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☆ Supreme Court Rejects Challenge to Biden Administration’s Contacts With Social Media Companies
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-26 | by ( Adam Liptak | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Supreme Court handed the Biden administration a major practical victory on Wednesday, rejecting a challenge to its contacts with social media platforms to combat what administration officials said was misinformation. The court ruled that the states and users who had challenged the contacts had not suffered the sort of direct injury that gave them standing to sue. The decision, by a 6 to 3 vote, left fundamental legal questions for another day. “For months,” Justice Alito wrote, “high-ranking government officials placed unrelenting pressure on Facebook to suppress Americans’ free speech. Because the court unjustifiably refuses to address this serious threat to the First Amendment, I respectfully dissent.”

Persons: “, Amy Coney Barrett, ”, Samuel A, Alito Jr, Clarence Thomas, Neil M, Gorsuch, Alito, unjustifiably Organizations: Court, Biden, Facebook

☆ Supreme Court allows White House to press social media companies to remove disinformation
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-26 | by ( John Fritze | Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —The Supreme Court on Wednesday said the White House and federal agencies such as the FBI may continue to urge social media platforms to take down content the government views as misinformation, handing the Biden administration a technical if important election-year victory. Republican officials in two states – Missouri and Louisiana – and five social media users sued over that practice in 2022, arguing that the White House did far more than “persuade” the tech giants to take down a few deceptive items. That might include, the justices theorized, social media threats targeting public figures or disclosures of sensitive information about US troops. The case arrived at the high court at a time when the government has repeatedly warned of foreign efforts to use social media to influence elections. The jawboning case was one of several high-profile matters the court is deciding at intersection of the First Amendment and social media.

Persons: Biden, Amy Coney Barrett, “, ” Barrett, ” Biden, –, Hunter, John Roberts, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Brett Kavanaugh, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Alito, Samel Alito, Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, ”, ” Alito, ’, unjustifiably, Vivek Murthy, Roe, Wade, Roberts, Kavanaugh, Barrett Organizations: CNN, White, FBI, Biden, Department of Homeland Security, Facebook, Republican, Centers for Disease Control, Infrastructure Security Agency, Supreme, National Intelligence Locations: – Missouri, Louisiana, Florida, Texas

Shares of Logitech are up 2% on the year and could rally another 17%, if Scemama's target price holds true. Analyst Kristine Liwag accompanied the move by raising her price target to $225 from $178. The bank reiterated its overweight rating on the credit card stock but lifted its price target to $275 from $265. International revs should run above the 10%+," the analyst added. Goldman analyst Tina Hou set a 12-month price target of $34, while Bank of America analyst Ming Hsun Lee set a price objective of $35.

Persons: Bernstein, Goldman Sachs, Goldman, TZE, Brian Lee, Lee, — Spencer Kimball, Didier Scemama, Scemama, — Lisa Kailai Han, Morgan Stanley, Kristine Liwag, Heico's, Liwag, Stanley Black, Decker, Julian Mitchell, Mitchell, Wells, Wells Fargo, Donald Fandetti, Fandetti, Canaccord, Kingsley Crane, Crane, Oppenheimer, Jed, Kelly foresees, FanDuel —, Kelly, Zeekr, Tina Hou, Ming Hsun Lee, Hou, Stacy Rasgon, Rasgon, Fred Imbert Organizations: CNBC, Broadcom, Bank of America, Investors, Technologies, Department of Energy, Logitech, Boeing, Barclays, Stanley, Nvidia, American, Express, American Express, U.S . American Express, Wall, Zeekr, China EV, China, Geely Automobile, AMD Locations: Monday's, EU, U.S, China, BofA

☆ Schumer and Senate Democrats call for Justice Department to probe Big Oil for alleged collusion
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-30 | by ( Matt Egan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and nearly two dozen Democrats pressed the Justice Department on Thursday to launch an industry-wide investigation into Big Oil for alleged collusion and price fixing. The lawmakers urged the DOJ to investigate the oil industry, “hold accountable any liable actors” and halt illegal activity. Last week, congressional Democrats launched an investigation into whether other US oil companies colluded with each other and OPEC. Regulators cited hundreds of text messages Sheffield exchanged with OPEC officials discussing pricing, production and oil market dynamics. “The strategy appears to have worked,” Schumer and his colleagues wrote to the DOJ.

