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☆ Intensifying Rains Pose Hidden Flood Risks Across the U.S.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( Raymond Zhong | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

As climate change intensifies severe rainstorms, the infrastructure protecting millions of Americans from flooding faces growing risk of failures, according to new calculations of expected precipitation in every county and locality across the contiguous United States. The calculations suggest that one in nine residents of the lower 48 states, largely in populous regions including the Mid-Atlantic and the Texas Gulf Coast, is at significant risk of downpours that deliver at least 50 percent more rain per hour than local pipes, channels and culverts might be designed to drain. “The data is startling, and it should be a wake-up call,” said Chad Berginnis, the executive director of the Association of State Floodplain Managers, a nonprofit organization focused on flood risk. The new rain estimates, issued on Monday by the First Street Foundation, a nonprofit research group in New York, carry worrying implications for homeowners, too: They indicate that 12.6 million properties nationwide face significant flood risks despite not being required by the federal government to buy flood insurance.

Persons: ”, Chad Berginnis Organizations: Texas Gulf, Association of, First Street Foundation Locations: United States, New York

Exports and factory output in the world's second-largest economy tumbled in May, as looming downturns force the United States and Europe to pare back orders for goods made in China. Some factories closed or are struggling to pay wages or severance for laid-off workers as a result, according to Chinese labour researchers. "We believe that the drop in manufacturing orders and that factory closures will continue," said Aidan Chau, researcher at Hong Kong-based rights group China Labour Bulletin (CLB). Labour unions were central to the Communist Party's proletariat beginnings but play only a marginal role in modern authoritarian China. However, some analysts say factory strikes could become a political headache for the Party.

Persons: pare, Aidan Chau, CLB, Dian, Xin Dian, Zhong Min, Xu Tianchen, Xu, Laurie Chen, Nicoco Chan, Marius Zaharia, Sam Holmes Organizations: China Labour Bulletin, Min, Goods Shenzhen Ltd . Co, Dian Cable Ltd . Co, Reuters, China's Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of Human Resources, Shenzhen, China Federation of Trade Unions, Manufacturers, Workers, Security, Labour, Party, Economist Intelligence Unit, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, United States, Europe, China, Hong Kong, Guangdong province, Shenzhen, Communist, Beijing, Shanghai

☆ Here’s How Much Hotter Than Normal This June Has Been
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Elena Shao | Raymond Zhong | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

64° F June 11, 2023 62° 2022 60° 1979-2021 58° Global Daily Average Air Temperatures 56° 54° 52° 50° Jan. 1 Mar. “We’re putting heat into the system — through climate change, through the greenhouse effect — and that heat is going to manifest. NOAA last month said there was a 40 percent chance that this year’s hurricane season would be near normal. But it also assigned 30 percent probabilities to the season’s being above or below normal. There’s another factor that could also have made the world hotter recently, though it’s not clear how much.

Persons: ” Rick Spinrad, “, Spinrad, El Niño, it’s, Daniel L, Swain, Dr, ” Organizations: University of Maine, National Centers for, National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, NOAA, University of California Locations: Canada, United States, Siberia, Antarctica, El, Pacific, Tonga, Los Angeles

☆ It’s Called the Grand Canyon, Not the Eternal Canyon
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Raymond Zhong | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

When I was there with the scientists, we talked about this human dent, but we also talked a lot about geology. About how mundane, ever-churning forces like plate tectonics, weather and gravity, when applied over long enough time scales, can cause colossal changes to landscapes and rocks. At any point in time, the world we see is somewhere in between being created and being destroyed. The Grand Canyon as we know it is pretty young by geologic standards, only about six million years old. You can read my full article from the canyon here.

