Category: Business

Mortgage Raise Above 3% For The First Time In Recent Times

Staff ReporterBusiness, Economy 0

Americans who purchased new homes or refinanced their mortgages over the past few months may have done so at just the right moment. The average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose to 3.02%, mortgage-finance giant Freddie Mac said Thursday. It is the first time the rate on America’s most popular home loan has risen above 3% since July and the fifth consecutive week it has increased or held steady.

Mortgage rates fell throughout most of 2020 after the Covid-19 pandemic ravaged the economy. That helped power the biggest boom in mortgage lending since before the financial crisis, fueled by refinancings. When rates hit 2.98% in July, it was their first time under the 3% mark in about 50 years of record-keeping.

The recent upward moves paint a clear contrast: More vaccinations in the U.S. and recent progress on the latest coronavirus relief bill have brightened investors’ outlook on the economy, a key variable in determining borrowing rates.

Mortgage rates tend to move in the same direction as the yield on the 10-year Treasury, which has been rising. Treasury yields rise when investors feel confident enough in the economy to forgo safe-haven assets such as bonds for riskier ones including stocks. Last week, the yield hit its highest level in a year.

Freddie Mac chief economist Sam Khater said he expects a strong sales season, partly because he thinks “the uptrend in rates from here will be more muted than the past few weeks.” The Federal Reserve has said it would maintain ultralow interest rates until the economy improves.

The rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage increased to 3.02% this week, up from 2.97% the previous week, according to Freddie Mac, a government-sponsored agency that backs millions of mortgages. That was the first time the rate exceeded 3% since the third week in July and the highest level since the first full week in July, when the rate was 3.03%.

The average rate on 30-year fixed mortgages surged over 3% this week, hitting that benchmark for the first time in seven months.

The rise in rates isn’t a surprise. With expectations that the economy will start to recover and the potential for increasing inflation, many experts see mortgage rates rising in 2021.

However, it’s important to note that even with the recent rate growth, both mortgage and refinance rates remain historically low. As recently as May 2019, rates were over 4%, so many homeowners still have the opportunity to save with a mortgage refinance or purchase a new home at a low rate.

Here’s what rising rates might mean for you.

Rates have surged 0.37% from an all-time low of 2.65% in early January and now sit at 3.02%, according to Freddie Mac. For someone taking out a $250,000 30-year mortgage, this increase in rates would add about $49 to your monthly payment and cost roughly $17,800 more in interest over the life of the loan.

Mortgage interest rates aren’t expected to continue to rise at this rate. “The rise in mortgage rates over the next couple of months is likely to be more muted in comparison to the last few weeks,”  Freddie Mac chief economist Sam Khater said in a statement released yesterday. So don’t expect to see the real estate market turn into a buyers market anytime soon.

This rapid increase in rates has been driven, in part, by rising long-term Treasury bond yields, which topped 1.5%. “Interest rates have been volatile recently, with the benchmark 10-year Treasury increasing about 50 basis points from where it was at the start of the year,” Freddie Mac deputy chief economist Len Kiefer wrote in an email. And that has put pressure on mortgage rates, which historically have moved in tandem with 10-year Treasury bond yields.

For now, however, the message remains the same: If you’re financially ready to buy or refinance a home, today’s mortgage interest rates are historically low.

Rajagopalan Vasudevan’s Invention Of “PlasticRoad” Makes Rides Smoother

Staff ReporterBusiness, Community, Environment 0

On a road into New Delhi, countless cars a day speed over tones of plastic bags, bottle tops and discarded polystyrene cups. In a single kilometer, a driver covers one ton of plastic waste. But far from being an unpleasant journey through a sea of litter, this road is smooth and well-maintained – in fact the plastic that each driver passes over isn’t visible to the naked eye. It is simply a part of the road.

This road, stretching from New Delhi to nearby Meerut, was laid using a system developed by Rajagopalan Vasudevan, a professor of chemistry at the Thiagarajar College of Engineering in India, which replaces 10% of a road’s bitumen with repurposed plastic waste.

India has been leading the world in experimenting with plastic-tar roads since the early 2000s. But a growing number of countries are beginning to follow suit. From Ghana to the Netherlands, building plastic into roads and pathways is helping to save carbon emissions, keep plastic from the oceans and landfill, and improve the life-expectancy of the average road.

By 2040, there is set to be 1.3 billion tonnes of plastic in the environment globally. India alone already generates more than 3.3 million tonnes of plastic a year – which was one of the motivators behind Vasudevan’s system for incorporating waste into roads.

It has the benefit of being a very simple process, requiring little high-tech machinery. First, the shredded plastic waste is scattered onto an aggregate of crushed stones and sand before being heated to about 170C – hot enough to melt the waste. The melted plastics then coat the aggregate in a thin layer. Then heated bitumen is added on top, which helps to solidify the aggregate, and the mixture is complete.

Many different types of plastics can be added to the mix: carrier bags, disposable cups, hard-to-recycle multi-layer films and polyethylene and polypropylene foams have all found their way into India’s roads, and they don’t have to be sorted or cleaned before shredding.

As well as ensuring these plastics don’t go to landfill, incinerator or the ocean, there is some evidence that the plastic also helps the road function better. Adding plastic to roads appears to slow their deterioration and minimise potholes. The plastic content improves the surface’s flexibility, and after 10 years Vasudevan’s earliest plastic roads showed no signs of potholes. Though as many of these roads are still relatively young, their long-term durability remains to be tested.

By Vasudevan’s calculations, incorporating the waste plastic instead of incinerating it also saves three tonnes of carbon dioxide for every kilometre of road. And there are economic benefits too, with the incorporation of plastic resulting in savings of roughly $670 (£480) per kilometre of road.

In 2015, the Indian government made it mandatory for plastic waste to be used in constructing roads near large cities of more than 500,000 people, after Vasudevan gave his patent for the system to the government for free. A single lane of ordinary road requires 10 tonnes of bitumen per kilometre, and with India laying thousands of kilometres of roads a year, the potential to put plastic waste to use quickly adds up. So far, 2,500km (1,560 miles) of these plastic-tar roads have been laid in the country.

“Plastic-tar road can withstand both heavy load and heavy traffic,” says Vasudevan. “[It is] not affected by rain or stagnated water.”

Similar projects have emerged around the world. The chemicals firm Dow has been implementing projects using polyethylene-rich recycled plastics in the US and Asia Pacific. The first in the UK was built in Scotland in 2019 by the plastic road builder MacRebur, which has laid plastic roads from Slovakia to South Africa.

MacRebur has also found that incorporating plastic improves roads’ flexibility, helping them cope better with expansion and contraction due to temperature changes, leading to fewer potholes – and where potholes do happen, filling them in with waste plastic otherwise destined for landfill is a quick fix. The UK government recently announced £1.6m for research on plastic roads to help fix and prevent potholes.

In the Netherlands, PlasticRoad built the world’s first recycled-plastic cycle path in 2018, and recorded its millionth crossing in late May 2020. The company shredded, sorted and cleaned plastic waste collected locally, before extracting polypropylene from the mix – the kind of plastic typically found in festival mugs, cosmetics packaging, bottle caps and plastic straws.

Unlike the plastic-tar roads laid in India, the UK and elsewhere, PlasticRoad doesn’t use any bitumen at all. “[PlasticRoad] consists almost entirely of recycled plastic, with only a very thin layer of mineral aggregate on the top deck,” says Anna Koudstaal, the company’s co-founder.

Each square metre of the plastic cycle path incorporates more than 25kg of recycled plastic waste, which cuts carbon emission by up to 52% compared to manufacturing a conventional tile-paved bike path, Koudstaal says.

But once the plastic is inside a path or road – how do you make sure it stays there? Might the plastic content be worn down into microplastics that pollute soil, water and air?

Ordinary roads, tyres and car brakes are already known to be a major source of microplastic pollution. Koudstaal says that plastic-containing paths do not produce more microplastics than a traditional road, as users don’t come into direct contact with the plastic.

The other potential point where microplastics could be released from the paths is from below: the paths are designed to allow rainwater to filter through them, trickling down through a drainage system beneath the path’s surface. But Koudstaal says microplastics are unlikely to leave this way either: “The bike paths include a filter that cleans out microplastics, and ensure rainwater infiltrates into the ground cleanly.”

Gurmel Ghataora, senior lecturer at the department of civil engineering at the University of Birmingham, agrees that using plastics in the lower surfaces of the road minimises the risk of generating additional microplastics. “It is inevitable that such particles may be generated [at surface level] due to traffic wear,” he says.

With India home to one of the world’s largest road networks, growing at a rate of nearly 10,000km of roads a year, the potential to put plastic waste to use is considerable. Though this technology is relatively new for India, and indeed the rest of the world, Vasudevan is confident that plastic roads will continue to gain popularity, not only for environmental reasons, but for their potential to make longer-lasting, more resilient roads.

Massachusetts and Connecticut Hold 8 Out of the Top 10 Best Places to Live

Staff ReporterCommunity, Economy, Lifestyle 0

Expertise.com, a resource that evaluates and publishes the best local experts, has published a comprehensive report on the safest cities and towns in the U.S. The study ranks the safest to most dangerous cities and towns with a population of 10,000 or more. Research experts collected data from the FBI Crime Database and used a detailed methodology to assess each municipality.

The top five safest cities are Wayland, Massachusetts, Frederick, Colorado, Weston, Connecticut, Clinton, Massachusetts, and Sagamore Hills, Ohio. Massachusetts and Connecticut held 8 out of the top 10 best places to live, three cities from Connecticut and five from Massachusetts.

In contrast, the five most dangerous cities and towns are spread across various states. The lowest ranking areas on the list are Muskegon Heights, Michigan, Tukwila, Washington, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Memphis, Tennessee, and Little Rock, Arkansas.

“The pandemic has created more opportunities to work remotely, and people now have the flexibility to explore other cities,” says David Franklin, General Manager of Expertise.com. “This study was conducted to help Americans assess different relocation options and address public safety concerns.”

Researchers at Expertise.com accessed crucial data from the FBI’s 2019 National Incident-Based Reporting System. Each city was evaluated based on the number of violent crimes, other crimes to persons, and other crimes to property per 1,000 residents. The report highlights 1,434 cities and towns and the final scores were generated using a percentile rank formula.

Top 10 Safest Cities and Towns in America

  1. Wayland, MA
  2. Frederick, CO
  3. Weston, CT
  4. Clinton, MA
  5. Sagamore Hills, OH
  6. Newtown, CT
  7. Madison, CT
  8. Franklin, MA
  9. Medway, MA
  10. Hopkinton, MA.

US Suspends Tariffs On Single Malt Scotch Whisky

Staff ReporterBusiness, Economy 0

The US has agreed to suspend tariffs on UK goods including single malt whiskies that were imposed in retaliation over subsidies to the aircraft maker Airbus.  Tariffs will also be lifted on UK cheese, cashmere and machinery.

The duties will be suspended for four months while the two sides seek a long-term settlement. On 1 January, the UK dropped its own tariffs on some US goods, put in place over a related dispute about US subsidies to Boeing.

It is the latest twist in a decades-old trade row that has seen the EU and the US target billions of dollars worth of each other’s exports with taxes.

The UK is part of the dispute as a former EU member. Airbus makes wings and other parts in the UK, but assembles its commercial aircraft in the EU. It has hit Scotch whisky producers particularly hard as the US is a key export market. Distilleries have reported £500m of losses since 2019 due to the tariffs.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the trade truce, due to come into force on Monday, would boost British business. “From Scotch whisky distillers to Stilton-makers, the US decision to suspend tariffs on some UK exports today will benefit businesses right across the UK,” he tweeted.

“Fantastic news as we strengthen the UK-US trading relationship and work to build back better from the pandemic.” Simon Cotton, boss of Speyside-based textiles firm Johnston’s of Elgin, says he’s “absolutely delighted” the tariffs have been suspended.

The company, which employs 850 people, has been taking a “25% hit” on every knitwear product it exports to the US – “a significant cost” at a time when Covid and Brexit also pose challenges.

In Speyside many other businesses have felt the impact of the US tariffs, including whisky distilleries and shortbread makers.

“This has been a particularly difficult tax for the businesses here, so it’s a huge relief for the region,” says Mr Cotton. “We’re hoping this paves the way for a permanent removal of these tariffs.”

Karen Betts, head of the Scotch Whisky Association, called the suspension “fabulous news”. “The tariff on single malt Scotch whisky exports to the US has been doing real damage to Scotch whisky in the 16 months it has been in place, with exports to the US falling by 35%,” she said.

“So today, everyone in our industry – from small companies to large – is breathing a sigh of relief.” For more than a decade, the EU and US accused each other of propping up their home aviation markets with tax breaks, research grants and other aid.

But tensions flared in 2019, when former US president Donald Trump retaliated by putting tariffs on $7.5bn (£5.4bn) of EU goods, including UK products such as whisky.

Since it left the EU, the UK has been lobbying Washington to drop the duties on its goods as it seeks a wide-ranging trade deal with the US. Talks with Washington abruptly broke off in January but resumed after Joe Biden became US president.

Biden’s top trade nominee, Katherine Tai, has said she will make it a priority to resolve the row with the EU and Britain – although for now US tariffs continue to apply to EU goods. In a joint statement on Thursday, the UK and the US said that the suspension would “ease the burden on industry and take a bold, joint step towards resolving the longest-running disputes at the World Trade Organization”.

The two countries added that it would also allow time to focus on negotiating “a balanced settlement to the disputes, and begin seriously addressing the challenges posed by new entrants to the civil aviation market from non-market economies, such as China”.

Airbus welcomed the removal of “lose-lose tariffs” and urged the UK and US governments to reach a long-term settlement.  More than £500m-worth of whisky sales have been lost since October 2019, when the 25% tariff was introduced on single malt Scotch. Smaller distillers were hit hardest.

The US is the biggest single-nation export market by value. President Trump’s US Trade Representative reckoned it was a good source of political leverage in the 17-year trade dispute over aircraft manufacturing.

Scottish cashmere sweaters were also targeted. In the political calculation of trade disputes, the US did not include Irish whiskey or Italian cashmere, giving them the opportunity to exploit the rift and grow market share.

It was not until last autumn that the European Union and the UK won the right, at the World Trade Organisation, to hit back over Boeing subsidies by US governments. That levelled the field on which to negotiate a resolution.

Donald Trump used trade tariffs as a bludgeon intended to protect American jobs, and although Joe Biden is not noted as an enthusiast for globalisation and free trade, this suspension of tariffs signals his administration is in the business of negotiated deals between partners.

It acknowledges the trans-Atlantic partners should perhaps focus more on manufacturing competition from China. But there is work to be done: the EU, UK and US have not only the Boeing/Airbus dispute to resolve, but another one over steel and aluminium, which explains the 25% tariff currently on imported American whiskey.

For Liz Truss and the UK government’s attempts to secure post-Brexit trade deals, this is a significant step forward. It seems the Biden administration is not prioritising the European Union ahead of Britain. However, a UK-US free trade deal is a long way from here.

Tata, Spicejet now in the fray for Air India

Staff ReporterBusiness, Travel 0

Tata Group and private airline Spicejet remain in the fray for buying Air India as all the other bids have been rejected, according to sources close to the development.

Bids by others have been rejected after the evaluation of the expressions of interest (EoI) where multiple bids were received.

The transaction advisors have been in touch with the interested bidders regarding several queries and the qualified bidders will be intimated only after the government is satisfied with the responses from the bidders.

Apart from Tata Sons and Spicejet, Tata Sons and the New York-based Interups Inc backed by strategic NRI investors from the US and Europe are said to be the interested bidders for the national carrier.

DIPAM Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey had earlier said that the government has received multiple expressions of interest for the strategic disinvestment of Air India.

The process has been divided into two stages. In stage one, expressions of interest have been submitted by the interested bidders and they will be shortlisted based on the eligibility criteria and other terms mentioned in the Preliminary Information Memorandum (PIM).

In stage two, the shortlisted interested bidders will be provided with a request for proposal (RFP) and thereafter there will be a transparent bidding process.

A group of 209 employees of Air India had also put in a bid. Essar and Pavan Ruia of Dunlop and Falcon Tyres had also put in bids for Air India.

After several years of heavy financial losses and complaints of poor quality services by passengers, AIR INDIA, the national carrier is likely to return to its original owners, the Tata Group of Companies. Tata Group, who has been in the aviation sector for a long time, has expressed a keen interest in taking over Air India for quite some time now. .

The Tata group has already begun due diligence and is likely to put in a formal bid soon, close to the deadline.  Air India Express, a low-cost subsidiary of the airline and the Air India’s real estate assets; a part of the airline will also be on sale.

Tata sons holds a 51% stake in AirAsia India. Tata Group also has a joint venture in the airline business by the name Vistara.  Thereafter, if the Tata bid is deemed accepted, the 90 day period for handover shall commence and end by November 30 or at the most, by December 31. So, one possible scenario is for Tata to take control of Air India by January 1, 2021.

While the other bidders are not known yet, globally, airlines are under severe stress due to the Covid-19 pandemic and resultant disruption on air travel and tourism. Tata is widely believed to emerge as the sole bidder for Air India and the salt to software conglomerate is likely to place a bid before August 31, the last date for bids for Air India, which the government has repeatedly said it will not be extended. According to reports, the Tata group has already begun due diligence and is likely to put in a formal bid soon.

On the ensuing structure for the airline business, there is speculation that Tata is planning to merge its existing stake in AirAsia with Air India into a single entity. Air India has been passing through a critical financial condition from much before the Covid-19 onslaught. The crippling effect of the pandemic, especially in the aviation sector, has further brought its finances to a precarious position. Recently, its pilots and other employees are on the warpath as Air India has laid off employees and started a Leave Without Pay (LWP) scheme.

From Tata Airlines and Air India to Vistara and AirAsia India, the Tata group has been an important part of the growing aviation sector in India. From Tata Air Lines and the long-since nationalised Air India to strategic joint ventures with AirAsia Berhad and Singapore Airlines (SIA) for AirAsia India and Vistara, respectively, Tata has been present in the aviation sector. The two joint venture airlines operate independently with their respective business models – low-cost (AirAsia) and full-service (Vistara).

 

Air-India began operating in 1932 as Tata Airlines, named after J. R. D. Tata, its founder. The line carried mail and passengers between the Indian cities of Ahmadabad, Bombay, Bellary, and Madras, and Karachi, Pakistan. Within a few years Tata Airlines’ routes included the Indian cities of Trivandrum, Delhi, Colombo (in Sri Lanka), Lahore, and other locations in between.

In 1946, at the conclusion of World War II, the airline became a public company and was renamed Air-India Limited. In just two years, with the government having a 49 percent share in the company, the airline was flying further outside of India, with regular flights to Cairo, Geneva, and London. The line’s name changed again to reflect its new scope of operations, becoming Air-India International Limited. Now, after several decades, the ownership is likely to return to the Tata Group, who had started the airline, now known as AIR INDIA.

What Is In For You In The $1.9 Trillion COVID-19 Relief Bill Congress Passed?

Staff ReporterBusiness, Economy, Nation USA 0

The Democrat controlled US House of Representatives approved a massive $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package, advancing President Joe Biden’s top agenda item and providing more resources to schools and businesses, boost funding for vaccinations and testing, and grant financial relief to Americans across the country.

Democrats passed the measure early Saturday morning, Feb. 27th in a party-line vote, with Republicans united against the bill calling for slimmer, more-targeted relief. All but two Democrats supported the bill in the 219-212 vote, and no Republicans backed the package.

Democrats have advanced the coronavirus legislation using the budget reconciliation process, in a bid to avoid the Senate’s 60-vote threshold and pass their package with a simple majority of votes, given the slim 50-50 divide in the upper chamber.

The Senate is expected to take up the legislation next week, after the chamber’s parliamentarian ruled that Democrats could not include a $15 minimum wage in the proposal over budgetary concerns. “This started almost a year ago,” House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said of the pandemic ahead of the House vote. “Today’s vote is a crucial step in our fight to defeat COVID-19.”

The American Rescue Plan would provide $1,400 stimulus checks to millions of Americans across the country and extend federal unemployment benefits through the summer. It would also provide hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to state and local governments, schools and vaccine and COVID-19 testing efforts — in addition to nutritional and child care assistance.

While Democrats and the White House have touted public polls showing broad bipartisan support for the measure, and the endorsements of state and local GOP leaders, House Republicans are expected to vote against the bill as a bloc. For weeks, they have argued that Democrats’ proposal is too expensive and ignores the $4 trillion in coronavirus relief approved by Congress last year, some of which remains unspent.

“This isn’t a relief bill,” House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said Friday. “It takes care of Democrats’ political allies while it fails to deliver for American families.” Americans “want us to actually work together, to come together and solve the problems in a bipartisan way,” Rep. Anthony Gonzalez, R-Ohio, said on the House floor. “I think that message was clear. And the more the majority ignores it, the shorter their majority will be.”

Biden had briefly engaged with a group of 10 Senate Republicans pushing an alternative to his plan, but rejected their $600 billion counteroffer as too meager, arguing it did not meet the moment and would cut spending on key programs included in his legislation.

Senate Budget Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden, D-Ore., announced they would offer an amendment to the budget bill, once it comes over from the House, that would penalize “large, profitable corporations” through the elimination of tax deductions” if those companies do not raise the minimum wage for their workers to “at least $15 an hour.” The two chairmen also said that measure would offer incentives to small businesses to raise worker wages.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Democrats would still “absolutely” pass the package without the minimum wage increase, and members of the caucus reaffirmed their commitment to the issue on Friday. “I’m not going to stop till we get it,” Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Mich., said Friday.

Look at some highlights of the legislation:

  • The legislation provides a rebate that amounts to $1,400 for a single taxpayer, or $2,800 for a married couple that files jointly, plus $1,400 per dependent. Individuals earning up to $75,000 would get the full amount as would married couples with incomes up to $150,000.
  • The size of the check would shrink for those making slightly more with a hard cut-off at $100,000 for individuals and $200,000 for married couples.
  • Some Republicans want to cut the size of the rebate as well as the pool of Americans eligible for it, but Biden has insisted on $1,400 checks, saying “that’s what the American people were promised.” The new round of checks will cost the government an estimated $422 billion.
  • Under current law, most taxpayers can reduce their federal income tax bill by up to $2,000 per child. The package moving through the House would increase the tax break to $3,000 for every child age 6 to 17 and $3,600 for every child under the age of 6.
  • The legislation also calls for the payments to be delivered monthly instead of in one lump sum. If the secretary of the Treasury determines that isn’t feasible, then the payments are to be made as frequently as possible.
  • Also, families would get the full credit regardless of how little they make in a year, even just a few hundred dollars, leading to criticism that the changes would serve as a disincentive to work. Add in the $1,400 per individual checks and other items in the proposal, and the legislation would reduce the number of children living in poverty by more than half, according to an analysis from the Center on Poverty and Social Policy at Columbia University.
  • The legislation would send $350 billion to state and local governments and tribal governments. While Republicans in Congress have largely objected to this initiative, Biden’s push has some GOP support among governors and mayors.
  • Many communities have taken hits to their tax base as millions of people have lost their jobs and as people stay home and avoid restaurants and stores to prevent getting COVID-19. Many areas have also seen expenses rise as they work to treat the sick and ramp up vaccinations.
  • But the impact varies from state to state and from town to town. Critics say the funding is not appropriately targeted and is far more than necessary with billions of dollars allocated last spring to states and communities still unspent.
  • The bill calls for $130 billion in additional help to schools for students in kindergarten through 12th grade. The money would be used to reduce class sizes and modify classrooms to enhance social distancing, install ventilation systems and purchase personal protective equipment. The money could also be used to increase the hiring of nurses, counselors and to provide summer school.
  • Spending for colleges and universities would be boosted by $40 billion, with the money used to defray an institution’s pandemic-related expenses and to provide emergency aid to students to cover expenses such as food and housing and computer equipment.
  • The bill provides another round of relief for airlines and eligible contractors, $15 billion, so long as they refrain from furloughing workers or cutting pay through September. It’s the third round of support for airlines.
  • A new program for restaurants and bars hurt by the pandemic would receive $25 billion. The grants provide up to $10 million per entity with a limit of $5 million per physical location. The grants can be used to cover payroll, rent, utilities and other operational expenses.
  • The bill also provides another $7.25 billion for the Paycheck Protection Program, a tiny fraction of what was allocated in previous legislation. The loans are designed to help borrowers meet their payroll and operating costs and can potentially be forgiven.
  • Expanded unemployment benefits from the federal government would be extended, with an increase from $300 a week to $400 a week. That’s on top of what beneficiaries are getting through their state unemployment insurance program.
  • The bill provides money for key elements of the Biden administration’s COVID-19 response, while also trying to advance longstanding Democratic priorities like increasing coverage under the Obama-era Affordable Care Act.
  • On “Obamacare,” it dangles a fiscal carrot in front of a dozen states, mainly in the South, that have not yet taken up the law’s Medicaid expansion to cover more low-income adults. Whether such a sweetener would be enough to start wearing down longstanding Republican opposition to Medicaid expansion is uncertain.
  • The bill provides $46 billion to expand federal, state and local testing for COVID-19 and to enhance contract tracing capabilities with new investments to expand laboratory capacity and set up mobile testing units. It also contains about $14 billion to speed up the distribution and administration of COVID-19 vaccines across the country.

RAISING THE MINIMUM WAGE

  • The bill would gradually raise the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour by June 2025 and then adjust it to increase at the same rate as median hourly wages. However, that provision is not expected to survive in the final bill. The Senate parliamentarian ruled that it cannot be included in the COVID-19 economic relief package under the process Democrats chose to undertake to get a bill passed with a simple majority.

Biden had predicted such a result. Still, the ruling was a stinging setback for most Democratic lawmakers who had said the higher minimum wage would increase the pay for millions of Americans. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office had projected the new federal minimum wage would lift some 900,000 people out of poverty once it was fully in place. But Republicans said the mandatory wage hikes would make it harder for small businesses to survive and they pointed to the CBO’s projection that about 1.4 million jobs would be lost as employers looked for ways to offset their higher personnel costs.

US Debt Soars To $29 Trillion, Owes India $216 Billion

Staff ReporterEconomy, Finance/Economy, Nation USA 0

The US, the world’s largest economy, owes India USD 216 billion in loan as the country’s debt grows to a record USD 29 trillion, an American lawmaker has said, cautioning the leadership against galloping foreign debt, the largest of which comes from China and Japan.

In 2020, the US national debt was USD 23.4 trillion, that was USD 72,309 in debt per person. “We are going to grow our debt to USD 29 trillion. That is even more debt owed per citizen. There is a lot of misinformation about where the debt is going. The top two countries we owe the debt to are China and Japan, not actually our friends,” Congressman Alex Mooney said.

“We are at global competition with China all the time. They are holding a lot of the debt. We owe China over USD 1 trillion and we owe Japan over USD 1 trillion,” the Republican Senator from West Virginia said on the floor of the US House of Representatives as he and others opposed the latest stimulus package of USD 2 trillion.

In January, US President Joe Biden announced a USD 1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package to tackle the economic fallout from the pandemic, including direct financial aid to average Americans, support to businesses and to provide a boost to the national vaccination programme.

“The people who are loaning us the money we have to pay back are not necessarily people who have our best interest at heart. Brazil, we owe USD 258 billion. India, we owe USD 216 billion. And the list goes on the debt that is owed to foreign countries,” Congressman Mooney said.

America’s national debt was USD5.6 trillion in 2000. During the Obama administration, it actually doubled.

“Since the eight years Obama was President, we doubled our national debt. And we are adding another—projected here—a completely out of control debt-to-GDP ratio,” he said urging his Congressional colleagues to consider this national debt issue before approving the stimulus package.

“So I urge my colleagues to consider the future. Don’t buy into the—the government has no money it doesn’t take from you that you are going to have to pay back. We need to be judicious with these dollars, and most of this is not going to coronavirus relief anyway,” he said.

Congressmen Mooney said that things have gone completely out of control. The Congressional Budget Office estimates an additional USD 104 trillion will be added by 2050. The Congressional Budget Office forecasted debt would rise 200 per cent.

“Today, as I stand here right now, we have USD 27.9 trillion in national debt…That is actually a little more than USD 84,000 of debt to every American citizen right here today,” Mooney said.

Reliance Acquires Majority Stake In US-Based Skytran Inc

Staff ReporterBusiness, Finance/Economy 0

Reliance Strategic Business Ventures Limited (RSBVL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), announced on Sunday that it has acquired majority stake in its investee company skyTran Inc for a consideration of $26.76 million.

With this transaction, RSBVL has increased its shareholding to 54.46 per cent on a fully diluted basis, RIL said in a statement.

Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director of RIL, said: “Our acquiring majority equity stake in skyTran reflects our commitment to invest in building futuristic technologies that would transform the world. We are excited by skyTran’s potential to achieve an order of magnitude impact on highspeed intra and inter-city connectivity and its ability to provide a high speed, highly efficient and economical ‘Transportation-As-Service’ platform for India and the rest of the World.”

“We firmly believe that non-polluting high speed personal rapid transportation system will help facilitate environmental sustainability through efficient use of alternative energy and make an impactful reduction in air and noise pollution,” he added.

SkyTran is a technology company incorporated under the laws of Delaware in the US in 2011. It has developed breakthrough passive magnetic levitation and propulsion technology for implementing personal transportation systems aimed at solving the problem of traffic congestion globally. The technology has been developed by skyTran to create smart mobility solutions, said a company statement. (IANS)

Gasoline Could Be Around The Corner — Unless OPEC And Russia Start Pumping More Oil

Staff ReporterCommunity, Economy 0

OPEC and Russia’s unprecedented production cuts last spring lifted oil prices out of a death spiral. Nearly a year later, the group is under pressure to cool off the red-hot market. US crude has raced back above $60 a barrel. That’s a far cry from the depths it reached last April when oil crashed below zero (negative $40.32 a barrel, to be exact) for the first time in history. Prices at the pump are starting to creep higher, too. The national average hit $2.70 a gallon Friday, according to AAA. That’s well above the April low of $1.76 per gallon.

Investors are betting the pandemic will soon be under control — and that in turn will unleash pent-up demand for road trips, cruises, flights and other oil-consuming activities.

Against this backdrop, OPEC and its allies, known as OPEC+, are scheduled to meet Thursday to deliberate whether to add more barrels into to the hungry market. They’ve certainly got the firepower, and the price incentive, to do just that.

Last year, OPEC+ slashed output by a record-shattering 9.7 million barrels per day. The emergency steps, along with production cuts by US and other producers, drove a strong rebound in prices. That recovery has accelerated in recent months as millions of people around the world have gotten vaccinated against Covid.

OPEC+ could soon announce the market is now healthy enough to step up production this spring.  “Given the allure of higher prices, there should be more supply coming onto the market,” said Ryan Fitzmaurice, energy strategist at Rabobank.

Indeed, sources within OPEC+ told Reuters last week that an output increase of half a million barrels per day beginning in April is possible without building up inventories, although a final decision had not been made.

“Given where prices are, how will anyone tell Russia that they need to curtail production?” said Jim Mitchell, head of Americas oil analysts at Refinitiv. There are several good reasons for OPEC+ to release more barrels.

First, higher prices mean countries like Saudi Arabia that rely on oil to balance their budgets can bring in badly-needed revenue.  Second, if OPEC+ doesn’t start producing more, other countries will. That includes frackers in Texas who were sidelined by the oil crash.

Bank of America strategists told clients in a recent note that OPEC+ will “preserve market share” by pumping more soon. During the second quarter alone, Bank of America expects OPEC+ to add more than 1.3 million barrels per day of supply.

There’s another reason OPEC+ will want to act before it’s too late: self-preservation.  If gasoline prices keep rising and hit $3 a gallon — and beyond — it will only accelerate clean energy investments and persuade more drivers to dump their gas-guzzling SUVs for electric vehicles.  “If oil shoots up to extreme levels,” said Rabobank’s Fitzmaurice, “that only helps the renewables story and eats away at oil demand.”

The switch to electric means more costly recalls

Hyundai is recalling 82,000 electric cars globally to replace their batteries after 15 reports of fires involving the vehicles. Despite the relatively small number of cars involved, the recall is one of the most expensive in history.

The numbers: The recall will cost Hyundai 1 trillion Korean won, or $900 million. On a per-vehicle basis, the average cost is $11,000 — an astronomically high number for a recall.

The episode signals how electric car defects could create hefty costs for automakers — at least in the near future, report my colleagues Chris Isidore and Peter Valdes-Dapena.

The recall is another indication of just how expensive EV batteries are relative to the cost of the entire car. Until the cost of batteries comes down, through greater production worldwide and economies of scale, the cost of making electric vehicles will remain higher than comparable gasoline cars.

Once batteries do become less expensive, as is expected in the coming years, electric cars could become much cheaper to build because they have fewer moving parts and require as much as 30% fewer hours of labor for assembly compared to traditional vehicles.

Fewer parts on electric vehicles could also mean that auto recalls become less common in the future. But for now, there could be significant costs if battery fire problems require battery replacements.

Indian-Americans Launch New Hotel Franchise Promising Better Terms To Hoteliers

Staff ReporterBusiness, Community 0

A group of experienced Indian American hoteliers, who have dealt with franchises for over 50 years, launched their first-ever Indian American hotel franchise named Membership Hotel Organization, MHO Hotels, Feb. 16 at Royal Albert’s Palace in New Jersey. The event was attended by 100 invited guests and many others via Zoom, a press release from MHO said.

The motto of MHO Hotels is “We do better together” and its mission is to help hotel owners become successful by reducing overhead costs and increasing their revenue. MHO chairman C.Z. Patel briefed those at the meeting about the new organization.

A group presentation moderated by Joe Johal was part of the event. The panelists included founder/CEO and president Mahendra Z. Patel, CTO Pratic Patel and senior vice-president and COO Keshin Patel.

The event was attended by India’s Consul General in New York Randhir Kumar Jaiswal, Deputy Consul General Shatrughna Sinha, Albert Jasani, owner and CEO of Royal Albert’s Palace/ TV 9 and MHO Hotels franchise advisory board chairman; and H.R. Shah, CEO/chairman of TV Asia.

Attendees congratulated and extended their best wishes to the MHO Hotels board officials for their new endeavor. Executives from the current and past Asian American Hotel Owners Association, New Jersey Restaurant and Hospitality Association and Fair Franchise Initiative were among the other invited guests at the event who expressed their support for this initiative.

A detailed presentation on why hotel owners should join MHO Hotels was made by executive board members, according to the press release, which added that some of the benefits discussed were to include no hidden fees, no logo requirements, no need to purchase overpriced items from approved vendors, no liquidation fees and no long-term contracts which can save hotel owners from high franchise costs and increase their profits.  Dr. Tushar Patel served as the emcee and DJ/singer Rakesh Raj provided entertainment for the evening.

Roivant Grows Computational Drug Discovery Engine with Acquisition of Silicon Therapeutics

Staff ReporterBusiness, Health 0

Roivant Sciences today announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Silicon Therapeutics for $450 million in Roivant equity, with additional potential regulatory and commercial milestone payments.

Silicon Therapeutics has built a proprietary industry-leading computational physics platform for the in silico design and optimization of small molecule drugs for challenging disease targets. The platform includes custom methods based on quantum mechanics, molecular dynamics and statistical thermodynamics to overcome critical bottlenecks in drug discovery projects, such as predicting binding energies and conformational behavior of molecules.

Silicon Therapeutics’ computational platform is powered by a proprietary supercomputing cluster and custom hardware enabling accurate all-atom simulations at biologically meaningful timescales. This computational platform is tightly integrated with experimental laboratories equipped for biophysics, medical chemistry and biology in order to facilitate the rapid progression of drug candidates by augmenting simulations with biophysical data. The company has used these capabilities to discover multiple drug candidates.

The acquisition of Silicon Therapeutics bolsters and complements Roivant’s targeted protein degradation platform. That platform will be powered by VantAI’s advanced machine learning models trained on proprietary degrader-specific experimental data and by Silicon Therapeutics’ proprietary computational physics capabilities, which help address many of the modality-specific challenges of degrader design and optimization. Integrating Silicon Therapeutics and VantAI will enable Roivant to distinctively capture the power of both computational physics and machine learning-based approaches to drug design; for instance, by incorporating proprietary computational physics simulations as training data for VantAI’s degrader-specific deep learning models.

The combination of Silicon Therapeutics and VantAI also gives Roivant distinctive advantages in designing other types of novel small molecule drugs against difficult targets, such as allosteric inhibitors, molecular glues and high-affinity ligands. Silicon Therapeutics’ drug discovery efforts are led by Drs. Woody Sherman, Huafeng Xu and Chris Winter, who will join Roivant’s drug discovery leadership.

Dr. Sherman is a recognized leader in computational chemistry and biomolecular simulations who spent 12 years as a senior scientific executive at Schrödinger, where he served as vice president and global head of applications science. Dr. Sherman is an authority in the emerging field of physics-driven drug design who has developed novel methods for free energy simulations, conformational modulation, virtual screening, improved force fields, lead optimization and precision selectivity design.

Dr. Xu is a pioneer in novel molecular dynamics methods who spent 12 years at D. E. Shaw Research where he led development of the methods and software for free energy calculations that are now widely used in the pharmaceutical industry, including the Anton chip and Desmond software.

Dr. Winter is an accomplished drug discovery biologist who has delivered 11 targeted cancer therapies into clinical development. Before joining Silicon Therapeutics, Dr. Winter served as Sanofi Oncology’s head of discovery biology. He joined Sanofi from Blueprint Medicines, where he served as head of biology. Prior to Blueprint, Dr. Winter held senior research positions at Merck Research Laboratories and Exelixis.

“We are delighted to integrate Silicon Therapeutics into Roivant as we continue to expand our capabilities in computationally-powered drug discovery,” said Matt Gline, chief executive officer of Roivant Sciences. “We intend to leverage our established development apparatus as we rapidly advance promising compounds from our drug discovery engine into clinical studies.”

“Silicon Therapeutics was founded with a vision of transforming the pharmaceutical industry through use of technology,” said Lanny Sun, co-founder and chief executive officer of Silicon Therapeutics. “By joining forces with Roivant, we can significantly accelerate making this vision a reality. Roivant has an impressive track record in clinical execution and building and deploying technology platforms to power pharmaceutical research, development and commercialization.”

“The combination of Silicon Therapeutics’ integrated approach, platform and highly capable team with Roivant’s technologies and commitment to transforming the pharmaceutical industry represents a new and exciting paradigm in drug discovery and development,” said Roger Pomerantz, M.D., F.A.C.P., chairman of the board of directors of Silicon Therapeutics.
The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions including receipt of requisite regulatory approvals.

Roivant’s mission is to improve the delivery of healthcare to patients by treating every inefficiency as an opportunity. Roivant develops transformative medicines faster by building technologies and developing talent in creative ways, leveraging the Roivant platform to launch Vants – nimble and focused biopharmaceutical and health technology companies.

Fishermen in Sothern Indian State Ask Govt To Scrap Fishing Project

Staff ReporterCommunity, Economy 0

Traditional fishermen are opposing a multimillion-dollar overseas deep-sea fishing project in Kerala that they say threatens the livelihood of ordinary fisher people in the southern Indian coastal state. Permitting overseas firms to join deep-sea fishing will further impoverish Kerala’s traditional fishermen, they say.

Following criticism from opposition leaders and rights groups, the communist-led state government withdrew two memoranda of understanding it signed with a US-based firm that allegedly violated the state’s fishing policy and the rights of poor fisher people.

The goverment on Feb. 24 withdrew from the MoU signed with EMCC International India Pvt Limited, a US-based firm, for a US$680 million project that purportedly aims to revamp and modernize the state’s fishing industry.

The government also canceled another MoU with the same firm for manufacturing 400 deep-sea fishing vessels and developing the state’s fishing harbors at a cost of some $400 million.

“But still we are not sure if it has scrapped the entire project. We want an assurance from the government that it will not move ahead with the project,” said Father Jacob G. Palackappilly, deputy secretary-general of the Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Council. Many suspect the government quickly pulled out of the MoU a week after criticism began to surface in the media in the state, where elections are due in April-May.

Christian leaders like Father Palackappilly say the project would push Kerala’s fishermen further into poverty as the multinational operation would take away the lion’s share of an already dwindling catch.

Further, deep-sea fishing would eventually reduce fish wealth in the littoral zone on which thousands of Kerala fishermen on country craft depend for their daily sustenance.

“The government claims the projects will ensure the welfare of all, but our past experience shows that such government promises are seldom translated into reality,” Father Palakappilly told UCA News on Feb. 25.

The state of 33 million people has some 200,000 fishermen active on the Arabian Sea, at least half of them Catholics, mostly in the coastal districts of Trivandrum, Kollam, Alappuzha and Kozhikode.

“Our fishermen are so traditional that they are unable to cope with challenges from the multinational companies (MNCs) entering into the field with highly mechanized boats and trawlers,” said Father Kudiamssery, public relations officer of Alappuzha Diocese.

“If MNCs venture into their traditional work, the poor will be left jobless,” Father Kudiamssery, who was supporting the fishermen’s protest against the project, told UCA News on Feb. 25.

