By Nathalie Voit Consumer sentiment in March 2022 was downwardly revised to 59.4 from a preliminary reading of 59.7 in mid-March, according to survey results released by the University of Michigan on March 25. This month's final value was 5.4%, down from the February final of 62.8 and 30.0% under its reading of 84.9 in March 2021. [...]
By Nathalie Voit The fake review industry is about to get a serious shake-up. In a sheer demonstration of federal prowess, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a Notice of Penalty Offenses to over 700 U.S. companies to warn them from engaging in deceptive business practices or unfair conduct that misleads or tricks consumers. The warning, issued [...]
By Nathalie Voit Ride-hailing service Uber struck an agreement to list all New York City’s iconic yellow cabs on its platform, The Wall Street Journal first reported on March 24. The deal, reached with the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission, is an unexpected turn of events for a company that previously vowed to disrupt the [...]
By Nathalie Voit In remarks made at the Detroit Economic Forum on March 22, FBI Director Christopher Wray warned the private sector of potential cyberattacks from Moscow amid the ongoing conflict transpiring in Ukraine. The remarks, made just one day after the White House issued a similar statement about bolstering the nation’s cybersecurity defenses, called on [...]
By Nathalie Voit Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) proposed an $11 billion relief package for Californians as gas prices continue to wreak havoc on millions of ordinary Americans. “We’re taking immediate action to get money directly into the pockets of Californians who are facing higher gas prices as a direct result of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine,” [...]
By Nathalie Voit Identity management platform Okta confirmed an attacker gained access to one of its support engineers’ laptops between Jan. 16-21 and compromised about 2.5% of its customer base, according to a statement from Okta Chief Security Officer David Bradbury on March 22. However, the firm maintained its service was up-and-running and that no “corrective actions” [...]
By Nathalie Voit The average rate on a standard 30-year mortgage surged to 4.68% on March 23, up 22 basis points since Friday and 49 basis points higher than just one month ago, according to rates data from Mortgage News Daily. With the Federal Reserve projecting up to six more rate hikes in 2022, mortgage rates are [...]
By Nathalie Voit U.S. Sens. Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Patrick Leahy (D-VT) introduced bipartisan legislation on March 18 to tackle the nation’s woefully outdated online copyright laws. The proposal, called the SMART Copyright Act of 2022 (S. 3880), is the culmination of a years-long struggle by Sen. Tillis to update the nation’s existing copyright rules to make [...]
By Nathalie Voit The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) formally proposed new rules on March 21 that would require public companies to disclose certain climate-related information to investors. The disclosures would include companies' greenhouse gas emissions, reduction targets, and potential operational risks stemming from climate-related events. If enacted, the landmark climate ruling would serve as a [...]
By Nathalie Voit Berkshire Hathaway said it plans to acquire insurance giant Alleghany Corporation for $11.6 billion, or $848.02 per share, according to a news release published by the multinational conglomerate on March 21. Berkshire Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett said the all-cash deal represents “a multiple of 1.26 times Alleghany’s book value at December 31, 2021, [...]
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