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☆ Horse racing-BHA analysing horse deaths at Grand National, condemns protesters
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Hill Sixteen was the third horse to die at this year's three-day festival after a heavy fall at the first fence of Saturday's National. Two other horses, Recite A Prayer and Cape Gentleman, were assessed by veterinary staff on the course. The start of the National, one of the highest-profile events in Britain's sporting calendar, was delayed for around 15 minutes after the protesters made their way on to the course. The protesters say the race is cruel to horses, with many having died over the daunting fences down the years. "The Grand National is and always will be an iconic sporting event and the actions of a small number of people will do nothing to diminish its huge and enduring international appeal."

☆ Grand National: Animal rights group threatens iconic horse race
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Ben Church | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —It’s watched by more than 500 million people from 140 different countries, but the Grand National remains one of the most controversial horse races in the world. However, animal rights groups claim the race represents the “broken relationship” between humans and nature due to the potential dangers the horses face. “This April we are launching the biggest campaign to protect animals and the climate this country has ever seen,” Animal Rising added. “Already over 500 people are signed up for training to take peaceful action this summer.”The Grand National race is part of a three day festival at Aintree Racecourse every year. Animal Rising says the report won’t stop them from finishing their mission of raising awareness of what they claim are unethical practices.

☆ Scientists unveil new and improved 'skinny donut' black hole image
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Will Dunham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

WASHINGTON, April 13 (Reuters) - The 2019 release of the first image of a black hole was hailed as a significant scientific achievement. There is also a larger "brightness depression" at the center - basically the donut hole - caused by light and other matter disappearing into the black hole. This supermassive black hole resides in a galaxy called Messier 87, or M87, about 54 million light-years from Earth. The M87 black hole image stems from data collected by seven radio telescopes at five locations on Earth that essentially create a planet-sized observational dish. "The image we report in the new paper is the most accurate representation of the black hole image that we can obtain with our globe-wide telescope."

☆ Switzerland faced a full-scale bank run if Credit Suisse went bankrupt, Swiss regulator argues
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Ruxandra Iordache | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

It would have erased the holding company Credit Suisse Group, along with the parent bank Credit Suisse AG and its branches, while retaining the Credit Suisse (Schewiz) AG entity because of its "systemic importance." "The parent bank Credit Suisse AG would have gone under – a Swiss bank with total assets of over CHF 350 billion and ongoing business also running into many billions," Angehrn warned. Many other Swiss banks would probably have faced a run on deposits, as Credit Suisse itself did in the fourth quarter of 2022." Angehrn said the regulator has been in recent dialogue with the U.S., but did not experience international pressure in its supervision of Credit Suisse. The authorities would have risked not stopping a looming financial crisis by using the tool of resolution, but rather triggering such a financial crisis."

☆ ECB to look for signs of stress but banking crisis unlikely
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Summary Lagarde says rate hikes are just starting to biteLane says full-blown banking crisis is unlikelyFRANKFURT, March 22 (Reuters) - The European Central Bank will watch for signs of stress in bank lending from the ongoing financial turmoil but a full-blown crisis is unlikely for now, the ECB's top brass said on Wednesday. But that's pretty much a tail scenario at this point in time," Lane told a conference on Wednesday. "For inflationary pressures to ease, it is important that our monetary policy works robustly in the restrictive direction," she said. Lane said he expected core prices to ease over time as lower fuel costs filter through to other sectors. Reporting By Francesco Canepa and Balazs Koranyi; Editing by Toby Chopra and Christina FincherOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ ECB to watch bank rates for signs of stress, Lagarde says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

FRANKFURT, March 22 (Reuters) - The European Central Bank's interest rate increases are just starting to take effect on the economy but their transmission may become stronger as a result of the banking turmoil, ECB President Christine Lagarde said on Wednesday. Lagarde said the ECB's actions to raise borrowing costs may be magnified if banks become more risk averse and start demanding higher rates when lending -- likely implying the central bank would need to increase its own rates by less. "For inflationary pressures to ease, it is important that our monetary policy works robustly in the restrictive direction," she said. The ECB has increased the rate it pays on bank deposits by a record-breaking 350 basis points to 3% since July and financial markets expect a further increase to 3.5% later this year. Reporting By Francesco Canepa and Balazs Koranyi; Editing by Toby Chopra and Christina FincherOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Leaked document shows Amazon's flawed job-posting process led to 'over-hiring,' with one team listing 3 times more openings than approved for
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Amazon lacked internal oversight and governance in listing job posts, leading to over hiring, according to an internal document. That means the utility computing team had over 3-times more job postings than the headcount target at the time. The document points to Amazon's lack of standardization and governance for the gap between the job postings and open headcount. "This enabled over-hiring in certain cost centers and contributed to span of control and level ratio defects," the internal document said. This person said Amazon's lack of oversight in job postings and the related hiring process caused "over-hiring issues" and leaders trying to "squeeze people in where they could."

