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☆ U.S. and China wage war beneath the waves – over internet cables
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +28 min

Three of China’s state-owned carriers – China Telecommunications Corporation (China Telecom), China Mobile Limited and China United Network Communications Group Co Ltd (China Unicom) – had committed funding as members of the consortium, which also included U.S.-based Microsoft Corp and French telecom firm Orange SA, according to six people involved in the deal. China Telecom, China Mobile, China Unicom and Orange did not respond to requests for comment. China Telecom, China Mobile and China Unicom were resolutely behind HMN Tech, which had come in with a bid of around $500 million. China Telecom and China Mobile threatened to walk off the project, taking tens of millions of dollars of investment with them. Among them is China Telecom, which had previously won authorization to provide services in the United States.

Cancel for any reason insurance is a type of travel insurance rider. What is cancel for any reason travel insurance? How much does cancel for any reason travel insurance cost? Travel Insured International Generali Global Assistance Seven Corners Cost of travel insurance $246 $262.29 $146 Additional cost of cancel for any reason insurance $108.24 $131.15 $61.32 Total cost of insurance (regular + cancel for any reason) $354.24 $393.44 $207.32 Policy cost increase as a percentage 44% 50% 42%Important: Most travel insurance companies offer free quotes on the company websites. What is the average cost of cancel for any reason travel insurance?

☆ Congress Enacts a Tax Nobody Can Understand
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Travis Nix | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

For a tax system to be fair and efficient, taxpayers must, at a minimum, be able to determine what they owe by consulting published codes. In the U.S., however, a new tax—the book minimum tax, also known as the corporate alternative minimum tax—went into effect at the beginning of 2023. The legislation establishing the levy is vague, and the Internal Revenue Service hasn’t issued clear rules. The lack of clear tax rules allows the IRS to write new rules during audits. It may even be unconstitutional: The lack of clear rules deprives taxpayers of due process, and delegating the definition of the tax to executive-branch agencies is a dereliction of Congress’s duty to write tax laws.

☆ Elia's 50Hertz to invest $9.3 billion in power grid
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

FRANKFURT, March 6 (Reuters) - 50Hertz, the German high-voltage power grid owned by Belgium's Elia (ELI.BR), plans to more than double investment in upgrading its network to 8.7 billion euros ($9.3 billion) over the next five years, it said on Monday. The investment, to be made over the 2023-2027 period, is more than twice the amount it invested between 2018 and 2022 and up by more than a half from the 5.6 billion euros earmarked for the 2022-2026 period. Sufficient profitability is essential to maintain the financing capability and the partial financing of the investments," Nix said. Germany's power grids need tens of billions of euros in investments over the next few years to make sure they can manage a growing inflow of solar and wind power, as the country tries to wean itself off fossil fuels. ($1 = 0.9398 euros)Reporting by Christoph Steitz, Editing by Friederike HeineOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ The 4-day workweek: Science explains why it could improve our minds, bodies, and companies' bottom lines
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-26 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Science explains why the four-day workweek could be good for employees and employers alike. There's no control group — a company or companies that maintained a five-day workweek, to compare against the four-day workweek companies. There's also a risk of "selection bias" — a particular type of company may be far more likely to volunteer for a four-day workweek trial. Here's what science has to say about the UK four-day workweek trial results. Cortisol, too, can affect sleep quality, so having fewer high-cortisol days (ahem, work days) may mean fewer days of meager sleep.

☆ Amazon faces lawsuit for selling products containing donkey meat
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-25 | by ( Bethany Biron | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A new lawsuit claims Amazon is breaking California law by selling products containing donkey meat. download the app Email address By clicking ‘Sign up’, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider as well as other partner offers and accept our Terms of Service and Privacy PolicyThe Center for Contemporary Equine Studies is suing Amazon for selling products containing donkey meat, despite efforts from advocacy groups to halt the practice. The lawsuit claims the e-commerce giant is illegally selling products that contain "ejiao" — a gelatin made from the skin of donkeys and used in various products like health supplements — in violation of California animal welfare law. The lawsuit comes after efforts led by advocacy groups to push Amazon to drop the products through campaigns and petitions, to no avail. While competitors like Walmart and eBay have pledged to remove products containing ejiao and prohibit future sales, according to Wired, Amazon has yet to nix the products, even as pressure mounts.

