- As Michigan scandal roils Big Ten, can Tony Petitti rein in his coaches and restore league order? The Athletic
- ‘Michigan Wolverines should be banned from the College Football Playoff’ – Stephen A. | First Take ESPN
- Ex-college football staffer shared docs with Michigan, showing Big Ten team had Wolverines’ signs The Associated Press
- Michigan State assistant coach details advantages gained by sign stealing MLive.com
- UPDATE: SI releases documents showing opponents decoding Michigan’s signs – Maize&BlueReview Rivals.com – Michigan
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Tag Archives: rein
Why Ron Rivera has given Eric Bieniemy free rein over Commanders offense amid players’ intensity concerns – CBS Sports
- Why Ron Rivera has given Eric Bieniemy free rein over Commanders offense amid players’ intensity concerns CBS Sports
- Some Commanders players ‘concerned’ by Eric Bieniemy’s intensity, Ron Rivera says – ESPN ESPN
- LIVE: Asst HC/OC Eric Bieniemy Speaks with the Media After Practice | Washington Commanders Washington Commanders
- Commanders players went to Ron Rivera because they were ‘a little concerned’ about Eric Bieniemy’s intensity Yahoo Sports
- Ron Rivera Presser: Eric Bieniemy has an approach, and he’s not going to change because he believes in it Hogs Haven
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No more free coffee on your birthday? Companies rein in customer rewards programs — here’s why – The Seattle Times
- No more free coffee on your birthday? Companies rein in customer rewards programs — here’s why The Seattle Times
- No more free coffee on your birthday? Companies rein in customer rewards programs — here’s why Scranton Times-Tribune
- No more free coffee on your birthday? Companies rein in customer rewards programs — here’s why Yahoo News
- No more birthday freebies? Why Dunkin’, Sephora, others reined in customer rewards programs USA TODAY
- Companies reining in customer rewards programs, birthday freebies KUTV 2News
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Brussels urged to rein in Ukraine’s ‘unrealistic’ EU hopes
EU member states have warned Brussels against giving Ukraine an unrealistic expectation of rapidly joining the bloc, ahead of a summit in Kyiv where Volodymyr Zelenskyy is pressing for progress on accession and reconstruction.
Zelenskyy is due to host his EU counterparts Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel this week, where he is expected to lobby for the country’s EU membership, the use of frozen Russian assets to fund Ukraine’s reconstruction and a legal mechanism to prosecute Russians for war crimes.
Senior diplomats from EU capitals are concerned that unfeasible Ukrainian expectations — including EU accession by 2026 — have been encouraged rather than tempered by Brussels’ top officials.
“No political leader wants to be on the wrong side of history . . . Nobody wants to be blamed for not doing enough,” said one senior EU diplomat. “So they tell them it’s all possible.”
In response to Russia’s invasion last February, the EU scrambled to support Ukraine through military, humanitarian and financial packages, including sanctions against Russia that have hit the bloc’s own economies. The EU also took the unprecedented step of making Ukraine an official membership candidate, despite it falling short of the standard requirements.
But while some central and eastern European member states have championed Ukraine’s demands, other northern and western capitals worry about how its large, poor population and vast agricultural sector could be integrated with the EU.
France’s president Emmanuel Macron has been notably cautious about the speed of Ukraine’s accession, warning in May, before the country was formally made a candidate, that the process could take “several decades”.
The EU’s leadership has struck an optimistic tone. European Commission president von der Leyen said on a visit to Kyiv in September that the “accession process is well on track”. “It’s impressive to see the speed, the determination, the preciseness with which you are progressing,” she added.
European Council president Michel said this month that “no effort” should be spared to “turn this promise into a reality as fast as we can”. “Ukraine is the EU and the EU is Ukraine,” he told Ukraine’s parliament.
That rhetoric has created expectations in Kyiv that it deserves special privileges and a rapid entry into the bloc. Ukrainian prime minister Denys Shmyhal has said he envisages a two-year timetable.
“There is not going to be a fast-track path for Ukraine’s EU membership,” said a second EU diplomat. “There is a risk that rhetoric clashes with reality.”
Multiple member state officials told the Financial Times the commission needed to make clear to Ukraine that there were huge hurdles ahead of beginning formal accession negotiations, which themselves can take a decade or more.
“That gap [between promises and reality] has been growing for some time. And we are getting to the point where it’s too wide,” said a third EU diplomat. “They appear to believe that they can just become a member tomorrow. And that’s obviously not the case.”
Von der Leyen and other commissioners will meet Ukrainian government officials as part of the trip, with the commission president and Michel, who represents the 27 member states, due to hold a summit with Zelenskyy on Friday.
