DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

As developing countries weigh the consequences of borrowing heavily from China for major infrastructure projects, anti-corruption officials in Nepal have begun an investigation into a flagship airport financed and built by Chinese state-owned companies. Nepal’s $216 million international airport in Pokhara, the country’s second-biggest city, opened in January. China agreed to provide loans to build the airport more than a decade ago. Nepal tapped China CAMC Engineering, the construction arm of a state-owned conglomerate, Sinomach, as the contractor. Nepali officials have asked Beijing to change the loans into a grant to ease the financial burden, but China has not agreed to do so.

Persons: CAMC Organizations: China CAMC Engineering, New York Times, Civil Aviation Authority Locations: China, Nepal, Pokhara, Beijing

☆ Hong Kong finance summit tiptoes around China
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( Peter Thal Larsen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

HONG KONG, Nov 9 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Hong Kong in November enjoys a pleasant climate that some local managers dub “chairman weather”. Hong Kong is hardly a hot destination for financiers right now. Companies raised just $2.7 billion from initial public offerings in Hong Kong in the quarter, a fraction of previous years. Hong Kong officials including John Lee, the territory’s chief executive, have been sanctioned by the U.S.. Follow @peter_tl on XCONTEXT NEWSThe Global Financial Leaders’ Summit was held in Hong Kong from Nov. 6 to Nov. 8.

Persons: Marc Rowan, Colm Kelleher, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, David Solomon, Jane Fraser, Ken Griffin, Hong, John Lee, Eddie Yue, Kung, Zhang Qingsong, Bob Prince, Mark Wiedman, Apollo’s Rowan, UBS’s Kelleher, Joseph Yam, Una Galani, Thomas Shum Organizations: Reuters, Apollo Global Management, UBS, Monetary Fund, Companies, Citigroup, Citadel, Hong Kong Monetary Authority, Hong Kong’s HK, Exchange, People’s Bank of China, Bridgewater Associates, BlackRock, Goldman, Bank for International, Global, ’, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, Hong Kong, Europe, U.S, China . Hong Kong, China, People’s Republic, Hong, British, Singapore, BLK.N, ”

☆ It's never been this easy to build a $1 billion AI company
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

You don't have to be Sam Altman to build a $1 billion AI company. Kai-Fu Lee's new startup and Mistral AI have shown that AI companies can scale by going open source. AdvertisementAdvertisementThe opportunity to build a $1 billion AI business has never seemed this straightforward for entrepreneurs aspiring to be the next Sam Altman. In response, Lee credited Hugging Face as the reason his company was able to take its AI mode public "rapidly, credibly, and impactfully." Developers wanting to build AI businesses at scale will want open source to thrive.

Persons: Sam Altman, Kai, Fu, OpenAI's, —, he's, Fu Lee, It's, Lee, Abu, Yann LeCun Organizations: Mistral, Service, Microsoft, Bloomberg Locations: Paris, OpenAI

☆ Thousands of Black women claim hair relaxers gave them cancer
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-04 | by ( Reuters Graphic | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +12 min

Some of the ads show Black women applying hair products before cutting to a summary of the NIH study’s findings. “We do not believe the science supports a link between chemical hair straighteners or relaxers and cancer,” Revlon said. Lead author White said in a statement in response to Reuters questions that there is currently no strong evidence linking family history of breast cancer to increased risk of uterine cancer. The sisters said they wanted their mother’s death last year following a battle with uterine cancer to mean something. Bush, the St. Louis cosmetologist, joined the litigation in August, she said, because of the possibility that hair relaxers cause cancer.

Persons: Sheila Bush, Bush, Revlon’s, ” Revlon, L’Oreal, ”, Ben Crump, George Floyd, Diandra, ” Debrosse Zimmerman, Jenny Mitchell, Crump, “ it’s, ” Crump, Louis, Jayne Conroy, don’t, Adam Zimmerman, Alexandra White, phthalates, White, Weiss, Porter Kaye Scholer, Jennifer Hoekstra, Zimmerman, “, X Ante, Quiana Hester, Ariana, Nakisha, Patrice Hester, Louis cosmetologist, Mike Spector, Richa Naidu, Kristina Cooke, Diana Novak Jones, Eve Watling, Lawrence Bryant, Alicia Powell, Angela Johnston, Lucy Ha, Vanessa O’Connell, Suzanne Goldenberg Organizations: L’Oreal, Revlon, U.S, National Institutes of Health, Reuters, NIH, Supreme, University of Southern California Gould School of Law, U.S . House, American Cancer Society, U.S . Food, Drug Administration, World Health Organization, Paul, Arnold, FDA, USC, Washington DC Locations: Louis, Olive, U.S, India, Minneapolis, Missouri, Chicago, United States, Rifkind, Baltimore, Houston, Washington, San Diego, Bush

