Consumer Confidence Index

The Conference Board

The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index® fell by 7.2 points in March to 92.9 (1985=100). The Present Situation Index—based on consumers’ assessment of current business and labor market conditions—decreased 3.6 points to 134.5. The Expectations Index—based on consumers’ short-term outlook for income, business, and labor market conditions—dropped 9.6 points to 65.2, the lowest level in 12 years and well below the threshold of 80 that usually signals a recession ahead. The cutoff date for preliminary results was March 19, 2025.



“Consumer confidence declined for a fourth consecutive month in March, falling below the relatively narrow range that had prevailed since 2022,” said Stephanie Guichard, Senior Economist, Global Indicators at The Conference Board. “Of the Index’s five components, only consumers’ assessment of present labor market conditions improved, albeit slightly. Views of current business conditions weakened to close to neutral. Consumers’ expectations were especially gloomy, with pessimism about future business conditions deepening and confidence about future employment prospects falling to a 12-year low. Meanwhile, consumers’ optimism about future income—which had held up quite strongly in the past few months—largely vanished, suggesting worries about the economy and labor market have started to spread into consumers’ assessments of their personal situations.” Read Release

USA Facts Website

USAFacts.org – Steve Balmer, Founder and Former Apple CEO

USAFacts is not-for-profit and nonpartisan. When former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer retired from tech to focus on philanthropy, he searched for solid, reliable, impartial numbers to understand what the US government does with tax dollars to help determine the best way to make an impact. How is the money spent? Who is served? What are the outcomes?

Those numbers weren’t readily available. So, he assembled a small team of economists, writers, and researchers to help comb through government data. Their eye-opening report laid the foundation for USAFacts. Today USAFacts reports are provided free as a resource for the American public and US government alike. Access Website

First Quality Tissue Plans Defiance, Ohio, Production Operations

Area Development - News Desk

First Quality Tissue, a manufacturer of hygiene, paper, and packaging products, plans to establish operations in n Defiance, Ohio. The $984 million project is expected to create more than 400 jobs.



The new 1.6 million-square-foot ultra-premium towel and tissue production facility will be located on a 1,000-acre site at the Baltimore Avenue Industrial Corridor. Read Article

Why States Should Evaluate Workforce Development and Job Training Incentives

PEW Foundation - Elizabeth Gray

As more states adopt workforce development incentives to address businesses’ need for skilled workers, policymakers will need to routinely review and measure their effectiveness, according to speakers at a webinar hosted by The Pew Charitable Trusts.



The Pew Charitable Trusts hosted a webinar Aug. 20, 2024, that featured Ellen Harpel, founder of Smart Incentives, and Ellen Miller, chief economic development and quantitative analyst for Virginia’s Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC). The speakers shared their experiences evaluating workforce and job training incentives in New York and Virginia. Read Article and See Webinar

New Trade Policies Bring the True Costs More into Focus for Manufacturers

Reuters - Timothy Aeppel

Summary

• U.S. manufacturing expanded in January for first time in two years
• Tariffs create uncertainty for U.S. manufacturers' investment plans
• Metals tariffs can help millers but cost companies that use raw materials
• Feb 12 (Reuters) - Austin Ramirez until recently planned to build a new factory in Mexico as part of his Wisconsin-based company's strategy to expand global production and shift away from China.
• "Mexico made a ton of sense six months ago," said the CEO of Husco, a producer of hydraulic components used in automotive and off-road equipment like bulldozers.
• Now, not so much. Read Article

PLASTICS Reiterates Concerns as Tariffs Go Into Effect

Manufacturing News – Plastics Machinery and Manufacturing, Matt Seaholm

The organization also issued a joint statement with its Canadian and Mexican counterparts urging a resolution.

The Plastics Industry Association (PLASTICS) released a statement Tuesday from President and CEO Matt Seaholm after the Trump Administration imposed 25 percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico, and an additional 10 percent on China.



“The plastics industry continues to recognize the importance of securing our borders and combating illegal drug trafficking to protect American communities and eradicate fentanyl from our society. A strong and secure nation is fundamental to economic growth and industrial stability,” Seaholm said in the statement. Read Article

8 Most Overhyped Corporate Buzzwords of 2025

CFO.com - Adam Zaki, Reporter

Fast follow, big data and AI-powered lead the list of the most commonly used business and technology terms, many of which CFOs already use.

A new list of “overhyped” corporate buzzwords in 2025 by influencer marketing platform Heepsy mentions several terms CFOs are likely using daily.



These idioms, many of which have become red flags for younger employees during their job searches, have entered organizational communications of all types, including all-hands meetings, board meetings, stakeholder meetings, the hiring process and employee evaluations. Read Article

Trump’s Tariff Plan: A Strategic Move to Reshore Manufacturing

IndustryWeek - Christopher S. Tang

It is crucial to understand the broader vision driving these initiatives.

U.S. President Donald Trump has certainly employed tariffs as a strategic tool to reshape the American manufacturing landscape. However, political leaders and business executives are confused by the daily deluge of tariff threats that President Trump has announced, postponed and U-turned since he took office in late January. 

Rather than getting lost in the day-to-day of Trump’s evolving tariffs, it is crucial to understand the broader vision driving these initiatives. At its core, Trump’s tariff policy aims to bring manufacturing back to the United States, reduce trade deficits and protect national security.



Reviving American Manufacturing

The central pillar of Trump's tariff strategy is to incentivize both American and foreign companies to establish manufacturing operations within the United States. By imposing tariffs on imported goods, Trump creates a financial rationale for companies to rethink their offshoring strategies. The ultimate goal is to rebuild a robust industrial ecosystem that produces goods domestically for the American market. Read Article

Musk Faces Complaint Over Efforts to Get FAA to Drop Verizon, Use Starlink

PC Magazine - Michael Kan

A legal group alleges that Elon Musk 'corrupted FAA’s business relationship with Starlink' and is urging the inspector general's office to investigate. SpaceX has denied any wrongdoing.

A watchdog group has filed a conflict-of-interest complaint over concerns that SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has “blatantly” pressured the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to use Starlink.



The Washington, DC-based Campaign Legal Center also filed a lawsuit to stop Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from making “unlawful” cuts to the federal budget. Read Article

Small Business Optimism Sags Amid ‘Uncertainty Whiplash’: NFIB Survey

CFO Dive - Jim Tyson, Senior Reporter

“The economy is still growing, but at a slower and slower rate — storm clouds are forming,” the NFIB said.

Dive Brief:

• Optimism among owners of small businesses sagged last month, with the percentage of owners saying now is a good time to expand business falling 5 percentage points to 12% in the worst slump since the early days of the pandemic in April 2020, the National Federation of Independent Business said Tuesday.
• With inflation persisting above the Federal Reserve’s 2% goal, the proportion of small businesses raising average selling prices surged in the largest monthly increase since April 2021 and third highest gain since the start of the monthly survey in 1986, the NFIB said.
• “Uncertainty is high and rising on Main Street and for many reasons,” NFIB Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg said in a statement. “Inflation remains a major problem.” Read Article

AI Project Failure Rates Are on the Rise: Report

Cybersecurity Dive - Lindsey Wilkinson, Reporter

The share of businesses scrapping most of their AI initiatives increased to 42% this year, up from 17% last year, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.



Dive Brief:

• More enterprises reported AI project failures this year compared to 2024, according to analysis from S&P Global Market Intelligence. The findings are based on a survey of more than 1,000 respondents in North America and Europe.
• The share of companies abandoning most of their AI initiatives jumped to 42%, up from 17% last year. The average organization scrapped 46% of AI proof-of-concepts before they reached production.
• Companies cited cost, data privacy and security risks as the top obstacles, S&P found. So far, AI adoption is predominantly found in IT operations, followed by customer experience workflows and marketing processes. Read Article

Retail Sales Lag Expectations After Falling in January

CFO Dive - Jim Tyson, Senior Reporter

A report of weak retail sales in February aligns with a 0.5% decline in overall consumer spending in January.



Dive Brief:

• Retail sales rose a lower-than-expected 0.2% last month after shrinking 1.2% in January, the Commerce Department said Monday, bolstering concerns that a tariff war and other policy shifts by the Trump administration may chill consumer spending and slow the economy.
• Among 13 retail categories, seven registered lower sales, including motor vehicles, electronics, apparel, gasoline sales and spending at restaurants and bars, the Commerce Department said. Online spending and health-care products were among the categories that gained.
• “There is little doubt that the erratic tariff policies of the Trump administration have taken their toll on the near-term outlook, in part because of the policies themselves and in part because of the tremendous uncertainty about the scale, scope, and timing of tariffs,” American Action Forum President Douglas Holtz-Eakin said Monday, referring to consumer sentiment. His note preceded release of the retail data. Read Article

Proven Solutions for Employers and Education

• Apprenticeship Program Design and Technical Implementation Support
• Employer - Educational Institution - Community Partnership Program Development and Support
• Employee Pre and Post-Hire Assessment Design, and
• Administration Management Consultation, Training and Support 

Learn More

about K & D Consulting, LLC

Copyright © 2019-25 K & D Consulting, LLC

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 

Under-capacity of workers is an enormous source of untapped value and unrealized return on worker investment. In addition, standardizing expert task performance -between workers and shifts - can add to worker ROI through lower scrap and rework.

• Experience the power of the PROTECH® system of managed human resource development!™

• Accelerated Transfer of Expertise® System;

• Increased worker capacity, productivity, work quantity, work quality and compliance (specifications, ISO/AS/IATF programs and safety mandates);

• Decreased internal costs of training



• Higher return on worker investment! You would be surprised how small of an investment is needed to unlock enormous returns.

If budgets are tight, Proactive Technologies, Inc. can be an extension to your training department, with our technical implementation support - included with every project!

There's nothing to lose by taking a minute to contact us to learn more.

Copyright © 2019-25 Proactive Technologies, Inc.®

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 

• Skill, Knowledge and Behavioral Assessments
• Intro and Advanced Blueprint Reading Courses Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing
• Courses Front Line Supervisor Training
• Training Materials and Online Courses

Visit Our Website

Copyright © 2019-2025 Lifetime Learning

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 

Virginia Becomes Second State to Pass New CPA Pathways Legislation

CFO Dive - Maura Webber Sadovi, Senior Editor

The push to offer alternative routes to licensure that don’t require 150 hours of college credit is gaining momentum this year.



Dive Brief:

• Senate lawmakers in the Virginia legislature unanimously (39-0) passed a bill Monday (HB 2042) that gives prospective certified public accountants a new path to licensure that doesn’t require 150 hours of college credit. A similar bill (SB 1042) was unanimously passed in a 94-0 vote in the state’s House on Feb. 11. 
• The legislation, which needs to be signed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin, would still require all candidates to pass the CPA exam. But as of Jan. 1, 2026, a person could qualify for licensure in Virginia by obtaining a baccalaureate degree — meaning four years of college with an accounting or equivalent concentration — and two years of relevant work experience. CPA candidates could also qualify for licensure with a master’s degree and one year of work experience or by following the existing route of completing 150 hours of college credit and one year of work experience.
• “We were definitely thrilled that [the bills] were unanimously approved,” said Emily Walker, vice president, advocacy and pipeline at the Virginia Society of CPAs, which backed the bill. Walker noted that the legislation drew bipartisan support in part because legislators are generally focused on workforce development and looking to remove barriers to work opportunities. “You’re not only saving on college education but getting [people] into the workforce sooner … That’s very appealing regardless of which side of the aisle you’re sitting on,” she said in an interview. Read Article

Hackers Loot Record-Breaking $1.4 Billion From Cryptocurrency Exchange

PC Magazine - Michael Kan

The Bybit exchange lost 400,000 in ETH, or about $1.4 billion, before the price began to slide, making it the biggest crypto-related hack in history.

