NEW: The Trump administration committed the U.S. to taking a large stake in a Venezuelan company, some of whose owners and investors are shielded from public view.
The exact details of the agreement over oil fields had remained unclear — until now.
https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-venezuela-oil-agreement-terms?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
#News #Trump #Venezuela #Oil #Gas #Economy #Politics #Geopolitics #Business
https://www.europesays.com/3266887/ Op-Ed: Gas, Tariffs, and the Emerging Black Cost-of-Living Crisis #business #OpEds #tariffs #TradeWar
https://www.europesays.com/3267372/ How to save if you’re not sure about having children #business #lifestyle #PersonalFinance #SocialIssues
https://www.europesays.com/3267374/ South Korea Keeps Fuel Cheap for Holidays as Fiscal Cost Mounts #BankOfKorea #bloomberg #business #CheapGasoline #Economy #FuelDemand #KoreaInstituteForIndustrialEconomicsAndTrade #LeeHong #OilPrices #SouthKorea #SouthKoreans #TheGovernment
How long can the South Korean government keep shielding motorists from expensive oil without straining public finances, distorting the market and delaying an adjustment to higher energy costs? https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2026/09/23/economy/south-korea-fuel-holidays/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #business #economy #southkorea #oil #energy #electricity #batteries #utilities #leejaemyung
Global equity funds snap two-week outflow as AI optimism returns https://www.byteseu.com/2397223/ #business #Cyprus
Wars in Europe and the Middle East and a severe El Nino are amplifying price pressures across Asia, likely fanning inflation through next year and keeping central banks on guard, according to the Asian Development Bank. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2026/09/23/economy/asia-inflation-2027-adb/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #business #economy #economy #economicindicators #asia #southeastasia #inflation #southasia #india
https://www.europesays.com/3267631/ Fain’s “international solidarity” with IG Metall: The unity of the trade union bureaucracies against the working class #business #tariffs #TradeWar
Nike Says Its Factory Workers Earn Nearly Double the Minimum Wage. At This Cambodian Factory, 1% Made That Much.
—
Nike has made an expansive effort to convince consumers, investors and others that it is improving the lives of factory workers who make its products, not exploiting them. A rare view of wages at one Cambodian factory tests this claim.
https://www.propublica.org/article/nike-wages-clothing-factory-cambodia?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
#News #Nike #Cambodia #Labor #Work #Abuse #Exploitation #Business
Amid concerns over the Biden administration's regulation of the crypto industry, billionaire tech investor Marc Andreessen, a longtime Democrat, donated more than $5 million to groups supporting Trump ahead of the 2024 election.
Since then, he's gotten what he called for: a hollowed-out Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-cfpb-marc-andreessen-silicon-valley?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
#News #Technology #Finance #Business #Trump #SiliconValley #USPolitics #Tech
Former employees of a Nike clothing factory in Cambodia said they sometimes saw two or three people taken to an onsite clinic in a day. One described how he carried workers who were too weak to walk.
https://www.propublica.org/article/nike-factory-cambodia-fainting?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
A DOGE Aide Involved in Dismantling Consumer Bureau Owns Stock in Companies That Could Benefit From the Cuts
—
Gavin Kliger helped oversee mass firings at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau while holding stock in companies that experts say likely stand to benefit from dismantling that agency — a potential violation of federal ethics laws.
A close look at Nike’s massive supply chain offers a case study in the possible ripple effects of the escalating global trade war and shows how vulnerable factory workers could get squeezed.
https://www.propublica.org/article/nike-trump-tariffs-impact-workers-prices?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
Texas Lawmakers Are Again Pushing to Spend Millions on Kits to Find Missing Kids. Experts Say They Don’t Work.
—
Texas legislators slipped millions for child ID kits into a 1,000-page budget proposal. The move comes two years after they quietly cut funding for such kits following a ProPublica and Texas Tribune report that showed there’s no evidence they work.
https://www.propublica.org/article/texas-lawmakers-child-id-kits-funding?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
#News #Texas #Children #Safety #Government #Policy #Budget #Business
House Committee Leader to Investigate Agency for Preferential Treatment of Politically Connected Startup
—
The probe comes in the wake of a ProPublica investigation that revealed the General Services Administration was eyeing a tech firm with strong ties to the Trump administration to remake a massive, $700 billion federal credit card program.
https://www.propublica.org/article/investigation-ramp-gsa-smartpay-trump-peter-thiel-gerald-connolly?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
#News #Trump #Business #Fintech #Tech #Technology #Government
Drug companies in the U.S. face few restraints on what to charge for their products. A bipartisan bill would penalize those companies that sell their drugs at higher prices than the average of the prices in other wealthy nations.
https://www.propublica.org/article/why-americans-pay-more-for-prescription-drugs?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
#News #Drugs #Pharma #Health #Healthcare #Cancer #Business #Congress
This Lender Said Its Loans Would Help Tennesseans. It Has Sued More Than 110,000 of Them.
—
The Flex Loan, a type of payday loan pioneered by Advance Financial, has burdened low-income borrowers while generating huge profits for lenders. Tennessee lawmakers declined to rein in the lending business, even as other states did.
https://www.propublica.org/article/flex-loans-tennessee-advance-financial?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
A DOGE aide was told by ethics attorneys that he held stock in companies that Consumer Financial Protection Bureau employees are barred from owning — and was advised not to participate in any actions that could benefit him personally.
Days later, he helped fire 90% of CFPB staff anyway, including the ethics lawyers who warned him.
“Incalculable” Damage: How a “We Buy Ugly Houses” Franchise Left a Trail of Financial Wreckage Across Texas
—
Charles Carrier is accused of orchestrating a yearslong Ponzi scheme, bilking tens of millions of dollars from both wealthy investors and older people with modest incomes. Despite signs of trouble, HomeVestors didn’t intervene.
https://www.propublica.org/article/homevestors-fraud-charles-carrier-texas?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
#News #Texas #Housing #Fraud #RealEstate #Investing #Business #House
Imagine having a bicycle with a closed chain guard. One day the chain falls off & you realize it's assembled with tamper-proof screws.
Now imagine the manufacturer wanting to make unscrewing that screw a felony carrying a 5-year prison sentence & a $500K fine.
They'd be booed out of business, if not institutionalized.
None the less, that's EXACTLY how DMCA 1201 works.
Despite @pluralistic & others' efforts I feel this isn't clear to the general public.
Two days before Trump announced dramatic plans for “reciprocal” tariffs on foreign imports, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy sold stock in almost three dozen companies, according to records reviewed by ProPublica.
#News #Tariffs #Trump #SeanDuffy #Stocks #Trade #Economy #Business #USPolitics
Although Tom Ragsdale’s #oil companies owe New Mexico more than $3.5 million for #pollution and unpaid fees, the state has recovered only about $50,000.
Drillers across the industry have employed similar tactics in what is known as “the playbook.”
#News #Environment #Energy #Business #Regulation #Law #Illustration
ProPublica and Documented identified 25 employers that, despite histories of wage theft, have received contracts worth more than a collective $500 million from city and state agencies since 2018.
(Published July 2024)
https://propub.li/40ep0sJ
Exeter, one of the largest auto lenders in the U.S. and a CarMax partner, specializes in high-interest subprime loans.
“We’re here to help,” reads its website. In reality, Exeter’s practices often do the opposite.
(Published Sept. 2024)
https://propub.li/4h0hZBd
