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 U.S. President Joe Biden’s proposal to raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour by June 2025 would reduce employment by 1.4 million jobs that year and increase the U.S. budget deficit by $54 billion over the 10 years from 2021 to 2031, the Congressional Budget Office said on Monday.

In its cost assessment of Biden’s “Raise the Wage Act of 2021,” the non-partisan legislative budget referee agency said that the minimum wage increase also would lift 900,000 Americans out of poverty in 2025.

The CBO said the wage increase proposal would increase, on net the cumulative pay of affected people by $333 billion over the 2021-2031 period but noted that this represented an increased labor cost for firms employing them.

Continue reading “Biden $15 minimum wage plan would cut 1.4 million jobs in 2025: CBO”

 The Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives who will prosecute former President Donald Trump in his impeachment trial asked him to testify next week about his conduct before hundreds of his supporters launched a deadly attack on the Capitol.

The House last month impeached Trump on a charge of inciting insurrection in a fiery speech urging his followers to “fight” his election defeat shortly before they stormed the Capitol, fighting with police and sending lawmakers scrambling for their safety.

Trump’s attorneys this week rejected the charge, contending that he “fully and faithfully executed his duties as president” and asserting that his claims that his election defeat was the result of widespread fraud – which were baseless – were protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

Continue reading “House Democrats ask Trump to testify at his impeachment trial”

The founder of a New York money manager and two associates were criminally charged on Thursday with running a $1.8 billion Ponzi-like fraud where thousands of victims were falsely promised steady returns on their investments

David Gentile, the chief executive of GPB Capital Holdings LLC, was accused of cheating more than 17,000 retail investors taken in by promises of consistent 8% annual returns even as the firm was hemorrhaging losses.

Authorities said GPB told investors their payments would be funded by revenue from the firm’s holdings, including a group of car dealerships, when in fact a “significant” portion came from money from newer investors.

The defendants also allegedly siphoned millions of dollars for themselves, including for luxuries such as a Ferrari for Gentile and a $29,837 American Express bill covering “David’s 50th Bday.”

Gentile, 54, who founded GPB in 2013, lives in Manhasset, New York.

Continue reading “NY money manager charged in $1.8 billion Ponzi-like fraud”

Democrats in the U.S. Senate were poised on Thursday to take a first step toward the ultimate passage of President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief proposal, in a marathon “vote-a-rama” session aimed at overriding Republican opposition.

Senate Democrats need to pass a budget resolution to unlock a legislative tool called reconciliation, which would allow them to approve Biden’s proposal in the narrowly divided chamber with a simple majority. The House of Representatives approved the budget measure on Wednesday.

Most legislation must get at least 60 votes in the 100-seat Senate to pass. But the chamber is divided 50-50 and Republicans oppose the Democratic president’s proposal. Reconciliation would allow the Senate’s 48 Democrats and two independents to approve the relief package with a tie-breaking vote from Vice President Kamala Harris.

Continue reading “U.S. Senate Democrats set for first step on road to new COVID-19 relief”

GameStop Corp shares halved in value on Tuesday and silver prices retreated as the Reddit-driven trading frenzy that has shocked global financial markets appeared to fizzle, at least for now.

The videogame chain’s shares, which have seesawed wildly with hedge funds and other investors making or losing billions of dollars, were last down 51% at $108.99. They are now worth only a quarter of their high of $483 last week.

Early on Tuesday, short sellers were up $2.5 billion in paper gains, cutting their year-to-date losses to $10.1 billion, according to S3 Partners.

Continue reading “GameStop shares halve, spelling possible end to manic Reddit rally”