Amazon workers in New York striking Thursday morning. Image via WABC.
(NEW YORK) — The Teamsters said workers will begin striking at Amazon facilities across the country Thursday morning — in what the union calls the largest strike against the online shopping giant less than a week before Christmas.
The Teamsters said the strike will begin early Thursday at several facilities, including in New York City, Atlanta, three locations in Southern California, one in San Francisco and one in Skokie, Illinois.
In addition, the Teamsters said local unions would also put up primary picket lines at hundreds of Amazon Fulfillment Centers nationwide.
In a news release, the union calls it the “largest strike against Amazon in U.S. history” and says it comes after Amazon has refused to bargain with workers organized with the Teamsters.
“If your package is delayed during the holidays, you can blame Amazon’s insatiable greed,” said Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien in a statement. “We gave Amazon a clear deadline to come to the table and do right by our members. They ignored it.”
In a statement to ABC News, an Amazon spokesperson said the Teamsters have illegally coerced workers to join the union.
“For more than a year now, the Teamsters have continued to intentionally mislead the public – claiming that they represent ‘thousands of Amazon employees and drivers’. They don’t, and this is another attempt to push a false narrative,” Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel said. “The truth is that the Teamsters have actively threatened, intimidated, and attempted to coerce Amazon employees and third-party drivers to join them, which is illegal and is the subject of multiple pending unfair labor practice charges against the union.”
The spokesperson said the company has increased the starting minimum wage for workers in fulfillment centers and transportation employees by 20% and in September increased average base wage to $22 per hour.
The announced strike by the Teamsters comes after workers at several Amazon facilities authorized the walkout.
The Teamsters said nearly 10,000 Amazon workers across the country have joined the union.
The facility in New York City’s Staten Island was Amazon’s first-ever unionized warehouse. Workers there have said the company has refused to recognize the union and negotiate a contract after workers there voted to unionize in 2022.
The National Labor Relations Board officially certified the union representing workers at the facility, but Amazon has appealed that ruling.
(WASHINGTON) — The Federal Reserve cut interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point on Wednesday, delivering relief for borrowers at the central bank’s last meeting before President-elect Donald Trump takes office next month.
The central bank predicted fewer rate cuts next year than it had previously indicated, however, suggesting concern that inflation may prove more difficult to bring under control than policymakers thought just a few months ago.
The move marked the third consecutive interest rate cut since the Fed opted to start dialing back its fight against inflation in the fall. The Fed has lowered interest rates by a percentage point in recent months.
However, the Fed’s forecast on Wednesday said it anticipates only a half a percentage point of rate cuts next year and another half-percent cut in 2026.
The benchmark interest rate helps determine loan payments for everything from credit cards to mortgages. Even after recent cuts, the Fed’s interest rate remains at a historically high level of between 4.25% and 4.5%.
The size of the interest rate cut on Wednesday matched investors’ expectations.
The latest rate cut may prove the Fed’s last for many months, experts previously told ABC News.
A recent bout of stubborn inflation could prompt central bankers to freeze interest rates in place as they bring price increases under control. A humming economy, meanwhile, shows little need for the jolt of activity that lower borrowing costs may provide, the experts said.
Consumer prices climbed 2.7% in November compared to a year ago, marking two consecutive months of accelerating inflation, government data last week showed.
Inflation has slowed dramatically from a peak of more than 9% in June 2022. But the recent uptick has reversed some progress made at the start of this year that had landed price increases right near the Fed’s target of 2%.
In August, Trump said the president should have a role in setting interest rates. The proposal would mark a major shift from the longstanding norm of political independence at the Fed.
Powell struck a defiant tone last month when posed with the question of whether he would resign from his position if asked by Trump.
“No,” Powell told reporters assembled at a press conference in Washington, D.C., blocks away from the White House.
When asked whether Trump could fire or demote him, Powell retorted: “Not permitted under the law.”
(NEW YORK) — The price of bitcoin topped $107,000 for the first time this week, climbing to a fresh high days after President-elect Donald Trump reaffirmed support for a U.S. bitcoin strategic reserve akin to its strategic oil reserve.
The world’s largest cryptocurrency has seen its price climb more than 50% since the election of Trump, who voiced support for bitcoin on the campaign trail.
Proponents of a potential government stockpile of bitcoin say it could diversify the nation’s financial holdings and prevent other countries from dominating the ascendant digital currency market. Critics warn, however, that the highly volatile asset lacks the type of financial or national security import that would warrant a strategic reserve.
