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Bloomberg Gives $600 Million To 4 Black Medical Schools’ Endowments

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Bloomberg Philanthropies, led by Michael Bloomberg, has announced a $600 million commitment to the endowments of four historically Black medical institutions.

Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York City and billionaire creator of Bloomberg LP, will be the subject of headlines on Tuesday at the National Medical Association’s annual convention, which advocates for African American physicians.

“This gift will empower new generations of Black doctors to create a healthier and more equitable future for our country,” Bloomberg stated in an email.

Bloomberg Gives $600 Million To 4 Black Medical Schools’ Endowments

According to an Associated Press series published last year, black Americans perform worse on health-related indicators than white Americans. Experts feel that increasing representation among doctors is one strategy that could help to address these long-standing disparities. In 2022, only 6% of US physicians were Black, even though Black Americans account for 13% of the population.

The gifts are among the largest private donations ever made to a historically Black college or university. Howard University College of Medicine, Meharry Medical College, and Morehouse School of Medicine each received $175 million. Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science will receive $75 million. By establishing a new medical school, Xavier University of Louisiana will also receive a $5 million award.

Bloomberg Philanthropies announced that the donations will double the three medical school endowments.

The donation follows Bloomberg’s $1 billion promise to Johns Hopkins University in July, resulting in most medical students no longer paying tuition. According to Garnesha Ezediaro, the leader of Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Greenwood Initiative, the four historically Black medical schools are still considering how to spend the most recent gifts to their endowments.

The program, named after the racial massacre in Tulsa, Oklahoma, more than a century ago, was initially part of Bloomberg’s 2020 Democratic presidential candidacy. After withdrawing from the campaign, he requested his philanthropic foundation to pursue initiatives to address the racial wealth gap, and it has already contributed $896 million, including this recent commitment to medical schools, according to Ezediaro.

Bloomberg provided the same medical schools a total of $100 million in 2020, the majority of which was used to reduce the debt load of enrolled students, who the institutions indicated were in imminent danger of dropping out due to financial difficulties exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“When we talked about helping to secure and support the next generation of Black doctors, we meant that literally,” Ezediaro told reporters.

Valerie Montgomery Rice, president of the Morehouse School of Medicine, stated that the contribution eased an average of $100,000 in debt for enrolled medical students and had considerably increased her school’s fundraising.

“But our endowment, particularly its size, has been challenging, and we have been extremely public about it. “And he heard us,” she added of Bloomberg and the most recent donation.

In January, the Lilly Endowment donated $100 million to The United Negro College Fund to establish a pooled endowment fund for 37 HBCUs. That same month, Ronda Stryker and her husband, William Johnston, chairman of Greenleaf Trust, gave Spelman College, a historically Black women’s college in Atlanta, a $100 million donation.

Denise Smith, deputy director of higher education policy and senior fellow at The Century Foundation, said the gift to Spelman was the largest single donation to an HBCU she was aware of, speaking before Bloomberg Philanthropies’ announcement on Tuesday.

Smith wrote a 2021 study on the financial discrepancies between HBCUs and other higher education institutions, noting how many states failed to fulfill their obligations to fund historically Black land grant schools. As a result, she stated that philanthropic gifts have played a significant part in the sustainability of HBCUs, citing billionaire philanthropist and author MacKenzie Scott’s gifts to HBCUs in 2020 and 2021 as sparking a fresh chain reaction of support from other large contributors.

According to Smith, “the Donations that have followed are the type of momentum and support that institutions need in this moment.”

Bloomberg Gives $600 Million To 4 Black Medical Schools’ Endowments

Dr. Yolanda Lawson, president of the National Medical Association, expressed “relief” when she learned about the presence of the four medical schools. With the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn affirmative action last year and attacks on programs designed to promote inclusion and equity in schools, she expects the four schools to play an even larger role in training and growing the number of Black physicians.

She remarked, “This chance and investment benefit not only those four universities but also our country. “It impacts the nation’s health.”

Utibe Essien, a physician and assistant professor at UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine who studies racial disparities in treatment, believes that more investment, particularly in early educational support before high school and college, would increase the number of Black students who choose to study medicine.

