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☆ The average tax refund was over $3,000 last year—here are the best ways to use yours at every age
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Kamaron Mcnair | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

While getting a large tax refund may mean you should reconsider your withholdings, in general there's nothing wrong with preferring to take the refund route. Anyone receiving a significant refund check, however, may want to use that cash strategically to work toward various money goals. A few hundred dollars from your tax refund can give your emergency fund, 401(k) or other retirement account a nice boost. Many people also become parents in their 30s, which can drastically change your financial goals. Your tax refund may not be large enough to completely tackle a big money goal, but small steps can still make an impact.

☆ Japan whaling firm pins hopes on vending machines to revive sales
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Chris Gallagher | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/6] A customer buys whale meat on the opening day of the shop by a Japanese whale-hunting company with vending machines, in Yokohama, Japan, January 24, 2023. REUTERS/Androniki ChristodoulouYOKOHAMA, Jan 24 (Reuters) - A Japanese whaling firm unveiled vending machines offering whale sashimi, whale steak and whale bacon in Yokohama on Tuesday in hopes of reviving sales of a food long in decline and shunned by many supermarkets. At its peak in 1962, annual whale meat consumption was 233,000 tonnes. Conservationists say moves to promote whale meat are desperate attempts to revive interest in a struggling business. Whale meat advocates point to its high protein content and low carbon footprint compared with other meats.

Yogesh Raut on "Jeopardy!" Fans of the venerable answer-and-question show were introduced to Raut on Jan. 11 when he won the first of three games, which were taped in mid-November. That true quizzing talent isn't displayed on "Jeopardy!" Raut was annoyed that word leaked that another big name in the quiz community, Troy Meyer, was on the "Jeopardy!" It is fundamentally incompatible with incentivizing the next generation of quizzers to excel, and it is fundamentally incompatible with true social justice.”A "Jeopardy!"

But to reach its ultimate destination - supermarket shelves - cultivated meat faces big obstacles, five executives told Reuters. California-based cultivated meat company GOOD Meat already has an application pending with the FDA, which has not been previously reported. Regulatory approval is just the first hurdle for making cultivated meat accessible to a broad swath of consumers, executives at UPSIDE, Mosa Meat, Believer Meats, and GOOD Meat told Reuters. But it will take hundreds of millions of dollars for GOOD Meat, for example, to build bioreactors of the size needed to make its meat at scale, Tetrick said. But cultivated meat companies have the advantage that they can claim their product is real meat, Tetrick said.

☆ Former McDonald's restaurants reopen without branding in Kazakhstan
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/6] A view shows a fast food restaurant, which used to operate under the McDonald's brand and reopened with no branding weeks after the U.S. company left the local market, in Almaty, Kazakhstan January 23, 2023. REUTERS/Pavel MikheyevALMATY, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Several restaurants which used to operate under the McDonald's (MCD.N) brand in Kazakhstan reopened on Monday with no branding to serve fast food under generic names such as "Cheeseburger", weeks after the U.S. company left the local market. McDonald's and Food Solutions KZ terminated their licence agreement this month, citing supply issues. Sources earlier told Reuters that McDonald's Kazakhstan had stopped buying supplies from Russia and had trouble replacing them. Food Solutions KZ did not say on Monday whether it has replaced any components such as beef patties with Kazakh produce, and declined to comment on any questions not addressed in its statement.

☆ 12 ways to save on groceries during inflation
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Jamie Johnson | Jamie Johnson Is A Kansas City-Based Personal Finance Writer Whose Work Has Been Featured On Several Of The Top Finance | Business Sites In The Country | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

12 ways to save money on groceriesGroceries are an unavoidable purchase, but by shopping strategically, you can avoid paying full price at the store. You can also use loyalty programs to save money at your favorite stores. Retailers like Walmart, Target, and Kroger all offer membership programs where you can earn free delivery for groceries, save money on gas, and learn about in-store promotions. Buying in bulkYou can save on groceries during inflation by buying household products in bulk at warehouse stores like Costco and Sam's Club. Get organized and plan aheadOne of the best ways to avoid overspending is to go to the grocery store with a plan.