☆ BASF picks right time to share pain with investors
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Feb 24 (Reuters Breakingviews) - BASF (BASFn.DE) continues to provide the best metaphor for the German economy. The group will cut 2% of its workforce in a 550 million euros cost-cutting effort that includes plant closures. Investors who might have cheered the news sent the stock tanking by 6% as BASF boss Martin Brudermüller is also suspending a 3 billion euros share buyback. Politically that may have allowed the group to maintain its dividend at a planned 3.40 euros a share. The closure of one of two ammonia plants in the company’s stronghold of Ludwigshafen was expected - a Belgian plant in Antwerp can supply the global market.

SummarySummary Law firms Laid-off workers can't sign away labor rights, board saysDecision overrules Trump-era precedentFeb 22 - The National Labor Relations Board has ruled that laid-off workers cannot be required to sign agreements that contain confidentiality clauses and other provisions that could deter them from exercising their rights under federal labor law in exchange for receiving severance. The board in a 3-1 decision on Tuesday overturned a pair of Trump-era rulings that said severance agreements only violate federal labor law when employers engage in other unlawful conduct when asking workers to sign them. The NLRB's Democratic majority said those rulings were misguided and "granted employers carte blanche to offer employees severance agreements that include unlawful provisions." The board said it was illegal for the company to offer the workers severance agreements that included confidentiality and non-disparagement provisions because they could be discouraged from filing complaints with the NLRB or publicizing labor disputes. He said there was no evidence that the decisions tossed out by the majority had led the board to uphold illegal severance agreements.

Police officers involved in the deaths have become an intense focus of investigation, protest, and media coverage. Despite being at the heart of some of the most defining incidents in modern policing, most of the officers involved continue to live their lives under the radar. Insider's review of 72 cops involved in two dozen of the most notorious police killings of the past 30 years shows the many different paths officers have taken. There's no nationwide view into what happens to officers involved in egregious incidents of violence. In rare cases, cops involved in these killings have tried to publicly rehabilitate their image rather than seek out anonymity.

☆ DeSantis' plans for Florida this year include tax cuts for gas stoves and more elections police. The proposals are widely viewed as targeting GOP voters nationally.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Kimberly Leonard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

Banning vaccine and mask mandatesDeSantis wants the Florida legislature to permanently ban COVID vaccine and mask mandates. It's not clear how much of a difference a new, permanent Florida law would make. DeSantis will ask the Florida legislature to permanently lift the state's 6% sales tax on baby necessities including on cribs, strollers, clothing, shoes, wipes, and diapers. But some analysts, such as Howard Gleckman at the Tax Policy Center, have warned that tax breaks could actually worsen inflation because people will spend and consume more at a time when supplies are limited. Currently, state law requires a vote be unanimous.

☆ An Alabama farmer secretly paid pharmacy bills for people in his small town – citizens found out only after his death
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Jordan Hart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Hody Childress made monthly anonymous donations to a small Alabama pharmacy. Walker told the station she'd put the cash in an envelope. His contributions eventually grew into the thousands, and the money helped at least two uninsured people each month, she told local news. I kept my word of not telling anyone, even the family," Walker told WVTM13. "There are so many people in Geraldine who have lived longer because of Hody," pharmacist Heather Walker told WVTM13.

☆ DeSantis' 'Freedom Blueprint' for Florida is taking shape, and it's widely viewed as paving the way for a 2024 presidential run
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-14 | by ( Kimberly Leonard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

It's widely viewed as a blueprint for theHe has already made some of his intentions clear, on areas from Disney to anti-China policy. DeSantis will ask the Florida legislature to permanently lift the state's 6% sales tax on baby necessities including on cribs, strollers, clothing, shoes, wipes, and diapers. He also wants the state to nix the sales tax on medical equipment and on medicines for pets. Other tax cuts would be temporary, including lifting the sales tax for a year on children's books, athletic equipment, and toys, as well as a proposal to suspend the sales tax on pet food and on household items that cost $25 or less. Loosening gun restrictionsDeSantis wants lawmakers to pass legislation that would change Florida law so that gun owners could carry a gun in public without a concealed weapons permit.

