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Posted on October 28, 2023October 28, 2023 by admin

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US planned layoffs dip in September, recruitment firm Challenger says
on October 3, 2024 at 10:35 am
(Reuters) – U.S. layoff announcements slipped in September from August’s five-month high but for the year to date have now edged past last year’s pace, a monthly tally of workforce reduction announcements showed on Thursday. Firms announced 72,821 layoffs last month, down 4% from the 75,891 announced in August, which had been the highest since March, outplacement firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas said. For the year-to-date, however, announced staff reductions through September of 609,242 are 0.8% higher than through the first nine months of 2023, exceeding the prior year’s running total for the first time this year. That running total is the highest since 2020, the year the COVID-19 pandemic struck, when nearly 2.1 million layoffs were announced through that year’s first nine months. That increase, however, has not so far been paralleled by other data measuring job losses, such as the Labor Department’s weekly report on filings for unemployment benefits. In the week ended Sept. 21, for instance, filings for new claims slid to a four-month low and the level of overall benefits rolls has shown little change in recent months. “We’re at an inflection point now, where the labor market could stall or tighten,” said Andrew Challenger, senior vice president of Challenger, Gray and Christmas. There are signs the U.S. job market is cooling off, enough so that the Federal Reserve has shifted its efforts to defending employment after a singular focus on battling inflation beginning in early 2022. With inflation now nearing its 2% target, Fed officials last month cut their benchmark interest rate by half a percentage point and forecast more cuts ahead, hoping that will ease financial pressures on households and businesses and allow job growth to continue. “It will take a few months for the drop in interest rates to impact employer costs, as well as consumer savings accounts,” Challenger said. “Consumer spending is projected to increase, which may lead to more demand for workers in consumer-facing sectors.” The technology sector led the September total with 11,430 announced job cuts, though the industry has seen 23% fewer reductions so far this year than in 2023. Indeed, other major sectors like healthcare, services and finance have also seen fewer announcements this year than last. Artificial intelligence was cited as the reason for nearly half of the tech sector’s cuts. Since AI has been tracked as a reason for layoffs in May 2023, nearly 17,000 job cuts have been attributed to it. The Challenger report comes ahead of the monthly nonfarm payrolls report due Friday from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. According to a Reuters poll of economists, that is expected to show employers added 140,000 new jobs in September, little changed from the 142,000 positions created in August. The unemployment rate is forecast to remain unchanged at 4.2%. (Reporting by Dan Burns; Editing by Andrea Ricci) Brought to you by www.srnnews.com
Elections have less impact on your 401(k) than you might think
on October 3, 2024 at 10:18 am
NEW YORK (AP) — Much like those annoying political TV ads, the warnings come back every four years: All the uncertainty around the U.S. presidential election could have big consequences for your 401(k)! Such warnings can raise anxiety, but remember: If your 401(k) is like many retirement savers’, with most invested in funds that track the S&P 500 or other broad indexes, all the noise may not make much of a difference. Stocks do tend to get shakier in the months leading up to Election Day. Even the bond market sees an average 15% rise in volatility from mid-September of an election year through Election Day, according to a review by Monica Guerra, a strategist at Morgan Stanley. That may partly be because financial markets hate uncertainty. In the runup to the election, uncertainty is high about what kinds of policies will win out. But after the results come in, regardless of which party wins the White House, the uncertainty dissipates, and markets get back to work. The volatility tends to steady itself, Guerra’s review shows. More than which party controls the White House, what’s mattered for stocks over the long term is where the U.S. economy is in its cycle as it moved from recession to expansion and back again through the decades. “Over the long term, market performance is more closely correlated with the business cycle than political party control,” Guerra wrote in a recent report. Where the economy currently is in its cycle is up for debate. It’s been growing since the 2020 recession caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Some pessimistic investors think the expansion is near its end, with all the cumulative slowing effects of the Federal Reserve’s hikes to interest rates in prior years still to be felt. Other, more optimistic investors believe the expansion may still have legs now that the Fed is cutting rates to juice the economy. Politics may have some sway underneath the surface of stock indexes and influence which industries and sectors are doing the best. Tech and financial stocks have historically done better than the rest of the market one year after a Democratic president took office. For a Republican, meanwhile, raw-material producers were among the relative winners, according to Morgan Stanley. Plus, control of Congress may be just as important as who wins the White House. A gridlocked Washington with split control will likely see less sweeping changes in fiscal or tax policy, no matter who the president is. Of course, the candidates in this election do differ from history in some major ways. Former President Donald Trump is a strong proponent of tariffs, which raise the cost of imports from other countries, for example. In a scenario where the United States applied sustained and universal tariffs, economists and strategists at UBS Global Wealth Management say U.S. stocks could fall by around 10% because the tariffs would ultimately act like a sales tax on U.S. households. But they also see a relatively low chance of such a scenario happening, at roughly 10%. Brought to you by www.srnnews.com
