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☆ Instant Pot’s Slower Sales Tip Gadget Maker Into Bankruptcy
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Alexander Gladstone | Jodi Xu Klein | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

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Organizations: Wall Street

☆ U.S. gives Havana embassy a facelift after years of neglect
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-10 | by ( Dave Sherwood | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

HAVANA, June 10 (Reuters) - When the U.S. embassy in Havana reopened last May to Cubans seeking visas after a nearly five-year hiatus, the once proud 1950s vintage building was in shambles. The State Department imported high-grade stainless steel for its fencing, and granite from a quarry in Vermont for the building's new facade. A view of the U.S. Embassy beside the Anti-Imperialist stage in Havana, Cuba, May 24, 2023. CASTRO THREATENED TO SEIZE BUILDINGUnder former leader Fidel Castro, the jabs and antagonism often went both ways between Cuba and the embassy. U.S. intelligence investigations have since determined it "very unlikely" a foreign adversary was responsible for the illness, and a more robust staff and agenda have returned to Havana, Ziff said.

Persons: Hurricane Irma, Benjamin Ziff, Ziff, Alexandre Meneghini, Alexander Garcia, CASTRO, Fidel Castro, Castro, George W, Bush, Harrison & Abramovitz, Jane Loeffler, Barack Obama, Dave Sherwood, Mario Fuentes, Anett Rios, Daniel Wallis Organizations: U.S, State Department, Reuters, Cuban, The State Department, Ziff, Embassy, REUTERS, Harrison &, United Nations, Thomson Locations: HAVANA, U.S, Havana, Hurricane, of Mexico, Cuba, China, United States, Cuban, Vermont, Florida, New York, Washington, America

☆ Russia's McDonald's replacement says it's serving 2 million customers a day, but diners are divided on whether it's as good as the original
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Russia's McDonald's replacement, Vkusno & tochka, opened a year ago. The chain can't sell iconic McDonald's items like the Big Mac and has created substitutes instead. Its CEO told Reuters that it has sold more than 24 million "Big Hits," its Big Mac dupe, since opening. Paroev previously said that Vkusno & yochka sold 120,000 burgers on its opening day, which he said was higher than any other day in McDonald's Russia's history. Have you been to Vkusno & tochka?

Persons: Russia's, —, Alexander Govor, tochka, hasn't, Oleg Paroev, Paroev, yochka, Tian Bing, tochka hadn't, tochka's, Ronald McDonald Organizations: Reuters, Service, Mac, China News Service, Getty Locations: Ukraine, Russian, Russia, Moscow

☆ Russia's McDonald's heir growing quickly, in for the long haul
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Olga Popova | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

McDonald's Corp (MCD.N) closed its Russian restaurants soon after Moscow sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in February 2022, eventually selling to a local licensee, Alexander Govor. The chain has sold more than 24 million of its Big Mac replacement burgers, the Big Hit, CEO Oleg Paroev said. Hamstrung by agreements with McDonald's, Vkusno & tochka, can not open restaurants in countries where McDonald's already has a presence. Russian authorities and Govor have said McDonald's has an option to buy back its Russia restaurants within 15 years. It would find a market where Vkusno & tochka is the master franchisee should it do so.

Persons: Alexander Govor, Govor, Oleg Paroev, Natalya Fadeeva, Evgenia, I've, McDonald's, Olga Popova, Alexander Marrow, Sharon Singleton Organizations: McDonald's Corp, Reuters, REUTERS, Thomson Locations: Russia, Ukraine MOSCOW, Moscow, Ukraine, Russian, McDonald's, Belarus, Kazakhstan

HIROSHIMA, Japan, May 21 (Reuters) - Potential allied training programmes for Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets were a message to Russia not to expect to succeed in its invasion of Ukraine even in a prolonged conflict, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Sunday. "The training of the pilots is a longer project," Scholz told reporters before leaving the G7 summit in the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Discussions with Kyiv were ongoing and no Ukrainian pilots were now being trained in France, the official said. The official said training a person from scratch to operate a NATO-made warplane could take as long as four years, while an experienced pilot used to Ukrainian jets would need four to nine months. We are in a counteroffensive stage and this training won't be ready in the coming weeks, but for the long term," the official said.

