Diamond News Archives
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When President Obama nearly doubled the national debt[1], raising it by almost $9 trillion during his two terms in office, Republicans howled in alarm. Although interest rates were being kept artificially low by the U.S. Federal Reserve and global central banks in the aftermath of the Great Recession, there certainly would be a reckoning down the road when the bill came due.
So incensed were Americans by the profligate borrowing by the federal government that it caused a political revolt in the form of the Tea Party[2], whose politicians took Congress by storm and demanded accountability for the fiscal irresponsibility in which our country had engaged. Tea Party-affiliated politicians urged congressional Republicans to be willing to shut down the government to force congressional Democrats and President Obama to agree to deep cuts in spending and to repeal the Affordable Care Act.
And, for the first time in decades, Congress refused to pass a continuing resolution (in lieu of a final budget deal) to raise the debt ceiling, which forced a government shutdown[3] in 2013.
One of the central tenets of the Republican Party has been a commitment to fiscal conservatism, which consists of three central prongs: low taxes, low debt and small government. America’s burgeoning national debt, sprawling government bureaucracy and incredible burden of liabilities — that is, promises to pay in the future — seem to belie this set of ethics.
So, when President Trump[4]
Donald John Trump[5]Number of uninsured children rises for second year, tops 4 million[6] Trump moment from White House Halloween trick-or-treat event goes viral[7] White House official says transcript of Ukraine call omitted key phrases: report[8] MORE[9]...
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(IDEX Online) - Sarine Technologies Ltd is working with Tiffany & Co. to adapt its automated artificial intelligence- (AI) based grading technology to meet Tiffany's grading guidelines and criteria for color and clarity.
Sarine explained in a release that the basis for its automated grading technology, which was introduced in early 2018, was the GIA grading system. However, to meet Tiffany's particular standards, the technology must be further developed and adapted.
David Block, Sarine CEO, said adapting the technology was a "non-trivial task, requiring a dedicated team of gemologists, scientists and engineers to push the technological envelope even further."
Andy Hart, Tiffany's senior vice president of Manufacturing, Diamonds & Gemstones,
Said the advances in the grading technology would enable the Tiffany Gemological Laboratory's graders to "objectively, consistently and efficiently measure and uphold our demanding grading standards for Tiffany diamonds."
Sarine said its automated grading technology substantially removes subjective human error and bias from the grading process, which enables a new level of accuracy, reliability and consistency. ...
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Home[1] | Wire[2] | California Has the Nation's Worst Poverty Rate, New Census Data Shows
The US Census Bureau released new poverty data this month[3], and California once again has the nation's highest poverty rate, according to the "Supplemental Poverty Measure."
According to the SPM, California's poverty rate in 2018 was 18.1 percent, followed by Louisiana with 16.5 percent, and Florida, with 16.2 percent.
The states with the lowest poverty rates per the period were Iowa at 6.7 percent, Minnesota at 7 percent, and Kansas at 7.8 percent.
The 2018 report shows a slight general decline in poverty rates throughout the nation in recent years. According to the 2015 report, for example, California's poverty rate was over twenty percent, and the state with the lowest poverty rate — Minnesota — was at eight percent.
[4]
The SPM measure contrasts with the old "official" poverty measure developed in the 1960s. The old measure tends to apply a blanket standard for poverty nationwide, but the SPM takes into account local housing costs and also " extends [5] the official poverty measure by taking account of many of the government programs designed to assist low-income families and [6] individuals[7]."
Using the old measure, California ranks considerably better, because, of course, nominal incomes in California are considerably higher than in rural states and many other regions with much lower costs of living.
The cost of living in California cannot simply be waved away, however, especially when California so often dominates lists of the least-affordable housing markets in the United States[8].
Thus, it should not be surprising...
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(IDEX Online) - Tiffany & Co. has confirmed it has received an unsolicited, non-binding proposal from LVMH Moet Hennessy - Louis Vuitton to acquire it for $120 per share in cash.
The luxury jeweler said that while the two sides are not in discussion, its Board of Directors is reviewing the proposal to determine the best course of action for the company and its shareholders.
According to a press release, Tiffany has advised that its shareholders need not take any action.
Tiffany & Co. has over 14,000 employees and operates over 300 Tiffany & Co. retail stores worldwide....
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President Trump[1] again blamed the Federal Reserve[2] for holding back the economy[3], saying the U.S. has "unlimited potential."
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"The Fed doesn't have a clue," Trump tweeted Tuesday.
He was responding to a FOX Business "Varney & Co.[4]" segment that discussed negative central bank interest rates in Europe and Japan.
Trump said U.S. central bank officials should follow their lead.
"The Fed doesn't have a clue! We have unlimited potential, only held back by the Federal Reserve. But we are winning anyway!"
GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE[5]
The Fed's Federal Open Market Committee kicked off two days of meetings Tuesday morning, the bank's seventh policy meeting of 2019, where observers expect[6] policymakers to decide to lower the Federal Funds target rate by 25 basis points, to a range of 1.50 percent to 1.75 percent....