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☆ Armed with depleted-uranium ammo, Ukraine's tank gunners could punch through tough Russian armor and set tanks on fire
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-17 | by ( Ryan Pickrell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Reports say the US is expected to send Ukraine depleted-uranium tank rounds along with M1 Abrams tanks. The rounds do what other tank rounds don't, like sharpening on impact and starting fires. Two, depleted-uranium tank rounds are pyrophoric, which means they burst into flame under intense heat and pressure. Explosive reactive tank armor "kind of increases the chance that the penetrator will not hit at the correct angle," Spoehr said. Tank rounds, of course, aren't the only way to defeat an enemy tank.

Persons: —, Thomas Spoehr, Gertrud Zach, there's, Spoehr, Abrams, that's, Austin Berner, Jack Watling, hasn't, Watling, Nick Reynolds, M1A2 Abrams, Joshua Taeckens Organizations: M1 Abrams, US Army, Service, 1st Armored Division, M1A2, 7th Army Joint Multinational Training Command, Army, Center for National Defense, Heritage Foundation, M829, Abrams, Staff, M1A2 Abrams, Minnesota National Guard US Army, Royal United Services Institute, Army Armor, Fort, Spc Locations: Ukraine, Grafenwoehr, Germany, Russia, Russian, Fort Benning, Georgia

☆ Why the Fed paused its rate hikes: It’s tired of playing a giant guessing game
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Following the policy announcement, Fed Chair Jerome Powell noted that rate hikes typically filter through the economy with “uncertain lags.” In other words, the Fed has been playing an (educated) guessing game, taking action before it understands the results. What’s happening: As much as Federal Reserve officials wish they could, they can’t just wave a wand and lower inflation rates. Here’s how the system works: First, the Fed raises interest rates for overnight loans between financial institutions. Less demand for goods reduces incentives to raise prices and inflation rates will fall. That means they’re able to draw their own conclusions about the trajectory of inflation rates.

Persons: Jerome Powell, ”, Jack McIntyre, McIntyre, ” Powell, Powell, Yung, Yu Ma, Ma, Biden, Joe Biden, Sam Fossum, you’re, ” Biden, Lael Brainard, Greg Wallace, Sen, John Thune of, Republican Sen, Jerry Moran Organizations: New, New York CNN, Federal Reserve, Brandywine Global, BMO Wealth Management, Ticketmaster, “, Economic, Federal Aviation Administration, FAA, Republican Locations: New York, “, John Thune of South Dakota, Kansas

Retail sales - a key gauge of consumer confidence - rose 12.7%, missing forecasts of 13.6% growth and slowing from April's 18.4%. Data ranging from factory surveys and trade to loan growth and home sales have shown signs of weakness for the world's second-biggest economy. China's stock markets rose after the rates cut, with the benchmark CSI 300 gaining 0.6% in early trade, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index climbed 1.2%. The sector is expected to grapple with "persistent weakness" for years, dragging on economic growth, Goldman Sachs analysts said this week. The country's biggest banks recently cut their deposit rates to ease pressure on profit margins and encourage savers to spend more.

Persons: China's, Zhiwei Zhang, Bruce Pang, Jones Lang LaSalle, Pang, Hong, Julian Evans, Pritchard, Yi, Goldman Sachs, Albee Zhang, Sam Holmes Organizations: National Bureau of Statistics, Jones, CSI, Capital Economics, Investment, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, Beijing, China, outflows

☆ A CEO shares the exact scripts she uses to ask for clarification and communicate seamlessly with her team
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Deb Liu | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

On the other hand, Liu makes a point to purposefully solicit feedback and ask for clarity. He received an email response directly from the CEO saying there was something wrong with the landing page for the project. Proud of their work, then shared it with the CEO, telling him they had taken his feedback and redesigned the page. The confirmation: Remember to wrap up your request for clarification by reiterating what you've heard and understood. For this reason, if you're feeling unsure or unclear about a question or an answer, don't hesitate to ask out loud.

