Business - Page 17

Vaccines and stimulus are a powerful cocktail for the US recovery

By Julia Horowitz, CNN Business Those betting on an economic boom in the United States this spring and summer just got a dose of very good news. What’s happening: President Joe Biden has announced that the United States will have enough vaccine supply for every adult by the end of May after Merck agreed to help manufacture a recently authorized vaccine developed by Johnson & Johnson. That dramatically accelerates the country’s inoculation timeline. The Biden administration previously aimed to procure enough shots for all American adults by the end of July. “That’s progress,” Biden said in remarks from the White

Amazon employee sues the company, alleging racial discrimination and unequal pay

By Chauncey Alcorn An Amazon employee filed a lawsuit Monday accusing the tech giant of deliberately paying her and other Black employees less than their White counterparts, becoming the latest on a growing list of current and former Amazon workers to accuse the company of systemic racism. Amazon said it was investigating the allegations in the lawsuit. “Amazon works hard to foster a diverse, equitable, and inclusive culture, and these allegations do not reflect those efforts or our values,” a spokesperson said. “We do not tolerate discrimination or harassment of any kind and thoroughly investigate all claims and take appropriate

Black-owned hair salons and barbershops provide a “safe haven” for the community in Northwest Arkansas

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By Veronica Ortega FAYETTEVILLE, Arkansas (KFSM) — Like many small businesses around the country, Black-owned barbershops and hair salons have had to adapt to operating during a pandemic. Many locally have had to evolve to survive, but business remains strong because it’s a staple for the Black community. Hair salons and barbershops are not just small businesses for the Black community but a safe haven. “I think we make up a small percentage, and when people come into the area, they feel that they can come for culture, conversation, or just being around a commonplace,” Nick Jones, owner, Trendsetter Barbershop,

Thasunda Brown Duckett to helm TIAA, making her the second Black woman to be named Fortune 500 CEO this year

By Jeanne Sahadi, CNN Business Thasunda Brown Duckett will succeed Roger W. Ferguson, Jr., as TIAA’s president and CEO starting May 1, the company said Thursday. Duckett is currently chief executive officer of consumer banking at JPMorgan Chase. She will become the second Black woman CEO to helm a Fortune 500 company currently, following the appointment last month of Rosalind Brewer to run Walgreens. Before Duckett and Brewer, there had been only one other Fortune 500 Black woman CEO, Ursula Burns who ran Xerox, plus Mary Winston, who served as interim CEO at Bed, Bath & Beyond. “Thasunda is widely

Celebs including A-Rod and Ciara are getting into SPACs. What could go wrong?

By Matt Egan, CNN Business SPAC mania has entered the celebrity phase. Colin Kaepernick, Shaquille O’Neal, Larry Kudlow and pop star Ciara are all lending their star power to the blank-check boom. Baseball legend Alex Rodriguez’s special purpose acquisition corporation, Slam Corp., began trading Tuesday on the Nasdaq after raising $500 million. The fact that athletes, politicians and musicians are backing SPACs underlines the staggering sums of cash being poured into the sector. Once reserved to the backwaters of Wall Street, these reverse merger companies are all the rage in this era of rock-bottom interest rates and sky-high market valuations.

JPMorgan and Google launch program to help minority-owned banks

By Chauncey Alcorn, CNN Business JPMorgan Chase and Google launched a program Tuesday to help banks owned and led by people of color increase their lending capabilities. The new initiative is dubbed “Empowering Change.” It’s designed to help banks that are majority-owned or directed by people of color provide JPMorgan-backed money market funds to large companies. Most minority depository institutions wouldn’t have the resources to service those companies otherwise. The program offers the same services to minority-led community development financial institutions, which offer credit to underserved markets typically overlooked by mainstream lenders. JPMorgan says Empower Change will give minority-owned banks

We need an equal opportunity economy that supports Black businesses, too

Opinion by Andre M. Perry and Tynesia Boyea-Robinson for CNN Business Perspective In his recent executive order on advancing racial equity, President Joe Biden reminded us that the American Dream is built on the promise of equal opportunity. Yet, our nation has consistently failed to live up to this ideal. As the order states, “Entrenched disparities in our laws and public policies, and in our public and private institutions, have often denied that equal opportunity to individuals and communities.” That is especially true in the business world. Black entrepreneurs and small business owners have been systemically denied access to capital

Jay-Z sells half of his Champagne brand to owner of Dom Pérignon

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By Danielle Wiener-Bronner, CNN Business Jay-Z and luxury goods giant LVMH have a reason to break out the bubbly. LVMH, which owns Dom Pérignon and Moët & Chandon, has taken a 50% stake in Jay-Z’s Champagne brand Armand de Brignac, also known as “Ace of Spades.” The terms of the deal were not disclosed. The partnership comes at a time when LVMH is working to appeal to a more diverse clientele. The luxury sector has long been criticized for cultural appropriation, high-profile racist gaffes and a lack of runway diversity. LVMH recently revealed tennis champion Naomi Osaka as its new

After the GameStop fiasco, momentum builds for an $800 billion tax

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By Matt Egan, CNN Business Uncle Sam is in search for a pot of gold that could ease the pain of trillion-dollar deficits. And some believe Wall Street might just have the answer. For more than a decade, progressives have tried and failed to impose a financial transaction tax. But there is new momentum for such a levy as the national debt skyrockets during the pandemic and in the wake of the GameStop trading frenzy that shined a bright light market structure concerns. The White House told CNN Business on Sunday that a financial transaction tax on GameStop-like trading deserves

Black women executives making history in the c-suite offer career advice to those following in their footsteps

By Chauncey Alcorn, CNN Business Kamala Harris isn’t the only Black woman making history in 2021. The January 20 swearing-in of the nation’s first woman, Black and southeast Asian vice president came at a pivotal moment for Black women in the business world, which up until recently has failed miserably to increase the number of Black executives — male and female — in its ranks. In 2018, only 3.3% of all US corporate executive and senior leadership positions were filled by Black people. Not much has changed since then, according to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. To date, there have

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