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☆ Starbucks, Estée Lauder, Qualcomm: Global companies warn of slower-than-expected recovery in China
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-11 | by ( Michelle Toh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Starbucks (SBUX) and Qualcomm (QCOM) have also flagged uncertainties related to the country, which is a top market for both. Beijing abandoned its zero-Covid policy in December and scrapped longstanding quarantine requirements for international arrivals in January, ending restrictions that had isolated its economy. The welcomed, if abrupt, policy U-turn led to hopes that China could help propel global growth as it had before the pandemic. The idea was that as soon as the zero-Covid policy would be over, the Chinese households and consumers would just go berserk. Starbucks warned last Tuesday that sales growth in China was starting to cool — and likely would continue that trajectory over the next six months.

☆ A new law in Florida forces teachers who want to be in unions to pay dues through mail-in checks
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Kimberly Leonard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Being in a teacher's union in Florida just got harder. Ron DeSantis of Florida signed a bill into law Tuesday that will require teachers who want to be in unions to mail in written checks every month. The system would replace the current arrangement, widely used in unions across the US, in which teacher union dues get automatically deducted from their paychecks. The change will make it harder for unions to exist and pile red tape onto teachers, Florida Senate Democratic Leader Lauren Book said in a statement. On average, roughly 60% of teachers in Florida are paying dues toward their unions, shows a Florida Senate analysis.

☆ A new law in Florida forces teachers to pay union dues through mail-in checks
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Kimberly Leonard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Being in a teacher's union in Florida just got harder. The system would replace the current arrangement, widely used in unions across the US, in which teacher union dues get automatically deducted from their paychecks. On average, roughly 60% of teachers in Florida are paying dues toward their unions, shows a Florida Senate analysis. The signings represent a win for DeSantis, who has battled teacher's unions since the COVID pandemic and first proposed the change to union dues in December 2022. Florida comes in at 48th in the nation for average teacher salaries, according to the National Education Association, the state's largest teacher's union.

☆ Factbox: What will the royal family do at King Charles' coronation?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File PhotoLONDON, May 6 (Reuters) - All eyes will be on the British royal family this weekend as they are joined by about 100 heads of state and global dignitaries for the coronation of King Charles. KING CHARLESKing Charles became monarch of the United Kingdom and 14 other realms on the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth, in September. QUEEN CAMILLA AND HER CEREMONYCamilla, the second wife of Charles, will go through a simpler, mini-coronation as queen during the service. Their eldest son Prince Archie, the sixth-in-line to the throne, turns four on the day of the coronation. PRINCE ANDREWPrince Andrew, the third child of Queen Elizabeth, will attend the coronation but will not have an official role.

Just 21% say their views on the royal family have gotten more positive over the past decade, with another 41% saying their overall opinion has stayed the same. A CNN poll suggests attitudes towards the British royal family have worsened over the past decade, ahead of the coronation of King Charles III. Prince Harry (right) and Meghan (left) are among those members of the royal family rated most favorably by young people. Jamie Lorriman/AFP/Getty ImagesBut not all members of the royal family are viewed in the same light. The poll was conducted on March 24 through 26 among a random sample of 2,093 UK adults aged 18 and older.

☆ King Charles' brother Prince Andrew still casts a cloud over monarchy
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Angus Macswan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Summary Rapid fall from grace over links to EpsteinBarred from wearing uniformStill eighth in the line of succession to throneLONDON, May 5 (Reuters) - As the British monarchy celebrates King Charles' coronation this Saturday with pomp and pageantry, a cloud still hangs over his younger brother Prince Andrew. Andrew had reputedly been the late Queen Elizabeth's favourite son, but the scandal was too much for her. But royal observers think a return to favour is highly unlikely, not least as Charles has spoken of having a slimmed-down monarchy with fewer working royals. According to British media, the king also wants his brother to move out of the mansion he has occupied for years in the royal estate in Windsor and reside in a smaller home. Additional reporting by Humza Jilani Editing by Estelle Shirbon, Andrew Heavens and Frances KerryOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ How The Legend of Zelda Changed the Game
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Zachary Small | Rumsey Taylor | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +17 min

