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BELEM, Brazil, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Amazon rainforest nations emerged from a summit this week with a stronger hand to play at upcoming United Nations climate talks, despite the meeting's lackluster final agreement, according to environmental groups. Lula will take that message on the road this year at the G20, United Nations General Assembly and U.N. COP28 climate summit. But he also applauded the symbolism of the eight Amazon countries meeting together for the first time in 14 years and joining their voices with the world's other major rainforests. STRONGER VOICERainforest nations have a stronger unified voice after the meeting, at least on paper, said Luis Roman, a representative of nonprofit WWF Peru. Rainforest nations thus far have focused on past funding commitments.

Persons: It's, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Lula, André Guimarães, Marcio Astrini, Astrini, Luis Roman, Susana Muhamad, Jake Spring, Oliver Griffin, Brad Haynes, Aurora Ellis Organizations: Democratic, United Nations General Assembly, Amazon Environmental Research Institute, Observatory, WWF, Colombia's, Thomson Locations: BELEM, Brazil, Nations, Indonesia, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Colombia, Venezuela, Lula, Bolivia, WWF Peru, European, Belem, Bogota

☆ Why it's so hard to build homes in your neighborhood
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-05 | by ( Nathaniel Meyersohn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

Single-family homes in Arlington, Massachusetts. Around 75% of residential land in the United States is zoned for single-family homes only. This has had the effect of encouraging ever-larger single-family homes and limiting housing options, like smaller houses. “You can’t just do it all with zoning reform,” Walla Walla City Manager Elizabeth Chamberlain told CNN. The second wave of single-family zoning laws spread during the 1970s, historians say, and the policies became more restrictive.

Persons: Suzanne Kreiter, ”, Jenny Schuetz, “, —, Ben McCanna, Joe Biden’s, Richard Kahlenberg, Kathy Hochul’s, Elizabeth Chamberlain, “ It’s, Nancy Kaye, William Fischel, Fischel, Carlos Avila Gonzalez, Yonah Freemark, we’re, ” Freemark Organizations: New, New York CNN, Boston Globe, Brookings Metro, Republicans, Portland Press Herald, Getty Images, ”, CNN, Homes, “, Dartmouth University, Homeowners, San Francisco Chronicle, AP, Pew Charitable Locations: New York, Arlington , Massachusetts, United States, “, Maine, Getty Images Minneapolis, Arlington , Gainesville, Charlotte, Walla Walla , Washington, Oregon , California, Washington , Montana, Connecticut , Arizona, ” Walla Walla City, Cities, Louisville , Kentucky, Flushing , Queens, America, San Francisco, Los Angeles , New York City, Seattle, Chicago , Philadelphia, Portland, Washington, Walnut Creek , California, Minneapolis, Portland , New Rochelle , New York, , Virginia, Towns, Walla, Walla Walla

☆ Why Cities Across the US Look the Same: Remote Work, High Home Prices
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-25 | by ( David A. Banks | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +15 min

The shift to remote work early in the pandemic allowed wealthy residents to ditch big cities in droves and set up shop in smaller cities and towns nearby. While the surging costs of housing and the new freedom of remote work helped trigger this mass migration, small cities have been laying the groundwork over the last decade to entice these big-city refugees. Then came the pandemic, and remote work suddenly made small cities a viable home for wealthy professionals. For the past two decades, cities have turned to an economic development strategy I've deemed "the city authentic." It spiked even more during the pandemic when change of addresses from New York City jumped a whopping 787%.

Persons: Tim Burton, —, Richard Florida, millennials, DAVID BREWSTER, downtowns, weathers, It's, Alison Roman, Chrissy Teigen, it's, restaurateurs, John Greim, Instagramable cafés, David A, Banks Organizations: Urban, New York Times, Creative, The New York Times, Industrial Development Agency, IDA, Arts, Craft, Fulton, Star Tribune, Getty, Social, Business, New York City, Neighborhood Initiative, Globalization Studies, University, Albany SUNY, UUP Locations: America, Hudson, New York City, Austin , Texas, Charlotte, North Carolina, Denver , Minneapolis, Salt Lake City, Dallas, Louisville, Connecticut, Florida, Washington, Fulton, New York, Athens, Georgia, Tulsa , Oklahoma, Arts District, Saint Paul , Minnesota, , New York, Rensselaer, Troy, Rensselaer County, Newark , New Jersey, Dudley, Boston

☆ Warburg Pincus names Asia real estate chief Perlman as president
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( Kane Wu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

July 20 (Reuters) - Private equity firm Warburg Pincus on Wednesday named its Asia head of real estate Jeffrey Perlman as successor to Timothy Geithner as president. Geithner, who was U.S. Treasury Secretary in the Obama administration and had headed the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, will become the chair of the New York-based investment firm. "Now is the ideal time to put in place a plan for the next generation of leadership at the firm," Warburg CEO Chip Kaye said. Warburg Pincus has already raised more than the targeted $16 billion in its global flagship private equity fund, said a person with knowledge of the matter. Founded in 1996, Warburg has more than $83 billion in assets under management and its portfolio spans more than 250 companies.

