DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

March 16 (Reuters) - North Dakota's Supreme Court on Thursday refused to revive a strict abortion ban previously blocked by a lower court, finding that the ban runs afoul of a right under the state constitution to abortion if it is needed to preserve the mother's life or health. North Dakota's near-total abortion ban would allow a doctor to be prosecuted for performing an abortion even in order to save the mother's life. A state court blocked the law last year, finding the providers were likely to succeed. The state Supreme Court agreed, rebuffing Wrigley's petition to revive the law, while the case proceeds on the merits in the lower court. Twelve states are currently enforcing abortion bans adopted since last year's Supreme Court reversal of Roe v. Wade, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research organization that supports abortion rights.

[1/2] The Tesla factory is seen in Fremont, California, U.S. June 22, 2018. California state judges typically issue tentative rulings ahead of hearings, but can make changes to those rulings when issuing final decisions. If the agency did not adequately probe certain claims against Tesla before suing, the electric carmaker could seek to have them removed from the case. The agency claims that Tesla's Fremont, California, plant is a racially segregated workplace where Black employees have been harassed and discriminated against in job assignments, discipline and pay. “You don’t get to inquire into the most minute details,” Grillo said.

"We have not raised capital and we are not in the market at this point for M&A transactions," Walt Bettinger, CEO of Charles Schwab, told Reuters in an interview. The firm saw an influx of $4 billion in assets to the parent company on Friday as clients moved assets to Schwab from other firms, Bettinger said. Schwab's shares closed up 9.2% at $56.68 on Tuesday, along with a broad rise in bank shares. Schwab shares, however, are down 25.6% from their close last Wednesday, the day before many bank shares began a downward spiral in reaction to problems at Silicon Valley Bank (SIVB.O). The bank has "access to significant liquidity" including an estimated $100 billion of cash flow from cash on hand, portfolio-related cash flows, plus new assets.

☆ Chile culls 40,000 poultry amid industrial bird flu outbreak
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Ivan AlvaradoRANCAGUA, Chile, March 15 (Reuters) - Around 40,000 poultry were culled and buried in central Chile on Wednesday after the country detected its first case of bird flu in an industrial setting. "We hope to have this situation contained and that Chile regains its status of being free of highly pathogenic bird flu," he added. Cases of bird flu, mostly in wild animals, have been detected in Chile since late last year. Brazil, the world's largest chicken exporter, still remains free of bird flu but has investigated several suspected cases. South American health authorities created a regional technical committee earlier this month to deal with bird flu outbreaks.

Since the crash, rail workers have staged rolling strikes demanding that the government takes action to revamp the sector. REUTERS/Stoyan Nenov 1 2 3 4 5PUBLIC OUTRAGEPeople laid flowers and candles at the Athens central train station. "We want safe railways that operate," the head of a railway workers union Nikos Tsikalakis told state television. "We will not allow a lack of transparency, a cover-up, a renunciation of responsibilities and any delays to lead to oblivion," private sector union GSEE said in a statement. "The culprits must pay regardless of their rank," read a poster by public sector union ADEDY.

☆ US would handle an extradition request for Brazil's Bolsonaro 'expeditiously' - official
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, March 15 (Reuters) - A senior U.S. official declined on Wednesday at a Senate hearing to comment on the status in the United States of former far-right Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, but said any such request from Brazil would be handled "expeditiously." Speaking at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee on the future of relations with Brazil, Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Brian Nichols said: "We would handle any request from the Brazilian government expeditiously." Committee Chairman Robert Menendez said Bolsonaro "continues to spew disinformation about Brazil's election" from Florida. The United States is expected to join the multilateral Amazon Fund to help sustainability projects in the Amazon. Following Lula's visit to Washington, the U.S government plans to make an initial donation of $50 million to the fund.

