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☆ Some Apple staff are sounding off about Tim Cook's back-to-office drive and say it's 'silly, and very un-Apple'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-29 | by ( Sam Tabahriti | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Some Apple staff say they're unhappy with Tim Cook's push to get staff going in three days a week. "It's very un-Apple," one employee said about its explanation for the back-to-office push. Some Apple staff are not happy about CEO Tim Cook's back-to-the-office drive, which he's previously said was essential for the company. But in an open letter posted on Apple Together's website, the union demands "location-flexible work." They said Apple's explanation that it had always operated that way to be "both silly and very un-Apple.

☆ New BOJ chief's message to world: We're staying the course - for now
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( Leika Kihara | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Under YCC, the BOJ guides short-term rates at -0.1% and the 10-year Japan government bond yield around zero with an implicit cap of 0.5%. "We're in an economy where we're going to be hit more by supply shocks, and monetary policy will face more serious trade-offs," she said on Friday. Ranil Salgado, the IMF's Japan mission chief, sees scope for the BOJ to modify the long-term yield target this year, given heightening prospects of durable wage growth. As long as the short-term rates remain zero or slightly negative, the BOJ can keep monetary policy accommodative even if it tweaks the yield target, he said. "We are advising (the BOJ) to pretty much already be thinking about it," Salgado said on the idea of tweaking YCC.

☆ Analysis: New BOJ head's message to world: We're staying the course - for now
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-16 | by ( Leika Kihara | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

☆ What Are People Even Doing All Day?
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Malia Wollan | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +12 min

For Laroi, there is no clearly defined day or night. Sometimes he drives all night and sleeps all day; sometimes he sleeps all day and drives all night. One day a week, Sophie works late so she can meet with far-flung colleagues in real time. Now she has enough energy left at the end of the day to go grocery shopping and cook dinner. The time markers reflect the time of day when participants told an interviewer they would normally be doing the activity shown.

[1/3] New Governor of Bank of Japan Kazuo Ueda waits for Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida before their meeting at prime minister?s official residence in Tokyo, Japan, April 10, 2023. "Given high economic uncertainty, the BOJ will communicate closely with the government and guide monetary policy flexibly," Ueda told reporters after meeting with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to receive his official appointment letter. In parliamentary confirmation hearings in February, Ueda has stressed the need to keep ultra-easy policy to ensure Japan sustainably achieves the BOJ's 2% inflation target backed by wage growth. Ueda will chair his first policy meeting on April 27-28, when the board produces fresh quarterly growth and price forecasts extending through fiscal 2025. Ueda served as BOJ board member from 1998 to 2005, during which the central bank introduced zero interest rates and then quantitative easing to combat deflation and economic stagnation.

☆ Factbox: Possible next steps for BOJ policy under new governor
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Leika Kihara | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

ABANDON YIELD TARGETA leadership transition gives the new governor a chance to overhaul his predecessor's policy. Ueda has said YCC was unsuited for minor fine-tuning, suggesting that he could abandon the 10-year yield cap and shift to a policy solely targeting short-term interest rates. One idea would be to widen the band set around the 10-year yield target, now set at 50 basis points on either side. When the BOJ shifted to YCC from a policy targeting the pace of money printing, it used a thorough analysis of its policy framework to justify the shift. Any such move would likely be accompanied by, or come well after, the end of the 10-year yield target.

☆ Gen Z, Millennials Are Now As Sick and Tired of Their Jobs As Boomers
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Aki Ito | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

Young workers may not possess the experience or wisdom of their older colleagues. When Gartner asked people what was preventing them from going into the office, Gen Zers were more likely than other generations to cite social anxiety. Pollak, the consultant, told me about a client who complained that their Gen Z employees were "abusing" the company's vacation policy. But these are the very people who can help young workers feel more seen and motivated in their jobs. My suggestions are targeted to shore up engagement among young workers, but they'd actually be good for everyone.

