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☆ Minority directors reach milestone 20% of Russell 3000 board seats
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Ross Kerber | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Still, most minority groups hold a smaller share of board seats than their share of the total U.S. population. Often the investors have found receptive audiences, but slow turnover on corporate boards has limited the pace of change, recruiters say. The biggest gain over the four-year period was for Black or African-American directors, who nearly doubled their share of board seats to 8.3% from 4.4% in 2019. They were most represented in the utility sector, with 12% of board seats, and least represented among information technology, energy and healthcare companies, each at 6%. Compared to Hispanics' total share of the U.S. population, their 3.6% share of board seats "isn't anywhere near where it's supposed to be," she said.

☆ How the Turkey earthquake tore a 300-kilometre rupture in the Earth’s surface
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

The day the Earth moved How the Turkey earthquake tore a 300-kilometre rupture through the Earth’s surfaceThe ground in Turkey and northern Syria was torn, cracked open, and dragged in different directions after the massive 7.8 magnitude quake and its aftershocks on Feb. 6. The map below illustrates how far the surface moved during the quake. Add a description of the graphic for screen readers. Images from Planet Labs show a surface rupture running straight through the middle of a village near Nurdagi, Turkey, with the ground clearly moving a few metres on either side. The surface has moved to the southwest on one side of the rupture and northeast on the other.

☆ Turkey earthquake: Maps show a 300-kilometre rupture in the Earth’s surface
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

The map below illustrates how far the surface moved during the quake, using data from the U.K. Centre for the Observation & Modelling of Earthquakes, Volcanoes & Tectonics (COMET). Add a description of the graphic for screen readers. Add a description of the graphic for screen readers. Images from Planet Labs show a surface rupture running straight through the middle of a village near Nurdagi, Turkey, with the ground clearly moving a few metres on either side. The surface has moved to the southwest on one side of the rupture and northeast on the other.

☆ In aging China, a call for 'bold' steps to cut cost of having babies
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

HONG KONG, Feb 10 (Reuters) - A Chinese health official has urged local governments to take "bold" steps to lower the cost of having babies and raising children to reduce the burden on families and boost fertility, a state-backed publication reported on Friday. In addition to that is the prospect of a rapidly aging population slowing the economy as revenues drop and government debt increases because of soaring health and welfare costs. Yang Wenzhuang, director of Department of Population Monitoring and Family Development under the National Health Commission (NHC), stressed the importance of family support for improving the fertility rate, the publication the Paper reported. China had to "firmly grasp the important window period of population development" during its 14th five-year plan which runs until 2025, to accelerate "the promotion of childbearing support", he said. Yang's comments were published in the latest issue of NHC-managed magazine, Population and Health, the Paper said.

☆ China's people shortage is a grim omen for the rest of the world
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-05 | by ( Matt Turner | Dave Smith | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

We're merging with our daily Insider Today newsletter, so we'll be known as the Insider Today: Sunday Edition moving forward. On the agenda today:Up first: It was a big week for tech earnings. Senior tech reporter Diamond Naga Siu, who writes our 10 Things in Tech newsletter, is here to break it all down. Apple meanwhile retained its crown as the only Big Tech giant that hasn't conducted mass layoffs within the past year. That means reining in costs, stripping back perks, and upending the office culture that's defined the world of Big Tech for so long.

☆ The housing shortage is the root of all of America's problems
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Jacob Zinkula | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

download the app Email address By clicking ‘Sign up’, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider as well as other partner offers and accept our Terms of Service and Privacy PolicyThe US housing shortage isn't just fueling an affordability crisis. This is the gist of the "housing theory of everything," coined in 2021 by economists Sam Bowman and Ben Southwood and housing advocate John Myers. The housing theory of everything, however, suggests that this lack of affordability is far from the only American problem the housing shortage is contributing to. Even for households that are content as renters, a shortage of homes pushes more people to rent, which ultimately drives up rental rates. America's obesity rate has shot up in recent decades, and it's had significant health consequences.

China's population is shrinking. This shocking statistic is only the start of China's population decline. This year India is set to surpass China's population, and in a few years it will surpass China's working-age population — people 20 to 69. Because of its manufacturing prowess and importance to supply chains, China's shrinking working-age population has enormous, direct effects on the global economy. Among today's largest economies, only the US has a projection of positive population growth, though at very low levels.