[1/7] Floodwaters from the Pajaro River are seen flowing under Highway 1, currently closed by officials, in Monterey County, California, U.S. March 14, 2023. read moreNine atmospheric rivers already lashed California in rapid succession from late December through mid-January, triggering widespread flooding, levee failures, mudslides and punishing surf. Massive flooding from failed levees on the Pajaro River in Monterey County this weekend prompted hundreds of evacuations and dozens of water rescues. Mandatory evacuation orders remained in effect for residents in 10 California counties on Tuesday, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Reporting by Rich McKay in Atlanta and Nathan Frandino in Monterey County, California; Editing by Aurora EllisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

CHICAGO, March 13 (Reuters) - United Airlines Holdings Inc (UAL.O) on Monday forecast an unexpected loss in the current quarter, citing lower demand as well as higher costs from a potential contract deal with pilots. Booming travel demand has allowed U.S. carriers including United to offset cost pressures with higher ticket prices. United said a combination of lower-demand in January and February and higher capacity has weakened its pricing power. The Chicago-based carrier now expects an adjusted loss between 60 cents and $1.00 per share for the quarter through March. United and American Airlines (AAL.O) are now under pressure not just to conclude their pilot contract negotiations, but also better Delta's deal.

Approximately 0.5% of Etsy's active sellers -or around 2,700 merchants- had their payments delayed on Friday related to SVB's collapse, according to Etsy. The payments Etsy sellers received is unrelated to the Federal Reserve's Sunday announcement, which ensured that SVB's customers would have access to their funds on Monday. Shopify has temporarily paused payments to its merchants who receive payments to SVB accounts. These online sellers must update their bank accounts that have no connections with SVB to resume getting payments. Switching bank accounts can pose a problem for sellers whose sole business account was with SVB.

☆ Biden seeks new funding for air traffic controllers, Amtrak
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, March 13 (Reuters) - The Biden administration on Monday released details on a new proposal calling for more funding for more air traffic controllers and to speed modernization efforts after a computer outage led to the first nationwide flight grounding since 2001. The Transportation Department's $108.5 billion budget request seeks funding from Congress, including $117 million to hire another 1,800 air traffic controllers in addition to another 1,500 being hired this year. The National Air Traffic Controllers Association said last year the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had 1,500 fewer controllers than in 2011. The Transportation Department wants $3.1 billion in annual funding for passenger railroad Amtrak on top of $4.4 billion in funding from the $1 trillion 2021 infrastructure law. The FAA wants $24 million to fund 50 new test pilots, data scientists, safety inspectors and others to oversee Boeing (BA.N) and other airplane manufacturers.

CHICAGO, March 13 (Reuters) - United Airlines Holdings Inc (UAL.O) on Monday unexpectedly forecast a loss for the first quarter on account of higher operating costs and weaker-than-expected pricing power, plunging its shares. The Chicago-based carrier now expects an adjusted loss between 60 cents and $1.00 per share for the quarter through March. United expects higher non-fuel operating costs in the current quarter due to a potential new contract deal with its pilots, who have been conducting informational pickets to express frustration over delays in negotiations. As a result, it now expects non-fuel operating costs to be flat to up 1% year-over-year. Meanwhile, a combination of lower-demand in January and February and higher capacity has weakened its pricing power.

March 14 (Reuters) - A look at the day ahead in Asian markets from Jamie McGeever. A week ago Barclays economists raised their forecast for the Fed's March 21-22 meeting to a 50 basis point rate hike from 25 bps. Rates futures markets show traders now reckon the Fed is done raising rates and will cut by 50 bps later this year. The implied 'terminal' rate has plunged more than 100 bps since last week to 4.35%, and the year-end implied rate has plummeted more than 150 bps to 3.90%. World stocks fell on Monday and are now down five days in a row, the longest losing streak since October.

☆ Caterpillar union workers vote in favor of six-year labor agreement
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

March 12 (Reuters) - The United Auto Workers (UAW) union said members at four local chapters working at Caterpillar (CAT.N) have voted in favor of a new six-year labor contract with the firm, preventing a strike at the world's largest construction and mining equipment-maker. The contract covers roughly 7,000 union workers at plants in central Illinois and a parts distribution center in York, Pennsylvania. It wasn't immediately clear how many members voted to ratify the contract. Rank and file union workers at the company have expressed anger and frustration over the deal, saying that wage increases weren't commensurate in the face of rising inflation. The UAW's contract ratification with Caterpillar comes just six months ahead of the deadline for the union and the three Detroit automakers concluding new master contracts covering roughly 143,000 workers.

