On their feet: After nine hours and pitches by 10 presidential candidates—including Gov. Bobby Jindal—evangelicals were no closer to settling on a standard-bearer to support in the Iowa caucuses by the end of the Family Leadership Summit on Saturday. But Politico reports it was Jindal, currently polling 13th in Iowa, who generated the most enthusiasm at the summit, receiving three standing ovations to Sen. Ted Cruz’s two. Jindal received one for calling for a constitutional amendment to protect religious freedom, but it was a line accusing The New York Times of going soft on President Barack Obama that brought down the house. Read the full story by Politico, and see further coverage of Jindal and other speakers at the event by The Des Moines Register.
Hard choices: A proposal to give millions of U.S. workers a raise is forcing small business owners across America to make some hard choices. As USA Today reports, the plan issued by the Labor Department last month would raise to $970 a week from $455 the threshold at which salaried workers must be paid overtime. Some small business owners say it would force them to change how they pay staffers, cut their hours or eliminate perks like bonuses because they don’t have the money for overtime for employees who routinely work 45 or 50 hours a week. The proposed change would be particularly hard for owners who rely on managers to oversee their day-to-day operations. It could also force some owners to raise prices or cut the services. Read the full story.
All that glitters: Gold prices fell to five-year lows this morning, The Wall Street Journal reports, weighed down by the dollar’s relentless gains as the prospect of the first U.S. interest rate increase in more than nine years loomed. Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen last week appeared to give her strongest signal yet that rates in the U.S. would start to rise, possibly later this year. That triggered a renewed bout of selling in commodities markets around the world, with precious metals, including gold, hit hard. The collapse in gold prices—which rose above $1,900 an ounce in early 2011—began in earnest in mid-2014, just as the dollar began to gain against major currencies. This morning, spot gold traded down 1.9% at $1,113.19 a troy ounce, a level last seen in early 2010. Read the full story (subscription may be required).
