Tuesday’s inflation report was unnerving and prompted an early sell-off on Wall Street. The consumer price index rose in August, with food, shelter and medical costs all increasing last month. Over the past year, inflation has increased by 8.3%. Economists thought inflation would drop in August because gas prices have been falling. But falling gas prices were offset by the rising costs of so many other goods.
Ride-share company Uber has paid New Jersey $100 million after the state said the company misclassified its drivers as independent contractors. A state audit concluded that Uber improperly classified hundreds of thousands of drivers and the company failed to make required contributions to the unemployment trust fund. State labor commissioner Robert Asaro-Angelo pointed out that workers lose their rights when they are misclassified. The commissioner said rooting out worker misclassification will continue to be a priority for the Murphy administration. The Uber case is the largest such payment ever received in New Jersey.
New Jersey has received another credit rating upgrade. Fitch has upped its rating on New Jersey’s general obligation debt and continues to hold a positive outlook. This is the first time Fitch has upgraded New Jersey since it started rating the state in 1992. This is also the third credit rating upgrade for the state in the past year.
The whistleblower who revealed security lapses at the social media company Twitter testified before Congress Tuesday. Peiter Mudge Zatko described widespread security failures and vulnerabilities, which Twitter has denied. The testimony came on the same day Twitter shareholders voted to approve Elon Musk’s bid to buy the company.
