All posts tagged: Lobby

Kalshi, Polymarket lobby as insider trading, betting eyed by Congress

Kalshi, Polymarket lobby as insider trading, betting eyed by Congress

Published by Sam Flores

With proposals to rein in prediction markets proliferating through the halls of Congress in recent weeks and months, Kalshi — one of the biggest players in the booming industry — went on defense. The New York-based platform launched an ad campaign throughout Washington, rolling out mint-green spreads on billboards, bus shelters and inserts in The Washington Post. The ads seek to deflect the spate of criticism being hurled Kalshi’s way and to position it as different from Polymarket, the other global industry giant. “We ban insider trading,” “We don’t do death markets,” “We aren’t the house,” “We operate under U.S. law,” the ads read. The companies are looking to get ahead of lawmaker concerns about insider trading and bets placed on things like war-related deaths. Building corporate influence in the capital city is a well-used playbook. Prediction markets are a new player, and Kalshi and Polymarket are working to create goodwill with Congress and regulators, who are raising concerns about insider trading and unseemly bets on the platforms. “There’s been a lot of conflation between …

Why We Need a Formal, Mandatory, and Remunerated “Citizen Lobby”

Why We Need a Formal, Mandatory, and Remunerated “Citizen Lobby”

Published by Jenni Sidey

At the end of the twentieth century, the end of the Cold War suggested that freedom and democracy were the name of the game. The launch of the World Wide Web in the early 1990s promised a free flow of information and knowledge as well as borderless access to people across the connected world. Democracy was now likely to become more than a system operated by an elite on behalf of “the people,” becoming instead something the people themselves could actively take part in—beyond merely being the smallest denominator of the electorate. The new millennium has, nevertheless, brought a number of counter-developments. Neither the East–West nor the North–South global dialogues have delivered the long-term socioeconomic stability hoped for. Trade, energy, and political interests—combined with various forms of fundamentalism—have contributed to a renewed arms race that many believed had ended with the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989. Alongside—and perhaps contributing to—these developments, there has been a post-1989 trend toward political neoliberalism. This ideology argues that ultimate freedom of choice will liberate us from …

Big EU lobby groups exaggerated industry support for attack on carbon price – POLITICO

Big EU lobby groups exaggerated industry support for attack on carbon price – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

Merz jumped on the demands to suggest he was open to weakening the policy, comments he later rowed back on but not before they crashed the carbon price. Ever since, attacks on the ETS, which obliges factories to pay for their pollution, have escalated, with Italy recently calling for a suspension pending an upcoming reform.  The letterhead on top of the petition, which asked the EU to “bring energy and carbon costs down,” read: “Presented to EU leaders at the European Industry Summit in Antwerp on 11 February 2026 on behalf of the signatories of the Antwerp Declaration.” The 2024 Antwerp Declaration, which called for a European “Industrial Deal” and did not mention carbon costs, was backed by nearly 1,350 signatories, including more than 900 companies ranging from steel giant ArcelorMittal to fertilizer producer Yara.  An emailed press release linking to the petition similarly stated that “the Antwerp Declaration Community — representing more than 1,300 companies, associations and trade unions across Europe — called on EU Heads of State and Government to take urgent and bold …

Apple CEO Tim Cook Promises to Lobby U.S. Government on Immigration

Apple CEO Tim Cook Promises to Lobby U.S. Government on Immigration

Published by skeptic

In an all-hands meeting with employees today, Apple CEO Tim Cook promised to lobby the U.S. government on immigration, according to Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman. Cook said he is “deeply distraught” with the U.S. government’s current approach to immigration, and he promised to make his voice heard on the matter, the report said. “For as long as I can remember, we have been a smarter, wiser, more innovative company because we’ve attracted the best and brightest from all corners of the world,” Cook told employees, according to the report. Cook ensured that he would “continue to lobby lawmakers on this issue” going forward, per the report. Cook said immigration is especially important to Apple because the company has “team members across the U.S. on some form of visa,” the report said. Cook also reiterated his support for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy. In a memo last month, Cook said he was “heartbroken” about recent events in Minneapolis, Minnesota, after two people were killed by U.S. federal immigration agents there. The killings stoked public …

