Factory Jobs Not Coming.

Trump whisperers: are Stephen Miller and Fox keeping the shutdown alive? It was Monday night and the university football champions were coming to dinner at the White House. Catering staff were furloughed due to the partial government shutdown. The shutdown has exposed Trumponomics for what it is: a disaster. One of the least talked-about consequences of the partial shutdown of the US government – courtesy of Donald “I’m proud to shut down the government” Trump – is its negative effect on the US economy. Federal spending accounts for just over 20% of the total economy. Bloomberg - Are you a robot? 60 Environmental Rules on the Way Out Under Trump. The Trump Tax Cut: Even Worse Than You’ve Heard. Nine-jobs George has no idea about the poverty many British workers face. Take it from a Norwegian MP: we don’t want Britain in the EEA.

The ‘Neo-Banks’ Are Finally Having Their Moment. Why retirees should feel very worried right now. Job Openings Bunk. 'It hasn't benefited us a dime': Georgia steelworkers' verdict on Trump tariffs. Eu.usatoday. We don’t want billionaires’ charity. We want them to pay their taxes. Millions of Americans Will Face Poverty in Retirement, Study Finds. Privatisation Harms Poor and Needy, Says UN Poverty Expert. At the Heart of Global Woes, 157 of World's 200 Richest Entities Are Now Corporations, Not Governments. Why the Brutal Death of Sears (and Amazon's Growth) Should Scare Everyone. Donald Trump, Brett Kavanaugh, and the Rule of Pampered Princelings. Toys "R" Us Unprepared for Public Backlash After Reopening their Social Networks...

4 Ways Fred Trump Made Donald Trump and His Siblings Rich. 'My classroom has asbestos and bats': a message for Betsy DeVos. How the rich get richer – money in the world economy. Trade and tariffs in 5 charts: A 2018 midterm report. New GOP tax cuts would add $3.8 trillion to deficit, says report. Ford Kills Plan to Sell Chinese-Made Cars in the U.S., and Trump Thinks It Means They're Going to Start Manufacturing Them Here Instead. How Trump's trade war affects working-class Americans. Extreme Inequality Creates Global Disorder. American workers just got a pay cut click 2x.

Extreme Inequality Creates Global Disorder. Good news Germany: you now have less than €2,000,000,000,000 in debt. 4 predictions for the future of work. Trump turns against 'total joke' Koch brothers after North Dakota snub. Fact-checking Donald Trump's talking points about the economy. How the US economy is doing now in four charts. If the economy is 'roaring', why are so many Americans still struggling? Latin America is the world's most unequal region. Here's how to fix it.

The Heroes of America's Startup Economy Weren't Born in America. Donald Trump off-base in describing GDP growth on his watch. These five countries are conduits for the world's biggest tax havens. How Aristocracies Work: The American Class Divide: Matthew Stewart.

Watch Free Documentaries Online. Bayer completes $63-billion Monsanto takeover. Crypto constitutionalism – Cryptoeconomics Australia. The trouble with charitable billionaires. Why history drives China's tough stance on global trade. Is the minimum wage worth less now than 50 years ago? Capitalism 101 - by Satwik Gade and Manasi Karthik. A healthy economy should be designed to thrive, not grow. Trump will personally save up to $15m under tax bill, analysis finds. US deficit to approach $1tn after Trump tax cuts and spending bill, CBO says.