Father Thomas Tharayil, general secretary of the Kerala Region Latin Catholic Council, said traditional fishing using motorized boats is restricted within 12 nautical miles distance from the shore.

“Climate change has substantially reduced their catch within the permissible distance. Now, many of them step into deep-sea fishing as well,” said the priest.

Overseas firms coming for deep-sea fishing “will automatically lead to fighting between them and traditional fishermen. Instead, the state should empower the local fishermen for deep-sea fishing,” Father Tharayil added.

“The Catholic bishops want the government to clarify whether it has scrapped the project entirely or only canceled the MoU.”

Work on the project began in 2018. “So much work has been done in two years. Therefore, church leaders and fishermen suspect the government will continue with the project after the election,” Father Tharayil said.

Kerala’s communist-led government is hoping to be re-elected to power in the 140-member state assembly before the five-year term of this government ends on June 1.

U.S. Trade Report Calls ‘Make In India’ Policy As “Trade Restrictive”

Staff ReporterBusiness, Nation USA, USA 0

The U.S. tried to resolve “long-standing market access impediments affecting U.S. exporters” with India during 2020, says the 2021 President’s Trade Agenda and 2020 Annual Report — an annual report submitted by the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) to Congress. The report terms India’s policies “trade-restrictive” and saying the “Make in India” campaign epitomises the challenges to the trade relationship.

“While India’s large market, economic growth, and progress towards development make it an essential market for many U.S. exporters, a general and consistent trend of trade-restrictive policies have inhibited the potential of the bilateral trade relationship. Recent Indian emphasis on import substitution through a “Make in India” campaign has epitomized the challenges facing the bilateral trade relationship,” the report says. The Make in India campaign was launched by Prime Minister Modi in 2014 to incentivise production in India.

The report describes the Trump administration’s revocation of India’s preferential trading status under the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) program in June 2019 and the ensuing discussion to achieve a mini trade deal (“package”) throughout 2020.

“U.S. objectives in this negotiation included resolution of various non-tariff barriers, targeted reduction of certain Indian tariffs, and other market access improvements. The United States also engaged with India on an ongoing basis throughout 2020 in response to specific concerns affecting the full range of pressing bilateral trade issues, including intellectual property (IP) protection and enforcement, policy development affecting electronic commerce and digital trade, and market access for agricultural and non-agricultural goods and services,” the report said.

These issues remain unresolved, leaving inconclusive, negotiations that lasted until close to the end of the Trump administration.

In a country-wise section on Digital Service Tax (DST), a Section 301 investigation on India’s DST, which began in June last year, is highlighted. The investigation is ongoing, as per the report.

India finds a total of 179 mentions in the report which is over 300 pages long. Many of the mentions are in a chapter on trade enforcement activities — describing disputes brought by the U.S. at the World Trade Organization (WTO).

New Jersey’s Indian-American Business Leaders Discuss India’s Consul General On Ways To Help India’s Development

Staff ReporterBusiness, Community 0

Several leading New Jersey business- owners of Indian origin met with Consul General of India in New York on Feb. 16, 2021 and discussed on ways they could contribute to help India’s economic development and grow U.S.-India relations, according to a report by Parikh Media.

The meeting took place at Royal Albert’s Palace in Fords, New Jersey, and included among others, Consul General Randhir Jaiswal, Deputy Consul General Shatrughna Sinha, Padma Shri Dr. Sudhir Parikh, who operates more than twenty clinics in the tri-state area; Padma Shri H.R. Shah, founder and chairman of TV Asia, Ankur Vaidya, chairman of the Federation of Indian Associations-NYNJCT, and Mahesh Bhagia, chairman of the Edison Democratic Organization, who is a candidate for Mayor of the city.

“It is always a pleasure to visit Edison, New Jersey. You said that it is Little India. For me it is a big family. This is how I look at it,” Consul General Jaiswal said in his speech. “This place has very deep history connected to Thomas Edison. With your hard work and success, commitment and dedication, you only burnish the history of Edison,” he told the Indian-American business gathering of around twenty entrepreneurs.

“I’m sure in the days ahead when history is going to be written again, the contribution of Indians and all that they have done, the progress, the prosperity, for science and technology, for the well being of humankind, your name, and the (Indian) community’s name will be written in golden words,” Jaiswal said.

Dr. Parikh welcomed CG Jaiswal to Edison, describing the township as “India out of India,” and said the community was at the service of the Consulate. “Fifty years ago, when I used to head the Indian American Forum for Political Education, IAFPE, we used to give a lot of internships in the summer months and from that we got (leaders) like Bobby Jindal, Upendra Chivukula and Kris Kolluri,” Dr. Parikh said.

Jindal is the former Louisiana Governor and Congressman; Chivukula is a former New Jersey Assemblyman of 12 years standing, and current commissioner on the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities; and Kolluri is a former Capitol Hill senior staffer, who served as Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Transportation and is currently head of the NJ Schools Development Authority since 2008.

“We all have worked very hard in the last 50 years to promote our community and indirectly for India-U.S. relations,” Dr. Parikh went on to say. “Let us know what we can do Consul General – what we can do for the government of India and for Mother India,” he added.

Noting that those present at the meeting included business leaders from many sectors such as real estate, pharmaceuticals, nursing homes to name a few, Dr. Parikh said his own medical practice includes 25 clinics, one of which is in Edison on Oak Tree Road.

“And two months from now, there will be an ITV Studio, and a big auditorium to accommodate 500 people. That is for the community,” Dr. Parikh said. Deputy CG Sinha said Indian-Americans are at the heart of the U.S.-India relationship.

Ankur Vaidya, chairman of the Federation of Indian Associations-NYNJCT – speaks at the Feb. 16, 2021 meeting at Royal Albert’s Palace, New Jersey, of select Edison business-owners with India’s Consul General in New York. Photo: ITV Gold

Vaidya of FIA noted how in the past, “For many (Indian) migrants who came to America with a dream but don’t know anyone. From JFK (Airport) in the early days, and now its Newark, they would come here (Edison) and knock on your door and ask to stay. And there are many who are success stories (now).”

Bhagia noted how 2020 had been a difficult year for the community. But “One great thing is all of the community, including FIA, worked very hard,” holding food drives and collecting masks for distribution, etc. “We did a lot of work in this town. Now we must make sure to get vaccinated.”

H.R. Shah noted that Edison has some 75 ethnic groups, and those of Indian origin have been “very, very strong.” Joyce Mehta, a member of FIA, told ITV Gold, “We can see that our community has gone from strength to strength. And now moving forward, if we all unite and collaborate, there is nothing we cannot do.”

U.S. Citizenship Act of 202 Benefits for Indian Americans Awaiting Path to Legal Status

Staff ReporterBusiness, Community, Education, Immigration 0

According to the State Department, Indians with advanced degrees whose immigration applications were approved in 2009 and skilled workers and professionals whose applications were okayed in 2010 are still waiting for their green cards because each country regardless of size are allowed only 26,000 green cards each year, except for Canada and Mexico. Those wait times are only for those who applications are already approved, and it could run to centuries for those in the immigration queue.

 

Republican Senator Mike Lee has said that the wait times for Indian professionals stuck in the “awful, hellish green card backlog” because their applications are awaiting approval the wait is 195 years and could go up to 450 years in ten years without reforms. According to the think tank Cato Institute 200,000 Indian professionals in the green card pipeline would die of old age before their turn.

There are nearly 500,000 illegal immigrants from India and many Dreamers would benefit if the bill passes. The children under the category are known as “Dreamers” for their pursuit of the American Dream, which was initially part of the Obama Plan, which Trump had sought to cancel.

 

The bill introduced by Senator Bob Menendez and House of Representatives member Linda Sanchez seeks to remove the annual limits on green cards for each country, a measure that would allow more immigration from India.

 

The Bill wants to allow more permanent immigrant status or green cards for professional Indians, who have the longest wait for immigration, and cut their wait times. For some of those professionals, as per current wait period, it is as long as 80 years, due to cap on country-based Green based Green Card System.

 

Another important part of the bill that is more widely welcomed by the South Asian community is the provision to help children of those on H1-B professional employment visas who would have become ineligible for green cards if they reach 21 years before their parents qualify for immigration. They would be allowed to continue with H1-B visas. Under current regulations, the children lose their right to remain in the US when they turn 21 years if their parents are still waiting for green cards. Spouses of H1-B workers would also be allowed to work, a provision that former President Donald Trump tried to revoke.

 

Rep. Sanchez said in a statement that the reforms would grow “our economy by making changes to the employment-based immigration system, eliminating per-country caps, making it easier for STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) advanced degree holders from US universities to stay, improving access to green cards for workers in lower-wage industries, and giving dependents of H-1B holders work authorization, and preventing children of H-1B holders from aging out of the system”.

 

It would also “create a pilot program to stimulate regional economic development and (it) incentivizes higher wages for non-immigrant, high-skilled visas to prevent unfair competition with American workers,” she added. The wage provision would set higher minimum wages for H1-B workers on par with prevailing local wages for comparable jobs.

 

Benefitting the relatives of immigrants, the Bill will allow them into the US to join their families while they await their green cards. Introducing the bill, Menendez said, “We have an economic and moral imperative to pass big, bold and inclusive immigration reform that leaves no one behind.”

 

The Bill has been widely recognized by the South Asian community in the US. Anirban Das, president of Skilled Immigrants in America (SIIA), an advocacy organization for H-1B visa holders and families, said, “The bill has some good points that we have always pushed for like eliminating country caps, exempting PhDs from American universities in STEM fields. At the same time, we are obviously concerned by the size of the bill,” Das told News India Times. “Things always get sticky with such bills with lots of amendments that eventually kill the bill.”

 

Das notes that currently there are around 1 million Indian immigrants in the backlog, or an estimated 300,000 families. Since 2010, no one has been given their green card. “It will take anywhere to 150 years for an Indian who files for a Green Card now  to get it, so they do not  have a chance,” Das notes.

SAALT, a coalition of South Asians in the US in a statement has welcomed the U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021. “Today, marks the introduction of the U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021, by Representative Sanchez (D-CA-38) and Senator Menendez (D-NJ). The bill is a historic piece of legislation that proposes a pathway to citizenship for 11 million immigrants, including more than 650,000 undocumented South Asians.”

Universal Health Coverage Is Within Our Reach

Susan R. BaileyCommunity, Economy, Health 0

A rare opportunity has presented itself: physicians, hospitals, insurers and employers have come together to agree on a common path forward to cover the uninsured through an Affordable Coverage Coalition that is the first of its kind. As a group, we recognize that universal health coverage is a goal we all must support, especially during a public health crisis with the magnitude of COVID-19.

 

Our AMA strongly believes that everyone should have access to meaningful and affordable health insurance coverage. We and our partners in the newly formed coalition also believe we can achieve universal health coverage by offering increased financial help to patients to help them afford their coverage, incentivizing states that have not yet done so to expand Medicaid, taking steps to automatically enroll low-income patients in no-cost health insurance coverage, and minimizing the loss of health insurance coverage resulting from pandemic-related unemployment.

 

Major consensus

These and other steps can help achieve universal coverage, a goal that has eluded our nation for decades, as outlined by the Affordable Coverage Coalition. This new partnership is notable for several reasons, but perhaps the most important is the fact it represents a consensus by all the major players in health care about the best way ahead.

 

That path aligns with AMA’s plan to cover the uninsured, which is based on longstanding AMA policy in support of expanding access to and choice of affordable, quality health insurance coverage. The AMA plan recognizes that affordable coverage options available due to the Affordable Care Act (ACA)—subsidized ACA marketplace coverage and the Medicaid expansion—are more critical than ever, serving as a needed safety net for those who have lost their employer-sponsored health insurance coverage due to job losses resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

Covering the uninsured also is a key component in any strategy to eliminate longstanding inequities in our health care system that have yielded devastating health outcomes for Black, Latino and Indigenous communities, members of the LGBTQ community, and other historically marginalized groups.

 

The steps we and our partners in the Affordable Coverage Coalition recommend include:

Expanding eligibility for and increasing the size of premium tax credits and cost-sharing reductions to help more people afford their premiums and cost-sharing responsibilities in the ACA marketplaces.

 

Establishing an “insurance affordability fund” to provide support for reinsurance programs to offset the costs of covering higher-risk patients, or otherwise lower premiums and cost-sharing for ACA marketplace enrollees.

Automatically enrolling—and renewing—those who are eligible for Medicaid and no-premium ACA marketplace plans.

 

Adequately funding navigator, outreach and enrollment programs to increase public awareness of and enrollment in ACA marketplace coverage and Medicaid/CHIP.

Providing incentives for additional states to expand Medicaid in order to close the low-income coverage gap.

 

Taking steps to prevent people who have lost or are at risk of losing employer-provided health coverage from becoming uninsured.

 

Physicians know that patients who are uninsured delay or skip the care they need, and often live sicker and die younger. While millions of Americans have gained coverage resulting from the ACA, our work to cover the uninsured is not done. The AMA believes that now is the time to invest not only in fixing the law, but also in enhancing it.

The agreement of the Affordable Coverage Coalition outlined above will further that mission. Our AMA remains firmly committed to improving health insurance coverage and health care access so that patients receive timely, high-quality care, preventive services, medications and other necessary treatments. We now have an opportunity to help make that happen.

Bitcoin Hits $1 Trillion Market Cap, Soars To Another Record High

Staff ReporterBusiness, Finance/Economy 0

The world’s most popular cryptocurrency jumped to an all-time high above $54,000, setting it on course for a weekly jump of more than 11%. It has surged roughly 64% so far this month and was last up 5.5% at $54,405.

 

All digital coins combined have a market cap of around $1.7 trillion.(REUTERS)

Bitcoin touched a market capitalization of $1 trillion as it hit yet another record high on Friday, countering analyst warnings that it is an “economic side show” and a poor hedge against a fall in stock prices.

 

The world’s most popular cryptocurrency jumped to an all-time high above $54,000, setting it on course for a weekly jump of more than 11%. It has surged roughly 64% so far this month and was last up 5.5% at $54,405.

 

Bitcoin’s gains have been fueled by signs it is gaining acceptance among mainstream investors and companies, from Tesla and Mastercard to BNY Mellon.

All digital coins combined have a market cap of around $1.7 trillion.

“If you really believe there’s a store of value in bitcoin, then there’s still a lot of upside,” said John Wu, president of AVA Labs, an open-source platform for creating financial applications using blockchain technology.

 

“If you look at gold, it has a market cap $9 or $10 trillion. Even if bitcoin gets to half of gold’s market cap, that still growth of 4X, or $200,000. So I don’t know when it stops rising,” he added.

 

Still, many analysts and investors remain skeptical of the patchily regulated and highly volatile digital asset, which is little used for commerce.

 

Analysts at JP Morgan said bitcoin’s current prices were well above estimates of fair value. Mainstream adoption increases bitcoin’s correlation with cyclical assets, which rise and fall with economic changes, in turn reducing benefits of diversifying into crypto, the investment bank said in a memo.

 

“Crypto assets continue to rank as the poorest hedge for major drawdowns in equities, with questionable diversification benefits at prices so far above production costs, while correlations with cyclical assets are rising as crypto ownership is mainstreamed,” JP Morgan said.

 

Bitcoin is an “economic side show,” it added, calling innovation in financial technology and the growth of digital platforms into credit and payments “the real financial transformational story of the Covid-19 era.”

 

Other investors this week said bitcoin’s volatility presents a hurdle for it to become a widespread means of payment.

 

On Thursday, Tesla boss Elon Musk – whose tweets have fueled bitcoin’s rally – said owning the digital coin was only a little better than holding cash. He also defended Tesla’s recent purchase of $1.5 billion of bitcoin, which ignited mainstream interest in the digital currency.

 

Bitcoin proponents argue the cryptocurrency is “digital gold” that can hedge against the risk of inflation sparked by massive central bank and government stimulus packages designed to counter Covid-19.

 

Yet bitcoin would need to rise to $146,000 in the long-term for its market cap to equal the total private-sector investment in gold via exchange-traded funds or bars and coins, according to JP Morgan.

A Full Year Of Americans’ Life Expectancy Lost Due To Covid

Staff ReporterEconomy, Lifestyle 0

Life expectancy in the United States fell by a full year in the first six months of 2020, the federal government reported on Thursday, the largest drop since World War II and a grim measure of the deadly consequences of the coronavirus pandemic.

 

Life expectancy is the most basic measure of the health of a population, and the stark decline over such a short period is highly unusual and a signal of deep distress. The drop comes after a troubling series of smaller declines driven largely by a surge in drug overdose deaths. A fragile recovery over the past two years has now been wiped out.

 

The data gives the first full picture of the pandemic’s effect on American expected life spans, which dropped to 77.8 years from 78.8 years in 2019. It also showed a deepening of racial and ethnic disparities: Life expectancy of the Black population declined by 2.7 years in the first half of 2020, slicing away 20 years of gains. The life expectancy gap between Black and white Americans, which had been narrowing, is now at six years, the widest it has been since 1998.

 

“I knew it was going to be large but when I saw those numbers, I was like, ‘Oh my God,’” Elizabeth Arias, the federal researcher who produced the report, said of the racial disparity. Of the drop for the full population, she said, “We haven’t seen a decline of that magnitude in decades.”

 

Still, unlike the drop in life expectancy caused by the long-running, complex problem of drug overdoses, this one, driven largely by Covid-19, is not likely to last as long because deaths from the virus are easing and the population is slowly getting vaccinated. The last time a pandemic caused a major decline in life expectancy was 1918, when hundreds of thousands of Americans died from the flu pandemic. Life expectancy declined by a whopping 11.8 years from 1917 to 1918, Dr. Arias said, bringing average life spans down to 39 years. But it fully rebounded the following year as deaths eased.

 

Data released by the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (US CDC) has revealed that the Covid-19 pandemic has caused a decline of one year in the life expectancy of Americans during the first half of 2020 as the first wave of novel coronavirus hit the country. This is the biggest fall in life expectancy in the US since World War 2.

 

Life expectancy at birth is defined as the number of years a baby born today can expect to live. A baby born between January-June 2020 in the US had a life expectancy of 77.8 years, which is a full year shorter than the 78.8 years a baby born in 2019 is expected to live. In terms of gender divide, it was 75.1 years for males and 80.5 years for females.

The hardest hit has been the Black community, which saw a drop of 2.7 years in their life expectancy, to 72, followed by the Hispanics whose life expectancy declined 1.9 years to 79.9 years and Whites, who saw a drop of 0.8 years in their life expectancy to 78. The 6 year glaring chasm between the life expectancy of the Blacks and the Whites reverses a trend of narrowing the gap since 1993. There was no preliminary data for Asians and Native Americans

U.S. Chamber of Commerce To Have New Leadership

Nisha Biswal the USIBC TeamBusiness, Economy 0

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is beginning one of its most consequential transitions in decades. In mid-March, CEO Tom Donohue will step down after 24 years leading the largest and most impactful business advocacy organization in the world, which serves as the voice for thousands of businesses operating across 45 countries.

Incoming Chamber President & CEO Suzanne Clark brings a wealth of experience to the role, having worked at the Chamber for 16 years and in the private sector for decades. Through a uniquely tumultuous year, Suzanne has served as a “trusted partner, leading the team and designing the strategy for the Chamber’s bright future.” You can read some of her initial thoughts on U.S. global engagement and our responsibility to advance the greater good.

USIBC President Nisha Biswal will also take on an expanded role at the Chamber as Senior Vice President for International Strategy and Global Initiatives, encompassing global security, sustainability and climate. The portfolio addition comes at a crucial time as the Chamber expands its cross-cutting work.

 

This week, the pivotal organization hosted ‘The State of U.S.-India Business’ with Indian Minister of Commerce & Industry Piyush Goyal, Ambassador Taranjit Singh Sandhu and USIBC’s recently announced Global Board Vice Chairs. In remarks on the road ahead for U.S.-India commercial and strategic ties, Ambassador Sandhu and Minister Goyal laid out their vision for a more ambitious bilateral trade agenda. In his keynote, Minister Goyal made headlines by suggesting that the previously negotiated mini trade deal was off the table, but pledged to engage with the new U.S. Trade Representative on a broader agreement. He also emphasized the need for collaboration to address emerging challenges on intellectual property rights (IPR) protection and healthcare access tied to India’s COVID-19 vaccine manufacturing and distribution. The public session was preceded by a closed-door roundtable with Minister Goyal and senior executives from the USIBC membership.

It continued conversations on the U.S.-India partnership with the launch of our new ‘Accelerate to 500’ series, which focuses on trade opportunities generated at the city and state level. Accelerate to 500, presented in collaboration with law firms, investment agencies and professional services firms, helps chart a path towards the goal of $500 billion in two-way trade. During the session, which featured remarks by Invest India MD & CEO Deepak Bagla and Acting Under Secretary for International Trade Diane Farrell, we also launched a ‘Doing Business in India’ report developed in collaboration with Nishith Desai Associates and Sannam S4.
This week also saw the first meeting of the ‘Quad’ since the Biden administration took office, and the 3rd since the grouping was established. The session focused on cooperation on COVID-19 response and recovery and climate change. Secretary of State Tony Blinken, External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar and counterparts from Australia and Japan also discussed countering disinformation, counter-terrorism, maritime security, and democratic resilience. The Indian Ministry of External Affairs readout of the session focused on “rules-based international order, underpinned by respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty,” noteworthy given the recent drawdown of troops from the disputed India-China border region.

The week ended with cheers from the global community as the United States formally rejoined the Paris Agreement. While a return to the Agreement has long been a priority for President Biden, his administration will now face the more challenging task of convincing skeptics at home and abroad that it is serious about its emissions-cutting commitments.

Looking ahead, USIBC will continue its high level engagements next week with a post-budget conversation featuring Secretary of Economic Affairs Tarun Bajaj, focused on maximizing the impact of the FY21-22 Union Budget.

Travel, Hospitality Sectors Hit Hardest By Covid-19: Report

Staff ReporterBusiness, Tourism 0

The tourism, travel and hospitality industries have been hit the hardest by the Covid-19 pandemic, a report by Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) said.

Accordingly, the survey report results reflect an across-the-board decline in revenue, with very large companies most likely to have experienced a considerable decline in revenue.

“Despite the general decline in revenues among firms of all sizes, one-third of our survey respondents felt they were doing better than their competition, and fewer than 10 per cent felt they were lagging behind their competitors,” IMA said in a statement.

 

“Companies’ beliefs in how they were faring compared to their competitors was influenced by firm size: larger firms (greater than 1,000 employees) were more likely (39 per cent) to believe they were ahead of their competition than smaller (less than 100 employees) ones (29 per cent).”

 

Besides, financial professionals’ employed with tourism, travel and hospitality industry have also been the hardest hit by the pandemic. According to the report, 13 per cent of financial professionals’ employed with tourism, travel and hospitality industry were furloughed and 58 per cent received pay cuts.

 

“Also, relatively hard hit were professionals in the government, not-for-profit, and education sectors, 5 per cent of whom were furloughed and 52 per cent receiving a salary decrease.”

 

“By contrast, the sectors that showed the highest resilience were accounting and finance followed by IT, telecom, and tech, followed by financial services, banking, and real estate.”

 

The report is based on a survey of 1,481 accounting and finance professionals located in five countries: China, India, Saudi Arabia (KSA), the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and the United States (U.S.).

Furthermore, the report highlighted a board revenue decline – with large companies suffering more than their smaller counterparts.

 

Interestingly, the report cited that many companies reported that despite the pandemic, they are faring better than the competition.

 

“Only a marginal few confided that they were worse off than their peers. From a staffing perspective, only half the companies surveyed revealed that they retrenched employees during this period.”

 

“The pandemic has affected employment and the compensation of those still employed. Most survey respondents revealed that they have had a reduction in their compensation, either in salary, bonus, or both.” (IANS)

Is India Moving Towards A Four-Day Work Week?

Staff ReporterEconomy, Nation India 0

The proposed new labor codes could provide companies with the flexibility of four working days in a week, even as the working hours limit of 48 hours for a week will remain “sacrosanct”, Labor and Employment Secretary Apurva Chandra said

As the government finalizes the rules for the new labour codes, the Labour Ministry is now considering giving flexibility to companies to have four working days instead of five or six.

The proposal: The proposed new labor codes could provide companies with the flexibility of four working days in a week, even as the working hours limit of 48 hours for a week will remain “sacrosanct”, Labour and Employment Secretary Apurva Chandra said on Monday.

This implies that there will be longer working hours if the working days are reduced. For instance, a four working day week will have to meet the 48-hour weekly work hours, resulting in daily shifts of 12 hours, which will correspondingly reduce if there is five-day or six-day working week.

When and how will this be rolled out: The Ministry of Labour and Employment is likely to complete the process to finalise the rules for four labour codes soon. The provision of flexibility to have reduced working days of four days in the labour code rules will mean that companies will not require prior government nod to enact it.

The Labor Secretary, however, clarified that having a reduced number of working days does not mean a cut in paid holidays. Therefore, when the new rules will provide flexibility of four working days, it would imply three paid holidays.

“It (working days) could come down below five. If it is four, then you have to provide three paid holidays…so if it has to be a seven day week, then it has to be divided into 4, 5 or 6 working days,” Chandra said.

The rulemaking process is already underway and likely to be completed in the coming week. “All stakeholders are also consulted in framing of rules. This ministry would soon be in a position to bring into force the four Codes, viz., Code on Wages, Industrial Relations, Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions (OSH) and Social Security Codes,” Chandra had said.

The labour ministry had envisaged implementing the four labour codes from April 1 this year in one go. The ministry is in the final leg of amalgamating 44 central labour laws into four broad codes on wages, industrial relations, social security and OSH. The ministry wants to implement all four codes in one go.

 

Living Paycheck to Paycheck? 7 Tips for Avoiding Extra Fees

Staff ReporterBusiness, Economy 0

Living paycheck to paycheck is exhausting. As soon as your paycheck comes in, you have to spend it all on necessities like rent, utilities, insurance, and paying off debt. There’s usually little, if anything, left for savings or recreational activities.

 

Then, something even worse happens: you’re hit with a fee. You might have missed a payment deadline, overdrawn your account, lost your credit card, or encountered a different situation that decided your wallet needed another gut-punch. It might only sound like $12, the cost of a cheap meal out, but it’s $12 you don’t have and desperately need for something else.

You might feel dread toward these impending fees when you pay a bill, or they come at you from out of nowhere. If you live paycheck to paycheck and want to make sure as much of your hard-earned money goes where it should, follow these seven tips for avoiding unnecessary fees.

Avoid Banks that Charge Maintenance Fees

Bank “maintenance fees” are particularly sinister. Financial institutions charge them if you don’t meet specific requirements, such as holding a minimum balance in your account ($1,500 in the case of many big banks) or making frequent direct deposits over a specified amount. You might not even be aware of them unless you check your billing statement.

It’s not fair that banks charge you money for not having enough money. Maintenance fees are often monthly and can accumulate over time — Americans paid $3.5 billion in maintenance fees in 2017. These fees perpetuate the poverty cycle because if you live paycheck to paycheck or have irregular income (like freelancers), of course you don’t have $1,500 in your account at all times.

Don’t use banks that charge maintenance fees. Many big banks do, but examples of financial institutions that don’t include Ally Bank, Capital One Bank 360, and FNBO Direct.

Deposit Money the Long Way

Deposit money into your account the long way, if possible. This process means being patient when getting paid, especially if you’re a contractor or freelancer that relies on services like PayPal.

PayPal offers multiple bank transfer options, including Standard Transfer and Instant Transfer. The former is free and takes one to three business days, but the latter costs 1% of the transaction up to $10. Opt for the Instant Transfer option when you can, or use mobile deposit with a physical check.

Use Apps that Don’t Charge Minimum Fees

However, the pay cycle is notorious for delays that make living paycheck to paycheck even more difficult. It’s entirely possible that you need your money now, not later — but what can you do about it? You can’t exactly force direct deposit to go faster.

One solution is to use financial apps that allow you to access your paycheck without having to wait weeks for it. One such app is Earnin, which you can use to access up to $100 of your paycheck per day, up to $500 per pay period. The app deducts the amount you took out on payday without mandatory fees or interest. Earnin is community-driven, so you can pay however much you think is fair as a thank you for its service.

Set Up Auto Pay

Are late fees the bane of your existence because you regularly forget to pay a bill on time? Apps like Earnin can help you avoid late fees, but consider setting up auto-pay on your credit card and other if you can afford to do so. This way, you never have to remember payment deadlines; your account will pay what you owe automatically.

Sign Up for Low-Balance Alerts

If you cannot risk auto-pay because you’re worried about insufficient funds, then sign up for low-balance alerts with an app or through your bank. Low-balance alerts will notify you when your account balance has dipped below a certain number — possibly of your choosing, depending on the service — so that you know when it’s time to replenish your account with additional funds or to watch your budget before bills are due.

These alerts aren’t perfect because banks can be slow to share information with external apps. However, they can help avoid bank overdraft fees, which financial institutions charge if you opt-in to its overdraft protection service. While the ability to overdraw your checking account and complete transactions regardless of funds seems convenient, there are other pros and cons to consider (you can also open a checking account with no overdraft fees).

Use Your Bank’s ATMs

ATM fees are one of the most-hated fees in the U.S. You incur these fees if you want to access your money from a machine that’s not in your bank or credit union’s network.

Only use ATMs within your financial institution’s network when possible. If none are around, you can obtain cash at a supermarket that offers cash back options with a small purchase (which sounds like a fee in itself, so only buy something you need!).

Opt-Out of Paper Communications

Your bank is going to communicate with you, and you would be wise to pay attention. Unfortunately, many banks default to mailing paper communications instead of using digital means — and then charge you for it. Log into your online account or call your bank’s customer service line to opt-out of paper notifications and save yourself some cash.

Unnecessary fees make it extra challenging for people living paycheck to paycheck to save money. If you want to lose as little of your money as possible to predatory financial institutions, research what fees your bank (or prospective bank) charges and which they are most likely to make you pay, depending on your situation.

(This article originally appeared on Earnin.)

As Biden Reopens ACA Enrollment, Are You Eligible To Sign Up Or Switch Health Plans?

Staff ReporterCommunity, Economy, Health 0

For people who’ve been without health insurance during the pandemic, relief is in sight.

In January, President Biden signed an executive order to open up the federal health insurance marketplace for three months starting Monday so uninsured people can buy a plan and those who want to change their marketplace coverage can do so.

Consumer advocates applauded the directive. Since 2016, the number of Americans without health insurance has been on the rise, reaching 30 million in 2019. The economic upheaval caused by the novel coronavirus has made a bad situation worse, throwing millions off their insurance plans.

 

Biden’s move is in stark contrast to the Trump administration’s approach. As COVID-19 took hold last spring and the economy imploded, health experts pleaded with the Trump administration to open up the federal marketplace so people could buy insurance to protect themselves during the worst public health emergency in a century. The administration declined, noting that people who suddenly found themselves without coverage because they lost their jobs were able to sign up on the marketplace under ordinary rules. They also cited concerns that sick people who had resisted buying insurance before would buy coverage and drive up premiums.

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The Biden administration is promising to spend $50 million on outreach and education to get the word out about the new special enrollment period. That’s critical, experts say. Though the number of people signing up for Affordable Care Act plans has generally remained robust, the number of new consumers enrolling in the federal marketplace has dropped every year since 2016, according to KFF, corresponding to funding cuts in marketing and outreach. (KHN is an editorially independent program of KFF.)

“There are a lot of uninsured people who even before COVID were eligible for either hefty marketplace subsidies or for Medicaid and not aware of it,” says Sabrina Corlette, a research professor at Georgetown University’s Center on Health Insurance Reforms. A marketing blitz can reach a broad swath of people and hopefully draw them in, regardless of whether they’re uninsured because of COVID or not, she says.

Here are answers to questions about the new enrollment option.

Q: When can consumers sign up, and in which states?

The sign-up window will be open for three months, from Monday through May 15. Uninsured residents of any of the 36 states that use the federal healthcare.gov platform can look for plans during that time and enroll.

Nearly all of the states and the District of Columbia that operate their own marketplaces are establishing special enrollment periods similar to the new federal one, though they may have somewhat different time frames or eligibility rules. In Massachusetts, for example, the sign-up window remains open until May 23, while in Connecticut, it closes March 15. Meanwhile, Colorado has reopened enrollment in its marketplace for residents who lack insurance, but most people already enrolled in one of the state’s marketplace plans won’t be allowed to switch to a different plan until the regular open enrollment period in the fall.

At this point, only Idaho has not announced plans to reopen its marketplace for enrollment, says Corlette. It may yet do so, however.

Q: Can people who lost their jobs and health insurance many months ago sign up during the new enrollment period?

Yes. The enrollment window for people in states that use the federal marketplace is open to anyone who is uninsured and would normally be eligible to buy coverage on the exchange (people who are serving prison or jail terms and those who are in the country without legal permission aren’t allowed to enroll).

People with incomes up to 400% of the federal poverty level (about $51,500 for one person or $106,000 for a family of four) are eligible for premium tax credits that may substantially reduce their costs

Typically, people can buy a marketplace plan only during the annual open enrollment period in the fall or if a major life event gives them another opportunity to sign up, in what’s called a special enrollment period. Losing job-based health coverage is one event that creates a special sign-up opportunity; so is getting married or having a baby. But usually people must sign up with the marketplace within 60 days of the event.

With the new special enrollment period, how long someone has been uninsured isn’t relevant, nor do people have to provide documentation that they’ve lost job-based coverage.

“The message is quite simple: Come and apply,” says Sarah Lueck, a senior policy analyst at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

Q: What about people who are already enrolled in a marketplace plan? Can they switch their coverage during this new enrollment period?

Yes, as long as their coverage is through the federal marketplace. If, for example, someone is enrolled in a gold plan now on HealthCare.gov, but wants to switch to a cheaper bronze plan with a higher deductible, that’s allowed. As mentioned above, however, some state-operated marketplaces may not make that option available, so check your state’s website. You can find a list of the websites for state exchanges here.

 

Q: Many people have lost significant income during the pandemic. How do they decide whether a marketplace plan with premium subsidies is a better buy for them than Medicaid?

They don’t have to decide. During the application process, the marketplace asks people for income information. If their annual income is below the Medicaid threshold (for many adults in most states, that’s 138% of the federal poverty level –which works out to be about $18,000 for an individual), they will be directed to the state’s Medicaid program for coverage. If people are eligible for Medicaid, they can’t get subsidized coverage on an ACA exchange.

 

People can sign up for Medicaid anytime; there’s no need to wait for an annual or special enrollment period.

Those already enrolled in a marketplace plan whose income changes should go back into the marketplace and update their income information as soon as possible. They may be eligible for larger premium subsidies for their marketplace plan or, if their income has dropped significantly, newly eligible for Medicaid. (Likewise, if their income has increased and they don’t adjust their marketplace income estimates, they could be on the hook for overpayments of their subsidies when they file their taxes.)

Q: What about people who signed up under the federal COBRA law to continue their employer coverage after losing their job? Can they drop it and sign up for a marketplace plan?

Yes, people in federal marketplace states can take that step, health experts say. Under COBRA, people can be required to pay the full amount of the premium plus a 2% administrative fee. Marketplace coverage is almost certainly cheaper.

Normally, if people have COBRA coverage and they drop it midyear, they can’t sign up for a marketplace plan until the annual fall open enrollment period. But this special enrollment period will give people that option.

(Kaiser Health News is a nonprofit, editorially independent program of the Kaiser Family Foundation, and is not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente)

 

Elon Musk, The World’s Richest Man, Gets A Whole Lot Richer

Staff ReporterBusiness, Economy, Profile 0

For a CEO who receives no salary, Elon Musk’s 2020 payday reached sky-high levels. He received four grants to buy 8.4 million Tesla shares in 2020. After paying the exercise price, those blocks of stock options were each worth $6.2 billion at Wednesday’s closing price. The combined $24.8 billion value of those options alone is more than Musk was worth a year ago when Forbes calculated its billionaire’s list, when he was ranked as the world’s 31st richest person.

2021 and 2022 could be nearly as lucrative for him.

The company’s annual financial filing this week disclosed that Musk will probably receive three additional options grants this year, each as large and as lucrative as those he received in 2020.

At current values, those three options tranches would be worth $18.6 billion.

Analysts are now forecasting that Tesla’s 2022 financial results will likewise reach heights that would bring Musk three additional blocks of options. Tesla could hit one of those profit targets in 2021, which would mean Musk could match the four tranches of options he received last year.

 

Few investors are complaining about Musk’s pay.

The stock’s 743% rise in 2020 made it the stock market’s biggest winner, as well as one of the most valuable companies in the world. That has quieted most of the criticism he might have faced.

“The cachet of Tesla is Musk,” said Daniel Ives, tech analyst for Wedbush Securities. “The reason investors have not batted an eyelash is that due to Musk’s strategic direction, Tesla is on top of the EV [electric vehicles] mountain going to the golden age of EVs. And he’s put Tesla on the cusp of being a trillion-dollar market cap company.”

The rise in Tesla’s stock price, and his options to buy new shares, has made Musk the richest person on the planet, according to Bloomberg, surpassing Amazon (AMZN) founder Jeff Bezos.

Unlike Musk, Bezos doesn’t receive stock options from Amazon, and he collected relatively modest salary of $81,840 in 2019, plus security services valued at $1.6 million a year. But rather than benefit from stock options or grants as do most CEOs, he benefits primarily from the rise of his Amazon shares.

Musk similarly owns 170 million Tesla shares outright, worth about $137.2 billion, in addition to those existing shares he has options to buy new ones. In fact, the nearly $123 billion gain in 2020 in the value of shares Musk already owns dwarfs the value of the additional options he received.

Musk, who bought a controlling stake in Tesla in 2004 when it was an upstart private company years from building its first car, takes no salary. Before his current lucrative compensation package he had an earlier version that paid him with options to buy 22.9 million split-adjusted Tesla shares for a price of $6.24 each. Those options are worth $18.3 billion today.

The options he received last year came from a second compensation package that was overwhelmingly approved by Tesla shareholders in 2018. It allows him to receive options to buy as many as 101 million split-adjusted shares of stock for $70 each. Those options can come in 12 separate, equally sized tranches.

If Tesla’s share price keeps climbing, so will the value of the options. In late May, when Tesla confirmed Musk received the first block of options for 2020, they were valued at “only” $770 million after the exercise price. Today they’re worth $6.2 billion.

Musk has not exercised any of his options. Executives typically exercise them when they are due to expire, or to free up cash. Musk has never sold Tesla shares.

Those options come at a cost to Tesla, although it’s a non-cash expense.

Stock-based compensation accounted for a $1.7 billion hit to Tesla’s bottom line last year. The company doesn’t break out how much of that was Musk’s or how much was stock for its other 70,750 employees.

The company makes stock widely available to its employees. Its filing said that “our compensation philosophy for all of our personnel reflects our startup origins, with an emphasis on equity-based awards.”

But the same filing says that the company does not match employees’ contributions to its 401(k) plans, in cash or in company stock.

When Musk was recently asked on Twitter about the lack of company match into 401(k) plans in the face of his own compensation package, he responded, “Everyone at Tesla receives stock. My comp is all stock/options, which I do not take off the table. That’s what you’re missing.”

Tesla said that Musk got so many options, so much sooner than expected, that it caused the spike in stock-based compensation expense. In 2019, stock-based compensation was about $900 million.

Musk received no options in 2019, but some of that $900 million was an expense Tesla booked because it believed that Musk would receive options in early 2020.

While the stock-based compensation doesn’t drain cash from Tesla’s coffers, it does change the company’s profit picture.

The company reported positive net income for the first time in 2020, earning $721 million. Critics point out that its profit was far less than the $1.6 billion Tesla received from the sale of regulatory credits to other automakers. They claim the company actually lost money on car sales, and it can’t depend on the revenue from the sale of those credits in the long term.

Without the $1.7 billion in stock based compensation, Tesla’s net income would exceed the gains from the sale of those regulatory credits. And Telsa critics would not have been able to claim it lost money selling cars.

Oil Prices Climb Back To Pre-Pandemic Levels

Staff ReporterBusiness, Economy 0

The price of oil has recovered to its pre-pandemic levels having hit an all-time low last year. While demand for oil is still lower than normal, there are hopes of a speedier than expected economic recovery as vaccines are rolled out.

Oil prices are often seen as a barometer for economic activity, still struggling with the virus downturn. “Black gold” has now reached $60 a barrel having risen more than 50% in the last few months.

Brent crude, the major benchmark for oil, has seen strong growth recently. Futures contracts, which are based on the price of future delivery, have jumped 59% since November.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the benchmark for US oil, last week rose above $55 a barrel for the first time in over a year.

“The biggest driver for the latest surge in prices seen through last week was a sharp upturn in expectations for economic and oil demand recovery on signs that the coronavirus may finally be in retreat,” Vandana Hari, founder of Singapore-based oil markets data firm Vanda Insights told the BBC.

Demand has been rising in parts of the world, particularly Asia. “We are quite optimistic about what it is that we are seeing in China,” Royal Dutch Shell chief executive Ben van Beurden said last week.