Here’s what to know about a U.S. bitcoin strategic reserve, according to experts:
How would a bitcoin strategic reserve work?
A U.S. bitcoin strategic reserve would amount to a substantial government holding of bitcoin similar to the country’s stockpile of oil or gold.
A strategic reserve typically acts as a safeguard against an emergency shortage or another sudden event that would require the government to draw upon its stockpile of a given asset.
For instance, the strategic petroleum reserve, or SPR, was established after the Arab Oil Embargo triggered an energy crisis in the early 1970s with devastating consequences for the U.S. economy. The SPR, in turn, provides an emergency source of oil that protects the U.S. against a sudden supply crunch.
A bitcoin strategic reserve would help ensure the U.S. plays a significant role in the cryptocurrency market, which supporters view as a fast-growing part of the global financial system, Nik Bhatia, a professor of finance and business economics at the University of Southern California who studies cryptocurrency, told ABC News.
“Bitcoin has now become the largest decentralized asset in human history,” Bhatia said.
“Having some ownership in the network would be natural for the U.S. given its leadership in technology,” Bhatia added, citing the nation’s role in the invention of the internet.
What are the benefits and drawbacks of a bitcoin strategic reserve?
Speaking at a pro-bitcoin conference in July, Trump said a U.S. bitcoin strategic reserve would ensure the country exerts influence over bitcoin and prevents China from controlling the digital currency market.
Supporters of a bitcoin strategic reserve also say the asset would help diversify the nation’s financial holdings, protecting it from the potential decline in value of other assets, such as the U.S. dollar or gold.
Some proponents have said bitcoin holdings could help the U.S. pay down its national debt, since the price of bitcoin has recently climbed.
“While U.S. adversaries acquire traditional gold from a position of relative financial weakness, the U.S. can countermove by stockpiling digital gold in a way that amplifies its incumbent financial strength,” the Bitcoin Policy Institute, a nonpartisan think tank that supports a bitcoin strategic reserve, said earlier this year.
Some critics say bitcoin, launched 15 years ago, remains a relatively new asset lacking the kind of social utility or financial import that would necessitate a strategic reserve.
“You’re going to be hard pressed to say someone needs bitcoin the day-to-day way that they need petroleum,” Ananya Kumar, deputy director for future of money at the GeoEconomics Center, a part of the nonpartisan Atlantic Council, told ABC News.
Since the price of bitcoin is highly volatile, a large purchase of the asset could end up threatening the nation’s financial stability rather than safeguarding it, some critics say.
When asked about forecasts of future bitcoin gains that could ease the nation’s debt, Kumar says the long-term outlook for bitcoin remains uncertain. “The coin’s price has obviously been rising over time, but I’m not sure if that rise will continue,” Kumar said.
(NEW YORK) — The federal appeals court that last week rejected TikTok’s attempt to overthrow its pending ban denied the company’s request Friday that sought to pause the ruling and the Jan. 19 deadline for a sale.
The company, which has been forced by a federal law to sell to a new owner or be banned in the U.S., requested the emergency pause earlier in the week arguing it would afford the Supreme Court time to determine whether it should review the law.
However, the D.C. Circuit judges said that Congress made a “deliberate choice” to set a 270-day time frame for the sale-or-ban, “subject to one (and only one) extension.”
“The petitioners have not identified any case in which a court, after rejecting a constitutional challenge to an Act of Congress, has enjoined the Act from going into effect while review is sought in the Supreme Court,” the judges wrote in the unsigned order.
TikTok has not immediately commented about the order.
The Justice Department asked the court to reject TikTok’s request for a temporary injunction.
“The Court is familiar with the relevant facts and law and has definitively rejected petitioners’ constitutional claims in a thorough decision that recognizes the critical national-security interests underlying the Act,” the DOJ’s attorneys said.
The Justice Department did not immediately comment on the decision either.
The case would have to go to the Supreme Court if TikTok chooses to appeal, which could delay the Jan. 19 deadline.
President Joe Biden signed the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, which was part of a massive, $95 billion foreign aid package passed by Congress, on April 24.
As part of the act, TikTok, which has over 170 million U.S. users, is forced to sell the company from its current Chinese-based owner ByteDance.
The president and some congressional leaders have argued that the ultimatum against TikTok was necessary because of security concerns about ByteDance and its connections to the Chinese government.