☆ Italy's post office invests $1.3 bln to refurbish branches
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ROME, Jan 30 (Reuters) - Italy's post office Poste Italiane (PST.MI) plans to invest 1.2 billion euros ($1.3 billion) of mostly public money to renovate 7,000 outlets across the country, aiming to help older people in small towns who are struggling to access public services online. Poste said it would tap a fund financed by the Italian state for 800 million euros and add half that amount of its own money to refurbish thousands of post offices, with a particular focus on towns with less than 5,000 people. Under the terms of the plan, the renovated post offices will provide less digitally savvy customers with machines to access online services within branches, with staff assistance. The revamped post offices would include 4,000 stations for people to obtain documents such as ID cards and passports, or access the land registry. ($1 = 0.9192 euros)Reporting by Valentina Za in Milan and Alvise Armellini in Rome; Editing by Gavin Jones and Jan HarveyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Japan's leader prioritizes arms buildup, reversing low birthrate
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Kishida’s government in December adopted key security and defense reforms, including a counterstrike capability that breaks from the country’s exclusively self-defense-only postwar principle. Japan says the current deployment of missile interceptors is insufficient to defend it from rapid weapons advancement in China and North Korea. Kishida said it’s a “drastic turnaround” of Japan’s security policy, but still remains within the limitations of its pacifist constitution and international law. This month, Kishida took a five-nation tour, including Washington, to explain Japan’s new defense plan and further develop defense ties with its ally the United States. Japan is the world’s third-biggest economy but living costs are high and wage increases have been slow.

☆ China says Covid outbreak has infected 80% of population
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-21 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The possibility of a big Covid-19 rebound in China over the next two or three months is remote as 80% of people have been infected, a prominent government scientist said on Saturday. Hundreds of millions of Chinese are traveling across the country for holiday reunions that had been suspended under recently eased Covid curbs, raising fears of fresh outbreaks in rural areas less equipped to manage large outbreaks. China has passed the peak of Covid patients in fever clinics, emergency rooms and with critical conditions, a National Health Commission official said on Thursday. Nearly 60,000 people with Covid had died in hospital as of Jan. 12, roughly a month after China abruptly dismantled its zero-Covid policy, according to government data. But some experts said that figure probably vastly undercounts the full impact, as it excludes those who die at home, and because many doctors have said they are discouraged from citing Covid as a cause of death.

☆ China says COVID outbreak has infected 80% of population
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BEIJING, Jan 21 (Reuters) - The possibility of a big COVID-19 rebound in China over the next two or three months is remote as 80% of people have been infected, a prominent government scientist said on Saturday. Hundreds of millions of Chinese are travelling across the country for holiday reunions that had been suspended under recently eased COVID curbs, raising fears of fresh outbreaks in rural areas less equipped to manage large outbreaks. China has passed the peak of COVID patients in fever clinics, emergency rooms and with critical conditions, a National Health Commission official said on Thursday. Nearly 60,000 people with COVID had died in hospital as of Jan. 12, roughly a month after China abruptly dismantled its zero-COVID policy, according to government data. Reporting by Beijing newsroom; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan and William MallardOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ China set for historic demographic turn, accelerated by COVID traumas
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Farah Master | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/3] Ang Ran and her 2-year-old son Tang Ziang look out from their home in Beijing, China November 8, 2022. A glimpse of the scars caused by the pandemic to China's already bleak demographic outlook may come to light when it reports its official 2022 population data on Jan. 17. "In less than 80 years China’s population size could be reduced by 45%. The United Nations predicts China’s population will start to decline this year when India overtakes it as the world's most populous country. U.N. experts see China's population shrinking by 109 million by 2050, more than triple the decline of their previous forecast in 2019.

☆ 2023 is 'a generational buying opportunity' for real estate investing, says the CEO of a private equity firm. He shares which sectors offer the best returns and the REITs to buy.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Laila Maidan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

For real estate, he recommends investing in REITs that are managed by major financial firms. The real estate market last year took a massive hit as interest rates increased at an unprecedented velocity due to the Federal Reserve's aggressive tightening. Ari Rastegar, the founder and CEO of Rastegar Property Company, says just looking at macroeconomic trends won't give investors the full picture. Real estate investment trusts, which are entities that own and operate income-producing properties, are on clearance, he said. He recommends looking at the Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust (BREIT) and the Starwood Real Estate Income Trust (SREIT).

☆ Elon Musk, who has used fertility treatments to conceive most of his 10 children, just cut a major fertility benefit for Twitter employees
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Kali Hays | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The most recent is to a fertility benefit, coverage of which is now reduced by 50%. Musk has used fertility treatments to conceive most of his children. Elon Musk continues to cut costs at Twitter, with the latest move drastically reducing a benefit that helped employees with the cost of fertility treatments and adoption. The benefit is provided through a third party, Carrot, which last week emailed Twitter employees telling them of the change in coverage. Two former employees noted that the change will likely become part of the five lawsuits and group arbitrations that have been filed over Musk's treatment of Twitter employees.