A group of hackers just pulled off the largest cryptocurrency heist in history, looting an estimated $1.4 billion from the Bybit exchange.

The hackers compromised an offline “cold wallet” that stored Ethereum, stealing the 400,000 in ETH on Friday morning, Bybit CEO Ben Zhou told users in a live stream.



During the incident, the cold wallet was supposed to transfer funds to an online “hot wallet.” To execute the transaction, the cold wallet required approval from multiple private keys. Read Article

Consumer Sentiment Slumps on Fears Tariffs Will Fuel Inflation

CFO Dive - Jim Tyson, Senior Reporter

Long-run inflation expectations this month rose to 3.5% in the biggest month-over-month increase since May 2021, the University of Michigan said.

Dive Brief:

• Consumer sentiment slumped this month and inflation expectations surged on fears that Trump administration tariffs will fuel inflation, according to the University of Michigan’s consumer survey released Friday.
• “Consumer expectations for the path of inflation worsened considerably this month — they are clearly bracing for a resurgence of inflation,” Joanne Hsu, director of the university’s survey, said in a statement. “Consumers broadly anticipate that tariff hikes will lead to higher inflation,” she said, adding that “policy uncertainty means that their views are subject to change.”
• All five components of the sentiment index fell in February, led by a 19% plunge in buying conditions for durable goods that was prompted “in large part due to fears that tariff-induced price increases are imminent,” Hsu said. Read Article

SEC Withdraws Lawsuit Against Coinbase, Ending Years-Long Legal Battle, Firm Says

USA Today - Hannah Lang and Chris Prentice

Coinbase COIN.O said on Friday the U.S. securities regulator planned to withdraw its lawsuit against the crypto exchange, ending a contentious years-long legal battle once considered existential for the trading platform and the broader sector.



The Securities and Exchange Commission has moved quickly to overhaul its approach to policing the crypto sector under Republican leadership since President Donald Trump took office. The agency has established a dedicated task force and rescinded key crypto-related accounting guidance. Read Article

US Faces ‘Serious Questions’ On Corruption Safeguards, Watchdog Says

CFO Dive - Jim Tyson, Senior Reporter

The decline in the perception of U.S. anti-corruption safeguards preceded an executive order by President Donald Trump pausing enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.



Dive Brief:

• The U.S. slid in a global index measuring the perception of public sector corruption, Transparency International said, flagging doubts about ethics standards adopted by the Supreme Court.
• “The Supreme Court instituted a new ethics code in 2023, after a number of high-profile and widely publicized ethical scandals, but serious questions remain about the lack of meaningful, objective enforcement mechanisms and the strength of the new rules themselves,” Transparency International, a corruption watchdog, said in a report.
• The U.S. last year dropped to 28th from 24th in the Corruption Perceptions Index ranking of 180 countries, lagging France, Taiwan and Barbados, Transparency International said. Denmark’s public sector is deemed least corrupt and ranked first in the index. Transparency International bases the index on 13 different assessments of public sector corruption from organizations including the World Bank and World Economic Forum. Read Article

DOGE Layoffs Could Trigger Wider Unemployment, Slow Economy: Apollo

CFO Dive - Jim Tyson, Senior Reporter

Signs of economic weakness have emerged, with the murky outlook for U.S. tariff and other policies eroding sentiment among consumers and purchasing managers.



Dive Brief:

• Expected layoffs of about 300,000 federal workers by the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency may trigger wider unemployment and slow economic growth, according Torsten Sløk, chief economist at Apollo Global Management.
• The number of vulnerable federal jobs pales next to the 7 million unemployed U.S. workers, Sløk said. Yet given that there are two private sector contractors for every federal employee, “layoffs could potentially be closer to 1 million,” he said in a report.
• “Any increase in layoffs will push jobless claims higher over the coming weeks, and such a rise in the unemployment rate is likely to have consequences for rates, equities and credit,” Sløk said, while acknowledging that “incoming economic data remains strong.” Read Article

Trump Crypto Reserve: What Does It Mean For Bitcoin?

Forbes Dave Birnbaum, Contributor

WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 23: David Sacks, U.S. President Donald Trump's AI and Crypto Czar, listens ... [+]Getty Images

President Donald Trump’s new statement about the Trump Crypto Reserve including XRP, Solana (SOL), and Cardano (ADA) has triggered a tidal wave of conversation, speculation, and debate. Many have noted his omission of bitcoin, which was corrected by a follow-up post a few minutes later that stated bitcoin (and ethereum) would also be included.

Bitcoin stands apart from all other digital assets by virtue of its liquidity, security, and genuine decentralization.



The initial omission is unusual, to say the least, and on its face might sound alarming to those of us who believe that bitcoin—not the broader “crypto” market—represents the future of sound money. But in the broader context of his prior public statements and policy pledges, Trump has not abandoned the world’s most secure decentralized network, and has explicitly stated in the past that any U.S. digital asset stockpile would also include bitcoin. Read Article

Bitcoin Erases All of Its Gain That Followed Trump's Crypto Reserve Announcement

NBC NY - Tanaya Macheel, CNBC

The price of bitcoin failed to recover the $85,000 level – where it traded before President Donald Trump's announcement of a U.S. crypto reserve sent it soaring – after a sell-off driven by tariff concerns knocked it down.



Bitcoin was last lower by 2% on Tuesday at $83,508.78, according to Coin Metrics, and off its all-time high by 23%. Read Article

‘Exciting News’: Trump Brags About Gutting Anti-Money Laundering Law

Rolling Stone - Nikki McCann Ramirez

The Trump administration won’t enforce a Treasury Department rule requiring shell companies to disclose their owners and beneficiaries



On Sunday, the Treasury announced that it would “not enforce any penalties or fines associated with the beneficial ownership information reporting rule under the existing regulatory deadlines, but it will further not enforce any penalties or fines against U.S. citizens or domestic reporting companies or their beneficial owners after the forthcoming rule changes take effect either.” Read Article

Trump Agencies Drop Dozens of Biden-era Cases Against Crypto, Other Companies

NPR - Carrie Johnson

A new watchdog report warns that the Trump administration is "going soft" on corporations that break the law by moving to pause or drop investigations of companies accused of foreign bribery, safety violations, unfair labor practices and environmental crimes.

The changes in enforcement across a handful of agencies come as President Trump has sought to align the federal government to his priorities, including pursuing border and national security interests, for example, above other areas.



In a little more than a month, the new administration has halted or tried to dismiss cases or investigations against at least 89 companies, according to a report by the nonprofit group Public Citizen obtained exclusively by NPR. That's a quarter of the prominent investigations and enforcement the group was tracking at the end of the Biden administration. Read Article

The CFPB Drops Its Case Against Payment App Zelle, in Another Sign of a Trump Pivot

NPR - Laurel Wamsley

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has dropped its lawsuit against the operator of payment platform Zelle and three of its parent banks, in the latest move by the Trump administration to undo actions of the bureau's prior leadership.



The bureau had filed the lawsuit in late December against the operator of Zelle, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo "for failing to protect consumers from widespread fraud." Customers of the top three banks lost more than $870 million over seven years due to the banks' failures to protect them, according to the CFPB.

"This is about financial institutions fulfilling their basic obligations to protect customers' money and help fraud victims recover their losses," then-CFPB Director Rohit Chopra said at the time. "These banks broke the law by running a payment system that made fraud easy, and then refusing to help the victims." Read Article

Trump Vowed To End Surprise Medical Bills. The Office Working on That Just Got Slashed.

KFF Health News - Noam N. Levey

As President Donald Trump wrapped up his first term in 2020, he signed legislation to protect Americans from surprise medical bills. “This must end,” Trump said. “We’re going to hold insurance companies and hospitals totally accountable.”



But the president’s wide-ranging push to slash government spending, led by billionaire Elon Musk, is weakening the federal office charged with implementing the No Surprises Act.

Some 15% of those working at the federal Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight, or CCIIO, were fired two weeks ago, according to the agency’s former deputy director in charge of operations, Jeff Grant. Read Article

Auditors Could Face Less Heat with Trump in the White House

CFO.com - David McCann, Contributing Editor

If history repeats, PCAOB enforcement activity will decline during the President’s second term.

The number of enforcement actions finalized by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board reached a seven-year high in 2024, according to a report by Cornerstone Research.

Available data suggests a connection between politics and PCAOB enforcement activity. The auditor-watchdog agency concluded 40 such actions last year, the final one of Joe Biden’s presidency. That was three short of the record 43 in 2016 and 2017, the last year of the Obama Administration and the first year of the first Trump Administration.



President Trump is not a particular fan of regulations. The level of PCAOB enforcement plummeted during his term, ending with 12 finalized actions in 2020. Read Article

Auto Suppliers Beware: Bribes Are Illegal. There Is No Gray Area.

IndustryWeek - Warren Browne

Global executives complain about complying with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. My recommendation: Stop whining, please.

Providing new vehicle program analysis for automotive suppliers is always rewarding. It’s appealing to help suppliers understand a program’s advantages and disadvantages while providing a realistic volume potential. Fun stuff!

Writing about ethics less so—and admittedly pedantic. However, advocating for the importance of compliance with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) , a federal law enacted in 1977, is appropriate for these times. 

As described in the New York Times, “The FCPA has become the global standard for fighting bribery.”

Unfortunately, President Donald Trump has recently said the law is unfair to U.S. businesses and has paused new criminal investigations or enforcement for 180 days. What? This new executive order is as confusing as new tariff announcements that will come in waves over the next few months.

In the same week, Trump also indicated that no laws are broken if he is “saving the country.”

Should U.S. executives take the same approach by telling employees, “If we are saving the company, then bribes are legal?” Read Article

The True Genius of Elon Musk is His ‘Subsidy Harvesting Strategy,’ Political Science Professor Says

Fortune - Alena Botros

DOGE is a way for Elon Musk “to sort of carve out a rent-seeking opportunity extraordinaire,” USC professor Jeb Barnes said, pointing to an already successful tactic for him: accumulating subsidies. Musk has reportedly collected $38 billion in government funding over the years through contracts, loans, subsidies, and tax credits, according to a recent Washington Post analysis.

Elon Musk runs a number of multibillion-dollar companies that have made him the world’s richest man. Part of that comes from his skill in collecting money from the government, according to Jeb Barnes, a professor of political science for the University of Southern California.



“He’s done it with all of his businesses,” Barnes told Fortune. Read and Hear Article

Tesla CFO Sells $1.7M More in Stock

CFO Dive - Grace Noto, Editor

The sale comes as Tesla’s stock has lost a third of its value since President Donald Trump took office, amid a backlash against the EV maker’s CEO Elon Musk and a broadening trade war.