☆ Russia warns West of 'enormous risks' if Ukraine supplied with F-16 jets
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( Darya Tarasova | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Russia’s deputy foreign minister has warned Western countries of “enormous risks” if Ukraine is provided with F-16 fighter jets, Russian state media TASS reported Saturday. The comments come after US President Joe Biden gave his backing for Ukrainian pilots to be trained to fly F-16s, reversing his previous position. Responding to the move, Alexander Grushko said: “We see that the Western countries are still adhering to the escalation scenario. In any case, this will be taken into account in all our plans, and we have all the necessary means to achieve the set goals.”Earlier this week, the UK and the Netherlands were reportedly building an “international coalition” to help Ukraine procure F-16 fighter jets. After saying Kyiv did not need the fighter jets earlier this year, US President Joe Biden reversed his objections by signaling to European allies that they would allow F-16 exports to Ukraine.

☆ Russia says supplying F-16 jets to Ukraine would carry 'colossal' risks for West, TASS reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MOSCOW, May 20 (Reuters) - Western countries will run "colossal risks" if they supply Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets, TASS news agency quoted Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko as saying on Saturday. Grushko was responding to a question about the implications of providing the jets, which Ukraine has been requesting from NATO countries. It involves colossal risks for themselves," Grushko was quoted as saying. These fighters can engage aerial targets from both high and low altitudes," he said, adding that the jets can carry advanced weapons. "By utilising F-16s, our ground troops will be able to swiftly liberate occupied Ukrainian territories by targeting enemy command posts, military groups and logistics supply chains," he said.

☆ A worker sued her boss for sexual harassment, claiming that when he renamed a work file with his initials it was actually an abbreviation of 'A Jumbo Genital'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

A worker claimed that when her boss renamed a file with his initials it actually stood for "a Jumbo Genital." She sued the company for sexual harassment, which was rejected by an employment tribunal. She also alleged that his use of "xx," "yy," and "????" In her resignation letter, she claimed she was "subjected to conduct which amounts to sexual harassment." "Based on our factual findings, all of the Claimant's allegations of sexual harassment fail," Burns added.

☆ Some Investors Aren’t Giving Up on Bed Bath & Beyond
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Gunjan Banerji | Alexander Gladstone | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

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☆ Russia denounces Macron over China comments
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MOSCOW, May 15 (Russia) - Russian officials on Monday denounced comments by French President Emmanuel Macron that Moscow was becoming subservient to China, saying Western countries must get used to a world underpinned by the Kremlin's close ties with Beijing. The Russian criticism focused on an interview Macron gave to the Paris daily l'Opinion in which he decried the Kremlin's isolation brought on by its invasion of Ukraine more than 14 months ago. "(Russia) has de facto started a form of vasallisation with China and has lost access to the Baltic that was critical to it as it has precipitated the decision by Sweden and Finland to join Nato," Macron was quoted as saying in the daily. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Russia's relations with China were those of a strategic partner and had nothing to do with dependence. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said Paris had become preoccupied with Moscow's strengthened relations with China and changes that implied for the world order.

☆ Convicted Pharma Fraudster Shkreli’s Companies File For Bankruptcy
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Alexander Gladstone | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Vyera Pharmaceuticals, the company that Martin Shkreli founded and used to conduct a securities fraud that landed him in prison, filed for bankruptcy Wednesday. Vyera, its Swiss parent company Phoenixus and several affiliates filed for protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del. after the reputational harm from Mr. Shkreli’s fraud hampered them from opening bank accounts, commercializing products or raising capital, court papers say. A lawyer who has represented Mr. Shkreli didn’t immediately respond to a request...