Persons: Warburg Pincus, Jeffrey Perlman, Timothy Geithner, Geithner, Obama, Warburg, Chip Kaye, Kaye, Perlman, Pritam Biswas, Niket, Kane Wu, Arun Koyyur Organizations: Wednesday, Treasury, Federal Reserve Bank of New, Reuters, Ou Asset Management Co, HK, Industrial Development JSC, Thomson Locations: Asia, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, York, China, Ou, Southeast Asia, Pacific, Bengaluru, Hong Kong, Lincoln

But as local economic development officials worked with Ford and other prospective investors, it became clear they needed a much bigger footprint. The rest has been earmarked by economic development officials for suppliers and other developments. In Marshall, residents petitioned to hold a referendum on the project, gathering over 800 signatures in a city of 6,800. She believes factory workers will move to Marshall to work for Ford. He notes that the factory he works at, in nearby Battle Creek, has struggled to find skilled workers.

Persons: Fred, Joan Chapman, Ben Klayman MARSHALL, Fred Chapman, ”, That’s, Chapman, Joe Biden, Gabby Bruno, Glenn Kowalske, “, Ford's Bruno, Ford, Bruno, CATL's, James Durian, Durian, Sue Damron, Marshall, he’s, Timothy Aeppel, Ben Klayman, Dan Burns, Nick Zieminski Organizations: Ford Motor Co, Ford Motor, Census, Ford, Amperex Technology Co, Amazon, Marshall, Economic Development Alliance, Thomson Locations: Marshall Township , Michigan, U.S, Mich, Marshall, Kalamazoo, New York City, China, Calhoun County, Battle, Mexico, New York, Marshall , Michigan

The Alberta Industrial Heartland, a not-for-profit organization consisting of five Alberta municipalities, and the Hong Kong-based private equity firm Can-China Global Resource Fund (CCGRF) had announced their partnership in 2016 to encourage investments across North America. "This partnership no longer exists," Karlee Conway Director Communications of the Alberta Industrial Heartland said in an email response to Reuters. The lead investor of the fund was China's Export-Import Bank, Vancouver-based mining firm Hunter Dickinson and Swiss commodity trader Mercuria. While all three were released in 2021, the relationship between China and Canada has not returned to normal. The oil-rich province of Alberta exported C$4.5 billion worth of goods to China in 2020, making it the Canadian province's second-biggest export market.

Persons: Karlee, Hunter Dickinson, Lynette Ong, FROSTY, Meng Wanzhou, Divya Rajagopal, Xie Yu, Denny Thomas, Nick Zieminski Organizations: Reuters, The, The Alberta Industrial Heartland, China Global Resource Fund, Karlee Conway, Communications, Alberta Industrial Heartland, China's, Import Bank, MEC Advisory Ltd, EXIM Bank, Science, University of Toronto, CQ Energy, Ottawa, Huawei, Canadian, Exim Bank, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, Chinese Communist Party, Thomson Locations: TORONTO, HONG KONG, Alberta, The Alberta, Hong Kong, China, North America, Vancouver, Swiss, Canada, Ottawa, Calgary, Beijing, United States

In the face of an unprecedented semiconductor shortage, Europe is offering billions of euros in subsidies to reduce its dependence on Asia. In return, Intel is committing big sums and with Germany already bagging a 30 billion euro investment, Poland decided to crash the party. Poland initially impressed Intel executives with the speed in which it responded to queries and addressed concerns, Intel said. "When we began the process, we hadn't considered Poland," Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger told Reuters. But when Intel announced its European investments in March 2022, Germany was awarded a major factory in Magdeburg while Intel told Poland it would only expand its existing facility in Gdansk.

