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It is in these poorly constructed camps that aid agencies fear Cyclone Mocha has hit the hardest. A man walks past destroyed buildings in Sittwe, in Myanmar's Rakhine state, on May 15, 2023, after Cyclone Mocha made landfall. Residents ride motorcycles past broken utility poles in Sittwe, in Myanmar's Rakhine state, on May 15, 2023, after Cyclone Mocha made landfall. At one point Cyclone Mocha had been predicted to hit the camp but it was spared a direct hit with the storm making landfall further down the coast. According to the UN, roughly 15,000 homes were destroyed in Rakhine state during that storm.

☆ Cyclone Mocha: Early reports of 'extensive damage' as storm hits the Myanmar coast
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Rhea Mogul | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Video from the conflict-racked Rakhine state showed powerful gusts of wind blowing trees to the ground. “But early reports suggest the damage is extensive and needs among already vulnerable communities, particularly displaced people, will be high. A resident drives his motorbike past fallen utility poles in Kyauktaw in Myanmar's Rakhine state on May 15, 2023, after Cyclone Mocha crashed ashore. However, torrential rain battered Rakhine state in western Myanmar, bringing threats of flooding and landslides. According to the United Nations, roughly 15,000 homes were destroyed in Rakhine state during the storm.

CNN —Western Myanmar is being battered by strong winds and heavy rain after Cyclone Mocha made landfall on the Bay of Bengal coastline Sunday. Local residents check the damages after Cyclone Mocha's crashed ashore in Kyauktaw in Myanmar's Rakhine state on May 14, 2023. Two children stand under a roadside shelter to protect from rain before Cyclone Mocha hits in Sittwe, Rakhine State, on Sunday, May 14, 2023. APTropical Cyclone Mocha has intensified to the equivalent of a category 5 Atlantic hurricane. Most live in bamboo and tarpaulin shelters perched on hilly slopes that are vulnerable to strong winds, rain, and landslides.

☆ High-Ranking Election Official Is Killed in Myanmar
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-23 | by ( Richard C. Paddock | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A top election official for Myanmar’s military junta has been assassinated by bicycle-riding gunmen from a rebel group, which accused him of being complicit in “oppressing and terrorizing” the public. It is the latest in a series of high-profile killings targeting a military that has escalated attacks on civilians. The official, Sai Kyaw Thu, a retired lieutenant colonel who served as deputy director general of the Union Election Commission, was fatally shot Saturday afternoon after driving his wife, a doctor, to her job at a hospital in Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city. A resistance group calling itself “For the Yangon” claimed responsibility for the killing. The car ran over the bicycle and continued down the road and out of camera range.

☆ The FAFSA is getting a makeover later this year—here's what's changing
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Kamaron Mcnair | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

If you've ever filled out the Free Application for Student Aid (FAFSA) before, you're probably familiar with the stress, confusion and possible tears that often come with it. The number gave your school and federal aid administrators an idea of how much financial support to offer. The student aid index (SAI) will serve the same purpose, but use a different formula. Federal Student Aid (FSA) published a draft of the calculations to be used to determine SAI. Aid administrators will subtract the student's SAI from their determined cost of attendance in order to assess aid eligibility and amounts, according to FSA.

☆ We support the proposal to spin off HSBC's Asia business, says Hong Kong district councilor
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | 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 support the proposal to spin off HSBC's Asia business, says Hong Kong district councilorChristine Fong, councilor for Hong Kong's Sai Kung district, discusses a proposal by an activist shareholder in Hong Kong to spin off HSBC's Asia business.

☆ New Zealand's Williamson ruled out of IPL after knee injury
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 2 (Reuters) - New Zealand's white-ball skipper Kane Williamson has been ruled out of this season's Indian Premier League (IPL) after sustaining an injury in Gujarat Titans' opening match against Chennai Super Kings, the team announced on Sunday. Williamson injured his right knee in Friday's match while fielding near the boundary when he leapt to stop a six. He saved two runs as he palmed the ball into the field but landed awkwardly, falling to the ground clutching his knee. New Zealand Cricket said Williamson would return home to have the injury further assessed. Reporting by Manasi Pathak in Bengaluru; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Edmund KlamannOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ World stocks gyrate as bank contagion fears bite
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Koh Gui Qing | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