☆ Rivian is revisiting its exclusivity agreement with Amazon for EV delivery trucks
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Sara Salinas | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

One of Amazons new electric delivery vans from Rivian gets ready to leave the Amazon Distribution Facility on Cyber Monday on November 28, 2022 in Aurora, Colorado. Rivian and Amazon are in discussions to adjust the exclusivity clause of their agreement for the EV maker's electric delivery trucks, a company spokeswoman said Monday. Rivian spokeswoman Marina Norville said in a statement the company's relationship with Amazon has and continues to be a positive one. Rivian and Amazon struck a deal in 2019 to hand over 100,000 electric trucks to the e-commerce giant. Amazon began delivering packages with the vehicles in July, and Rivian last month touted 10 million packages delivered via the vans.

☆ South African court orders striking healthcare workers to end walkout
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] Members of the National Education, Health and Allied Workers' Union (NEHAWU) march during a strike over wage disputes, at the Thelle Mogoerane Regional Hospital in Vosloorus outside Johannesburg, South Africa, March 13, 2023. REUTERS/Siphiwe SibekoJOHANNESBURG, March 13 (Reuters) - The South African Labour Appeal Court on Monday ordered striking state healthcare workers to end a week-long walkout that has affected services in some of the country's major hospitals, the health department said. National Education, Health and Allied Workers' Union (NEHAWU) members went on strike last week after wage talks with the government failed. The labour relations act prohibits essential workers from engaging in strike action which is detrimental to healthcare services with a risk of loss of life, he told a press briefing. The South African military said it had deployed medics to help in the affected hospitals at the request of the health department.

☆ Colombian president accuses criminal group of breaking ceasefire
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BOGOTA, March 13 (Reuters) - Colombian President Gustavo Petro on Monday said the Clan del Golfo, the country's largest criminal organization, has broken a ceasefire and there is no possibility of negotiations with the group if they continue attacks. In a radio interview, Petro accused the group of destroying a municipal aqueduct in Antioquia province amid roadblocks connected to protests by informal gold miners. The Clan del Golfo versus humble people," Petro said in a Twitter message on Sunday. Gold miner Mineros SA has suspended operations in the region until it can guarantee security, it said in a statement. The government's National Mining Agency (ANM) last year said it would create a public company to help informal miners and put a dent in Colombia's illegal gold trade.

Last month, Google started testing limited news censorship as a potential response to a Canadian government bill that aims to compel online platforms to pay publishers in Canada for news content. Google has claimed that the test is like thousands of other product tests the company conducts on a regular basis. The tests, which the company says affected less than 4% of Canadian users, began on Feb. 9 and were scheduled to run for five weeks. Speaking to a parliamentary committee investigating the tests, Google's public policy manager Jason Kee confirmed that the tests would end next week. During the panel, questions were raised about local journalism outlets, like the 13-14 local, weekly papers that MP Martin Shields has in his riding.

☆ Exclusive: Colombia's Amazon reserves suffer staffing delays, risking environmental damage
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Oliver Griffin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"We (permanent staff) are few," an official at one Amazon park, who asked not to be named, told Reuters. As of Friday morning, 22 contracts for personnel for working on the national parks agency's Amazon reserves had been published via Colombia's national contracting agency. Last year, at least 107 contractors had deals for work on Amazon reserves by January, data from the agency seen by Reuters showed. The government of leftist President Gustavo Petro, who took office seven months ago and has pledged to lower deforestation, plans to initially replace annual contracts for national parks workers with four-year. Five would-be park workers told Reuters the delays meant they had been forced to find other jobs.

☆ U.S. Chamber of Commerce calls for AI regulation
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, March 9 (Reuters) - The U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Thursday called for regulation of artificial intelligence technology to ensure it does not hurt growth or become a national security risk, a departure from the business lobbying group's typical anti-regulatory stance. The Chamber report argues policymakers and business leaders must quickly ramp up their efforts to establish a "risk-based regulatory framework" that will ensure AI is deployed responsibly. A product of a commission on artificial intelligence that the Chamber established last year, the report is in part a recognition of the critical role the business community will play in the deployment and management of AI, the Chamber said. Even as it calls for more regulation, the Chamber is careful to caveat that there may be broad exceptions to how regulation is applied. "Rather than trying to develop a one size-fits-all regulatory framework, this approach to AI regulation allows for the development of flexible, industry-specific guidance and best practices," the report says.

