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☆ Quotes: Fed plans broad revamp of bank oversight in wake of SVB collapse
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +11 min

The assertion in the introduction that the Fed should focus on large bank capital requirements is disconnected from the report's conclusions. AMERICAN BANK ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT AND CEO ROB NICOLS"We take any bank failure seriously, and we will review the findings and proposed policy changes in these reports carefully, including where the conclusions may differ. JONATHAN MONDILLO, HEAD OF NORTH AMERICAN FIXED INCOME AT ABRDN"We're likely to see higher capital requirements. What that means for the overall markets is that the devil is in the details: how stringent those capital requirements will be. A potential First Republic Bank failure could similarly present a risk to the long-term investment strategy of high net-worth individuals."

☆ South Africa’s Shifting Stance on a Sensitive Question: Quit the I.C.C.?
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( John Eligon | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa said on Tuesday that his party, the African National Congress, had decided “it is prudent” to withdraw from the International Criminal Court — only for representatives for him and the party to later clarify that neither was actually advocating quitting the court, at least for now. The shifting statements underscore the complexities and sensitivity of the matter at a fraught geopolitical moment, when South Africa and other countries are pushing back against a world order dominated by the United States and the West. has issued an arrest warrant on war crimes charges for President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, who has been invited to a summit in South Africa in August. South African officials have not said whether they would honor their commitment to the I.C.C. and arrest Mr. Putin, and Mr. Ramaphosa said his government was still considering what to do.

☆ Investing in Space special report: Starship succeeds, in spite of failure
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Michael Sheetz | In Michaeljsheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

CNBC's Investing in Space newsletter offers a view into the business of space exploration and privatization, delivered straight to your inbox. As I sprinted for a flight in the Dallas airport near midnight last night, I didn't actually think SpaceX was going to light up Starship's engines this morning. And even with the Super Heavy booster successfully ignited, I still didn't think the rocket would get off the ground. Michael Sheetz is CNBC's space reporter – send tips, talent moves and more to michael.sheetz@nbcuni.com. Listen to CNBC's "Manifest Space" podcast, hosted by Morgan Brennan, wherever you find podcasts.

☆ Sudan Live Updates: Civilians Feel Strain as Blasts Rock Capital
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( Abdi Latif Dahir | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

A policeman in 2011 in Abyei, a dividing line between northern and southern Sudan that was the site of a long-running standoff. For decades, Sudan’s military has waged brutal conflicts in the south, east and west of the country. The two sides ultimately negotiated a peace agreement that split the country in 2011 after southerners voted in a referendum for South Sudan to become a new nation. Image Celebrations in Juba, Sudan, on the eve of independence for South Sudan in 2011. Credit... Tyler Hicks/The New York TimesWithin South Sudan, infighting in the government led to clashes in 2013 and ultimately triggered a violent feud between the two biggest ethnic groups. Nuba Mountains conflictClashes between government forces and rebel Nuba fighters in Sudan’s South Kordofan State broke out in the aftermath of South Sudan’s secession, with Nuba fighters supporting South Sudan.

First Republic Bank was forced to seek a lifeline this week, receiving tens of billions of dollars from other banks. These are known as unrealized losses — they turn into real losses only if the banks have to sell the assets. +2 % 0 –4 First Republic Pacific Western Signature −8 Plotted quarterly ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 +2 % 0 –4 Silicon Valley Western Alliance Zions −8 ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 +2 % 0 First Republic Pacific Western Signature –4 −8 Plotted quarterly ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 +2 % 0 Silicon Valley Western Alliance Zions –4 −8 ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 +2 % 0 First Republic Pacific Western Signature –4 −8 Plotted quarterly ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 +2 % 0 Silicon Valley Western Alliance Zions –4 −8 ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 Source: Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council Note: Includes both “held-to-maturity” and “available-for-sale” securities, meaning both long- and short-term investments. Banks’ cash and noncash assets Plotted quarterly $200 billion Pacific Western Signature 150 100 First Republic 50 0 ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 $200 billion Western Alliance Zions 150 100 50 Silicon Valley 0 ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 Banks’ cash and noncash assets $200 billion Pacific Western Signature 150 100 50 First Republic 0 ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 $200 billion Western Alliance Zions 150 100 50 Silicon Valley 0 ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 Source: Federal Financial Institutions Examination CouncilMidsize banks like SVB do not have the same regulatory oversight as the nation’s biggest banks, who, among other provisions, are subject to tougher requirements to have a certain amount of reserves in moments of crisis. Last weekend, the Fed announced a program that offers loans of up to one year to banks using the banks’ government bonds and certain other assets as collateral.

