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☆ Shanghai Disney visitors told to stay home after COVID case, Foxconn ups bonuses
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

SHANGHAI, Nov 1 (Reuters) - Several Shanghai residents received fresh stay-at-home orders and mandatory testing notices on Tuesday as authorities raced to trace contacts linked to a COVID-positive woman whose visit to the city's Disney Resort prompted its temporary lockdown. The Shanghai Disney Resort on Monday abruptly shut its gates, locking in all visitors at the time and only allowing them to leave, hours later, after they had tested negative for the virus. Marvis He was among Disney visitors caught up in the resort's lockdown, having flown in from Shenzhen in hopes of enjoying the park's Halloween themed fireworks. Foxconn has been one of the biggest corporate names affected by a quasi-lockdown of Zhengzhou, a major logistics hub in central China. In recent days, videos appearing to show departing Foxconn workers laden with luggage and walking along village roads towards their home towns have gone viral on Chinese social media.

"With the zero-COVID policy here to stay, we think the economy will continue to struggle heading into 2023," Zichun Huang, economist at Capital Economics, said in a research note. At this month's twice-a-decade Communist Party Congress, President Xi Jinping reiterated China's commitment to its zero-COVID policy, disappointing investors and countless Chinese frustrated by lockdowns, travel curbs and testing. "We don't expect the zero-COVID policy to be abandoned until 2024, which means virus disruptions will keep in-person services activity subdued," said Huang from Capital Economics. New cases in mainland China hit 2,898 on Sunday, topping 2,000 for a second straight day, a tiny number by global standards. However, in Beijing the Universal Resort theme park reopened on Monday after being shut last week because one visitor had tested positive for coronavirus.

☆ Chinese cities clamp down on COVID as cases rise before winter season
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

In Guangdong province, manufacturing centre Guangzhou has seen a spate of cases over the past week that has closed some districts. Over the past week, authorities raced to get a handle on rising cases in Datong, Xining, Nanjing, Xian, Zhengzhou and Wuhan forcing temporary lockdown measures of some neighbourhoods. Datong, which recorded 288 cases from Oct. 27-30, has enforced stricter isolation and management of hotels, key industries and its railway. As winter nears, northern cities, particularly those close to international borders, are seeing higher case numbers and could face new curbs. Mudanjiang in Heilongjiang province, bordering North Korea, extended the temporary lockdown of some areas, according to local media reports.

☆ Politics and your portfolio: Midterm elections create uncertainty for markets
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( Stephanie Dhue | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Voters file down the hall as early voting begins for the midterm elections at the Citizens Service Center in Columbus, Georgia, on Oct. 17, 2022. So with the midterm elections now a week away but the outcome still not in focus, does it make sense to make those adjustments now? Financial advisors say it's best to adjust your portfolio based on your financial goals and not on the outcome of any event. The market has a 'very distinct' midterms patternHistorically, stocks tend to do better after midterm elections. In 17 of the 19 midterm elections held since 1946, stocks performed better in the six months after the election than they did in the six months prior.

☆ China's Xi says willing to work with United States for mutual benefit
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BEIJING, Oct 27 (Reuters) - President Xi Jinping said China is willing to work with the United States to find ways to get along to the benefit of both, state broadcaster CCTV reported on Thursday. As major powers, China and the United States should strengthen communication and cooperation to help provide stability to the world, Xi said in a message to an event of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations on Wednesday. The two countries have been at odds over China's policy towards Taiwan, China's relationship with Russia and more recently, U.S. efforts to prevent its semiconductor companies selling technology to Chinese companies. China said the United States was sending "dangerous signals" on the self-ruled island, which China claims as its own. read moreU.S. President Joe Biden on Wednesday said "the United State does not seek conflict with China."