New York CNN —Visa, Mastercard and Discover announced they will pause a plan to implement a new merchant category code for the nation’s gun retailers after political pressure from Republicans. In the wake of mass shootings, some financial companies, including Mastercard and Visa, have explored the possibility of tracking gun sales through their payment systems. The merchant category code (MCC) system would have separately categorized sales at gun and ammunition stores. Nearly every retail item has a merchant category code. Accordingly, Visa is pausing implementation of the MCC.”It’s the latest example of companies changing their plans based on pressure from Republican lawmakers.

☆ American Airlines prepared to match Delta's pilot pay rates, CEO says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

CHICAGO, March 7 (Reuters) - American Airlines (AAL.O) is prepared to match the pay rates and profit-sharing formula that rival Delta Air Lines (DAL.N) has provided in its new pilot contract, Chief Executive Robert Isom said on Tuesday. Isom told American pilots that matching Delta's deal will result in a contract worth more than $7 billion for them. Delta's pilots last week ratified a new contract that is widely expected to be a benchmark for contract negotiations at rival carriers. To match Delta's deal, Isom said American pilots would receive on average pay increases of 21% in the first year of contract. Total pay increases in the fourth year of the contract deal would be 40%, he said.

☆ Biting dogs and violence: Five takeaways from the Louisville police probe
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Sarah N. Lynch | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Here are five takeaways from the report:BITING DOGSLouisville police deploy dogs against people who don't pose a threat, and allow the dogs to continue biting after the suspect surrenders, the report found. It cited an instance where an officer ordered his dog to bite a 14-year-old Black teen who was not resisting. NECK RESTRAINTSThe investigation found that Louisville police use dangerous neck restraints against people who pose no threat. It cited a case in which police responded to the scene of an elderly Black man "dancing in the street." In one such case, police responding to a domestic violence disturbance call regarding a Black man.

☆ U.S. judge rules Missouri state gun law is unconstitutional
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Sarah N. Lynch | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, March 7 (Reuters) - A U.S. federal judge ruled that a Missouri state law aimed at invalidating many federal gun regulations was unconstitutional, handing the U.S. Justice Department a victory on Tuesday in its bid to get the law tossed out. "SAPA’s practical effects are counterintuitive to its stated purpose," Wimes wrote. Spokespeople for Missouri Governor Michael Parson did not have an immediate comment on the ruling. The Justice Department has previously said that HB85, which was signed into law in June 2021, has harmed partnerships between the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and state and local law enforcement. A Justice Department spokesperson did not have any immediate comment on the judge's ruling.

BRUSSELS/ZURICH, March 7 (Reuters) - Swiss fragrance and flavour maker Givaudan (GIVN.S) said on Tuesday that it was being investigated by European Union and Swiss antitrust authorities after the EU announced earlier it had raided several companies on concerns of a cartel in the supply of fragrances and fragrance ingredients. "I can confirm that we are part of an industry-wide investigation by European and Swiss authorities. When presented with evidence of wrongdoing, the bloc's rules allow the EU antitrust enforcer to enter company offices, examine and take copies of records related to the business, as well as question staff. The EU competition enforcer said it had been in contact with the U.S. Department of Justice and competition agencies in Britain and Switzerland and that the raids were conducted in consultation with them. Companies face fines as much as 10% of their global turnover for violating EU antitrust rules.

Sentencing Commission is obliged to increase sentences for those defendants under a provision of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, the major gun safety measure that President Joe Biden signed into law in June. The commission, which has seven voting members, in January proposed two options to increase penalties, by either allowing judges to enhance sentences for straw purchasers or amending the federal sentencing guidelines to increase the starting, or base, range for sentences. "A knee jerk response to the directive in the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act will not make us safer," she said in a testimony at the hearing, arguing policy makers should collect data first before adopting any measure. The panel faces a May 1 deadline to submit any amendments to the guidelines to Congress. Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by Aurora EllisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Search resuls for: "aURORA"

25 mentions found