The recent COVID-19 pandemic disrupted economies around the world, leading to labor shortages across many industries. As the health crisis subsided, most labor markets returned to normal, with some exceptions, notably the agricultural sector. While this industry had already been dealing with limited labor availability for decades, the COVID-19 crisis brought the issue to public notice. Farmworkers were among the first to be declared essential, and immigrant farmworkers were still allowed into the United States despite restrictive immigration policies that closed the country almost entirely to newcomers.
The Internal Revenue Service lost 31% of its auditors from buyouts and layoffs tied to Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, departures that are likely to hamper the agency's ability to go after tax cheats.
Services sector PMI increases 0.8 point to 51.6 in April. Prices paid index highest since January 2023; orders rise. Tariffs, government funding cuts worrisome for businesses.
GasBuddy, a company that tracks fuel costs across the country, is refuting President Trump's claims in a Friday morning social media post touting record low prices at the pump. "Gasoline just broke $1.98 a Gallon, lowest in years, groceries (and eggs!) down, energy down, mortgage rates down, employment strong, and much more good news, as Billions of Dollars pour in from Tariffs," the president wrote on his Truth Social platform. However, GasBuddy said it could not locate any fuel stations with those prices. read more
A leading immunologist warned of a "post-herd-immunity world", as measles outbreaks affect communities with low vaccination rates in the American south-west, Mexico and Canada. The US is enduring the largest measles outbreak in a quarter-century. read more
Trump Ambassador Jon Voight Unveils His Plan to "Make Hollywood Great Again"
www.hollywoodreporter.com
... The Midnight Cowboy' and Heat' actor " also a "special ambassador" to the entertainment industry for the White House -- presented a plan to return more production to U.S. shores after meeting with industry stakeholders. ...
So, Pres Trump's apparent latest BFF has a plan?
Yet Pres Trump has not been able to describe his plan to substantiate the tariffs?
An actor seems to have bested Pres Trump in planning?
@#20
And, fwiw ...
Global Conference 2025
milkeninstitute.org
... The Milken Institute Global Conference brings together the world's brightest minds to address the most urgent challenges and unlock the most promising opportunities of our time. This premier event connects individuals with the capital and influence to drive change with experts and innovators transforming health, finance, business, technology, philanthropy, industry, and society.
In today's complex world, we face escalating geopolitical tensions, an intensifying climate crisis, economic inequality, public health challenges, and the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence. These forces are reshaping industries, governance, and the global workforce. The 28th annual Global Conference will unite our diverse, forward-thinking community to tackle these critical issues and explore solutions that pave the way for a more sustainable, equitable, and resilient future.
Join us to reflect on recent disruptions and innovations, and translate insights into meaningful actions to create healthy, prosperous lives for all. ...
@#15 ... Gold is making a comeback because Trump is sabotaging the full faith and credit of the United States Government. ...
Yeah, it recently hit an all-time high, somewhere around $3,400 an ounce.
It has backed off that and Pres Trump as put his tail between his legs and retreated on his tariffs positions, though.
Interesting, also, Sec Bessent seemed to find the need to say at this week's Milken Conference that the US still remains the center of global investment.
Milken Crowd Warms Up to Tariffs While Condemning All the Chaos
www.livemint.com
... At times, the conference offered a split screen of confidence and concern.
On one side, Bessent emphasized that the US is in a strong negotiating position, remains the "premier destination" for international capital and will become an even more appealing environment for "investors like you."
But many Wall Street leaders painted a vivid picture of C-suite uncertainty. ...
Another view ...
Companies keep saying two words that prove they're worried about the future
www.weny.com
... Telling investors what's coming is a normal part of doing business. But with tariff chaos sown throughout the economy, many major companies are "suspending guidance" entirely.
Corporate America is wading through uncertain waters, stuck in an uncomfortable wait-and-see mode until it becomes clear whether Trump's broad reciprocal tariffs " which he suspended for 90 days beginning April " will actually happen.
That uncertainty translates into many companies suspending guidance, meaning they have temporarily delayed or paused the release of their earnings forecast. That's not a great sign for the general state of the world " back in the Covid-19 lockdowns, many companies suspended their guidance because they didn't want to release inaccurate information as the crisis unfolded.
Suspending guidance poses challenges for analysts, who heavily rely on the forecasts companies issue. And the guidance is a good bellwether for how companies expect the economy to fare.
The same holds true for Trump's tit-for-tat trade war, which leaves companies unsure whether they'll have to overhaul their entire business models with its constantly changing headlines.
Other companies have slashed or updated their guidance, the first hint of Trump's trade war's effects on the economy's outlook. ...
Automaker Stellantis, the parent company of brands like Jeep and Dodge, suspended its forecast for profitable growth this year, saying on Wednesday that it's too difficult to define the impacts of "evolving" tariff policies. That announcement followed comments from General Motors, which said on Tuesday that it's no longer standing behind its guidance for higher profits in 2025 because it did not take into account potential tariff impacts. And even German stalwart Mercedes-Benz said it would be suspending its guidance.
In tech, shares of the social media platform Snap plunged up to 14% Tuesday when it announced it was withholding guidance in the second quarter. The company blamed uncertainty in the macroeconomic environment potentially impacting advertising demand. ...
Not just Ford ...