Welcome to CNBC Select's advice column, Getting Your Money Right , where financial advisor Kristin O'Keeffe Merrick will be answering your pressing money questions. I have yet to meet someone who likes tax season, but I can definitely help make it less painful for you. Every year when tax season comes around, I find that I am overwhelmed by what I need to do in order to prepare. Filing electronically is more efficient and helps you receive your money from the IRS much faster. All the best,KristinKristin O'Keeffe Merrick is a Financial Advisor and money expert at her family-run firm, O'Keeffe Financial Partners, located in Fairfield, NJ.

☆ Three Years Into Covid, We Still Don’t Know How to Talk About It
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Jon Mooallem | Photographs Ashley Gilbertson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +53 min

It will play out and reverberate for years or decades, Hagen told me. “The pathological normal,” Hagen calls it: a patchwork of homespun, bespoke realities, each one invested in a different story about what exactly happened when Covid ruptured the story of our lives. garb.”More than once, life seemed to be attaining “an uncanny resemblance to normal life,” as one man put it. But because we don’t totally understand where that experience has delivered us, we don’t know the right gloss to give it. “The days are strange,” one public-school teacher told Milstein toward the end of his first interview, in May 2020.

Welcome to Select's advice column, Getting Your Money Right , where financial advisor Kristin O'Keeffe Merrick will be answering your pressing money questions. You can read her last installment here on whether to invest in bonds when interest rates are high . They are volatile, good news seems to be bad news, bad news is good news — everything seems to be defying the textbooks. After wading through the market meltdown of 2022, it feels like we deserve a rally and some peace! Lots of investors have started this year with cash to spend and are looking to buy stocks that are "cheap".

China’s official count 0 2.5 million 83,150 deaths Model based on Shanghai outbreak 1.6 million deaths LOW ESTIMATE HIGH ESTIMATE Estimate using travel patterns 970,000 deaths Estimate using recent testing data 1.5 million deaths Estimate based on U.S. death rates 1.1 million deaths China’s official count 0 2.5 million 83,150 deaths Model based on Shanghai outbreak 1.6 million deaths LOW EST. But China’s official Covid death toll for the entire pandemic remains strikingly low: 83,150 people as of Feb. 9. Four separate academic teams have converged on broadly similar estimates: China’s Covid wave may have killed between a million and 1.5 million people. Why official data underrepresents China’s outbreak83,150 deaths China’s official count on Feb. 9 0 2.5M 83,150 deaths China’s official count on Feb. 9 0 2.5 millionChina has a narrow definition of what counts as a Covid-19 death. But the work was unwavering in its ultimate conclusion: Ending the “zero Covid” policy was likely to overwhelm the health care system, producing an estimated 1.6 million deaths.

☆ With Great Salt Lake at rock bottom, lawmakers aim for rescue
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-21 | by ( Evan Bush | Evan Bush Is A Science Reporter For Nbc News. He Can Be Reached At Evan.Bush Nbcuni.Com. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Water volume on the Great Salt Lake has dropped by more than two-thirds since pioneers once settled the Salt Lake Valley. Much of the lake surface is now exposed. Photographs of empty marinas and the cracking crust of the lake’s surface often illustrate the lake’s decline. The rivers and streams that feed The Great Salt Lake are overallocated, which means farmers and other water users collectively have rights to more water than what typically flows through each year. Spencer Cox last November closed the Great Salt Lake basin to appropriations for new water uses, effectively capping the line of water users wanting to use what flows into the lake.

☆ Despite India's economic growth, few jobs and meagre pay for urban youth
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Manoj Kumar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

He has since remained unemployed, unable to pay back a 100,000 rupee ($1,224) loan he took to buy a two-wheeler scooter. The rising unemployment in India belies other indicators suggesting the economy is undergoing a healthy rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, the surge in people looking for work, many of them rural migrants, raises concerns about consumption and longer term growth prospects. The urban unemployment rate swelled to 10.1% in December, although the total number of jobs in India touched a pre-pandemic level of 410 million, data compiled by Mumbai-based think-tank Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) showed. Urban unemployment spiked during the pandemic years, largely because of lockdowns, but before that it hovered between 6%-7%, according to CMIE data.

