Factbox: Banks and insurers shun Canada's oil sands

(Reuters) – Canada is betting that efforts to incrementally reduce greenhouse gas emissions from its oil sands deposits will win back investors, banks and insurers who in recent years have shunned the carbon-heavy resource for environmental reasons.

Here is a look at some of the institutions with commitments and policies targeting oil sands.

Judge rejects Elizabeth Holmes’ move to dismiss Theranos charges

A federal judge has shot down Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes’ last-ditch effort to dismiss fraud charges linked to her allegedly bogus blood-testing startup.

US District Judge Edward Davila on Tuesday denied the former Silicon Valley wunderkind’s motions to toss a slate of charges accusing her and ex-Theranos president Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani of defrauding investors and patients who used the company’s services.

Davila rejected the pair’s arguments that prosecutors had taken too long to file the charges and that some of the alleged conduct underlying them was too old. But he stood by his previous ruling that the feds can’t argue the two should be convicted based on evidence they defrauded doctors, who can’t be considered victims in the case.

The decision clears the way for Holmes’ criminal trial to begin in March. The trial was initially set for October but got pushed back because of the coronavirus pandemic. Davila wrote that the pandemic “continues to pose a significant hurdle to conducting a jury trial — especially for a case of this complexity.”

Both Holmes and Balwani have pleaded not guilty to charges that they peddled bogus blood tests with devices that they promoted as revolutionary but knew were unreliable and inaccurate. Balwani will face a separate trial that will start at a later date, according to The Wall Street Journal.

A lawyer for Holmes did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday. A lawyer for Balwani declined to comment.

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Big Ten football preview: It’s almost “go time” for conference; Ohio State favored again – The Denver Post

SCHEDULE SCRAMBLE

2 NEW HEAD COACHES

TOP RETURNEES

INJURY REPORT

STREAKS AND SUCH

Sen. Josh Hawley threatens Facebook over handling of Post exposé on Bidens

Sen. Josh Hawley demanded Facebook explain its decision to slow the spread of The Post’s reporting on emails from Hunter Biden’s laptop, saying the social media giant should “expect a formal inquiry” from his office.

The Missouri Republican fired off the threat after Facebook moved to limit the distribution of The Post’s exclusive exposé about how Hunter Biden introduced his father, Joe Biden, to a Ukrainian energy executive.

“I want to know on what grounds you are actively censoring a news report about potentially illegal corruption by the Democrat candidate for president,” Hawley said on Twitter. “If you have evidence this is ‘disinformation’ disclose it immediately.”

Facebook also said The Post’s story would be eligible for review by third-party fact-checkers, a step it generally takes for news articles that raise red flags for misinformation.

Hawley sits on the Senate’s Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, which said it is investigating the cache of documents obtained from a laptop believed to be Hunter Biden’s.

Facebook did not immediately respond to Hawley’s statement.

Earlier, President Trump’s campaign accused Facebook of trying to tip the 2020 election in Biden’s favor.

“Facebook is actively interfering in the election,” the campaign tweeted. “Facebook is rigging the election for Joe Biden.”

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Driver dies in single-vehicle crash in Denver late Tuesday night.

A driver died in a single-vehicle crash in Denver late Tuesday night, police said.

Just before midnight, a blue Ford Explorer veered off the road at Smith Road and Dahlia Street and the SUV hit a streetlight pole, police said.

The driver, a man, died at the scene. An investigation is ongoing.

Home-grown firms breach pre-COVID-19 levels in Sept.

Automakers report higher sales compared with last year

A number of home-grown companies have breached pre-COVID-19 levels, either in sales or production, during September, indicating that the worst may be over.

Buoyed by the recent uptick in sales, automobile firms and auto component makers are cautiously optimistic about the upcoming festive season.

Fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) company CavinKare is leading the pack, posting a 112% growth during the second quarter of the current fiscal.

“We have posted a 112% growth during the second quarter and October sales alone will be at 105%,” C.K. Ranganathan, CMD, CavinKare, said.

Royal Enfield posted 101% growth in September sales.

Ashok Leyland said it was still operating at 75% of pre-COVID-19 capacity levels.

“Each month since June has seen progressively better volumes in some segments,” said T.T. Srinivasaraghavan, MD, Sundaram Finance Ltd.

“Passenger cars probably top the list, driven by the preference for personal transportation, followed by light commercial vehicles. Tractors and farm equipment have done very well.”

Srivats Ram, MD, Wheels India Ltd., said most segments, barring medium and heavy commercial vehicles and buses have shown some signs of revival.

Most of the cement units in the South continue to operate at 75% production level and might reach 90% by the fourth quarter.

How much your Social Security check will be if you make $30,000 per year

The average retired worker gets about $18,000 per year from Social Security in 2020.

The benefits replace only around 40% of the average earner's preretirement income, which means you will need to start planning ahead to fully fund your future.

The size of your check will be based on your income from your working years, the year you were born and your age when you decide to start taking money out.

Luckily, you may already be funding your benefits.

If you have a traditional job, you pay 6.2% of your salary in Social Security taxes. That number is then matched by your employer. And when you retire, you'll be able to cash in and collect benefits based on all the years you paid those taxes. 

How much should you expect from Social Security if you make $30,000 a year? Watch this video for a breakdown of how much you will get and how your monthly benefit will be calculated.

More from Invest in You:
How Walmart and other big companies are trying to recruit more teenage employees
Americans are more in debt than ever and experts say 'money disorders' may be to blame
How much money do you need to retire? Start with $1.7 million

Disclosure: NBCUniversal and Comcast Ventures are investors in Acorns.