GM delays investor call, UPS axes 20,000 jobs as Trump's tariffs create corporate chaos
www.reuters.com
... The Detroit automaker, along with American ketchup maker Kraft Heinz (KHC.O), opens new tab, Swedish appliances maker Electrolux (ELUXb.ST), and airline JetBlue Airways(JBLU.O) and other blue-chip names, on Tuesday joined the diverse list of companies that have pulled forecasts for 2025 or slashed outlooks, further evidence that Trump's see-sawing trade policy is taking a major toll on companies' ability to plan beyond the immediate term. ...
@#4
Which industries employ the most immigrant workers? (January 2025)
usafacts.org
... Which industries have the highest percentage of immigrants in their workforces?
The construction industry had the highest percentage of immigrant workers in 2023: an estimated 3.3 million, or 28.6% of all the people employed by that industry. ...
@#15 ... I'll take lying for $500... ...
I also.
Considering that Pres Trump, during his first term, told an average of 20 or so lies per day, that seems to be a good choice.
With 20 lies on Day 1, will Trump break first-term record of 30,573 untruths? (January 2025)
www.indiatoday.in
... With Donald Trump in the White House, the American media is returning to a fact-check era. Trump delivered two speeches on Monday after being sworn in as the President. There were 20 instances of inaccuracies.
Will Trump outperform on the Lie Meter in his second term? In his first term as the American President, Trump made 30,573 false or misleading claims, according to The Washington Post. ...
And, fwiw, Mr Bezos seems to have halted the Washington Post's fact checking of Pres Trump, along with his halting of Washington Post editorials critical of Pres Trump.
I guess that is what Mr Bezos feels he needs to do in order to gain Pres Trump's favor so that Pres Trump won't tell the DoJ to attack amazon.com.
Another view ...
Messaging app seen in use by Mike Waltz suspends service after hackers claim breach
www.nbcnews.com
... TeleMessage, the app that President Donald Trump's former national security adviser, Mike Waltz, appeared to use to archive his group chats, has suspended all services after hackers claimed to have stolen files from it.
A spokesperson for Smarsh, the company that owns TeleMessage, said Monday that the company "is investigating a potential security incident. Upon detection, we acted quickly to contain it and engaged an external cybersecurity firm to support our investigation."
"Out of an abundance of caution, all TeleMessage services have been temporarily suspended," the spokesperson said. ...
@#17 ... We've yet to see how Trump's actions will ultimately succeed or fail. ...
Actually we have. But the question becomes, were you paying attention?
Six bankruptcies.
For example ...
Bankruptcy expert studies Trump casinos (2016)
news.temple.edu
... A new study by a Temple University professor shows that Donald Trump's casinos in Atlantic City lost more jobs and money than competitors' casinos, while also going through more bankruptcies than any other major business in America.
Jonathan Lipson, Harold E. Kohn Professor in the Beasley School of Law and a noted expert on bankruptcies, found that the Trump Taj Mahal, the Trump Plaza and the Trump Marina shed half their employees and dropped more than 40 percent of their revenue from 1997 to 2010, when Trump, now the Republican nominee for president, was chief executive officer, board chair and/or the dominant shareholder of each.
Lipson used data from New Jersey Casino Control Commission reports, court filings and other publicly available sources. ...
Another view ...
United says buckle up: Newark air traffic woes won't be fixed anytime soon
www.usatoday.com
... Travelers flying to, from or through Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) have faced days of delays and cancellations due to air traffic control staffing issues and equipment failures.
Scott Kirby, CEO of United Airlines, which has a major hub at the airport, warned the problem doesn't seem like it's going to be resolved any time soon.
"There is no way to resolve the near-term structural FAA staffing issues," he said in a letter to customers released Friday evening.
According to flight-tracking website FlightAware, Monday is starting off with Newark atop the list for delays and cancellations in the U.S., with 42 flights or 8% of departures canceled before 9:45 a.m. ET.
While that's not as bad as some days last week, it's not a great sign for travelers ahead of the summer rush.
Air Traffic Control staffing has been an issue in the U.S. for years. In a press conference last Thursday, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy acknowledged that nationwide, the Federal Aviation Administration is short about 3,000 air traffic controllers. He said the DOT is working to boost hiring through a variety of initiatives, and to incentivize current controllers to avoid early retirement.
Still, Duffy acknowledged, the issue can't be resolved overnight.
"We're hoping in three to four years we can get to full staffing, not 20 years," he said. "How do you make up the gap? We can't snap our fingers to make up the numbers."
The problem has been particularly acute in New York City's airspace, and the FAA has required airlines to reduce the number of flights to the metro. Beyond the capacity caps, there haven't been other significant issues telegraphed at the city's other two major airports so far this spring.
The agency also tried to address the issue partly by relocating some Newark controllers from a facility in New York to one in Philadelphia last year, but that came with its own array of issues, including ongoing equipment problems.
"These challenges are not new to Newark. United has been urging the US government for *years* to use its authority to effectively limit the number of flights to what the airport can realistically handle," Kirby said in his letter. "Past failure to make those changes had led to the circumstances that United and, most importantly, our customers now face."
Other major airports in New York -- JFK and LaGuardia, are both slot controlled. United said it is voluntarily reducing its schedule at Newark, canceling 35 round-trip flights per day, to try to hedge against further disruptions. ...
@#30 ... But not nearly to the degree as Trump. ...
I've been saying something similar to that since Pres Trump's campaign for his first term way back in 2016.
Pres Trump is a voracious liar.
To the point that attempts to justify or deflect his lies just appear silly, or possibly an indication of the MAGA cult adulation.