Persons: Chuck Schumer, General Merrick Garland, Schumer, “, ”, Elizabeth Warren, Amy Klobuchar, Bernie Sanders, Dick Durbin, Scott Sheffield, Sheffield “, ” Schumer, Sherman, Sheffield, ” Sheffield Organizations: CNN, Justice Department, Big Oil, Democrats, DOJ, Big, Federal Trade Commission, FTC, Sheffield, Pioneer Natural Resources, OPEC, Pioneer Locations: Texas, Sens

☆ Vultures, on the verge of extinction, receive a lifeline in South Africa
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-22 | by ( Gertrude Kitongo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Sub-Saharan Africa is home to four critically endangered species of vulture, and in South Africa, a non-profit conservation and rehabilitation group called VulPro is working to protect these fascinating birds. The operation involved over 50 people, logistics company DHL and WeWild Africa, an NGO specializing in animal rewilding and translocation. It was at that very moment that I actually understood how fragile and misunderstood the species were.”An African White-backed vulture (closest to camera) at the VulPro rehabilitation center near Pretoria, South Africa. Recent efforts have concentrated on the white-headed vulture, with a population of only 3,685 adults continent-wide, according to BirdLife International, and only a small percentage of that figure in South Africa. Poisoning is the most common reason for vultures to require treatment in South Africa, often from ingesting lead in discarded batteries, or bullets in animal carcasses, says Joubert.

Persons: VulPro, ”, Kerri Wolter, Gertrude Kitongo, “, Johan Joubert, Joubert, Wolter, – Organizations: CNN, Reserve, DHL, WeWild, BirdLife International, Shamari Locations: Saharan Africa, South Africa, Eastern Cape, WeWild Africa, African, Pretoria, Africa, West Africa, KwaZulu, Natal, South

☆ Opinion: The meaning of Black History Month on campus following the ouster of Harvard’s president
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-01 | by ( Opinion Khalil Gibran Muhammad | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

CNN —Black History Month, which gets underway this week, is a chance to give Americans the timely reminder that you can’t teach our history honestly without understanding Black struggle and triumph. There are few aspects of America’s past that haven’t been impacted by conscientious Black people and their resistance to systemic racism and illiberal democracy. The situation at Harvard has been made more dire by the university’s failure to push back sufficiently against broader political attacks. Another vocal critic of Penslar is the former Harvard president Lawrence Summers, who was also an outspoken opponent of Gay’s. As an academic institution, we should be leading the resistance to these assaults on higher education, not bowing to them.

Persons: Khalil Gibran Muhammad, ” Khalil Gibran Muhammad, Virginia Foxx, ” Foxx, ”, Claudine Gay, Foxx, “, haven’t, Donald Trump, Adolph Hitler, Alan Garber, Gay, —, Garber, Derek J, Harvard’s, Penslar, Bill Ackman, Lawrence Summers, Black Organizations: Ford Foundation, Harvard University, CNN, Harvard Kennedy School, Republican, University of Pennsylvania, GOP Rep, Global, Harvard Divinity School, “, Racial, Harvard, Republican Party, Equity Locations: American, United States, America, Florida, Gaza, Israel

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — European officials widened a ban on Meta’s “behavioral advertising” practices to most of Europe on Wednesday, setting up a broader conflict between the continent’s privacy-conscious institutions and an American technology giant. The decision by the European Data Protection Board represents a sharp escalation of a tussle that began in Norway, where privacy officials imposed a daily fine of 1 million kroner — roughly $90,000 — on Meta for obtaining that data without adequate consent. The latest decision “unjustifiably ignores that careful and robust regulatory process,” the company said in a statement following the European board's action. Tobias Judin, head of the international section at the Norwegian Data Protection Authority, said Meta's proposed steps likely won't meet European legal standards. “They continue with their unlawful activities to this very day, simply because breaking the law is so profitable.”

