tyb
U.S. bankruptcy filings hit 35-year low thanks to government pandemic aid
U.S. bankruptcy filings for 2020 hit their lowest level since 1986 as a flood of government support programs offset at least temporarily the full brunt of the coronavirus pandemic and a related recession, Epiq AACER reported on Friday.
The firm’s compilation of bankruptcy cases showed the Chapter 11 filings used to reorganize larger businesses still jumped 29% in 2020 to 7,128, compared to 5,158 in 2019, a tally that included major retailers like J.C. Penney driven under by the biggest economic downturn in a century. But overall filings, including all personal and other business bankruptcies, for the year were 529,068, compared to nearly 800,000 annually in recent years, and triple that in 2010 at the end of the last recession.
The low level of bankruptcies has been one of the more perplexing dynamics of a pandemic era that has seen millions of jobs destroyed, record numbers of people collecting unemployment insurance, and small businesses forced to close to combat the spread of the coronavirus. Government unemployment insurance, business loans and other programs ended up replacing much of that lost income, pushing savings to record levels and keeping households and businesses afloat – at least for now.
A further $900 billion recently approved by Congress may continue to push a full reckoning down the road.
https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-economy-bankruptcy/update-1-u-s-bankruptcy-filings-hit-35-year-low-thanks-to-government-pandemic-aid-idUSL1N2JG1JN
Scammers have taken $36 billion in fraudulent unemployment payments from American workers
The U.S. has pumped billions of dollars into the unemployment system since the spring — a magnet for criminals that’s led to surging theft and fraud attacks. This has contributed to at least $36 billion being taken from out-of-work Americans.
Now, the federal government and states are clamping down. The $900 billion Covid relief package signed last month adds steps for workers to prove their eligibility for benefits. But those rules may slow aid to those who need the money, according to labor officials and worker advocates. Most of the theft has focused on Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, a temporary program created by the federal CARES Act in March. It offers unemployment benefits to workers who don’t ordinarily qualify, like the self-employed, gig workers, freelancers, contractors and part-timers.
Con artists are attracted to a potentially hefty payday — perhaps more than $10,000 or $20,000 per fraudulent claim — and lax security measures initially put in place to rush money to ailing Americans. By early November, at least $36 billion of the $360 billion in CARES Act unemployment benefits was lost to improper payments, mostly from fraud, according to a conservative estimate from the Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Labor.
Investigations related to unemployment benefits account for 70% of the watchdog’s caseload — nearly six times the level before the coronavirus pandemic. Fraudulent claims for benefits can account for roughly 35% to 40% of new applications in some states with generous weekly payouts, Hall said. International organized crime rings from countries like China, Ghana, Nigeria and Russia account for most attacks, he said.
Their fraud can take many forms. The most common is identity theft, whereby criminals steal personal data to file a claim in someone else’s name, Hall said. In some similar scams, attackers convince victims to verify their identity to get a job or win a prize.
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/05/scammers-have-taken-36-billion-in-fraudulent-unemployment-payments-.html
SAM326 USAF G5 on descent for Ramstein AFB inbound from JBA
WideOpenWest Inc., sold by Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co.: $62.78m-Jan 4
WideOpenWest, Inc. is a cable operator in the United States. The Company provides high-speed data (HSD), cable television (Video), digital telephony (Telephony) and business-class services. The Company's products are available either as a bundle or as an individual service to residential and business services customers. The Company's services include data services, video services, telephony services, and business services. Its business-class service serves approximately 3 million homes and businesses. The Company's services are delivered across 19 markets through hybrid fiber-coaxial (HFC) cable network. Number of employees : 2 200 people.
https://www.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/WIDEOPENWEST-INC-34991353/company/
Northwestern Mutual is an American financial services mutual organization based in Milwaukee. The financial security company provides consultation on wealth and asset income protection, education planning, retirement planning, investment advisory services, financial planning trust and private client services, estate planning and business planning. Its products include life insurance, permanent life insurance, disability income, and long-term care insurance; annuities; investments; and investment advisory products and services. Northwestern Mutual ranked No. 111 in the 2019 Fortune 500 list of the largest United States corporations by total revenue and is currently ranked No. 102 by total revenue and is in the top 50 by assets held. The firm distributes a portion of its earnings to eligible policyholders as annual dividends.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northwestern_Mutual
https://www.finviz.com/insidertrading.ashx?oc=73076&tc=7&b=2
>Sidney and Gen. Flynn inspire full confidence
no issue with them at all
The Beanz thang a little weird but no matter.
I've heard same from frens who "do" soc. media about Wood.
For his own sake he had better be right.
>muh spelling took a break!
>>35293 pb NYSE says it will no longer de-list three Chinese telecom giants
Treasury's Mnuchin tells NYSE chief he disagrees with reversal of Chinese de-listing plans
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin phoned New York Stock Exchange President Stacey Cunningham to tell her he disagrees with the NYSE’s decision to reverse course on delistings of three Chinese telecoms firms, a source familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.