Persons: Deb Liu, Liu, —, I've, you've, it's, let's, we've, Read Organizations: Service

Economists polled by Reuters had expected new yuan loans would jump to 1.6 trillion yuan last month, versus 718.8 billion yuan in April and against 1.89 trillion yuan a year earlier. Outstanding yuan loans in May grew 11.4% on year compared with 11.8% growth the previous month. Household loans including mortgages were up 367.2 billion yuan in May, versus a contraction of 241.1 billion yuan in April. Corporate loans rose to 855.8 billion yuan in May from 683.9 billion yuan in April, central bank data showed. In May, TSF rose to 1.56 trillion yuan from 1.22 trillion yuan in April.

Persons: Zhiwei Zhang, Yi Gang, Nomura, TSF, Qiaoyi Li, Judy Hua, Kevin Yao, Jacqueline Wong Organizations: People's Bank of China, Reuters, PMI, Capital, Analysts, U.S, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, Shanghai, Beijing, U.S . Federal, TSF

☆ What Does Gay Pride Smell Like?
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( Madison Malone Kircher | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Every year, millions of people flock to Manhattan festooned in rainbows and feathers and leather to celebrate the annual Pride March. Many of them will traipse down Christopher Street, home of the Stonewall Inn, the epicenter of the modern gay rights movement in New York. For $45, Literie is selling “Pride on Christopher Street,” a candle made in collaboration with NYC & Company, the city’s official tourism and marketing arm. All profits — about $30 per candle after production costs, according to Literie — are going to Heritage of Pride, the nonprofit behind the city’s official Pride events. It was hard to pinpoint what would Pride smell like.”

Persons: Christopher Street, Literie, Erica Werber, ” Organizations: Stonewall, Christopher, NYC & Company Locations: Manhattan, New York

☆ China's producer prices plunge the most in seven years as deflation hangs over economy
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( Jihye Lee | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

People walk past buildings in Shanghai, Shanghai, China, on Friday, April 21, 2023. Producer price index in May fell 4.6%, marking the steepest year-on-year drop in seven years, when producer prices saw a year-on-year drop of 7.2% in May 2016. China's low consumer inflation and deflation in its producer prices come in contrast to relatively high inflation in major economies around the world. The mining and raw material industries led declines in producer prices, while food, tobacco and alcohol prices led consumer price gains, the data showed. Nearing bottomDespite the softness in the latest price indexes, one China market watcher seemed to be holding on to an optimistic "long China" call.

Persons: Zhiwei Zhang, Zhang, Andrew Maynard of Organizations: Bloomberg, Getty, Reuters, CPI, U.S . Federal Reserve, U.S ., CSI, China's National Bureau, Statistics Locations: Shanghai, China, Canada, Australia, Shenzhen, Andrew Maynard of China

BEIJING, June 9 (Reuters) - China's factory gate prices fell at the fastest pace in seven years in May and quicker than forecasts, as faltering demand weighed on a slowing manufacturing sector and cast a cloud over the fragile economic recovery. "The risk of deflation is still weighing on the economy," said Zhiwei Zhang, chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management, in a note. China's economy grew faster than expected in the first quarter, but recent indicators show demand is rapidly weakening with exports, imports and factory activity falling in May. Food price inflation, a key driver of CPI, slowed to 1.0% year-on-year from 2.4% in the previous month. On a month-on-month basis, food prices fell 0.7%.

Persons: Zhiwei Zhang, Julian Evans, Pritchard, Dan Wang, Joe Cash, Sam Holmes Organizations: National Bureau of Statistics, Australia, Reuters, Capital Economics, Hang Seng Bank China, Bank of China, China's, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, United States, Europe, China

☆ Factbox: Jefferies sees AI fuelling next wave of innovation in oil and gas sector
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

June 9 (Reuters) - With AI rapidly becoming a buzzword across industries, oil and gas companies are exploring ways to use this technology to fuel innovation in the energy sector. Here are 10 predictions for future applications of AI in energy, according to brokerage Jefferies. In 2022, oil-field services firm Patterson-UTI (PTEN.O) CEO William A. Hendricks Jr said AI may allow one person to manage 4 rigs instead of one person per rig. MAXIMIZING RECOVERY RATESAI could help enhance oil recovery at brownfield sites, subject to declining production and higher operating costs. Italian oilfield services firm Saipem (SPMI.MI) is developing an AI tool to maximize well quality.