“We have all noted the reform momentum that is ongoing in Ukraine,” said one senior EU official ahead of the meetings, pointing for example to work on the rule of law and anti-corruption efforts. The discussions in Kyiv will highlight the need for further reforms, while also touching on economic co-operation and reducing trade barriers with the EU.
Michel and von der Leyen have also been prominent in calling for member states to explore ways to use the proceeds of Russian central bank assets frozen in European banks in the reconstruction of Ukraine.
“Von der Leyen and Michel might be outcompeting each other on who can show themselves to be more pro-Ukrainian,” said one of the EU diplomats.
The cost of reconstruction and recovery was estimated at nearly €350bn by Ukraine, Brussels and the World Bank last September, and the price tag has only mounted since then as weekly Russian missile and drone attacks have damaged critical infrastructure.
But those calls to deploy the assets have been made despite big questions within the commission itself over how feasible such a route would be.
Didier Reynders, the EU justice commissioner, told the FT this week that the idea of using Russian government assets was “a very complex issue”. “I would say not only on the legal side but also for the good functioning of the monetary system,” he said.
The EU is also divided over the format of a potential tribunal to investigate and seek to prosecute Russians for alleged war crimes in Ukraine.
Fed raises interest rate by 0.75 percentage points as US seeks to rein in inflation | Federal Reserve
The Federal Reserve announced another sharp hike in interest rates on Wednesday as the central bank struggles to rein in runaway inflation.
The Fed raised its benchmark interest rate by 0.75 percentage points, the third such outsized rate increase in a row, bringing the Fed rate to 3%-3.25% and increasing the cost of everything from credit card debt and mortgages to company financing.
The central bank signaled more raises to come, predicting rates would reach 4.4% by the end of the year and not start coming down until 2024. The Fed expects the rate rises to hit the job market – raising unemployment from 3.7% to 4.4% next year – housing prices and to lower economic growth.
“We have got to get inflation behind us. I wish there were a painless way to do that. There isn’t,” the Fed chair, Jerome Powell, said. “We have always understood that restoring price stability while achieving a relatively modest increase in unemployment and a soft landing would be very challenging. And we don’t know. No one knows whether this process will lead to a recession or if so, how significant that recession would be.”
Central bankers around the world are raising rates sharply as they too attempt to tackle the cost of living crisis. This week the Bank of England is expected to announce its largest rate rise in 25 years. The European Central Bank raised interest rates across the eurozone by a record margin earlier this month.
The Fed initially dismissed rising inflation, arguing it was a “transitory” phase triggered by the pandemic and supply chain issues. But as prices escalated the Fed announced a series of aggressive moves in the hopes of bringing prices back under control.
Until recently Powell had said he hoped that the economy could achieve what he called a “soft landing” – a slowdown that would bring costs down but not lead to a spike in unemployment and a recession.
Speaking at a congressional hearing on Wednesday, some of the US’s top bankers said it was too early to tell how rate rises would impact the economy. “I think there’s a chance, not a big change, a small chance, of a soft landing,” said Jamie Dimon, chief executive of JPMorgan Chase.
“There’s a chance of a mild recession, a chance of a hard recession. And because of the war in Ukraine and the uncertainty in global energy and food supply, there’s a chance that it could be worse. I think policymakers should be prepared for the worst, so we take the right actions if and when that happens,” he said.
Raising rates makes borrowing more expensive which should reduce spending and lower prices. But the policy is a blunt instrument and rate rises take time to filter through to the wider economy. So far the Fed’s rate rises have not had a significant impact.
The US jobs market remains robust, with unemployment still close to a 50-year low, consumer spending rose last month and inflation remained stubbornly high in August, 8.3% higher than a year ago.
There are, however, some signs of a slowdown. Existing home sales fell in August for the seventh consecutive month, according to the National Association of Realtors. Sales were 19.9% lower than in August 2021 and are now at their lowest level since they briefly stalled during the height of the pandemic in 2020. And large employers including BestBuy, Ford and Walmart have announced layoffs or hiring freezes.
Dozens of companies, small business groups back U.S. bill to rein in Big Tech
WASHINGTON, June 13 (Reuters) – Dozens of companies and business organizations are sending a letter to U.S. senators on Monday to urge them to support a bill aimed at reining in the biggest tech companies, such as Amazon.com (AMZN.O) and Alphabet’s (GOOGL.O) Google.
Democratic U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar and lawmakers from both parties said last week they had the Senate votes needed to pass legislation that would prevent the tech platforms, including Apple (AAPL.O) and Facebook , from favoring their own businesses on their platforms.
The companies supporting the measure, which include Yelp, Sonos, DuckDuckGo and Spotify, called it a “moderate and sensible bill aimed squarely at well-documented abuses by the very largest online platforms.”
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Other signatories included the American Booksellers Association, the American Independent Business Alliance, the Institute for Local Self-Reliance and Kelkoo Group.
