Global minimum tax rate could drive business away from US

President Biden and leaders of the G-7 group of nations will endorse a global minimum corporate tax rate of at least 15% on Friday, a policy that could ultimately drive business investment away from the U.S.

That's according to the Taxpayer Protection Alliance (TPA), a nonprofit advocacy group based in Washington, D.C., which argues that a higher global minimum rate would ultimately be "passed on to workers and consumers through reduced compensation and higher prices." READ MORE

Want to get workers vaccinated? Try these 6 strategies

The COVID-19 vaccines are finally readily available, and infection and death rates are on the decline.

But despite the good news, it’s not all rosy: Vaccination rates are waning, and many Americans are still reluctant to get the shot. Health officials warn that without more buy-in, herd immunity won’t happen and COVID-19 infection will continue to linger. Since the beginning of the vaccine rollout, employers have been viewed as vital in helping to encourage employees to get vaccinated. Now, perhaps, their role is more important than ever. READ MORE

Economies in these states are actually stronger than they were before Covid

America is not yet back to its pre-pandemic normal, but some states are already doing better economically than they were before Covid, according to the Back-to-Normal Index created by CNN and Moody's Analytics.

South Dakota, Florida, Rhode Island, Nebraska and Idaho are all thriving, operating at or above where their economies were in early March 2020 before the pandemic forced businesses to shutter and workers and students to stay home. READ MORE

Senate passes bill to boost US tech industry, counter rivals

The Senate overwhelmingly approved a bill Tuesday that aims to boost U.S. semiconductor production and the development of artificial intelligence and other technology in the face of growing international competition, most notably from China.

The 68-32 vote for the bill demonstrates how confronting China economically is an issue that unites both parties in Congress. That’s a rarity in an era of division as pressure grows on Democrats to change Senate rules to push past Republican opposition and gridlock. READ MORE

These countries have the highest and lowest corporate tax rates

Top economic officials from some of the world's wealthiest nations reached a broad agreement on Saturday to support a global minimum tax rate of at least 15% in order to crack down on multinational corporations that use low-tax countries to conceal their profits.

Finance leaders from the Group of 7 countries endorsed the global minimum tax rate, along with a proposal to make the world's biggest companies – including U.S.-based tech giants – pay taxes in countries where they conduct business but have no physical presence during a meeting in London. READ MORE

Where are all of the jobs? These sectors hired the most employees in May

Job creation missed expectations but still picked up steam in May as the economy added 559,000 new workers, driven largely by bars, restaurants and hotels re-hiring thousands of employees.

The Labor Department said in its Friday report that employers added 559,000 jobs last month and the unemployment rate fell to 5.8%, missing Wall Street's expectations for a gain of about 650,000. Still, it marked a vast improvement from April, when the economy added a revised 278,000 jobs – much smaller than the 1 million forecast by Refinitiv economists.  READ MORE

Big Tech reacts to G7 minimum tax rate deal: 'Significant first step '

Big Tech may face some of the most significant impact of a proposed 15% minimum corporate tax rate that finance ministers for the G7 nations meeting in London supported Saturday.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told reporters that companies that fall under the G7 deal "will include large, profitable firms," such as Amazon and Facebook.

"And those firms, I believe, will qualify by almost any definition," she added. READ MORE

Why A.I. Should Be Afraid of Us

Artificial intelligence is gradually catching up to ours. A.I. algorithms can now consistently beat us at chess, poker and multiplayer video games, generate images of human faces indistinguishable from real ones, write news articles (not this one!) and even love stories, and drive cars better than most teenagers do.

But A.I. isn’t perfect, yet, if Woebot is any indicator. Woebot, as Karen Brown wrote this week in Science Times, is an A.I.-powered smartphone app that aims to provide low-cost counseling, using dialogue to guide users through the basic techniques of cognitive-behavioral therapy. But many psychologists doubt whether an A.I. algorithm can ever express the kind of empathy required to make interpersonal therapy work. READ MORE

US ‘way below’ jobs potential

Art Laffer, a former economic adviser to Ronald Reagan, told "Mornings with Maria" on Thursday that he is "not optimistic about the Biden long-term jobs situation." 

"I don’t have really a lot of hope for the jobs market long-term in the U.S.," he added.

Laffer made the comments on Thursday, the day it was revealed weekly jobless claims fell to a pandemic low and private-payroll job growth surged past expectations.  READ MORE

There is not a ‘labor shortage’ crisis

Those of us who are a little older will remember that, within two years of the 2001 recession, there was much hand-wringing about the coming labor shortage, which was apparently obvious—except to those actually looking at the labor market. It never came.

More recently after the Great Recession, another set of hand-wringing was going on about a labor shortage, despite the fact that millions were still laid off. We stopped hearing that one even as hiring increased and the economy improved. There was no shortage. READ MORE

The jobs report that could upend Biden’s economic agenda

Businesses say they can’t find enough workers to hire. The pace of Americans moving off the unemployment rolls is slowing. And a top Federal Reserve official is warning that job trends in May might look “odd.”

All of that suggests that the next monthly U.S. employment report, which will be released Friday morning, may not show the robust growth that President Joe Biden needs to help pass his sweeping agenda. READ MORE

Companies spending more on wages and supplies, but still can’t find enough workers, Fed report says

Businesses are facing rising costs particularly on goods used to make their products, while they are offering higher wages and other incentives to get employees back to work, the Federal Reserve reported Wednesday.

Economic growth increased at a “moderate pace” from early April to late May, the central bank said in its periodic “Beige Book” survey of activity across its 12 districts. READ MORE

Time to Hit Reset on Remote Worker Expectations?

Finally, the time is at hand when many employers may safely resume on-site work for most or all employees. But knowing now how effectively many employees can work remotely, organizations are rethinking workforce management strategies and allowing employees much greater flexibility to work from home part of each week, all the time or simply as business obligations allow. Being intentional about setting shared expectations can help your employees make more informed choices about whether to take advantage of flexible work options and avoid unpleasant surprises at evaluation time. READ MORE

The Hybrid Work Model Is No Longer Theory, It’s Tactic

A hybrid workforce is typically described as having both in-house and remote talent. The assumption is that productivity and communication tools are the foundation of this new world of work, but connecting distributed teams and building collaborative thought requires a much deeper effort and understanding.

Remote teams aren’t the only catalyst for this level of evaluation. Instead, we can actually work quite distantly even when returning to the office. READ MORE

This $5 billion insurance company likes to talk up its AI. Now it's in a mess over it

A key part of insurance company Lemonade's pitch to investors and customers is its ability to disrupt the normally staid insurance industry with artificial intelligence. It touts friendly chatbots like AI Maya and AI Jim, which help customers sign up for policies for things like homeowners' or pet health insurance, and file claims through Lemonade's app. And it has raised hundreds of millions of dollars from public and private market investors, in large part by positioning itself as an AI-powered tool.

Yet less than a year after its public market debut, the company, now valued at $5 billion, finds itself in the middle of a PR controversy related to the technology that underpins its services. READ MORE

Chamber of Commerce warns of worsening worker shortage: 'A national economic crisis'

A worker shortage plaguing businesses has continued to worsen in recent months, posing a new threat to the economy's tepid recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new report published Tuesday by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

The chamber found the U.S. had a record 8.1 million vacant job openings in March, the last month for which data is available – an increase of 600,000 from February. But there are only half as many available workers for each open job – roughly 1.4 available workers per opening – as there has been on average over the past 20 years.  READ MORE