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☆ Brazil's monetary policy director leaves office amid government uncertainty over replacement
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The central bank stated in a note that Serra's departure follows the end of his term on Feb. 28. The day after Serra's departure, the director of Economic Policy, Diogo Guillen, began temporarily accumulating his function, a common practice at the central bank until substitutions are made. Supervision director Paulo Souza, whose term also expired at the end of February, remains in his current position. Under a 2021 law granting formal autonomy to the central bank, Governor Roberto Campos Neto will remain in office until December 2024. Lula, who has criticized Campos Neto and the central bank for keeping interest rates high to combat inflation, will eventually replace all nine members of the bank's board, which decides monetary policy.

☆ A cryptic message that's been on Blockbuster's website for months has people wondering if it'll make a comeback
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-25 | by ( Grace Mayer | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

People recently noticed a message on Blockbuster's website: "We are working on rewinding your movie." The message sparked speculation of a possible comeback and nostalgia for the defunct rental stores. People recently noticed that a message greets you when you visit Blockbuster's website. Before that, the website showed a message from its current owner, Dish Network, directing people to Dish's on-demand service. So far, Dish hasn't commented on whether the message on the website means anything, and the company did not respond to Insider's request for comment ahead of publication.

☆ Merchandise from Credit Suisse such as hats, bags and gold bars are being sold online
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

A ski hat adorned with Credit Suisse's logo had received as many as 46 bids on online Swiss marketplace Ricardo.ch by Tuesday, March 21. From ricardo.chAs many as 46 bidders were angling Tuesday to buy a blue and red Credit Suisse ski hat, priced at 111 Swiss francs ($120) on online Swiss marketplace Ricado.ch. One seller has listed a black cap, adorned with “Credit Suisse Risk Management Intern 2023,” for 35 Swiss francs ($38) on online reseller Tutti.ch. Vintage Credit Suisse stamps, notepads and watches are also being offered for sale. Hats, bags and gold bars emblazoned with Credit Suisse's logo popped up on resale sites just hours after the 167-year-old bank was taken over by rival UBS.

☆ A retro red, blue, and white Credit Suisse ski cap is attracting ferocious bids online — and prices are now up to $200
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Credit Suisse merch is popping up in online marketplaces following the 167-year-old lender's merger with UBS. Branded gold bars and bags are some of the other Credit Suisse merch available on the platforms. One listing of the Credit Suisse cap started at 80 francs on March 19. Bidding on other Credit Suisse merch — such as this tote bag and a coin bank — also attracted four and five bids, respectively. And while Credit Suisse merch may be attracting buyers, the same cannot be said for the shares of the 167-year-old lender.

☆ Credit Suisse memorabilia up for grabs in online shops after merger
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/3] Gold bars from the Credit Suisse are seen in a shop in Zurich, Switzerland March 20, 2023. Dozens of bars of gold, stamped with the name of the issuer - the 167-year-old Credit Suisse - were uploaded to the country's most popular online marketplaces, Ricardo.ch and tutti.ch. With it still unknown whether the Credit Suisse brand will be continued, the sellers are seeking to attract those looking to snap up a piece of Swiss financial history. Credit Suisse is expected to remain an independent brand until the merger is complete, at which point UBS will decide whether to pull the plug on the separate Credit Suisse identity. Corporate swag from recently failed Silicon Valley Bank is also proving popular online, as is merchandise linked to Lehman Brothers, which filed for bankruptcy at the height of the 2008 financial crisis.

☆ Credit Suisse memorabilia up for grabs in online shops
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

☆ Brazil audit court orders Bolsonaro to return Saudi jewelry gift
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BRASILIA, March 15 (Reuters) - Brazil's federal audit court (TCU) on Wednesday ruled that former President Jair Bolsonaro must deliver within five days a second set of jewelry he received from the Saudi government. On Monday, Bolsonaro's lawyer said in a letter to the police that the former president will deliver the second gift to the state as part of its collection of presidential gifts. Several officials from the Bolsonaro administration unsuccessfully tried to recover the jewelry -- a diamond necklace, ring, watch and earrings -- that was being held by customs, according to local media. Bolsonaro, who is still in self-exile in the United States, will be called to testify as part of the investigation, Brazilian Justice Minister Flavio Dino said on Monday. Reporting by Ricardo Brito; Editing by Sandra MalerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Declassified documents do not mention Ecuador's Lasso -regulator
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Alexandra Valencia | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

