DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ More people with Down syndrome are living longer, but medical systems aren’t keeping up
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Tony Leys | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

Marilyn researched online and learned the University of Kansas Health System has a special medical clinic for adults with Down syndrome. The clinic Marilyn found is in Kansas City, Kansas, 80 miles northwest of the family’s cattle farm in central Missouri. A directory published by the Global Down Syndrome Foundation lists just 15 medical programs nationwide that are housed outside of children’s hospitals and that accept Down syndrome patients who are 30 or older. But she has felt treated like a child by other health care providers, who have spoken to her parents instead of to her during appointments. Advocates and clinicians say it’s crucial for health care providers to communicate as much as possible with patients who have disabilities.

☆ Elasticity of travel demand in focus as U.S. carriers report earnings
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Rajesh Kumar Singh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

CHICAGO, April 11 (Reuters) - Major U.S. airlines are expected to reiterate the strength of travel demand when earnings season gets underway later this week. Pent-up travel demand as well as constrained airline capacity due to shortages of aircraft, spare parts, and labor have, thus far, allowed the industry to avoid the fallout from a slowdown in the broader economy. Chief executives of major carriers last month rushed to reassure jittery investors after a profit warning from United Airlines (UAL.O) stoked worries about the industry's pricing power. The industry has been leaning on soaring consumer demand to mitigate higher labor and fuel costs with higher fares. "The price elasticity of demand over economic cycles will be the ultimate arbiter of the industry's ability to cover increasing costs," Moody's said.

☆ Electronic Arts is cutting about 800 jobs, or 6% of workforce, and reducing office space
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Rohan Goswami | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

An Electronic Arts (EA) video game logo is seen at the Electronic Entertainment ExpoElectronic Arts is cutting 6% of its workforce, equal to about 800 jobs, and reducing office space, the video game company said Wednesday. Wilson said EA would provide severance and health care to affected employees, noting that layoffs had begun earlier in the quarter. EA had just under 13,000 employees, according to a quarterly filing in March 2022. Over 155,000 tech industry workers at more than 500 companies have lost their jobs in 2023, according to data from Layoffs.fyi. WATCH: Tech layoffs

NEW YORK, March 21 (Reuters) - Worries over the banking crisis are boosting disparate assets, with traditional safe-havens such as gold, Treasuries and money markets seeing high demand along with more speculative instruments such as tech stocks and bitcoin. The gains have come alongside big moves in assets traditionally perceived as safe-havens during uncertain times. Yields on shorter-dated Treasuries, which move inversely to prices, saw a historic drop last week, while money market funds notched their biggest inflows since April 2020 in the week to March 15, Refinitiv Lipper data showed. Well, the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield is down about 60 basis points from early March,” said Keith Lerner, chief market strategist at Truist Advisory Services, in a Monday report. Reporting by Lewis Krauskopf and David Randall; Editing by Ira Iosebashvili and Leslie AdlerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Over-the-counter eye drop has been linked to infections leading to eyeball removal, vision loss, and one death: CDC
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-19 | by ( Aidan Pollard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

EzriCare eye drops were recalled in February over possible bacterial contamination. The CDC recommends avoiding EzriCare and Delsam Pharma Artificial Tears. EzriCare Artificial Tears, an over-the-counter eye drop made by Global Pharma Healthcare, was recalled in early February, NBC News reported. According to the CDC, most patients reported using eye drops — and many reported using EzriCare specifically. EzriCare and Delsam Pharma drops were distributed across the US over the internet, according to Global Pharma Healthcare.

☆ The Twitter leaders Elon Musk put in place keep quitting or getting fired. See who's left and who's recently been hired, including engineers from Google's DeepMind and a Tesla superfan.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Kali Hays | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

About half of the 20 people who reported to Elon Musk after his takeover have left Twitter. Musk has hired some new people, including engineers who may be working on an AI project. Elon Musk's Twitter is ruled by chaos. None have been directly replaced, the people familiar said, although Musk has also hired some new people from outside his companies. Below is a complete list of who Musk set as his direct reports, including those who have already left the company.

