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New York Attorney General Letitia James lawsuit against Mr. Trump uses a New York state law that gives the Attorney General wider scope to tackle corporate fraud. This includes inflating the value of assets to get corporate loans on favorable terms. NY Supreme Court Justice Engoron is hearing the case and the judge will decide the case in a bench trial- there is no jury. Justice Engoron made a sweeping ruling against the Trump properties and holdings and said the contours of the case have now changed as he ponders about what further action to take. He cancelled the certificates that the Trump properties need to operate.

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Thousands of migrants are dropped off in different American cities including San Diego, as reported in the WSJ.

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US crude oil futures for November delivery reach about $94 a barrel by September 27. Oil prices are up 30% since June 2023.

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Delta Airlines is switching its frequent flyer program entirely to spending on its American Express Card. No miles for flights. Delta gets an astounding $7 billion from American Express from sales of miles, ancillary fees and brand fees. Its goal is $10 billion which would be what it made from tickets for flights in 2022. Delta's CEO says it may have gone too far with these changes which are unpopular with its flyer base except for the high end flyers who disliked crowded lounges. Were there other ways to tackle that problem? Delta appears to have shifted attention to a small fraction of its customers.

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How the Ukraine war is shaping the arms industry is shown in this report in WSJ.

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Chandrayan 3 in the freezing cold lunar night that lasts 14 days at temperatures of -400 degree Fahrenheit or -300 degrees Centigrade. At these temperatures the connectivity with the moon lander is lost but its mission has been completed in the 14 days of lunar day.

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President Biden becomes the first US president to be present at the picket line. Biden says through a bullhorn at the UAW strike picket line in Detroit- "Unions built the middle class. It's a fact." He is pushing for auto companies to reach an agreement with the UAW union, and avoid any effects in the economy. He told union workers outside a Belleville Michigan GM plant near Detroit- "You've heard me say this many times. Wall Street did'nt build this country. The unions built this country. And the unions built the middle class. That's a fact. Let's keep  going. You deserve what you earned. And you earned a hell of a lot more than you get paid now." When he handed the bull horn to Shawn Fain the UAW leader, Fain said about billionaires and the executive class- "They think they own the world. But we make it run."

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FTC's lawsuit against Amazon for monopoly behaviour increasing prices for buyers says Amazon uses the Buy Box as away to limit discounts offered by sellers on other sites. Amazon's Prime Delivery and logistics services also give it an advantage to limit competition from other sellers. The two reinforce each other and give Amazon monopoly power to increase prices and limit competition. 

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Fewer meetings, busier days, fewer emails, and work that sometimes spills over into Fridays are ways in which companies are doing a 32 hour week. WSJ looks at companies doing a 32 hour week. The UAW has asked for a 32 hour week for workers at automobile companies Ford, GM and Stellantis.

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US president Biden joins a UAW picket line in Detroit. Biden says he supports the UAW in its wage negotiations for 40% increase in wages. Workers wages are depressed because of concessions made a decade ago to ensure the survival of the US auto companies. UAW leader Shain Fawn was elected directly by the rank and file members for the first time. He has gone back to the UAW's roots for strike action, as it seeks to reverse concessions on tiered wages and address the cost of living crisis. 

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New fixed rate 30 year US mortgages have interest rates of 7% in September 2023. Interest rates on car loans also have become much higher. The American Association of Realtors says the typical American family cannot afford to buy a median priced home. The typical American household would need 42 weeks of income to buy a new car up from 33 weeks in 2020. Car buying is unaffordable for buyers now because of high car prices and high interest rates on car loans, says the chief of Moody's Analytics.

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The collapse of Binance would lead to liquidity to evaporate in the short term says this report in WSJ driving down the price of tokens. Months after collapse of FTX cryptocurrency company, Binance is in distress, says WSJ. Binance is affected by threat of enforcement actions by the SEC. The US Justice Department has taken a yearslong investigation that could result in criminal charges against Binance and its founder, and billions of dollars in fines, says this report in WSJ citing people familiar with the probe. Binance launched in China in 2017, but it claims to be based nowhere. China has banned crypto currency, and so have many countries. In EU more countries are banning it.

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President Biden made the decision to allow about half a million Venezuelan migrants who cannot be deported because US has no diplomatic relations with that country, to work legally. In New York half of the 100,000 migrants who arrived there in 2023 are putting too much pressure on the social safety net, a crisis for the school's shelter system, schools and budget. New York Democrats lobbied heavily for a change in the system. Mr.Biden made the decision to allow the Venezuelan migrants to be able to work legally. NY Mayor Adams and NY Governor Kathy Hochul lobbied heavily. The city had to house 60,000 migrants and it imposed a strain on the system. It was estimated to cost $12 billion for the city over a number of years. In the long run it will help New York State and the US with shortages of workers, yet in the short run the Republicans and immigration skeptics are protesting the arrival of migrants. Migrants arriving here after August will not be covered to not increase migration over the Mexican border.  ...

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The Japan Society in New York celebrates the achievement of John Cage and the influence of Japanese religion, philosophy and aesthetics with a four part series that begins September 28. It continues to December. The use of silence, the understanding of Zen Buddhism, and the ancient culture of Japan helped invigorate Japanese composers in seeing the value of their own traditions. Cage hoped to use this to invigorate American culture which he saw has having less and less spirituality compared to Japan and the ancient path of the Buddha.