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20th December 2024
 
THE HOT STORY
Visa overhaul for high-skilled workers
The Biden administration has announced that it aims to streamline the complicated process of applying for the highly sought after H-1B visas used to attract high-skilled international talent to work and give immigrants and businesses more certainty when it comes to their applications. The changes will make it easier for employers to fill their openings and keep specialized workers for longer, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said. "American businesses rely on the H-1B visa program for the recruitment of highly-skilled talent, benefitting communities across the country. These improvements to the program provide employers with greater flexibility to hire global talent, boost our economic competitiveness, and allow highly skilled workers to continue to advance American innovation,” DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said.
HEALTH & SAFETY
Amazon reaches settlement with OSHA over safety violations
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has announced a corporatewide settlement with Amazon, ending a number of cases involving accusations of safety violations at 10 warehouses in several states. The company will adopt measures such as adjustable height workstations, ergonomic mats, harnesses and job rotations at all of its fulfilment, sorting and delivery centers and establish a process to review and correct hazards identified by workers. Amazon will also pay $145,000 in penalties, about 90% of what the agency had sought in the underlying cases. The announcement came on the same day that workers at seven of Amazon's U.S. facilities walked off the job to protest what they say is the retail giant's unfair treatment of its employees.
RISK
Employee stabs company president during morning staff meeting
An employee at a Michigan-based manufacturing company has been charged with stabbing the company president in an assault during a morning staff meeting. Police are still investigating the motive behind the attack. According to US media reports, Nathan Mahoney allegedly entered a conference room at Anderson Express on Tuesday and stabbed company president Erik Denslow. Following the assault, Mahoney fled the scene in a vehicle but was apprehended less than an hour later. Authorities are exploring whether the stabbing was inspired by the recent murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in New York City. “We haven't ruled out a copycat motive,” Deputy Police Chief Greg Poulson said, adding that police are reviewing Mahoney's social media and electronic records for potential leads.
WORKFORCE
Starbucks workers’ union to strike today in LA, Chicago and Seattle
Starbucks Workers United said late Thursday that its members will this morning launch five days of strikes at outlets in Los Angeles, Chicago, and Seattle. The strikes, over pay and other benefits, are expected to expand each subsequent day through Christmas Eve, reaching hundreds of locations from coast to coast. “Starbucks proposed an economic package with no new wage increases for union baristas now and a guarantee of only 1.5% in future years,” the union said in a statement. Andrew Trull, a Starbucks spokesman, said union delegates “prematurely ended” this weeks’ negotiations. “It is disappointing they didn’t return to the table given the progress we’ve made to date,” he added.
Weekly jobless claims drop 22,000
Jobless claim applications in the U.S. decreased by 22,000 to 220,000 in the seven days to December 14th, according to the Labor Department, below the 230,000 expected by economists polled by Reuters. The four-week moving average of new applications rose to 225,000, while continuing claims, reported with a one-week lag, fell by 5,000 to 1.87m. “Elevated continuing jobless claims reflect slowing in the labor market, as laid-off workers face longer stretches of unemployment," commented economist Eliza Winger. The median duration of unemployment reached 10.5 weeks in November, up from nine a year earlier.
ECONOMY
House rejects government funding bill backed by Trump
House Republicans’ slimmed-down plan to try to avert a government shutdown was defeated in a hastily called vote Thursday, as several dozen GOP lawmakers joined with Democrats in rejecting the proposal endorsed by President-elect Donald Trump. The package failed by a vote of 174-235 just hours after it was hastily assembled by Republican leaders seeking to comply with Trump's demands. A prior bipartisan deal was scuttled after Trump and the world's richest person Elon Musk came out against it on Wednesday. Government funding is due to expire at midnight, triggering a partial shutdown. Millions of federal and military employees could be hit with paycheck delays, though that depends on how long a shutdown lasts. The IRS says it will furlough more than half of its nearly 90,000 employees if a shutdown happens. National Park Service sites will also be closed. However, entitlements such as Social Security and Medicare have their own funding vehicles that are separate from the appropriations currently in question.
Conference Board's LEI rises to near-three-year high
The Conference Board's Leading Economic Index, a composite of 10 forward-looking components designed to show whether the economy is getting better or worse, grew by 0.3% in November, the first growth seen since February 2022, following on from a 0.4% decline in October. Economists had expected it to drop 0.1%. The coincident economic index inched up by 0.1%, while the lagging economic index was 0.3% higher. Justyna Zabinska-La Monica, senior manager of business cycle indicators at The Conference Board, said the index rose due to factors including fewer initial unemployment claims, a rebound in building permits, continued support from equities, and an improvement in average hours worked in manufacturing. Relatedly, the Philadelphia Federal Reserve's monthly manufacturing index fell for a second straight month, to negative 16.4, from negative 5.5 in November, indicating a contraction in activity. The report's new orders index tumbled to negative 4.3, the lowest since May, from plus 8.9 in November. Factory managers continued to be optimistic about prospects in six months' time but their growth outlooks nonetheless softened from a three-year high in November.