QUITO, March 15 (Reuters) - Ecuador President Guillermo Lasso and his family members do not appear in declassified documents released by the country's companies regulator, the agency said on Wednesday, referring to files which opposition lawmakers had sought to shore up a possible impeachment bid. Lasso has denied corruption allegations and said his government will fully cooperate with ongoing investigations by the attorney general into alleged graft at state companies. "There is not one single clue or document that involved Mr. Guillermo Lasso in what was just declassified from the Superintendency of Companies," Pachakutik party legislator Ricardo Vanegas told journalists. "They are looking for ways to tie this soap opera to a reason to remove President Lasso," he said. "They want to keep Guillermo Lasso as president."

☆ Brazil's Bolsonaro will be subpoenaed in jewelry scandal, says minister
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] The jewelry with diamonds gifted to Bolsonaro and former first lady Michelle Bolsonaro by the Saudi government which was seized by customs officials, is seen at Sao Paulo-Guarulhos International Airport, in Guarulhos, Brazil, March 14, 2023. "We have enquiries in progress, hearings taking place, and at some point, the former president will be subpoenaed," Dino told reporters after an event in Rio de Janeiro. Luxury jewelry gifted to the then-president and his wife Michelle Bolsonaro by the Saudi government was seized by customs officials in October 2021 after it was found in the backpack of a government aide. Several officials from the Bolsonaro administration unsuccessfully tried to recover the jewelry from customs, according to local media. According to the minister, police will conclude the investigation into whether or not Bolsonaro attends a hearing.

☆ I just traveled to Argentina — and doubled my money with a 'black market' exchange rate
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-11 | by ( Greg Iacurci | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +15 min

A legal exchange rate influenced by the black marketA worker lays out 500 Argentine peso note sheets on Aug. 14, 2020 in Buenos Aires. Greg IacurciPut another way: Your money goes almost twice as far with the "blue dollar" exchange rate. The exchange rate for the transaction was 366 Argentine pesos per U.S. dollar, almost double the official exchange rate (190 pesos per dollar) at the time. Anyone who wants to save more cash in U.S. dollars must turn to the black market, which sets the "blue dollar" exchange rate. The exchange rate offered by Western Union has been similar to that of the "blue dollar" rate on the black market.

☆ A 50% rent increase? Record property demand in Dubai is creating a nightmare for some residents
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Natasha Turak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Beyond the property market, Dubai's economic boom is evident in everyday life. The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) area of Dubai, United Arab Emirates, with the Burj Khalifa in the backdrop, Sept. 16, 2022. Property prices have, too — CBRE says that selling prices are up 11.5% on average in the year to February 2023. Christopher Pike | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesAccording to CBRE's research, in the year through February 2023, average Dubai rents increased by 27.7%. In the meantime, no one expects property prices to ease up anytime soon.

A deeper look at the company's billing practices revealed what appeared to be Medicare fraud, Pérez Aybar said. Fraud flourishesThat's just one of thousands of examples of how Medicare fraud is flourishing — not only in south Florida, but across the country. Taxpayers are losing more than $100 billion a year to Medicare and Medicaid fraud, according to estimates from the National Health Care Anti-Fraud Association. This convicted felon says Medicare and Medicaid fraud is "very easy" to get away with. The same pills could be sold and resold multiple times with different phony patients, billing Medicare each time.

☆ Brazil investigates undeclared $3 million jewelry gift to Bolsonaro
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRASILIA, March 6 (Reuters) - Brazilian Justice Minister Flavio Dino on Monday ordered police to investigate an alleged attempt to bring in undeclared jewelry, a gift from Saudi Arabia valued at $3.2 million, to former far-right President Jair Bolsonaro. The diamond necklace, ring, watch and earrings gifted to Bolsonaro and former first lady Michelle Bolsonaro by the Saudi government were seized by customs officials at Sao Paulo's international airport in October 2021. Bolsonaro's critics said gifts to president belong to the state and must go into a presidential collection. In his only public comment on the jewelry, Bolsonaro said he was being "crucified" for a gift he never asked for and never received. ($1 = 5.2093 reais)Reporting by Ricardo Brito; Writing by Anthony Boadle; Editing by Aurora EllisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