☆ Fact Check-Online claims about nutritional table lack context
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Food Compass has not been endorsed or promoted by the NHLBI or the government departments responsible for developing nutrition guidelines. TUFTS’ FOOD COMPASSThe Food Compass was developed by researchers at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University (bit.ly/3ZSHEUC). The Tufts team addressed claims about the graphic shared online in the Frequently Asked Questions section of its Food Compass website (here). “These graphs were created by others to show these exceptions, rather than to show the overall performance of Food Compass and the many other foods for which Food Compass works well. But, as objective scientists, we accept constructive criticism and are using this to further improve Food Compass,” the statement added.

MONT-de-MARSAN, France, Jan 20 (Reuters) - France will boost military spending by more than a third in coming years, President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday, as he unveiled ambitions to transform the French army to deal with the great "perils" of this century. He added France would invest massively in drones and military intelligence, areas where French officials say recent conflicts had exposed gaps, and that the military should pivot towards a strategy of high-intensity conflict. Macron did not announce new support for Ukraine, but said France had to be ready for a new era, with an accumulation of threats. Last year, the head of French military intelligence resigned just a month after Russia launched what it calls its "special military operation" against Ukraine over what officials said was a failure to predict the invasion. Macron also said France would pay particular attention to its military presence in overseas territories, especially in the Indo-Pacific, where new threats were emerging.

Mont-de-Marsan, FRANCE, Jan 20 (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron proposed on Friday boosting military spending by over a quarter in coming years, saying the hike would help ensure a transformation of the army to respond to multiple potential threats. The planned 2024-2030 budget would enable a "transformation" programme to adapt the military to the possibility of high-intensity conflicts, made all the more urgent since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Macron said. The budget for the period will stand at 413 billion euros ($446.99 billion), up from 295 billion euros in 2019-2025, Macron said in a New Year address to the army. This would imply on average a 28.5% increase in the annual military budget from 49.2 billion euros to 68.8 billion. He added France would invest massively in drones and military intelligence and said he was asking the military to pivot towards a strategy of high-intensity conflict.

☆ Boeing's role in building NASA's new rocket
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Jackie Wattles | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +18 min

The mobile launcher with NASA's SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft rolls out of the Vehicle Assembly Building's High Bay 3 to Launch Complex 39B on Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2022, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. “I worked over 50 Space Shuttle launches,” Boeing SLS program manager John Shannon told CNN by phone. Though more than 1,000 companies were involved with designing and building SLS, Boeing’s work involved the largest and most expensive portion of the rocket. The SLS rocket ended up flying its first launch more than six years later than originally intended. All of the “major components” for a third SLS rocket are also completed, Shannon added.

☆ Ice Spice Broke Out With ‘Munch.’ Rap’s New Princess Is Just Warming Up.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Jon Caramanica | More About Jon Caramanica | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

All of her released songs so far have been produced by Riot (born Ephrem Lopez Jr.). The two met when they were both studying communications at SUNY Purchase, where Ice Spice also played volleyball, as she did at the Catholic high school she attended in the Bronx. They found a common language in drill songs that didn’t shy away from the personal, and that were lyrically emphatic, line by line. She also found that writing personal stories came naturally. “It’s just like a relief whenever I complete a song.”Before “Munch,” attention came in fits and starts, not all of it positive.

Persons: ”, “, Ephrem Lopez Jr, “ It’s, “ Munch, Drake unfollowed Organizations: Riot, SUNY, Catholic Locations: Brooklyn, Bronx, Toronto

Jan 19 (Reuters) - The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) should examine high egg prices for signs of price gouging from top egg companies, a farm group said, as Americans continue to pay more than ever for the household staple. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has pointed to a record outbreak of avian flu as a reason for the high prices. But the nation's antitrust regulator should also examine record-high profits at the top egg company, said Farm Action on Thursday in a letter to FTC chair Lina Khan. In the filing, the company pointed to decreased egg supply nationwide due to avian flu driving up prices as a reason for its record sales. The American Egg Board, an egg marketing group, said in a statement that egg prices reflect a variety of factors and that wholesale egg prices are beginning to fall.

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried has serious beef with FTX's new boss, John Ray III
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

John Ray, CEO of FTX Group, described a litany of amateurish business practices used to run the multibillion-dollar exchange. This much we know for certain: Sam Bankman-Fried and FTX's new boss, John Ray III, are not each other's biggest fans. From their comments, we can see that they disagree on how to run a company, where certain cash went, and who can repay who. It doesn't take a stoic to make Bankman-Fried look chatty, given the extensive media tour he embarked on after FTX went under. And strangely, as the boss and former boss duke it out, FTX's native token FTT is quietly skyrocketing again.

