Money
Janet Yellen at Brown University: So We All Can Succeed; 125 Years of Women's Participation in the Economy
"Since 1891, women have made tremendous strides in their ability to pursue their dreams of education and meaningful work and to support themselves and their families. In pursuing these goals, women have helped improve working conditions for all workers and have been a major factor in America's prosperity over the past century and a quarter. Despite this progress, evidence suggests that many women remain unable to achieve their goals. The gap in earnings between women and men, although smaller than it was years ago, is still significant; women continue to be underrepresented in certain industries and occupations; and too many women struggle to combine aspirations for work and family." more »
Lawmakers Look to Curb Foreign Influence in State Elections: Would They Bar Political Spending By Businesses In Which Non-US citizens Have a Significant Ownership Stake?
The ride-hailing company Uber, along with its competitor Lyft, together spent $9 million on a 2016 ballot initiative in Austin, Texas, that would have overturned the city’s requirement that drivers for the companies undergo fingerprint-based background checks. The Chinese ride-hailing company Didi invested $100 million in Lyft, and Uber announced a few weeks after the election that Saudi Arabia had secured a 5 percent stake in the company with a $3.5 billion investment. more »
Janet Yellen: Adjustment of the Federal Funds Rate May Be Appropriate Later This Month?
Chairman Yellen: The economy has essentially met the employment portion of our mandate and inflation is moving closer to our 2 percent objective. This outcome suggests that our goal-focused, outlook-dependent approach to scaling back accommodation over the past couple of years has served the US economy well... Indeed, at our meeting later this month, the Committee will evaluate whether employment and inflation are continuing to evolve in line with our expectations, in which case a further adjustment of the federal funds rate would likely be appropriate. more »
Women’s #1 Retirement Priority: Fully Funding Social Security by Implementing Reforms So It Can Continue to Pay Future Generations of Retirees
Findings from the TCRS national survey of working women highlight that few have a high level of confidence about their future retirement. Only one in ten are “very confident” that they will be able to retire comfortably. At the same time, more than half are “guessing” at the amount they will need to save in order to feel secure in retirement. Household retirement savings is $34,000 (estimated median) and more than two-thirds indicate that they have no plan if forced into retirement sooner than expected. more »