Plans for the delistings of China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom were prompted by a White House executive order banning U.S. investment in Chinese military-linked companies. But in a shock reversal, NYSE said it no longer will pursue the de-listings following new regulatory consultations.
https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-china-telecom-delistings/treasurys-mnuchin-tells-nyse-chief-he-disagrees-with-reversal-of-chinese-delisting-plans-source-idUSL1N2JG28H
NIGHT76 USAF E-4B Nightwatch on descent for Seymour Johnson Air Force Base Goldsboro, NC from it's Dyess AFB depart and aerial refuel earlier
PEACH99 USAF E-8C Joint Stars out of Robins AFB trackin' over Kentucky
>>35629 pb
15-3086 USAF Wolfhound C-146A departed Cartagena, Columbia after a ground stop-inbound from Homestead ARB, FL
These AC's have used the 'MAGMA' calls signs previously and were pretty active in the Caribbean early on but have used them sporadically since earlier this year.
Russia deepens China ties with expanded energy exports
Eyeing an opportunity to strengthen energy exports to China, Russia has launched new ventures and pipelines that will deliver coal, natural gas and petrochemicals to the world's largest energy consumer.
One of these projects envisions doubling Russia's coal exports to China – enough to replace imports from Australia, with which China's relations have deteriorated. Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to pursue greater cooperation across a range of fields, including large-scale energy and industrial projects, in a phone call on Dec. 28.
Describing 2020 as an "extraordinary year," Xi said that "true gold can stand the test of fire, and the difficult period has given more prominence to the unique strength and great value of the China-Russia relationship," according to China's official Xinhua News Agency.
"By strengthening strategic cooperation, China and Russia can effectively resist any attempt to suppress and divide the two countries, and meanwhile forge a solid shield to safeguard international fairness and justice," he said, suggesting that the two countries form a united front against headwinds from the U.S. and Europe. Elgaugol, the company behind the Elga coal project in the Russian Far East, agreed on Dec. 15 to launch a joint venture with China's Fujian Guohang Ocean Shipping (Group) that will export metallurgical coal to China. The Elga project is expected to ship 30 million tons of coal to China in 2023, which would almost double Russia's total coal exports to China from about 33 million tons in 2019.
The countries' cooperation on coal is partly intended to deliver a blow to Australia. China has imposed restrictions on several Australian exports, including coal, after Canberra called for an independent inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus outbreak. About a quarter of China's coal imports came from Australia in 2019. Elgaugol Director-General Aleksandr Isaev said his company will replace most of the shipments to China from the U.S. and Australia.
Russian petrochemical company Sibur Holding on Dec. 28 also announced a joint venture at the Amur Gas Chemical Complex with China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., or Sinopec. Construction of the plant is expected to begin in earnest now that the companies have received the relevant approvals, and is slated for completion in 2024. Sinopec will own 40% of the facility. The trend extends to natural gas as well. State-backed Gazprom has kicked off an 800 km extension of the so-called Power of Siberia pipeline, which began transporting natural gas from Russia to China in December 2019. The extension will connect the pipeline to the Kovykta gas field in eastern Siberia by the end of 2022, in a step toward Gazprom's goal of boosting flows through the pipeline to 38 billion cu. meters annually by 2025. Flows came to 3.8 billion cu. meters for the first year.
Gazprom, which holds a monopoly on the export of gas through pipelines, transported 200 billion cu. meters of gas to Europe and Turkey in 2019. But the company has been shifting its focus east, and last year began a feasibility study for another pipeline that would deliver 50 billion cu. meters of gas to China via Mongolia.
Russia also began operating a new oil pipeline to northeastern China in 2011.
As the world's top energy consumer, China has long enjoyed a complementary relationship with Russia, a key energy exporter. Their ties have become even stronger in recent months in the face of political pushback from the U.S., Europe and Australia. Xi is rushing to diversify his country's energy supply, with the U.S. only expected to increase its pressure on China under President-elect Joe Biden. Russia is a key part of his plan.
"Russia will play an even bigger role in China's energy security, given that tensions with the U.S. are expected to persist over the long term," an industry insider said. Russia, too, has also had to deal with harsh pushback and sanctions by the U.S. and Europe since it annexed the Crimean Peninsula in 2014. With Europe also planning to significantly increase renewable energy use, the country is under pressure to boost exports to China in order to underpin its oil and gas industry. Xi and Putin aim to double bilateral trade to $200 billion by 2024, largely in natural resources.
But an increased focus on China comes with risks for Russia. Because much of Russia's exports are commodities like crude oil, gas and logs, experts say the country could find itself in a subordinate position to China economically. Russia struggled in price negotiations against China on natural gas exports, and an economic dependence on the Asian superpower could force Moscow to eventually compromise politically as well.
https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/International-relations/Russia-deepens-China-ties-with-expanded-energy-exports
chek't
Not trying to be negative at all.
Believe many on the left coast would be in a huge shit pile about nao if this entire thing was in jeopardy.
I'm confident in this and always have been
Mebby poor choice of words on the OP but the drops have been light since then.
Have always trusted this.
Muh first folder was named TTP or Trust the Plan
Cherry Point MCAS and probably just doing runway practice
Many C-560 flights originated from here common call sign is LOBO
Looks like they did the same at Ft. Bragg prior to moving to Cherry Point.
It's Tuesday so training flight(s) heavy today and in to tomorrow.
it's addictive for sure
One in gen (most not but not all) are trying to create something not there one of them is connected to the faggot brigade I know for sure.
Can't get out of own way with this and funny at times.
Had to go next door and correct the "they changed AF2" bullshit that they still cling to from 0101
>pretty much do that for most of the content now
>the other shit (fin) bores me stiff but still do it.
Totally agree but if it was truly Op's it wouldn't be switched on that is for certain.
hate the cliche but
we know when we know.