More on #Trump’s #ExecutiveOrder to freeze federal #grants & #loans

"This order is a potential 5-alarm fire for #nonprofit organizations & the people & communities they serve. From pausing #research on cures for childhood #cancer to halting #FoodAssistance, safety from #DomesticViolence, & closing #suicide hotlines, the impact of even a short pause in funding could be devastating & cost lives,” Diane Yentel, president & CEO of the National Council of Nonprofits, said.

https://www.reuters.com/world/trump-orders-pause-all-federal-grants-loans-2025-01-28/

The #jobs report arrives just 2 weeks after policymakers at the #FederalReserve reduced interest rates for the first time since 2020, in part due to labor market cooling. That move signaled that the era of painful #inflation has come to a close.

The half-point rate cut, which will lower borrowing #costs, is expected to bring relief to #households & #businesses eager to take out #loans.

…With the expiration of the temporary #RestrainingOrder, the #Biden admin can move forward w/finalizing the rule. Still, the #Missouri court could place the program on ice before it takes effect. The states on Thursday filed a request asking the #Missouri court to impose an #injunction to block the #regulation while litigation continues.

The ruling, issued late Wed by US Dist Judge J. Randal Hall in #Georgia, stems from a lawsuit filed in Sept by 7 #Republican-led states to stop the #Biden admin’s new #StudentLoanForgiveness rule. The
states — #Missouri, #Georgia, #Alabama, #Arkansas, #Florida, #NorthDakota & #Ohio — claim that the admin is exceeding its authority & illegally preparing to forgive #loans before the rule is even in effect.

#Judges set to hear #arguments in #ConvictedFelon #DonaldTrump’s appeal of his #civil #fraud #verdict

Trump is asking the #appealscourt to #reverse #Judge #ArthurEngoron’s #ruling in February that he #lied about his #wealth on #paperwork given to #banks, #insurers and others to make #deals and secure #loans. The #verdict cut to the core of Trump’s #wealthy, #businessman #persona.

https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-civil-fraud-appeal-letitia-james-8bc9e5ea0affc635c731e96448f69642

“We can make it easier for our #SmallBusinesses to access #capital. On avg, it costs about $40k to start a new business, but currently, the tax deduction for #startups is only $5k.…In 2024 it is almost impossible to start a business on $5k which is why as president, I will make the #StartUpDeduction 10X … we will raise it from $5k to $50k #TaxDeduction & provide low- & no-interest #loans to small businesses that want to expand.”
- #KamalaHarris

or by modifying programs like #SmallBusiness Admin #loans to make #religious groups eligible for funding.

In some parts, the project takes a more explicit #Christian worldview. In the chpt about the Dept of #Labor, the #Project2025 manifesto suggests a communal day of rest for society because “God ordained the Sabbath as a day of rest”.

Tale as old as time: Finance company tells customers with poor credit “we’re here to help,” and then does exactly the opposite. @ProPublica tells the story of Exeter Finance, an auto lender that offers people high-interest loans that leave them in a perilous financial state, and with no car.

https://www.propublica.org/article/exeter-finance-skip-payments-debt

As tools for measuring the links between #weather patterns & economic output evolve — & the interactions between weather & the #economy magnify the costs in unpredictable ways — the damage estimates have only risen.

It’s the kind of data that one might expect to set off alarm bells across the #financial industry, which closely tracks economic developments that might affect portfolios of #stocks & #loans. But it was hard to detect even a ripple.

A team of economists recently analyzed 20 yrs of peer-reviewed research on the social cost of #carbon, an estimate of the damage from #ClimateChange. They concluded that the avg cost, adjusted for improved methods, is substantially higher than even the #US govt’s most up-to-date figure.

That means #GreenhouseGas #emissions, over time, will take a larger toll than regulators are accounting for.

And it turns out they are already permanently banned from the debt relief industry, there is a temporary injunction against continuing, and their assets are frozen.

https://www.ftc.gov/legal-library/browse/cases-proceedings/2323034-bco-consulting

Account information all updated, two-factor authentication, and authenticator attached (just in case--I didn't give them access).

Contacted the AG's office in California to report the organization for violating federal law.

Contacted the AG's office in New Mexico to report the advertising agency that routed the email to me on their behalf.

Contacted the CFPB and DOE both and reported them as well.

And also mentioned I'm willing to call them back and get more info.