ByteDance rebutted those allegations in its lawsuit, arguing there has been no tangible evidence that the app poses any security risk and filed a lawsuit against the Justice Department in May.
The law has prompted major protests from TikTok’s American users who have defended the app.
President-elect Donald Trump once proposed a TikTok ban when he was in office but has changed his stance and signaled he would reverse the ban once in office. A reversal, however, would require approval from both houses of Congress.
(WASHINGTON) — A fresh inflation reading this week flashed a warning: Price increases are rising again, just when the Federal Reserve had appeared close to declaring “mission accomplished” in its yearslong fight to lower them.
In theory, the trend would prompt the Fed to raise rates, or at least hold them steady, when central bankers meet next week. High interest rates, after all, are the main tool the Fed has used to ratchet inflation down from its pandemic-era heights.
Instead, investors peg the chances of a rate cut next week at an overwhelming 98%, according to the CME FedWatch Tool, a measure of market sentiment.
The reason is clear, experts told ABC News: Interest rates will remain historically high even after a small cut. The Fed likely does not view a mild uptick of inflation this fall as enough to deviate from a path of rate cuts it laid out earlier this year, they added.
“I don’t think the recent inflation has diverged enough from what the Fed expected to change its outlook,” William English, a professor of finance at Yale University and a former Fed official, told ABC News.
Consumer prices rose 2.7% in November compared to a year ago, marking two consecutive months of rising inflation, government data this week showed.
Inflation has slowed dramatically from a peak of more than 9% in June 2022. But the recent uptick has reversed some progress made at the start of this year that had landed price increases right near the Fed’s target of 2%.
That progress had helped nudge the Fed toward its landmark shift to interest rate cuts.
In recent months, the Fed has cut its benchmark rate three-quarters of a percentage point, dialing back its fight against inflation and delivering some relief for borrowers saddled with high costs.
Even after the cuts, the benchmark rate stands between 4.5% and 4.75%, its highest level in nearly two decades. The high interest rates have kept borrowing costs high for everything from credit cards to mortgages.
The average interest rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage stands at nearly 6.7%, well above an average rate four years ago of 2.6%, Freddie Mac data shows.
A small rate cut by the Fed would not meaningfully reduce mortgage payments for new loans, Yeva Nersisyan, a professor of economics at Franklin & Marshall College, told ABC News. In turn, the rate decision poses little risk of boosting demand for big-ticket items, like homes, which make up prices most immediately sensitive to lower rates. Other prices operate on a prolonged lag in response to changes in interest rates, she added.
“In that sense, a quarter of a percentage point cut or not really wouldn’t make a difference for inflation,” Nersisyan said.
The anticipated rate cut also reflects the Fed’s consideration of employment, which makes up the other component of its dual mandate besides inflation, English said. The unemployment rate has increased this year from 3.7% to 4.2%, though it remains at a historically low level. Hiring has slowed down but remained solid.
Lower interest rates are meant to stimulate economic activity over the long term, keep the economy growing and safeguard the labor market.
“They’ve been trying to balance two risks: One is that the economy slows more than they thought, and the other is that inflation proves more stubborn than they thought,” English said.
Still, experts cautioned that the recent uptick in inflation may delay or alter plans for rate cuts next year.
“Starting next year, they probably will take a more cautious outlook,” Nersisyan said.
(NEW YORK) — Multiple “Wanted” signs featuring corporate executives posted in Manhattan this week included a grave warning, according to a New York Police Department bulletin. “Brian Thompson was denied his claim to life. Who will be denied next?” the signs said.
The threats of violence against CEOs followed an outpouring of criticism on social media directed at corporate leaders in the wake of the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Many online also praised Luigi Mangione, the murder suspect, who assailed large corporations in writings found by police.
The wave of sympathy toward Mangione and hostility toward CEOs sparked debate about how a set of Americans had come to cheer, or at least condone, wishes of violence hurled toward corporate executives.
Some experts who spoke to ABC News attributed the anti-corporate outcry to a host of overlapping trends: widening wealth inequality and a perception of an economy rigged against everyday people, blistering rhetoric supercharged by social media and a populist strain of politics that faults elites.
“People feel that the system just isn’t built to favor regular folks. That’s underlying a lot of the macabre response that we’ve seen to this shooting,” Chris Jackson, senior vice president of public affairs for Ipsos in the U.S., told ABC News.
Other experts, however, have said the criticism voiced by a small but outspoken minority risked overstating the level of dissatisfaction with CEOs.