"The growing sense of unease about the global banking system is heightening volatility in stock markets around the world," said Nigel Green, chief executive of deVere Group, a financial advisor. The failure of U.S. regional banks Silicon Valley Bank (SIVB.O) and Signature Bank (SBNY.O) this month triggered fears of a banking contagion and prompted U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Thursday to pledge action to safeguard bank deposits. JP Morgan Chase (JPM.N) dropped 1.52%, the S&P 500 banks index (.SPXBK) was down 0.33%, while the KBW regional bank index (.KRX) climbed 2.92%. "I don't expect this volatility (in bank stocks) to subside anytime soon," said Peter Doherty, head of investment research at private bank Arbuthnot Latham in London. Doherty said issues of "contagion risk within the U.S. banking sector" were undoubtedly weighing on appetite for bank stocks elsewhere.

☆ TikTok went big at SXSW and creators discussed building lasting businesses. Here are 3 takeaways that I left Austin with.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Sydney Bradley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Creators gathered at Meta's Austin, TX offices for a series of talks hosted by the Asian Creator House. Whether creators were talking about pay transparency, or startups were pitching their products as solutions, creator monetization was an ongoing conversation at SXSW. "More and more creators are being transparent as to how much they're making," said Monica Ravichandran, creator and Collective Voice staffer. At the Asian Creator House, led by Always Be Creating cofounders Justin Nguyen and Jerry Won, creator pay and business building were also top of mind. But on the brand and marketing side of SXSW, AI wasn't a potent topic, according to Influencer's Penchin.

LONDON, March 15 (Reuters) - Central banks juggling inflation and financial stability mandates are prompting the wildest swings in bedrock government bonds for over a decade and a surge in volatility that may end up causing problems of its own. "The Fed and other central bankers have lost the luxury of focusing singularly on the fight against inflation," said Manulife Investment Management's Frances Donald. If the history of banking crashes and related credit crunches show them to be deflationary anyway, then many argue a central bank pause now may be the wisest choice. "The Fed is now fighting inflation as well as potential financial contagion," Lombard Odier Chief Investment Officer Stéphane Monier said. The first sign of regional bank stock calm on Tuesday, alongside the sticky core inflation readings for February, prompted a build-back of some bets for one last hike from each central bank.

Hong Kong CNN —Europe’s biggest producer of advanced chipmaking technology has joined the United States in its escalating standoff with China. Japan has also been involved in three-way discussions with the Netherlands and the United States, a source familiar with the talks told CNN. China said Thursday it “firmly opposes” the Netherlands’ upcoming curbs, which come just months after the United States restricted sales of some semiconductor machinery to Beijing. He accused Western countries led by the United States of trying to “contain” and “suppress” China. European battlegroundThe announcement of the Netherlands’ export restrictions, the details of which are expected to be confirmed before the summer, isn’t the first time the US-China tech rivalry spilled over into Europe.

☆ The world is on track to overshoot 1.5 degrees of warming, so it's time to study reflecting sun away from the Earth, UN says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Catherine Clifford | In Catclifford | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

With the world not responding to climate change urgently enough, a "speculative group of technologies" to reflect sunlight back away from the Earth have been getting more attention recently, UNEP said in a written statement accompanying the report. This category of technologies is often called solar radiation modification (SRM) or more broadly solar geoengineering. So solar geoengineering could be considered a one-time shot to mitigate extreme suffering and death caused by climate change. "Even as a temporary response option, large-scale SRM deployment is fraught with scientific uncertainties and ethical issues. In addition to needing rigorous scientific study, the report added there needs to be a globally coordinated governance strategy for any potential use of solar-geoengineering technology.

☆ Reflecting sunlight to cool the Earth must be studied before climate change gets much worse, urges group of 60 scientists
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Catherine Clifford | In Catclifford | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Greenhouse gas emissions must be immediately and urgently reduced, as that's the only permanent way to limit global warming. "Even with aggressive action to reduce GHG emissions it is increasingly unlikely that climate warming will remain below 1.5-2°C in the near term," the scientists wrote. "Aerosols from human activities are currently estimated to be offsetting about a third of greenhouse gas climate warming," the scientists wrote. Cirrus cloud thinning, CCT, which involves putting aerosols into cirrus clouds to reduce the amount of infrared radiation that the Earth retains. In some cases, they might be less harmful if used in some combination, the scientists wrote.