☆ Bank of Spain sees turmoil rising funding costs, requiring liquidity sourcing review
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Jesús Aguado | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Non-performing loans stood at nearly record lows of 3.56% in January, far below the all time-high of 13.6% in December 2013. Deputy Governor Margarita Delgado also said that amid a tighter financing conditions following a period of abundant, cheap liquidity, banks should assess liquidity risks and have diverse, credible and plan-based funding sources to allow them to "adapt flexibly to the changing environment." In its report, the Bank of Spain said it expected Spanish lenders to maintain comfortable excess liquidity positions. As of February, Spanish banks' liquidity coverage ratio stood on average at 175% among the significant lenders, well above the global average of 140%, according to the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision. Olano said that Spanish banks' exposure to Credit Suisse (CSGN.S) stood at between 300 million euros ($325.23 million)and 400 million euros.

Economists who obsess about tightly calibrating the quantity of money in the system balk at QE as a tool. Two weeks of turmoil in mid-sized U.S. banks follow just nine months in which the Fed had been winding down its outsize balance sheet that peaked near $9 trillion during the pandemic. "Illiquidity episodes may force central banks to slow the process of reserve withdrawal. Reuters GraphicsILLIQUIDTY EPISODESThis could become a trap that prevents normalisation of the balance sheet longer term, they said. Better-measured and more forward-looking liquidity regulations, incentives for longer-duration deposits during QE bouts and rethinking stress tests were all options, they wrote.

☆ First Republic rescue may rely on US backing to facilitate deal - Bloomberg News
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

March 21 (Reuters) - Wall Street CEOs and U.S. officials discussing an intervention at First Republic Bank (FRC.N) are exploring the possibility of government backing to encourage a deal, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday, citing people with knowledge of the situation. Among options, the government could play a role in lifting assets out of First Republic that have eroded its balance sheet, according to the report. Additional ideas have included offering liability protection, applying capital rules more flexibly or easing limits on ownership stakes, Bloomberg News reported. First Republic, whose shares were down nearly 18% in aftermarket trading, declined to comment. Reporting by Niket Nishant in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath and Shounak DasguptaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Almost 30,000 Amazon employees have signed an internal petition to fight the company's return-to-office mandate. Read the full copy here.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +15 min

New mandate requires most office workers to come into the office at least 3 times a week starting in May. About 3 weeks since the announcement of the new policy, more than 29,200 Amazon employees have signed an internal petition opposing the mandate. Roughly 30,000 Amazon employees have joined that Slack channel, which was created shortly after the RTO announcement. In the petition, Amazon employees added internal data supporting continued remote work and dozens of comments explaining why they oppose the change. A 2013 Stanford University study of Chinese workers found that remote workers are 13% more productive than their in-office counterparts.

☆ Amazon employees push CEO Andy Jassy to drop return-to-office mandate
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Annie Palmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

A group of Amazon employees is urging CEO Andy Jassy to reconsider a recent return-to-office mandate. Last week, Jassy announced Amazon would require corporate staffers to spent at least three days a week in the office beginning May 1. Staffers on Friday created a Slack channel to advocate for remote work and share their concerns about the new return to work policy, according to screenshots viewed by CNBC. Amazon hasn't addressed whether remote employees will be asked to relocate, beyond Jassy noting that there will be "a small minority" of exceptions to the new policy. WATCH: Andy Jassy on the benefits of remote work

☆ Amazon's internal Slack channel blows up after employees are told to return to office. Now they're creating a petition to fight back.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Within hours of Friday's announcement, over 5,000 Amazon employees joined the new Slack channel, called "Remote Advocacy," according to screenshots seen by Insider. The channel was created "to advocate for remote work at Amazon" and seeks "data, anecdotes, articles about the benefits of remote work," it said. 'Absolute chaos'Several Amazon employees in the Slack channel expressed frustration, confusion, and anger. An impromptu survey within the Slack channel showed almost 80% of respondents saying they'll look for another job because of this change. In the Slack channel, employees are putting together a petition to push back against the return-to-office mandate.

