Month: February 2021

Black franchisee recordsdata racial discrimination lawsuit in opposition to McDonald’s

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Post date February 16, 2021

Black franchisee files racial discrimination lawsuit against McDonald's

One black franchisee claims McDonald’s raced him by placing him in the operation of low volume restaurants in black neighborhoods and forcing him years later to downsize his store base after unfairly rating its locations.

Herbert Washington, a former major league baseball player and at one point the chain’s largest black franchisee in the United States, operates 14 McDonald’s restaurants (up from 23 in 2017). On Tuesday, he filed a lawsuit against the fast food giant in federal court in Ohio. This is followed by two racial discrimination lawsuits with similar allegations by Black Current and former McDonald’s franchisees last year.

“As I stood up for myself and other black franchisees, McDonald’s began to degrade my life’s work, forcing me to sell one store at a time to white operators,” Washington said in a statement.

McDonald’s USA said it was still investigating the complaint, but issued a statement to CNBC that Washington was facing business challenges and the company had offered it several options to address those issues. The company also said it invested “heavily” in its organization.

“This situation is the result of years of mismanagement by Mr. Washington, whose organization has failed to meet many of our standards for people, operations, guest satisfaction and reinvestment,” the company said in a statement. “His restaurants have a public record of these issues, including past health and hygiene concerns and some of the highest customer complaints in the country.”

In a separate complaint filed by 52 Black operators in September, it was alleged that their locations earned about $ 700,000 less than the national average of their franchisees between 2011 and 2016. Washington’s complaint alleges that McDonald’s told Black franchisees in 2018 that they were closing that cash flow gap between black and white operators. According to the lawsuit, the plan to address the problem was to give white franchisees more low volume locations operated by black franchisees.

Washington started as a McDonald’s franchisee in 1980. Although he lived in Michigan for most of his life and had no ties to Rochester, New York, the company pushed him to buy a restaurant there in a mostly black neighborhood and gave him no other options for a business location.

After about two decades as a Rochester franchisee, Washington operated five restaurants. According to the complaint, white franchisees were allowed to expand in the area much faster than Washington, which was given permission to only buy locations in low-volume neighborhoods.

In one example, Washington signed a deal to buy restaurants in the suburbs of Rochester from a white operator in the early 1990s. McDonald’s reportedly blocked sales and instead sold the locations to a white owner.

In 1998, Washington sold its New York restaurants to buy 25 locations from a white operator in Ohio and Pennsylvania. The acquisitions made him the largest black franchisee in the United States

Over the next decade, Washington bought several Cleveland locations. Typically, the restaurants were older and mostly in black neighborhoods with lower sales volumes.

For example, Washington added three restaurants on the East Side of Cleveland to its store base after the field office’s vice president allegedly asked him to intervene over problems the previous owners were facing. When it took over, McDonald’s immediately increased rents according to the lawsuit. When Washington protested, the company allegedly told him it could run small amounts better than anyone.

However, according to the complaint, McDonald’s would not allow Washington to operate locations on the West Side or in the Cleveland suburbs, which tend to be more white residents. Washington claims he has complained to the company about the problem over the years.

In 2011 he was given a location in the University Heights district. The restaurant would be near a mall that had whole foods and the community was roughly 70% white, based on the census data cited in the complaint.

The deal was closed and Washington had selected the equipment and decor for the site. But then McDonald’s allegedly intervened and loaned the restaurant to a white franchisee. According to the complaint, Washington complained to McDonald’s chief operating officer and told him the white franchisee was racist, and the executive replied, “I know.”

In 2015, Steve Easterbrook was named chief executive of the company, replacing its first black CEO, Don Thompson. Under Easterbrook and current CEO Chris Kempczinski, who initially served as head of the US division, McDonald’s no longer tried to reach black consumers, according to Washington.

Franchise agreements prevented Washington from reaching these customers on its own as it was prohibited from using advertisements or promotional material that was not approved by McDonald’s.

“In other words, he had no recourse to the company’s decision to stop advertising a large part of its customer base and the resulting impact on sales,” the complaint said.

In 2017, McDonald’s told Washington that it was no longer eligible to expand its store base, which it had hoped to offset store renovation costs demanded by the franchisor. According to the complaint, the way he ran his restaurants, which were still profitable, hadn’t changed.

Washington claims that McDonald’s “subjected its sites to” targeted and unreasonable inspections and rigorous ratings “in an attempt to force it to sell. In order to expand again, Washington had to sell some of its locations within a set period.

The company initially proposed buying four company-owned locations in a 90% white neighborhood. The high-volume restaurants would help Washington pay for the expensive store renovations in the US restaurants, such as the addition of digital menu boards and self-ordering kiosks. Washington agreed to the plan, but McDonald’s refused to take over.

Meanwhile, McDonald’s continued to insist that Washington sell some of its restaurants within a set time limit before it could expand again, the complaint said. All of the eligible buyers McDonald’s Washington introduced to these restaurants were whites. The company also put pressure on him to keep up with the store’s renovations, including the locations where he had to sell.

“McDonald’s demanded that Mr. Washington subsidize his own demise by pouring resources into these properties as they are being snatched from his hands,” the complaint read.

When Washington struggled to find interested buyers who would pay a fair price for the low volume locations, McDonald’s urged them to pack these restaurants with its high volume restaurants to make them more attractive, rather than just blocking the locations give away.

The white franchisee, who bought three of Cleveland’s Washington restaurants, was offered $ 3 million in incentives by McDonald’s to purchase the locations. Washington was never offered any incentives or financial assistance when buying or operating these restaurants.

Tags Black, Discrimination, files, franchisee, lawsuit, McDonalds, Racial

Health

Why Democrats are proper to make use of reconciliation for Covid aid package deal

Post author By
Post date February 16, 2021

Why Democrats are right to use reconciliation for Covid relief package

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Minority Chairman Chuck Schumer (D-NY) speak after a press conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC.

Tasos Katopodis | Getty Images

On his way to the Oval Office, President Joe Biden commendably went on to “restore the soul” of America and repeatedly emphasized a desire to work across the corridor. Why, some critics ask, are he and the Democrats in Congress using arcane fiscal rules to move their own $ 1.9 trillion US bailout?

To assess if this is a fair question, it is important to understand what the budgetary vote process is, what is not, and why it may be required at this particular moment.

First we need to remember the hardship we are in. We are nearing the one year limit for downtime and orders that are staying at home due to the pandemic, and people are still suffering. The distribution of the vaccine still lags behind where it needs to be when ingested. Unemployment benefits will expire on March 14th.

Reconciliation is a process that Congress put in place to expedite legislation to control spending, income and debt. As part of this process, Congress passes a budget resolution instructing the House and Senate committees to report bills that meet spending and revenue targets. From there, the budget committees consolidate the bills and send them to the full chambers for scrutiny under strictly controlled conditions.

