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☆ Chicago high-rise fire leaves one dead, eight injured
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Brendan O'Brien | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/4] Fire rages in a high-rise apartment building on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois, U.S., January 25, 2023, in this still image obtained from a social media video. Chicago Fire Department/via REUTERSCHICAGO, Jan 25 (Reuters) - A fast-moving fire on Wednesday spread to nine floors of a high-rise apartment building on Chicago's South Side, killing one person and injuring eight, including a firefighter, officials said. The blaze began on the 15th floor of the Harper Square Cooperative about 10 a.m. (1600 GMT) and spread vertically, Chicago Fire Department officials said in a news briefing. The 25-story, 360-unit apartment building has smoke detectors in the hallways, but it was unclear whether it has a sprinkler system, fire officials said. Reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Chicago; editing by Jonathan OatisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

The government had been preparing a third and final annual dispensation to cover the 2023 sugar beet crop. Sugar beet growers group CGB condemned the "brutality of the decision" a few weeks before spring planting. That could further discourage sugar beet growers who faced drought-related yield losses last year and put a question mark over sugar production capacity. "When sugar manufacturers don't have enough sugar beet they have to close. The EU court's ruling followed a challenge to a similar exemption for neonicotinoid use on sugar beet in Belgium.

☆ Stocks making the biggest moves midday: Tesla, Nvidia, Lululemon and more
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Carmen Reinicke | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Hong Kong, China, 13 Sept 2022, A red Tesla car passes in front of a Tesla dealership in Wanchai. Tesla – Shares of Tesla rose 8% Monday after CEO Elon Musk's attorneys on Saturday asked a California court to move a trial over the company stock to Texas, citing local negativity. Uber – Uber shares gained 5.2% on an upgrade from Piper Sandler to overweight from a neutral rating. Monolithic Power Systems – Shares of Monolithic Power Systems gained 6.4% amid the semiconductor rally, following shares of Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices. Goldman Sachs – Shares gained 2% following reports that the banking giant is laying off 3,200 employees, or 6.5% of the workforce it had in October.

☆ Inside Salesforce's week from hell: Angry employees describe chaos, confusion and 'tone deaf' leaders as they fight for their jobs
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-07 | by ( Ashley Stewart | Ellen Thomas | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

"We can't sleep at night," one employee told Insider. Senior vice presidents who were not themselves impacted were invited to a mandatory meeting, Salesforce said. "Can execs commit to never referring to Salesforce employees as 'family' again? "Ohana is far gone," one employee told Insider. Are you a Salesforce employee or do you have insight to share?

☆ Tesla suppliers shares jump as electric automaker cuts prices for some models in China
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Jihye Lee | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Hong Kong, China, 13 Sept 2022, A red Tesla car passes in front of a Tesla dealership in Wanchai. (Photo by Marc Fernandes/NurPhoto via Getty Images)Tesla's Chinese suppliers jumped after the electric automaker slashed prices for some models in China. Shenzhen-listed shares of Tesla's Chinese suppliers rallied on optimism the price cut could boost demand. Shares of Anhui Shiny Electronic Technology closed 8.8% higher and Hengdian Group DMEGC Magnetics gained nearly 9%. Zhejiang Chint Electrics closed 7.92% higher and Shandong Jinjing Science & Tech rose more than 6%.

☆ Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff dodged questions in a rambling 2-hour all-hands. Leaked messages show employees weren't pleased, and one executive even apologized for it later.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Ashley Stewart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Salesforce plans to cut 10% of its workforce, CEO Marc Benioff told employees Wednesday. Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff dodged questions about the company's plans to cut 10% of its workforce during a rambling two-hour all-hands on Thursday, and — judging from internal Slack messages viewed by Insider — employees weren't pleased their questions went unanswered. During Thursday's all-hands meeting, Benioff described the company's current situation as a "spiritual moment," and compared layoffs to death. Sources said Benioff has been exerting increasing control over the company, alienating his closest lieutenants while dialing up performance pressure on employees, Insider previously reported. Are you a Salesforce employee or do you have insight to share?