Persons: Jefferies, Patterson, William A, Hendricks Jr, Arshreet Singh Organizations: Shell, Akselos, Resources, Chevron, Thomson Locations: Swiss

☆ China's big banks cut deposit rates, signaling monetary easing ahead
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesBEIJING — China's largest banks cut interest rates for savers on Thursday in a bid to boost growth in an economy where consumption has been slow to recover. The country's six state-owned commercial banks' websites all showed updated yuan-denominated demand deposit interest rates of 0.2%, down from 0.25% last year, according to CNBC checks. The banks cut rates for other deposit products, including reducing the interest rate for five-year time deposits to 2.5% from 2.65%, according to their websites. The state-run Securities Times reported the deposit rate cuts in the Thursday edition of the newspaper. However, it's not a given that lower deposit rates will translate immediately into greater spending.

Persons: Nomura, Ting Lu, Zhang, it's Organizations: of, Bloomberg, Getty, BEIJING, CNBC, Securities Times, People's Bank of China, China, Management Locations: of China, China, Shanghai

☆ China's exports tumble much more than expected in May
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Beijing Reuters —China’s exports shrank much faster than expected in May and imports fell, albeit at a slower pace, as manufacturers struggled to find demand abroad and domestic consumption remained sluggish. Exports from the world’s second-largest economy fell 7.5% year-on-year in May, the biggest decline since January and swinging from 8.5% growth in April. Chinese stocks trimmed gains and the Australian dollar, a commodity currency that is highly sensitive to swings in Chinese demand, fell after the trade data. “The weak exports confirm that China needs to rely on domestic demand as global economy slows,” said Zhiwei Zhang, chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management. The PMI subindexes showed factory output swung to contraction from expansion while new orders, including new exports, fell for a second month.

Persons: ”, Zhiwei Zhang Organizations: Beijing Reuters —, Imports, Reuters, Australian, PMI Locations: Beijing, China

Imports contracted at a slower pace, dropping 4.5%, a slower pace of decline 7.9% than the previous month. The Australian dollar , a commodity currency that is highly sensitive to swings in Chinese demand, fell after the trade data. "The weak exports confirm that China needs to rely on domestic demand as global economy slows," said Zhiwei Zhang, chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management. "There is more pressure for the government to boost domestic consumption in the rest of the year, as global demand will likely weaken further in the second half." The PMI subindexes showed factory output swung to contraction from expansion while new orders, including new exports, fell for a second month.

Persons: Zhiwei Zhang, Joe Cash, Sam Holmes Organizations: Imports, Reuters, PMI, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, China

☆ Put a Bird on It? Ancient Egypt Was Way Ahead of Us.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Franz Lidz | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A century ago, archaeologists excavated a 3,300-year-old Egyptian palace in Amarna, which was fleetingly the capital of Egypt during the reign of the pharaoh Akhenaten. Situated far from the crowded areas of Amarna, the North Palace offered a quiet retreat for the royal family. On the west wall of one extravagantly decorated chamber, today known as the Green Room, the excavators discovered a series of painted plaster panels showcased birds in a lush papyrus marsh. The artwork was so detailed and skillfully rendered that it was possible to pinpoint some of the bird species, including the pied kingfisher (Ceryle rudis) and the rock pigeon (Columba livia). Among the riddles they tried to solve was why two unidentified birds had triangular tail markings when no Egyptian bird known today has them.

Persons: Akhenaten, Columba livia, Chris Stimpson, Barry Kemp, Stimpson, Kemp, Nina de Garis Davies Organizations: Oxford University Museum of, University of Cambridge, Metropolitan Museum of Art Locations: Egypt

☆ Elizabeth Holmes was so obsessed with Steve Jobs she wanted an Apple flag flown half-mast at Theranos after he died: book
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-04 | by ( Ryan Hogg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Elizabeth Holmes wanted an Apple flag flown at half-mast after Steve Jobs died, per "Bad Blood." Elizabeth Holmes ordered a specially made Apple flag to be flown at half-mast at Theranos' headquarters after Steve Jobs died, according to a book. According to "Bad Blood," they wanted to fly an Apple flag at half-mast in the grounds of the Theranos building in Palo Alto. A Theranos employee volunteered to try to find an Apple flag to buy but couldn't find one. According to "Bad Blood," Theranos employees could pinpoint which chapter of the book Holmes was up to based on the period of Jobs' career she appeared to be imitating.

