DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

Over Halloween weekend last year, nearly 160 young people died in a crowd crush in Itaewon, a popular nightlife district in Seoul. For those who survived or lost loved ones, the past year has been a time of deep frustration and trauma. Many wrote online that the young victims and survivors should blame themselves. In December, Lee Jae-hyeon, 16, a survivor who had lost two of his best friends in the crowd crush, took his own life after battling online detractors of the victims. As the first anniversary of the disaster approached, survivors and victims’ family members struggled with unanswered questions, missing their loved ones and at the same time deeply troubled by the government’s response.

Persons: Lee Jae, “, ” Locations: Itaewon, Seoul

A recent rally in Seoul carried the sound of a rock festival — high-amp speakers throbbing with the K-pop hit “Gangnam Style” — if not the look of one. The crowd of mostly elderly people waved South Korean and American flags to the song’s revised refrain: “Anti-communist style!” When speaker after speaker revved up the crowd with pro-American, anti-communist chants, the crowd shouted, “Hooray for President Yoon Suk Yeol!”Days later, when thousands of mostly younger protesters marched through the same city center, they shook handheld signs and chanted, “Out with Yoon Suk Yeol!”Park Yeol, a regular at such rallies, showed up as an inflatable caricature of the South Korean leader. Fellow protesters took selfies while putting him in a headlock. “Some people try to punch me,” said Mr. Park, 50. “But that’s the point: I want to demonstrate how mad people are at Yoon.”

Persons: revved, Yoon Suk, “, ”, Yoon Organizations: South Locations: Seoul

☆ Mozambique seeks $3 billion from Privinvest in 'tuna bonds' scandal
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-17 | by ( Sam Tobin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Traditional fishing boats sail as Mozambique's tuna fleet sits in dock beneath Maputo's skyline, in this picture taken August 15, 2015. REUTERS/Grant Lee Neuenburg/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Mozambique is seeking more than $3 billion in damages from Emirati-Lebanese shipbuilder Privinvest over the decade-old "tuna bond" scandal, London's High Court heard on Tuesday. The case centres on deals struck by state-owned companies with Privinvest for loans and bonds from banks including Credit Suisse in 2013 and 2014 for fishing boats and maritime security. Mozambique alleged Privinvest paid bribes on an "industrial scale", involving the "grand corruption" of officials including Mozambique's former Finance Minister Manuel Chang, court filings showed. Chang was extradited to the U.S., where in July he pleaded not guilty to fraud and money laundering charges related to the tuna bonds scandal.

Persons: Grant Lee Neuenburg, Privinvest, Jonathan Adkin, Iskandar Safa, Safa, Manuel Chang, Chang, Adkin, Sam Tobin, Kirstin Ridley, Cynthia Osterman Organizations: REUTERS, Privinvest, UBS, Credit Suisse, International Monetary Fund, Thomson Locations: Maputo's, Mozambique, Safa, U.S, London's

REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsWASHINGTON, Oct 5 (Reuters) - A former executive at Samsung Electronics' venture capital arm who proposed that mobile app developer Branch Metrics' software offering be expanded in Samsung smartphones faced pushback due to pressure from Google, he said on Thursday in a landmark antitrust trial against the Alphabet (GOOGL.O) unit. Patrick Chang, who worked at Samsung Next to invest in innovative companies, had urged the parent company (005930.KS) to expand the offerings of Branch, which can search within apps, to its Android smartphones. Chang testified that Samsung also faced pushback from wireless carries, like AT&T, which sell Android phones. In its questioning, the Justice Department showed an August 2020 email by Samsung executive David Eun, who complained that "Google is clearly buying its way to squelch competitors." Chang testified during the fourth week of a more than two-month trial in which the U.S. Justice Department is seeking to show that Google abused its monopoly of search and some search advertising.

