Jeremy Siegel: ‘Dip Can’t Be Ruled Out’ for S&P in 2025
The coming months will provide a better read on the incoming Trump administration’s immigration and tariff policies, he noted. Image: Bloomberg
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ZestyAI Receives Regulatory Approval From Iowa Insurance Division
Article 0 Comments ZestyAI, a provider of AI-informed climate and property risk analytics solutions, has received regulatory approval from the Iowa Insurance Division for its Severe Convective Storm suite, including Z-HAIL, Z-WIND, and Z-STORM. ZestyAI’s Severe Convective Storm suite has already received approvals in other key hail belt states, including Texas, Colorado, Illinois and Indiana, with additional filings in progress. In 2024, Iowa experienced multiple billion-dollar severe weather events, with hailstorms driving billions in damages and insurance losses. Topics Legislation Iowa Was this article valuable? Thank you! Please tell us what we can do to improve this article. Submit No Thanks Thank you! % of people found this article valuable. Please tell us what you liked about it. Submit No Thanks Here are more articles you may enjoy. Interested in Legislation? Get automatic alerts for this topic.
Michigan Taco Restaurant Owner Ordered to Pay $823K in Back Wages
Article 0 Comments A federal court has ordered the owner of three West Michigan taco restaurants to pay 177 workers a total of $823,326 after the court granted the U.S. Department of Labor’s request for summary judgment, concluding that the restaurants operated an illegal tip pool that led to violations of federal minimum wage and overtime regulations. On Nov. 5, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan entered summary judgment against Sparty Tacos LLC in East Lansing, TC Tacos LLC in Traverse City and GR Tacos LLC in Grand Rapids – all operating as Barrio Tacos – and owner Jacob Hawley that required the employers to pay $411,663 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages. The judgment resolves the department’s Sept. 7, 2023, complaint prompted by an investigation by its Wage and Hour Division that alleged Fair Labor Standards Act violations by the three restaurants and Hawley. Specifically, the court found the employers: Required tipped employees – who were paid by the employers using the tip credit – to surrender a portion of their cash and credit card tips to managers after each shift. Managers then redistributed these tips to non-tipped employees, including...
Aviva Agrees to Buy UK Insurer Direct Line for £3.7 Billion
Article 0 Comments Aviva Plc agreed to buy Direct Line Insurance Group Plc for roughly £3.7 billion ($4.65 billion) in a deal that would create the UK’s largest motor insurer.Each Direct Line shareholder will be entitled to receive 0.2867 new Aviva shares, 129.7 pence in cash and as much as 5 pence in dividend, according to a statement on Monday. The transaction would value each Direct Line share at 275 pence apiece, representing a premium of about 73% to the closing price on Nov. 27, when Bloomberg News first reported the takeover interest. The board of Direct Line considers the terms to be “fair and reasonable” and intends to recommend unanimously that its shareholders vote in favor of the takeover, according to the statement. Upon completion, which is expected around mid-2025 subject to conditions and approvals, Aviva will hold roughly 87.5% of Direct Line. The deal “delivers significant value” and “reflects the attractiveness of Direct Line,” Danuta Gray, the target’s chair said in the statement. Direct Line shares jumped as much as 3.6% in early London trading on Monday, extending their gains to about 58% since the initial Nov. 27 report on Aviva’s pursuit, when they closed at 158.70 pence....
Biden Signs Anti-Shutdown Bill With Some Medicare Funding Provisions
House members voted 366-34 for the ARA, 2025 package. All members who opposed the package were Republicans. Senate members approved the package by an 85-11 vote. At press time, the party breakdown was not available. Package details: The new spending package: Maintains current provisions that boost Medicare reimbursement rates for doctors and hospitals. Maintains current provisions that boost Medicare reimbursement rates for ambulance services. Extends the current, temporary Medicare telehealth coverage rules, which are more flexible than the older Medicare telehealth coverage rules and were adopted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The package excludes Further Continuing Appropriations provisions that would: Require Medicare Advantage plans to review their provider directories more often and correct errors promptly. Move toward having Medicare cover Grail’s Galleri blood test and other blood tests that screen people for many different kinds of cancer at the same time. Limit pharmacy benefit managers that serve Medicare prescription drug plans to collecting service fees and prohibit the PBMs from basing compensation on the value of discounts negotiated. Reauthorize the Older Americans Act. Sen. Ron Wyden, R-Ore., said he was unhappy about provisions like the provider directory provision dropping out of the anti-shutdown package because of Trump’s complaints. The...
