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☆ Diners are shocked to see a 4% 'employee healthcare' fee on their bills at an LA restaurant — but the owner says it's common
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Diners are increasingly noticing restaurant surcharges. A Los Angeles eatery received blowback after a diner tweeted about its 4% healthcare surcharge. Some questioned if the owner would cancel an employee's health insurance on a slow night. If the restaurant has a slow day or u opt-out, do staff not get health insurance that day?" "As most LA diners will know, Alimento's 4% healthcare surcharge is hardly unique," he wrote.

Persons: Dave Anthony, Mr Dave Anthony, Lord, Anthony, Alimento, Zach Pollack, Instagram, Pollack, Condie, surcharges, Vinny's Organizations: Industry, Service, Twitter, Affordable, ACA, California Restaurant Association, Restaurant Association, Jon, Daily Mail, CRA Locations: Los Angeles, Wall, Silicon, Italian, Silver Lake, North America, California, San Francisco, Dallas

☆ Low water again hampers Rhine river shipping in Germany
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

HAMBURG, June 28 (Reuters) - Low water levels after recent dry weather are again preventing cargo vessels from sailing fully loaded on the Rhine river in Germany with surcharges added to the usual freight prices, commodity traders said on Wednesday. Low water is hampering shipping on most of the river south of Duisburg and Cologne, including the chokepoint of Kaub, traders said. Dry weather in early June meant the river became too shallow, hindering shipping before rain raised water levels. But rain forecast in river catchment areas in Germany from Thursday into the weekend could help raise water levels, traders said. German companies faced supply bottlenecks and production problems in summer 2022 after a drought and heatwave led to unusually low water levels on the Rhine.

Persons: surcharges, Michael Hogan, Jason Neely Organizations: Thomson Locations: HAMBURG, Germany, Duisburg, Cologne

☆ U.S. trade dominates Panama Canal traffic. 'Severe' drought is threatening the long-term future of the century-old shipping route
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-24 | by ( Lori Ann Larocco | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Forty percent of all U.S. container traffic travels through the Panama Canal every year, which in all, moves roughly $270 billion cargo annually. "The U.S. is the main the main source and destination of our traffic," said Ricaurte Vásquez Morales, administrator of the Panama Canal Administrator. The Panama Canal is popular for East Coast trade because it is faster than other options. Traveling through the Panama Canal, which is more expensive, takes only 35 days. The U.S. is the largest country to move energy commodities through the Panama Canal, including natural gas.

Persons: Ricaurte Vásquez Morales, Vásquez, Luis Acosta Organizations: Gulf, Panama Canal, East, Agriculture Transportation Coalition, CNBC, LNG Allies, Panama, Afp, Getty, Panama Canal Authority Locations: Panama, East Coast, U.S, Shenzhen, China, Miami , Florida, Suez, New Orleans, Mobile , Alabama, Colon province, Panama City

☆ Tech companies including Google gripe about unfair cloud practices
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

June 21 (Reuters) - Technology trade groups as well as Alphabet's (GOOGL.O) Google have griped to the Federal Trade Commission about allegedly unfair business practices in the cloud, including by the industry's No. 2 by market share Microsoft (MSFT.O). They also follow scrutiny worldwide, including a recent probe by Europe's antitrust authority into Microsoft's licensing agreements that allegedly discouraged rival cloud usage. In one example of the public comments Tuesday, trade group NetChoice took aim at Microsoft and Oracle (ORCL.N). Google echoed the sentiment in its own filing, saying that "licensing terms enforced by Microsoft, Oracle, and other legacy on-premises software providers distort competition in the cloud."