He also feels that the Supreme Court’s ruling on affirmative action and the pushback against initiatives to address historical discrimination and racial imbalances impact student choices.

“It’s hard for some of the trainees who are thinking about going into this space to see some of that backlash and pursue it,” he told me. Again, I think we get into this spiral where in five to ten years, we’re going to see a concerning drop in the numbers of diverse people in our field.”

SOURCE | CNN

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Trudeau Accelerates Bond Selloff Over Mass Spending Fears

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Trudeau accelerated a bond selloff due to expectations of faster growth and a deeper deficit

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has accelerated bond selloffs, citing fears of a larger deficit over his GST giveaway. Investors were concerned he was returning to his free-spending strategy as an election loom.

On Thursday, Trudeau unveiled a C$6.3 billion ($4.5 billion) tax relief and rebate program. It includes a two-month moratorium on federal sales tax on various commodities such as Christmas trees, wine, toys, and books and a C$250 check for almost 19 million Canadians, or over half of the population.

The declaration looked to mark the end of a brief period of fiscal restraint, as Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland committed to contain budget deficits to prevent stoking inflationary pressures.

Now that inflation has returned to the Bank of Canada’s 2% target, policymakers have reduced the benchmark interest rate by 125 basis points since June.

Trudeau’s Liberal government sees an opportunity to dig deeper into the public purse, but some analysts believe investors are keeping a careful eye on the country’s debt.

Bonds continued to fall on Thursday following the announcement, as the 10-year benchmark yield rose 7 basis points to 3.457%. After retail data showed a rise in consumer spending on Friday, it increased by up to 3.488%.

As the Trudeau government considers additional fiscal spending, concerns about Canada’s financial situation persist.

Budget Shortfall

Freeland has yet to publish final spending and income figures for the fiscal year that ended in October. Parliamentary Budget Officer Yves Giroux predicts a deficit of C$46.8 billion, much exceeding Freeland’s self-imposed aim of a C$40 billion shortfall.

Despite promises to reduce deficits, the Trudeau government continues to increase expenditure. This year’s budget includes a new capital gains tax inclusion rate to balance the cost of new housing and social initiatives.

This sparked anger from investors and entrepreneurs but allowed Freeland to present a consistent deficit despite significant spending.

The recent declaration indicates that Trudeau’s government no longer feels restrained in its capacity to use economic stimulus to restore favor.

Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives have led most surveys by roughly 20 points for over a year. They have pounded the prime minister on affordability and promised to reduce taxes, especially income taxes. An election is expected in late October 2025.

The sales tax break will run from December 14 to February 15. The left-wing New Democratic Party intends to support it but has stated that it will continue to advocate for its permanent implementation and expansion to include additional items.

Let the Bankers Worry

Following Trudeau’s announcement, traders in overnight swap markets reduced their bets that the Bank of Canada will drop interest rates by 50 basis points for the second time in December, lowering the odds to fewer than 25% by the end of Thursday. As of late Friday morning, the odds were less than 17%.

The announcement also encouraged several experts to improve their short-term projections for Canada’s GDP. Analysts at the Bank of Montreal predict that the country’s GDP will increase at a 2.5% annualized rate in the first three months of 2025, up from 1.7%.

Speaking to reporters on Friday, Trudeau praised his government’s approach to program expenditure, claiming it fosters optimism and possibilities for families and the middle class.

“We’re focusing on Canadians. “Let the bankers worry about the economy,” Trudeau stated.

Related:

Canada’s Budgetary Watchdog Warns Over Trudeau’s Spending

Canada’s Budgetary Watchdog Warns Over Trudeau’s Spending

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Forced Sale Google Chrome Could Fetch $20 Billion

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Antitrust officials in the US could force the sale of Google’s Chrome browser for up to $20 billion, demonstrating the tremendous worth of the world’s most popular web browser.

Bloomberg Intelligence attributes Chrome’s projected worth to its more than 3 billion monthly active users. The US Department of Justice is preparing to request a federal judge order the browser’s separation from Google’s parent company, Alphabet.

Chrome’s worth comes from its overwhelming 61% market share and its crucial role in Google’s advertising ecosystem. User data enables businesses to better target adverts, and the browser also acts as an important distribution mechanism for Google’s AI technologies.

