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Small icons of scientific papers are lined up in a grid, each representing a study of medication abortion. Studies of abortion pills Each icon represents one study that reported serious complications after medication abortion. For pregnant women considering medication abortion, the alternatives would be childbirth or procedural abortion. Almost all patients will experience bleeding and pain during a medication abortion, because the pills essentially trigger a miscarriage. But the study itself notes that bleeding is expected, serious complications are rare and medication abortion is safe.

☆ Investors 'are pretty afraid right now,' financial psychologist says. These 2 steps can help
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Annie Nova | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

watch nowWith high inflation, the threat of a recession and ongoing market volatility, we're in a period of high financial uncertainty. Understandably, many investors "are pretty afraid right now," said Brad Klontz, a psychologist and certified financial planner. And when we're stressed, our frame of reference tends to become short, said Klontz, who is also a member of CNBC's Financial Advisor Council. If you're investing for retirement, you may not need that money for decades, and so the answer is no. If market volatility is causing you a lot of stress, you may need to make adjustments.

WASHINGTON, March 29 (Reuters) - Almost all of the remaining shortfall in U.S. labor force participation is the result of demographic and other trends that predate the COVID-19 pandemic, according to new research that suggests little chance that growth in the number of workers will help ease a tight American job market. After accounting for factors such as population aging and changes in education that influence people's willingness to work, the study showed that U.S. labor force participation was only about 0.3 percentage points short of where it would have been without the pandemic - equivalent to around 700,000 "missing" workers. Still, the figures suggest a winnowing down of COVID-related impacts on the labor force, a significant conclusion for U.S. policymakers hoping labor force participation rates could rebound to pre-pandemic levels. As of February, about 62.5% of U.S. adults were either working or looking for work, 0.8 percentage points below where it was in February of 2020, according to government figures. It has been in a steady decline for nearly a quarter century after peaking at 67.3% in April 2000.

That should unlock value for weary shareholders, and please regulators and politicians keen to control strategic businesses. The restructuring will give each of Alibaba’s six businesses, which include its core commerce division, as well as cloud computing, games and logistics units, their own chief executive and board of directors. Investors promptly added nearly $23 billion, or 10%, to the New York-listed company’s market value, now at $250 billion, following Tuesday’s announcement. The $460 billion video-game giant also operates in sensitive areas like online media, cloud computing and mobile payments. Daniel Zhang will continue to serve as chairman and chief executive of Alibaba, which will follow a holding company management model, and concurrently serve as CEO of Cloud Intelligence.

☆ Another SEAL parachuting death highlights the inherent danger of US special operators' go-to infiltration method
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Stavros Atlamazoglou | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Deadly accidentsNaval Special Warfare operators perform a free-fall jump in Alaska in September. The incident, which likely happened during as part of a pre-deployment workup, is still under investigation, according to Naval Special Warfare Command. Despite that danger, however, free-fall parachuting is also extremely valuable as an insertion method for special-operations units. The Navy SEAL community — especially the Naval Special Warfare Development Group, formerly known as SEAL Team 6 — is well-versed in free-fall operations. Most US special-operations units have recognized the value of free-fall parachuting and have incorporated it into their training.

HONG KONG, March 28 (Reuters Breakingviews) - In the biblical parable of the prodigal son, a repentant wastrel returns home to a forgiving and beneficent father. In China, Alibaba (9988.HK) founder Jack Ma's homecoming and rehabilitation appears to be part of an official campaign to revive flagging private sector investment. However, if officials believe the mere sight of Ma in public will revive business confidence, that hope has a whiff of desperation. Ma the prodigal entrepreneur has returned, but perhaps not for long. Shares of Alibaba rallied as much as 4% in Hong Kong following the SCMP report before closing flat at HK$85.25 on March 27.