“Despite a vocal fringe, most Americans continue to admire businesses and their leaders as vital forces of innovation, prosperity and stability,” Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, a professor of management at Yale University who regularly convenes meetings of the nation’s top CEOs, wrote in the outlet Chief Executive.
Mangione was arrested by police on Monday in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on gun charges, before being charged in New York with murder. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges in Pennsylvania, and has fought extradition to New York.
The online response to the murder has arrived at a moment of deep distrust about what determines economic outcomes, polls show. More than two-thirds of Americans think the nation’s economy is rigged to advantage the rich and powerful, an Ipsos survey last year found.
That perception of unfairness coincided with a rise in anti-corporate attitudes among members of both major parties, according to a 2022 Pew survey. Only 1 in 4 adults believed large businesses have a positive effect on the way things are going in the country, down from 36% just three years earlier, the poll showed.
“There’s growing dissatisfaction and anger toward top-level corporate management,” Daniel Kinderman, a professor of political science and international relations at the University of Delaware, told ABC News.
Such distrust, Kinderman said, traces in part to wide economic inequality. The wealthiest 10% of U.S. families control about 60% of the country’s wealth, a Congressional Budget Office report in October found.
“A lot of people are working hard, but they’re not really getting anywhere,” Kinderman said. “There’s a sense that the system is broken.”
Some experts have disputed explanations of the anti-CEO sentiment that attribute the phenomenon primarily to individuals’ economic outlook, however.
Sonnenfeld said the hostility owes to populists on both ends of the political spectrum who villainize corporate America.
“This unholy alliance between the far left and far right seems to think that businesses cannot succeed without doing something unethical or hurting others,” Sonnenfeld wrote in the outlet Chief Executive.
Much of the vitriol has targeted the health care industry, which aggravates consumers more than corporations overall, Tom Rogers, the founder of CNBC, told ABC News.
“I don’t really see another industry where the depth of disapproval and disgust that people have would be anywhere near as motivating in terms of the ill will toward CEOs,” Rogers said.
Social media also drew blame from experts, who faulted algorithms that they said often reward provocative posts with higher engagement and wider reach. Viral posts online have listed the names and salaries of several health insurance executives, the NYPD said in its bulletin this week.
Robert Pape, a professor of political science at the University of Chicago who studies political violence, acknowledged the role of social media but said a focus on any single factor risks overlooking the contribution from others, including economic frustration and populist politics.
“It’s really an interwoven cocktail,” Pape said.
Pape pointed to recent bouts of political violence that in his view have weakened a longstanding taboo against it: the insurrection at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021; the assault of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Paul Pelosi, in 2022; and a pair of assassination attempts on former President Donald Trump during the 2024 presidential campaign.
“Political violence has become normal,” Pape said. “We’re on a slippery slope.”
(WASHINGTON) — Albertsons has filed a lawsuit against its rival Kroger following a failed multibillion dollar deal that would have marked the biggest supermarket merger in U.S. history.
Two federal judges in Oregon and Washington blocked the merger Tuesday, siding with the Federal Trade Commission, which has opposed the plan, arguing it would eliminate competition and raise prices for American shoppers.
Albertsons announced Wednesday that it had terminated the merger agreement following the failed bid.
“Given the recent federal and state court decisions to block our proposed merger with Kroger, we have made the difficult decision to terminate the merger agreement,” Albertsons CEO Vivek Sankaran said in a statement. “We are deeply disappointed in the courts’ decisions.”
Less than 24 hours after the failed deal, the Boise, Idaho-based retailer also announced it had taken legal action against Kroger.
“Kroger willfully breached the Merger Agreement in several key ways, including by repeatedly refusing to divest assets necessary for antitrust approval, ignoring regulators’ feedback, rejecting stronger divestiture buyers and failing to cooperate with Albertsons,” the company alleged in a statement Wednesday.
Albertsons claimed the Cincinnati, Ohio-based grocery chain failed to exercise “best efforts” and failed to take “‘any and all actions’ to secure regulatory approval of the companies’ agreed merger transaction as was required of Kroger under the terms of the merger agreement between the parties.”
The complaint was filed in the Delaware Court of Chancery against Kroger and is temporarily under seal.
In response to the lawsuit, Kroger released its own statement, calling the suit “baseless.”
