By , WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden would be willing to push through his $2 trillion infrastructure plan without the support of Republican lawmakers if he cannot reach a bipartisan deal, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said on Sunday.Granholm said Biden would prefer that his plan have Republican backing but, if that does not work, he would likely support using a procedural strategy called reconciliation to allow Democrats to pass it in the Senate.“As he has said, he was sent to the presidency to do a job for America. And if the vast majority of Americans, Democrats and...…By , WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden would be willing to push through his $2 trillion infrastructure plan without the support of Republican lawmakers if he cannot reach a bipartisan deal, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said on Sunday.Granholm said Biden would prefer that his plan have Republican backing but, if that does not work, he would likely support using a procedural strategy called reconciliation to allow Democrats to pass it in the Senate.“As he has said, he was sent to the presidency to do a job for America. And if the vast majority of Americans, Democrats and...WW…

By , WASHINGTON/HONG KONG (Reuters) - Shares in dual-listed Chinese companies fell sharply on Thursday in Asia after the U.S. securities regulator adopted measures that would kick foreign companies off American stock exchanges if they do not comply with U.S. auditing standards.The move by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adds to the unprecedented regulatory crackdown in China on domestic technology companies, citing concerns that they have built market power that stifles competition.The Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act, signed into law by then-President Donald Trump in...…By , WASHINGTON/HONG KONG (Reuters) - Shares in dual-listed Chinese companies fell sharply on Thursday in Asia after the U.S. securities regulator adopted measures that would kick foreign companies off American stock exchanges if they do not comply with U.S. auditing standards.The move by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adds to the unprecedented regulatory crackdown in China on domestic technology companies, citing concerns that they have built market power that stifles competition.The Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act, signed into law by then-President Donald Trump in...WW…

By , , WASHINGTON/ATLANTA (Reuters) - Georgia’s secretary of state on Friday said he expects a presidential vote recount in the battleground state, where Democrat Joe Biden has a small lead over Republican President Donald Trump.The candidates each had 49.4% of counted ballots, though Biden was ahead by about 1,500 votes as of Friday morning with 4,169 regular ballots left to count, Georgia’s voting system implementation manager, Gabriel Sterling, said.Brad Raffensperger, Georgia’s secretary of state, said he expects the margin in the presidential race to be just a few thousand votes.“With...…By , , WASHINGTON/ATLANTA (Reuters) - Georgia’s secretary of state on Friday said he expects a presidential vote recount in the battleground state, where Democrat Joe Biden has a small lead over Republican President Donald Trump.The candidates each had 49.4% of counted ballots, though Biden was ahead by about 1,500 votes as of Friday morning with 4,169 regular ballots left to count, Georgia’s voting system implementation manager, Gabriel Sterling, said.Brad Raffensperger, Georgia’s secretary of state, said he expects the margin in the presidential race to be just a few thousand votes.“With...WW…

WashingtonU.S. President Joe Biden’s interim regulators are wasting no time unraveling Wall Street-friendly measures introduced under former Republican president Donald Trump, using quick-fix legal tactics.They have spiked or stalled more than a dozen contentious Trump-era measures that critics said eroded consumer protections, weakened enforcement, and curbed investors’ ability to push for environmental, social and governance (ESG) changes.Rather than embarking on the lengthy process of rewriting the rules, the agencies have in many instances used speedy legal tools, according to lawyers,...…WashingtonU.S. President Joe Biden’s interim regulators are wasting no time unraveling Wall Street-friendly measures introduced under former Republican president Donald Trump, using quick-fix legal tactics.They have spiked or stalled more than a dozen contentious Trump-era measures that critics said eroded consumer protections, weakened enforcement, and curbed investors’ ability to push for environmental, social and governance (ESG) changes.Rather than embarking on the lengthy process of rewriting the rules, the agencies have in many instances used speedy legal tools, according to lawyers,...WW…

By , , WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Gary Gensler will be named chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) by President-elect Joe Biden, said two sources familiar with the matter, an appointment likely to prompt concern among Wall Street firms of tougher regulation.Gensler was chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) from 2009 to 2014, and since November has led Biden’s transition planning for financial industry oversight.His appointment as the country’s top securities regulator is expected to put an end to the four years of rule-easing that Wall Street banks,...…By , , WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Gary Gensler will be named chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) by President-elect Joe Biden, said two sources familiar with the matter, an appointment likely to prompt concern among Wall Street firms of tougher regulation.Gensler was chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) from 2009 to 2014, and since November has led Biden’s transition planning for financial industry oversight.His appointment as the country’s top securities regulator is expected to put an end to the four years of rule-easing that Wall Street banks,...WW…

By , WASHINGTON, D.C. (Reuters) - U.S. health authorities will hold an emergency meeting next week to recommend that a coronavirus vaccine awaiting approval be given first to healthcare professionals and people in long-term care facilities.The meeting, announced on Friday by a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) committee on immunizations, suggests that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) may be close to authorizing distribution of the long-awaited medication, at least to those considered most vulnerable.United Airlines has begun moving shipments of the vaccine,...…By , WASHINGTON, D.C. (Reuters) - U.S. health authorities will hold an emergency meeting next week to recommend that a coronavirus vaccine awaiting approval be given first to healthcare professionals and people in long-term care facilities.The meeting, announced on Friday by a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) committee on immunizations, suggests that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) may be close to authorizing distribution of the long-awaited medication, at least to those considered most vulnerable.United Airlines has begun moving shipments of the vaccine,...WW…

By , (Reuters) - Democrat and former U.S. vice president Joe Biden was declared winner of the U.S. presidential election by several major television networks on Saturday, beating Republican incumbent Donald Trump who took an industry-friendly stance on regulation.While Biden is unlikely to prioritize a financial industry crackdown, he is expected to take a stricter line than Trump and his former boss President Barack Obama.Biden has tapped former derivatives market regulator Gary Gensler, who has a reputation for being tough on Wall Street, to work on a transition plan for financial...…By , (Reuters) - Democrat and former U.S. vice president Joe Biden was declared winner of the U.S. presidential election by several major television networks on Saturday, beating Republican incumbent Donald Trump who took an industry-friendly stance on regulation.While Biden is unlikely to prioritize a financial industry crackdown, he is expected to take a stricter line than Trump and his former boss President Barack Obama.Biden has tapped former derivatives market regulator Gary Gensler, who has a reputation for being tough on Wall Street, to work on a transition plan for financial...WW…

By Slideshow ATLANTA (Reuters) - As Georgia wrapped up weeks of early voting on Friday for the Nov. 3 election, Black voter turnout had far surpassed the level seen at the same time in 2016.Some 1 million Black voters have already cast ballots this year, up from 712,000 this time four years ago, according to TargetSmart, a Democratic analytics firm.It is part of a rush to the polls in Georgia. More than 3.8 million Georgians had already cast ballots as of 5 p.m. on Friday, compared to 4.1 million overall in the last presidential election.In Swainsboro, Georgia, the tiny election...…By Slideshow ATLANTA (Reuters) - As Georgia wrapped up weeks of early voting on Friday for the Nov. 3 election, Black voter turnout had far surpassed the level seen at the same time in 2016.Some 1 million Black voters have already cast ballots this year, up from 712,000 this time four years ago, according to TargetSmart, a Democratic analytics firm.It is part of a rush to the polls in Georgia. More than 3.8 million Georgians had already cast ballots as of 5 p.m. on Friday, compared to 4.1 million overall in the last presidential election.In Swainsboro, Georgia, the tiny election...WW…

By WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Small Business Administration on Monday began allowing lenders to process $310 billion in funds for the second round of its program to help cover payroll costs of small businesses hurt by the novel coronavirus disruption.To address concerns that some of the first tranche of money bypassed small businesses in favor of Wall Street companies and big business, Congress, the SBA and the U.S. Treasury Department have made changes to program rules.The second round will also include potentially hundreds of millions of dollars returned by big companies after the furor,...…By WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Small Business Administration on Monday began allowing lenders to process $310 billion in funds for the second round of its program to help cover payroll costs of small businesses hurt by the novel coronavirus disruption.To address concerns that some of the first tranche of money bypassed small businesses in favor of Wall Street companies and big business, Congress, the SBA and the U.S. Treasury Department have made changes to program rules.The second round will also include potentially hundreds of millions of dollars returned by big companies after the furor,...WW…