Grant: Inclusive Backing Grant, National ACE + American Express, Cycle 1 Application Deadline: November 29, 2021 To back underrepresented small business owners as they navigate the pandemic and plan for long-term success and resilience, American Express is partnering with Main Street America to launch a $1.65M year-round grant program called Inclusive Backing. More than 250 grants of $5,000 each will be awarded in four cycles over 12 months to small business owners in older or historic commercial districts across the country, with priority given to businesses that have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic. In partnership with DisabilityIN and National ACE Foundation, the first grant cycle will provide grants to both small business owners with disabilities and/or those who identify as Asian, Asian American, and/or Pacific Islander. Membership in Main Street America is not required to be eligible for the Program. Click Here to Learn More + Apply
COVID-19 Small Business Rent Relief- LA County Internal Services Department- Application Period: November 17 - November 28, 2021. Utilizing American Rescue Plan (“ARP”) Act of 2021 funds, Los Angeles County is launching the Small Business Rent Relief Project (“SBRR”). The National Development Council (NDC) as Subrecipient shall assist the County in administering and deploying up to $7.5 million in ARP Act funds to provide rental assistance to qualified small businesses tenants in unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County of up to $40,000 who have been unable to pay rent due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Project funds shall be paid directly to the qualified small business tenant to pay for past rent due during the time period of March 4, 2020, to the present. Click Here to Learn More + Apply
Cases: Local officials are keeping a wary eye on the new Omicron variant, which has now been detected in Canada after first cropping up in Africa and then in Europe.The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health addressed the new variant on Saturday.
“Although more studies are needed to determine whether the Omicron variant is more contagious, more deadly or resistant to vaccine and treatments than other COVID-19 strains, as with any variant of concern that is found in other countries, there are important steps we all need to take to protect ourselves from COVID-19 and from emerging variants of concern,” the department said.
The number of coronavirus patients in Los Angeles County hospitals increased slightly, rising from 565 Saturday to 568, according to the latest state figures. The number of those patients in intensive care rose from 155 to 157.
Those numbers came as the county reported 575 new cases of COVID-19 and seven additional deaths associated with the virus, in totals that likely reflect reporting delays over the weekend, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.
The county has now reported 1,525,486 cases of COVID-19 and 27,128 fatalities since the pandemic began.
Of the 9,402,000 individuals tested to date, 15% have tested positive for the virus, the department said.
Officials urged anyone at least 5 years old who has not been vaccinated to do so, and those who had their last shot six months ago to get a booster shot.
Officials also reminded people to wear a mask when indoors or at large outdoor mega-events regardless of vaccination status.
624 new cases and 22 deaths reported in Los Angeles County. That brings totals to 1,524,912 cases and 27,121 fatalities in the county since the COVID-19 pandemic began
The number of coronavirus patients in Los Angeles County hospitals increased Saturday, rising from 556 to 565, according to the latest state figures.
The number of those patients in intensive care rose from 153 to 155.
Los Angeles County health officials reported 624 new cases of COVID-19 and 22 additional deaths associated with the virus, bringing its totals to 1,524,912 cases and 27,121 fatalities since the pandemic began.
Of the nearly 9,400,000 individuals tested to date, 15% have tested positive for the virus, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.
Health officials urged residents to exercise caution during the Thanksgiving weekend to prevent holiday gatherings from becoming spreading grounds for COVID-19.
The county Department of Public Health recommended that people avoid crowded or poorly ventilated areas and maintain distance from others while eating, unless everyone is fully vaccinated.
As usual, anyone who is sick or experiencing COVID-19 symptoms should stay home and get tested, officials said.
Officials now also are keeping a wary eye on the new omicron variant detected in Africa and Europe. A top U.S. health official said Saturday that he wouldn’t be surprised if the variant was already in the United States, but so far there are no reports of it showing up in this country.
The rolling daily average rate of people testing positive for the virus was 2.0% as of Friday.
