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☆ Columbia’s University Senate Calls for an Investigation Into the Administration
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-26 | by ( Stephanie Saul | Anna Betts | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Columbia University’s senate voted on Friday to approve a resolution that called for an investigation into the school’s leadership, accusing the administration of violating established protocols, undermining academic freedom, jeopardizing free inquiry and breaching the due process rights of both students and professors. The university’s president, Nemat Shafik, has been under attack for her decision last week to summon the New York Police Department to campus, resulting in the arrest of more than 100 student protesters, and for her earlier congressional testimony, in which professors accused her of capitulating to the demands of congressional Republicans over free speech and the disciplining of students and professors. The resolution, adopted by a vote of 62-14, with three abstentions, fell short of a proposal earlier in the week to censure Dr. Shafik, which many senators worried could be perceived as yielding to Republican lawmakers who had called for her resignation over her handling of antisemitism claims. The senate resolution was based partly on a damaging report by the senate executive committee, which accused Dr. Shafik’s administration of engaging in “many actions and decisions that have harmed” the institution — including the hiring of an “aggressive” private investigation firm.

Persons: Nemat Shafik, capitulating, Shafik, Shafik’s Organizations: Columbia, New York Police Department, Republicans

☆ What Columbia Should Have Learned From the Protests of 1968
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-25 | by ( Ginia Bellafante | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

If Nemat Shafik, the president of Columbia University, has convinced the world of anything during these last several calamitous days, it is almost certainly that there is no position in American executive life as thankless, as depleting or less enviable than running a major academic institution in an age of chronic, reflexive agitation. Criticized for capitulating to congressional Republicans in a hearing on antisemitism last week, she quickly found she had not been nearly ingratiating enough. “There is a pretty broad consensus that bringing in the police was precipitous and counterproductive,” Christopher Brown, a history professor who spoke at the rally, told me. In the spring of 1968, Columbia’s president, Grayson Kirk, rarely depicted without a pipe, moved in comparatively slow motion in response to unrest that had become an inflection point in the wave of campus activism that was redirecting history. Within days, students had occupied five buildings, seized the president’s office and taken Dean Henry Coleman hostage, holding him in his office for 26 hours.

Persons: Nemat, capitulating, Shafik, ” Christopher Brown, “, Grayson Kirk, Dean Henry Coleman Organizations: Columbia University, Republicans, Columbia, Barnard, New York Police Department Locations: Vietnam, Harlem

☆ China is ramping up stimulus to boost market confidence — but is it enough?
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-25 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Starting Feb. 5, the People's Bank of China will allow banks to hold smaller cash reserves, central bank governor Pan Gongsheng said at a press conference, his first in the role. Cutting the reserve requirement ratio (RRR) by 50 basis points is set to release 1 trillion yuan ($139.8 billion) in long-term capital, the central bank said. A 2 trillion yuan boost? Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Monday called for much stronger measures to boost market stability and confidence, according to an official readout. Chinese authorities in October already announced the issuance of 1 trillion yuan in government bonds, alongside a rare increase in the deficit.

Persons: Gongsheng, Pan Gongsheng, Tao Wang, Ting Lu, a, Lu, Wang, Stocks, Winnie Wu, That's, Li Qiang, Pan, Philip Yin, David Chao, Pan's Organizations: People's Bank of China, State Administration of Foreign Exchange, Financial, Getty, Visual China, People's Bank of, UBS Investment Bank, Wednesday, National Financial Regulatory Administration, UBS, Bank of America's, Bloomberg, PBOC, Citi, U.S, Asia Pacific, CNBC Locations: BEIJING, CHINA, Beijing, China, People's Bank of China, Asia, Hong Kong, capitulating, Japan, Invesco

☆ Here’s what the S&P 500’s summer hot streak can teach us about the late 2023 rally and its staying power
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-02 | by ( Michael Santoli | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