Kazuo Ueda, a 71-year-old university professor who has kept a low profile despite strong credentials as a monetary policy expert, ticked some important boxes. While he was not even on the list of dark horse candidates floated by the media, Ueda was well known in global central bank circles. The bank's preferred choices were incumbent deputy governor Amamiya, as well as former deputies Hiroshi Nakaso and Hirohide Yamaguchi, given their deep knowledge on monetary policy. Matsuno said he hoped the BOJ works closely with the government and guides monetary policy flexibly, when asked whether Ueda's appointment could lead to a retreat from Abenomics. While he warned of the rising cost of the BOJ's yield control policy, Ueda has called for the need to keep monetary policy loose to ensure Japan stably achieves the bank's 2% inflation target.

☆ At BOJ's helm, MIT-educated Ueda to put theory into practice
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Leika Kihara | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

At MIT, he studied economics under Stanley Fischer, whose students include former U.S. Federal Reserve chair Ben Bernanke and former European Central Bank President Mario Draghi. He is a good listener and a consensus-builder, rather than a leader with a strong view on the direction of monetary policy, they say. "His style is to discuss monetary policy based on facts and evidence," said Tetsuya Inoue, who was Ueda's staff secretary when he was a central bank board member. In a column published in July, Ueda warned against raising rates prematurely in response to cost-push inflation - a sign he would be in no rush to tighten monetary policy. Upon approval by parliament, Ueda will assume the top BOJ post on April 9 and chair his first policy-setting meeting on April 27-28.

"His style is to discuss monetary policy based on facts and evidence," Inoue told Reuters in an interview on Monday. "Unlike Kuroda, Ueda won't immediately turn things around after assuming the post. "He'll likely let economic data guide policy decisions." If he were to become governor, Ueda could introduce a new monetary policy framework that could include a revamped type of forward guidance, Inoue said. "If he were to become governor, Ueda will likely put emphasis on maintaining financial system stability," he added.

Ueda, a 71-year-old former Bank of Japan (BOJ) policy board member, will succeed incumbent Haruhiko Kuroda, whose second, five-year term ends on April 8, according to documents presented to parliament on Tuesday. Analysts expect Ueda, who had warned of the dangers of premature interest rate hikes in the past, to hold off on tightening monetary policy. "Ueda is likely to focus on theory and empirical analysis in guiding monetary policy," said Naomi Muguruma, senior market economist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities. Upon parliament's approval, Ueda will chair his first BOJ policy meeting on April 27-28. A soft-spoken academic with a PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Ueda is seen as a pragmatist who can adjust his views on monetary policy flexibly.

☆ BOJ's deputy governor Amamiya sees no imminent need to tweak YCC
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Leika Kihara | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"YCC is an extraordinary policy, so we must carefully balance the benefits and costs," Amamiya said. "For now, I don't see the need to make further steps to enhance the flexibility of YCC," he added. The government will present its nominees for the new BOJ governor and two deputies to parliament on Feb. 14, a ruling party lawmaker told reporters on Friday. Analysts see Amamiya as being more dovish on monetary policy than other contenders like former deputy governors Hiroshi Nakaso and Hirohide Yamaguchi. He stressed the need to maintain current stimulus to ensure inflation hits the BOJ's 2% target in a sustainable manner.

Much as he would have liked to significantly increase supplies, Biosca-Reig said he couldn't justify investing millions of euros in new production lines unless he was paid more for the generic drug to cover sharply rising costs. European generic drugmakers say the tender system and regulated prices have fuelled a race to the bottom, and European firms are being undercut by suppliers from Asia. BRUSSELS, WE HAVE A PROBLEMThe European Medicines Agency (EMA) and European Union lawmakers acknowledge there is a problem. Half the generic medicines sold in Spain are priced below 1.60 euros per box or bottle, the country's generics manufacturing association said. But companies with smaller market shares, such as Israel's Teva (TEVA.TA), which has 5% of the region's amoxicillin market according to Medicines for Europe, are constrained.