☆ Meat cultivated from cow cells is kosher, Israel's chief rabbi rules
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Ari Rabinovitch | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] People prepare Aleph Farms' cultivated thin-cut beef steaks in this handout image taken November 9, 2022. Cultivated meat, grown from animal cells in a lab or manufacturing plant, has been getting a lot of attention as a way to sidestep the environmental toll of the meat industry and address concerns over animal welfare. Jewish dietary law designates kosher meat as having come from a cow slaughtered in accordance with ritual - and requires that it be kept and consumed separately from dairy. Aleph Farms says it collects sample cells from a living animal and then grows more in a cultivator that mimics conditions in the animal's body. While the decision was specific for Aleph Farm's process, it sets a foundation for others.

"This step will allow us to push down longer-term interest rates, without directly affecting supply and demand of the cash Japanese government bond (JGB) market," Kuroda told a news conference. Following its two-day policy meeting, the BOJ kept intact its yield curve control (YCC) targets, set at -0.1% for short-term interest rates and around 0% for the 10-year yield, by a unanimous vote. Reuters Graphics Reuters GraphicsThe central bank also made no change to its guidance that allows the 10-year bond yield to move 50 basis points either side of its 0% target. "By showing its resolve to use market tools more flexibly, the BOJ wanted to signal to markets it won't make big monetary policy changes under Kuroda." Market attention is already shifting toward monetary policy under Kuroda's successor, who will need to steer an orderly exit from decades of ultra-low rates.

☆ Smartphones, used cars and bacon: 10 things with the biggest price drops in 2022, despite inflation
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Greg Iacurci | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The largest declines, on a percentage basis, were concentrated in categories like consumer electronics, beef, and cars and trucks, according to the consumer price index. watch nowUsed cars and trucks, rental vehiclesA used car dealership in New York on Jan. 19, 2022. Pablo Monsalve | View Press | Corbis News | Getty ImagesPrices for used cars and trucks were among the first to spike as inflation took hold in early 2021. The category inflated by 37.3% that year — the most of any item outside of energy commodities like gasoline and fuel oil, according to the consumer price index. "Rental car companies were buying — and now completely stopped buying — used vehicles," said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics.

☆ More Companies Are Hiring CMOs With Performance-Marketing Backgrounds
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Patrick Coffee | Destination Xl Ceo Harvey Kanter | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +6 min

Companies looking to hire CMOs and other top-level marketing executives amid an economic downturn are increasingly favoring candidates with deep experience in so-called performance-marketing. Performance-marketing campaigns push consumers to take a specific action, such as clicking a link or providing an email address, while brand marketing aims to increase awareness of a company and shape perceptions of that business. The trend will create a challenging job market for senior executives whose careers have centered on more traditional, brand-based marketing. “If we are awesome at performance marketing and don’t understand what it means to engage a consumer—in reality that means brand-level marketing as well—we will lose,” Mr. Kanter said. PREVIEWIndustry leaders frequently debate whether brand and performance marketing should be separate disciplines run by different people.

☆ Here are Tuesday's biggest analyst calls: Apple, Tesla, Amazon, Alphabet, Chipotle, Microsoft & more
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Michael Bloom | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

Morgan Stanley downgrades Chipotle to equal weight from overweight Morgan Stanley said it's concerned about "traffic headwinds." Morgan Stanley upgrades Domino's to overweight from equal weight Morgan Stanley said Domino's is best positioned to handle a downturn. Morgan Stanley upgrades Church & Dwight to overweight from equal weight Morgan Stanley said it sees "fundamental inflection ahead." Morgan Stanley downgrades AutoNation to underweight from equal weight Morgan Stanley said it sees too many headwinds for shares of AutoNation right now. Morgan Stanley upgrades Kroger to equal weight from underweight Morgan Stanley said it sees more people eating at home.

☆ Russia's rebranded McDonald's may expand into Kazakhstan after McDonald's reportedly banned its restaurants there from selling Russian meat, forcing them to close
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Fast-food chain Vkusno & Tochka replaced some of McDonald's restaurants in Russia after they all closed. Alexander Govor, a Russian businessperson, bought Russia's closed McDonald's restaurants in May and rebranded them as Vkusno & Tochka, which translates as "tasty and that's it." Pavel Mikheyev/Getty ImagesMcDonald's confirmed to Insider that its contract with Food Solutions had been terminated. Kazakh news outlet Tengrinews, however, reported that Food Solutions' director said the company didn't plan to rebrand its restaurants as Vkusno & tochka. The chain said in December, however, that it was working on a substitute for McDonald's trademark Big Mac.

