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North Dakota to Vote on Recreational Marijuana Legalization in November Election

Article 0 Comments BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A ballot initiative to legalize recreational marijuana in North Dakota has qualified for the November election, the state’s top election official said Monday. That sets up another vote on the issue in the conservative state after voters and lawmakers rejected previous efforts in recent years. North Dakota Secretary of State Michael Howe said nearly 19,000 signatures were accepted after his office’s review, several thousand more than was needed to earn placement on the ballot. The group that sponsored the measure, New Economic Frontier, had submitted more than 22,000 signatures in early July. Measure leader Steve Bakken, a Burleigh County commissioner and former Bismarck mayor, said law enforcement resources would be better directed at opioids and fentanyl than marijuana. The initiative also is an effort to head off any out-of-state measure that might have unmanageable results, he said. The 20-page statutory measure would legalize recreational marijuana for people 21 and older to use at their homes and, if permitted, on others’ private property. The measure also outlines numerous production and processing regulations, prohibited uses — such as in public or in vehicles — and would allow home cultivation of plants. The measure would set...

QuickFacts Raises $2M to Accelerate Software Expansion Across North America 0

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QuickFacts Raises $2M to Accelerate Software Expansion Across North America

Pineapple Financial Inc. Partners with Walnut Insurance to Add Additional Revenue Stream Tapping into $85 Billion P&C Insurance Market Halifax, NS (Aug. 14, 2024) – QuickFacts, an insurtech startup dedicated to enhancing efficiency in the insurance industry, is pleased to announce the successful closure of an oversubscribed $2 million funding round. This investment positions QuickFacts for a successful launch in Quebec and the U.S. market, following its recent expansion across the Canadian Western provinces. This financing round was led by Sandpiper Ventures, a fund focused on women building ground-breaking technology companies. The investor group also includes Killick Capital, a private investment firm based in St. John’s and headed by Mark Dobbin; Paul Hill, Canadian technology executive and angel investor; InsurTech NY, a NYC-based fund investing in new products, distribution solutions, and technologies to evolve the insurance industry; Neil Mitchell, former Managing Director at Marsh Canada; Phil Gibson, previous Managing Director for Aviva, and senior executive at Allstate and Travelers US; Don Jacobi, the previous owner of Jacobi Brien Insurance; East Valley Ventures and other angel investors. This blend of Venture Capital and Angel investors offers outstanding support throughout all of QuickFacts’ business functions, aiding the company in reaching significant milestones....

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Fed’s Bostic Says More Data Needed, Rate Cut Likely by Year-End

Bostic now joins a handful of other Fed policymakers who have pushed back in varying degrees against the notion they should react more aggressively. Investors who are on edge will turn their attention next week to the Fed’s annual symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Though the conference agenda has not been made public, Chair Jerome Powell is widely expected to speak and could provide more guidance on what to expect when the central bank’s rate-setting panel meets in mid-September. The latest data on prices, meanwhile, showed continued progress on lowering inflation. US producer prices rose in July by less than forecast, according to a Bureau of Labor Statistics report released Tuesday. July numbers on consumer inflation are due Wednesday. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg expect the consumer price index rose 3% in the 12 months through July. Last month policymakers kept interest rates unchanged at a more than two-decade high, yet signaled they were closer to lowering borrowing costs. Powell said a rate cut could be appropriate as soon as the central bank’s September meeting. Credit: Shutterstock Copyright 2024 Bloomberg. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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M4.4 Earthquake Near Pasadena Felt out to California’s High Desert

Article 0 Comments The U.S. Geological Survey confirmed that a magnitude 4.4 earthquake struck an area southeast of of Highland Park, California on Monday. The quake was 7.4 miles deep and struck at 12:20 p.m. PST, according to the USGS. Media reports from around Southern California portrayed an area on heightened, if not temporary, alert for emergency responders and residents, who felt the shaking as far as the high desert area of Victorville. The shaking had the Los Angeles Fire Department on alert, with crews at 106 fire stations doing surveys of their districts. There were no reports of injuries or structural damage, the department said when the check was complete, according to a CNN report. Minor damage was reported in Pasadena, a few miles from the epicenter. A pipe broke at Pasadena City Hall, sending a stream of water flowing out onto the sidewalk and roughly 200 employees were evacuated from the building, ABC News reported. The LA Times reported the quake was centered on the Puente Hills thrust fault system, the network that produced the 1987 Whittier Narrows M5.9 earthquake that caused $358 million in damage. Topics California Catastrophe Natural Disasters Earthquake Was this article valuable? Thank you!...

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Budget Deficit Hits $1.5T as Fiscal Year Nears End

The interest burden on outstanding U.S. debt remained a major drag on the budget. Interest costs in the first 10 months of the fiscal year totalled $956 billion, up 32% from 2023. The Federal Reserve’s aggressive interest-rate hiking campaign, aimed at quelling inflation, has made debt more expensive to issue for the federal government. The weighted average interest rate on outstanding U.S. interest-bearing government debt was 3.33% at the end of July — the highest since January 2010 and up about half a percentage point from a year before. (Credit: Adobe Stock) Copyright 2024 Bloomberg. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Walnut Insurance Secures $4.6M to Transform Insurance Distribution with Embedded Technology 0

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Walnut Insurance Secures $4.6M to Transform Insurance Distribution with Embedded Technology

