Business & Politics News and Discussions

[weatheriscool]

Amazon boosts hourly pay to over $18, to hire 125,000 workers
Source: Yahoo-Reuters

Amazon.com Inc hiked its average starting wage to $18 per hour on Tuesday and said it plans to hire more than 125,000 warehouse and transportation workers in the United States.

Reuters exclusively reported the news earlier on Tuesday.

The world's largest online retailer also said it would pay a sign-on bonus of $3,000 in some locations and the hourly wage could go up to $22.50. Amazon was among the first few retailers to set a $15 an hour minimum wage in 2018.

Amazon had said in May it would pay around $17 in average wages.

Read more: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/amazon-h ... 35619.html

[Yuli Ban]

Amazon boosts hourly pay to over $18, to hire 125,000 workers
Source: Yahoo-Reuters

Amazon.com Inc hiked its average starting wage to $18 per hour on Tuesday and said it plans to hire more than 125,000 warehouse and transportation workers in the United States.

Reuters exclusively reported the news earlier on Tuesday.

The world's largest online retailer also said it would pay a sign-on bonus of $3,000 in some locations and the hourly wage could go up to $22.50. Amazon was among the first few retailers to set a $15 an hour minimum wage in 2018.

Amazon had said in May it would pay around $17 in average wages.

Read more: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/amazon-h ... 35619.html

Do more of this, and their reputation might improve and Bezos could be regarded more in line with Henry Ford

[raklian]

Why We Need Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) and Why It Needs Universal Basic Income (UBI)

Going from "can we pay for it?" to "can we resource it?" is the mindset shift needed for a human-centered resource-based economy built with a mindset of abundance on a foundation of human rights.

https://vocal.media/theSwamp/why-we-nee ... income-ubi

[raklian]

[Outlook]

Amazon boosts hourly pay to over $18, to hire 125,000 workers
Source: Yahoo-Reuters

Amazon.com Inc hiked its average starting wage to $18 per hour on Tuesday and said it plans to hire more than 125,000 warehouse and transportation workers in the United States.

Reuters exclusively reported the news earlier on Tuesday.

The world's largest online retailer also said it would pay a sign-on bonus of $3,000 in some locations and the hourly wage could go up to $22.50. Amazon was among the first few retailers to set a $15 an hour minimum wage in 2018.

Amazon had said in May it would pay around $17 in average wages.

Read more: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/amazon-h ... 35619.html

Do more of this, and their reputation might improve and Bezos could be regarded more in line with Henry Ford

Bezos the virulent anti-semite.

[Yuli Ban]

[Yuli Ban]

Might need a "Collapse Watch Thread"

[caltrek]

The Postal Service is a Service - Not a Business
by Jim Hightower
October 6, 2021

https://otherwords.org/the-postal-servi ... -business/

Introduction:

(Other Words) Corporate ideologues never cease blathering that government programs should be run like a business.

Really? What businesses would they choose? Pharmaceutical profiteers? Big Oil? Wall Street money manipulators? High tech billionaires? Airline price gougers?

The good news is that the great majority of people aren’t buying this corporatist blather. Instead, by a 2-to-1 margin, Americans stunned smug right-wing privatizers by specifically declaring in a poll last year that our U.S. Postal Service should not be “run like a business.”

Indeed, an overwhelming majority, including half of Republicans, say mail delivery should be run as a “public service.”

In fact, having proven that this nearly 250-year-old federal agency can consistently and efficiently deliver to 161 million homes and businesses day after day, it’s time to let the agency’s trusted, decentralized, well-trained workforce provide even more services for our communities

[weatheriscool]

Soaring Home Prices Are Roiling Appraisals and Upending Sales

More properties are being valued below their agreed-upon sales prices, causing deals to collapse

About 13% of appraisals of homes came in below the contract price in August, according to housing-data provider CoreLogic.
PHOTO: BRANDON BELL/GETTY IMAGES

By Nicole Friedman
https://twitter.com/nicolefriedman
[email protected]
Oct. 10, 2021 5:33 am ET

Jason and Talitha Brooks listed their house in Orange Park, Fla., in June at $320,000. After receiving multiple bids, the couple accepted an offer at $335,000. But the appraiser, hired by the buyer’s lender, valued the home at only $305,000. The Brookses and the buyer couldn’t agree on a new purchase price, and the deal fell through.