☆ Sandra MacQuillan, Longtime Supply-Chain Leader, Dies
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Liz Young | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Sandra MacQuillan started her career at Exxon Mobil, working in industrial engineering, sales, manufacturing and business development. Photo: Alexander GouletasSandra MacQuillan , a longtime supply-chain executive at some of the world’s largest consumer brands, has died after a long battle with cancer. She was 56. Ms. MacQuillan was most recently executive vice president and chief supply-chain officer for snack-food giant Mondelez International. She retired in November after about three years with the company and started a consulting business in the U.K., according to her LinkedIn profile.

☆ A rare poster offering a reward for Abraham Lincoln's murderer John Wilkes Booth, and his accomplices, was sold for $166,000
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-30 | by ( Sam Tabahriti | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A "wanted" poster for Abraham Lincoln's killers, including John Wilkes Booth, was sold at auction. It's the first time the poster has been sold, with the winning bidder paying $166,375 Thursday. John Wilkes Booth fatally shot the president at Ford's Theatre in Washington, DC, with the help of two accomplices. Booth is described as "Five Feet 7 or 8 inches high" with a "slender build" and "a heavy black moustache." John Wilkes Booth.

☆ Bed Bath & Beyond Preparing for Bankruptcy Filing Within Days
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Soma Biswas | Alexander Gladstone | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. is preparing a bankruptcy filing for as early as this weekend as its falling stock price makes it near impossible to raise enough capital to avert default, according to people familiar with the matter. The embattled retailer recently said it needed to raise $300 million from share sales by April 26 to stay out of chapter 11. The company will have to stop selling stock by that date, when it would lose eligibility to continue under its share registration documents. Given the stock’s closing price on Wednesday of 46 cents, Bed Bath & Beyond faces long odds to raise that amount of money within that time.

☆ Some new offices are mini towns with their own restaurants, doctor offices, and hotels. Workers actually want to go.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Alex Nicoll | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

The idea is getting replicated from the Bell Labs location, or Bell Works New Jersey, Keating said. The spaces run by Bell Works' own coworking brand, CoLab, are nearly 100% occupied. At Bell Works New Jersey, Zucker partnered with Toll Brothers to build a 185-home 55-and-over community. At BRIC, tenants can take advantage of a dozen art galleries, some of which show the work of building tenants. A lobby area near offices at Bell Works Chicagoland.

☆ National CineMedia Files for Bankruptcy as Latest Casualty of Cinema Slump
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Alexander Gladstone | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

National CineMedia LLC, the largest movie-theater advertisement business in North America, filed for bankruptcy Tuesday after facing years of challenges from reduced attendance at cinemas due to the Covid-19 pandemic coupled with the growing competitive threat posed by streaming. NCM LLC filed its chapter 11 petition in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Houston with a prearranged agreement with lenders to trade roughly $1 billion in debt for full ownership of the business, the main operating entity of publicly traded parent company...

NEW YORK, April 11 (Reuters) - Private equity firm KKR & Co Inc (KKR.N) has agreed to buy a significant stake in FGS Global in a deal that values the financial communications group at about $1.4 billion. As part of the deal, KKR will buy up a 30% stake from senior employees at FGS Global and its largest investors, including London-based advertising giant WPP Plc (WPP.L). WPP, which was founded by Martin Sorrell, will retain a majority stake in FGS Global. Existing investor Golden Gate Capital is selling its entire stake to KKR, which is investing in FGS Global through its $8-billion European Fund VI. FGS Global currently employs more than 1,200 people across 27 offices globally.

☆ McKinsey Winding Down Firm’s Bankruptcy Practice
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Alexander Gladstone | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Consulting firm McKinsey & Co. is winding down its bankruptcy practice after numerous lawsuits and government investigations concerning the division’s work advising troubled borrowers, people familiar with the matter said. Some McKinsey partners who had previously focused on bankruptcy advisory work in the firm’s recovery and transformation services, or RTS, division have either been leaving the firm or pivoting to other kinds of work, the people said.