Persons: Meta, “, Tobias Judin, Meta's, wouldn't, ” Judin Organizations: FRANCISCO, —, Facebook, European Data Protection, Meta, Norwegian Data Protection Authority Locations: Europe, American, Norway

Meta and Facebook logos are seen in this illustration taken February 15, 2022. The ban on such advertising, which targets users by harvesting their data, is a setback for U.S. tech giant Meta Platforms (META.O), the owner of the two social media services, which has opposed efforts to curb the practice. The Norwegian data regulator, Datatilsynet, in September said it had referred the ongoing fine to the European regulator, as its fine was valid in Norway only and due to expire on Nov. 3. Norway is not a member of the EU but is part of the European single market. The decision affects some 250 million Facebook and Instagram users in Europe, Datatilsynet said.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, EDPB, Datatilsynet, Gwladys Fouche, Terje Solsvik, Tomasz Janowski Organizations: Meta, REUTERS, EU, Facebook, European Union, European Economic, European Data Protection, Reuters, Economic, Big Tech, Thomson Locations: Norway, Ireland, Norwegian, Europe

☆ China won't stand by idly in case of German 5G restrictions - embassy
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

An advertisement for Huawei's Mate 60 series smartphones is seen outside a Huawei store in Shanghai, China September 8, 2023. REUTERS/Aly Song/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBERLIN, Sept 21 (Reuters) - China will not stand by idly if the German government decides to restrict the use of components from Chinese firms such as Huawei [RIC:RIC:HWT.UL] and ZTE <000063.SZ> in its 5G network, the Chinese embassy in Berlin said on Thursday. "Should Germany unjustifiably exclude Chinese companies, this would not only be a violation of the principle of fair competition, but would also harm Chinese companies and Germany itself," the Chinese embassy said. It added that Huawei and ZTE had long operated in Germany in harmony with German law. The interior ministry wants to present its approach to cabinet from next week.

Persons: Aly, China's, ZTE, Rachel More, Kirsti Organizations: Huawei, REUTERS, Rights, RIC, China's Huawei, ZTE, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Shanghai, China, Berlin, Germany

☆ Sweden's central bank raises rates to 4%, in line with expectations
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-21 | by ( Hannah Ward-Glenton | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Sweden's central bank hiked interest rates for the eighth consecutive time on Thursday, taking the main rate to 4%, as the country continues to battle high inflation. The quarter-point increase is in line with the expectations of analysts polled by Reuters. Sweden's headline inflation, which excludes energy costs, slowed more than expected last month, coming to 7.2% for the month of August, according to Statistics Sweden. The Swedish economy is "going in the right direction," the central bank said in a statement, while nevertheless highlighting that inflationary pressures "are still too high." Stefan Ingves, former central bank governor, in January warned that Sweden was facing its "day of reckoning," as house prices plummeted and the wider economy stuttered.

Persons: Stefan Ingves, I've, Ingves Organizations: Reuters, Statistics Sweden, U.S Locations: Swedish, Sweden

STOCKHOLM (AP) — Sweden’s central bank raised its key interest rate Thursday, saying that “inflationary pressures in the Swedish economy are still too high,” although there were signs that inflation had begun to fall. Sweden has been struggling with high inflation — it was 7.5% in August, down from 9.3% in July, but far from the 2% target set by Sweden’s central bank. Thursday's interest rate increase meant that the policy rate is at the highest level since October 2008, the Swedish news agency TT wrote. Norway's central bank also raised its policy rate by a quarter-point on Thursday, to 4.25%. “Persistently high inflation imposes substantial costs on society,” Norges Bank said, adding that ”a somewhat higher interest rate is needed to bring inflation down to target within a reasonable horizon.”The moves came on a busy day of central bank action.

Persons: Ida Wolden Bache, — Organizations: STOCKHOLM, U.S ., TT, Norges Bank Gov, ”, ” Norges Bank, Bank of England, Swiss National Bank, U.S . Federal Reserve Locations: Swedish, Sweden, Ukraine, Norway

