Daily Business Briefing
Aug. 9, 2021, 8:05 a.m. ET
Aug. 9, 2021, 8:05 a.m. ET
Senators spent a second weekend in a row wrangling over the details of a $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure proposal, putting off a planned summer break. “We’re doing it the old-fashioned way,” Senator Mitt Romney, Republican of Utah, told reporters on Sunday about the many days of debate.
Republicans joined Democrats on Saturday and Sunday in two procedural votes supporting the plan to fund repairs of roads, bridges, ports and more, and to make American commutes more green with projects related to electric vehicles, biking and pedestrian access. Last night, they cleared the last hurdle before a final vote in the chamber, possibly late Monday or Tuesday.
What’s the holdup? About a dozen proposed amendments were bandied about. Some senators want states to have more leeway over how to repurpose pandemic relief funds. Others are demanding more money for public transit, which has been allotted about $40 billion, less than originally envisioned. In a rare moment of unity, the chamber broke out into spontaneous applause when Ted Cruz, a staunchly conservative Republican from Texas, and Raphael Warnock, a progressive Democrat from Georgia, made a joint highway proposal that got unanimous support.
But differences over how to regulate cryptocurrency threatened to derail the process. Two competing crypto amendments have caused an unexpected stir, with lawmakers advancing dueling changes to how the bill defines a “broker” in a provision intended to raise more tax revenue from crypto transactions. There is no agreement over whether the amendments will get considered for inclusion before a final vote is called, with a 30-hour deadline set to expire in the wee hours of Tuesday morning.
Former President Donald Trump threatened senators supporting the infrastructure proposal, saying they will pay in primaries. But few appear moved and many perceive a chance to distance themselves from Mr. Trump. The minority leader, Mitch McConnell, said the legislation had “an excellent chance” of becoming “a bipartisan success story for the country.” But Senator Todd Young, the Republican from Indiana who was part of the group that drafted the bill, said Sunday that he would not vote to pass it because of concerns about its cost.
The fund created by the estate of Jeffrey Epstein to compensate victims of sexual assault by the financier has wrapped up its work by paying out just over $121 million to more than 135 people — far more than expected, according to the fund’s administrator.
Jordana Feldman, the administrator of the fund, said she was committed to getting money to eligible victims as quick as possible because so many of them had been waiting for years. She noted the fund had begun its work in earnest last August and she wanted to approve the final awards before Tuesday — the second anniversary of Mr. Epstein’s death in federal custody of an apparent suicide.
“I really wanted this process to move quickly and in a meaningful and purposeful way,” said Ms. Feldman. “I really believe these programs are as much about validation as compensation.”
When Mr. Epstein died in a Manhattan jail cell a month after his July 2019 arrest by federal authorities, he left behind a vast estate valued at about $600 million. But because he had put much of his fortune into a trust, there were concerns that it could take years for his victims to get any money back from his estate.
The estate’s executors decided to establish a restitution fund to allow accusers to seek compensation, including those who had reached prior settlements with Mr. Epstein after his 2008 conviction on soliciting prostitution from an underage girl. As part of that decade-old plea agreement, Mr. Epstein avoided more serious federal charges but was required to register as a sex offender.
In July 2019, Mr. Epstein, after years of trying to rehabilitate his image, was arrested and charged by federal prosecutors in Manhattan with the more serious offense of sex trafficking of teenage girls. Ms. Feldman said the expectation was that the fund might get claims from about 100 people. But in the end about 225 people came forward seeking restitution.
Not everyone who submitted a claim was deemed eligible. Ms. Feldman and her team rejected about 75 claims, though she declined to say what made them ineligible. She also said a few people decided not to accept the awards, allowing them the opportunity to pursue lawsuits against the estate instead.
A federal judge on Sunday granted Norwegian Cruise Line’s request for a preliminary injunction, temporarily allowing the company to require proof of vaccination from passengers despite a Florida law that bans businesses from doing so.
The ruling is likely to draw backlash from Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, who in May signed a state law that set fines for businesses requiring customers to provide proof of vaccination.