☆ McKinsey Is Shutting Down Its Restructuring Business
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Alexander Gladstone | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Consulting firm McKinsey & Co. is shutting down its corporate-restructuring practice after numerous lawsuits and government investigations concerning the division’s work advising troubled borrowers, people familiar with the matter said. McKinsey has announced internally that its restructuring division would close, the people said. The consulting firm laid off some partners in its restructuring unit, called McKinsey RTS, while others are being absorbed into other practices, they said.

☆ Ukraine battles on in Bakhmut as Finland joins NATO
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Pavel Polityuk | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/2] An Ukrainian serviceman sits atop an infantry fighting vehicle (IFV), amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, near the bombed-out eastern city of Bakhmut, in the eastern Donetsk region, Ukraine, April 2, 2023. "From a legal point of view, Bakhmut has been taken," said Prigozhin, who has previously made premature claims. "Bakhmut is Ukrainian and they have not captured anything and are very far from doing that," Serhiy Cherevatyi, spokesperson for the eastern military command, told Reuters. Western pressure on Russia may increase with Finland, which shares a 1,300-km (810-mile) border with Russia, joining NATO on Tuesday. "In the event that the forces and resources of other NATO members are deployed in Finland, we will take additional steps to reliably ensure Russia's military security," he told RIA.

☆ Map shows how Russia's border with NATO more than doubles with Finland as a member
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Sinéad Baker | Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Finland officially became a member of the NATO military alliance on Tuesday. Finland has an 830-mile border with Russia, meaning Russia's border with NATO more than doubles. Finland's presence in the alliance more than doubles the border between NATO countries and Russia. The increase in public and political support in Finland for joining NATO came after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. He added: "In the event that the forces and resources of other NATO members are deployed in Finland, we will take additional steps to reliably ensure Russia's military security."

☆ Russia claims its journalists are under attack and facing 'witch hunts' just days after arresting an American reporter
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Russia said its journalists face attacks and "witch hunts" after the death of blogger Vladlen Tatarsky. The claims come days after Russia arrested WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich for alleged espionage. The comments follow abuse of journalists in Russia and come just days after the widely-condemned arrest by Russian authorities of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich for alleged espionage. In her comments on Tatarsky's death, Zakharova also assessed the international reputation of Russian journalists, making broad claims about the discrimination they face that ignore Russian actions at home. These criticisms of how Russia's journalists are treated sharply contrast with the treatment of journalists in Russia, where reporters have been killed or jailed.

"Tomorrow we will welcome Finland as the 31st member of NATO making Finland safer and our alliance stronger," NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters in Brussels, hailing the move as "historic". Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February last year pushed Finland and its neighbour Sweden to apply for NATO membership, abandoning decades of military non-alignment. [1/2] NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg attends a news conference before a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels, Belgium April 3, 2023. REUTERS/Johanna Geron 1 2"President Putin went to war against Ukraine with the clear aim to get less NATO," Stoltenberg said. Stoltenberg pledged to work hard to get Sweden into NATO as soon as possible.

☆ Russia says it will beef up military in northwest as Finland joins NATO - RIA
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 3 (Reuters) - Russia will strengthen its military capacity in its western and northwestern regions in response to Finland's expected accession to NATO on Tuesday, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said, state-owned news agency RIA reported. Finland and Sweden applied to join NATO last year after Russia invaded Ukraine. Finland has a 1,300-km (810-mile) border with Russia that will roughly double the transatlantic alliance's frontier facing Moscow. Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said last year that Russia was taking "adequate countermeasures" and would form 12 units and divisions in its western military district. Grushko told RIA: "We will strengthen our military potential in the western and northwestern direction.

☆ Russia complains its journalists are under attack and facing 'witch hunts' just days after arresting an American reporter
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

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