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☆ The End of LIBOR Is (Finally) Here
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Joe Rennison | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

The arduous, decade-long process to end the financial system’s reliance on a tarnished interest-rate benchmark, which once underpinned trillions of dollars in contracts across the globe, is almost over. From next week, the rate, known as the London Interbank Offered Rate, or LIBOR for short, will cease to be published. LIBOR is a collective term for dozens of rates, denominated in different currencies, intended to reflect how much it costs banks to borrow from one another. In the end, roughly $10 billion in fines were meted out across the financial industry over accusations of LIBOR rigging, which led to efforts to move away from the tainted benchmark. “There are still issues, but it’s remarkable that LIBOR will go out with more of a whimper than a bang.

Persons: LIBOR, ”, Mark Cabana Organizations: London, Barclays, Bank of America Locations: LIBOR, British

☆ Aussie billionaires’ solar spat enters new phase
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MELBOURNE, May 29 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The battle between two of Australia’s richest men for control of bankrupt renewables startup Sun Cable has ended in a whimper. Surprisingly absent from the final bout was Squadron Energy, one of Fortescue Metals (FMG.AX) founder Andrew Forrest’s investment companies. Both were early investors in Sun Cable; their spat over its strategy plunged the firm into administration in January. Cannon-Brookes wants to stick to the original plan of sending most of the energy it produces to Singapore via an undersea cable. Now the race is on to see which of the two men is first to flick the on switch.

☆ Everton survive as Leicester and Leeds are relegated on dramatic final day
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-28 | by ( Martyn Herman | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The Merseyside club's 69-year stay in the top flight was in peril at halftime as they were drawing 0-0 and 2016 champions Leicester were ahead against West Ham United. That combination of results meant Everton were in the relegation zone but Abdoulaye Doucoure's stunning 57th minute right-foot strike from outside the area earned Everton the victory they required. The final whistle prompted a pitch invasion with smoke from blue flares drifting across the old stadium that will host top-flight football again after another Everton escape. Everton ended in 17th place on 36 points after 38 games, with Leicester in 18th on 34 and Leeds on 31. EVERTON RELIEFThe celebrations at Everton were more of relief than pride as the famous old club once again found itself battling not for silverware but to avoid relegation.

☆ After Years of Political Hype, the Durham Inquiry Failed to Deliver
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Charlie Savage | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Mr. Durham delivered a report that scolded the F.B.I. but failed to live up to the expectations of supporters of Donald J. Trump that he would uncover a politically motivated “deep state” conspiracy. or intelligence official with a crime and acknowledged in a footnote that Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign did nothing prosecutable, either. of “confirmation bias” rather than making a more explosive conclusion of political bias — made scant difference in parts of the political arena. Mr. Trump and many of his loyalists issued statements treating it as vindication of their claims that the Russia inquiry involved far more extravagant wrongdoing.

☆ Opinion: Why I’m not reassured by our victory over Covid-19
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Opinion Kent Sepkowitz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Editor’s note: Kent Sepkowitz is a physician and infectious disease expert at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York. CNN —At long last, the Covid-19 pandemic has entered its whimper phase. Last week, the World Health Organization decided to end the Covid-19 global health emergency. The US public health emergency is scheduled to end on Thursday, and beginning the following day, vaccination against Covid-19 will no longer be required for non-US travelers entering the States. Infectious diseases don’t ever really go away; they just change a little, then change some more till one day, they return bigger and fiercer than ever.

☆ Elon Musk and Tucker Carlson discussed the urge to have sex, with Musk claiming 'birth control and abortions' could cause civilization to collapse
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

They discussed sex, population decline, and civilization collapse. During the discussion, Musk claimed that the human urge to procreate had been "subverted," leading to population decline. I mean, the urge to have sex and to procreate is – after breathing and eating – the most basic urge. But once you have birth control and abortions and whatnot, now you can still satisfy limbic instinct, but not procreate," Musk replied. Musk has long claimed that population decline poses a grave threat to civilization, tweeting in 2022 that "population collapse due to low birth rates is a much bigger risk to civilization than global warming."

