Across the U.S., about a quarter of office workers sent home during the pandemic have returned, according to Kastle Systems, a firm that records employee card swipes in 3,600 buildings around the country. In Chicago and San Francisco, fewer than 20 percent of desk jockeys have returned; in Texas, where COVID-related strictures have been looser,...
Tag: mar 9 2021
AIRLINES STILL LIVING ON FEDERAL AID
President Biden’s $1.9-trillion economic rescue plan includes $14 billion in payroll support for U.S. airlines and $1 billion for their contractors, bringing the government’s total support for the industry to more than $63 billion since the COVID pandemic began. The newest bailout is unlikely to be enough to prevent layoffs across the industry, with air...
TRADE DEFICIT WORSENED IN JANUARY
The gap between the value of U.S. imports and exports widened 1.9 percent to $68.2 billion in January, the Commerce Department reported, as American consumers bought more pharmaceuticals, cell phones, flat-screen televisions, and other electronic items. Imports grew 1.2 percent to $260.2 billion in January from December, returning to pre-pandemic levels, while exports added 1...
FED WILL HOLD POLICY STEADY, POWELL SAYS
The U.S. Federal Reserve will not tighten monetary policy, Fed chair Jerome Powell reiterated on 4 March at the Wall Street Journal Jobs Summit. “We’re still a long way from our goals of maximum employment and inflation averaging 2 percent over time,” he said. With the U.S. economy still about ten million jobs short of...
FED REPORT SEES U.S. ECONOMY BEGINNING TO RECOVER
The U.S. Federal Reserve’s “Beige Book,” a collection of business anecdotes and comments the central bank publishes eight times a year, confirms signs of an economic recovery and finds businesses’ optimism returning, according to the edition released on 3 March. “Economic activity expanded modestly from January to mid-February,” the Fed reported, and “most businesses remain...
DOLLAR’S SURPRISING STRENGTH COULD HOBBLE RECOVERY
With the dollar steady through late 2020, while down today, its value has grown 2 percent this year against the collection of major foreign currencies measured by the ICE Dollar Value Index. A strong dollar could dampen a global economic recovery, making U.S. products more expensive abroad and damaging emerging nations’ ability to repay dollar-based...
NEW HIRING SIGNALS MOMENTUM IN ECONOMIC RECOVERY
The U.S. economy created 379,000 net new jobs in February, 355,000 of which were in restaurants, hotels, and other hospitality businesses, according to the U.S. Labor Department. The leisure and hospitality industries cast off 500,000 jobs in December and January; therefore, the February gains signal a fundamental turn in the economy, some analysts say. The...
JOBLESS CLAIMS EDGE HIGHER WHILE PRODUCTIVITY FALLS
New claims for unemployment benefits rose to 745,000 in the week ended 27 February, up slightly from the previous week’s adjusted tally of 736,000 but slightly below analysts’ expectation of 750,000, the U.S. Labor Department reported. Private-sector employers added only 117,000 jobs in February, according to a 3 March report from ADP. That figure is...
CHINA 2021: THE CHINESE CENTURY
CHINA’S XI: “EAST IS RISING, WEST IS DECLINING.” President Xi Jinping said in a closed-door meeting last month that China is on the ascent while the U.S. is on the descent and continues to be its biggest “source of chaos.” “The United States is the biggest threat to our country’s development and security,” he said,...
ERASING HISTORY MAKING REAL HISTORY IN 2021
First, they came for Song of The South. Disney is now holding monthly meetings to determine what to censor among its entertainment properties, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The company “convenes an eclectic group of advisers via videoconference to tell the media conglomerate what it and the many entertainment companies it has acquired over its...