☆ A tiny-home startup has attracted 160,000 customers, including Elon Musk. But disgruntled customers, an empty factory, and a tie to an alleged Iranian agent cloud its future.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Daniel Geiger | Alex Nicoll | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +17 min

A Boxabl Casita being delivered to a SpaceX facility in Texas. Tackling the US housing crisisStamped out on an assembly line, Boxabl homes could finally begin to help quench America's perpetual housing shortage. Homeowners, meanwhile, could rent out Boxabl units as secondary dwellings in their backyards or as Airbnbs. Firooznia, Tiramani said, sometimes provided a tiebreaking vote when the father and son disagreed on business decisions. During a tour of Boxabl's factory in December, a freelance reporter for Insider saw Tiramani's wife, Shauna, arrive with their four young children.

☆ Japan needs stable, sustained inflation, government executive says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

TOKYO, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Japanese Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Seiji Kihara on Sunday stressed the need to achieve an economy where inflation rises stably and sustainably, when asked whether the next central bank governor should maintain ultra-easy monetary policy. "What's important is to create economic conditions where prices rise stably and sustainably," Kihara told a television programme. "As for the next BOJ governor, the prime minister will choose who he thinks is the most appropriate person," he said. "It's important for monetary, and the broader macro-economic policy, to be stable." Reporting by Leika Kihara; Editing by Lincoln Feast.

☆ Factbox: Who are candidates to become next BOJ governor?
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-05 | by ( Leika Kihara | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The Nikkei newspaper reported the government has sounded out BOJ Deputy Governor Masayoshi Amamiya as the next governor, citing anonymous government and ruling party sources. The government will present a nominee for BOJ governor, and that for two deputy governors, to parliament later this month. But he also said in July the BOJ must "always" think about the means of exiting ultra-loose monetary policy. FEMALE DEPUTY GOVERNOR CANDIDATESNo female has yet served as BOJ deputy governor or governor, a tradition Kishida may seek to change to enhance diversity. FINANCIAL BUREAUCRAT DEPUTY GOVERNOR CANDIDATESIf a former BOJ executive becomes governor, there is a strong chance one of the deputy governor posts will be filled by top finance ministry bureaucrats such as Shigeaki Okamoto and Yasushi Kinoshita.

☆ BOJ's deputy governor warns against watering down inflation target
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Leika Kihara | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Wakatabe, a vocal proponent of aggressive monetary easing, said watering down the inflation target risked making the objective of the BOJ's monetary policy too vague. "It could undermine the transparency of monetary policy and its effectiveness," he said in a speech. But there was uncertainty on whether such changes in the price outlook would be sustained and help Japan achieve the inflation target in a sustainable manner, he said. The outcome of annual wage negotiations between businesses and unions would be crucial, Wakatabe said, stressing the importance of achieving solid wage increases for Japan to see inflation sustainably meet the BOJ's price target. "The BOJ will continue to conduct monetary policy with the aim of achieving its 2% inflation target, accompanied by wage increases," Wakatabe said.

☆ Biden administration plans to end Covid public health emergency on May 11
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The Biden administration plans to end the Covid public health emergency this spring, which will mark a major turning point in the U.S. response to pandemic. The White House, in a statement Monday, said it would terminate on May 11 both the public health emergency and the national emergency declared by the Trump administration in 2020. Enrollment in Medicaid has also surged during the public health emergency because Congress basically barred states from disenrolling people from the program. The Trump administration first declared a public health emergency in response to Covid in January 2020 and then declared a national emergency the following March. The public health emergency has been extended every 90 days across both the Trump and Biden administrations.

☆ Japan will continue to monitor COVID situation in China, govt says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

[1/3] Passengers of a plane from Dalian in China, head to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) test area upon their arrival at Narita international airport in Narita, east of Tokyo, Japan January 12, 2023. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-HoonTOKYO, Jan 30 (Reuters) - Japan will continue to monitor the COVID-19 situation in China and deal "flexibly" with border control measures, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said on Monday. The comment came a day after the Chinese embassy in Japan said it had resumed the issuance of ordinary visas for Japanese citizens travelling to the country. China had stopped issuing visas for Japanese nationals earlier this month after Japan toughened COVID-19 border control rules for travellers coming directly from China. Reporting by Satoshi Sugiyama Editing by Chang-Ran KimOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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