“Kroger refutes these allegations in the strongest possible terms, especially in light of Albertsons’ repeated intentional material breaches and interference throughout the merger process, which we will prove in court,” the company claimed. “This is clearly an attempt to deflect responsibility following Kroger’s written notification of Albertsons’ multiple breaches of the agreement, and to seek payment of the merger’s break fee, to which they are not entitled.”
Kroger said the company “looks forward to responding to these baseless claims in court.”
Tom Moriarty, Albertsons’ general counsel and chief policy officer, expressed his disappointment and said the merger “would have delivered meaningful benefits for America’s consumers,” as well as both companies’ employees.
“Rather than fulfill its contractual obligations to ensure that the merger succeeded, Kroger acted in its own financial self-interest, repeatedly providing insufficient divestiture proposals that ignored regulators’ concerns,” Moriarty claimed in a statement. “Kroger’s self-serving conduct, taken at the expense of Albertsons and the agreed transaction, has harmed Albertsons’ shareholders, associates and consumers.”
The two supermarket chains first proposed combining forces back in October 2022, sharing a definitive agreement in which Kroger, the second largest U.S. grocery store chain, sought to purchase the fourth largest, Albertsons, for an estimated total enterprise value of $24.6 billion.
Following a three-week hearing in Portland, Oregon, U.S. District Court Judge Adrienne Nelson issued a temporary injunction blocking the merger on Tuesday.
That was followed later on Tuesday by a decision from Judge Marshall Ferguson in Seattle, Washington, who issued a permanent injunction that barred the merger in that state, citing competition concerns and a violation of Washington’s consumer-protection laws.
Kroger operates 2,800 stores across 35 states, with brands including Ralphs, Smith’s and Harris Teeter. Albertsons operates 2,273 stores in 34 states, including brands like Safeway, Jewel Osco and Shaw’s.
Between them, the two grocery chains have more than 700,000 workers and operate almost everywhere in the U.S.
In separate statements following Tuesday’s court rulings, both Kroger and Albertsons expressed disappointment and said at the time, they would review their options.
Both the White House and the FTC praised the rulings Tuesday.
“The FTC, along with our state partners, scored a major victory for the American people, successfully blocking Kroger’s acquisition of Albertsons,” Bureau of Competition Director Henry Liu said in a statement. “This historic win protects millions of Americans across the country from higher prices for essential groceries — from milk, to bread, to eggs — ultimately allowing consumers to keep more money in their pockets.”
White House National Economic Council Deputy Director Jon Donenberg said in a separate statement Tuesday, “The Kroger-Albertsons merger would have been the biggest supermarket merger in history — raising grocery prices for consumers and lowering wages for workers. Our administration is proud to stand up against big corporate mergers that increase prices, undermine workers, and hurt small businesses.”
(WASHINGTON) — Consumer prices rose 2.7% in November compared to a year ago, ticking upward from the previous month and potentially giving pause to the Federal Reserve as it weighs an interest rate cut expected next week. The reading matched economists’ expectations.
The fresh data marked two consecutive months of rising inflation, extending a bout of accelerated price increases that has reversed some of the progress made in lowering inflation earlier in the year.
The inflation gauge makes up the last piece of significant economic data before the Fed announces its next interest rate decision on Dec. 18. A finding of accelerated price hikes may give the Fed pause as it weighs interest rate cuts.
The inflation gauge makes up the last piece of significant economic data before the Fed announces its next interest rate decision on Dec. 18.
Core inflation — a closely watched measure that strips out volatile food and energy prices — increased 3.3% over the year ending in November, matching the previous month, the data showed.
Food prices rose 2.4% in November compared to a year ago, matching the previous month and marking slower price increases than the overall inflation rate.
Prices fell in November compared to a year ago for an array of household staples like cereal, rice, flour, bread, bacon and seafood.
Over that period, the price of eggs soared more than 37%, however, as a result of an avian flu that has depleted supply. Prices for sugar, butter and pork chops also rose faster than the overall inflation rate.
Inflation has slowed dramatically from a peak of more than 9% in June 2022, but price increases remain slightly above the target rate of 2%.
In recent months, the Fed has cut its benchmark rate three quarters of a percentage point, dialing back its yearslong fight against inflation and delivering relief for borrowers saddled with high costs.
The Fed is expected to cut interest rates by another quarter of a percentage point at its meeting next week, according to the CME FedWatch Tool, a measure of market sentiment.
