Department of Education Grants

According to a person with knowledge of the situation, Goldman Sachs, the storied investment bank, plans on cutting up to 8% of its employees as it girds for a tougher environment next year. The layoffs will impact every division of the bank and will likely happen in January, according to the person who declined to be identified as speaking about personnel decisions. That’s ahead of an upcoming conference for Goldman shareholders in which management is expected to present performance targets. The New York-based investment bank typically pays bonuses in January, and it’s possible the layoffs could be a way to preserve bonus dollars for remaining employees.

Wall Street is adjusting to a lower revenue environment this year after a two-year boom in deals and hiring sputtered out. Goldman was the first major firm to cut jobs in September, a relatively shallow culling that only impacted a few hundred employees. That was followed by similarly modest cuts at Citigroup and Barclays, though Morgan Stanley cut about 1600 workers last week, CNBC was the first to report. But Goldman’s upcoming decision is the most significant round of cuts on Wall Street. Michael Karp, a Wall Street recruiter, believes that other firms may be forced to follow suit in light of the ongoing subdued capital markets environment. “Many firms will have to go back to the drawing board and right-size their organizations, it’s not just Goldman,” said Karp, CEO of the Options Group. “Firms over-hired, and now they will have to over-fire, too.” The bank’s planning is ongoing through next month, and the round could be smaller than 8% when it is finalized, especially if people voluntarily leave, the person with knowledge of the situation added. But that means as many as about 4,000 employees could be impacted, as reported by Semafor earlier Friday. Those considered underperformers or working in consumer businesses that the bank is now de-emphasizing are at most risk of being terminated.

Despite a muted level of inflation, consumers pulled back on their spending in November, according to data released Thursday by the Commerce Department. Retail sales declined by 0.6% for the month, exceeding the Dow Jones estimate of a 0.3% decline. The number is not adjusted for inflation as gauged by the Labor Department’s consumer price index, which increased by 0.1% in November and was below expectations. Measures that exclude autos and both autos and gas sales showed 0.2% declines. Stocks fell sharply following a mostly disappointing round of economic data released Thursday morning. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was off nearly 500 points in early trading.
The pullback was widespread across categories. Furniture and home furnishings stores reported a decrease of 2.6%, building materials, and garden centers reported a decrease of 2.5%, and motor vehicle and parts dealers posted a decrease of 2.3%. Even with declining gas prices, service station sales were down just 0.1%. Online sales also decreased, falling 0.9%, while bars and restaurants increased 0.9%, and food and beverage stores rose 0.8%. On a year-over-year basis, retail sales increased by 6.5%, compared with a CPI inflation rate of 7.1%. “With weak global growth and the strong dollar compounding the domestic drag from higher interest rates, we suspect this weakness is a sign of things to come,” Andrew Hunter, senior U.S. economist at Capital Economics, wrote of the retail report.

Following a big market rally on Monday, Credit Suisse shares recovered their losses and ended the day down around 1%. In the wake of a report in the Financial Times that the Swiss bank’s executives are in discussions with its major investors to assuage their concerns over the lender’s finances, the company’s shares dropped as much as 10%. One executive in the talks told the publication that teams at the bank were actively engaging with its top clients and counterparties over the weekend, adding that they were receiving “messages of support” from top investors. Shares ended the trading session down around 1%.

In a statement to CNBC on Monday, the bank said it would provide updates on its strategy review when it releases its third-quarter results, scheduled for Oct. 27. “It would be premature to comment on any potential outcomes before then,” it said. The spreads on credit default swaps, which protect investors against financial risks such as default, rose sharply on Friday. They followed reports the Swiss lender is looking to raise capital, citing a memo from its chief executive, Ulrich Koerner. The stock is down about 60% year to date. “I trust that you are not confusing our day-to-day stock price performance with the strong capital base and liquidity position of the bank,” the CEO said in a separate staff memo obtained by CNBC. The FT said the executive denied reports that the Swiss lender had formally approached its investors about possibly raising more capital and insisted Credit Suisse “was trying to avoid such a move with its share price at record lows and higher borrowing costs due to rating downgrades.” According to Reuters, the bank is undergoing a strategic review involving divestitures and asset sales. There has also been discussion between Credit Suisse and investors regarding raising capital, Reuters reported, citing people familiar with the matter, which includes the possibility that the bank may “largely” exit the U.S. market.