The comedy-drama is adapted from the 2012 Swedish novel “A Man Called Ove” by Fredrik Backman that became the 2015 Oscar-nominated film. "A Man Called Otto", directed by Marc Forster, arrives in select theaters on Friday. “Look, I’m selfish. I’m a selfish actor and I’m competitive and I know a good role when I see one and don’t think anybody else was considered for the role," said Hanks. Reporting by Rollo Ross and Danielle Broadway; Editing by Mary Milliken and David GregorioOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Priests from Cuba’s Santeria religion see hard year ahead
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-02 | by ( Marc Frank | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

HAVANA, Jan 2 (Reuters) - Priests from Cuba’s Afro-Cuban Santeria religion on Monday warned of a difficult year ahead and called on followers to guard against calamities and mounting social ills after a tough year in 2022 in which a record number of Cubans left the Communist-run island. "Do not delay pending religious works and consecrations,” the priests, known as babalawos and grouped together in the Yoruba Cultural Association of Cuba, advised in their Letter of the Year published Sunday. “Natural disasters are forecast due to hurricanes, sea turmoil and river flooding with economic and human losses,” their Letter said. A record number of Cubans left, with some 250,000 entering the United States according to U.S. government statistics, the majority crossing over the Mexican border. "I am very hopeful that Cuba and the United States will reach an agreement."

☆ Cuba says U.S. greenlights MLB players for World Baseball Classic
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

HAVANA, Dec 24 (Reuters) - Cuba said on Saturday the United States had granted permission for some of its top ballplayers to participate in the World Baseball Classic on the national team. The team will be the first since Fidel Castro's 1959 Revolution to include Cuban players from both countries. Vice Foreign Minister Carlos Fernandez de Cossio told Reuters earlier this month the United States was blocking some of Cuba's top players from participating in the Classic. Cuba has asked several players who in recent years had defected from the Caribbean island - long famed for its baseball talent - to represent their home country in the event. As a result, Cuba's baseball talent has fled the country in unprecedented numbers in the past decade, emptying dugouts and denting national pride.

☆ Bird flu situation is worsening in France, ministry says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

PARIS, Dec 21 (Reuters) - The spread of bird flu has accelerated in the past weeks in France, the European Union's second largest poultry producer, the farm ministry said on Wednesday, raising concern of further shortages. France had already detected a rise in bird flu outbreaks over the summer after seeing its worst wave of the disease last season that lead to the culling of about 20 million chickens, ducks and turkeys and a sharp fall in poultry and foie gras output. By Dec. 20, 217 bird flu outbreaks had been detected on French farms, up from 100 on Dec. 2, and the number of cases has also risen sharply in wildlife, the ministry said. Bird flu has been spreading globally, ravaging flocks, with the toll at more than 100 million birds in Europe and the United States alone. France had put the country on "high" alert for bird flu last month forcing poultry farms to keep birds indoors.

☆ Latin American leftist bloc closes ranks behind deposed Peruvian president
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Demonstrators gather as the government announced a nationwide state of emergency, following a week of protests sparked by the ousting of former President Pedro Castillo, in Cuzco, Peru December 14, 2022. REUTERS/Alejandra OroscoHAVANA, Dec 15 (Reuters) - A bloc of left-wing countries meeting in Havana on Wednesday closed ranks in support of the ousted former president of Peru, Pedro Castillo, amid protests and roadblocks in the South American nation that have left at least eight dead. Castillo's former vice president Dina Boluarte was sworn into office after his removal. On Monday, the governments of Mexico, Bolivia, Colombia and Argentina called for the protection of Castillo's human and judicial rights. Reporting by Marc Frank; additional reporting by Nelson Acosta; Editing by Chizu NomiyamaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Putin was 'calculated' when he chose to send Brittney Griner back to the US while 'leaving others in custody in Russia,' Rep. Adam Schiff says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( Katie Balevic | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Rep. Adam Schiff said Russia's Vladimir Putin made a "calculated" choice to only swap Brittney Griner. Other Americans, like Paul Whelan, remain in Russian custody despite efforts to get them home. Putin made a one-for-one swap for arms dealer Viktor Bout to "roil the American" people, Schiff said. Paul Whelan and Marc Fogel remain held in Russia. And I'm so impressed with both the Whelan and Fogel families for their gratitude that one American is free," Schiff said.