Persons: you’re, they’re Locations: Colorado

☆ The Grand Canyon, a Cathedral to Time, Is Losing Its River
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Raymond Zhong | Elena Shao | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +19 min

And yet, the Grand Canyon remains yoked to the present in one key respect. The Colorado River, whose wild energy incised the canyon over millions of years, is in crisis. Down beneath the tourist lodges and shops selling keychains and incense, past windswept arroyos and brown valleys speckled with agave, juniper and sagebrush, the rocks of the Grand Canyon seem untethered from time. The Grand Canyon is a planetary spectacle like none other — one that also happens to host a river that 40 million people rely on for water and power. At Mile 0 of the Grand Canyon, the river is running at around 7,000 cubic feet per second, rising toward 9,000 — not the lowest flows on record, but far from the highest.

Persons: windswept, Davis, John Weisheit, ”, “, Mead Hoover, Powell, Daniel Ostrowski, Victor R, Baker, . Baker, Lake Powell, Dr, Ed Keable, wouldn’t, Jack Schmidt, Schmidt, ’, Alma Wilcox, “ There’s, we’ve, Nicholas Pinter Organizations: Rockies, York Times, University of California, Utah Glen, Lake, Mead, Recreation, Hualapai, CALIF, ARIZ . Utah Glen, Lake Mead, Area, Forest Utah, Engineers, University of Arizona, of Reclamation, National Park Service, Center, Colorado River Studies, Utah State University Locations: Colorado, The Colorado, North America, Utah, Powell, Lake Mead, Arizona, . UTAH COLO, N.M, ARIZ . Utah, Mead, NEV . UTAH COLO, Glen, ARIZ, Hopi, Nevada, Lake Powell, Arizona , California , Nevada, Mexico, Davis, Little Colorado, tamarisk, gesturing

☆ Arctic Summer Could Be Practically Sea-Ice-Free by the 2030s
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Raymond Zhong | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The first summer on record that melts practically all of the Arctic’s floating sea ice could occur as early as the 2030s, according to a new scientific study — about a decade sooner than researchers previously predicted. The peer-reviewed findings, published Tuesday, also show that this milestone of climate change could materialize even if nations manage to curb greenhouse gas emissions more decisively than they are currently doing. Earlier projections had found that stronger action to slow global warming might be enough to preserve the summer ice. The latest research suggests that, where Arctic sea ice is concerned, only steep, sharp emissions cuts might be able to reverse the effects of the warming already underway. “We are very quickly about to lose the Arctic summer sea-ice cover, basically independent of what we are doing,” said Dirk Notz, a climate scientist at the University of Hamburg in Germany and one of the new study’s five authors.

Persons: ”, Dirk Notz, “ We’ve Organizations: University of Hamburg Locations: Germany

☆ Covid Is Coming Back in China; Lockdowns Are Not
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-27 | by ( Chris Buckley | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In December, China abruptly abandoned its draconian “Zero Covid” policies, battered by a surge of infections and rising public anger against lockdowns. The Chinese health authorities have reported a rise in Covid cases since April, especially from newer subvariants that are spreading across the world. (That would be up from what he estimated at 40 million infections a week in late May. China no longer publishes regular official nationwide estimates of infections.) By comparison, after “Zero Covid” controls were set aside in December, new infections reached 37 million a day in China at their peak, according to estimates cited by Bloomberg.

☆ We may never know where the COVID pandemic originated
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

LONDONIt’s the enduring mystery of the COVID-19 pandemic: Where did the virus come from? They also mostly agree that many of the earliest known infections and deaths clustered around a wildlife market in Wuhan, China. Others suspect the pathogen somehow leaked from a Wuhan laboratory, 27 km from the market, where researchers study bat viruses. One concentration of jump zones includes a region of mountains and lakes about 175 km southeast of the Wuhan market. In late 2002, the SARS-CoV-1 virus emerged in Guangdong province, in southern China, and became the SARS pandemic of 2003.

