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Senate approves the $900 billion coronavirus relief package, sending it to Trump’s desk for his signature

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Summary List Placement The Senate approved the $900 billion federal rescue package on Monday evening, clearing the way for the legislation to reach President Donald Trump’s desk for his expected signature. The chamber passed it with a vote margin of 91 to 7, with those opposed made up of strongly conservative Republicans. The House of […]

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House Democrats pass $900 billion stimulus plan with direct payments and federal unemployment benefits, clearing the way for a Senate vote

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Summary List Placement House Democrats passed the long-awaited $900 billion stimulus plan, sending it to the Republican-controlled Senate for a vote on Monday evening. The bill was passed overwhelmingly 359 to 53. Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Monday morning that while she supported the package, she wanted additional aid spending once President-elect Joe Biden takes […]

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‘The Antidote’ a Remedy Against American Divisiveness

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The Antidote, a documentary by filmmakers Kahane Cooperman and John Hoffman, offers stories about acts of kindness in communities across America. The filmmakers tell VOA’s Penelope Poulou that their film reflects Americans’ collective humanity and empathy.   Camera: Penelope Poulou   Produced by: Penelope Poulou   details ⇒ BusinessMediaguide.Com portal received this content from this noted web source: VOANews.Com

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9 e-learning classes, books, and podcasts we loved in 2020 — from Yale’s popular course on how to be happier to Margaret Atwood’s writing MasterClass

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  Summary List Placement In 2020, many people dove into online courses, books, and podcasts to keep themselves entertained during quarantine or use the extra time for personal growth. Below are 9 favorite online classes, programs, books, and podcasts from the Insider staff, from Yale’s The Science of Well-Being course to an entrepreneurship program from […]

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MBA: Forbearance rate ticks up to 5.49%

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The U.S. forbearance rate measuring the share of mortgages with suspended payments increased for the second time in nearly six months from 5.48% to 5.49%, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. According to Mike Fratantoni, MBA’s senior vice president and chief economist, more borrowers are seeking relief as restrictions on businesses and rising COVID-19 cases are triggering layoffs […]

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Servicers likely to keep foreclosures low in 2021

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After nearly 40 million people became unemployed by May because of COVID-19, the housing industry, borrowers and the Federal Reserve quickly realized that without ample aid, things could quickly turn sour. However, servicers leveraged the lessons learned from the last recession to help avoid a catastrophe, synergistic technology and a blanket of forbearance large enough […]

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Hillsong College mandated that students sign NDAs, and it once required a student to scrub toilets for 20 hours, former students say

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Summary List Placement When Yolandi Bosch enrolled at Hillsong College in 2012, she said she was excited for a fresh start in a “supportive environment filled with new friends and a bright future.” She didn’t expect to be asked to sign a nondisclosure agreement. Bosch, who was 24 at the time, said what struck her […]

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Treasury Secretary Mnuchin expects direct stimulus checks to be released next week, says he ‘couldn’t be more pleased’ about deal

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Summary List Placement Congressional leaders on Sunday reached an agreement on a $900 billion stimulus deal after months of legislative gridlock. The measure includes a second round of direct payments of up to $600 for qualifying adults and children. Mnuchin told CNBC on Monday morning that he “couldn’t be more pleased” with the legislation and […]

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Georgian College and ILAC set up Georgian@ILAC

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Georgian College and language school International Language Academy of Canada (ILAC) have teamed up to create Georgian@ILAC. The announcement follows the new policy in Canada created by the Government of Ontario in December 2019, allowing public colleges like Georgian College to create innovative and entrepreneurial partnerships with private colleges. The partnership details ⇒ BusinessMediaguide.Com portal […]

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Congressional leaders strike a long-awaited stimulus deal: $600 checks and $300 federal weekly unemployment benefits for Americans

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Summary List Placement Congressional leaders on Sunday struck a long-awaited deal on a $900 billion federal rescue package, clearing final policy hurdles and paving the way for passage amid an especially dark stretch of the pandemic. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell made the announcement from the Senate floor on Sunday afternoon. “The four leaders of […]

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Congress is preparing Sunday votes on a $900 billion relief package, but remaining obstacles could push final passage into Christmas week

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Summary List Placement Lawmakers are setting the stage to hold back-to-back votes Sunday on a $900 billion federal rescue package. But both parties still haven’t brokered a broader deal and several policy obstacles remain, which could still push final passage into Christmas week. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told reporters on Capitol Hill on Sunday that […]