☆ A license plate that only has the letter 'R' on it just sold for $3.2 million in Hong Kong — and it's not even a record in the city
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Felise Seah | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A Hong Kong license plate that only has the letter 'R' was sold for $3.2 million on Sunday. But over in Hong Kong, a license plate that only has the letter "R" was sold for about 25.5 million Hong Kong dollars, or $3.2 million, at a Lunar New Year auction organized by the Hong Kong Transport Department on Sunday, according to an announcement by the agency. The news outlet further reported that the license plate "R" was expected to net at least HK$10 million, citing registration plate dealers who spoke to the media before the auction. The quest for a novelty car plate is not just limited to Hong Kong. A rare California license plate with the letters "MM" was sold at $24.3 million in 2021, taking the top spot for the most expensive license plate sold in the world, according to Luxe Digital.

☆ 3 ways Bill Gates thinks ChatGPT and AI will be helpful to people
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Britney Nguyen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Bill Gates told Forbes that AI's progress in the last year, including ChatGPT, makes him "excited." The Microsoft cofounder said he "often" uses ChatGPT "for fun things" like writing poetry. There aren't enough white collar workers for "worthy causes" like those, Gates said, and AI could help fill that need. Gates said he's been interested in AI since he started learning about software, and said AI is just as historic as the PC and the internet. "The idea of computers seeing, hearing and writing is the longterm quest of the entire industry," he told Forbes.

☆ Russian Deaths in Indian Jungle Followed Days of Binge-Drinking
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Stacy Meichtry | Krishna Pokharel | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

BHUBANESWAR, India—Pavel Antov holed himself up in his hotel room, refusing food and drink for two days, after the death of a longtime friend who had accompanied him on a trip deep into the jungles of east India. The last time the staff at the Hotel Sai International recall seeing the 65-year-old Russian—a prominent regional lawmaker who owned a sausage-making company—he was alone on Dec. 24, swinging his fists in the air and heading for the hotel roof.

[1/5] A Chinese police officer stands guard at in the mainland port area of West Kowloon High-Speed Train Station Terminus on the first day of the resumption of rail service to mainland China, during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in Hong Kong, China, January 15, 2023. REUTERS/Tyrone SiuHONG KONG/BEIJING, Jan 15 (Reuters) - China resumed on Sunday high-speed rail services between Hong Kong and the mainland for the first time since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, as it dismantles travel curbs after Beijing scrapped quarantine for arrivals a week earlier. Operations at West Kowloon station have been smooth, with a flow of about 1,400 passengers by 10 a.m., said Cheung Chi-keung, head of operator MTR Corp’s (0066.HK) cross-boundary operations. Hong Kong's transport secretary, Lam Sai-hung, said he could not confirm when long-haul journeys would resume, but that would be after talks with mainland authorities. Reporting by Joyce Zhou and Donny Kwok in Hong Kong and Martin Quin Pollard and Shuyan Wang in Beijing; Editing by Clarence FernandezOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Nexperia and Elmos cases show how the US-China chip war is spilling over to Europe
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( Michelle Toh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Last week, the new owner of Britain’s biggest chipmaker was ordered to unwind its takeover, just days after another chip factory sale was blocked in Germany. “These decisions mark a shift towards tougher stances regarding Chinese investment in critical industries in Europe,” said Xiaomeng Lu, director of geo‑technology at Eurasia Group. A worker in a clean room for silicon semiconductor wafer manufacturing at the Newport Wafer Fab, owned by Nexperia, in Newport, Wales on Aug. 18. A company sign of Elmos Semiconductor, seen on Nov. 9 in the German city of Dortmund. Both Britain and Germany have recently added rules that expand government oversight over such decisions, making outcomes harder to predict.

☆ These mutual funds are planning to hit investors with capital gains distributions. How to decide the right move for you
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Michelle Fox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

There may be some pain ahead for mutual fund investors in the form of capital gains taxes. "That means funds that have suffered steep falls this year could still distribute capital gains to investors," Welch said. John Hancock will pay double-digit capital gains distributions on several of its funds. Almost a dozen Nuveen funds will make 5% to 10% capital gains distributions, while twice that number of T. Rowe price funds will pay out between 4% and 21%. Passively managed funds may have distributions but they tend to be smaller than actively managed funds, Benz pointed out.

