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☆ Amazon gave 'small business' and 'Black-owned business' badges to companies that were neither, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Aaron Mok | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Amazon reportedly gave some sellers "Small Business" badges even though they were large companies, The Information reports. "Black-Owned Small Business" badges were also reportedly given to companies that aren't Black-owned. Amazon gave "Small Business" badges to sellers that are "multinational corporations with thousands of employees," The Information reported. Likewise, Amazon reportedly also gave "Black-Owned Small Business" badges to companies that were not actually Black-owned, The Information reported. And products from grass-fed beef jerky firm Chomps were given the Black-owned business badge even though its founders Pete Maldonado and Rashid Ali are not Black.

☆ Viral fast-food hacks, like the Chipotle 'fajita quesadilla,' prove American appetites haven't caught up to the climate crisis
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

The TikTok creator, known for reviewing fast-food staples, posted last summer about leveling up Chipotle's steak quesadilla with fajita veggies. Nathan Llorin, another popular TikToker, told Insider that it wasn't until he started eating and reviewing fast food that his videos took off. A climate message for menusIn January, research showed that labeling fast-food menus with their climate impacts swayed people away from red meat. But about 10% of customers now choose a meatless option, including Sofritas, the chain's plant-based mainstay made from tofu. Frost, the TikToker, told Insider that of all the things viewers attack her for on the platform, the environmental impact of fast food isn't among them.

"Tomorrow we will welcome Finland as the 31st member of NATO making Finland safer and our alliance stronger," NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters in Brussels, hailing the move as "historic". Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February last year pushed Finland and its neighbour Sweden to apply for NATO membership, abandoning decades of military non-alignment. [1/2] NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg attends a news conference before a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels, Belgium April 3, 2023. REUTERS/Johanna Geron 1 2"President Putin went to war against Ukraine with the clear aim to get less NATO," Stoltenberg said. Stoltenberg pledged to work hard to get Sweden into NATO as soon as possible.

☆ Russia says it will beef up military in northwest as Finland joins NATO - RIA
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 3 (Reuters) - Russia will strengthen its military capacity in its western and northwestern regions in response to Finland's expected accession to NATO on Tuesday, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said, state-owned news agency RIA reported. Finland and Sweden applied to join NATO last year after Russia invaded Ukraine. Finland has a 1,300-km (810-mile) border with Russia that will roughly double the transatlantic alliance's frontier facing Moscow. Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said last year that Russia was taking "adequate countermeasures" and would form 12 units and divisions in its western military district. Grushko told RIA: "We will strengthen our military potential in the western and northwestern direction.

☆ Rich families skimp when it comes to cybersecurity, and it can cost them millions
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-01 | by ( Paige Hagy | Hayley Cuccinello | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

More than one-third of North American family offices experienced at least one cyberattack in the past 12 months in 2022, per Campden. It comes down to three problems, said Bobby Stover, who leads family office and enterprise services at Ernst & Young. When it comes to cybersecurity, family office principals are cheap, uneducated, and "don't want to deal with it," he told Insider. They cost anywhere from $25,000 to $65,000, and family offices often struggle to understand the benefit, according to Stover. One survey found an incident that cost a family office more than $10 million.

☆ China to boost regulatory oversight of digital economy -c.bank deputy governor
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BOAO, China, March 31 (Reuters) - China will beef up its regulatory oversight of the digital economy, as new technologies, especially new forms of finance, should not be blindly accepted and recognised, a deputy governor of China's central bank said on Friday. Digital currencies and newly invented cryptocurrencies, rather than solving problems in finance, can in fact create new challenges, Xuan Changneng, a deputy governor of the People's Bank of China, said at the annual Boao Forum in Hainan province. He did not spell out steps that will be taken to boost oversight. China itself has launched its own digital renminbi, or yuan, but it is little used. The National Financial Regulatory Administration will absorb the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission's responsibilities and take over some supervisory functions from the central bank and the securities regulator.

☆ Explainer: Why is Britain joining a trans-Pacific trade pact?
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Alistair Smout | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Here are some details of the agreement as Britain seeks post-Brexit trade wins in geographically distant but faster growing economies. HOW MUCH DOES BRITAIN TRADE WITH CPTPP? Britain says that exports to CPTPP countries were worth 60.5 billion pounds in the twelve months to end-Sept. 2022. David Henig, Director, the UK Trade Policy Project, said that only Malaysia and Brunei weren't covered by existing FTAs, and they only account for 0.33% of UK trade. GEOPOLITICAL FACTORSWhile the long-term benefit for Britain's economy is set to be modest, Britain has other reasons for joining the bloc.