Dive Brief:

• Tesla CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold $1.7 million in shares of common stock for the electric vehicle manufacturer earlier this week, while Board Chair Robyn Denholm sold about $33 million in shares, according to Monday securities filings.
• The sales represent the second offloading of stock by the two executives in as many months, with both Taneja and Denholm, as well as Tesla board member Kimbal Musk, the brother of CEO Elon Musk, having collectively sold tens of millions in shares of company stock in early February, CFO Dive previously reported. Taneja sold $2.8 million in stock at the time, while Denholm sold shares for approximately $43 million. In January Denholm, Musk, and other board members of the Austin, Texas-based EV maker agreed to pay back a collective $919 million to Tesla in a court settlement stemming from a shareholder lawsuit that asserted the directors had overpaid themselves, CFO Dive reported.
• Taneja and Denholm’s stock sales this week also took place as the EV maker has continued to see its stock price plummet, amid both slumping global sales and uncertainty surrounding potential tariffs and their impact on the EV space, both in the U.S. and in countries such as Canada, according to reports. Read Article

No More Consumer Protection? What the CFPB Shutdown Means For You.

USA Today - Daniel de Visé

In the waning months of the Biden administration, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, or CFPB, released a flurry of new consumer protection rules, targeting everything from bank overdraft fees and credit card late fees to old medical debt on credit reports.

If the Democrats had fared better at the polls, then some of the rules might have taken effect by now. As it stands, the consumer agency itself is in limbo. 

Trump and Wealth-Price Inflation: Still Running in the Background All the Time

Institute for New Economic Thinking - Thomas Ferguson and Servaas Storm

Consumer demand by America’s most affluent citizens is driving consumer spending, and consumer spending, in turn, is the main force keeping inflation so high.

Here we are again.

First the IMF, then the Fed belatedly tiptoed to the conclusion that we reached almost two years ago: that the bubbling consumer demand that has sustained US inflation in the face of Fed interest rate hikes is driven principally by the spending of affluent Americans whose wealth has soared thanks to the Fed’s doubling down on quantitative easing during the pandemic. Due to surging house prices and stock market prices, the net worth of the wealthiest 10% of US households has increased by more than 50% in nominal terms, or $36.3 trillion, during the first quarter of 2020 and the third quarter of 2024. This, in turn, has unleashed a powerful wealth effect on consumer spending, as we have repeatedly pointed out (Ferguson and Storm 2023; Ferguson and Storm 2024a; Ferguson and Storm 2024b).



Now comes Moody’s Analytics with more of the same. A Wall Street Journal article interviews that institution’s chief economist, Mark Zandi, and cites data and charts from the institution in support of the claim that “Many Americans are pinching pennies, exhausted by high prices and stubborn inflation.” Read Article

Trump is Asserting Extraordinary Power Over Independent Agencies. Is the Fed Next?

NPR Planet Money - Greg Rosalsky

President Trump vs. the independent agencies. It's a battle for the history books — literally. To understand the significance of this showdown, we need to go back to history ourselves.



Historians generally agree that the first independent agency in the U.S. government was the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC). Founded in 1887, the ICC had a pretty revolutionary job: regulating the powerful railroad industry. Led by "robber barons," the monopolistic companies that controlled the railroads were accused of price gouging and other abuses of power. The creation of the ICC was one of the opening salvos of the turn-of-the-century, bipartisan Progressive movement that sought to rein in big corporations and the excesses of free-market capitalism. Read Article

“A Generational Loss of Talent” - Scientist Warns Funding Cuts in Science, Tech, and Health Undermine U.S. Leadership

Institute for New Economic Thinking - By Lynn Parramore

Phillip Alvelda, a scientist and entrepreneur with past roles at NASA and DARPA, sounds the alarm on cuts that threaten the innovative capacities that have made America a global powerhouse.

Students left in limbo with PhD programs paused. Essential scientific research slashed. Key disease response meetings cancelled. The threat of China’s dominance growing.



The Trump administration’s campaign to restrict funding for U.S. institutions critical to science, technology, and health has sparked growing anxiety. Will budget cuts derail America’s leadership, altering its global standing for years to come? What will it cost us—and the rest of the world? Read Article

How Much Money the US Really Spends On Social Security Every Year

Money Digest – Carolyn Osorio

From funding shortfalls to political differences, Social Security has faced years of uncertainty, which has left the future of Social Security fairly unclear (and could largely depend on the outcome of the presidential election).

While each political party has a fundamentally different view of how to manage and/or potentially change Social Security, ultimately, it's Congress that must come up with any potential reforms. In an increasingly divisive political environment, though, this can be much easier said than done.

“Another important thing to know is how exactly Social Security's funding works... First, almost all U.S. workers pay into these funds through payroll taxes (and matched employer contributions)…Second, the funds also generate their own money through interest and income taxes on benefits.”



In the meantime, almost 68 million people currently receive Social Security benefits in 2024. This includes old-age and survivors benefits, as well as disability insurance benefits. To put that in different terms, as of fiscal year 2023, Social Security benefits made up 22% of the total federal budget. With that in mind, it's worth mentioning that Social Security benefits don't always require the same outlay of funds. For instance, in some years, benefits have cost as little as 0.22% of the federal outlay (during WWII) up to their highest cost, 23.2%, in 2001. Read Article

Trump Fires 2 Democrats on the Federal Trade Commission, Seeking More Control Over Regulators

Associated Press – Will Weissert and Christopher Rugaber

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump fired two Democratic members of the Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday, intensifying efforts to exert his administration’s control over independent agencies across the government.

Commissioners Alvaro Bedoya and Rebecca Kelly Slaughter said they’d been dismissed illegally and would sue to block Trump’s order. They also said they consider themselves still part of the FTC, though whether they will still have access to their offices and logistical tools like email going forward was unclear.



Removing Bedoya and Slaughter could free up space on the five-member FTC for new commissioners loyal to Trump and his priorities and policies. Read Article

Why is the Federal Reserve Independent, and What Does That Mean in Practice?

Brookings Institute - David Wessel

What does “independence” mean?

The Federal Reserve was created by an act of Congress in 1913 and, since 1977, has been charged with promoting maximum employment and stable prices. In practice, independence means that the Fed can set interest rates without interference from Congress or the White House even if politicians aren’t unhappy with Fed policy—and say so publicly.



Congress could, of course, change the law, but no bill to alter the Fed’s mandate or governance has gone very far. That’s because members of Congress generally recognize that if they or the president were able to directly influence the setting of interest rates, higher inflation would be the likely outcome. Read Article

Economic Books for Our Time

Money and Empire: Charles Kindleberger and the Dollar System

Institute for New Economic Thinking - Laurent Le Maux

The Author: Peter Mehrling

A review of Perry Mehrling’s book, Money and Empire: Charles P. Kindleberger and the Dollar System, and an exploration Mehrling’s discussion of the 1982 correspondence between Charles Kindleberger and Ben Bernanke examining their theories concerning financial crises.



When Ben Bernanke, Chairman of the Board of the Federal Reserve, opened the September 16, 2008 meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee in the wake of the collapse of Lehman Brothers, he tabled a new procedure for liquidity provision. It concerned the Dollar Swap Lines program allowing the Federal Reserve to grant credit facilities to other central banks—notably the European Central Bank, the Bank of England, and the Swiss National Bank—which pay an interest rate and use their own currency as collateral with no foreign exchange risk for the Federal Reserve. The proposal on September 16 was to transform the Dollar Swap Lines procedure in such a way that the quantity of dollars provided would henceforth be unlimited, for a given interest rate. Without knowing it, Ben Bernanke and the staff of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York were proposing to implement the rule that Charles Kindleberger had enunciated thirty years earlier in the final pages of his book Manias, Panics, and Crashes—a rule specifically applicable to swap lines between central banks. More generally, the global financial crisis of 2007–2009 illustrated Kindleberger’s analysis of nearly half a century of research into international monetary and financial economics. Although an outstanding achievement, it has received little attention in the literature on financial crises. Read Review

Economic Interviews for Our Time

Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism

Review by Lynn Parramore, Senior Research Analyst

Explosive New Book Argues Facebook Is a Global Engine of Harm and Corruption. Is Reform Possible?

Sara Wynn-Williams, defying Facebook’s attempts to silence her, reveals the company’s toxic culture and global damage, exposing unethical practices and a profit-at-any-cost approach. The key question she leaves us with: How can this be changed?

Early in her chilling account of life as a Facebook executive, Sara Wynn-Williams drops an intriguing detail: Mark Zuckerberg’s favorite president. The young founder – still in his twenties at the time — picks Andrew Jackson, because he “got stuff done.”

“What about Lincoln or Roosevelt” the author asks the boss. Didn’t they get stuff done, too? Zuckerberg insists: “It’s Jackson. It’s not even close.” Read Article

The Classroom

Inequality Media- Robert Rich, Former US Labor Secretary

My name is Robert Reich. I’m a former secretary of labor and UC Berkeley professor of public policy. I designed this course to give students — and now, you — a deeper understanding of why inequalities of income and wealth have widened significantly over the last 40 years in the United States, and their consequences.

Even though this isn’t a real classroom and I’m not with you in person, I hope you find this both enjoyable and challenging. Don’t expect to learn by just watching and listening, though. I want you to be an active learner — which means answering questions I pose and putting various puzzle pieces together. I’m not going to tell you what to think. I’m going to try to provoke you into thinking harder and more deeply. Watch Video Classroom Series

Oil Giant's Leaked Data Reveals 'Awful' Pollution

BBC - Owen Pinnell

An iridescent film could be seen on the water surface in some places the BBC visited

Colombian energy giant Ecopetrol has polluted hundreds of sites with oil, including water sources and biodiverse wetlands, the BBC World Service has found.

Data leaked by a former employee reveals more than 800 records of these sites from 1989 to 2018, and indicates the company had failed to report about a fifth of them.

The BBC has also obtained figures showing the company has spilled oil hundreds of times since then. Read Article

Amazon Forest Felled to Build Road for Climate Summit

BBC - Ione Wells, Belém Brazil

A new four-lane highway cutting through tens of thousands of acres of protected Amazon rainforest is being built for the COP30 climate summit in the Brazilian city of Belém.

It aims to ease traffic to the city, which will host more than 50,000 people - including world leaders - at the conference in November.

The state government touts the highway's "sustainable" credentials, but some locals and conservationists are outraged at the environmental impact. Read Article and See Video

What Makes a Rum Jamaican? Question at Heart of Caribbean Legal Dispute

BBC - Jacob Evans

Rum is one of Jamaica's biggest exports

Rum is a key part of Jamaica's cultural identity, but what exactly makes a rum Jamaican?

That question is at the centre of a dispute that is continuing to rumble on the Caribbean island, as some producers wish to strengthen rules on what can, and cannot, be called "Jamaica rum".

In October of last year, Jamaica's Intellectual Property Office (JIPO) approved amendments to the geographical indication (GI) designation for Jamaica Rum that was originally set up in 2016. The biggest change is that ageing the rum overseas is now prohibited. Read Article

Why Hate Speech is Punishable By Law in Germany

DeutscheWelle - Peter Hille

Can you express your opinion freely in Germany? Yes, but not unconditionally. Rules on speech are stricter in Germany than, for example, in the United States.

Freedom of expression is guaranteed in Article 5 of the Basic Law, the German constitution, which also makes clear that this freedom has limits in order to, for example, to protect young people, privacy or personal honor.