Persons: chipmaker, hadn't, Pat Gelsinger, Gelsinger, Marcin Fabianowicz, Fabianowicz, Sroda Slaska Adam Ruciński, TSMC, Jakub Mazur, Karol Badohal, Supantha Mukherjee, Matt Scuffham, Elaine Hardcastle Organizations: Wroclaw, Intel, Reuters, Polish Investment and Trade Agency, Industrial Development Agency, PepsiCo, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp, Thomson Locations: WROCLAW, Poland, STOCKHOLM, Europe, Asia, Germany, U.S, Wroclaw, Polish, Magdeburg, Gdansk, Sroda Slaska, Wrocław, Taiwan, Stockholm

☆ Analysis: Struggling China local governments find a fundraising loophole, lifeline in "pearl bonds"
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

SHANGHAI/HONG KONG, May 31 (Reuters) - China's cash-strapped local governments have suddenly rushed to an unusual corner of the debt market in Shanghai where ambiguous rules offer ways to skirt restrictions on onshore borrowing. LGFVs accounted for about two-thirds of the issuers and 60% of the debt sold this year nation-wide, according to Reuters' calculations. Among all the newly-issued FTZ bonds this year, 55, or two-thirds of all 82 issuers, were LGFVs, according to Reuters' calculations. The "pearl" or free trade zone (FTZ) bonds have been around since 2016 but are only now becoming popular as tighter central government supervision on LGFV debts starts to bite. AMBIGUOUS POSITIONING"Pearl bonds" differ from other offshore bonds as trades are cleared by the state-owned China Central Depository & Clearing Co, rather than a global clearing house.

Persons: Shi Xiaoshan, Fitch, Royston Quek, Tim Fang, Pearl, Zhang Hong, Georgina Lee, Tom Westbrook, Kim Coghill Organizations: U.S, Haitong International Securities, China Central Depository, Industrial, Group, Credit Agricole CIB, Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, Bank of Communications, Pudong New, Financial, Reform Commission, Reuters, The, Administration of Foreign Exchange, Shanghai, Thomson Locations: SHANGHAI, HONG KONG, Shanghai, Beijing, U.S . Federal, Hong Kong, China, Zhejiang, Pudong, SINGAPORE

☆ A farmer who lives near Elon Musk's Texas campus says the state's lack of regulations means it's like the 'Wild West' for developers
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Texas' is a "Wild West" for developers like Elon Musk's Boring Company, a farmer told The WaPo. The Boring Company and SpaceX both have built sites in Bastrop, a rural area near Austin. A farmer who lives near Elon Musk's Texas campus around 30 miles east of Austin says that the boom in development in the area means it's like "the Wild West." The Boring Company, Musk's construction company — which builds tunnels under cities to help alleviate traffic congestion — began work on its Bastrop facility in 2021. At the public meeting, however, some local residents did show support for the boost to Bastrop's economy that Musk's investments would bring.

☆ Captive breeding helps endangered Iberian lynx population hit record
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Known for its pointy ears, long legs and leopard-like spotted fur, the Iberian lynx is a species distinct from the more common Eurasian lynx found from France to the Himalayas. The ministry's report partly attributed the demographic boom to the success of a captive breeding and reintroduction programme launched in 2011. Since then, 338 lynx born in captivity have been released into the wild. "This positive demographic evolution allows us to be optimistic about the reduction of the risk of extinction," the ministry said. However, it added that it was necessary to continue ongoing conservation efforts, given that the species remains classified as endangered.

☆ How a deadly bat virus found new ways to infect people
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +16 min

Scientists found bats with Nipah virus roosting near Sabith’s home. A search of the neighborhood led to a colony, near their house, of flying foxes, a common fruit bat. NETTING NIPAH: Researchers in Bangladesh use nets to catch bats and collect samples to find the Nipah virus in the wild. REUTERS/Mohammad Ponir HossainWhether Sabith ate contaminated fruit or somehow came into direct contact with a bat, the virus entered his cells. REUTERS/Mohammad Ponir HossainA year later, Chua’s team found the same strain of Nipah virus in flying foxes.

For PIF, the Lucid (LCID.O) bet is proving challenging. "The EV manufacturing plan is still one of the boldest parts of the Saudi plan," said Justin Alexander, director at Khalij Economics and Gulf analyst at GlobalSource Partners. Its investment was worth about $17.4 billion in mid-2022, the wealth fund's bond prospectus showed, and around $26 billion when Lucid was listed in 2021. The Saudi government has agreed with Lucid to buy up to 100,00 of its vehicles over the next decade. "Rather than fixing on short term results, the future of PIF's stake in Lucid will be dependent on the plans to build a Lucid factory in Saudi, on taking Lucid private again and/or on the potential integration with Ceer," said Global SWF Managing Director Diego Lopez of plans for a new Saudi EV maker.