More than 40 million egg-laying hens have been culled in the U.S. alone, causing the price of eggs nationwide to skyrocket, Lorenzoni said. Months earlier, the “bird flu” outbreak drove the cost of turkey meat to record highs. Poultry can become infected through direct exposure to wild birds but more likely from fecal matter that contaminates the ground around farms or yards. Many migrating birds are not sickened by bird flu, which means it’s not well understood just how widespread it is in the wild, Lorenzoni added. The sun can, for instance, naturally disinfect surfaces while gloomier days help viral particles survive on surfaces contaminated by infected bird poop, Lorenzoni said.

Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency Wednesday as a powerful storm expected to bring heavy rain, snow and flooding began its potentially dangerous onslaught. Mandatory evacuation orders were in effect for several cities in Northern California, including Richmond in the Bay Area and Watsonville in Santa Cruz County. Several communities experiencing some of the biggest downpours were still cleaning up from flooding caused by a storm over the weekend. While the precipitation appears out-of-character for the drought-stricken state, California would normally expect to see this type of rainfall during an average winter, experts said. April 1 is a typical high point for snowpack in California, where snow melt feeds reservoirs in May and June.

Flood watches are in effect for 12 million people in Central and Northern California. The cyclone will send a pair of warm and cold fronts over Northern California, which is already rain-soaked. “When you have more water vapor in the air because the air is warmer — you can transport more water vapor quickly,” Ralph said. Although some smaller reservoirs in Northern California have filled up, larger reservoirs still have the capacity to absorb more. “I think we will have largely alleviated the short-term drought in Northern California," Swain said.

☆ Fact Check-Jacques Attali book did not include plan for depopulation by a pandemic
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

French writer Jacques Attali never wrote about a plan to reduce the population by creating or finding a pandemic virus in his book, “Verbatim: 1981 - 1986.” However, social media users are sharing a video showing a purported excerpt from the book to suggest that Attali predicted the COVID-19 pandemic. We will have taken care of having panned the treatment, a treatment that will be the solution. Attali mentions the word “treatment” multiple times in the book, mostly in the sense of behavior toward someone, and only once in the medical sense. These false claims include the idea that Attali mentioned that a pandemic is necessary to establish a New World Order and advocated for euthanasia of the elderly. While the book “Verbatim” is indeed written by Jacques Attali, the English excerpt shared in the viral posts online does not occur in French anywhere in the book.

☆ Why can't some people smell months after catching Covid? Their immune response could be the answer
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Evan Bush | Evan Bush Is A Science Reporter For Nbc News. He Can Be Reached At Evan.Bush Nbcuni.Com. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

The researchers took biopsies deep inside the nasal cavities of patients struggling to regain their smell months after coming down with Covid. Millions of people around the world lost their smell for at least six months after contracting Covid. Goldstein and Jafari also said the study’s findings could provide clues to how cases of long Covid are affecting other body systems, too. “There’s not a lot of studies that have obtained biopsies of organs affected by long Covid,” Goldstein said. “Are there immune cell mechanisms … involved in other long Covid problems?”

U.S. scientists have achieved “ignition” — a fusion reaction that produced more energy than it took to create — a critical milestone for nuclear fusion and a step forward in the pursuit of a nearly limitless source of clean energy, Energy Department officials said Tuesday. The process imploded a tiny capsule inside the hohlraum that is filled with deuterium and tritium, creating a fusion reaction. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory"We have taken the first tentative steps toward a clean energy source," said Jill Hruby, the Energy Department's National Nuclear Security Administration. The Inflation Reduction Act provided millions in new funding for fusion projects and the White House this year convened the first fusion summit and developed a 10-year plan to commercialize fusion technology. A technician reviews an optic inside the preamplifier support structure at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore, Calif., in 2012.

☆ Salt Lake City’s efforts to fight pollution face a new challenge: Toxic dust
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Evan Bush | Evan Bush Is A Science Reporter For Nbc News. He Can Be Reached At Evan.Bush Nbcuni.Com. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

The EPA in 2021 proposed re-listing the Salt Lake City area as in “attainment” for small particle pollution it had been failing to sufficiently control. But wildfires and dust storms off Great Salt Lake are erasing the progress that has been made. “I’ve received a number of emails from concerned citizens reconsidering living in Salt Lake City,” said Janice Brahney, an assistant professor at Utah State University’s watershed sciences department. Meanwhile, researchers found the highest levels of dust — and metals — in suburbs outside urban Salt Lake City. Researchers suspect suburban communities north of Salt Lake City could be receiving the majority of the dust that blows off the lake.