These conditions, such as strict restrictions on how the bill can be put on the table, how long changes can be taken into account and the bill discussed, give it a powerful “privileged” status, which enables majorities to grant it quickly and if so move needed without minority support.

At a time when we find ourselves in a national emergency, Republicans shouldn’t let the attitude about the procedure prevent them from bringing good ideas to the table.

While this is an expedited process, there are still guard rails like the Byrd Rule – named after the late West Virginia Senator Robert Byrd – that checks which provisions can be included. For example, changes in social security cannot be taken into account, bills cannot add to the deficit beyond the period set in the resolution (typically ten years), and the provisions must be primarily budgetary (an attempt to reduce the backdoor legislation on political matters) prevent).

What budget alignment is not is new or novel. Since the introduction of the voting procedure in 1980, 21 reconciliation laws have been enacted and four have been vetoed. For example, Democrats used the reconciliation to pass healthcare changes in 2010, Republicans used it to pass tax cuts in 2017, and tried (and failed) to repeal the Affordable Care Act.

And despite the fact that a majority in the Senate can pass a reconciliation law on their own, there is no rule that says that reconciliation laws must be purely partisan. Republicans are still welcome to bring ideas to the table, and the “Vote a Rama” that comes with a reconciliation law is one of the most open and free-running processes for allowing any senator to propose a change to a law. At a time when we find ourselves in a national emergency, Republicans shouldn’t let the attitude about the procedure prevent them from bringing good ideas to the table.

So using a budget vote does not mean that President Biden will give up bipartisanism. It just means that he realizes that we are in the know when it comes to allocating more resources to respond to the pandemic. Americans in communities across the country desperately need Congress to act and pass laws that provide the economic relief needed.

Therefore, if the 60 votes normally required to pass a bipartisan law cannot be found, the Democrats will be entitled to continue on the path of reconciliation. Today’s needs are too great to accept inaction.

Therefore, the House Budgets Committee is likely this week to merge the bills from nine House Committees into one bill and send an emergency bill to the entire House. As the process unfolds, key priorities may fall by the wayside (for example, Democrats wanting a $ 15 minimum wage could likely break the Byrd Rule). Overall, however, the process provides an opportunity for government to respond quickly to an ongoing public health and economic crisis.

With the COVID-19 aid package passed, Democrats can also use a budget resolution for this fiscal year to sidestep partisan disputes and get more off the Biden agenda. That law of reconciliation could include infrastructure, health insurance and climate change laws – all important parts of Biden’s plan to build a better plan.

However, reconciliation can only be used in certain situations in Congress and should only be used when circumstances require it. The need to provide emergency relief is one such moment, but in the long run, the small majority in the House and Senate will ultimately require President Biden to maintain his desire to be non-partisan and that Republicans meet him at least halfway .

Heidi Heitkamp was the first female senator to be elected from North Dakota from 2013 to 2019 and is co-founder of the One Country Project.

Tags Covid, Democrats, Package, reconciliation, relief

World News

Dow rises 80 factors as market tries to construct on February’s rally

Post author By
Post date February 16, 2021

Dow rises 80 points as market tries to build on February's rally

US stocks cut gains in volatile trading Tuesday, hovering near record levels as rising bond yields kept sentiment in check.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average recently rose 85 points. The 30-share ad briefly put out a 150-point gain to fall into negative territory. The S&P 500 has been flat and has been pressured by declines in healthcare and real estate. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 0.2%. All three major averages hit record highs earlier in the day.

Some on Wall Street became increasingly concerned about rising interest rates and the potential for a surge in inflation that could pose a threat to certain sectors and general confidence. On Tuesday, the yield on 10-year government bonds was above 1.25% for the first time since March and rose 8 basis points to a new one-year high of 1.28%.

“While higher yields are good for banks, they hit the bond replacement sectors like REITs, utilities and staples,” said Art Hogan, chief strategist at National Securities. “The market can digest rising returns, especially if they are rising for the right reason, but not if they are rising linearly.”

The benchmark yield on 10-year government bonds, used as a barometer for mortgages, student loans, and annual percentages for credit cards, hovered around 0.6% for much of 2020. Many fear that a rebound in interest rates could hinder economic recovery from the pandemic-induced disability recession as businesses may find it increasingly expensive to borrow. Others wonder if a flood of fiscal stimulus could trigger prices to rise after a decade of dormant inflation.

Energy was the top performing sector, up 2.2% as a deep freeze in the south sparked a rally in oil prices and West Texas Intermediate crude futures topped $ 60 a barrel for the first time in over a year.

The market has seen solid gains this month thanks to the launch of the Covid-19 vaccine, the economic reopening, and the expectation of further fiscal stimulus. The Dow gained around 5% in February, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq rose 5.8% and 7.4%, respectively. The S&P 500 achieved ten record deals in 2021.

The previous Tuesday, major averages hit new highs after a market volatility measure fell below an important threshold, paving the way for more quant fund purchases.

The Cboe Volatility Index, widely believed to be Wall Street’s top fear indicator, fell below 20 on Friday to hit 19.97. This was the first significant breach of the threshold since the pandemic-triggered sell-off began in February 2020. However, stocks fell as the VIX pushed higher again. The meter recently rose more than 1 point over 21.

The crack of level 20 is viewed by some on Wall Street as a big “risk-in” signal that could trigger buying by algorithmic traders and other big players. The meter last rose one point to 21 on Tuesday morning.

“We believe that a sustained move below 20 will be positive for risk markets,” said Tom Lee, FundStrat co-founder and head of research. “It will be a sign that the systemic fear that gripped markets in 2020 is finally easing.”

Lee, a CNBC employee, added that the easing of fear in the market is usually followed by a buy between systematic and quantitative funds. Should quantitative funds announce a retreating VIX as a positive sign, Lee believes the buy could prolong the current rally.

Elsewhere, Bitcoin briefly topped $ 50,000 for the first time on Tuesday and continued its dizzying rally as more companies warmed up in the crypto space.

Subscribe to CNBC PRO for exclusive insights and analysis as well as live business day programs from around the world.

Tags build, Dow, Februarys, market, points, rally, rises

Business

U.S. Vitality Costs Soar After Winter Storm: Stay Inventory Market Updates

Post author By
Post date February 16, 2021

A major winter storm hit a large part of the United States on Monday, with heavy snow and cold temperatures in across the Midwest.

Here’s what you need to know:

Credit…Charles Rex Arbogast/Associated Press

Automakers have been forced to idle factories or suspend shifts because of the winter storm that has disrupted the energy system across much of the country this week.

