DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Airline SAS' losses deepen, warns bankruptcy protection will drag out
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

STOCKHOLM, Nov 30 (Reuters) - Crisis-hit Scandinavian airline SAS (SAS.ST) on Wednesday reported a much deeper loss in its August-October quarter than last year and said it will take slightly longer than previously expected to complete its bankruptcy protection process. SAS, whose biggest owners are the Swedish and Danish governments, said in a statement it aimed to complete its bankruptcy protection process during the second half of 2023. SAS hopes to cut costs by 7.5 billion crowns, raise at least 9.5 billion in new equity and convert more than 20 billion of debt into equity as part of its rescue plan. SAS, which formerly earned a large share of its profits from business travel, is refocusing towards leisure. Its full-year pretax loss adjusted for items affecting comparability widened to 7.94 bllion despite full-year sales doubling to 31.8 billion crowns, in line with guidance given in September.

☆ Singapore's deputy prime minister calls FTX loss 'disappointing,' pledges to improve the process
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Sheila Chiang | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Lawrence Wong, Singapore's finance minister, speaks during the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in Singapore, on Thursday, Nov. 17, 2022. Bryan van der Beek | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesTemasek's investment loss of $275 million in the collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX was "disappointing" and damaging for Singapore, said Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lawrence Wong. What happened with FTX therefore has not only caused financial loss to Temasek, but also reputational damage. "What happened with FTX therefore has not only caused financial loss to Temasek, but also reputational damage," Wong said. The FTX loss will also not impact the net investment returns of Singapore's reserves, which are "tied to the overall expected long term returns of our investment entities and not to individual investments."

DOHA, Nov 29 (Reuters) - Soccer fans at the almost alcohol-free World Cup are ready to pay high prices for a beer, a few have tried to smuggle booze into stadiums but most simply accept that drinking is off limits at the first tournament in a Muslim country. A video shared on Twitter showed security staff seizing what appeared to be a pair of binoculars turned into a secret booze bottle by a Mexico fan trying to get into his country's match against Argentina on Saturday, which Mexico lost 2-0. But most supporters seem to understand that, for this tournament, old habits will have to be put on hold. Spain fan Raimundo Oujo, a businessman from La Coruna, said the mood in the stadiums was a little less charged than usual as a result of the booze ban. "Let's celebrate some other way, or you can also celebrate when you come back home and then you can have a big party."

☆ At Trump Org, a 'generous,' 'forgiving' Trump reigned over thankful executives, the defense theory claims
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( Laura Italiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Manhattan jurors are being asked by the defense to see Donald Trump as a forgiving, generous boss. In summations, prosecutors may call the 'Trump is just generous' defense a total turkey. The tuition schemeTake the total $359,000 in tuition checks Trump or his son, Eric Trump, signed for ex-CFO Allen Weisselberg's grandchildren. Instead, under the "generous Trump" defense, the checks, written from Trump's personal account, are explained away as not a suspicious, tax-dodging perk at all, but a "gift." Here, the defense can be expected to tell jurors that Trump is not only a generous boss, but a forgiving one, too.

☆ EU countries unhappy with 275 euro gas cap proposal
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( Gabriela Baczynska | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The long-standing disagreements were holding up other policies to alleviate the acute energy crisis, such as the launch of joint EU gas purchases and a quicker permit process for renewables. Polish Climate Minister Anna Moskwa called the 275 euro blueprint put forward by the European Commission "a joke". "It could help us reduce gas prices and therefore reduce electricity prices, which is a major challenge in Europe this winter," he said. Energy minister Miriam Dalli said the strict conditions needed for the mechanism to kick in made it "next to impossible". But the issue of whether and how to cap gas prices has split the bloc.

☆ 5 reasons Trump's ex-CFO, testifying in the Trump Org tax-fraud trial, is the worst prosecution witness ever
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Laura Italiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

The Trump Organization tax-fraud trial is in its fourth week; ex-CFO Allen Weisselberg is testifying. But was Allen Weisselberg, Trump's first and only chief financial officer, ever really flipped? Or Trump's company, which is still paying him $1.4 million this year in salary plus bonus? Here are five reasons Weisselberg is shaping up to be the worst prosecution witness ever. Donald Trump or Eric Trump approved those executive salaries, bonuses and perks, Hoffinger, the prosecutor, told jurors, who have seen many of the signed checks and signatures that prove this.