Persons: Gonzalo Fuentes, Patrick Chang, Alexander Austin, Branch, Austin, Chang, David Eun, Diane Bartz, Richard Chang Organizations: Google, Viva Technology, Porte de, REUTERS, Rights, Samsung Electronics, Samsung, Samsung Next, Metrics, Justice Department, U.S . Justice Department, Thomson Locations: Porte, Paris, France

That’s not an issue for QI.X, which doesn’t aspire to the immaculately styled look of the typical K-pop act (and, in any case, couldn’t afford the ensemble of stylists those groups have). They handle their own bookings and manage their social media presence, recording videos themselves to post on TikTok and Instagram. Many of the videos are shot at LesVos, an L.G.B.T.Q. Myoung-woo YoonKim, 68, who has run LesVos since the late 1990s, grew up at a time when lesbians were practically invisible in South Korea. “I would often think, ‘Am I the only woman who loves women?’” they said.

Persons: That’s, QI.X, YoonKim, “, ‘, ’ ” Organizations: Seoul Disabled People’s, Festival Locations: Seoul, South Korea

The subway rumbled toward its final stop north of Seoul. Along the way, hordes disembarked, with the determined, brisk gait of those with somewhere to be. Far from the city center, the thicket of high-rise buildings grew sparser, and the afternoon sun crept deeper into the train cars, riding on an elevated track at that point. By the end of the line, many who remained on board were noticeably older — nodding off, gazing out the window, stretching their shoulders. He ambled about a hundred yards beyond the station, rested briefly in the shade — and then got right back on the train heading south.

Persons: Lee Jin, Lee Organizations: Adidas Locations: Seoul

☆ Russia Repels Attack on Ship in Crimea: Live Ukraine War Updates
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-14 | by ( Andrés R. Martínez | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +9 min

News AnalysisA photograph released by North Korean state media showing President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia with the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia on Wednesday. The Korean War never officially ended after the guns fell silent in a cease-fire in 1953. North Korea, though isolated and impoverished, has prioritized a military buildup, with its propaganda machines urging constant vigilance against American invasion. Image At the border between North Korea and South Korea. “Trust is so low among Russia, North Korea and China that a real alliance of the three isn’t credible or sustainable.”

Persons: Vladimir V, Putin, Kim Jong, Matthew Miller, , Putin “ , Chang W, Lee, ”, Yang Uk, Yoon Suk Yeol, It’s, ” Mr, Yang, Michael Park, Kim, “, Siemon, Mr, Wezeman, Hong Min, Hong, David Guttenfelder, Leif, Eric Easley Organizations: North, North Korean, Vostochny, United Nations, State Department, New York Times, Asan Institute, Policy Studies, ” Artillery, ., The New York Times, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, NATO, Korea Institute for National Unification, Russian, Mr, Ewha Womans University Locations: North Korean, Russia, . Washington, Moscow, South, United States, Ukraine, Russia’s, North Korea, Pyongyang, Washington, South Korea, Soviet, Syria, Iran, Korea, “, Seoul, Changwon, Stockholm, Sweden, North, , Zaporizhzhia, Komsomolsk, Vladivostok, China

☆ 'Where ambition goes to die': These tech workers flocked to Austin during the pandemic. Now they're desperate to get out.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( Ben Bergman | Jordan Pandy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Many tech workers in California moved to Austin during the pandemic in search of a new lifestyle. Some tech workers say they regret moving there, given its middling tech scene and "fake" atmosphere. They cited several contributing factors, including extreme temperatures, traffic, overcrowding, and — perhaps most surprising — a middling tech scene that fails to live up to the hype. From Silicon Valley to the Silicon HillsNot long ago, Austin's tech scene was ascendant, with national headlines suggesting it could take on Silicon Valley. He acknowledged there's not much of a tech scene there but will take that over what he perceived as Austin's smoke and mirrors.

