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☆ Leon Cooperman is bullish on oil and has 20% of his portfolio in energy stocks
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Yun Li | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Leon Cooperman said Monday oil prices are headed higher on the back of a demand comeback, boosting his energy stock picks. He said he has 20% of his portfolio in energy stocks. The widely followed investor said his two favorite stocks in the sector are Canadian oil and gas producers Paramount Resources and Tourmaline Oil . "It's growing production at 15%," Cooperman said on Tourmaline Oil. Paramount Resources shares are up more than 3% this year, while Tourmaline Oil saw its stock fall more than 17%.

☆ Leaked email shows even Twitch's CEO was caught off guard by Amazon's layoffs: 'I'm disappointed to share the news this way'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The CEO of Amazon-owned Twitch wrote that he's "disappointed" to share news of layoffs before each affected employee was told. His email reflects Amazon's lack of transparency over its layoff process, which affected roughly 25,000 employees since late last year. Amazon employees have complained about the ambiguity, which contradicts the company's commitment to creating "Earth's Best Employer." The email was separate from the public message Clancy shared on Twitch's blog on the same day. Just over 400 people were let go at Twitch as part of the new 9,000 being cut, this email explained.

☆ Here's an exclusive look at the pitch deck that Anvil, which helps businesses automate paperwork, used to raise $5 million from Craft Ventures and Alphabet's Gradient Ventures
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Melia Russell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

It raised an additional $5 million for its Series A round from Craft Ventures and Gradient Ventures. Insider has an exclusive look at the pitch deck that Anvil used to raise the new funds. Three years ago, he set out to raise fresh capital for his startup, Anvil, which helps businesses create documents from data. In 2020, Craft Ventures heard Ng's pitch and passed. Here's an exclusive look at the pitch deck that Anvil used to raise an additional $5 million:

☆ I was burned out when I sold my first startup for a life-changing amount of money. But I missed the energy, so I've started another.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-02 | by ( Grace Mayer | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Ankur Nagpal, 34, who founded startups Teachable and Ocho Wealth, where he is also the CEO. After I sold my first startup in 2020, I told myself I would never start a company from scratch again. People were setting up all kinds of business through Teachable — courses on computer programming and marketing, to dance, gardening, and yoga. But once I set that aside, I realized running Teachable wasn't what I was uniquely suited to do anymore. But six months ago I started Ocho Wealth, a service designed to help business owners and freelancers learn how to grow their wealth through educational products and financial services.

Chinese demand is helping boost Singapore property prices, Chinese students are snapping up apartments in Sydney and Melbourne, and agents say Chinese interest is ticking up in Thailand. But they indicate that in the wake of the pandemic, Chinese families are looking to relocate assets, and even themselves, overseas. Home purchases in Singapore, where Chinese are the top foreign buyers, cooled early in 2023 from last year's torrid pace - but only slightly despite a steep rise in real estate stamp duties. The Singapore American School has "seen significant interest from Chinese families looking to enrol," it said in a statement responding to Reuters questions. Canada, another real estate market popular with Chinese investors, has put a two-year ban on foreign purchasers.

☆ A post-Covid spending hangover means you have to be more selective with pet plays, Cramer says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Lorie Konish | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

A Covid hangover is upon us, which means we just don't do things we did during lockdown, CNBC's Jim Cramer said on Friday. Pets may be subtle casualties of the current "long on money, short on time" spending mode, Cramer said. "Now you have to be more selective with the pet plays," Cramer said. Pure pet plays like Petco and Chewy have become "two of the most controversial stocks in the entire market," Cramer said. Smucker is also "another good safety play with a pet food kicker" that can work its way higher, Cramer said.