TECHNOLOGY
Amazon says its warehouse bots are creating jobs
Employees at Amazon's warehouses have raised concerns about unsafe working conditions and job security amid increasing automation, but Tye Brady, Amazon's chief technologist, argues that the company's investment in robotics is enhancing worker safety and efficiency. "We put people at the center of our robotics universe", he said, highlighting the collaboration between humans and machines. The new systems, such as the Sequoia storage cell and Proteus robots, aim to reduce repetitive strain injuries and improve order fulfilment speed. Despite criticisms, Brady insists that automation is not about eliminating jobs but transforming them, with Amazon committing over $1.2bn to upskill its workforce. The company has created hundreds of thousands of new roles, demonstrating that "more robots, more jobs" is a viable approach, Brady maintains.
TAX
'The Magician' pleads guilty to filing thousands of false reports
A Bronx-based tax preparer known to clients as "The Magician" spent decades filing returns for clients, as part of what federal prosecutors say was a "sweeping fraudulent scheme" that robbed $145m from the IRS. It was one of the largest frauds committed by a tax preparer that the Department of Justice had encountered in its history, they added. Rafael Alvarez, chief executive of a company called APAX, appeared before a judge in U.S. District Court in Manhattan on Tuesday and pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud and steal government funds and one count of assisting in the preparation of a false and fraudulent U.S. individual income tax return. He faces a maximum sentence of eight years in prison for the two counts and will be sentenced on April 11th next year. Mr. Alvarez, who had been preparing tax returns since at least 1990 at several ATAX locations, regularly falsified figures by submitting fictitious deductions, business expenses, capital losses and tax credits to get clients higher refunds, court documents show. Prosecutors said that Mr. Alvarez had recruited employees who did not have legal status in the country and intimidated them into participating.
INTERNATIONAL
Japan brokerages boost pay and perks for retirement-age staff
Japan's leading securities firms are increasing salaries and benefits for workers aged 60 and above, reflecting the urgent need to retain talent in a rapidly ageing society. At Daiwa Securities Group, senior employees in this age bracket have seen an average pay rise of 15% over the past two years. Nomura Holdings has also enhanced benefits, including paid sick leave, to match what younger employees get. “The diverse experience and skill sets of employees at 60 or over are important for our business,” Nomura said. As an example, Japan's biggest brokerage observed that “employees with experience in the world where interest rates are above zero can provide information that is difficult for younger generations to imagine.” As Japan faces a declining fertility rate, employers are being advised to do more to motivate older employees, including setting remuneration in line with performance and job responsibilities, according to a report by business lobby Keidanren. “Redeploying senior people as a workforce will be essential if companies want to stay in business or achieve growth,” said Nobuhiro Maeda, a senior analyst from NLI Research Institute's gerontology promotion office. “Labour shortage problems are expected to become even more dire from now.”
China’s food delivery platforms begin to enforce rider breaks
Meituan and Ele.me, China's two major on-demand delivery service providers, have introduced new features that alert or forcibly log out couriers who work excessively long hours, in a bid to prevent rider fatigue. Meituan's system detects prolonged working hours through the courier app, prompting riders to take a break after a certain amount of time, typically longer than 12 hours. If the suggestion is ignored, the app will eventually require the rider to go offline. The platforms are introducing the alert system as food delivery crew, along with Uber-style taxi drivers, bear the brunt of China’s economic slowdown and weakened consumer spending, forcing them to work extremely long hours to make ends meet.
OTHER
Blackstone's festive spoof video returns
Blackstone, the American investment giant which manages over $1trn in assets, is known for its annual festive spoof video. This year's seven-and-a-half-minute mock documentary critiques last year's video, which featured executives lip-syncing to Taylor Swift songs. "The media was not kind," remarked a Blackstone executive, referencing mock newspaper headlines that labelled the previous video as "the most cringeworthy corporate video ever made." The new video includes humorous moments, such as Stephen Schwarzman attempting to chop a cucumber, and a shift towards a country music theme. While comments on the YouTube video are disabled, reactions vary, with Bryce Elder from the FT noting that turning off comments "is probably the only demonstration of good judgment in the entire process," while Keith Lee, CEO of Locust Park Capital, called it "the best one yet."
 


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