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Good afternoon. Here’s what you should know today, Dec. 1: |
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Ships linked to Russia’s biggest grain trader smuggled stolen Ukrainian grain, a Wall Street Journal investigation found Lawmakers are pushing for crypto oversight The White House waded into a snappy debate over the Maine lobster industry |
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| The Supreme Court agreed to decide by end of June whether the Biden administration can cancel student-loan debt for millions of Americans. PHOTO: MICHAEL REYNOLDS/SHUTTERSTOCK |
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1. The Supreme Court agreed to decide whether the Biden administration can cancel student-loan debt for millions of Americans. |
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The justices didn’t act on the administration's emergency request to move forward with the debt relief immediately and instead set arguments on the matter for this winter. A final ruling could come by June. Republican officials in six states brought the lawsuit, claiming that the program is an unlawful exercise of presidential authority that would affect state revenues and tax receipts. |
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Senate Votes 80-15 to Pass Measure Blocking Railroad Strike (Read) Biden Open to ‘Tweaks’ to Subsidies That Angered U.S. Allies (Read) Democrats to Reshape Presidential Primary Calendar as Biden Mulls 2024 Bid (Read) IRS Audits That Included FBI Leaders James Comey and Andrew McCabe Were Random Selections, Report Finds (Read) |
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2. October saw a jump in consumer spending as inflation eased. |
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The seasonally adjusted 0.8% is the strongest gain since June, the Commerce Department said. Spending outpaced inflation, but the personal saving rate hit its lowest level since 2005, a sign that rising prices are squeezing household budgets. Meanwhile, initial jobless claims, a proxy for layoffs, dropped to a seasonally adjusted 225,000 last week, according to the Labor Department. That was near the 2019 weekly average of around 218,000, when the labor market was also robust. U.S. stocks were mixed. |
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In Tough Housing Market, Renters Renovate Like They Own the Place (Read) Deluge of Fraud Claims Adds to Concerns About Credit Scores (Read) Some Retailers Are Learning to Love Bulked-Up Inventories (Read) Home Buyers Could Soon Get a $1 Million Mortgage With 3% Down (Read) |
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3. Ships linked to Russia’s largest grain exporter moved thousands of tons of stolen Ukrainian grain. |
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They used a sophisticated system of feeder vessels and floating cranes, according to a Wall Street Journal investigation. Such at-sea transfers can hide the cargoes’ provenance; buyers might shun it, if they suspected its true origins. The ships are tied to Russian businessman Peter Khodykin, who owns grain exporter RIF Trading House. He couldn’t be reached for comment. RIF said it has nothing to do with Ukrainian grain theft. Russian officials have also denied involvement. |
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EU Asks Members to Set Russia Oil-Price Cap at $60 (Read) Americans Support U.S. Backing Ukraine, Despite Risk of Wider War, Survey Finds (Read) Russia Says Strikes on Ukraine’s Infrastructure Aimed at Slowing Delivery of Foreign Arms (Read) |
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4. China clamped down on internet access in an effort to end Covid-19 demonstrations. |
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The country's online regulators told tech companies to expand their censorship efforts and remove sales postings and information about VPNs, or virtual private networks, which protesters and their supporters have used to circulate videos, according to people familiar with the matter. A heavy police presence across major cities has kept demonstrators off the streets, and investigators are using cellphone data and social media sites to find participants opposed to China’s zero-Covid policies. |
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China Missed a Window to Be Better Prepared for Covid Surge (Read) Pentagon Office to Support Tech Investment Critical for National Security (Read) |
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5. Some federal lawmakers want cryptocurrency oversight after FTX’s collapse. |
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Testifying before a Senate committee, Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Rostin Behnam pushed for rules to limit or prohibit the conflicts of interest that contributed to the crypto exchange’s implosion. FTX and its founder Sam Bankman-Fried had lobbied in support of legislation giving the small agency authority to police trading in bitcoin, ether and other digital assets because the CFTC was perceived to be a friendlier regulator than the SEC. That agency has overseen many crypto assets and firms since 2017. |
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🎥 SEC’s Strategy for Enforcing Regulation on Crypto, Explained (Watch) Rising Tether Loans Add Risk to Stablecoin and Crypto World (Read) |
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