Aurelia Butler

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Joe Biden’s pick for a seat on the Federal Communications Commission told a U.S. Senate Committee on Wednesday she does not back government regulation of broadband rates.Gigi Sohn, a former senior aide to Tom Wheeler who served as FCC chairman under former President Barack Obama, said it would take at least a year for the commission to reinstate landmark neutrality rules that were repealed in 2017 under then-President Donald Trump.Asked by Senator Marsha Blackburn if she would support FCC regulation of broadband rates, Sohn said: “No. That was an easy one.”The FCC under Obama adopted net neutrality rules in 2015 barring internet service providers from blocking or throttling traffic, or offering paid fast lanes.She said it was crucial for the FCC to step in without action by Congress.”I am very concerned that broadband, an essential service, has been without any oversight for the past four years,” Sohn said, citing consumer and public safety protections.Sohn said she would like Congress to address net neutrality to prevent a replay of the back-and-forth between administrations.”I am as tired of the ping pong game as anybody,” she said, adding it was crucial the FCC acted in the absence of movement from Congress.Separately, FCC Chairman Jessica Rosenworcel said in written comments on Monday that she does not plan to regulate broadband rates directly or indirectly.She noted the 2015 net neutrality rules “expressly eschew future use of prescriptive, industry-wide rate regulation.” She added she “supported this approach in the past and would do so again in the future.”Biden waited more than nine months to make nominations for the FCC, which has not been able to address some key issues because it currently has one vacancy and is split 2-2 between Democrats and Republicans.The Commerce Committee approved Rosenworcel’s nomination on Wednesday. More

The US is delaying a deal to remove Trump-era tariffs on UK steel and aluminium because of Washington’s concerns about London’s threats to change post-Brexit trading rules in Northern Ireland.Brussels and Washington have repeatedly warned London that unilaterally changing the EU-UK accord that sealed Britain’s exit from the bloc in 2020 could threaten peace on the island of Ireland. In a communication seen by the Financial Times, a US commerce department official stated that talks with the UK on easing metals tariffs could not move ahead. The official cited US concerns at British threats to trigger Article 16, a safeguard clause in the post-Brexit Northern Ireland protocol that overrides part of the UK’s exit with the EU and would suspend checks on goods travelling to Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK.Washington had informed the UK of the reason for the hold-up, the communication said. Three people familiar with the matter also said talks were stuck after pressure from Congress over the UK’s threats to trigger the clause. Boris Johnson’s government has said it will invoke Article 16 if a deal is not struck with Brussels to ease what it says are unworkable restrictions on trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland imposed by the protocol. Despite recent signs that the UK has softened its stance, Downing Street insists that the option remains on the table. The EU and US agreed to suspend tariffs on billions of dollars of steel and aluminium in October. The deal provides relief from Trump-era tariffs of 25 per cent on steel and 10 per cent on aluminium to European manufacturers, but leaves UK steelmakers at a disadvantage because they still face steep duties on exports to the US. UK retaliatory duties on US bourbon whiskey and other products have also remained in place.Martha Dalton, a whiskey importer in the UK who co-founded the Bourbon Alliance to represent the industry, said that alliance members were “deeply concerned by the lack of movement on the . . . negotiations”. “We were optimistic that the brokering of a deal between the US and EU would lead the way for some positive news for our UK-based members,” she added. Under the Brexit deal, Northern Ireland remained in the EU single market for goods to prevent a trade border on the island of Ireland. Instead, all goods travelling from Great Britain into Northern Ireland must conform to EU rules, which means increased paperwork and delays in shipments. The EU has suggested easing controls but London says the proposals do not go far enough and has instead threatened to trigger Article 16. The clause can be invoked by the UK or EU if either side believes the arrangement has caused “serious economic, societal or environmental difficulties” or the “diversion of trade”. The issue has attracted the attention of a substantial Irish diaspora in the US Congress, which has repeatedly called on the UK to honour the 1998 Good Friday Agreement that ended the region’s three-decade long conflict. In November, senior Democratic legislators publicly warned that by threatening to trigger Article 16, the UK threatened to destabilise trade relationships and “hard-earned peace”.