Other factors have also played their part to push up prices such as efforts by oil-producing nations, particularly Saudi Arabia, to limit output.

Since agreeing to the cut in production last April, producers have held back a cumulative 2.1 billion barrels of oil, leading to decreasing stockpiles.

The coronavirus crisis has been devastating for the petroleum industry, and last year prices slumped below zero with more than one billion surplus barrels.

Demand for fuel from airlines has seen the most dramatic fall as travel curbs remain in place. Air passenger traffic is 70% below year-ago levels, according to the International Air Transport Association.

But demand has picked up in other areas, thanks in part to the shift to working and consuming more from home.

As consumers are buying more online, this has spurred demand for fuel to power delivery trucks and vans, along with cargo ships and and freight trains.

The e-commerce boom has also caused a spike for plastic packaging, which is made using oil products.

However, oil demand is still lower than pre-pandemic levels and a slow economic recovery would delay a full rebound in world energy demand for years to come, the International Energy Agency warned last month.

“There could be more setbacks in the spread of the virus or the vaccinations, causing a pullback in prices, though short of another crisis,” added Ms Hari.

(Picture: Business Focus)

India Eases Norms, Allows NRIs to Incorporate One Person Companies

Staff ReporterBusiness, Immigration 0

The Ministry for Corporate Affairs (MCA) in India has amended the rules to allow One Person Companies (OPC) to grow without any restrictions on paid up capital and turnover. An official statement said that the amendment would allow their conversion into any other type of company at any time, reduce the residency limit for an Indian citizen to set up an OPC from 182 days to 120 days and also allow Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) to incorporate OPCs in India.

According to the government, the move will directly benefit startups and innovators in the country, especially those who are supplying products and services on e-commerce platforms, and will bring in more unincorporated businesses into the organised corporate sector.

In addition, the fast track process for mergers under the Companies Act, 2013 has also been now extended to also include mergers of startups with other startups and with small companies, so that the process of mergers and amalgamations is completed faster for such companies.

Previously, NRIs were not allowed to incorporate OPCs. Now any natural person, who is an Indian citizen, whether resident in India or otherwise would be allowed to form an OPC, as per the relaxations proposed in the budget.

For being considered as a resident in India, the residency period has been proposed to be reduced to 120 days from 182 days for NRIs.

Further, the limitation of paid up share capital of Rs 50 lakh and average annual turnover during the relevant period of Rs 2 crore for OPCs is being done away with, so that there are no restrictions on the growth of OPCs in terms of their paid up capital and turnover. (IANS)

(Picture: Economic Times)

Who Will Replace Jeff Bezos After He Steps Down As Amazon Chief Executive

Staff ReporterBusiness, Economy, Profile 0

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has announced that he will step down as chief executive of the e-commerce giant that he started in his garage nearly 30 years ago. He will become executive chairman, a move he said would give him “time and energy” to focus on his other ventures.

Mr Bezos, who has a fortune of almost $200bn, will be replaced by Andy Jassy, who currently leads Amazon’s cloud computing business. The change will take place in the second half of 2021, the company said.

“Being the CEO of Amazon is a deep responsibility, and it’s consuming. When you have a responsibility like that, it’s hard to put attention on anything else,” Mr Bezos said in a letter to Amazon staff on Tuesday.

“As Exec Chair I will stay engaged in important Amazon initiatives but also have the time and energy I need to focus on the Day 1 Fund, the Bezos Earth Fund, Blue Origin, The Washington Post, and my other passions. I’ve never had more energy, and this isn’t about retiring. I’m super passionate about the impact I think these organizations can have,” he added.

Mr Bezos, 57, has led Amazon since its start as an online bookshop in 1994. The firm now employs 1.3 million people globally and has its hand in everything from package delivery and streaming video to cloud services and advertising.

He’s amassed a fortune of $196.2bn, according to Forbes’ list of billionaires., making him the world’s richest man. However, Bloomberg’s billionaire index puts Tesla boss Elon Musk just ahead of him.

Amazon saw its already explosive growth skyrocket last year, as the pandemic prompted a surge in online shopping. The firm reported $386bn (£283bn) in sales in 2020, up 38% from 2019. Profits almost doubled, rising to $21.3bn.

In announcing the plans, Mr Bezos said he would continue to focus on new products and initiatives. “When you look at our financial results, what you’re actually seeing are the long-run cumulative results of invention,” he said. “Right now I see Amazon at its most inventive ever, making it an optimal time for this transition.”

The shake-up comes as Mr Bezos has developed an increasingly public profile.  He has endured a public divorce, become a target for labour and inequality activists, and poured his wealth into other businesses, such as space exploration firm Blue Origin and the Washington Post newspaper.

‘Not leaving’

Amazon also faces increasing scrutiny from regulators, who have questioned its monopoly power. And its dominance in cloud computing is being increasingly challenged by other tech firms, such as Microsoft and Alphabet, parent company of Google and YouTube.

Mr Bezos’s decision to hand over the day-to-day operation of the company came as a surprise. But investors appeared unfazed, with little change in the firm’s share price in after-hours trade.

In a call with analysts to discuss the firm’s financial results, Amazon chief financial officer Brian Olsavsky said: “Jeff is not leaving, he is getting a new job… The board is super active and important in Amazon’s success story.”

Mr Jassy, a Harvard graduate, has been with Amazon since 1997 and helped develop Amazon Web Services, which has long been seen as the profit engine of the company.

The division provides cloud computing and storage for governments and companies including McDonald’s and Netflix.

“Andy is well known inside the company and has been at Amazon almost as long as I have. He will be an outstanding leader, and he has my full confidence,” Mr Bezos said.

Sophie Lund-Yates, analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said it was “no accident” that Amazon is tapping the head of the cloud business to lead the company.

This is a real surprise. But you have to remember that Jeff Bezos himself is worth nearly $200bn.

And when you’re that rich imagine what you can do. Jeff Bezos has some pretty lofty ambitions outside of Amazon.

His Blue Origin company wants to “build a road to space”. He’s also sunk $10bn into Earth Fund, designed to help combat the effects of climate change.

Oh, and he also owns the Washington Post.

How will Amazon cope? Well, importantly, he’s not leaving. As executive chair and founder he’ll still exercise huge power over the company.  However, stepping back will inevitably mean less influence.

His replacement – Andy Jassy – has been running Amazon Web Services, Amazon’s booming cloud business division.  His rise to the top underscores how important this business has become to Amazon.

(Picture: Geek Wire)

Democrats Want To Give $3,000 Child Benefit As Part Of Biden Relief Package

Staff ReporterBusiness, Community, Economy 0

House Democratic leaders planned to unveil legislation that would give millions of families at least $3,000 per child, advancing a key provision in President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief package.

Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee Richard Neal, who is leading the crafting of the legislation for the stimulus package, will introduce the enhanced Child Tax Credit bill, according to a committee spokesperson.

“The pandemic is driving families deeper and deeper into poverty, and it’s devastating. We are making the Child Tax Credit more generous, more accessible, and by paying it out monthly, this money is going to be the difference in a roof over someone’s head or food on their table,” Neal said in a statement provided to CNN.

The legislation would provide $3,600 per child under the age of six and $3,000 per child age six through 17 for a single year. The full benefit is available to single parents earning up to $75,000 annually and for couples earning up to $150,000. Payments would phase out after those thresholds.

Families can receive the Child Tax Credit payments on a monthly basis, which advocates say will make it easier to pay their obligations compared to getting a lump sum at tax time. If this particular legislation is passed by Congress, the payments would begin in July for one year.

Another big change: The credit would become fully refundable for the year. Some 27 million children currently live in low-income families who receive a partial or no tax credit because they earn too little, according to the left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

The current Child Tax Credit provides up to $2,000 per child under the age of 17. The credit phases out for single parents with a modified adjusted gross income over $200,000, and $400,000 for married couples. Families receive a single payment.

Some 90% of families with children will receive an average credit of $2,380 in 2020, according to a non-partisan Tax Policy Center estimate. Reps. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, Suzan DelBene of Washington and Ritchie Torres of New York are also set to introduce on Monday standalone legislation that would continue the expanded benefit permanently.

Congress should pass the enhancement permanently while there’s a chance, DeLauro, who has been working on bolstering the child tax credit since 2003, said in a statement. “We cannot stop here. We must use this moment to pass the American Family Act and permanently expand and improve the child tax credit. One year is not enough for the children and families battling not just the coronavirus, but poverty, too,” the Connecticut Democrat said in the statement.

Some Republicans also support increasing the Child Tax Credit. Utah Sen. Mitt Romney last week unveiled a proposal to provide a monthly cash benefit of $350 for each young child ($4,200 annually) and $250 for each school-aged child ($3,000 annually).

However, his measure would also eliminate several existing government assistance programs — including Temporary Assistance for Needy Families — and tax provisions, including the deduction for state and local taxes.

Romney said his plan would lift nearly 3 million children out of poverty, while not adding to the federal deficit. It would cost about $66 billion, including accompanying changes to the Earned Income Tax Credit.

Biden’s proposal to give relief to low-income families

Biden’s relief package, which he unveiled last month, called for augmenting the Child Tax Credit for one year to help fight against poverty.

The President’s proposal also includes an expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit to more low-income workers, along with $1,400 stimulus checks and increased unemployment, nutrition and housing aid, among other measures.

“All told, the American Rescue Plan would lift 12 million Americans out of poverty and cut child poverty in half. That’s 5 million children lifted out of poverty,” Biden said last month before signing two executive orders that would augment nutrition assistance and strengthen federal worker protections.

Biden also noted that the proposal would reduce poverty among Black families by one third and among Hispanic households by almost 40%. A one-year expansion would cost about $120 billion, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a non-partisan fiscal watchdog.

(Picture: Chicago Tribune)

Biden Wants $1.9 Trillion Covid Relief With Or Without GOP Support

Staff ReporterBusiness, Community, Economy 0

President Joe Biden gave his strongest indication yet that he’ll push for swift action on coronavirus relief for the U.S. economy without Republican support, as House lawmakers cleared the way for passing his $1.9 trillion stimulus plan with only Democratic votes.

Highlighting his emphasis on speed, Biden signaled he was resigned to his minimum-wage hike not being a part of the bill. “Apparently, that’s not going to occur because of the rules of the United States Senate,” he said in a CBS interview. The $15 an hour proposal was panned by Republicans, who sought to block it in the Senate.

“If I have to choose between getting help right now to Americans who are hurting so badly and getting bogged down in a lengthy negotiation — or compromising on a bill that’s up to the crisis — that’s an easy choice,” Biden said in remarks Friday at the White House. “I’m going to act and I’m going to act fast.”

Both chambers of Congress have now passed a budget resolution, a key procedural step that sets up the ability for Democrats to pass President Joe Biden’s sweeping $1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief package without the threat of a filibuster from Republicans who oppose it.

The Senate passed the budget resolution early Friday morning 51-50 on a party line vote after Vice President Kamala Harris showed up at the Capitol to break the tie. The House passed the resolution later in the day Friday. The House had already passed the budget measure earlier in the week, but because it was amended in the Senate it needed to go back to the House for a final vote.

Passage in the Senate followed hours of voting on amendments in an exhausting ritual known as a “vote-a-rama,” when senators can theoretically offer as many amendments to the budget resolution as they desire.

The budget resolution that passed is not the Covid relief bill. It simply sets the stage for Democrats to be able to use a process known as “budget reconciliation” to pass the relief bill on a party-line vote, possibly in late February or March, after the impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump is complete in the Senate.

Embedded in the budget resolution are reconciliation instructions for multiple congressional committees to formally draft and approve legislation on things like funds for vaccine production and distribution, unemployment insurance, stimulus checks and more.

The House already passed the budget measure earlier in the week. But because it was amended in the Senate, the House had to revote on it Friday.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Friday that next week, they will begin working on the specifics of the bill, and predicted that the House will send a bill to the Senate “hopefully in a two week period of time,” so that “this will be done long before the due date” of the expiration of unemployment insurance in March.

Biden has said he is willing to go forward without the support of Republicans, but he’s also stressed that he’s willing to make certain concessions if it will earn bipartisan support.

Republicans are unhappy Democrats are resorting to the aggressive tactic, though, arguing it will set a partisan tone for the rest of Biden’s presidency and that he’s not operating as the political unifier he pledged to be.

The 10 Senate Republicans who met with the President to discuss his relief package are pushing for talks to continue, sending a letter to the White House. “We remain committed to working in a bipartisan fashion and hope that you will take into account our views as the legislative process moves forward,” the group, led by Maine Sen. Susan Collins, said.

 

(picture: ABC 7)

America’s Billionaires Have Grown $1.1 Trillion Richer During The Pandemic

Staff ReporterBusiness, Finance/Economy 0

Billionaires are minting money during the pandemic, even as millions of Americans join the ranks of the poor. US billionaires have collectively become $1.1 trillion — nearly 40% — richer since mid-March, according to a report published Tuesday by progressive groups Institute for Policy Studies and Americans for Tax Fairness.

In other words, not only have the uber-wealthy recovered their losses from the spring, many are faring much better than before. That’s in large part because of the sizzling stock market. Elon Musk alone is about $155 billion richer, boosted by Tesla’s skyrocketing market valuation. 

Forty-six people joined the ranks of billionaires since March 18, 2020, the week after the World Health Organization declared a global pandemic, according to the report. 

Clearly, the pandemic is worsening America’s already troubling inequality crisis. The staggering gains at the top contrast sharply with the financial struggles of those at the bottom, many of whom are on the front lines of the pandemic and have lost their jobs or had wages cut.

America’s 660 billionaires now hold $4.1 trillion in wealth — two thirds more than the amount held by the bottom 50% of the US population, the report found. 

Poverty rate climbs sharply

More than 8 million Americans fell into poverty during the final six months of 2020, according to real-time estimates published by economists at the University of Chicago, University of Notre Dame and the Lab for Economic Opportunities. 

The US poverty rate declined during the first few months of the pandemic, in large part because of the federal government’s stimulus checks. However, the poverty rate climbed 2.4 percentage points during the second half of the year — nearly double the largest annual increase in poverty since the 1960s, the economists found. 

Some groups have suffered more than others. The poverty rate for Black Americans is 5.4 percentage points higher today than in June 2020, translating to 2.4 million people who have fallen into poverty, the economists found. 

For those with a high school education or less, the poverty rate has surged to 22.5%, compared to 17% in June. 

Florida, Mississippi, Arizona and North Carolina were among the states that suffered the largest increases in poverty rates. The state-level findings “suggest that poverty rose more in states with less effective unemployment insurance systems,” the economists said in the report. 

How Biden wants to fight inequality

The wealth and poverty statistics provide further proof of America’s K-shaped economic recovery. 

The stock market is at record highs, the housing market is booming and Big Tech is thriving. However, other industries including airlines, restaurants, hotels and movie theaters are still in disarray. 

Janet Yellen, President Joe Biden’s newly confirmed Treasury secretary, has acknowledged this problem and suggested it’s nothing new.

“Well before Covid-19 infected a single American, we were living in a K-shaped economy, one where wealth built on wealth while working families fell further and further behind,” Yellen told lawmakers during her confirmation hearing last week. 

Biden and Yellen are calling for bold action from Congress to ease inequality. Biden’s $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan includes $1,400 stimulus checks, $350 billion in state and local aid and enhanced unemployment benefits. The White House is also expected to push for a multi-trillion infrastructure package that would be aimed at further boosting the economy — and could be financed in part by raising taxes on corporations and the wealthy.

Surging housing, stock markets

The pandemic has been a boon to the housing market, with existing home sales hitting a 14-year high in 2020. Home prices, a major source of wealth, hit a record high. 

The stock market has played a significant role in the divide between rich and poor.

Even though the US economy has not fully recovered from the pandemic, the S&P 500 is up by 72% from its low point in March. That V-shaped recovery reflects optimism about vaccines, trillions in relief provided by Washington and unprecedented steps from the Federal Reserve that have essentially forced investors to bet on stocks. 

Not surprisingly, surging stock prices are especially helpful to the wealthy because they have more skin in the game. As of early 2020, the wealthiest 10% of US households owned 87% of all stocks and mutual funds, according to the Federal Reserve. By contrast, millions of less affluent Americans can’t feel the stock market boom.

Tesla’s (TSLA) skyrocketing share price has lifted Musk’s wealth by more than 600%, according to the wealth report. Other big gainers include Amazon (AMZN) founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, whose wealth has climbed by more than $68 billion during the pandemic. Facebook (FB) co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg is about $37 billion more wealthy than in mid-March.

Inequality isn’t just an American problem.

It will take more than a decade for the world’s poorest to recoup their losses from the pandemic, according to Oxfam International’s annual inequality report released Sunday. By contrast, it took just nine months for the world’s top 1,000 billionaires to recover. 

(Picture; Fox Carolina)

New H-1B Rule Is “Last Gasp” Of Trump Effort To Limit Immigration

Staff ReporterBusiness, Immigration 0

The Department of Labor (DOL) announced last week that it is issuing a 247-page rule to increase wage levels significantly for the H-1B nonimmigrant worker category and for certain employment-based green card applications.

Stephen Yale-Loehr, professor of immigration law at Cornell Law School and co-author of a leading 21-volume immigration law series, says the new rule will require employers to pay significantly higher wages for H-1B and other foreign national employees. 

Yale-Loehr says: 

“The rule changes the prevailing wage levels 1-4 from the 17, 34, 50 and 67th percentiles to the 45, 62, 78 and 90th percentiles of surveyed wages from the DOL’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. The result: employers will have to pay significantly higher wages for H-1B and other foreign national employees.

“The DOL issued a similar interim rule in October. Several federal courts struck down that rule. Nevertheless, after making only minor changes, the DOL is issuing this new final rule. DOL justifies the new rule as a way to help U.S. workers, but it will have the opposite impact. Companies may decide to offshore jobs overseas, hurting U.S. workers.

“This rule is the last gasp of the Trump administration to restrict legal immigration. I am confident that courts will strike down this new rule, just as they did the prior rule.”

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IT companies’ clients are required to meet H1-B filing obligation under new US rule. According to the office of foreign labor certification, the regulations require all common-law employers of H-1B workers to file a labor condition application (LCA).

 

The US department of labor (DOL) on Friday followed the final wages rule, signed in the Federal Register on January 14, with a new interpretation of the regulations and accompanying guidance for companies that sponsor H-1B visa holders. Under the new guidance, the secondary employers, also known as clients, will have to comply with the filing requirements and other obligations which, currently, only lie with the primary employers or the staffing agencies.

According to the office of Foreign Labor Certification (FLC), the regulations require all common-law employers of H-1B workers to file a Labor Condition Application (LCA). It will not only put the liability on employers for compliance obligations relating to wages and working conditions but will also lead to higher administrative burden and costs for clients. The new guidance documents will take effect in 180 days, which means the employers have to comply with the obligations for the applications filed on or after July 14.

 

The labor department said that the interpretation and guidance are “more consistent with the H-1B statute and regulations”, adding that it is also “appropriate” in the wake of interpretative changes made by US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). “This revised interpretation is long overdue in light of the language of the regulations, better comports with the goals of the H-1B program, and is consistent with recent Executive Branch directives,” John Pallasch, assistant secretary for employment and training, said in a statement.

 

After the announcement, US Tech Workers, a non-profit organisation “representing the voices of American workers harmed by the H-1B visa program”, said that the new guidance was a “great way to target companies” that use staffing agencies to “displace Americans.” In a series of tweets, US Tech Workers said that the new regulation will hold those secondary employers accountable that claim to be not directly involved in the sponsoring of H-1B visas.

“When Disney was sued for laying off American workers and replacing them H-1B workers brought in from third party IT outsourcing firms (Cognizant & HCL), Disney’s defense was that they weren’t the ones who sponsored the H-1B visas. This regulation would now hold them accountable,” it tweeted.

The US department of labor (DOL) on Friday followed the final wages rule, signed in the Federal Register on January 14, with a new interpretation of the regulations and accompanying guidance for companies that sponsor H-1B visa holders. Under the new guidance, the secondary employers, also known as clients, will have to comply with the filing requirements and other obligations which, currently, only lie with the primary employers or the staffing agencies.The US department of labor (DOL) on Friday followed the final wages rule, signed in the Federal Register on January 14, with a new interpretation of the regulations and accompanying guidance for companies that sponsor H-1B visa holders. Under the new guidance, the secondary employers, also known as clients, will have to comply with the filing requirements and other obligations which, currently, only lie with the primary employers or the staffing agencies.Bottom of Form

 

(Picture Courtesy: REUTERS)

Biden’s $1.9 Trillion Covid Relief Proposal Has Ambitious Plans for Rekindling US Economy

Staff ReporterBusiness, Community, Finance/Economy 0

President-elect Joe Biden unveiled a $1.9 trillion relief package Thursday that included more stimulus payments and other direct aid, but don’t expect to see those funds in your bank account anytime soon. There’s a lot that has to happen before Biden’s plan — which is chock-full of measures long favored by Democrats — becomes law. And even though Democrats will soon control the White House and both chambers of Congress, that doesn’t mean lawmakers will follow Biden’s suggestions to the letter.

As per Kevin Kosar, resident scholar at the right-leaning American Enterprise Institute and co-editor of the book “Congress Overwhelmed,” the earliest the stimulus money could reach one’s home maybe mid- to late February.

Biden’s massive plan includes several immediate relief items that are popular with a wide swath of Americans, including sending another $1,400 in direct stimulus payments, extending unemployment benefits and eviction protections, and offering more help for small businesses. It also would boost funding for vaccinations by $20 billion and for coronavirus testing by $50 billion.

But it also calls for making some larger structural changes, such as mandating a $15 hourly minimum wage, expanding Obamacare premium subsidies and broadening tax credits for low-income Americans for a year.

It’s the first of two measures Biden has planned to right the nation’s economy and fight the coronavirus. He intends to announce a recovery strategy at his first appearance before a joint session of Congress next month.

The plan, which would require congressional approval, is packed with proposals on health care, education, labor and cybersecurity. He has outlined a five-step approach to getting the vaccination to the American people, and to ensure that it is distributed equitably. “Equity is central to our COVID response,” he said.

Here’s a look at what’s in Biden’s plan: 

CONTAINING THE VIRUS

— A $20 billion national program would establish community vaccination centers across the U.S. and send mobile units to remote communities. Medicaid patients would have their costs covered by the federal government, and the administration says it will take steps to ensure all people in the U.S. can receive the vaccine for free, regardless of their immigration status.

— An additional $50 billion would expand testing efforts and help schools and governments implement routine testing. Other efforts would focus on developing better treatments for COVID-19 and improving efforts to identify and track new strains of the virus.

THE VACCINATION PLAN

— Working with states to open up vaccinations beyond health care workers, including to people 65 and older, as well as essential front-line workers.

— Establishing more vaccination sites, including working with FEMA to set up 100 federally supported centers by the end of his first month in office . He suggested using community centers, school gymnasiums and sports stadiums. He also called for expanding the pool of those who can deliver the vaccine.

— Using pharmacies around the country to administer the vaccine. The Trump administration already has entered into agreements with some large chains to do that. 

— Using the Defense Production Act, a Cold War-era law to “maximize the manufacture of vaccine and vaccine supplies for the country.”

— A public education campaign to address “vaccine hesitancy” and the refusal of some to take the vaccine. He called the education plan “a critical piece to account for a tragic reality of the disproportionate impact this virus has had on Black, Latino and Native American communities” 

INDIVIDUALS AND WORKERS

— Stimulus checks of $1,400 per person in addition to the $600 checks Congress approved in December. By bringing payments to $2,000 — an amount Democrats previously called for — the administration says it will help families meet basic needs and support local businesses.

— A temporary boost in unemployment benefits and a moratorium on evictions and foreclosures would be extended through September.

— The federal minimum wage would be raised to $15 per hour from the current rate of $7.25 per hour.

— An emergency measure requiring employers to provide paid sick leave would be reinstated. The administration is urging Congress to keep the requirement through Sept. 30 and expand it to federal employees.

— The child care tax credit would be expanded for a year, to cover half the cost of child care up to $4,000 for one child and $8,000 for two or more for families making less than $125,000 a year. Families making between $125,000 and $400,000 would get a partial credit.

— $15 billion in federal grants to help states subsidize child care for low-income families, along with a $25 billion fund to help child care centers in danger of closing.

SCHOOLS

— $130 billion for K-12 schools to help them reopen safely. The money is meant to help reach Biden’s goal of having a majority of the nation’s K-8 schools open within his first 100 days in the White House. Schools could use the funding to cover a variety of costs, including the purchase of masks and other protective equipment, upgrades to ventilation systems and staffing for school nurses. Schools would be expected to use the funding to help students who fell behind on academics during the pandemic, and on efforts to meet students’ mental health needs. A portion of the funding would go to education equity grants to help with challenges caused by the pandemic.

A president can propose ideas, but Congress passes the laws

 

Biden’s relief proposal now shifts to Congress, where it may change substantially as Democratic leaders transform it into a bill. They must decide whether they want to use a special legislative process called reconciliation, which would require only a simple majority of votes to pass the Senate — eliminating the need for Republican support — but would limit the provisions that could be included. Also, reconciliation also be used only sparingly each year. 

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Another factor that could determine the path and speed at which lawmakers act is the health of the economy, said John Hudak, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. If the nation’s jobs report in early February shows a continued deterioration of the labor market, for instance, Congress may be spurred to move faster and approve more assistance.

Whatever leaders decide, the effort is expected to have an easier time passing in the House — which approved a $3 trillion relief package last May that contained measures similar to those in Biden’s plan — even though Democrats now hold a slimmer majority there.

“A new president and a new tone from the White House can put some pretty significant pressure when pressure is needed,” Hudak said. “For this to happen in some expedited time, it’s really going to require significant influence from the president, especially on key senators.”

Rule Expected to Protect the Economic Interests of American Workers

Staff ReporterBusiness, Immigration 0

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has announced a final rule that will modify the H-1B cap selection process, amend current lottery procedures, and prioritize wages to protect the economic interests of U.S. workers and better ensure the most highly skilled foreign workers benefit from the temporary employment program.

Modifying the H-1B cap selection process will incentivize employers to offer higher salaries, and/or petition for higher-skilled positions, and establish a more certain path for businesses to achieve personnel needs and remain globally competitive.

“The H-1B temporary visa program has been exploited and abused by employers primarily seeking to fill entry-level positions and reduce overall business costs,” said USCIS Deputy Director for Policy Joseph Edlow. “The current H-1B random selection process makes it difficult for businesses to plan their hiring, fails to leverage the program to compete for the best and brightest international workforce, and has predominately resulted in the annual influx of foreign labor placed in low-wage positions at the expense of U.S. workers.”

This effort will only affect H-1B registrations (or petitions, if the registration process is suspended) submitted by prospective petitioners seeking to file H-1B cap-subject petitions. It will be implemented for both the H-1B regular cap and the H-1B advanced degree exemption, but it will not change the order of selection between the two as established by the H-1B registration final rule.

The final rule will be effective 60 days after its publication in the Federal Register. DHS previously published a notice of proposed rulemaking on Nov. 2, 2020, and carefully considered the public comments received before deciding to publish the proposed regulations as a final rule.

For more information on USCIS and its programs, please visit uscis.gov or follow us on Twitter (@uscis), Instagram (/uscis), YouTube (/uscis), Facebook (/uscis), and LinkedIn (/uscis).

(Picture Courtesy: Connected to India)

Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw Is New Vice-Chair Of US-India Business Council

Staff ReporterBusiness, Finance/Economy, Women 0

US-India Business Council (USIBC) has selected Biocon Executive Chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw as one of its vice-chairs effective immediately. US Chamber of Commerce’s USIBC on January 14 announced three vice-chairs to its 2021 Global Board of Directors. The two other business executives joining Shaw as vice-chairs are Amway CEO Milind Pant and Edward Knight who is the vice-chair at Nasdaq. 

 “Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw will be one of the three vice-chairs for the US-India Business Council’s board of directors,” said USIBC Chairman Vijay Advani in a statement from Washington DC. “The perspectives of the new vice-chairs will be invaluable as the Council charts a path forward in the post-pandemic era and work to deepen the US-India partnership,” said Advani.

As vice-chairs, Mazumdar-Shaw, Pant and Knight will work with Council President Nisha Biswal and its policy directors to elevate priorities in key sectors and lead meetings between industry and government.

The trio will also work to amplify the voice of industry on international trade and investment issues and emphasise the key role that businesses can play in strengthening democratic institutions and combatting the global pandemic.

“I am honoured to serve the Council, which is committed to enhancing the US-India bilateral trade. In my new role, I look forward to forging collaborative initiatives in pharma and healthcare in research, innovation and skill development between our two nations,” Mazumdar-Shaw said.

The pandemic has provided an opportunity for robust engagement between the two countries that can lead to knowledge sharing in digital healthcare, medical technologies and Intellectual Property-led drug and vaccine innovation to deliver healthcare solutions, she added.

The Council represents top global firms operating across the US, India and the Indo-Pacific. Recognising that US-India trade is driven by new business hubs, the Council is also focused on strengthening connections between cities and states in both countries.

Chinese Economy To Overtake US ‘By 2028’ Due To Covid

Staff ReporterBusiness, Economy 0

China will overtake the US to become the world’s largest economy by 2028, five years earlier than previously forecast, a report by the UK-based Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) said. China’s “skilful” management of Covid-19 would boost its relative growth compared to the US and Europe in coming years, the report stated. Meanwhile India is tipped to become the third largest economy by 2030.
The CEBR releases its economic league table every year on 26 December. Although China was the first country hit by Covid-19, it controlled the disease through swift and extremely strict action, meaning it did not need to repeat economically paralysing lockdowns as European countries have done.
As a result, unlike other major economies, it has avoided an economic recession in 2020 and is in fact estimated to see growth of 2% this year.
‘China is a hard rock. It won’t be beaten by virus’ The US economy, by contrast, has been hit hard by the world’s worst coronavirus epidemic in terms of sheer numbers. More than 330,000 people have died in the US and there have been some 18.5 million confirmed cases.
The economic damage has been cushioned by monetary policy and a huge fiscal stimulus, but political disagreements over a new stimulus package could leave around 14 million Americans without unemployment benefit payments in the new year.
“For some time, an overarching theme of global economics has been the economic and soft power struggle between the United States and China,” says the CEBR report. “The Covid-19 pandemic and corresponding economic fallout have certainly tipped this rivalry in China’s favor.”
The report says that after “a strong post-pandemic rebound in 2021”, the US economy will grow by about 1.9% annually from 2022-24 and then slow to 1.6% in the years after that.
By contrast the Chinese economy is tipped to grow by 5.7% annually until 2025, and 4.5% annually from 2026-2030.
China’s share of the world economy has risen from just 3.6% in 2000 to 17.8% now and the country will become a “high-income economy” by 2023, the report says.
The Chinese economy is not only benefitting from having controlled Covid-19 early, but also aggressive policymaking targeting industries like advanced manufacturing, said CEBR deputy chairman Douglas McWilliams.
“They seem to be trying to have centralised control at one level, but quite a free market economy in other areas,” he told the BBC. “And it’s the free market bit that’s helping them move forward particularly in areas like tech.”
But the average Chinese person will remain far poorer in financial terms than the average American even after China becomes the world’s biggest economy, given that China’s population is four times bigger.
In other predictions:
The post-Brexit UK economy will grow by 4% annually from 2021-25 and 1.8% annually from 2026-30 (after shrinking in 2020)
India had overtaken the UK as the fifth-biggest economy in 2019 but has slipped behind it again due to the pandemic’s impact. It won’t take over again until 2024, the CEBR says. India’s economy will go on to overtake Germany in 2027 and Japan in 2030

United Airlines Launches New Daily Delhi-Chicago Non-Stop Flight

Staff ReporterBusiness, Tourism 0

US-based United Airlines has launched its new daily non-stop service between Delhi and its hometown hub of Chicago. Accordingly, these daily flights will be operated by a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft. “Starting December 2020, we’re excited to launch even more routes from the U.S. to India. Whether you’re embarking on your first adventure there or eager to reconnect with family, we make it easy to visit India’s top destinations. With the introduction of this new route, United will operate four daily non-stop flights from India,” the airline said in a statement.

Beginning spring 2021, we’re adding daily nonstop flights between San Francisco and Bangalore. With this launch, we’ll become the only airline flying between both cities. Traveling between two of the world’s top tech hubs is about to get easier than ever, the airline posted on its website.

The leading airliner additionally operates daily year-round services from Mumbai and New Delhi to New York or Newark, and from New Delhi to San Francisco, “United also expects to introduce a new daily nonstop service between Bengaluru and San Francisco commencing 8 May 2021. United will be the first US carrier to provide nonstop service from Bengaluru to the US and will offer more nonstop services from India than any other US airline,” it added.

In statement on its site, United posted: “We’ve been proud to connect you to India for 15 years running, and we’re excited to be the only U.S. airline with nonstop flights from the U.S. to the country’s biggest and best destinations.”

United Airlines has announced that it is taking its most ambitious step yet in leading the fight against climate change: pledging to become 100% green by reducing its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 100% by 2050. United, which in 2018 became the first U.S. airline to commit to reducing its GHG emissions by 50% by 2050, will advance towards carbon neutrality by committing to a multimillion-dollar investment in revolutionary atmospheric carbon capture technology known as Direct Air Capture – rather than indirect measures like carbon-offsetting – in addition to continuing to invest in the development and use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). With this unprecedented announcement, United becomes the first airline in the world to announce a commitment to invest in Direct Air Capture technology.

United’s shared purpose is “Connecting People. Uniting the World.” For more information, visit united.com, follow @United on Twitter and Instagram or connect on Facebook. The common stock of UAL is traded on the Nasdaq under the symbol “UAL”.

 

Protesting Indian Farmers Call For 2nd Strike In A Week By SHONAL GANGULY (AP News)

Staff ReporterBusiness, Community, Finance/Economy 0

Tens of thousands of protesting Indian farmers called for a national farmers’ strike on Monday, the second in a week, to press for the quashing of three new laws on agricultural reform that they say will drive down crop prices and devastate their earnings.

The farmers are camping along at least five major highways on the outskirts of New Delhi and have said they won’t leave until the government rolls back what they call the “black laws.” They have blockaded highways leading to the capital for three weeks, and several rounds of talks with the government have failed to produce any breakthroughs.

Scores of farmer leaders also conducted a token hunger strike on Monday at the protest sites. Heavy contingents of police in riot gear patrolled the areas where the farmers have been camping.

Protest leaders have rejected the government’s offer to amend some contentious provisions of the new farm laws, which deregulate crop pricing, and have stuck to their demand for total repeal.

At Singhu, a protest site on the outskirts of New Delhi, hundreds of farmers blocked all entry and exit routes and chanted anti-government slogans. Some of them carried banners reading “No farmers, no food.”

About two dozen leaders held a daylong hunger strike at the site, while a huge communal kitchen served food for the other protesters.

“It’s the government’s responsibility to provide social benefits (to people.) And if they don’t give those, then people will have to come together” to protest, said Harvinder Kaur, a government employee who came from her home in Punjab state to help at the kitchen.

Another protester, Rajdeep Singh, a 20-year-old student who helps his farming family back home in Punjab, said the protest would continue until their demands are met.

“Now it’s their (government’s) ego and the question of our pride,” he said.

Farmer leaders have threatened to intensify their actions and have threatened to block trains in the coming days if the government doesn’t abolish the laws.

The farmers filed a petition with the Supreme Court on Friday seeking the quashing of the laws, which were passed in September. The petition was filed by the Bharatiya Kisan Union, or Indian Farmers’ Union, and its leader, Bhanu Pratap Singh, who argued that the laws were arbitrary because the government enacted them without proper consultations with stakeholders.

The farmers fear the government will stop buying grain at minimum guaranteed prices and corporations will then push prices down. The government says it is willing to pledge that guaranteed prices will continue.

With nearly 60% of the Indian population depending on agriculture for their livelihoods, the growing farmer rebellion has rattled Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration and its allies.

Modi’s government insists the reforms will benefit farmers. It says they will allow farmers to market their produce and boost production through private investment.

Farmers have been protesting the laws for nearly two months in Punjab and Haryana states. The situation escalated three weeks ago when tens of thousands marched to New Delhi, where they clashed with police.

“House Of Spices” Set To Expand In The Us With 2nd Generation Family Owners Share New Vision For The U.S. Market

Staff ReporterBusiness, Community, Profile 0

House of Spices, the oldest South Asian food company in the USA and is widely known by its brand “Laxmi,” has evolved over the years as a business leader in the South Asian food space with multiple leading South Asian food brands under its umbrella offering condiments, pantry items, snacks, candy, spices and frozen foods representing all regions of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Born out of the absolute need of a young family to be able to enjoy cuisines from their homeland while being away from home, it was founded in 1972 by Indian Immigrant G.L Soni who longed to enjoy authentic cuisine from India. As a South Asian immigrant couple living in New York, the Sonis, particularly Mrs. Shobhana Soni, faced challenges daily to find Indian ingredients for home cooking. This inspired Mr. Soni to start importing Indian cooking ingredients and founding the ‘LAXMI’ brand. Mr. Soni fittingly named it Laxmi in honor of his parents, Mr. Laxmidas and Mrs. Laxmibai. Also, since Goddess Laxmi embodies abundance, the name perfectly fit the company’s vision of providing authentic cooking ingredients in abundance to South Asian families living in the USA and helping them stay connected with their cultures through food.

Today, 48 years later the next generation of the family carries the torch and enhanced vision into the expanding marketplace. The children of the founder, Neil & Amarpali Soni have taken over the company with their sights set on aggressive business expansion, new branding, marketing and distribution, while maintaining the family and company values.

The South Asian Market is the fastest growing population in the U.S. since 2000 with a total population of 6 million and growing – a 81% growth over the last 10 years! Furthermore, the Asian Indians have a combined disposable income of $88 billion and an estimated annual buying power of $20 billion and these numbers are growing.  The brother and sister duo know that the time is now to leverage this strong growth of the South Asian segment and do so by delivering authentic ethnic South Asian cuisines and ingredients. They strive hard to ensure that every item with their brand name is delivered with purity, quality and value.

The recent rebrand of their logo also demonstrates an effort from the young leaders of the company, to be more inclusive towards the overall South Asian diaspora and representative of the hospitality and abundance that are trademarks of their culture. The new Laxmi logo is contemporary, universal and visually appealing and the icon represents a modernized red and gold Lotus with auspicious royal overtones. But despite the changes and the new vision of the co-presidents, the signature product line encompassing the ‘Laxmi’ Brand stays true to its authentic Indian roots providing the community a way to stay connected to their culture and cuisine. With aspirations to take their product line to the mainstream market, House of Spices is poised to bring the Indian grocery store items into our neighborhood big box grocery retailers and give a new spin to cooking with healthy, authentic and fresh Indian ingredients.

Air India To Begin Flights From Bengaluru To San Francisco Starting Jan 2021

Staff ReporterBusiness, Tourism, Travel 0

India’s national carrier Air India is set to connect Bengaluru and San Francisco via a non-stop flight from 2021, the Kempegowda International Airport. As of January 11, 2021, Air India will launch 2x weekly flights between Bangalore and San Francisco, as follows: AI175 Bangalore to San Francisco departing 2:30PM arriving 5:00PM
AI176 San Francisco to Bangalore departing 8:30PM arriving 2:30AM (+2 days)

The US-bound flight will operate Mondays and Thursdays and will take 16hr, while the India-bound flight will operate Tuesdays and Saturdays and will take 16hr30min. The Boeing 777-200LR that will be used for this route features three cabins, including first class, business class, and economy.

“This would be the first non-stop flight between Bengaluru and the United States, connecting the world’s two tech hubs — the original Silicon Valley and the Silicon Valley of India.

“The first non-stop flight between Bengaluru and San Francisco is a significant milestone for BLR Airport and will transform it as the new gateway to India. This will tremendously help passengers, enabling faster and easier access to cities on the West Coast of the United States.”

As per the statement, the new non-stop service is expected to meet the demand of corporate customers for travel to San Fracisco and adjoining areas in the US.

“Air India plans to operate a 238-seater Boeing 777-200 LR aircraft, to serve the largest unserved international origin/ destination (O/D) market for BLR Airport. Bengaluru and San Francisco are ranked first and second, respectively, among the world’s top 45 digitally advanced cities.”

“The new route sets two records — it would be Air India’s longest route at 14,000+ km (8,698 miles) and longest flight to and from India (over 16 hours). The national carrier has opened ticket booking from November 25.”

