Wednesday, December 25

Types of News: Brief

News briefs are shorter stories about current events. It’s the who-what-when-and-where. “Just the facts, ma’am.” Please see our writers guidelines.

Despite High Interest Rates, U.S. Housing Sector Sees An Usual Rise
17Aug By Patti MohrNo Comments
Global Economics, Types of News: Brief

Despite High Interest Rates, U.S. Housing Sector Sees An Usual Rise

Housing Costs Squeeze Buyers August 17, 2023--Even as mortgage rates in the United States hover at a 22-year high, the housing sector continues to defy logic by rising in price. In fact, increasing costs of shelter in the United States were "by far the largest contributor" to the inflation rate, according to the latest CPI report. The cost of housing rose by an annualized rate of 7.7 percent last month. Meanwhile, the overall inflation rate stood at 3.2 percent. The unusual resilience to rate increases by the Federal Reserve has led Goldman Sachs to revise its prediction for the sector from a drop of 2.2 percent to a rise of 1.8 percent, several news outlets including Axios reported. An 'Aberration' of Trends The investment firm described the unusual occurrence as "unsustainab...
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China Sees Sharpest Decline In Trade Since Early Pandemic
8Aug By Patti MohrNo Comments
Global Trade, Globalization, Global Disintegration, Types of News: Brief

China Sees Sharpest Decline In Trade Since Early Pandemic

August 8, 2023—China's trade with the rest of the world fell by 14.5 percent year-on-year in July, according to government data. That was the sharpest drop in imports and exports since early 2020. The decline was more than the 12.5 percent fall predicted by a poll of economists conducted by Reuters. Exports from the world's second-largest economy have fallen for three straight months, as the consumer and business appetite for China's goods in Europe and the United States has fallen. The decline may reflect weaker demand for China-made products as well as other factors such as shifts in supply chain, high global inflation, and rising interest rates. The largest drops in foreign buying of goods occurred in the computer, steel, and clothing sectors, according to reporting by the Financ...
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Tax Prep Software Shared Data With Big Tech
2Aug By Patti MohrNo Comments
Big Tech, Digital Economy, Types of News: Brief

Tax Prep Software Shared Data With Big Tech

Meta Pixel Collects Massive Amounts Of Information August 2, 2023—Several tax-preparation companies used a computer code known as pixels to share millions of data about users with Meta and Google, according to a congressional investigation. The companies TaxAct, TaxSlayer, and H&R Block confirmed to Senate investigators that they used Meta Pixel on their websites and a similar code for Google Analytics. The Meta Pixel is a piece of code used to track website visitors and their actions offsite. According to Meta, the parent company of Facebook, it is used for advertising and ad-targeting purposes. But the congressional report reveals that pixels contain "massive amounts of user data." Data Shared The report indicates that taxpayers who used the company websites to file th...
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Most U.S. Journalists Fear Restrictions On Free Press
24Jul By Patti MohrNo Comments
Types of News: Brief

Most U.S. Journalists Fear Restrictions On Free Press

July 24, 2023—Nearly six-in-ten journalists working in the United States reported having major concerns about potential restrictions on press freedoms. According to a Pew Research Center poll of 11,889 U.S. journalists, 33 percent of respondents answering the question said they are "extremely" concerned about the possibility the U.S. government would restrict press freedoms. An additional 24 percent said they were "very" concerned. The survey, which Pew conducted in 2022 also identified issues with "widespread misinformation, political polarization and the impact of social media."
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Currency Wars: Dollar Dominance Here To Stay? Maybe. Maybe Not.
16May By Patti MohrNo Comments
Currency, Debt, National Budgets & Interest Rates, Geopolitics, Globalization, Global Disintegration, Types of News: Brief

Currency Wars: Dollar Dominance Here To Stay? Maybe. Maybe Not.