So yeah, I’m proud of it,” McConnell said, hailing it as an “extremely important” win for conservatives. He said it’ll mean they no longer “pay a ransom on the domestic side” in order to secure hefty military spending. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill.. said he’s “disappointed” in the unequal spending levels but argued that the Kentucky Republican was using his leverage. Senate Majority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., speaks alongside Sens. Democrats say McConnell was pushing for deals due to the rising support in the Democratic Party in recent years to end the filibuster.

☆ Warnock says voter suppression remains an issue in Georgia even though he won, tells critic Brad Raffensperger 'we can do better'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Kimberly Leonard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Sen. Raphael Warnock told CBS This Morning that voter suppression was still an issue in Georgia. He also addressed a WSJ opinion piece from Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger that called him an "election denier." Raffensperger in his piece was referring to Warnock's victory speech, in which he said voter suppression occurred in the state. Georgia voters reelected Raffensperger in November over a Trump-backed challenger. While voters elected Republicans to other statewide offices in Georgia during the midterms, Democratic voters had strong turnout during early voting.

LOS ANGELES — Former Los Angeles Dodgers player Yasiel Puig will plead guilty to lying to federal investigators who were probing an illegal sports gambling operation, prosecutors in Southern California said Monday. Puig, 31, will plead guilty to one count of making false statements, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California said in a statement. Puig will also pay a fine of at least $55,000, the prosecutors’ office said. Puig was charged and a plea agreement was filed Aug. 29, but the case was unsealed Monday, according to court records. Neither the statement from federal prosecutors’ office nor court documents say that Puig gambled on baseball.

☆ Spirit is dropping 37 routes from its network in a significant adjustment that targets Florida — see the full list
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Taylor Rains | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Spirit Airlines has temporarily cut 37 routes from its network starting in January. The airline is calling the cuts temporary, with plans to restore many of them in 2023. Starting in January, the low-cost carrier will nix 37 routes from its map, including destinations in the US and abroad, according to Cirium data. Although Spirit is pulling some routes from Florida, Spirit EVP and CCO Matthew Klein said in the earnings call that "while we are seeing the constraints on our Florida network, we are able to reallocate that to other parts of the country." Here is the full list of Spirit's 37 temporarily dropped routes:

☆ Trump threatened to withdraw his endorsement of Nevada Republican Joe Lombardo after the then-candidate chose not to call him a 'great' president at an October debate: NYT
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-13 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Trump threatened to nix support for Joe Lombardo after he declined to call him "great," per the NYT. Lombardo, in an October debate, said Trump was "sound," which prompted Trump to call Ronna McDaniel. Lombardo said during the October debate that Trump was a "sound" president but at the time chose not to characterize him as a "great" one. Soon after Trump's call with McDaniel, the Lombardo campaign released a statement calling Trump a "great" president. "President Trump presided over one of the greatest eras in modern American History," he added.

☆ After huge Meta layoffs, Mark Zuckerberg tells employees that he cut jobs more thoughtfully than Elon Musk at Twitter
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-12 | by ( Sydney Bradley | Rob Price | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

After a terrible week for thousands of Meta employees, Mark Zuckerberg shared some heartening thoughts at a companywide meeting on Friday: At least we didn't mess up as much as Elon Musk did at Twitter. Musk cut roughly 3,700 workers via an unsigned email, after making many staff work most of the prior weekend. On Friday, the Meta CEO and other executives hosted a town hall meeting for remaining employees and answered their questions. The Q&A touched on Twitter, and Zuckerberg weighed in, according to people who attended. Contact Rob Price via encrypted messaging app Signal (+1 650-636-6268), encrypted email (robaeprice@protonmail.com), standard email (rprice@insider.com), Telegram/Wickr/WeChat (robaeprice), or Twitter DM (@robaeprice).

