Author: James McAllister
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Wisconsin Assembly passes unemployment insurance indexing bill
Wisconsin lawmakers on April 25 passed several bills related to unemployment insurance, including one that would index the length of unemployment insurance benefits to the state’s unemployment rate. Assembly Bill 153 would reduce the maximum number of benefit weeks to 14 during times when the unemployment rate is at or below 3.5%. The bill also…
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Biden executive order incorporates environmental justice into federal agency missions
President Joe Biden (D) issued an executive order on April 21 creating a White House Office of Environmental Justice and directing all federal agencies to prioritize what it described as environmental justice in their policymaking whenever and however possible. According to Fox News: “President Biden will sign an executive order Friday in the Rose Garden…
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U.S. weekly unemployment insurance claims rise to 245,000
New applications for U.S. unemployment insurance benefits rose 5,000 for the week ending April 15 to a seasonally adjusted 245,000. The previous week’s figure was revised up from 239,000 to 240,000. The four-week moving average as of April 15 fell to 239,750 from a revised 240,250 as of the week ending April 8. The number…
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New Hampshire governor signs executive order prohibiting ESG in state investments
New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu (R) signed an executive order April 11 directing state executive agencies to invest their funds based on expected financial returns (not based on ESG investing criteria), making the state the latest to push back against ESG in public investments. According to NH Journal: “Just weeks after the Biden administration imposed…
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Wisconsin introduces unemployment insurance indexing bill
Wisconsin lawmakers on April 7 introduced several bills related to unemployment insurance, including one that would index the length of unemployment insurance benefits to the state’s unemployment rate. Assembly Bill 153 would reduce the maximum number of benefit weeks to 14 during times when the unemployment rate is at or below 3.5%. The bill also…
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Kansas bill opposing ESG passes legislature
Kansas lawmakers approved a bill on April 6 prohibiting ESG considerations in public pension investments. Some measures that were proposed, like certain restrictions on private ESG investing and on public investments in foreign companies, did not make it into the final bill. The bill was sent to the governor for consideration. According to Fox News:…
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Weekly unemployment insurance claims top 200,000 for first time in nine weeks
Following a change in seasonal adjustment calculations, the U.S. Department of Labor on April 6 revised its figure for new applications for U.S. unemployment insurance benefits for the week ending March 25 (the week before the changes were announced) from 198,000 to 246,000—an increase of about 24%. The four-week moving average as of March 25…
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Ballotpedia launches database of asset management companies that contract with state pensions
Ballotpedia publicly launched a new database on April 4 designed to help interested parties better understand the relationships between state pension funds and asset management firms. Over the course of several months last year, Ballotpedia researchers compiled the names of all asset management companies that handle state pension money and the total assets under management…
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U.S. weekly unemployment insurance claims rise to 198,000
New applications for U.S. unemployment insurance benefits rose 7,000 for the week ending March 25 to a seasonally adjusted 198,000. The previous week’s figure was unrevised at 191,000. The four-week moving average as of March 25 rose to 198,250 from an unrevised 196,250 as of the week ending March 18. The number of continuing unemployment…
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U.S. weekly unemployment insurance claims fall to 191,000
New applications for U.S. unemployment insurance benefits fell 1,000 for the week ending March 18 to a seasonally adjusted 191,000. The previous week’s figure was unrevised at 192,000. The four-week moving average as of March 18 fell to 196,250 from an unrevised 196,500 as of the week ending March 11. The number of continuing unemployment…