☆ These short-term muni ETFs can give investors a healthy tax-free yield
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Jesse Pound | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Municipal bond funds can be particularly attractive to investors who face a high tax burden, because their payouts are tax exempt. The new funds haven't been active long-enough to show an official yield, but the more established iShares Short-Term National Muni Bond ETF (SUB) has a tax-equivalent yield of 4.74%. Another factor in favor of municipal bonds is the uncertain economic environment and fear of a possible recession. The BulletShares fund family from Invesco offers several different muni funds with different maturity target dates for investors looking for more specific time-frames. That group expanded with the Invesco BulletShares 2032 Municipal Bond ETF (BSMW) , which launched on March 1.

☆ Ivanka Trump has given up trying to advise her father and is keeping her distance as his possible indictment looms, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Sophia Ankel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Ivanka Trump wants to continue keeping her distance from her father, People magazine reported. "Even though Ivanka loves her dad, she knows how impossible he can be," an unnamed source told People magazine. Another unnamed source told People magazine that even though Ivanka is continuing to keep her distance, there is no personal beef between father and daughter. The comments echo a report published by The New York Post in November, which claimed that Ivanka was unhappy about how her friends "turned their backs" on her during her father's administration. Ivanka Trump did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

☆ Want to watch MLB games? Making sense of the confusing TV and streaming landscape
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Lillian Rizzo | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Home base planFor the baseball fan looking to watch as many games as possible, a traditional pay TV service is still the go-to place. Discovery' s TBS, as well as Fox Corp. 's broadcast and pay TV networks, take up a decent chunk of the schedule. However, as more options are introduced, regional sports networks are getting fewer games and fans have to pay more to watch all games. With a higher rate of consumers dropping pay TV bundles and opting for streaming services, many networks have created direct-to-consumer streaming app options. Few offset the pay TV losses, but at least provide an option for fans wanting to stream.

BRASILIA, March 30 (Reuters) - Brazil's far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro, who never conceded defeat in last year's election, returns from self-imposed exile in Florida on Thursday to lead the opposition to leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Bolsonaro left for the United States two days before he was due to hand over the presidential sash to Lula on Jan. 1. His return to Brazil is eagerly awaited by the party's leader Valdemar Costa Neto, who wants Bolsonaro to become the leader of the opposition to the Lula administration and lead the PL into municipal elections next year. "Bolsonaro will lead the opposition and travel around Brazil preaching the party's liberal values and helping the PL grow," he told Reuters, outlining a plan for a right-wing comeback in the 2026 presidential elections. Barreto said her ambitions may provide an outlet for the ex-president's supporters if legal probes lead electoral authorities bar him from seeking office.

☆ Macy's CEO Gennette to retire next year, insider Spring to succeed
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

March 29 (Reuters) - Macy's Inc (M.N) on Wednesday said its Chief Executive Officer Jeff Gennette will retire in February, after serving the U.S. department store chain for 40 years and will be succeeded by insider Tony Spring. Spring, who is the chairman and CEO of Macy's unit Bloomingdale's, has been with the company for 36 years. He was named as a successor to Gennette after an internal and external search, Macy's said. Macy's said as part of the leadership transition, Chief Financial Officer Adrian Mitchell's responsibilities have been expanded to include the role of chief operating officer. Reporting by Ananya Mariam Rajesh in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi AichOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Off-the-radar destinations every China visitor should consider
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Maggie Hiufu Wong | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

JingdezhenLarge chimneys, used for firing porcelain, dot the skyline of Jingdezhen city. gui yong nian/Adobe StockDubbed the porcelain capital of the world, Jingdezhen has been firing quality pieces of “white gold” for more than 1,700 years. For a crash course in the city’s porcelain history, visit the newly built and photogenic Jingdezhen Imperial Kiln Museum of China. LinhaiLinhai's historic city wall stretches more than 6,000 meters in length. Food aside, travelers should leave time to admire this historic city that dates back more than 2,000 years.