REUTERS/Cheney Orr/File PhotoWASHINGTON, Oct 26 (Reuters) - Two in five U.S. voters say they are worried about threats of violence or voter intimidation at polling stations during the country's midterm elections, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll. But officials in Arizona, a key battleground, have already asked the federal government to probe a case of possible voter intimidation, after people casting ballots were conspicuously filmed and followed. Kathy Boockvar, a former top election official for Pennsylvania, said fears of voter intimidation and violence run counter to American tradition. Among the registered voters polled by Reuters/Ipsos, 43% were concerned about threats of violence or voter intimidation while voting in person. About two-thirds of Republicans and one-third of Democrats think voter fraud is a widespread problem, the Reuters/Ipsos poll found.

☆ RBNZ Governor Orr: New Zealand is relatively well positioned but inflation too high
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Lucy Craymer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WELLINGTON, Oct 27 (Reuters) - New Zealand's central bank governor, Adrian Orr, said on Thursday that while the country was relatively well positioned to meet challenges inflation remains too high. Orr added that the central bank had its eyes firmly focused on meeting its inflation target of 1% to 3%. "New Zealand is relatively well positioned but inflation is still too high in an absolute sense," he said in a speech to the Institute of Finance Professionals of New Zealand in Auckland. New Zealand's central bank in early October lifted interest rates to a seven-year high and promised more pain to come as it struggles to cool inflation at near three decade highs in an over-stretched economy. New Zealand's central bank is due to release its twice yearly Financial Stability report on Nov. 2.

FILE PHOTO: A health worker wears a protective suit near a testing booth as outbreaks of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continue in Beijing, China, Oct. 23, 2022. An index measuring road freight transport turnover tumbled 26.2% on Oct. 21 from a year prior versus a 23.7% drop a week earlier, according to Nomura. New local infections fell 24% to 6,096 during Oct. 18-24 from a week earlier. Zhengzhou’s metro traffic slumped 79% from Oct. 11 to Oct. 15, according to the latest available data. Metro traffic in Guangzhou dropped 8.8% during Oct. 18-24 from the previous week, Reuters calculations based on data released by local metro operators showed.

☆ As Big Law looks to tech to help draft legal briefs and log billing hours, top firms like Orrick and Shearman & Sterling are using AI to fast-track work on M&A deals
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Sindhu Sundar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Top Big Law firms like Shearman & Sterling, White & Case, and Orrick use artificial intelligence. AI tools by companies like Thomson Reuters, Litera, and Evisort are helping firms manage M&A work. Shearman & Sterling uses a wide variety of AI tools for different uses — one of the firm's go-tos for deals due diligence is Kira, a tool owned by Litera, a document-technology company that works with law firms. Even more said that over the next five years, they expected most M&A work at their firms to be supported by AI. The company uses tools such as Brainspace and Relativity, Janet Sullivan, the firm's global director of practice technology, said.

☆ Beijing reports 16 symptomatic, 8 asymptomatic COVID cases for Oct 13
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

BEIJING, Oct 14 (Reuters) - China's capital Beijing reported 16 symptomatic new locally transmitted COVID-19 infections and eight asymptomatic cases for Oct. 13, local government authorities said on Friday. This compared with 12 symptomatic and six asymptomatic cases the day before. Three cases on Thursday were found outside quarantined areas. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Shanghai newsroom; Writing by Bernard Orr; Editing by Christian SchmollingerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ China reports 1,456 new COVID cases for Oct 13 vs 1,624 a day earlier
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/Aly SongSHANGHAI, Oct 14 (Reuters) - China reported 1,456 new COVID-19 infections for Oct. 13, of which 313 were symptomatic and 1,143 were asymptomatic, the National Health Commission said on Friday. That compared with 1,624 new cases a day earlier - 372 symptomatic and 1,252 asymptomatic, which China counts separately. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterAs of Oct. 13, mainland China had confirmed 255,168 cases with symptoms. Capital city Beijing reported 16 symptomatic cases and eight asymptomatic cases, compared with 12 symptomatic and six asymptomatic the previous day. Financial hub Shanghai reported 47 asymptomatic cases and two symptomatic cases, compared with 44 asymptomatic and three symptomatic a day before.