☆ Trump Org lawyers debut a new defense at the company's New York tax-fraud trial: Trump is just a generous boss
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Laura Italiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The Trump Organization criminal tax-fraud trial is in its fourth week in lower Manhattan. On Tuesday, lawyers for Trump's company debuted a new defense: Trump is just a generous boss. An employee brushed off the DA's best evidence — checks signed by Trump — as mere "gifts." defense lawyer Michael van der Veen asked the witness, referring to Allen Weisselberg, the company's ex-CFO. Trump's company, though not Trump himself, is on trial in New York Supreme Court fighting charges it was in on the scheme.

☆ Trump Org is battling prosecutors over 3 little words that could swing the New York tax-fraud trial
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-13 | by ( Laura Italiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

It's not enough, they'll be told, for Trump Org executives to get caught selfishly stuffing their pockets. Prosecutors, meanwhile, find the three words so worrisome, they asked the judge — unsuccessfully — to strike them from the case entirely. In defense of their love or hate of the three words, the sides have cited a gamut of arcane case law and other source material. Holtzman — who, as a US Congresswoman, voted to impeach Richard Nixon — is the author of "The Case For Impeaching Trump." Much of the case law being cited, the judge said, was not quite on point, including the bilge and thermometer decisions.

☆ Trump Org begins turning prosecution witnesses to their own advantage in 'politically motivated' tax-fraud case
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Laura Italiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

"I just felt this was politically motivated," McConney told jurors on Thursday of how prosecutors treated him before he decided to stop cooperating. Mazars severed ties with the Trump Organization in February after publicly questioning "discrepancies" in the Trump Organization's finances. Steinglass also elicited more testimony from McConney on what the prosecutor called a 2017 "clean up" of the company's books. "Nobody told me specifically," McConney said, "that this change was because Mr. Trump became President Trump. Prosecutors must prove that Trump's company was in on Weisselberg's admitted tax-fraud efforts.

☆ In bankrupt Lebanon, locals mine bitcoin and buy groceries with tether, as $1 is now worth 15 cents
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-05 | by ( Mackenzie Sigalos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +32 min

Others arrange clandestine meetings via Telegram to swap the stablecoin tether for U.S. dollars in order to buy groceries. In Jan., police raided a small crypto mining farm in the hydro-powered town of Jezzine, seizing and dismantling mining rigs in the process. But mining crypto tokens to earn a living is not for everybody. Younes tells CNBC that he initially moved 15% of his money into bitcoin, and he kept the remaining balance in cash. Lebanon has six bitcoin ATMs — one in Aamchit and five in Beirut, according to metrics offered by coinatmradar.com.

☆ Ireland outlast South Africa to win 19-16 in bruising battle
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

DUBLIN, Nov 5 (Reuters) - Ireland came out on top in a physical battle against South Africa with a 19-16 victory on Saturday that handed the top side in the global rankings a psychological boost over the world champions ahead of their title defence next year. The host's stern defence finally buckled 13 minutes from time when South Africa lock Franco Mostert stretched over. A Johnny Sexton penalty for the Irish crucially made it an eight-point game and a 76th minute Kurt-Lee Arendse try was not enough as the visitors' lack of a recognised goalkicker proved costly. The win meant Andy Farrell's men followed up their first ever three-test series victory in New Zealand in July with another important win against a team they will face again in the World Cup pool stages in France in 10 months' time. Reporting by Padraic Halpin; Editing by Ken FerrisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Startups, Investors Bet on Remote Work Future
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Angus Loten | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +6 min

Even as more employers signal an end to remote work, tech startups and their investors are betting that it is here to stay, offering a range of digital tools designed to support a permanent workforce outside of the office. “Investors are super-pumped on remote,” Mr. Salam said. “Remote work is a durable phenomenon,” said Ravi Gupta, a partner at Sequoia who led the firm’s investment in Remote. Mr. Riggs said Frameable currently has hundreds of commercial customers, who rent its software with rates varying by the number of users. “I may be a bit biased, but I absolutely believe remote work is here to stay,” said Remote’s Mr. van der Voort.

☆ Trump Org jury sees 1st evidence linking Donald Trump's Sharpie to alleged tax-dodge scheme
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Laura Italiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The documents were introduced through the trial's first witness, Jeffrey McConney, who as Trump Organization's controller is responsible for its payroll and tax reporting. "President Trump," McConney said of the signature, identifying the now widely-recognized, mini mountain range of Sharpie ink at the bottom of the letter. "In other words, Donald J. Trump authorized Donald J. Trump to sign the lease" for the apartment, Steinglass asked of the letter's content. "Weisselberg did it for Weisselberg," as Trump Organization lawyer Michael van der Veen told jurors repeatedly in openings. "Who decided that Donald Trump would pay Allen Weisselberg's tuition," the prosecutor then asked.