Ford Motor closed a plant near Kansas City, Mo., this week because of the extreme cold and a shortage of natural gas in the Midwest. The plant produces the F-150, Ford’s popular pickup truck, which is one of the industry’s best-selling vehicles.

Nissan closed its four U.S. plants on Monday and canceled the morning and afternoon shifts on Tuesday, a spokeswoman said. Two of the plants, in Canton, Miss., and Smyrna, Tenn., make cars and other two, both in Decherd, Tenn., make engines. The company is monitoring the situation to see if it can resume production Tuesday night.

General Motors said Tuesday that it was not affected by the natural gas shortage but that it was still suspending the first shift at four plants in Tennessee, Indiana, Kentucky and Texas because of “the significant winter weather conditions.”

And Toyota Motor canceled the first of its two shifts at its pickup truck plant in San Antonio, Texas, because of the winter storm and energy disruptions it caused.

Managers of the electricity grid in Texas and elsewhere have had to order rolling blackouts after many power plants were forced offline because they could not get natural gas. Some wind turbines also shut down. At the same time, demand for electricity and natural gas has shot up because of the cold weather. In addition, icy conditions have made it difficult for people to get around.

“To ensure we minimize our use of natural gas that is critical to people’s homes, we decided to cancel operations for a week, beginning Saturday, Feb. 13,” a Ford spokeswoman said in a statement on Monday.

The company doesn’t plan to resume normal operations at the shuttered plant, which is in Claycomo, Mo., until Monday, Feb. 22. The plant employs about 7,300 people. Union workers will be paid 75 percent of their gross pay for the week.

The shutdowns come as Ford, G.M. and other automakers have separately had to idle plants because of a global semiconductor shortage. The chip shortage is expected to reduce the profit of automakers by billions of dollars this year.

Credit…Joshua A. Bickel/The Columbus Dispatch, via Associated Press

The winter storm that barreled across Texas and other states this weekend has severely disrupted business across much of the country, including those that Americans are deeply reliant on for the basic necessities, like retail stores and package delivery services.

Walmart has closed 500 stores in the Midwest, according to a map that was being updated in real time on the company’s website. “The safety of our associates and customers is our top priority,” the company said in a statement.

The storm has caused delays across the vast package delivery networks that many people now rely on as shopping has shifted online.

FedEx said winter weather had caused “substantial disruptions” at its Memphis hub, which is the company’s largest center, occupying 800 acres, and is normally capable of sorting nearly half a million documents and packages an hour. FedEx added that delays were possible across the United States for Tuesday deliveries.

UPS said weather could cause delays in areas not directly hit by the storms. Packages may take longer to get from one place to another, and many delivery services have big sorting hubs in the middle of the country to serve both the east and west coasts. Two of UPS’s main air hubs are in Louisville, Ky., and Dallas, for example.

The winter storm prompted the United States Postal Service to close post offices, processing hubs and other facilities in Texas and Mississippi, according to its website. Power outages had suspended service at the main post office in Dallas and a processing office in Beaumont, which is east of Houston, near the Louisiana state line.

The storm has also affected Amazon, which operates its own large delivery network that includes planes, hubs and delivery vans. The company’s delivery locations in San Antonio, Texas, had been closed because of bad weather, it told a local TV station.

Credit…Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call, via Associated Press

Arne Sorenson, the president and chief executive of Marriott International, died on Monday at the age of 62. He had been undergoing treatment for pancreatic cancer.

Mr. Sorenson became the third chief executive of Marriott in 2012, and the first without the Marriott surname. Mr. Sorenson led the expansion of the company’s presence worldwide, including the $13 billion acquisition of Starwood Hotels & Resorts in 2015.

“Arne was an exceptional executive — but more than that — he was an exceptional human being,” J.W. Marriott Jr., the company’s executive chairman, said in a statement. “Arne loved every aspect of this business and relished time spent touring our hotels and meeting associates around the world.”

In May 2019, the hotel chain announced that Mr. Sorenson learned had cancer, and earlier this month said that he would be reducing his schedule because of more demanding treatment.

When Mr. Sorenson stepped back from full-time management, the company appointed two Marriott executives, Stephanie Linnartz and Tony Capuano, to temporarily fill the role. The company expects to appoint a new chief executive within the next two weeks.

Credit…Melissa Phillip/Houston Chronicle, via Associated Press

Energy prices in the United States rose on Tuesday after a huge winter storm hit the southern and central parts of the country, with 150 million people under storm warnings. Millions of people have been left without power in freezing temperatures.

Natural gas futures for March delivery rose as much as 6.3 percent, the biggest jump since Feb. 1, when a storm hit the Northeast. Demand for natural gas has risen, but disruption from the storm means gas production has plummeted.

The energy regulator in Texas said on Saturday that it was aware local natural gas distributors “may be required to pay extraordinarily high prices in the market for natural gas, and may be subjected to other extraordinary expenses” in responding to the storm.

For oil, futures jumped more than 5 percent over the weekend as the coldest weather in three decades interrupted road transportation and some wells had to shut down. On Tuesday, West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark, rose 0.6 percent to $59.81 a barrel, the highest in 13 months. Futures for Brent crude, the European benchmark, fell 0.5 percent. The largest refineries in the country, including Port Arthur in Texas, closed on Monday because the weather had led to power outages across the state.

“Some producers, especially in the Permian Basin and Panhandle, are experiencing unprecedented freezing conditions which caused concerns for employee safety and affected production,” the Texas energy regulator said Monday.

Markets in the United States were closed on Monday for the Presidents’ Day holiday.

U.S. markets

U.S. stocks pushed higher on Tuesday, building on recent gains as investor were optimistic that the vaccination rollout would spur an economic recovery. The S&P 500, which reached a record high last week, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq were mostly unchanged by midday.
The Biden administration on Tuesday announced additional relief for American homeowners struggling with payments, saying the pandemic had “triggered a housing affordability crisis.”

Europe

The Stoxx Europe 600 index fell 0.1 percent. In Germany, the ZEW survey of investor sentiment recorded a big jump in future expectations for the economy, but the view of the current situation worsened.
In Britain, the government reached its target of vaccinating 15 million people, the most vulnerable in the country, by mid-February but now the prime minister, Boris Johnson, is under increasing pressure to lay out a clear plan for the end of the long lockdown. The central bank has forecast a relatively strong economic rebound later in the year, but business leaders have warned that companies need to prepare to reopen and the recovery could be impeded if they are given enough support. The pound rose above $1.39 this week, the strongest against the U.S. dollar since early 2018.

Asia

Indexes in Asia rose, with the Nikkei 225 in Japan up 1.3 percent; on Monday, it climbed above 30,000 for the first time since 1990. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong closed 1.9 percent higher.
Softbank’s shares closed at a record high. Last week, the Japanese company recorded huge profits in its tech investment fund amid a flurry of public offerings by companies it backs.

