DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ ‘Mrs. Davis’ Review: Algorithm and Blues
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( James Poniewozik | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

The pilot introduces Simone (Betty Gilpin), a sister in a remote Nevada convent who has a sideline exposing dishonest magicians. Besides leaving her time for her hobby, convent life lets her avoid the reach of an omniscient A.I. Davis” in America, “Mum” in Britain, “Madonna” in Italy and so on — has not given up on Simone. Simone, Mrs. Davis believes deep in her code, is the one person equipped to carry out a mission: to find and destroy the Holy Grail. Simone agrees, hoping the quest will be a means to Mrs. Davis’s unplugging.

☆ ‘Piazzolla’s History With Tango’ Review: PBS Dances Down to Argentina
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( John Anderson | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Astor Piazzolla occupies a unique position in modern musical composition. His work is as “popular” in its origins as jazz or blues, though it is frequently heard on classical-music stations—where his propulsive tango rhythms remain as infectious as Bach is baroque. A bridge between musical movements and a singular influence on the music of his native Argentina, Piazzolla dominates the latest installment of “Now Hear This,” the “Great Performances” series hosted by violinist Scott Yoo and his wife, flutist Alice Dade . (Future episodes this season will concern Robert Schumann , Isaac Albéniz and modern classicist Andy Akiho .) Whether their exploration of the music or dancing of tango will lead to a Piazzolla renaissance is uncertain, but there’s a wealth of invigorating music, including Piazzolla’s “History of Tango,” originally composed for flute and guitar and rendered with considerable energy and eloquence by Ms. Dade and Sebastián Henríquez .

☆ How Much Watching Time Do You Have This Weekend?
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Margaret Lyons | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

‘Great Performances: Now Hear This’When to watch: Friday at 9 p.m., on PBS. “Hear” covers both the artistic and the mechanical — who among us has not yearned to know how the guts of an accordion work? — but its real calling card is the sense of pleasure radiating from the show’s participants. Making music together is supposed to be fun! Being really good at it makes it even more fun!

☆ I just traveled to Argentina — and doubled my money with a 'black market' exchange rate
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-11 | by ( Greg Iacurci | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +15 min

A legal exchange rate influenced by the black marketA worker lays out 500 Argentine peso note sheets on Aug. 14, 2020 in Buenos Aires. Greg IacurciPut another way: Your money goes almost twice as far with the "blue dollar" exchange rate. The exchange rate for the transaction was 366 Argentine pesos per U.S. dollar, almost double the official exchange rate (190 pesos per dollar) at the time. Anyone who wants to save more cash in U.S. dollars must turn to the black market, which sets the "blue dollar" exchange rate. The exchange rate offered by Western Union has been similar to that of the "blue dollar" rate on the black market.

☆ ICC's top prosecutor in Ukraine to probe Russian attacks on power grid
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Mike Collett-White | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/3] Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and ICC Prosecutor Karim A. A. Khan QC meet, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine February 28, 2023. ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan said. Andriy Kostin, Ukraine's Prosecutor General who accompanied Khan to the bomb site, praised the cooperation between his offices and those of the ICC. Kostin's office said that tens of thousands of Russian attacks had been launched on infrastructure and civilians which had no military justification.

☆ A former sales director will get more than $86,000 after his boss allegedly said he didn't want a team of 'bald-headed 50-year-old men' who were a 'mirror image' of himself
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( Sarah Jackson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A former UK sales director will get more than $86,000 after alleging wrongful dismissal and age discrimination. Mark Jones, now in his 60s, claims his former boss said, "I don't want a team of bald-headed 50-year-old men." Jones says he was later put on a "sham" performance improvement plan that led to him resigning last year. Mark Jones was a sales director at UK-based cell phone company Tango Networks. "I don't want a team of bald-headed 50-year-old men — I want to change the dynamics," Hesketh allegedly said.

Click to unmute A global city needs a global soundtrack, and in New York, you can find nearly anything you want. Over the past several months, we followed several New York musical scenes that reflect the city’s creative soul, thriving in community centers, local bars and public parks. The sight of a new generation encouraged Mr. Joseph, who sees the band as preserving traditional culture in the modern city. It becomes part of you.” New York itself is as much a player as any musician, transforming traditional tunes into something new. The people who embraced Mateo and his mother when they moved from Boston to New York in 2016 now consoled her.

