Month: September 2021

1.5 Million UK Households Affected as Energy Firms Collapse

Almost 1.5 million households in the UK have lost their chosen energy suppliers as six companies collapsed in less than three weeks amid a global wholesale natural gas price hike. On Wednesday, Avro Energy and Green Supplier Limited became the most recent companies to announce cessation of trade, orphaning 580,000 and 255,000 customers respectively. The UK’s energy…


Jobless Claims Rise Above Expectations to Highest Level in a Month

The number of U.S. workers who filed for unemployment rose above expectations last week to the highest level in a month, new government figures show. First-time filings for unemployment insurance—a proxy for layoffs—came in at 351,000 for the week ending on Sept. 18, an increase of 16,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 335,000,…


Jobless Claims Rise Above Expectation to Highest Level in a Month

The number of American workers who filed for unemployment rose above expectations last week and hit the highest level in a month, new government figures show. First-time filings for unemployment insurance—a proxy for layoffs—came in at 351,000 for the week ending Sept. 18, a rise of 16,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 335,000,…


Committee Approves 2 Nominees to Environmental Posts Over GOP Opposition

Against Republican opposition, the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW) approved on Sept. 22 Jeff Prieto as General Counsel for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Jennifer Sass as a member of the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB), an independent agency. The two were approved alongside two uncontroversial nominees…


Committee Approves Two Nominees to Environmental Posts Over GOP Opposition

Against Republican opposition, the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW) approved on Sept. 22 Jeff Prieto as General Counsel for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Jennifer B. Sass as a member of the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB), an independent agency. The two were approved alongside two uncontroversial…


Pfizer COVID-19 Booster Shouldn’t Be Used for J&J, Moderna Vaccine Recipients: FDA Official

Pfizer’s COVID-19 booster shot should not be administered to those who previously received vaccines made by Moderna or Johnson & Johnson, said a top federal health official. Doran Fink, a deputy director in the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) vaccine regulation division, made the assessment during a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) vaccine…


Responding to Chinese Leader Xi, Skeptics Point to China’s Domestic Coal Power Plants

Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s Sept. 21 claim to the United Nations General Assembly that China “will not build new coal-fired projects abroad” has drawn a range of reactions, including comments on China’s large and growing domestic reliance on coal power. “It’s not the major issue—the major issue is coal plants in China,” said Gordon G….


New Hampshire House Speaker Files Bill to Block Vaccine Mandate

New Hampshire House Speaker Sherman Packard is working on legislation that would ban state or local enforcement of COVID-19 vaccine mandates. Packard, a Londonderry Republican, said his office is working on a bill that is aimed at blunting the impact of President Joe Biden’s new federal vaccine requirements to “prevent federal overreach, protect our citizens…


Biden’s Special Envoy to Haiti Resigns in Protest of Deportations

President Biden’s Special Envoy for Haiti Ambassador Daniel Foote announced Thursday that he is resigning and accused the United States of mistreating Haitian illegal immigrants by deporting them back to their country of origin after more than 15,000 amassed in Del Rio, Texas. “With deep disappointment and apologies to those seeking crucial changes, I resign…


ARK’s Cathie Wood Says Wall Street Not in a Bubble

Star stock picker Cathie Wood, head of ARK Invest, on Wednesday said she believed the U.S. stock market is not overvalued, and she talked up Tesla, her largest holding. “We are not in a bubble, that I know,” Wood said, speaking virtually at a Morningstar investment conference. “But I do believe the market is beginning…