Written by: Emily Vo
Utilities
Senator Manchin urges President Biden to reverse his stance on the Keystone XL pipeline
One of Biden’s first actions upon taking office on January 20th was revoking the permit for the Keystone XL pipeline. Biden promised to prioritize combating climate change when he took office and has kept to his promise so far. This executive order to revoke the pipeline’s permit was a part of his many executive orders that served to fight climate change. Senator Manchin, the head of the U.S. Senate energy committee, was unhappy with Biden’s decision and wrote him a letter expressing this. Manchin wrote that even without this particular pipeline, oil will still enter the United States by other methods such as railroads and trucks. Manchin pointed out that these methods are more likely to result in oil spills than pipelines. Furthermore, Manchin argued that the pipeline would provide union jobs for Americans. Manchin supports what he calls “responsible” energy infrastructure, which includes the Keystone XL and Mountain Valley pipeline. He urges Biden to reverse his decision on the Keystone XL pipeline.
Minimum Wage
The Congressional Budget Office has released a report with points for both sides of the argument to raise the federal minimum wage to $15
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office released a report that has arguments for both sides of the debate to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour. In the report, the Congressional Budget Office concluded that if the minimum wage was raised to $15, approximately 900,000 people would be lifted out of poverty. Millions of Americans’ incomes would also be increased. However, the report also concluded that by 2025 when the minimum wage would reach $15 under a proposal before Congress, there will be 1.4 million fewer people working. This decrease in jobs would be because higher wagers will in turn increase the cost of production for goods and services. As a result, many employers will reduce their workforce and hire fewer people as well. There is debate over whether raising the minimum wage will be a part of President Biden’s COVID-19 package, but Biden conceded last week that this will be unlikely despite the fact that he advocated for it during his presidential campaign. This report has only fueled the debate over whether or not the minimum wage should be raised to $15 per house.
Politics
The United States Senate has voted to proceed with Donald Trumps’ Impeachment Trial
After an afternoon of arguments on whether it was constitutional or not to try a former president, the Senate has officially voted to proceed with the second impeachment trial for Donald Trump. All Democrats voted to proceed, accompanied by six Republican senators who broke with their party to also vote to proceed with this trial. Donald Trump was impeached by the House of Representatives last month due to the capitol riot, making this the second impeachment trial. The vote was 56-44 in favor of preceding with the second impeachment trial and the several days of presentations on the case from both parties will begin on Wednesday. Sixty-seven votes are needed to convict Donald Trump, which means that seventeen Republicans would need to vote to convict him with the fifty Democrats. At this moment, not enough Republicans will or have indicated that they will vote to convict him.
Markets
U.S. stocks finished mixed after S&P 500’s record close
The S&P 500 edged down 4.36 points, or 0.1%, to 3911.23. While Dow Jones fell 9.93 points, or less than 0.1%, to 31375.83. NASDAQ rose 20.06 points, or 0.1%, to 14007.70, which was a record. This was the first time S&P 500 and Dow Jones marked their first down day in more than a week. However, throughout the way, the market has remained relatively flat. Quincy Krosby, the chief market strategist at Prudential Financial, spoke to the WSJ that he believes the market is enjoying the potential new stimulus package. Expectations of new stimulus spending in the United States are believed to contribute to the economic revival, which has helped peel off expectations for turbulence in U.S. stocks. There are expectations that the economy will revive sometime this year, which has prompted money managers to bet stocks will continue to rise. This is driven by sectors such as energy, banks, and other consumer companies. However, there are still some risks. For example, new strains of COVID-19 threaten to push back the reopening of some sectors.
Technology
China’s Huawei Technologies Co. has filed a lawsuit in the United States disputing that it is a security threat
Huawei filed a lawsuit in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit asking to review the FCC ruling last year. The FCC found that the company is a threat to national security and blocked American telecommunications operators from buying Huawei-made telecom gear. President Trump’s administration had previously blocked Huawei from accessing American technology and tried to persuade allies that Huawei’s telecom gear posed national security risks. In Huawei’s new lawsuit, it claims that the FCC’s ruling back in December was arbitrary and not supported by substantial evidence. A spokeswoman for the FCC has responded saying that the FCC’s final decision on Huawei was based on substantial evidence developed by the FCC and U.S. national security agencies. The FCC continues to defend their decision. While Huawei hopes that this lawsuit will allow them to access American markets and technology. U.S. officials have said in the past that Beijing could use Huawei’s telecom gear to spy or disrupt telecommunications networks, but there has been no evidence of this happening. Ren Zhengfei, Huawei’s founder, has said that the company would never do this, but there is little trust from the United States on his claim.
Energy and Climate
Airlines plan to move towards more sustainable fuel options to reduce their carbon footprint
Airlines are currently under pressure to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. In order to meet this, they are currently experimenting with different sustainable aviation fuels (SAF). Biofuel is currently in the lead to replace fuel in the future. It is made from cooking oil, animal fats, crops, and unused wood. However, it comes with high costs and there is a lack of supply of biofuel to use for all flights. However, there is a push to research and innovate biofuel as it reduces emissions by 80% when compared to regular jet fuel. The push towards SAF is still pretty young as less than 0.2% of flights used SAF from 2016 to 2020. But many believe that SAF and biofuel are key to reducing the environmental impact that aviation has on the planet. Aviation currently makes up 3.5% of all human-made greenhouse gas emissions. Air traffic is also expected to rise by more than threefold from 2015 to 2045, likely increasing this percentage. Though the COVID-19 pandemic has slowed the number of flights down, there is still a large push to reduce the impact that the aviation industry has on the planet.
Works Cited
Bugault, Olivia, and Dieter Holger. “Airlines Push to Reduce Carbon Footprint With Greener Fuels.” The Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones & Company, 9 Feb. 2021, www.wsj.com/articles/airlines-push-to-reduce-carbon-footprint-with-greener-fuels-11612893657?mod=hp_lead_pos12.
Burton, Amber, and Joe Wallace. “S&P 500, Dow Close Lower After Records.” The Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones & Company, 9 Feb. 2021, www.wsj.com/articles/global-stock-markets-dow-update-02-09-2021-11612860037?mod=hp_lead_pos3.
Collins, Michael, and Paul Davidson. “$15 Minimum Wage Would Boost Pay for Millions but Would Cost 1.4 Million Jobs, Report Says.” USA Today, Gannett Satellite Information Network, 8 Feb. 2021, www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2021/02/08/government-report-says-15-minimum-wage-would-cost-1-4-million-jobs/4439482001/.
Hughes, Siobhan, et al. “Senate Votes to Proceed With Trump Impeachment Trial.” The Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones & Company, 10 Feb. 2021, www.wsj.com/articles/second-trump-impeachment-trial-opens-with-debate-over-senates-power-11612866603?mod=hp_lead_pos1.
“Senator Manchin Urges Biden to Reverse Opposition to Keystone XL Pipeline.” Reuters, Thomson Reuters, 9 Feb. 2021, www.reuters.com/article/usa-keystone-manchin/senator-manchin-urges-biden-to-reverse-opposition-to-keystone-xl-pipeline-idUSL1N2KF2UI.
Strumpf, Dan. “Huawei Files U.S. Lawsuit Disputing That It Is a Security Threat.” The Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones & Company, 9 Feb. 2021, www.wsj.com/articles/huawei-files-u-s-lawsuit-disputing-it-is-a-security-threat-11612880705?mod=hp_lead_pos2.