Business Highlights: Spending rises, jobless claims tick up
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US unemployment claims rise after hitting pandemic low
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits moved up last week to 332,000 from a pandemic low, a sign that worsening COVID-19 infections may have slightly increased layoffs. Applications for jobless aid rose from 312,000 the week before, the Labor Department said Thursday. Jobless claims, which generally track the pace of layoffs, have fallen steadily for two months as many employers, struggling to fill jobs, have held onto their employees. Two weeks ago, jobless claims reached their lowest level since March 2020.
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MassMutual fined for failing to monitor GameStop saga star
NEW YORK (AP) — Massachusetts is fining MassMutual $4 million after accusing the company of failing to supervise an employee whose online cheerleading of GameStop’s stock helped launch the frenzy that shook Wall Street earlier this year. The settlement announced Thursday by Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin centers on the actions of Keith Gill, an employee at a MassMutual subsidiary from April 2019 until January 2021. Under the nickname Roaring Kitty, Gill sent numerous tweets and created hours of YouTube videos championing GameStop and backed up his support with big personal trades. Regulators say MassMutual failed to follow policies meant to flag such actions. MassMutual neither admitted nor denied the regulators’ findings.
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Drought haves, have-nots test how to share water in the West
MADRAS, Ore. (AP) — Oregon farmers who grow 60% of the world’s carrot seed have been without irrigation water for weeks as drought ravages the American West. But just down the road, sprinklers douse crops and cattle graze in green pastures. The stark contrast is a consequence of the West’s arcane water law, and...