☆ Climate Change Powered the Mediterranean’s Unusual Heat Wave
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Raymond Zhong | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The NewsThe early-season heat wave that broiled parts of Algeria, Morocco, Portugal and Spain last week almost certainly would not have occurred without human-induced climate change, an international team of scientists said in an analysis issued Friday. Mainland Spain set an April record of 101.8 degrees Fahrenheit, or 38.8 Celsius, in the southern city of Córdoba. In Morocco, the mercury climbed to more than 106 degrees Fahrenheit in Marrakesh, according to provisional data, very likely smashing that nation’s April record as well. A three-day stretch of such scorching heat in April is already quite rare for the region in the planet’s current climate, with just a 0.25 percent chance of occurring in any given year, according to the new analysis. Because of climate change, last month’s hot spell was at least 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit warmer on average than a similarly improbable one would have been in preindustrial times, the scientists found.

☆ This Asian MMA promotion wants to crack the US market -- without the blood and trash-talking
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Andrew Mcnicol | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Could 2023 be the year mixed-martial arts (MMA) in the United States finally returns to its pure, humble beginnings nurtured in Asia nearly 5,000 years ago? “I can’t wait for the US fans to be exposed to true martial arts. Fighting on American soil, it’s amazing to be able to headline this landmark event,” said the former longtime UFC champion, who joined One in 2018. Courtesy Aaron Pan/ONE ChampionshipWhat “true martial arts” means in new-era combat sports is certainly up for interpretation. That’s more true to the spirit of martial arts and its traditional values.

☆ Goldman Sachs cautious on Turkish bank stocks ahead of election
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, May 4 (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs said on Thursday it was "cautious" on Turkish banks heading into the May 14 election, with lenders more vulnerable than the country's other stocks to a potential post-vote rate hike following years of unorthodox monetary policy. Polls show President Tayyip Erdogan risks losing the landmark election largely due to a cost-of-living crisis that has seen inflation soar to more than 85% last year amid ultra-lose monetary policy. Turkish banks had historically been beneficiaries of higher rates, though that relationship broke down last November when the government created new rules effectively forcing banks to lend at lower rates, Goldman Sachs said in a note to clients. "In our view, banks are most likely to take a hit in an opposition win scenario," Goldman Sachs' Jolene Zhong wrote. Reporting by Karin Strohecker, editing by Dhara RanasingheOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Activist investor Carl Icahn's wealth plunged by $10 billion after a short-seller accused his company of running a 'Ponzi-like' structure
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Hindenburg Research released a report alleging "Ponzi-like" economic structures at Icahn Enterprises. Shares of Icahn Enterprises closed 20% lower at $40.36 on Tuesday. Activist investor Carl Icahn's wealth plunged by $10 billion on Tuesday after Hindenburg Research — a short-seller that took on one of Asia's richest men earlier this year — targeted Icahn Enterprises with a scathing report. As Icahn derives his wealth from an 89% stake in Icahn Enterprises, his fortune was hit by the rout. Insider was unable to reach Icahn Enterprises via phone outside regular business hours.

☆ Climate Change’s Fingerprints Turn Up in Parched East Africa
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Raymond Zhong | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

“Now we must ensure that the fund is made fit for purpose,” said Harjeet Singh, head of political strategy for Climate Action Network International. There, the drought may have caused 43,000 excess deaths last year, according to estimates issued last month. Scientists know that global warming is increasing the average likelihood and severity of certain kinds of wild weather in many regions. It’s like smoking and cancer: The two are undeniably linked, but not all smokers develop cancer, and not all cancer patients were smokers. To determine the effects of global warming on individual weather episodes, climate researchers use computer simulations to compare the global climate as it really is — with billions of tons of carbon dioxide pumped into the atmosphere by humans over decades — and a hypothetical climate without any of those emissions.