More than six million people watched the preview for hints about the next video game in Nintendo’s beloved Legend of Zelda franchise. Tears of the Kingdom, the next entry in the Legend of Zelda franchise, will encourage players to manipulate and combine objects to fight enemies and explore Hyrule. The immersive gameplay of the Zelda franchise is bolstered by its deep mythology , convincing players they are unearthing ancient secrets. Retrieving the Master Sword often marks the point in a Zelda game when the difficulty spikes and the stakes are raised. Clockwise, from top left: The Legend of Zelda (1986), A Link to the Past (1991), Ocarina of Time (1998) and The Wind Waker (2002).

☆ Morgan Stanley's Slimmon says it's dangerous to be too defensive, names top 'offensive' stock picks
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Weizhen Tan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

"I do not see much upside in the market near-term," Slimmon, senior portfolio manager at the firm, said in notes sent to CNBC on Tuesday. Stocks to buy Slimmon said it's time to buy some "offensive" stocks. Offensive stocks are those that tend to do well when the market goes up, while defensive sectors are the sectors that outperform when the market goes down. "So I think it's very dangerous to own just very defensive stocks … I think you want some offensive in your portfolio," Slimmon told CNBC's " Squawk Box Asia " on Tuesday. Near-term opportunity Slimmon said there's one area he sees as a near-term opportunity: China.

☆ Abraham Verghese’s Sweeping New Fable of Family and Medicine
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Andrew Solomon | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

THE COVENANT OF WATER, by Abraham VergheseAbraham Verghese occupies a curious place in the modern literary landscape. A doctor who decided midcareer to train at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, he has gone on to achieve distinction in both fields. His last novel, “Cutting for Stone,” spent more than two years on this newspaper’s best-seller list. By projecting his own best self, he hopes to coax out the best selves of others. The lack of ill intent or even ambivalence among the book’s many heroes can become cloying.

☆ Florida just ranked as the top state for education, amid DeSantis battles on curriculum, books, and college leadership
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Kimberly Leonard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

But on Tuesday, Florida came in first for education as part of the annual Best States rankings from US News & World Report. The Florida education model works." Students from the Miami-Dade County Public Schools School for Advanced Studies-Wolfson campus protest during a statewide walkout on April 21, 2023 in Miami, Florida. Florida Education Association President Andrew Spar panned the US News analysis as a "narrow view of education" and predicted curriculum restrictions and book removals would "impact student scores in the years ahead." Florida ranks 44th in the US for spending per student on public schools, according to the Florida Education Association, which is the state's teacher's union.

☆ U.S. Backs Sale of Citgo to Pay Venezuela’s Debts
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Andrew Scurria | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

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LONDON, May 1 (Reuters) - After waiting longer than any British heir to become monarch, King Charles has quietly settled into his new role with little of the drama some commentators had expected, but with family divisions and some fundamental issues still looming. "I think we are all quite surprised at how well King Charles has begun," royal author Tina Brown told Reuters. Charles does not enjoy same support as his widely admired mother, but his public approval ratings are generally positive. For Charles, the most prominent issue remains the ongoing conflict with his younger son Prince Harry. "I think the public are thinking we've kind of heard all that, but normal life continues."

☆ Ex-Clinton pollster promoting DeSantis as a way to defeat Trump is 'dangerous,' Democratic group warns
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Nicole Gaudiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

An ex-Clinton pollster boosted Ron DeSantis and dismissed Joe Biden as the way to defeat Donald Trump. Mark Penn's commentary is "significant" and "dangerous," on Democratic group, Third Way, warns. Ron DeSantis — and dismissal of President Joe Biden — as the way to defeat former President Donald Trump in 2024 is "significant" and "dangerous," one Democratic group warned on Monday. "There is nothing 'dangerous' in questioning whether Joe Biden can beat Donald Trump," he added. "If we do get to the Biden/Trump rematch, I will surely be writing 'How Joe Biden can beat Donald Trump,'" he wrote.