Credit…Ruth Fremson/The New York Times

The Biden administration on Tuesday announced additional relief for American homeowners struggling with payments, saying the pandemic had “triggered a housing affordability crisis.”

The actions include:

extending a moratorium on foreclosures through June 30;
extending an enrollment window for mortgage payment forbearance requests until June 30; and
providing up to six months of additional mortgage payment forbearance for borrowers who entered forbearance on or before June 30.

On his first day in office, President Biden issued orders extending federal moratoriums on some foreclosures and evictions through the end of March. But the expiration of those protections would leave “many at risk of falling further into debt and losing their homes,” White House officials said in a statement.

One in five renters have fallen behind on rent and more than 10 million homeowners are behind on mortgage payments, according to the White House statement. People of color, who face greater hardship in the pandemic, are at greater risk of eviction and foreclosure.

Homeowners can find out who owns their mortgage by entering their address on various government websites.

The relief programs are part of a coordinated effort by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Agriculture.

Credit…Mike Blake/Reuters

The cryptocurrency Bitcoin, which has been rising meteorically of late, hit $50,000 on Tuesday morning, a new high, before dipping to about $49,500.

The digital currency is minting new millionaires as excitement grows around Bitcoin’s prospects for mainstream acceptance. Tesla announced last week that it invested $1.5 billion in Bitcoin, followed by news that institutional investors, like BNY Mellon, the oldest bank in the United States, were making the jump into Bitcoin.

Now, corporations can’t avoid the question of whether they will also invest. MicroStrategy’s chief executive, Michael Saylor, is recruiting companies to follow MicroStrategy’s path and invest in Bitcoin to guard against deflation of the dollar. But not everyone shares his certainty: Uber may take payments in crypto but won’t invest its cash in Bitcoin, the company’s chief executive, Dara Khosrowshahi, said.

Celebrity investors, like Tesla’s chief executive, Elon Musk, appear intent on cultivating mainstream crypto curiosity. Mr. Musk recently added Bitcoin to his Twitter bio, which pushed the asset’s price higher. On Monday, the Mexican billionaire Ricardo Salinas Pliego also added Bitcoin to his Twitter bio; he has been an enthusiast since 2013 and paid $200 for his first Bitcoin. The move follows exhortations from famous crypto fans, like Russell Okung of the Carolina Panthers National Football League team, who last month urged people on Twitter to “plant the flag and show you’re ready for the future.”

The business interest has prompted politicians to push for Bitcoin’s acceptance. Last week, Mayor Francis Suarez of Miami proposed that the city pay municipal workers and accept fees for city services in Bitcoin, and the city voted to study the suggestion. Andrew Yang, a New York mayoral candidate, promised to make the Big Apple the best place for crypto businesses. Senator Cynthia Lummis, Republican of Wyoming, has been boasting about her state’s fintech-friendly regulations and is hoping that Mr. Musk accepts her invitation to bring his business there.

Bitcoin critics warn, however, that investors should be wary. “Elon Musk may be buying it, but that doesn’t mean everyone else should follow suit,” the New York University economist Nouriel Roubini said last week.

Not everyone is a fan. Nassim Nicholas Taleb, a mathematical statistician — an expert on randomness, probability and uncertainty — is now dumping his Bitcoin. “I’ve been getting rid of my BTC. Why? A currency is never supposed to be more volatile than what you buy and sell with it,” he recently wrote.

Credit…Kevin Wolf/Associated Press for Human Rights Campaign

When Niki Christoff, a senior Salesforce executive, received an offer to join the board of a publicly traded company, she saw it as a signal that she was poised to break into a club long dominated by men. But what happened next revealed one of the biggest challenges facing companies’ efforts to diversify their boards, writes our columnist Andrew Ross Sorkin.

Many companies, like Salesforce, don’t allow employees to join external boards alongside their day jobs, and especially not those below the senior-most ranks, where women and ethnic and racial minorities tend to be better represented. When Ms. Christoff asked for permission, she was rebuffed, and when she accepted the directorship, she was fired.

Mr. Sorkin describes the obstacle this presents:

With so many employees trying to overcome barriers to promotions at their own employers, this creates a kind of systemic impediment to diversifying boardrooms.

And with companies facing growing calls from investors and society to diversify their boards, a new fault line is being exposed in corporate America: Should companies let their managers spread their wings?

Ms. Christoff is eager to bring attention to the issue. “People don’t know that these policies exist, and it’s not just Salesforce that has this policy,” she said. “It’s not uncommon to restrict board service to senior management. And so highlighting that issue to me feels important both from an equity perspective, but also from a business perspective.”

Credit…Jeff Chiu/Associated Press

Private lawsuits are adding to the mounting legal pressure on Big Tech companies.

Already, more than 10 suits echoing government antitrust cases have been filed against Google, Facebook or both in recent months. Many of them lean on evidence unearthed by the government investigations, writes David McCabe for The New York Times.

If successful, the lawsuits could be costly for Facebook and Google. The companies work with millions of advertisers and publishers every year, and Google hosts apps from scores of developers, meaning there are many potential litigants. After the United States sued Microsoft for antitrust violations a generation ago, the company paid $750 million to settle with AOL, at that point the owner of the browser Netscape, which was at the core of the government’s case.

“There’s a fair amount of scrambling going on and folks trying to figure out what private suits might be successful and how to bring them,” said Joshua Davis, a professor at the University of San Francisco’s law school.

Facebook declined to comment about the lawsuits. Julie Tarallo McAlister, a spokeswoman for Google, said in a statement that the company would defend itself against the claims.

“Like other claims courts have rejected in the past, these complaints try to substitute litigation for competition on the merits,” she said.

The private suits follow similar ones from the government for a simple reason: Regulators have distinct advantages when it comes to obtaining evidence. Federal and state investigators can collect internal documents and interview executives before filing a suit. As a result, their complaints are filled with insider knowledge about the companies. Private individuals can seek that kind of evidence only after they file lawsuits.

If the government cases succeed against Google or Facebook at trial, it is likely to bolster the case for private lawsuits, experts said. Lawyers could point to those victories as evidence the company broke the law and move quickly to their primary aim: obtaining monetary damages.

Tags energy, jump, Live, market, prices, Stock, Storm, Updates, Winter

Politics

NAACP sues Trump, Giuliani, alleging conspiracy to incite Capitol riot

Post author By
Post date February 16, 2021

President Donald Trump looks on at the end of his speech during a rally to contest the certification of the results of the 2020 US presidential election by the US Congress on January 6, 2021 in Washington, USA.

Jim Bourg | Reuters

The NAACP and Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., Chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, sued former President Donald Trump, his lawyer Rudy Giuliani and two right-wing groups on Tuesday for plotting to incite the fatal Jan 6 Riots in the US Capitol.