[1/2] Iranian military ship Iris Makran navigates on the coast of Rio de Janeiro as a Brazilian flag flutters in Copacabana Beach, Brazil, February 27, 2023. REUTERS/Ricardo MoraesRIO DE JANEIRO, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Two Iranian warships docked in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday after Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's government granted permission despite pressure from the United States to bar them. "In the past, those ships facilitated illegal trade and terrorist activities, and have also been sanctioned by the United States. Brazil is a sovereign nation, but we firmly believe those ships should not dock anywhere," she said. He traveled to Tehran to meet then-President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2010 as he sought to broker a nuclear deal between Iran and the United States.

☆ How to have fewer regrets about your career
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Rebecca Knight | Britney Nguyen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Experts say it's important to grieve career regret, but in reality, there are chances for do-overs. Career regret is linked to anxiety as well as employee dissatisfaction, disengagement, and turnover. 'You need to forgive yourself'The difference between career regret and run-of-the-mill career disappointment is that the root of regret stems from a decision you made, as opposed to one that was made for you. A career disappointment is the job you didn't get; a career regret is the job you walked away from and can't get off your mind. 'In reality, there are plenty of do-overs'It's important to grieve career regret, experts say.

☆ Burberry's Lee stages an ode to British heritage in debut runway show
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Suban Abdulla | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Faux fur, oversized coats and hot water bottles dominated Burberry’s (BRBY.L) runway as Daniel Lee presented his vision for the British heritage label at London Fashion Week on Monday. Burberry's mackintosh-style trench coat was re-imagined in a muted khaki with green faux fur lapels. English rose patterned tailoring sat alongside chunky rubber boots with an equestrian twist and cosy square toed shearling and faux fur shoes in the Autumn Winter 2023 collection. Monday's show follows the unveiling of Burberry's new logo: a sleeker elongated typeface and a campaign steeped in "Britishness". Lee previously created a buzz at Italy's Bottega Veneta with pillowy leather clutch handbags and slip-on heels.

☆ No 'witch-hunt' in Brazil's Jan. 8 probes, vows top military prosecutor
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Ricardo Brito | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRASILIA, Feb 17 (Reuters) - There will be no "witch-hunt" to root out members of Brazil's military who may have potentially been involved in the Jan. 8 Brasilia riots, the country's top military prosecutor said in an interview, pledging to follow due process to mete out justice. For months ahead of the Oct. 30 Brazilian presidential election, far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro sought to enlist military support for his baseless claims of electoral fraud. There has been mounting public pressure for anyone in Brazil's military accused of involvement in the riots to be tried in civil courts. However, Brazil's army brass are unhappy about efforts for military wrongdoing to be tried by the Supreme Court, and want to keep litigation in military courts, according to sources familiar with the matter. Fifteen military investigations related to Jan. 8 have been opened, according to the military attorney general's office.

BRASILIA, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Brazil's government is taking a fresh tack in its effort to crack down on illegal gold mining in the Amazon, preparing legislation that would require electronic tax receipts for the buying and selling of the precious metal, four sources with knowledge of the plans said. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva wants to end years of environmental backsliding under his far-right predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro, and crack down on illegal mining in the Amazon. The central bank said the goal was to implement "a new inspection system that allows the traceability of the gold extracted, as well as the adoption of electronic invoices." The situation is so bad, Ibram says, that even the central bank does not know if the gold it buys is legal or illegal. The mining lobby has been calling for the adoption of electronic invoices to end the illegal gold trade, Ibram President Raul Jungmann told Reuters.

☆ 'The Last of Us' is based on real science: A fungus pandemic is unlikely, but not impossible
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

"The Last of Us" on HBO Max depicts a zombie apocalypse caused by a fungus pandemic. Here's the science fact and fiction behind the show, and the possibility of a fungal pandemic. The new scenario, first realized in the video game that the show is based on, is making viewers wonder whether a fungus pandemic can happen in real life. "A fungal pandemic is definitely possible," Norman Van Rhijn, a mycologist researching fungal infections at the University of Manchester, told Insider in an email. Still, fungal infections are on the rise worldwide, and researchers are concerned that more and more people are at risk.