Production is expected to have risen as the automaker ramped up production at new factories in Texas and Berlin, and as China production recovered from a COVID-19 lockdown hit. Analysts expect Tesla to further lower prices as many automakers have matched the price cuts and concerns about a weakening economy persist. Musk said in January that the price cuts stoked demand, playing down concerns about a weak economy. In China, Tesla's retail sales totaled 106,915 units in the year to March 19, one of the best quarters on record, according to data from China Merchants Bank International. Tesla's price cuts in China ignited a price war, with Chinese rivals including BYD (002594.SZ) and Xpeng (9868.HK) dropping prices.

☆ Fact Check-‘15-minute city’ is an urban planning concept that promotes easy access to essential amenities
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

A “15-minute city” is an urban planning model that envisions an environment where people can access amenities within a 15-minute walk, bike ride, or public transport journey from their homes. However, multiple experts who spoke to Reuters said the urban planning idea has been widely misinterpreted online. WHAT IS A 15-MINUTE CITY? Versions of a 15-minute city have been implemented in Paris and Melbourne, while other areas like Ottawa (here) and Scotland (bit.ly/3Hil13x) (page 61) have proposals in place. The 15-minute city is an urban planning concept that envisions a living environment with easily accessible essentials.

☆ Shanghai's population drops in 2022 after COVID lockdowns
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Shanghai's figures came after Beijing also posted its first population drop since 2003. China's population fell last year for the first time in six decades, weighed down by rising living costs especially in big, sprawling urban hubs, weak economic growth, and changing attitudes towards raising a family. Shanghai's birth rate dropped to 4.4 per 1,000 people from 4.7 a year earlier, while its death rate increased to 6.0 per 1,000 people from 5.6 due to a rapidly ageing population. China last year recorded its lowest ever birth rate, of 6.77 per 1,000 people. Around 18.7% of Shanghai's population is older than 65, above the national average of 14.9%.

Soldering demand from the electronics sector remains weak and investors in London and Shanghai continue to play the market from the short side. Surging purchases of electronic goods during lockdown were followed by sharply reduced spending as many Western consumers were hit by a cost-of-living squeeze. LME positioning reports show both investment funds and other financial players are currently net short of the London tin contract after the early-year rally went into reverse. LME tin price, stocks and cash-3s spreadSHANGHAI STOCKS UP, LONDON STOCKS DOWNReasons to be negative are more obvious in China. ShFE registered tin stocks have risen by 60% to 8,745 tonnes since the start of January.

☆ 'Climate lockdown' anger drives Swiss grandmother to sue Bern at EU court
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Emma Farge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Her frustration with what she calls "climate lockdown" is part of her motivation for suing the Swiss government alongside more than 2,000 other elderly women in the first ever climate case before the European Court of Human Rights this week. Some of the other women in the case described shortness of breath, nausea and even loss of consciousness during heatwaves which are becoming more frequent due to climate change. More broadly, Switzerland said it recognises that climate change is a problem for the country where temperatures are rising about twice the global rate. Observers acknowledge that it may be difficult to prove the women's suffering is the result of climate change, rather than something else. But due to the advanced age of the Swiss women (73 on average), several dozen of them have already died.

LONDON, March 27 (Reuters) - Funds have dumped their bets on higher copper prices as the turbulence triggered by the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank continues to roil financial markets. The investment community has turned net short of CME copper for the first time in five months, while funds have cut their long exposure on the London Metal Exchange (LME). Investors' negativity towards Doctor Copper contrasts with the bullish headlines generated by the FT Commodities Global Summit. Investment funds bought into copper in January, the net long position expanding from 11,830 to 32,397 contracts at the end of the month. Bulls such as Trafigura and Goldman Sachs contend it's a very thin inventory cushion if China rediscovers its copper mojo.