Persons: Elizabeth Holmes, Steve Jobs, John Carreyrou's, couldn't, Holmes, who's, Sunny Balwani, Elizabeth, Sunny, Theranos, Walter Isaacson's, Jobs, Balwani, Rupert Murdoch, Balwani didn't Organizations: Apple, Wall Street, CNBC, Walgreens Locations: Palo Alto, Texas

Summary Manufacturing PMI unexpectedly fallsNon-manufacturing PMI falls, as services slowPMIs show economic recovery losing steamMarkets skid on PMI weaknessBEIJING, May 31 (Reuters) - China's factory activity shrank faster than expected in May on weakening demand, heaping pressure on policymakers to shore up a patchy economic recovery and knocking Asian financial markets lower. "The PMI data reveal that China may heading to a K-shaped recovery," said Bruce Pang, chief economist at Jones Lang LaSalle. "The sluggish domestic demand could weigh on China's sustainable growth, if there are no efficient and effective policy moves to engineer a broad-based recovery," said Pang. The PMI subindexes for May showed factory output swung to contraction from an expansion while new orders, including new exports, fell for the second month. Last month, imports contracted sharply, factory gate prices fell, property investment slumped, industrial profits plunged and factory output and retail sales both missed forecasts.

Persons: Bruce Pang, Jones Lang LaSalle, Pang, Jones Lang LaSalle's Pang, Li Qiang, Zhiwei Zhang, Liangping Gao, Ryan Woo, Sam Holmes Organizations: PMI, National Bureau of Statistics, . Service, New, Jones, Labor, Nomura, Barclays, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, Asia, New Zealand, China, Japan

☆ A debt-ceiling deal may be close but the crisis likely isn't solved for good. Here's what would happen if the US actually defaulted on its debt.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-27 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

So the Treasury market remains intact in this scenario? JL: The broader US economy will suffer, the stock market will suffer, there will be higher unemployment. So just because the Treasury market ends up doing fine does not mean good news for the US economy. If you think the stock market isn't signaling there's a recession looming, David Rosenberg says otherwise. The AI hype gripping the stock market will resemble a mini dot-com bubble, according to UBS's Art Cashin.

☆ Housing Market Ice Age: Fewer Sales, Higher Home Prices, Less Inventory
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-24 | by ( James Rodriguez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

The result is a housing market that's fundamentally out of whack. The housing market has changed for good — and with the benefit of time-earned wisdom, we can pinpoint the moment it entered a new era. Two big things happened during the initial response to the pandemic that launched the housing market past the point of no return. Both factors have propelled competition in the housing market to new heights and made it challenging for would-be buyers to find their footing. Some aspects of the pandemic-era housing market that once seemed "odd" are increasingly becoming new norms.

☆ Meet Wall Street's rising stars of equity research, the ones to watch as the stock market faces one of its biggest challenges yet
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Carter Johnson | Emmalyse Brownstein | Paige Hagy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Meet Insider's lineup of up-and-coming talent in the world of equity research. The group hails from JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, and other top Wall Street firms. Lizzul is one of Insider's equity-research rising stars for 2023, a group of 17 up-and-coming research analysts covering a range of sectors, including energy and cybersecurity. To qualify for the list, analysts had to be 35 or younger, based in the US, working in sell-side equity research at a Wall Street firm, and producing work that stood out from competitors. Here is Insider's 2023 list of the top up-and-coming stars of equity research on Wall Street:

☆ Analysis: Investment banking faultlines trigger European job shake-up
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Sinead Cruise | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Applications for financial services roles globally rose by 67% in the first quarter of 2023 against the same period last year, according to eFinancialCareers. Britain has already said it will scrap a cap on bank bonuses under plans to attract global financial sector talent. Worries about possible contagion triggered by the frailty of the U.S. regional banking system have also put some bank staff on a quest for more secure employment, sources say. Duncan Finlayson, managing director of the FinTech & Financial Services practice at Raines International, said some wanted meetings with chief financial officers to better understand the financial health of prospective employers. "Without a doubt some of the more established financial services platforms are under more heavy scrutiny," he said.