Persons: NetChoice, Urvi Dugar, Jeffrey Dastin, Jaspreet Singh, Krishna Chandra Eluri, Christopher Cushing Organizations: Technology, Google, Federal Trade Commission, Microsoft, U.S, Oracle, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru, Palo Alto, Calif

☆ Explainer: What is the 'Bridgetown Initiative' asking for at Paris summit?
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/2] An aerial view shows the Seine River and the skyline of La Defense financial and business district near Paris, France, June 19, 2023. REUTERS/Stephanie LecocqPARIS, June 22 (Reuters) - President Macron hosts a summit in Paris starting Thursday to discuss reform of the world's multilateral finance institutions in the face of climate change and other development challenges. A key topic of discussion will be suggestions from a group of developing countries, led by Barbados, dubbed the 'Bridgetown Initiative'. They should simplify and harmonise the way countries can apply to access loans across the world. The international financial institutions should also finance development plans that help protect shared resources.

Persons: Stephanie Lecocq PARIS, Macron, Simon Jessop, Leigh Thomas, Christina Fincher Organizations: La Defense, REUTERS, Bridgetown Initiative, Monetary Fund, Rapid, IMF, World Bank, African Development Bank, Development Association, Growth Trust, Resilience, Sustainability Trust, World Trade Organisation, International Financial, Thomson Locations: Paris, France, Barbados, Bridgetown

☆ Explainer: What is the 'Bridgetown Initiative' asking for at Paris financial summit?
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/2] An aerial view shows the Seine River and the skyline of La Defense financial and business district near Paris, France, June 19, 2023. REUTERS/Stephanie LecocqPARIS, June 20 (Reuters) - President Macron hosts a summit in Paris this week to discuss reform of the world's multilateral finance institutions in the face of climate change and other development challenges. A key topic of discussion will be suggestions from a group of developing countries, led by Barbados, dubbed the 'Bridgetown Initiative'. Simplify and harmonise the way countries can apply to access loans across the world, and provide more support in the process. The international financial institutions should also finance development plans that help protect shared resources.

Persons: Stephanie Lecocq PARIS, Macron, Simon Jessop, Leigh Thomas, Christina Fincher Organizations: La Defense, REUTERS, Bridgetown Initiative, Monetary, Rapid, IMF, World Bank, African Development Bank, Development Association, Growth Trust, Resilience, Sustainability Trust, World Trade Organisation, International Financial, Thomson Locations: Paris, France, Barbados, Bridgetown

☆ US FCC proposes to force cable TV operators to disclose full pricing
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The plan would require providers to disclose the total cost of video programming service - including broadcast retransmission consent, regional sports programming and other programming-related fees - as a prominent single line item on bills and in promotional materials. Major cable TV companies include Comcast Corp (CCZ.N), Cox Communications, Charter Communications (CHTR.O) and others. NCTA-The Internet & Television Association, an industry group representing the major cable TV companies, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. ACA Connects, which represents smaller video providers, said its members "are committed to transparency in their sales and billing practices." The rules require broadband providers to display, at the time of sale, labels that show prices, speeds, fees and data allowances.

Persons: Joe Biden, Biden, Jessica Rosenworcel, Anna Gomez, David Shepardson, Will Dunham, Chris Reese Organizations: U.S . Federal Communications Commission, Comcast Corp, Cox Communications, Charter Communications, Dish Network, Democratic, FCC, & Television Association, Democrats, Senate Republicans, Thomson

☆ Anheuser-Busch is writing checks to distributors as Bud Light sales sink
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( Jordan Valinsky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN —Bud Light’s parent company Anheuser-Busch has laid out a plan to appease beer distributors affected by two months of plunging sales sparked by an ongoing customer boycott. The company plans to provide financial assistance to its wholesalers, reimburse fuel for distributors’ trucks and launch a new ad campaign for Bud Light next week, A-B CEO Brendan Whitworth wrote in a letter Thursday. Damage was so severe that Bud Light, which is typically the top-selling beer in the United States, lost its place for May to Modelo Especial. A-B is providing financial support based on the extent to which sales have fallen, according to Beer Business Daily, an influential beer trade newsletter. Some distributors will get between 20 cents to 50 cents back per case depending on how severe sales slipped, Beer Business Daily said.