Weike WangJoan, the hero of this novel, is a 36-year-old attending physician in an I.C.U. on the Upper West Side of New York. Pressures from her family, H.R. and her neighbor throw her in a rage that Wang leaves bubbling beneath the surface. “Wang has given us a character so unusual and unapologetically herself that you can’t help wanting to hang out with her, knowing full well that she wants nothing more than to be left alone,” our reviewer wrote.

☆ Falling sperm count observed around the world, study finds
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Evan Bush | Evan Bush Is A Science Reporter For Nbc News. He Can Be Reached At Evan.Bush Nbcuni.Com. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

Those are the headline findings of a new analysis of sperm count studies published Tuesday in the journal Human Reproduction Update. But Anawalt said the inherent limitations of this type of analysis — which combined results from more than 200 sperm count studies — could steer toward misleading conclusions. The decline had gotten steeper.”Despite the negative trend, the average sperm count for men in 2018 remained higher than levels the World Health Organization considers normal. It’s also possible that the type of men involved in sperm count studies is different from those who weren’t. “There’s other things in ejaculate that aren’t sperm — round cells and debris.”Moreover, sperm count is only one factor in determining fertility.

☆ IAEA board passes resolution ordering Iran to cooperate with probe
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Francois Murphy | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

VIENNA, Nov 17 (Reuters) - The U.N. atomic watchdog's 35-nation Board of Governors passed a resolution on Thursday ordering Iran to cooperate urgently with the agency's investigation into uranium traces found at three undeclared sites, diplomats at the closed-door vote said. More immediately, Iran tends to bristle at such resolutions and it remained to be seen what action it would take. In June Iran removed additional IAEA monitoring equipment including surveillance cameras installed under its 2015 deal with world powers to curb its disputed uranium enrichment programme. On Thursday it indicated it would call off a meeting with the IAEA due to be held later this month meant to end the impasse over explaining the origin of the uranium traces. The IAEA responded by saying it hoped the meeting would take place.

☆ Grizzlies could roam wildest reaches of Washington state again, but first a mountain of red tape
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Evan Bush | Evan Bush Is A Science Reporter For Nbc News. He Can Be Reached At Evan.Bush Nbcuni.Com. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

Threatened grizzly bears could roam again in the wildest reaches of Washington state. The National Park Service and the U.S. Forest Service announced Thursday they have restarted the on-again, off-again process to reintroduce grizzlies to North Cascades National Park. Grizzlies haven’t been spotted with certainty in the North Cascades since 1996, the National Park Service said in a news release. People killed them,” said Jason Ransom, who leads the wildlife program at North Cascades National Park. The National Park Service has scheduled several virtual meetings to discuss the proposal.

☆ How NYC's pay transparency law could help millions across the U.S. earn more money
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Jennifer Liu | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

A new pay transparency law is now in effect in New York City, and it's set to help millions of workers across the U.S. earn more money. It could also make sense for companies to publicize pay ranges on all jobs if they plan to allow any work to be done remotely. The law's start date was delayed from the spring after fierce opposition from New York City business groups. Starting January 2023, states including California, Rhode Island and Washington will require companies to list salary ranges in job ads. jobs.citi.comThe problem with basing salary ranges for a current listing on what people previously made is that it could be outdated.

☆ 'The more transparency, the better': How NYC job seekers say visible pay ranges will help them
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( Jennifer Liu | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

CNBC Make It wants to hear from workers in New York City who will be impacted by the city's new salary transparency law. Once salary numbers are out, job seekers say public ranges will help them focus on applying to jobs that actually pay what they want — saving them time and anguish of finding out during interviews that the pay is too low. Job seekers say employer fears of losing applicants are overblownMany businesses that oppose the new law say that if they're required to list their pay ranges, competitors can outbid them and scoop up talent, especially in today's tight market. Job seekers say those concerns are overblown. Businesses should be more concerned about how not being transparent could put them on the outs with job seekers, she says.

☆ Doctors decry 'record profits' for fossil fuel companies as climate change weighs on global health
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Evan Bush | Evan Bush Is A Science Reporter For Nbc News. He Can Be Reached At Evan.Bush Nbcuni.Com. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

The report’s theme reflects a growing frustration and helplessness expressed by medical professionals left to deal with the impacts of climate change as world leaders struggle to address the root cause. The annual report catalogs the health impacts of change worldwide and a separate policy brief outlines impacts in the U.S. Tiny particles released into the air as pollution during fossil fuel use were responsible for 1.2 million deaths in 2020. Climate change is taking a toll on mental health. The report notes growth in renewable energy investment, increasing media coverage of climate change and growing engagement from government leaders on health-centered climate policies.

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