“This whole appraisal process, it’s just so subjective,” Mr. Brooks said.

An unusually high number of homes across the country are being appraised below their agreed-upon sales prices, causing a number of deals to collapse.

Home prices have soared in recent months. (1) Buyers are frequently paying above asking price to win bidding wars, and appraisals haven’t always kept up with those rapid price increases. About 13% of appraisals came in below the contract price in August, according to housing-data provider CoreLogic. That was down from a recent high of 19.7% in May but above 7.3% in January 2020, a rate CoreLogic said is more typical for the housing market.

“I don’t remember any time where the frequency of buyers being willing to pay so much more than the market data was this high,” said Shawn Telford, chief appraiser at CoreLogic.

The gulf between contract prices and appraised values highlights the risks to buyers in the current market, especially those stretching their budgets to win a bidding war. Mortgage lenders will typically lend only enough to cover the appraised value of a home. So when an appraisal comes in below the contract price, the buyer has to make up the difference, renegotiate the price or let the deal fall through.

{snip}

(1) https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-home-p ... 1630414873

[Yuli Ban]

It's clear there's going to be a MASSIVE collapse in a few months. I can only wonder what a boring piece of toast like Biden's going to do about it.

[Nanotechandmorefuture]

It's clear there's going to be a MASSIVE collapse in a few months. I can only wonder what a boring piece of toast like Biden's going to do about it.

You say this with such confidence it concerns me. I would not worry about Biden to be honest because with how globally intertwined everything is it will be a global effort to keep everything under control. Hope the folks of this community will be ok if that happens

[weatheriscool]

More than 800 Boston city workers suspended over vaccine mandate
Source: The Hill

More than 800 Boston city employees have been suspended without pay for not adhering to the city’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate or agreeing to weekly testing, The Associated Press reported. Acting Mayor Kim Janey (D) announced in August that all individuals employed by the state — roughly 18,000 workers — would be required to report their COVID-19 vaccination status or agree to weekly testing. The deadline was Tuesday.

The policy applies to all City of Boston employees, onsite contractors and volunteers who work at city worksites, according to Janey. Tuesday’s suspensions comprised more than 4 percent of city employees, according to the AP. The mayor’s office said it is working up plans to address staff shortages that may arise as a result.

Suspended employees will be allowed to return to work if they provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test, the AP reported, citing the mayor's office. Boston is one of a number of employers to discipline workers for not complying with vaccine mandates.

Read more: https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watc ... ne-mandate

[weatheriscool]

United CEO confirms 232 employees are being fired for not complying with its vaccine mandate

Thomas Pallini
Wed, October 13, 2021, 10:31 AM · 3 min read

-- United Airlines is in the process of terminating 232 employees that haven't received the COVID-19 vaccine.

-- CEO Scott Kirby said that 99.7% of United's 67,000 US employees have been vaccinated.

-- Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's executive order likely won't affect United since nearly all workers are vaccinated.

United Airlines is currently in the process of terminating its remaining US employees that are unvaccinated against COVID-19. A total of 232 employees in the US have chosen not to be vaccinated, CEO Scott Kirby told CBS Mornings, out of the airline's 67,000.

"I wish we would have gotten to 100% but out of our 67,000 US employees, there are 232 who haven't been vaccinated and they are going through the termination process now," Kirby said on Wednesday.

United was the first US airline to mandate vaccines when it announced in August that employees would have until October 25 or five weeks from the first full approval of a COVID-19 vaccine from the Food and Drug Administration, whichever came first. Pfizer's vaccine was given that approval on August 23, starting the clock for United employees.

{snip}

Read more: https://news.yahoo.com/united-ceo-confi ... 09818.html

[raklian]

Elon Musk is already 1/4th on the way to trillionaire status so it's perfectly plausible.

[weatheriscool]

Costco raised its minimum wage to $17 an hour
Source: CNN

New York (CNN Business)Costco this week raised its starting wage for hourly store workers in the United States for the second time this year as businesses hike pay to draw and retain workers amid a labor shortage.