In February, the first full month since China's border reopened, Australia recorded 40,430 short-term visitors from China, government data showed. Government marketing body Tourism Australia declined to comment. Trade promotion office Austrade said Tourism Australia's managing director visited China in March to meet strategic partners such as airlines and the body would "continue to work closely with its key distribution partners in the market to realise tourism opportunities between Australia and China". China was Australia's biggest source of foreign students until 2019, but students of other nationalities have filled its foreign student ranks since Australia reopened its border in 2021. "When Chinese tourists return en masse, I'm worried that the supply will not catch up with demand," he said.

Other investors who have held Toshiba longer may not be so lucky: the offer price represents a 15% discount from a December 2014 high. Some were introduced to JIP by Toshiba's management, some of the people said, declining to be identified because the information is not public. Toshiba's management, including CEO Taro Shimada, will stay on, while the government keeps Toshiba's sensitive defence and nuclear technologies in Japanese hands. Toshiba felt stable shareholders were desirable to end the tumult, unlike current shareholders "with many differing views", it said. JIP does not see the need for big strategy adjustments, Toshiba said.

☆ Tottenham end unhappy relationship with Conte
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-26 | by ( Martyn Herman | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

LONDON, March 26 (Reuters) - Antonio Conte's increasingly fractious relationship with Tottenham Hotspur came to an end with the Premier League club announcing they had parted ways with the Italian on Sunday. "We can announce that head coach Antonio Conte has left the club by mutual agreement," Tottenham said in a statement. "We achieved Champions League qualification in Antonio's first season at the club. "We have 10 Premier League games remaining and we have a fight on our hands for a Champions League place," chairman Daniel Levy said in the statement. Conte leaves with Tottenham in fourth place in the Premier League and still well-placed to challenge for a top-four finish and qualify for the Champions League.

☆ Take Five: Strap in for no landing
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

1/ FED VS STOCKSReports on U.S. durable goods orders, home prices as well as manufacturing and consumer confidence threaten to cement expectations of more Fed rate hikes and to deal a knockout punch to the early-year stocks rally. Evidence of a stronger-than-expected economy has forced investors to recalibrate projections for Fed hawkishness, lifting bond yields and weighing on stock gains. Tuesday's consumer confidence data may be of particular interest, offering a glimpse into households' views on economic prospects and inflation expectations. The idea of "no landing," which upends a host of popular trades based on a the scenario of the global economy entering recession is gaining traction thanks to surprisingly upbeat data. A soft landing could still happen.

☆ Market veteran is still bullish on tech despite earnings upset, and reveals his other top picks
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Zavier Ong | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Last week was a big one for tech earnings, but it ended on a whimper as a series of disappointments left market watchers questioning the strength of the tech rally. But market veteran Kenny Polcari, chief market strategist at SlateStone Wealth, is still bullish on Big Tech. "We added Big Tech on weakness, like Apple and Amazon, these stocks are getting arbitrarily dislocated. So, I do think there's [an] opportunity for sure, but I don't think you can go all in on Big Tech just yet," he said. STPN – 'Stuff that people need' But tech isn't Polcari's only way to play the market.

☆ Astronomers document a not-so-super supernova in the Milky Way
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Will Dunham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

This binary system, studied using a telescope at the Chile-based Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, is located about 11,000 light years from Earth in our Milky Way galaxy in the direction of the constellation Puppis. Its companion star boasts a mass 18 to 19 times greater than the sun after cannibalizing its mate. The two stars orbit around each other every 59-1/2 days, separated by about eight-tenths of the distance existing between Earth and the sun. The type of binary system examined in this study is rare, with roughly 10 estimated to exist in a Milky Way populated by about 100-400 billion stars. "In the case of these massive stars, we have not yet detected planets around them.