☆ Amazon is laying off another 9,000 employees — read the email CEO Andy Jassy sent to staff
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Sindhu Sundar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Amazon is laying off another 9,000 employees. CEO Andy Jassy said the additional cuts weren't announced sooner because some teams hadn't finished their cost-cutting analysis. The layoffs will come on top of the cuts to 18,000 positions that the company disclosed in January. It also "led to new openings where we don't have the right skills match from our existing team members," Jassy wrote. The company is planning to conduct "limited hiring" in areas it is focusing on, he said.

☆ Xi promotes China as peacemaker on first trip to Russia since Ukraine invasion
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Jennifer Jett | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

In this grab taken from video, China's President Xi Jinping, left, speaks with Russian President Vladimir Putin during their meeting in Moscow, Russia, Monday, March 20, 2023. Russia, China and the U.S. are not members of the court. "I am pleased to once again set foot on the soil of our friendly neighbor Russia," Xi said in a statement after arriving in Moscow on Monday for the three-day state visit. Xi said his Russia trip was intended to strengthen the strategic partnership between the two countries in a world faced with "damaging acts of hegemony, domination and bullying." The Chinese Foreign Ministry has not confirmed reports that Xi may hold a virtual meeting with Zelenskyy after his trip to Moscow.

☆ Amazon to lay off 9,000 more workers in addition to earlier cuts
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Annie Palmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

The latest round will primarily impact Amazon's cloud computing, human resources, advertising and Twitch livestreaming businesses, Jassy said in the memo. Amazon is undergoing the largest layoffs in company history after it went on a hiring spree during the Covid-19 pandemic. Amazon froze hiring in its corporate workforce, axed some experimental projects and slowed warehouse expansion. Some may ask why we didn't announce these role reductions with the ones we announced a couple months ago. To those ultimately impacted by these reductions, I want to thank you for the work you have done on behalf of customers and the company.

☆ New Hampshire GOP Gov. Chris Sununu, a potential 2024 presidential contender, says some Republicans have 'lost their moral compass' on foreign policy
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-19 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Sununu in a Washington Post op-ed criticized some in the GOP over their foreign policy stances. Opposing Ukraine aid "because President Biden supports it is not a viable foreign policy," he wrote. "Simply opposing aid to Ukraine because President Biden supports it is not a viable foreign policy," he continued to say. Sununu proceeded to take another swipe at Trump in seeking to shift the party's foreign policy in a more Reaganesque direction. "Some in the Republican Party have lost their moral compass on foreign policy, as evidenced by former president Donald Trump, who once called Putin's invasion 'genius' and 'savvy,'" the governor wrote.

☆ Why Won’t the West Let Ukraine Win Against Russia?
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( John Bolton | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

New intelligence suggesting that a “pro-Ukraine group” sabotaged the Nord Stream pipelines in September triggered surprising political blowback in Europe. But even if Ukraine masterminded the raid, why would successfully disrupting Nord Stream imperil foreign assistance? Such a potentially harmful reaction exposes a larger problem, which has repeatedly manifested itself since Russia’s unprovoked aggression. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization has been spooked by Moscow’s threats to “escalate” the conflict if Ukraine isn’t kept on a tight leash. Although President Biden failed, indeed barely tried, to deter Russia’s war, Vladimir Putin has masterfully deterred NATO from responding robustly enough to end the conflict promptly and victoriously.

Speaking alongside Netanyahu after talks in Berlin, Scholz said he hoped that a compromise on the reforms suggested by Israel's President Isaac Herzog was not off the table. Netanyahu visited Germany while protests erupted once again in Israel over the reforms by his far-right government that have triggered mass unrest in recent weeks. Netanyahu called criticism of the plans "absurd", assuring Scholz that "Israel will remain a liberal democracy". Netanyahu wanted the meeting with Scholz to focus on efforts to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. Netanyahu, who is on trial for corruption charges that he denies, says the judicial changes will strengthen democracy and boost business.