Human Trafficking Training to Help Hotel Owners and Operators Meet New State Mandate

Staff ReporterBusiness, Tourism 0

TALLAHASSEE, Fla., Nov. 17 – In an effort to crack down on human trafficking across Florida, a new law is going into effect mandating that all lodging establishments provide annual human trafficking awareness training for housekeeping and front desk employees. The state will require hotel owners and operators to provide training for new employees within 60 days after they begin employment in a housekeeping or reception area role, or by January 1, 2021, whichever occurs later. Training must be re-administered annually. Businesses that do not comply with this new mandate face a fine of up to $2,000 a day. Businesses Ending Slavery and Trafficking (BEST), an industry leader in anti-trafficking education and prevention partnered with AAHOA, the nation’s largest hotel owners association, to offer a 30-minute, online, video-based training for hotel employees. Inhospitable to Human Trafficking Training sponsored by AAHOA helps employees understand and identify the signs of potential trafficking situations in hotels and how they can safely report it. The Florida Division of Hotels & Restaurants recently certified that Inhospitable to Human Trafficking Training sponsored by AAHOA meets the requirements set forth in section 509.096 of the Florida State Statute as an approved human trafficking awareness training program that lodging establishments can use to satisfy the new state mandate. The training is available in English or Spanish, and it is proven to increase the reporting of human trafficking incidents. In 2019 researchers from Arizona State University evaluated Inhospitable to Human Trafficking Training sponsored by AAHOA and found that 97 percent of hotel employees who took the training said it will help prevent sex trafficking incidents. 96 percent of employees reported taking at least one recommended step to prevent trafficking at their hotel. “This training is a wonderful resource for hotel owners and operators to fulfill Florida’s new training requirement,” explains Mar Brettmann, PhD, Founder and CEO of BEST. “Since our training is provided online, it’s easy to administer to employees annually, and it’s convenient for employees to be able to provide their managers with the required documentation showing they are up-to-date with their training.” Part of Florida’s new regulations require each housekeeping or front desk employee to submit a signed and dated acknowledgment of having received training, which the hotel owner or operator must be able to provide to the Department of Business and Professional Regulation upon request. Inhospitable to Human Trafficking Training sponsored by AAHOA will make this step easy for hotel managers and employees because after completing the training, employees can print a signed and dated certificate showing they have completed the course. Eight states have passed laws requiring human trafficking awareness training for lodging establishments. Florida joins California, Connecticut, Minnesota, New Jersey, Iowa, North Dakota and Illinois in mandating employee training. “America’s hoteliers can be the first line of defense against human trafficking,” said AAHOA President & CEO Cecil P. Staton. “With proper training, such as BEST’s Inhospitable to Human Trafficking sponsored by AAHOA, hotel owners and their employees can learn to identify the signs of trafficking and how to respond to potential trafficking situations. AAHOA is proud to partner with BEST to help bring this valuable training to the nation’s hotel owners.” Inhospitable to Human Trafficking Training sponsored by AAHOA is available at no cost to AAHOA’s 20,000 members and their employees through AAHOA’s website (www.AAHOA.com/HTAT) as part of the Association’s Human Trafficking Awareness Trainings. About AAHOA:
AAHOA is the largest hotel owners association in the world. The 20,000 AAHOA members own almost one in every two hotels in the United States. With billions of dollars in property assets and hundreds of thousands of employees, AAHOA members are core economic contributors in virtually every community. AAHOA is a proud defender of free enterprise and the foremost current-day example of realizing the American dream. About Businesses Ending Slavery and Trafficking (BEST):
Businesses Ending Slavery and Trafficking (BEST) is a Seattle-based nonprofit organization with the mission to align and equip leaders to use the power of business to prevent human trafficking. BEST is the first organization in the country dedicated entirely to working with businesses to disrupt human trafficking. BEST has provided consultation and training to thousands of businesses on how to prevent human trafficking. For more information about ordering Inhospitable to Human Trafficking training from BEST, visit bestalliance.org or email info@bestallaince.org.

Best Trading Styles for CFD Traders

Staff ReporterBusiness, Finance/Economy 0

There are four basic trading styles which are used by most of the CFD traders, and those are trend trading or longer-term position trade, swing trade, day trade, and scalping. Here we will discuss those popular styles and provide the advanced idea of which style will be better for which type of traders.

Popular Trade styles in Forex

1.      Scalping

Scalping indicates a special type of trade, which generally stays less than 15 minutes for 15 to 20 pips of profit or less. When an investor is doing scalping, he does it by setting a time frame of 1 to 5 minutes. The opportunity of upside is limited here because larger time frames take all of the pips.

Experts do not recommend the practice of scalping for the newbies as there is a huge chance of loss in a shorter time frame. Scalping works as a defense management system as most of the traders have a lack of knowledge and effective business plan. Scalping has no future, and even some traders do not want to scalp generally. 

There are so many reasons to consider scalping as a bad trade strategy. Due to scalping Forex, the money management ration becomes negative, and eventually, a trader loses his funds. For each pip that is at risk, an investor cannot make more than one pip as profit. Experts know that this amount of profit is too small, and 50% of the time, they may lose their whole account.

Scalpers do not follow any appropriate style that can be helpful in the long run. Most of the businessmen face high risk with a lot of leveraging as a part of their scalping method as scalping is not a good practice, so it will be a good practice to use the other styles in the CFD market too. Scalping is considered a poor method which deals with a huge financial risk.

2.      Intraday trading

We find this style where the investors open a trade and close it on the same day. In the FX market, most of the activities occur in the main session, and a day business is executed base on the movement cycles of small time-frames such as M5, M15, or M30 with a duration of 1 to 6 hours. When someone enters into a day trading, his pip potential is generally 20 pips to 175 pips per entry, which mostly depends on market volatility.

3.      Swing trading

Swing is an individual cycle based on the H4 time-frame, and the holding time frame is 3 to 6 days or longer. Swing trade works best in a trending market, and if currency pairs are on an uptrend on frames like W1 and MN, then traders prefer to use H4 swing cycles. Experts believe the swing trading style will be helpful for beginners because it maintains the proper risk and reward ratio, and the amount of profit can be higher.

4.      Position trading

Position trade is guided by the highest time-frame such as D1 or W1 time frames, and investors hold the trade until the rise of the trend. A successful position trader always focuses on the risk management system by setting a stop-loss order in advance. In position trade, the holding period varies from weeks to months or even years, and it provides a great facility of liquidity.

There are so many styles for the Forex trade, but mastering the style varies from person to person. Some of the businessmen show their skill on swing business based on three to six days, and some of them prove their efficiency as day traders. But all of them are the same in the opinion that they should avoid the practice of scalping and set a mindset of trade based on a longer time frame with proper money management methods

Azim Premji Tops India Philanthropy List 2020

Staff ReporterBusiness, Community 0

Wipro’s Founder Chairman Azim Premji and his family have topped the EdelGive Hurun India Philanthropy List 2020 with contribution of Rs 7,904 crore. According to the seventh edition of EdelGive Hurun India Philanthropy List 2020, Ajit Premji has been the most generous philanthropist in India for 2020. He has donated Rs. 22 crore per day. “Azim Premji Endowment Fund owns 13.6 per cent of the promoter’s shareholding in Wipro and has the right to receive all money earned from promoter shares. On 1 April 2020, Azim Premji Foundation (Rs 1,000 crore), Wipro (Rs 100 crore), and Wipro Enterprises (INR 25 crore) have committed INR 1,125 crore towards tackling the Covid-19 pandemic outbreak. These are in addition to the annual CSR activities of Wipro, and the usual philanthropic spending of the Azim Premji Foundation,” the press statement by EdelGive Hurun India Philanthropy List 2020 read. “Azim Premji is a role model for Indian philanthropy and is continuing to inspire other entrepreneurs into giving,” Anas Rahman Junaid, MD and Chief Researcher, Hurun India, said. HCL’S Shiv Nadar, 75, ranked second with Rs 795 crore donation. As of 2019, Nadar has invested over $800 million through the Foundation, impacting over 30,000 students directly. Nadar’s wife, Kiran Nadar chairs the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, India’s first private philanthropic art museum exhibiting modern and contemporary works from India and the subcontinent.

With a donation of Rs 458 crore by richest India Mukesh Ambani, who is the Chairman of Reliance Industries, came third. On March 30, Reliance Industries announced a donation of Rs 500 crore to the PM CARES Fund and Rs 5 crore each to the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund of Maharashtra and Chief Minister’s Relief Fund of Gujarat to support their fights against the Covid-19. Kumar Mangalam Birla, who donated Rs 276 crore, ranked fourth in EdelGive Hurun India Philanthropy List 2020. On April 3, Aditya Birla Group donated Rs 400 crore to the PM CARES Fund and Rs 50 crore to FICCI-Aditya Birla CSR Centre for Excellence. Also, allocated Rs 50 crore for supplying N95 Masks, PPE’s and ventilators.The fifth position is occupied by the founder and chairman of Vedanta, Anil Agarwal who donated Rs 215 crore. In September 2014 Anil Agarwal pledged 75 per cent of his wealth to charity. The foundation work towards education and computer literacy, vocational training, women and child empowerment, and community welfare. The Founder Chairman of HCL Technologies, Shiv Nadar, and his family ranked second, followed by richest Indian Mukesh Ambani, the Chairman of Reliance Industries (RIL), in the third spot. Nadar and his family contributed Rs 795 crore for charitable causes while Ambani and family’s contributions stood at Rs 458 crore.

The fourth spot was secured by Kumar Mangalam Birla, Chairman, Aditya Birla Group, followed by Anil Agarwal, Chairman, Vedanta Group, in fifth spot. Mumbai topped the preferred city of residence for top philanthropists with 36 names from the city making it to the list. Delhi and Bengaluru followed as second and third cities, respectively.

Education remained the biggest cause supported by the donors in India. Healthcare and water conversation witnessed a spike in donations compared to last year. “Reports of this nature are rare, but give us deep insight into the philanthropic sector and the patterns of giving that are ever-evolving. This year, we also looked at our methodology very closely e ensuring we keep the process transparent and proactively invite leaders of a diverse group to participate in the list,” Vidya Shah, Chairperson and CEO, EdelGive Foundation.

Twenty-eight philanthropists entered the EdelGive Hurun India Philanthropy List 2020 for the first time. The top new additions in the list included S.D. Shibulal of Infosys with a donation of Rs 32 crore, followed by Amit and Archana Chandra of A.T.E. Chandra Foundation who donated Rs 27 crore.

Anas Rahman Junaid, MD and Chief Researcher of Hurun India, said: “The preferred cause of India’s top philanthropists has been education, although poverty alleviation has grown dramatically to become the second most popular cause this year.”

A statement said that Rohini Nilekani, who donates through Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies, is India’s “most generous” woman, followed by Anu Aga and family of Thermax. Binny Bansal is the only philanthropist under the age of 40 to enter the philanthropy list. (IANS) 

Apple launches MacBook Air with first Apple-designed microprocessors

Staff ReporterBusiness, Finance/Economy, Science & Technology 0

Apple Inc has introduced a MacBook Air notebook computer with the first Apple-designed microprocessor, called the M1, a move that will tie its Macs and iPhones closer together technologically.

The new chip marks a shift away from Intel Corp <INTC.O> technology that has driven the electronic brains of Mac computers for nearly 15 years.

It is a boon for Apple computers, which are overshadowed by the company’s iPhone but still rack up tens of billions of dollars in sales per year. Apple hopes developers now will create families of apps that work on both computers and phones.

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Apple executives said the M1 was intended to be efficient as well as fast, to improve battery life, and that Apple’s newest version of its operating system was tuned to the processor.

Apple software chief Craig Federighi said Adobe Inc would bring its Photoshop software to the new M1-based Macs early next year.

In June, Apple said it would begin outfitting Macs with its own chips, building on its decade-long history of designing processors for its iPhones, iPads and Apple Watches.

Apple’s phone chips draw on computing architecture technology from Arm Ltd and manufactured by outside partners such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp.

Power efficiency – that is, getting the most computing done per watt of energy consumed – is one of Apple’s key aims.

Microsoft Corp <MSFT.O> and Qualcomm Corp <QCOM.O> have been working together for four years to bring Arm-based Windows laptops to market, with major manufacturers such as Lenovo Group Ltd <0992.HK>, Asustek Computer <2357.TW> and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd <005930.KS> offering machines.

But for both Microsoft and Apple, the true test will be software developers. Apple is hoping that the massive group of iPhone developers will embrace the new Macs, which will share a common 64-bit Arm computing architecture with the iPhone and be able to use similar apps.

In the meantime, Apple has seen a boom in Mac sales due to the coronavirus pandemic, notching record fiscal fourth quarter Mac sales of $9 billion (£7 billion) earlier this month – all of them Intel-based. In June, Chief Executive Tim Cook said Apple will continue to support those devices for “years to come” but did not specify an end-of-life date.

(Reporting by Stephen Nellis in San Franicsco and Peter Henderson in Oakland; Editing by Aurora Ellis and Rosalba O’Brien)

Businesses in US Frustrated by Government Inaction on Relief

Staff ReporterBusiness, Tourism 0

NATIONAL REPORT—In a panel discussion at the Best Western Hotels & Resorts Virtual Convention, industry leaders expressed their frustration with government’s failure to act on legislation that will help the travel industry. “[Congress] cares more about going back on the campaign trail to protect their own jobs than the millions of jobs of the people they represent,” said Chip Rogers, president/CEO, AHLA. “That is what is really concerning—that we have gotten to this place in America. At the beginning of this, it was real simple, Congress recognized we had a major problem, and what did they do? They responded with the CARES package that included a number of things, including PPP.” But, Rogers said, the problem with creating that package was that it was only going to last eight to 10 weeks, because Congress only expected the problem to last that long. “Here we are, six months into it. Eight-10 weeks was a long time ago. The problem still exists. If you were able to recognize back in March that this was so serious, you ought to be able to recognize that now.” Rogers said that he is less than 50% convinced that the government is going to get a package done. Roger Dow, president/CEO, U.S. Travel Association, spoke of the coalition of travel industry organizations and companies that have come together to communicate their call to action. “Hopefully something gets done because it is critical. We cannot let these businesses go on…so many small businesses and so many lives are bet on these businesses and we have got to be helping them.” Cecil P. Staton, president/CEO, AAHOA, sees the passage of a relief package as a moral imperative. “I do believe that there are some people out there who are simply saying, ‘The capital market will take care of this. We leave it alone. Someone will come along, buy these hotels when they are in foreclosure and within a year or two everything will be back to normal.’ But that doesn’t get to the heart of this issue because our members and hoteliers across this country are in the position they are in through no fault of their own. It wasn’t that they are bad businesspeople. They didn’t make bad business decisions. They are dealing with the fact that the government shut down the economy and shut down travel and they are having to deal with the repercussions of this.” He continued, “There is a moral imperative here that Congress get back to work, put the politics aside. Let’s do something that will help small businesses make it through COVID-19, which is obviously going to be more months until we have a vaccine. To do otherwise risks the possibility of the main streets of our country being littered with carcasses of failed small businesses. I think if we want to see the economy revived, it is much simpler to do it now, to help those small businesses, than to get to the other side when more people are unemployed, there are more business failures, more foreclosures and it is going to take a whole lot longer to get to recovery.”

H-1B Proposed Rule Moves Forward, Flunks Economics 101

Staff ReporterBusiness, Travel 0

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced last week it sent a proposed rule to the Federal Register radically changing how it selects H-1B temporary professional workers. The H-1B program was intended to allow employers to fill gaps in their workforce and remain competitive in the global economy, however it has now expanded far beyond that, often to the detriment of U.S. workers. Data shows that the more than a half million H-1B nonimmigrants in the United States have been used to displace U.S. workers. This has led to reduced wages in a number of industries in the U.S. labor market and the stagnation of wages in certain occupations. These latest efforts on H-1B visas are part of a larger Trump Administration goal to protect American workers.

“We have entered an era in which economic security is an integral part of homeland security. Put simply, economic security is homeland security. In response, we must do everything we can within the bounds of the law to make sure the American worker is put first,” said Acting Secretary Chad Wolf. “The Department of Homeland Security is honored to take this important step toward putting Americans first and to continue to implement President Trump’s agenda to keep our economy secure.”

This rule will combat the use of H-1B workers to serve as a low-cost replacement for otherwise qualified American workers.

The new rule will:

  • Narrow the definition of “specialty occupation” as Congress intended by closing the overbroad definition that allowed companies to game the system;
  • Require companies to make “real” offers to “real employees,” by closing loopholes and preventing the displacement of the American worker; and,
  • Enhance DHS’s ability to enforce compliance through worksite inspections and monitor compliance before, during, and after an H1-B petition is approved.

Stephen Yale-Loehr, professor of immigration law at Cornell Law School and co-author of a leading 21-volume immigration law series, says that though the rule is premised on preserving jobs for U.S. workers, it overlooks the economic benefits of high skilled foreign workers. If you’d like to connect with Prof. Yale-Loehr about this development please contact him directly at 607-379-9707 or SWY1@cornell.edu

Yale-Loehr says:  “The rule would scrap the current random selection system and instead select H-1B workers based on their salaries. The highest paid workers would be allowed to file an H-1B petition; workers offered lower salaries might not be able to file a petition if more than 85,000 higher paid H-1B workers filed petitions first. Current H-1B regulations already require employers to pay the higher of the actual or prevailing wage for similarly situated U.S. workers. Thus, it is hard to know what more the proposed rule would do.

“By effectively increasing salaries for H-1B workers, the proposed rule would harm all employers trying to hire foreign temporary professional workers, but especially schools, startup companies, and smaller companies that cannot afford to pay the high salaries that Silicon Valley and other big companies offer. 

“The rule is premised on preserving jobs for U.S. workers. However, the rule fails to understand that many nonimmigrant workers, especially high skilled foreign workers, help grow the economy. For example, one study found that every H-1B worker creates about five jobs for U.S. workers in the technology sector.  “The new proposed rule may score points with the President’s political base, but it flunks Economics 101.”

(By Cornell University)

Shanghai spending big to build the new ‘Silicon Valley’

Staff ReporterBusiness, Finance/Economy, Science & Technology 0

New Lingang Area, which aims to be a global innovation district, houses Tesla factories that will build electric vehicles and the world’s biggest planetarium; it will be an industrial base for production of integrated circuits and semiconductors, officials say. (ATF) Officials in Shanghai have announced they are investing billions of yuan into building a ‘new Silicon Valley’ set-up, full of companies in emerging industries.

“Over the past year, more than half of 78 policy tasks have been completed; high-end resource elements have accelerated the grouping of Lingang New Area, involving a total investment of more than 270 billion yuan (over US$40.4 billion),” the deputy secretary-general of Shanghai Municipal Government and secretary of the Party Working Committee of Lingang New Area, said.

Known as the Shanghai Lingang New Area, this will be a national rival to similar areas in Beijing and Shenzhen, as well as global innovation centers. Emerging industries have already migrated to the area, while institutional innovations have also set up shop. According to ce.cn this will be a new business district like Lujiazui. Lujiazui is the area of skyscrapers that make up the famous Shanghai skyline.

The Shanghai Lingang New Area is next to the Dishui Lake – an ancient scenic area in the neighbouring city of Suzhou, which is slowly becoming part of the large growing Shanghai metropolis. The area is famous for being the home of ancient scholars. Suzhou is essentially becoming a suburb of Shanghai, only a few minutes away by high-speed train.

Zhu Zhisong, executive deputy director of the management committee, said in an interview with ce.cn: “We have two small goals: one is to invest 200 billion yuan in frontier science and technology industries by the end of this year. The other is to build meeting the needs of modern urban functioning construction.

“We strive to achieve 200 billion yuan in projects started by the end of the year, and make greater contributions to the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta.

“Our production line is very sensitive to vibration (from traffic), so the requirements for the production environment are very high, so as to ensure continuous operation of the equipment,” Zhu added.

Semiconductor production line 

Shanghai Jita Semiconductor Co Ltd will be based in the new area. CEO Yin Buhua told reporters that according to the plan, the first phase of project plans is to build a 0.11μm/0.13μm/0.18μm (micron)-process production lines with a monthly capacity of 60,000 8-inch wafers. All kinds of production lines will achieve full mass production this year. It plans to expand the 12-inch special-process production line to a monthly production capacity of 50,000 pieces. 

“Our chips are used in automotive electronics, rail transit, smart grid and other fields. After full production, it will become a leading domestic automotive-grade semiconductor production line,” Yin Buhua said.

Wu Qunfeng, director of the Risk Prevention Division, said that the Lingang New Area has signed contracts and plans to implement integrated-circuit projects in the near future with a total investment of nearly 160 billion yuan ($24 billion).

It will build a national integrated-circuit industrial base, with a full supply chain. He said it will be known as the ‘Eastern Core Port,’ and will include aircraft facilities.

Aircraft Park

One portion of the area will be known as the ‘Big Aircraft Park’ to promote the convergence of aviation manufacturing and aviation services, develop final assembly delivery, key facilities, production support, technology research and development, aviation culture and tourism and other industrial fields, and cultivate a world-class aviation industry cluster.

In August this year, the “Lingang New Area Innovative Industry Plan” was released. The industrial development of the new area must not only improve the “quantity”, but also achieve a breakthrough in the “quality” of such zones, officials announced.

On September 7 this year, the commercial entity registration confirmation system was officially implemented in the Lingang New Area Industry-City Integration Zone. It has a range of approximately 386 square kilometres. 

As early as last year, this policy was written into the overall plan of the Lingang New Area; in March this year, after the inauguration of the Lingang New Area Market Supervision and Administration Bureau, it was clearly proposed that the reform of the registration confirmation system for commercial entities would be promoted in a coordinated manner. 

Now that the policy has been implemented, many entrepreneurs have begun setting up shop. “Lingang is becoming more and more like a complete city,” the general manager of Shanghai CRRC Essendi Marine Equipment Co Ltd said.

The world’s most famous and creative high-tech hub is Silicon Valley, in the southern San Francisco Bay Area of California, which has been the home of many start-ups and global technology companies, such as Apple, Facebook and Google. Whether Lingang New Area can match this in any way, only time will tell. But local officials certainly appear to share that ambition.

The power of digital currencies

Central banks in Europe and elsewhere are finally waking up to the risks that fintech innovations, such as digital currencies and stablecoins, could pose to the traditional banking system and financial stability if they become popular.

With an ever increasing need  in reducing morbidity and mortality due to heart attacks and strokes, especially among Indians and  Indian Americans, the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) and the American Heart Association (AHA) joined hands together for the first time for a Global Initiat (ATF) With a clear eye on China, the European Central Bank has sounded the alarm that Europe could lose its very sovereignty, not just its economic autonomy, if it fails to develop a digital euro. The warning is a reminder of how much is at stake politically in the global race for new electronic forms of central bank money. 

In a recent report on the pros and cons of a digital euro, the ECB doesn’t actually name China. It doesn’t need to. The Federal Reserve is still studying whether to issue a central bank digital currency (CBDC) while Japan has no immediate plan to do so. China, by contrast, is already conducting advanced trials of its Digital Currency /Electronic Payment (DE/EP). 

The ECB says it is examining the idea primarily because people are abandoning cash in favour of fast electronic payments. “It’s simply a matter of making our currency fit for the digital age,” said ECB President Christine Lagarde said when asked by French newspaper Le Monde whether the ECB was mounting a geopolitical response to the emergence of the digital yuan.

That is no doubt true. Central bankers are finally waking up to the risks that fintech innovations pose for the traditional banking system and hence for financial stability. They are also aghast that Facebook’s proposed Libra stablecoin might threaten their monetary monopoly.

But the concerns of the ECB – and of Europe’s politicians – go wider.

Concern over digital currencies

The report notes that if foreign central banks made their digital currencies available outside their jurisdictions, European citizens could switch out of the euro and foreign exchange risk in the euro area would increase. At the same time, instruments like Libra not denominated in euro could become widely used for European retail payments. 

“Such developments would foster innovation but could also threaten European financial, economic and, ultimately, political sovereignty,” the ECB says.

This is strong stuff from a central bank. As Philip Middleton and Alastair Ryan put it in a report for BoA Securities: “We can see why a central bank would not particularly fancy this. If European payments were to be dominated by Mark Zuckerberg and Xi Jinping, the ability of the ECB to influence the Eurozone economy would be severely constrained.” 

The EU has been half-hearted in the past about deploying the euro as an instrument of political power. The dollar towers over the single currency by every measure, from its share in global central bank reserves to its use in trade invoicing and international bond issuance. 

But the ECB report sums up how attitudes are changing: “Euro area leaders recently stressed that a strong international role of the euro is an important factor in reinforcing European economic autonomy.”

Wide acceptance of a means of payment or store of value not denominated in euro could impair the transmission of monetary policy in the euro area and could ultimately affect financial stability, the ECB explains.

‘Digital euro could support sovereignty, stability’

“In such circumstances, issuance of a digital euro could support European sovereignty and stability, in particular in the monetary and financial dimensions,” it says. That word ‘sovereignty’ again.

In case the political motive was still unclear, the report says a cutting-edge digital currency would “preserve the global reputation of the euro” and support its international role.

In a narrow sense, the ECB is worried that widespread use of foreign CBDCs in the euro area would curtail its room for monetary manoeuvre. ECB researchers Massimo Minesso Ferrari, Arnaud Mehi and Livio Stracca posit that it would need to react twice as much to inflation and output in the presence of a CBDC.

But it is left to the less diplomatic Australian Strategic Policy Institute to spell out the geopolitical prizes that China’s DC/EP could deliver for the Communist party, which has a stated aim of challenging the dollar’s global supremacy. 

“DC/EP intersects with China’s ambitions to shape global technological and financial standards, for example, through the promotion of RMB internationalisation and fintech standards-setting along sites of the Belt and Road Initiative,” the ASPI said in a report.

Alternative to SWIFT?

In the long term, a successful DC/EP could therefore greatly expand the party-state’s ability to mould economic behaviour well beyond China’s borders. For one thing, it could serve as an alternative to SWIFT, a secure financial messaging service at the core of the global banking system.

Because it has access to SWIFT communications on national security grounds, the US is able to extend the territorial reach of its laws – a source of deep concern to China and many other countries, especially those under international sanctions, such as Iran. 

If it could provide a functional alternative to the dollar settlement system, DC/EP would blunt the impact of any sanctions or threats of exclusion both at a country and company level, the ASPI argued.

China thus has a powerful incentive to blaze the digital currency trail. It is well ahead of its rivals. Not until this month did a clutch of leading central banks – but not the People’s Bank of China – agree on what the main features of a CBDC should be.

For its part, the ECB won’t decide until mid-2021 whether even to formally investigate a digital euro project. “The primary motivation is not that others are ahead,” said Fabio Panetta, an ECB Executive Board member who oversaw the ECB’s exploratory report

Risk of bank runs, CBDC costs, volatile capital flows

Indeed, the report is laced with warnings about the potential drawbacks of a CBDC. For instance, euro area citizens could swap their commercial bank deposits for central bank money, undermining the banking system and increasing the risk of bank runs. (This is a reservation shared, incidentally, by BoA’s analysts, who are very wary of the policy costs of running a CBDC.)

The report also speaks of the need to discourage excessive use of the digital euro as an investment to reduce the risk of attracting huge international investment flows: “The design of the digital euro should include specific conditions for access and use by non-euro area residents, to ensure that it does not contribute to excessively volatile capital flows or exchange rates.”

These words of caution may be warranted, but they hardly constitute a ringing call for the euro to sally forth, dethrone the dollar and nip the yuan’s challenge in the bud. 

But they will be music to the ears of Chinese policymakers, who are fully aware of the power of currencies. They also know from their own history the advantage of moving first when it comes to currencies. After all, in the 7th century it was China that was the first to use paper money.

(Alan Wheatley is an associate fellow at Chatham House, the London think-tank. He was formerly the global economics correspondent and China economics editor for Reuters.)

NASA and Nokia are putting a 4G network on the moon

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If you’re unable to get a cell phone signal when you walk your dog around the block, this will really make your blood boil: NASA is putting a 4G network on the moon.

To reach its 2028 goal to build a lunar base and eventually sustain a human presence on the moon, NASA awarded $370 million to over a dozen companies to deploy technology on the lunar surface. Those innovations include remote power generation, cryogenic freezing, robotics, safer landing … and 4G. Because how else will astronauts tweet their moon golf shots and lunar rover selfies?

NASA says 4G could provide more reliable, longer-distance communication than the current radio standards in place on the moon. Like on Earth, the 4G network will eventually be upgraded to 5G. Nokia’s (NOK) Bell Labs was granted $14.1 million for the project. Bell Labs, formerly operated by AT&T, will partner with spaceflight engineering company Intuitive Machines to build out the 4G-LTE network.

It’s hard to believe, but there was a time when work shoes were work shoes, sports shoes were sports shoes and leisure shoes were leisure shoes. Those lines were never crossed.

John Oliver jokes about CNN parent company AT&T (T) aside, 4G will probably work better on the moon than it does here — it won’t have any trees, buildings or TV signals to interfere with the 4G signal. The moon’s cellular network will also be specially designed to withstand the particularities of the lunar surface: extreme temperature, radiation and space’s vacuum. It will also stay functional during lunar landings and launches, even though rockets significantly vibrate the moon’s surface.

Bell Labs said astronauts will use its wireless network for data transmission, controlling of lunar rovers, real-time navigation over lunar geography (think Google Maps for the moon), and streaming of high-definition video. That could give us stuck on Earth a much better shot of astronauts bouncing around on the lunar surface: Buzz Aldrin was a great cameraman, but he didn’t have an iPhone.

The 4G network on Earth is supported by giant cell towers with enormous power generators and radios. But Bell Labs helped create small cell technology that’s more limited in range but uses far less power than traditional cell towers and is significantly easier to pack into a rocket ship. That small cell tech is currently being deployed for 5G networks across the world.

Arvind Krishna Says, IBM Spin Off Will Have New Leadership Team In India

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As IBM spins out a new company to help focus in two lucrative markets, the company’s CEO Arvind Krishna on Friday said that the yet to be named new company will have a separate leadership team in India. However, people working for IBM India have nothing to worry as the IBM CEO said that he expects the employees to be accommodated in one company or the other.

“I do not expect the creation of the new company to have any material impact in India,” Krishna told reporters in a call, adding that there will be nothing “controversial. This is not a restructuring, this is a spin out,” he said.

IBM on Thursday said that it will separate its Managed Infrastructure Services unit of its Global Technology Services division into a new public company. The yet to be named new company is currently codenamed “NewCo”.

The separation is expected to be achieved as a tax-free spin-off to IBM shareholders, and completed by the end of 2021. The creation of NewCo will help IBM focus on its open hybrid cloud platform, which represents a $1 trillion market opportunity, the company said.

“Focus normally allows for better utilisation of capital, better utilisation of skill, acquisition of right companies that serve the purpose of each of the two companies,” Krishna said.

IBM’s open hybrid cloud platform architecture, based on RedHat OpenShift, works with the entire range of clients’ existing IT infrastructures, regardless of vendor. The new company will be a managed infrastructure services provider.

IBM said that it has relationships with more than 4,600 technology-intensive, highly regulated clients in 115 countries, including more than 75 per cent of the Fortune 100, a backlog of $60 billion, and more than twice the scale of its nearest competitor.

IBM currently employs 380,000 people serving clients in 170 countries and India has the highest number of IBMers outside of the US — a key research and innovation hub for the tech giant that set up its first office in the country almost 26 years back.

Krishna, who guides IBM’s overall strategy in core and emerging technologies including Artificial Intelligence (AI), quantum computing, Blockchain, Cloud platform services, data-driven solutions and nanotechnology, has the task at hand to tap the growing talent pool in new-age technologies and leverage the true potential.

Today, IBM powers two of the largest telcos in India, nine out of 10 top banks, 2/3rd of milk and dairy products industry, country’s largest airport (traffic), etc are run and managed by IBM.

Krishna, an alumnus of Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur (IITK) knows the potential the country has and has gone bullish on India, especially on the R&D and innovation to create for the world.

IBM was one of the first MNCs to recognize India as an innovation hub and set up its first Research lab in IIT Campus, Delhi in 1993 to provide back-end support to its global business.

Today, IBM’s four labs in India – India Research Labs, India Software Labs, IBM Systems Development Labs and Global Technology Services Labs – are innovation centers for global product development, new services and solutions.

IBM’s businesses in India include Cloud and Cognitive Solutions (including RedHat and Watson), Services, Systems, Security, The Weather Company (an IBM business), R&D labs and client innovation centres.

Trump Moves to Cut Back H-1B Visas, Tighten Rules

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The Trump administration moved Oct. 6 to cut back H-1B visas for foreign skilled workers and tightened wage-based entry barriers citing “data” that more than 500,000 Americans have lost their jobs because of “H-1B non-immigrants.” India and China account for the lion’s share of H-1B visas. As per U.S. government data, India accounts for upwards of 70 percent, most years.

In a call with reporters, Acting Deputy DHS Secretary Ken Cuccinelli said about one-third of the people who have applied for H-1B visas would be denied under the new rules. With Trump laid up with COVID-19, his poll numbers tanking and less than 30 days to go before the U.S. election, the timing of the H-1B visa hammering is business as usual for foreign workers.

“It would have been a surprise if this hadn’t happened,” an H-1B worker on site at JP Morgan in New York City told IANS. The worker asked not to be named. The salary requirement will be a “game changer” in favor of the Trump administration, this worker said.

Many H-1B workers expressed a version of the same sentiment. They’ve seen this movie before. It’s Trump’s all-base, all the time anthem to fire up his most vocal supporters, they said.

The latest blow comes as the ducks line up across multiple departments that coordinate and monitor the crisscrossing elements of foreign worker visas: U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the Department of Homeland Security.

The Department of Labor’s revisions to minimum salary requirements take effect Oct. 8 and the DHS’ H-1B revisions will hit home in 60 days. “When seeking to employ an H-1B, H-1B1, or E-3 visa, U.S. employers must attest that they will pay non-immigrant workers, during the period of authorized employment, the higher of the prevailing wage or the actual wage paid to other employees with similar experience and qualifications,” the Department of Labor announced.

The gaslighting of the “low cost H-1B pay check is a well worn anthem and has become louder in the Trump years. The word “undercut” was used multiple times on Oct. 6 in a round robin of smoothly coordinated press-releases and telephonic briefings across the DOL and DHS.

The DOL rule will raise the four salary tiers for employees on H-1Bs and other professional visas, which currently begin at the 17th percentiles for each industry, to the 45th percentile.

“Under the existing wage levels, artificially low prevailing wages provide an opportunity for employers to hire and retain foreign workers at wages well below what their US counterparts – meaning U..S workers in the same labor market, performing similar jobs, and possessing similar levels of education, experience, and responsibility – make, creating an incentive – entirely at odds with the statutory scheme – to prefer foreign workers to U.S. workers, and causing downward pressure on the wages of the domestic workforce,” reads an excerpt from the DOL interim final rule.

The Department is also tightening the screws on the definition of “specialty occupation” to make it align with what it calls the “verbatim” description.

In parallel, DHS will narrow the definition of “specialty occupation,” require companies to make “real” offers to “real employees,” and turbocharge its own ability to ensure compliance “before, during, and after an H1-B petition is approved.”

“Data shows that the more than a half million H-1B non-immigrants in the United States have been used to displace U.S. workers,” reads a statement from the Department of Homeland Security

Geneva Adopts Highest Minimum Wage In The World, At $25 An Hour

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Voters in Geneva, Switzerland, have agreed to introduce a minimum wage in the canton that is the equivalent of $25 an hour — believed to be the highest in the world.  According to government data, 58% of voters in the canton were in favor of the initiative to set the minimum wage at 23 Swiss francs an hour, which was backed by a coalition of labor unions and aimed at “fighting poverty, favoring social integration, and contributing to the respect of human dignity.”

While Switzerland has no national minimum wage law, Geneva is the fourth of 26 cantons to vote on the matter in recent years after Neuchâtel, Jura and Ticino.  “This new minimum wage will apply to about 6% of the canton’s workers as of November 1st,” Geneva State Counselor Mauro Poggia told CNN in a statement.  Communauté genevoise d’action syndicale, the umbrella organization of unions in Geneva, described the result as “a historic victory, which will directly benefit 30,000 workers, two-thirds of whom are women.”

The decision was also praised by Michel Charrat, president of the Groupement transfrontalier européen, an association of workers commuting between Geneva and nearby France. Top of Form Bottom of Form

Charrat told The Guardian that the coronavirus pandemic “has shown that a certain section of the Swiss population cannot live in Geneva,” and argued that the new minimum wage is “the minimum to not fall below the poverty line and find yourself in a very difficult situation.” Charrat didn’t return a CNN request for comment. The Geneva Council of State, the local executive branch, said in an opinion against the measure that the new minimum wage would be “the highest in the world.”

A measure introduced by citizens

The Swiss system of direct democracy calls on voters to exercise their right four times a year, and allows citizens to collect signatures to introduce “popular initiatives” to be enacted.  “On two occasions in the past, initiatives to set a mandatory minimum wage in Geneva had been submitted to the population and rejected,” said Poggia, who is in charge of the Department of Security, Labor and Health for the Geneva canton.

The two previous votes took place in 2011 and 2014, and in the latest case, it was a national referendum to introduce an hourly minimum wage of 22 Swiss Francs, which found 76% of voters were opposed.

“On 27 September, a new vote on this subject was finally accepted, for a salary of 23 Swiss Francs per hour, or slightly more than 4,000 Swiss Francs per month for an activity of 41 hours per week,” Poggia added. That’s roughly $4,347 per month.

While a $25 per hour minimum wage might look staggering from the perspective of the United States, where the federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour, context is key. 

Geneva is the 10th most expensive city in the world, according to The Economist Intelligence Unit’s 2020 Worldwide Cost of Living Survey. The roughly 4,000 Swiss francs workers will now earn puts them slightly above the poverty line of 3,968 Swiss francs for a household of two adults and two children younger than 14, as estimated by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office in 2018.

Switzerland is among the wealthiest nations in the world, but it wasn’t shielded from the damaging impact of the coronavirus pandemic on its economy.

Overall, the Swiss government’s economic experts group expects the adjusted Swiss GDP to fall by -6.2% in 2020, and average unemployment to be around 3.8%, the lowest economic slump since 1975.

Did coronavirus impact the vote?

Michael Grampp, Deloitte’s chief economist in Switzerland, said he believed the coronavirus pandemic had an impact in determining how many voters were in favor of passing the minimum wage initiative. Low income workers in the service sector were the most affected by the lockdown measures put in place in Switzerland.

“I think many people realized how many people are working in these sectors. It’s not like everyone here is working for a bank or a chocolate factory. We also have a broad service sector that was hit hard due to the lockdown,” Grampp told CNN.  “It definitely helped push the vote towards almost 60%,” he added.

Grampp believes more cantons will enact minimum wage legislation. But Poggia said he doesn’t believe the pandemic had a significant impact on the vote.

“Compared to other countries, given the strong social security coverage in Switzerland, the economic effects of Covid are currently being contained, even though job losses are already occurring in the sectors that have been directly affected, such as tourism, hotels and restaurants,” he said. 

Cardinal Becciu: Vatican Official Forced Out In Rare Resignation

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High-ranking Vatican official Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu has unexpectedly resigned but has revealed he was told to do so by Pope Francis. He said he was suspected of giving Church money to his brothers, and denied any wrongdoing. Cardinal Becciu was a close aide to the Pope and previously had a key job in the Vatican’s Secretariat of State.

He became involved in a controversial deal to invest in a luxury London building with Church funds. That investment has since been the subject of a financial investigation.

Resignations at this level of the Vatican are extremely rare and the Holy See said little in its communique released late on Thursday.

“The Holy Father accepted the resignation from the office of Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints and from the rights connected to the Cardinalate, presented by His Eminence Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu,” a statement said.

But the cardinal, 72, told Italian website Domani he was being forced out because he was suspected of giving Church money to his brothers. “I didn’t steal even one euro. I am not under investigation but if they send me to trial, I will defend myself,” he was quoted as saying.

Speaking later at a news conference, the cardinal said his removal had come “like a bolt out of the blue”. He said the Pope “was suffering” when he delivered the news. “It’s all surreal. Up until yesterday… I felt I was a friend of the Pope, the faithful executor of the Pope. “Then the Pope told me that he no longer had faith in me because he got a report from magistrates that I committed an act of misappropriation.”

Cardinal Becciu insisted there had been “a misunderstanding”, adding: “I am ready to explain everything to the Pope. I have not done anything wrong. I said to the Pope: why are you doing this to me, in front of the whole world?”

The anguished words of one of the Church’s most senior cardinals – now fired and stripped of his right to choose the next Pope. Giovanni Angelo Becciu had served as Deputy Secretary of State – a role with unfettered access to Pope Francis – and was latterly head of the department that chooses future saints.

But on Thursday evening, he was summoned for a reportedly tense meeting with his boss. Cardinal Becciu had managed a controversial €200m (£180m) purchase of a London property with Church funds, including alms money. Other reports allege he propped up a failing Roman hospital which employed his niece.

“The Holy Father explained that I had given favours to my brothers and their businesses with Church money… but I am certain there are no crimes”, he told new Italian newspaper Domani.

But his denial was not enough. It’s been dubbed an “earthquake at the Vatican”.

The choreography of his dismissal may seem cloak-and-dagger – but it is a reminder yet again that the scandal and corruption that beset governments across the world also reach the highest echelons of the Holy See.

Who is Cardinal Becciu?