Unlike the chubby, fluffy image of her younger self, 22-year-old Ya Ya has appeared skinny in recent photos, with her black and white coat missing clumps of fur. But Le Le died suddenly of heart disease in early February, further fueling suspicions of mistreatment. Throughout the past weeks, Ya Ya regularly appeared as a top trending topic on Weibo, each time attracting hundreds of millions of views. Allegations of mistreatmentWhen Ya Ya and Le Le arrived at Memphis in 2003, it was a huge deal for the city. A petition by Panda Voices to bring Ya Ya and Le Le back to China on change.org has garnered 193,000 signatures.

☆ Here Are the Places Most at Risk From Record-Shattering Heat
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Raymond Zhong | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

They found that regions covering 31 percent of Earth’s land surface experienced heat so extraordinary that, statistically, it shouldn’t have happened. These places, the study argues, are now prepared to some degree for future severe hot spells. According to the study, these include economically developed places like Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg, plus the region of China around Beijing. Why this is importantIn 2021, a heat wave in the Pacific Northwest shattered local records by staggering margins. This suggests they could happen again, anywhere, though not all of them will be as off-the-charts as the recent Pacific Northwest one.

☆ Paralympics TikTok account uses 'edgy and unique content' but has been critiqued by some for lack of sensitivity
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Ben Morse | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

CNN —Social media is awash with memes and GIFs and, at times, ‘edginess,’ but it can be a difficult balancing act as the official Paralympics TikTok account is discovering. The account is run by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), the organization which organizes and manages the Paralympic Games. In the comments, the official Paralympic account replied: “This is Brad Snyder. Mixed reactionsAs a result, the videos posted on the official account have received a mixed reaction, with commentators on many of them left disbelieving that the content published there is permitted. “Looking through that whole account, I might have seen one or two [videos] where the athlete actually does something successfully.

☆ NOAA Forecasters See a Respite for California
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Raymond Zhong | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The NewsWeather forecasters with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on Thursday issued their latest outlook for the United States, and there’s at least one piece of hopeful news for a state that has already had a wild year, weather-wise: California. But according to NOAA’s latest forecasts, temperatures for May through July are highly likely to be in line with historical averages across California and Nevada. For May, much of California could even see cooler-than-normal conditions, the agency said. This could mean the snow’s melting would be more gradual than abrupt, more beneficial to water supplies than destructive to homes and farms. “The picture is relatively optimistic compared to what it could be,” said Andrew Schwartz, lead scientist at the Central Sierra Snow Laboratory, part of the University of California, Berkeley.

[1/3] A staff member attends to visitors at an oven retailer at the China Import and Export Fair, also known as Canton Fair, in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, China April 16, 2023. REUTERS/Ellen ZhangGUANGZHOU, April 16 (Reuters) - Chinese exporters exhibiting their products at the country's largest trade fair said the weak global economy was hurting their businesses, with many freezing investments and some cutting labour costs in response. Lin said the company cannot afford to sell at lower prices, but it may look to reduce labour costs. Vicky Chen, foreign trade manager at socket producer Qinjia Electric, said she did not expect a big sales boost at the fair, which runs until May 5. "The whole global economy is fairing poorly at the moment, and the fair won't change that."

☆ Man gets prison time after feds discover $3.4 billion in stolen Bitcoin hidden inside a Cheetos popcorn tin and underground safe
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A man convicted of stealing around 50,000 Bitcoin was sentenced Friday to a year in prison. At the it was seized, the Bitcoin was worth over $3.4 billion. Prosecutors said the crypto-currency was stolen from the Silk Road dark web marketplace. There investigators recovered more than 50,000 Bitcoin, split between "an underground floor safe and on a single-board computer that was submerged under blankets in a popcorn tin stored in a bathroom closet." A photo shared by the department shows that the crypto tin originally contained Cheetos-brand popcorn in both Flamin' Hot and Cheddar flavors.