☆ Drug Middlemen Accused of Price Fixing by Ohio Attorney General
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Jared S. Hopkins | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A price-fixing lawsuit that Ohio filed Monday against several firms that manage billions of dollars in drug benefits ratchets up scrutiny of the companies while shining a spotlight on their new tactic using overseas subsidiaries. The lawsuit filed Monday by the Ohio attorney general in a state court alleges Cigna Corp., Humana Inc. and Prime Therapeutics LLC shared pricing and other information gathered by a Swiss subsidiary to gain leverage during negotiations with drugmakers for rebates.

[1/3] The logo of Swiss bank Credit Suisse is seen in front of a branch office in Bern, Switzerland November 29, 2022. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File PhotoWASHINGTON/FRANKFURT, March 26 (Reuters) - Stress in the banking sector is being closely monitored for its potential to trigger a credit crunch, a U.S. Federal Reserve policymaker said on Sunday, as a European Central Bank official also flagged a possible tightening in lending. "What's unclear for us is how much of these banking stresses are leading to a widespread credit crunch. Meanwhile in Europe, the ECB believes that recent banking sector turmoil may result in lower growth and inflation rates, its vice president Luis de Guindos said. Turbulence among banking stocks on both sides of the Atlantic continued into the end of the week, despite efforts by politicians, central banks and regulators to dispel concerns.

WASHINGTON, March 26 (Reuters) - Recent stress in the banking sector and the possibility of a follow-on credit crunch brings the U.S. closer to recession, Minneapolis Fed president Neel Kashkari said Sunday in comments to CBS show Face the Nation. "It definitely brings us closer," Kashkari said. "What's unclear for us is how much of these banking stresses are leading to a widespread credit crunch. "At the same time," he continued, "we've seen that capital markets have largely been closed for the past two weeks. The Fed has rolled out an emergency lending program meant to keep other regional lenders from trouble should deposit withdrawals increase.

☆ An accused Russian spy boasted that infiltrating the US was easy. He's now in prison after getting caught with files that blew his cover.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-25 | by ( Bethany Dawson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Secret messages from court documents give a look into the wild life of an accused Russian spy. The DOJ accuses Sergey Cherkasov of operating undercover in the US, and got a cache of his messages. A screengrab of a message sent by Sergey Cherkasov, whom them US accuses of being a Russian spy. A screengrab of a message sent by Sergey Cherkasov, whom them US accuses of being a Russian spy. The DOJ accuses Cherkasov of acting as an unregistered foreign agent, using false documents, and lying to officials.

"It was a quirky situation," St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said in comments to a St. Louis community group. 'FELT VERY STABLE'The Fed raised interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point on Wednesday, its ninth straight increase. This wasn't a straightforward decision," Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic said in an interview with National Public Radio, a U.S. media outlet. But "that's a different issue than the macro policy issue that we were dealing with in terms of interest rates," Bostic said. So the conditions were right to do monetary policy the way we want to do monetary policy."

The Fed raised its benchmark overnight interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point on Wednesday, the ninth straight policy meeting that ended with a rise in borrowing costs since the current tightening cycle began in March 2022. "It's really ... a question of not knowing at this point," Powell told reporters after the meeting. This is 12 days ago," that a pair of bank failures reshaped the financial landscape facing the central bank, with potential implications for the real economy and the path of inflation. The U.S. Senate Banking Committee is holding hearings on the bank failures next week. "The challenges facing the (Federal Open Market Committee) today ... take on a particular aura of complexity."

The index of top European banks (.SX7P) was down 1% in early trading, with German banking giants Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE) and Commerzbank (CBKG.DE) both falling 0.8%. The rescue of Credit Suisse, which followed the collapses of California-based Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) (SIVB.O) and New York-based Signature Bank (SBNY.O) ignited broader concerns about investors' exposure to a fragile banking sector. The decision to prioritise shareholders over Additional Tier 1 (AT1) bondholders rattled the $275 billion AT1 bond market and some Credit Suisse AT1 bondholders are seeking legal advice. "The AT1 instruments issued by Credit Suisse contractually provide that they will be completely written down in a 'viability event', in particular if extraordinary government support is granted," FINMA said. However, some watchers think the banking system is more vulnerable to rumour and rapid moves in an era of widespread social media use, posing a challenge for regulators trying to tamp down instability.