In the final run-up to the late-July peak in stocks this column surveyed the rally , and asked, "Enough for now? .SPX YTD line The S & P 500's year-to-date performance Yes, the market is overbought by various technical measures. Meanwhile, Wells Fargo and Barclays are seeing the S & P 500 as dead money next year, at best. The virtues of owning the S & P 500 passively have always been low cost, tax efficiency, low turnover and broad exposure to the asset class. While 2021 was a Nasdaq 100 melt-up year, 2022 was the mirror image: Big Tech got blasted and the equal-weight S & P 500 held up better.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Wells, Jack Bogle, Alan Greenspan's Organizations: Federal, Deutsche, Deutsche Bank and Bank of America, Barclays, Hamas, Nasdaq, Nvidia, Meta, Apple, Microsoft, Big Tech, matchless, Treasury Locations: Wells Fargo, Israel

Netanyahu’s vow to unleash the full force of the Israeli military on Hamas has raised fears for the safety of Israeli civilians spread in undisclosed locations across the densely populated Gaza Strip. “It will make things much more complicated.”Political Cartoons View All 1202 ImagesLocating Israeli hostages in Gaza — something Israeli intelligence agencies failed to do in the case of Shalit — poses further challenges. “So the army would have to bomb everything.”Hamas already has said it seeks the release of all Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails — some 4,500 detainees, according to Israeli rights group B’Tselem — in exchange for the Israeli captives. There is “absolutely no chance” that the current government would agree to the release of Palestinian prisoners, said Gayil Talshir, a political scientist at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. This included the Schalit deal in 2011, and Israel’s release of 1,150 jailed Palestinians in exchange for three Israeli prisoners in 1985.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu’s, Gilad Shalit, Israel, Netanyahu, ” Michael Milstein, Shalit, ”, Yaakov Amidror, “, Khalil Shikaki, —, Gayil Talshir, Yair Lapid, Netanyahu “, Bezalel Smotrich, ” “, Ehud Yaari, Tali Levy, Adva Adar Organizations: JERUSALEM, Gaza, Hamas, West Bank, Palestinian Authority, Palestinian Center, Policy, Survey Research, Palestinian, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Saturday Locations: Jihad, Gaza, Tel Aviv, Israel, ”, Ashdod

But the move left hundreds more military promotions in limbo, still stymied by Mr. Tuberville’s objections. Mr. Schumer had been reluctant to force votes on individual nominees for fear of being seen as capitulating to Mr. Tuberville. “The Senate will overwhelmingly vote to confirm them, and these three honorable men will finally be able to assume their positions,” Mr. Schumer said on the Senate floor. “And the abortion policy that Senator Tuberville abhors will remain in place. Senator Tuberville will have accomplished nothing.”

Persons: Tommy Tuberville, Chuck Schumer, Eric Smith, Randy George, Charles Q, Brown Jr, Schumer, Tuberville, Roe, Wade, ” Mr, Tuberville abhors, ” Organizations: Republican, Marine Corps, Army, Air Force, Joint Chiefs, Staff, Alabama, Pentagon Locations: Alabama, New York

“I personally would like to see the inquiry happen (this) week,” the Georgia Republican told CNN. The two chambers are hundreds of billions dollars apart and divided over controversial social issues that House Republicans have tacked on to their spending bills. “I am against a continuing resolution in any form or fashion,” Gonzales told CNN. “There is a constitutional and legal test that you have to meet with evidence,” Johnson told CNN. If McCarthy again defers an impeachment vote, it could enrage the right.

