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401 K catchup contributions for people over 50 years will be put under new restrictions for IRS rules for 2026. Under new rules any catch up contributions for earners above $145,000 will have to be made in an account which pays taxes up front into a Roth Account.

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As drops in price of steel could lead to imports into the US with paying lower tariff Trump increases tariffs on steel to 50% on May 30, 2025. Nippon Steel says it will increase its investments in US steel mills at US Steel including older mills, $7.7 billion in modernization of plants, and $2.2 billion at Mon Valley plant. Ownership of US Steel based in Pittsburgh with 14,000 workers will stay in American hands. DJT intervened to make these investments possible. Investments will keep furnaces open 10 years and give every worker a $5000 bonus. It is this type of action that has helped DJT win in Pennsylvania and win worker support.

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What a new kind of war with drones can do to damage civilian infrastructure and the effect on water supplies for civilians is the subject of this report in the DW.com. The Ukraine war enters a new phase with attacks on civilian infrastructure, talk of a dirty bomb, and nuclear threats.

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Oil prices at the pump for automobiles are declining for the seventh straight week. Prices declined to about $4. In Texas the average is about $3.67 a gallon. California has the highest gas prices at an average of $5.46 a gallon. The price decline is a result of rapidly slowing growth in China. China and India are still getting oil supplies from Russia which frees up oil supplies for the US to import. 

Public in the US is also cutting back on driving and the miles driven is likely to see a drop of 5-10% this summer. There is better planning of trips to combine errands. This helps combating climate change through conservation efforts that were neglected during the last decade.

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Pope Francis appears healthy and active, says this report in BBC News, even though he is now eighty, the age when other senior church officials are expected to retire. Pope Francis plans to continue for a few more years to complete his reforms for "a church of the poor." In 2016 he has replaced about one third of the cardinals in the electoral college. Francis lives a simple life in a tiny suite in the Vatican guest house. CastelGandolfo, a summer residence of the popes, has been turned into a museum for the public. Some cardinals from Italy, Germany and the U.S. say the pope is not following traditional teachings, yet Francis in his open gregarious style says he doesn't lose sleep over this. His style is marked by directness, and the use of short phrases of the Buenos Aires dialect with which he is most familiar.

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In this interview with Joseph White, Ford Motor CEO Mulally talks about some of the main aspects of the new culture at Ford. He says the business review meetings are focussed on talking about problems and how to help others solve the problems. It is about bringing a company wide network focussed on solving problems by helping everybody. To do this listening is critical, and side talk at meetings is not allowed by having the meeting stop and looking at the managers doing side talk. The new culture is now built into the audit process to keep the right behaviours in place. Mulally is confident that Mark Fields will be able to continue the cultural change he has brought about at Ford Motor. Ford's investment in the F-150 aluminium type truck and its large invesment in China, are long term investments that are making good progress. In China the automobile market is still expected to grow at 7-8%, says Mulally, even as GDP growth slows down. The costs on the aluminium truck are expected to come down over time with cost efficiencies, learning curve and volume....

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According to researchers at AARP and the Economic Policy Institute women over 50 years have a harder time than men of the same age in finding good jobs since the 2008 financial crisis. Older women who were laid off have a very hard time finding employment and steady jobs, as this report by Patricia Cohen in the NYT shows. Age, lack of internet skills, shifting networks, caregiving responsibilities and time off taken to care for children, all have worked against older women over 50 years. A study by the Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis shows that compared to 2006-2007 before the financial crisis hit when about a quarter of the unemployed for women over 50 years were unemployed over 6 months, by 2012-2013 the jobless women for more than 6 months had gone up to about half of the unemployed women in this age group.

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Le Monde France celebrates 80 years 1944-2024.

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DJT puts a 50% tariff on Brazil on JUly 9, 2025 following the trial of former president Bolsonaro's. In a long letter DJT says the trial of Bolsonaro was similar to the trial he Trump faced in the US in 2024 by zealous prosecutors. Da Silva is president of Brazil and says Brazil is a sovereign country. He was briefly jailed during the Bolsonaro government but won the election in Brazil in 2022.