Joe Biden, US president, told Johnson as recently as September not to allow the post-Brexit dispute with Europe to destabilise peace on the island of Ireland.The National Security Council at the White House insisted that there was “no link” between the talks and the UK’s position on the Northern Ireland protocol. The commerce department declined to comment on the communication seen by the FT. It referred to an earlier statement saying that the US and UK were “consulting closely on bilateral and multilateral issues related to steel and aluminium”. The US trade representative’s office said that talks with the UK were ongoing.The UK department of trade said: “We do not see any connection with this particular issue and the Northern Ireland protocol and it will in no way affect the UK’s approach. That is because significant changes are needed to the protocol in order to protect the Belfast (Good Friday) agreement and Northern Ireland’s place in the UK internal market.”It added that the department had “regular discussions with both US trade representative Katherine Tai and commerce secretary Gina Raimondo on the issue” and remained “focused on agreeing a resolution that sees damaging tariffs removed”. More

(Reuters) -The U.S. economy expanded at a modest-to-moderate pace in October and the first half of November while firms grappled with rising inflation and a scramble to fill jobs amid labor shortages, a survey conducted by the Federal Reserve showed on Wednesday.”Prices rose at a moderate to robust pace, with price hikes widespread across sectors of the economy,” the U.S. central bank said in its latest “Beige Book” report of the economy, which is compiled from anecdotal evidence derived from business contacts nationwide. “There were wide-ranging input cost increases stemming from strong demand for raw materials, logistical challenges, and labor market tightness.”The report noted some price pressures had begun to ease, most notably for in-demand semiconductors used to make everything from electronics to motor vehicles, but the persistence of stubbornly high inflation has already forced the Fed to act to rein it in.On Tuesday, Fed Chair Jerome Powell told the U.S. Senate Banking Committee https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/powell-yellen-head-congress-inflation-variant-risks-rise-2021-11-30 that the central bank will consider speeding up the end of its bond-buying program a few months earlier than anticipated on the back of a broadening of price pressures, accelerating economic growth, and strong job gains that have not been matched by an increase in labor supply. He echoed concerns about persistent inflation during a second day of testimony https://www.reuters.com/world/us/feds-powell-wages-are-not-moving-up-troubling-rate-that-would-spark-inflation-2021-12-01 in Congress on Wednesday.The Fed began reducing its purchases of Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities, introduced to help nurse the economy through the COVID-19 pandemic, earlier this month and was set to taper the $120 billion monthly program completely by next June.Fed policymakers will weigh a faster timeline at their next meeting on Dec. 14-15 as the central bank seeks to curb its monetary stimulus and lay the stage for a possible earlier liftoff in interest rates next year.Investors currently see a 73% probability that the Fed will raise its benchmark overnight lending rate, currently set at the near-zero level, in June of 2022, according to CME Group’s FedWatch program.Inflation continues to run at more than twice the Fed’s flexible target of 2% annually, and Powell acknowledged in his Senate testimony that it is not expected to ease until the second half of next year.The Fed’s report showed that many firms were able to pass on higher prices for supplies and wages to customers with little resistance. That said, some sectors found that lifting prices was more difficult. The Chicago Fed said “numerous service firms reported holding prices steady and a few noted losing customers due to price hikes.”INCENTIVES FOR WORKERSMany of the Fed’s 12 districts also reported that businesses were having difficulties filling job openings at all levels, leading to a rise in salaries.One pizzeria in Arkansas advertised pay of $15-$20 an hour for delivery drivers, the St. Louis Fed reported, and a large transportation firm, unable to fill its night shift, raised wages from $13 to $21 an hour.Nearly all Fed districts reported robust wage growth. “Hiring struggles and elevated turnover rates led businesses to raise wages and offer other incentives, such as bonuses and more flexible working arrangements,” the report said.The U.S. unemployment rate currently stands at 4.6% and policymakers increasingly believe that, although there are 3 million fewer people in the labor force than before the COVID-19 pandemic, not all of the shortfall will be made up due to an increase in retirements over the past two years.Other factors holding back participation on a more temporary basis include ongoing concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic, child care, and a reduced urgency to work due to fiscal support and accumulated savings, business contacts reported.Wage inflation shows few signs of abating, with employers in almost every industry competing to lure workers, who have been quitting at record levels. A high quits rate is seen as a sign of confidence as workers leave when they are more secure in their ability to find a new job.The report added to recent evidence that worker scarcity was contributing to wage growth in many parts of the country. “There were widespread reports of difficulty finding and retaining workers at all skill levels, leading to a moderate increase in wages,” local business contacts told the Richmond Fed.The New York Fed echoed that, saying that businesses in that district told of widespread ongoing difficulty in both hiring new workers and retaining existing staff, “as many employees are quitting to work for a different company or look for a new job.”Elsewhere, the Fed said consumer spending rose modestly and that the outlook for overall activity remained positive in most districts, but some noted uncertainty about when supply-chain and labor shortages would ease. More