Giovanni Angelo Becciu, who is Italian, spent the early years of his career in the Vatican’s diplomatic service. Then, from 2011 to 2018, he had the powerful role of Substitute for General Affairs in the Secretariat of State, when he met the Pope on a daily basis.

It was Pope Francis who made him cardinal in 2018, when he took up a new role of running the department that looks after sainthoods and beatifications.

“It’s a blow for me, my family, the people of my country. I’ve accepted out of a spirit of obedience and love of the Church and the Pope,” Italian media quoted the cardinal as saying on Friday morning.

What is known of the London property deal?

It was during the cardinal’s time as Substitute for General Affairs that he was linked to a luxury property deal in a wealthy area of London.  The $200m (£155m) purchase of the apartment block in Sloane Avenue was bought out of Church money through offshore funds and companies.

Five members of staff were suspended last year following a raid of the offices of the Secretariat last year. Vatican police officers seized documents and computers. Then, in June, Italian businessman Gianluigi Torzi was arrested by Vatican police on suspicion of extortion and embezzlement.

Earlier this year, Cardinal Becciu defended the purchase.

“An investment was made on a building. It was good and opportune occasion, which many people envy us for today,” he said in February. He also denied that money collected for the poor, called Peter’s Pence, had been used in the deal.

Why now?

The cardinal’s sudden departure may not just be linked to the London deal. In his interview on Friday, the cardinal said the Pope confronted him over Church money he had given to co-operatives and businesses run by his brothers.

A co-operative in Sardinia, run by his brother Tonino Becciu, provided help to migrants and the cardinal said all the money had been accounted for. Other funding was used to renovate the Holy See’s building in Cuba.

Italian reports also suggest the Pope was unhappy with the use of Peter’s Pence funds for other investments. Last year, Italian weekly L’Espresso published a report from the Vatican’s anti-corruption authority alleging more widespread speculative investments amounting to $725m.

Cardinal Becciu will keep his title despite his resignation from the congregation. However, he will not be able to vote for the next Pope.  The last cardinal to give up his right to vote for a new Pope was Scottish Cardinal Keith O’Brien who resigned in 2013 amid a sex scandal. He died five years later.

Indian Immigrants Send Back Home $11.72 Billion a Year

Staff ReporterBusiness, Community, Finance/Economy 0

With hundreds of American banks and financial institutions shuttering physical branches due to COVID-19, it’s now even more difficult for the US-based Indian immigrant community to send money back home, which totals $11.72 billion annually. As an alternative to traditional in-person money transfers, Paysend digitizes the entire money transfer process via its mobile app, making it easier and safer to send money abroad.

Starting Sept. 22, 2020, to support US-based customers who send money to loved ones across borders, Paysend is waiving fees for digital money transfers from the US to India. This offer includes 70+ other countries and runs throughout October 31.

America’s 9 million expatriates, 47 million immigrants and 1 million foreign exchange students continue to navigate living abroad in the face of the novel Coronavirus and its economic impacts. The announcement comes on the heels of Paysend’s U.S. launch, which enables American residents to securely transfer funds internationally across accounts operated in more than 70 countries within minutes — without visiting a physical bank location.

“As people around the world struggle to financially navigate COVID-19, it is more important now than ever for every individual to have an affordable, safe and accessible way to send money internationally,” said Matt Montes, Paysend’s U.S.-based general manager. “Since the start of 2020, nearly one million new global users have joined Paysend’s platform – transferring money to loved ones around the world, without leaving the comfort and safety of their homes. Since the U.S. is home to the largest global transfer market in the world, we wanted to further accelerate peer-to-peer (P2P) payments during this difficult time by waiving transaction fees.” To take advantage of zero-fee money transfers during the month of October, U.S. residents can download the Paysend mobile app from the App Store or Google Play. Paysend’s standard $2 transfer fee will automatically be waived through October 31, 2020 for money transfers sent from U.S. customers to international cards, bank accounts or digital wallets in more than 70 countries.

 

 

Why distributing a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine will be global challenge

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There’s nearly universal agreement that a safe and effective SARS-CoV-2 vaccine should be available and affordable to all countries—rich or poor—both as a moral imperative and because the globe’s health and economy will depend on it. But the rollout of a vaccine will be hugely expensive and time consuming, potentially leaving poorer countries and disadvantaged communities last in line and also forcing tough decisions about which members of society ought to get it first.

During a recent “Ethics Talk” videocast from the AMA Journal of Ethics® (@JournalofEthics), Ruth Faden, PhD, MPH, professor of biomedical ethics at the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics, summarized efforts underway to head off inequity in distributing vaccines and outlined the top-level ethical arguments around who should get the vaccine first when supply is limited.

A global public health good

The need for countries to balance their commitments to securing vaccines for their populations without simultaneously depriving low- and middle-income countries of access to doses is a “global ethics sweet spot,” Faden said.

The COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access (COVAX) facility, headed by the World Health Organization (WHO), the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, was organized to help with this. By pooling demand, it provides countries that have entered into bilateral agreements with manufacturers an insurance policy in the form of a larger portfolio of vaccine candidates. At the same time, it gives governments lacking bilateral agreements—typically low- and middle-incomes countries—a reliable supply of vaccines, with financial support coming from various donor sources.

As of early September, more than 170 countries had signed on to the effort. The U.S. wasn’t one of them, though, ostensibly because of its objection to the WHO’s involvement. But there are “prudential, self-interested reasons” for getting behind it, Faden noted.

In public health, she said, it’s axiomatic that, “if there are outbreaks anywhere, there are outbreaks everywhere.”

Front-line health care workers should be prioritized for vaccination because of their societal value during a pandemic, Faden said. But determining who else is essential is more challenging.

For starters, decision-makers need to avoid the elitist bias that “essential” necessarily means highly skilled, well-trained or professional. Within health care, for example, essential workers ought to include custodial staff and food preparers, she said.

Outside of health care, they might include people who are critical to the country’s food supply, transportation system and power grid, but this is normatively charged territory, Faden added. Primary, middle and high school teachers illustrate the point.

“Are they essential workers or not?” Faden asked, noting that many essential workers are, in fact, highly skilled and cannot be replaced easily. “I would make a big plug for K–12 workers being essential workers. Someone else might want to throw in university professors into that category as well.”

Making such a determination is also a matter of assessing whether additional risk of infection comes with the occupation, whether risk can be mitigated by PPE, whether there is adequate availability and quality of PPE and potential for physical distancing at the work site.

But while limited vaccine supply might prevent some essential workers from getting doses as soon as they are available, Faden added, U.S. health care workers should enjoy priority for another reason: The country owes it to them.

“We also need to incentivize people to continue to do those jobs,” she said, “to make them feel not only acknowledged and that expression of national gratitude, but also, ‘OK, I can keep doing this because I’m going to be protected.’”

The AMA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are closely monitoring the COVID-19 pandemic. Learn more at the AMA COVID-19 resource center. Also check out pandemic resources available from the AMA Code of Medical Ethics, JAMA Network™ and AMA Journal of Ethics, and consult the AMA’s physician guide to COVID-19.

India Seeks Collaboration in Pharma Sector

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At a time when tensions between India and China continue to cast a shadow on businesses including imports of crucial drug ingredients from China, Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani invited US companies to invest and conduct tie-ups with Gujarat-based pharma companies for raw material production.

The CM also emphasized on Gujarat’s eagerness for collaboration in the sectors such as life sciences, defense sector, petrochemicals and clean energy, besides warehousing and logistics; and pharmaceuticals and healthcare sectors.

In a special address at the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF)’s Leadership Summit, Rupani said, “Gujarat presents great opportunities to US companies and is also developing robust infrastructure facilities for the pharmaceutical sector in the form of a Bulk Drug Park in Bharuch, and a Medical Devices Park in Rajkot district.”

At the special public session hosted by USISPF at the week-long virtual summit, he called upon US companies to join hands with the Indian companies to produce active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) in India.

The special public session was hosted by the USISPF to focus on the investment opportunities in Gujarat. Rupani was the only Chief Minister of a state from India to be invited to address the Third Annual USISPF leadership forum. Besides seeking to improve market access to the artisans in tribal areas through digital education, Rupani also expressed the willingness of the government to partner with companies like Cisco in the next wave of digital transformation especially in the fields of cyber technology and governance.

“India and the US have evolved as strategic partners. The partnership is people-driven and people-centric. We share common values of democracy with strong cultural ties and objective for human prosperity,” the Chief Minister stated.

Rupani also highlighted the newly released new Gujarat Industrial Policy 2020, which provides several provisions such as relocation benefits for companies moving out from other countries, besides investor-friendly measures such as delinking incentives from the GST regime and land on a long-term lease.

The Gujarat government will appoint a senior nodal officer from the Chief Minister’s office to facilitate American companies to partner with the State. Besides the conventional manufacturing sectors, Rupani showcased the opportunities for a startup engagement program between US and Gujarat in the diverse and emerging areas of semiconductors, electronics and e-vehicles.

 Amid the challenges posed by the pandemic, Gujarat has shown strong recovery from the economic impact of the Covid-19-induced lockdown. “I am happy to share that on 29 August 2020; our power consumption was 5% more than that consumed last year at the same time. This clearly shows that the economy has bounced-back and is steadily getting back on growth curve,” Rupani added. 

Elon Musk Set to Help Revolutionize Las Vegas Casinos

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Having been in the casino industry for so many years, it’s always exciting when new heavyTech giant Elon Musk aims to revolutionize the world’s gambling capital Las Vegas. The celebrated entrepreneur who has made technological strides across a wide array of industries is negotiating a new agreement with two Las Vegas casinos that want in on Boring Company tunnels that would connect them to the Convention Center. Tick Segerblom, the Clark County Commissioner, has posted a tweet last week, revealing Musk’s construction plans that include several tunnels that would connect the Wynn and the Encore with the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC). Both of these casino establishments are owned by Wynn Resorts. Later this week, Wynn Resorts published that they submitted plans to the city to connect their hotels to the ongoing project. Reportedly, another conglomerate Resorts World, which is set to open in 2021, is also in on Elon Musk’s Las Vegas Project. The Malaysian-owned resort has also submitted applications for underground connectors. If you don’t want to wait until 2021 you can  enter the city of golden dreams at Neon Vegas Casino. The Verge, which first reported on the project, published both sets of applications that show a picture of Tesla vehicles swiftly transporting people from the casino to the convention center. If all goes as planned, the project should drastically reduce transportation time and turn a 30-minute walk into a 2-minute ride in each direction. According to the construction plans, the Boring company is set to excavate a 0.6-mile tunnel that is supposed to go from the Encore all the way to the Silver Lot parking lot in the Convention Center. The proposal says that the boarding area in the LVCC would save up to 25 parking spaces. Passengers at the Encore would enter the existing bus lane located outside the hotel, and the boarding areas at both ends would be constructed above ground. The Boring Company also plans to dig a 0.4-mile tunnel that would run from the new Resorts World hotel-casino to one of the parking lots that are currently under construction as a part of the LVCC expansion. Both departure halls would also be above ground. Unlike the Convention Center Loop, the Wynn Resorts and Resorts World tunnels won’t be free. In an interview with CNN, the president and CEO of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority Steve Hill said that each trip would cost between $3 and $5. This is just about the price passengers usually pay for a ticket to ride in the Monorail. The driverless transit system connects the LVCC to several resorts across the Strip but doesn’t reach the Encore, the Wynn, or Resorts World. The new projects would have been funded by the companies per se, as opposed to the $52.5 LVCC Loop which was financed by the Convention and Visitors Authority. According to the proposals submitted to Clark County, the two companies are still negotiating the terms of their agreements with Musk’s company. Wynn Resorts and Resorts World have a history that goes beyond their projects with The Boring Company. Namely, in 2018, Wynn Resorts filed a lawsuit against Resorts World because the Malaysian company had been planning to build a 3,000-room Chinese-themed resort that would be a stunning resemblance to the Encore and the Wynn. The two companies reached a settlement on the dispute last year. Eventually, the Boring Company plans on connecting its tunnels to the entire Strip and airport, and the two proposals from the Resorts World and the Wynn represent the first milestone towards that goal. The projects would raise tensions with the city’s Monorail company and the taxi authority, as the Boring Company would directly compete with them with those transportation means. The Convention Center Loop is set to open in January 2021, right in time for the next Consumer Electronics Show.

Jeff Bezos 1st person ever to be worth over $200 billion

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Amazon Founder and CEO Jeff Bezos has become the world’s first person with a net worth of over $200 billion, according to Forbes and Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The net worth of the world’s richest person went up by $4.9 billion after Amazon stock edged up 2% as of Wednesday afternoon, Forbes reported. The explosive growth in Bezos’ fortune is being driven by his holdings in Amazon (AMZN). The company’s stock is up about 25% over the last three months and 86% so far this year, according to data from Refinitiv.Bezos, who founded Amazon in 1994, keeps breaking records with his wealth. In 2017, he became the richest person on the planet. And last month, his estimated net worth jumped to almost $172 billion, marking a new global high. Bezos also owns aerospace company Blue Origin, the Washington Post and other private investments. However, his nearly 11 per cent stake in Amazon makes up over 90 per cent of his massive fortune. The e-commerce giant saw a huge spike in demands for its services amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Since the beginning of 2020, Amazon stock is up nearly 80 per cent, said the Forbes report, adding that Bezos’ net worth on January 1 was roughly $115 billion. While Forbes said that Bezos became worth $204.6 billion at 1.50 pm EDT on Wednesday, the Bloomberg Billionaires Index currently puts his net worth at $202 billion. The person who is closest to Bezos now is Microsoft Co-Founder Bill Gates who is currently worth $116.1 billion, according to Forbes, while the Bloomberg Billionaires Index put his net worth at $124 billion.As per the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Bezos’ fortune is equivalent to 3.02% of the total wealth of the 500 richest people in the world. The person who is closest to Bezos now is Microsoft Co-Founder Bill Gates who is currently worth $116.1 billion, according to Forbes, while the Bloomberg Billionaires Index put his net worth at $124 billion.Meanwhile, Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg’s net worth increased to $115 billion as his wealth rose by a whopping $8.49 billion on a single day.  Tesla CEO Elon Musk also entered the centibillionaires club with his net worth climbing to $101 billion on the back of a strong rally in US stocks. 

Apple Reaches $2 Trillion, Punctuating Big Tech’s Grip

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It took Apple 42 years to reach $1 trillion in value. It took it just two more years to get to $2 trillion. Even more stunning: All of Apple’s second $1 trillion came in the past 21 weeks, while the global economy shrank faster than ever before in the coronavirus pandemic.

On Wednesday, Apple became the first U.S. company to hit a $2 trillion valuation when its shares climbed 1.4 percent to $468.65 in midday trading, though they later declined and ended the day flat. It was another milestone for the maker of iPhones, Mac computers and Apple Watches, cementing its title as the world’s most valuable public company and punctuating how the pandemic has been a bonanza for the tech giants.

As recently as mid-March, Apple’s value was under $1 trillion after the stock market plunged over fears of the coronavirus. On March 23, the stock market’s nadir this year, the Federal Reserve announced aggressive new measures to calm investors. Since then, the stock market — and particularly the stocks of Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet and Facebook — has largely soared, with the S&P 500 hitting a new high on Tuesday.

Investors have poured billions of dollars into the tech behemoths, betting that their immense size and power would serve as refuges from the pandemic-induced recession. Together, those five companies’ value has swelled by almost $3 trillion since March 23, nearly the same growth as the S&P 500’s next 50 most valuable companies combined, including Berkshire Hathaway, Walmart and Disney, according to S&P Global, the market analytics firm. Apple’s valuation alone rose by about $6.8 billion a day, more than the value of American Airlines.

“It’s become the new flight to safety,” Aswath Damodaran, a New York University finance professor who studies the stock market, said of investors flocking to Big Tech. Companies that are rich, flexible and digital are benefiting in the pandemic — and that describes the tech Goliaths, he said, adding, “This crisis has strengthened what was already a strong hand.”

BIG TECH’S DOMINATION

The stock market share of five tech companies hasn’t been seen from a single industry in at least 70 years. Apple’s rapid rise to $2 trillion is particularly astonishing because the company has not done much new in the past two years. It has simply built one of the tech industry’s most effective moneymakers, which has such a firm grip over how people communicate, entertain themselves and shop that it no longer relies on groundbreaking inventions to keep the business humming.

Apple first reached $1 trillion in August 2018, after decades of innovation. The company, founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, churned out world-changing products like the Macintosh computer, the iPod, the App Store and the iPhone.

Since then, it has mostly tweaked past creations, selling gadgets with names like the Apple Watch Series 5, the AirPods Pro and the iPhone 11 Pro Max. It has also pushed into services such as streaming music, streaming movies and TV programs, and providing news, selling subscriptions for them.

Under its chief executive, Tim Cook, Apple’s most important innovation in recent years has arguably been its nearly unrivaled ability to generate profits. Mr. Cook has built a sophisticated global supply chain to produce billions of devices — most assembled in China — and leaned into a product line designed to lock customers into its ecosystem so they buy new gadgets every few years and pay monthly fees to use Apple’s suite of digital services.

Apple has also grown despite its size by extracting more money from the companies that run businesses on iPhone apps, drawing accusations that its 30 percent cut of some app revenues is unfair.

The Silicon Valley company’s business has been only further entrenched by the pandemic, which has forced people to work, learn and socialize virtually. From April through June, even as Apple shuttered many of its retail stores because of the virus, it posted $11.25 billion in profits, up 12 percent from a year earlier. It increased its sales of every product and in every part of the world.

“Our products and services are very relevant to our customers’ lives and, in some cases, even more during the pandemic than ever before,” Luca Maestri, Apple’s finance chief, said in an interview last month.

Still, Mr. Maestri disputed that the pandemic had been good for business. Apple would have made billions of dollars more without it, he said.

Two gold nuggets worth $350,000 found in Australia

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Two gold nuggets worth around $350,000 (£190,000; US$250,000) have been discovered by a pair of diggers in southern Australia. Brent Shannon and Ethan West found the nuggets near goldmining town Tarnagulla in Victoria state.

Their lucky find was shown on TV show Aussie Gold Hunters, which aired on Thursday. The men dug up the ground and used metal detectors to detect gold in the area.

“These are definitely one of the most significant finds,” Ethan West said, according to CNN. “To have two large chunks in one day is quite amazing.”

They found the nuggets, which have a combined weight of 3.5kg (7.7lb), in a number of hours with the help of Mr West’s father, according to the Discovery Channel which airs the program.

The show, which is also broadcast in the UK, follows teams of gold prospectors who dig in goldfields in remote parts of Australia.

“I reckoned we were in for a chance,” Mr Shannon told Australian TV show Sunrise. “It was in a bit of virgin ground, which means it’s untouched and hasn’t been mined.”

West said that during four years of mining for gold, he is picked up “probably thousands” of pieces. The Discovery Channel also said collectors could pay up to 30% more for the nuggets than their estimated value.

In 2019 an Australian man unearthed a 1.4kg (49oz) gold nugget worth an estimated A$100,000 (£54,000; $69,000) using a metal detector.

Gold mining in Australia began in the 1850s, and remains a significant industry in the country.

The town of Tarnagulla itself was founded during the Victoria Gold Rush and became very wealthy for a period of time when keen prospectors moved there to make their fortune, according to a local website.

AAHOA Has New Leadership

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Bharat Patel, CHO, of Sarasota, Fla., is the new AAHOA Secretary. Patel is the owner of Gulf Coast Hospitality Solutions, LLC. Previously, Patel served as Florida Regional Director on AAHOA’s Board of Directors. A record-setting number of eligible voters voted in this year’s election. The announcement came at the conclusion of AAHOA’s 2020 Virtual Convention & Trade Show.

AAHOA members also elected the following individuals to the Board of Directors:

Arkansas Regional Director: Chintu (Danny) Patel

“Congratulations to Bharat Patel and to all our newly elected board members. It is an honor to work with our officers, our board, and the entire AAHOA team as we help the hospitality industry on the road to recovery,” said AAHOA President & CEO Cecil P. Staton. “These individuals are great additions to the Board of Directors of America’s premier hotel owners association. I am grateful for their service to our members and to the hospitality industry,” said AAHOA Chairman Biran Patel. A record-setting number of eligible voters voted in this year’s election, organizers said. AAHOA honored excellence and achievement in hospitality on the final day of the 2020 Virtual Convention & Trade Show. The awards recognize AAHOA members for their achievements and contributions to the hospitality industry in 2019. The winners are: The Outstanding Woman Hotelier of the Year Award recognized Komal Tina Patel, of Eugene, Ore., for her strong leadership, commitment to lodging excellence, and her significant contributions to the industry and to her community.

The Outstanding Young Professional of the Year Award is awarded to a young professional under the age of thirty. This year, both Nauman Panjwani, of Mooresville, NC, and Dhruti Patel, of Eugene, Ore., were recognized for how they exemplify the spirit, dedication, and achievement of a professional hotelier

The Outreach Award for Philanthropy recognized Prakash Saraf, of Ellicott City, Md. for helping humanity through philanthropic and charitable activities, domestically or overseas.

The Political Forum Award for Advocacy recognized Vinay Patel, of Charlotte, NC, for his extensive involvement in helping advance AAHOA’s mission and the interests of its members by participating in the legislative process through political involvement and government affairs.

AAHOA’s women hoteliers recognized Female Director Eastern Division Lina Patel and Female Director Western Division Nimisha Patel with the Award for Excellence in Leadership for their leadership and efforts to pave the path for the next generation of women hoteliers. They also honored 2019-2020 AAHOA Chairwoman Jagruti Panwala with an award for her years of service to the association and for her visionary leadership and commitment to advance women in the hospitality industry.

The association recognized the following Regional Directors for their achievements on behalf of AAHOA members:

Top Overall Performing Regions:

Florida Region, Bharat Patel, CHO
Top Overall Membership Growth for 2019:North Central Region, Bhavesh N. PatelMost AAHOA Human Trafficking Awareness Trainings in 2019:
Georgia Region, Kapil PatelTop PAC Fundraising Regions for 2019:
Florida Region, Bharat Patel, CHO
Central Midwest Region, Hitesh Patel

“Excellence is the hospitality industry’s foundation. The hoteliers recognized today made significant contributions to our industry and to their communities and are a prime example of what it means to go above and beyond in service to others,” said AAHOA Chairman Biran Patel.

“Congratulations to all of our award winners. Every year, we honor those in our association who set a high bar for distinction as hoteliers. I am confident that the example they set will serve as an inspiration to our entire industry,” said AAHOA President & CEO Cecil P. Staton.

The Asian American Hotel Owners Association which controls some 50 percent of the American hospitality industry, and is made up most of Indian-American hotel/motel owners, announced its new executive leadership Aug. 13, 2020.

The organization which describes itself as the “largest hotel owners association in the world,” just held its 2020 Virtual Convention & Trade Show.

More than 19,500 AAHOA members own almost one in every two hotels in the United States. With billions of dollars in property assets and hundreds of thousands of employees,

“AAHOA members are core economic contributors in virtually every community. AAHOA is a proud defender of free enterprise and the foremost current-day example of realizing the American dream,” the organization said in a press release. AAHOA is the largest hotel owners association in the world. The over 19,500 AAHOA members own almost one in every two hotels in the United States. With billions of dollars in property assets and hundreds of thousands of employees, AAHOA members are core economic contributors in virtually every community. AAHOA is a proud defender of free enterprise and the foremost current-day example of realizing the American dream.

US Stock Market Hits Its First Record Since The Pandemic Started

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The S&P 500 (SPX) closed at an all-time high on Tuesday, August 18th  for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic hit the United States. The index, which is the broadest measure of Wall Street, had been hovering in record territory for days but repeatedly fell short of reaching the milestone. But Tuesday was finally the day. It close up 0.2%, the first record since February 19.

The record is a big deal, because it means it only took Wall Street five months to go from the most recent trough — after the pandemic selloff in March — to a new peak. This would make the Covid bear market the shortest in history, at just 1.1 months, said S&P Dow Jones Indices’ Howard Silverblatt. Stocks fell into a bear market during the spring selloff.

“It’s hard to believe, but the 2020 bear market is officially over,” wrote UBS Global Wealth Management’s Americas CIO Solita Marcelli in a note to clients.  The market climbed higher on a combination of unprecedented fiscal and monetary stimulus in response to the pandemic, as well as hopes for a swift economic rebound.

“This is bittersweet news for some investors, who had hoped for another opportunity to buy more stocks on another market decline. On the bright side, this new bull market still offers opportunities for investors,” Marcelli said.

Although large-cap US stocks have been climbing higher over the summer, smaller American companies, as well as international stocks have more room to run. By other definitions, a new bull market is only achieved after a 20% rally that doesn’t get undercut within six months. This would be the case next month unless the market witnesses a dramatic selloff.

“Many continue to wonder why stocks are at new highs with 10% unemployment and nearly a million people filing for initial unemployment claims. The truth is economic data is backward looking and stocks are looking ahead to a much brighter future,” said Ryan Detrick, Chief Investment Strategist for LPL Financial in emailed comments. The Nasdaq Composite (COMP) also finished at a record high on Tuesday, up 0.7%, although it only had to exceed Monday’s peak to accomplish that. The Dow (INDU) was the odd index out, closing the day lower, dragged down by losses in the energy and financial sectors. It ended down 0.2%, or 67 points. The index remains 6% below its peak.

Will Tata Group Acquire Air India on January 1st, 2021?

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After several years of heavy financial losses and complaints of poor quality services by passengers, AIR INDIA, the national carrier is likely to return to its original owners, the Tata Group of Companies. Tata Group, who has been in the aviation sector for a long time, has expressed a keen interest in taking over Air India for quite some time now. 

As per reports, the deadline for the final submission of the bids for Air India is August 31 and as of now, Tata Group seems to be the only interested party. If Tata’s bid is deemed acceptable after the deadline, the 90 day handover period shall begin and end between November 30 to December 31, 2020. The Tata group has already begun due diligence and is likely to put in a formal bid soon, close to the deadline.  Air India Express, a low-cost subsidiary of the airline and the Air India’s real estate assets; a part of the airline will also be on sale. 

Tata sons holds a 51% stake in AirAsia India. Tata Group also has a joint venture in the airline business by the name Vistara.  Thereafter, if the Tata bid is deemed accepted, the 90 day period for handover shall commence and end by November 30 or at the most, by December 31. So, one possible scenario is for Tata to take control of Air India by January 1, 2021.

While the other bidders are not known yet, globally, airlines are under severe stress due to the Covid-19 pandemic and resultant disruption on air travel and tourism. Tata is widely believed to emerge as the sole bidder for Air India and the salt to software conglomerate is likely to place a bid before August 31, the last date for bids for Air India, which the government has repeatedly said it will not be extended. According to reports, the Tata group has already begun due diligence and is likely to put in a formal bid soon.

On the ensuing structure for the airline business, there is speculation that Tata is planning to merge its existing stake in AirAsia with Air India into a single entity. Air India has been passing through a critical financial condition from much before the Covid-19 onslaught. The crippling effect of the pandemic, especially in the aviation sector, has further brought its finances to a precarious position. Recently, its pilots and other employees are on the warpath as Air India has laid off employees and started a Leave Without Pay (LWP) scheme.

From Tata Airlines and Air India to Vistara and AirAsia India, the Tata group has been an important part of the growing aviation sector in India. From Tata Air Lines and the long-since nationalised Air India to strategic joint ventures with AirAsia Berhad and Singapore Airlines (SIA) for AirAsia India and Vistara, respectively, Tata has been present in the aviation sector. The two joint venture airlines operate independently with their respective business models – low-cost (AirAsia) and full-service (Vistara). Air-India began operating in 1932 as Tata Airlines, named after J. R. D. Tata, its founder. The line carried mail and passengers between the Indian cities of Ahmadabad, Bombay, Bellary, and Madras, and Karachi, Pakistan. Within a few years Tata Airlines’ routes included the Indian cities of Trivandrum, Delhi, Colombo (in Sri Lanka), Lahore, and other locations in between.

In 1946, at the conclusion of World War II, the airline became a public company and was renamed Air-India Limited. In just two years, with the government having a 49 percent share in the company, the airline was flying further outside of India, with regular flights to Cairo, Geneva, and London. The line’s name changed again to reflect its new scope of operations, becoming Air-India International Limited. Now, after several decades, the ownership is likely to return to the Tata Group, who had started the airline, now known as AIR INDIA.

Indian Ambassador Taranjit Singh Sandhu Discusses Trade With Wisconsin Governor

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Ambassador of India to the United States, Taranjit Singh Sandhu, and Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers today held a virtual meeting and discussed trade and investment as well as people-to-people relations between Wisconsin and India.

Both discussed strategies to tap the potential in the agriculture, infrastructure, and manufacturing sectors common to India and Wisconsin that would lead to win-win outcomes for both. The Ambassador briefed the Governor about the initiatives India has taken in healthcare and education and discussed collaboration in these sectors.

India and Wisconsin share a robust trade and investment relationship. The total trade between India and Wisconsin is over US $1 billion. Many Indian companies in the IT, engineering services, medical equipment, and manufacturing sectors have invested in Wisconsin.

These companies have invested close to $185 million in Wisconsin, creating over 2,460 jobs in the state. They also add value to local economies and communities through their Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives. Similarly, Wisconsin-based companies in the automobile, electrical equipment, financial services, and technology sectors have established a strong presence in India. They include Harley Davidson, Rockwell Automation Inc., ManPower Group, etc.

The Indian community has a vibrant presence in Wisconsin, which is also an important destination for Indian students. Close to 1,500 Indian students are studying in educational institutions in Wisconsin.

India has a strong education connection with Wisconsin. The tradition of Indian studies started on the University of Wisconsin campus in the mid-1880s when a Professorship of Sanskrit was established.

Renowned biochemist Dr. Hargobind Khorana received his Nobel Prize in 1968 for research he conducted at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he was on faculty.

The Ambassador underscored the need to revive and strengthen the university-to-university linkages between India and the U.S., including in the fields of R&D and bio-health.

Ambassador Sandhu and Governor Evers agreed to further strengthen the multifaceted engagement between India and the state of Wisconsin.

The iPhone 12 feature that could help convince millions of people to upgrade their phones

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Apple has long been expected to debut a batch of 5G-enabled iPhones this fall. Now it appears all of the company’s new phone releases this year may be able to connect to the next generation of super-fast wireless networks, according to Wedbush analyst Dan Ives.

That’s a significant milestone that could help convince millions of people to upgrade their smartphones. 5G could make the iPhone 12 a must-have product.

“We previously were [expecting] 4 models with a mix of 4G/5G for the iPhone 12 unveil, however now based on supply chain checks we are expecting ONLY 5G models for the Fall launch,” Ives wrote in an investor note Sunday evening.

Apple did not respond to a request for comment on this story.

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Although the projection is not a certainty, it would be a smart move for Apple (AAPL), driving big demand for the new iPhones as the company continues its march toward a $2 trillion market cap.

In recent years, consumers have been waiting longer between smartphone upgrades — a trend that could be exacerbated by the economic crisis sparked by the coronavirus pandemic. The biggest risk to new device sales is if “high unemployment and wage deflation continues,” according to Synovus Trust Company Senior Portfolio Manager Daniel Morgan.

But analysts largely expect the 5G iPhone to generate a “super cycle” of consumers buying new devices. Ives said he estimates roughly 350 million of the total 950 million iPhones on the market could be upgraded within the next year to 18 months. 

“We believe iPhone 12 represents the most significant product cycle for (Apple CEO Tim) Cook & Co. since iPhone 6 in 2014 and will be another defining chapter in the Apple growth story looking ahead despite a softer consumer spending environment,” Ives said, adding that he believes many on Wall Street are “underestimating the massive pent-up demand around this super cycle for Apple.”

Apple’s strong earnings in the June quarter indicate it could withstand the pressures of the economic crisis, Morgan said.  And Ives predicts a lower priced, next generation 4G model will hit the market early next year, which would be a potential opportunity to reel in consumers unable or unwilling to shell out for a 5G phone.

Making a 5G-connected iPhone could improve the consumer experience for Apple’s digital services, like Apple TV+. Though iPhones have long been Apple’s biggest sales driver, the company is increasingly reliant on services to diversify its sales: Overall services revenue hit a record $13.2 billion in the June quarter, boosted by the pandemic-fueled shift in habits.

Apple is somewhat late to the 5G phone game. The 5G iPhone will join a growing slate of phones on the market built to connect to the next generation network, including models from Motorola (MSI), Samsung (SSNLF), Huawei, LG and others.

Samsung, one of Apple’s fiercest smartphone competitors, in January boasted that it held more than half of the global market share for 5G phones. And last week, Samsung unveiled its latest flagship smartphone, the Galaxy Note 20, which comes with 5G capability and an ecosystem of interconnected gadgets.

“But with Apple, it’s such a loyal ecosystem,” Morgan said, which means its customers have likely been holding out for Apple’s 5G offering.

Adoption of 5G phones is likely to accelerate as the rollout of the new network expands — consumers need a 5G-enabled phone to connect to the new network and take advantage of its benefits — and more features are built on top of it.

T-Mobile (TMUS) and AT&T (T) have both announced their 5G networks are available nationwide in the United States and Verizon (VZ) continues to build out high-speed 5G capabilities in cities throughout the country. China, a key market for iPhones, has also invested heavily in its 5G networks.

Ives said he expects Apple will release US and non-US versions of the 5G iPhone. He predicts the US version will able to connect to the fastest 5G networks — built with “mmWave” spectrum — “after some technology wrinkles appear to have been ironed out by Apple and its suppliers, which is a clear positive heading into this pivotal launch.”

He also predicts the new iPhones will go on sale in October. Apple last month said that while new iPhones typically go on sale in September, this year the company expects supply “to be available a few weeks later” because of the pandemic.

2020 Indiaspora Recognizes 58 Executives of Indian Heritage Leading Global Corporations

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Indiaspora, a nonprofit organization of global Indian diaspora leaders from various backgrounds and professions, released their inaugural list honoring executives of the Indian diaspora who are leading the largest global corporations in 2020. Drawing from the latest editions of Fortune and Forbes U.S. and global lists, the Indiaspora Business Leaders List includes 58 executives serving at the helm of their respective companies as Chief Executive Officer, President, or Chairman of the Board. Under their leadership, these companies collectively employ more than 3.6 million worldwide and account for a combined USD $1 trillion in revenue and $4 trillion in market capitalization. Headquartered across 11 different countries including the U.S., Canada, England, and Singapore, these companies have delivered annualized returns of 23 percent during the tenure of these executives, outperforming the S&P 500 by 10 percent. “This inaugural list shares so many shining examples of the quintessential immigrant story,” said Indiaspora Board member Rajan Navani, Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Jetline Group of Companies. “Hardworking, enterprising, and innovative, these executives have achieved the highest success in their respective fields, often drawing on their Indian heritage to help guide and ground them along the way. No doubt they will inspire generations to come.” The list includes immigrants from India as well as professionals born in countries such as Uganda, Ethiopia, England, and the U.S. “I’m amazed to see how far we’ve come in terms of representation in business,” said Raj Gupta, former CEO of Fortune 300 company Rohm and Haas, and one of the first executives of the Indian diaspora to join the ranks of corporate leadership along with pioneers such as Indra Nooyi of PepsiCo and Dinesh Paliwal of Harman International. “There used to be only a handful of us leading corporations. Now that we are reaching prominence, I am eager to see how the next generation leaves its own legacy.” Mr. Gupta, an Indiaspora member, serves as Chairman of two companies on the Business Leaders List, Aptiv and Avantor.

Agents for Change and Inclusion

“It is gratifying to see the growing impact of individuals from the Indian community on business on a global scale,” said Indiaspora Board Member Arun Kumar, Chairman and CEO at KPMG India, who also served as Assistant Secretary of Commerce in the Obama administration. “I have had the opportunity to work with several of the individuals on our 2020 Business Leaders List in a professional and personal capacity, and can attest to their dynamism as leaders not only of their companies, but also for the larger diaspora community. In addition, many of them bring a remarkable sensitivity to issues relating to social change.” Many of these diaspora executives have led their companies in advancing social change by addressing racial injustice, climate and sustainability justice, and the disproportionate effects of COVID-19 through policy and financial commitments. For example: · Tech industry leader Sundar Pichai, CEO of Alphabet, has announced new goals for racial equity, including improving leadership representation of underrepresented groups at Google, and an “economic opportunity package” for the Black community. · Many of the leaders’ companies have created or contributed funds in response to COVID-19, with monetary and humanitarian aid totaling more than $400 million. · More than a dozen leaders have aligned their companies’ business practices to meet United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and are members of the UN Global Compact. “It’s inspiring to see so many leaders of Indian heritage playing a significant role in business and in society,” said Ajay Banga, President and CEO of Mastercard. “Our culture and our values are a common starting point. But it’s what we do with the opportunities presented to us that make a difference. When we lean into our diverse experiences to deal with challenges like the pandemic or racial injustice, we can have an even greater impact on the lives of those around us.” The Indiaspora Business Leaders List also calls attention to the presence of a glass ceiling that women, including Indian women, still face. Out of 1,000 companies represented on the Fortune 500 list, only 61 have women CEOs; the Indiaspora List has a marginally higher percentage of women, yet includes only five women out of the 58 leaders. “It’s an honor to join so many outstanding leaders on this year’s Indiaspora Business Leaders list, each of whom is making a meaningful impact within their industry,” said Reshma Kewalramani, M.D., CEO and President of Vertex Pharmaceuticals. “As a physician and CEO dedicated to creating transformative medicines that improve the lives of people with serious diseases, I believe deeply in the critical role a diverse and inclusive culture plays in being able to achieve that mission at Vertex. We are committed to developing the next generation of leaders from all backgrounds, and I look forward to some of those names showing up on this list and others like it in the years to come.”

About the Indiaspora Business Leaders List

The following lists were used to identify honorees: Fortune 500 (which features 1,000 companies), Forbes Global 2000, Fortune Global 500 and the Forbes Largest Private U.S. Companies.

2020 Indiaspora Business Leaders List
Rank First Name Last Name Company Title Revenue (B)
1 Sundar Pichai Alphabet Chief Executive Officer $166.30
2 Satya Nadella Microsoft Chief Executive Officer $138.60
3 Arvind Krishna IBM Chief Executive Officer $76.50
4 Lakshmi Mittal ArcelorMittal CEO, Chairman $70.50
5 Raj Subramaniam FedEx President, CEO $69.70
6 Vivek Sankaran Albertsons President, CEO $62.46
7 Vasant Narasimhan Novartis Chief Executive Officer $48.60
8 Punit Renjen Deloitte Global Chief Executive Officer $46.20
9 Bharat Masrani TD Bank CEO, Group President $44.80
10 Mike Mohan Best Buy President, CEO $43.60
11 Bob Patel LyondellBasell Industries Chief Executive Officer $37.40
12 Rajeev Suri Nokia Chief Executive Officer $25.80
13 Revathi Advaithi Flex Chief Executive Officer $25.00
14 Sunny Verghese Olam International Group Chief Executive Officer $24.20
15 Prem Watsa Fairfax Financial Chief Executive Officer $20.70
16 Sanjay Mehrotra Micron Technology CEO, President $19.60
17 Saum Sutaria Tenet Healthcare President, CEO $18.50
18 Ajay Banga Mastercard CEO, Chairman-elect, President $17.00
19 Ivan Menezes Diageo Chief Executive Officer $16.80
20 Laxman Narasimhan Reckitt Benckiser Group Chief Executive Officer $16.40
21 Sonia Syngal Gap Inc. Chief Executive Officer $16.40
22 Siva Sivaram Western Digital President $16.10
23 Kevin Lobo Stryker Chief Executive Officer $15.00
24 Piyush Gupta DBS Group Chief Executive Officer $14.50
25 Raj Gupta Aptiv Chairman of the Board $14.40
25 Raj Gupta Avantor Chairman of the Board $6.04
26 Bob Pragada Jacobs Engineering Co-President, CEO $13.00
27 Shantanu Narayen Adobe Chairman, CEO, & President $11.60
28 Rajiv Malik Mylan President $11.50
29 Aloke Lohia Indorama Ventures Group Chief Executive Officer $11.40
30 Sri Prakash Lohia Indorama Ventures Chairman of the Board $11.40
31 Niraj Shah Wayfair Co-Chairman, President & CEO $9.10
32 Ravi Saligram Newell Brands CEO, President $8.90
33 Milind Pant Amway Chief Executive Officer $8.40
34 George Kurian NetApp President, CEO $5.60
35 Steve Sanghi Microchip Technology CEO, Chairman $5.30
36 Sumit Singh Chewy Chief Executive Officer $4.80
37 Reshma Kewalramani Vertex Pharmaceuticals Chief Executive Officer $4.80
38 Rahul Kanwar SS&C Technologies Holdings President, CEO $4.70
39 Gary Bhojwani CNO Financial Group Chief Executive Officer $3.90
40 Sandeep Biswas Newcrest Mining Chief Executive Officer $3.80
41 Samir Kapuria NortonLifeLock President $3.70
42 Sean Aggarwal Lyft Chairman of the Board $3.62
43 Francis deSouza Illumina CEO, President $3.60
44 Aneel Bhusri Workday Chief Executive Officer $3.60
45 Rajiv Prasad Hyster-Yale Group CEO, President $3.29*
46 Rakesh Sachdev Regal Beloit Director, Chairman of the Board $3.24
47 Dinesh Lathi Tailored Brands CEO, President $3.00
48 Aman Bhutani GoDaddy Chief Executive Officer $2.99
49 Prahlad Singh PerkinElmer CEO, President $2.88
50 Anant Bhalla American Equity Investment CEO, President $2.60
51 Jayshree Ullal Arista Networks CEO, President $2.40
52 Anirudh Devgan Cadence Design President $2.40
53 Nikesh Arora Palo Alto Networks CEO, Chairman $2.27
54 Sundaram Nagarajan Nordson CEO, President $2.25
55 Sharmistha Dubey Match Group Chief Executive Officer $2.10
56 Naren Gursahaney ServiceMaster Chairman of the Board, Interim CEO $2.08
57 Sumit Roy Realty Income CEO, President $1.50
58 Ajei Gopal Ansys CEO, President $1.50
 Note: Raj Gupta appears twice on this list as the Chairman of two different companies.
* This is the revenue for Hyster-Yale Materials Handling, Inc. Hyster-Yale Group is HYMH’s operating company

Ankur Vaidya Appointed FIA-NY NJ CT Chairman

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The Federation of Indian Association of NY, NJ, CT (FIA-Tri-state), held its first internal meeting at its offices in Spotswood, N.J., since the COVID-19 pandemic,  and after losing the Chairman of the Board, Ramesh Patel. The meeting was called by FIA President Anil Bansal, in concurrence with the majority of the Board of Trustees and was held under the supervision of independent counsels.
Attendees included President of FIA, Anil Bansal, Secretary Parveen Bansal, and 14 out of the 16 current Board members.
Ankur Vaidya Appointed FIA-NY NJ CT ChairmanThe primary purpose of the meeting was to address the inter-organizational review and brainstorm ways to point the organization in the right trajectory towards serving the community in these testing times.
Members of the Board also conducted an inter-board shuffling, selecting a new body to fill the vacuum left by the Chairman Ramesh Pate’s demise.
Padma Shri Dr. Sudhir S. Parikh, a long time FIA veteran, and Padma Shri H. R. Shah, were chosen as senior advisors. Both Parikh and Shah will  take the role of nurturing, overseeing and advising the newly appointed Chairman, Ankur Vaidya, the youngest member of the Board and the youngest to be chosen as its chairman.
Vaidya is joined by Bipin Patel, as vice chairman and Jayesh Patel as the general secretary.  The current Board also consists of distinguished community stalwarts including Rambhai Gadhavi, Chandrakant Trivedi, Prabir Roy, Dr. Parvin Pandhi, Andy Bhatia, Srujal Parikh, Anand Patel, Dipak Patel and Kanubhai Chauhan. Longtime veteran community leader, Albert Jasani, of Royal Alberts Palace, was chosen as the Unifying-Unity Trustee of the group, along with Yash Paul Soi as Emeritus Vice Chairman for FIA’s Golden Jubilee Year.