Walnut is revolutionizing insurance distribution by enabling partner-driven growth through technology solutions for insurers and enterprise businesses Toronto, ON (Aug. 8, 2024) – Walnut, an innovative force in the insurance distribution industry, is pleased to announce the successful close of its latest funding round, securing $4.6M. The investment will be used to expand Walnut’s groundbreaking embedded insurance technology platform for insurers, brokers and enterprise businesses looking to participate in the future of insurance distribution. The round was led by NAventures, National Bank of Canada’s corporate venture capital arm with participation from TELUS Global Ventures, Diagram Ventures, Portage, and Highline Beta. The funding from some of Canada’s leading investors represents a pivotal milestone for Walnut as it accelerates efforts to modernize and streamline insurance distribution. Diagram has recently expanded its strategy beyond its well-known venture studio model to include external investments. Walnut is amongst the first few of this kind in the Diagram portfolio, highlighting their confidence in the team’s potential to revolutionize the insurance landscape. Walnut’s approach to insurance distribution leverages cutting-edge technology and strategic partnerships to create a sustainable and efficient business model. By embedding insurance products directly into the products and platforms of enterprise businesses and financial institutions,...

Ledger Investing Expands Capabilities to Further Advance the Casualty ILS Market 0

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Ledger Investing Expands Capabilities to Further Advance the Casualty ILS Market

Establishment of new subsidiaries and agreement signifies watershed moment for maturation of casualty ILS market New York, NY (Aug. 6, 2024) – Ledger Investing, the leading marketplace connecting insurance risk to capital, announced today an expansion of its capabilities within the casualty insurance-linked securities (ILS) market with the launch of two new Cayman-based subsidiaries: Ledger Re SPC, a reinsurer providing institutional investors access to casualty ILS, and Ledger ILS Services, a provider of underwriting and risk management services. Ledger Investing has pioneered the development of casualty ILS since its founding in 2017 and the formation of these business segments further cements its leading role in helping managing general agents (MGAs) and (re)insurers source capital in the ILS market. In another sign of the company’s momentum, Ledger Investing is also delighted to announce that the casualty ILS funds previously managed by Ledger, will now be managed by the casualty team at Fermat, leveraging Fermat’s extensive experience in ILS asset management. Ledger Investing will continue to provide support services for those underlying casualty ILS investments. John Seo, Managing Director and Co-Founder of Fermat, emphasized the value of casualty ILS as an asset class: “Fermat continues to see growing investor appetite for alternative...

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Illinois Company Fined $138K for Selling Unregistered Pesticide Product

Article 0 Comments The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced a settlement with Amerikal Products Corp. of Waukegan, Illinois, for allegedly selling and distributing an unregistered pesticide product in violation of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act. Amerikal Products will stop producing and selling the product and will pay a $138,762 penalty. Amerikal Products allegedly sold or distributed the unregistered pesticide, Genesis 950 Concentrate, which it claimed could be used to kill bacteria, germs, and viruses. Under FIFRA, products that claim to kill, destroy, prevent, or repel bacteria or viruses are considered pesticides. All pesticides distributed or sold in the United States are required to be registered by the EPA to ensure that the products perform as intended, and will not harm people, non-target species, or the environment when used as directed. Pesticidal claims can only be made for products that have been registered with EPA. Source: EPA Topics Illinois 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. The most important...

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LPL Updates Brand at Yearly Conference

Topics include artificial intelligence, behavioral finance, estate planning, client segmentation and marketing. Some of the event’s keynote speakers are Olympic medalist Apolo Ohno and former NFL Super Bowl champion Jon Dorenbos, who also was a two-time Pro Bowler. A registration desk for LPL Financial’s Focus event at the San Diego Convention Center on Aug. 11, 2024 “We are thrilled to gather in San Diego for the largest Focus event in LPL history … ,” President and CEO Dan Arnold said in a statement. “We are investing back into our winning model to create unprecedented flexibility in how advisors affiliate” with the firm. Last week, LPL Financial recruited Houston-based advisor Alberto Francis to its high-net-worth-focused employee affiliation model from Bank of America Private Bank. Francis’ move came about two months after LPL recruited its first advisors to the new HNW channel — which was launched in November — in Oklahoma City. The independent broker-dealer’s advisor headcount was 23,462 as of June 30— up 1,520 from a year ago and 578 from the first quarter of 2024. Its total advisory and brokerage assets were $1.5 trillion at the end of the second quarter, up 21% from Q2’23.

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Markets Go on Wild Ride in Week Marked by Forced Selling

What You Need to Know With many asset groups not yet screaming economic angst, one bullish mantra is starting to emerge from the noise: Buy the dip. Panicked moves were the theme of the week, particularly Monday. Still, almost as quickly as it blew up, volatility eased, and the S&P 500 staged its biggest rally since 2022. It started, innocently enough, in markets, when high-flying tech stocks started giving back gains that nearly all of Wall Street was convinced had gone too far. Roughly a month into a trauma that expanded this week to encompass everything from emerging-country currencies to Japanese shares — before defusing almost as fast — a lot of people worried about the economy are hoping markets are where it will stay. A signature fact of the worst turbulence of 2024 remains how much of it is confined to excesses wrought by traders. Speculators exploiting an ever-weakening yen got chased out of cross-border wagers. Quants who’d been ringing up gains for months suffered a comeuppance. Popular options bets premised on calm briefly blew up. In short, while economic fears lit the match that fueled the selloff’s loudest bursts, a daisy chain of leverage drove a slew of market reversals that muddy the...