The lawsuit, which is likely to include other Democratic lawmakers, cites the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871, which accused the defendants of conspiring to prevent Congress from electing Joe Biden to confirm to president.

This law was passed 15 years after the end of the civil war in response to the violence of the racist KKK and its intimidation of South Congressmen.

In addition to Trump and Giuliani, defendants in the U.S. District Court in Washington, DC include the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers groups, members of which were known to be among the thousands of people who broke into the Capitol last month.

The lawsuit comes three days after Trump was acquitted of instigating the uprising in his second Senate impeachment trial. Only seven Republicans voted to condemn Trump.

Trump had said without evidence for months before election day that the 2020 presidential contest would be fraudulent. He spent two months after his loss to Biden falsely claiming that he won the election and that there was widespread election rigging that passed the official results on to the Democrats.

On January 6, shortly before the Capitol invaded, Trump, Giuliani, and other speakers at a rally outside the White House encouraged supporters to oppose the confirmation of Biden’s victory by a joint congressional session, which is usually a formality.

In a press release announcing the lawsuit, the NAACP said: “The uprising was the result of a carefully crafted plan by Trump, Giuliani, and extremist groups like the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys, all of whom shared the common goal of using intimidation. Harassment and Threats to Stop Electoral College Certification. “

“They succeeded in carrying out their plan. After seeing the Capitol police barricade the doors of the house’s chamber with furniture, Congressman Thompson and other lawmakers put on gas masks and were taken to the Longworth House office block to take them.” More than 200 other representatives, employees and staff members sought protection. “

The lawsuit accuses the defendants of a coordinated plan to undermine the democratic electoral process and block the legal votes on millions of ballots cast by black Americans.

“January 6th was one of the most shameful days in our country’s history and was instigated by the president himself,” Thompson said in a statement.

“His joyful support of violent white supremacists resulted in a rupture of the Capitol that put my life and that of my colleagues in grave danger. It is a coincidence that the outcome was no more fatal. While the majority of Republicans in The Senate have a responsibility to holding the president accountable has been given up. We must hold him accountable for the uprising he has so obviously planned. “

Thompson added that the failure to hold the defendants accountable “invites this kind of authoritarianism to the right-wing anti-democratic forces so intent on destroying our country.”

Jason Miller, a Trump spokesman, said in a statement: “President Trump was acquitted in the recent Democratic witch hunt and the facts are irrefutable.”

“President Trump did not plan, produce or organize the January 6 rally on the Ellipse. President Trump did not instigate or conspire violence in the Capitol on January 6,” Miller said.

He added that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., “And Washington, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser, have to answer questions about why they turned down additional Security and National Guard assistance in the run-up to Jan. 6. “

Giuliani did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Tags alleging, Capitol, conspiracy, Giuliani, incite, NAACP, riot, sues, Trump

Health

Potential for New Coronaviruses Might Be Better Than Identified

Post author By
Post date February 16, 2021

Potential for New Coronaviruses May Be Greater Than Known

As the coronavirus evolves, the focus of science and public health has been on new varieties, with some mutations making the virus more contagious or even deadly.

These changes in the virus are what scientists call point mutations, the substitution of a tiny piece of genetic code for another. Coronaviruses are not known to mutate rapidly as a group, but the pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus means millions and billions of people are infected with billions and billions of viral particles, which offers myriad opportunities for change.

However, there is another more important way that coronaviruses are changing. Individual virus particles exchange larger parts of the genetic material with another virus. If two different types of coronavirus live in the same cell, the result might not be a new variant, but a new type.

Three researchers from the University of Liverpool who have written in the journal Nature Communications have predicted, based on computer analysis, that such events are far more likely than previously thought and recommended that the target species be monitored for the possible occurrence of new coronavirus diseases to pay attention.

The work pointed in a number of directions that scientists are already vigilant. They identified the smaller Asiatic yellow bat and the larger and medium horseshoe bats as animals that would be more likely to recombine. However, their analysis also revealed animals that scientists have focused less on, like the common pig, than a creature that should be monitored.

Marcus SC Blagrove, a virologist who wrote the report, along with Maya Wardeh, who specializes in computer analysis of the spread of animal diseases, and Matthew Bayliss, a veterinary epidemiologist, wrote that coronaviruses are known to “trade big chunks everywhere.”

The emergence of new diseases through this process is not common because an animal must be infected with two different types of coronavirus at the same time.

Updated

Apr. 16, 2021, 10:55 p.m. ET

Jeremy Luban, a virologist at the University of Massachusetts, said such double infection with two types of virus replicating in a cell has yet to be documented in humans. But it is precisely such a recombination that SARS seems to have developed, and researchers believe that SARS-CoV-2 could also be the result of the combination of two viruses.

Dr. Luban said he thinks “this type of work is extremely important” because it could provide surprising insights that experimentation and fieldwork can follow up.

The Liverpool research group used a type of computer analysis called machine learning to examine a range of different data points, including the genetic structure of coronaviruses and mammalian species, as well as their behavioral similarity and geographic proximity, to make predictions that animals were most likely to have had the most coronaviruses.

They predict that 40 times as many species of mammals can be infected with four or more different types of coronavirus than are now known, and that up to 126 species of mammals can be susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection.

To verify the reality, they pointed out that their analyzes correctly predicted some well-known animal and virus associations. The modeling highlighted the palm civets, the animal from which SARS appeared to have passed into humans, as a potential focal point for coronavirus development.

Overall, they warned that the possibility of recombination leading to the emergence of a new dangerous coronavirus is being grossly underestimated.

Tags Coronaviruses, Greater, potential

Business

On-line playing is sending sports activities betting ETFs to file highs

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Post date February 16, 2021

Online gambling is sending sports betting ETFs to record highs

ETF players will double in online gambling and sports betting arena in 2021.

Betting interest has increased during the coronavirus pandemic, and a week after the Super Bowl LV, related ETFs are on a record run.

There are currently two main funds that offer centralized exposure to gaming and sports betting – the Roundhill Sports Betting & iGaming (BETZ) and the VanEck Vectors Gaming ETF (BJK). Both started last year and have quickly reached record highs.

BETZ in particular has increased by 96% since it was launched in early June.

VanEcks ETF offers a more traditional mix of casino stocks and gambling names – including Wynn Resorts and Las Vegas Sands – that have been hit by travel and leisure issues. BETZ is a worldwide pure game with digital gaming stocks like online bookmaker PointsBet, Canadian betting company Score Media and even a handful of SPACs that focus on sports betting technology and data providers.