☆ Apple CEO Tim Cook meets with China's commerce minister on supply chain
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Rohan Goswami | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Tim Cook, chief executive officer of Apple Inc., speaks during a "First Tool-In" ceremony at the TSMC facility under construction in Phoenix, Arizona, US, on Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2022. Apple CEO Tim Cook met with China's minister of commerce, Wang Wentao, on Monday to discuss industrial and supply chain stabilization, according to a statement from the Ministry of Commerce. "The two sides exchanged views on issues such as Apple's development in China and the stabilization of the industrial and supply chains," the statement from China's Ministry of Commerce read. Cook and Wang's meeting comes after months of lockdowns and Covid restrictions in China. "China will unswervingly promote high-level opening-up, steadily promote rules, regulations, management, standards and other institutional opening-up," the statement from Wang's ministry read.

☆ Brian Kemp, Georgia’s Affable Culture Warrior
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-25 | by ( James Taranto | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. https://www.wsj.com/articles/brian-kemp-georgias-affable-culture-warrior-covid-lockdown-hollywood-election-integrity-mlb-desantis-98a19acc

WASHINGTON, March 24 (Reuters) - Chinese-American citizen Kai Li, jailed in China on spying charges he denies, received a rare in-person visit last week from the U.S. Burns met Li on March 16 in a Shanghai prison, Li's son Harrison said. Li, a businessman, has been held in China since 2016 and was handed a 10-year jail sentence in 2018 for espionage. Burns wanted to shake Li's hand but Chinese authorities did not allow that, Harrison Li said. Burns has accompanied consular officers on prison visits to U.S. citizens held in China, a State Department spokesperson said.

☆ UBS says it's 'time for quality' with recession near. 10 stocks to buy
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Brian Evans | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Investors should turn their attention toward quality stocks as market volatility persists and a recession becomes more likely, UBS said in a note this week. Because of this, UBS thinks stocks are likely to remain volatile, and investors should turn to quality names to ride out the storm. UBS highlighted four stock baskets that investors should turn their attention to, including one titled "Time for quality." Bank of America is another "time for quality" stock on the UBS list, which highlights earnings per share growth and profitability. Other stocks that made UBS' list include Merck , American Express, Oracle and Lockheed Martin.

☆ Ex-Google employees' A.I. chatbot startup valued at $1 billion after Andreessen Horowitz funding
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Jennifer Elias | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Character.AI, an artificial intelligence start-up founded by two former Google employees, is capitalizing on venture capitalists' unquenchable thirst for deals in technology's hottest space. The two-year-old company said on Thursday that it raised $150 million at a $1 billion valuation in a funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz. Andreessen Horowitz has been a significant player in driving up prices in both markets. The firm announced a $4.5 billion crypto fund in mid-2022 as the digital currency market was in freefall. A year earlier, it added to its investment in audio app Clubhouse, valuing the early-stage startup at $4 billion.

☆ Crowds swarm Art Basel Hong Kong as galleries report sales bonanza
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] An installation titled "Calligraphic Wig" by Daniel Knorr is displayed at Art Basel in Hong Kong, China, March 23, 2023. Art Basel Hong Kong is one of the first big events the city has held since dropping its COVID-19 mask mandate this month. City authorities are welcoming the art fair as they try to reinvigorate the economy and promote Hong Kong as a vibrant cultural hub. Teresa Choi, a visitor from Macau, said Hong Kong was much busier than during COVID times. "Hong Kong has always been the international financial hub for Asia ... Travellers are regaining their confidence about Hong Kong and the economy and want to come."

HONG KONG, March 23 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Tencent (0700.HK) is sounding more like its normal self again. The combination of regulatory respite, a post-lockdown consumption bounce plus cost cuts have put the company in a sweet spot for 2023. Revenue in the three months to December inched up 0.5% from a year earlier, to $21 billion, reversing year-on-year declines from the previous two quarters. With 2022 firmly behind it, Tencent can put a spring back in its step. Shares of Tencent rose 4.7% to HK$364.00 during early morning trading on March 23.