Wealth Of US Billionaires Rose By $565 Billion During Pandemic

Staff ReporterBusiness, Finance/Economy 0

The past three months have been financially painful for many Americans — but not for billionaires.  However, US billionaires have become $565 billion richer since March 18, according to a report published last week by the Institute for Policy Studies, a progressive think tank.

Total wealth for billionaires now stands at $3.5 trillion, up 19% from the low point near the beginning of the pandemic, the report said. Amazon (AMZN) boss Jeff Bezos alone is worth $36.2 billion more than he was on March 18.

Since that day, nearly 43 million Americans have filed for initial unemployment benefits. Lower-income workers, especially in travel and service-sector jobs, have been hit particularly hard by the health crisis.

With the anxiety and distress you may be feeling, wearing clothes that are in any way uncomfortable is simply not an option.

The numbers put an exclamation point on the deep divide between haves and have-nots that is helping to fuel unrest across the United States. Wealth inequality is likely to get even worse because of this crisis, experts say.

The acceleration of wealth for the richest Americans is being driven by the remarkable recovery of the stock market, which has skyrocketed in large part because of unprecedented action from the Federal Reserve.

“The stock market taking off — and decoupling from the real economy — is exacerbating inequality,” said Kristina Hooper, chief global market strategist at Invesco.

Despite the turmoil on the streets of US cities and a record 43 million Americans filing for unemployment benefits, the Nasdaq is on the cusp of hitting record highs — an astonishing feat that underscores how quickly Wall Street has rebounded.

The Fed’s emergency response, including slashing interest rates to zero and promising to buy unlimited amounts of bonds, was designed to make risky assets like stocks look more attractive. Investors have essentially been forced to gamble on equities — and Big Tech in particular is benefiting from that.

Large tech companies aren’t just surviving during the pandemic — many of them are thriving. The crisis has made Amazon, for instance, even more essential than it already was. Amazon shares have spiked 47% from their mid-March lows.

Facebook (FB) also swiftly recovered to record highs. The net worth of Mark Zuckerberg, the company’s co-founder and CEO, has climbed $30.1 billion since March 18, the IPS report found.

The report calculated billionaire wealth using data provided by the Forbes Global Billionaires List, a real-time assessment of net worth. March 18 is used as the starting date because that is the date tied to the 2020 Forbes Global Billionaire survey. It also roughly matches up with when US states and the federal government began imposing health restrictions.

Other tech power players have also amassed more wealth over the past three months. The net worth of Tesla (TSLA) boss Elon Musk, Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page and former Microsoft (MSFT) CEO Steve Ballmer have all climbed by $13 billion or more apiece since March 18, the report found.

Unemployment could soon hit nearly 20%

Meanwhile, the United States has been gripped by mass unemployment caused by social distancing requirements imposed to fight the pandemic.

Economists expect Friday’s jobs report to show the United States lost another 8 million jobs in May, lifting the pandemic tally to 28.5 million — three times the number of jobs lost during the Great Recession. The unemployment rate is expected to climb to nearly 20%, higher than it’s been since the Great Depression.

“Surging billionaire wealth juxtaposed with the suffering and plight of millions undermines the social solidarity required for us to recover together in the years ahead,” Chuck Collins, co-author of the IPI report, said in a statement.

Of course, millions of average Americans are also benefiting from the V-shaped recovery in the stock market. The rebound has lifted the value of investment portfolios, pension funds and retirement accounts. Even just betting on a vanilla fund that tracks the S&P 500 would have given investors a tidy return of nearly 40% since the March 23 lows.

About 52% of families owned stocks directly or indirectly through retirement plans like 401(k)s, according to 2016 stats from the Federal Reserve.

Yet a surging stock market helps the rich more than the rest of the country. That’s because the top 10% of households owned 84% of all stocks in 2016, according to NYU professor Edward Wolff.

These trends help explain the unrest that has gripped the United States. Although the initial catalyst was police brutality, the protests and riots are taking place in a nation divided across racial and economic lines. And those fault lines appear to be growing during the pandemic.

“You’ve got a combustible concoction of lost income and inequality,” said Joe Brusuelas, chief economist at RSM International.

Telework may save U.S. jobs in COVID-19 downturn, especially among college graduates

Staff ReporterBusiness, Education 0

By Rakesh Kochhar and Jeffrey S. Passel

The option to perform a job remotely – to telework – may prove to be a financial lifeline for many workers during the COVID-19 downturn, which has shut down large segments of the U.S. economy and caused about 30 million American workers to file unemployment insurance claims since the middle of March 2020.

During the early stages of the outbreak’s economic fallout, 90% of the decrease in employment – or 2.6 million of the total loss of 2.9 million between February and March – arose from positions that could not be teleworked, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of federal government data.

While many workers could no longer wait tables or give haircuts, others – especially those with college degrees – could go online and continue to teach, deliver sermons or trade stocks.

This pattern in jobs lost may change as the economic crisis deepens and spreads across broader swaths of the economy. The Congressional Budget Office projects that the number of employed workers will decrease by nearly 27 million in the coming months, nine times the loss from February to March. Also, signs have emerged that the jobs of many white-collar workers are increasingly at risk. It is possible that being able to work remotely will offer less protection as the COVID-19 downturn nears its trough.

In February, before the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak truly took hold, 40% of American workers, or 63 million, were employed in occupations that potentially could be performed remotely, such as computer programmers, economists and human resource managers. Jobs that could not be performed remotely accounted for 60% of U.S. employment, or 95 million workers. These include jobs such as dentists, carpenters, machinists and other occupations that typically involve interactions with people, working outdoors or handling machinery or equipment, according to a classification system recently developed by researchers at the University of Chicago and adapted for this analysis by Pew Research Center.

Workers’ education level is a key determinant of whether they hold jobs that may be teleworked. In February, 62% of workers with a bachelor’s degree or more education had jobs that could be performed remotely. That is nearly double the share among workers who had completed some college education (33%), including an associate degree, and almost triple the share among high school graduates who did not go to college (22%). Few workers who did not graduate from high school (9%) had the option to telework.

Women were notably more likely than men to have the opportunity to telework, 46% vs. 35%. In part, this is because employed women have higher levels of education – 42% had at least a bachelor’s degree in February, compared with 37% of employed men. But it is also because women were more concentrated in occupations that could be done remotely. For instance, 23% of employed women held jobs in education and administrative support, compared with only 7% of employed men.

Among racial and ethnic groups, 48% of Asian workers and 44% of white workers could potentially telework, compared with 34% of black workers and 26% of Hispanic workers. Differences in education levels are again a factor. In February, about two-thirds (66%) of Asian workers had a bachelor’s degree or higher, compared with 44% of white, 33% of black and 21% of Hispanic workers.

Even so, Hispanic workers across all education levels have somewhat less of an opportunity than U.S. workers overall. In February, 55% of Hispanic workers with a college degree could telework, compared with 62% of all college graduate workers. Differences in occupations also contribute to the telework gap. In February, 18% of Hispanic workers were in either construction or production jobs, compared with 10% of workers overall. Conversely, only 24% of Hispanic workers held management, professional and related jobs, compared with 42% of U.S. workers overall.

Among all the nation’s workers, immigrants lag the U.S. born in the potential to telework. While 31% of foreign-born workers could do their jobs remotely in February, 42% of U.S.-born workers could do the same. This gap is largely driven by the large number of Hispanic immigrant workers, who make up 46% of all foreign-born workers. Of 12.2 million Hispanic immigrant workers in February, only 18% held jobs in which teleworking was feasible, compared with 31% of all immigrant workers. In a coronavirus-driven economic climate, education plays a key role in the endangered job prospects of Hispanic immigrants. Only 18% of Hispanic immigrant workers had a bachelor’s degree or more.

While the ability to work remotely is no guarantee of continued employment, it has become a realistic option for many workers in the internet age. Some 73% of American adults reported having broadband access at home in 2019, and 25% of workers did work at home at least occasionally in 2017-18. The share who work from home may increase for good as workplaces adapt to the post-COVID-19 environment.

There is evidence that teleworking is currently more prevalent than before the COVID-19 outbreak. In a Pew Research Center survey conducted in late March 2020, 40% of adults ages 18 to 64 reported they had worked from home as a result of the coronavirus outbreak. This is the same as the share of American workers who, in this analysis, are estimated to hold jobs that could be teleworked. The potential for the labor market to dampen job losses by turning to telework may already be stretched to capacity. And for some – especially black, Hispanic and lower-income workers – the ability to telework may be affected by access to broadband at home.

Workers who could telework were generally less likely to lose their jobs

As noted, job losses in the early stages of the COVID-19 outbreak have been concentrated among workers unable to telework. From February to March, U.S. employment decreased by 2.9 million, a loss of 1.8%. This was driven almost entirely by employment falling by 2.6 million (‑2.7%) in jobs that could not be teleworked. Employment in occupations that could be teleworked was essentially unchanged, edging down by 300,000 (‑0.5%).

The safety net offered by jobs that could be teleworked held for most groups of workers. Among women, for example, employment decreased by 3.6% in occupations that could not be teleworked, compared with a decrease of 0.4% in occupations that could be teleworked. Men had a similar experience, except that their losses in jobs that could not be teleworked (‑2.0%) were less than for women.

But employment outcomes varied notably by race and ethnicity. Black workers who could telework saw their employment decrease more sharply (‑4.3%) than black workers who could not telework (‑1.4%). The reasons for this are not clear. One contributing factor may be that the sizable losses for black workers in sales and related occupations, health care and technical jobs were partially offset by gains in architecture and engineering, as well as construction and extraction.

Hispanic workers without the possibility of teleworking saw some of the sharpest decreases in employment (‑5.0%) from February to March. This is traceable to the outcomes for foreign-born Hispanic workers, whose employment fell by 7.5% in these occupations, compared with a loss of 2.4% among U.S.-born Hispanic workers. Meanwhile, the overall employment of Hispanic workers in jobs that could be teleworked increased 3.7%. This reflects the experience of U.S.-born Hispanic workers, whose employment rose by 5.3% in jobs amenable to teleworking.

The favorable outcomes for U.S.-born Hispanic workers relative to foreign-born Hispanic workers and other groups largely reflects a demographic reality. Recent growth in the U.S. working-age population is almost entirely due to growth in the U.S.-born Hispanic working-age population. From March 2019 to March 2020, the U.S. working-age population increased by 1.2 million. Over this period, the growth in the U.S.-born Hispanic working-age population was 1.5 million. As a result, U.S.-born Hispanic workers also accounted for much of the employment growth in the U.S.

Like most other groups, workers at all levels of education appear to have experienced greater losses in employment if they could not telework. But the differences are not always statistically significant. The employment of workers with a college degree was essentially unchanged whether they could work remotely or not. Workers with a high school diploma experienced sizable losses in employment, whether they could telework or not. Foreign-born workers – with Hispanic workers alone accounting for 46% of the immigrant workforce – saw sharper losses than U.S.-born workers, especially in jobs that could not be teleworked.

The US economy has erased nearly all the job gains since the Great Recession

Staff ReporterBusiness, Finance/Economy, U.S. 0
  • The Labor Department reported that the number of Americans applying for state unemployment benefits totaled 5.245 million last week.
  • Combined with the prior three jobless claims reports, the number of Americans who’ve filed for unemployment over the last four weeks is 22.025 million.
  • That number is just below the 22.442 million jobs added to payrolls since November 2009, when the U.S. economy began to add jobs back after the recession.

It took only four weeks for the U.S. economy to wipe out nearly all the job gains in the last 11 years. The coronavirus and the forced closure of business throughout the country again fueled the number of Americans applying for state unemployment benefits, which last week totaled 5.245 million, the Labor Department reported.

Combined with the three prior jobless claims reports, the number of Americans who have filed for unemployment over the previous four weeks is 22.025 million. That number is just below the 22.442 million jobs added to nonfarm payrolls since November 2009, when the U.S. economy began to add jobs back to the economy after the Great Recession. Only 417,000 more U.S. workers need to file for unemployment benefits to erase all nonfarm gains since 2009, a figure likely to be easily surpassed this week.

The rapid nature of the job losses will be unprecedented, wiping out more than a decade’s worth of job gains in five weeks. We’ll find out for sure next Thursday when the national claims for this week are reported.

“While today’s jobless numbers are down on last week, they still mean that all the job gains since the financial crisis have been erased,” wrote Seema Shah, chief strategist at Principal Global Investors. “What’s more, with many workers, including those in the gig economy, not included in these numbers, labor market pains may be even worse than these numbers suggest.”

“Concerns for the second half of the year may be underestimated,” she added. “Although governments are looking to lift lockdowns, the re-opening of economies will be only gradual, compounding financial strains for businesses and households, suppressing demand and suggesting a slower economic recovery.”

The latest nonfarm report showed payrolls plunged by 701,000 in March, marking the first decline since 2010 and the worst fall since March 2009. The unemployment rate jumped nearly a full percentage point to 4.4% from 3.5%.

Sunil Shah tops as businessman & community activist

Asian Media USABusiness, Community 0

Chicago IL: A front ranking Indian community activist, Sunil Shah, has a good number of achievements to his credit over the past few years but his friends and community members at large could point out to two singular commendable mile stones  in his cheered career – his association and a steady  climb up in career with New York Life, easily among the biggest insurance companies in the world,  and very healthy successful married life.

Sunil Shah had announced celebrating both these milestones in his event rich life this month, but the spread of Corona -19 virus torpedoes the plan requested by friends and well-wishers.  He stands determined with huge support from all quarters and announced hosting   the event in coming June. Graduating from Mumbai he came to USA in June 1990 and wading his way through early turbulence in new environment he felt that he is well suited to be   on his own and plunged into insurance field. His intuition proved right and his business acumen helped him climb up the success ladder slowly. Sunil Shah, a Registered Representative NY LIFE Securities LLC and Financial Services Professional has completed 24 successful years with New York Life Insurance Company from the Greater Chicago General Office.

Sunil Shah tops as businessman & community activistHe is also life and qualifying member of Million Dollar Round Table. He has received several times National Quality Award, National Sales Achievement Award and Life Star Award. Besides, he has served as a board director with New York Life Insurance Company in Downers Grove, IL.

Sunil Shah’s success in business is equally marched by his contribution to the society around him. His work as a community leader is highly appreciated and acknowledged.  He is the Founder President of Federation of Indian Associations, an umbrella organization  of Indian associations.  Not  only that he founded this body  but he has been successfully nurturing it by hosting number of community  oriented  act cities  that  would include  India Day celebrations,  Health Care camps, Holi Festivities and show casing Indian culture at the Bull Games

He is a Lifetime member and Ambassador of, Asian American Hotel Owners Association and also of Schaumburg Business Association. He is also Lifetime member of the Jain Society of Metropolitan Chicago, Gujarati Samaj of Chicago and Gujarati cultural Association. He tried his hand in politics too and was a Mayoral candidate 2019 for the Village of Schaumburg.

Residing in Schaumburg, a Chicago suburb for the past  last 20 years with his wife Rita Shah and two son’s Sahaj and Swapnil, he and his family members have  passion  helping the people around and  needy in the community at large . He can be reached at 847-309-4462 and / or by email at sashah.nyl@hotmail.com

Record 16.8 Million People Have Sought U.S. Jobless Aid Since Coronavirus Outbreak Began

Staff ReporterBusiness, Finance/Economy, Health 0

With a startling 6.6 million people seeking unemployment benefits last week, the United States has reached a grim landmark: More than one in 10 workers have lost their jobs in just the past three weeks to the coronavirus outbreak.

The figures collectively constitute the largest and fastest string of job losses in records dating to 1948. By contrast, during the Great Recession it took 44 weeks — roughly 10 months — for unemployment claims to go as high as they now have in less than a month.

The damage to job markets is extending across the world. The equivalent of 195 million full-time jobs could be lost in the second quarter to business shutdowns caused by the viral outbreak, according to the United Nations’ labor organization. It estimates that global unemployment will rise by 25 million this year. And that doesn’t even count workers on reduced hours and pay. Lockdown measures are affecting nearly 2.7 billion workers — about 81 percent of the global workforce — the agency said.

Around half a billion people could sink into poverty as a result of the economic fallout from the coronavirus unless richer countries act to help developing nations, Oxfam, a leading aid organization, warned Thursday.

In the United States, the job market is quickly unraveling as businesses have shut down across the country. All told, in the past three weeks, 16.8 million Americans have filed for unemployment aid. The surge of jobless claims has overwhelmed state unemployment offices around the country. And still more job cuts are expected.

More than 20 million people may lose jobs this month. The unemployment rate could hit 15% when the April employment report is released in early May.

 “The carnage in the American labor market continued unabated,” said Joseph Brusuelas, chief economist for RSM, a tax advisory firm.

The viral outbreak is believed to have erased nearly one-third of the U.S. economy’s output in the current quarter. Forty-eight states have closed non-essential businesses.

A nation of normally free-spending shoppers and travelers is mainly hunkered down at home, bringing entire gears of the economy to a near-halt. Non-grocery retail business plunged 97% in the last week of March compared with a year earlier, according to Morgan Stanley. The number of airline passengers screened by the Transportation Security Administration has plunged 95% from a year ago. U.S. hotel revenue has tumbled 80%.

Applications for unemployment benefits are a rough proxy for layoffs because only people who have lost a job through no fault of their own are eligible.

The wave of layoffs may be cresting in some states even while still surging in others. Last week, applications for jobless aid declined in 19 states. In California, they dropped nearly 13% to 925,000 — still a shockingly high figure. In Pennsylvania, they dropped by nearly one-third to 284,000. That’s still more than the entire nation experienced just four weeks ago.

By contrast, in Georgia, which issued shutdown orders later than most other states, filings for unemployment claims nearly tripled last week to 388,000. In Arkansas, they more than doubled. In Arizona, they jumped by nearly 50%.

On Thursday, the Federal Reserve intensified its efforts to bolster the economy with a series of lending programs that could inject up to $2.3 trillion into the economy. Chairman Jerome Powell said that the economy’s strength before the viral outbreak means it could rebound quickly in the second half of the year.

“There is every reason to believe that the economic rebound, when it comes, will be robust,” Powell said.

In many European countries, government programs are keeping people on payrolls, though typically with fewer hours and lower pay. In France, 5.8 million people — about a quarter of the private sector workforce — are now on a “partial unemployment” plan: With government help, they receive part of their wages while temporarily laid off or while working shorter hours.

32 Million Livelihoods at Risk, Indian Economy Will Shrink 20 Percent if Lockdown Continues to Mid-May

Staff ReporterBusiness, Finance/Economy, Health 0

If the India lockdown continues till mid-May along with moderate relaxation after the end of 21-day lockdown on April 14, it could put 32 million livelihoods at risk and swell non-performing loans by seven percentage points, resulting in the economy contracting sharply by around 20 per cent in the first quarter of fiscal year 2021, with –2 to –3 percent growth for fiscal year 2021, a new report warned April 10.

According to the report by leading management consulting firm McKinsey and Company, the cost of stabilizing and protecting households, companies and lenders could exceed Rs 10 lakh crore, or more than 5 per cent of GDP in such a scenario.

The report, titled ‘Getting ahead of coronavirus: Saving lives and livelihoods in India,’ said that restarting supply chains and normalizing production and consumption can take three–four months if the lockdown goes till mid-May as the virus lingers on.

If the lockdown continues for additional two–three weeks in Q2 and Q4 FY 2021 because of virus resurgence, it could mean an even deeper economic contraction of around 8 to 10 per cent for fiscal year 2021.

“This could occur if the virus flares up a few times over the rest of the year, necessitating more lock-downs, causing even greater reluctance among migrants to resume work, and ensuring a much slower rate of recovery,” the report suggested.

To understand probable economic outcomes and possible interventions related to COVID-19, McKinsey spoke with some 600 business leaders, economists, financial-market analysts and policy makers.

According to the findings, in case the lockdown period is extended till mid-May, the potential economic loss in India would vary by sector, with current-quarter output drops that are large in sectors such as aviation and lower in sectors such as IT-enabled services and pharmaceuticals.

“Current-quarter consumption could drop by more than 30 percent in discretionary categories, such as clothing and furnishings, and by up to 10 per cent in areas such as food and utilities,” said the report.

Strained debt- service-coverage ratios would be anticipated in the travel, transport, and logistics, textiles, power and hotel and entertainment sectors.

There could be solvency risk within the Indian financial system, as almost 25 percent of MSME and small- and medium-size-enterprise loans could slip into default, compared with 6 percent in the corporate sector (although the rate could be much higher in aviation, textiles, power and construction) and 3 percent in the retail segment (mainly in personal loans for self-employed workers and small businesses).

“Liquidity risk would also need urgent attention as payments begin freezing in the corporate and SME supply chains. Attention will need to be given to the liquidity needs of banks and non-banks with stretched liquidity-coverage ratios to ensure depositor confidence,’ the report mentioned.

Given the magnitude of potential unemployment, business failure and financial-system risk, a comprehensive package of fiscal and monetary interventions may need to be planned.

“Consideration could be given to an income-support program in which the government both pays for a share of the payroll for the 60 million informal contractual and permanent workers linked to companies and provides direct income support for the 135 million informal workers who are not on any form of company payroll,’ the report further suggested.

Since last week, the Health Ministry has observed a staggering rise daily in the number of confirmed coronavirus cases across the country — nearly 500-plus cases daily with a few exceptions where the number has gone below 400 cases — a pattern which indicates a worrying trend after solid implementation of the nationwide lockdown and sealing of hotspots.

On April 10, the number of confirmed cases has risen to 6,412, an addition of 669 cases in a day.

Punjab and Odisha have already extended lockdown till May 1 and April 30, respectively.

According to the report, countries that are experiencing COVID-19 have adopted different approaches to slow the spread of the virus.

Some have tested extensively, carried out contact tracing, limited travel and large gatherings, encouraged physical distancing, and quarantined citizens.

Others have implemented full lock-downs in cities with high infection rates and partial lock-downs in other regions, with strict protocols in place to prevent infections.

“The pace and scale of opening up from lockdown for India may depend on the availability of the crucial testing capabilities that will be required to get a better handle on the spread of the virus, granular data and technology to track and trace infections, and the build-up of health care facilities to treat patients (such as hospital beds by district),” said the report.

Since there is a very real possibility of the virus lingering on through the year, a micro-targeting approach could help decelerate its spread while keeping livelihoods going.

“It is imperative that society preserve both lives and livelihoods. To do so, India can consider a concerted set of fiscal, monetary, and structural measures and explore ways to return from the lockdown that reflect its situation and respect that most important of tenets: the sanctity of human life,” the report noted.

With Mukesh Ambani at the Top, India Now Has 101 Billionaires

Staff ReporterBusiness, Finance/Economy 0

With Mukesh Ambani at the top, India now has 101 billionaires, according to new data released by Forbes magazine. According to the 34th annual world’s billionaires list, in which Forbes ranks the wealthiest individuals globally, there are 2,095 billionaires on the 2020 ranking, down from 2,153 in 2019.

The total combined net worth of this year’s billionaires is $8 trillion, down from $8.7 trillion in 2020. 267 people dropped off this year’s list and a record 1,062 individuals have seen a drop in their fortunes, both reflective of the turbulent markets and the coronavirus pandemic.

Approximately 70% of the list is made up of self-made billionaires. India’s Mukesh Ambani is ranked #21 richest in the world with $36.8 billion.

Forbes released its 34th annual world’s billionaires list, which ranks the wealthiest individuals globally. Approximately 70% of the list is made up of self-made billionaires. India’s Mukesh Ambani is ranked #21 richest in the world with $36.8 billion.

Amid the COVID-19 outbreak, some of the world’s wealthiest are serving as agents of change and taking action to reinvent their businesses to aid in the global response to the coronavirus outbreak, Forbes said in a statement.

Billionaires like tech tycoon Bill Gates; Eric Yuan, CEO of Zoom; Bernard Arnault, CEO of LVMH, Brian Chesky, CEO of Airbnb; Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and a host of others are using their financial resources to help combat the health crisis and boost the economy.

There are 2,095 billionaires on the 2020 ranking, down from 2,153 in 2019. The total combined net worth of this year’s billionaires is $8 trillion, down from $8.7 trillion in 2020. 267 people dropped off this year’s list and a record 1,062 individuals have seen a drop in their fortunes, both reflective of the turbulent markets and the coronavirus pandemic.

“The world’s richest are not immune to the devastating impact of the coronavirus,” said Kerry A. Dolan, Assistant Managing Editor of Wealth, Forbes. “The drop in the number of billionaires this year reflects the economic impact the pandemic is already having.”

To view the full list, visit www.forbes.com/billionaires.

Centi-billionaire Jeff Bezos maintains the top spot on this year’s ranking, for the third consecutive year, despite his net worth plunging by $18 billion. The Amazon CEO is valued at $113 billion, down from $131 billion last year. The decrease in his net worth is primarily due to his recent divorce.

Bill Gates remains in the No. 2 position with a fortune of $98 billion, up $1.5 billion from last year. Bernard Arnault of LVMH moves up on this year’s ranking and debuts in the top three, as the third-wealthiest person in the world, after Warren Buffett’s fortune fell by $15 billion. Buffett (No. 4) is valued at $67.5 billion, down from $82.5 from last year.

Rounding out the top five is Larry Ellison, founder, chairman and Chief Technology Officer of Oracle Corporation. While the software executive moves up on the ranking, his fortune is down $3.5 billion this year, to $59 billion.

There are 178 billionaires who made this list for the first time. Eric Yuan, CEO of Zoom, debuts on the list as Zoom gains mass popularity while many companies are shifting to a remote workforce.

The richest newcomer is Julia Koch, who inherited a 42% stake in Koch Industries from her late husband, David, who died last year. Her $38.2 billion fortune puts her at No. 18 on the ranking, tied with her brother-in-law, Charles Koch. Julia’s inheritance makes her the third richest woman in the world, after Walmart’s Alice Walton and L’Oréal’s Francoise Bettencourt Meyers. Another notable newcomer: MacKenzie Bezos, ex-wife of Jeff Bezos, who lands at No. 22 on the list with a total net worth of $36 billion.

Approximately 70% of the list is made up of self-made billionaires. Those 1,457 listers are people who have built a company or established a fortune on their own. There are a total of 241 women on the 2020 list, including seven who share their fortunes with their husband, child or sibling.

Regionally, Asia-Pacific boasts the most billionaires, with 778, followed by the United States with 614 and Europe with 511. By country, the U.S. leads with the greatest number of billionaires, with 614 (up from 607 last year), followed by China with 389 (up from 324 last year); Germany with 107 (down from 114), India with 102 (down from 106) and Russia with 99 (up from 98).

President Trump’s net worth has plunged $1 billion in less than a month. As of March 1, Forbes valued President Donald Trump’s net worth at $3.1 billion. The markets took a turn and reporters went back to work to approximate how much the coronavirus affected the president’s fortune. Trump’s newly estimated fortune is now $2.1 billion, bringing him to No. 1001 on this year’s ranking, down from No. 715 last year.

“For the first time in our 103 years, the Forbes editorial team, sheltering-at-home around the world, produced this magazine remotely,” said Randall Lane, Chief Content Officer, Forbes. “It’s now a piece of history, and an instant classic, featuring five consecutive covers—the faces of business leaders who are using the coronavirus crisis to reinvent themselves, their companies or the world.”

Methodology

The Forbes Billionaires list is a snapshot in time of wealth using stock prices and exchange rates from March 18, 2020. Forbes lists individuals rather than multi-generational families who share large fortunes, though we include wealth belonging to a billionaire’s spouse and children if that person is the founder of the fortune. In some cases, siblings and couples are listed together if the ownership breakdown among them isn’t clear, however they still must be worth on average a minimum of $1 billion apiece to make the cut.

Here are India’s 101 billionaires as ranked globally by Forbes:

# 21: Mukesh Ambani: $36.8 billion

#78: Radhakrishnan Damani: $13.8 billion

#103: Shiv Nadar: $11.9 billion

#129: Uday Kotak: $10.4 billion

#155: Gautam Adani: $8.9 billion

#157: Sunil Mittal & Family: $8.8 billion

#165: Cyrus Poonawalaa: $8.2 billion

#185: Kumar Birla: $7.6 billion

#196: Lakshmi Mittal: $7.4 billion

#253: Azim Premji: $6.1 billion

#253: Dilip Sanghvi: $6.1 billion

#268: Benu Gopal Banyur: $5.9 billion

#320: Kuldip Singh & Gurbachan Singh Dhingra: $5.1 billion

#320: Nusli Walia: $5.1 billion

#349 Savitri Jindal & Family: $4.8 billion

#426: Bajaj Brothers: $4.2 billion

#484: Rahul Bajaj: $3.8 billion

#494: Kushal Pal Singh: $3.7 billion

#538: Hasmukh Chudgar: $3.5 billion

#538: Muralidivi & Family: $3.5 billion

#538: M.A. Yusuff Ali: $3.5 billion

#565 Kapil & Rahul Bhatia: $3.4 billion

#565: Mahendra Choski & Family: $3.4 billion

#590: Vikram Lal: $3.3 billion

#648: Anil Agarwal & Family: $3.1 billion

#648: Karsanbhai Patel: $3.1 billion

#648: Abhay Vakil & Family: $3.1 billion

#712: Pankaj Patel: $2.9 billion

#764: Chandru Raheja: $2.7 billion

$804: Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw: $2.6 billion

#804: Pawan Munjal & Family: $2.6 billion

#836: Ravi Pillai: $2.5 billion

#908: Vivek Chand Burman: $2.3 billion

#908: Ravi Jaipuria: $2.3 billion

#945: Micky Jagtiani: $2.2 billion

$945: Shashi & Ravi Raia: $2.2 billion

#945: Arvind Tiku: $2.2 billion

#1001: Vinod & Anil Raigupta: $2.1 billion

#1063: Madhukar Parekh: $2 billion

#1135: Smita Crishna-Godrej: $.9 billion

#1135: Jamshyd Godrej: $1.9 billion

#1135: Nadir Godrej: $1.9 billion

#1135: Rakesh Jhunjhunwala: $1.9 billion

#1135: N.R. Narayana Murthy: $1.9 billion

#1135: Rishad Naoroji: $1.9 billion

#1196: Anand Burman: $1.8 billion

#1196: Senapathy Gopalkrishnan: $1.8 billion

#1196: Mangal Prabhat Lodha: $1.8 billion

#1196: Vikas Oberoi: $1.8 billion

#1196: Byju Raveendran: $1.8 billion

#1196: Leena Tewari: $1.8 billion

#1267: Baba Kalyani: $1.7 billion

#1267: Samir Mehta: $1.7 billion

#1267: Sudhir Mehta: $1.7 billion

#1267: Ajay Piramal: $1.7 billion

#1267: Mahendra Prasad: $1.7 billion

#1335: Kalanithi Maran: $1.6 billion

#1335: Harsh Mariwala: $1.6 billion

#1335: P.P. Reddy: $1.6 billion

#1335: P.V. Krishna Reddy: $1.6 billion

#1335: Jitendra Vurwani: $1.6 billion

#1415: Harindarpal Banga: $1.5 billion

#1415: Abhay Firodia: $1.5 billion

#1415: Harsh Hoenka: $1.5 billion

#1415: Ranjani Pai: $1.5 billion

#1415: G. Rajendran: $1.5 billion

#1513: Sanjiv Goenka: $1.4 billion

#1513: Nandan Nilekani: $1.4 billion

#1513: Ajay Prakash: $1.4 billion

#1513: Nandrkumar Parekh: $1.4 billion

#1513: P.V. Rampal Reddy: $1.4 billion

#1613: Rajendra Agarwal: $1.3 billion

#1613: Banwarilal Bawri: $1.3 billion

#1613: Girdharlal Bawri: $1.3 billion

#1613: Amit Burman: $1.3 billion

#1613: Niranjan Hiranandani: $1.3 billion

#1613: Kishore Mariwala: $1.3 billion

#1613: Lachhman Das Mittal: $1.3 billion

#1613: Subhash Runwal: $1.3 billion

#613: Sunny Varkey: $1.3 billion

#1613: Shamsheer Vayalil: $1.3 billion

#1730: Sachin Bansal: $1.2 billion

#1730: Sanjeev Bikhchandani: $1.2 billion

#1739: K. Dinesh: $1.2 billion

#1730: T.S.Kalyanaraman: $1.2 billion

#1739: Hemandra Kthari: $1.2 billion

#1730: Anand Mahendra: $1.2 billion

#1739: Sushil Kumar Pareek: $1.2billion

#1730: Bhadresh Shah: $1.2 billion

#1730: Basudeo Singh: $1.2 billion

#1730: Salil Singhal: $1.2 billion

#1730: Radha Vembu: $1.2 billion

#1851: Archana Balakrishna: $1.1 billion

#1851: Bimy Bansal: $1.1 billion

#1851 Sandeep Engineer: $1.1 billion

#1851: Mofatraj Munot: $1.1 billion

#1851L Arvind Poddar: $1.1 billion

#1851: S.D. Shibulal: $1.1 billion

#1990: Achal Bakeri: $1 billion.

Falling Oil demand and historically low prizes lead to deal to cut oil production

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Oil prices dropped on Friday as traders feared that an Opec deal to slash global supplies by 10% would not offset a historic drop in demand due to the coronavirus outbreak.

The price of Brent crude fell nearly 2.5% to $31.82 per barrel on Friday last week, despite news that the oil cartel and allies – known as Opec+ – had reached a deal that would end a price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia that threatened to flood the market with more oil than the world could use.

Mexico initially cast some doubt over Opec’s plans, after apparently refusing to sign up to its share of cuts, which would have been 400,000 barrels per day (bpd). The country instead offered to cut 100,000 bpd.

The country signaled on Friday that the US may be willing to make further cuts to its production in order to allow Mexico to make less stringent reductions. Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador said that US president Donald Trump had agreed to help out by cutting additional US output.

Major oil-producing nations collectively called the OPEC+, including Saudi Arabia and Russia, finally came to terms and agreed to cut oil production by 10 million barrels a day — equivalent to 10% of global oil supply — in May and June. Mexico had held out on the agreement on Thursday, but an intervention by the US resolved the standoff.

Crude oil prices have fallen by over 50% since the turn of the year, straining the economy of oil-producing countries and those invested in them. That was largely due to the coronavirus crisis in China and a standoff between Russia and Saudi Arabia — the former walked out of a planned production cut, triggering a price war. Then the pandemic spread around the world, sinking the demand for oil, even as Russia and Saudi Arabia were pushing cheap oil into the market. But now, pushed by the US, also a major oil producer, an agreement has been reached.

The agreement between OPEC and partner countries aims to cut 10 million barrels per day until July, then 8 million barrels per day through the end of the year, and 6 million a day for 16 months beginning in 2021, reports Associated Press. Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said he had agreed with US President Donald Trump that the US will compensate what Mexico cannot add to the proposed cuts.

How to get your US stimulus check from the US Government?

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The IRS and the Treasury Department say Americans will start receiving their economic impact checks in the next three weeks. The payments are part of the $2.2 trillion rescue package signed into law last week by President Donald Trump aimed at combating the economic ravages of the coronavirus outbreak.

As part of the economic stimulus bill, hundreds of billions of dollars are being earmarked for one-time economic impact payments, or “stimulus checks” to most American households. While the size of the stimulus payments has been widely reported, there are some key details that are still unclear — such as how you’ll actually get your payment, what happens if you haven’t filed a tax return recently, and what if your information has changed.

While this is still a fluid situation and there are some important details the IRS and Treasury haven’t quite figured out yet (to be fair, the bill passed just a few days ago), the IRS recently issued their most up-to-date guidance yet. With that in mind, here are five things about the stimulus check that you need to know.

Most people don’t need to do anything to get the money. But some — including senior citizens and low-income people who might not traditionally file tax returns — do need to take action. People behind on filing their taxes might also want to get caught up.

The IRS and Treasury have provided more details on how to ensure you get paid. Here are the basics:

WHO IS ELIGIBLE FOR THE PAYMENTS?

Anyone earning up to $75,000 in adjusted gross income and who has a Social Security number will receive a $1,200 payment. That means married couples filing joint returns will receive the full payment — $2,400 — if their adjusted gross income, which what you report on your taxes, is under $150,000.

The payment steadily declines for those who make more. Those earning more than $99,000, or $198,000 for joint filers, are not eligible. The thresholds are slightly different for those who file as a head of household.

Parents will also receive $500 for each qualifying child. So, a family of four could get as much as $3,400.

WHAT DO I HAVE TO DO TO GET THE CHECK?

For most people, nothing. If you’ve already filed your 2019 tax return, which is now due on July 15, the IRS will use it to determine your eligibility. If you have not filed a 2019 tax return yet, your eligibility will be based on your 2018 return.

The money will be directly deposited in your bank account if the government has that information from your tax return. If you haven’t filed your 2019 taxes, the government will use information from your 2018 taxes to calculate your payment and determine where to send it. It can use your Social Security benefit statement as well.

I DON’T USUALLY HAVE TO FILE TAXES. DO I STILL GET A PAYMENT?

Yes. People who are not required to file a tax return — such as low-income tax payers, some senior citizens, Social Security recipients, some veterans and people with disabilities — will need to file a very simplified tax return to receive the economic impact payment. It provides the government basic details including a person’s filing status, number of dependents and direct-deposit bank information.

I HAVEN’T FILED MY 2018 OR 2019 TAXES. WILL I STILL GET A PAYMENT?

Yes, but the IRS urges anyone required to file a tax return and has not yet done so for those years to file as soon as possible in order to receive an economic impact payment. Taxpayers should include their direct-deposit banking information on the return if they want it deposited in their account.

I DIDN’T USE DIRECT DEPOSIT ON MY TAXES, WHAT CAN I DO?

The government will default to sending you the check by mail if you did not use direct deposit.

However, IRS and Treasury say that they will develop an online portal in the coming weeks for individuals to provide their banking information so that they can receive the payments immediately instead of in the mail. It has not yet set a deadline for updating that information.

WHERE DO I DO THIS?