☆ Taiwan seeking US cooperation to make next-generation fighters
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TAIPEI, May 3 (Reuters) - Taiwan is seeking U.S. cooperation to make the island's next domestically developed fighter jet, the head of Taiwanese defence contractor Aerospace Industrial Development Corp (AIDC) (2634.TW) said on Wednesday. Taiwan's air force scrambles daily to see off incursions by Chinese jets into the airspace around the island as Beijing steps up its pressure to try and force Taiwan to accept China's sovereignty. While the mainstay of Taiwan's air force is Lockheed Martin Corp's (LMT.N) F-16s and French-build Mirages it also uses AIDC's F-CK-1 Ching-kuo Indigenous Defence Fighter, or IDF. Taiwan in 2017 announced the next generation fighter programme, to include stealth capabilities, but has given few details since. Even the United States has been unwilling to provide Taiwan its most advanced fighters like the F-22 or F-35, and Taiwan has no direct answer to China's new J-20 stealth fighter.

☆ Taiwan seeking US cooperation to make next generation fighters
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TAIPEI, May 3 (Reuters) - Taiwan is seeking U.S. cooperation to make the island's next domestically developed fighter jet, the head of Taiwanese defence contractor Aerospace Industrial Development Corp (AIDC) (2634.TW) said on Wednesday. Taiwan's air force scrambles daily to see off incursions by Chinese jets into the airspace around the island as Beijing steps up its pressure to try and force Taiwan to accept China's sovereignty. Speaking at a Taiwan-U.S. defence industry forum in Taipei, AIDC Chairman Hu Kai-hung said the company wanted to raise its technical prowess to help with the development of Taiwan's next generation fighter. Taiwan in 2017 announced the next generation fighter programme, to include stealth capabilities, but has given few details since. Even the United States has been unwilling to provide Taiwan its most advanced fighters like the F-22 or F-35, and Taiwan has no direct answer to China's new J-20 stealth fighter.

[1/3] U.S. President Joe Biden attends the groundbreaking of the new Intel semiconductor manufacturing facility in New Albany, Ohio, U.S., September 9, 2022. But all that new construction has a real estate problem. That would be a problem for the Biden administration, which has pushed through legislation to fuel the developments. A White House official said it was a "high-class problem" to have, adding: "Folks are finding places to build. The governors of South Carolina, Virginia and North Carolina have each proposed to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on readying industrial sites in the coming years.

☆ Rapid Warehouse Growth Sparks Local Resident Backlash Across the U.S.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Kate King | Photographs Matt Roth For The Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Bob Cassilly describes himself as pro-business. But as the newly elected county executive of Harford County, Md., he is trying to stop construction of giant warehouses that feed e-commerce and other businesses. Mr. Cassilly has proposed a six-month moratorium on warehouse construction in the county, which lies between Philadelphia and Baltimore. Until now, Harford County has had few restrictions on industrial development.

BASTROP, TEXAS—Elon Musk’s companies are opening facilities across the country that come with promises of skilled jobs and economic growth. But some residents of this mostly rural area near Austin are watching with alarm as farmland turns into industrial development. Mr. Musk’s tunneling venture, the Boring Company , and space-transportation company known as SpaceX, are constructing massive buildings and digging tunnels on more than 200 acres of unincorporated land along the Colorado River. The billionaire’s ambitions there also include a company town, The Wall Street Journal has reported.

☆ Analysis: Chinese suppliers race to Vietnam as COVID let-up opens escape route from Sino-U.S. trade war
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Francesco Guarascio | Thomson Reuters | Francesco Leads A Team Of Reporters In Vietnam That Covers Top Financial | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Adding impetus to the move is the increasing cost of labour in China, expanding U.S. restrictions on high-tech-related trade with China, and tit-for-tat tariffs from a Sino-U.S. trade war that triggered a past wave of Chinese investment in Vietnam. "Enquiries from Chinese firms about manufacturing investment in Vietnam grew exponentially in the last quarter of last year," said Michael Chan, senior director of leasing at industrial real estate specialist BW Industrial Development. "Chinese investment has also increased remarkably," he said. Chinese firms also experience longer times to obtain staff visas and work permits, said Filippo Bortoletti, who heads the Vietnamese unit of investment consultancy Dezan Shira. "Chinese companies move here mostly to serve their clients who moved earlier," said BW Industrial Development's Chan.

