Business

There will never be an end to the grifting. Via Politico: The U.S. Secret Service is the hot, new “amenity” in the Trump Tower, where desperate brokers are trying to lure well-heeled clients into the building on Fifth Avenue that has served as President-elect Donald Trump’s home as well as his campaign and transition headquarters. Less than a week after …

Roll Call reports: Donald Trump on Sunday morning tweeted that he intends to slash business taxes and regulations, but the early rising president-elect again warned companies that move all or parts of their operations offshore will face “retribution or consequence.” In a series of tweets that kicked off at 6:41 a.m., Trump said he will impose “a tax on our …

Via Mediaite: “While this announcement is good news for many, we recognize it is not good news for everyone,” says a letter sent by Carrier to its employees in the wake of the deal set up by Donald Trump that will prevent them from outsourcing some 800 jobs to Mexico. About 1300 Indiana-based jobs are still heading south of the …

The New York Times reports: Walmart announced on Friday that it had settled a lawsuit that accused the company of discriminating against gay and lesbian employees when it denied health insurance benefits to same-sex spouses. Under the deal, Walmart will set aside $7.5 million, mostly to compensate employees affected by the denial of spousal benefits during the three years before …

Yahoo Finance reports: In a stunning development, the Bureau of Labor Statistics just revealed that the US unmployment rate unexpectedly dropped to 4.6% in November. This is the lowest level since August 2007. Economists were expecting the rate to be unchanged from October at 4.9%. During the month, US companies added 178,000 non farm payrolls, which was a tad lighter …

Ho hum, yet another boycott. Yesterday Levi Strauss CEO Chip Bergh posted this message on LinkedIn: The debate in the U.S. over gun safety and gun rights is as complex as it is divisive. As a former army officer, a father and business leader, I’ve heard the arguments from all sides. And, as CEO of a 163-year-old company whose products …

Bloomberg reports: Kellogg Co. is pulling its ads from the website Breitbart News, the right-wing news organization whose former chairman Steve Bannon was tapped as a top adviser to President-elect Donald Trump. Brands that advertise on Breitbart have drawn flak in recent weeks, with activists saying the website espouses racist and anti-Semitic views. A screen shot showing an advertisement for …

USA! USA! The Daily Mail reports: Donald Trump has pledged to bring long-lost American manufacturing jobs back from China. But he may be too late – even for products that bear his family name. A Chinese company that makes shoes for his daughter’s fashion line is moving production to Africa, where labor is much cheaper. The billionaire tycoon has frequently …

Via Mediaite: In his on-the-record chat with The New York Times, Donald Trump dismissed concerns about any potential conflicts between his duty as president and his business interests, saying that it was impossible for the president to even have conflicts of interest to begin with. Trump continued, saying that the law doesn’t require him to set up a trust and …

Raw Story reports: Donald Trump’s promises to “drain the swamp” of Washington corruption are becoming more of a punchline for his detractors as more information about his conflicts of interest piles up. Appearing on CNN Tuesday, Democratic strategist and former Clinton White House aide Keith Boykin ripped Trump for his multiple shady dealings in the two weeks since he’s been …

From the editorial board of the New York Post: Of all the issues facing the president-elect and his brain trust, the question of how to avoid conflicts of interest with his global business may be the thorniest. It’s already raising real questions — over diplomats who opted to stay at a Trump hotel to maybe score points, and the Indian …

Law Newz reports: Steven Schooner, a law professor at George Washington University, raised serious legal concerns about Donald Trump and his ongoing interest in Trump International Hotel in Washington D.C., especially after a report in The Washington Post that said foreign diplomats felt pressure to stay there. He’s not the only legal expert to raise constitutional questions. The Trump Organization …

Via press release from the American Family Association: As the 2016 Christmas shopping season begins full swing, AFA has prepared its annual Naughty or Nice retailer list. We have taken the top national retailers and reviewed their websites, media advertising and in-store signage in an effort to help you know which companies are Christmas-friendly. There are secular forces in our …

The New York Times reports: Donald J. Trump has reversed course and agreed to pay $25 million to settle a series of lawsuits stemming from his defunct for-profit education venture, Trump University, finally putting to rest fraud allegations by former students, which have dogged him for years and hampered his presidential campaign. The settlement was announced by the New York …

The New York Daily News reports: In a complete turnaround from his previous position, President-elect Donald Trump is nearing a settlement of the fraud cases brought in New York and California involving his now defunct for-profit Trump University, the Daily News has learned. Under the emerging deal being negotiated by Trump’s lawyers, New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and …

Remember loony Janet Porter’s plot to disrupt Target’s back-to-school sales? Oops. Via Fortune: The discount retailer’s shares rose 9% in pre-market trading on Wednesday after it reported a much smaller than expected decline in comparable sales and posted strong e-commerce growth. As a result, Target has raised its full year profit and sales forecast. The retailer’s strong third-quarter performance is …

The Boston Globe reports: An “alt-right” website for white supremacists is encouraging its followers to buy shoes from New Balance in a show of solidarity after a company representative said last week that president-elect Donald Trump’s victory was good for American manufacturing. The website “The Daily Stormer,” which identifies itself as a source for Republican news but is filled with …

The Guardian reports: US president-elect Donald Trump would be a “naive” fool to launch an all-out trade war against China, a Communist party-controlled newspaper has claimed. During the acrimonious race for the White House Trump repeatedly lashed out at China, vowing to punish Beijing with “defensive” 45% tariffs on Chinese imports and to officially declare it a currency manipulator. “When …

The Christmas ad for Britain’s John Lewis department store chain is always big news and pundits love to find metaphors for current events. This year is no different. The Guardian reports: In theory, the intention was admirable. But this year has been such a domino stack of heartbreaking disappointment that John Lewis wouldn’t have had to do much to make …

CNN Money reports: America’s economy stayed on track before the U.S. election. The U.S. economy added 161,000 jobs in October, a solid gain, yet below the 191,000 jobs added in September, according to the Labor Department. It is the last look at the health of the economy for Americans voters before they cast their ballots. Unemployment fell a tick to …