Persons: Austin, Mike Chang, Chang, Tesla, Danielle Fountain, Fountain, Elon Musk, Jim Breyer, Joe Lonsdale, Bill Gurley, Musk, Gurley, Emily Chang, John Andrew Entwistle, who's, John Andrew Entwistle Entwistle, Entwistle, oversold, Nicholas Falldine, there's, Nick Thomas, Austin doesn't, Thomas, he's, Sam Parr, I'm, Sheharyar, Redfin, Bokhari, It's, frolic Organizations: Oracle, Facebook, Google, Apple, Breyer Capital, Austin Chamber, Austin, Lone Star, US Postal Service Locations: California, Austin, Los Angeles, Bay, Silicon, Silicon Valley, Austin's, Palo Alto, Westchester County , New York, Fayetteville , Arkansas, Austin , Texas, San Francisco

☆ JPMorgan: The world's food supplies face a bleak future. These are the 3 biggest threats, and the companies best-positioned to tackle food insecurity.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( Mark Reeth | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Investors need to know exactly where the threats to the world's food supply are coming from, what themes are beginning to emerge in this new reality, and how they should be investing. New threats to the world's food supplyIn her report, Chang highlighted the ongoing problems affecting the world's food supply: war, weather, and the weaponization of food. One of the most devastating recently implemented restrictions on food supply is India's decision to ban the exportation of non-Basmati white rice. The combination of war, weather, and the weaponization of food has taken a toll on the world's food availability. And within food innovation, JPMorgan analysts like Philippine food and beverage maker Monde Nissin (MONDE PM) and Thailand-based seafood producer Thai Union (TU TB).

Persons: UNICEF — that's, Global Research Joyce Chang, Chang, El, Hilary, CJ Cheiljedang, Mengniu Dairy, Kubota, Jeronimo Martins SGPS Organizations: JPMorgan, Hurricanes, UNICEF —, Global Research, Grain Initiative, Food Policy Research, Food, Agriculture Commodities, ASEAN, Mahindra, LG, Thai Union, TU, Jeronimo Martins SGPS SA, Tesco PLC, J Sainsbury PLC, Koninklijke Ahold Delhaize, Carrefour SA, Yara International ASA, OCI, OCI NA, Bayer AG, PepsiCo Locations: Ukraine, California, Canada, East Coast, Russia, Africa, Asia, India, El, South Korean, HK, South Korea, Philippine, Thailand, Europe

☆ 8 of the world’s best new theme parks
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-18 | by ( Kate Springer | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +13 min

Peppa Pig Theme Park, FloridaFlorida's Peppa Pig Theme Park opened in 2022. Peppa Pig Theme ParkThe world’s first Peppa Pig Theme Park opened last year in Winter Haven, Florida, and has been delighting children with wholesome fun ever since. Look out for another Peppa Pig Theme Park, opening in Dallas, Texas, next year. Peppa Pig Theme Park. Genting SkyWorlds Theme Park, MalaysiaMalaysia's Genting SkyWorlds Theme Park offers 26 attractions across nine themed areas.

Persons: we’re, Katmandu, Kilgore Goode, Kyle Grillot, Peach’s, Mount Beanpole, Mario, Bowser, Bowser Jr, Tomohiro Ohsumi, Miyazaki’s, There’s, LEGOLAND, gil, Aquaverse, there’s, Chang, Potato’s, Grandad, Wynter, ” Organizations: CNN, Northern, Columbia Pictures, Super Nintendo, California Mario Kart, Universal Studios Hollywood, Bloomberg, Universal Studios Japan, Mushroom Kingdom, Toadstool, Nintendo, Universal City Plaza, Universal, Ghibli, Ghibli Park, South Korea LEGOLAND, LEGOLAND, Thailand Columbia Pictures, Columbia, Lotte, Adventure, South Korea Lotte, Adventure Busan Lotte, Tinker, Potato’s Showtime, Genting, Andromeda Base, Plaza, Genting SkyWorlds Locations: Japan, Thailand, Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, Caribbean, Nepal, Av, Alemania, California, Bowser’s, Mount, Universal City , CA, Nagoya, Nagakute, Aichi, Korea, South Korea, York, Legoland, LEGOLAND Korea, Chuncheon, Seoul, Gangwon, Asia, Pattaya, Bangkok, Transylvania, Chon, Adventure Busan, Tinker Falls, “ Queen, “, Busan, Florida, Winter Haven , Florida, Dallas , Texas, Wynter Haven , Florida, Malaysia, Resorts, Kuala Lumpur, Rio, Liberty Lane, Central Park, Genting, Genting Highlands, Pahang

☆ We expect the US dollar to remain relatively strong as other major economies struggle: DBS
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-10 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

In this videoShare Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailWe expect the US dollar to remain relatively strong as other major economies struggle: DBSChang Wei Liang of DBS shares his expectations for the USD and the Federal Reserve.

Persons: Wei Liang Organizations: DBS, Federal Reserve

☆ MrBeast says 'ghost kitchen' partner is hurting his brand with 'terrible quality' burgers
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-01 | by ( Sindhu Sundar | Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The burgers' 'terrible quality' was the fault of a business partner, he alleged in a new lawsuit. His company alleged complaints raised to partner Virtual Dining Concepts “fell on deaf ears.”Get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in business, from Wall Street to Silicon Valley — delivered daily. Reef, which sells MrBeast Burger, has logged multiple consumer complaints about uncooked burgers, Insider previously reported. Representatives for Virtual Dining Concepts did not respond to Insider's request for comment. Insider's Brittany Chang wrote last year about eating a "mediocre burger" at a physical MrBeast burger joint in New Jersey's American Dream mall.

Persons: MrBeast, Jimmy Donaldson, Donaldson's, Travis Kalanick's, Burger, Brittany Chang Organizations: Service, YouTube, Beast Investments Locations: Wall, Silicon, New

The three-year Korean War was the single most traumatic event in modern Korean history. It came to a halt in a truce 70 years ago, after millions had been killed. The guns fell silent along the Demilitarized Zone, a 155-mile-long strip of land that divides the Korean Peninsula. But a formal peace treaty was never signed, leaving the Korean Peninsula still technically at war. Millions of troops on both sides stand ready to plunge back into battle at a moment’s notice.

☆ Mozambique ex-finance minister denied bail in New York over $2 billion 'tuna bond' scandal
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( Michelle Caruso-Cabrera | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Judge Nicholas Garaufis denied the defendant's request for bail, deeming Chang a flight risk. the judge asked Chang's lawyer, Adam Ford. Hinting at his future defense, Chang's lawyer stated that although his client's signature is on the loan documents, it doesn't indicate he knew about the fraud. Judge Garaufis responded "I'm asking because I understand you have a master's degree from the University of London." Chang's lawyer stated that given the significance of the proceedings, it would be helpful for his client to have an interpreter.

Persons: Manuel Chang, Chang, Judge Nicholas Garaufis, Adam Ford, Ford, Hiral Mehta, Garaufis, Chang's, Judge Garaufis Organizations: Credit Suisse, UN, Prosecutors, Three Credit Suisse, University of London Locations: Brooklyn, South Africa, Mozambique, Manhattan, United States, Portuguese

☆ Dollar deepens dive on inflation surprise
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( Tom Westbrook | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The euro made a fresh 15-month high of $1.1148 in Asia on Thursday and the yen touched its strongest since mid-May at 138.08 per dollar. U.S. core inflation came in at 0.2% in June against market expectations for 0.3%. Moves in other currencies were smaller but still delivered new milestones as traders reckon the dollar has further to drop. The Swiss franc hit its strongest since 2015 at 0.8655 to the dollar and sterling a 15-month top of $1.3019. Amongst the dollar selling, one outlier was perhaps the yen which has led gains.

Persons: Imre Speizer, Malaysia's, Pita Limjaroenrat, Steve Englander, Kazuo, Ueda, Chang Wei Liang, Tom Westbrook, Jamie Freed, Kim Coghill Organizations: month's, U.S, Westpac, New Zealand, Swiss, Standard Chartered, Bank of Japan, Fed, Central Bank, Thomson Locations: SINGAPORE, Asia, Scandinavia

Around the world, most of the 1.4 billion tons of food thrown away each year goes to landfills. As it rots, it pollutes water and soil and releases huge amounts of methane, one of the most potent greenhouse gases. But not in South Korea, which banned food scraps from its landfills almost 20 years ago. Here, the vast majority of it gets turned into animal feed, fertilizer and fuel for heating homes. Food waste is one of the biggest contributors to climate change, not only because of the methane but also because the energy and resources that went into its production and transport have been wasted, too.

Locations: South Korea

☆ The Next Frontier in Farming? The Ocean.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Somini Sengupta | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +10 min

For centuries, it’s been treasured in kitchens in Asia and neglected almost everywhere else: Those glistening ribbons of seaweed that bend and bloom in cold ocean waves. Far beyond South Korea, new farms have cropped up in Maine, the Faroe Islands, Australia, even the North Sea. But even as its champions see it as a miracle crop for a hotter planet, others worry that the zeal to farm the ocean could replicate some of the same damages of farming on land. “Seaweed is not going to replace all plastic, but seaweed combined with other things can tackle single use plastic,” he said. Seaweed farms are a far cry from the rows of corn and wheat that make up monoculture farming on land.

One of the plants where children worked, SMART Alabama LLC in rural Luverne, Alabama, is a direct Hyundai subsidiary. STATE AND FEDERAL INVESTIGATIONSFollowing Reuters' first story on child labor at SMART last July, as many as 10 Hyundai suppliers in Alabama have been under investigation by state or federal authorities for child labor violations, Reuters reported in December. In the shareholder letter, Chang reiterated that Hyundai was "discouraging" suppliers from relying on such staffing agencies in the future. He wrote that staffing firms who hired children to work at Hyundai supplier plants had provided false employee documentation. Earlier this month, thirty-three members of Congress urged DOL to seek strong and swift penalties against those responsible for child labor in the Hyundai supply chain.

☆ Indian rupee is unlikely to see sharp gains, says DBS Bank
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | 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 EmailIndian rupee is unlikely to see sharp gains, says DBS BankChang Wei Liang of the Singapore bank that's because India's central bank will be looking to build up its foreign exchange reserves and the current account deficit is still "very large."

☆ House Adjourns After 13th Ballot, Plans to Resume Speaker Vote Tonight
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

How to Declutter Your Inbox and Devices in 2023For a New Year’s resolution, many of us would benefit from decluttering our digital lives. But all those emails, photos and more can be overwhelming to think about, much less tidy up. To help, WSJ family and tech columnist Julie Jargon joins host Julie Chang with some tips on how to get started. Illustration: Alex Nabaum

☆ At Least Two Dead After Major Storm Hits Northern California
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

☆ House Adjourns for Third Day Without Electing a Speaker
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

☆ Third Day of House Voting Adjourns Without an Elected Speaker
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

☆ The Year in Pictures 2022
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( The New York Times | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +57 min

Every year, starting in early fall, photo editors at The New York Times begin sifting through the year’s work in an effort to pick out the most startling, most moving, most memorable pictures. But 2022 undoubtedly belongs to the war in Ukraine, a conflict now settling into a worryingly predictable rhythm. Erin Schaff/The New York Times “When you’re standing on the ground, you can’t visualize the scope of the destruction. Jim Huylebroek for The New York Times Kyiv, Ukraine, Feb. 25. We see the same images over and over, and it’s really hard to make anything different.” Kyiv, Ukraine, Feb 26.

☆ Taiwan’s virtual beauty brand struggles on Wall Street debut
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Michelle Toh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Hong Kong CNN Business —Taiwan’s latest entrant to Wall Street has had a rough ride since it went public a week ago. Perfect Corp. lends its technology to beauty and fashion brands. Perfect Corp. founder and CEO Alice Chang said she spoke to CNN Business while wearing the company's "digital makeup" on a conference call. The question was: “How can I link the virtual beauty with the real world beauty?” Chang recalled. Perfect Corp. is one of a handful of Taiwanese companies to list in the United States in recent years, according to Dealogic data.

Search resuls for: "Chang W"

25 mentions found