London/Berlin CNN Business —The German government has blocked the sale of one of its semiconductor factories to a Chinese-owned tech company because of security concerns. Silex announced in December that it had signed an agreement with Elmos to buy the factory for €85 million ($85.4 million). Addressing the blocked chip deal, he stressed that “Germany is and will remain an open investment location” but that it was not “naive”. China’s chips under threatThe visit came just a month after the United States introduced stringent controls on chip exports to China, a move designed to protect its national security and bolster its domestic semiconductor industry. In early October, the Biden administration banned Chinese firms from buying advanced chips and chip-making equipment without a license.

☆ German economy ministry favours blocking Chinese takeover of Elmos' chip production - sources
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, Nov 8 (Reuters) - Germany's economy ministry has recommended to the cabinet that the government block the Chinese takeover of Elmos' (ELGG.DE) chip factory, saying it would pose a threat to national security, ministry sources said on Tuesday. Milder measures, such as an injunction, are not suitable for addressing the identified dangers, added the sources. Elmos said on Monday that the German government would likely block the sale to competitor Silex, a Swedish company that is a subsidiary of Chinese group Sai Microelectronics (300456.SZ). The sources said the economy ministry and the government are currently working on a China strategy focused on reducing one-sided dependencies and encouraging diversification, as well as protecting infrastructure and preventing technology leakage. Reporting by Markus Wacket, Writing by Miranda Murray Editing by Paul CarrelOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Germany likely to block Chinese takeover of Elmos' chip production
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

FRANKFURT, Nov 7 (Reuters) - The German government will likely block the Chinese takeover of Elmos' (ELGG.DE) chip factory, the Dortmund-based company said on Monday. The economics ministry had been examining the sale to competitor Silex, a Swedish company that is a subsidiary of Chinese group Sai Microelectronics (300456.SZ). The deal "will most likely be prohibited" in a "new development", Elmos said on Monday. Until Monday, the ministry "had indicated to the parties that the transaction most likely will be approved". Reporting by Tom Sims; Editing by Josie KaoOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ First Russia, now China? Europe doesn’t appear ready to ‘decouple’ from Beijing just yet
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Marie Brockling | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +8 min

Scholz was the first leader of a Group of 7 nations to visit China since the start of the pandemic, which was first detected there in 2019. China’s relations with Europe have deteriorated amid tensions over Taiwan, human rights issues and Beijing’s tacit support for Russia in its war on Ukraine. China has welcomed Scholz’s visit, saying it would “contribute to world peace, stability and growth.” But it received considerable pushback in Europe. Fears over Chinese interferenceScholz’s one-day visit to Beijing comes amid heightened fears in Europe over Chinese interference abroad. Wang suggested Europe could have the “best of both worlds” by playing a mediating role between Beijing and Washington.

☆ Germany plans to approve Chinese takeover of Elmos' chip production - Handelsblatt
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, Oct 27 (Reuters) - The German government plans to approve a Chinese takeover of the chip production of Dortmund-based company Elmos, business daily Handelsblatt reported on Thursday, citing government sources. The economy ministry is examining the sale of Elmos' chip factory to competitor Silex, a Swedish company that is a subsidiary of Chinese group Sai Microelectronics, Handelsblatt reported, adding approval is expected in the coming weeks. The expected decision would mean the government would likely defy advice from the domestic intelligence agency, Handelsblatt added. The economy ministry had no immediate comment when contacted by Reuters. ($1 = 0.9967 euros)Reporting by Christian Kraemer and Matthias Inverardi Writing by Paul Carrel, editing by Rachel MoreOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ US stocks fall after steep sell-off as investors assess outlook for more aggressive rate hikes to come
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-22 | by ( Carla Mozée | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The Federal Reserve's rate hike Wednesday was followed by rate hikes at other central banks. Other central banks including Switzerland and Norway followed suit with their own rate hikes as inflation burns hot throughout the global economy. The Bank of England raised its key rate by 50 basis points as inflation sits at 9.8%. US weekly jobless claims released Thursday rose slightly, by 5,000 to 213,000, but the labor market remains strong. Here's what else is happening today:"Bond King" Jeff Gundlach said the Fed's commitment to big rate hikes means a 75% chance of a US recession in 2023.

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