The organizations urged the Senate to pass the bill, saying it would modernize antitrust laws so smaller companies have space to compete.
Klobuchar said last week she believed she had the 60 Senate votes needed to end debate and move to a vote on final passage. There is a similar bill in the House.
The Senate is expected to vote on the bill this summer, perhaps as early as late June, according to two sources familiar with the matter. The House is then expected to vote on the Senate version, sources said. read more
Amazon.com, the Chamber of Commerce and others have taken aim at the measure. read more
The tech giants have said the bill would imperil popular consumer products like Google Maps and Amazon Basics and make it harder for the companies to protect their users’ security and privacy.
Amazon has lambasted the bill saying in a blog post the bill “jeopardizes two of the things American consumers love most about Amazon: the vast selection and low prices made possible by opening our store to third-party selling partners, and the promise of fast, free shipping through Amazon Prime.”
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Reporting by Diane Bartz
Editing by Chris Reese
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
White House looks to rein in gas prices ahead of busy travel season
The White House is pulling out various stops in an effort to get gas prices under control at the start of what is expected to be a busy holiday travel season.
The administration is tapping into the strategic petroleum reserve and President BidenJoe BidenOvernight Health Care — Feds, military top 90 percent vaccine rate Cities prep security plans for large holiday crowds On The Money — Biden’s big plans for the Fed MORE has called on the Federal Trade Commission to investigate whether oil companies are responsible for increased prices.
But the focus on gas prices has provided fuel for Republican attacks on Biden’s handling of the economy, and his energy policies in particular, at a time when the White House is hoping to rally support for ambitious climate goals in its roughly $2 trillion spending plan.
AAA predicted this month that 53.4 million people will travel for the Thanksgiving holiday, a 13 percent increase from 2020 when many Americans opted not to travel with coronavirus cases and deaths surging around the country.
The busy travel season to come has put a spotlight on gas prices in particular amid broader concerns about inflation, something the White House has attempted to show it has under control.
“Obviously, the president does not control the price of gasoline — no president does,” Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm
“So, we, in this administration, are leaving no stone unturned as we examine the market to figure out what’s behind the high prices,” she said.
The White House has shown more urgency in recent weeks in publicly messaging how it is trying to provide relief for Americans grappling with inflation, particularly after the Labor Department released statistics showing consumer prices grew far faster than expected in October and that annual inflation had hit a 30-year high. That rise was in part a result of rising energy costs, and increased costs at the gas pump.
Biden last week wrote to the Federal Trade Commission requesting the agency look into whether oil companies were unfairly spiking prices at the pump.
And on Tuesday, the administration announced it would release 50 million barrels of oil from the nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve in coordination with several other countries in an effort to match supply with demand.
Experts have questioned whether either move will do much to meaningfully bring down prices immediately, and they cautioned other factors, like the course of the pandemic, are more likely to affect the trajectory in the months to come.
That has led some conservatives to question whether the White House’s actions on gas prices were more of a political maneuver as poll after poll has shown voters souring on Biden, particularly over his handling of the economy, with his approval ratings dropping into the low 40s.
“This is being done in order to use every tool at the president’s disposal to lower the price of gas for the American people,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki
Republicans have gone on offense over inflation for the last few weeks, and the Biden administration’s decision to release oil from the strategic reserve provided more fodder for attacks on its energy policies.
Former President Donald Trump
“Today’s announcement is nothing more than a gesture. If the president and his administration wanted to make a real, long-term impact, they would work to maximize domestic production and expedite energy infrastructure like pipelines—not close federal lands to drilling and add a federal tax to methane,” Sen. Shelley Moore Capito
Sen. John Barrasso
Even Sen. Joe Manchin
Biden in remarks Tuesday sought to assure the public that the U.S. economy was on the upswing and a rise in prices would not be a long-term concern.
“I also want to briefly address one myth about inflated gas prices: They are not due to environmental measures. My effort to combat climate change is not raising the price of gas or increasing its availability,” Biden said in prepared remarks, arguing investments in electric vehicles, solar panels and other sectors would spur job creation and innovation.
“Let’s beat climate change with more extensive innovation and opportunities,” he added. “We can make our economy and consumers less vulnerable to these sorts of price spikes when we do that.”
Impulse spending is an issue for consumers. How to rein in the habit
miniseries | E+ | Getty Images
Setting up a household budget and sticking to it can be challenging. Impulse shopping doesn’t make it any easier.
About 42% of consumers say they are worsening their financial situation by doing things like making impulse purchases and carrying more debt, according to a recent survey from BMO Harris Bank. Half of respondents said they often spend more money than they know they should, up from 45% in the bank’s April survey.
Credit card debt also is rising. After consumers shed about $130 billion worth of such debt between April 2020 (when it was above $1 trillion) and January 2021 (when it was $961 billion), the amount owed has climbed back up to $998.4 billion, according to the latest Federal Reserve data.