The governor’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Sunday night. Norwegian’s next cruise ship to sail from Florida is set for Aug. 15, out of Miami.
In a statement on Sunday, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings said the ruling would allow it to “operate in the safest way possible.”
“We welcome today’s ruling that allows us to sail with 100 percent fully vaccinated guests and crew, which we believe is the safest and most prudent way to resume cruise operations amid this global pandemic,” said Frank Del Rio, the president and chief executive.
In the order, Judge Kathleen Williams of United States District Court noted that scientific research shows that “cruise lines are hotbeds for Covid-19 transmission.” She also cited the potential for the cruise line to suffer financially if Norwegian was forced to cancel trips or reroute around Florida.
Judge Williams wrote that the “defendant fails to articulate or provide any evidence of harms that the state would suffer if an injunction was entered,” and added that Norwegian “has demonstrated that public health will be jeopardized if it is required to suspend its vaccination requirement.”
A preliminary injunction generally will stay in effect until there is a final ruling in a lawsuit.
The judge’s order came as coronavirus cases have risen sharply in Florida. Over the past two weeks, cases have increased 84 percent and hospitalizations have doubled, according to New York Times data.
Monday
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Job openings: Data from the Labor Department will show whether job openings in the U.S. continued to rise in June. Economists will learn whether the reopening of the economy is creating more demand for workers.
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Climate change: The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, an entity within the United Nations, will release the first installment of a report that represents the global consensus on human-caused climate change.
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AMC earnings: The movie theater chain, with a wild ride during the pandemic that culminated in its stock tripling in a trading frenzy, will report its financial performance for the three months ending June 30. Will theater reopenings help it find a profit?
Tuesday
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Coinbase earnings: The cryptocurrency exchange will report its financial performance. The company’s share price has fallen 32 percent from where it started trading earlier this year, following a broad cryptocurrency sell-off.
Wednesday
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Consumer Price Index: Economists expect the index, a closely watched measure of inflation, to show that pandemic-driven price increases continued in July.
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Lordstown earnings: The struggling company, which aims to make electric pickup trucks, is set to publish its results for the second quarter. Its founder, Steve Burns, resigned as chief executive in June after claims that he overstated interest from commercial buyers in its electric truck.
Thursday
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United Kingdom G.D.P.: The Office for National Statistics is set to publish the U.K.’s gross domestic product estimates for the three months through June, covering when the country started to emerge from its winter lockdown.
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Disney earnings: Investors will be watching whether the immediate availability of “Black Widow,” “Luca,” “Cruella” on the company’s Disney+ streaming platform helped to drive sign-ups during the second quarter. In the first three months of the year, they were lower than Wall Street had expected.
As the A.F.L.-C.I.O. contemplates its future after the death of its longtime president, Richard Trumka, it is facing one inescapable fact: The U.S. labor movement is in an existential crisis, with unions representing a mere 7 percent of private-sector workers, Noam Scheiber reports for The New York Times.
“American workers’ level of collective bargaining coverage is not comparable to that of any other similar democracy,” said Larry Cohen, a former president of the Communications Workers of America. “If you’re not there to grow, you’re in trouble. You’re just playing defense. You’ll be here till someone turns the lights out.”
Mr. Trumka’s 12 years as A.F.L.-C.I.O. president coincided with the continued decline of organized labor but also moments of opportunity, like the election of a staunchly pro-labor U.S. president. With Mr. Trumka’s death last week, the federation faces a fundamental question: What is the A.F.L.-C.I.O.’s purpose?
For years, top union officials and senior staff members have split into two broad camps on this question. On one side are those who argue that the A.F.L.-C.I.O., which has about 12 million members, should play a supporting role for its constituent unions — that it should help build a consensus around policy and political priorities, lobby for them in Washington, provide research and communications support, and identify the best ways to organize and bargain.
On the other side of the debate are those who contend that the federation should play a leading role in building the labor movement — by investing resources in organizing more workers; by gaining a foothold in new sectors of the economy; by funding nontraditional worker organizations, like those representing undocumented workers; and by forging deeper alliances with other progressive groups, like those promoting civil rights causes.
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