>>Inflation Remains Stubbornly High
(Washington, DC) -- The latest inflation report is a mixed bag. The consumer price index for February rose by zero-point-four percent, right in line with what experts predicted and a sign inflation might be cooling off. While that's a smaller rise than last month, inflation still remains stubbornly high. On a year over year basis, the CPI went up by six-percent. Energy costs went down thanks to fuel oil prices falling by nearly eight-percent.
>>Moody's Downgrades U.S. Banking System To "Negative"
(New York, NY) -- A major Wall Street ratings firm is downgrading its outlook on the entire U.S. banking system to "negative." Moody's Investors Service said it lowered its outlook from stable to negative to reflect the "rapid deterioration in the operating environment" following bank failures that prompted federal regulators to step in. Moody's also warned of potential downgrades to First Republic, INTRUST Financial, UMB, Zions Bancorp, Western Alliance and Comerica.
>>Lawsuit Filed Against Signature Bank
(New York, NY) -- Signature Bank is being sued by shareholders after it was taken over by state regulators in New York. They say the bank perpetrated a fraud when it said it was in a good position financially just before collapsing. The period covered by the lawsuit is March 2nd through the 12th. Signature Bank is one of the financial institutions to fail in recent days. The other was California's Silicon Valley Bank.
>>Meta To Layoff 10,000 More Workers
(Menlo Park, CA) -- Meta plans to layoff ten-thousand more employees. CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the latest cuts in a blog post. They follow a previous round of cuts in November that affected about eleven-thousand workers. Zuckerberg said the company also plans to close five-thousand open positions that haven't been filled yet. He noted Meta remains focused on streamlining the organization with more belt-tightening ahead in the coming months.
>>Novo Nordisk Slashes Price Of Insulin
(Washington, DC) -- Another pharmaceutical company is lowering the price of insulin. Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk announced Tuesday it will lower the price of its insulin products by up to 75-percent. The price change will take effect at the start of 2024. The move comes after Eli Lilly recently said it will cap the out-of-pocket cost of all of its insulin products at 35-bucks a month. President Biden has called on drug companies making insulin to follow suit. Meanwhile, seniors on Medicare will pay no more than 35-dollars per month out of pocket due to a provision in the Inflation Reduction Act. The President is pushing Congress to pass legislation to cap insulin costs for all Americans.
>>Ex-Fugitive In $100-Million NJ Deli Case Returning To U.S.
(Newark, NJ) -- A former fugitive accused of stock manipulation in the bizarre case of a New Jersey deli once valued at 100-million dollars is on his way back to the U.S. to face charges. The defendant is Hong Kong businessman Peter Coker Jr., who's being flown in from Thailand. He's expected to appear in federal court in Newark, New Jersey later today or on Thursday. Coker, his father, and another man are charged in a 12-count federal indictment accusing them of financial crimes related to two publicly traded companies, including a money-losing delicatessen and a shell company that had no assets.
