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☆ By royal appointment: Prince William takes booking for restaurant
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, April 20 (Reuters) - Britain's Prince William helped out an Indian restaurant during a royal visit on Thursday by taking a phone reservation from an unsuspecting customer. The heir to the British throne and his wife Kate were visiting the family-run restaurant Indian Streatery during their trip to Birmingham in central England, when he took the call from someone seeking a booking for two people. the prince said as he concluded the conversation, without revealing his own name to the caller. William's office later said on Twitter: "Hope we told this customer to come to the right place...!" As well as taking the booking, the royals also helped out preparing dishes in the restaurant's kitchen before continuing their visit in the city with a game of darts at an underground bar.

☆ The 10 major US cities with the lowest property taxes — and how much typical homeowners can expect to pay in each one
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Alcynna Lloyd | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

LendingTree found how much homeowners pay for property taxes in 50 of the nation's largest cities. Insider broke out the 10 US metropolitan areas with the lowest property taxes. Take Birmingham, Alabama, for example, where homeowners pay the lowest property taxes on the list of an average of $995 a year. That's a staggering $8,096 cheaper than the property taxes of those living in New York. However, just because the South has relatively low property taxes now doesn't mean it will remain that way.

☆ Homebuilder sentiment rises in April, as builders grab near-record share of the market
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( Diana Olick | In Dianaolick | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index rose to 45 in April, a one-point gain. Builders in the report cited a lack of listings on the resale market, which gave them an unusually strong edge. Slightly lower mortgage rates are also helping demand — though rates are still higher than they were a year ago. "Builders note that additional declines in mortgage rates, to below 6%, will price-in further demand for housing," said Alicia Huey, NAHB chairman and a custom homebuilder and developer from Birmingham, Alabama. It marked the first time both of the indicators were positive since June, when mortgage rates really took off.

☆ US homebuilder sentiment improves further; NY state manufacturing rebounds
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( Lucia Mutikani | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Other data on Monday showed manufacturing activity in New York state increased for the first time in five months. Housing and manufacturing have been hammered by the Federal Reserve's fastest interest rate hiking campaign since the 1980s. The survey's measure of current sales conditions rose two points to 51. The survey's measure of future business conditions rose to 6.6 from 2.9 in March. The capital spending index rose 3.2 points to 16.5, while the technology spending measure fell to 10.3 from 13.3 in March.

☆ Four out of the five US metro areas with the lowest unemployment are in Florida. Here’s why
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-16 | by ( Bryan Mena | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Washington, DC CNN —Four out of the five US metropolitan areas with the lowest unemployment rates are in Florida, thanks to the state’s growing population, robust tourism activity and increased business investment. Jacksonville, Tampa and Orlando all had unemployment rates below 2.7% that month. Florida was also the fastest growing state as a percentage during that period, the first time it has notched that top spot since 1957. “Florida is pro-cyclical, so when unemployment is low, it’s going to be even lower in Florida and vice versa,” Pintea said. Some studies have argued that generous unemployment programs keep unemployment higher for longer by disincentivizing workers from searching for a new job.

☆ Why Is Chartreuse Hard to Find Right Now? Ask the Monks Who Make It.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Becky Cooper | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

According to Chartreuse Diffusion, the business arm of the monks’ operation, it took more than 150 years for the Carthusians to “unravel the secret of the manuscript.”Chartreuse became “a mixologist’s ace in the hole,” said Joe Kakos, an owner of Kakos Market, a liquor store in Birmingham, Mich. Many credit Murray Stenson, a bartender at the Zig Zag Café in Seattle, with repopularizing the liqueur in 2003 when he resurrected the century-old Last Word cocktail, a mixture of gin, Chartreuse, lime juice and maraschino liqueur. “I almost feel a little bit guilty,” said Ben Dougherty, the cafe’s owner. In 2020, as the pandemic turned many people into at-home mixologists, sales of Chartreuse in the United States doubled, a pattern that held true worldwide, according to Chartreuse Diffusion. Global sales topped $30 million in 2022.