The protection of personal honor plays a particularly important role in the German legal system, said lawyer Ralf Poscher, director of the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law in Freiburg. "This originates from the time in history when notions of honor were even more important. They were then embraced by the middle classes too, and were incorporated into our legal system." Read Article

Austria’s Freedom Party Secures First Far-right National Election Win Since World War II

CNN - Associated Press

The Freedom Party secured the first far-right national parliamentary election victory in post-World War II Austria on Sunday, finishing ahead of the governing conservatives after tapping into anxieties about immigration, inflation, Ukraine and other issues. But its chances of governing were unclear.

Preliminary official results showed the Freedom Party finishing first with 29.2% of the vote and Chancellor Karl Nehammer’s Austrian People’s Party was second with 26.5%. The center-left Social Democrats were in third place with 21%. The outgoing government – a coalition of Nehammer’s party and the environmentalist Greens – lost its majority in the lower house of parliament. Read Article

Mark Carney Dominated the Race to Replace Justin Trudeau. Now What?

CBC News - Rhianna Schmunk

Once Carney is settled into his new role, Governor General must swear him in

In something of a political blowout, Mark Carney was elected on Sunday as leader of the Liberal Party and as the next prime minister.

He won with 85.9 per cent of the votes, a larger margin than many expected — even though he was the clear front-runner throughout the race.

His win was bigger than what outgoing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had after his own leadership race in 2013, despite having more than half the amount of time to campaign. Read Article

AI is Turbocharging Organized Crime, EU Police Agency Warns

Associated Press – Mike Corder

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The European Union’s law enforcement agency cautioned Tuesday that artificial intelligence is turbocharging organized crime that is eroding the foundations of societies across the 27-nation bloc as it becomes intertwined with state-sponsored destabilization campaigns.

The grim warning came at the launch of the latest edition of a report on organized crime published every four years by Europol that is compiled using data from police across the EU and will help shape law enforcement policy in the bloc in coming years.

“Cybercrime is evolving into a digital arms race targeting governments, businesses and individuals. AI-driven attacks are becoming more precise and devastating,” said Europol’s Executive Director Catherine De Bolle. Read Article

Myanmar's Junta Turns to Russia for Support in Civil War

DeutscheWelle - Tommy Walker in Bangkok

Myanmar's embattled junta has boosted its ties with Russia, which has been a longtime military backer. Now that the junta's leader has met with Vladimir Putin, more high-tech drones could soon enter the battlefield.

It was Min Aung Hlaing's fourth visit to Russia since he took power in a 2021 coup, but last week's visit was the first official visit at the invitation of Putin, who hailed his ties with the junta, and lauded a 40% increase in bilateral trade last year.

Both Myanmar's junta and Russia are subject to international sanctions over human rights violations committed during both countries' respective ongoing wars. Read Article

What Can the US Learn from China's Manufacturing Growth?

IndustryWeek - Christopher S. Tang

Strategic industrial policies, like incentives and soft power, have helped the "world's factory" reach 30% of global manufacturing output.



Both President Donald Trump and former President Joe Biden have stated that China engages in unfair trade practices such as preferential treatment for state-owned businesses and extensive subsidies, resulting in high exports. In response, China disputed these claims and initiated dispute settlement proceedings at the World Trade Organization in 2024.

Despite differing perspectives on the trade issues between the U.S. and China, it is undeniable that China is "the world's factory,” accounting for nearly 30% of global manufacturing output in 2024. It is the largest exporter of goods globally, with sectors like electronics, textiles, machinery and steel driving much of its production capacity. Read Article

China's Growing Grip on Key German Industries

DeutscheWelle -Nik Martin

China has emerged as a major threat to Germany's car industry and is also putting the chemicals and engineering sector under pressure.

Germany’s industrial backbone is facing an unprecedented challenge. Once the leader in high-end manufacturing, the country has witnessed a five-year decline in industrial production, which threatens up to 5.5 million jobs and 20% of gross domestic product (GDP), according to a recent report by the London-based Centre for European Reform (CER).

Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine forced Germany to reduce its reliance on Russian oil and gas, sending energy prices soaring and severely hurting industrial sectors like chemicals and steel. Additionally, post-pandemic supply chain disruptions reduced demand for German exports. Read Article

Are India and EU Growing Closer as Global Alliances Shift?

DeutscheWelle - Murali Krishnan New Delhi

The European Commission, complete with its chief Ursula von der Leyen, is traveling to India to boost cooperation on security and trade. The visit to India could be seen as the EU shopping for new allies.

European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen starts her two-day visit to India on Thursday, accompanied by the entire college of commissioners — all of the top leaders of the European Union's executive branch.

India and the European Union already cooperate closely on issues like foreign policy, defense and technology development. Now Brussels is ramping up efforts to finalize a long-delayed free trade agreement with the world's most populous country. Read Article

Can Myanmar's Scam Centers Be Shut Down for Good?

DeutscheWelle - Tommy Walker in Bangkok

Thousands of people from dozens of countries held in Myanmar's border scam centers are awaiting repatriation — but is this really the end of the billion-dollar scam center operations?

Hundreds of thousands of people have been lured into fake jobs across Southeast Asia after being promised lucrative employment.

They have been effectively treated as slaves, forced into working scam activities, swindling billions of dollars through fake romances, investments, cryptocurrency, and illegal gambling. Read Article

Pakistani Villagers Face Climate Change, Melting Glaciers

DeustcheWelle - Afsar Awan in Pakistan

Villagers in Pakistan's northern region, known as the "Third Pole," are fighting for their future, using innovative methods to cope with climate change. Melting glaciers are increasing the risk of devastating floods.



The video highlights the challenges faced by villagers in northern Pakistan, a region often referred to as the "Third Pole" due to its vast glaciers. These glaciers, which are crucial for water supply, are melting rapidly because of climate change. This has led to an increased risk of devastating floods, threatening the livelihoods and safety of the local communities. Many villagers are forced to adapt to these changes, but the situation remains dire as the melting glaciers continue to pose a significant threat. Read Article

Africa’s $3.4 Trillion Opportunity: Turning Vulnerabilities into Resilience

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH - UNCTAD

Stronger intra-regional trade, strategic investments and bolder economic reforms are crucial to unlocking the vast potential of the African Continental Free Trade Area.

Africa’s $3.4 trillion opportunity: Turning vulnerabilities into resilience

The 2024 Economic Development in Africa Report by UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) outlines how Africa can transform economic vulnerabilities into opportunities through trade, investment and regional integration.



The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), macroeconomic reforms and innovative financial tools can help stabilize economies and reduce reliance on volatile global markets.



Investing in infrastructure, trade diversification and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is key to unlocking growth and driving sustainable development. Read Release

"One thing is certain... nothing is certain!"

The rate of change affecting work, the worker, management and the educational institutions that service all three has been accelerating - made worse by the unexpected Covid-19 pandemic. The economy, the consumer, supply chains and operational strategies have all been disrupted in the short-term, casting doubt on the long-term.

Rapid adaptation is the key to survivability, sustainability and growth. Sometimes an experienced outside advisor can help facilitate needed improvements to take the worry out of change and the fear out of growth.

Frank J. Gibson Management and Workforce Excellence Advisor

• Business Development & Growth
• Workforce Development and Optimization
• Training and Cross-Training
• Local,/Regional Workforce Development Projects and Community Development
• Facilitated Problem Solving
• Process Improvement Cross-Functional Leadership Coaching and Mentoring
• Internship and Apprenticeship Projects
• Strategic Doing/Strategic Planning

Learn More

Copyright © 2025 Frank J. Gibson

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Affiliated with Proactive Technologies, Inc.® for projects outside the United States

• Workforce development partner for employers, and education/ training providers who support employers, to ensure every worker can be trained to full job mastery;

• Experienced with governmental, IDB, GIZ and economic development agency sponsored projects;

• Experienced in assuring multinational employers expanding to the U.S. have the skilled workforce they need.

• PTI Systems® International sets-up complete worker development and performance management systems, and provides technical implementation support;

• We provide strategies for our project's transition to local management.

• Speakers for seminars and conferences.

Don't just complain about a "skills gap," deliberately develop every worker to full job mastery! 

Learn More

"Institute training on the job"

.                                                               W. Edwards Deming

American engineer, statistician,

professor, author, lecturer, and

management consultant

1900 - 1993

“Roosevelt talked not only about Freedom from Fear, but also Freedom from Want.”

Jeffrey Sachs

American economist, public policy analyst, Director of the Center for Sustainable Development, Columbia University

1954 -

“Most poor people earn more than minimum wage when they are working; their problem is not low wages. The problem comes when they are not working.”

Joseph Eugene Stiglitz

American New Keynesian economist, public policy analyst, professor at Columbia University. He is a recipient of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences and the John Bates Clark Medal.

1943 -

Manufacturers Down on Trump; Loathe Tariffs

IndustryWeek - Laura Putre

'No clear plan on tariffs. On again/off again. NOBODY works like that in manufacturing.'



Manufacturing leaders expressed net disapproval of President Donald Trump’s performance in office so far, especially the threat of tariffs that could disrupt businesses.



And those who dislike the president’s actions are very vocal about it. In a poll conducted by IndustryWeek following Trump’s first month in office, nearly 53% of 1,100+ responses were "negative" or "very negative." And those holding poor views of the president had more to say than those applauding his performance. Read Article

German Industry Calls for More Proactive Growth Policy

DeustcheWelle - Katharina Bahn

Following the German election, business owners are hoping for a more proactive government growth policy. Industry leaders are calling for cost reductions from less bureaucracy, cheaper energy and more public spending.



Germany's new government is expected to improve the economy by reducing bureaucracy, lowering energy costs and providing more capital incentives. Economic growth has declined for two years, with experts saying quick action is required. Stability and innovation are crucial, as are international relations and a strong Europe. Companies are hoping for relief, and economists have urged swift action. See Video Report

Everything You Want to Know About the Canada-U.S. Tariffs

CBC News

A trade war between Canada and the United States is a complicated issue that has consequences for an untold number of people on both sides of the border. Here are the answers to your most common questions, all in one place.



How do tariffs work?

A tariff is a tax that one country places on another country’s goods. In this case, the United States has put an extra tax on Canadian products coming into the country – which are called imports. It means American importers, from small businesses to big companies, who want to use or sell Canadian products have to pay the extra fee when they bring those goods across the border. Read Article

Trump to Enact Tariffs on Canada, Mexico, Despite Business Community Opposition

IndustryWeek - Robert Schoenberger

The on-again/off-again nature of tariff announcements has created challenges and uncertainties for U.S. industries, with concerns about the long-term economic impacts and potential retaliatory measures from trading partners.

Business leaders in several industries strongly oppose the 25% tariffs that President Donald Trump plans to impose on Canada and Mexico today, March 4, calling the duties in recent months a gift to foreign manufacturers and a massive hardship on U.S. producers.



A poll conducted by IndustryWeek following Trump’s first month in office found those saying Trump’s policies are hurting manufacturing outnumbered those supporting his actions. Tariffs were the No. 1 complaint for the opponents, with many saying the on-again/off-again nature of the announcements has made things even more challenging. Trump announced the tariff plans in late January and almost immediately delayed them for a month. Last week, the president said at a cabinet meeting Wednesday that Mexico and Canada tariffs were off until April only to contradict that the following day. Read Article

BlackRock Strikes Deal to Bring Ports on Both Sides of Panama Canal Under American Control

Associated Press – Didi Tang and Alex Veiga

A Hong Kong-based conglomerate has agreed to sell its controlling stake in a subsidiary that operates ports near the Panama Canal to a consortium including BlackRock Inc., effectively putting the ports under American control after President Donald Trump alleged Chinese interference with the operations of the critical shipping lane.