☆ China to restructure sci-tech ministry to achieve self-reliance faster
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Eduardo Baptista | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

BEIJING, March 7 (Reuters) - China will restructure its science and technology ministry to channel more resources to achieving important breakthroughs, with the goal of moving faster towards self-reliance, according to a State Council plan submitted to parliament on Tuesday. The restructuring of the central government ministry was included in a reform plan of state institutions that the State Council, China's cabinet, submitted to the National People's Congress (NPC), which is meeting this week. The institutional changes revealed on Tuesday will reduce the scope of the science and technology ministry as previous responsibilities, such as building high-tech industrial development zones and driving technological progress in rural areas, will be re-distributed across several ministries. "Strengthen the Ministry of Science and Technology's strategic planning ... optimise the whole-process management of scientific and technological innovation," the cabinet said in the plan. Reporting by Eduardo Baptista; Editing by Andrew Heavens, Robert BirselOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ How deep are Egypt's economic troubles?
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

CAIRO, March 3 (Reuters) - Egypt's economy has come under severe pressure over the past year, with the Egyptian pound tumbling, foreign currency drying up, and inflation soaring. As many as 60% of Egypt's 104 million citizens are estimated to be below, or close to the poverty line. IS EGYPT'S DEBT SUSTAINABLE? Egypt's debt burden has been climbing, though analysts differ over how much of a risk this presents. Substantial principle and interest payments on foreign debt contribute to a large external financing gap - the difference between supply of and demand for foreign currency financing.

☆ Australian Indigenous group steps up campaign to protect sacred rock art
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Praveen Menon | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/4] Murujuga indigenous custodians campaign to protect sacred rock art in The Burrup Peninsula, Sydney, Australia July 11, 2022. Save our Songlines/Handout via REUTERSSYDNEY, March 2 (Reuters) - An Australian Indigenous group on Thursday stepped up its campaign against industrial development in Western Australia's Burrup Peninsula, a key gas export hub, saying in a protest in Sydney that planned projects would damage ancient rock art. Australia last month formally nominated the Murujuga Indigenous cultural landscape for a UNESCO World Heritage listing. The Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation, the traditional owners' representative, led the preparation of the World Heritage nomination. Save our Songlines has disagreed with the group over the industrial development and has raised doubts that a World Heritage listing would protect the ancient landscape from industrial damage.

☆ Countries gather to thrash out U.N. ocean protection treaty
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( David Stanway | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SINGAPORE, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Delegations from hundreds of countries will meet in New York this week in an attempt to hammer out a new legally binding ocean protection treaty that green groups believe will decide whether efforts to safeguard global biodiversity can succeed. Last August, an earlier round of talks on the new United Nations ocean conservation treaty were suspended, with countries unable to reach an agreement on financing. Sharing the proceeds of "marine genetic resources" and the establishment of ocean environmental impact assessment rules for development were also major sticking points. "There seems to be an appetite to actually finalise the treaty now," said Jessica Battle, ocean expert at the Worldwide Fund for Nature. "Genetic resources and the issue of finance will be the end game," said Greenpeace's Li.

☆ Analysis: Lula confronts Brazil military's pro-Bolsonaro lean with carrot and stick
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Anthony Boadle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

But at a Friday meeting the commanders of the armed forces, Lula did not bring up the attack, according to a government official who witnessed the meeting. The armed forces' strategic plans to modernize its equipment included developing a nuclear-powered submarine contracted with France's Naval Group, a subsidiary of defense contractor Thales (TCFP.PA). GENIE OUT OF THE BOTTLEWhether a splurge on military hardware will help tamp down pro-Bolsonaro sentiment in the armed forces is open to question. "Lula wants this to go away as soon as possible," he added. "Starting to punish members of the armed forces for what happened may be legally the right thing to do but politically it would open a Pandora's box."

☆ British Columbia reaches deal with more First Nations on resource management
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

OTTAWA, Jan 20 (Reuters) - The western Canadian province of British Columbia (B.C.) on Friday announced a deal with four Indigenous First Nations to collaborate on land planning and managing the impacts of industrialization. Supreme Court ruled decades of natural resource extraction and industrial development had infringed on indigenous rights. It also contains a new revenue-sharing approach to support First Nations communities, similar to the ones agreed with Blueberry River. However, other aspects of the Blueberry River agreement, such as an annual cap on land that can be disturbed for oil and gas development, were not included.

☆ Taiwan to plough $12 bln in excess tax revenue back into economy in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TAIPEI, Dec 31 (Reuters) - Taiwan will plough an extra T$380 billion ($12.43 billion) in tax revenue back into the economy in 2023 to help protect the island from global economic shocks, including subsidies for electricity prices, President Tsai Ing-wen said on Saturday. Tsai, in a statement from her office following a meeting of senior economic officials, said the government must make preparations in advance for the "more severe challenges" the global economy faces in 2023. For 2023, it projected GDP would grow 2.53%, compared with an earlier forecast of 2.9%. The economy grew 4.01% in the third quarter from a year earlier. ($1 = 30.5770 Taiwan dollars)Reporting by Jeanny Kao; Writing by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Kim CoghillOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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