Cryptocurrency, Investing, Money, Economy, Business, and Debt:
Home invaders used machete, Toblerone to rob a man of his Bitcoin
Plunging Office Values Alarm Washington
The market for office buildings — already reeling from higher vacancy rates amid the rise in remote-work policies — has been crushed by high borrowing costs, and while the Federal Reserve is at last preparing to cut interest rates, it may be too little, too late. Investors, banks and property owners are now beginning to accept that some commercial buildings will never recover their pre-pandemic value, and that’s leading to a steady drumbeat of distressed sales.
The market’s troubles have caught the attention of Congress — with one New York lawmaker calling it a ‘ticking time bomb’ for banks.
FWIW, I’m all for letting banks fail. But I would not be surprised to see TPTB bail them out. Wash, rinse, repeat.
Coronavirus News, Analysis, and Opinion:
With COVID-19 relief gone, teachers are losing their jobs.
Politics:
Judge Orders Election Deniers to Pay $1 Million
A Pennsylvania judge has determined that three 2020 election deniers must pay nearly $1 million in fees as the result of a years-long legal dispute with state officials over voting equipment used during the last presidential race.
Recommendations from the judge, who was appointed to serve as a special master overseeing the case, attach a dollar figure to sanctions previously imposed by the state’s Supreme Court against two Republican county commissioners and their attorney for allowing an outside firm to examine voting equipment after the 2020 election – despite a court order prohibiting them to do so.
Harris to Back U.S. Ownership of U.S. Steel
Kamala Harris plans to say that US Steel should remain domestically owned during a campaign stop in Pittsburgh on Monday, lending her voice to a dispute over prospective Japanese ownership of the iconic American brand.
Not at all sure if I agree with this. Probably smart if done for a Russian or Chinese buyer, but Japan is a close ally.
Biden Says Netanyahu Isn’t Doing Enough for Ceasefire
President Biden told reporters on Monday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu isn’t doing enough to get a Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal.
Biden spoke shortly before a decisive meeting with Vice President Harris and their national security team to determine the strategy for the final push on the deal.
Trump’s Strategy Against Harris in a Sentence
With little chance of improving Trump’s standing, Trump’s advisers see the only option as damaging hers.
Biden Plays Second Fiddle to Harris as They Rally for Union Support
President Biden gave a demonstration on Monday that the Democratic Party now belongs to Vice President Kamala Harris, stepping to the microphone at a campaign event in Pittsburgh to introduce his No. 2 rather than taking the speaking slot of honor for himself.
Venezuela ordered the arrest of presidential candidate Edmundo González, an escalation of the government’s crackdown on dissent in the wake of a disputed election.
The move is likely to draw further outcry from the US and other countries that have concluded González was the winner of the July 28 vote. Venezuelan authorities have declared instead, without evidence, that President Nicolás Maduro was reelected to a third term.
Serendipity:
The highs, lows, and institutional racism at Bouchercon
Well, I guess I won’t be participating in NaNoWriMo this year:
