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☆ Opinion | What Janet Yellen Needs to Tell China’s Leaders
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-03 | by ( Peter Coy | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

It would be great if Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen had a copy of “The Portable Karl Marx” with her on her trip to China this week. China was “among the most unequal countries in the world” in 2018, another I.M.F. working paper released that year said. While Xi Jinping name-checks Marx, it’s clear from his behavior that what he really pursues is national greatness under the direction of the Chinese Communist Party. That’s more in line with Lenin, who believed that a “vanguard” party would lead the proletariat, than with Marx or Engels.

Persons: Janet Yellen, Karl Marx ”, Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping, ” Marx, Xi, Marx, it’s, Lenin, Engels Organizations: International Monetary Fund, Chinese Communist Party Locations: China, Brazil

☆ A New Chapter for Irish Historians’ ‘Saddest Book’
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-01 | by ( Ed O Loughlin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In the first pitched battle of the civil war that shaped a newly independent Ireland, seven centuries of history burned. On June 30, 1922, forces for and against an accommodation with Britain, Ireland’s former colonial ruler, had been fighting for three days around Dublin’s main court complex. The national Public Record Office was part of the complex, and that day it was caught in a colossal explosion. “This happened just after the First World War, when all over Europe new states like Ireland were emerging from old empires. They were all trying to recover and celebrate their own histories and cultures, and now Ireland had just lost the heart of its own.”

Persons: ”, Peter Crooks Organizations: Trinity College Dublin Locations: Ireland, Britain, Dublin’s, “, Europe

☆ Opinion | Unproductive Agriculture Is Holding Africa Back
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-01 | by ( Peter Coy | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

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☆ People injured on the Latam Boeing 787 that dropped midair last month are being offered up to $7,650 in compensation, law firm says
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-01 | by ( Taylor Rains | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Latam Airlines has offered money to passengers injured in a midair drop last month, a law firm said. A law firm representing 15 passengers said the payouts range between $2,000 and $7,650. AdvertisementLatam Airlines is offering some passengers thousands of dollars in compensation after one of its widebody planes dropped midair over the Pacific Ocean in March, according to one law firm. Carter Capner Law, a firm representing 15 Latam Flight 800 passengers, told the Australian news outlet News.com.au on Monday that the airline has offered between $2,000 and $7,650 in cash to those injured in the eveny. There "is no longer a limit on compensation" in this case, Carter told Stuff Travel.

Persons: —, Carter Capner, Carter Capner Law, Peter Carter, News.com.au, Carter, Latam, Brian Jokat Organizations: Latam Airlines, Montreal Convention, Service, Latam, Boeing, Business, CNN, RNZ, Street Journal, Russian, Ural Airlines, Airbus Locations: New Zealand, Australia, Brazil, Montreal, Sydney, Auckland , New Zealand

☆ How Dana Walden could defy critics and become Disney's first female CEO
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-01 | by ( Alex Sherman | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +22 min

The appointment would make Walden the first female CEO of the Walt Disney Co. in its 100-year history. "Anybody they choose will have never been the Disney CEO prior to that." At Disney, Walden has hit several home runs, including FX's "The Bear," Hulu's "The Dropout" and "Only Murderers in the Building," and ABC's "Abbott Elementary." Former Disney CEO Bob Chapek CNBCChapek climbed the corporate ladder at Disney for 30 years by showcasing his business and finance chops. Combating female stereotypesIf Walden were appointed CEO, she would be the first woman to run the century-old company.

Persons: Dana Walden, Disney Entertainment Rich Polk, Peter Chernin, Rupert, Walden, Bob Iger, he'd, Fox, Chernin, Peter Roth, Roth, Peter Chernin Getty, Josh D'Amaro, Jimmy Pitaro, Alan Bergman, Nelson, Peltz, Iger, Bob Chapek, Walden's, Bergman, she's, hasn't, —, Walden —, Dana doesn't, Jennifer Salke, Jennifer Salke Stephen Desaulniers, CNBC Walden, Richard Plepler, Craig Hunegs, Carol Burnett's, Carrie Hamilton, George Burns, Dean Martin, roasts, Martin, Buddy Hackett, Matt Walden, Bender, Goldman, she'd, Arsenio, Lucie Sulhany, Dana Walden Jason Laveris, Gary Newman, Newman, It's, Dana, Ryan Murphy, John Landgraf, Jan, Seth MacFarlane, Guy, Tuck, MacFarlane, Murphy, Steve Levitan, Dan Fogelman, Rick Rosen, Rosen, Howard Gordon, Levitan, Peter Rice, Rice, wasn't, Chapek, Rich Appel, Gary, it's, Percy Jackson, didn't, Bob Chapek CNBC Chapek, showrunners, Scarlett Johansson, Kristina Schake, Jay Sures, Sures, Amazon's Salke, Greta Gerwig, Gloria, Murphy's, Miss Jones, There's, Steve Levitan Peter, Hopper, Critics, She's, Salke, WME's Rosen Organizations: Disney Entertainment, Getty, Century Fox Filmed Entertainment, Rupert Murdoch's News Corp, Walt Disney Co, Century Fox, Fox, Century Fox Television, Warner Bros, Disney, ESPN, Entertainment, CNBC, Trian Partners, Iger, Amazon Studios, HBO, Disney TV Studios, Hollywood, Westlake School for Girls, Harvard, Westlake School, The Friars Club, University of Southern, Paramount, Paramount Domestic Television, Filmmagic, Fox Broadcasting, Walden, CBS, FX Networks, Bob Chapek CNBC, Indiana University, Michigan State University, United Talent Agency, Hulu Locations: Santa Barbara , California, Walden, Brentwood , California, She's, Disney's, Studio City, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, University of Southern California, Chapek, Hollywood, Walden's, Iger, America

☆ Opinion | Can Intel Serve Two Masters?
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-29 | by ( Peter Coy | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

This week I interviewed Pat Gelsinger, the chief executive of Intel, which is one of the most important companies in the United States. To Biden and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, the special thing about Intel is that it doesn’t just design chips in the United States, as, for example, the current stock market darling Nvidia does. It’s planning to spend $100 billion over five years on manufacturing and research and development projects in Arizona, New Mexico, Ohio and Oregon. While all three of those rivals have some U.S. production, Intel is the only one that has U.S. headquarters and its most advanced production and process technology R & D in the United States. Raimondo, at the announcement in Arizona, called Intel “America’s champion semiconductor company.”

Persons: Pat Gelsinger, Biden, Gina Raimondo, “, Raimondo, ” Organizations: Intel, Biden, Nvidia, Commerce Department, T.S.M.C, Samsung Locations: United States, Arizona , New Mexico , Ohio, Oregon, Taiwan, South Korea, Abu Dhabi, Arizona

☆ Opinion | What Does True Consent Look Like for Consumers?
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-27 | by ( Peter Coy | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A man with a squeegee cleans your windshield while your car is stopped and then asks for money. Society expects that when we sit down in a barber chair, we’re implicitly agreeing to exchange money for a shearing. What constitutes consent is an unsettled aspect of law, and there are big economic implications. There are also debates about express consent, which seems like it would be cut and dried but actually isn’t. There are several spheres of life where questions of consent are bubbling up.

Persons: we’re, Henrietta Lacks Organizations: . Society

☆ Opinion | Why I Can’t Wait for the Sun to Go Dark
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-25 | by ( Peter Coy | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In 1991, I went to Teotihuacán, Mexico, to watch a total solar eclipse from the Pyramids of the Sun and the Moon. At the time of totality, it just got really dark. I didn’t see a hole in the sky surrounded by a shimmering corona or any other eclipse phenomena: Baily’s beads, the diamond ring. Eclipse-watching, on the other hand, is very much like economics in that it’s vulnerable to all kinds of uncontrollable effects. “People laugh, cry, stare dumbfounded, jump up and down,” Peter Tyson, editor in chief of Sky & Telescope magazine, wrote in a special issue this year.

Persons: …, dumbfounded, ” Peter Tyson, ” Kate Russo Organizations: Sun, Sky & Locations: Teotihuacán, Mexico, Plattsburgh, N.Y, Lake Champlain

☆ Opinion | Will A.I. Take All Our Jobs? This Economist Suggests Maybe Not.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-22 | by ( Peter Coy | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Let’s say for now that the day comes when robots and artificial intelligence can outperform human beings at every conceivable job, from waxing floors to waxing eyebrows to waxing philosophical at a lectern. “It’s very possible that regular humans will have plentiful, high-paying jobs in the age of A.I. dominance — often doing much the same kind of work that they’re doing right now,” he wrote Sunday on his Substack. I ran Smith’s argument by several economists who think a lot about these issues, and they were skeptical. But there’s so much pessimism around the future of work these days that Smith’s take comes as a welcome ray of sunshine.

Persons: Noah Smith, “, ”, Smith, Martha Stewart Organizations: Revolution

☆ Official Amazon HR document reveals a spike in employees put on PIPs during a time of record layoffs
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-20 | by ( Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Layoffs vs. terminationsThe spike in PIPs coincided with 27,000 layoffs that Amazon announced between November 2022 and March 2023. "Managers, however, do not engage in performance management work eagerly. "To suggest we use our performance management process to drive any other outcome, such as reducing our employee base, is wrong," Callahan added in a statement. PIPs and quiet firingSome Amazon employees previously told BI that the company had put more people on PIPs as part of what they perceived as the quiet-firing push. Amazon had roughly 400,000 total corporate employees in that period, according to another internal document obtained by BI.

Persons: They're, aren't, Margaret Callahan, Callahan, Erik Gordon, David Ryder, cumulatively, Peter Cappelli, Cappelli, Amazon's, couldn't, Eugene Kim, Peter Capelli Organizations: Amazon, Business, Experience, Technology, BI, University of Michigan, Pivot Employees, University of Pennsylvania, Wharton's Center, Human Resources

☆ Opinion | What Makes a Coincidence Meaningful?
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-18 | by ( Peter Coy | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

There are two kinds of people in the world: People who say, “What a coincidence,” and people who say, “Just a coincidence.” Same facts, different reactions. I attended an economics conference in the World Trade Center on Sept. 10, 2001, and decided not to go back for the second day. (The conference was below ground level, so everybody who stayed for Sept. 11 got out safely, for what it’s worth.) For example, rolling a die and getting 6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6 seems more surprising than getting, say, 6-2-4-5-1-3-2-5-4-6, but the two are equally probable. Remember that it’s any two people, not necessarily you and someone else, so there are many potential pairs.

Persons: I’m, It’s, you’d Organizations: World Trade Locations: Eldena ,

☆ This company is using the AI that powers ChatGPT to help warehouse robots expect the unexpected
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-17 | by ( Lloyd Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Since its founding, Covaraint has secured around $222 million in funding, Business Insider previously reported. And the company's software already powers sorting robots in warehouses across the globe, according to the Times. AdvertisementBut by relying on the same underlying technology ChatGPT uses, the robots powered by Covariant's software can learn through trial and error. A spokesperson for Covariant did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

Persons: —, ChatGPT, Pieter Abbeel, Peter Chen, Rocky Duan, Tianhao Zhang, Abbeel, Chen, Duan, Covaraint Organizations: Service, The New York Times, Business, Times, The Times, YouTube, University of California Locations: California, The, Berkeley

☆ Opinion | Working in Old Age Can’t Be the Only Answer to the Retirement Crisis
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-15 | by ( Peter Coy | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

“Is this what America’s retirement system has come to?” she asks. “Are we heading for a TikTok pension system?”Ghilarducci argues that working longer is not the solution to America’s retirement crisis, in which millions of people don’t have enough money for a comfortable old age. The most important fix, she says, is to shore up Social Security and complement it with a new automatic-enrollment pension plan for workers who lack access to an employer-sponsored retirement plan. I’ve been arguing that working longer kind of is the solution for the retirement crisis, or at least part of the solution. “Yes, Granny deserves a good job if she wants one,” she writes, “but working until you drop is not a civilized plan for a civilized society.”

Persons: Teresa Ghilarducci, —, Ghilarducci, I’ve, I’m, Granny, ” Organizations: Walmart, Social Security, New School for Social Research Locations: New, New York

☆ Opinion | Yes, the Internet Is Broken. But What Does a Fix Look Like?
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-13 | by ( Peter Coy | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Tuesday was the 35th anniversary of the day that Tim Berners-Lee of the European Organization for Nuclear Research wrote the memo proposing what became the World Wide Web. I think it’s fair to say, though, that most people are not in the mood to celebrate what has become of Sir Timothy’s invention. It’s common to hear that the internet is broken and that social media is a dumpster fire. A lot go in the right direction, but I haven’t seen anything that seems likely to fully solve the many problems of today’s internet, from invasions of privacy to incitements of violence. Lasting solutions, if there are any, are likely to come from a combination of technological, legal and cultural approaches.

Persons: Tim Berners, Lee, Elizabeth II, Sir, I’ve Organizations: European Organization for Nuclear Research Locations: United States

☆ Opinion | Flau’jae and Wyclef Jean Are Rapping About Personal Finance. Good.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-08 | by ( Peter Coy | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Flau’jae, the 20-year-old star of basketball and hip-hop, does not manage $1.3 trillion in assets for clients. She also does not have an army of financial advisers and economists at her disposal. Listen to “Paper Right,” a recently released hip-hop track recorded by Wyclef Jean, a founding member of the Fugees, with guest appearances by artists including Flau’jae, Pusha T, Lola Brooke and Capella Grey. I wrote on Monday about a program that teaches math through personal finance and personal finance through math. You have to keep your eyes on the prize — and to know that there’s a prize you should want in the first place.

Persons: ”, Wyclef Jean, Pusha, Lola Brooke, Capella Grey, TIAA’s, there’s, Jean Organizations: Teachers Insurance

☆ Opinion | Please, President Biden: Don’t Blame Corporate Greed for Inflation
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-06 | by ( Peter Coy | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

I hope President Biden doesn’t show up for his State of the Union address on Thursday with a Snickers bar. Biden is obsessed with high prices because voters are, and he knows that to beat Donald Trump in November he needs to make a strong case that he’s wrestling inflation to the ground. But there are good ways and bad ways to fight inflation. One of the bad ways, I think, is to put the blame on price gouging and corporate greed, as Biden has done on numerous occasions. Gouging refers to abrupt, extreme price increases to take advantage of temporary scarcity, often accompanied by hoarding.

Persons: Biden doesn’t, Biden, Donald Trump Organizations: Politico, Times

☆ Money market funds saw record inflows even as stocks continued their climb to fresh highs
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-04 | by ( Michelle Fox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Total assets in money market funds have hit a new record high, according to the latest data from the Investment Company Institute. The funds, which still have yields above 5%, saw total assets hit $6.06 trillion for the week ended Feb. 28, the firm said . While some on Wall Street think some of the cash in money markets will move into stocks, Crane has said there is no correlation between the two. Instead, money markets are competing with bank deposits, he believes. The annualized seven-day yield on the Crane 100 list of the 100 largest taxable money funds is currently 5.14%.

Persons: Peter Crane, January's, Moody's, Crane, Teresa Ho Organizations: Investment Company Institute, New York Community Bancorp, Crane, New, New York Community, Fitch, JPMorgan, CNBC Locations: New, New York

☆ Opinion | The Key to Better Math Education? Explaining Money.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-04 | by ( Peter Coy | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

I offer to pay you $200 in one year if you give me $190 today. It’s the kind of math problem you might encounter in real life, as opposed to, say, whether the cosecant of a 30-degree angle is 1 or 2. Math and personal finance make a perfect fit. A survey in 2022 funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation found that 61 percent of parents of students said math education should be “relevant to the real world” but that only 21 percent said it was. Some of America’s top universities are incorporating personal finance into their curriculums.

Persons: Bill, Melinda Gates Organizations: Melinda Gates Foundation

☆ Opinion | With So Many Flavors of Inflation, Which Should We Care About?
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-01 | by ( Peter Coy | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

As a kid I was dazzled that Howard Johnson’s had 28 flavors of ice cream, including lemon stick and strawberry ripple. As an adult I am equally impressed by the number of flavors of inflation. There are dozens of ways to measure price changes, each serving a different purpose. The big news on Thursday was an increase in one particular flavor of inflation, the price index for core services excluding housing. In other words, the inflation you experience depends on the things you buy.

Persons: Howard Johnson’s Organizations: Federal Reserve, of Labor Statistics, Labor Department, Commerce Department Locations: U.S

☆ Kroger, Albertsons and the New Antitrust Playbook - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-28 | by ( Peter Coy | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

“The proposed acquisition is by far the largest supermarket merger in U.S. history,” one that would unite “the No. 2 traditional supermarket chains in the United States,” it says in its complaint. is correct on the numbers, but the key word is “traditional.” Traditional supermarket chains no longer dominate the grocery business. Kroger is a distant second to Walmart, with a 10 percent market share, and Albertsons is fourth (behind Costco Wholesale), with 6 percent. So even if Kroger and Albertsons merged, they would be only a little more than half of Walmart’s size.

Organizations: Kroger Co, Albertsons Companies Inc, titans, Federal Trade Commission, Albertsons, Walmart, Sam’s Club, Solomon Partners, Kroger, Costco Wholesale Locations: United States

☆ Hong Kong property stocks jump after city scraps cooling measures
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-28 | by ( Lee Ying Shan | In Ying-Shan-Lee | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

An urban view of high-rise buildings at dusk as seen from Hong Kong's Victoria Peak. Stocks of Hong Kong developers rose after Financial Secretary Paul Chan scrapped property cooling measures in a bid to bolster the sector, which has been weighed down by high borrowing costs and weak economic sentiment. Churchouse added that this could "be a bit of a positive flip" for the wider Hong Kong stock market as it is highly correlated with the residential property market. Hong Kong's stock markets have plunged around 40% from its highs a couple of years ago. Hong Kong's government is also rolling out over 1 billion Hong Kong dollars ($127 million) to support its tourism industry.