☆ Read the Released Portions
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

The Grand Jury consisted of twenty-six Fulton County residents, three of whom were 7 alternates. The Grand Jury also received information in the form of investigator testimony and various forms of digital and physical media. Following is the final report of the Special Purpose Grand Jury. We set forth for the Court our recommendations on indictments and relevant statutes, including the votes by the Grand Jurors. The total number of Grand Jurors who placed a vote on each topic has been indicated in each section.

☆ Britain, Malta sign deal covering defence, migration
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

VALLETTA, Feb 10 (Reuters) - Britain and its former Mediterranean colony Malta signed a wide-ranging cooperation agreement on Friday covering areas including security and defence, migration, education, health and trade. The agreement was signed during a short visit to the island by British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, who met Foreign Minister Ian Borg. Malta gained independence from Britain in 1964 and the two countries have traditionally enjoyed a close friendship. Britain and Malta have worked together on migration. Malta is on the main migration route across the Mediterranean from Libya to Europe, with many migrants then attempting to carry on to the UK.

☆ John Durham Finds Russiagate’s Rosetta Stone
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-28 | by ( Holman W. Jenkins | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Throw in a few real names and places to make your inventions believable and people will believe them. This is the method of many a disgraced journalist such as the New York Times ’s Jayson Blair and the Washington Post’s Janet Cooke . It was the method of the Steele dossier fabulists Igor Danchenko and his boss Christopher Steele . It was also the method of the most consequential fabricator of all, whoever dreamed up the presumably fake email exchange between then-Democratic Party chief Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz and activist Leonard Benardo of the Open Society Foundation. This imaginary exchange may have made Donald Trump president.

☆ In Beijing's backyard, U.S. demonstrates its military might
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Joseph Campbell | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

We're going to do that safely and we're going to be resolute about that," Sweeney told Reuters on Friday. China claims historic jurisdiction over almost the entire South China Sea, which includes the exclusive economic zones of Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and the Philippines. The Nimitz Carrier Strike Group 11 includes the guided-missile cruiser Bunker Hill and the guided-missile destroyers Decatur, Wayne E. Meyer and Chung-Hoon. Sweeney said it was crucial for international rules to be followed and said the U.S. presence in the South China Sea demonstrated its commitment to its regional allies. "We're going to sail, fly and operate wherever international waters allow us to, so we're not going anywhere."

☆ A Rare BMW Model Driven by James Bond—and a Retired Surgeon From Missouri
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-21 | by ( A.J. Baime | Photographs Christopher Smith For The Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

C. Daniel Smith , 67, a recently retired orthopedic surgeon living in St. Joseph, Mo., on his 2002 BMW Z8, as told to A.J. Orthopedic surgeons have quite a bit of time between cases, and sometimes, to take the edge off, we would talk in the surgeon’s lounge about anything but work. I have a good surgeon friend named Steve Long who is, like me, nuts about cars, and oftentimes we would talk about our favorites. One day, we happened on the BMW Z8.

☆ Trump and lawyer sanctioned almost $1 million for 'frivolous' lawsuit against Hillary Clinton
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Dan Mangan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

A federal judge on Thursday imposed nearly $1 million in sanctions on former President Donald Trump and his lawyer for filing a since-dismissed "frivolous" lawsuit against Hillary Clinton and many others, which had claimed they tried to rig the 2016 presidential election in her favor by smearing Trump. Middlebrooks in his order Thursday noted that "Mr. Trump is a prolific and sophisticated litigant who is repeatedly using the courts to seek revenge on political adversaries." "He knew full well the impact of his actions ... As such, I find that sanctions should be imposed upon Mr. Trump and his lead counsel, Ms. Trump, who is seeking the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, filed his suit in March against Clinton, who was the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee. Middlebrooks earlier dismissed the lawsuit against Clinton and all other defendants "with prejudice," which bars Trump from refiling the complaint.

☆ The case for investing in China's reopening is strong. Here's how to proceed with caution
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Patti Domm | In | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +11 min

Strategists see China's markets easily scoring double-digit gains this year. The case for investing outside the U.S. is strong, particularly with the dollar coming off its highs and looking at further downside. "While China's reopening is undoubtedly a turning point, there remain reasons to be cautious," wrote Barclays equity strategists. But still the prospects for China's economy are much brighter than they were just several months ago. The Covid lockdown has been so damaging to the Chinese economy, they want to get back to a growth path in 2023."