Persons: Kevin McCarthy, Joe Biden, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Biden, “, capitulating, Donald Trump, McCarthy, Steve Womack, –, hasn’t, Tony Gonzales, Womack, “ McCarthy, Dusty Johnson of, “ He’s, I’ve, Anna Moneymaker, It’s, Ben Cline of, ”, ” Johnson, ” Gonzales, I’m, Gonzales, Bob Good, Al Drago, Greene, ” Greene, Ken Buck, don’t, Johnson, Sen, Marco Rubio, ” Rubio, West Virginia Republican Sen, Shelley Moore Capito, ” Capito, impeaching Biden, Trump, ” Rep, Dusty Johnson, Alex Brandon, Cline, Matt Gaetz, Gaetz, @aoc, eric, Lauren Boebert, defers, ” Womack Organizations: CNN, Federal Aviation Administration, GOP, Georgia Republican, “, Biden, Republicans, Dusty Johnson of South Dakota, ”, Building, Department of Justice, Caucus, Freedom Caucus, Senate, Senate Democrats, Fox Business, Republican, Bloomberg, Getty, House Republicans, –, Street Caucus, Florida Republican, West Virginia Republican, Capitol Locations: Washington, Ukraine, That’s, Arkansas, Tony Gonzales of Texas, Dusty Johnson of South, Washington , DC, Ben Cline of Virginia, Virginia, Ken Buck of Colorado, Florida, South Dakota, ”, Colorado

☆ How Pop Stars Turned NPR’s ‘Tiny Desk’ Into Authenticity Theater
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( Adlan Jackson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

The Tiny Desk series became a prime venue for artists seeking an authenticity baptism. But for pop artists, it has become a tool with a very specific utility: demonstrating in-the-room chops. You don’t have to perform with acoustic instruments on Tiny Desk, but musicians often choose to. But Tiny Desk offers the perfect venue to present himself as a genre-transcending renegade. But Fred Gibson aimed his music at a Tiny Desk funnel, performing alone at a piano amid a nest of samplers and synthesizers.

Persons: MTV’s, ”, Post Malone, There’s, Usher, Anderson, Paak, Malone, Fred Again, Fred Gibson, Gibson Organizations: Post, NPR, Las Locations: Las Vegas, British

Edward Marrinan, macro credit strategy desk analyst at SMBC Nikko Securities America, added: "Credit risk at this point is mispriced." The move prompted a sell-off in equities and slight widening in corporate credit spreads. The average investment-grade bond spreads as of on Thursday were just a few basis points wider than the tightest levels touched this year in July and 16 basis points tighter from January. Junk-bond spreads are 98 basis points inside January levels. "With market consensus now expecting a soft landing, the credit markets are arguably underpricing default risk," BMO’s Krieter said.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, Cindy Beaulieu, Edward Marrinan, Moody's, Daniel Krieter, Krieter, Marrinan, Manuel Hayes, Hayes, BMO’s Krieter, Shankar Ramakrishnan, Davide Barbuscia, Paritosh Bansal, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: NYSE, American Stock Exchange, New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, U.S . Federal Reserve, SMBC Nikko Securities America, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Investors, Reuters, BMO Capital Markets, London, Insight Investment, Informa, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S

LONDON, July 26 (Reuters) - Even as fears of a 2023 U.S. recession recede and stock market bears concede defeat, there's scant sign of party mode. After wild swings of output, prices, employment, liquidity and interest rates, firm convictions about the precise onset of "technical" recessions - or even previously reliable gauges of bull and bear markets - have all become a bit suspect. Whether on a domestic or global scale, aggregate views of the economy, or stock market, right now are likely misleading. A bull to bear market and back again in little over 18 months - or so it seems. SP 500 2023 YTD THROUGH JULY 21BLUNTEDChief among the puzzles is the variable impact of sharply higher interest rates on both households and firms.