☆ Fact check: Trump’s own campaign can’t find proof for his ‘mental institutions’ immigration story
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-29 | by ( Daniel Dale | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

How we searched for proof of Trump’s storyCNN conducted a broad search for any proof for Trump’s story. These articles did not mention anything about South American mental health facilities being emptied under President Joe Biden, nor feature any quote from a doctor at any such facility. We then reached out to a pro-Trump super PAC asking for evidence for Trump’s “mental institution” story, but a spokesperson didn’t respond. We next turned to two groups that advocate for reduced immigration, the Center for Immigration Studies and the Federation for American Immigration Reform, which would be good candidates to be aware of any such evidence. As a last resort, we posted Trump’s quotes on Twitter and invited the public to try to find support for them.

So far in 2023, this index of what are the leading lights of the U.S. economy is up 36% - six times the year-to-date gains of the S&P 500 index (.SPX). Put another way, this year's rise of these 10 mega tech stocks accounts for pretty much all of the S&P 500 gains. "But given how often the S&P 500 has been used as Exhibit A for overall 'resilience', it's important to acknowledge just how idiosyncratic this macro gauge has been." Are tech stocks overpriced? There are certainly plenty of concerns that these mega stocks may be overbought and just too expensive - even though that concern will hardly be a new worry for these stocks.

☆ The best of Milan Design Week 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Marianna Cerini | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Milan CNN —The design world’s largest annual fair enjoyed a return to full pre-pandemic form with its 2023 showcase, transforming the city of Milan with hundreds of exhibitions, site-specific installations, pop-ups and public projects. Almost everywhere, the focus was on sustainable design, circular economy, material innovation and artistry combining craft with innovation. Some of the most interesting ideas were those that looked at waste – literally – to rethink what design can do when it uses what is already there. Shown in various stages of decomposition, the chair challenged viewers to approach products with the end of their lifecycle in mind. Top image: One of two bags design legend Gaetano Pesce created for Bottega Veneta’s Milan Design Week installation.

April 27 (Reuters) - As wildfire season approaches, U.S. officials along the West Coast are working hard to mitigate risks with prescribed burns, while a widespread educational campaign is underway to create buffers around fire-prone homes. In Washington state, Department of Natural Resources Commissioner Hillary Franz is working on reversing negative perceptions surrounding prescribed fires. The test fires were lit ahead of a full prescribed burn. "It's a frustrating emotional roller coaster," said Stenbeck, standing on top of Bogg's Pit, the DNR-owned land that has been the focus of a prescribed burn since late last year. "It's important that people make sure there is space between their vegetated fuel and their homes ... once we have a wildfire, embers move quickly.

LONDON, April 27 (Reuters) - Britain on Thursday set out long-awaited plans to crack down on problem gambling as it aims to bring regulations up to date with a rise in betting online and on smartphones. The reforms would give extra powers to gambling regulators to take down illegal betting sites and tackle unauthorised operators. Campaign group Charity Gambling with Lives, which supports families bereaved by gambling-related suicide, welcomed the changes but said they did not go far enough. It had called for an end to all gambling advertising and affordability checks at 100 pounds of monthly losses. Habits have changed significantly since then, with an exponential rise in online betting.

☆ 2 brothers got stuck for 2 days after American Airlines canceled their connecting flight and didn't offer any vouchers
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-23 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Derick Andrew and his brother were stranded in Dallas for two days after their flight was canceled. Two American Airlines passengers were left stranded for two days and had to pay for their own hotel and food after their connecting flight was canceled. The brothers, both 35, found out their flight got canceled when they got to Dallas Fort Worth International airport. "We were told unambiguously 'no,' that we would not get a refund for a flight canceled due to weather," Andrew told Insider. "I contacted AA through the app again and said regulation shows I should be reimbursed for the canceled flight and they said we could get a refund if we didn't rebook another flight."