In a filing, CK Hutchison Holding said Tuesday that it would sell all shares in Hutchison Port Holdings and in Hutchison Port Group Holdings to the consortium in a deal valued at nearly $23 billion, including $5 billion in debt.

The deal will give the BlackRock consortium control over 43 ports in 23 countries, including the ports of Balboa and Cristobal, located at either end of the Panama Canal. Other ports are in Mexico, the Netherlands, Egypt, Australia, Pakistan and elsewhere. Read Article

US Trade Gap Hits New Record in January as Tariff Fears Loomed

IndustryWeek - Agence France-Presse

Trump has launched plans for "reciprocal tariffs" tailored to each U.S. trading partner to tackle trade practices deemed unfair by Washington.

The U.S. trade deficit surged to a new record in January, government data showed Thursday, as imports spiked while tariff worries flared in the month of President Donald Trump's inauguration.

Trump returned to the White House this year with pledges to ease cost-of-living pressures for voters, but on the campaign trail he also raised the possibility of sweeping levies across U.S. imports.



The overall trade gap of the world's biggest economy ballooned 34% to $131.4 billion, on the back of a 10% jump in imports for the month, said the Commerce Department. Read Article

Why Skills Could Be the Overlooked Key to Improving Efficiency, Avoiding Waste

Human Resource Executive - Jen Colletta

Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency have been making headlines—and prompting protests—in recent weeks for their unconventional approach to carrying out the Trump administration’s pledge to reduce federal spending: mass layoffs, demands for weekly task accountability and more.

What’s really behind the purported federal waste DOGE says it is tackling? According to one veteran government leader who testified before Congress last month, skills gaps are playing an outsized role in dragging down efficiency and driving up the potential for waste—a reality that experts say has important takeaways for the private sector. Read Article

Forget About Rare Earth Minerals. We Need More Copper

NPR - Scott Neuman

In recent weeks, you've likely heard a lot about rare-earth substances, thanks to President Trump's stalled efforts to secure a minerals deal with Ukraine and his talk of annexing Greenland. These vital substances fuel the growing renewables and electric-vehicle industries. However, many experts warn that the shortage of another crucial metal, used in electronics, wiring and even plumbing could be just as concerning.

U.S. Vice President JD Vance (2nd R), US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (3rd R) and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (2nd L) meet on the sidelines of the 61st Munich Security Conference (MSC) in Munich, southern Germany on February 14, 2025.



Copper may be even more crucial to the nation's shift toward a greener, more efficient economy than rare elements like neodymium or praseodymium. While copper has been mined for thousands of years, the demand for it has surged in the past two decades, driving its price up nearly 75% since 2020. Read Article

CPA Recommendations for Implementing Tariffs Pursuant to the America First Trade Policy Memorandum

Coalition for a Prosperous America - Charles Benoit

CPA Recommendations for Implementing Tariffs Pursuant to the America First Trade Policy Memorandum

On his Inauguration Day, President Trump issued a Presidential Memorandum titled America First Trade Policy.

This memorandum directed relevant Cabinet agencies and offices to begin the necessary groundwork contemplated by various Congressional delegations of tariff power to the Executive branch. The memorandum set a due date of April 1, 2025, and the President has since indicated that April 2, 2025, will see major tariff deployments.

CPA is strongly supportive of President Trump’s Trade and Tariff Agenda that seeks to broadly reindustrialize the United States and raise significant revenue as outlined in the America First Trade Policy Memorandum.

Importantly, this Presidential Memorandum promises that America’s trade policy will be one that “enhances our nation’s industrial and technological advantages, defends our economic and national security, and — above all — benefits American workers, manufacturers, farmers, ranchers, entrepreneurs, and businesses.” Read Article

3 Manufacturers, 3 Takes on Tariff Uncertainty

IndustryWeek - Laura Putre

U.S.-based manufacturing leaders with production in Mexico, Canada and overseas share how they’ve been strategizing around and coping with weeks of huge, sometimes-conflicting policy announcements.

How’s everyone doing? The past two months have been a carnival ride of executive orders, policy pronouncements and announcements/recissions-of-announcements related to tariffs on U.S. imports, so we’re just checking in. How are you holding up?

April 2 is the expected target date for big announcements around reciprocal tariffs and 25% tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada, though what exactly will be announced on that day is also in flux.



In the interest of mutual support (and commiseration) from peers, we reached out to several global, U.S.-based manufacturers to find out how they’re mapping out the weeks and months ahead, and whether they’re changing course or waiting for more certainty. The following comments have been lightly edited for clarity and length. Read Article

The Geography of Generative AI’s Workforce Impacts Will Likely Differ from Those of Previous Technologies

Brookings Institution - Mark Muro, Shriya Methkupally, and Molly Kinder

As the generative AI race heats up, it’s important to examine where in the U.S. the technology might boost or harm workers, or if place even matters.

Last fall, Brookings published a report looking at possible patterns of AI involvement in the labor market, focusing on how generative AI appears set to intersect with particular occupations, regardless of their location. There, we found that more than 30% of all workers could see at least 50% of their occupational tasks affected by ChatGPT-4, while 85% of workers could see at least 10% of their tasks affected, with greater impacts possible.

Most notably, our analysis—based on occupation-specific “exposure” data supplied by ChatGPT creator OpenAI over a year ago—forecasted that for the most part, the greater the education level or pay for an occupation, the greater its likely “exposure” (positive or negative) to generative AI tools will be (albeit with a dip at the very top).



That’s because generative AI is especially well suited to the cognitive tasks of white collar knowledge work—think coders, writers, financial analysts, engineers, and lawyers. And while generative AI puts at risk the “routine” tasks of customer service and clerical work (often handled by female-staffed call centers, customer service lines, and HR teams, for example), it is currently not equipped to handle the manual work of manufacturing, the skilled trades, construction, and many in-person service industries. Read Article

A Review of CTE Policy Actions Among States

Community College Daily News - Matthew Dembicki

An annual review of states’ policy actions regarding career and technical education (CTE) shows that funding was the top topic over the past year, followed by industry partnerships/work-based learning, and then access and supports.

The analysis comes from Advance CTE and the Association of Career and Technical Education (ACTE), which represent mainly secondary programs but also have postsecondary members.

There were 63 funding policies enacted among 26 states in 2024, which pushed funding to the top slot from the third spot in 2023, according to the analysis. The category includes state appropriations to districts and institutions, grant programs for technical education equipment, and work-based learning scholarships for individuals from low-income families. Use of federal funding was not included. Read Article

Former Trump Commissioner Blasts DOGE Education Data Cuts

Community College Daily News – The Hechinger Report, Jill Barshay

Public trust in vital information is likely to suffer

The Hechinger Report is a national nonprofit newsroom that reports on one topic: education. Sign up for our weekly newsletters to get stories like this delivered directly to your inbox. Consider supporting our stories and becoming a member today.

The National Center for Education Statistics is a relatively obscure federal agency, but its mission — to collect data on the state of education — affects every public school in the country. Now, this work is under threat because of cuts by the Department of Government Efficiency or DOGE. And that alarms a former Trump appointee who ran the statistics unit and fears it will become politicized.

“You’re talking about millions of dollars worth of investment just vanishing because someone canceled a contract too early without knowing what they were doing,” said James (Lynn) Woodworth, who served as the commissioner of the agency, known by the acronym NCES, from 2018 to 2021. Read Article

Washington Watch: Trump Signs Executive Order to Begin Dismantling ED

Community College Daily News - David Baime and Jim Hermes

Surrounded by school children, Republican governors and others, President Trump signed a brief executive order (EO) on Thursday directing Secretary of Education Linda McMahon “to the maximum extent appropriate and permitted by law, take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education (ED) and return authority over education to the States and local communities.” Entitled “Improving Education Outcomes by Empowering Parents, States and communities,” the order is largely focused on K-12 education, stating that ED’s “main functions can, and should, be returned to the States.”

The order states that “closure of the Department of Education would drastically improve program implementation in higher education.” It goes on to note that the $1.6 trillion federal student loan portfolio is “roughly the size of” Wells Fargo bank, which has 200,000 employees versus the Office of Federal Student Aid’s fewer than 1,550 employees. Close to 55% of all student aid is awarded by the federal government. Washington Watch: Easing Concerns

Read Article

Rethinking the Degree: Enter Credential College

Community College Daily News - Brian Ayers

Dallas Christiansen owed his younger brother Troy $35. Through graciousness not always extended between brothers, Troy afforded Dallas an opportunity to settle the debt for less than the past due amount.

The screen on Troy’s iPhone was broken. A replacement only costs around $12, but not many people have the technical background to make the repair themselves. Dallas, 19, however, had recently earned two nationally recognized certifications. Christiansen completed Metropolitan Community College (MCC) Credential College microcredentials during his school day at Keith Lutz Horizon High School. Read Article

Too Much Talk About Risk – Not Enough Leadership Action?

Industrial Safety and Hygiene News - David Sarkus MS, CSP

Risk assessment requires continuous learning and engagement

Throughout my tenure at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC), there existed a beloved tradition among my colleagues: when a coworker prepared to embark on a new journey or venture beyond KSC, it was customary for the team to commemorate the occasion with a thoughtfully selected gift — a stunning photograph or two from our time there. These images were often meticulously matted, framed, and signed, serving as a keepsake of shared memories and a symbol of the camaraderie built in an environment dedicated to exploration and innovation. Among these sentimental gifts, one photograph now holds a prominent place on my wall, encapsulating the thrill and transformative nature of that pivotal time in my life. While I look back fondly on those experiences — filled with excitement and discovery — the haunting memory of a profound and devastating tragedy; the Space Shuttle Challenger explosion, profoundly shaped my understanding of risk, particularly regarding failure in high-stakes environments such as space exploration. Read Article

FANUC America Launches New Robot Tutorial Website

Assembly Magazine

A free training website offers engineer-led tutorials on robots and cobots to help anyone learn, troubleshoot and master automation.

ROCHESTER HILLS, MI—FANUC America Corp. has launched a new website to educate people about robots and cobots.

This online resource—FANUC Tech Transfer—offers engineer-guided tips, video tutorials, and answers to common questions for programming and setup of the company’s robots and cobots. Aimed at manufacturing professionals, robot integrators, industry partners and students, the website has been designed to enhance the skills and confidence of people tasked with implementing robots. Read Article

The DOGE Approach: Why ‘Slash and Burn’ Doesn’t Work

Human Resource Executive - Peter Cappelli, HRE’s Talent Management columnis, fellow of the National Academy of Human Resources, George W. Taylor Professor of Management and director of the Center for Human Resources at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia

The U.S. government is a big stage, and it’s not too surprising if what happens there plays out in the rest of the country, including the workplace. When Ronald Reagan fired more than 11,000 striking air traffic controllers in 1981, the widespread belief was that the move empowered employers to get tough with their own unions.

The Trump administration’s takedown of DEI in the federal government has had the same effect on the private sector. At the same time, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) approach to improve productivity matters for the federal government but also creates pressure on the private sector to do things in the same way.

Let’s start with the problem, which is complaints about bureaucracy in government, which many of us have experienced. Why are there so many rules and regulations in government that slow things down and chew up time? Because they were put there in legislation by Congress and also created by the agencies that carry out what the legislation requires. The priority in these laws is not operating efficiency—that is, doing things quickly and cheaply. The primary concern is to do things fairly, transparently and honestly. Read Article

Elon Musk’s Anti-HR Playbook Has Reached Its Logical End. No One Should Be Surprised.