In the wake of Matthew Perry's death at 54, fans in China are mourning the loss of the star who felt less like a distant celebrity and more like an old friend. “People shared their own memories about Chandler and ‘Friends’ and many teared up.”A large poster displayed on the bar featured pictures of Perry over the years. Once Chinese fans added Mandarin subtitles to the show, which ran in the U.S. from 1994 to 2004, it quickly gained a following. “This TV show actually offered a way to imagine this kind of so-called metropolitan utopian imagination.”Many Chinese fans learned English through watching the show and got a peek into American life and culture. “It feels like I just got to know this long-lost friend, but he’s just gone.”___Fu Ting reported from Washington.

Persons: Long, ”, Matthew Perry's, Chandler Bing, Nie Yanxia, Chandler, Perry, Xian Wang, ” wasn't, China —, Wang, ” Wang, Nilufar Arkin, Monica, “, ” Arkin, ” Fu Xueying, ” Fu, Zhang Fengguang, Sun Tiantian, Zhang, Sun, ” Zhang, he’s, Fu Ting, Han Guan Ng Organizations: University of Notre Dame, Associated Press Locations: China, Shenzhen, Hong Kong, Los Angeles, Sohu, U.S, Shanghai, Tianjin, Xinjiang, Guangzhou, Washington

NEW YORK (AP) — Cher is obviously a superstar but even a superstar can be the opening act when it comes to Santa. Organizers of this year's Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade have nabbed the Oscar-, Emmy- and Grammy Award-winner for their 97th annual event. Cher will make her appearance just before the parade's end, signaled by the arrival of Santa’s sleigh, parade organizers said. This year’s parade will feature 16 giant character balloons, 26 floats, 32 novelty and heritage inflatables, 12 marching bands, 700 clowns and eight performance groups. Other marching bands this year will represent Alabama, Indiana, Wisconsin, Michigan, Washington, New York, Illinois, New Jersey and Texas.

Persons: Cher, It's, Jon Batiste, Bell Biv DeVoe, ENHYPEN, David Foster, Katharine McPhee, Drew Holcomb, Jessie James Decker, Ashley Park, ” Pentatonix, Paul Russell, Amanda Shaw, Alex Smith, Manuel Turizo, Jordan Chiles, Ezra Frech, Jessica Long, Grace Stanke, Kung, Panda’s, ” “ Leo, ”, ” “, ” “ Pillsbury Doughboy ”, Uncle Dan, “, Josh Gad, Andrew Rannells, ” “ Ronald McDonald, Stuart, SpongeBob, Mariah Carey, Marjory Stoneman, Savannah Guthrie, Hoda Kotb, Al Roker, Carlos Adyan, Andrea Meza, ___ Mark Kennedy Organizations: En, Miss, ” “ Pillsbury, “, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, NBC, Telemundo Locations: Brandy, Chicago, Manuel Turizo ., U.S, In Ohio, Parkland, Florida, Alabama, Indiana , Wisconsin , Michigan, Washington , New York , Illinois , New Jersey, Texas, Peacock, Savannah, “, Spanish

He went on to accuse Israel of being a terror organization because its airstrikes on Gaza had caused civilian casualties. A Chinese state broadcaster recently hosted a discussion page on Weibo stating that Jews controlled a disproportionate amount of U.S. wealth. Among the comments on recent posts from the official social media account of Israel’s embassy in China were similar comparisons of Israelis to Nazis. It is hard to say whether the anti-Israeli positions in state media and antisemitism on the Chinese internet are part of a coordinated campaign. “If China felt that it was dangerous and problematic to allow antisemitic comments to flourish, the censors would stop it.

Persons: Hu Xijin, I’m, ”, Israel, Shen Yi, Carice Witte Organizations: Global Times, Communist Party, Weibo, Fudan University, country’s Communist Party Locations: Lebanon, Israel, Gaza, China, Beijing, Israeli

☆ China's consumption recovery is still underway, says Goldman Sachs
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailChina's consumption recovery is still underway, says Goldman SachsSi Fu of the investment bank says there's still room for more recovery in consumption in the next three months, and explains why the bank is positive on stocks in the internet and consumer sectors.