☆ Trump Organization Trial Starts With Sparring over Allen Weisselberg’s Intent
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( Corinne Ramey | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Michael van der Veen, in red necktie, is a defense attorney in the tax-fraud trial against the Trump Organization. The Trump Organization’s criminal trial began Monday with arguments over whether longtime finance chief Allen Weisselberg directed a fraud scheme to help reduce the company’s tax bill or instead was motivated by securing personal benefits including a rent-free Manhattan apartment and paid leases for luxury cars. The Manhattan district attorney’s office has brought tax-fraud charges against two companies—Trump Corp. and Trump Payroll Corp.—that are part of a group of entities collectively referred to as the Trump Organization. The companies were owned by Donald Trump until he became president, and afterward controlled through Mr. Trump’s trust.

Prosecutors have charged two Trump Organization units with cheating tax authorities over a 15-year period. Lawyers for the two Trump Organization units said Weisselberg cheated on taxes to benefit himself, not the company. To prove the Trump Organization is guilty, prosecutors must show that a "high managerial agent" of the company - in this case, Weisselberg - acted in his official capacity. He and others also got paid bonuses from other Trump Organization entities as contractors, rather than as employees. Justice Juan Merchan, the judge overseeing the case, has rejected the argument that the Trump Organization was targeted for selective prosecution.

☆ Champions League: Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé score twice as PSG thrashes Maccabi Haifa
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( George Ramsay | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Paris Saint-Germain’s attacking trio of Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé and Neymar were in scintillating form as the French side qualified for the Champions League knockout stages with a 7-2 win against Maccabi Haifa. Messi and Mbappé both scored twice, while Neymar and Carlos Soler added goals in each half on top of an own goal from Sean Goldberg. READ: British LGBTQ activist Peter Tatchell protests outside the Qatar national museumMessi, Mbappé and Neymar all scored against Maccabi Haifa. Mbappé’s fine strike just after the hour mark made it 5-2, taking him to six Champions League goals this season – one more than Erling Haaland, Robert Lewandowski and Mohamed Salah at the top of the scoring charts. Mbappé is now the top scorer in this season's Champions League.

☆ Trump company loses bid to toss initial jury pool in criminal trial
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Luc Cohen | Thomson Reuters | Reports On The New York Federal Courts. Previously Worked As A Correspondent In Venezuela | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The Manhattan district attorney's office last year charged the Trump Organization and Allen Weisselberg, its then-chief financial officer, with awarding "off the books" benefits to some senior executives, enabling certain employees to understate their taxable compensation and the company to evade payroll taxes. Weisselberg in August pleaded guilty to charges including grand larceny and tax fraud while admitting to concealing $1.76 million in income. Justice Juan Merchan, the judge overseeing the trial in a New York state court, said he was closely observing the prospective jurors and disagreed with van der Veen. "I can appreciate that in your opinion the other jurors were visibly chilled," Merchan said, addressing van der Veen. Prosecutors and defense lawyers later on Tuesday were expected to begin questioning the 18 prospective jurors, the next step in what is expected to be a weeklong process to seat a 12-member panel.

☆ Generative AI Startups Attract Business Customers, Investor Funding
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Angus Loten | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +5 min

Based on keyword prompts, generative AI platforms can then mimic these sources to produce fanciful stories and pictures of their own. Other generative AI startups offering enterprise applications include Replikr, a New Zealand startup that uses generative AI to create customer-service avatars, and Dutch startup Musico Ltd., which can be used to create original copyright-free advertising jingles. GoCharlie.AI, an early-stage startup based in San Francisco, in May launched a generative AI marketing assistant designed to create promotional social-media posts. By promising to save workers hours of productive time creating promotional materials, the commercial value proposition around generative AI has always been clear, he said. Rowan Curran, an AI and data science analyst at IT research firm Forrester Research Inc., said he expects generative AI to impact enterprises from top to bottom.

☆ New England Cozy Meets L.A. Chic in a Charming California Home
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( Antonia Van Der Meer | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

When Jack Donaldson and Julia Bredrup bought a 1920s house in the Mar Vista neighborhood of Los Angeles, it came with a lot of sunlight but not much warmth. In searching for an emotional back story to inform its new décor, Mr. Donaldson, a screenwriter, and his wife couldn’t help but draw from their meet-cute at Middlebury College in Vermont. When they hired local interior designer Stefani Stein, the shared goal was to inject understated New England style into the more refined L.A. life they live now. “It was a great fit,” said Ms. Stein, who happily brought this mashup-design script to life: “I love the juxtaposition of raw and relaxed with elegance.”“Home to me is midcentury Vermont, but I recognize that is not what a Southern California house should be,” said Mr. Donaldson, whose wife grew up in Chicago. He knew not to ask for mudrooms and green plaid, but Ms. Stein indulged his craving for New England by suggesting organic materials, woods that would show use and unique crafted touches designed to remind the couple of being back East.