Roundhill Sports Betting & iGaming ETF (BETZ) Top Holdings	(% Weighting)
Related group	5.2%
PointsBet Holdings	4.8%
Penn National Gaming	4.5%
DraftKings	4.4%
Score Media and Gaming	4.2%

The BETZ fund has grown to more than $ 350 million in total assets under management in just seven months, and has posted inflows of $ 146 million so far this year.

Will Hershey, Co-Founder and CEO of Roundhill Investments, said the industry has been in hyper-growth mode (PASPA) since sports betting was legalized at the federal level in the US in 2018 with the repeal of the 1992 Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act.

Record bets on Super Bowl weekend

It should come as no surprise that Super Bowl Sunday sparked an extra dose of intense betting activity. It’s the biggest betting day of the year for both Las Vegas sports betting and online betting shops – and it’s no different for the world of ETFs.

The numbers have grown from state to state, and the latest totals show that $ 444 million of regulated wagers were placed on the big game, with seven states still to report.

That’s already a total of $ 300 million last year and marks a record high or a bet on a single event. PlayUSA analysts expect the final balance sheet this year to top legal Super Bowl betting over $ 500 million – and that doesn’t include billions more coming in on black markets and unregulated sports books.

U.S. sports betting revenue is projected to reach $ 2.5 billion in 2021 and grow to $ 8 billion by 2025.

What is driving the rapid expansion? Hershey cites the ubiquitous shift from stationary to mobile and online services, as well as a major expansion of legalization across the country.

State legalization

More and more states like Tennessee and Virginia, which placed their first online sports betting in January, are getting online with legal sports betting.

“We expect the US market to mature and more states to go online. That will change and mean income for sports betting operators,” Hershey said on CNBC’s “ETF Edge” last week. “But perhaps more importantly, it will mean tax money for lawmakers.”

Sports betting has been legalized in some form in 21 states, including New Jersey, Nevada and Pennsylvania, and Washington, DC. However, some of the largest states – California, Florida, and Texas – have yet to follow.

Still, Hershey insists we are in the early stages of legalization and expects 10-12 more states to go online this year.

Kick-off for legalization

According to Hershey, it makes perfect sense for states to approve sports betting to fill the budget gap caused by the pandemic and generate additional tax revenue.

“I really think what is going on here, similar to what is going on in the cannabis industry, is that there are significant budget deficits at the state level, even at the state level,” Hershey said. “We’re just getting started. If we look at the opportunity for US markets [alone]We’re talking $ 20 billion to $ 30 billion in terms of the total addressable sports betting market. “

With the rapid rise of players like DraftKings and FanDuel, interest in sports betting has shifted dramatically from daily fantasy sports to live betting – but Hershey believes that most of the real money will continue to flow into online casinos, with sports books mostly the Drive customer acquisition.

A game of blackjack would still offer higher margins and much more predictable revenue than, say, this year’s Super Bowl, where Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense stunned sports fans by giving the Kansas City Chiefs a 31-9 blowout loss gifts.

“Who could have seen this coming?” Said Hershey. “You have to do that as sports betting. Live betting technology will be so advanced that we won’t even talk about the next 10 minutes, but rather whether the next field will be a curve or a fastball. I think this will be real monetization opportunities open when the technology gets to that point. “

Some skeptics may oppose the idea of gambling online or buying more pot to balance the national budget, but Dave Nadig, director of research at ETF Trends, said he saw tax history as inevitable.

“Certainly the legalization of cannabis was a big part of it the demand for tax revenue at the state and local level,” he said in the same “ETF Edge” interview. “I think we will honestly see the same thing in anything we have previously regulated as a ‘sin activity’, such as gambling.”

Bottom line: when it comes to hot, lively topics associated with gamification trends, ETF investors are right there.

Disclosure: CNBC’s parent company Comcast and NBC Sports are investors in FanDuel.

Disclaimer of liability

Tags betting, ETFs, gambling, highs, Online, record, sending, Sports

Entertainment

Johnny Pacheco, Who Helped Carry Salsa to the World, Dies at 85

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Post date February 16, 2021

Johnny Pacheco, Who Helped Bring Salsa to the World, Dies at 85

Johnny Pacheco, the Dominican Republic-born band leader and co-founder of the record label that made salsa music a worldwide sensation, died on Monday in Teaneck, New Jersey. He was 85 years old.

His wife Maria Elena Pacheco, known as Cuqui, confirmed the death at the Holy Name Medical Center. Mr. Pacheco lived in Fort Lee, NJ

Fania Records, which he founded with Jerry Masucci in 1964, signed the hottest talents in Latin American music of the 1960s and 1970s, including Celia Cruz, Willie Colón, Hector Lavoe and Rubén Blades. Mr. Pacheco, a talented flautist, went on and off the stage as the songwriter, arranger and leader of Fania All Stars, the first super group of salsa.

From the beginning he worked with young musicians who brought jazz, rhythm and blues, funk and other styles into traditional Afro-Cuban music.

In the 1970s, Fania, sometimes referred to as the Motown of Salsa, was a powerhouse of Latin American music, and the Fania All Stars toured the world. The label spawned burning creative collaborations, such as those between Mr. Colón, a trombonist and composer, and Mr. Blades, a socially conscious lyricist and singer; and to cultivate heroes like Mr. Lavoe, the Puerto Rican singer who fought drug addiction and died of AIDS complications at the age of 46.

Fania broke up in the mid-1980s due to royalty litigation, and in 2005, Emusica, a Miami company, bought the Fania catalog and began releasing remastered versions of its classic recordings.

Juan Azarías Pacheco Knipping was born on March 25, 1935 in Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic. His father, Rafael Azarias Pacheco, was a well-known band leader and clarinetist. His mother, Octavia Knipping Rochet, was the granddaughter of a French colonist and the great-granddaughter of a German merchant who married a Dominican woman who was born to Spanish colonists.

The family moved to New York when Johnny was 11 years old. He studied drums at Juilliard School and worked in Latin American bands before founding his own, Pacheco y Su Charanga, in 1960.

The band signed with Alegre Records and their first album sold more than 100,000 copies in the first year. According to its official website, it became one of the best-selling Latin albums of its time. Mr. Pacheco’s career started with the introduction of a new dance craze called Pachanga. He became an international star and toured the US, Europe, Asia and Latin America.

Fania Records was born from an unlikely partnership between Mr. Pacheco and Mr. Masucci, a former police officer who became a lawyer and fell in love with Latin music while visiting Cuba.

From its humble beginnings in Harlem and the Bronx – where releases were sold out of the trunk of cars – Fania brought an urban sensibility to Latin American music. In New York, the music had taken on the name “Salsa” (Spanish for sauce, as in hot sauce) and the Fania label began using it as part of their marketing.

Under the direction of Mr. Pacheco, the artists built a new sound based on traditional clave rhythms and the Cuban Son (or Son Cubano) genre, but faster and more aggressive. Much of the lyrics – about racism, cultural pride, and the turbulent politics of the era – were far removed from the pastoral and romantic scenes in traditional Cuban songs.