Persons: Goldman Sachs Si Fu, there's

☆ Names written on children's limbs speak to the fears of Gazan parents amid the Israel-Hamas war
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-23 | by ( Abeer Salman Kareem Khadder Kareem El Damanhoury Rhea Mogul | Abeer Salman | Kareem Khadder | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

“We received some cases where the parents wrote the names of their children on the legs and abdomen,” Dr. Abdul Rahman Al Masri, the head of the emergency department Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, told CNN. He said parents were worried that “anything could happen,” and no one would be able to identify their children. “This means that they feel they are targeted at any moment and can be injured or martyred,” Al Masri added. Meanwhile hospital are running out of medicine, water and electricity, while hundreds of injured Palestinians continue to seek treatment, doctors and health workers in Gaza told CNN. A Palestinian doctor treats a prematurely born baby at Al Aqsa Hospital in Deir el-Balah, Gaza, on October 22, 2023.

Persons: ” Dr, Abdul Rahman Al Masri, ” Al Masri, Dr Al Masri, Adel Hana, Iyad Issa Abu Zaher, ”, Israel, Fu’ad, ” Al, Abed Khaled, Nebal Farsakh, Farsakh, ” “ Organizations: Gaza CNN, Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, CNN, ”, Sunday, Al, Palestinian Ministry of Health, World Health Organization, Hamas, Health, Palestinian, Crescent, ” CNN, ” “ Hamas Locations: Gaza, Al, Aqsa, Israel, Al Aqsa, Deir el, Balah, Egypt, Gaza City, Quds, “

The bombs hit buildings in Rafah, Khan Younis, central Gaza and Gaza City, including homes, the Palestinian Interior Ministry in Gaza said. Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images Europe/Getty Images Palestinians inspect a destroyed area following an Israeli airstrike in Gaza on October 21. Ronen Zvulun/Reuters A woman mourns over a dead man at the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Gaza City on October 18. Yousef Masoud/The New York Times A morgue worker arranges body bags at al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City on October 12. Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters Palestinian citizens inspect damage to their homes caused by Israeli airstrikes in Gaza City on October 8.

Persons: Jerusalem CNN —, Atef Al Kahlout, Ashraf Al Qidra, Khan Younis, Jack Guez, Iyad Issa Abu Zaher, “, ”, Fu’ad, Majdi, Juliette Touma, Herzi Halevi, Daniel Hagari, Joe Biden, Benjamin Netanyahu, Netanyahu, Biden “, Biden, Said Khatub, Leon Neal, Hatem Moussa, Nir Oz, Wolfgang Schwan, Yousef Masoud, Alexi J . Rosenfeld, Shadi Tabatibi, Ali Jadallah, Belal al Sabbagh, Mohammed Saber, Khan, Rizek Abdeljawad, Ahmad Gharabli, Janis Laizans, Abed Khaled, Mohammed Dahman, Yoav Gallant, Gallant, Yasser Qudih, Ofir Libstein, Aza, Ronen Zvulun, Belal Khaled, Abed Rahim Khatib, Hod, Ayal Margolin, Antony Blinken, Brendan Smialowski, Kenny Holston, Ariel Schalit, Mohammed Abed, Kfar Aza, Ilia Yefimovich, Mustafa Hassona, Mahmoud Khaled, Samar Abu, Fatima Shbair, Dor Reder, Violeta Santos Moura, Shir Torem, Wahaj Bani Moufleh, Antonio Macías, Macías, Francisco Seco, Eli Albag, Liri, Mohammed Talatene, Sergey Ponomarev, Hatem Ali, Dor Kedmi, Mahmud Hams, Saher, Abraham Cohen, Valentin Ghnassia, Ghnassia, Yuri Cortez, Ibrahim Hams, Bashar Taleb, Baz Ratner, Yahya Hassouna, Mapal Adam, Abed Zagout, Tamir Kalifa, Agha, Ibraheem Abu Mustafa, Reuters Itzik, Miriam Shafir, Dor Shafir, Savion Kiper, Maya Alleruzzo, Mohammed Salem, CNN Sergey Ponomarev, Eden Guez, Atef Safadi, Ohad, Mohammed Soboh, Said, Noam Elimeleh Rothenberg, Amir Cohen, Ilai Bar Sade, Erik Marmor, Oren Ziv, Ramez Mahmoud, Roi Levy, Alleruzzo, Tali Touito, Jalaa Marey, Oded, Ahmad Hasballah, Mohammed Fayq Abu Mostafa, Tsafrir, Ilan Rosenberg, Eyad Baba, Itai Ron, Hadas Parush, Israel readies Organizations: Jerusalem CNN, Hamas, West Bank, CNN, Israel Defense Forces, Indonesian, of Health, Palestinian Interior Ministry, IDF, Getty, Al Aqsa Martyrs, Al, Health Ministry, Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, United Nations Relief, Works Agency, Palestine Red Crescent Society, World Health Organization, Palestinian, Sunday, US, Pictures, Tel Aviv University, AP, New York Times, Reuters, Reuters Civil, AP Rockets, AP Israel's, Regional, Israel's, Ahli Baptist Hospital, Israeli, Ben Gurion International, Shifa, Aris Messinis, Haim, Mount, Mount Herzl Military, Nova, Anadolu Agency, Nova Festival, Ben Gurion, Rockets, United Nations, Reuters Police, Reuters Rockets Locations: Gaza, Jerusalem, Israel, Lebanon, Rafah, Gaza City, Israel's, Sderot, AFP, Al Aqsa, Al, Aqsa, Deir al, Egypt, Palestine, Crescent, Kibbutz Kissufim, Gazan, Khan, United States, Tel Aviv, Anadolu, Khan Younis, Europe, Zahra City, Xinhua, East Jerusalem, Ras, Yehuda, Hod HaSharon, Kiryat Shmona, Ahli, Gan, Kfar, North Sinai, Samar, Samar Abu Elouf, Beit Kama, Haifa, Cyprus, Nablus, West, Kfar Saba, Israeli, Be'eri, Rehovot, Mount Herzl, Kibbutz Be'eri, Modiin Maccabim, Kfar Aza, Ashkelon, Mount Herzel, Yassin, Palestinian, Beitar Ilit, Ramat Gan, Itai, Beit Hanun, Rishon Lezion, Iran, Jenin