☆ Morning Bid: Breathe in
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Tom WestbrookMarkets are holding their breath for a week where central banks may start to take divergent paths. read moreWall Street's "fear index" - the VIX volatility index - on Friday fell below 18.0 for the first time in over a year, and perhaps a little under the radar, U.S. bond market volatility is now its lowest since last June. In Asia, markets slipped slightly, U.S. futures fell 0.4% and currency trade was eerily calm. The Nikkei newspaper reported Renault (RENA.PA) was to lower its share holding in Nissan (7201.T) to 15%, while the latter would invest in Renault's EV business. Things have not gone well for investors in other firms Hindenburg has targeted.

☆ Did the economy end 2022 with a bang or a whimper?
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( Paul R. La Monica | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

But the United States economy still seems to be chugging along just fine after experiencing a hiccup in the first half of 2022. Despite worries about weaker consumer spending during the holidays, economists are forecasting solid growth for the fourth quarter. Yearning for earningsMore blue chip companies will report fourth quarter results (and perhaps give guidance about the first quarter of 2023 and beyond) this week. But according to FactSet senior earnings analyst John Butters, earnings for the tech sector are expected to fall nearly 10% in the fourth quarter compared to the fourth quarter of 2021. Verizon (VZ), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Travelers (TRV), 3M (MMM), Boeing (BA), Dow (DOW), Visa (V), Chevron (CVX) and American Express (AXP).

"The Idaho state lab later located a single source of male DNA (suspect Profile) left on the button snap of the knife sheath." But Kohberger's phone did not come up in that search. Another search warrant, granted Dec. 23, gave investigators Kohberger's cellphone location during the 24 hours before the killings and the 24 hours afterward. The evidence was sent to the Idaho State Lab for testing and a DNA profile was compared with DNA discovered on the knife sheath. There's likely to be a lot more evidence — more sightings of the Elantra, more information about where Kohberger's phone traveled — that was not included, Martin said.

The S&P 500 shed 0.25% to end at 3,839.50. The S&P 500 sank 19.4%, and is more than 20% below its record high, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq tumbled 33.1%. Despite the yearly losses, the Dow and S&P 500 did break three-quarter losing streaks. The tech-heavy Nasdaq, however, muddled through its fourth consecutive negative quarter for the first time since 2001. Communication services was the worst performing sector in the S&P 500 this year, falling more than 40%, followed by consumer discretionary.

☆ Dow and stock market tumbles. So much for an end-of-year rally
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Paul R. La Monica | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN —Christmas is just ten days away, and investors are still hoping for a Santa Claus rally. The Dow tumbled more than 700 points, or 2.1%, Thursday, and it is down about 4% in December following solid gains the previous two months. The S&P 500 is now off more than 4% for the month while the Nasdaq has sank 5%. The Fed raised rates by “just” a half of a percentage point Wednesday, as expected. It didn’t help that the government also reported a much bigger drop in retail sales for November than expected on Thursday.

☆ Warnock's decisive victory in Georgia is the final blow to once-hopeful Republicans in 2022
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Brent D. Griffiths | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The Republican Party will end the once promising 2022 cycle having failed to reach many of its goals. This is not how the Republican Party envisioned 2022. In particular, many GOP candidates, including Walker, continue to underperform in fastly growing suburbs. It's all about the candidatesGeorgia Republican Senate nominee Herschel Walker speaks with supporters during a campaign rally in Milton, Ga., on November 21, 2022. While several Republican hopefuls have illustrated that suburban voters are not unreachable, Trump-backed hopefuls have routinely struggled.

☆ Uruguay beats Ghana in grudge rematch but is eliminated from World Cup after South Korea shocks Portugal
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Matias Grez | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

However, the breakthrough never came and Uruguay exits the World Cup at the group stage for the first time since 2002. No love lostMake no mistake, this fixture was one of the biggest grudge matches at the Qatar World Cup. Then, seemingly in the blink of an eye, it was 2-0 and Ghana’s World Cup hopes were once again evaporating against Uruguay. The Black Stars did at least begin the second half with more energy, as Osman Bukari flashed a shot across the goal inside the opening 60 seconds. Luis Suárez made himself a villain in Ghana for his role in their epic clash at the 2010 World Cup.