The IRS says the Treasury is planning to develop a web-based portal for taxpayers to provide their bank account information for stimulus payments. The goal is to get the money in your hands as soon as reasonably possible, and the quickest way to do that is to allow everyone to use direct deposit if they so choose. We don’t know yet if there will be an option to choose a paper check.The IRS and Treasury say the website irs.gov/coronavirus will soon provide information about the check, including how people can file a simple 2019 tax return.

I NEED MORE TIME TO FILE MY TAX RETURNS. HOW LONG DO I HAVE TO GET THE PAYMENT?

The IRS says people concerned about visiting a tax professional or local community organization in person to get help with a tax return should not worry. The economic impact payments will be available throughout the rest of 2020.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced Thursday that many Americans reeling from the financial impacts caused by the coronavirus outbreak can expect to see their one-time stimulus checks of up to $1,200 show up in their bank accounts in about two weeks. For those without direct deposit, Mnuchin promised checks would go out quickly in a matter of “weeks.”

The announcement followed a memo sent out by House Democrats that warned some Americans could have to wait up to 20 weeks – or five months – before they receive their checks.

 The first payments are expected go out within three weeks to those for whom the Internal Revenue Service already has direct deposit information on file. Mnuchin said at a White House coronavirus briefing that payments would go out within two weeks to people whose direct deposit details are on file with the government, echoing comments he made after passage of the $2.2 trillion stimulus bill that payments would not go out until mid-April.  He added that a web portal would be established for people to supply their details and that checks would be sent to anyone else, but did not specify a timeline.  “I am assuring the American public, they need the money now.”

How to get into ‘working mode’ while at home

Staff ReporterBusiness, Health 0

If you are struggling to get into the working mode as you stay at home due to the lockdown, some simple tips like maintaining a routine and dressing up in a way as if you were in office may help you increase productivity, suggests a new report.

“Maintain daily routines as when working regularly — get up at the same time, take a shower, dress-up, get breakfast and than start working at the same time you normally do at the office,” according to the “Work From Home Best Practices” shared by Bain & Company, one of the world’s leading strategy and management consultancies.

Another key point to keep in mind is that you should leave private life outside the room where you work. If you want to check private messages, take a break and do it in your private space.

Taking break, in fact, is quite important to make your work from home effective, according to Bain & Company.

“Reward yourself and give yourself breaks “breaks are critical to recharge batteries, they can be small (e.g., 5 minutes of checking social media) or longer (e.g., full 45 min lunch break),” it said.

At the same time, it is important not to engage in any household tasks/ chores while on worktime.

To get the maximum out of you time, structure your day along key tasks/ objectives to achieve and keep track of what has to be done during the day (and week and month) and clearly decide when to do.

Instead of using the whole apartment for work, use one particular room and avoid having meals in front of the workstation.

“If you have a partner also working from home find clear rules for who can use the workplace at which time and where calls can be made from without ‘distracting’ each other,” the company said, adding that getting the right infrastructure and having good connectivity are key to having fruitful working hours at home. (IANS)

The dollar is on a tear. Here’s why that’s troubling

Staff ReporterBusiness, Finance/Economy 0

Even though the novel coronavirus has the United States essentially in lockdown mode, the American dollar continues to be viewed as the world’s safest and most stable currency.

The value of the greenback is surging, up more than 7% against a basket of other currencies — such as the euro, British pound and Swiss franc — since hitting the lowest point of 2020 on March 9.

But this strong demand from other countries around the world has created a liquidity crunch — essentially a dollar shortage. There are worries that this could further disrupt global financial markets.

“This collapse in global activity leaves a lot of people with US dollar liabilities to finance, and not enough dollars coming in to do it,” said Kit Juckes, a strategist at Societe Generale, in a report.

“It doesn’t matter that they don’t owe these dollars to Americans…what matters is that they need dollars and need them now,” Juckes added.

That appears to be the main rationale behind moves from the Federal Reserve to roll out new dollar loans (known as swap lines) with five major central banks on Sunday and an expansion of the program with nine other central banks on Thursday.

The Fed announced further plans Friday to step up the frequency of dollar swaps with The Bank of Canada, the Bank of England, the Bank of Japan, the European Central Bank and the Swiss National Bank.

The arrangements will now be daily — as opposed to just weekly — starting Monday and will last until at least the end of April.

“Any stress in wholesale funding markets is getting noticed, and anything done to address it matters. Expanding the swap lines to more countries could continue to improve currency funding constraints,” said Lauren Goodwin, economist and multi-asset portfolio strategist at New York Life Investments, in a report.

The resurgent dollar may create another big problem for giant US multinational companies that are already staring to struggle from lower demand abroad as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A strong dollar makes US exports more expensive — and therefore less competitive — than foreign made goods.

Benefits to a strong dollar as well

Still, the demand for the dollar is also a good psychological sign.

It shows that investors around the globe are still in confident in America’s status is the world’s leading economy and the dollar as a reserve currency for the world.

“The dollar is rallying because it is a safe haven currency. And that has some benefits,” said Brent Schutte, chief investment strategist at Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Company.

With that in mind, Schutte said investors should not worry about what the dollar will do to corporate profits. A stronger dollar also makes imported goods cheaper for American consumers.

“The US is still the number one economic power on the planet. There is a reason that the dollar and Treasury bonds are considered the healthiest in the world. This is unavoidable and in the long run it is not harmful,” said Ric Edelman, founder of Edelman Financial Engines, a company that provides advice for 401(k) plans.

Still, some experts question if the dollar can rally much further from these levels.

It might be time for the dollar to give back some of its gains — especially as other countries begin to realize that they need to prop up their own currencies.

“The main risk for the dollar is G7 currency intervention. With the rise in the greenback driving many currencies to multi-year lows, central banks from Brazil to Norway have rushed to prevent further losses,” said Kathy Lien, managing director of FX strategy at BK Asset Management, in a report.

“There’s a very good chance that coordinated action on a global scale will be next. If they come into the market, it will be to sell dollars, not buy them,” Lien added.

U.S. economy deteriorating faster than anticipated as 80 million Americans are forced to stay at home

Economic decline will be sharper and more painful than during the 2008 financial crisis

Staff ReporterBusiness, Finance/Economy 0

The U.S. economy is deteriorating more quickly than was expected just days ago as extraordinary measures designed to curb the coronavirus keep 84 million Americans penned in their homes and cause the near-total shutdown of most businesses.

In a single 24-hour period, governors of three of the largest states — California, New York and Illinois — ordered residents to stay home except to buy food and medicine, while the governor of Pennsylvania ordered the closure of nonessential businesses. Across the globe, health officials are struggling to cope with the growing number of patients, with the World Health Organization noting that while it required three months to reach 100,000 cases, it took only 12 days to hit another 100,000.

The resulting economic meltdown, which is sending several million workers streaming into the unemployment line, is outpacing the federal government’s efforts to respond. As the Senate on Friday raced to complete work on a financial rescue package, the White House and key lawmakers were dramatically expanding its scope, pushing the legislation far beyond the original $1 trillion price tag.

With each day, an unprecedented stoppage gathers force as restaurants, movie theaters, sports arenas and offices close to shield themselves from the disease. Already, it is clear that the initial economic decline will be sharper and more painful than during the 2008 financial crisis.

Next week, the Labor Department will likely report that roughly 3 million Americans have filed first-time claims for unemployment assistance, more than four times the record high set in the depths of the 1982 recession, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch. That is just the start of a surge that could send the jobless rate spiking to 20 percent from today’s 3.5 percent, a JPMorgan Chase economist told clients on a conference call Friday.

Estimates of the pandemic’s overall cost are staggering. Bridgewater Associates, a hedge fund manager, says the economy will shrink over the next three months at an annual rate of 30 percent. Goldman Sachs pegs the drop at 24 percent. JPMorgan Chase says 14 percent.

“We are looking at something quite grave,” said economist Janet L. Yellen, the former Federal Reserve chair. “If businesses suffer such serious losses and are forced to fire workers and have their firms go into bankruptcy, it may not be easy to pull out of that.”

As layoffs skyrocket, the holes in America’s safety net are becoming apparent

Little more than seven months before the presidential election, President Trump already is looking past the crisis and promising a swift recovery. “We’re going to be a rocket ship as soon as this thing gets solved,” he said Thursday. “… We think it’s going to come back really fast.”

Most economists expect the economy to begin climbing out of its deep hole in the second half of this year. But those forecasts depend upon the pandemic being brought under control and the United States and other governments enacting policies that prevent lasting harm to factories and financial arteries. Even if all that happens, the economy will be smaller at the end of this year than it was at the beginning, according to Bridgewater, Goldman and JPMorgan.

The truth is no one knows what will happen months from now. No one on Wall Street or in Washington has any experience dealing with the kind of complex threat that has suddenly materialized to upend American life — a global health scare that is strangling the economy and disrupting financial markets.

Americans are very likely to get $1,200 checks. Here’s what you need to know.

Individual workers and their families — many only recently recovered from the economic cataclysm of 2008 and 2009 — are already feeling the effects. The unexpected economic shock has put millions of Americans living on the precipice of ruin. In a Fed survey last year, 39 percent of Americans said they would be unable to handle an unexpected $400 expense.

Lyndsy Hartmann knew something was wrong last weekend when she went to her job at a spa company in Charlottesville. Hartmann, 34, normally handles 150 calls a day from people interested in booking spa treatments and massages. But on Saturday and Sunday, she received a total of six.

IAPC Board of Directors for 2020-21 Announced

Staff ReporterBusiness, Community, Social Media 0

INDO AMERICAN PRESS CLUB, Inc. (IAPC) has announced the  Board of Directors for the year 2020-21. Dr. Joseph .M.  Chalil will serve and lead IAPC, the largest ethnic Indian American media forum, formed in 2013 to provide a common platform and to be the voice for media personnel of Indian origin, and to help shape the world to be world that is fair, just and equitable for the all today and future generations.

IAPC DIRECTOR BOARD (2)Dr. Mathew Joys is the Vice Chairman and Mathewkutty Easow is the Board Secretary. Other members of the Board of Directors include: Kamlesh Mehta, Ajay Ghosh, Parveen Chopra, Dr. P.V Baiju, Thomas Mathew(Anil), Ginsmon P Zacharia, Korason Varghese, Mini Nair and Thampanoor Mohan.

Prof. Joseph M. Chalil, MD, MBA, FACHE, Cofounder and Publisher of The Universal News Network, www.theunn.com, has been selected to be the Chairman, Board of Directors of Indo-American Press Club (IAPC), for a two year term, leading the organization to newer heights. Dr. Chalil, an author of several scientific and research papers in international publications, is the Chairman of Healthcare Advisory Board and an Adjunct Professor at H. Wayne Huizenga College of Business and Entrepreneurship, Nova Southeastern University in Florida and is a member of the Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Allopathic Medicine (NSU MD) Executive Leadership Council, in Florida.

Dr. Chalil holds several US Patents, and is an expert in US Healthcare policy and a strong advocate for patient centered care.A recipient of the prestigious AAPI National Presidential Awards in 2015 and 2013 AAPI New York President’s Award, Dr. Chalil was recognized and honored with the 2013 Outstanding 50 Asian Americans in Business Award. After completing his studies in India, Dr. Chalil immigrated to the United States, and had his higher studies in Medicine at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Davenport University, and JJM Medical College.

 Dr. Mathew Joys is a founding member of IAPC and a well- known journalist and columnist. His career began in India at the Finance department of the Indian Government and extended his abilities to be the Rotract/Rotary club Director and National General Secretary of Employees federation (NTC) in India. He is also a Creative author and authored many books including the ‘Oh My Beloved’ an interpretation of the Song of Songs in the Bible,  and ‘ American Aadukal’ (the Goats of America) are the few. He is the Executive Editor for the JAIHINDVARTHA Newspaper from NY and Associate Editor for Express Herald and editorial board member for the NERKAZHCHA Weekly from Houston.

Kamlesh Mehta is a Long Island based media entrepreneur, senior Rotarian, community leader, businessman and philanthropist. Hailing from a prominent Jain family in Rajasthan, he started his diamond trading business in Bombay in 1985  before migrating to New York in 1986 to set up an expansive business of rare  gemstones and diamonds. He delved into the media business in 2008, founding The South Asian Times, an award winning leading weekly newspaper for the community. Ventures of his Forsythe Media group include The Asian Era, a lifestyle magazine.

In January 2010, Mehta was appointed to the Nassau County administration to the prestigious position of Director of Business and Economic Development, where he served for over five years.

In September 2009 Mr Mehta became the Charter President of the Rotary Club of Hicksville South. He rose in the international organization to serve as Governor of RI District 7255 in the year 2015-16.

Parveen Chopra is a journalist serving the community for three decades. He is the editor of the New York based The South Asian Times weekly newspaper, and “One World Under God’ interfaith journal. With postgraduate degree in mass communication from Punjab University in Chandigarh, he has worked for India Today magazine and founded a spiritual magazine called Life Positive from New Delhi. He is a trained teacher of Transcendental Meditation and yoga.

Ajay Ghosh, the Chief Editor of Universal News Network, came to the United States to pursue his higher studies in Journalism in 1997 and graduated with a Master’s Degree in Journalism from the School of Journalism at Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI. Having a Master’s Degree in Social Work, he worked as a freelance writer on social issues for numerous publications in Delhi and had worked as the Chief Editor of The Voice Delhi.

In the United States, starting as a reporter for India Post, he worked as the New York Bureau Chief of Indian Reporter and World News and had worked as the New York Bureau Chief of India Tribune, a weekly newspaper, published from Chicago. Ajay had served as the Executive Editor of NRI Today and was the North American Bureau Chief of The Indian Express, North American Editions. Ajay serves as the Media Consultant of American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI). In December 2019, he was part of a nearly 200 member expedition to Antarctica, the 7th Continent on Earth.

In addition, Ajay taught Social Work Seminar and guided students at the Graduate School of Social Work, Fordham University in New York City from 2006 to 2016. He was an Adjunct Professor at Bridgeport University. At present, he works as a Psychiatric Social Worker at Yale New Haven Hospital and serves as a Social Worker at Hartford Health At Home. Ajay had served as the founder President of Indo-American Press Club in 2014. In 2015, Ajay was honored with Excellence in Reporting Award by American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin. Ajay received the Excellence Award in 2018 from NAMAM, a North American Community organization that fosters collaboration and education among members of the Indian American community.

 Mathewkutty Easow is a well known Media personality and an experienced Columnist in the Indian American community. He is currently serving as the Vice-chairman for the “JaiHindVartha” USA edition. Mathewkutty is the bureau chief of the Global Reporter New York. He has written on many recognized topics to the Indian community to bring out the truth in a world of information. Prior to immigrating to USA, he had served in the Govt. of India, Central Excise & Customs Department.

Dr. P.V. Baiju comes from the profession of professors and columnists. He has brought out the many avenues of Canadian Indians’ struggles to the world in a profound way. His media work in Canada was recognized as the Organon for Canadian Indians. His regular column “akkare ikkare” in JAIHINDVARTHA detailing the issues of Indo Canadian community is well received worldwide. He works as Assistant Professor in the School of Social Work  at the MacCowen University, Alberta Canada.

Thomas Mathew (Anil) is a well- known photo Journalist in the USA and one of the founding members of the IAPC organization, served in the National Committee and as its National  Treasurer.

Ginsmon P Zacharia is the Founding Chairman of IAPC. He is also the MD of the Global Reporter channel and contributed many relevant topics to the generation. He is the CEO and Publisher of Asian Era and  Aksharam magazines. He worked at the management team for “The South Asian Times” and he was the Bureau Chief  for DEEPIKA in EUROPE for 16 years,  which was the GRAND entry to his  journey in the media industry.

Ginsmon produced the BLOCKBUSTER Reality show on Jaihind TV while crisscrossing the nation and broadcast it in 250 episodes. This program allowed many singers to bring out their talents to the Mainstream. In 2018, he was awared with the prestigious Achievement Award in Journalism by The Kerala Center in New York.

Karson Varghese is a Columnist and Editor of Jai Hind News. He has shown his proven media skills while working as the general secretary at IAPC and P R O of the Y’s Men international . His LIVE media one on one interviews have touched many lives, streamed through “Valkkannadi” segments of the Kalavedi.

Mini Nair is a well-known media personality in India and North America. She is one of the founding members of IAPC and earlier served on the National Executive Committee. She has profound experience  in digital and visual media and  has worked with many recognized TV channels such as Doordarshan, India Vision, Surya TV, Asia Net, and Kairali TV. She is specialized in conducting Talk shows, Live programs, Scripting, and has anchored more than 2500 episodes during the last 25 Years. She has a Degree in Law and Diploma in Journalism from the University of Kerala.  Mini was the president of the IAPC Atlanta chapter in 2019 and earlier served as its Advisory Board Member.

Thampanoor Mohan comes from the print, digital and visual media background and has served for the last 45 years in India and North America.  In India He has been a leading coordinator in the publications of ‘Rural Information Bureau’ . He is a well known photographer, writer and philanthropist among Indian community. He was instrumental in telecasting Malayalam Programs for the first time from North America through Kairali TV.  His strong dedication to the community is demonstrated being one of the founding organizers for KCABC and Vancouver  Malayali Samajam. His contributions in establishing IAPC and its Chapters in Canada are enormous. He is the Regional Director of JaihindVartha Canadian edition, he has been the Media Coordinator  for the Namasthe Canada program sponsored by the Consulate General of India, Vancouver,BC.  He is the producer of “Canadian Connections”. He is now serving as the National Coordinator for Global Reporter channel.

Indo American Press Club (IAPC) is the fast growing syndicate of print, visual, online, and electronic media journalists and other media related professionals of Indian origin working in the United States, Canada, and Europe. IAPC is committed to enhance the working conditions of our journalists, exchanging ideas and offering educational and training opportunities to our members, aspiring young journalists and media professionals around the globe; and also by honoring media people for their excellence, and for bringing in positive changes through their dedicated service among the community. Today IAPC envisages its vision through collective efforts and advocacy activities through its 12 Chapters across the US and Canada, in the larger public sphere. For more information, please visit: https://indoamericanpressclub.com/

AAHOA Advocates for Indian American hoteliers facing devastation seek urgent Congressional help

Staff ReporterBusiness, Tourism 0

The Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA)–the largest hotel association in the world—in a call to arms to its nearly 20,000 members, who own almost one in every two hotels in the U.S. with more than $30 billion in property assets and hundreds of thousands of employees, has called on its members to prevail on the U.S. Congress to address their challenges in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic that has devastated their industry.

In a form letter that urged every member to sign on to and send off to their respective Member of Congress and Senators, AAHOA said that “the Coronavirus pandemic is inflicting significant financial strains upon hoteliers across the country” and that “now more than ever, Congress must protect those affected most by the coronavirus.”
It said that “AAHOA is working around the clock to ensure that our lawmakers in Washington, D.C. and state capitals hear America’s hotel owners’ concerns loud and clear.”
The suggested form letter said, “I am a small business owner and a constituent who lives in your district. I am also a member of AAHOA, which represents nearly 20,000 members nationwide, who own nearly 50 percent of all hotels in the United States, and employ nearly 600,000 workers accounting for over $10 billion in annual payroll.”
“As small business owners, our members consistently contribute to the economy through tourism, real estate development, job creation and community investment,” it said, and continued, “The hotel industry is in severe distress and we need your help now!”
The letter said, “As the coronavirus has spread, it has rightfully led to event cancellations and travel restrictions out of concerns for health and safety. As a result, we have seen a dramatic drop-off in guests in every hotel across the country.”
The letter noted, “While we prepare for downturns and unexpected circumstances each year, no business can ever be prepared for a national economic catastrophe like this. The hardest-hit people during this time are our employees and America’s small businesses.”
“Because we have no guests to serve, rooms to clean, shuttles to drive, or meals to prepare, our staff do not have work and I do not have the capital necessary to pay them. Employees’ hours are limited and jobs have unfortunately already been lost. We literally cannot pay our employees and we cannot meet our mortgages. I am terrified that within weeks, I will be forced to close my hotel.”
Thus, it urged their “support of the ideas below in the next stimulus package to help the hotel industry survive this crisis.”
AAHOA’s asks of Congress to allocate $100 billion for the creation of a Hospitality Workforce Relief Fund – create grants to businesses so hoteliers can retain and rehire employees.
It said, “The outlook for the spring and summer travel season is bleak as cancellations pile up. The fund would help employers make payroll, slow rising unemployment, and help keep employees on employer-provided health insurance, lessening the impact on the Unemployment Insurance program.”
It also asks Congress to allocate $50 billion for flexibility in lending and in this regard, “Facilitate forbearance of principal and interest payments on debt during this health crisis, and make federal funds available to owners to cover debt.”
It said, “Small business hotel owners that are facing severe economic circumstances who are able to have debt canceled should not be required to pay taxes on this Cancellation of Debt (COD) income.”
The letter also called for “Access to small business loans” and this included providing hotel owners with zero interest, unsecured loans and loan guarantees from SBA, capping loan sizes at $10 million and allowing forbearance for the first 12 months.”
The letter also requested Congress to ensure hotel owners have immediate access to capital to make their payroll and mortgage payments. “Congress should establish a voluntary liquidity facility program to provide zero-interest loans or loan guarantees to hotel owners. We need the lending process to work much faster in order to provide meaningful help to our businesses,” it said.
Another ask was for Congress to support regulatory flexibility for lenders, which meant the lawmakers support to Eliminate Troubled Debt Restructuring (TDR) status for businesses affected by the COVID-19 crisis that pursue workout arrangement with affected business borrowers or to create a separate designation for COVID-19 related loans.”
It pointed out that “a TDR designation remains throughout the life of the loan. A declaration at this point will discourage lenders from finding adequately flexible workout arrangements with lodging industry borrowers.”
The form letter also called for the elimination of administrative burdens for SBA disaster loans, and complained that The Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) program is not working.
It said, “The EIDL process requires state governors to request assistance before business owners can apply. Hoteliers need capital now. Although the funds exist, it will take at minimum 4-6 weeks before any hotel owner sees any relief to help make payroll — by then, layoffs will occur and doors may close.”
Meanwhile, in lauding the signing of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act into law by President Donald Trump on Mar. 19, AAHOA said, “The bill will provide many American workers affected by COVID-19 with paid sick leave, boost food assistance, unemployment insurance, and federal Medicaid funding, and provide free testing for coronavirus for those who need it.”
It predicted that “the passage of this bill will provide much-needed relief to working Americans affected by this pandemic. It also includes important tax credits for small businesses to help offset some of the costs. This bill is a good step towards where we need to be as a country and as an industry.”
A proposed Travel Workforce Stabilization Fund emerged from a meeting March 18 between President Trump and hospitality and travel industry CEOs. The proposal calls for $250 billion to be split between a travel and employment grants account and a travel business stabilization account. These would provide hoteliers and other travel-dependent businesses with emergency liquidity in the face of a sharp decline in occupancy rates and overall travel.
AAHOA said that “the Travel Workforce Stabilization Fund is exactly the type of aggressive and direct action needed to stave off the complete economic collapse of not just the hospitality industry, but the broader travel industry and the elimination of millions of jobs. It could help tens of thousands of small businesses keep the lights on and keep their employees on staff.”
The CARES Act Is Signed into Law
Today, President Donald Trump signed the bipartisan CARES Act into law. The CARES Act provides small businesses with immediate liquidity, which will address the need for capital used to make payroll and cover operating expenses. AAHOA applauds Congressional leadership for expediting this critical relief package. The passage of the CARES Act provides AAHOA an opportunity for further conversations with the Trump administration and Congressional leadership regarding the necessary assistance small businesses need to weather this national pandemic.
Read the Statement

What this means for you: We are expecting additional relief packages in the coming weeks as our government responds to the economic crisis sparked by COVID-19, and AAHOA is dedicated to advocating on behalf of America’s hoteliers throughout the duration of this legislative process.

New Resource: The Small Business Owner’s Guide to the CARES Act
The programs and initiatives in the CARES Act that was just passed by Congress are intended to assist business owners with whatever needs they have right now. When implemented, there will be many new resources available for small businesses, as well as certain non- profits and other employers. This guide provides information about the major programs and initiatives that will soon be available from the Small Business Administration (SBA) to address these needs, as well as some additional tax provisions that are outside the scope of SBA.
Download the Resource
More than 3,000 Hoteliers Educated with AAHOA’s COVID-19 Webcast Series
AAHOA created a series of COVID-19 webcasts that will keep you informed and help determine next steps for your business. With more than 3,000 hoteliers educated to date, AAHOA is proud to make these webcasts available to the entire industry, so please share them with your employees, business partners, and others in your network. Here’s what some attendees have said:
  • “This was very helpful. In these difficult times, I cannot express how grateful our company is to the team at AAHOA and the experts they bring in.”
  • “This was one of the best presentations I have seen. The information was great and presented very well. I am very glad I took the time to be here.”
  • “Way to be on top of this crisis. AAHOA provides top speakers. Thanks for all you do.”
Webcasts by Category
Leadership
Finance
Franchise
Revenue Management
Insurance & Taxes
Marketing
Operations
Legal
Advocacy
HR
What this means for you: AAHOA is averaging more than one webcast a day to help hotel owners amid this crisis. And our work isn’t done! Stay tuned for the latest webcasts to be released in the coming days. What’s different about AAHOA’s resources is that they’re created specifically for hotel owners.

Impact of Coronavirus on Economy

Staff ReporterBusiness, Finance/Economy, Health 0

The long-anticipated – and feared – moment when Covid-19 would infect the markets arrived with a bang. Despite efforts by central banks and a less-than soothing address from President Trump, markets the world over went into free-fall as the coronavirus extended into more than 80 countries, sending infections and deaths surging.

With comparisons to Black Monday of 1987 and the great crash of 2008 circled on policymakers’ jotters, the New York Fed said it would inject a record $1 trillion into American money markets by purchasing Treasury securities across a range of maturities.

That is quantitative easing on a scale and with a speed never seen before, wrote David Goldman. The Fed is trying to stop a financial avalanche that threatens to bury risk assets and throw the world into a deep recession.

It was enough for US stock prices, which had fallen by almost 10% at their lowest, to recover a good deal of their lost ground by the end of the week.

For a gauge of the impact on the broader economy, look no further than US Treasuries.

Prices of the benchmark debt climbed to their highest levels since 2009, as investors continued to flee risk assets, writes by David Goldman. The market, though, highlights how the dollar can no longer be considered the haven asset it has been for decades.

Even as the world tries to grapple with COVID-19 — and is miserably falling short — it may not be the last such pandemic to engulf the planet, going by the recent outbreaks of viral infections.

The United Nations has warned that the global economy faces “a US$2 trillion hit” in a “doomsday scenario” after the WHO declared a worldwide pandemic. As the Covid-19 disease spreads across the planet and the battle switches from China to Europe and the US, concerns are growing that global growth will be wiped out as consumer demand evaporates, Gordon Watts reports.

Rate cuts: Such restrictions are bound to cause a drop in economic activity. The world economy was already strained by the Chinese lockdown. To cope, countries are proposing various forms of stimulus. In the US, the Trump administration could introduce a payroll tax cut to put more cash in people’s hands. The US Federal Reserve, which last week cut benchmark interest rate to boost lending activities, said it will inject $1.5 trillion into bond markets. The UK has slashed the interest rates and revived a programme to support lending to small and medium-scale businesses. Tax breaks and cheaper loans were also introduced in Germany. Australia said it will spend $11.42 billion to avoid a recession.

Fund for healthcare: Then there are the funds to support the overburdened healthcare system. Italy has launched a $28 billion package, while the European Commission has earmarked a similar figure. Iran, which is reeling under the US sanctions, took a rare step of seeking financial assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The IMF has not lent Iran money since 1962 — that is, never since the Islamic Revolution.

Oil Prices Collapse

Staff ReporterBusiness, Finance/Economy 0

Oil prices slipped as low as $30 per barrel this week as the new coronavirus, COVID-19, led to shuttered factories and Saudi Arabia and Russia ramping up oil production.

The future of oil prices will shape how the world recovers from the coronavirus outbreak and the fate of regional and national economies, not to mention how the world responds, or doesn’t, to the urgent threat of climate change.

As the world, and the markets, struggle to assess the impact of the collapse in oil prices, here are answers to six key questions:

There are two reasons for the oil-price collapse. First, coronavirus has reduced economic activity, from factories shuttering in China to international air travel declining dramatically. That decline in economic activity, in turn, leads to reduced demand for oil, the energy source that largely powers the global economy.

Usually, a collapse in oil companies leads oil producers, particularly OPEC, the cartel that accounts for 40% of the world’s oil production, to slow down their production to try to raise prices. But last week a meeting of OPEC members plus Russia fell apart after Russia refused to agree to slow production. Instead, Saudi Arabia and Russia, the world’s second and third-largest producers of crude oil, respectively, announced that they would increase their production, further reducing prices. Goldman Sachs suggested that prices could hit $20 per barrel if the price war continues.

Aren’t Russia and Saudi Arabia hurting themselves by deflating oil prices?

In the short term, keeping oil prices low definitely harms Russia and Saudi Arabia. Both countries produce oil relatively cheaply, but depend on making a big profit selling it to fuel their economies. The International Monetary Fund estimated that in 2020 oil would need to be priced at $78.30 per barrel for Saudi Arabia to balance its budget. Russia’s breakeven budget point is said to be in the $40-range.

But there are bigger long-term strategic interests at play. For one, leaders of both countries clearly view their oppositional objectives as worthy priorities. Saudi Arabia needs much higher oil prices in the medium to long-term, and is willing to take the hit to force Russia to the table.

Despite the dust up, both parties share an even bigger foe: U.S. shale oil producers. These producers, centered largely in West Texas and New Mexico, have boomed since the advent of fracking, which has allowed them to reach vast new oil reserves. Consequently, the U.S. has catapulted to become the world’s largest producer of crude oil. By lowering oil prices, Russia and Saudi Arabia will disrupt the American industry and likely force some companies into bankruptcy.

What does this mean for the U.S. domestic oil and gas industry?

This price war poses a dire threat to the U.S. oil and gas industry, particularly the companies drilling in the West Texas region known as the Permian Basin. The industry was already strained by low profits and difficultly accessing capital. If the price war continues, many small producers will likely go bankrupt while bigger players scale back operations. Shares in many big oil and gas companies like Occidental Petroleum and Continental Resources, for instance, fell by more than 50% this week. This will inevitably lead to lost jobs across the region. “Anybody that’s been on the edge is probably going to go into distress pretty quickly,” says Deborah Byers, says U.S. oil & gas leader at consulting firm EY.

Industry representatives, including the American Petroleum Institute (API), the industry’s powerful trade group, insist they don’t want government assistance to make it through the tough times. But a report in the Washington Post suggested that the Trump Administration is considering providing aid to the industry.

Will this stimulate the economy?

Typically, low oil prices stimulate the economy because the fossil fuel remains essential: oil fuels factories and transportation and even serves as the feedstock for a vast array of products. President Trump tweeted as much on Monday.

Feeling Recognized at Work May Reduce the Risk of Burnout

Staff ReporterBusiness, Health 0

Differing ‘Forms and Sources’ of Recognition Relate to Burnout Symptoms

Newswise — PHILADELPHIA, PA — Professional recognition at work from both supervisors and coworkers may be associated with a lower risk of burnout in employees, suggests a study in the March Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

Dr. Daniela Renger of Kiel University, Germany, and colleagues performed a pair of studies to investigate the role of recognition at work as a protective factor against burnout. Characterized by emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and decreased personal accomplishment, burnout is a common problem with a major impact on employees as well as organizations.

In the first study, 328 employees received a questionnaire addressing professional recognition and burnout. Employees reporting higher levels of recognition from both supervisors and coworkers had lower symptoms of burnout, including exhaustion and depersonalization.

The second study included 220 employees evaluated on a more detailed questionnaire, addressing three specific forms of recognition: esteem, respect, and care. The results confirmed the importance of recognition by supervisors and coworkers.

In addition, certain forms of support were related to specific burnout symptoms. Symptoms of exhaustion were lessened for employees reporting higher levels of “equality-based respect” by both coworkers and supervisors, while higher levels of respect by coworkers and care from supervisors were associated with lower symptoms of depersonalization. Esteem from coworkers and supervisors was exclusively related to feelings of personal accomplishment, after adjustment for other factors.

Previous studies have reported that support, especially from supervisors, protects against burnout. The new study is the first to focus on different forms and sources of social recognition on employees’ symptoms of burnout.

“[O]ur findings suggest that organizational policies should systematically address the different forms that recognition at work can take (esteem, respect, and care) and the sources from which it can originate (coworkers and supervisors) as a key factor in protecting against burnout,” Dr. Renger and colleagues conclude. They discuss implications for companies interested in designing general and targeted interventions against burnout.

Mukesh Ambani Named World’s Ninth Richest

Staff ReporterBusiness, Finance/Economy 0

Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) chief Mukesh Ambani is the ninth richest person in the world along with Steve Ballmer of Microsoft and Larry Page of Google, each having a net worth of $67 billion, according to the Hurun Global Rich List 2020.

Ambani, 62, maintained a place in the top 10 for the second time after a $13 billion or 24 per cent surge in his wealth to $67bn.

“The only Asian in the Top 10, Ambani’s wealth increased mainly on the back of a good performance in his telecom business,” the Hurun Rich List said.

Ambani is restructuring Reliance Industries to facilitate the planned strategic investments in group businesses – Reliance Jio, Reliance Retail, refining and petrochemicals. The conglomerate aims to be a zero net debt company in 18 months and is in discussion to sell 20 per cent oil-to-chemicals business to Saudi Aramco, at an enterprise value of $75 billion. RIL became the first Indian company to hit the milestone of achieving Rs 10 lakh crore market capitalisation.

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos retains the top spot in the Hurun Global Rich List 2020 with $140 billion, down $7 billion, mainly due to the world’s largest divorce settlement with former wife MacKenzie Bezos, who makes the list in her own right with $44 billion.

Amazon is one of four companies, whose valuations have hit $1 trillion, the others being Microsoft, Apple and Google. Bezos bought a $165 million home, setting a new record for Los Angeles. In February, he pledged $10 billion to help fight climate change.

Bill Gates, dropped down to third place on the Hurun Global Rich List 2020, with $106 billion, despite growing his wealth $10 billion or 10 per cent. Last month, Gates announced a $100 million commitment to fight coronavirus which has triggered a global health emergency.

Over the past two decades, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has given out more than $50 billion to global health and education. (IANS)

Google Assistant’s Text-to-Speech Feature Goes Live on Android

Staff ReporterBusiness, Science & Technology 0

Back at CES, Google teased a new feature that allows the Google Assistant to read web pages aloud in more than 42 languages with just a simple voice command. Now Google’s Read It feature is finally ready to roll out.

In addition to being a big boon for accessibility or people trying to learn a new language, the Google Assistant’s Read It feature also boasts new, more natural-sounding speech technology with more expressive intonation, rhythm, and inflection. The goal for the GA team was to not only create a helpful tool, but to also make something that would make listening to text from news stories or recipes more enjoyable.

To activate Read It while browsing an article on an Android phone simply say “Hey Google, read it,” or “OK Google, read this page.” From there, the Google Assistant will begin reading the article aloud while also highlighting words as they are spoken in real-time and auto-scrolling down the page as needed. Users will also be able to choose between multiple voices and customize the Google Assistant’s speaking pace to best suit their needs.

For those that want to hear a story in another language, there will also be a translation menu in the Google Assistant so you can quickly switch to the language you want, with options including Spanish, Korean, Hindi and more.

On the back end, the Google Assistant doesn’t require websites to have any additional code or functionality for Read It to work. However, for developers who want to make things a bit easier, it’s possible to enable apps to read text aloud to users using Actions on Google. And for devs who would prefer to block the Google Assistant’s text-to-speech feature, they can add the nopagereadaloug tag to their webpage.

Unfortunately, there’s no word on when Read It will be available on iOS, Chrome OS, or even Chrome on the desktop, but for Android users, the Google Assistant’s new text-to-speech powers are slated to roll out live worldwide today.

Arvind Krishna is Elected as CEO of IBM

Staff ReporterBusiness 0
International Business Machines Corp., better known as IBM, has announced that Indian American Arvind Krishna has been elected by the company’s board of directors as the successor to Virginia Rometty, who is stepping down from her post as chief executive officer. The IBM Board of Directors elected Krishna as company CEO and member of the Board of Directors effective April 6.
Krishna will be succeeding Virginia Rometty, who described Krishna as the “right CEO for the next era at IBM” and “well-positioned” to lead the company into the cloud and cognitive era. Krishna, who is currently IBM senior vice president for Cloud and Cognitive Software and was a principal architect of the company’s acquisition of Red Hat.
 “I am thrilled and humbled to be elected as the next chief executive officer of IBM and appreciate the confidence that Ginni and the board have placed in me,” said Krishna in a statement. “IBM has such talented people and technology that we can bring together to help our clients solve their toughest problems,” he said.
“I am looking forward to working with IBMers, Red Hatters and clients around the world at this unique time of fast-paced change in the IT industry. We have great opportunities ahead to help our clients advance the transformation of their business while also remaining the global leader in the trusted stewardship of technology,” Krishna said.
Rometty said Krishna is a “brilliant technologist who has played a significant role in developing our key technologies such as artificial intelligence, cloud, quantum computing and blockchain. He is also a superb operational leader, able to win today while building the business of tomorrow.”
She said Krishna has grown IBM’s Cloud and Cognitive Software business and led the largest acquisition in the company’s history. Krishna was a “principal architect” of the company’s acquisition of Red Hat.
“Through his multiple experiences running businesses in IBM, Arvind has built an outstanding track record of bold transformations and proven business results, and is an authentic, values-driven leader.”
Krishna, 57, is IBM senior vice president for Cloud and Cognitive Software, where he leads the IBM business unit that provides the cloud and data platform on which IBM’s clients build the future.
His current responsibilities also include the IBM Cloud, IBM Security and Cognitive Applications business, and IBM Research. Previously, he was general manager of IBM’s Systems and Technology Group’s development and manufacturing organization, his bio notes.
Prior to that he built and led many of IBM’s data-related businesses. He has an undergraduate degree from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, and a doctorate in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He joined IBM in 1990.
Krishna’s appointment as head of the global IT giant adds to the growing list of Indian-origin executives at the helm of some of the biggest multinational companies. Krishna joins the club that includes Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, MasterCard CEO Ajay Banga, PepsiCo’s former CEO Indra Nooyi and Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen.

Satya Nadella To Visit India As Trump Arrives For Summit With Modi

Staff ReporterBusiness 0
With Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella all set to visit India next week — around the same time US President Donald Trump is making his first official visit to this part of the world — the software giant is looking forward to further consolidate its position in the country.
At a time when the Indian government is focused on digital transformation across sectors and modernise its IT infrastructure, Microsoft may take Nadella’s visit as an opportunity to showcase how it can help government achieve its goals across Cloud, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML), smart cities, industrial automation and robotics etc.
“Government engagement is a major focus for Microsoft top management in India for the past two decades, and all the more now with expanding digital plans and also rising nationalist resistance to global digital and tech companies,” leading tech policy and media consultant Prasanto K. Roy told IANS. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has on several occasions stressed on the importance of leveraging emerging technologies like AI and ML to solve India’s critical problems.
The National Crime Records Bureau of the Ministry of Home Affairs, for example, is inviting bids from tech companies to build hardware and software infrastructure that can help the country fight crime with automated facial recognition system.
“It goes without saying that India is an important, and I must add, crucial market for global technology companies, including Microsoft,” Prabhu Ram, Head-Industry Intelligence Group (IIG), CyberMedia Research (CMR).
“Microsoft’s biggest R&D centre outside of the US is based in India, and it has made recent moves to further tap into the engineering talent pool available in India through its new R&D hub. This, in turn, will enable Microsoft to maintain its technology leadership,” Ram said.
Microsoft launched its India operations in 1990 and for the past 30 years the company has played a major role in digital transformation of the country. On Monday, it announced the launch of its third India Development Centre (IDC) in Noida, after opening two such premier engineering and innovation hubs in Bengaluru and Hyderabad.
“I foresee a further impetus to Microsoft’s digital transformation efforts in India with its cloud and emerging tech stack offerings, including AI,” Ram said. While Microsoft is yet to reveal Nadella’s forthcoming itinerary, the Hyderabad-born Microsoft CEO is expected to have key engagements in Delhi, Bengaluru and Mumbai.
The company is organizing ‘Future Decoded Summits’ in Mumbai and Bengaluru, respectively. At the summits, Nadella will share his vision for the future of technology and how Indian organizations can lead in an era of digital transformation.
The events would also see addresses by industry stalwarts and Microsoft executives, including Jean Philippe Courtois, EVP and President, Global Sales-Marketing and Operations. Whether we will see Trump and Nadella sharing the space together is still under the wraps. (IANS)

Three simple steps to trade the NFP news

Staff ReporterBusiness, Finance/Economy 0
Trading the Non-farm payroll data might be the most difficult task in the Forex market. But those who have extensive skills are making a decent profit by taking advantage of the NFP data. So, what is NFP? This is nothing but the data which reflects the number of jobs that has been added to the U.S economy. When more jobs are added, you can expect a strong rally in the U.S dollar index. On the contrary, when the NFP data fails to meet the expectations, the mighty U.S dollar trades significantly lower against the major currency pairs.
So, can we trade the NFP like the elite traders in Hong Kong? Well, the answer greatly depends on your skills and trading environment. Today we are going to give you three simple tips that can help you trade the NFP data with a high level of accuracy. Follow these rules and you can trade the most dangerous news in the Forex market.