☆ Dutch government to spend billions on military procurement
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

AMSTERDAM, Oct 19 (Reuters) - The Dutch government will invest up to 3.5 billion euros ($3.44 billion) in military procurement, the defence ministry said, in a policy turnaround in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. After years of declining spending, the Dutch military will purchase between 2023 and 2026 a rocket artillery system and 10 howitzer cannons for up to 1 billion euros. The new mobile air defence system is intended to improve defence against threats from enemy helicopters, aircraft, drones and cruise missiles, Van der Maat said. Poland is set to buy rocket artillery systems from South Korea. In fulfillment of that, Dutch spending will be 2.03% in 2024 and 2.01% in 2025.

Whether Mozambique and its allies can stamp out the insurgency altogether is a question that has global repercussions as countries hunt for new sources of liquefied natural gas (LNG). Mozambique has huge natural gas reserves which, if managed effectively, could transform its fortunes. With already more than 100 trillion cubic feet of proven offshore natural gas reserves, one industry insider likened its future potential equal to Russia – a natural gas giant. The Mozambican forces, as had happened multiple times in smaller towns, were unable to stop them. Fighting between the terrorist group and the Mozambican army and Rwandan Security forces has left its mark on the town.

☆ White House Issues ‘Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights’
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-04 | by ( Angus Loten | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +5 min

The White House on Tuesday issued guidelines aimed at safeguarding personal data from misuse in artificial-intelligence algorithms that drive hiring, lending and other business decisions. The guidelines, which the Biden administration described as a “blueprint for an AI bill of rights,” are nonbinding and don’t include enforcement measures. They also fall short of the European Union’s landmark privacy regulation that has forced global technology companies to change how they collect data, among other things. Still, some technology leaders said the White House blueprint could lead to heavy-handed regulation that might risk putting U.S. businesses at a disadvantage. “If implemented properly, the bill could reduce AI misuse and yet support beneficial uses of AI in medicine, driving, enterprise productivity, and more,” Mr. Etzioni said.

☆ German lawmakers break Europe's silence on suspected Nord Stream pipeline saboteur to point the finger at Russia
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( Kate Duffy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Two senior German lawmakers have pointed the finger at Russia over suspected sabotage of Nord Stream. European lawmakers had previously left open the question about who the suspected Nord Stream saboteur could be. On Monday, Danish and Swedish authorities detected three severe leaks affecting the four Nord Stream pipelines, which run from Russia to Germany through the Baltic Sea. Before Russia invaded Ukraine, Nord Stream was intended as the main artery for natural-gas exports from Russia to Europe. The US Central Intelligence Agency warned Germany weeks ago about potential attacks on Nord Stream, German magazine Der Spiegel reported Tuesday.

☆ EU countries at odds over possible gas price cap
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( Kate Abnett | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

BRUSSELS, Sept 28 (Reuters) - European Union countries were at odds on Wednesday over whether to cap gas prices in the bloc, with France, Belgium and 13 other states stepping up their call for the move opposed by Germany and others. Eyes were on the EU executive European Commission, which was expected to present an analysis on the feasibility of the bloc capping gas prices during a meeting of diplomats from the 27 EU member states on Wednesday. But with Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark among those arguing that a gas price cap would harm efforts to contain Europe's energy crunch, there were doubts as to whether any potential proposal could win sufficient support to become law. "It's highly questionable whether gas price caps are the right measure," an official from one EU country said, adding that saving energy should be countries' priority. Russia's two Nord Stream pipelines, built to carry gas to Europe, were damaged this week, with EU suspecting sabotage as leaks spewed greenhouse gas emissions into the Baltic Sea.

☆ Van der Poel convicted, fined after pleading guilty to assault of teenage girls
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( Rohith Nair | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Sept 26 (Reuters) - Mathieu van der Poel pleaded guilty to assault of two teenage girls on the eve of the world championship road race and the Dutch Cyclist was convicted and fined a total of A$1,500 ($974.85), his lawyer said on Monday. "We went through the relevant events that occurred, he was arrested by police, was interviewed by police and said certain things to the police," Van der Poel's lawyer Michael Bowe told Reuters. Van der Poel has also been allowed to leave the country after he was handed back his passport. The Dutch cycling federation said they and Van der Poel would not comment on the incident. Belgian Remco Evenepoel won the world road race title with a solo breakaway on Sunday.

Search resuls for: "van der"

25 mentions found