Aurelia Butler

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Republican U.S. Senator Rick Scott and Democrat Elizabeth Warren have asked for salary information from the Federal Reserve’s inspector general, the central bank’s watchdog, in a push to make the role independent, a letter seen by Reuters on Tuesday shows.The IG’s office said it was reviewing the letter and declined further comment.Republicans and Democrats in Congress have pledged tighter oversight of banking regulators following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank (OTC:SBNY) in March.The Fed is responsible for supervising – monitoring, inspecting and examining – certain financial institutions to ensure compliance with rules and regulations, and safe and sound operations.Some in Congress worry that Fed Inspector General Mark Bialek’s role is not independent enough, because he reports directly to the Fed board.Under the senators’ plans, the IG would be appointed by the U.S. president and confirmed by the Senate.Among their concerns, the senators wrote in the letter, is that the IG’s compensation structure could result in potential conflicts of interest. His salary is tied to the compensation of Fed officials he is tasked with investigating.”… Because the Fed Inspector General’s salary is in part based on the bonuses earned by other Fed employees … there is a structural, financial incentive for the IG to overlook or downplay wrongdoing by those Fed officials,” Warren and Scott wrote in a letter to Bialek dated July 24, citing his previous testimony.”These types of conflicts are why we have introduced legislation ….” The letter detailed five questions, including what salary Bialek had received over the last five full calendar years, what percentage of his salary was based on the average bonus component of the pay formula, and whether he had conducted any inspections in connection with Fed bonuses in the last five years.Bialek has faced criticism from Warren and other lawmakers for his handling of the securities trading scandal that caused two regional Fed bank presidents to step down in the fall of 2021.At a hearing in May 2023, Warren blasted him for failing to produce a report on a matter that tarred the Fed’s reputation when it was reported nearly two years ago.Bialek defended his agency’s independence and ability to conduct investigations.”No Board Chair has resisted or objected to our oversight work since I have been the IG,” he said at the time. More

LONDON/TOKYO/BENGALURU (Reuters) – People around the world are getting their eyeballs scanned in exchange for a digital ID and the promise of free cryptocurrency, shrugging off concerns among privacy campaigners and data regulators.Founded by Sam Altman, the CEO of ChatGPT developer OpenAI, the Worldcoin project says it aims to create a new “identity and financial network” and that its digital ID will allow users to, among other things, prove online that they are human, not a bot. The project launched on Monday, with eyeball scans taking place in countries including Britain, Japan and India.At a crypto conference in Tokyo, people on Tuesday queued in front of a gleaming silver globe flanked by placards stating: “Orbs are here.” Applicants lined up to have their irises scanned by the device, before waiting for the 25 free Worldcoin tokens the company says verified users can claim.Users told Reuters they weighed concerns over data collection against their curiosity about the project, which says it has issued IDs for more than two million people in 120 countries, mostly during a trial period in the last two years.”There’s a risk with having the data of your own eyes collected by a company, but I like to follow the most up to date crypto projects,” said Saeki Sasaki, 33.”I was a bit scared, but I’ve done it now and can’t take it back.” Worldcoin’s data-collection is a “potential privacy nightmare,” said the Electronic Privacy Information Center, a U.S. privacy campaigner. Worldcoin did not respond to Reuters’ questions on its privacy policies sent via email on Tuesday. The company’s website says the project is “completely private” and that either biometric data is deleted or users can opt to have it stored in encrypted form. ‘FREE MONEY’ In the lobby of a co-working space in east London on Monday, two Worldcoin representatives showed a small stream of people how to download the app and get scanned, handing out free t-shirts and stickers saying “verified human” afterwards.Christian, a 34-year-old graphic designer, said he was taking part because he was “intrigued”. He follows developments in artificial intelligence (AI) and crypto, buying cryptocurrencies “just for fun”.”I think going forward AI will be hard to distinguish from human and I think this potentially solves that problem and that’s pretty amazing,” he said, declining to give his full name for privacy reasons.Worldcoin tokens were trading around $2.30 on the world’s largest exchange, Binance, on Tuesday. For many users, the promise of financial gains from the crypto coins was enough to make them hand over personal data. Ali, a 22-year-old chemical engineering student who has invested some of his student loan in crypto, said he calculated that the 25 free tokens could be sold for $70 to $80 at current prices.”I told my brother about it this morning. I told him ‘it’s free money, you want to come with me to get it?'” Both Christian and Ali said they had not read Worldcoin’s privacy policy, which says that data may be passed to subcontractors and could be accessed by governments and authorities – though it also says it takes steps to mitigate risks and uses encryption to stop unauthorised access. “It’s quite concerning but I think a lot of companies have our data at this point,” Ali said.UK privacy campaign group Big Brother Watch said there was a risk biometric data could be hacked or exploited. “Digital ID systems increase state and corporate control over individuals’ lives and rarely live up to the extraordinary benefits technocrats tend to attribute to them,” senior advocacy officer Madeleine Stone said.The project also drew attention from regulators, with Britain’s data regulator telling Reuters it was making enquiries about the UK launch of Worldcoin. In a mall in Bengaluru, India, orb-operators approached passers-by on Tuesday and showed them how to sign up. Most interviewed by Reuters said they were not worried about privacy.One new user, 18-year-old commerce student Sujith, said he did not read Worldcoin’s fine print and did not really have privacy concerns. He said he invests the little pocket money he gets from his family in crypto. “While I was passing they asked me would you like some free coins? So (I thought) why not?” he said. More