Feb 14 (Reuters) - U.S. federal agents arrested and charged four suspects in Florida for alleged roles in the plot that led to the 2021 assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise, authorities said on Tuesday. A person holds a photo of late Haitian President Jovenel Moise, who was shot dead earlier this month, during his funeral at his family home in Cap-Haitien, Haiti, July 23, 2021. Veintemilla, a U.S. citizen, lent over $170,000 to CTU Security to finance their operations in Haiti, officials added. The arrests and charges were reported earlier on Tuesday by the Miami Herald and the New York Times. The resulting violence has left much of the country off-limits to the government and led to routine gun battles with police.

☆ Brazil minister denies knowledge of plan to raise inflation target
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

His role involves presenting the government's agenda to Congress and other bodies including the central bank. Brazilian news website Metropoles and Bloomberg cited unidentified sources as saying an early review of the inflation target and an increase were under discussion. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has criticized the 13.75% benchmark interest rate, set by the central bank, as too high. Supporters of this move argue that raising the inflation target would require less monetary tightening and sustain economic activity. Critics said that a higher target could stoke expectations for even greater inflation and hinder the central bank's achieving the new objectives.

☆ In Mexico’s San Miguel de Allende, a Ricardo Legorreta-Designed Home Asks $6.995 Million
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Sarah Paynter | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Be the first to know about the biggest and best luxury home sales and listings by signing up for our Mansion Deals email alert. A Mexico home by the late Modernist architect Ricardo Legorreta is coming on the market for $6.995 million, according to listing agent Greg Gunter of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Colonial Homes San Miguel.

☆ Yanomami health crisis in Brazil can only be solved by expelling miners, official says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

BRASILIA, Feb 7 (Reuters) - The medical emergency the Yanomami people of Brazil are suffering can only be overcome if illegal gold miners that invaded their reservation are evicted, an indigenous health official said on Tuesday. We believe the reopening of medical units can only be done when the miners are all removed," Indigenous Health Secretary Ricardo Weibe Tapeba told a news conference. About 20,000 wildcat miners on the Yanomami reservation in the state of Roraima in northern Brazil have brought malaria and severe food shortages that caused the death of starving Yanomami children, he said. Some 700 patients have been airlifted to the state capital of Boa Vista and are being treated at the CASAI indigenous health center hospital and a field hospital set up there, Weibe added. Their mineral-rich lands attracted wildcat miners for decades, especially after a military government built a road through the Amazon rainforest in the 1970s.

☆ Haitians seen crushing into migration centers seeking passports to U.S.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/4] Haitians gather outside an immigration office looking for turns to apply for a passport days after Haiti police blocked streets and broke into the airport during a protest demanding justice for fellow police officers killed by armed gangs, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti February 2, 2023. REUTERS/Ricardo ArduengoPORT-AU-PRINCE, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Haitians desperate for passports to apply for a U.S. migration program crowded local migration centers, according to videos shared on social media on Friday, crushing through small doorways and scaling the outside of stairways. Videos from Haiti's Lalue migration office and an improvised center at a sports facility in the capital Port-au-Prince show people climbing on railings of stairs and being crushed as they fight their way through crowds, clutching document envelopes. The move comes as the country expands Trump-era restrictions to rapidly expel migrants caught illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border on foot. Reporting by Harold Isaac in Port-au-Prince and Sarah Morland in Mexico City; Editing by Sandra MalerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Brazil's police carry out fresh raids as part of Jan. 8 riots probe
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BRASILIA, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Brazil's federal police on Friday carried out fresh raids as part of a probe into the Jan. 8 insurrection, when supporters of former far-right President Jair Bolsonaro stormed government buildings in Brasilia. Police said in a statement they were serving three preventive arrest warrants and 14 search and seizure warrants ordered by the Supreme Court in five states and the federal district, where Brasilia is located. The new efforts represent the fourth phase of an operation launched last month aimed at identifying people who participated in, funded or fostered the riots, in which a mob invaded and ransacked the Congress, presidential palace and Supreme Court. The Brasilia demonstrators were protesting Bolsonaro's defeat by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in an October election and calling for a military coup to oust Lula and restore the far-right leader. Reporting by Ricardo Brito; Editing by Steven GrattanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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