☆ Appeals court partially blocks ruling that imperils access to key abortion pill
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Lawrence Hurley | Laura Jarrett | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

A federal appeals court late on Wednesday blocked part of a ruling issued last week by a Trump-appointed judge that endangers access to the abortion pill mifepristone. The Justice Department can still ask the Supreme Court to intervene in an attempt to completely block Kacsmaryk's ruling. The Justice Department has filed a motion in the federal district court in Washington state, asking for clarification on Friday's ruling. Kacsmaryk's ruling, if allowed to stand, would not mean that access to mifepristone would immediately be cut off nationwide. The agency has broad power to do so, with the Supreme Court in a 1985 ruling saying that such decisions generally cannot be challenged in court.

☆ The 30 years of Northern Ireland's 'Troubles'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

In a 75-minute period, the Irish Republican Army (IRA) exploded 22 bombs across Belfast, killing nine people and wounding around 130. Nov. 21, 1974 - IRA bombs exploded in two pubs in Birmingham, central England, killing 21 people. Hours later, two IRA remotely detonated bombs killed 18 British soldiers on the shores of Carlingford Lough at Warrenpoint, County Down. July 20, 1982 - Two remote-controlled IRA bombs killed 11 members of the British Army in attacks on military ceremonies at Hyde Park and Regent's Park in central London. Nov. 8, 1987 - 11 people, including a police officer, were killed in an IRA bomb attack during a Remembrance Day ceremony in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh.

☆ HSBC brushes aside Hong Kong investor's Asia spin-off proposal
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-02 | by ( Selena Li | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

HONG KONG, April 3 (Reuters) - HSBC Holdings PLC (HSBA.L) on Monday pushed aside a proposal by an activist shareholder in Hong Kong to spin off its mainstay Asia business, reiterating the adverse impact on the Asia-focussed bank's cost and clients. The comment came as Ken Lui, an individual HSBC shareholder and leader of a Hong Kong-based investor group, called for the break up of the bank. The Hong Kong meeting is being held ahead of HSBC's main annual general meeting in the British city of Birmingham on May 5, to discuss its 2022 results and "other matters of interest", an earlier notice shows. On Lui's demand for higher dividends, Quinn told the Hong Kong shareholders that the London-headquartered bank intended to get the payouts back to pre-COVID level as soon as possible. ($1 = 7.8499 Hong Kong dollars)Reporting by Selena Li; Editing by Sumeet Chatterjee and Christopher CushingOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Wimbledon lifts ban on Russian and Belarusian players who will compete as 'neutral athletes'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Amar Mehta | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The Wimbledon logo amongst flowers The Championships at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 10, 2019 in London, England. Wimbledon has lifted a ban on Russian and Belarusian players from its tournament this year, with players agreeing to sign neutral declarations. Last year, players from Russia and Belarus were banned from Wimbledon in response to Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine. The Lawn Tennis Association was hit with a fine and world ranking points were removed from last year's Championships. Earlier this month, Russian player Daniil Medvedev said ahead of Indian Wells that he would respect any decision taken by organisers.

☆ How to talk to your aging parents about safe driving
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Chris Taylor | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

One person may represent a danger on the roads at age 65, while another may be perfectly fine at age 85. Upgrades can help them stay safe, including technologies to keep drivers from drifting out a lane, backup cameras and various other detection systems. Special licensing requirements for elderly drivers can help screen out problems with vision and cognition. Some states require more frequent renewal for older drivers, or demand regular vision checks, or prohibit online renewals altogether. For a few hundred dollars a year, you could get a $1 million policy that should let everyone sleep better at night – both you, and your parents.

☆ Goldman Sachs picks the winners and losers in regional banks after the SVB collapse
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Yun Li | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The banking crisis continues to keep investors on edge about the health of regional banks. Now Goldman Sachs has identified what it said are the biggest winners and losers in the industry in the aftermath of the Silicon Valley Bank collapse. The Wall Street investment bank said the biggest short-term risk for regional banks could come from shifting market shares of deposits as corporates look to diversify. Meanwhile, there is the potential that regional banks will need to "pay up" to prevent deposits from moving to other banks "or leave bank balance sheets entirely," Goldman said. These stocks are all down more than 20% in March as investors spooked by the crisis dumped regional bank shares.