☆ Oh my gourd! Pumpkin spice trend is a $500 mln industry in U.S.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-06 | by ( Eric Cox | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Oct 6 (Reuters) - From the perennial popularity of Starbucks' Pumpkin Spice Lattes to the annual introduction of creative new pumpkin-related products, like Hefty's already sold-out pumpkin-scented trash bags, the brightly-colored crop seems to hold a special place in the hearts, minds and wallets of Americans. Nielsen data reveals Americans spend about half a billion dollars on pumpkin spice products every year. According to coffee giant Starbucks (SBUX.O), Pumpkin Spice Lattes earned the company its best sales week of all time when the drink was reintroduced to fans on Aug. 30. "Pumpkins also created a nice culture with pumpkin spice donuts, drinks, everything. "But those modern-day traditions actually date back to much older traditions of associating the pumpkin with a small family farm.

☆ California governor signs bill offering legal refuge to transgender youths
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-30 | by ( Jo Yurcaba | Jo Yurcaba Is A Reporter For Nbc Out. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

Gavin Newsom signed a bill Thursday that aims to legally protect transgender youths and their parents if they flee conservative states that have restricted access to gender-affirming care. The bill seeks to “offer refuge” to trans minors and their families “if they’re being criminalized in their home states,” state Sen. Scott Wiener, who introduced the bill, said on Twitter after Newsom signed it. Kay Ivey signed a bill that makes it a felony for medical professionals to provide gender-affirming medical care to people under 19. “We believe that no one should be prosecuted or persecuted for getting the care they need — including gender-affirming care,” Newsom said in a statement after signing the measure. It prohibits California health care providers from releasing medical information in relation to other states’ laws prohibiting gender-affirming care for minors.

☆ U.S. whistleblowers aiding migrant children feared retaliation -watchdog
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( Ted Hesson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Jose Luis Gonzalez/File PhotoWASHINGTON, Sept 27 (Reuters) - U.S. government workers feared retaliation for raising concerns last year about the treatment of unaccompanied migrant children on a Texas military base, where children have been held amid record arrivals at the U.S.-Mexico border, according to a watchdog report released on Tuesday. There are currently 589 children at the base, the official said, and children stay, on average, for 13 days before being released to parents or other sponsors. ORR's parent agency agreed with all the report's recommendations, including ensuring that employees and contractors are aware of whistleblower protections. In a letter to the inspector general, the agency pledged to more explicitly specify the protections in contractor agreements and trainings. To alleviate overcrowding in border stations, HHS opened several emergency shelters to house unaccompanied children until they could be placed with sponsors in the United States.

☆ First, Smear All the Lawyers
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-22 | by ( Kevyn Orr | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Other than that, his portrait of Jones Day and the legal profession bears little resemblance to reality. According to that tradition, truth and justice are secured through a vigorously contested adversarial system, in which all litigants have lawyers who represent them. As many Jones Day lawyers told him, the firm represents clients, not causes; it has no political agenda. Jones Day lawyers span the political spectrum, supporting Democratic and Republican candidates alike. It defends clients from lawsuits, investigations and prosecutions, and sometimes represents clients who run for public office.

Abortion rights demonstrators protest outside the House chambers in the Indiana Statehouse during a special session to debate banning abortion in Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S. August 2, 2022. REUTERS/Cheney Orr/File PhotoSept 19 (Reuters) - A Planned Parenthood affiliate and other abortion rights groups and providers on Monday urged an Indiana judge to block the state's ban on most abortions, which took effect last Thursday. The ACLU sued to challenge the law alongside Planned Parenthood Great Northwest, Hawai'i, Alaska, Indiana, Kentucky and others. He argued the ban puts Indiana residents' health at risk and that Hanlon should put it on hold while she considers the case. "That history forecloses any legitimate claim to a right to have an abortion under the Indiana constitution," he said.

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