☆ Biden chose humanity over geopolitics with Griner release
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

But President Joe Biden’s decision to exchange WNBA star Brittney Griner for Viktor Bout goes beyond the exchange’s bottom line. And it prompted top Republicans to charge that he had prioritized a basketball superstar over an ex-marine who benefited from a vocal political pressure campaign on Biden. This adds another layer of complication for Biden as he seeks to get Whelan free, since it involves another government and would require German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to potentially agree to supersede his country’s own legal system. While Biden is being castigated by some political opponents in Washington for doing a bad deal, administration officials insisted that he got the best one on offer. It was a choice between bringing home one particular American, Brittney Griner, or bringing home none,” a senior administration official told reporters on Thursday.

☆ Analysis: Investors face dilemma as capital increases fill IPO void
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Pablo Mayo Cerqueiro | Oliver Hirt | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

"This is a test as to whether shareholders want to support a company they know well already," he said. In contrast with a drought of initial public offerings (IPO), EMEA companies have raised an overall 33.3 billion euros ($34.99 billion) through capital increases so far this year. Meanwhile, fund managers' cash holdings stand at a near 21-year peak, according to poll data from Bank of America. "However, the market could see more firms turn to shareholders for funding given the rising cost of debt and changing outlook," he added. ($1 = 0.9517 euros)Reporting by Pablo Mayo Cerqueiro and Oliver Hirt; Editing by Bernadette BaumOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Cuba says its allies have pledged help to end its economic crisis
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Marc Frank | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

HAVANA, Nov 30 (Reuters) - China, Russia, Algeria and Turkey have pledged to restructure Cuba's debt, provide new trade and investment financing, and help ease an energy crisis, Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel told state-run media following a rare trip abroad last week. Cuba's debt with business partners and suppliers has ballooned, leading some to refuse to do business with Cuba unless it is in cash, according to foreign business and diplomatic sources with knowledge of recent transactions. Cuba's current foreign debt is considered a state secret. Prior to the pandemic, in 2019, the Caribbean island nation reported its foreign debt at $19.6 billion. "There is no short-term solution to Cuba's electric power sector challenges; the system is old, tired and broken.

☆ Cuba wins China debt relief, new funds
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-27 | by ( Marc Frank | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

HAVANA, Nov 27 (Reuters) - China has agreed to restructure Cuban debt and provide new trade and investment credits to the beleaguered Caribbean Island nation after a meeting in Peking between the two Communist countries’ leaders. Gil was speaking in an interview with official media traveling with President Miguel Diaz-Canel as he returned home over the weekend from a tour of Algeria, Russia, Turkey and China. Analysts estimate the debt in the billions of dollars, although no official figures are available. Gil said China had agreed to quickly complete a floating dock, wind power and solar energy project, among others. President Diaz-Canel told the official media after talks in Peking that debt was at the top of his agenda with President Xi Jinping who sympathized with the difficulties Cuba was going through.

HAVANA, Nov 15 (Reuters) - Cuba on Tuesday said it had signed 30 foreign investment deals valued at around $400 million this year, more than in 2021 but far short of pre-pandemic levels of at times around $2 billion. Cuba is struggling through its worst economic crisis in decades, and desperately needs foreign investment to help underwrite the purchase of food, medicine, fuel and raw materials needed to jumpstart sputtering output. “We have to banish all that unnecessary bureaucracy and generate new opportunities that are attractive to foreign businessmen,” Marrero said at an investment forum in the capital. Some at the trade fair told Reuters they were willing to bet on Cuba despite the downturn. "Definitely we are not afraid as investors in Cuba, we are already making arrangements and making alliances with a well-established (private) company,” he said.

☆ French police clash with protestors at farm reservoir site
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

PARIS, Oct 29 (Reuters) - Clashes at a protest on Saturday against the construction of a large water reservoir for farm irrigation in western France left scores of police injured, the authorities said. France's worst drought on record this summer has sharpened debate over water resources in the European Union's biggest agricultural sector. French Agriculture Minister Marc Fesneau condemned on Twitter the violence against police and criticised protestors for "the intention to block a project developed locally over years." Four protestors were injured and six arrested, the prefect said. Reporting by Gus Trompiz, Marc Angrand and Jean-Stephane Brosse, Editing by Franklin PaulOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Cuba hosts first U.S. business conference in years, seeks investment
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Marc Frank | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] Cuba's Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Carlos Fernandez de Cossio listens to Phil Peters, founder of FocusCuba, during a conference in Havana, Cuba, October 26, 2022. "Almost everything we do is with the new booming private sector," said Cuban-American Hugo , whose Miami-based Fuego Enterprises Inc (FUGI.PK) operates an online food market that processes 4,000 orders in Cuba per day. "It is important American businesses see this for themselves," said Cancio, who was attending the conference. The Biden administration has loosened some restrictions on Cuba around remittances, tourism and migration. It has also expressed interest in supporting Cuba's private sector.