New York CNN —Thursday afternoon will round out what has so far been a sobering earnings season for the Big Tech giants. Alphabet’s revenue will likely remain flat from last year and Amazon’s sales are expected to grow just shy of 6% year-over-year. All three companies’ profits are expected to fall from the year-ago quarter, with Amazon set to suffer the steepest drop with a decline of 40.6%. Then came the press conference, which led to a steep divergence between what the Fed thinks and what the Wall Street thinks. A cautionary tale: In mid-November, Ticketmaster’s site overloaded when fans tried to purchase pre-sale tickets for Taylor Swift’s upcoming tour.

China's diesel exports rose for a second month in December, hitting 2.79 million tonnes, up 32.8% from November's 2.10 million, according to official data released on Jan. 18. This is because they have been ramping up imports of cheaper Russian crude, thus lowering their input costs. China diesel exports vs gasoil crackRUSSIAN DIESELWhile the oil market has largely been able to work around the exit of Russian crude from Europe by re-routing it to Asia, it may be trickier to replicate this with the loss of Russian refined products. Some Asian fuel importers, such as Pakistan, the Philippines and Indonesia, may be happy to buy Russian fuel, but the discounts would have to be steep. What's more likely is that Asia's diesel and gasoline markets tighten as the EU ban on Russian fuel comes into effect.

☆ The 50 fashion, beauty, and lifestyle companies set to take off and become the next great direct-to-consumer brands, according to The Lead
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Danni Santana | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

HydrowWhat it is: indoor rowing machineTotal capital raised: $255 million22. ipsaWhat it is: fine frozen dinners made to be heated on stove tops or in ovensTotal capital raised: Undisclosed23. MadhappyWhat it is: fashion and lifestyle brand focused on creating conversation around mental healthTotal capital raised: $1.8 million28. MugsyWhat it is: online retailer best known for its jeansTotal capital raised: None32 .Oliver CabellWhat it is: luxury footwear minus the markupsTotal capital raised: None33. The Normal BrandWhat it is: lifestyle brand that sells rugged clothing for men and women inspired by the MidwestTotal capital raised: None46. Win Brands GroupWhat it is: holding company with brands selling outerwear, home goods, and candlesTotal capital raised: $90 million50.

☆ The Department of Justice charged 2 men over helping to conceal Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg's ownership of a $90 million superyacht
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-21 | by ( Stephanie Stacey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Richard Masters and Vladislav Osipov were charged by the Department of Justice for sanctions evasion. The US has accused the pair of trying to conceal a sanctioned oligarch's ownership of a superyacht. Masters, 52, used a fake name for Viktor Vekselberg's "Tango," calling it the "Fanta," per DoJ. Prosecutors said Vladislav Osipov and Richard Masters had facilitated the operation of Vekselberg's $90 million yacht that was seized by Spanish authorities last April. Osipov designed a "complicated ownership structure of shell companies" to mask Vekselberg's ownership of the boat, called "Tango," according to the DoJ.

☆ U.S. charges two men with facilitating sanctions evasion of Russian oligarch's yacht
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Kanishka Singh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] The yacht called "Tango" owned by Russian billionaire Viktor Vekselberg, who was sanctioned by the U.S. on March 11, is seen at Palma de Mallorca Yacht Club in the Spanish island of Mallorca, Spain March 15, 2022. REUTERS/Juan MedinaWASHINGTON, Jan 20 (Reuters) - The U.S. government said on Friday it charged two businessmen, one Russian and one British, with allegedly facilitating a sanctions evasion and money laundering scheme in relation to a $90 million yacht of billionaire Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg. Washington imposed sanctions on Vekselberg in 2018 over alleged Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election, and in 2022 over his ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Osipov, an employee of Vekselberg, designed a complicated ownership structure of shell companies to hide Vekselberg’s ownership of the yacht, the Justice Department alleged. Vekselberg owned the Renova group of companies, which operate in Russia's energy sector, according to the U.S. Treasury Department, which enforces sanctions.