Tiny but bountiful, Antarctic krill make up one of the planet’s largest biomasses, nourishing everything from fish to marine mammals and seabirds. At Steinberg’s lab, researchers are examining how warming oceans — Antarctic krill need water colder than 4 degrees Celsius (39 Fahrenheit) to survive — are altering krill’s life cycle. However, a leading marine biologist the industry once relied on to burnish its environmental credentials has since denounced krill fishing. She accepted with the hope that she could help mitigate the effects of krill fishing on the Antarctic ecosystem. Today, she believes that krill fishing should be banned.

Persons: “ What’s, ”, Alistair Allan, Bob, it’s, Santa Cruz, Deborah Steinberg’s, ” Steinberg, Emma Cavan, Steinberg, Claire Christian, “ It’s, aren’t, Dirk Welsford, Matts Johansen, ” Johansen, Kjell Inge Røkke, Brett Glencross, “, Jesse Trushenski, Trushenski, Johansen, William Harris, he’s, Javier Arata, Helena Herr, CCAMLR, Ari Friedlaender, ” Friedlaender, Peter Hammarstedt, JoNel, Helen Wieffering, Fu Ting Organizations: Bob Brown Foundation, Soviet Union, Associated Press, Shepherd, Walton Family Foundation, AP, University of California, Virginia Institute of Marine Science, World Wildlife Fund, Imperial College London, Commission, Conservation, Antarctic Marine Living Resources, Antarctic, Southern Ocean Coalition, U.S, United Nations, Antarctic Provider, Aker BioMarine, Aker, Aker ASA, National Institutes of Health, University of South, Association, Pew, University of Hamburg, Foods, Amazon, Wildlife Fund, LCA, Sea Shepherd, Washington , D.C Locations: Antarctica, Chilean, Alaska, U.S, Soviet, Russia, China, South America, Orkney, Norwegian, Santa, Cavan, Tasmania, It’s, Washington, Moscow, Beijing, Texas, Australian, Montevideo, Uruguay, dwarfing, Norway, American, Europe, Canada, Australia, Houston, Aker, Oslo, Brussels, Boise , Idaho, University of South Dakota, Salt Lake City , Utah, Santa Cruz, Virginia, Peruvian, Ski, Los Angeles, Washington ,, Investigative@ap.org

☆ Vivek Ramaswamy said an angry protester crashed into his car at a campaign event. Police say that's not what happened.
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-08 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | Associated Press | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

GOP presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy claimed a protester rammed into his car at a campaign stop. Representatives for Ramaswamy's campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider. They said there is no evidence to substantiate the claim that protesters intentionally hit Ramaswamy's campaign vehicle and sped off. What Ramaswamy's campaign saysRamaswamy spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin told The Associated Press the campaign stands by its assessment that the driver was a protester. She also stood by her assessment that there were two people in the car that hit the campaign car.