☆ Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets are melting rapidly and driving sea level rise, new satellite data finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Jack Guy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —The Earth’s ice sheets lost enough ice over the last 30 years to create an ice cube 12 miles high, according to new research. They found that ice sheet melting has increased six-fold over the past 30 years, as record levels of planet-heating pollution push up global temperatures. The worst year for ice sheet loss was 2019, the report found, when the ice sheets lost around 675 billion tons of ice. Ice sheet melting now accounts for a quarter of all sea level rise – a fivefold increase since the 1990s. Otosaka expects the Greenland ice sheet to continue losing ice, but said it’s not yet clear what might happen to the Antarctic ice sheet.

☆ NOAA Forecasters See a Respite for California
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Raymond Zhong | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The NewsWeather forecasters with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on Thursday issued their latest outlook for the United States, and there’s at least one piece of hopeful news for a state that has already had a wild year, weather-wise: California. But according to NOAA’s latest forecasts, temperatures for May through July are highly likely to be in line with historical averages across California and Nevada. For May, much of California could even see cooler-than-normal conditions, the agency said. This could mean the snow’s melting would be more gradual than abrupt, more beneficial to water supplies than destructive to homes and farms. “The picture is relatively optimistic compared to what it could be,” said Andrew Schwartz, lead scientist at the Central Sierra Snow Laboratory, part of the University of California, Berkeley.

chartEither way, extremely low U.S. volatility generally bodes well for other stock markets. And worrying UK inflation figures may extend a dark shadow over Asia. Figures on Wednesday showed that Britain was the only country in western Europe with double-digit inflation in March, prompting several banks to raise their UK rate outlook. UK money markets are pricing in a further 75 basis points of tightening this year, taking the base rate up to 5%. Meanwhile, Australia's central bank governor Philip Lowe addresses the media on Thursday and India's central bank releases the minutes of its last policy meeting.

☆ 15 top companies for career growth according to LinkedIn
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Madison Hoff | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

LinkedIn released its list of great companies in the US for career growth, and Amazon took the top spot. LinkedIn released its annual list of the greatest US companies for career growth. While the companies may be good for long-term career growth per the new analysis, some have made headlines for job cuts. Top locations in the US included below are places that "employed the largest percentage of each company," per LinkedIn. The most notable skills noted for some of the companies below are based on "the most frequent unique skills among a company's employees, relative to other companies," per LinkedIn.

☆ Private school vouchers are shaping up to be huge part of the 2024 election as GOP candidates work to 'one up' each other on the issue
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-15 | by ( Kimberly Leonard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

The GOP movement toward "school choice" is gaining momentum in many states. GOP presidential candidates have promised to send more public money to private schools. While battles over how classrooms should teach about race and LGBTQ topics have fired up the GOP base, the expansion of school vouchers is taking hold in red states. Spar said vouchers amounted to "using taxpayer money to go to private schools and home schools with practically no accountability." As Congress then turned its attention toward COVID pandemic relief, at least one bill that didn't pass had funding for private schools and homeschooling.

☆ Morgan Stanley's Slimmon names 'attractively priced' stocks to beat the economic uncertainty
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Weizhen Tan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Morgan Stanley's Andrew Slimmon expects an economic slowdown in the U.S. will happen later than many have predicted. And I think that's when we will hit a slowdown and I suspect it's coming later than what many people have been predicting," said the senior portfolio manager at Morgan Stanley Investment Management. Here's what investors can buy and avoid in the face of that uncertainty, according to Slimmon. Be wary of 'very large' stocks He said he would be particularly cautious on "very large" stocks right now, referring to FAANG — Facebook (now Meta ), Amazon , Apple , Netflix and Google (now Alphabet ). "It's not a cheap stock, but to me, that's a defensive stock that you want to own in this environment as well."

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