Persons: Bud Light’s, Bud Light, Brendan Whitworth, “, ” Whitworth, Bud, influencer Dylan Mulvaney, they’ve, ” Organizations: New, New York CNN, Anheuser, Busch, Modelo Especial, Beer Business, Beer Business Daily, CNN Locations: New York, United States

CNN —An “unprecedented drought” is affecting the Panama Canal’s water supply and leading authorities to impose surcharges and weight limits on ships traversing the key global trade route, according to the Panama Canal Authority. Ships move through the Panama Canal through a lock system, which uses water from several freshwater reservoirs to float the massive cargo vessels overland. But Panama is currently gripped by drought, and water levels at least one of those reservoirs – Gatun Lake – are dropping. But the start of El Niño “could worsen” conditions, the Panama Canal authority also warned. Regional neighbors have sought opportunities to compete with the lucrative Panama Canal.

Persons: El Niño, El, Cape Horn Organizations: CNN, Panama Canal Authority, Ships, Panama City, Panamanian National Government, El, Pacific, United Locations: Panama, Central America, El, South America, Cape, Asia, United States, Panamanian, Panama Canal, Nicaragua, Mexico, Pacific, Gulf of Mexico

☆ House lawmakers introduce bipartisan bill requiring total disclosure of ticketing fees
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Chelsey Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON — Lawmakers introduced a new bill on Thursday targeting ticketing fee disclosures in an effort to increase transparency in the entertainment industry. The "Transparency in Charges for Key Events Ticketing Act,'' or TICKET Act, is modeled after current advertising guidelines for airline tickets, which require disclosing the full ticket price before purchase. With every ticketing debacle, from Beyoncé to Taylor Swift, and so many more, their frustration grows," Schakowsky said in a statement. The House bill mirrors the Senate measure in mandating ticket vendors to display the total price of a ticket, including all required fees, in any advertisement or piece of marketing. Bilirakis said the bill will bring "much-needed transparency to the whole ticketing industry."

Persons: Jan Schakowsky, Gus Bilirakis, Taylor Swift, Schakowsky, Sens, Ted Cruz, Maria Cantwell, Biden, Cantwell, Bilirakis, Taylor Organizations: WASHINGTON — Lawmakers, Senate, New York, Office, Ticketmaster Locations: Beyoncé, Texas

☆ UPS will stop delivering to some rural neighborhoods as often, as it looks to slash costs
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Emma Cosgrove | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

UPS is piloting making less frequent deliveries in rural areas, the company confirmed to Insider. UPS is experimenting with delivering on fewer days per week in very rural areas, the company confirmed to Insider. The pilot will cover roughly 1% of zip codes, a UPS spokesperson said, noting that most UPS customers won't be affected. UPS has been adding surcharges on top of more and more rural packages in recent years to offset these costs. But that work started with rural packages where having separate facilities and staff makes even less financial sense.

☆ The best checking accounts for getting cash abroad in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Liz Hund | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Many of the most popular checking accounts charge foreign transaction and ATM fees, which can add up quickly. Best checking accounts for traveling abroad in 2023Charles Schwab High Yield Investor Checking Account: Best overall for travelers with no foreign transaction fees and reimbursed ATM surcharges. Schwab Bank Investor Checking Account: Best overall for travelersSchwab has one of the best checking accounts for international travelers. This makes the Schwab Bank Investor Checking Account our top checking account pick for most travelers. This is significantly higher than the industry average, and is one of the best checking account APY’s we’ve seen.

The Justice Department’s April 20 letter includes guidance for state and local police, prosecutors, judges and probation officers. Joanna Weiss, co-director of the Fines and Fees Justice Center, told me that the DOJ's voice is critical on these issues. The earlier memo included a section that laid out the principle that courts must not use bail practices that incarcerate people solely because they can’t afford a fee. The Justice Department didn't address my specific questions about why the section on bail was nixed. Lauren Jones, legal director at the National Center for Access to Justice, told me that there's clear overlap between cash bail practices and justice system fees.