☆ How Can We Measure Droughts and Deluges? Weigh the Planet.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Mira Rojanasakul | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +15 min

Scientists have long cautioned that warming temperatures would lead to wetter and drier global extremes — increasingly severe rainfall, more intense droughts. km3/month Global intensity of wet and dry extremes 30,000 20,000 Wet extremes 10,000 -10,000 Dry extremes -20,000 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 km3/month 30,000 Global intensity of wet and dry extremes 20,000 Wet extremes 10,000 -10,000 Dry extremes -20,000 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 km3/month Global intensity of wet and dry extremes 30,000 20,000 Wet extremes 10,000 -10,000 Dry extremes -20,000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 km3/ month Global intensity of wet and dry extremes 30,000 20,000 Wet extremes 10,000 -10,000 Dry extremes -20,000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 km3/ month Global intensity of wet and dry extremes 30,000 20,000 Wet extremes 10,000 -10,000 Dry extremes -20,000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 Source: Rodell and Li, Nature Water (2023), based on analysis of NASA Grace and Grace-FO data. Europe July 2018–April 2021 Drought across Europe returned with the La Niña that lasted through 2022. Central Africa 2. Central Africa 2.

☆ Exclusive: Activist Legion Partners nominates 4 directors at Primo Water -letter
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Svea Herbst-Bayliss | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

NEW YORK, March 6 (Reuters) - Activist investor Legion Partners Asset Management is pushing for four new directors to join Primo Water Corp's (PRMW.N) board, arguing they could help the water company's share price triple over five years. Legion nominated experts in water delivery, beverage operations, marketing and capital allocation as director candidates for election to the U.S.-Canadian company's 10-person board to help reverse "chronic underperformance," according to a letter seen by Reuters. "Substantial shareholder-driven change in the boardroom is long overdue and necessary at the 2023 Annual Meeting in order for Primo to achieve its full potential," Legion's managing directors, Chris Kiper and Ted White, wrote to fellow Primo Water shareholders. Legion, which helped place directors onto boards at Bed Bath & Beyond and Kohl's, said it owns a 1.5% stake in Primo Water and has been an investor in the past. Primo Water offers home and office water delivery, water exchange, where customers return their empty water jugs and buy new ones at retailers, and water refill, its most affordable offering, where customers refill jugs themselves.

☆ Dutch warn against internet toll as EU looks to Big Tech to fund networks
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Deutsche Telekom (DTEGn.DE), Orange (ORAN.PA), Telefonica (TEF.MC), Telecom Italia (TLIT.MI) and other operators have long lobbied for a Big Tech contribution and have found an ally in Breton, a former chief executive at Orange. These companies account for more than half of data internet traffic, according to telecom operators. Adriaansens said the Dutch government had commissioned a study by economic consultancy Oxera which showed the drawbacks of such a tax. "I think that there is this concern that our infrastructure is not able to meet our expectations and our ambitions. According to Oxera's study, Europe's telecoms providers have not been burdened with higher network costs despite the strong growth in internet data traffic.

☆ Shamima Begum, British-born woman who joined IS, loses appeal over citizenship removal
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Sam Tobin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The British government took away Shamima Begum's citizenship on national security grounds in 2019, shortly after she was found in a detention camp in Syria. Begum would have to take the case directly to the Court of Appeal in London if she wishes to challenge Wednesday's decision, according to legislation which covers the tribunal. Begum, who is currently being held in the al-Roj detention camp in north-eastern Syria, argued that the Home Office failed to investigate whether she was a "child victim of trafficking". Judge Robert Jay found there was a "credible suspicion" that Begum was trafficked to Syria for the purposes of "sexual exploitation". But the judge ruled that a finding that Begum may have been trafficked was not enough for her appeal to succeed.

☆ Consumer debt hits record $16.9 trillion as delinquencies rise as well
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Jeff Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Consumer debt hit a fresh record at the end of 2022 while delinquency rates rose for several types of loans, the New York Federal Reserve reported Thursday. Debt across all categories totaled $16.9 trillion, up about more than $1.3 trillion from a year ago as balances rose across all major categories. Auto loan debt delinquencies rose 0.6 percentage point to 2.2% while credit card debt jumped 0.8 percentage point to 4%. Student loan debt also increased for the month after staying flat during much of the pandemic amid government-backed amnesty for borrowers. Auto loan debt edged higher to $1.55 trillion while credit card balances rose to just shy of $1 trillion.