☆ GOP Sen. Mike Rounds suggests schools should use solar panel funding to beef up security since Congress has 'gone about as far as we're going to with gun control'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Grace Eliza Goodwin | John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

GOP Sen. Mike Rounds told CNN that Congress has gone "about as far as we're going to with gun control." He suggested that instead of gun reform, schools use funds set aside for solar panels to pay for more security. Three students and three adults were killed in the nation's latest school shooting in Nashville on Monday. "I look at my colleagues up here and there's isn't anybody here that if they find the right approach wouldn't try to do something," Rounds told CNN. Rounds then explained to CNN that instead of gun control, he'd like to take a portion of $500 million funding that's already been designated to build new solar panels at the nation's schools and re-allocate it for schools to beef up their security.

☆ In Paraguay, calls for change test Colorado Party's political machine
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Daniela Desantis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

ASUNCION, March 28 (Reuters) - Paraguay's ruling Colorado Party - a conservative political machine that has dominated government in Asuncion for some eight decades - could be facing a major challenge at the ballot box next month. Many voters say they feel it is time for something new. Pena may also be impacted by a U.S.-led graft probe into Horacio Cartes, a former Colorado president who led the country from 2013 to 2018. However, the Colorado party retains a powerful election campaign machine and supporter base that goes back generations. Adelina Caceres, director of a public school in the town of Guarambare, on the outskirts of the capital, said she supported the Colorado party mainly because "her grandfather had been Colorado," and despite being often frustrated by them.

☆ Belarus says it will host Russian nuclear weapons to counter NATO
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Andrew Osborn | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The statement from the foreign ministry was the government's first since Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday that Moscow will deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus and would build a nuclear weapons storage facility there. Although Putin did not say when the deployment would take place, or give further detail, the announcement appeared to pave the way for Moscow's first deployment of nuclear weapons outside its borders since the 1991 Soviet collapse. The Belarusian foreign ministry said Russia's nuclear bombs offered protection after what it called a campaign of pressure from the United States and its allies aimed at overthrowing the government of President Alexander Lukashenko. Minsk said the Russian nuclear plans would not contravene international non-proliferation agreements as Belarus itself would not have control over the nuclear weapons. Its own troops have so far not fought in the war however, while stepping up joint military training with Russian forces deployed in Belarus.

☆ BioNTech shares slip on gloomy Covid vaccine sales outlook
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Shares of BioNTech on Monday slid by more than 6% in morning trading after the German drugmaker shared a gloomy 2023 sales outlook for its Covid vaccine jointly developed with Pfizer . The drugmaker expects that demand to fall further this year, forecasting Covid vaccine revenue to hit 5 billion euros, or $5.4 billion. BioNTech noted in an earnings release that its efforts to adapt the Covid vaccine to new strains of the virus are expected to increase demand for the product this year. BioNTech is the latest company to forecast a slump in demand for Covid products as the world emerges from the pandemic. Its partner Pfizer told investors in January that it expects Covid vaccine sales to plummet by 64% this year and sales of its Covid antiviral treatment Paxlovid to drop by 58%.

☆ China to decide new date for Brazil's Lula visit, agreements postponed
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

March 26 (Reuters) - Brazil's Agriculture Minister Carlos Favaro said on Sunday that the Chinese government would decide on a new date for Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's visit to the country, adding that the signing of agreements between Beijing and Brasilia has been postponed. "All government actions are postponed, including those of the Agriculture Ministry," Favaro, who arrived in China last week, said during a news conference in Beijing. "When the Chinese government is ready, with an available schedule, the visit will certainly be rescheduled, and we will return to continue signing all memorandums and agreements." The minister said that agreements between Brazilian and Chinese companies are still expected to be announced on March 29. About 240 Brazilian business leaders were initially expected in China, over a third from Brazil's farm sector, which sends the majority of its beef, soybeans, and wood pulp to China.

☆ Arby’s Co-Founder Leroy Raffel Dies at Age 96
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( James R. Hagerty | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Leroy Raffel and his brother Forrest, in glasses, bet that people would pay 69 cents for a roast-beef sandwich in 1964. Leroy Raffel , a co-founder of the Arby’s restaurant chain who teamed up with his older brother Forrest Raffel in 1964 to take on McDonald’s and other hamburger chains with a much pricier roast-beef sandwich, died Tuesday at the age of 96. The Raffel brothers ran a supplier of restaurant equipment in Youngstown, Ohio, in the early 1960s. They saw that many of their customers, independent local eateries, were imperiled by the rise of national chains, some of which were then offering hamburgers for around 15 cents, the current equivalent of about $1.45.