Persons: Vivek Ramaswamy, —, Vivek Ramaswamy's, candidate's, Ramaswamy, Tricia McLaughlin, McLaughlin, Elon Musk, Bee, Ron DeSantis Organizations: Local, Service, Republican, Police, Ford Expedition, Associated Press, Honda, Inc, Des, CBS News, Grinnell College Locations: Ukraine, Iowa, Grinnell, Des Moines, Poweshiek County, Chattanooga , Tennessee, Florida

☆ Earth's inner core is more like a ball of butter than a solid metal sphere, a new study suggests
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-06 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Scientists have long thought Earth's inner core is like a huge solid metal ball. It could help explain why Earth's magnetic field is so weird. Jung-Fu Lin / UT Jackson School of GeosciencesThe Earth's inner mush revealedA 2021 study had already started to question the big-iron-ball assumption. Seismic waves, they found, weren't really going through the Earth in a way consistent with a fully solid core. AdvertisementAdvertisementIt recreated the intense pressure and temperature conditions found in the inner core inside a lab, and combined that data with a much more advanced computer model.

Persons: Youjun Zhang, We've, that's, Jung, Fu, Lin, Fu Lin, weren't, Jessica Irving, Zhang Organizations: Service, University of Texas, UT Jackson School of Geosciences, University of Bristol, Science, National Academy of Sciences Locations: Sichuan, shockwaves, England

Two people who know Fu told CNN that they heard from common friends she had a child through surrogacy in the US, though they did not know who the father was. Fu stopped posting on her WeChat social media account in May after returning to China from the US in April, two sources close to Fu told CNN. Fu Xiaotian, 40, was the host of a flagship talk show on Hong Kong-based Chinese broadcaster Phoenix TV. Following Qin’s disappearance, Chinese social media users have scrutinized Fu’s posts on Weibo, a popular microblogging site, where she boasts more than a million followers. She last posted on Wechat, another Chinese social media app, on May 21, the two people who know Fu told CNN.

Persons: Hong Kong CNN — China’s, Qin Gang, Fu Xiaotian, Qin, Fu, Xi Jinping, ”, Fu –, –, Qin’s, “, ” Yun Sun, Sun, That’s, Xiaotian, Zikuan Chen, Fu reminisced, Er, ’ ” Fu Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Financial Times, Phoenix, CNN, China’s Foreign, ” CNN, China’s, Information Office, Phoenix TV, Wall Street Journal, Communist Party, Stimson, World, Cambridge University, Star, Churchill College, Gulfstream G650, Fu, Federal Aviation Administration, Gulfstream, Anchorage International, Washington DC, Qin Locations: Hong Kong, United States, Beijing, China, Washington, London, Phoenix TV’s London, Fu, Weibo, California, Chongqing, Orange County , California, Italy, alma, Los Angeles, Anchorage, Alaska, Miami

An accountant in northeast China deposited her life savings and received a letter guaranteeing her investment in a trust firm. Workers at a state-owned utility pooled money from friends and relatives believing that their investments were backed by the government. A man sank $140,000 into an account that he was told would make a 10.1 percent annual return. They have offered no timetable for when people will be paid, fueling concerns that one of China’s largest so-called shadow banks may be near collapse. Zhongzhi has not made any public statements about its finances, and it did not respond to an email seeking comment.

Persons: Zhongzhi, Zhongrong Organizations: Workers, Zhongzhi Enterprise Group Locations: China

☆ China's AI 'war of a hundred models' heads for a shakeout
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-21 | by ( Josh Ye | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Additionally, companies have also announced dozens of "industry-specific LLMs" that link to their core model. However, investors and analysts say that most were yet to find viable business models, were too similar to each other and were now grappling with surging costs. Several other big name entrepreneurs and tech executives are behind new Chinese AI startups, such as Google China's former chief Kai-Fu Lee and Yan Juejie, a former vice-president of SenseTime (0020.HK). Others said that China's largest tech companies Alibaba, Tencent and Baidu ultimately had the biggest headstart and deep pockets to succeed, given their large user bases and wide range of services. For instance, they could easily offer generative AI services as an additional plug-in to their cloud users.

