How Congress' Tax-cut Decision May Affect Economy

The United States won a ruling on Friday in a trade dispute with Mexico, which had sought to ban imports of genetically modified corn for human consumption. U. S. growers, who had worried about the potential loss of the single biggest export market for U. S. corn, welcomed the decision, calling it “a major win.” Mexico’s Economy Department said it disagreed with the ruling by a panel of experts convened under the U.

As Chicago Public Schools faces deficits of around $500 million in each of the next five years, two upcoming Board of Education votes could impact district finances for years to come. CEO Pedro Martinez’s job will potentially be up for a vote when the Board convenes for a special evening meeting Friday, culminating a monthslong political standoff with the Chicago Teachers Union and Mayor Brandon Johnson over whether CPS should take on new debt to fund the cost of a Chicago Teachers Union contract. But the agenda items proposing to either terminate or offer a buyout to the embattled schools chief, who’s promoted fiscal responsibility, aren’t the only momentous decisions on the table.

Hyzon Motors, a startup manufacturer of hydrogen-powered electric trucks that built its fuel cell factory in Bolingbrook, is planning to liquidate its assets and may terminate “substantially all of its remaining employees,” according to a news release Friday. Running out of cash and facing a less EV-friendly political climate, the publicly traded company is seeking shareholder approval for an assignment for the benefit of creditors, according to a filing Thursday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The party is over for Party City as the retail giant announced Friday it’s going out of business and immediately closing all its stores after nearly 40 years. The party supply chain told employees in a Friday meeting that it would be their final day working for the New Jersey-based company, according to CNN. “That is without question the most difficult message that I’ve ever had to deliver,” CEO Barry Litwin reportedly said in a video conference call, telling workers they were losing their jobs five days before Christmas and would be cut loose sans severance pay or benefits. Litwin announced in August he was taking over leadership of the struggling company and its more than 700 stores during a “pivotal” period of repositioning for the business. The country’s largest party supply store declared bankruptcy at the start of 2023, which allowed the company to cancel nearly $1 billion in debt, CNN reported.

Craig Wright, the man who claims he invented bitcoin and has been filing lawsuits asserting intellectual property rights, was sentenced to a year in prison yesterday for committing contempt of court. The sentence is suspended and can be enforced if Wright continues violating court rulings—but he may be able to avoid imprisonment by staying away from countries that have extradition agreements with the UK.

The Office of Utility Consumer Counselor recommends NIPSCO get just 55% of its requested electric rate increase. The state agency sent its recommendations to the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission this week, along with testimony from its field hearings in Valparaiso, Hammond and Gary as well as other information. Among the OUCC’s recommendations is that NIPSCO’s monthly customer service charges for residential and commercial customers remain at their current levels. The agency also recommends NIPSCO’s authorized cost of equity be reduced to 9% from the 9.8% approved last year.