Persons: Morgan Stanley's, Mike Wilson, Wilson, Morgan Stanley, Andrew Lapthorne, Russell, Mike Dolan Organizations: Reuters Graphics, Barclays, International Monetary Fund, Tuesday, eventual, San Francisco Federal Reserve, Generale, Fed, Reuters, Twitter, Thomson Locations: U.S, midyear

☆ Mark Zuckerberg needs to better moderate Threads or it'll 'become as toxic as Twitter,' civil rights groups warn
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( Grace Eliza Goodwin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Civil rights groups warn that Threads will "become as toxic as Twitter" without better moderation. In a letter, the groups urged Mark Zuckerberg to implement more rigorous moderation standards. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg needs to better moderate his new Threads platform, or it could "become as toxic as Twitter," civil rights, digital justice, and pro-democracy groups warned in an open letter to Zuckerberg and the head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri. "Meta must implement basic moderation safeguards on Threads now or the platform will become as toxic as Twitter," Nora Benavidez, senior counsel at Free Press, said in a press release about the letter. The civil rights groups also accused Meta of "purposefully not extending Instagram's fact-checking program to the platform and capitulating to bad actors."

Persons: Mark Zuckerberg, Zuckerberg, Instagram, Adam Mosseri, America —, Nora Benavidez Organizations: Free Press, Tech, Media Matters, America, Meta

Brent crude futures fell $2.95, or 3.9%, to settle at $71.84 a barrel, their lowest since Dec. 2021. Goldman Sachs cut its oil price forecasts early on Sunday, citing higher-than-expected supplies later this year and through 2024. The bank's December crude price forecast now stands at $86 a barrel for Brent, down from $95, and at $81 a barrel for WTI, down from $89. "The Fed meeting and inflation pressures remain key issues for the market this week," said Rob Haworth, senior investment strategist at U.S. Bank Asset Management. Also weighing on investors' minds, oil demand recovery has been muted in China, the top importer of crude oil and refined products.

Persons: Brent, Goldman Sachs, Goldman capitulating, Matt Smith, Robert Yawger, Rob Haworth, Haworth, Yawger, WTI, Shariq Khan, Noah Browning, Florence Tan, Mohi Narayan, Emelia Sithole, Jason Neely, Paul Simao, Sharon Singleton, Deepa Babington, David Gregorio Our Organizations: U.S, Federal Reserve, Brent, West Texas, U.S . Federal Reserve, Bank Asset Management, of Petroleum, International Energy Agency, Saudi, Thomson Locations: BENGALURU, U.S, China

SummarySummary Companies WTI futures fall to lowest since May 4Goldman Sachs cuts price forecasts, sees Brent at $86 in Dec. Brent crude futures fell $2, or 2.7%, to $72.79 a barrel by 11:50 a.m. EDT (15:50 GMT), while West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell $2.16, or 3.1%, to $68.01 a barrel. Goldman Sachs cut its oil price forecasts on higher-than-expected supplies from Russia and Iran. Also weighing on investors' minds, demand growth is yet to materialize in China, the top importer of crude oil and refined products. There are definitely fears that these guys (OPEC and IEA) will cut their demand forecasts," Yawger said.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, Brent, Goldman capitulating, Matt Smith, Robert Yawger, Yawger, WTI, Shariq Khan, Noah Browning, Florence Tan, Mohi Narayan, Emelia Sithole, Jason Neely, Paul Simao, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Fed, U.S, Federal Reserve, Brent, West Texas, U.S . Federal Reserve, Organization of Petroleum, International Energy Agency, Thomson Locations: BENGALURU, Russia, Iran, U.S, China, Saudi Arabia

☆ Bank of America highlights seven stocks that have driven most of this year's market gains
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Jeff Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Most of the stock market gains this year have been powered by a handful of tech-focused names that have posted outsized increases, according to Bank of America. Call them the S & P 7 — or, as the firm's chief investment strategist, Michael Hartnett, labels them, the "Magnificent Seven." Together, the stock bloc has contributed 8.8 percentage points of the S & P 500 's total 10% increase, as of Thursday's close, for all of 2023. In May alone, the seven stocks posted a gain of 16%, thanks to Nvidia's earnings-fueled acceleration. "Monetary policy remains the 'big dog' & set to tighten in coming months… biggest reason we are not capitulating into risk despite price action," Hartnett wrote.