☆ Belgium’s golden era ends in a World Cup whimper
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Nick Said | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

It was a meek end for a group of players who had taken the country to the top of the world rankings, but have no silverware to show for it. With 11 of their players in the squad over the age of 30, and a new World Cup cycle on the horizon, change is inevitable. Coach Roberto Martinez has also yet to sign a new contract, with his current deal expiring soon. Too many players fell short of their usual standards, not least De Bruyne, whose poor form in the first two games robbed them of their usual cutting edge. Reporting by Nick Said, editing by Ed OsmondOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Dark horses Denmark exit World Cup as attack fails to fire
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Philip O'Connor | Daniel Wiessner | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A scoreless draw with Tunisia and a 2-1 loss to France followed by a 1-0 defeat by Australia was a poor return from a side tipped to be Europe's dark horses in Qatar. They rattled in 30 goals in 10 World Cup qualifiers, winning nine straight games to book their spot in Qatar, but once they got there, the wheels came off as the rest of the world found ways to blunt their attacking weapons. Blessed with skill, vision and intelligence all over the pitch, what the Danes lacked most was a reliable goal-poaching striker, and it came back to haunt them. The Danes had plenty of possession, but their build-up play was ponderous and seldom incisive enough to create danger for their opponents. Reporting by Philip O'Connor; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Ed OsmondOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Analysis: Qatar’s lack of attacking intent puts them on World Cup precipice
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( Nick Said | Anita Kobylinska | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

With the Dutch to come in their final group game on Tuesday, they needed a win against Senegal but from the first whistle there seemed little in the way of attacking intent. It was an issue in their opening 2-0 loss to Ecuador that Qatar coach Felix Sanchez tried to fix. On the rare occasions Qatar did mount attacks at 2-0 down, they created chances, with Ghana-born forward Mohammed Muntari scoring the country’s first ever World Cup goal that proved a consolation only. But over the 90 minutes they invited Senegal onto them instead of trying to impose themselves on the game. How Qatar approach their final game against Netherlands will be telling – will it be a case of going out in a blaze of glory, or with a whimper?

☆ Billionaires like Elon Musk want to save civilization by having tons of genetically superior kids. Inside the movement to take 'control of human evolution.'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Julia Black | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +40 min

"We are the Underground Railroad of 'Gattaca' babies and people who want to do genetic stuff with their kids," Malcolm told me. Ellison, meanwhile, who has two children in their 30s, has reportedly resumed having kids — with his 31-year-old girlfriend. "The person of this subculture really sees the pathway to immortality as being through having children," Simone said. The person of this subculture really sees the pathway to immortality as being through having children. Before she met Malcolm, Simone was convinced she wanted to live her life single and child-free.

☆ Premarket stocks: A spooky forecast for the future of interest rates
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

New York CNN Business —When will central banks stop raising interest rates? This week, the Federal Reserve is expected to increase rates by 75 basis points for the fourth time in a row. For some time, it was thought that 2023 would bring lower interest rates and a return to dovish monetary policy. Even the Federal Reserve appears confused about when it will stop rate hikes. A possible answer: Wall Street tends to favor big events, but the future of central bank policy may be more nuanced.

☆ History shows the market should be bottoming soon, and inflation data could be catalyst
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-10 | by ( Patti Domm | In | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

If the stock market is going to follow its historic pattern during a midterm election year, it would be bottoming just around now. "Typically, it's after Oct. 9 that you start to see some better performance," said Ari Wald, technical analyst at Oppenheimer. The analyst said that date was the average day the market bottomed in the last eight mid-term election years, going back to 1990. "Investors should moderate their expectations for US equity valuations; history shows these contract during periods of high volatility." "Generally our view is that the rate market is trading more off Fed policy and the Fed's commitment to fight inflation rather than the actual threat of inflation.

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