Persons: Baidu's, Robin Li, Ernie Bot, Tingshu Wang, OpenAI's, Esme Pau, Pau, Yuan Hongwei, Meta, Baichuan, Wang Xiaochuan, China's, Wang, Yuan, Kai, Fu Lee, Yan Juejie, SenseTime, Tony Tung, Tung, Josh Ye, Brenda Goh, Sam Holmes Organizations: Baidu, REUTERS, HK, Huawei, Nvidia, China, Macquarie Group, Y, Baichuan Intelligence, Inc, Sogou, Google, Partners, Thomson Locations: Beijing, China, HONG KONG, Alibaba, United States, Washington, Shenzhen

Decade to decade, costly extreme weather events are increasing in both frequency and intensity as greenhouse gases build up in our atmosphere. The true cost of extreme heatLois Nigrin grew up on a farm and loved getting outdoors. Her ordeal points to the rising cost of extreme heat, the leading weather-related killer in the US. The true cost of floodingBarb Grant has built her life's work around helping others. The true cost of inactionThere is more to this story than a set of ruinous tragedies.

Persons: Lois Nigrin, —, Yoon, Nigrin, Read, Dale Murden, who's, He's, he's, Murden, Jason Garza, Barb Grant, Grant, Miriam Alarcón Avila, She's Organizations: Center for American, Atlantic Council, The Texas Tribune, Administration, Texas, Citrus Committee, M, Pew Charitable Locations: heatstroke, Texas, Arizona, Nebraska, Harlingen , Texas, Mexico, Southeast Texas, Iowa

☆ Opinion: Why we’re seeing so many deadly floods
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-21 | by ( Jessica Chia | Opinion Adam H. Sobel | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Is this climate change, or just a particularly severe bunch of weather flukes happening in close succession due to the climate’s own natural variability? But climate change acts by loading the dice on many types of weather events. That shouldn’t be comforting; climate change could be playing a larger role than we expect in many of these events. Even without climate change, it would behoove us to catch up on their maintenance, or, where these dams are no longer truly needed, remove them. What we know about climate change and extreme weather should strengthen that motivation; what we don’t know should strengthen it even more.

Persons: Adam H, Sobel, Columbia University’s Lamont, Adam Sobel Danny Goldfield, Daniel, it’s, El Niño, El Niños, El Organizations: Columbia, Fu Foundation School of Engineering, Applied, Twitter, CNN, Humanitarian Affairs, El Locations: Massachusetts, Hong Kong, Greece, Spain, Libya, El, Europe

☆ China’s Slumping Economy: What the Latest Numbers Are Signaling
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-15 | by ( Keith Bradsher | More About Keith Bradsher | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

China’s trains, planes, stores and beaches were a little fuller last month than a year ago, and the pace of activity picked up at factories, particularly those making mobile phones and semiconductors. A batch of numbers released on Friday by China’s National Bureau of Statistics showed a modest improvement in the country’s overall retail sales and industrial production during August. A series of small steps taken by the government over the summer, including two rounds of interest rate cuts, seems to be yielding a slightly better-than-expected improvement in the country’s economy. “The national economy has accelerated its recovery, production and supply have increased steadily, market demand has gradually improved,” Fu Linghui, China’s director of national economic statistics, said at a news conference. “Some may be of the view that China’s economy has already bottomed out, but we remain cautious,” said a research note from Nomura, a Japanese bank.

Persons: ” Fu Linghui, ”, Nomura Organizations: China’s National Bureau, Statistics

☆ China’s retail sales surprise with faster growth, up 4.6% in August
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-15 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

BEIJING — China's retail sales and industrial production picked up pace in August with better-than-expected growth, according to National Bureau of Statistics data released Friday. Retail sales grew by 4.6% in August from a year ago, beating expectations for 3% growth forecast by a Reuters poll. The increase was also faster than the 2.5% year-on-year pace in July. Industrial production grew by 4.5% in August from a year ago, better than the 3.9% forecast and faster than the 3.7% increase reported for July. That missed expectations for a 3.3% increase and was slower than the 3.4% pace reported as of July.