The European Central Bank last week lifted rates to a record 4% and upgraded its inflation forecast for 2024, but the euro fell and has lost almost 2% against the dollar this month. Overall, Europe's central banks "would like to portray this idea of higher for longer (rates)," said Ed Hutchings, head of rates at Aviva Investors. The currency, which the central bank labeled "unjustifiably weak," barely caught a break and remains near a record low against the euro . He expected one the of big European central banks to be the first to cut rates. European central banks were "in a bind," Fiotakis added, as higher oil prices also threatened to push inflation higher.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Sterling, Kit Juckes, BoE, SocGen's Juckes, Ed Hutchings, Nathan Thooft, Bjoern, Fiotakis, Orla Garvey, Naomi Rovnick, Christina Fincher Organizations: REUTERS, Sterling, LONDON, Bank of, Swiss, greenback, Societe Generale, European Central Bank, ECB, U.S . Federal Reserve, Fed, Aviva Investors, Investment Management, Reuters, DWS Group, Nomura, ING, Barclays, Federated, Thomson Locations: Swiss, Bank of England, Switzerland, Sweden, Europe, U.S, Western Europe, United States, Britain, Swedish, Japan, European

☆ The CEO of Russia's biggest bank says the ruble is 'unjustifiably undervalued,' but Putin has downplayed the ruble's weakness — and it shows even Russia's elite don't see eye to eye about the economy
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-14 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Sberbank CEO Herman Gref said the Russian currency should be trading at 80 to 85 rubles to the US dollar. Gref's comments came just as Putin sought to project an image of calm in the country's economy at an economic forum on Tuesday. Russia's economy has been deeply impacted by Western sanctions ever since it invaded Ukraine, even if there's some support from the Kremlin's wartime spending. The impact of the sanctions on Russia's economy and currency has fuelled inflation. Russian inflation accelerated 5.15% year-over-year in August, well above the central bank's 4% annual inflation target.

Persons: Herman Gref, Putin, Gref Organizations: Service, Kremlin Locations: Russian, Wall, Silicon, Ukraine

☆ Even rattlesnakes feel better with friends, study shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( Maiya Focht | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Rattlesnakes are calmed by being near another snake, a new study shows. Researchers found that giving rattlesnakes a partner decreased their heart rate in stressful situations. Martin and her team arrived at this conclusion by measuring the resting heart rates of 25 wild-caught, adult rattlesnakes and comparing that to their heart rate after being startled. They found that the snakes who were alone in their enclosure had significantly higher heart rates than those that were with another snake. In nature, some rattlesnakes live alone while others live communally.

Persons: hasn't, —, Chelsea Martin, Martin Organizations: Service, Loma Linda University

☆ Sweden sees 'cause for concern' on retailer margins as food prices surge
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( Marie Mannes | Thomson Reuters | Stockholm-Based Company News Correspondent Who Mainly Covers Anything To Do With Retail | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Sweden's competition authority on Tuesday will publish the initial findings from an investigation into food prices and competition requested by Sweden's finance ministry in March. "When we look at the margins on the retail and wholesale side, we see some cause of concern in terms of how they're developing," Martin Mandorff, head of market abuse at the competition authority, told Reuters. The agency is investigating the whole food supply chain from producers, wholesalers to the retail sector and has collected data from Sweden's main supermarkets on prices and margins. Premium food chain ICA had a 53% market share in 2022 according to the competition authority. "We have a frequent and constructive dialogue with the Swedish Competition Authority and look forward to the conclusions of the investigation," the company said.

Persons: Anders Wiklund, Martin Mandorff, Mandorff, Coop, discounter Lidl, Elisabeth Svantesson, Svantesson, Axfood, Marie Mannes, Helen Reid, Simon Johnson, Greta Rosen Fondahn, Conor Humphries Organizations: TT News Agency, Reuters, ICA, Finance, SVT, Swedish Competition Authority, Thomson Locations: Stockholm, Sweden, STOCKHOLM, Hungary, Ukraine, Swedish

☆ Your job rejection may have been an A.I. mistake—how to spot and fix it
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Rebecca Picciotto | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

In 2015, before anyone had ever uttered "ChatGPT," artificial intelligence already impacted job seekers in a big way. That year, Amazon realized that its machine-learning algorithms, meant to speed up its hiring process, were biased against women. Other cases of AI hiring discrimination abound, so much so that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission offers guidance for employers to ensure AI doesn't jeopardize fair hiring processes. Hiring bias isn't a new phenomenon: Some groups have long been unjustifiably overlooked in the job pool. In the meantime, job seekers are caught in the crossfire of AI's hiring mistakes.