Hurricane Helene exposes federal assistance gap in Appalachian areas
on October 3, 2024 at 9:43 am
By Andy Sullivan, Grant Smith and Simon Jessop (Reuters) – As residents of western North Carolina piece together their lives following Hurricane Helene, few will be able to rely on federal flood insurance to help them rebuild. Roughly 1 in 200 single-family homes in the region is covered by the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), according to a Reuters analysis of federal government data – a far lower level of coverage than can be found in the coastal and riverside neighborhoods the program was designed to serve. That is because the federal program is focused on the flood risks posed only by rising seas and swelling rivers, not the threat posed by the sort of extreme rainfall brought on by Helene. The storm dumped more than 35 centimeters (14 inches) of rain over three days onto western North Carolina, transforming mountainsides into mudslides and creeks into torrents. “It’s horrendous,” said Aaron Smith, who said he was trying to figure out where to take his family after his home in the hamlet of Bat Cave was destroyed. “I don’t see anything to go back to.” RISING RAIN RISKS Asheville, the largest city in the flood-hit region, had in recent years developed a reputation as a climate refuge, drawing residents from more storm-prone areas. Among the new arrivals: the federal government, which moved its national data center for environmental records there in 2015. The facility was knocked offline by Helene. Private insurance companies see the area as relatively safe. The industry asked state regulators earlier this year to approve a 99% rate increase for coastal areas, but sought only a 4% hike for some of the mountain counties hit by the storm. Helene has shown no place is immune to climate impacts, said Jesse Keenan, a Tulane University professor who studies climate migration. “There’s no such place as a climate haven,” he said. Private insurers generally do not offer flood coverage. Instead, homeowners and businesses in flood-prone areas turn to the NFIP, which insures 4.7 million properties nationwide. Heavy rainfall events, such as the one brought by Helene, are likely to become even more damaging with climate change as warmer air can hold more moisture. Since 1900, precipitation in the United States has increased along with rising temperatures, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, and that rain and snow has increasingly fallen in intense bursts. Mountain areas can be especially vulnerable to rain-triggered floods. A summer storm that lashed eastern Kentucky for four days in 2022 dropped up to 10 centimeters of rain per hour. The resulting floods swept away homes and killed 39 people. RISKY MISMATCH Despite the growing rainfall risks, the Federal Emergency Management Agency does not consider the risk of rain-induced flooding when it draws up maps that show where people must buy flood insurance in order to qualify for a federally backed home loan. Instead, agency scientists examine patterns of river flooding and coastal storm surges. As a result, few residents outside of coastal or riverside areas are required to buy flood insurance. The agency said that approach is set by law and said its maps should not be viewed as a prediction of where flooding will occur. “Where it can rain it can flood,” FEMA press secretary Daniel Llargues said. The mismatch between coverage and exposure is especially stark in Appalachia, where rainfall – not ocean waves – poses the biggest flooding threat and steep mountainsides funnel rainwater into narrow river valleys, said climate scientist Jeremy Porter at First Street risk consultancy. “That Appalachian region actually becomes the poster child for unknown flood risks across the country,” he said. According to a Reuters analysis of First Street data, 16% of all residential and commercial properties in the 25 North Carolina counties most affected by the storm stood a one in four chance of flooding within 30 years – the same criteria used by FEMA to designate a flood zone. Roughly 41% of all properties in North Carolina’s coastal areas face the same risk. Federal flood coverage also varies widely by region. While 43% of single-family homes in North Carolina’s coastal Dare County had NFIP policies, just 0.5% of homes had coverage in the western counties hardest hit by Helene, according to a Reuters analysis of federal flood insurance data and census data compiled by the University of Minnesota. That reflects the fact that FEMA’s maps do not account for rainfall — leaving residents in mountainous areas unaware of their risk, said Carolyn Kousky, an economist at the Environmental Defense Fund. FEMA should update its maps to reflect that risk, she said. A 2022 survey by Fannie Mae found that only 37% of residents living in a flood plain knew they faced a high flood risk. Residents affected by Helene who do not have that flood coverage will be able to apply for up to $30,000 in federal disaster aid, as well as loans from the Small Business Administration – though those can make up only a fraction of the $250,000 worth of coverage available through the federal flood program. Some community leaders are already grappling with the expense of rebuilding. “What I worry about is the cost and the time that’s going to be needed to restore this community,” Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer told Reuters on Tuesday. (Reporting by Andy Sullivan, Grant Smith and Simon Jessop; Additional reporting by Sam Hunt; Editing by Katy Daigle, Benjamin Lesser and Daniel Wallis) Brought to you by www.srnnews.com
