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The Federal Reserve hikes its benchmark short-term interest rate a quarter percentage point. The Fed says in a statement that economic growth has been "rising at a solid rate," an upgrade from "moderate" in May. The central bank points to two more hikes, which would bring the 2018 total to four increases. The Federal Reserve hiked its benchmark short-term interest rate a quarter percentage point Wednesday and indicated that two more increases are likely this year. The move pushes the funds rate target to 1.75 percent to 2 percent. The rate is closely tied to consumer debt, particularly credit cards,...

Business News June 14, 2018 / 7:34 AM / Updated an hour ago U.S. retail sales surge in May; weekly jobless claims fall Lucia Mutikani 5 Min Read WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. retail sales increased more than expected in May as consumers bought motor vehicles and a range of other goods even as they paid more for gasoline, the latest indication of an acceleration in economic growth in the second quarter. FILE PHOTO: A woman shops at an H&M store in New York City, U.S. December 23, 2017. REUTERS/Stephanie Keith/File Photo Other data on Thursday showed a further tightening in...

New applications for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week and the number of Americans on jobless rolls declined to a near 44-1/2-year low, pointing to a rapidly tightening labor market. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 4,000 to a seasonally adjusted 218,000 for the week ended June 9, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Claims data for the prior week was unrevised. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast claims rising to 224,000 in the latest week. The Labor Department said claims for Maine and Hawaii were estimated last week. The four-week moving average of initial claims, viewed as...

President Trump on Thursday expressed optimism about the Republican Party's poll numbers as the GOP erases deficits in a number of generic ballot surveys. "The Republican Party is starting to show very big numbers. People are starting to see what is being done. Results are speaking loudly. North Korea and our greatest ever economy are leading the way!" Trump tweeted. ETC...

Maryland's stepped-up efforts to collect unpaid tolls are raking in millions of dollars for the state - outpacing the growth in toll revenue itself. State lawmakers and consumer protection groups say the crackdown - which includes referring thousands of delinquent accounts to collections - is punitive and predatory and is pushing Marylanders into debt - and in some cases bankruptcy. Transportation officials say they are only enforcing tolls motorists should be paying anyway - a major shift from years past when the state allowed scofflaws to run up hefty amounts in unpaid tolls and fines without consequences. "Certainly, we want...

With a U.S. Supreme Court decision in the Janus v. AFCSME case expected any day, Connecticut’s public sector unions are trying to convince members not to opt-out of membership if the Supreme Court decides in favor of Mark Janus. The Connecticut State Employees Association and the American Federation of Teachers informed their members of a Freedom of Information request for union members’ contact information that originated out of Illinois. Leaders say this information could be used for an opt-out campaign in the wake of a positive Janus decision. ... A decision in favor of Janus would essentially make Connecticut a...

Use of the E-ZPass electronic payment system has grown exponentially across the Washington region in recent years as the network of toll lanes has expanded in the Interstate 95 corridor with new facilities from Stafford County to just north of Baltimore. Both Maryland and Virginia are actively promoting E-ZPass, hoping to reduce cash payment at toll plazas — where the option exists — and to encourage the seamless use of all-electronic toll facilities such as the 495 Express Lanes and 66 Express Lanes in Virginia and the Intercounty Connector in Maryland. In that spirit, Maryland announced last week that it...

Original plan called for $50 billion in tariffs on Chinese goods; retaliation likely Reuters A worker walks among containers at the port in Shanghai, China. The Trump administration, deepening its global trade offensive, is preparing to levy tariffs on tens of billions of dollars of Chinese goods in the coming week, perhaps as early as Friday — a move that is likely to spark heavy retaliation from Beijing. Senior trade officials in the White House, the Commerce and Treasury departments and the U.S. Trade Representative’s office met on the issue before President Donald Trump went to a summit of the...

This feels like something from a William Gibson cyberpunk dystopia novel, where the government has become so weak and useless, private corporations have been taking over the basic upkeep of the nation. But it’s not a William Gibson novel, there’s no plucky protagonist with some sort of cybernetic implant, it’s just America in 2018, with crumbling roads that Domino’s has decided to fix. For the sake of the pizzas. Domino’s is tired of their innocent pizzas, who only wish to serve humankind, being beaten all to hell by poorly-maintained roads. They even have a website that shows, in graphic, pizza-box-cam...

A social movement of public health vaccine opposition has been growing in the United States in recent years; subsequently, measles outbreaks have also increased. Since 2009, the number of “philosophical-belief” vaccine nonmedical exemptions (NMEs) has risen in 12 of the 18 states that currently allow this policy: Arkansas (AR), Arizona (AZ), Idaho (ID), Maine (ME), Minnesota (MN), North Dakota (ND), Ohio (OH), Oklahoma (OK), Oregon (OR), Pennsylvania (PA), Texas (TX), and Utah (UT). Several US “hotspot” metropolitan areas stand out for their very large numbers of NMEs. They include Seattle, WA, Spokane, WA, and Portland, OR in the Northwest; Phoenix,...