As of last week, 82% of county residents ages 12 and older had received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, and 73% were fully vaccinated. Of the county’s overall population of 10.3 million people, 71% received at least one dose, and 63% were fully vaccinated.
Black residents continued to have the lowest vaccination rates, at 54%, followed by Latino residents at 59%, Whites at 72% and Asians at 80%.
Of the roughly 5.99 million residents who were fully vaccinated as of Nov. 16, 75,249 subsequently have tested positive for the virus, for a rate of 1.26%, Ferrer said. Of the vaccinated population, 2,528 have been hospitalized, for a rate of 0.042%, and 422 have died, a rate of 0.007%
The Economy: U.S. consumer spending rebounded by a solid 1.3% in October despite inflation that over the past year has accelerated faster than it has at any point in more than three decades.
The jump in consumer spending last month was double the 0.6% gain in September, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday.
At the same time, consumer prices rose 5% compared with the same period last year, the fastest 12-month gain since the same stretch ending in November 1990. The surge in prices this year did contribute to the 1.6% rise in spending in November, yet adjusting for inflation, spending was still up a solid 0.7% after a 0.3% inflation- adjusted gain in September.
Personal incomes, which provide the fuel for future spending increases, rose 0.5% in October after having fallen 1% in September, a reflection of a drop in government support payments.
Pay for Americans has been on the rise with companies desperate for workers, and government stimulus checks earlier this year further padded their bank accounts. That bodes well for a strong holiday season and major U.S. retailers say they’re ready after some companies, like Walmart and Target, went to extreme lengths to make sure that their shelves are full despite widespread shortages. Analysts said the solid increase in spending in October, the first month in the new quarter, was encouraging evidence that overall economic growth, which slowed to a modest annual rate of 2.1% in the third quarter, will post a sizable rebound in the current quarter, as long as the recent rise in COVID cases and concerns about inflation don’t dampen holiday shopping.
Inflation: Federal Reserve officials in discussions earlier this month said the central bank “would not hesitate” to take appropriate actions to address inflation pressures that posed risks to the economy.
In minutes released Wednesday of the Fed’s Nov. 2-3 meeting, Fed officials maintained that the spike in inflation seen this year was still likely to be transitory while acknowledging that the rise in prices had been greater than expected.
The minutes covered a meeting in which the Fed voted to take the first step to roll back the massive support it has provided to an economy pushed into a recession last year after widespread lockdowns to contain the COVID virus.
At the November meeting, the Fed approved reductions in the amount of Treasury bonds and mortgage backed securities it had been purchasing to put downward pressure on long-term interest rates.
The committee approved reducing by $15 billion in November and another $15 billion cut in December in the $120 billion in monthly bond purchases it had been making. The expectation was that these reductions would continue until the bond purchase program was phased out in the middle of next year.
Inflation in recent months has been hitting levels not seen in decades. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell and other Fed officials have argued that the prices pressures were likely to be transitory and fade away once problems such as supply chain bottlenecks are resolved.
But the Fed minutes showed a growing concern that the unwanted price pressures could last for a longer time and the Fed should be prepared to move to reduce bond purchases more quickly or even start raising the Fed’s benchmark interest rate sooner to make sure inflation did not get out of hand.
Unemployment: The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits plummeted last week to the lowest level in more than half a century, another sign that the U.S. job market is rebounding rapidly from last year’s coronavirus recession.
Jobless claims dropped by 71,000 to 199,000, the lowest since mid-November 1969. But seasonal adjustments around the Thanksgiving holiday contributed significantly to the bigger-than-expected drop. Unadjusted, claims actually ticked up by more than 18,000 to nearly 259,000.
The four-week average of claims, which smooths out weekly ups and downs, also dropped — by 21,000 to just over 252,000, the lowest since mid-March 2020 when the pandemic slammed the economy.
Since topping 900,000 in early January, the applications have fallen steadily toward and now fallen below their prepandemic level of around 220,000 a week. Claims for jobless aid are a proxy for layoffs.
Overall, 2 million Americans were collecting traditional unemployment checks the week that ended Nov. 13, down slightly from the week before.