☆ A body odor buffet reveals which scents attract mosquitoes
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Kate Golembiewski | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —Anyone who has spent a summer evening swatting away mosquitoes, or a summer day scratching mosquito bites, can agree: Mosquitoes stink. In a scientific report published Friday, scientists helped pinpoint the different chemicals in body odor that attract these insects by building an ice-rink size testing arena and pumping in the scents of different people. Hundreds of mosquitoes in the main 20-by-20-meter facility were then treated to a buffet of the sleeping subjects’ scents. The researchers found what many who have been on a picnic would attest to: Some people attract more mosquitoes than others. (Vosshall said that even scrubbing with unscented soap doesn’t get rid of the natural scents that attract mosquitoes.)

☆ Analysis: Ukraine is keeping Russia guessing about its counteroffensive
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Nick Paton Walsh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

It is possible we only learn the counteroffensive has begun when its first tangible results are revealed. But it has more significantly revealed a seismic difference in how Russia and Ukraine’s war machines are functioning. This will be vital in the weeks ahead: Moscow appears to process bad news very poorly and publicly. In the weeks ahead, we will likely see more confusion about what Ukraine is up to. But weeks more of Russian confusion, overstretch, and public self-criticism will likely reduce the ultimate human cost on Kyiv.

☆ Opinion | Death and the City
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Thomas B. Edsall | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +5 min

“Some have hypothesized that the rise in homicide rates is specifically a result of the June 2020 protests,” Chalfin and MacDonald wrote, but “theories about the role of the protests must contend with several challenges. The data also pinpoint the timing of the spikes to late May 2020, which corresponds with the death of George Floyd while in police custody in Minneapolis and subsequent anti-police protests — protests that likely led to declines in law enforcement. Although unemployment caused by Covid surged in April, there was little if any increase in murders at that time. That is the challenge that every city should be grappling with. Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook, Twitter (@NYTopinion) and Instagram.

☆ When COVID-19 lockdowns shuttered our restaurant, we launched merch, jarred our house-made sauces, and launched a wine club to make money. This year, our sales are up over 80%.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Erin Greenawald | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

This article is part of "Small Business Strong," a series highlighting the resilient work of small-business leaders to overcome barriers and reach success. There's additional revenue they create that's harder to pinpoint, like when someone comes in to pick up their hot sauces and ends up buying lunch, too. Finally, these additional revenue streams contribute to our own resiliency as small-business owners. Kenzie, one of our cofounders, previously worked for a small business that sold camp gear, and they had a whole process for launching and promoting a new product. Sure, sometimes we end up working after-hours to add these additional revenue streams, but we do it because it's fun for us.

☆ That’s the Funny Thing About Grief
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Jason Zinoman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Either way, there’s no question that in certain quarters of comedy, jokes are not enough. For instance, at shows around New York, the quirky, swaggering Gastor Almonte has been performing a hilarious 10 to 15 minutes about his hatred of oatmeal. In a previous era that might have added up to a debut special that resembled the work of Jim Gaffigan. “What is trauma but unmonetized content?” he asks, echoing a line from “WandaVision,” a series that itself is a grief narrative. “We don’t talk about grief: We keep our grief to ourselves,” Kayne says in “Sorry for Your Loss.” Glazer hit this same theme.

☆ Scientists discovered a surprising new brain circuit in mice that's making them rethink how humans may manage extreme stress
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Erin Heger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A newly discovered brain circuit in mice helps relax the brain during times of extreme stress. A lead researcher says the study results suggest similar processes may occur in the human brain. Mouse brains are, of course, different from human brains. A new brain circuitStressed-out mice may hold the key to better understanding stress and how we manage it. And because the newly discovered brain circuit in mice helps control attention and perception, it could play an important role in treating attention disorders, and other neurological and psychological disorders, Poskanzer said.

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