Pro-Israel lobby group pressures ‘moderate’ US Democrat in new strategy | Elections News

Pro-Israel lobby group pressures ‘moderate’ US Democrat in new strategy | Elections News

Published by Sam Flores

Washington, DC – A super PAC linked to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) has made its first major venture into the United States midterm elections. But this time around, the pro-Israel lobby group is not targeting a progressive candidate pushing to reset US-Israel policy, but a so-called “moderate” Democrat who tepidly questioned Washington’s unconditional military support amid the genocidal war on Gaza. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list The $2.2m spending by the United Democracy Project (UDP) targeting former US Representative Tom Malinowski in advance of the Democratic primary in New Jersey on Thursday comes as polls have consistently shown surging dismay among Democratic voters over unwavering US support for Israel. Amid shifting views, critics see the spending strategy as a wider message to candidates as they prepare for party primaries in the months in the run-up to the 2026 midterm elections, which will determine the makeup of the US Senate and House of Representatives. “It shows that they are very concerned, obviously, about the shifting perspective of especially Democrats on …

Trump clashes with NRA gun lobby, growing Republican "unease" prior to midterms

Trump clashes with NRA gun lobby, growing Republican "unease" prior to midterms

Published by Sam Flores

Prominent Republicans and gun rights advocates helped elicit a White House turnabout this week after bristling over the administration’s characterization of Alex Pretti as responsible for his own death because he lawfully possessed a weapon when he was shot at in Minneapolis. Homeland security chief Kristi Noem is also finding herself at the centre of the controversy. FRANCE 24’s Kethevane Gorjestani tells us what’s going on behind the scene. Source link

FX intervention justified if yen moves rapid, Japan business lobby head says

FX intervention justified if yen moves rapid, Japan business lobby head says

Published by Sam Flores

TOKYO, Jan 27 : Currency intervention would be justified if it is aimed at arresting rapid moves in the yen, Yoshinobu Tsutsui, head of Japan’s biggest business lobby Keidanren, said on Tuesday. “We welcome the fact that the demerits caused by excessive yen weakness have been arrested to some extent,” Tsutsui told a news conference, when asked about the yen’s rebound after the New York Federal Reserve conducted so-called rate checks. The direction of Japanese and U.S. monetary policy would also affect the yen’s future moves, Tsutsui said. “We hope the Bank of Japan would respond appropriately on this front,” he said, without elaborating. “If there are rapid, volatile yen moves, then intervention would be justified,” Tsutsui said. Source link

Driver in Custody After Car Crashes Into Lobby of Massachusetts Police Station

Driver in Custody After Car Crashes Into Lobby of Massachusetts Police Station

Published by Sam Flores

SHREWSBURY, Mass. (AP) — A car rammed into the front of the police station in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, on Monday afternoon, ending up entirely inside the lobby of the red brick building. Police say the driver of the 2022 BMW SUV was taken into custody and was transported to a nearby hospital to treat their injuries from the crash. The driver has not been identified publicly. No officers, staff or members of the public were injured. The lobby remains closed while police investigate the crash at the station about 40 miles (64 kilometers) west of Boston. Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Photos You Should See – January 2026 Source link

Lobby journalists ‘furious’ as No 10 scraps afternoon briefing

Lobby journalists ‘furious’ as No 10 scraps afternoon briefing

Published by Sam Flores

The Houses of Parliament building in Westminster, London, UK. Picture: Nigel J Harris/Shutterstock Downing Street has scrapped its daily afternoon press briefing, in a move journalists warned could damage scrutiny of the Government. Number 10 normally holds two briefings for political journalists on most days that Parliament is sitting. The briefings allow the Lobby, the group of political journalists that cover Westminster, an opportunity to question the Prime Minister’s official spokesman. But the Government announced on Thursday it would abolish the afternoon briefing from the new year, claiming it was “sparsely attended” in an email to Lobby members. Number 10 said it would instead offer “occasional” afternoon press conferences with ministers or technical briefings to allow greater access for “content creators” and journalists outside the Lobby. It also said there would be some morning press conferences with ministers and the prime minister, also for a wider group of journalists and creators, and that on these days there would be no regular morning Lobby briefing. Tim Allan, Downing Street’s executive director of communications, said the media landscape …