☆ 'Bellyaching': Democratic unity defending Biden begins to see defections
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Peter Nicholas | Peter Nicholas Is Senior White House Reporter For Nbc News Digital. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

WASHINGTON — A Democratic push to discredit the congressional Republicans who are launching a slew of investigations into President Joe Biden may be fracturing because of an unexpected obstacle: fellow Democrats. And former Vice President Mike Pence revealed this week that he, too, had discovered classified documents in his Indiana home. On Capitol Hill, House Republicans have opened an oversight inquiry into Biden’s handling of the records. (Both the White House and the Secret Service said they don’t keep such records for his personal residence.) The White House counsel’s office now has a communications arm to quickly respond to Republican allegations of presidential wrongdoing.

☆ Sen. Mike Braun's Indiana gubernatorial bid jump-starts the GOP's first open Senate seat race of 2024
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-26 | by ( Warren Rojas | Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Republican Sen. Mike Braun is running for governor of Indiana in 2024. He filed the paperwork to create the new Mike Braun for Indiana, Inc., campaign committee in late November and has since rolled out a promotional website. "I'm very confident Indiana will stay in Republican hands," Daines told Insider between votes at the US Capitol. And fortunately for the Hoosier State, we have a lot of talented people who might run for that seat," Young told Insider at the US Capitol. The Banks and Spartz campaigns did not immediately respond to requests for comment about prospective Senate runs in 2024.

☆ Europe condemns Elon Musk suspending journalists from Twitter, warns of 'red lines'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-17 | by ( Leila Sackur | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

Musk reinstated the suspended journalists early Saturday after a Twitter poll, but he had already drawn rebukes from the European Union and United Nations. “The EU’s Digital Services Act requires respect of media freedom and fundamental rights. officials have also estimated they will add more than 100 full-time staff by 2024 to enforce the Digital Services Act and other new rules on digital competition. “The Digital Services Act is unprepared for this kind of problem, because it’s not designed for that,” said Downing, speaking of Thursday’s suspensions of tech journalists. “There was never a conception that journalists would be banned from Twitter, because that’s not what Twitter does,” he added.

☆ Oil dips as dollar firms while more rate hikes loom
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Jeslyn Lerh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SINGAPORE, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Oil prices dipped in Asian trade on Thursday as the dollar firmed, while the possibility of further interest rate hikes from global central banks also heightened demand concerns. A stronger dollar weakens oil demand as it makes the commodity more expensive for those holding other currencies. Meanwhile, U.S. crude oil stockpiles rose by more than 10 million barrels last week, the most since March 2021, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said. U.S. gasoline stocks rose by 4.5 million barrels in the week to 223.6 million barrels, while distillate stockpiles rose by 1.4 million barrels to 120.2 million barrels. "Commercial crude oil inventories rose as refineries trimmed their runs," said Citi analysts in a note.

The UK government has promised to overhaul the youth gender care system, after it was deemed inadequate by England’s regulator of health and social care. They described a deeply flawed system that is now hobbled by a toxic political climate around gender care. The letter said a decision would be made at some point from early 2022 on whether the child “is likely to meet the access criteria” for gender care. The family has received no NHS gender care or mental health support since the referral, she said. These recommended supporting “identity exploration” and mental health treatment as the first steps to ensure that any psychological issues are addressed.

☆ These 10 Club holdings have been the biggest buyers of their own stocks
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Kevin Stankiewicz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +10 min

We then divided that by each company's average market capitalization throughout that same time period. These 10 stocks spent the most on buybacks in their latest full fiscal year relative to their average market capitalization over that same four-quarter period. Devon Energy's stock ended Tuesday at $61.98 per share, giving the company a market cap of $40.52 billion. As of Sept. 30, the company had $43.5 billion remaining on its $70 billion buyback program, which was authorized by the board in April. As of Sept. 30, Linde had $6 billion left on its $10 billion buyback authorization approved by its board in February.

☆ India-China border clash video shows troops fighting with sticks and bricks
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Jessie Yeung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Though they’re separated by barbed wire, the footage appears to show Indian troops beating the Chinese soldiers with makeshift weapons, including what look like wooden sticks and metal pipes. In several instances, Indian soldiers can be seen throwing bricks or stones. Many of the Chinese soldiers, gathered on the other side of the wire, also appear to be holding long sticks or batons. Speaking to lawmakers on Tuesday, India’s defense minister accused Chinese troops of trying to cross the LAC, saying they were trying to “unilaterally” change the status quo. Later that evening in a statement posted online, the Chinese military’s Western Theater Command accused Indian troops of “illegally” crossing into the Chinese side of the border.

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