Over time, rate cuts ease the burden on borrowers for everything from home mortgages to credit cards to cars, making it cheaper to get a loan or refinance one. The cuts also boost company valuations, potentially helping fuel returns for stockholders.
In theory, the policy eases access to funds, stimulates economic activity and boosts demand. But the promise of bolstered consumer strength risks increased prices.
Speaking at a press conference in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, Fed Chair Jerome Powell voiced optimism about the prospects for achieving a “soft landing,” in which the U.S. averts a recession while inflation returns to normal.
“We continue to be confident that with an appropriate recalibration of our policy stance, strength in the economy and labor market can be maintained with inflation moving sustainably down to 2%,” Powell said.
The trajectory of inflation could shift in the coming months. Some economists expect President-elect Donald Trump’s proposals of heightened tariffs and the mass deportation of undocumented immigrants to raise consumer prices.
When asked about the Fed’s potential response to Trump’s policies, Powell said the central bank would make its rate decisions based on how any policy changes impact the economy.
“In the near term, the election will have no effects on our policy decisions,” Powell said. “We don’t know what the timing and substance of any policy changes will be. We therefore don’t know what the effects on the economy will be.”
“We don’t guess, we don’t speculate and we don’t assume,” Powell added.
(WASHINGTON) — Fresh inflation data set for release on Wednesday will provide an update on prices ahead of the holidays and help determine the outcome of an interest rate decision at the Federal Reserve slated for next week.
A monthslong slowdown of inflation came to an end when price increases accelerated in October, the most recent month for which data is available. The hot reading reversed some previous progress in lowering inflation and left price increases above the Fed’s target rate.
Economists expect consumer prices to have climbed 2.7% in November, which would amount to a slight uptick in price increases and mark two consecutive months of rising inflation.
The inflation gauge makes up the last piece of significant economic data before the Fed announces its next interest rate decision on Dec. 18. A finding of accelerated price hikes may give the Fed pause as it weighs interest rate cuts.
Inflation has slowed dramatically from a peak of more than 9% in June 2022, but price increases remain slightly above the target rate of 2%.
In recent months, the Fed has cut its benchmark rate three quarters of a percentage point, dialing back its yearslong fight against inflation and delivering relief for borrowers saddled with high costs.
The Fed is expected to cut interest rates by another quarter of a percentage point at its meeting next week, according to the CME FedWatch Tool, a measure of market sentiment.
Over time, rate cuts ease the burden on borrowers for everything from home mortgages to credit cards to cars, making it cheaper to get a loan or refinance one. The cuts also boost company valuations, potentially helping fuel returns for stockholders.
In theory, the policy eases access to funds, stimulates economic activity and boosts demand. But the promise of bolstered consumer strength risks increased prices.
Speaking at a press conference in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, Fed Chair Jerome Powell voiced optimism about the prospects for achieving a “soft landing,” in which the U.S. averts a recession while inflation returns to normal.
“We continue to be confident that with an appropriate recalibration of our policy stance, strength in the economy and labor market can be maintained with inflation moving sustainably down to 2%,” Powell said.
The trajectory of inflation could shift in the coming months. Some economists expect President-elect Donald Trump’s proposals of heightened tariffs and the mass deportation of undocumented immigrants to raise consumer prices.
When asked about the Fed’s potential response to Trump’s policies, Powell said the central bank would make its rate decisions based on how any policy changes impact the economy.
“In the near term, the election will have no effects on our policy decisions,” Powell said. “We don’t know what the timing and substance of any policy changes will be. We therefore don’t know what the effects on the economy will be.”
“We don’t guess, we don’t speculate and we don’t assume,” Powell added.
(NEW YORK) — A bankruptcy judge rejected the sale of Infowars to The Onion, conspiracy theorist Alex Jones said during his podcast on Tuesday.
“We are deeply disappointed in today’s decision but The Onion will continue to seek a resolution that helps the Sandy Hook families receive a positive outcome for the horror they endured,” The Onion CEO Ben Collins said on social media.
“We will also continue to seek a path towards purchasing InfoWars in the coming weeks,” Collins’ statement continued.
Jones accused The Onion and Sandy Hook Elementary School families of “collusive bidding” and asked a bankruptcy court judge to halt the sale of his Infowars platform in November.
Jones, who defamed the Sandy Hook families by calling the 2012 massacre a hoax and the parents of the 20 first graders actors, called The Onion’s winning $1.75 million bid “sheer nonsense” because it’s half of what the losing bidder offered.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