☆ Just how bad was the war in Ukraine for Europe’s biggest economy last year?
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

London CNN —Germany’s economy grew slightly last year despite battling an energy crisis sparked by Russia’s war in Ukraine. The bank predicts the German economy will stagnate this year, rather than decline, as it had previously forecast. Tobias Schwarz/AFP/Getty ImagesEither way, it’s welcome news for Europe’s biggest economy. “The German economy has been more resilient than initially feared,” Jan-Christopher Scherer, a research associate at DIW Berlin, told CNN. About 40% of German companies expect business to decline in 2023, and another 35% think it will stagnate, according to a November survey of 2,500 firms conducted by the German Economic Institute.

Jan 3 (Reuters) - A group of about 300 videogame testers at Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) subsidiary Zenimax Studios have voted to unionize, the Communication Workers of America union (CWA) said on Tuesday, marking a first for the tech giant in the United States. The CWA said Zenimax employees at four locations in Maryland and Texas voted overwhelmingly to join the union, but did not provide a tally. Microsoft in a statement provided by a spokesperson said it would follow through on an earlier promise to voluntary recognize the union if the workers voted to join. CWA President Christopher Shelton in a statement said Microsoft has set itself apart from other tech companies that have discouraged union campaigns. Game testers at Activision units Blizzard Albany and Raven Software voted in 2022 to join unions amid claims by the CWA that the company has threatened and retaliated against union supporters.

☆ Premarket stocks: Wall Street's dirty secret: It's terrible at forecasting stocks
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

What’s happening: Last year, Goldman Sachs analysts predicted that the S&P 500 would close out 2022 at 5,100 points. With those caveats, let’s get to Wall Street’s predictionsThe numbers: Forecasts for where the S&P 500 will finish 2023 vary greatly. Analysts overestimated the final value (that is, the final value finished below the estimate) in 13 of the 20 years and underestimated the final value (the final value finished above the estimate) in the other 7 years. They’re on track to have overestimated the performance of the S&P 500 in 2022 by nearly 40%. During this period, the S&P 500 has historically gained 1.3% on average, according to data from LPL Financial going back to 1950.

☆ I charge $1,000 to help couples write their wedding vows. I've seen some magical and devastating moments.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Perri Ormont Blumberg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Her pricing starts at $995 for a consultation and help from conception to delivery of the vows. I offer help with vow creation and delivery, officiant services, speeches and toasts, ceremony planning, and public speaking. I consult with couples on how to creatively and lovingly write their vows in their own wordsPushkine marrying Dan and James. One cute story involved a lovely couple who had identical vowsThey had the exact same memories and vows, almost word for word. Once I was hired to help a couple with their vows and marry themIt was lovely working with them.

☆ Consumer confidence improves in December, a hopeful sign for the economy
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Alicia Wallace | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —American consumers’ confidence in the US economy grew in December as high inflation continued to ease, according to data released Wednesday by the Conference Board. The business think tank’s latest consumer confidence index registered 108.3 this month, a significant jump from the upwardly revised measure of 101.4 in November. Economists were expecting the index to come in at 101, according to consensus estimates on Refinitiv. Consumer confidence, as measured by this and other surveys like the University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index, has mostly been on a downward trajectory for much of 2022 as the country grappled with the highest rates of inflation seen in four decades. During 2019, the headline consumer confidence index had an average reading of 128.5.

Ashton also questioned how Mas’ud came to be in custody in the U.S. — something that remains unclear. Late last month, local Libyan media reported that Mas’ud had been kidnapped by armed men from his residence in Tripoli, the capital. He was convicted of 270 counts of murder, was given a life sentence and was the only person convicted for their involvement in Lockerbie. The release was met with scenes of jubilation in Libya, where al-Megrahi was greeted by thousands of well-wishers in the capital, Tripoli. He is among the victims’ family members who question the evidence used to convict al-Megrahi in 2001.