Costco (COST) told employees last week that it would increase its minimum wage from $16 an hour to $17 starting on Monday. Costco has around 180,000 US employees, and 90% of them work hourly. Costco's new starting wage puts the chain— which has among the lowest turnover rates in the retail industry— $2 per hour above Amazon (AMZN), Target (TGT) and other top retailers' minimum wage, and $5 an hour above Walmart's (WMT).

Costco's latest pay bump comes as many retailers, restaurants and other service sector employers raise pay, offer signing bonuses and sweeten their benefits packages in response to struggles hiring workers.

Costco raised its minimum wage to $14 in 2018 and $15 in 2019. In February, the Issaquah, Washington-based company hiked it to $16 an hour. Business Insider first reported its most recent increase.

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/27/business ... index.html

[caltrek]

U.S. Venture Capitalists Bet Big on European Startups
by Kia Kokalitcheva
November 6, 2021

https://www.axios.com/us-venture-capita ... fb189.html

Introduction:

(Axios) American venture capitalists are investing record sums in European startups, setting themselves up to repatriate returns.

By the numbers: European deal value with U.S. VC participation hit €50.8 billion over the first three quarters of 2021, per PitchBook.

• A record 21.2% of European deals in 2021 had at least one U.S. investor on board, up from 17% in 2020 and 15% in 2019.

The big picture: Europe's venture market has matured, enticing Silicon Valley firms like Sequoia Capital and Lightspeed Venture Partners to open local offices.

• "This is in some ways what we’ve been waiting for," says Moonfire Ventures' Mattias Ljungman, who co-founded famed European VC firm Atomico with Skype's Niklas Zennstrom in 2006. "This is making the ecosystem better."

• European VCs I spoke with at Web Summit this week in Lisbon, Portugal, were all positive about the U.S. influx, largely because it means more follow-on capital.

• "The strength of the U.S. is more specialized investors that can be helpful," Northzone Ventures general partner Michiel Kotting explains.

[weatheriscool]

Strong sales, profit from Walmart on cusp of holiday season
Source: Associated Press

By ANNE D'INNOCENZIO 47 minutes ago

NEW YORK (AP) — Walmart topped almost all expectations in the third quarter, an encouraging sign for the upcoming holiday shopping season already beset by snarled supply chains and rising costs.

The Bentonville, Arkansas, company also raised its full-year earnings guidance and shares rose before the opening bell Tuesday.

It did not escape some of the supply chain issues that have settled across almost every economic sector. Consolidated gross profit rate took a hit primarily due to increased supply chain costs, the company said, in addition to other issues.

In addition to rising costs for shipping and goods, Walmart is also spending more on wages for its workers. The company is chartering vessels to ensure that store shelves are stocked for the holidays.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/walmart-earn ... 1a7a0acd5c

[weatheriscool]

Kaiser Permanente strike off after deal between unions and healthcare giant
Source: The Guardian

An alliance of unions representing 50,000 Kaiser Permanente workers in California, Oregon and six other states called off strike set for Monday, after reaching a tentative labor deal with the healthcare network.

The Alliance of Health Care Unions and Kaiser Permanente jointly announced the agreement, staving off a potentially crippling strike in which 32,000 employees, most of them in southern California, threatened to walk off the job to protest understaffing and wage cuts for new hires.

Additional members of the alliance, comprised of 21 local unions, authorized a one-day “sympathy strike” on 18 November.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/202 ... healthcare

[weatheriscool]

CVS Health to close hundreds of drugstores [View all]
Source: AP

By TOM MURPHY

CVS Health will close hundreds of drugstores over the next three years, as the retail giant adjusts to changing customer needs and converts to new store formats.

The company said Thursday that it will close about 300 stores a year for the next three years, nearly a tenth of its roughly 10,000 retail locations. as it reduces store count density in some places.

The company said Thursday that it has been evaluating population changes, customer buying patterns and future health needs to “ensure it has the right kinds of stores in the right locations.”

A statement from the company didn’t say where the store closures would take place.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/business-6e0 ... ff1e7e44aa

[wjfox]