Economic News 2020
These are the final reports before we go screaming into a new year…..the news is not as rosy for some as it is for others……
For instance the jobs outlook for the end of the year…..
The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell by 89,000 last week to a still-elevated 803,000, evidence that the job market remains under stress nine months after the coronavirus outbreak sent the US economy into recession and caused millions of layoffs. The latest figure, released Wednesday by the Labor Department, shows that many employers are still cutting jobs as the pandemic tightens business restrictions and leads many consumers to stay home. Before the virus struck, jobless claims typically numbered around 225,000 a week before shooting up to 6.9 million in early spring. The pace of layoffs has since declined but remains historically high in the face of the resurgence of COVID-19 cases, reports the AP
The Year of COVID, Elections and Police Brutality Also Saw LGBTQ Activism
Protesters hold signs and chant slogans at a march against racism and police brutality organized by leaders of black LGBTQ rights groups and attended by a large LGBTQ+ community and supporters, in West Hollywood, California, on June 14, 2020.
Mark Ralston / AFP via Getty Images
By
For the past five years,
Truthout has looked back at the queer and trans news you might’ve missed because corporate news outlets decided not to cover it. This year, almost all of us were tangled up with the biggest news stories queer and trans people felt the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic; the feuds between the rich and powerful in Washington; the anti-racist uprisings; and the global warming-fueled hurricanes, tornadoes and wildfires.
Introduction
Two fathers and their sons traveled from Mexico this spring to grow and harvest North Carolina’s sweet potatoes, tobacco, Christmas trees and other crops. All four men held temporary H-2A nonimmigrant visas permits U.S. employers use to sponsor foreign guest workers to fill seasonal labor shortages on farms.
In August, one of the fathers died of COVID-19. The other died weeks later. After both were buried in Mexico, their sons dutifully returned to North Carolina to keep working under their visas because they needed the income. The twin tragedies, details of which were confirmed by the Center for Public Integrity through state records and interviews, lay bare the contradictions of the 34-year-old H-2A program.
DOL Releases Final Version of Fiduciary Rule The new rule allows fiduciaries in retirement plans to be exempt from certain prohibited transactions provided they adhere to a number of impartial conduct standards.
The Trump administration s Department of Labor released a finalized version of its fiduciary proposal Tuesday, a day after the White House’s Office of Management and Budget completed its final review. But the rule goes into effect after Joe Biden’s inauguration as the nation’s 46th president, leaving the rule vulnerable to change under the new administration.
The new rule is entitled “Improving Investment Advice for Workers & Retirees Exemption” and allows fiduciaries to be exempt from certain prohibited transactions provided they adhere to a number of “impartial conduct standards,” which include a best interest standard, a reasonable compensation standard and a requirement that they make no materially misleading statements.
The Finance 202: Momentum builds for economic relief package as leaders report progress washingtonpost.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from washingtonpost.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.