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Chuck Schumer suggests Congress could vote on $900 billion stimulus package on Sunday after lawmakers reportedly break stalemate on Fed lending

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Summary List Placement Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer suggested that negotiators were making progress and Congress could vote on a $900 billion stimulus package as early as Sunday.  Speaking to reporters on Capitol Hill late Saturday night, Schumer said Republicans and Democrats were “getting very close” to a deal.  “If things continue on this path […]

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Graffiti Explodes Across Pandemic-era New York

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Graffiti, part of New York’s history for more than 50 years, is flourishing during the coronavirus pandemic, a sign of decadence for some, but vitality for others. As dusk becomes nightfall, graffiti artist Saynosleep takes a quick look around and then gets to work on a luxury store closed since it was looted in June […]

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12 charts show the wild ride US employment took in 2020 — and just how far we still have to go to recover

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Summary List Placement The pandemic has had a devastating toll on millions of Americans this year, putting many families in difficult financial situations. Lockdowns, pandemic-related closures, and the spread of the disease itself have put millions of Americans out of work and uncertain about when they will find a new job. Millions of households are […]

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The 12 most prestigious preschools in New York City and how to get in, according to parents and consultants

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Summary List Placement New York City has arguably one of the most competitive landscapes for private preschools in the nation. Manhattan-based educational consultant Wendy Levey told Business Insider that a lot of this has to do with what comes after preschool: “In order to get into private school kindergarten in NYC, children must have preschool […]

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‘A little bit of whack-a-mole’: Here are the 3 major hangups between Republicans and Democrats as stimulus negotiations drag on

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Summary List Placement Republicans and Democrats are struggling to settle longstanding policy differences in negotiations over what’s expected to be a $900 billion emergency spending package.  “It’s a little bit of whack-a-mole, you know, whack it here and something else pops up,” Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, the second-ranked Republican, told reporters on Capitol […]

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Online learning is growing faster than ever — we compared 4 of the top platforms to help you decide which one makes sense for you

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  Summary List Placement The rise of online learning platforms is democratizing education by allowing people to learn pretty much anything from home.  However, there are countless types of online classes and platforms to choose from, which can be overwhelming. To make it easier, we compared and broke down the differences between four of the […]

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UWM’s IPO is now scheduled for January

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United Wholesale Mortgage’s (UWM) much-anticipated Wall Street debut is expected to take place on Jan. 22, 2021, the company told HousingWire late Thursday. UWM, the nation’s second-largest mortgage originator by volume, is going public through a merger with a publicly-traded special purpose acquisition company headed by businessman Alec Gores. The merger, announced in September, could […]

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White House aides reportedly stepped in to keep Trump from calling for $2,000 stimulus checks fearing it could torpedo relief negotiations

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Summary List Placement President Donald Trump’s advisors talked him out of calling for $2,000 stimulus checks in the next federal rescue package since it could derail the ongoing relief negotiations on Capitol Hill, The Washington Post reported. The newspaper cited two sources familiar with the events. The Post reported that Trump held a phone call […]

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As a TEFL-certified teacher, here are the 12 online courses and apps I recommend for learning English as a new language

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  Summary List Placement English is the world’s most common second language, and learning it can open up new career opportunities. Below are 12 online courses, apps, and resources to improve your English listening, reading, writing, and speaking skills. Read more: The 8 best apps, courses, and books to start learning Spanish Sign up for […]

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The different shapes of recovery: Understanding how quickly and strongly an economy can bounce back after a recession

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Summary List Placement Though rarely pleasant, recessions are a normal part of the business cycle, the regular course of rise and fall that all free-market economies run. All recessions begin the same way, with a significant period of economic decline. But how they end can happen in a whole host of different ways. Economists dub […]

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FHFA proposes liquidity requirements for GSEs

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The Federal Housing Finance Agency is looking to finalize a rule that would require Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to hold higher levels of liquidity to protect against any sudden shortfalls, creating a further $10 billion cushion for the publicly-held mortgage companies. The measure – which is now up for final comment after previously having been implemented […]

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Luxury classroom experiences are the latest high-end resort amenity, complete with private ‘study cabanas,’ catered lunches by world-class chefs, and on-hand tutors

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Summary List Placement To survive the COVID-19 pandemic, some luxury hotels catering to ultra-wealthy jetsetters are offering a new amenity: remote learning. Through partnerships with professional educators and tutoring companies, these high-brow hotels have created tailored packages aimed at helping parents get some real R&R by alleviating their Zoom education concerns.  And they’re paying off. […]

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Are Texas and Florida the new California and New York?