Liz Cheney will campaign with Harris in Wisconsin while Trump holds a rally in Michigan
on October 3, 2024 at 9:18 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Liz Cheney, one of Donald Trump’s fiercest Republican antagonists, will join Democrat Kamala Harris at a campaign event in Wisconsin on Thursday aimed at reaching out to moderate voters and rattling the former president. Cheney was the top Republican on the House committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection, earning Trump’s disdain and effectively exiling herself from her own party. Cheney lost her Wyoming seat to a Trump-endorsed candidate two years ago and she endorsed Harris, the Democratic nominee, last month. The two women will appear together in a historic white schoolhouse in Ripon, where a series of meetings held in 1854 to oppose slavery’s expansion led to the birth of the Republican Party. Harris is opening a two-day stay in Wisconsin and Michigan, and Trump will be in Michigan on Thursday as the two candidates grapple for wins in the “blue wall” battleground states, which also include Pennsylvania. Harris’ visit to Wisconsin comes one day after a federal judge unsealed a 165-page court filing outlining prosecutors’ case against Trump for his attempt to overturn his 2020 election defeat. Trump has pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy and obstruction. It’s uncommon, to say the least, for a candidate to give a nod to the origins of the opposing party in the closing weeks of a presidential campaign. Not only that, the Cheney name was once anathema to Democrats who deplored Dick Cheney, Liz’s father, for his role as vice president under George W. Bush. But now both Cheneys are backing Harris, part of a cadre of current and former Republican officials who have broken with the vast majority of their party, which remains in Trump’s corner. Harris wants to portray her candidacy as a patriotic choice for independent and conservative voters who were disturbed by Trump’s unwillingness to cede power. Trump continues to deny his defeat with false claims of voter fraud. Harris on Friday will hold a campaign rally in Flint, Michigan, continuing her tour of states that have been critical to Democratic victories. Trump won Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan in 2016, and Joe Biden won them in 2020. Trump on Thursday will hold a rally in Saginaw County, a bellwether in the center of the state. The Republican candidate has ramped up his focus on Michigan, holding two rallies there less than a week ago. In 2020, Biden’s win in Saginaw County by a slim 303 votes contributed to his victory in the state. ___ Associated Press writer Joey Cappelletti in Lansing, Michigan, contributed to this report. Brought to you by www.srnnews.com
Factbox-Noncitizen voters a rarity in US elections, state and private reviews show
on October 3, 2024 at 9:12 am
(Reuters) – Donald Trump and many of his fellow Republicans warn that noncitizens could vote in the Nov. 5 presidential election in significant numbers, potentially handing a victory to Democratic rival Kamala Harris. But there have been few known examples of noncitizens voting in recent U.S. elections. Here is what state officials and independent researchers have found when they have examined the issue: BRENNAN CENTER The left-leaning Brennan Center for Justice found 30 instances of noncitizens voting out of 23.5 million votes it reviewed in the 2016 election. HERITAGE FOUNDATION The conservative Heritage Foundation found 24 instances of noncitizens voting in U.S. elections between 2003 and 2023. ALABAMA Alabama said in August it would inactivate 3,251 registered voters that it suspected were noncitizens. The U.S. Department of Justice says at least 717 of those are U.S. citizens and has sued to stop the removal effort. There are 3.8 million voters in the state. ARIZONA State officials say 218,000 registered voters do not have proof of citizenship on file, which would mean that they would not be eligible to vote in state and local elections this year. The voters in question have been residents of the state for decades and the secretary of state says the discrepancy is due to administrative error. The state’s highest court ruled they can vote for all races on Nov. 5. There are 4.1 million registered voters in the state. FLORIDA Florida has prosecuted two people for voting as noncitizens since 2022. There are 13.5 million registered voters in the state. GEORGIA Georgia said in March it had found 1,634 noncitizens who had attempted to register to vote, but were prevented from doing so. The state has 7 million registered voters. KANSAS A 2018 court case found that 39 noncitizens registered to vote between 1999 and 2013, out of roughly 1.8 million registered voters. LOUISIANA Louisiana has removed 48 noncitizens from its voting list since 2022, the secretary of state said at an August press conference. There are 3 million registered voters in the state. NEVADA The state found in 2017 that three noncitizens voted in the 2016 election, out of more than 1 million ballots cast. NORTH CAROLINA Officials say nine registered voters have indicated they are noncitizens when called for jury duty. There are roughly 7.7 million registered voters in the state. A 2017 review found 41 noncitizens voted in the 2016 election. OHIO Ohio said in August it had identified 597 noncitizens who had registered to vote out of 8 million registered voters, including 138 who appear to have cast ballots. OREGON Oregon said in September it had found nine voters who had cast ballots without proving citizenship along with another 1,259 who had registered but not voted, out of a total of 3 million registered voters. The state blamed an administrative error. VIRGINIA Virginia said in August it had removed 6,303 noncitizens from its voting list since 2022. The state has 6.3 million registered voters. (Reporting by Andy Sullivan; Editing by Scott Malone and Howard Goller) Brought to you by www.srnnews.com

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