The Independent Federal Reserve Is on Death Row
Each departure from the pre-Trump consensus on trade, budgets and monetary policy would be damaging in its own right, but the combination of all three involves a quite different order of risk. Disempowering the Federal Reserve just as concerns are mounting about tariff-driven inflation and surging public debt threatens, sooner or later, a perfect economic storm.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Bloomberg
4 minutes ago
- Bloomberg
Thune Believes Senate Has Votes to Pass Trump Tax Bill
Senate Majority Leader John Thune believes there is enough Republican support of President Donald Trump's tax and spending bill and said his chamber will soon vote on passage of the legislation. Kailey Leinz reports on Bloomberg Television. (Source: Bloomberg)
Associated Press
4 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Regulators approve plan for Georgia Power to freeze base rates through 2028
ATLANTA (AP) — Utility regulators on Tuesday approved a plan for Georgia Power Co. to freeze base power rates through the end of 2028, although opponents argue that customers could face risks later if costs to serve new computer data centers pile up. The five Republicans on the Georgia Public Service Commission voted unanimously for the plan after regulatory staff and the company agreed to it earlier. 'Freezing these rates shows that we're listening to ratepayers and we're doing all we can to protect them and continue to grow this economy in this state,' Commissioner Tim Echols said after the vote. Rates could still go up next year when commissioners consider how customers will pay for $862 million in storm damage, mainly due to 2024's Hurricane Helene. In testimony, Georgia Power Chief Financial Officer Aaron Abramovitz said the company hopes any rate increase to repay the damage could be offset with a decrease in the charge customers have been paying since 2023 to make up for higher costs of buying natural gas and coal. Customers have seen bills rise six times in recent years because of higher natural gas costs and construction projects, including two new nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle near Augusta. A typical Georgia Power residential customer now pays more than $175 a month, including taxes. The agreement allows Echols and Commissioner Fitz Johnson to seek reelection this year without a rate increase threatening their campaigns. Echols will face Democrat Alicia Johnson in November. Democrats Peter Hubbard and Keisha Sean Waites are vying in a July 15 runoff to face Fitz Johnson in the general election. Georgia Power CEO Kim Greene called the rate freeze a 'great result for customers, balancing the mutual benefits of extraordinary economic growth among all stakeholders and helping to ensure that we remain equipped to continue supporting growth in this state.' Opponents said the deal didn't do enough to contain the high profits of Georgia Power, a unit of Atlanta-based Southern Co, and doesn't provide enough scrutiny of the company's operations. Commissioner Lauren McDonald on Tuesday unsuccessfully attempted to limit how much the company can earn on the money it has invested — called return on equity — to 11.5% instead of 11.9%. Return on equity is the key driver of the company's profits. Georgia Power is the state's only privately owned electrical utility, serving 2.3 million customers statewide. Last year, Georgia Power collected $11.3 billion in revenue and contributed $2.5 billion in profit to Southern Co. The company predicts rapidly increasing demand from computer data centers. Georgia Power has said regular customers won't pay for power plants and transmission lines needed to electrify data centers, a pledge now backed by commission rules. But the company said in talks with commission staff that it could ask for a rate increase of up to $2.6 billion over three years. Instead, the company and staff hashed out a deal for the company to use tax credits and other financial maneuvers to boost its return on equity without raising rates. Opponents noted that the company had promised 'downward pressure' on rates last year when the commission approved an unusual request for Georgia Power to build more power plants outside the regular schedule. They asked why rates were staying flat instead of going down. John Wilson, an expert witness for the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy and other environmental groups, called it a 'rate increase hidden in the shadows.' Some advocates had called for Echols, McDonald and Commission Chair Jason Shaw to recuse themselves from the vote, saying they violated the commissioners' quasi-judicial role by supporting the deal before hearing evidence. Shaw and Echols spoke in favor of the agreement and McDonald appeared at a news conference but didn't speak. All three commissioners declined to recuse themselves, saying they had done nothing wrong. The deal comes even as commissioners are still considering Georgia Power's three-year plan to generate enough electricity to meet the state's needs. That plan foresees a very large increase in electrical demand, requiring new power plants or new purchases from existing plants. Typically, a rate plan is approved after the integrated resource plan, ensuring the utility can pay for improvements. Instead, Georgia Power will either absorb the costs or seek to pass them on to customers beginning in 2029.
New York Post
4 minutes ago
- New York Post
Lululemon sues Costco over alleged sale of 'dupes' copying $128 pants
Athletic apparel giant Lululemon is suing Costco for allegedly selling cheap 'dupes' of its pricey pants and sweatshirts. In a lawsuit filed Friday in California, Lululemon alleges Costco has 'unlawfully traded' on the brand's 'reputation, goodwill and sweat equity by selling unauthorized and unlicensed apparel employing knockoff, infringing versions' of its products. Lululemon, for example, sells its popular ABC men's pants for $128 – and alleges that a pair of Costco pants that retail for just $10 rip off their design. Advertisement Leggings and yoga pants on display in a Lululemon store in New York. Bloomberg via Getty Images Its Scuba hoodies sell for $118, while Costco's private label Kirkland Signature sells copycat sweatshirts for $8, the company alleged in the suit. 'As an innovation-led company that invests significantly in the research, development and design of our products, we take the responsibility of protecting and enforcing our intellectual property rights very seriously and pursue the appropriate legal action when necessary,' Lululemon told The Post in a statement. The Vancouver-based company is accusing Costco of leading customers to believe that these dupes, slang for duplicates, 'are in fact manufactured by the authentic supplier of the 'original' products.' Advertisement Lululemon and Costco did not immediately respond to The Post's requests for comment. Lululemon claimed it sent the Washington-based big box retailer a letter in November 2024 accusing it of selling hoodies using the Scuba design. Costco 'subsequently removed at least some of the products that infringed lululemon's SCUBA,' but later started selling similar products, according to the lawsuit. Advertisement The retailer is still selling the alleged dupes today, Lululemon said in the suit. Clothing folded on tables at a Costco store in New Jersey. Bloomberg via Getty Images The luxury leggings maker is seeking to 'fully recover' financial losses through unspecified damages and a court order to block Costco from selling the products. Lululemon has gone after alleged copycats in the past, suing stationary bike giant Peloton in 2021 for allegedly selling apparel using similar designs. Advertisement That suit was settled in 2022, and the companies announced a five-year partnership the following year to sell co-branded clothing. Lululemon recently slashed its full-year forecast, citing a 'dynamic macroenvironment' with added costs from tariffs, low demand amid economic uncertainty and heated competition from other athletic brands. Shares of Lululemon jumped 2.2% Tuesday. The stock is down 36% so far this year.