HR Dive - Ryan Golden, Senior Reporter

The billionaire’s management of companies from Tesla to X already telegraphed his plans for the federal bureaucracy he is reshaping.

Panicked workers stared down an ominous email with the subject line “A Fork in the Road” promising their dismissal if they did not reply. Those who enjoyed remote-work privileges in the wake of COVID-19 were suddenly, emphatically mandated to return to the office.

No, this is not a vignette from February 2025. It played out years ago. November 2022, to be precise.

Elon Musk had just taken over Twitter. He had yet to bestow the name “X” upon the social media platform, but it was not long after his self-installation as CEO that he set about a complete overhaul of the company’s workforce. Read Article

Organizational Alignment: The Secret Weapon for Future Growth

IndustryWeek - Mike Dalton

Manufacturers of highly engineered products need their own formula for competitive advantage.

Peter Drucker famously declared that any business has two basic functions – marketing and innovation. These functions create business results through growth (i.e., paying customers), and everyone in the organization needs to focus on and contribute to those results.

Sustaining a business requires learning how to balance that focus to deliver growth, both now and in the future. Most successful companies have a handle on today’s growth. But when it comes to future growth through innovation, companies with highly engineered new products struggle.

With long, complex development cycles and a process that involves nearly every part of the organization, it's easy for new product initiatives to get bogged down or underdeliver. By some estimates, only 60% of new products meet their first-year sales targets and go on to be successful. Read Article

Addressing Hidden Risk in Your Worker Training

EHS Today - Chad Frost

Any worker on a company’s property or job site must be sufficiently trained, including contractors and other temporary employees.

Worker safety is a top priority for organizations across all industries, especially considering how dangerous some day-to-day tasks can be. Accidents and human error on the job can lead to serious injury and even death.

Among the many risks supply chain organizations face in today’s dynamic environment, workers are the most unpredictable factor. That’s why all effective risk management strategies begin with worker training.

However, worker training cannot begin and end with an organization’s direct employees. Any worker on a company’s property or job site must be sufficiently trained, including contractors and other temporary employees. These workers often have the same complex responsibilities as permanent staff—requiring an equal understanding of company policies, equipment, and safety protocols. Read Article

Companies Say They Are Prioritizing Tech Growth — But Not Training

HR Dive - Carolyn Crist

Reskilling and upskilling are gaining prominence but still remain a low priority among major companies, Multiverse said in a report.

Top companies in the U.S. and U.K. appear to be underprioritizing skills development related to their technology priorities, according to a March 17 report from Multiverse.

In an analysis of S&P 100 and FTSE 100 company reports, 76% of U.S. companies and 69% of U.K. companies mentioned strategic priorities related to technology. However, only 8% of U.S. companies and 7% of U.K. companies mentioned training and skills development as a priority. Read Article

Why Workforce Readiness Can’t Wait

Area Development - Jeff Troan, Managing Director, Vista Site Selection, LLC

The training program for the new facility can no longer be delayed until the new facility is nearing completion. It should be instituted the day after the site selection decision is announced

I spent 30 years at Lockheed Martin, 20 of which were in site selection, workforce development, and real estate disciplines, followed by the last 11 years consulting in the tech sector. Site selection has come a long way in the last four decades, driven by increased investment requirements, heightened investor scrutiny, and deteriorating workforce demographics.

Forty years ago, touch labor training requirements were relatively rudimentary, most of the population was mechanically adept, and workers were willing to move for a job in the tech sector. In those days, you could locate a new facility at the whims of management with little investor scrutiny. Read Article

March

The Learning “Cost“ Versus Training “Investment“ Paradox

by Dean Prigelmeier, President of Proactive Technologies, Inc.

Challenge Employees with Self-Improvement Opportunities to Head-off Burnout

by Stacey Lett, Director of Operations – Eastern U.S. – Proactive Technologies, Inc.

Reacting to the Proposed Reversal of Regulations Affecting Human Resources and Safety Can Be Tricky

by Stacey Lett, Director of Operations – Eastern U.S. – Proactive Technologies, Inc.

Debt Ceiling, Deficit and National Debt; The Difference and Why it Matters

by Proactive Technologies, Inc. - Staff

Today's American Managers Have Evolved Way Past the Musk-DOGE "Management by Tyranny" Style

by Dean Prigelmeier, President of Proactive Technologies, Inc.

February

Training The Skilled Labor You Need – An Investment That Keeps on Returning

by Dean Prigelmeier, President of Proactive Technologies, Inc.

Put Yourself in a Trainee’s Shoes

by Stacey Lett, Director of Operations – Eastern U.S. – Proactive Technologies, Inc.

Explaining Your Process Training to Auditors, Prospects and Clients

Staff - Proactive Technologies, Inc.

The Unintended Consequences of Cutting Workers as a First Choice

by Dean Prigelmeier, President of Proactive Technologies, Inc.

January

So, You Don’t Have Time for Training. Really? 7 Myths Dispelled

by Dean Prigelmeier, President of Proactive Technologies, Inc.

The Use of AI in Human Resources Could Come with Peril

by Stacey Lett, Director of Operations – Eastern U.S. – Proactive Technologies, Inc.

New Year’s Resolutions That Can Right This Skills Gap…Thing

by Frank Gibson, Workforce Development Advisor and President of the North-Central Ohio Employer-Based Worker Training Partnership

What Makes Proactive Technologies’ Accelerated Transfer of Expertise™ So Effective

by Proactive Technologies, Inc. - Staff

December

Seems Like Decades Pass and the Top Worker Development Topic Remains the Same

by Dean Prigelmeier, President of Proactive Technologies, Inc.

Should Supervisors Be Expected to "Lead" If Not Trained for Their Job AND The Jobs of Those They Lead?

by Stacey Lett, Director of Operations - Eastern U.S. - Proactive Technologies, Inc.

New Employer-Based Worker Training Partnership Coming to North-Central, Ohio

by Frank Gibson, Workforce Development Advisor, retired from The Ohio State University – Alber Enterprise Center

Looking to Cut Costs in All the Wrong Places

by Dean Prigelmeier, President of Proactive Technologies, Inc. 

November

Lack of Immediate “Big Win” Puts Improvements in Worker Capacity on Chopping Block…For Short-Term Focused Management Cultures

by Dean Prigelmeier, President of Proactive Technologies, Inc.

Task-Specific Performance Reviews – An Accurate Metric for a Structured On-Job-Training Outcome

by Stacey Lett, Director of Operations - Eastern U.S. - Proactive Technologies, Inc.

The PROTECH "Plug-n-Play" Solution for Workforce Development

by Proactive Technologies, Inc. - Staff

Finding the Balance Between Wages, Entry-Level Skills and Opportunities for Advancement

by Dean Prigelmeier, President of Proactive Technologies, Inc.



See more articles on the Proactive Technologies , Inc. website 

Structured on-the-job training attracts and engages employers in workforce development partnerships...some projects sustainable for more than 18 years!

This creates a steady need for your related technical instruction, services and a pathway for employment.

These partnerships:

• enhance your institution's opportunity to market your products and services to incumbent workers;
• allow your organization to include structured on-the-job training as a capstone to preemployment preparation;
• document a trainee-to worker's increasing value to the employer - the key to retention - rather than leaving it to chance;
• properly aligns workforce development resources and maximizes the impact and results; allows you to engage an employer's facility, equipment and staff in the training process;
• provides the best, sustainable infrastructure for apprenticeships and internships that last!
• is a win for the trainee, win for the worker, win for the employer, win for the institution and win for the community!

This approach has continued to prove itself since 1988, and does not compete with your school's or agency's products and services; it adds to your efforts the clear, tangible, measurable advantage that employers seek.

Proactive Technologies has continued to partner with community colleges, universities, workforce development agencies and training providers with its "hybrid approach" to worker training. Introduce the power of the PROTECH® system of managed human resource development to your clients!

There's nothing to lose by contacting us to learn more

www.proactivetechnologiesinc.com

Copyright © 2015 - 2025

Proactive Technologies, Inc.®

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

To supplement onsite PROTECH® system of managed human resource development classes, these regularly scheduled webinars are available to the registered staff of clients:

• Structured On-The-Job Training Instructor Certification

• Structured On-The Job Training Checklist Administrator Certification

• Management Structured On-The-Job Training Project Support Briefing

• Integrating Support for Plant-Wide ISO/AS/IATF Quality and Safety Systems with PROTECH Workforce Development System

• Supporting "Pay-For-Value" Systems

• Promoting Continuous Process Improvement While Implementing the PROTECH System for the Accelerated Transfer of Expertise™

• PROTECH Onsite Lead Trainer and System Administrator Certification

Contact US to attend one of these seminars and we will send you an e-reservation. Include your client ID, name and user ID number and which webinar you would like to attend.

Copyright © 2019-2025

Proactive Technologies, Inc.®

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 

Tesla Recalling More Than 375,000 Vehicles Due to Power Steering Issue

Associated Press

Tesla is recalling more than 375,000 vehicles due to a power steering issue.



The recall is for certain 2023 Model 3 and Model Y vehicles operating software prior to 2023.38.4, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The printed circuit board for the electronic power steering assist may become overstressed, causing a loss of power steering assist when the vehicle reaches a stop and then accelerates again, the agency said. Read Article

Over 60,000 Volkswagen, Audi Vehicles Recalled Over Gear Issue: See Affected Vehicles

USA Today - Julia Gomez

The recall stems from an issue where the correct gear is not properly displayed.

Volkswagen Group of America is recalling nearly 60,500 2021 to 2023 Audi and Volkswagen vehicles because of a failure to display the gear position, which could result in the car rolling away if the parking brake is not engaged, according to a recall notice.



Vehicles from seven different makes, models and years are affected by the recall, according to a statement from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Nearly 60,490 vehicles could be affected by the malfunctioning instrument panel, where "N" gear might not be shown where it should be displayed in the instrument cluster. Read Article

Kia Is Recalling the Soul and Seltos SUVs Over An Oil Issue That Leads to Engine Problems

Motor Biscuit - Barnell Anderson

Kia mechanics will fix the issue for free.

Everyone knows that Kia vehicles are among the most popular on the market. This is the case because the automaker offers the perfect blend of affordable and advanced vehicles. Sadly, the automaker has just issued a new car recall for two of its most popular SUVs, the Soul and the Seltos. Luckily, auto mechanics at Kia dealerships will fix the problem for free.



There are new car recalls for two of the most popular Kia vehicles. Read Article

90,000-Plus Cadillac, Chevrolet Vehicles Recalled for Wheel Lockups

Cars.com - Vaishali Prayag

GM is recalling more than 90,000 Cadillac and Chevrolet vehicles over a transmission issue that may cause the front wheels to lock up.



Affected vehicles include model-year 2020-21 Cadillac CT4 and CT5 sedans and model-year 2019-20 CT6 sedans, as well as model-year 2020-22 Chevrolet Camaro performance coupes, equipped with a 10-speed automatic transmission. The issue stems from a transmission control valve that may experience excess wear over time and result in harsh shifting. This may cause the front wheels to lock up, increasing the risk of a crash. Read Article

SpaceX’s Latest Starship Test Flight Ends With Another Explosion

Associated Press – Marcia Dunn

Nearly two months after an explosion sent flaming debris raining down on the Turks and Caicos, SpaceX launched another mammoth Starship rocket on Thursday, but lost contact minutes into the test flight as the spacecraft came tumbling down and broke apart.

