Trump Picks Wall Street Attorney Jay Clayton for Top SEC Post

Sullivan & Cromwell partner Jay Clayton is President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to head up the Securities and Exchange Commission. Clayton, one of about 875 attorneys at the law firm, has a wide range of experience dealing with complex legal issues involving M&A, private equity, capital formation, regulatory issues and corporate governance.

Sears closing store and auto center in Hudson Valley

A Sears department store in the Hudson Valley is closing in the new year, putting nearly 100 people out of work. The Middletown Times Herald-Record reports that 96 jobs in the department store and auto center located at Galleria at Crystal Run will be lost, according to a notice published on the state Department of Labor website.

In an Ironic Twist, Obamacare Enrollment Hits an All-Time High

In less than three weeks, the sands of time will likely begin slipping away for the Affordable Care Act, which is more commonly known as Obamacare. The hallmark legislation passed by President Obama in March 2010 faces the likelihood that it’ll be heavily amended or repealed in its entirety soon after President-elect Trump takes office.

1 Worsening Problem That Obamacare Simply Can’t Cure

Despite its many criticisms, the Affordable Care Act has arguably been the closest thing to universal healthcare that Americans have ever seen. According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the uninsured rate in the U.S. fell from 16% in the quarter immediately preceding the implementation of the ACA, which is more affably known as Obamacare, to just 8.9% by mid-2016.

Icahn Sees Doubts About Ethanol Mandate Among Trump’s Advisers

Billionaire Carl Icahn, a special adviser to Donald Trump and a skeptic of the U.S. ethanol mandate, said there are others on the president-elect’s team who have even deeper criticisms of the program. Icahn repeated criticism of the credit trading program that regulators and refiners use to track compliance with federal biofuel consumption quotas.

Seattle Genetics Plunges After Drug Studies Halted on Deaths

Seattle Genetics Inc. plunged the most in five years after U.S. regulators halted several early-stage blood cancer studies following the deaths of four patients who suffered from liver damage. The Food and Drug Administration halted the trials testing Seattle Genetics’s acute myeloid leukemia, or AML, therapy, called SGN-CD33A.

Industrials Keep Dow Away from 20,000

U.S. stocks pared some gains in afternoon trading on Tuesday, pulling the Dow Jones Industrial Average away from the elusive 20,000 mark as losses in industrials slightly offset gains in technology and financial shares. The blue-chip index, which came within 20 points of hitting the milestone earlier, was trading near session lows.

Trump to Dissolve Foundation

President-elect Donald Trump said Saturday he will dissolve his charitable foundation amid efforts to eliminate any conflicts of interest before he takes office next month. The revelation comes as the New York attorney general’s office investigates the foundation following media reports that foundation spending went to benefit Trump’s campaign.

Mylan, Teva Led Peers in – Anomalous’ Price Moves, Study Says

About one in 19 generic drugs sold in the U.S. during the past three years have undergone major price hikes that may be consistent with collusion, according to a wide-ranging study that comes in the middle of a sprawling Justice Department investigation into pharmaceutical price-fixing. Fideres Partners LLP, a London-based consultancy that works with law firms to bring litigation against companies, reported “anomalous pricing patterns” in scores of generic drugs sold in the U.S. from 2013 to 2016.

Ex-U.S. Attorney Yang Said to Be Trump’s Top SEC Contender

President-elect Donald Trump is considering nominating ex-U.S. attorney Debra Wong Yang to run the Securities and Exchange Commission, positioning her to be the second consecutive former federal prosecutor to lead Wall Street’s top regulator, said a person with direct knowledge of the matter. While Trump and his transition team have spoken with a handful of candidates, Yang is the top contender to be SEC chairman, said the person, who asked not to be named because the incoming president hasn’t announced his pick.

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Claims examiner Penny Erney, who is undergoing chemotherapy, packs up her cubical at Office of Unemployment Compensation in Harrisburg, Pa., Monday, Dec. 19, 2016. Erney is one of about 500 workers at the state Department of Labor and Industry were … spending their last day on the job Monday, before being laid off because of a funding dispute between the Wolf Administration and Senate Republicans.

Americans’ 5 Big Fears About Retirement

If you’re among the millions of American workers worrying that retirement may fail to live up to your expectations, you’re not alone.A new study by Transamerica shows that American workers are wrestling with fearsinvolving financial security and health in retirement. If you have similar worries to the respondents to this survey,here are some ways to overcome them.

VW Gets Weekend for – Intense’ Talks on Diesel-Cheating Case

A federal judge said Volkswagen AG has made “substantial progress” toward a settlement to get about 80,000 Audi, VW and Porsche vehicles with emissions-cheating 3.0-liter diesel engines fixed or off U.S. roads. Lawyers for the carmaker, consumers and the Justice Department have assured the court that negotiations are ongoing, but VW may be headed to trial if an agreement isn’t reached.

Deutsche Bank Admits Misleading Clients in Dark Pool Trades

Deutsche Bank AG agreed to pay $37 million and admit to misleading customers about its dark pool stock-trading platforms to settle a joint state and federal probe, bringing the bank a step closer to resolving several potentially costly legal challenges in the U.S. The bank will admit to violating state and federal securities laws over a two-year period by failing to address known technical problems with its proprietary dark-pool ranking model, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said Friday. “Misleading and self-serving statements that defraud investors will not be tolerated,” Schneiderman said.

Older workers get boost from federal training program, but do they get jobs?

But its lofty title and mission – helping unemployed, low-income individuals age 55 and older get temporary jobs and training at nonprofits or government agencies – hasn’t shielded the U.S. Department of Labor program from criticism. The department in October awarded $140.6 million in Senior Community Service grants to 19 nonprofit groups, including almost $10 million to Chicago-based Easterseals and $2.4 million to National Able Network, funds that will cover services Feb. 1 through June 30. The hope is that individual participants develop the skills to land permanent, and unsubsidized, jobs, including in the private sector.