In this sense, salsa was “native American music that is just as much a part of the indigenous music landscape as jazz, rock or hip-hop,” wrote Jody Rosen in 2006 in the New York Times on the occasion of the new edition of the Fania master tapes – after years of being in Schimmel a warehouse in Hudson, NY

Recognition…Fania

Mr. Pacheco teamed up with Ms. Cruz in the early 1970s. Their first album, “Celia & Johnny”, was a strong mix of heavy salsa with infectious choruses and virtuoso performances. Thanks to Ms. Cruz’s vocal skills and Mr. Pacheco’s big band directing, it soon went gold, and its first track, the fast-paced “Quimbara,” helped drive Ms. Cruz’s career to Queen of Salsa status to lead.

The two released more than 10 albums together; Mr. Pacheco was the producer on her last solo recording, “La Negra Tiene Tumbao”, which won the 2002 Grammy for Best Salsa Album.

Over the years, Mr. Pacheco has produced for several artists and performed around the world. He contributed to film scores, including one for The Mambo Kings, a 1992 film based on Oscar Hijuelos’ novel The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love. “For the Jonathan Demme film” Something Wild ” he teamed up with David Byrne, the head of Talking Heads, one of his many eclectic partnerships.

Mr. Pacheco, who has received numerous awards and honors in both the Dominican Republic and the United States, was inducted into the International Latin Music Hall of Fame in 1998. He wrote more than 150 songs, many of which are now classics.

For many years he directed the Johnny Pacheco Latin Music and Jazz Festival at Lehman College in the Bronx, an annual event in association with the college (broadcast live in recent years) which brings together hundreds of talented young musicians studying music in New York City schools provide the stage.

In addition to this woman, Mr. Pacheco’s survivors include two daughters, Norma and Joanne; and two sons, Elis and Phillip.

The salsa phenomenon that Mr. Pacheco created reached new heights on August 23, 1973 with a sold out volcano show at Yankee Stadium, where the Fania All Stars got 40,000 fans to a musical frenzy led by Mr. Pacheco, his was rhinestone-studded white shirt, bathed in sweat. The concert cemented the legendary stature of the band and his own.

Recognition…Fania Records

In 1975 Fania released the long-awaited double album “Live at Yankee Stadium”, which despite the name also contained material from a show at the Roberto Clemente Coliseum in Puerto Rico, which had a much better sound quality. The album earned the Fania All Stars their first Grammy nomination for Best Latin Recording.

In 2004, it was added to the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress.

Michael Levenson contributed to the coverage.

Tags bring, Dies, Helped, Johnny, Pacheco, Salsa, world

Business

To Plug a Pension Hole, This Metropolis Rented Its Streets. To Itself.

Post author By
Post date February 16, 2021

To Plug a Pension Gap, This City Rented Its Streets. To Itself.

The city of Tucson, Arizona decided last year to pay the rent for five golf courses and a zoo to itself. In California, West Covina agreed to pay the rent on its own streets. In Flagstaff, Arizona, a new lease includes libraries, fire stations, and even the town hall.

These are risky financial agreements, born out of desperation, made to meet rising pension payments that cities can no longer afford. Starved by the pandemic, cities are essentially using their own property as a kind of security to raise money to pay their workers’ pensions.

Here’s how it works: the city sets up a front company to hold assets and then rent them out. The company then issues bonds and sends the proceeds back to the city, which sends the money to their pension fund to cover the shortfall. These bonds attract investors desperate for yield in a world with near zero interest rates by offering a yield that is slightly higher than that of similar financial assets. The pension fund, in turn, invests the money raised by these bonds in other assets that are expected to generate higher returns over time.

If they can execute the strategy, cities that issue these bonds can cut their pension bills by an amount that is the difference between what they earn and what they pay off. But as with any strategy based on long-term assumptions, there is risk.

Taxpayers can still owe the pension fund money if the investments do not produce the expected return. And while most municipal debt is bulletproof because a government pledges to bail out its creditors if it defaults, bonds like the one issued by West Covina have no guarantees.

“It puzzles me that anyone would buy these bonds,” said Jessica Shewmaker, a member of West Covina City Council, when an investment banker came up with the idea of a $ 1.2 million monthly bill from California last year Cover Public Employees’ Retirement System or CalPERS. “These are roads that haven’t been paved in 20 years.”

Across the country, cities and towns are increasingly pursuing more aggressive investment strategies as they struggle to fill funding gaps in their retirement programs. According to Pension Tracker, a project under the Public Policy Program at Stanford University, the total nationwide shortage of public pensions is around $ 4.7 trillion.

Many states have tried to improve their pension systems, which often means asking local governments to send in much more money. Few cities only have cash these days, but they can long-term borrowing from investors with terms so far in the future that it feels like free cash. For example, West Covina bonds do not have to be paid back for 24 years.

When a community borrows money for a public project such as a new road or bridge, it typically issues a general bond, often after getting voter approval. This is the backbone of local government finances and offers solid guarantees – courts can force borrowers to pay, even if it means a tax hike.

However, it is different when a municipality takes out loans to cover a pension shortage. Usually this is done with a pension obligation. These also require voter approval in some states, but typically offer fewer guarantees to their buyers.

It gets darker when municipalities adopt the West Covina approach. Because the bond is issued by the dummy company, it is often referred to as something else – in the case of West Covina, a “lease revenue bond” – and does not necessarily need voter approval.

The consequences of this approach became apparent after Detroit filed for bankruptcy in 2013 and failed to pay its creditors in full.

Like West Covina, Detroit had used bogus companies to borrow money after it was directed to fund its retirement. Several years later, in bankruptcy, Detroit attempted to reject the $ 1.4 billion bond, calling it a bogus transaction in which bogus companies circumvented a legal debt limit. When the dust settled, bondholders got about 14 cents on the dollar. The city’s retirees also cut their hair.

The website of the 20,000-strong Government Finance Officers Association, whose stated mission is to “achieve excellence in public finance,” yells pretty loud, “State and local governments shouldn’t issue POBs.”

That didn’t deter the governments. Nationwide, cities and states spent $ 6.1 billion in pension obligations in 2020 than any other year since 2008. This comes from data compiled by Municipal Market Analytics, a research company. States with significant new retirement loans last year included Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, and Texas. In California, cities borrowed more than $ 3.7 billion to bid farewell to various public pension funds, breaking the old state record of $ 3.5 billion set in 1994.

It’s making a big comeback for this type of debt, said Matt Fabian, a municipal Market Analytics partner who has been writing the deals for years. “They borrow money and basically put it in the market and play,” he said.