☆ In 2023, China's appetite for LNG set to rise amid tepid demand across Asia
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Emily Chow | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Summary China's 2023 LNG demand seen rising 9-14% - analystsNuclear power to dampen Japan, South Korea LNG demandLimited LNG supplies to come online globally next yearSINGAPORE, Jan 5 (Reuters) - China's liquefied natural gas (LNG) demand is forecast to recover in 2023 as the country emerges from COVID-19 controls to become the bright spot in Asia's consumption for the super-chilled fuel. This led Europe to import record amounts of LNG, pushing Asian spot LNG prices to historical highs. Asia LNG and Europe gas price chartNUCLEAR SWITCHChina's 2023 demand rebound would be offset by lower consumption from Japan, South Korea and South Asian nations, analysts said. As a result, Asia's share of global LNG demand would remain just above 60% for a second straight year. In response to high LNG prices, Japan and South Korea aim to increase nuclear power's contribution to their energy supply, leading analysts to cut estimates of 2023 LNG demand from those countries.

☆ Republican U.S. House to open in turmoil as McCarthy fights for gavel
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( David Morgan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

After four years as the Republican minority leader, McCarthy now needs at least 218 votes to succeed Democrat Nancy Pelosi as speaker. House Republicans are expected to meet face-to-face behind closed doors on Tuesday morning, ahead of the speaker election. While Republicans have won back the House, Democrats still hold the White House and Senate. 'TAKES TWO TO TANGO'The record number of voting rounds to elect a House speaker is 133 over a two-month period in the 1850s. The hardline Republican House Freedom Caucus is demanding rule changes that would enhance the group's influence.

☆ Factbox: Former Pope Benedict, his papacy and resignation
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

VATICAN CITY, Dec 31 (Reuters) - Following are some facts about former Pope Benedict, who died on Saturday:- Benedict, the first German pope in 1,000 years, was elected on April 19, 2005 to succeed the widely popular Pope John Paul II, who reigned for 27 years. Benedict said he stood down because bad health prevented him from bearing the full weight of the papacy. [1/2] Pope Benedict XVI arrives to celebrate a mass at Revolution Square in Havana, Cuba, March 28, 2012. The Vatican under Pope John Paul II had failed to take action against Maciel despite overwhelming evidence of his crimes. Some loyalists failed to accept that he had resigned the papacy willingly and continued to consider him "my pope".

☆ Factbox: Former pope Benedict, his papacy and resignation
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

VATICAN CITY, Dec 28 (Reuters) - Former pope Benedict, who Pope Francis said on Wednesday was "very sick", resigned in 2013, the first pontiff in 600 years to take such a step rather than rule for life. - Benedict, the first German pope in 1,000 years, was elected on April 19, 2005 to succeed the widely popular Pope John Paul II, who reigned for 27 years. The Vatican under Pope John Paul II had failed to take action against Maciel despite overwhelming evidence of his crimes. Some loyalists failed to accept that he had resigned the papacy willingly and continued to consider him "my pope". Pope Francis, by contrast, also loves classical music but appreciates Italian pop songs from the early 1960s and also likes tango music from his native Argentina.

☆ The Subsidy Tango of Bill Gates and Joe Manchin
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( The Editorial Board | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Bill Gates sold West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin on this year’s Democratic climate spending blowout as a way to put unemployed coal workers to work building advanced nuclear reactors. Now we learn, belatedly, that these projects depend on Russia for fuel and will cost taxpayers more than advertised. The Energy Department last year awarded up to $2 billion for an advanced nuclear reactor “demonstration” project in Wyoming being developed by TerraPower, a company Mr. Gates founded. These advanced reactors have been promoted because they take up significantly less space than conventional reactors and could theoretically use reprocessed nuclear fuel.

☆ 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.