CollegeAmerica, a private institution, shut down in September 2020 after an investigation by Colorado’s attorney general found it made widespread misrepresentations about the salaries and employment rates of its graduates, the department said in a statement. Biden said in a statement that borrowers at CollegeAmerica “were lied to, ripped off, and saddled with mountains of debt.” He said his administration has approved $14.7 billion in relief for 1.1 million borrowers “whose colleges took advantage of them or closed abruptly”. Biden has made addressing mounting U.S. student debt a top priority since taking office in January 2021, including by pursuing a plan to provide $430 billion in loan relief. The Supreme Court blocked that plan in a June 30 ruling. Biden has vowed to pursue the relief through new measures. More

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. consumer confidence increased to a two-year high in July amid a persistently tight labor market and receding inflation, bolstering the economy’s prospects in the near term.But the economy is not out of the woods, with the survey from the Conference Board on Tuesday offering mixed signals. Consumers remain fearful of a recession over the next year following hefty interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve. While more consumers planned to buy a motor vehicle or house in the next six months, fewer anticipated purchasing major household appliances like refrigerators and washing machines.Consumers also continued to report that they intended to spend less on discretionary services, including travel, recreation and gambling. They, however, expected to increase spending on healthcare, as well as streaming services from home.That supports economists’ views that consumer spending was flattening out after rising at its fastest pace in two years in the first quarter. Still, the survey joined data on inflation, the housing market and retail sales in raising optimism that the economy could skirt a recession this year.”We seem to be in an unusual eddy in this expansion, with consumer confidence up but consumer spending clearly leveled off,” said Robert Frick, corporate economist with Navy Federal Credit Union in Vienna, Virginia. “Lower inflation is why confidence has surged, but Americans have become cautious, trimming spending and increasing savings.”The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index increased to 117 this month, the highest reading since July 2021, from 110.1 in June. Economists polled by Reuters had expected the index to increase to 111.8. The improvement in confidence was across all age groups, with the largest increase among consumers aged 35 and below. Confidence was higher among consumers with annual incomes below $50,000 as well as those making more than $100,000. Consumers’ perceptions of the likelihood of a recession over the next year rose, but stayed below the recent peak earlier in the year. About 70.6% of consumers this month said a recession was “somewhat” or “very likely,” up from 69.9% in June.The share expecting better business conditions over the next six months was the highest since January. The survey was published as Fed officials started a two-day policy meeting. The U.S. central bank is expected to raise interest rates by 25 basis points on Wednesday after keeping borrowing costs steady in June. The Fed has raised its policy rate by 500 basis points since March 2022.Stocks on Wall Street were trading higher. The dollar was little changed against a basket of currencies. U.S. Treasury prices fell. TIGHT LABOR MARKET”This likely reveals consumers’ belief that labor market conditions will remain favorable,” said Dana Peterson, the Conference Board’s chief economist. The survey’s so-called labor market differential, derived from data on respondents’ views on whether jobs are plentiful or hard to get, widened to 37.2 this month from 32.8 in June, a sign labor market conditions remain tight despite job growth slowing. This measure correlates to the unemployment rate in the Labor Department’s closely followed employment report.Consumers’ 12-month inflation expectations slipped to 5.7%, the lowest reading since November 2020, from 5.8% last month.The improvement in inflation expectations was, however, not enough to convince more consumers to make big-ticket purchases over the next six months. And while more households planned to buy houses, they could run into affordability challenges. House prices have resumed their upward trend because of tight supply after earlier slowdowns and outright declines in some regions as higher mortgage rates depressed demand. With the labor market still resilient, demand for housing is rising again. But many homeowners have mortgage loans with rates below 5%, reducing the incentive to put their houses on the market. A separate report from the Federal Housing Finance Agency on Tuesday showed monthly house prices rising 0.7% in May after increasing by the same margin in April. Prices climbed 2.8% in the 12 months through May after advancing 3.1% in April.”Low inventory and surprisingly resilient housing demand have kept home prices stable or rising in many markets,” said Lisa Sturtevant, chief economist at Bright MLS in Alexandria, Virginia. “But we are going to hit an affordability ceiling in many places which will happen just as more inventory begins to come on line later this year. As a result, it’s possible that the ‘bottoming out’ of home prices is just the first half of a ‘W-shaped’ pattern in the market.” More

