What’s behind the widening gender wage gap in the US?
NEW YORK (AP) — The first widening of the gender wage in 20 years is the latest indication that many women have paid a price for leaving the workforce at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, either because they lost their jobs or because they quit because of caretaking responsibilities. But the finding in a recent Census Bureau report captures a complicated moment for women in the post-pandemic recovery, and not all the news is bad. Wages are growing for all workers, just much faster for men. And the widening of the wage gap is due in large part because of a surge in Latina women joining the full-time workforce.
Unions face a moment of truth in Michigan in this year’s presidential race
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are appealing to middle-class workers in very different ways. How their messages land could have a big impact in battleground states with strong union ties such as Michigan. Harris, the Democratic nominee, is relying on United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain to help spread her message, as her campaign worries about her support among working-class men. That issue worsened when two unions that backed Joe Biden in 2020 decided not to endorse either candidate this year. Trump, the Republican nominee, has jumped on these non-endorsements and claims they show that rank-and-file workers support his vision. He has criticized union leaders and urged workers to trust him over the unions.
Trump uses interview on economics to promote tariffs and riff on his favorite themes
CHICAGO (AP) — Donald Trump has seized on an opening to sound his frequent argument that imposing huge tariffs on foreign goods would amount to an economic elixir — one he claims would raise enormous sums for the government, protect U.S. firms from overseas competition and prod foreign companies to open factories in the United States. Appearing Tuesday before a friendly audience at the Economic Club of Chicago, Trump asserted that tariffs are misunderstood as an economic tool. “To me,” Trump said, “the most beautiful word in the dictionary is tariff. It’s my favorite word. It needs a public relations firm.” If tariffs need an image makeover, it’s probably because mainstream economists say they actually amount to a tax on American consumers.
Trump’s economic plans would worsen inflation, experts say
WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump has vowed that if voters return him to the White House, “inflation will vanish completely.” Yet most mainstream economists say Trump’s policy proposals wouldn’t vanquish inflation. They’d make it worse. They warn that his plans to impose huge tariffs on imports, deport millions of migrant workers and demand a voice in the Federal Reserve’s interest rate policies would likely send prices surging. Sixteen Nobel Prize-winning economists signed a letter in June expressing fear that Trump’s proposals would “reignite’’ inflation, which has plummeted from 9.1% in 2022 and is nearly back to the Fed’s 2% target. The Peterson Institute for International Economics has predicted that Trump’s policies would drive consumer prices sharply higher two years into his second term.
Stock market today: World shares are mixed as Britain reports lower inflation
BANGKOK (AP) — World shares are mostly lower after U.S. stocks pulled back from their records, dented by selling of technology and energy-sector shares. The U.K. government reported that inflation fell to 1.7% in September, its lowest level in more than three years, fanning expectations that the Bank of England will cut interest rates at its next policy meeting. Tech companies’ shares fell after computer chip equipment supplier ASML warned Tuesday of a slower recovery outside of the AI boom. On Tuesday, the S&P 500 fell 0.8% a day after setting an all-time high for the 46th time this year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.8%, and the Nasdaq composite sank 1%.
UK inflation falls to lowest level in over 3 years, cementing expectations for another rate cut
LONDON (AP) — Inflation in the U.K. has fallen to its lowest level in more than three years, a drop that has cemented market expectations that the Bank of England will lower interest rates at its next policy meeting. The Office for National Statistics said Wednesday that consumer prices rose by 1.7% in September, down from 2.2% the previous month, largely as a result of lower air fares and petrol prices. The decline was bigger than anticipated and means that inflation is below the central bank’s target rate of 2% for the first time since 2021. As a result, the bank is expected to further reduce its main interest rate when it meets again in early November to 4.75% from 5%.
Small business disaster loan program is out of money until Congress approves new funds
NEW YORK (AP) — The Small Business Administration has run out of money for its disaster assistance loans, delaying much needed relief for people applying for aid in the wake of the destruction caused by Hurricanes Helene and Milton. The SBA offers Economic Injury Disaster Loans to businesses and people affected by disasters. The organization said earlier this month that it expected to soon run out of funding. Congress can approve more funds, but doesn’t reconvene until after the election. The SBA is pausing new loan offers until it gets more funding. SBA Administrator Isabel Casillas Guzman said people should keep applying for the loans, however.
California health care workers get a pay bump under a new minimum wage law
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Some of the lowest-paid health care workers in California are getting a pay bump under a state law. Workers’ pay will increase to $25 an hour over the next decade under the law starting Wednesday. Some workers will begin getting paid that rate sooner than others. Critics of the law say it could pose a financial burden on health care providers. The law was originally set to raise worker wages in June. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom and lawmakers agreed to delay the legislation to help balance the budget. Many hospitals have already started to boost worker pay according to the law’s original timeline.
An energy market fueled by electricity is coming but even more clean energy is needed, report says
An increasing shift toward electric vehicles globally, especially in China, is poised to disrupt the global oil market, according to a new report by the International Energy Agency. In recent years, China has accounted for most of the growth in oil demand and planet-heating emissions, but electric vehicles now make up 40% of new sales of cars there, and 20% globally, putting major oil and gas producers “in a bind.” The IEA’s World Energy Outlook 2024, released Wednesday, outlines a future where EV adoption continues to gain momentum, reaching 50% of global car sales in 2030.
After hurricanes, the business of rebuilding lives means navigating the insurance claims process
Now that the threat of Hurricanes Helene and Milton has receded, millions of homeowners and business-owners across Florida and the Southeastern U.S. are faced with traversing the often long and laborious process of using insurance to rebuild their lives. Immediately after disasters like these, property insurance is likely not top of mind as people secure their safety and basic needs, but insurance claims are part of the process of resetting. Many buy the policies in hope they can help protect them when disaster strikes. But oftentimes insurance doesn’t cover what the policy holder thinks it does — or thinks it should.
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