Mr Fabian said his company’s balance sheet almost certainly missed borrowing from local governments that were taking West Covina’s approach as those bonds used different names. Flagstaff rented its town hall, libraries, and fire stations last year to support a retirement contract marketed as a “certificate of attendance.” In January, Tucson did the same, renting two police helicopters, a zoo conservation center, five golf courses, and grandstands on the rodeo grounds, among other things. And a Chicago suburb, Berwyn, used “submitted tax securitization” to fund police pensions.

The street rent that West Covina, a former citrus farmer outpost about 20 miles east of Los Angeles that is now submerged in urban sprawl, pays the front company is essentially the money to service the debt. By issuing this debt, the city was able to make a lump sum payment of approximately $ 200 million to CalPERS.

Like many urban retirement plans that CalPERS manages, West Covina is only partially funded. CalPERS is treating the shortfall of roughly $ 200 million as a loan to West Covina that will charge 7 percent interest. That’s an exceptional rate in today’s environment, but CalPERS uses it because that’s the average return the pension system generates on its investments.

By repaying most of its “loan” from CalPERS, West Covina doesn’t have to worry about the 7 percent interest rate, at least for now. The Risk: If CalPERS misses its investment objective, West Covina will again underfund the plan, CalPERS will treat the shortfall as a new loan and the whole process will start over.

When West Covina considered its deal, the city’s investment banker, Brian Whitworth of Hilltop Securities, estimated the city would pay 4 percent for the borrowing. With CalPERS generating a 7 percent return, the city would save an estimated $ 45 million.

“It’s a pretty good saving on a $ 200 million bond,” he said.

No one asked for a prediction of what could happen if CalPERS didn’t reach 7 percent. Instead, Mayor Tony Wu grilled Mr Whitworth about why he believed West Covina had to pay 4 percent when El Monte next door only paid 3.8 percent.

The proposal was passed 4 to 1 and Ms. Shewmaker voted against because she viewed the plan as a gimmick to avoid bringing the matter to voters who she believed would likely not approve a deal that would West Covina debt would increase sixfold.

Mr. Wu, now a councilor, said the city had to borrow because it was tied to unsustainable pension plans and CalPERS refused to negotiate simpler terms. The longtime mortgage business owner said it was “crazy” for CalPERS to base everything on 7 percent when real rates were much lower. But he said challenging CalPERS would be a waste of time.

“It sounds very logical, but it’s not going to happen because those in power don’t want to lose it,” he said. “They will fight us a lot. They’re going to sue us to hell. Your lawyers will laugh at the bank. “

Tags City, gap, Pension, Plug, Rented, Streets

Health

5 issues to know earlier than the inventory market opens February 16, 2021

Post author By
Post date February 16, 2021

5 things to know before the stock market opens February 16, 2021

Here are the top news, trends, and analysis investors need to get their trading day started:

1. Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq aim to hit record highs

Traders work on the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange.

NYSE

US stock futures rose Tuesday, adding to the record close on Friday for the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, and Nasdaq. The US stock market was closed Monday for Presidents Day. All three stock benchmarks rose last week, continuing February’s strength. At the close of trading on Friday, the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq were up nearly 2.8%, 4.8% and 9.4%, respectively.

The 30-year Treasury yield was above 2% early Tuesday as investors responded to progress on President Joe Biden’s proposed $ 1.9 trillion Covid stimulus package on Capitol Hill and calls for a broader one Coronavirus vaccine spread in the US waited more than 1.26%.

CVS Health reported quarterly earnings of $ 1.30 per share, 6 cents above estimates. The revenue also exceeded Wall Street projections, aided in part by Covid-19 testing and vaccinations at pharmacies.

2. Bitcoin hits a new high of over $ 50,000

In this photo illustration, a visual representation of the digital cryptocurrency, Bitcoin can be seen in Paris, France on February 9, 2021, ahead of the Bitcoin rate graph.

Chesnot | Getty Images

Bitcoin hit a new record high on Tuesday, rising above $ 50,000 per unit for the first time before reducing some of those gains. Big companies announced support for digital currencies last week. Tesla announced that it had purchased $ 1.5 billion worth of Bitcoin. Mastercard announced on Thursday that it would support certain cryptocurrencies later this year, while BNY Mellon announced the following day that it would open its custody services to digital assets. Bitcoin more than quadrupled in 2020 and is up over 60% this year.

3. Freezing in Texas causes massive energy crisis

Cattle shelter from the cold wind on the side of a pump jack array Saturday February 13, 2021 in Midland, Texas.

Eli Hartman. | Odessa American | AP

More than 3.8 million households in Texas were in the dark Tuesday morning as record temperatures spiked electricity needs for heat, pushing the state’s power grid to its limits. Texas has imposed rolling power outages that typically occur on 100-degree summer days.

The power shortage was so great that spot prices for wholesale power in the Texas power grid rose by more than 10,000% on Monday.
Natural gas futures rose more than 6% on Tuesday morning. However, RBC analysts said, “Certain regional spot prices for natural gas have increased 10 to 100 times in a matter of days.”
U.S. oil prices also surged to a pandemic high of over $ 60 a barrel as wells and refineries shut down due to the cold.

The cold weather was part of a massive winter explosion that brought snow, sleet, and freezing rain to the southern plains across parts of the Ohio Valley and the northeast.

4th Congress to establish a Capitol Insurrection Commission

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) speaks about instigating the fatal attack on the U.S. Capitol in Washington during a press conference with the House’s impeachment managers on the fifth day of the impeachment trial of former U.S. President Donald Trump. USA, February 13, 2021.

Al Drago | Reuters

House spokeswoman Nancy Pelosi said Monday that Congress will set up an independent 9/11-style commission to deal with last month’s deadly riot in the U.S. Capitol. The investigation into the riots was already planned. The Senate hearings in the Regulatory Committee are scheduled for later this month.

The House impeachment officials, who spoke out in favor of Donald Trump’s conviction of inciting the attack, said Sunday they had proven their case. Democrats also railed against Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell and other Republicans, saying they tried “both” by finding the former president not guilty while acknowledging that he had instigated the insurgency.

5. Biden to make first official domestic trips

President Joe Biden speaks about his Covid-19 relief plan during a meeting with a non-partisan group of governors and mayors on February 12, 2021 in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC.

Almond Ngan | AFP | Getty Images

Biden is trying to move beyond Trump’s impeachment acquittal last week and plans to keep a busy coronavirus schedule for the coming week. Biden will make his first official domestic tours of his presidency, beginning at a CNN city hall in Wisconsin on Tuesday, to speak to Americans affected by the pandemic. Biden visits a Pfizer Covid vaccine facility in Michigan on Thursday as the drugmaker’s and Moderna’s two-shot regimen hit pharmacies across the country.

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Tags February, market, Opens, Stock