Persons: Fu Linghui Organizations: National Bureau, Statistics Locations: Chongqing, China, BEIJING

☆ Asked About Taiwan, Deputy UN Chief Says Exclusion of Anyone Can Harm Global Goals
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-15 | by ( Sept. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

By Michelle NicholsUNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Exclusion of anyone harms efforts to achieve global development goals, United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed said on Friday when asked about Taiwan's appeal to be included in the campaign. "We said leave noone behind and I think member states have to find a way to make sure that we are not in that position where we're excluding people. The 1971 resolution replaced the then-government of the Republic of China that had been pushed to Taiwan following China's civil war. Taiwan has long called on the United Nations to admit it as a member. "So, keeping Taiwan out of the United Nations is immoral, is unjust and is something that we have to make change to."

Persons: Michelle Nichols UNITED, Amina Mohammed, Mohammed, China's U.N, Zhang Jun, Zhang, U.N, Farhan Haq, Joseph Fu, Michelle Nichols, Michael Martina, Grant McCool Organizations: Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS, Reuters, United Nations, General, Sustainable, Taiwan, United Locations: Taiwan, People's Republic of China, China, Republic of China, United, United Nations

☆ Asked about Taiwan, deputy UN chief says exclusion of anyone can harm global goals
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-15 | by ( Michelle Nichols | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

UNITED NATIONS, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Exclusion of anyone harms efforts to achieve global development goals, United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed said on Friday when asked about Taiwan's appeal to be included in the campaign. "We said leave noone behind and I think member states have to find a way to make sure that we are not in that position where we're excluding people. The 1971 resolution replaced the then-government of the Republic of China that had been pushed to Taiwan following China's civil war. Taiwan has long called on the United Nations to admit it as a member. "So, keeping Taiwan out of the United Nations is immoral, is unjust and is something that we have to make change to."

Persons: Amina Mohammed, Mohammed, China's U.N, Zhang Jun, Zhang, U.N, Farhan Haq, Joseph Fu, Michelle Nichols, Michael Martina, Grant McCool Organizations: UNITED, United Nations, General, Sustainable, Taiwan, United, Thomson Locations: Taiwan, People's Republic of China, China, Republic of China, United, United Nations

☆ All smoke and no FIRE: Early retirees open up about the struggles of ditching their paychecks in exchange for freedom and the new ways they're generating extra income
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-13 | by ( Laila Maidan | Kathleen Elkins | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

Members pose questions from how to save and invest to how to raise a family while on the path to early retirement. Early retirement doesn't mean never working againBut the FIRE movement can be more smoke than fire. Think about what's important to you and what you want your lifestyle in early retirement to look like, Cheng said. One message he shares with his community is that early retirement may not be the ultimate finish line for everyone. He also started coaching high school tennis and grew his online blog that offers tips on early retirement.

Persons: Rachel Covert, Isaac Mizrahi, Covert, That's, subreddit, Gwendolyn Merz, Merz, She'd, Marguerita Cheng, Cheng, It's, Michael Quan, Quan, Winnie Jiang, Sam Dogen, Dogen, Sam Dogen Dogen, Shan Fu, Fu, I'm Organizations: Financial Independence, Social Security, Lean FIRE, FIRE, Fortune, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Credit Suisse, Millennials Locations: NerdWallet, New York City, Mexico, Portugal, Asia

Country Garden, China’s biggest property developer, told creditors that it had made a late interest payment, averting an immediate default on its debts and keeping the company financially viable for the time being. Last month, the company missed two interest payments totaling $22.5 million on bonds that had been sold in U.S. dollars. It had a 30-day grace period to make the payment or risk default. Country Garden told the bondholders that it had made the payment within the grace period, a person close to the company said on Tuesday. The delayed payments underscored the financial pressure facing Country Garden, which has been China’s top-selling homebuilder for the last six years.

Organizations: Garden

When Country Garden, the biggest developer in China’s increasingly troubled real estate sector, published its annual report in April, the cover design exuded hope: a phoenix spreading its wings. The company said the image showed that China’s economy was “back on track” and that this year would see “growth soaring to new heights.”That was wishful thinking. Shortly after the report’s release, China’s nascent economic recovery lost steam and an already sluggish real estate market started to collapse. For the past three years, as dozens of major property developers defaulted after years of excessive borrowing, Country Garden was an outlier. But last month, it missed two interest payments — signaling that it, too, was at risk of financial collapse, with $187 billion in debt.

Search resuls for: "Fu"

25 mentions found