☆ War on cow farts is stinky but necessary job
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Karen Kwok | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Yet, governments from New Zealand to Europe are zeroing in on livestock, whose burps and farts help generate 15% of global greenhouse gas emissions each year, United Nations estimates show. An industry backlash against plans to tackle the issue will teach punters to treat burgers as polluting fuel. Cattle is a major contributor to methane emissions from agriculture, which hit 142 metric tons in 2022, triple the amount of those from the oil sector, according to the International Energy Agency. But like fossil fuels ten years ago, this will be the start of a long but necessary battle. French dairy company Danone on Jan. 17 pledged to reduce methane emissions from its fresh milk supply chain by 30% by 2030 from its 2020 level.

☆ War on cow gas is stinky but necessary job in climate-change struggle
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Karen Kwok | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Yet, governments from New Zealand to Europe are zeroing in on livestock, whose burps and farts help generate 15% of global greenhouse gas emissions each year, United Nations estimates show. Cattle is a major contributor to methane emissions from agriculture, which hit 142 metric tons in 2022, triple the amount of those from the oil sector, according to the International Energy Agency. But like fossil fuels ten years ago, this will be the start of a long but necessary battle. CONTEXT NEWSEuropean Union countries agreed on March 16 to try to reduce the number of farms covered by proposed rules to cut pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from livestock. French dairy company Danone on Jan. 17 pledged to reduce methane emissions from its fresh milk supply chain by 30% by 2030 from its 2020 level.

The planned closure of the plant has left dozens of Virginia chicken growers scrambling to find new buyers in a region with few other options. Tyson alerted Virginia farmers by phone on March 13 and later by mail that it will shut its Glen Allen plant on May 12, according to three poultry farmers who supply the plant. The USDA, which enforces the PSA, told Reuters it is "closely monitoring" Tyson's planned plant closure. 'WE'RE DONE'Under normal circumstances, Tyson supplies farmers with chicks, while farmers assume the costs of land and chicken houses. On Monday, about 20 Tyson farmers and local government officials gathered in a fire station in Burkeville, Virginia, and raised concerns about Tyson's short timeline for closure of the plant, attendees said.

BRASILIA, March 23 (Reuters) - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva heads to China this weekend for a five-day visit to refresh relations with his country's largest export market and seek new Chinese investment in the Latin American country. "Brazil has to keep a flexible and pragmatic position in this dispute between China and the United States," said Senator Hamilton Mourao, who as Brazilian vice president met with Xi in Beijing in 2019. CHINESE INVESTMENTLula drew Brazil closer to China and traveled twice to Beijing during his two presidential terms from 2003 to 2010. Trade relations were not affected by the diplomatic storm, though Chinese investment stalled, due in part to the pandemic preventing China's executives from visiting Brazil. By 2021, investment by Chinese companies in Brazil recovered to the level of 2017, according to the China-Brazil Business Council, which forecasts steady growth in coming years.

Lula departs for China this weekend, but many executives and lobby groups have traveled ahead of the president, government officials said. JBS representatives said the company aims to bolster commercial ties with China, a key trading partner. In a statement, ABPA said they are seeking recognition from Beijing that Rio Grande do Sul and Parana are free of foot-and-mouth disease without vaccination, in order to export pork with bones and pork offal. China buys 44% of Brazil's pork exports by volume and around 14% of its chicken exports, according to ABPA data for the first two months of 2023. Some 62% of Brazil's beef exports went to China last year.

☆ Fitness chains add financial muscle as more Americans hit the gym
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Deborah Mary Sophia | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Some of the major players in the fitness sector have pushed the envelope on membership rates after the pandemic scare, helping them beef up earnings, when most other industries are under stress from the impact of a cautious consumer. Larger rival Planet Fitness Inc (PLNT.N) added 400,000 members in the fourth quarter, taking the total to about 17 million in 2022. "People that are working out, are working out slightly more than they did in the past ... So even with the recessionary talks and layoffs you see, cancellations are just slightly better," Planet Fitness CEO Chris Rondeau said at a JPMorgan conference last week. A Planet Fitness executive said Gen Z represented 25% of the company's total membership.

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