People communicate with each other at the Congress Center for the World Economic Forum WEF Annual Meeting 2023 in Davos, Switzerland, Jan. 15, 2023. DAVOS, Switzerland – U.S. lawmakers quietly took part in a private ritzy lunch atop the World Economic Forum on Monday featuring dozens of influential business leaders, according to people with direct knowledge of the matter. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., Chris Coons, D-Del., Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz. and a few members of the House of Representatives, these people explained. Coons, Manchin, Sinema and Kemp are among the U.S.-based officials scheduled to participate in panel sessions at this year's conference. These private events on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum often serve as meet-and-greets between CEOs, billionaires and government officials.

☆ Russia has screwed up over and over in its war in Ukraine, and Western militaries need to learn from its mistakes, former US Army general says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( Natalie Musumeci | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The West needs to learn from Russia's screw-ups in its war with Ukraine, a former US Army general said. "Russia has shown us what kinds of problems a large army can have if it hasn't done its homework," he said. The US and the West, Ryan emphasized in discussions with Insider, should be learning from Russia's mistakes. "We should be preparing our own militaries for a possible war with Russia and or China," the former general said. Looking at the future of the war in Ukraine and Western involvement, Ryan said "the West will probably increase its reactions to Russia's actions as they unfold."

☆ Founders growing meat in labs raised a huge $600 million in 2022. Check out the pitch deck used by Multus to raise $9.5 million to make slaughter-free growth serum.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Lab-grown or cultivated meat is real meat grown from the cells of an animal in a controlled environment, as opposed to rearing and slaughtering said animals. It is now honing in on specific use cases to help cultivated meat manufacturers nail the taste and texture of their products. It expects to bring a range of products to market in 2023, including a growth media specifically for beef. The end goal is to also provide growth media for lab-grown dairy and leather. As well as off-the-shelf products, Multus takes advantage of data and automation to discover new growth media ingredients and formulations.

☆ Bill Gates is optimistic about the future of fake meat and plant-based foods
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-15 | by ( Jordan Hart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Bill Gates was asked his opinion on the climate and plant-based diets during his annual Reddit AMA. Gates said he backed several fake meat companies, despite predicting many people won't opt to be vegan. "I think eventually these products will be very good even though their share is small today," Gates said. Gates said he has backed meat alternative brands Beyond Meat, Impossible Foods, and Upside Foods (formerly known as Memphis Meats). "The key on climate is making the clean products as cheap as the dirty products in every area of emission — planes, concrete, meat etc," Gates said.

☆ China's COVID fever and emergency hospitalisations have peaked, health official says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Patients receive IV drip treatment at a community health service centre, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Shanghai, China January 9, 2023. cnsphoto via REUTERSSHANGHAI, Jan 14 (Reuters) - COVID fever and emergency hospitalisations have peaked in China and the number of hospitalised COVID patients is continuing to decline, a Chinese health official said on Saturday. Nationwide, "the number of fever clinic visitors is generally in a declining trend after peaking, both in cities and rural areas," Jiao Yahui, an official from the National Health Commission, told a news conference. Jiao said the number of emergency treatment patients was also declining and the ratio of patients who had tested positive for COVID-19 was steadily falling as well. The number of severe cases has also peaked, she added, though remained at a high level, and patients were mostly elderly. Wen Daxiang, a Shanghai Health Commission official, said China would strengthen health monitoring and management of the high-risk population.

☆ China reports huge rise in Covid deaths after WHO criticized Beijing for heavily undercounting
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-14 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

The World Health Organization said this week that China was heavily under-reporting deaths from COVID, although it was now providing more information on its outbreak. China, which last reported daily COVID death figures on Monday, has repeatedly defended the veracity of its data on the disease. On Saturday, Jiao said China divides COVID-related deaths between those from respiratory failure due to coronavirus infection and those from underlying disease combined with coronavirus infection. Last month, a Chinese health expert at a government news conference said only deaths caused by pneumonia and respiratory failure after contracting COVID would be classified as COVID deaths. However, he said, it was unclear whether the new data accurately reflects actual fatalities because doctors are discouraged from reporting COVID-related deaths and the numbers include only deaths in hospitals.

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