With frustration mounting over lawmakers’ inaction on gun control, the American Medical Association on Tuesday pressed for a ban on assault weapons and came out against arming teachers as a way to fight what it calls a public health crisis. At its annual policymaking meeting, the nation’s largest physicians group bowed to unprecedented demands from doctor-members to take a stronger stand on gun violence — a problem the organizations says is as menacing as a lethal infectious disease. The action comes against a backdrop of recurrent school shootings, everyday street violence in the nation’s inner cities, and rising U.S. suicide...

Comcast made a stunning $65 billion bid Wednesday for 21st Century Fox in what is expected to be the first of many attempts to buy up pieces of the entertainment world in the wake of AT&T’s decisive legal victory over the government to buy Time Warner. Comcast’s offer sets up a battle of wills between two of the most dominant and deep-pocketed entertainment companies in the world — Walt Disney and Comcast, the nation’s leading cable company which already owns Universal Studios and NBC. Comcast’s offer is about 19 percent higher than what Disney offered late last year. But the...

Disney is selling the longtime headquarters of ABC News, which occupies a prestigious piece of New York City real estate. ... The sale is raising new questions about the future of Disney’s troubled news operation. Once-vaunted ABC News has struggled for identity in recent years, as the TV news spotlight has shifted to cable and the internet. And ABC News' notable shift away from hard news coverage, perhaps in search of viewers, has reduced its relevance in the news ecosystem ... as Disney executives voice increasing frustration with the high costs and low returns of the news operation. ... ABC...

The Federal Reserve hiked its benchmark short-term interest rate a quarter percentage point Wednesday and indicated that two more increases are likely in store ahead. The move pushes the funds rate target to 1.75 percent to 2 percent. The rate is closely tied to consumer debt, particularly credit cards, home equity lines of credit and other adjustable-rate instruments. In an unusually terse statement that ran just 320 words, the Federal Open Market Committee changed multiple phrases from its previous missives, pointing to a more optimistic view on economic growth and higher inflation expectations.

The DNC has voted not to accept any donations from fossil fuel companies. From HuffPost: The resolution ― proposed by Christine Pelosi, a party activist and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s daughter ― bars the organization from accepting contributions from corporate political action committees tied to the oil, gas and coal industries. The executive committee voted unanimously to approve the motion. “We talk about how climate change is real and climate change is a planetary emergency, what we need to do is stop taking money from the institutions that have created this crisis,” said RL Miller, president of the super...

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein threatened to “subpoena” emails, phone records and other documents from lawmakers and staff on a Republican-led House committee during a tense meeting earlier this year, according to emails reviewed by Fox News documenting the encounter and reflecting what aides described as a “personal attack.” The emails memorialized a January 2018 closed-door meeting involving senior FBI and Justice Department officials as well as members of the House Intelligence Committee. The account claimed Rosenstein threatened to turn the tables on the committee’s inquiries regarding the Russia probe.[snip] A second House committee staffer at the meeting backed up...

He’s got a resume that includes pimping, owning a brothel and starring in his own adult reality show — and he could be the next representative in the Nevada state legislature. Dennis Hof took the GOP primary Tuesday night, The Reno Gazette-Journal reported. Hof beat James Oscarson, a three-term incumbent, for the nomination. Hof, also known by a few as the author of “The Art of the Pimp,” says he owes his electoral triumph to President Donald Trump’s inspiration. “It’s all because Donald Trump was the Christopher Columbus for me,” Hof informed the Associated Press. “He found the way and...

U.S. President Donald Trump's Republican allies in Congress are moving to block his deal to put Chinese telecom giant ZTE back in business if it pays $1 billion more in fines for violating U.S. sanctions against Iran. The Chinese company has been accused of violating U.S. sanctions by selling sensitive equipment to both North Korea and Iran. After Trump announced his deal with China and ZTE last week, Senate leaders said they would seek to reverse it. Republican and Democratic lawmakers introduced the amendment. Among other things, it would restore penalties on ZTE for violating U.S. export controls and bar...

On Tuesday the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) secured an injunction blocking Deerfield, Illinois, pending “assault weapons” ban. On April 3, 2018, Breitbart News reported that Deerfield was not only banning said weapons but empowering its chief of police to confiscate them and destroy them. He would also be empowered to confiscate and destroy “high capacity” magazines. On April 5, 2018, Breitbart News reported that SAF filed suit against Deerfield, claiming the village’s “assault weapons” ban violated Illinois’ preemption law. SAF’s lawsuit was joined by the Illinois State Rifle Association and Deerfield resident Daniel Easterday.

Consultant Drew McManus has put together the pay scale for music directors, taken from 2015/16 orchestra accounts. It’s a grim read. Jaap Van Zweden continued to make an absolute killing in Dallas – can New York Philharmonic even afford him? Riccardo Muti crossed the $3 million threshold in Chicago and Michael Tilson Thomas is doing well in SanFran with his long-service bonuses. Here’s the score that really matters: what maestros make in annual compensation in the top 10 Orchestras in the US – 1 Dallas Symphony: $3,642,804 2 Chicago Symphony: $3,046,137 3 San Francisco Symphony: $2,600,275 4 Los Angeles Philharmonic:...