Industry analysts think it may be difficult to find a suitable buyer. While tech behemoths like Amazon could finance the purchase, they would likely face regulatory scrutiny.

AI businesses, such as OpenAI, may emerge as more viable contenders. They could potentially leverage Chrome to broaden their reach and develop an advertising business.

“It’s not directly monetizable,” one analyst told Bloomberg. “It functions as a gateway to other things. It’s unclear how you would assess that in terms of pure revenue generation.”

Google opposes prospective sales, claiming that they will hamper innovation. The firm does not break out Chrome’s revenue individually in its financial filings, even though the browser’s user data plays an important part in the company’s principal revenue stream, advertising.

The DOJ’s suggestion follows Judge Amit Mehta’s August decision that Google had illegally monopolized the search industry. The judge will consider the recommended remedies at a two-week hearing in April 2024, with a final judgment due in August 2025.

Related News:

Appeals Court Delays Order For Google To Open Its App Store In Antitrust Case

Appeals Court Delays Order For Google To Open Its App Store In Antitrust Case

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Bitcoin Has Set a New Record And Is Approaching $100,000.

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(VOR News) – Bitcoin broke beyond the $98,000 mark for the first time on Thursday as investors awaited Donald Trump’s second term as president. All of this happened during the day. As such, cryptocurrency has reached a significant turning point.

According to Coin Metrics, the top cryptocurrency was trading at $97,541.61 during the most recent trading session. Merchants provided this information. This suggests a price gain of more than three percent during the previous trading session.

When the period began, Bitcoin peaked at $98,367.00.

During the premarket trading session, MicroStrategy, a platform that facilitates cryptocurrency foreign exchange trading and serves as a bitcoin proxy, saw a 13% gain. Coinbase, on the other hand, had a 2% rise during that period. Furthermore, all of these increases occurred simultaneously.

The market value of Mara Holdings increased by 9%, which helped raise the valuation of mining companies overall. This was among the factors that led to the total rise.

Because of the widespread belief that President Trump will usher in a new era of prosperity for cryptocurrencies, one marked by more favorable laws and the possible creation of a national strategic bitcoin reserve, the price of Bitcoin has been rising steadily this month.

The most recent change brought about by the increase was the consequence of higher financing rates and more open interest in the futures market during Asian trading hours. The rise was the catalyst for this change. This action was prompted by the ensuing rush.

Throughout its lifespan, this legislation was the catalyst for this change for a variety of reasons. At the same time, spot market premiums decreased, according to CryptoQuant statistics. All of this happened at the same time.

Furthermore, a number of short liquidations have been sparked by the recent spikes in Bitcoin’s price, which has caused the price to rise overnight. As a result, the price has gone up much more. As a result, the total number of short liquidations has increased.

According to CoinGlass, these liquidations have effectively produced more than $88 million in capital during the last 24 hours.

Rob Ginsberg, an analyst at Wolfe Research, noted in a study released on Wednesday that “historically, following previous movements of this magnitude, Bitcoin has either entered a consolidation phase or disregarded the overbought condition as investors accumulate.” This phrase relates to the fact that this particular move has happened before.

Ginsberg stated this in reference to the evolution of Bitcoin over time.

Ginsberg’s answer makes reference to Bitcoin’s propensity to go through a period of consolidation. The comment also made reference to this.

He said, “Considering we are emerging from an extended consolidation phase and the price has reached a new high, it suggests that the pursuit is underway.”

The crucial psychological milestone of $100,000 is expected to be reached in the upcoming weeks, and this breakthrough could happen as early as Thursday. It seems likely that this level will be reached. There is a chance that this new development will take place.

This task will be carried out against the backdrop of this historical era. In addition, if Trump were to win a second term, federal budget deficits would increase, inflation would likely increase, and the dollar’s position in international affairs would change.

The administration that Trump would run during his presidency would be responsible for these consequences. All of these characteristics would positively impact the value of Bitcoin as a currency if they were taken into account in the order that they are presented.

The price of bitcoin had risen by more than 130% by the beginning of 2024.

SOUREC: CNBC

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NVIDIA’s Earnings: The Leader In AI Chips Demonstrates Relentless Growth.

 

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