Persons: Michael Hartnett, Jim Cramer, bitcoin, Hartnett, it's Organizations: Bank of America, Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft, Facebook, Big Tech, Federal Reserve Locations: China

☆ The Banking & Payments Show Recap: Apple Pay's Sweet Domination
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Insider Intelligence | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Listen to the full Behind The Numbers: The Banking & Payments Show episode here. With Kroger caving to accept Apple Pay, Rob and David discussed Walmart and if/when they will fall. Apart from its history, Walmart has ramped up its own Fintech operations which include neobanking aspirations and Walmart Pay. Want to learn more about the domination of Apple Pay and Gen Z's impact? Listen to the full Behind The Numbers: The Banking & Payments Show episode here.

Persons: Rob Rubin, David Morris, Rob, David, Gen, Apple, Zer's Organizations: Intelligence, Apple, Kroger, Walmart, Google, PayPal, Apple Pay Locations: EU

☆ 5 rookie mistakes even senior leaders make when negotiating for more money or promotions, according to a negotiations expert
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Leigh Thompson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Negotiating effectively for a job has never been more important, whether you're seeking a raise or advancement at work or navigating a job offer. I've observed really smart senior leaders make "rookie" mistakes when negotiating their compensation or promotions; and I've watched entry-level managers excel in advocating for themselves. For instance, I recently talked Tim, a young sales manager, out of using an outside job offer as immediate leverage. Effective negotiators don't "wait for memos," and don't worry about appearing greedy. So don't be an email warrior: pick the right moment, location, and communication method for an in-person negotiation.

Yoon announced the decision at a cabinet meeting, saying South Korea and Japan should make efforts to remove obstacles that hinder developing bilateral ties. "I will preemptively order our trade minister today to begin necessary legal procedures to have Japan back on our white list," Yoon told the meeting, which was televised live. "I'm sure Japan will respond if South Korea first starts removing the obstacles." South Korea and Japan removed each other from the list in 2019 amid a decades-old row over a 2018 South Korean court order for Japanese companies to compensate forced labourers during Japan's 1910-45 occupation of Korea. "It's time for South Korea and Japan to go beyond the past," Yoon said.

Under the plan, South Korea would compensate former forced labourers through an existing public foundation funded by private-sector companies, South Korea's Foreign Minister Park Jin told a briefing. SOUTH KOREAN FUNDSRelations plunged to their lowest point in decades after South Korea's Supreme Court in 2018 ordered Japanese firms to pay reparations to former forced labourers. Overall there are fewer than 1,300 living victims of forced labour in South Korea, according to media estimates. The South Korean companies include KT&G (033780.KS), Korea Electric Power Corp (KEPCO) (015760.KS) and other companies that benefited from a 1965 treaty between South Korea and Japan. Asked whether Japanese companies would pitch in to compensate, Park said both Japanese and South Korean businesses were considering a plan to contribute.

☆ South Korea says its own companies will pay to resolve forced labor dispute with Japan
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin speaks during a briefing on March 06, 2023 in Seoul. The South Korean government announced it will no longer seek direct payment from responsible Japanese firms to compensate victims of Japan's forced wartime labor. South Korea said on Monday that its companies would compensate people forced to work under Japan's 1910-1945 occupation of Korea, in a bid to improve poor relations that have impeded trade and cooperation between the two countries. Under the plan, South Korea would compensate former forced laborers through an existing public foundation funded by private-sector companies, Foreign Minister Park Jin told a briefing. "We welcome this as a step that returns Japan-South Korea relations to a healthy one," he said.

