News of the Day

Consumer spending unexpectedly accelerated in August as back-to-school shopping bolstered sales. Retail sales, a measure of spending at restaurants, stores and online, last month rose 0.7% to $618.7 billion, according to the Commerce Department.

Clothing and clothing accessories sales rose 3.3% month over month and were 38.3% above year-ago levels. Gasoline sales jumped 1.6% compared to July.

Retail sales excluding autos jumped 1.8% month over month compared with the 0.1% decline that was anticipated. Auto sales declined 3.6% last month.

Nonstore spending increased 5.3% and food and beverage store sales rose 1.8%, “perhaps reflecting Delta-driven fears pushing consumers back to shopping from and eating at home,” said Michael Pearce, senior U.S. economist at Capital Economics.

A Republican-authored proposal would let Wisconsinites quit their job and still draw unemployment benefits if their employer requires the COVID-19 vaccine or proof of vaccination.

Wisconsin is an employment-at-will state, which means if someone is fired or quits their job, they are ineligible for unemployment benefits, at least for a while. That worries State Sen. Duey Stroebel (R-Saukville), who said getting vaccinated should be left up to the individual, not government bureaucrats or employers.

Stroebel’s bill would carve out an exception allowing someone who gets fired or voluntarily quits because their employer requires the COVID-19 vaccine to collect benefits.

This proposal has been introduced and referred to standing committees in both chambers, so the next step is scheduling a public hearing.

However, if the bill does end up on the governor’s desk, it seems to be all but dead on arrival. Last month, a spokesperson for the governor tweeted that Evers would veto such a bill.

 Attorney General Josh Kaul is advising Wisconsinites to be aware of ever-evolving ransomware threats. To date, the FBI has received 41 ransomware reports in Wisconsin this year, compared to 30 reports total in 2020.

“As technological threats continue to evolve and become more sophisticated, DOJ’s Cyber Unit remains committed to investigating cybercrimes throughout Wisconsin,” said Attorney General Kaul. “All of us can help combat the threat of ransomware by taking a few precautions: not clicking on links or attachments from unverified sources, using unique, complex passwords, and installing computer updates regularly.”

Ransomware is a type of malicious software cyber actors use to deny access to systems or data. The malicious cyber actor holds systems or data hostage until the ransom is paid. After the initial infection, the ransomware attempts to spread to shared storage drives and other accessible systems. If the demands are not met, the system or encrypted data remains unavailable.

A person may unknowingly download ransomware onto a computer by executing one of the following actions embedded with malware: opening an email attachment, clicking an advertisement, following a link, or visiting a website. Cyber actors continue to evolve their ransomware tactics over time to extort organizations and citizens. Awareness of these tactics is important to avoid unnecessary exposure.

Cyber-attacks may be prevented by following the Department of Homeland Security – Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) best practices for managing risks posed by ransomware: https://www.cisa.gov/stopransomware. To learn more, visit the CISA Ransomware Guide at, https://www.cisa.gov/sites/default/files/publications/CISA_MS-ISAC_Ransomware%20Guide_S508C.pdf

Victims of ransomware attacks are encouraged to resist any urge to fulfill a ransom request. Compliance in response to a ransom does not guarantee the captured data will be returned. Compliance also encourages perpetrators to target more victims and offers an incentive for other cyber actors to get involved in this type of illegal activity.

If you believe you are a victim of a ransomware attack:

• Contact Wisconsin DOJ’s Cyber Unit https://wifusion.widoj.gov/
• Contact your local Federal Bureau of Investigation Field Office (FBI) https://www.ic3.gov/

Orders for big-ticket items slipped last month as manufacturers continued to navigate a supply chain crunch that has resulted in higher materials costs.

New orders for manufactured durable goods in July fell 0.1% to a seasonally adjusted $257.2 billion, according to the Census Bureau. Excluding transportation, new orders decreased 0.7%. They fell 1.2% when excluding defense.

Supply chain disruptions that were caused by factories shutting down in an attempt to help slow the spread of COVID-19 resulted in unfilled orders increasing for a sixth straight month, rising 0.3% to $1.225 trillion. Unfilled machinery orders, which have increased 16 straight months, rose by $2.3 billion to $109.2 billion.

The cofounder of the electric automaker partnering with Foxconn to possibly build vehicles in Racine County wants a Wisconsin law changed.

On Friday, the Wisconsin Department of Revenue (DOR) released its annual Equalized Values Report. The report shows Wisconsin’s total statewide equalized property value as of January 1, 2021, was $654 billion, a 7% increase over the prior year; growth occurred in all property classifications. Equalized values are based on data from January 1, 2020 to January 1, 2021.

Report highlights:

• Change in Equalized Value = $41.6 billion, a 7% increase from 2020
o $31.1 billion due to market value increases (5%)
o $10.1 billion due to new construction (2%)

Equalized Values are calculated annually and used to ensure statewide fairness and equity in property tax distribution. The Equalized Value represents an estimate of a taxation district’s total taxable value and provides for the fair apportionment of school district and county levies to each municipality. Changes in Equalized Value do not necessarily translate into a change in property taxes.

On Friday, the U.S. Department of Education (Department) announced a final extension of the pause on student loan repayment, interest, and collections until January 31, 2022. The Department believes this additional time and a definitive end date will allow borrowers to plan for the resumption of payments and reduce the risk of delinquency and defaults after restart. The Department will continue its work to transition borrowers smoothly back into repayment, including by improving student loan servicing.

“The payment pause has been a lifeline that allowed millions of Americans to focus on their families, health, and finances instead of student loans during the national emergency,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. “As our nation’s economy continues to recover from a deep hole, this final extension will give students and borrowers the time they need to plan for restart and ensure a smooth pathway back to repayment. It is the Department’s priority to support students and borrowers during this transition and ensure they have the resources they need to access affordable, high quality higher education.”

The Department will begin notifying borrowers about this final extension in the coming days, and it will release resources and information about how to plan for payment restart as the end of the pause approaches.

The Biden administration announced Thursday it will allow a nationwide ban on evictions to expire Saturday, arguing that its hands are tied after the Supreme Court signaled the moratorium would only be extended until the end of the month.

The White House said President Joe Biden would have liked to extend the federal eviction moratorium due to spread of the highly contagious delta variant of the coronavirus. Instead, Biden called on “Congress to extend the eviction moratorium to protect such vulnerable renters and their families without delay.”

“Given the recent spread of the delta variant, including among those Americans both most likely to face evictions and lacking vaccinations, President Biden would have strongly supported a decision by the CDC to further extend this eviction moratorium to protect renters at this moment of heightened vulnerability,” the White House said in a statement. “Unfortunately, the Supreme Court has made clear that this option is no longer available.”

The court mustered a bare 5-4 majority last month, to allow the eviction ban to continue through the end of July. One of those in the majority, Justice Brett Kavanaugh, made clear he would block any additional extensions unless there was “clear and specific congressional authorization.”