What’s new? (10-16 Oct.) Workers find leverage More employees left their jobs in August than in any month in the past two decades, th...
What’s new? (10-16 Oct.)
Workers find leverage
More employees left their jobs in August than in any month in the past two decades, the Ministry of Labor reported on Tuesday. While many companies struggle to hire, the upsurge in resignations is one of the many signs that workers are gaining more leverage in the workforce. The average hourly wage has also increased in recent months, especially for low-paying jobs. Thousands of workers at farm equipment manufacturer Deere & Company strikes Thursday after overwhelmingly rejecting a contract proposal drawn up with the company by negotiators from the United Automobile Workers union. And Hollywood production workers strike a tentative deal Saturday for a new three-year contract with film and television studios after threatening to leave work if the studios did not meet demands for higher wages, increased demands on meal breaks and other concessions.
A clash of mandates
Texas Governor Greg Abbott issued an order on Monday ban on vaccination orders in the state. This conflicted with President Biden’s requirement that federal contractors and their employees be vaccinated by December 8. American Airlines and Southwest Airlines, both based in Texas, stated that they would nevertheless continue their vaccination mandates for employees, and legal experts say that state policy does not trump federal rule. Mr Biden also ordered the Department of Labor to write rules that would require companies with more than 100 employees to require vaccines or regular testing for their workers. But these rules have not yet been published – and maybe not for several weeks.
Higher prices but higher benefits
The consumer price index, an important measure of inflation, climbed 5.4% in September from a year earlier, more than economists expected and a faster rate of progression than in August. While a price hike was expected as the economy recovered from the pandemic shock, persistently high inflation complicates matters for both the Federal Reserve and the White House. Sustained inflation could force the Fed to withdraw support for the economy during a pandemic faster than it would like, before the labor market is fully healed. For the White House, the delicate task of passing two huge spending programs is made more difficult as opponents argue that the bills could worsen inflation. So far, the most visible political impact of high inflation has been on social security payments. The Social Security Administration has stated that it increase benefits by 5.9% in 2022, the largest increase in the cost of living in 40 years.
And after? (Oct. 17-23)
WeWork will finally go public
Two years after shared office company WeWork was forced to suspend its public offer plans, it should take a less traditional route to the public market this week by merging with a SPAC, or a special purpose acquisition company. Ahead of WeWork’s planned IPO in 2019, private investors valued the company at nearly $ 50 billion, but WeWork struggled to sell its shares to Wall Street portfolio managers at even a valuation of $ 15 billion. WeWork said that the PSPC agreement, announced in March, values the company at $ 7.9 billion. Since its first attempt at IPO, WeWork has lower the costs and appointed a new management. But membership numbers have plummeted during the pandemic, and it’s unclear what the long-term impact of the change in office work will mean for WeWork’s business. The same trends that could fuel an increase in remote working could also create a demand for more flexible office spaces.
FDA decides on more boosters
A Food and Drug Administration advisory committee last week recommended emergency authorization of booster injections for many Moderna recipientscoronavirus vaccine as well as booster injections of Johnson & johnsonsingle dose vaccine for people 18 years of age or older. The FDA, which authorized a booster for older and at-risk recipients of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine last month, usually makes decisions a few days after the meetings of its advisory committee. If the agency decides to allow further booster injections, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to issue guidelines on whether these boosters should be used and who should be eligible. Later this month, the panel is expected to tentatively discuss Pfizer’s request to allow emergency use of its coronavirus vaccine for children aged 5 to 11.
The state of the Chinese economy
China reported on Monday how its economy fared in the third quarter. Several factors appear to have contributed to the slowdown in the period from July to September, including deadly flooding in several towns, unrest in huge real estate developer Evergrande, and computer chip and power shortages. Government efforts to curb the power of big business, including efforts to deter real estate speculation as well as antitrust and national security sanctions on tech companies, may also have taken their toll.
The status of jobs in the United States
The pandemic continues to impact the US economy in multiple ways. A key factor to watch is the labor market and how it changes as the economic recovery progresses.
What else?
William Shatner, the actor best known as Captain James T. Kirk in “Star Trek”, went to space. Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, are get into finance. And both Apple and Google are expected to announce product updates this week.
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