Business & Politics News and Discussions

weatheriscool
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Despite supply issues and omicron, holiday sales rise 8.5%
Source: AP

By PAUL WISEMAN and ANNE D'INNOCENZIO
Holiday sales rose at the fastest pace in 17 years, even as shoppers grappled with higher prices, product shortages and a raging new COVID-19 variant in the last few weeks of the season, according to one spending measure.

Mastercard SpendingPulse, which tracks all kinds of payments including cash and debit cards, reported Sunday that holiday sales had risen 8.5% from a year earlier. Mastercard SpendingPulse had expected an 8.8% increase.

The results, which covered Nov. 1 through Dec. 24, were fueled by purchases of clothing and jewelry.

Holiday sales were up 10.7% compared with the pre-pandemic 2019 holiday period.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus- ... 0de1d7b066
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Biden has lowest first-year Senate confirmation rate among last three presidents, according to new report
Washington (CNN)President Joe Biden has the lowest Senate confirmation rate of first-year nominations among the last three presidents, according to a new report from a group that studies presidential transitions.

"In Biden's first year, the Senate confirmed only 41% of his nominations. While a small number were withdrawn by the president, 118 were 'returned' at the end of the Senate's session -- meaning the president would either have to nominate that person again in the next session or nominate someone else," according to the report from the Center for Presidential Transition, a nonpartisan group based in Washington, DC.

The group, which said its data represents "nominations for all civilian positions including ambassadors, judges, marshals and US attorneys," reported that as of last week, 171 of the nominations Biden made in 2021 are still awaiting a vote.

Biden's 41% continues a downward confirmation rate trend among recent presidents, the group said, noting that 75% of George Bush's first-year nominees were confirmed, while 69% of Barack Obama's were approved and 57% of Donald Trump's were OK'd by the Senate during his first year in office.
Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/09/politics ... index.html
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weatheriscool
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Amazon increases the price of Prime nearly 17% to $139 per year
Source: CNBC

Amazon is raising the price of its annual Prime membership to $139 from $119, the company announced on Thursday as part of its fourth-quarter earnings results.

Amazon last hiked the price of Prime in 2018, when it increased to $119 from $99. Four years before that, it raised the subscription fee to $99 from $79.

Amazon’s annual increase amounts to about a 17% rise in price. Amazon also raised the monthly price of a Prime membership from $12.99 to $14.99, the company said. New members will see the increased prices on Feb. 18, and current members will be billed at the higher rate after March 25.
Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/03/amazon- ... -year.html
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BP profits surge as high gas prices hit household finances
Source: AP

LONDON (AP) — BP PLC reported its biggest full-year profit for eight years on Tuesday, its coffers boosted by soaring oil and gas prices that have hiked domestic fuel bills for millions of people.

The British energy giant said its underlying replacement cost profit — the industry standard — was $12.8 billion for 2021, compared with losses of $5.7 billion the previous year. The figure includes a better-than-expected $4.07 billion profit in the final quarter.

The company said it would reward shareholders with a $1.5 billion share-buyback program before its first-quarter 2022 results and a dividend payout of 5.46 cents a share for the fourth quarter.

BP has rebounded from a 2020 slump caused when the coronavirus pandemic shuttered large chunks of the global economy. Oil and gas prices have since surged, with prices driven upward by reopening economies and concern over gas supplies amid tensions over Russia’s military buildup near Ukraine.


Read more: https://apnews.com/article/business-eur ... 1794d0e371
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Ken_J
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I'm not conspiracy prone but so many things seem to be getting set up to tipping points like the volatility is desirable. I'm getting jumpy, looking for Ferdinand events.
weatheriscool
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Home prices increase at fastest rate in 34 years in December, but rising mortgage rates remain a threat

Last Updated: Feb. 22, 2022 at 9:18 a.m. ET
First Published: Feb. 22, 2022 at 8:50 a.m. ET
By Jacob Passy

Economists expect that the pace of home-price growth will slow in the face of rising interest rates

The numbers: The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller 20-city price index posted a 18.6% year-over-year gain in December, up slightly from 18.3% the previous month. On a monthly basis, the index increased 1.5% between November and December.

Meanwhile, the Case-Shiller national home price index demonstrated 18.8% growth between 2020 and 2021 in December, in line with November’s reading.

“This is the highest calendar year increase in 34 years of data, and
substantially ahead of 2020’s 10.4% gain,” Craig J. Lazzara, managing director at S&P DJI, said in the Case-Shiller report.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index showed that prices rose 17.5% between the fourth quarters of 2020 and 2021. Prices were up 1.2% between November and December, per the FHFA report.

What happened: Phoenix recorded the highest rate of home-price growth in the country in December, according to the Case-Shiller report, with a 32.5% year-over-year increase. As with the month prior, two Florida cities closely followed: Tampa with a 29.4% gain and Miami with a 27.3% rise.
{snip}

Read more: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/comin ... 1645537850
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Ford recalls 330,000 Mustangs to fix rear camera problem
Source: AP

DETROIT (AP) — Ford is recalling more than 330,000 Mustangs in the U.S. to fix backup camera displays that go blank or become distorted.

The recall covers cars from the 2015 to 2017 model years.

Documents posted Wednesday by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration say the rear view camera wiring can become loose or damaged, causing the problem.

Ford said in documents that it knows of two minor crashes and no injuries due to the problem.



A Ford logo is seen on signage at Country Ford in Graham, N.C., Tuesday, July 27, 2021. Ford is recalling more than 330,000 Mustangs in the U.S., Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2022, to fix backup camera displays that go blank or become distorted. The recall covers cars from the 2015 to 2017 model years. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/business-e6b ... 2ed96729e4
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To know is essentially the same as not knowing. The only thing that occurs is the rearrangement of atoms in your brain.
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Target aiming to entice workers with pay up to $24 per hour
MINNEAPOLIS — Workers at Target stores and distribution centers in places like New York, where competition for finding and hiring staff is the fiercest, could see starting wages as high as $24 an hour this year. It currently pays a universal starting wage of $15 an hour.

The new approach will apply to hourly team members working in Target stores, supply chain facilities and headquarters locations.

The new starting wage range is part of a company plan to spend an additional $300 million on its labor force this year that will also include broader, faster access to health care coverage for its hourly workers. . .

Target also plans to expand access to health care benefits for team members. The new initiative will include:
https://www.kare11.com/article/money/ta ... 94OLgNIBio
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