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Summary List Placement Sunnier locales, lower taxes, and a more affordable cost of living. California’s tech elite and New York’s financiers are in pursuit of all three, and they’ve found that trifecta in Texas and Florida. Out west, there’s a Silicon Valley exodus to Texas, headlined by Elon Musk’s and Oracle’s moves to the Lone […]

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Mortgage rates hit another record low at 2.67%

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The average U.S. mortgage rate for a 30-year fixed loan fell four basis point this week to 2.67% – the lowest rate in the Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey’s near 50-year history. This week’s mortgage rate broke the previous record set on Dec. 3 and is the first time the survey has witnessed it fall below […]

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The GOP’s ‘deprivation’ fetish is making it impossible to make policy, even in a total disaster

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Summary List Placement It’s taken forever to get a second round of coronavirus aid to Americans, and now that Congress is inching closer to what seems like maybe-could-possibly-be-here’s-hoping-will-be a deal, the sticking points are coming down to the GOP’s deprivation fetish. Republicans still want to parse out which Americans are and are not worthy for […]

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Manhattan rents have been slashed more during the pandemic than during the Great Recession — and have even farther to fall

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Summary List Placement For once, the rent isn’t too darn high. Since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, the New York City rental-apartment market has been rocked by falling prices and rising vacancy rates. The jolt follows a mass exodus of Big Apple residents to the suburbs, hometowns, vacation-home hotspots, warm-weather retreats and other less-dense […]

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Canada and UK overtake US in study abroad popularity

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Canada and the UK have overtaken the US to become the world’s two most popular study abroad destination countries, educations.com has found. Canada and the UK have recently overtaken the USA, which dropped from first to third place in just two years, to claim the top international study abroad destination spot. These findings came from […]

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As an alternative to a full master’s degree, edX and Coursera offer MicroMaster and MasterTrack certificate programs at a fraction of the cost of grad school

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  Summary List Placement and Coursera both offer cheap or free online graduate courses, many from top universities like , Duke, and the . and Coursera MasterTracks are bite-sized portions of master’s degree programs.  They can be used to build stand-alone skills to advance your career or as a details ⇒ BusinessMediaguide.Com portal received this […]

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Three brokers go to war with United Wholesale Mortgage

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United Wholesale Mortgage is facing a potentially ugly court battle from its own constituents. Three mortgage brokers in California claim that UWM pulled the rug out from beneath them in March when it changed the commission structure on mortgages that were quickly paid off by borrowers. The lawsuit is seeking class-action status.  On March 12, […]

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The Fed’s improved economic projections see US GDP fully rebounding by year-end 2021

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Summary List Placement The Federal Reserve revealed new economic estimates on Wednesday that see the US economy staging a healthy recovery through 2021.  Federal Open Market Committee members expect US gross domestic product to contract 2.4% in 2020 before climbing 4.2% in 2021, according to projections published Wednesday. The forecast signals the country will fully recover […]

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Nearly 8 million Americans fell below the poverty line since the summer as the government stopped writing checks for stimulus, unemployment, and small business aid

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Summary List Placement In the past five months alone, some 7.8 million Americans fell into poverty, according to a new report released Wednesday by researchers at the University of Chicago and the University of Notre Dame.  In order to fall below the federal poverty line, one has to have an income at or below $12,000, […]

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As prices rise, builder confidence falls from record highs

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After three successive months of record highs, the National Association of Home Builders and Wells Fargo Housing Market Index measuring builder confidence fell four points to 86 in December. Though the index fell from it’s 35-year series high, it is still the fourth month in its history the score broke 80. In December, all HMI indices, including current sales […]

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Betsy DeVos asked her Department of Education staff to become ‘the resistance’ when Biden takes office

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Summary List Placement Education Secretary Betsy DeVos was recorded telling her staff to become “the resistance” to the Biden administration when he becomes president next month, according to Politico. DeVos was recorded making the comment during a virtual meeting with the Department of Education, during which she said that while she will be gone when […]

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NEXA Mortgage sued over broker’s alleged data theft

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In a lawsuit filed last week, a mortgage brokerage claimed that one of its former loan officers stole a database containing client names and information and brought it with him to a new job at NEXA Mortgage. Smart Mortgage, which operates in Illinois, Indiana, Colorado and Florida, filed suit against former senior loan processor Brian […]