HONG KONG, March 23 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Tencent (0700.HK) is sounding more like its normal self again. The combination of regulatory respite, a post-lockdown consumption bounce plus cost cuts have put the company in a sweet spot for 2023. Revenue in the three months to December inched up 0.5% from a year earlier, to $21 billion, reversing year-on-year declines from the previous two quarters. With 2022 firmly behind it, Tencent can put a spring back in its step. Shares of Tencent rose 4.7% to HK$364.00 during early morning trading on March 23.

☆ I moved to a small town in Washington state to work remotely. My mortgage is half as much as my rent was and I see myself living here forever.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Ella Hopkins | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

After he moved with his wife, Yelp went fully remote. My commute to the Yelp office downtown would take me around 45 minutes each way. We lived in the Sunset neighborhood of San Francisco in a 500-square-foot apartment with a roommate and our pretty large dog. Our rent in San Francisco was twice what our mortgage payments are now. But knowing that the company was fully remote has unlocked a lot of opportunities for our family.

☆ Adam Driver asked NASA how it plans to save Earth from world-ending asteroids
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Don't worry about such a large asteroid — an extinction-level space rock — approaching Earth anytime soon, NASA astronomer Kelly Fast was quick to clarify. NASA is studying and tracking down near-Earth asteroidsFast added that NASA's approach to any asteroid would depend on the asteroid's size and composition. Another NASA mission, called Osiris-Rex, landed on the surface of an asteroid in 2020 and scooped up its rocky space dust. Even though Driver and Fast didn't discuss that mission, the actor seemed impressed with NASA's efforts. "Thank you for your work in keeping the planet safe from world-ending asteroids plummeting into our planet," Driver said.

Fed Chairman Jerome Powell sought to reassure investors about the soundness of the banking system, saying that the management of Silicon Valley Bank "failed badly," but that the bank's collapse did not indicate wider weaknesses in the banking system. "These are not weaknesses that are running broadly through the banking system," he said, adding that the takeover of Credit Suisse seemed to have been a positive outcome. The Federal Open Market Committee policy statement also said the U.S. banking system is "sound and resilient." The much-anticipated rate cut by the Fed, which had delivered eight previous rate hikes in the past year, sought to balance the risk of rampant inflation with the threat of instability in the banking system. The banking sector has been in turmoil after California regulators on March 10 closed Silicon Valley Bank in the largest U.S. bank failure since the 2008 financial crisis.

The Fed's policy-setting committee raised interest rates by another quarter of a percentage point in a unanimous decision on Wednesday, lifting its benchmark overnight interest rate to the 4.75%-5.00% range. Fed officials still feel that "some additional policy firming" may be needed, and they penciled in one more quarter-of-a-percentage-point rate increase by the end of the year. The yield on the 2-year Treasury note , which is highly sensitive to Fed rate expectations, was down more than 21 basis points in the session. Financial markets went a step further, betting that the Fed won't raise rates any further from here and will be reducing them by this summer. "The Fed has been spooked by Silicon Valley Bank and other banking turmoil.

The latest move to restore calm to restive regional bank stocks came as Pacific Western Bank (PACW.O), one of the regional lenders caught up in the market volatility, said it had raised $1.4 billion from investment firm Atlas SP Partners. While that deal brought some respite to battered banking stocks, First Republic (FRC.N) remains firmly in the spotlight. For now, the rescue of Credit Suisse appears to have calmed the worst fears of systemic contagion, boosting shares of European banks (.SX7P) and U.S. lenders (.SPXBK). Reuters Graphics Reuters Graphics'HEAD IN SAND'The wipeout of Credit Suisse's Additional Tier-1 (AT1) bondholders has sent shockwaves through bank debt markets. Seeking to boost confidence among investors rattled by its $3 billion Credit Suisse rescue, UBS said on Wednesday it would buy back 2.75 billion euros ($2.96 billion) worth of debt it issued less than week ago.