The subvariant of omicron, named XBB.1.5, has raised concerns about another potential wave of Covid cases following the busy holiday travel season. The CDC projected Friday that about 40% of confirmed U.S. Covid cases are caused by the XBB.1.5 strain, up from 20% a week ago. There’s no indication it causes more severe illness than any other omicron virus, Dr. Barbara Mahon, director of CDC’s Coronavirus and Other Respiratory Viruses Division, told NBC News. The XBB.1.5 is a relative of the omicron XBB variant, which is a recombinant of the omicron BA.2.10.1 and BA.2.75 subvariants. Yet, only 37.5% of that age group has received the most recent omicron booster, according to the most recent CDC data.

Covid hospitalizations are rising in the United States, even as hospitalizations for respiratory syncytial virus and the flu continue to fall. For the week ending Dec. 24, around 18,800 people were hospitalized with flu, down from around 20,700 hospitalizations the week prior. RSV hospitalization rates have fallen significantly since their peak in mid-November of 5.1 hospitalizations per 100,000 people. The seven-day average of daily Covid hospitalizations reached 42,140 on Friday, an increase of 4.2% from two weeks ago, according to an NBC News tally. The CDC recommends up-to-date Covid vaccines for everyone ages 6 months and older, as well as annual flu shots.

☆ Opinion | Vaccines, Inflation, Abortion: 2022 in Charts
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Steven Rattner | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +16 min

By the end of 2022, 23 percent of American women resided in states with effective bans on abortion. June 2022 March 2022 Dec. 2021 Sept. 2022 Dec. 2022 Fed Funds Rate 6% 5 4 3 2 1 2022 2023 2025 2024 Longer run Unemployment 5% 4 3 2 1 2022 2023 2025 2024 Longer run G.D.P. Growth 4% 3 2 1 2022 2023 2025 2024 Longer run Core Inflation 5% 4 3 2 1 2022 2023 2025 2024 Sept. 2022 June 2022 March 2022 Dec. 2021 Dec. 2022 Fed Funds Rate G.D.P. Growth 4% 6% 5 3 4 3 2 2 1 1 2022 2023 2025 2022 2023 2025 2024 2024 Longer run Longer run Core Inflation Unemployment 5% 5% 4 4 3 3 2 2 1 1 2022 2023 2025 2022 2023 2025 2024 2024 Longer run Source: Federal Open Market CommitteeThe sustained period of high inflation left the Fed playing catch-up, as it had initially believed that the surge would prove transitory. 150 100 Xi Jinping addresses in 2017 & 2022 50 1982-2012 Economy Military Market Technology Reform Security Source: Capital EconomicsThen there was China: Our biggest source of imported goods became ever more clearly our biggest strategic adversary.

☆ Ecuador volcano releases ash cloud affecting parts of capital
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

QUITO, Dec 20 (Reuters) - The Ecuadorean Geophysical Institute on Tuesday detected a column of gases and ashes rising from the crater of the Cotopaxi volcano, as part of its ongoing eruptive activity, affecting several areas of capital city Quito with volcanic ash. The volcano's last eruptive activity took place between August and December 2015. Ecuador's Risk Management service said on its Twitter account that ash fall was light in affected areas, including Quito. The capital's airport operated normally on Tuesday, and said on its Twitter account that the ash fall had so far not affected its operations. Authorities are permanently monitoring Cotapaxi, which is one of the active volcanoes located throughout Ecuador and in the Galapagos Islands.

☆ Animals Are Running Out of Places to Live
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Catrin Einhorn | Lauren Leatherby | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +17 min

In many places, poverty, powerful interests and a lack of law enforcement make habitat loss especially hard to address. Because animals there often have smaller ranges to begin with, habitat loss hits them especially hard. “That's the ultimate challenge of forest conservation globally.”Source: Map of Life | Photo: Chien C. Lee MOZAMBIQUE Estimated habitat in 2001 MADAGASCAR Estimated habitat in 2001 MADAGASCAR Estimated habitat in 2001 MADAGASCAR Estimated habitat in 2001 MADAGASCAR Estimated habitat in 2001 MADAGASCAR Est. habitat in 2001 MADAGASCAR MOZAMBIQUE Estimated habitat in 2001 MADAGASCAR Source: Map of Life | Photo: Chien C. Lee MOZAMBIQUE Habitat loss in 2021 MADAGASCAR Habitat loss in 2021 MADAGASCAR Habitat loss in 2021 MADAGASCAR Habitat loss in 2021 MADAGASCAR Habitat loss in 2021 MADAGASCAR Habitat loss in 2021 MADAGASCAR MOZAMBIQUE Habitat loss in 2021 MADAGASCARThis is the 2001 habitat of the white-headed lemur, a primate that eats fruit and flowers. Of the many targets being negotiated, the one that has gotten the most attention seeks to address habitat loss head on.