Rishi Sunak’s government is planning to overhaul energy efficiency targets for landlords to relieve pressure on the housing market, as ministers soften green policies ahead of the next general election.A Whitehall official said the system of energy performance certificates (EPC), which measure buildings’ energy efficiency, needed “fundamental reform”. They told the Financial Times that the government supported delaying a deadline for landlords in England and Wales to meet mandatory efficiency standards beyond the proposed date of April 2025.The official said that the EPC system, which critics argue does not provide an accurate picture of a property’s energy performance, had been “designed as an informational tool to meet the requirement of EU membership” and therefore was ripe for reform.The plan to alter the EPC regime is likely to win support among Tory MPs — from both Brexiters keen on cutting EU-derived red tape and net zero sceptics who are pushing for a scaling back of environmental initiatives that impose costs on Britons struggling with the cost of living crisis. On Monday, the prime minister indicated that he was ready to soften the government’s green policies, saying he did not wish to “hassle” voters or “add to” household bills at a time of high inflation by adding costs linked to the environmental agenda. The UK is committed to hitting a net zero carbon emissions target by 2050.Sunak’s intervention followed the Tories’ surprise victory last week in the Uxbridge parliamentary by-election, which all sides put down to the party’s opposition to expansion of a Labour-led clean air initiative that imposes a £12.50 daily charge on high-polluting vehicles.On Tuesday, ministers announced that they were delaying a new £1.7bn-a-year UK recycling scheme until after the next general election following warnings from companies that it would increase already high food and drink prices. Earlier, Michael Gove, housing secretary, revealed that the government plans to offer landlords “a greater degree of breathing space” on energy requirements. He told the BBC that ministers were “moving away from the strict deadline that we have at the moment”, which proposes that all newly-let private rental accommodation must achieve a minimum “C” grade in its energy performance certificate, whose ratings range from A to G, from April 2025. The proposals would apply to all rental homes from April 2028.Gove acknowledged that one of the key methods for improving energy efficiency — installing a heat pump in place of a gas boiler — “does impose costs” at present.While the EPC system is credited in some quarters with driving up energy performance, it has also been charged with leading to perverse outcomes.Concerns have arisen in Whitehall about the cost to landlords of retrofitting their properties to meet the proposed energy efficiency standard deadlines, and how this challenge could affect the supply of private rental homes amid an already tight market. Official statistics published this month showed that less than half of private rental homes had an energy efficiency rating of A to C in England last year, while the average cost of improving a private rental dwelling to reach a minimum of C grade was £7,430.“We remain committed to our environmental objectives but we cannot overburden landlords facing cost of living pressures,” said the Whitehall official. Ministers are expected to set out more details after the summer.Meanwhile, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said that the extended producer responsibility (EPR) for packaging scheme would be deferred “for one year” from 2024 to 2025.It would make companies responsible for the costs of collection, sorting, recycling and disposal of packaging waste.The delay to the EPR, which the FT last week reported was imminent, is the latest government environmental policy to be sidelined. Others include a long-awaited biomass strategy, a relaxation of the planning system for onshore wind farms and the introduction of a deposit return scheme for bottles. Environmental groups had expressed concern at the prospect of a delay, which retailers, manufacturers and food producers had urged. The companies said the EPR scheme risked increasing household bills amid the cost of living crisis, and welcomed confirmation of the delay. The environment department said work was “ongoing to deliver” the EPR, adding: “We’re continuing to engage closely with manufacturers, retailers, and packaging companies on its design and timelines.” More

The number of people living in temporary accommodation in England has hit a 25-year high, according to government data.Figures released on Tuesday showed that 104,510 households were in temporary housing on March 31, up 10 per cent on a year before. The number surpassed the 101,070-household level hit in March 2005.The figures published by the housing department showed big increases in nearly all measures of homelessness over the past year.The sharp increase in those without secure homes reflects the effect of rising rents and mortgages, which have made housing unaffordable for many people and led to a growing numbers of evictions. The rise in costs has put pressure on the government to take action in order to ease the housing shortage that has been widely blamed for exacerbating an increase in accommodation prices.The proportion of households classed as homeless and needing urgent help climbed more than 20 per cent in the first three months of 2023, from the same period the year before, according to the statistics.Matt Downie, chief executive of Crisis, a housing charity, blamed the problem on the “crippling cost” of the government’s long-term failure to raise housing benefits in line with living costs. He added that a “shameful lack” of social house building had compounded the desperation of many. The figures came in the same week that the housing department announced plans to boost the number of new homes in England.The department said on Tuesday that it was “determined” to prevent homelessness before it occurred and was working to improve the supply of social housing.“We are committed to delivering 300,000 new homes per year and investing £11.5bn to build the affordable, quality homes this country needs,” the department said.The figures covered a number of forms of homelessness, not only the small but most visible group of those who sleep rough on the streets. All the figures referred to households, defined as any group of people living in one home, from single people to large families. One of the starkest changes was in the number of those falling under local authorities’ main homelessness duty — those unintentionally homeless, eligible for help and who had priority needs.

The number of households in that category was 13,670 in the first quarter, up 20.1 per cent from the same period last year, while those in bed and breakfast accommodation jumped 37.4 per cent to 13,780.Downie said of the rising numbers in B&B: “Not only do people not have the stability and security of a home, but they’re often left to cope in just one room, with no facilities to cook meals or do washing.”The housing department said the use of B&Bs was “always a last resort”. More