☆ Australia's HMC Capital to buy hospitals from U.S. firm for $802 mln
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

March 30 (Reuters) - Australian asset manager HMC Capital Ltd (HMC.AX) said on Thursday it will buy 11 private hospitals from U.S.-based Medical Properties Trust (MPW.N) for A$1.20 billion ($802.08 million). The hospitals are currently managed by Brookfield Corp's (BN.TO) Healthscope, the second-largest private hospital operator in Australia. Additionally, HMC Capital will raise A$123 million to fund the transaction. "This acquisition transforms HCW into Australia's largest diversified healthcare REIT with greater exposure to critical healthcare infrastructure in Australia's major capital cities," said HMC Capital CEO David Di Pilla. HMC Capital is a Sydney-based asset manager founded and backed by banker-turned-investor David Di Pilla.

☆ Rent prices drop for a third straight month–here's where they fell the most
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Mike Winters | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

U.S. rent prices decreased by 0.25% from January to February 2023, according to the latest data from rental listings site Rent.com. While it's a smaller decrease than in previous months, it brings the U.S. monthly average rent price down to $1,937 — lower than its August 2022 peak of $2,053. Even with the recent dip in prices, year-over-year U.S. rent prices are still up 1.7% as of February. However, that's a remarkable climb down considering that year-over-year rent growth was double digits for most of 2022. Raleigh, North Carolina, has seen the most growth, with a year-over-year rent price increase of 19% as of February, according to Rent.com.

☆ The government is cracking down on online prescriptions. Patients with addiction and the startups caring for them are caught up in the fight.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Blake Dodge | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Proposed rules would limit online addiction treatmentIn February, the Drug Enforcement Administration, or DEA, published much-anticipated rules meant to set the record straight on online prescribing. The rules, if implemented, generally don't allow providers to prescribe controlled medications online if they don't see the patients in person. For buprenorphine and other drugs, there's an exception that would allow for initial 30-day prescriptions for online patients. Some patients are flights away from in-person careFor some patients, especially in rural areas, in-person appointments are hard to find. Last year, Alabama passed a new law prohibiting providers from prescribing controlled drugs to patients they hadn't seen in person within the past year.

☆ A Mississippi meteorologist prayed on-air for small-town residents as a deadly tornado barreled toward them: VIDEO
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-26 | by ( Aidan Pollard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A deadly tornado ripped through Mississippi and Alabama Friday, killing at least 26 people. As the storm neared the small city of Amory, Mississippi, a local weatherman prayed for residents' safety. He prayed for the residents of Amory, Mississippi — pleading on air for people to stay safe just minutes before the tornado reached them. Amory is a small town of about 6,500 in northeastern Mississippi situated between Birmingham, Alabama, and Memphis, Tennessee. The tornado left a trail of destruction in Amory, directly hitting the city's water department, according to the New York Times.

[1/5] Badminton - All England Open Badminton Championships - Utilita Arena, Birmingham, Britain - March 19, 2023 South Korea's An Se-young celebrates on the podium after winning the women's singles final Action Images via Reuters/Andrew BoyersBIRMINGHAM, England, March 19 (Reuters) - South Korea's An Se Young smashed her way to the women's singles title at the All England Open badminton championships on Sunday, beating Tokyo 2020 Olympics gold medallist Chen Yu Fei of China. "I'm so tremendously happy," said An, 21, who had knocked Tokyo Olympics silver medallist Tai Tzu Ying of Taiwan out in the semi-finals on Saturday. It was touch-and-go for An in the second half of the final game, with Chen pressing with aggressive smashes and smart backhands. China beat South Korea in the mixed doubles final 21-16 16-21 21-12. Later on Sunday, Li Shi Feng will play fellow Chinese shuttler Shi Yu Qi in the men's final.

☆ Wanted: new owner to run The Crooked House, Britain's 'wonkiest pub' that's been serving pints for almost 200 years
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-18 | by ( Ryan Hogg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Ambitious buyers have the chance to own what's been dubbed the "wonkiest pub" in Britain. The Crooked House near Dudley has gone on the market at a guide price of just over $800,000. If you don't mind tilting your head a bit, The Crooked House could be the one for you. "This is a chance to own what has been called Britain's wonkiest pub and Britain's drunkest pub. A Marston's representative told The Times that The Crooked House was expected to remain as a pub under a new owner.

☆ Homebuilders say demand is rising, but they're concerned about a banking fallout
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Diana Olick | In Dianaolick | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index rose two points to 44. "But given recent instability concerns in the banking system and volatility in interest rates, builders are highly uncertain about the near- and medium-term outlook." Of the index's three components, current sales conditions rose two points to 49, and buyer traffic rose three points to 31. Accordingly, the housing market continues shifting as growing household and family formation continued to drive demand against a chronic supply shortage." In the South it rose five points to 45, and in the West it moved four points higher to 34.