November's labor force participation rate of 62.1% was almost exactly where it was in January, with little variation in between. Each month millions of adults change their work status: Some join the labor market by either accepting a job or starting a job search; others move between a job and unemployment; some leave the labor market altogether. Increasingly "workers leaving employment are dropping out of the labor force, not becoming unemployed," TS Lombard economist Steven Blitz wrote recently. Recent changes in labor flow data "underscores the Fed's concern about the supply-demand labor imbalance underpinning inflation." Reuters GraphicsFEWER 'UNRETIREMENTS'The payroll jobs and labor force data come from different surveys, one of firms and one of households, and might be revised over time.

☆ Patrick Lyoya’s Family Sues Grand Rapids, Policeman Who Fatally Shot Him
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Joseph De Avila | Jennifer Calfas | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The family of Patrick Lyoya , a Black man who was killed during a traffic stop this spring, is suing the city of Grand Rapids, Mich., and the former police officer who shot him in the back of the head. The civil lawsuit, filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan, alleges former Grand Rapids police officer Christopher Schurr violated federal law and Mr. Lyoya’s constitutional rights through use of excessive force.

[1/2] Demonstrators protest the killing of Patrick Lyoya, an unarmed Black man who was shot and killed by a Grand Rapids Police officer during a traffic stop on April 4, in Grand Rapids, Michigan, U.S., April 16, 2022. REUTERS/David 'Dee' Delgado/File PhotoDec 7 (Reuters) - The family of an African refugee who was shot and killed during a traffic stop in Grand Rapids, Michigan, has filed a civil lawsuit against the city and a former police officer charged with murdering him. The suit was filed on Wednesday in the U.S. District Court in Western Michigan, according to online records, on behalf of the family of Patrick Lyoya, a 26-year-old immigrant from the Democratic Republic of Congo. The attorneys will detail the lawsuit against Schurr and Grand Rapids, a city of less than 200,000 residents in western Michigan, at a news conference later on Wednesday. The attempted arrest unfolded after the officer stopped Lyoya over suspicions involving his license plate.

☆ Microsoft could soon have its first union
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Catherine Thorbecke | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

The workers are organizing with the Communications Workers of America (CWA) union and have until the end of December to vote on it. Microsoft has agreed to recognize the union if a majority of the workers vote in favor of it, according to the CWA. The union bid at the Microsoft subsidiary, however, stands out from some of the others because Microsoft has previously vowed to recognize the rights of workers to organize. Slack said Microsoft has been “very accommodating” throughout the process, ever since organizers first approached the company about the union. “They understand that it’s a right and they wanted to leave it up to the workers,” Slack said.

Dec 5 (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) will voluntarily recognize a union of about 300 videogame testers at subsidiary ZeniMax Studios if they vote to unionize, a first for the company in the United States, the Communication Workers of America union (CWA) said on Monday. Voluntarily agreeing to bargain with the union would allow Microsoft to avoid a formal election overseen by the U.S. National Labor Relations Board and the legal battles that often ensue. The company in June entered into an agreement with the CWA to remain neutral in union organizing campaigns at Activision Blizzard Inc (ATVI.O), which Microsoft is seeking to purchase for $69 billion. Game testers at Activision units Blizzard Albany and Raven Software have voted this year to join unions amid claims by the CWA that the company has threatened and retaliated against union supporters. Reporting by Daniel Wiessner in Albany, New York Editing by Marguerita ChoyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Malta parliament debates 'abortion law,' protesters hit the streets
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"We are here to be the voice of the unborn child," said 19-year-old university student Maria Formosa, one of the speakers at the rally. “Through abortion, life is always lost.”Traditionally Catholic Malta is the only member of the European Union which bans abortion in all circumstances, even when a woman's life or health is endangered by her pregnancy. Her doctors said her life was at risk and she was eventually transferred to Spain where she had an abortion. She later sued the Malta government, calling on the courts to declare that banning abortion in all circumstances breaches human rights. Reporting by Christopher Scicluna; Editing by Alvise Armellini and David HolmesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Search resuls for: "Christopher S"

25 mentions found