This time, wreckage from the latest explosion was seen streaming from the skies over Florida. It was not immediately known whether the spacecraft’s self-destruct system had kicked in to blow it up. Read Article

Unlocking the Secrets of Successful Management System Auditing

Quality Magazine - Susan Gorveatte

Although it may sound easy to some, preparing for the audit journey may not come naturally to everyone.

Auditing is a journey. Like all successful journeys, some special preparations may be required like a positive attitude, good planning, seamless execution, and a solid end goal in mind. This is the same when auditing, the auditor or audit team embarks on a journey that requires a collection of personal skills and specialized auditor characteristics to ensure a positive outcome - the achievement of the audit objective. By the end of the audit journey, the true value of an audit can be appreciated through value-added findings that save time and money within the management system. Ultimately, that is what each auditor should do, bring value to the organization through the effective review of the efficiency and suitability of the management system. Although it may sound easy to some, preparing for the audit journey may not come naturally to everyone, but unlocking a few secrets to successful auditing may make all the difference. Read Article

Will the Next ISO 9001 Change Require More Training?

Quality Magazine - Andrew Nichols

Let’s look at the processes the organization should go through to ensure effective management of whatever the 2026 version brings.

As many know, the ISO TC 176 committee - which authors the international standard, ISO 9001, reviews the need for changes and improvements every five years. This has happened since ISO 9001 was first published:

1987 – First Published

1994 – Minor revision

2000 – Major revision

2008 - Minor revision

2015 - Major revision

2026 – TBD



The TC 176 committee decided, some time ago, that there was no compelling reason to change the 2015 revision and, as a result, started the process with a view to a revision in 2025. This recently slipped, but it looks like the revised standard is due for publication in 2026. Read Article

One State’s Flawed, Desperate New Plan to Fix Its Egg Shortage

VOX - Colorado Public Radio, Kenny Torrella

Nevada is suspending its cage-free standards to free up the egg supply. Experts say it won’t help much.

H5N1, a highly pathogenic strain of avian influenza known as bird flu, continues to wreak havoc on the nation’s egg farms. In just the last month, more than 21.2 million egg-laying hens — about 7 percent of the national flock — have fallen prey to the virus or been brutally killed by egg producers in an effort to slow its spread. It’s led to egg shortages and a spike in egg prices, which reached $5 per dozen on average in January, up from under $2 in 2021, before the current bird flu outbreak began.

Last week, in an effort to boost egg supply, Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo signed into law a bill that allows government officials to temporarily suspend the state’s cage-free egg standards, which requires eggs sold in the state to come from hens raised in cage-free barns rather than in the tiny, cramped cages that are predominant in the egg industry. It also allows for the temporary retail sale of Grade B eggs, which are safe to eat but may come with minor imperfections. Read Article

Comparing Electric and Pneumatic Actuators

Assembly Magazine - Ryan Klemetson

Pneumatic systems require numerous components, including a cylinder, a compressed air system, valves, filters, regulators, tubing and fittings.

As automation technology has advanced, application demands have increased for flexibility, precision, efficiency and reliability in linear motion. This has resulted in considerable debate about the best overall technology—pneumatic or electric linear actuators—for automation applications.

Pneumatic cylinders have long been popular for providing economical linear motion across a broad spectrum of manufacturing processes. Pneumatic systems are durable and fairly simple to install. They provide a low-cost method of meeting linear motion and force requirements.



Developments in electric linear actuators now make that technology a viable, economical alternative for machine builders to consider for linear motion applications. Electric actuators provide control and reliability advantages while meeting motion and force requirements. Read Article

Leading Cognitive Scientist Sounds the Alarm on New AI Use

The Street - Samuel O'Brient

One expert is comparing the rise of AI to Black Mirror.

It seems that almost every week, the world of artificial intelligence (AI) continues to evolve, changing in ways that can be hard to follow. Even tech experts have highlighted that the speed at which companies are working can be concerning.



Since the launch of ChatGPT in 2022, many people have wondered just how far this technology can take us. For some, that has meant raising concerns regarding what may happen if AI is weaponized for the wrong reasons. Read Article

We Can’t Afford to be Wrong

Quality Magazine - William K. Gordon, Marcel C. Minutolo, David M. Saunders, Scott R. Winn

A 5-Teams (5T) View of the U.S. Military’s Approach to Climate Change

In business, when firms are wrong, they can fix it next quarter; but, for the Department of Defense, there is no next quarter. As technology has helped researchers analyze and understand changes in global temperatures over the last several hundred thousand years, evidence shows global temperatures are warming due to the emission of greenhouse gases from the burning of fossil fuels. While reactions to this news range from acceptance to denial, there is no debate that costs associated with severe weather have increased significantly.

The International Chamber of Commerce (2024) estimates that extreme weather events have cost the global economy more than $2 trillion over the last decade. One organization taking major steps to address climate change is the United States Military, which is engaged in activities intended to sustain its ability to defend our country as the world gets warmer.

"Climate change is a national security issue, and for the national security community, that declaration is not controversial — it's fact" -Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks (Garamone, 2023, para. 4). Read Article

CEO of Clearview AI, the Startup That Scraped Billions of Online Face Images, Resigns

Business Insider - Effie Webb

Facial recognition company Clearview AI cofounder and former CEO Hoan Ton-That has resigned.

The company's new co-CEOs are early investor Hal Lambert and cofounder Richard Schwartz.

The leadership shake-up comes as the Clearview eyes new contracts under the Trump administration.



The former CEO of Clearview AI, Hoan Ton-That, has resigned. Clearview is a facial recognition startup used by law enforcement or federal agencies to identify suspects. It's known for scraping billions of images from the internet without users or platforms' consent. Read Article

ChatGPT-Generated Op-eds Appeared in Mainstream Latin American Media Outlets

NBC News - Kevin Collier

OpenAI said in a threat report that propagandists it believes to be from China used ChatGPT to generate articles critical of the U.S.

Chinese propagandists used ChatGPT to write and translate op-eds that they successfully planted in Spanish-language news outlets last fall, researchers said Friday.



A report published by OpenAI, the company that owns the artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT, found that a pro-China campaign had used the program to produce 18 articles and op-eds that were published across eight Spanish-language media platforms. Four of the outlets are Peruvian, two Ecuadorian, one Mexican and one Spanish. None of the eight outlets responded to requests for comment. Read Article and See Video Report

DOGE Now Has Access to the Top US Cybersecurity Agency

Wired – Kim Zetter

DOGE technologists Edward Coristine—the 19-year-old known online as “Big Balls”—and Kyle Schutt are now listed as staff at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.

Edward Coristine, a 19-year-old engineer with Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) known as “Big Balls,” is now on staff at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, WIRED has confirmed. He is joined by another member of the DOGE team, 38-year-old software engineer Kyle Schutt, who is now also on the CISA staff, according to a government source.



CISA referred WIRED to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), of which it’s a component agency, when reached for comment. DHS did not immediately reply to a request for comment. Read Article

Profit Over Privacy? Google Gives Advertisers More Personal Info in Major ‘Fingerprinting’ U-turn

TechRadar - Ellen Jennings-Trace

• Privacy campaigners condemn controversial Google practice
• Google has reversed its policy on 'fingerprinting'
• 'Fingerprinting' is a technique used to collect personal user data
• Users have very little say over what information is given to advertisers
• Do you sometimes wish that online advertisers had access to more of your private information without your consent or knowledge? Well, you might just be in luck.
• As of February 16 2025, Google is permitting ‘fingerprinting’, which is a stealthy technique which tracks things like your IP addresses, screen resolution, operating systems, and even battery percentage - until it has a creepily accurate profile of you. Read Article

Attackers Exploiting Cisco Vulnerabilities Tied to Salt Typhoon Campaign

Cybersecurity Dive - Rob Wright, Contributing Reporter

GreyNoise observed exploitation of CVE-2018-0171, which Cisco Talos researchers said was used in a recent attack by the China-backed threat group.



Dive Brief:

GreyNoise researchers observed active exploitation of two Cisco vulnerabilities, CVE-2018-0171 and CVE-2023-20198, which reportedly have been used in recent attacks by the Chinese nation-state threat group known as Salt Typhoon.

Attackers exploited CVE-2018-0171, a vulnerability in the Smart Install feature of Cisco IOS and Cisco IOS XE software, between December 2024 and January of this year. Cisco Talos researchers last week said they observed a recent attack in which Salt Typhoon actors exploited the flaw, but they found no other evidence of Cisco vulnerabilities being used by the group.

In a threat report earlier this month, Recorded Future’s Insikt Group said it observed Salt Typhoon attacks between December and January where threat actors exploited CVE-2023-20198, a critical privilege escalation vulnerability, against unpatched Cisco devices. Read Article

Employment Screening Provider Data Breach Affects 3.3M People

Cybersecurity Dive - Ginger Christ, Editor

The attack is one of several in recent years targeting the employment services industry.

A data breach at DISA Global Solutions, Inc., a third-party employment screening services provider, affected more than 3.3 million people, the company said.



The company, which provides drug and alcohol testing and background checks, said it discovered on April 22, 2024, that it was the victim of cyber attack that gave “an unauthorized third party” access to individuals’ personal information from Feb. 9, 2024, to April 22, 2024, the company said in a notice on its website. Read Article

When You Solve Captchas, Your Data Could Be Collected and Sold

PC World - Laura Pippig and Joel Lee

Captchas are touted as anti-bot security measures, but they're allegedly doing far more nefarious stuff behind the curtain.

You know about captcha tests, right? The anti-bot checks that can be found all over the internet, usually when you log into accounts or post comments? The picture puzzles and mysterious symbol sequences that are supposed to weed out the bots from humans?



Turns out, those captcha tests have been pretty useful for a while now. Modern bots have long been able to outsmart many captcha tests, and it’s getting worse thanks to the proliferation of AI. Read Article

DeepSeek’s AI Shake-up Could Boost Cybersecurity Risks, Spending: Report

Cybersecurity Dive - Alexei Alexis, Reporter

The cybersecurity market could grow to $338 billion in value by 2033, driven in part by expanding AI risks, Bloomberg Intelligence analysts said.

Global cybersecurity spending is projected to surge in coming years as artificial intelligence tools like chatbots and agents proliferate, creating new risks that force enterprises to shore up their information technology defenses, according to Bloomberg Intelligence analysts.

Enterprise-wide deployment of generative AI is poised to accelerate through the first half of this year, in part due to the recent rise of Chinese tech startup DeepSeek, which will likely help to lower the cost of adoption, the analysts said in a Thursday research note. This in turn could increase the need for cybersecurity investments, they wrote.



“DeepSeek drives proliferation of open-source LLMs [large language models], creating vulnerabilities such as prompt injection attacks, which will result in companies boosting their cybersecurity defenses,” Mandeep Singh, global head of technology research at Bloomberg Intelligence and a lead analyst behind the report, said via email. Read Article

Private API Keys and Passwords Found in AI Training Dataset - Nearly 12,000 Details leaked

Tech Radar Pro - Sead Fadilpašić

• Secrets for AWS, MailChimp, and others, were leaked
• Truffle Security found thousands of pieces of private info in Common Crawl
• The archives are used to train some of the biggest LLMs today
• The researchers notified the vendors and helped fix the problem
• Cybersecurity researchers have found thousands of login credentials and other secrets in the Common Crawl dataset. Read Article

Microsoft-signed Driver Used In Ransomware Attacks

Cybersecurity Dive - Rob Wright

Threat actors exploit a privilege escalation flaw in Paragon Partition Manager for “bring your own vulnerable driver” cyberattacks.