☆ The top 3 U.S. cities where new rental apartments have gotten smaller—and NYC isn't one of them
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-11 | by ( Kamaron Mcnair | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The share of one-bedroom and studio apartments grew to 57% of new apartments in 2022, up from exactly half of new builds 10 years ago. That's part of why the average size of all apartments has shrunk. Cities where new apartments have gotten smallerNew Yorkers may be the first to tell you how small their living spaces are. Tucson, Arizona, leads, the pack, and its new apartments beats the next city's — Tallahassee, Florida's — growth by over 100 square feet. The average new apartment size grew the most in these 15 cities:How to get the most out of your space

☆ Pickleball is America’s fastest-growing sport. These people hate it
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-11 | by ( Nathaniel Meyersohn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

The sound and disruption from pickleball, America’s fastest-growing sport, is driving some neighbors, tennis players, parents of young children, and others crazy. Pickleball is America's fastest-growing sport. Some tennis players are also frustrated because pickleball is taking over tennis courts. There were 11,000 places to play Pickleball at the end of 2022, an increase of around 130 new locations a month, according to USA Pickleball, the sport’s national governing body. People play pickleball on what were once tennis courts at Allendale Park in Pasadena, CA, in 2022.

☆ North Carolina lawmakers intervene to defend abortion pill restrictions in case testing FDA power
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

North Carolina has divided government. Stein told North Carolina lawmakers the FDA determined that restrictions like those in North Carolina unduly burden patients' access to a safe and effective drug. A federal judge on Friday allowed North Carolina lawmakers to defend restrictions on the abortion pill mifepristone, after the state attorney general declined to do so. The abortion pill has become the central flashpoint in the battle over abortion access since the Supreme Court overturned Roe. Democratic attorneys general have asked a federal judge in Washington state to declare the remaining FDA restrictions on mifepristone unconstitutional.

☆ Frank Sinatra musical looking at singer's life and career to open in UK
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, March 9 (Reuters) - A new musical about the life and career of legendary singer and performer Frank Sinatra will open in the British city of Birmingham later this year. "Sinatra The Musical" will debut at the Birmingham Rep on Sept. 23, coinciding with the 70th anniversary of the "Come Fly with Me" and "New York, New York" singer’s UK tour, during which he performed in the city. The musical will look at the impact his affair with actress Ava Gardner had on his career, and how he staged "the greatest comeback in showbiz history". "Growing up, there were two pictures hanging in my grandmother's kitchen -- The Pope and Frank Sinatra. "Sinatra The Musical", which has Olivier and Tony Award-winning director and choreographer Kathleen Marshall at the helm, will run until Oct. 28.

☆ UK regulator cracks down on illicit London crypto ATMs
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Signage is seen for the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority), the UK's financial regulatory body, at their head offices in London, Britain March 10, 2022. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File PhotoLONDON, March 8 (Reuters) - Britain's markets regulator and police have swooped on suspected illegal crypto cashpoints (ATMs) across east London as authorities step up attempts to disrupt unregistered businesses deemed high risk for consumers. The inspections were conducted under money laundering regulations, which allow officers to enter premises without a warrant, observe activities, seek explanations about documents or information and take copies. Crypto ATMs (CATMs) allow people to buy or convert money into cryptoassets. "But there is also definitely an element of fear and uncertainty about what the FCA is going to do next."

☆ Republican states say the FDA doesn't have the authority to override state abortion pill bans
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Boxes of the medication Mifepristone used to induce a medical abortion are prepared for patients at Planned Parenthood health center in Birmingham, Alabama, March 14, 2022. The Food and Drug Administration's power to approve drugs does not override state bans on the abortion pill, a coalition of Republican attorneys general told a federal judge this week. The company has asked the court to overturn West Virginia's abortion ban, arguing that it conflicts with how the FDA regulates mifepristone under federal law. The GOP attorneys general said West Virginia's law does not completely ban the abortion pill. "A State's police power does not extend to functionally banning an article of interstate commerce — the Constitution leaves that to Congress," the company's lawyers wrote.

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