☆ China's 'Belt and Road' grew out of a lending spree. Now those loans may be its problem
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Sumathi Bala | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Bloomberg | Getty ImagesAt its peak, China's Belt and Road Initiative was seen as the centerpiece of Beijing's engagement with the world. According to the report, China issued 128 emergency rescue loans worth $240 billion to 22 countries — including Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Turkey, among others. 'Trying to salvage Belt and Road'Chinese efforts to revamp Belt and Road have been underway since 2020, according to one observer. "A nod to the concern that many Belt and Road projects were not economically viable to begin with. "The increased indebtedness in many Belt and Road countries is a direct consequence of Beijing's overshooting in the pre-2020 phase," said Zhong.

☆ Analysis: What's behind bitcoin's latest surge?
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Tom Wilson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The original and biggest cryptocurrency has been here before, its 15-year history peppered with dramatic price increases and equally vertiginous drops. Driving bitcoin's gains have been its core user base of retail investors, analysts said. In the past, too, dramatic price swings for bitcoin have been closely tied to shifts in monetary policy globally. In 2022, bitcoin plummeted over 65% as higher rates triggered the fall of a major crypto token, precipitating the closure of major hedge funds and crypto lenders. To be sure, some investors say developments to bitcoin's intrinsic characteristics are now capable of supporting its price.

☆ Warburg Pincus moves closer to buying a stake in Chinese fund Zhong Ou
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Italian banking group Intesa Sanpaolo (ISP.MI) disclosed in its 2021 annual report that its board had approved the sale of a 23.3% stake in Zhong Ou to Warbug Pincus. The planned 23.3% stake sale to Warburg Pincus was confirmed on Monday by a source familiar with the transaction. The CSRC did not say how big a stake Warburg Pincus will buy in Zhong Ou, which has more than 350 billion yuan ($51.3 billion) of assets under management (AUM). In the regulatory feedback, the CSRC asked Warburg Pincus to explain how it would support Zhong Ou's development. The regulator also requested further proof from Warburg Pincus that it's a leading global player with good international reputation and performance.

☆ Goldman Sachs: Buy stocks in these 15 emerging market countries that are set to outperform the US as earnings weaken in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( James Faris | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Stocks in the US and emerging markets struggled in 2022 as global growth slowed. Goldman Sachs is more optimistic about emerging markets than US names in 2023. The difficult backdrop is causing some investors to consider equities in emerging markets. 15 top emerging markets in 2023Caesar Maasry, the head of emerging markets cross-asset strategy at Goldman Sachs, listed expected 12-month returns for stocks in 23 different emerging markets countries. Each country is listed in alphabetical order along with its index, an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that tracks it, and expected earnings growth and total returns by currency in the next 12 months.

REUTERS/Tingshu WangBEIJING/WUHAN, Jan 2 (Reuters) - Some people in China's key cities of Beijing, Shanghai and Wuhan braved the cold and a spike in COVID-19 infections to return to regular activity on Monday, confident of a boost to the economy as more recover from infections. But Monday's one new COVID death - flat with the previous day - among China's population of 1.4 billion does not match the experience of other countries after they re-opened. Cumulative deaths in China since Dec. 1 have probably reached 100,000, with infections at 18.6 million, it said. Airfinity expects China's COVID infections to reach their first peak on Jan. 13, with 3.7 million daily infections. China has said it only counts deaths of COVID patients caused by pneumonia and respiratory failure as COVID-related.

Changes continued Monday as authorities announced a deactivation of the “mobile itinerary card” health tracking function planned for the following day. But as the scrapping of parts of the zero-Covid infrastructure come apace, there are questions about how the country’s health system will handle a mass outbreak. Throughout the weekend, some businesses were closed in Beijing, and city streets were largely deserted, as residents either fell ill or feared catching the virus. Covid was “spreading rapidly” driven by highly transmissible Omicron variants in China, a top Covid-19 expert, Zhong Nanshan, said in an interview published by state media Saturday. Authorities recorded 8,626 Covid-19 cases across China on Sunday, down from the previous day’s count of 10,597 and from the high of more than 40,000 daily cases late last month.

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