A zero-day vulnerability in a Microsoft-signed driver from Paragon Software is being exploited in ransomware attacks.



CERT Coordination Center on Friday warned in a security advisory that five vulnerabilities were discovered in Paragon Partition Manager’s BioNTdrv.sys driver. Threat actors have already exploited one of the flaws in what are known as “bring your own vulnerable driver” (BYOVD) attacks, in which attackers use signed drivers to compromise systems and evade detection. Read Article

Broadcom Urges Customers to Patch 3 Zero-day VMware Flaws

Cybersecurity Dive - Elizabeth Montalbano, Contributing Reporter

Cyberattackers with administrative access are actively exploiting vulnerabilities in ESXi, Workstation and Fusion products.

Broadcom is giving its VMware customers some all-too-familiar advice once again: Install updates to patch vulnerabilities in VMware offerings, this time for three actively exploited zero-day flaws found in its ESXi, Workstation and Fusion products. 



The flaws, reported to Broadcom by researchers at Microsoft Threat Intelligence Center, are tracked as CVE-2025-22225, a high-severity arbitrary write vulnerability in VMware ESXi; CVE-2025-22224, a critical-severity Time-of-Check Time-of-Use (TOCTOU) race condition vulnerability in VMware ESXi and Workstation; and CVE-2025-22226, a high-severity information disclosure vulnerability in VMware ESXi, Workstation and Fusion. Read Arrticle

Data Privacy Fears Erode Consumer Trust in Digital Services

CFO Dive - Alexei Alexis

More than eight out of 10 consumers globally have abandoned an online brand over the past 12 months out of concern for their privacy.



Dive Brief:

• More than 80% of consumers worldwide have abandoned an online brand in the past 12 months because of data privacy concerns, global data protection firm Thales Group said in a report released Tuesday.
• The study found that global consumer trust in digital services is mostly decreasing or remaining stagnant at best, even among highly regulated industries like banking and healthcare. Of 13 sectors that were rated, the majority of them experienced a decline in trust levels compared with a year earlier, with not one achieving an approval rating of at least 50%.
• “The growing trend of requiring data exchange for services, coupled with the lack of transparency and the heavy burden placed on consumers, is eroding trust,” the report said. Read Article

Call It What You Want, but DEI is Really a Talent Strategy

EHS Today - Adrienne Selko

Now isn't the time to give up the values of DEI and risk not attracting talent to our organizations, says Christie Smith.

It’s time for a bit of a reality check when it comes to DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion), says Christie Smith, PhD, former vice president of inclusion & diversity at consumer electronics giant Apple and founder of The Humanity Studio.

DEI has had its ups and downs over the years but now is a very dangerous time to question this concept, says Smith. “When we look at the skill scarcity as well as the half-life of skills, combined with the economic impact of low employee engagement, we are at a crisis situation in the workplace.”

That isn’t the ideal time to be giving up the values of DEI and risk not attracting talent to our organizations, especially if companies want to meet their revenue and growth goals, she says. Read Article

Trump's Second Term: Likely Directions for Labor Policy

IndustryWeek - Ryan Secard

A close look at what the early months of the second Trump administration hints at for union policy to come.

President Trump’s first month back in office has seen a blitz of executive and legislative promises, threats, proposals and actions. So, let’s take a step to slow down, focus on what’s happened and see what Trump’s early moves signal about labor policies and how things will be in the next four years.

Surprise Labor Secretary Pick

Late last year, Trump made one of his most surprising moves since being re-elected: He named a relative unknown as his nominee for secretary of labor, Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-Oregon). The main surprise, though, wasn’t her relative lack of notoriety, but whom that notoriety was with: Chavez-DeRemer’s limited career included a co-sponsorship on the Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act, a.k.a. the PRO Act — a stalled piece of legislation that would have wiped out state-level right-to-work laws and made it easier for public-sector employees to form unions. Read Article

The Trump Effect: Why So Many Americans Have Layoff Concerns

Human Resource Executive - Jen Colletta

Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency continue to make headlines as they cut the federal workforce in unconventional ways—from a return-to-office mandate to a recent series of emails prompting workers to detail their job accomplishments. Such moves have reportedly sowed significant fear among federal workers concerned about losing their jobs; however, layoff concerns are also spreading in the private sector, as employees worry that a range of new federal strategies will impact their job security.

In a survey of almost 1,200 U.S. workers by ResumeTemplates, about half of respondents said they are concerned the Trump administration’s policies will lead to layoffs at their organization. Of those reporting layoff anxieties, they tie them to: Read Article

Federal Judge Reinstates Fired NLRB Member Gwynne Wilcox

HR Dive - Ginger Christ, Editor

Judge Beryl Howell characterized Wilcox’s firing as a “power grab” by the president and called it “a blatant violation of the law.”

Dive Brief:

• U.S. District Court Judge Beryl Howell ordered Thursday for Gwynne Wilcox to be reinstated to her position as a member of the National Labor Relations Board, ruling that Wilcox was “unlawfully terminated” by President Donald Trump (Wilcox v. Trump).
• Howell characterized Wilcox’s firing as a “power grab” by the president. “The President’s interpretation of the scope of his constitutional power — or, more aptly, his aspiration — is flat wrong. The President does not have the authority to terminate members of the National Labor Relations Board at will, and his attempt to fire plaintiff from her position on the Board was a blatant violation of the law,” she wrote.
• Under the National Labor Relations Act, the president can only remove independent board members in cases of “neglect of duty or malfeasance in office, but for no other cause,” and only after “notice and hearing,” and neither were the case in Wilcox’s termination, Howell said. Read Article

California Senator Introduces ‘No Robo Bosses Act’ in Bid to Regulate AI at Work

HR Dive - Ginger Christ, Editor

States will likely take the lead on AI regulation “for the foreseeable future,” a law firm said.

Dive Brief:

• California State Sen. Jerry McNerney, D-Pleasanton, announced his introduction of SB7, otherwise known as the “No Robo Bosses Act,” on March 6 to require human oversight of artificial intelligence in the workplace.
• Under SB 7, companies could not rely on automated decision-making systems, or ADS, to make employment decisions, including hiring, promotion, discipline or termination, without a human overseeing the process. The bill would also prohibit employers from allowing ADS to use personal information to predict workers’ future behaviors.
• If signed into law, the legislation would be the first of its kind in the U.S., McNerney’s office said in a press release. Read Article

U.S. Senate Confirms Lori Chavez-DeRemer as Secretary of Labor

Industrial Safety and Hygiene News - Benita Mehta

On March 10, 2025, the U.S. Senate confirmed Lori Chavez-DeRemer as Secretary of Labor by a vote of 67 to 32.

Chavez-DeRemer is a former U.S. Representative from Oregon, and has emphasized a commitment to job growth, reducing regulatory burdens on businesses, and strengthening apprenticeship programs. Her confirmation aligns with the administration’s focus on creating a more flexible labor market and rolling back policies from the Biden Administration, reports the OSHA Defense Report. During her confirmation hearing on February 19, 2025, during which Chavez-DeRemer cited her background as the daughter of a Teamsters union member and her experience as a small business owner. She also stressed the importance of expanding alternative career pathways, such as apprenticeships, to bolster the U.S. workforce. Read Article

Burnout Can Cost Companies Up to $21K Per Employee Annually

HR Dive - Ginger Christ, Editor

For 1,000-person companies with a typical employee distribution, that’s an estimated $5.04 million cost to employers annually, researchers found.

Dive Brief:

• Employee burnout costs employers anywhere from $4,000 to $21,000 per employee every year, according to a study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
• Using a computational model, the researchers found that burnout costs employers an average of $3,999 for an hourly nonmanager; $4,257 for a salaried nonmanager; $10,824 for a manager; and $20,683 for an executive. For 1,000-person companies with a typical employee distribution, that’s an estimated $5.04 million cost to employers annually.
• “Burnout is pervasive and it’s costing organizations millions each year,” Molly Kern, professor at the Zicklin School of Business at Baruch College and co-author of the study, said in a statement. “Organizational leaders need to consider how their cultures and benefits programs support the 60% of employees silently struggling Read Article

HR Shifts Its Focus from Recruiting to Fostering Existing Talent, SHRM Report Finds

HR Dive - Kathryn Moody, Senior Editor

While the race for labor has cooled off, HR is still struggling with the effects of turnover and burnout. That could signal trouble for new initiatives, other studies show.

While recruiting was the top priority for HR professionals in 2024, leadership and management development has taken the top spot this year, according to the 2025 SHRM State of the Workplace report.

In fact, recruiting did not break the top three priorities for 2025. “This highlights a shift among workers and HR professionals from focusing on acquiring new talent to enhancing the capabilities of existing employees in order to address evolving organizational needs,” the report said. Read Article

Are We on the Right Path to Make America Safe Again?

EHS Today - Dave Blanchard

Investing in safety is the surest way for companies to be productive and profitable.



In his second go-round at running the executive branch of the United States, President Donald Trump has made it clear that whatever policies the Biden administration adopted, he plans to go in the opposite direction. While much of the headlines so far this year have focused on Trump’s global aspirations – tariffs, annexing Greenland and Canada, converting Gaza into a luxury resort, renaming the Gulf of Mexico – his influence on reshaping the narrative for occupational health and safety could be as profound as it is chaotic.

The truth is, at this writing in February, nobody really knows which executive orders will survive judicial review and which clearing-the-decks initiatives by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) will be challenged or reversed. What’s clear, though, is that as the Trump 2.0 administration moves forward, the next four years are shaping up to look quite different from the previous four. Read Article

Injury Frequency and Severity Aren't Improving

EHS Today

79% of respondents to Benchmark Gensuite survey believe accidents and near misses are underreported.

The rates of injury frequency and severity has either remained stagnant or worsened over the past year, according to Benchmark Gensuite’s 2025 EHS Benchmarking report.

The survey found that over half, 53%, of EHS) leaders said injury frequency (53%) hadn't improved while 51% said that the severity of the injuries has not been decreasing.



“Safety can no longer be treated as a checkbox for compliance – it’s a critical driver of operational resilience, employee well-being, and financial performance, "said R. Mukund, founder and CEO of Benchmark Gensuite, in a statement. " Strong executive support and investment in advanced technology are key to driving substantial change, securing long-term business success, and most importantly, keeping the most valuable asset– employees– safe." Read Article

Employees Still Not Talking About Mental Health

EHS Today - Adrienne Selko

In addition to the stigma about the issue, workers don't even know what resources employers offer.

You would think given the proliferation of people, across all industries, talking about taking mental health break would encourage employees to speak up about the subject at work.

Well, you would be wrong, unfortunately.

A recent Workplace Mental Health Poll from The National Alliance on Mental Illness found that while 81% of people will discuss mental health with a close friend at work, and 57% will talk to their manager, only 39% feel comfortable sharing with HR, and less than three in ten (28%) would share with senior leadership. 



For those who say they feel uncomfortable discussing mental health at work, the top five reasons include: Read Article