☆ Americans are flocking to wildfire country
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Catherine Clifford | In Catclifford | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

"Our main finding is that people seem to be moving to counties with the highest wildfire risks, and cities and suburbs with relatively hot summers. This is concerning because wildfire and heat are only expected to become more dangerous with climate change," Mahalia Clark, the lead author of the study, told CNBC. "People tend to think of wildfire as something that affects the West, but it also affects large areas of the South and even Midwest." On the other hand, sometimes high risk areas are more affordable, creating an unfortunate incentive for people to move there." But homebuyers also need to be doing their due diligence on the climate risks associated with the location where they are considering buying a new home.

LISBON, Dec 8 (Reuters) - Portugal wants to speed up investments in green hydrogen projects, which are essential to decarbonize the economy, and will end mandatory environmental assessments for them in March 2023, Prime Minister Antonio Costa said. Portugal expects to become a major producer and exporter of green hydrogen with 70 private investors or groups planning to spend 10 billion euros ($10.51 billion). Environmentalists have criticized the so-called Simplex package as it may have impacts on nature and the well-being of populations. Portugal's largest utility EDP (EDP.LS) and oil and gas company Galp Energia (GALP.LS) are both planning to build green hydrogen plants in the industrial hub of Sines. The three main glass producers and two biggest cement makers, together accounting for 10% of the country's industrial carbon emissions, also joined a new consortium to launch a green hydrogen plant.

☆ Long Covid is distorting the labor market — and that's bad for the U.S. economy
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Greg Iacurci | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +13 min

She eventually learned that the balance issues and ear pain resulted from a damaged vestibular nerve, a known effect of long Covid. She found that 2 million to 4 million full-time workers are out of the labor force due to long Covid. For one, many of the hundreds of potential long Covid symptoms are invisible to others, even if disabling for the afflicted. Why the long Covid labor gap mattersJerome Powell, chair of the Federal Reserve, mentioned Sheiner and Salwati's long Covid research in a recent speech about inflation and the labor market. That burden will continue to rise if long Covid patients don't start recovering at greater rates, she said.

☆ Do Humans Owe Animals Equal Rights? Martha Nussbaum Thinks So.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( David Marchese | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +15 min

Photo illustration by Bráulio Amado Talk Do Humans Owe Animals Equal Rights? But does it then follow that we think of animals’ lives as being equal in value to humans’? That would lead to redoubling our efforts to make sure animals don’t perish in the future. Just think: Women are often raped, and that has been so all throughout human history. Now, as an incrementalist I want to be cautious here because I don’t think that predatory animals are doing anything wrong.

☆ China's COVID policy is top of mind for investors as unrest rattled markets this week. Here are 5 things they're watching as Beijing signals willingness to loosen some restrictions.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( Carla Mozée | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Chinese cities this week loosened COVID restrictions in the wake of mass protests, lifting Chinese stocks. China's top pandemic official this week appeared to signal a softening in the zero-COVID policy but the government has yet to pledge a comprehensive step-down. Retail investors should be prepared to move defensively should Beijing's decisions on zero-COVID policy go against their respective positions, Martin said. Here's what some market experts are looking at as global investors watch for developments surrounding the Chinese government's zero-COVID stance. "You have to understand that nobody has an edge as to predicting China policy anymore.

☆ ‘Living in despair and hopelessness’: A lack of affordable housing can put people’s health at risk
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Renuka Rayasam Fred Clasen-Kelly Kaiser Health News | Renuka Rayasam | Fred Clasen-Kelly | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

She suspected the gray and brown splotches spreading through the apartment were mold and had caused her son’s illness. A nationwide affordable housing crisis has wreaked havoc on the lives of low-income families, like Joseph’s, who are close to the brink. Housing instability — such as having trouble paying rent, living in crowded conditions, or moving frequently — can have negative consequences on health, according to the federal Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. And there is no county in the country where a minimum-wage worker could afford a two-bedroom rental home, according to an August report from the National Low Income Housing Coalition. A few months after leaving the apartment, Joseph and her two children moved in with her sister in Orlando, Florida, with their remaining possessions — a car and some clothes.

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