Often, the hardest part of financial planning is “managing a budget and getting cash flows into a surplus,” said certified financial planner Michael Kelly, founder of Switchback Financial in Madison, Connecticut.
“Impulse spending is one of the biggest hindrances,” Kelly said.
If you’re among those who find such purchases are causing credit card debt to pile up or are limiting you in other ways, there are some steps you can take that may help the situation.
You can start by creating a goals-based budget, said CFP Judson Meinhart, a financial advisor and manager of financial planning for Parsec Financial in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
“You might be striving for financial independence, or maybe your goals are more immediate and revolve around becoming debt-free or taking a dream vacation,” Meinhart said.
“Whatever they are, write them down,” he said. “You are [far] more likely to act on your goals if you write them down.”
Then, keep goal-oriented money where you’re less likely to use it.
“If you want to cut down on impulse buys, put more of your money in the accounts where you’re saving for goals, and keep less of it readily available to spend,” Meinhart said.
It also may be useful to think about why you keep making impulse buys.
“Often the purchase is made not because you have a strong desire for the item itself but to satisfy an emotional need or relieve stress,” said Kelly, of Switchback Financial.
Writing down your values and making sure your purchases align with them can also help, Kelly said.
Of course, in the moment, all those promises you made to yourself may be forgotten. If you are online and see something you’re sure you simply must have, take a deep breath.
“Leave an item in your online shopping cart for at least 24 hours,” said CFP Jessica Goedtel, founder of Pavilion Financial Planning in Allentown, Pennsylvania.
Leave an item in your online shopping cart for at least 24 hours.
Jessica Goedtel
Founder of Pavilion Financial Planning
“Let the impulse cool off, and more than likely you’ll have forgotten about it by the next day,” she said.
Goedtel also recommends unsubscribing from marketing emails. “You won’t be tempted by that 50% off sale if you don’t know about it,” she said.
Additionally, you can make it harder for yourself to make unplanned purchases.
“Don’t save your credit cards in the apps on your phone,” said Meinhart, of Parsec Financial. “And make purchases with a debit card linked to a checking account you have earmarked for your monthly spending.”
SEC Chair Gensler calls on Congress to help rein in crypto ‘Wild West’
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WASHINGTON – The chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Tuesday called on Congress to give the agency more authority to better police cryptocurrency trading, lending and platforms, a “Wild West” he said is riddled with fraud and investor risk.
Gary Gensler said the crypto market involves many tokens which may be unregistered securities and leaves prices open to manipulation and millions of investors vulnerable to risks.
“This asset class is rife with fraud, scams and abuse in certain applications,” Gensler told a global conference. “We need additional congressional authorities to prevent transactions, products and platforms from falling between regulatory cracks.”
AFTER ROBINHOOD’S IPO, TWIST TO BUSINESS MODEL MAY COME
Cryptocurrencies reached a record capitalization of $2 trillion in April as more investors stocked their portfolios with digital tokens, but oversight of the market remains patchy.
The industry has been waiting with bated breath to see how Gensler, a Democratic appointee who took the SEC helm in April, will approach oversight of the market, which he has previously said should be brought within traditional financial regulation.
The chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Tuesday called on Congress to give the agency more authority to better police cryptocurrency trading, lending and platforms, a “Wild West” he said is riddled with fraud and investor ri
On Tuesday, Gensler provided more insight on his thinking, saying he would like Congress to give the SEC the power to oversee cryptocurrency exchanges, which are not currently within the SEC’s remit.
He also called on lawmakers to give the SEC more power to oversee crypto lending, and platforms like peer-to-peer decentralized finance (DeFi) sites that allow lenders and borrowers to transact in cryptocurrencies without traditional banks.
“If we don’t address these issues, I worry a lot of people will be hurt,” Gensler said.
Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren has been pressing regulators to get a grip on the market, which she described in a July letter to Gensler as “highly opaque and volatile.” read more
Gensler responded by asking Congress to consider granting him more autonomy to regulate the sector.
On Tuesday, he also underscored that “stock tokens, a stable value token backed by securities, or any other virtual product that provides synthetic exposure to underlying securities … are subject to the securities laws.”
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Kristin Smith, who runs the Washington-based Blockchain Association said that while the crypto industry is eager to help find “workable solutions” to the SEC’s concerns, it does currently comply with oversight by state authorities and other federal regulatory bodies.
“The industry shares many of Chair Gensler’s goals, including smart, appropriate regulation of the crypto industry, encouraging legal certainty, robust market integrity, and investor/customer protection,” Smith said in a statement.
“Where we differ with Chair Gensler is his characterization of the growing crypto economy as the ‘Wild West,’ Smith said. “The crypto industry is far from unregulated.”