Business Update – 27 September 2023

09/25/2023

Welcome to our Weekly Digest – stay in the know with some recent news updates relevant to business and the economy.

Fed’s Wall of Worry: Government shutdown, UAW strike, student loan repayments and $90 oil

Just when Federal Reserve Chairman Jay Powell thought he was making strides in managing inflation, he’s now facing a five-point threat to the economy at the very least. “It’s the strike, it’s the government shutdown, resumption of student loan payments, higher long-term rates, oil price shock. You know, there are a lot of things that you can look at … so what we try to do is assess all of them and handicap all of them,” Powell said during his press conference last week.

FTC action leads U.S. Dept. of Education to forgive nearly $37 million in loans for students deceived by University of Phoenix

The Federal Trade Commission announced today that its enforcement action against the University of Phoenix continues to help students deceived by the for-profit university, as the U.S. Department of Education will forgive nearly $37 million in federal loans for more than 1,200 students affected by the school’s deceptive practices, based in part on the FTC’s 2019 case.

Ford says ‘significant gaps’ remain to reach UAW contract deal

Ford Motor (F.N) said late on Sunday that it still has “significant gaps to close” on key economic issues to reach a new labor agreement with the United Auto Workers union.

5 new books (and one very old one) to read in order to understand capitalism

A look at how Americans lost faith in capitalism — and whether we can get it back.

Facebook rolls out multiple personal profiles feature

Facebook will now allow users to create multiple personal profiles in an effort to help users feel “freer” to engage on the platform, the company announced today.

IRS targets ‘complex pass-through entities’ used by high-income earners

Pass-through entities are used by the wealthy to ‘avoid paying the taxes they owe,’ according to the IRS commissioner. The IRS announced establishing a new division targeting “pass-through” entities, which the agency claims will hold America’s wealthiest tax filers “accountable.”

U.S. business activity nears stand-still in September, survey says

U.S. business activity showed little change in September, with the vast services sector essentially idling at the slowest pace since February, and overall new order activity slipping to the lowest level this year, a survey published Friday showed.

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