• U.S. consumer prices push higher; high unemployment likely to keep lid on inflation - Reuters
• Kamala Harris Supports Student Loan Forgiveness - Forbes
• Uber CEO says its service will probably shut down temporarily in California if it's forced to classify drivers as employees - CNBC
• Exclusive: U.S. ban on TikTok could cut it off from app stores, advertisers - White House document - Reuters

U.S. consumer prices push higher; high unemployment likely to keep lid on inflation - Reuters

• WASHINGTON - U.S. consumer prices rose more than expected in July, with a measure of underlying inflation increasing by the most in 29-1/2 years amid broad gains in the costs of goods and services.
• The jump in prices is likely an unwinding of sharp declines experienced when nonessential businesses were shuttered in mid-March to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
• The higher prices further dispel fears of deflation, a decline in the general price level that is harmful during a recession as consumers and businesses may delay purchases in anticipation of lower prices.
• "The biggest input to service sector prices is labor, and when you have more that 30 million people claiming unemployment benefits there is likely to be a glut for quite a while," said James Knightley, chief international economist at ING in New York.
• FOOD PRICE RELIEF. In July, gasoline prices advanced 5.6% after soaring 12.3% in June.
• Consumers also paid more for healthcare in July, with prices rising 0.4%. The cost of doctor visits increased 0.7% and prices for hospital services rose 0.2%. The cost of prescription medication fell 0.2%. Prices for wireless telephone services rose 3.6%. Prices of used cars and trucks increased 2.3% after three straight monthly declines.
• Prices for hotel and motel accommodation increased 1.3%. New motor vehicles prices gained 0.8% and those of apparel advanced 1.1%. There were also increases in the prices of household furnishings, recreation, personal care products and services.

Kamala Harris Supports Student Loan Forgiveness - Forbes

• Student loans continue to be a major national issue, and the 2020 election may determine the future of existing student loan forgiveness programs, as well as broader debt cancellation proposals that have rapidly gained momentum in recent months.
• So where does Kamala Harris stand? Her positions has evolved over time, but she has voiced support for broad student loan forgiveness.
• Harris has since been a strong proponent of Borrower Defense to Repayment, a program established to provide relief to student loan borrowers defrauded by their schools.
• As a presidential candidate, Harris came out with her own student loan forgiveness plan.
• As recently as two weeks ago, Harris made public statements in support of broad student loan forgiveness.
• Publicly touting Biden's "Build Back Better" plan, which supports investment in communities to achieve economic and racial justice, Harris voiced support for $10,000 in across-the-board student loan forgiveness for borrowers as a form of economic stimulus in response to the Coronavirus pandemic and the associated recession - a plan that is broadly supported by other Democratic senators.
• That bill would provide $10,000 in federal and private student loan forgiveness to economically distressed borrowers, and would extend the existing freeze on student loan payments and interest for a full 12 months.

Uber CEO says its service will probably shut down temporarily in California if it's forced to classify drivers as employees - CNBC

• Uber would likely shut down temporarily for several months if a court does not overturn a recent ruling requiring it to classify its drivers as full-time employees, CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said in an interview with Stephanie Ruhle Wednesday on MSNBC. "If the court doesn't reconsider, then in California, it's hard to believe we'll be able to switch our model to full-time employment quickly," Khosrowshahi said.
• Following the order will require Uber and Lyft to provide benefits and unemployment insurance for workers.
• In a New York Times op-ed ahead of the court ruling, Khosrowshahi said gig companies like Uber could pay into a fund that workers could dip into for paid time off on healthcare benefits based on the number of hours they work.
• Khosrowshahi said on Wednesday that his Plan B if Uber can't win on appeal would be to temporarily pause service in California.
• If the appeal doesn't work out for Uber, it will be banking on voters to determine its fate.
• Uber has argued its drivers prefer working as independent contractors, though California AG Xavier Becerra rejected that claim as a "Bogus argument."
• WATCH: California attorney general on court order requiring Uber, Lyft to classify drivers as employees.

Exclusive: U.S. ban on TikTok could cut it off from app stores, advertisers - White House document - Reuters

• NEW YORK/WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump's executive order banning China's TikTok could prevent U.S. app stores from offering the popular short-video app and make advertising on the platform illegal, according to a White House document seen by Reuters.
• Trump signed an order last week prohibiting transactions with TikTok if its parent ByteDance does not reach a deal to divest it in 45 days.
• "Prohibited transactions may include, for example, agreements to make the TikTok app available on app stores ... purchasing advertising on TikTok, and accepting terms of service to download the TikTok app onto a user device," the document states.
• Some technology industry experts said eliminating TikTok's ability to be offered on Apple Inc and Google owner Alphabet Inc's app stores, which in turn allow it to be downloaded on iPhone and Android smartphones, could cripple the app's growth.
• Following Trump's executive order last week, TikTok told advertisers it would continue to honor planned ad campaigns, refund any that it cannot fulfill, and work with major influencers to migrate to other platforms in the event of a ban.
• Microsoft Corp has been leading negotiations to acquire the North America, Australia and New Zealand operations of TikTok under the supervision of the Trump administration.
• A successful deal would make banning transactions with TikTok moot.