Tag: economic policies

Home Building Set to Grind to a Halt With New Red Tape, Housing Pressures Continue

Commentary No one wants anyone to be living in substandard conditions, and we all want the disabled to live full lives, but how far can we go in making this possible? The National Construction Code (NCC) has taken it one step too far. It will result in less affordable houses, and insoluble design issues, even making certain…


Former Dow CEO Backs Nuclear for Australia

The former CEO of Dow Chemical has backed Australia’s adoption of nuclear power. Andrew Liveris, now president of the Organising Committee for the 2032 Games, said the Australian government needed to seriously consider small modular reactors (SMRs). “I definitely am in the school of thinking that when you think about the technologies to get us…


Political Backlash Is Upsetting Corporate Enthusiasm for ESG, DEI, Survey Suggests

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) initiatives have been political and partisan from their inception, but with some 30 states pushing legislation to curb these efforts, there are signs that corporate enthusiasm for ESG is starting to wane. According to a recent survey (pdf), most corporate social impact teams—a term that overlaps with ESG and DEI…


US Mortgage Rates Fall in Biggest Decline Since March

U.S. mortgage rates dropped from an eight-month high, after nearing 7 percent last week, as inflation slows ahead of next week’s Federal Reserve policy meeting. The Fed’s aggressive interest-rate hike policy sent mortgage rates well above 7 percent last year, causing the once booming housing market to crash. Rates have been slow to decline from the nearly two-decade high,…


The Fed Is Raising Rates, but What About the $8.3 Trillion Balance Sheet?

All financial eyes will be on next week’s policy meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC). The futures market is penciling in a quarter-point increase to the benchmark federal funds rate. But while all the focus among economists, investors, and market analysts is on interest rates, what about the Federal Reserve’s massive balance sheet?…


ANALYSIS: The Fed Is Raising Rates, but What About the $8.3 Trillion Balance Sheet?

News Analysis All financial eyes will be on next week’s policy meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC). The futures market is penciling in a quarter-point increase to the benchmark federal funds rate. But while all the focus among economists, investors, and market analysts is on interest rates, what about the Federal Reserve’s massive…


IN-DEPTH: ‘Bidenomics’ Spends Up to $7 million to Create Each $50,000 ‘Green’ Job, Study Finds

Despite the claims of Bidenomics acolytes that it will “rebuild the middle class,” a new study states that the hundreds of billions in federal subsidies for electric vehicle (EV) production are wasteful corporate giveaways, to the tune of up to $7 million per job created. “Taxpayers are going to forego tens of billions of dollars…


Wall Street Rises as Megacaps Rebound, Dow Set for 10th Day of Gains

Wall Street’s main indexes opened higher on Friday, setting the Dow on track for its tenth straight day of gains, while megacap growth and technology stocks recovered after sharp losses in the previous session. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 49.14 points, or 0.14 percent, at the open to 35,274.32. The S&P 500 opened higher…


FedNow Launches in US, Fed Insists Payment System ‘Not Related to a Digital Currency’

The FedNow instant payment system from the U.S. Federal Reserve is now live, with the central bank claiming that the service will enable individuals and businesses to make quick payments and receive funds within seconds. The Federal Reserve announced the launch of its interbank payment service on Thursday, which it claims will help banks and…


Oil Edges Higher, Buoyed by Tighter Supplies, China Stimulus

LONDON—Oil prices rose on Friday, buoyed by evidence of tightening supplies and economic stimulus in slow-recovering China. Brent futures were up 94 cents at $80.58 a barrel by 0955 GMT—rising as high as $1 earlier—while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude also climbed 94 cents to $76.59 a barrel. The supply deficit that had been…