Senate Passes Bill to Curb Contentious Social Security Rules
The Social Security Fairness Act, which passed by a vote of 76 to 20, ensures public sector workers and their families can receive full Social Security benefits by repealing the two penalties that reduced benefits for nearly 3 million Americans. “Today is a day to celebrate!” added Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-Louisiana, late Friday in a statement. “State and local workers in Louisiana deserve the full Social Security benefits they’ve earned. Now they will get it. This was a long overdue step. Now we must save Social Security from insolvency in nine years for every American.” The Senate vote “delivers us to the doorstep of a long-sought goal — to restore fairness to a system that has worked incredibly well for nearly 90 years to provide American workers with basic financial security,” Max Richtman, president and CEO of National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, added late Friday in another statement. The Committee said it supports the bill “because it removes an unfairness in the system by allowing teachers, firefighters, and police officers (among others) and their families to collect Social Security benefits. Our members and supporters have made it clear that they want the WEP & GPO repealed.”
12 Client Gift Ideas Under $100
Costco carries this one. If your client is a fan of Iberico ham from Spain or prosciutto from Italy, this is a great themed gift. The box is quite large. It includes an entire leg of cured meat, with the stand and a carving knife! 5. Christmas Pudding Cost $35-$50 Are they an Anglophile? Watch much Bridgerton or Downton Abbey? This variation on fruitcake is a British classic. You often see it served with brandy poured on top and set alight, producing a blue flame. Williams Sonoma carries a two-pound one for about $50. The British firm Tiptree has a two-pound version for about $35. They say that size serves 10 people. You can also find ones about half the size in the mid-$20s. 6. Omaha Steaks Cost: $85-$89 You have seen them advertised. You get their mailings. Four filet mignons, 6 oz. each, run about $84.00. They have a more extensive package, featuring four top sirloins, with lots of other stuff at $89.99. 7. Caviar Cost: Varies Here’s a luxury item! Zabars, the famous deli in New York, carries American Hackleback Sturgeon caviar at $75 for a 2-ounce jar. They also sell red salmon caviar for $80 a pound,...
Global Warming Can’t Be Ignored, Montana’s Top Court Says, Upholding Landmark Climate Case
Article 0 Comments Montana’s Supreme Court upheld a landmark climate ruling that said the state was violating residents’ constitutional right to a clean environment by permitting oil, gas and coal projects without regard for global warming. The justices, in a 6-1 ruling, rejected the state’s argument that greenhouse gases released from Montana fossil fuel projects are minuscule on a global scale and reducing them would have no effect on climate change, likening it to asking: “If everyone else jumped off a bridge, would you do it too?” Related: Montana To Ask State Top Court To Overturn Landmark Climate Ruling The plaintiffs can enforce their environmental rights “without requiring everyone else to stop jumping off bridges or adding fuel to the fire,” Chief Justice Mike McGrath wrote for the majority. “Otherwise the right to a clean and healthful environment is meaningless.” Only a few other states, including Hawaii, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and New York, have similar environmental protections enshrined in their constitutions. Related: Montana Youth Climate Activists Get Historic Win in State Case The lawsuit filed in 2020 by 16 Montanans —who are now ages 7 to 23 — was considered a breakthrough in attempts by young environmentalists and their attorneys...
Chicago Restaurant Owners to Pay $125K in Overtime Back Wages
Article 0 Comments The U.S. Department of Labor obtained a consent judgment and order in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on Dec. 2, 2024, that requires D’Nuez Corp. and owners Antonio Rendon and Albino Rendon – operators of three restaurants in Chicago and Berwyn – to pay 53 employees a total of $125,000 in overtime back wages and liquidated damages – owed by the employer. The judgment resolves a Nov. 13, 2024 complaint filed by the department after its Wage and Hour Division investigators found the family-operated Chicago companyand its owners violated the Fair Labor Standards Act when they did the following: Failed to pay servers and kitchen staff an overtime premium of time and one-half their hourly rate of pay for hours over 40 in a workweek. The restaurants paid overtime hours in cash at straight time. Failed to display a Fair Labor Standards Act poster as required. The court’s action follows the division’s review of payroll records at two Mexican-fusion restaurants in Chicago on S. Archer Avenue and W. 18th Street from Feb. 28, 2021, to Sept. 26, 2023, that determined the employers owed $62,500 in back wages to the affected employees. In...
G-7 Considers Options to Harden Price Cap on Russian Oil
Article 0 Comments Group of Seven nations are exploring ways to toughen the price cap on Russian oil as they seek to better target Moscow’s ability to fund its war against Ukraine, according to people familiar with the matter. Options under consideration range from essentially replacing the mechanism with a full ban on handling Russian crude to lowering the price threshold from the current $60 to about $40, the people said. The people, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive talks, cautioned that discussions were ongoing and there’s no consensus yet on a next step. Under the current terms of the price cap, western operators can insure and transport oil only when it’s purchased below the price threshold. The US and European Union also introduced an embargo on most imports in the months after Russia’s full-scale invasion. That’s seen Moscow turn to a covert fleet of tankers, often operating with unknown insurers or owners, to move its crude to new markets, particularly in Asia. This shadow fleet has helped Russia work around the restrictions, with prices for its crude selling above the price cap for most of the year. In response, G-7 nations have sanctioned dozens of vessels...