China, India, and Others Vie For Status The United States has a significant economic advantage in having the U.S. dollar serve as the dominant form of global exchange. But several global leaders want to change that. China and Russia have long plotted to bring the dollar down. China wants its yuan to take over as the global currency leader. It's convincing trading partners like Argentina and Brazil to dump the dollar as a means for making trade and instead use the yuan. As Washington Post reporters Meaghan Tobin, Lyric Li, and David Feliba explained in an article today, Argentina's economy is in crisis, and its holdings of U.S. dollars are running thin. As a result, the government agreed last month to pay for $1 billion worth of Chinese imports with yuan. A New BRICS Currency ...
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U.S.: Another Debt Limit Debacle Looms Large
2May By Patti MohrNo Comments
Currency, Debt, National Budgets & Interest Rates, Types of News: Brief, United States

U.S.: Another Debt Limit Debacle Looms Large

May 2, 2023—U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned congressional leaders on Monday the federal government might have trouble paying its bills beginning in early June if Congress can't come together on terms for increasing the debt limit. The U.S. government breached the $31.381 trillion limit on amassing debt in January. Ever since the federal government has been resorting to extraordinary measures to get by. As of April 28, the U.S. federal debt stood at $31.45 trillion. State And Local Governments First To Feel The Pinch In a letter to Congress on May 1 Yellen said state and local governments are the first to feel the pinch. Today, Treasury stopped issuing securities known as State and Local Government Series (SLGS) that help states and local governments comply with tax reg...
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Disney’s Shareholders’ Proxy Proposals Fail At Annual Meeting
3Apr By Patti MohrNo Comments
Finance, Investing, Globalization, Global Disintegration, Types of News: Brief

Disney’s Shareholders’ Proxy Proposals Fail At Annual Meeting

April 3, 2023—Shareholders weighed in on several political issues at The Walt Disney Company's annual meeting. They included votes about its charitable contributions, its political contributions, and its business in China. Voting is tallied based on the number of shares, and the shares weighed heavily in favor of the company's recommendations. Furthermore, it should be noted that 64 percent of Disney's 1.16 billion shares are held by institutional investors. Shareholder Proxy Votes On one proxy vote, the National Legal and Policy Center, NLPC, a Disney shareholder and a public-interest nonprofit group, asked Disney to publish an annual report on the company's dealings in and with China. That vote went down 7.1 shares supporting the proxy measure, 88.9 opposing it, and 4 percent a...
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Tech Leaders Call For Pause In A.I. Experiments
30Mar By Patti MohrNo Comments
Big Tech, Digital Economy, Types of News: Brief

Tech Leaders Call For Pause In A.I. Experiments

Artificial Intelligence Poses 'Profound Risks to Society And Humanity' March 30, 2023—As computer scientists race to advance artificial intelligence technologies, tech and academic leaders are calling on AI laboratories to pause experiments on all products greater than one called GPT-4. Furthermore, they called on governments to intervene to force a stop if labs do not impose one. A nonprofit organization called Future of Life published the letter on Wednesday. It warned: "AI systems with human-competitive intelligence can pose profound risks to society and humanity, as shown by extensive research[1] and acknowledged by top AI labs," the letter says. "As stated in the widely-endorsed Asilomar AI Principles, Advanced AI could represent a profound change in the history of life on E...
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Banking System Is ‘Safe’ And ‘Sound,’ Fed Chair Says
22Mar By Patti MohrNo Comments
Currency, Debt, National Budgets & Interest Rates, Finance, Investing, Types of News: Brief

Banking System Is ‘Safe’ And ‘Sound,’ Fed Chair Says

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell answered press questions on March 22, 2023. Rate Hike Takes Place In Environment Of Uncertainty March 22, 2023—Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell assured the public and press on Wednesday that the U.S. banking system is "strong, sound, and well capitalized." His comment came less than two weeks after several banks, namely U.S.-based Signature Bank and Silicon Valley Bank and Swiss-based Credit Suisse, failed. The Federal Reserve Committee announced today it is raising the federal funds rate to a range of 4.75-5 percent in light of persistently high inflation. Powell said the Fed would have to bring inflation down to 2 percent because "the costs of failing are much higher." The Fed's decision follows a similar rate increase by the European C...
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2022: Difficult Year For Human Rights
22Mar By Patti MohrNo Comments
Human rights, Types of News: Brief

2022: Difficult Year For Human Rights

Annual State Department Report Calls Out China, Russia, India, Israel, And Mexico March 22, 2023—In its annual report on human rights, the U.S. State Department reviewed policies and practices of governments and private groups impacting human rights in 198 countries. Overall, it's been a bleak year for freedom of speech, democracy, and even the basic right to life. The report criticized democratic republics, including the United States and the United Kingdom, as well as autocratic governments. "The goal of this report is not to lecture or to shame," said Secretary of State Antony Blinken. "Rather, it is to provide a resource for those individuals working around the world to safeguard and uphold human dignity when it’s under threat in so many ways."  https://youtu.b...
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