China declares victory over absolute poverty nationwide, lifting 99 MILLION people from penury since 2012
According to CGTN, since last week authorities in the remaining provinces and autonomous regions with poverty-stricken counties successively declared their localities absolutely poverty-free, following extensive inspections. Those include Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Yunnan Province, Sichuan Province and Gansu Province. Guizhou was the final provincial-level area to declare victory over absolute poverty.Back in 2012, the Communist Party of China set a goal to end domestic poverty by the end of 2020. China's poverty line benchmark stands at 2,300 yuan per year at 2010 prices, or a little less than a dollar a day. Also on rt.com We’re moving from the American century to a Chinese century – … [READ MORE...]
AC/DC Debuts at No. 1, Powered by CD Sales
One truism of the music business in the 21st century: AC/DC will sell a ton of albums, no matter the prevailing digital format.“Power Up,” the Australian hard-rock heroes’ first LP in six years, has proved that correct once again, opening at No. 1 on the Billboard chart ahead of a new streaming hit by the rappers Future and Lil Uzi Vert. “Power Up” had the equivalent of 117,000 sales in the United States, according to Nielsen Music, almost all of that number attributed to copies sold as a complete package — otherwise known as albums, a format that AC/DC has plenty of experience with, selling some 200 million around the world over the last 45 years, according to the band’s label, Columbia.Selling old-fashioned LPs has indeed become more difficult in the digital age. That has been the … [READ MORE...]
9 Ways to Support Small Businesses
Go to the SourceThere are always times when you need delivery. But on other days, think twice about how you order takeout. Rather than using a delivery app, ask for curbside pickup: Sites like Grubhub and Uber Eats charge restaurants fees that can reduce already thin margins. Instacart and Shipt, two companies that offer shopping and delivery, also charge the merchants who use the sites.And while it is easy to purchase through a so-called digital shop on sites like Facebook and Instagram, shopping through third-party apps typically reduces the net profit for the merchant. (Facebook, which owns Instagram, has waived selling fees through the end of the year but will re-evaluate the practice in January, a Facebook spokeswoman said in an email.)Be SocialHelp bolster a business’s social media … [READ MORE...]
Latest News
Biden Team, Pushing Quick Stimulus Deal, Prepares for Renewed Recession
A dispute over the size of the package has stalled talks for months. Democrats have rejected multiple Senate Republican proposals — the latest at about $500 billion — as insufficient to address the economy’s needs, particularly because they do not include money for state and local governments to plug budget holes and avoid public-sector layoffs. Mr. Zandi said that such a package “maybe barely gets you through to a vaccine” but risks running out when the economy still needs help.Several … [Read More...]
Mnuchin Cites Principles in Clawing Back Fed Money. Democrats See Politics.
But the Congressional Budget Office, in assessing the budget impact of the money dedicated to Fed programs, found it to be nearly free of cost. The idea was that the loans the money backed would eventually be returned, and fees and interest earnings would cover any expenses. So if the money is clawed back and repurposed for spending — not lending — it would add toward the deficit for accounting purposes.Market distortions have always been a concern.Top Republicans have suggested that leaving the … [Read More...]
Economic Policy Has Become a Partisan Game. That Could Do Long-Term Harm.
It created the appearance that she was a partisan actor who, rather than apply a consistent philosophy to try to make the American economy as healthy as it can be, would pivot on a dime to try to strengthen the economy during a Republican administration and slow it in a Democratic one.On Tuesday, in a dramatic moment, with Senator Kamala Harris (now also the vice president- elect) racing to Washington and two Republican senators rendered unavailable for coronavirus-related reasons, Ms. Shelton … [Read More...]
Mnuchin Plans to End Some Emergency Fed Facilities
Mr. Mnuchin did agree to extend other emergency loan programs that are not backed by the congressional appropriation, including ones that service the short-term market for corporate debt, one for money market funds, and one that backstops government small-business loans.The Fed avoids taking credit losses when extending loans, and throughout the pandemic crisis it has asked for Treasury backup for its riskier programs. If it returns any unused money that the Treasury has already dedicated to … [Read More...]
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Small Business
9 Ways to Support Small Businesses
Go to the SourceThere are always times when you need delivery. But on other days, think twice about how you order takeout. Rather than using a delivery app, ask for curbside pickup: Sites like Grubhub and Uber Eats charge restaurants fees that can reduce already thin margins. Instacart and Shipt, two companies that offer shopping and delivery, also charge the merchants who use the sites.And while … [Read More...]
For Small-Business Owners, a Shifting Landscape of Resources
For now, she’s open for business with reduced hours and capacity. “But I’m hanging in there,” Ms. Burns said. “I’m still in a revenue hole, though, for 2020 as compared to last year — about a 30 percent year-over-year drop.“Coronavirus cases are surging in Ohio right now, so I am unsure how it will play out — we’ll see,” she added.Here’s a rundown of what resources are available to small-business … [Read More...]
Your Money
It’s Easier to Get a Tax Deduction for Donations This Year
The average donation at a fund-raising gala might be $125 to $150, said Afi Tengue, vice president of philanthropy and impact at Giving Compass, which helps donors research issues and make contributions. In that context, she said, “$300 is a big deal.”Here are some questions and answers about charitable donations.Is the $300 universal deduction in the CARES Act permanent?The deduction is … [Read More...]
Time to Take a Pledge: No Stocks if You’re a Member of Congress
The evidence is everywhere, and someone ought to spend 15 minutes shoving it under the nose of every member of Congress who shows up in Washington for the first time. Where to start?Extremely active investors, as Ms. Loeffler and Mr. Perdue were, might begin with the classic 2000 paper “Trading Is Hazardous to Your Wealth,” which used the records of over 66,000 households to show that the annual … [Read More...]