☆ Marc Andreessen on the best investment advice he's ever received and 4 other money insights
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-16 | by ( David Rubenstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Marc Andreessen: From Warren Buffett, probably: Put all your eggs in one basket and watch that basket. Marc Andreessen: People read about something in the paper, see it on TV, and take a flyer without deeply understanding it. Marc Andreessen: For most forms of investing, the mistakes are the investments you make where you lose money. David Rubenstein: If somebody wants to be a venture capital investor, what would you like them to know most about the art of` venture capital investing? Marc Andreessen: It's an alchemy of understanding people, understanding technology, understanding markets.

☆ 7 people who left California detail the bigger and better homes they were able to buy or rent in their new locations
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-15 | by ( Jordan Pandy | Robert Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Seven people who chose to leave California told Insider about the bigger and better homes they could afford in other locations. Brittany PhillipsName: Brittany Phillips, 37Profession: Hairstylist making about $85,000 a yearHome in California: Phillips shared a three-bedroom, 1,353-square-foot house with a roommate. Home in Florida: Phillips and her 13-year-old daughter moved in with her parents in a northwest Florida hot spot, Panama City Beach. Worst part of California: Phillips felt that California is simply unaffordable. Worst part of California: Berube said Chino Hills was getting crowded and expensive.

☆ France taps strategic fuel stocks to avoid sugar factory stoppages
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-10 | by ( Sybille De La Hamaide | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

PARIS, Oct 10 (Reuters) - France has released strategic fuel reserves for sugar producers after they warned that a lack of diesel impacting the harvesting of sugar beet could lead to factory stoppages, producer group SNFS said on Monday. Strikes over wages at TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA) and Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) refineries have disrupted refining and delivery, leaving a third of French fuel stations running short. The French government said last week that it had tapped its strategic fuel reserves to resupply stations that had run dry. The decision to release strategic stocks late last week followed a meeting between sugar producers and French Agriculture Minister Marc Fesneau last Wednesday. "The state agreed to tap the strategic stocks so that the lack of diesel does not affect the factories' proper functioning," he added.

☆ Cubans approve gay marriage by large margin in referendum
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( Marc Frank | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A voter casts his vote at a polling station during the new Family Code referendum in Havana, Cuba, September 25, 2022. REUTERS/Alexandre MeneghiniHAVANA, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Cubans approved gay marriage and adoption overwhelmingly in a Sunday referendum backed by the government that also boosted rights for women, the national election commission said on Monday. "Justice has been done," Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel wrote in a tweet. The 100-page "family code" legalizes same-sex marriage and civil unions, allows same-sex couples to adopt children, and promotes equal sharing of domestic rights and responsibilities between men and women. Preliminary results from the electoral commission showed 74% of 8.4 million Cubans eligible to vote participated in the Sunday referendum.

One person is dead after an explosion sent eight people to hospitals and caused the collapse of a nearby building in Chicago on Tuesday, officials said. The individual, who was the most seriously injured person in the Tuesday explosion, succumbed to his injuries on Friday, according to a tweet from the Chicago Fire Department. The explosion happened on Tuesday morning, leading to the collapse of a nearby building just before 9:30 a.m. at West Washington Boulevard and North Central Avenue, the Chicago Fire Department tweeted. The eight people who were hospitalized had injuries ranging from burns to traumatic injuries, Ferman said. The cause of the explosion and the collapse remain under investigation, according to officials.

☆ Eight hospitalized in Chicago building explosion
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

First responders work the scene after a building explosion caused injuries, scattered bricks and debris in Chicago, Illinois, U.S. September 20, 2022. Images and a video clip posted by the fire department showed damaged top floors at West Washington Boulevard and North Central Avenue. The video showed bricks scattered around the corner building and parked cars damaged from fallen debris. The cause of the explosion, which prompted the evacuation of an adjacent building, was unknown, the Chicago Fire Department said on Twitter. Firefighters were believed to have rescued everyone from the collapsed building, made up of about 35 units, NBC News said, citing Deputy Fire Commissioner Marc Ferman.

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