Average hourly wages rose 0.3% from February to March, and 4.2% year-over-year, while the leisure and hospitality sector added the most jobs in March. Despite the Federal Reserve's nine interest rate hikes, the US economy remains on solid footing, with job growth in service-providing businesses and a slight decline in manufacturing employment.
Posts published in “Financial”
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has released its plan to spend $80 billion in funding over the next decade, with Commissioner Danny Werfel reassuring taxpayers that they don't need to worry about an increase in audits. The money is meant to support the agency in cracking down on tax cheats and providing better service to taxpayers, with the IRS expected to collect more than $100 billion in new revenue over a 10-year period. The agency plans to use the money to improve customer service, update outdated technology, and hire additional staff to help with enforcement and compliance.
On Thursday, protesters in Paris took their fight against France's plan to raise the retirement age to BlackRock, the world's largest money manager. Approximately 100 people, including representatives of several labor unions, stormed the Centorial office block near the Opéra Garnier opera house, chanting anti-reform slogans and holding red flares and smoke bombs. The protesters were voicing their opposition to the government's pension reforms, which would raise the retirement age and delay pension payments. The protests against the reforms have been ongoing for weeks, and it appears the protesters are determined to make their voices heard.
Johnson & Johnson has announced a settlement of nearly $9 billion to cover thousands of lawsuits alleging that its baby powder containing talc caused cancer. The settlement, which is more than quadruple the amount previously set aside, is one of the largest product-liability settlements in U.S. history and will be payable over the next 25 years. The company has been adamant that its products are safe, but has decided to settle the cases in order to avoid the costs and risks associated with a prolonged legal battle.
The trustees of the Social Security and Medicare trust funds have released their annual report, revealing that the trust funds are facing financial challenges and will run out of reserves in 2034. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has expressed the Biden-Harris Administration's commitment to protecting these programs, and the trustees have urged lawmakers to take action to address the pending shortfall.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has announced that House Republicans are prepared to pass their own debt ceiling bill if President Joe Biden does not agree to negotiate with them. McCarthy proposed a borrowing limit extension with provisions to cut and cap discretionary spending, recapture unspent Covid relief funds, and introduce new work requirements for federal benefits. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) jokingly asked what McCarthy would bring to the White House for lunch, to which he replied he would bring lunch.
The Biden administration has auctioned off 73 million acres of waters in the Gulf of Mexico to offshore oil and gas drilling, drawing criticism from environmentalists who argue it contradicts the president's campaign pledge to ban new fossil fuel development on public lands. The sale is expected to generate over $1 billion in revenue and major oil companies like Chevron, Shell, and BP are expected to submit the highest bids. The Biden administration has defended the sale, arguing that it will help the U.S. transition to a clean energy economy.
Dominion Voting Systems' presentation has revealed an email sent by Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott to the company's chairman, Rupert Murdoch, warning of the financial fallout if the network continued to fact-check Donald Trump's lies after the 2020 election. The presentation is part of Dominion's $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News, and Fox has responded by saying they will "vigorously defend" themselves against the "baseless claims." Murdoch had said Trump's claims were "pretty much a crime," and Scott had said the documents "demonstrate Dominion's continued reliance on cherry-picked quotes without context."