Climate goals, falling jobless claims, the alliance between food service and tech, a push for greater spending in the Connecticut budget, and further rejected acquisition offers by a Connecticut insurer are among the top business news items this morning.
National
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is advocating for an economy-wide effort to combat climate change, noting how this issue creates challenges for the financial sector such as assessing risks from severe climate events. Yellen said the Biden administration is also committing to efforts across all departments to reach climate goals, including net-zero energy production by 2035.
Jobless claims again fell to a new pandemic low last week, with 547,000 initial claims. Continuing claims fell to 3.67 million, and 17.4 million people continued to receive some sort of unemployment benefit.
Business trends
A New York Times article explores the technological innovations that helped restaurants stay afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic. These tools included meal and cocktail kits, e-commerce, and delivery systems.
Connecticut
Democratic legislators are pushing for greater spending in state’s two-year budget plan, splitting from Governor Ned Lamont’s proposal to use federal aid and the state’s rainy day fund to close a budget deficit without raising taxes. The legislative plan would close the gap more gradually and carry over millions of dollars in unspent funds from the current fiscal year to bolster aid to areas that were negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, including nonprofits and higher education.
The Hartford has reported that it rejected two additional offers from Chubb after rejecting an initial acquisition proposal. The board of the major Connecticut-based insurer expressed confidence in the company’s current strategic business plan in making the decisions.