Persons: Ifeoma Ajunwa, Lindsay Greene, who's Organizations: Amazon, Commission, University of North, Chapel Hill, Law, Technology, CNBC Locations: University of North Carolina, New York City

☆ Factbox: Excerpts from G7 leaders' statement on economic coercion
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

May 20 (Reuters) - Leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) agreed on Saturday to establish an initiative to counter economic "coercion", pledging to take steps to ensure that any actors attempting to "weaponise" economic dependence would fail and face consequences. The initiative, dubbed Coordination Platform on Economic Coercion, will use early warning and rapid information sharing on economic coercion with members meeting regularly for consultations, the G7 leaders, meeting in Hiroshima, Japan, said in a statement. "We are taking additional steps today to enhance our ongoing strategic coordination on economic resilience and economic security by reducing vulnerabilities and countering malign practices that exploit and reinforce them. We will work together to ensure that attempts to weaponise economic dependencies by forcing G7 members and our partners, including small economies, to comply and conform will fail and face consequences. Within this Coordination Platform, we will use early warning and rapid information sharing, regularly consult each other, collaboratively assess situations, explore coordinated responses, deter and, where appropriate, counter economic coercion, in accordance with our respective legal systems.

☆ Carl Icahn, Activist Investor, Becomes Target of Short Seller
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Michael J. De La Merced | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Over nearly a half-century, Carl Icahn has shaken up Wall Street as a corporate raider and activist shareholder, making corporate titans bow down to his demands and change their business strategies. But on Tuesday, his publicly traded company, Icahn Enterprises, became a target of Hindenburg Research, the short seller firm that has made its name in recent years by taking on the Indian tycoon Gautam Adani and the Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey. Hindenburg accused Icahn Enterprises of being overvalued. The company trades well above its net asset value, unlike similar financial vehicles run by William A. Ackman and Daniel S. Loeb. “Icahn has been using money taken in from new investors to pay out dividends to old investors,” Hindenburg wrote in a public report.

☆ Former CEO says Biogen 'shot themselves in the foot' by deciding to charge $56,000 for its controversial Alzheimer's drug
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Andrew Dunn | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Former Biogen CEO George Scangos said the biotech priced its Alzheimer's drug Aduhelm too high. After the FDA approved the controversial treatment in 2021, Biogen set a $56,000 list price. "They shot themselves in the foot with the pricing," Scangos, now CEO of Vir Biotechnology, said. SAN FRANCISCO — The former CEO of Biogen told Insider the Massachusetts biotech priced its controversial Alzheimer's drug, Aduhelm, "way too high." "I think Aduhelm works.

☆ FDA broke own protocols in approving Biogen Alzheimer’s drug, congressional report says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration failed to adhere to its own guidance and internal practices during the approval process for Biogen’s Alzheimer’s drug Aduhelm, which was “rife with irregularities,” a congressional report showed on Thursday. The Medicare program restricted its coverage, which has led to severely limited use of the Biogen drug. He pointed to the FDA’s internal review finding its staff’s interactions with Biogen appropriate. “As stated in the congressional report, an (FDA) review concluded that, ‘There is no evidence that these interactions with the sponsor in advance of filing were anything but appropriate in this situation,’” Biogen said. Documents obtained by the committees show that FDA staff and Biogen held at least 115 meetings, calls, and email exchanges over a 12-month period starting July 2019.

Companies Biogen Inc FollowWASHINGTON, Dec 29 (Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration failed to adhere to its own guidance and internal practices during the approval process for Biogen's (BIIB.O) Alzheimer's drug Aduhelm, which was "rife with irregularities," a congressional report showed on Thursday. The Medicare program restricted its coverage, which has led to severely limited use of the Biogen drug. He pointed to the FDA's internal review finding its staff's interactions with Biogen appropriate. "As stated in the congressional report, an (FDA) review concluded that, 'There is no evidence that these interactions with the sponsor in advance of filing were anything but appropriate in this situation,'" Biogen said. Documents obtained by the committees show that FDA staff and Biogen held at least 115 meetings, calls, and email exchanges over a 12-month period starting July 2019.

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