☆ Chinese firm invents lockdown-inspired kissing machine for remote lovers
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] Jing Zhiyuan uses a remote kissing device "Long Lost Touch", as he demonstrates how to use it during an interview with Reuters, at his home in Beijing, China March 12, 2023. Users can even download kissing data submitted via an accompanying app by other users. In the two weeks after its release, the firm sold over 3,000 kissing machines and received about 20,000 orders, he said. To use it, lovers must download an app onto their smartphones and pair their kissing machines, which they plug into the phone charging port. MUA is not the first remote kissing device.

☆ Ex-UK PM Boris Johnson fights for career in testimony on lockdown parties
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LONDON, March 22 (Reuters) - Britain's former Prime Minister Boris Johnson will face hours of hostile questioning on Wednesday about whether he misled parliament over rule-breaking COVID-19 lockdown parties at a hearing where he will be fighting for his political career. Parliament's Committee of Privileges is investigating whether Johnson, who was ousted from Downing Street in September, intentionally or recklessly misled parliament in a series of statements about the rule-breaking parties. If the committee finds Johnson intentionally misled parliament then he could be suspended from the House of Commons, the lower house of parliament. The outcry and repeated allegations of lying eventually prompted the resignations of much of his top team of government ministers, including the current prime minister, Rishi Sunak. The committee said Johnson had submitted his evidence late, that it had contained errors and no "new documentary evidence".

REUTERS/Tyrone SiuHONG KONG, March 21(Reuters) - The organisers of Art Basel Hong Kong, one of Asia's leading contemporary art fairs, said on Tuesday they are bullish on art market prospects in the region, with China and Hong Kong now having lifted all COVID lockdown restrictions. The annual fair, which also has iterations in Basel, Paris, and Miami Beach, runs from March 23-25 in Hong Kong. "Despite the challenges of the pandemic, the Asian art market has also remained resilient, with Greater China accounting for 20% of worldwide sales by value and ranking second as the second largest regional art market in the latest edition of the Art Basel," Art Basel CEO Noah Horowitz told reporters. Leading international galleries at Art Basel this year include Gagosian, Hauser & Wirth, Lehmann Maupin, Victoria Miro, Pace, Perrotin, White Cube and David Zwirner. We haven't really changed the process of the show since 2013," said Angelle Siyang-Le, the director Art Basel Hong Kong.

☆ Life under lockdown: How our world looked three years ago
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Jeremy Schultz | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

People practice social distancing inside an elevator prior to arriving at their workplaces at World Trade Center, after the government announced that private and state companies will reopen their offices after almost two months of lockdown in...morePeople practice social distancing inside an elevator prior to arriving at their workplaces at World Trade Center, after the government announced that private and state companies will reopen their offices after almost two months of lockdown in Colombo, Sri Lanka, May 11, 2020. REUTERS/Dinuka LiyanawatteClose

☆ Conservatives scoff at Trump's 'leftist plan' to build 10 new American cities featuring flying cars
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-19 | by ( Eliza Relman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Trump recently announced a plan to build up to 10 new American cities on federal land. But some right-wing critics have attacked it as a "leftist plan" to create walkable "15-minute cities." Fox News left its in-house comedian, Greg Gutfeld, to handle the coverage of Freedom Cities. A conservative member of the UK parliament recently called 15-minute cities an "international socialist concept" that "would take away your personal freedoms." But Freedom Cities don't sound like 15-minute cities at all.

☆ What caused the global banking crisis this week and will it lead to a recession?
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Mark Thompson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Silicon Valley Bank’s customers were frantically pulling their money from the California-based lender before US regulators intervened to take control. Thursday, March 16 — First Republic Bank was teetering on the brink as customers withdrew their deposits. In guaranteeing all deposits at Silicon Valley Bank and Republic Bank, the US Federal Reserve is on the hook for $140 billion. Then there’s the $54 billion the Swiss National Bank offered Credit Suisse in the form of an emergency loan. The $318 billion the Fed has loaned in total to the financial system is about half what was extended during the global financial crisis.

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