Persons: Chan, Paul Chan, Peter Churchouse, Churchouse, Hong Organizations: Hong, Portwood, Kong's Monetary, Hong Kong Locations: Hong, Victoria, Hong Kong

☆ Hong Kong budget: Real estate expert discusses the scrapping of property curbs
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-28 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailHong Kong budget: Real estate expert discusses the scrapping of property curbsPeter Churchouse, managing director of Portwood Capital, discusses Hong Kong's budget for 2024-25 and explains why he's rethinking his forecast on property prices.

Persons: Churchouse Organizations: Hong, Portwood Locations: Hong Kong

☆ The least-visited national parks in the United States in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-26 | by ( Marnie Hunter | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

The state of Alaska — which covers 665,384 square miles (426 million acres) — is home to five of the 15 least-visited national parks for 2023. Wrangell-St. Elias National Park & Preserve, Alaska - 78,305 recreation visitsAmerica’s largest national park, Wrangell-St. Elias encompasses 13.2 million acres — or about the size of Yellowstone National Park, Yosemite National Park and Switzerland combined, the Park Service says. Dry Tortugas National Park, Florida - 84,285 recreation visitsThis island park in Florida is among 20 National Park Service sites that broke visitation records in 2023. Channel Islands National Park, California - 328,746 recreation visitsStretching over five islands and the surrounding ocean, Channel Islands National Park offer opportunities to hike, snorkel, kayak, birdwatch and more. While Pinnacles may rank among the 15 least-visited national parks, it gets very busy on weekends, holidays and throughout the spring, according to a notice on the park’s website.

Persons: Alaska’s Gates, “, ” Peter Christian, fa’asamoa, Gates, ”, Katmai, Brooks Camp, Elias, Lumir, Nabesna, McCarthy Organizations: CNN, &, CNN Travel, of, Park Service, National Parks, & Preserve, South Pacific, Hawaiian Airlines, Lake Clark, National Park Service, Getty, Isle Royale, NPS, Wolves, Elias, Park & Preserve, Yosemite National, Voyageurs National, Voyageurs National Park, ” Voyageurs, Voyageurs, Service, Channel Locations: Alaska’s, Fairbanks, Alaska, of American Samoa, South, Samoa, Smoky, Wild Rivers, American Samoa, Honolulu, , Alaska, Isle, Lake Superior, Isle Royale, Park , Michigan, Brooks, , Washington, Wrangell, St, Elias, Yellowstone, Yosemite, Switzerland, , Florida, Florida, Key, Fort Jefferson, , Nevada, Minnesota, Voyageurs National Park , Minnesota, Canada, Guadalupe, Park , Texas, Texas, Salt, , South Carolina, South Carolina, Congaree, There’s, Santa Cruz, , California, Southern California

☆ Opinion | Americans’ Savings Are Shrinking. Should We Be Worried?
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-26 | by ( Peter Coy | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

If there is a recession in the United States this year, it probably won’t be because consumers spontaneously run out of spending power. I’ve put together five charts that show that consumers are in reasonably good shape, although life is getting harder for the most vulnerable groups. Households aren’t “the place to look for economic weakness,” Michael Pearce, the deputy chief U.S. economist for Oxford Economics, a forecaster, told me last week. The personal saving rate fell in December to 3.7 percent of disposable personal income, which except for a dip in 2022 was the lowest since 2008. “In 2023 consumers were still on average somewhat better off financially than they were in 2019, but the trend is negative,” the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau wrote in a December report.

Persons: I’ve, ” Michael Pearce, “, Mike Croxson Organizations: Oxford Economics, Consumer Financial, Bureau, National Foundation, Credit Locations: United States

☆ Opinion | Ban Fossil Fuels? Readers Had Strong Thoughts.
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-21 | by ( Peter Coy | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

I got a lot of responses to my Friday newsletter on restricting the supply of fossil fuels, one of which said “oof no” in the subject line. He is an economics professor at Vassar College and was the lead energy economist for the White House Council of Economic Advisers in the George W. Bush administration. The United States is such a big producer of fossil fuels that if it abruptly banned or restricted production, the reduction in supply would drive up the world price of oil, curbing demand. That’s the good part. The bad part, Ho wrote, is that “banning fossil fuels in the U.S. just increases profits to OPEC countries that don’t abide by the ban and encourages them to drill for more oil.”

Persons: “, Benjamin Ho, ”, I’ll, Ho, George W, Bush Organizations: Vassar College, White House Council, Economic Advisers Locations: United States, U.S

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