Business

US Senate officially passes $1 trillion infrastructure bill

Published

1 year ago

August 11, 2021

We’ve been talking about it for months, but the day is finally here

The US Senate has officially passed the $1 trillion dollar infrastructure bill in what is a major win for Biden and the American people.

The bill was first on the list of Biden’s priorities, with Senators voting 69-30 to advance the big spend to the House of Representatives for further consideration.

It’s unclear how the bill will be viewed in the House… with a number of progressive Democrats already flagging that it isn’t progressive enough or as wide-reaching as it should be.

It follows Speaker Nancy Pelosi saying she won’t agree to the trillion-dollar spend until the Senate also passes part two of the infrastructure plan – a $3.5 trillion package.

Regardless, the current bill gaining bipartisan support in the Senate is a significant victory for Biden’s presidency.

U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the May jobs report after U.S. employers boosted hiring amid the easing coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, at the Rehoboth Beach Convention Center in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, U.S., June 4, 2021. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

In a joint statement, those who led the negotiations say:

“Congress has talked about truly modernizing our nation’s infrastructure for as long as we can remember… the United States Senate delivered so that we can finally give the American people the safe, reliable, and modern infrastructure they deserve”.

The bipartisan bill includes around $550 billion in new spending… which will be invested in infrastructure projects like roads, bridges, broadband, water and rail.

Vice President Kamala Harris says it won’t be the middle class who pay for the package.

Business

Toyota announce Koji Sato as new CEO

Published

3 hours ago

January 27, 2023

ticker NEWS

He’s the grandson of the founder, and a true titan of the industry.

But the question of who should replace Akio Toyoda at the top of Toyota had become a growing concern.

Now we have the answer.

The auto giant has announce its veteran boss would step down as chief executive, and become chairman.

Toyoda said he would be succeeded by chief branding officer Koji Sato from the start of April.

Sato says he loves making cars, and hopes to propel the company further down the Electric Vehicle path over the coming years. #Toyota

Business

Taylor Swift ticketing fiasco enters the U.S. Senate

Published

2 days ago

January 25, 2023

Costa Haritos

Live Nation is in the firing line over its inability to stop scalper bots from purchasing Taylor Swift tickets

U.S. Senators have grilled the boss of Live Nation over the lack of transparency relating to concert tickets for Taylor Swift’s upcoming tour.

The entertainment company, which owns Ticketmaster is under fire after bots purchased tickets for Swift’s ‘Era Tour’ last year, in an attempt to resell them for a higher price.

Joe Berchtold is the chief financial officer of Live Nation, who apologised to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee hearing.

“We apologise to the fans, we apologise to Ms. Swift, we need to do better and we will do better.”

Senators criticised Live Nation’s fee structure and inability to deal with bots, which bulk buy tickets and resell them at inflated prices.

“There isn’t transparency when no one knows who sets the fees,” Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar said.

Meanwhile, Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn called Live Nation’s bot problem “unbelievable”.

Ticketmaster reportedly occupies more than 70 per cent market share of primary ticket services for major U.S. concert venues.

“You ought to be able to get some good advice from people and figure it out,” Ms Blackburn said.

Ticketmaster cancelled sales of Swift’s tour to the public because of the “high demand”.

The entertainment giant reportedly sold over 2 million tickets, which is enough to fill 900 stadiums.

Taylor Swift said the situation was difficult, and called for accountability for music promoters.

“It’s really difficult for me to trust an outside entity with these relationships and loyalties, and excruciating for me to just watch mistakes happen with no recourse.

“I’m not going to make excuses for anyone because we asked them, multiple times, if they could handle this kind of demand and we were assured they could,” she said.