According to sources with knowledge of the discussions, Sam Bankman-Fried’s crypto conglomerate FTX is currently in talks with investors to raise up to $1 billion in new capital, which would keep the company’s valuation at approximately $32 billion. Negotiations are ongoing, and the terms may change, according to the sources who requested anonymity, as the discussions are confidential. After FTX’s last capital raise in January, Coindesk previously reported on an upcoming investment at a flat valuation. Existing investors include Singapore’s Temasek, SoftBank’s Vision Fund 2, and Tiger Global. An FTX spokesperson declined to comment.

FTX has portrayed itself as the market consolidator, swooping in to acquire distressed assets at a discount, while its competitors have been battered by this year’s “crypto winter.” As a private company, FTX has not suffered the stock meltdown of Coinbase, which has lost three-quarters of its value since June 2022. Sources indicated that a portion of the new capital, in addition to the $400 million round from January, would be used to facilitate more deal-making. FTX signed a deal in July that gives it the option to acquire South Korean lender BlockFi, and the company is in talks to acquire South Korean mobile payment service Bithumb. FTX also offered to buy bankrupt crypto brokerage Voyager Digital in August but was turned down for what was called a “low ball bid.” In June, Bloomberg reported that FTX was also interested in purchasing Robinhood, but Bankman-Fried denies any active discussions at this time.

President Joe Biden will nominate former Treasury Department official, Michael Barr, to be the Federal Reserve’s top regulator in charge of big banks. Barr is the White House’s frontrunner for the top regulatory job. If appointed, the financial law author perhaps becomes the most powerful U.S. bank regulator: the Fed Vice chair supervision.

Barr helped design the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act during his service as assistant Treasury secretary for financial institutions during the Obama administration. That law became one of the most extensive overhauls of financial regulation in U.S. history and came on the heels of the 2008-2009 financial crisis. Among its many provisions to protect the economy from future calamity, Dodd-Frank produced both the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the Fed’s vice chair for supervision. Biden said in a statement Friday morning accompanying the formal White House announcement. “He was instrumental in the passage of Dodd-Frank, to ensure a future financial crisis would not create devastating economic hardship for working families.” “He understands that this job is not a partisan one, but one that plays a critical role in regulating our nation’s financial institutions to ensure Americans are treated fairly and to protect the stability of our economy.”

In most cosmetology schools around the country, it is not mandatory to learn how to style natural, textured, African American hair. The way that black people maintain their hair is different from white people. In the wrong hands, the results could be disastrous. Some stylists have to go to separate schools to learn how to take care of and style hair outside of their culture, which is unacceptable in the United States.
There are so many different types of people here, and it gives black people limited options in where they can go to get their hair done. Not mandating the teaching of beauty practices for all hair and skin types promotes racism. America is a melting pot of cultures from around the world, so there is no excuse to limit the beauty industry in the country to just that of white people.

SOURCES
https://youtu.be/QBVRv9yckDQ

Student loan debt is a tricky beast to reckon with—we want to obviously have the educations of our dreams, but it’s going to be difficult to pay back that student loan debt after the fact. It can easily be one of those things that Read More

Let’s start with this…it’s the LAW! Most states require drivers to carry some type of car insurance to prove that you can pay for potential accident expenses.

Even if your state does not require you have to car insurance, here are some other reasons why you should:

1. It’s risky – Accident costs are expensive, even if you’re a professional race car driver there’s a very good possibility you’ll be involved in an accident at some point.

2. Car insurance can help with health insurance – If you have insufficient health insurance there are some car insurances that help cover accident related injuries.

3. Saves time and isn’t as much of an inconvenience – Insurers have legitimate expertise on how to complete the post-accident process as quickly as possible. No one wants to do all this by themselves.

Image via Cheap Car Insurance.