Two of the Fed's 12 regional bank presidents resigned as a result of that scandal and Powell launched a fast overhaul of the central bank's ethics rules as criticism mounted. Senator Elizabeth Warren, a longtime Powell opponent, saying she had lost confidence as well in San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly, whose bank was responsible for supervising SVB. Still, turbulence in financial markets and the banking system is likely to feature prominently in Powell's post-meeting news conference, which is scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m. EDT (1830 GMT). The U.S. central bank will release its policy statement and new economic projections from Fed officials at 2 p.m. EDT. Market expectations are tilted heavily towards the Fed approving another quarter-of-a-percentage-point rate increase, which would lift its benchmark overnight interest rate - the federal funds rate - to the 4.75%-5.00% range.

☆ If you had Covid before you were vaccinated, you might have less immunity than you think, study says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Co-funded by the National Institutes of Health, the study released Monday challenges older research that suggested a prior Covid infection enhanced a vaccinated individual's immune response — a phenomenon known as hybrid immunity, which some scientists believe provides the best protection against reinfection. In the study, researchers from Stanford University analyzed how immune cells found in the blood called CD4+ T cells and CD8+ T cells respond to Covid infection and vaccination. The study found that vaccinating people who had never been infected with Covid before produced "robust" CD4+ and CD8+ T cell responses to the virus. Vaccination in those people also generated cell-signaling molecules that recruit other immune cells to help fight Covid, they said. Ray said the study, while interesting, needs to factor in long-term knowledge about how Covid immunity works: "It's probably not the last chapter in this story."

"This is all a bit of a mess," Krishna Guha, vice chair of ISI Evercore and a former New York Federal Reserve official, wrote ahead of a Federal Open Market Committee meeting that has veered from a dead-certain jump in interest rates two weeks ago to a speculative morass. The yield on the 2-year Treasury note - particularly sensitive to Fed policy expectations - rose steadily through the day, adding roughly a quarter of a point from the overnight low and approaching 4%. Analysts trying to parse what recent bank stress might mean said a coming credit contraction could be the equivalent of an additional quarter point Fed rate increase, or as much as a recession-inducing 1.5 percentage points, rendering further rate hikes obsolete. "The emergence of financial stress is likely to indicate to the committee that monetary policy is closer to being 'sufficiently restrictive' than some may have thought previously," BOA economists wrote. "At the very least, stress in financial markets suggests that the Fed should proceed with caution."

The influence of Fed rate hikes "is going to hit...That is how it is designed." As of December officials expected the policy rate would rise to around 5.1% by year's end. The experience of 1970s-era central bankers informed not only the extent of the rate increases, with the policy rate rising 4.5 percentage points from near zero as of last March. None of those reforms prevented SVB from funneling its rapidly growing deposits into long-term government bonds that lost value as the Fed raised rates. The Fed has announced a review of its supervision at SVB to see if warning signs were missed.

☆ Russia can't match the US military's hardware, but it has other ways to keep it from working properly
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Stavros Atlamazoglou | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

But Russian information operations could still affect US forces, a US government watchdog says. Once perceived as a conventional near-peer threat, the Russian military now appears to be more of a paper tiger. While Russia can't match the US military's hardware, it has other ways to keep it from working. Near-peer adversaries, such as China and Russia, know that and have sought ways to counter their more powerful adversary. Doing so could mean that Chinese or Russian intelligence services could not only to influence individual service members but also the performance of specific weapons.

There is so much money out there," he said, from pandemic spending programs as well as recent federal government initiatives like the Inflation Reduction Act. Is the economy really standing firm against the Fed's aggressive rate moves? Rate increases have averaged more than half a percentage point at each of the eight Fed meetings since March of 2022, and pushed the benchmark overnight interest rate from the near-zero level to the current 4.50%-4.75% range. Reuters Graphics Reuters GraphicsDOGS THAT DIDN'T BARK (YET)Construction: The status of the construction industry shows the Fed's pandemic-era dilemma. The Fed's rate increases have had an impact.

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