April 20 (Reuters) - Union Pacific Corp's (UNP.N) chief executive officer said on Thursday the railroad operator was considering slowing down the pace of hiring in the second half of the year amid a cloudy economic outlook, becoming the latest U.S. company to evaluate its staffing plans. CEO Lance Fritz told Reuters in an interview the outlook was turning a "little cloudier" for consumer-facing companies, which is making railroad volume difficult to predict. A possible slowdown in hiring comes at a time when railroads are struggling to move cargo on time, which has invited severe criticisms from regulators and customers. Shares of Union Pacific, which connects West Coast ports to key terminals such as Chicago, lost its gains in the day to trade flat in the afternoon session. Operating revenue for the quarter ended March 31 rose 3% to $6.06 billion, in line with analysts' estimates.

TOKYO, March 31 (Reuters) - Japan, the world's fifth-biggest carbon dioxide (CO2) emitter, will begin a carbon pricing scheme in stages from April to encourage companies to curb emissions and achieve its goal of carbon neutrality by 2050. The country is the latest among Asian nations to formulate plans to create a carbon pricing mechanism and emissions trading system. The scheme, based on METI proposals and approved by the cabinet this year, consists of emissions trading and a carbon levy. The carbon levy will be introduced from around 2028/29 on fossil fuel importers such as refiners, trading houses and electricity utilities. The introduction of emissions trading and carbon surcharges mark "a significant shift in Japan's climate change policy", said Tohru Shimizu, senior researcher at the Japan's Institute of Energy Economics.

☆ Junk fees cost consumers tens of billions annually, according to the White House
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Chelsey Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Fees on concert tickets, airfares, hotels and other so-called junk fees cost Americans tens of billions of dollars every year, often obscuring the full price of purchases from consumers, top economic experts said at the White House on Tuesday. Biden also called on state legislators to address junk fees at a March 8 virtual meeting with the White House. The eradication of junk fees is also a bipartisan issue with positive benefits for the economy, Brainard will say. She says recent surveys show 75% of consumers support cutting junk fees, "with strong support across party lines." "As an economist, I know that regulating junk fees has a strong foundation in decades of scholarship.

Our experts answer readers' credit card questions and write unbiased product reviews (here's how we assess credit cards). However, some vendors make that cost explicit by tacking on a fixed fee or percentage of the transaction to credit card payments. To avoid getting scammedMany credit card scams involve cardholders being victimized after willfully handing over their card or account information. To buy cash equivalentsMany credit cards offer cash advances, which allow you to borrow cash against your credit limit. Her credit history was pristine, but she only had two credit cards with low credit limits that she nearly exhausted each month on business and personal expenses.

☆ Fly less, sit in coach, and avoid gimmicky offsets. Here's how to make your next trip more sustainable, according to experts.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Bianca Giacobone | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Airlines offer options to buy offsets and fuel surcharges to ease one's travel carbon impact. Experts say carbon offsets are good, but they need to be chosen carefully. Last year, Carbon Market Watch commissioned a study that looked at the effectiveness of carbon offsets bought by major European airlines. AirFrance, for example, has increased all its ticket prices by an amount varying from 1 Euro to 24 Euro to cover for the company's increased use of sustainable aviation fuel. Other airlines, like Brussels Airlines, are asking passengers whether they want to pay more for sustainable aviation fuel.