☆ Netherlands PM Rutte apologises for role of Dutch state in slavery
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Tosterling Ank Kuipers | Ank Kuipers | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/8] Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte responds to recommendations from a panel of experts to accept the role of the Netherlands in the history of slavery and its current consequences in The Hague, Netherlands December 19, 2022. "Today I apologise," Rutte said in a nationally televised speech at the Dutch National Archives. "For centuries the Dutch state and its representatives have enabled and stimulated slavery and have profited from it," he added. "It is true that nobody alive today bears any personal guilt for slavery...(however) the Dutch state bears responsibility for the immense suffering that has been done to those that were enslaved and their descendants." The panel said that Dutch participation in slavery had amounted to crimes against humanity and in 2021 recommended an apology and reparations.

☆ Inside Stevie Nicks' and Christine McVie's decades-long friendship
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Scottie Andrew | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

At a concert in London, shortly before McVie officially rejoined the band, Nicks dedicated the song “Landslide” to her “mentor. “It was critical that I got on with her because I’d never played with another girl,” McVie told the Guardian in 2013. She officially rejoined Fleetwood Mac after calling Fleetwood himself and gauging what her return would mean for the group. In 2015, a year after she’d rejoined Fleetwood Mac, McVie hit the road with her bandmates. Christine McVie (left) and Stevie Nicks perform together at Radio City Music Hall in 2018.

☆ Here's what to do when your boss is gaslighting you
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Rebecca Knight | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

This edition of Insider's work-advice column is about how to deal with a boss who's gaslighting you. He's gaslighting me about my performance, and I worry he's building a case to eventually try to fire me. And because we work in a very transparent and data-heavy organization, I can prove that he's wrong. Or, he could double down on the gaslighting behaviors, in which case you need to fashion an exit strategy, stat. Do your best to reduce direct contact with your boss — and take detailed notes on the meetings you do have.

☆ Catching Sanctions Evaders Getting More Complex
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( David Smagalla | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +4 min

Some players looking to bypass Russia sanctions are taking pages from the playbook of Iran and North Korea sanctions evaders, such as the use of front companies to transact in the country. Newsletter Sign-up WSJ | Risk and Compliance Journal Our Morning Risk Report features insights and news on governance, risk and compliance. Isaias Lima, a managing director at financial services business the Bancorp Inc., said attempts by individuals and entities to help Russia evade sanctions are a concern. “The expectation is that if you are receiving the data, if you have possession of IP addresses, you have to screen those IP addresses and understand whether or not those transactions are originating from sanctioned countries,” he added. OFAC has relied more and more on the use of IP addresses as a sanctions enforcement tool, said Orisia Gammell, SAP SE’s chief legal counsel for export control.

☆ Becky G sees 'magic' in collaborations with fellow artists
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( Liz Calvario | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +9 min

Becky G was just 14 years old when she signed her first record deal. In 2016, Becky started releasing songs in Spanish, finding a wider audience and recognition. “I use the word collaboration a lot, because to me, that’s where the magic happens. 1 spot on the Hot Latin Songs chart. That’s really where I tried to focus a lot of my energy and make an impact.

"Dancing with the Stars" season 31 is now streaming on Disney Plus. How to watch 'Dancing with the Stars'You can watch "Dancing with the Stars' season 31 exclusively on Disney Plus. Disney Plus is available to stream on mobile devices, media players, and smart TVs from most major brands. "Dancing with the Stars" received a two-season pickup when it was announced for Disney Plus, so the show will return for at least one more season after season 31 concludes. The following celebrities and dancers are all vying for the Mirrorball trophy in season 31 of "Dancing with the Stars.

☆ Analysis: 'Abbott Elementary' is back in session
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-24 | by ( Lisa Respers France | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Three things to watch‘Abbott Elementary’ Season 2(From left) Quinta Brunson, Janelle James, Lisa Ann Walter, Tyler James Williams, Chris Perfetti and Sheryl Lee Ralph in a scene from "Abbott Elementary." Gilles Mingasson/ABCNot enough great things can be said about “Abbott Elementary” creator Quinta Brunson. “Abbott Elementary” airs Wednesday nights on ABC; episodes will also be available to stream the following day on Hulu. ‘Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story’Evan Peters stars as Jeffrey Dahmer in "Dahmer -- Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story." ‘The Kardashians’ Season 2Kim Kardashian in a scene from the second season of Hulu's "The Kardashians."

Search resuls for: "Tango"

25 mentions found