REUTERS/Emilie MadiSHARM EL SHEIKH, Egypt, Nov 10 (Reuters) - U.S. Democratic lawmakers at the UN climate summit in Egypt expressed concern on Thursday that Republican gains in the midterm Congressional elections could spell trouble for America's efforts to fight climate change. Speaking on the same panel, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi criticised lawmakers who disagree global warming is a real problem, and said Democrats and Republicans would have to work together to combat climate change. "We have to get over that," Pelosi said of lawmakers who have claimed climate change is a hoax. A delegation of Republican lawmakers arrived on Thursday in Sharm El-Sheikh separately from the Democrats and will hold an event on Friday. Last year, Biden pledged to double funds to help developing nations adapt to the effects of climate change by 2024 to $11.4 billion per year.

☆ Democrat lawmaker Castor says Republicans want to nix climate committee
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis Chair Kathy Castor attends a discussion on how the United States and allies can bolster climate action and change the trajectory of global warming at COP27 climate summit, in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, November 10, 2022. REUTERS/Emilie MadiSHARM EL SHEIKH, Egypt, Nov 10 (Reuters) - If Republicans take control of the U.S. House of Representatives they are likely to "nix" the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis, the committee's chair Democratic Representative Kathy Castor said on Thursday at the COP27 climate summit. Speaking on the same panel, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Democrats and Republicans in the House of Representatives would have to work together on climate issues, and criticised lawmakers who disagree global warming is a real problem. Reporting by William James and Valerie Volcovici, writing by Nafisa Eltahir. Editing by Jane MerrimanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Binance is walking away from its deal to rescue Sam Bankman-Fried's collapsed FTX crypto exchange, citing issues 'beyond our ability or control to help'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Carla Mozée | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Crypto exchange Binance walked away from a deal to acquire rival FTX, reports said Wednesday. The issues at the exchange founded by Sam Bankman-Fried "are beyond our control or ability to help," Binance said. Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao said FTX asked for help amid a "significant liquidity crunch". "In the beginning, our hope was to be able to support FTX's customers to provide liquidity, but the issues are beyond our control or ability to help," Binance said. Before striking a deal with Binance, FTX had sought help from other large exchanges Coinbase and OKX but it was turned down, according to the Coindesk report.

☆ DuPont takes welcome M&A break
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, Nov 2 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The seemingly eternal makeover at DuPont de Nemours (DD.N) has been forced into a welcome pause. The chemicals giant just scrapped its $5.2 billion acquisition of engineered materials manufacturer Rogers (ROG.N) after failing to secure clearance from Chinese authorities. Under boss Ed Breen, DuPont has undertaken a series of mergers and spinoffs. To pay for the deal, DuPont sold most of its so-called Mobility & Materials division to Celanese (CE.N) for $11 billion. The problem is that DuPont ditched old businesses at lower valuation multiples to fund purchases at much higher ones.

☆ America is facing a dramatic diesel shortage that could get even worse
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

But trucks continued to deliver goods around the country, so diesel demand stayed elevated. With European nations weaning off Russian energy, competition has increased in the diesel market due to the influx of buyers. Markets are panicking, so diesel prices will climb higher and higher, which will spark behavioral changes in consumers and producers. "Higher prices make the profitability of refining diesel go much higher," he said. The mechanism to do that is simply through diesel prices rising."

☆ Ex-White House aide Alyssa Farah Griffin says Donald Trump's possible return to Twitter after Musk purchase will hurt him: 'It's going to remind voters of how unhinged he was'
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-29 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

"The View" cohost Alyssa Farah Griffin said Trump's potential return to Twitter would hurt him. Trump was banned from Twitter last year and for most of 2022 has been utilizing Truth Social. But the former Trump aide warned that the ex-president's presence on the social media platform would hurt him. "There's a lot of good stuff that's come from social media, but people give in to their basic instincts when they're hidden behind anonymity." "I don't think his crazy statements get as much pickup on Truth Social as they did on Twitter.

Four local chapters of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) International told Reuters they are assessing their options for lobbying and coordinated action against the deal, including potential strikes. Bryan Doherty, a spokesperson for the UFCW International, told Reuters it plans to request more information from the retailers about possible store closures and layoffs. On Monday afternoon, representatives of UFCW International met with nearly 100 local UFCW chapters on Zoom to discuss the merger and their collective response to it. Workers told Reuters that Kroger has not yet held conversations with the union to discuss the merger. Albertsons reached out to the union, offering to "keep lines of communication open," Mark Federici, president of UFCW local 400, told Reuters.

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