☆ Putin's KGB past is key to grasping what he might do next in his failing Ukraine war, ex-spies say
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( John Haltiwanger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

Putin's time in the KGB helps explain his worldview and brutal approach to warfare, ex-spies say. As Western intelligence agencies vie to stay two steps ahead of the Russian leader and get inside his head, peering into Putin's KGB past may offer clues on what he's thinking. "Putin's KGB background tells us a lot about how he thinks and how he sees the war. He is a creation of the KGB, and the KGB was a terrorist organization," John Sipher, a former CIA officer who served in Russia, told Insider. The Ukraine war has seen Putin and his propagandists make a series of assertions — ranging from plausible to preposterous — to justify Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.

☆ A year after Russia’s invasion: How Ukraine endured
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +21 min

REUTERS/Valentyn OgirenkoIn the early hours of Feb. 24, 2022, tens of thousands of Russian soldiers entered Ukraine. By seizing the city of three million people, and capturing or killing Zelenskiy, Russia’s hope appeared to be that Ukraine would quickly surrender. By March 23, Russia’s advance had captured regions of Ukraine along the Belarus border but Ukraine’s forces had begun reclaiming territory near Kyiv. Satellite imagery of Russia’s military convoy near Invankiv, Ukraine, Feb. 28, 2022. The two sit on a bed, with a radio and teddy bears nearby., image Ukrainian civilians have endured The will of the people of Ukraine continues to be that they remain free.

☆ U.S. News & World Report to Revamp Parts of Its Law-School Ranking
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-02 | by ( Melissa Korn | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Yale Law School said late last year that it would no longer provide information to help U.S. News compile its list. U.S. News & World Report is revamping some elements of its law-school ranking, capitulating to pressure after deans at more than a dozen top law schools publicly challenged the value of the closely followed list. In a letter sent Monday to deans of the 188 law schools it currently ranks, U.S. News said it would give less weight in its next release to reputational surveys completed by deans, faculty, lawyers and judges and won’t take into account per-student expenditures that favor the wealthiest schools. The new ranking also will count graduates with school-funded public-interest legal fellowships or who go on to additional graduate programs the same as they would other employed graduates.

☆ Here's why Wall Street is warning the Fed blew it on inflation and it won't save the stock market from crashing
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-24 | by ( Jennifer Sor | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The Fed blew it on inflation stocks are going to have to suffer as a result. The central bank has no choice now but to keep hiking until inflation is down, experts have said. Here are five top voices in markets warning investors not to pin their hopes on a Fed put to save stocks. El-Erian has been a loud critic of the Fed's response to inflation this year, slamming central bankers for saying inflation was "transitory" in 2021. That's the cost of the Fed being late to the game, and the central bank can't back away from its monetary tightening now, El-Erian warned.

☆ Manhattan renters face sticker shock with average rent at $5,200
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Robert Frank | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The median rent for a Manhattan apartment in November hit $4,033, up from $3,964 in October, according to a report from Douglas Elliman and Miller Samuel. The rise in New York rents also adds pressure to overall inflation, since rents are a large component of inflation indexes and New York is the nation's largest rental market. Brokers and real-estate experts say landlords over-reached when they started renewing the leases signed in 2020 and 2021, often demanding rent increases of 20% or more. The vacancy rate in November was 2.4% — still below the historical norm in Manhattan of about 3%, according to Miller Samuel. Real-estate experts say the big drop in new leases, if it continues, will eventually force landlords to meet renters at a lower price point.

☆ Former RNC chair Michael Steele says MTG 'will be the most powerful speaker of the House' if McCarthy wins the speakership, arguing she'll be able to 'control what comes out of Kevin's mouth'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Steele said MTG would be the "most powerful" speaker if McCarthy wins the House speakership in January. The ex-RNC chair said on MSNBC that the controversial MTG would constantly have the ear of McCarthy. Steele opined that MTG "will have the opportunity to control what comes out of Kevin's mouth." That small fraction of the party still has political, financial, and other sway and control over the leadership," Steele said. "Marjorie Taylor Greene will be the most powerful speaker of the House because she will have the opportunity to control what comes out of Kevin's mouth around the things that matter to that small cadre," he continued to say.

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