☆ House Republicans target the CFPB as the agency takes aim at 'junk fees'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Chelsey Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

WASHINGTON — Lawmakers discussed ways to reform, or altogether defund, the nation's foremost consumer protection agency on Thursday, as the regulator takes aim at illegal "junk fees" levied on consumers. GOP lawmakers in the hearing criticized the Biden administration's push to eradicate "junk fees," largely regulated by the CFPB. On Wednesday, the agency released a list of illegal junk fees encompassing deposit accounts; auto and mortgage loan servicing; and payday and title lending. Subcommittee member Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer, R-Mo., said Chopra has used junk fees as an excuse to expand his authority. The CFPB's working definition of junk fees is "any fee they don't like," argued Devin Watkins, an attorney at the conservative-leaning Competitive Enterprise Institute.

☆ Gas surcharges have ended. But not everyone is happy
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Nathaniel Meyersohn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN —Amazon, Uber and Lyft recently ended extra fuel surcharges as gas prices dropped late last year. These companies added gas surcharges in response to skyrocketing energy prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year. Gas prices swung wildly in 2022: At one point the national average for a gallon of gas was above $5 for the first time ever, according to AAA. Fuel surcharges went directly to ride-share drivers and were meant to help them soften the blow of high gas prices. It’s unlikely that gas prices will spike this year.

Joseph HostetlerThe Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card comes with 40,000 miles after spending $1,000 on purchases within three months from account opening. There are many fun things you can do with the Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card bonus — from free flights to free hotel stays and more. There are two reasons Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card is the best offer we've ever seen on a no-annual-fee credit card. With the Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card bonus, you could transfer 36,000 Capital One miles to British Airways for two round-trip tickets and have a Caribbean getaway with your travel buddy. What you need to know about the Capital One VentureOne bonusThe 40,000-mile bonus that comes with the Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card is worth $400 in travel at the very least.

☆ Americans are completely addicted to free shipping. It just makes us spend more.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-12 | by ( Emma Cosgrove | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Free shipping is never really free, and retailers devise clever ways to cover the cost. According to new data from shipping technology firm Shippo, 62% of Americans refuse to buy something online without free shipping. "Having some type of free shipping option is now a permanent expectation." Does free shipping make you spend more? And since they know free shipping is such a prerequisite for shoppers, they also know that they can change our behavior with minimum purchase requirements.

Get 5X Membership Rewards® points on flights and prepaid hotels on amextravel.com, and 1X points for each dollar you spend on eligible purchases. Limited benefits beyond earning Hilton points Highlights Chevron icon It indicates an expandable section or menu, or sometimes previous / next navigation options. Details Rewards Earn 12x Hilton Honors Points at Hilton per dollar for purchases made directly with hotels and resorts in the Hilton portfolio. Keep in mind that transferable credit card points — like Chase Ultimate Rewards®, Amex Membership Rewards, Citi ThankYou Rewards, and Capital One miles — are generally more valuable than hotel points or airline miles. That's worth around $500 in stays, according to Insider's valuation of Hilton points.

☆ What Biden’s Crackdown on ‘Junk Fees’ Could Mean for Travelers, Concertgoers and Credit Cards
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Allison Pohle | Joe Pinsker | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

President Biden said his administration is expanding its crackdown on what he calls “junk fees,” the ambiguous surcharges tacked onto concert tickets, cable bills, banking services, hotel bookings and other purchases. “We’re going to ban surprise resort fees that hotels charge on your bill,” Mr. Biden said in his State of the Union address on Tuesday. “Those fees can cost you up to $90 a night at hotels that aren’t even resorts.”

☆ More than half of all 'Avatar: The Way of Water' tickets have been for 3D showings
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Sarah Whitten | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

For comparison, all other movies released in 2022 — not including "The Way of Water" — saw less than 14% of ticket sales from premium showings, averaging $15.76 a ticket. Bolstering box office numbers for the film is the push from Disney and Cameron for 3D showings. Since its release, the "Avatar" sequel has seen more than 56% of its tickets sold for 3D showings. The original 2009 "Avatar," which is the top grossing film of all time, also did well with 3D and premium tickets. To be sure, "The Way of Water" has not reached its historic box office just because of surcharges for 3D and premium format screenings.

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