Find the critical support and resistance level

Trading the news doesn’t mean you will not be dealing with the critical support and resistance level. Most of the time the market surge higher to test the critical support and resistance on the event of NFP news. Those who are skilled wait cautiously or set pending orders at those critical levels to make a profit from this market. But setting up the pending orders at those levels is a very critical task. Unless you learn to trade this market with proper discipline, it will be really hard to make big profits. At the initial stage, try to use the manual execution process as it greatly improves your success rate. However, manual execution of the trade requires strong confidence as the market remains extremely volatile. A few seconds delay in the trade execution process can result in a big loss.

Trade with the best broker

You must trade with the best broker to trade such high impact news. The navie traders are always using the low-end trading platform and experiencing heavy slippage on the event of such major news. On the contrary, the elite traders use the SaxoTraderPro trading platform to ensure quality executions of the trade. You won’t have to face any heavy slippage or experience widespread. Some of you might not be aware the spread becomes wide on such events. Unless you learn to deal with the dynamic spread efficiently, you are not going to make any profit. Most of the time the trades will result in small profit big loss. To avoid such a situation you can choose to trade the market with brokers like Saxo Capital Markets since they always ensure a premium environment for the retail clients.

Reduce the risk at trading

When you trade the major news like NFP, you must reduce the risk of trading. Taking too much risk to trade the NFP data and pushing yourself to the aggressive method is a very big mistake. Though you will be trading a volatile market, you need to remain calm. The trade execution process greatly depends on the trader’s mentality and risk exposure. Since the movement will be high, you should limit the risk to 1% to protect your trading capital. Forget the fact, trading is more like dealing with a falling knife. Do you think the skilled people are afraid of catching a falling knife? They have always taken preventive measures since they can deal with the worst-case scenario. Just like this, you should trade the major news with preventive measures.

Conclusion

Trading NFP will become easier if you follow the rules mentioned in this article. Never break the rules of money management if you want to become a skilled news trader. Stop focusing on short term gains and trade the news with managed risk. And never lose confidence when you start trading the NFP news.

AAPI Spring Governing Body Meet Held On Long Island, NY – Dr. Sajani Shah, a second generation physician of Indian Origin elected as Chair of BOT, AAPI for 2020-21

Ajay GhoshBusiness, Community 0
(Long Island, NY: February 10, 2020) “I am excited to announce that Dr. Sajani Shah, a second generation physician of Indian Origin, and the first ever from the Young Physicians Section, has been elected as the Chair of BOT, AAPI for the year 2020-21,” Dr. Suresh Reddy, President of AAPI announced here. “I am so proud that this historic milestone by AAPI has occurred during my Presidency,” the young and dynamic President of AAPI declared here.
Dr. Sajani Shah was elected Chair of Board of Trustees, AAPI during the AAPI Spring Governing Body Meeting held on Saturday, February 8th, 2020. Organized by the AAPI-QLI Chapter, the GB Meeting was conducted smoothly with informative reports & healthy discussions.
AAPI Spring Governing Body Meet Held On Long Island, NY - Dr. Sajani Shah, a second generation physician of Indian Origin elected as Chair of BOT, AAPI for 2020-21Attended by over 150 AAPI Members and leaders of AAPI from across the country, was led by the Executive Team led by AAPI President, Dr. Suresh Reddy and was coordinated by Dr. Ravi Kolli, in his capacity as the Secretary of AAPI.  Dr. Aravind Goyal, a veteran AAPI leader served as the Speaker for the GB Meeting, ensuring a smooth flow of agenda.
During his inaugural address, Dr. Reddy gave an overview of accomplishments under his leadership of AAPI in the past 200 days. “As I look back to the past 200 days since we assumed office, leading American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI), representing over 100,000 enthusiastic and cohesive group of Physicians and Fellows of Indian Origin, I am extremely happy to state that we have accomplished several and are on way to fulfill our promises and commitment to take AAPI to the next level,”
AAPI Spring Governing Body Meet Held On Long Island, NY - Dr. Sajani Shah, a second generation physician of Indian Origin elected as Chair of BOT, AAPI for 2020-21
“In my inaugural address, I had promised to align all the energies to make AAPI an enormous force, committing to take the more than three decades old organization to the new heights and bring all the AAPI Chapters, Regions, Members of the Executive Committee and Board of Trustees to work cohesively and unitedly for the success of AAPI and the realization of its noble mission, bringing in increased dignity, decency, professionalism and eliteness into the organization, and thus elevate the already existing stand,” Dr. Reddy reminded AAPI members.
Dr. Reddy highlighted the historic Global Health Care Summit held in Hyderabad, Continuing Medical Education, active involvement/participation of Young Physicians, Three highly successful voyages to Antarctica, Obesity Awareness campaign in India, Argentina and in the US, Share a Blanket program, Leadership Summit in Washington, DC, several new initiatives in India in collaboration with the government of India, MCI, local NGOs, Tata Trust and Apollo Hospital, and the continued collaboration and efforts to coordinate and unify the many AAPI Chapters as some of the highlights of the AAPI’s 200 Days Under Dr. Reddy and Team.
AAPI Spring Governing Body Meet Held On Long Island, NY - Dr. Sajani Shah, a second generation physician of Indian Origin elected as Chair of BOT, AAPI for 2020-21In her remarks, Dr. Seema Arora, current Chair of AAPI’s BOT said, “Congratulations to President Dr. Suresh Reddy for another successful event of the year and completion of very productive 200 days. It has been a great journey working together with the active contribution from Board of Trustees towards achieving the mission and goals of the organization, ensuring financial stability as well as maintaining peace and harmony which is the foundation for prosperity of any institution. I look forward to an even better rest of the term setting strong foundation for years to come!”
AAPI Spring Governing Body Meet Held On Long Island, NY - Dr. Sajani Shah, a second generation physician of Indian Origin elected as Chair of BOT, AAPI for 2020-21“Early Bird Registration for the historic 38th Annual Convention and Scientific Assembly by the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) to be held from June 24th to 28th, 2020 at the famous Donald E Stephens Convention Center in Chicago has begun, offering discounted registration rates for the AAPI delegates,” Dr. Sudhakar Jonnalagadda, President-Elect of AAPI, announced.
“For the AAPI members who had attended the AAPI Spring GBM, a discount of $100 towards the Registration fee,” Dr. Ravi Kolli, Secretary of AAPI announced. “Also they will have $100 waived towards registration for the Cruise On Michigan Lake planned for the inaugural day of the AAPI Convention.”
Dr. Anupama Gotimukula, Vice President of AAPI thanked AAPI-QLI leaders Dr. Raj Bhayani, Dr. Ajay Lodha, Dr. Himanshu Pandya, Dr. Jagdish Gupta, Dr. Krishan Kumar, Dr. Sunil Mehra, Dr. Shashi Shah, and the rest of the very efficient and dedicated QLI team for organizing this awesome event.
AAPI Spring Governing Body Meet Held On Long Island, NY - Dr. Sajani Shah, a second generation physician of Indian Origin elected as Chair of BOT, AAPI for 2020-21AAPI Spring Governing Body Meet Held On Long Island, NY - Dr. Sajani Shah, a second generation physician of Indian Origin elected as Chair of BOT, AAPI for 2020-21Dr. Rajendra Bhayani, President of AAPI-QLI, said, “Thank you all for the love and friendship which you have shown to all of us at AAPI-QLI by giving us the opportunity to be the host and welcome you all on Long Island, New York.”
A Health Book compiled by Dr. Chander Kapasi, Chair of the AAPI Charitable Foundation was
released. The fabulous Evening Gala and Valentine’s Day Party, organized by AAPI-QLI was attended by over 400 AAPI members and their families. The gala was enjoyable and the food was extraordinary with exceptional hospitality of the local Chapter.
Towards making AAPI financially strong, Dr. Reddy urged members to contribute towards AAPI Endowment Fund. Dr. Ravi Kolli presented a check for $10,000 while the President of the St. Louis Chapter of AAPI, Dr. Raghuveer Kura along with Dr. Amit Chakrabarty, BOT Vice Chair donated a check for $10,000. AAPI-QLI expressed their intent to contribute towards the AAPI Endowment Fund in the future.

Dr. Sajani Shah, a second generation physician of Indian Origin elected as Chair of BOT, AAPI for 2020-21 - AAPI Spring Governing Body Meet Held On Long Island, NYDr. Sajani Shah, the new chair of BOT, AAPI, is a surgeon from Boston, MA who specializes in minimally invasive Bariatric Surgery. She earned her executive MBA from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Currently, she is serving as the Chief of Minimally Invasive Bariatric/Surgery and is the Medical Director of Weight and Wellness, Obesity Treatment Program in New England. Dr. Shah is an Assistant Professor of Surgery at Tufts University School of Medicine. She was also a President of IMANE, a subchapter of AAPI. She has been serving as a member of BOT, AAPI since 2018. For more information about AAPI and the upcoming convention, please visit www.appiusa.org

Indian CEOs Lead Big US Companies

Staff ReporterBusiness, Finance/Economy 0

IBM tapped Arvind Krishna as its next CEO last week. And this week WeWork confirmed it hired Sandeep Mathrani as its new chief executive.  They join a growing number of global CEOs of Indian origin, according to social media, news reports and online searching (incidentally, Google is run by an Indian).

Here’s a list of Indian American CEOs:

Shantanu Narayen, Adobe

Sundar Pichai, Alphabet, the parent company of Google

Satya Narayana Nadella, Microsoft

Rajeev Suri, Nokia

Punit Renjen, Deloitte

Vasant “Vas” Narasimhan, Novartis

Ajaypal “Ajay” Singh Banga, Mastercard

Ivan Manuel Menezes, Diageo

Niraj S. Shah, Wayfair

Sanjay Mehrotra, Micron

George Kurian, NetApp

Nikesh Arora, Palo Alto Networks

Dinesh C. Paliwal, Harman International Industries

A disclaimer that this is hardly complete or exhaustive. Some are the children of Indian immigrants.

To be sure, there is a risk of reading into one group’s success as a case of Indian exceptionalism, which I truly do not believe. Rather, a series of external factors have contributed to the rise of the Indian CEO, which says more about the state of corporate America, a globalized workplace, technological disruption and the leaders who might prevail.

”It’s not a not a surprise that we’re seeing Indians rise in corporate ranks,” says Richard Herman, coauthor of a book on migrants to the U.S., Immigrant, Inc. ”Of all the immigrant groups coming in today, Indians are head-and-shoulders above others, and this is partly because of their English language skills and also the advanced education that many of them are bringing to the U.S.”

Nooyi, says Herman, is part of a growing trend where U.S. companies are being created, or led, by foreign-born individuals who bring in something special. Herman cites new research from Brigham Young University showing American workers innovate and solve problems faster when working with a ”socially distinct newcomer,” meaning, a person from another culture.

Despite these personal success stories the number of immigrants who are leading corporate America, Indian or otherwise, is still a tiny fraction. But, says Herman, ”look at where the data was ten years ago and maybe it was zero or one [Indian then].”

Her0 Zero airplane concept promises greener travel

Staff ReporterBusiness, Travel 0

Streamlined and elegant, with two long wings situated at the rear, this looks like a gas-guzzling super jet built for criss-crossing the planet with scant regard for environmental impact.

In fact, it’s the design for electric passenger airplane that strives for efficiency, sustainability and glamor. The concept aircraft is the work of New-York based designer Joe Doucet, who was inspired by his frequent business travel short-haul flights to produce something capable of making the journey without producing typical aviation engine emissions.

Doucet’s design, the Her0 Zero Emissions Airplane uses electric-powered propellers located at its rear to provide the thrust, while sweeping wings that end in large, upturned winglets, provide the lift.

Her0 is one of several electric jet concepts that have premiered in recent years, as the aviation industry grapples with how to continue to grow while also trying to reduce its environmental impact.

This Her0 blueprint, Doucet tells CNN Travel, has both practical and aesthetic purpose. Propellers, he says, are reliable and efficient. The trade off is a slightly longer flight time — about 20% — but the designer reckons this wouldn’t be an issue on short or medium haul flights.

As for the swept-back wing design, this is to ensures the airplane’s well balanced — most of the weight will be in the back of the aircraft, as that’s where the battery will be situated.

Aesthetically speaking, Doucet says he wanted the plane to look “somewhat futuristic” but also be an attractive travel option for fliers.

“If you can make this something that is desirable, something that makes people question why it’s not there, you have a better chance of forcing the hand of industry to respond to consumer demand,” he says.

In December 2019, the first fully commercial electric plane completed a test flight in Canada. As well as new designs — such as Airbus’ dramatic “bird of prey” concept airplane — some aviation companies are also looking into ways of converting existing aircraft into electric, or hybrid-electric vehicles, to minimize environmental impact of short-haul flights.

UK-based Cranfield Aerospace Solution has set itself a mission to convert a nine-seat Britten-Norman airplane into the UK’s first all-electric powered aircraft.

Doucet describes himself as a “designer, entrepreneur, inventor and creative director” — but he’s not an aeronautical engineer, and this his first foray into the world of aviation.

The designer says he drew upon his years of frequent flying in an attempt to find a solution to an issue that he’d been considering for some time. “I really follow problems where they take me, and try to address the solutions elegantly,” he says.

Her0, Doucet acknowledges, may never see the light of day. But the designer’s sole goal is to open up a conversation, if interest around his design encourages progress towards electric planes, he’ll count it as a success. As it is, he’s already been approached from aviation engineers, suggesting improvements and discussing potential collaboration.

Arvind Krishna is IBM’s chief executive officer

Staff ReporterBusiness, Science & Technology 0
IBM has appointed Arvind Krishna as its chief executive officer. The 57-year-old, who graduated in 1985 from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, holds a PhD in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He joined IBM in 1990 and has served in several roles at the New York-based company, including as director of research and the head of the cloud and cognitive software unit.
Krishna orchestrated the landmark deal with open source technology firm Red Hat in 2019—IBM’s biggest purchase in its 109-year history.
IBM’s outgoing head, Virginia “Ginny” Rometty, described Krishna as the “right CEO for the next era at IBM” and someone who was “well-positioned” to lead the company into the cloud and cognitive era.
“Through his multiple experiences running businesses in IBM, Arvind has built an outstanding track record of bold transformations and proven business results and is an authentic values-driven leader. He is well-positioned to lead IBM and its clients into the cloud and cognitive era,” she said in a statement.
Rometty’s eight-year-term was marred by struggles to rebuild IBM in the era of cloud computing. The announcement marked a long-overdue change in leadership, judging by the market’s response. IBM’s stock rallied 4% after hours. Krishna will take over on April 6. Rometty, 62, will then retire but serve as the board’s executive chairman.
The ongoing shuffle shows IBM is looking for more tech strength in its leadership positions. Days before Krishna’s appointment, Jim Whitehurst, CEO of Red Hat, was named IBM’s new president. “This new team, Arvind and Jim, bring more of an in-depth tech-savviness to the top, which is necessary in this rapidly changing technology industry,” Arvind Ramnani, an analyst at KeyBanc Capital Markets, the media.
Krishna’s the latest addition to the list of Indian-origin CEOs helming big American companies. This includes Microsoft’s Satya Nadella, Alphabet’s Sundar Pichai, Shantanu Narayen of Adobe, and non-tech firm CEO, Ajay Banga of MasterCard.

AAHOA Attends White House Summit on Human Trafficking Prevention

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WASHINGTON, D.C., Jan. 31 – Today, President Trump and Senior Administration officials, including Vice President Pence, Attorney General Barr, and Senior Advisor Ivanka Trump, hosted a summit commemorating the 20th anniversary of the passage of the Trafficking Victims Prevention Act. AAHOA joined representatives of the lodging industry, trafficking survivors, advocacy organizations, law enforcement leaders, and state and federal officials to highlight the scourge of human trafficking on our society and the importance of fighting this heinous crime. At the conclusion of the event, President Trump signed an executive order committing more resources in the fight against human trafficking.

AAHOA President & CEO Cecil Staton issued the following statement regarding the White House summit:

“AAHOA is grateful for the President’s efforts to combat human trafficking. The opportunity to call together so many prominent advocates, experts, and community leaders for this summit is a testament to our nation’s collective campaign to end this horrific crime. For many years, AAHOA has advocated, educated, and trained thousands of hoteliers and employees on how to assist victims, identify signs of trafficking, and report incidents to appropriate officials. We have engaged not only with members of our association, but with elected officials at the local, state, and federal levels to raise awareness of trafficking in our communities.”

In partnership with other members of the hotel industry and anti-trafficking organizations, AAHOA is committed to ending human trafficking so guests, communities, and the nation can be free from this despicable crime. We are committed to continuing these efforts.

AAHOA is the largest hotel owners association in the world. The over 19,500 AAHOA members own almost one in every two hotels in the United States. With billions of dollars in property assets and hundreds of thousands of employees, AAHOA members are core economic contributors in virtually every community. AAHOA is a proud defender of free enterprise and the foremost current-day example of realizing the American dream.

The approaching debt wave around world

Staff ReporterBusiness, Finance/Economy 0

The first of these happened in the early 1980s. After a decade of low borrowing costs, which enabled governments to expand their balance sheets considerably, interest rates began to rise, making debt-service increasingly unsustainable. Mexico fell first, informing the United States government and the International Monetary Fund in 1982 that it could no longer repay. This had a domino effect, with 16 Latin American countries and 11 least-developed countries outside the region ultimately rescheduling their debts.

In the 1990s, interest rates were again low, and global debt surged once more. The crash came in 1997, when fast-growing but financially vulnerable East Asian economies—including Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea, and Thailand—experienced sharp growth slowdowns and plummeting exchange rates. The effects reverberated worldwide.

The World Bank has just warned us that a fourth debt wave could dwarf the first three.

But it is not only emerging economies that are vulnerable to such crashes, as America’s 2008 subprime mortgage crisis proved. By the time people figured out what “subprime” meant, the U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers had collapsed, triggering the most severe crisis and recession since the Great Depression.

The World Bank has just warned us that a fourth debt wave could dwarf the first three. Emerging economies, which have amassed a record debt-to-GDP ratio of 170 percent, are particularly vulnerable. As in the previous cases, the debt wave has been facilitated by low interest rates. There is reason for alarm once interest rates begin to rise and premia inevitably spike.

The mechanics of such crises are not well understood. But a 1998 paper by Stephen Morris and Hyun Song Shin on the mysterious origins of currency crises, and how they are transmitted to other economies, shows that a financial tsunami can make landfall far from its source.

How the source of financial trouble can vanish, leaving others stranded, was illustrated in the delightful short story “Rnam Krttva” by the celebrated twentieth-century Indian writer Shibram Chakraborty. In the story—which I translated into English and included in my book “An Economist’s Miscellany”—the desperate Shibram asks an old school friend, Harsha, to lend him 500 rupees ($7) on a Wednesday, to be repaid the following Saturday.

But Shibram squanders the money, so on Saturday, he has little choice but to ask another school friend, Gobar, for a loan of 500 rupees, to be repaid the next Wednesday. He uses the money to repay Harsha. But when Wednesday rolls around, he has no way of repaying Gobar. So, reminding Harsha of his excellent repayment record, he borrows from him again.

It is not too late for countries to build seawalls to protect against debt tsunamis.

This becomes a routine, with Shibram repeatedly borrowing from one friend to repay the other. Then Shibram runs into both Harsha and Gobar one day at a crosswalk. After a moment of anxiety, he has an idea: Every Wednesday, he suggests, Harsha should give Gobar 500 rupees, and every Saturday, Gobar should give the same amount to Harsha. Shibram assures his former school friends that this will save him a lot of time and change nothing for them, and he vanishes into Kolkata’s milling crowds.

So who are the likely Harshas and Gobars in today’s debt wave? According to the World Bank, they could be any country with domestic vulnerabilities, a stretched fiscal balance sheet, and a heavily indebted population.

There are several countries that fit this description and run the risk of being the conduit that carries the fourth debt wave to the world economy. Among advanced economies, the United Kingdom is an obvious candidate. In 2019, the U.K. narrowly avoided a recession, with a growth rate a shade above zero—the weakest growth in a non-recession period since 1945. The country is also about to undertake Brexit. Conservatives in Britain have promised that a “tidal wave” of business investment will follow. This is unlikely: if there is a tidal wave, it will probably be one of debt instead.

Among emerging economies, India is especially vulnerable. In the 1980s, India’s economy was fairly sheltered, so the debt wave back then had little impact. At the time of the East Asian crisis in 1997, India had just begun to open up, and it experienced some slowdown in growth. By the time of the debt wave in 2008, the country had become globally integrated and was severely affected. But its economy was strong and growing at nearly 10 percent annually, and it recovered within a year.

Today, India’s economy is facing one of its deepest crises in the last 30 years, with growth slowing sharply, unemployment at a 45-year high, close to zero export growth over the last six years, and per capita consumption in the agricultural sector decreasing over the last five years. Add to this a deeply polarized political environment and it is little wonder that investor confidence is rapidly declining.

It is not too late for countries to build seawalls to protect against debt tsunamis. While India’s political problems will take time to solve, the Union budget—to be presented on February 1—is an opportunity for preemptive action. The fiscal deficit needs to be controlled in the medium term, but the government would be wise to adopt expansionary fiscal policy now, with money channeled into shoring up infrastructure and investment. Managed properly, this can boost demand without increasing inflationary pressures, and strengthen the economy in order to withstand a debt wave. The country’s leaders must seize this opportunity. The alternative is to adopt the brace position.

George Soros commits $1 billion to fund a network of universities around the world to fight authoritarian regimes and climate change

Staff ReporterBusiness, Environment, Finance/Economy, Politics 0

George Soros, the billionaire investor-turned-philanthropist, said that he was committing $1 billion to fund “the most important project of his life”, a network of universities around the world to fight authoritarian regimes and climate change and help educate and promote “personal autonomy”.

Soros criticized Prime Minister Modi for creating a “Hindu nationalist state,” calling his government the “biggest and most frightening setback” to the survival of open societies worldwide while also mentioning the Citizenship Act and the shutdown of Kashmir.

In a speech at the World Economic Forum at Davos on January 23, Soros noted what he called the rise of right-wing authoritarian governments across the world which is the great enemy of open society.

The motivation for the commitment, as per him: “It has become easier to influence events than to understand what is going on… outcomes are unlikely to correspond to people’s expectations… this has caused widespread disappointment… that populist politicians have exploited for their own purposes.” “The tide turned against open societies after the crash of 2008 because it constituted a failure of international cooperation. This in turn led to the rise of nationalism, the great enemy of open society.”

“Nationalism, far from being reversed, made further headway. The biggest and most frightening setback occurred in India where a democratically elected Narendra Modi is creating a Hindu nationalist state, imposing punitive measures on Kashmir, a semi-autonomous Muslim region, and threatening to deprive millions of Muslims of their citizenship.”

According to him, “President Trump is a con man and the ultimate narcissist who wants the world to revolve around him. When his fantasy of becoming president came true, his narcissism developed a pathological dimension.” “Xi Jinping has abolished a carefully developed system of collective leadership and became a dictator as soon as he gained sufficient strength to do so.”

Noting that the strongest powers, the U.S., China and Russia, remained in the hands of would-be or actual dictators, he said the ranks of authoritarian rulers continued to grow by the end of the year. “The biggest and most frightening setback occurred in India where a democratically elected Narendra Modi is creating a Hindu nationalist state, imposing punitive measures on Kashmir, a semi-autonomous Muslim region, and threatening to deprive millions of Muslims of their citizenship,” Soros said.

This year WEF’s is holding the 50th anniversary of the event in the Swiss Alps and its theme is “Stakeholders for a Cohesive and Sustainable World.” The annual economic gathering ran from January 21 until January 24.

Soros said from an open society point of view, the situation in the world, including in the U.S. and China and other parts, is quite grim, adding that while it would be easy to give in to despair, that would be a mistake.

“There are also grounds to hope for the survival of open societies. They have their weaknesses, but so do repressive regimes. The greatest shortcoming of dictatorships is that when they are successful, they don’t know when or how to stop being repressive. They lack the checks and balances that give democracies a degree of stability. As a result, the oppressed revolt. We see this happening today all around the world,” Soros said.

“It is certainly legitimate for a large investor like George Soros to comment on both India’s politics and economics because they are related. If politics creates unrest and poses a challenge to law and order, then investments are at risk. I do not believe we are at that point right now, but our Hindutva politics are certainly a distraction,” Gurcharan Das, author and former CEO of Proctor and Gamble India, was quoted as saying in The Print.

Soros, who made his billions as a one of the greatest speculators in the financial markets and then running a hedge fund that gave market-beating returns, now uses his fortune to fund education, health, human rights and democracy projects across the world, including India. He has also been a critic of the Chinese government, the US President and big tech companies like Facebook and Google.

Sundar Pichai says AI will be more profound change than fire

Staff ReporterBusiness, Science & Technology 0

Sundar Pichai, Google’s chief executive officer has left no doubt about how important he thinks artificial intelligence will be to humanity. “AI is one of the most profound things we’re working on as humanity. It’s more profound than fire or electricity,” Alphabet Inc. CEO Sundar Pichai said in an interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Wednesday.

Alphabet, which owns Google, has had to grapple with its role in the development of AI, including managing employee revolts against its work on the technology for the U.S. government. In 2018, a group of influential software engineers successfully delayed the development of a security feature that would’ve helped the company win military contracts.

Google has issued a set of AI principles that prohibit weapons work, but doesn’t rule out selling to the military. It has also pledged not to renew its Project Maven contract, which involves using artificial intelligence to analyze drone footage.

Pichai, who’s led Google since 2015, took control of Alphabet after founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin stepped down from day-to-day involvement last month.

“AI is no different from the climate,” Pichai said. “You can’t get safety by having one country or a set of countries working on it. You need a global framework.”

Current frameworks to regulate the technology in the U.S. and Europe are a “great start,” and countries will have to work together on international agreements, similar to the Paris climate accord, to ensure it’s developed responsibly, Pichai said.

Technology such as facial recognition can be used for good, such as finding missing people, or have “negative consequences,” such as mass surveillance, he said.

Keith Enright, Google’s chief privacy officer, also spoke about the potential of artificial intelligence and machine learning to continue developing new technologies and services using a minimum amount of customer data.

“We’re right now really focused on doing more with less data,” Enright said at a data-protection conference in Brussels on Wednesday. “This is counter-intuitive to a lot of people, because the popular narrative is that companies like ours are trying to amass as much data as possible.”

Holding on to data that isn’t delivering value for users is “a risk,” he said.

Powerful new European Union rules took effect across in May, giving privacy watchdogs the power to fine companies as much as 4% of annual global sales for serious violations. Google has come under scrutiny many times in Europe, with one probe in France resulting in a 50 million euro ($55 million) fine under the new law.

Pichai had also stopped by Brussels on his way to Davos, giving a rare public speech, where he called on regulators to coordinate their approaches to artificial intelligence. The European Union is set to unveil new rules AI developers in “high risk sectors,” such as health care and transportation, according to an early draft obtained by Bloomberg.

Gold prices surge to a record high

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Gold was one of the few investments heading higher Monday as worries about the coronavirus outbreak led to a steep market slide. Gold is now up more than 20% in the past year, and trading near $1,600 an ounce, its highest level since 2013. Other precious metals, such as silver and platinum, have rallied too. Meanwhile, the Dow was down nearly 350 points in midday trading.

Some experts wonder if gold could top $2,000 in the not-too-distant future. Gold last hit an all-time high of just above $1,900 in 2011 in the midst of the European debt crisis.

Gold and gold miners often do well during times when investors are afraid.

Case in point: miner Newmont (NEM) was one of the few stocks in the S&P 500 that was trading higher Monday. In fact, gold stocks have been a good investment for some time. The VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX) is up nearly 40% in the past year.

The CNN Business Fear & Greed Index, which looks at seven measures of market sentiment, has plunged in the past week and is now not far from showing levels of fear. The index was in Extreme Greed territory just a week ago.

“There are a lot of things that could go wrong for the stock market and the economic impact of a China slowdown from the coronavirus could be felt globally,” said David Beahm, president and CEO of Blanchard & Company.

But gold had been doing well even before most people had ever heard of the coronavirus. Why?

Three interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve last year helped to weaken the US dollar. That’s made gold more attractive than the greenback and other paper currencies, especially since rates are negative in parts of Europe and Japan.

Gold isn’t the only commodity that has benefited from worries about a slumping dollar and low interest rates. Silver, platinum and palladium prices have all soared as well in the past year.

This rally makes perfect sense given that interest rates are so low and the dollar is weakening. So how much exposure should a long-term investor have to precious metals in a retirement portfolio?

“A 5% to 10% allocation in gold and gold stocks makes sense,” says Ralph Aldis, a portfolio manager with US Global Investors. “This is the nascent start of a gold rally.”

Aldis said gold should continue to climb — and not just because average investors are growing nervous and seeking it out as a safe haven. Even big global central banks are starting to hoard gold as if they were Scrooge McDuck.

]According to figures from the World Gold Council, central bank gold purchases rose 12% in the first three quarters of 2019 from the same period in 2018. Central banks added 547.5 metric tons of gold on a net basis.

Investors are nervous about a litany of factors beyond coronavirus fears, Aldis said. Loose monetary policy around the world is creating an unhealthy environment for stocks — especially since corporate profits steadily dropped last year.

“The Fed and other central banks have been pouring money into the market. With money flow driving stocks instead of earnings, that makes people more jittery,” Aldis said.

Blanchard’s Beahm added that worries about more tension in the Middle East haven’t gone away either.

He noted that the broader stock market could become increasingly volatile this year due to jitters about the 2020 presidential election. Beahm argues that investors should have between 10% and 15% of their portfolio in metals.

“This year will be another one of double digit percentage growth for gold. It could hit new all-time highs and top $2,000 — if not this year then sometime soon on the horizon,” Beahm said.

depend on federal assistance.

The Supreme Court issued an order Monday, Jan 27th allowing the Trump administration to begin enforcing new limits on immigrants who are considered likely to become overly dependent on government benefit programs.

The court voted 5-4. Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan said they would have left a lower court ruling in place that blocked enforcement while a legal challenge works its way through the courts.

The Department of Homeland Security announced in August that it would expand the definition of “public charge,” to be applied to people whose immigration to the United States could be denied because of a concern that they would primarily depend on the government for their income.

In the past, that was largely based on an assessment that an immigrant would be dependent upon cash benefits. But the Trump administration proposed to broaden the definition to include noncash benefits, such as Medicaid, supplemental nutrition and federal housing assistance.

Anyone who would be likely to require that broader range of help for more than 12 months in any three-year period would be swept into the expanded definition.

But in response to a lawsuit filed by New York, Connecticut, Vermont, New York City and immigrant aid groups, a federal judge in New York imposed a nationwide injunction, blocking the government from enforcing the broader rule. Congress never meant to consider the kind of time limit the government proposed, the judge said, and the test has always been whether an immigrant would become primarily dependent on cash benefits.

The government has long had authority to block immigrants who were likely to become public charges, but the term has never been formally defined. The DHS proposed to fill that void, adding noncash benefits and such factors as age, financial resources, employment history, education and health.

The acting deputy secretary of the DHS, Ken Cuccinelli, said the proposed rules would reinforce “the ideals of self-sufficiency and personal responsibility, ensuring that immigrants are able to support themselves and become successful here in America.”

Two federal appeals courts — the 9th Circuit in the West and the 4th Circuit in the Mid-Atlantic — declined to block the new rule. They noted that the law allows designating someone as inadmissible if “in the opinion of” the secretary of Homeland Security, that person would be “likely at any time to become a public charge,” which the courts said gives the government broad authority.

The Trump administration urged the Supreme Court to lift the nationwide injunction imposed by the New York trial judge, given that two appeals courts have come to the opposite conclusion. Justices Neil Gorsuch and Clarence Thomas said Monday that district court judges have been issuing nationwide injunctions much more often.

They called on their colleagues to review the practice, which they said has spread “chaos for the litigants, the government, the courts, and all those affected by these conflicting decisions.”

But the challengers of the public charge rule urged the justices to keep the stay in place.

They said lifting it now, while the legal battle is still being waged, “would inject confusion and uncertainty” to the immigration system and could deter millions of noncitizens from applying for public benefits.

Satya Nadella Criticizes CAA by Modi Government

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As Microsoft Corporation CEO Satya Nadella’s statement voicing concern over the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act went viral, netizens took to social media platforms to ask whether people will boycott Microsoft and Windows next.

“As retaliation to @satyanadella’s statement on CAA, millions of Indians #BoycottWindows, there have been reports of people removing all windows from their houses,” a user said.

“If you thought Microsoft’s CEO would be in favour of keeping people out, you obviously haven’t used the Windows Firewall,” another user said.

“Western media reported that Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella criticised CAA & said that It’s sad & bad. But what Satya Nadella really said was altogether different. He said every country will and should define its borders, protect national security and set immigration policy accordingly,” read another post.

A user commented: “Yes, he is very confused in his statement. Must be the Indian leftist academics in the US who have confused him by misinformation. Plz study the CAA before you comment! We respect you as CEO and you must not make comments to malign India.”

Talking to editors in Manhattan, Nadella who hails from Hyderabad and became the Microsoft CEO in 2014, said he would like immigrants to come and set up startups in India and whatever is happening in India on this new legislation is just bad.

“I think what is happening is sad…It’s just bad…I would love to see a Bangladeshi immigrant who comes to India and creates the next unicorn in India or become the next CEO of Infosys,” tweeted Ben Smith, editor-in-chief of buzzfeednews.com, quoting Nadella when he asked the Microsoft CEO about the CAA at the meeting.

Jeff Bezos on Visit to India, Pays Respects To “Someone Who Truly Changed World”

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Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos visited the memorial to Mahatma Gandhi in Delhi after he landed in India on Tuesday. He posted a video where he is seen in a white kurta and an orange half-jacket, carrying a colourful wreath of flowers on the lawns of the memorial at Raj Ghat near central Delhi.

After placing the flowers, he folds his hands to pray before walking away. “Just landed in India and spent a beautiful afternoon paying my respects to someone who truly changed the world. “Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.” – Mahatma Gandhi,” Mr Bezos tweeted. He also posted the video along with the same message on Instagram.

The e-tailer giant’s chief executive’s visit to India comes at a time when the country’s anti-trust body Competition Commission of India said it is looking into alleged unfair practices by Amazon and Walmart’s Flipkart.

Jeff Bezos promised a new billion-dollar investment in India, just two days after authorities launched an anti-trust investigation into the e-commerce giant. A three-day visit by Bezos, whose worth has been estimated at more than $110 billion, sparked protests in New Delhi and other cities by traders who accuse Amazon and its main U.S.-owned rival Flipkart of killing off India’s army of street traders.

Bezos, who has spent heavily to make his company an e-commerce titan in the world’s second most-populous nation, sought to head off critics by promising one billion dollars to digitize small and medium-sized Indian businesses.

“We will use our global footprint to export $10 billion worth of ‘Make in India’ products across the world by 2025,” he said, referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s campaign to boost national production. Bezos highlighted India’s growing importance, saying “the 21st century will be the Indian century” and that the US-India alliance will be the most important.

Amazon and Flipkart — founded in India but taken over by Walmart in 2018 for $16 billion — face increasing scrutiny and resentment despite their popularity among customers.

Bezos’ India visit comes at a time when the e-commerce player is facing an anti-trust investigation on multiple counts, including deep discounts and exclusive tie-up with preferred sellers, in India. It had faced similar investigations in the EU and the US.

Amazon has committed $5.5 billion in India investments, while Walmart in 2018 pumped in $16 billion to buy a majority stake in Flipkart, its biggest deal.

A complaint by the Delhi Vyapar Mahasangh, whose members include thousands of traders dealing in smartphones and related accessories, have accused the e-tailers of anti-competitive practices like preferential listing, exclusive tie-ups and private labels. The traders have said they will hold a massive protest during Mr Bezos’ visit to India.

Media reports said Bezos has sought a meeting with Modi, but neither the government nor Amazon would confirm if talks would be held. Agarwal highlighted special deals with mobile phone makers under which they are sold online, often at discount, before they reach high street shops.

He said 55,000 of the 100,000 small traders who have gone out of business in the past six months — when Amazon and Flipkart have fought a merciless price cutting war — were mobile phone sellers. About 50 traders held a rally in Delhi chanting “Jeff Bezos — Go Back!”

Increasing Debt Drowns World

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The world’s already huge debt load smashed the record for the highest debt-to-GDP ratio before 2019 was even over. In fact, it broke that record in the first nine months of last year. Global debt, which comprises borrowings from households, governments and companies, grew by $9 trillion to nearly $253 trillion during that period, according to the Institute of International Finance.

That puts the global debt-to-GDP ratio at 322%, narrowly surpassing 2016 as the highest level on record. More than half of this enormous number was accumulated in developed markets, such as the United States and Europe, bringing their debt-to-GDP ratio to 383% overall.

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There are plenty of culprits. Countries like New Zealand, Switzerland and Norway all have rising household debt levels, while the government debt-to-GDP ratios in the United States and Australia are at all-time highs. In emerging markets, debt levels are lower, for a total of $72 trillion, but they have risen faster in recent years, according to the IIF.

China’s ratio of debt to GDP, for example, is approaching 310%, the highest level in the developing world. Investors have long kept a skeptical eye on the highly-leveraged country. Following a push for Chinese companies to reduce their borrowing in 2017 and 2018, debt levels rose again last year, the IIF said in its Global Debt Monitor report.

Such massive worldwide debt is a real risk for the global economy, especially because the IIF expects levels to rise even further in 2020.

“Spurred by low interest rates and loose financial conditions, we estimate that total global debt will exceed $257 trillion” in the first quarter of 2020, the IIF said.

The Federal Reserve lowered interest rates three times last year, and the European Central Bank’s benchmark rate is still at its post-financial crisis lows.

Despite favorable borrowing conditions, the refinancing risk is massive. A total of more than $19 trillion of syndicated loans and bonds will mature in 2020. It’s unlikely that all of these will be refinanced or repaid.

Another issue that the report brings up is the financing needs for urgent climate change action.

The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals require $42 trillion of infrastructure investments by 2030, but “countries with limited borrowing capacity could face severe challenges in meeting development finance needs,” the IIF said.

America’s CFOs Are Warning Of A Recession

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Recession fears are again on the rise, with the vast majority of chief financial officers bracing for an economic downturn in 2020—and historical data shows that trends of declining optimism among America’s financial executives can sometimes be a harbinger for looming market sell-offs.

Recession fears are back in full force: 97% of CFOs said that an economic downturn has already begun or will begin in 2020—up from 88% who said the same thing last year, according to Deloitte’s latest CFO Signals Survey.

Many on Wall Street primarily use CFO sentiment as an indicator of the business environment, but deteriorating forecasts can sometimes help warn of looming market downturns, historical data shows.

Going into 2019, for example, just 28% of CFOs said they expected the North American economy to improve—half the number it was a year earlier, in 2018. That statistic fell to 24% in the following quarter, right before the S&P 500 dropped almost 7% in May and again by nearly 6% from mid-July to August.

Business optimism also notably declined before the big December 2018 market sell-off, when the S&P 500 shed over 9%: Over two thirds of CFOs warned that the U.S. market was overvalued, and a metric of their forward-looking optimism hit a two-year low.

Before the market lost almost 10% in the third quarter of 2015, some CFO growth expectations hit their lowest levels in five years, reflecting rising concern ahead of the sell-off. The S&P 500 also fell by 5% in the first month of 2016—in Deloitte’s prior outlooks, CFO optimism had been steadily on the decline.

Going further back, CFO sentiment was also relatively accurate in warning of the 2008 financial crisis: According to Duke’s CFO Global Business Outlook, optimism had plunged to a record low by September 2017—with pessimistic CFOs outnumbering optimists by around four to one.

What to watch for: It’s important to remember that CFO sentiment, which helps give insight into business and consumer spending, is primarily an indicator of economic activity—rather than stock market behavior.

Crucial quote: “While as a stand-alone they don’t offer much insight, it’s most helpful to look at these surveys hand-in-hand with hard economic data,” says Mark Freeman, chief investment officer at Socorro Asset Management. “What really matters is the extent to which sentiment potentially translates into CFO behavior—that has earnings implications, and that does matter to the market from a fundamental standpoint.”

Tangent: Nearly two thirds of CFOs surveyed by Deloitte said that U.S. economic performance beyond 2020 will “depend substantially” on the outcome of the elections, while trade policy remains CFOs’ “most worrisome external risk.” Respondents also cited falling expectations for two key measures of the economy: Consumer sentiment, which has largely held steady so far, and business spending, expectations for which hit a three-year low. More than 80% of CFOs also said they had already taken at least one defensive action to mitigate against a potential downturn, as evidenced by their growing focus on cost reduction and returning cash.

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