Investing.com – The U.S. economy continued to come under pressure from supply chain disruptions, labor shortages, and inflation but businesses were able to hike prices to offset price pressures amid strong consumer demand, according to the Federal Reserve’s  Beige Book released Wednesday.”Economic activity grew at a modest to moderate pace in most Federal Reserve Districts during October and early November,”the Fed said in its Beige Book economic report, based on anecdotal information collected by the Fed’s 12 reserve banks through Nov. 23.  “[G]rowth was constrained by supply chain disruptions and labor shortages.”The robust demand for labor continued to outstrip supply, driven by “ongoing Covid concerns, child care, and a reduced urgency to work due to fiscal support and accumulated savings.”Inflation, which continued its moderate to robust pace, showed little sign of slowing but the backdrop of strong consumer demand “generally allowed firms to raise prices with little pushback…,” the reported added.Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell made a surprise admission this week after he conceded that elevated inflation could persistent for longer than initially expected. “The point is, we can’t act as if we’re sure of that,” Powell said in his second day of testimony on Capitol Hill. “We’re not at all sure of that. Inflation has been more persistent and higher than we’ve expected.” More

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion stimulus package in March contributed to stronger demand but is only a small factor in current higher rates of inflation, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told lawmakers on Wednesday.Yellen told the House Financial Services Committee that the stimulus package clearly boosted demand but said it was not a “fair assumption” to say it overshot the need and fueled current spikes in inflation.”It’s certainly true that the American Rescue Plan put money in people’s pockets … and contributed to strong demand in the U.S. economy, but if you look at the amount of inflation that we have, and its causes, that is at most a small contributor,” she said.High inflation, now running at more than twice the Federal Reserve’s flexible target of 2% annually, is expected to ease in the second half of 2022, Fed Chair Jerome Powell told lawmakers at Wednesday’s hearing.Yellen, grilled by Republican lawmakers about the inflationary impact of Biden’s response, insisted there was a “very good reason” to proceed with the stimulus package to deal with a shortage of demand that could have resulted in long-lasting joblessness and high unemployment.”It’s been successful,” she said. “It did boost demand, and that is one of several factors that are involved in inflation.”Yellen said the main driver of inflation was the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact in diverting demand away from services and “massively” toward goods, resulting in supply chain problems as well as a lasting effect on labor supply.She said the pandemic had delivered an “unusual shock” to the workforce, and concerns about health issues were keeping many low-income workers from returning to their jobs, but that should recede as the pandemic was brought under control.Biden’s plan for $1.75 trillion in further social and climate spending over the next decade was a small amount relative to the size of the U.S. economy, was paid for, and would lead to improvements that lowered deficits, Yellen said.”It puts in place investments that will continue to bring down deficits,” she said. “It will improve the supply side of the economy, which is, in the long run, a factor that will tend to mitigate ongoing inflationary pressures.”Yellen sparred for a second day with Republican lawmakers who cited a Congressional Budget Office estimate the “Build Back Better” legislation would add $367 billion to U.S. deficits over a decade.She stuck to her argument that the CBO estimate does not include the effects of increased Internal Revenue Service enforcement, which the Biden administration has estimated would boost revenues by $400 billion over a decade. More