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☆ Amazon's Twitch CEO steps down nearly 10 years after acquisition
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Annie Palmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Emmett Shear, the CEO of Amazon 's live streaming service Twitch, is stepping down from his role, effective immediately, the company announced Thursday. After buying Twitch, Amazon was largely hands-off with the business, though it has offered Prime subscribers perks on the live streaming platform, like free games and in-game loot. Shear will be replaced by Twitch President Dan Clancy, who has been a "close partner" to Shear, he wrote in a blog post. "Twitch will always remain part of my extended family, a community where I grew in so many ways alongside Twitch itself." Earlier this month, Ring CEO Jamie Siminoff announced he was stepping down from his role at the home security subsidiary.

☆ Fed’s reluctance to go green will cost the Earth
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Ben Winck | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

WASHINGTON, March 7 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Central banks don’t think they can do much about the environment. The U.S. Federal Reserve has done even less, arguing it should not tackle climate change without an explicit order from Congress. In a 2021 survey by Invesco, 63% of responding central banks said addressing climate change fell within their mandate. Central banks aren’t best equipped to lead the green transition, anyway. There’s also a valid concern that focusing on climate change could water down the Fed’s mission to fight inflation.

☆ The US economy has been 'more than fine' without your student debt
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Her story shows the extra juice that delaying — or as some would argue, canceling — student debt can provide to people's lives and the economy as a whole. "If we cancel student debt, what that really means is the federal government is choosing not to collect payments from debtors on the debt that's already issued," Steinbaum said. Biden's student loan bailout will cost every taxpayer, even those who never went to college, at least $2,500." But to be clear, we don't have the most concrete data about the effects of student loan relief — since, well, it hasn't been done. Do you have a story to share about student debt?

☆ Why the dollar keeps winning in the global economy
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Francesco Guerrera | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

The outsized role played by the United States in capital markets, trade and debt reinforces the status quo. Unless the global economy undergoes a complete overhaul, the dollar will remain on top. America may have never “run on Dunkin’”, as the donut-maker’s slogan claimed, but the global economy runs on the dollar. The United States has spurred the search for alternatives by wielding its currency as a weapon against its adversaries. The greenback’s function as the lubricant of global economic activity has another important effect: a stronger dollar curbs global trade.

Prior to Monday's agreement, judicial appointments were limited to the two major parties. He argued the major party requirement violated his right to free association under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The bare majority requirement still applies, but now that majority could consist of independents. Governor John Carney, a Democrat, had argued that the state's courts are trusted by business leaders because of the balance guaranteed by the "bare majority" rule. Reporting by Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delaware; editing by Deepa BabingtonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

As in 2011, the GOP speaker runs a House majority full of ideologically-driven conservatives who want to use the debt limit as leverage to force budget changes on a Democratic-led Senate and White House. “It is possible we will eventually see House Republicans put forth a plan for dealing with both the debt limit and the spending problem. After 2011, the Obama White House drew a hard line when the debt limit deadline came up again in early 2013. Andrew Harnik / APAsked about Biden's position and the GOP criticisms, the White House said the president “takes a backseat to no one” on pursuing bipartisanship, but said that the no-negotiations stance from 2013 onward on the debt limit succeeded. “Everyone seems to have forgotten that there was a debt limit standoff in 2013 where Obama adopted the no-negotiation approach and prevailed with a clean debt limit,” he said.

☆ The Sundance Film Festival: A Lively Market for Indie Cinema
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Kyle Smith | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

After two years of Covid-19 fears, the Sundance Film Festival returned to in-person screenings, and exhilaration was in the air. Given the chance to screen most offerings remotely, I attended from my living room. These days, with indie cinema still having trouble attracting ticket buyers, the festival is becoming more and more of a shopping center for streaming services. Drawing a similar price, this time from Apple for its streaming service, was “Flora and Son,” another musical drama from writer-director John Carney (“Once”). Keeping its titular promise, the film is thoroughly campy, far too much for my taste.

☆ Family files lawsuit against Disney claiming workers laughed when disabled mom, who died months later, fell getting off Jungle Cruise
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( Jordan Hart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The wrongful death suit alleges a disabled died as a result of injuries she received from falling while exiting Disneyland's Jungle Cruise ride. The late woman's daughters say Disneyland workers "snickered" at their mother when she fell and broke her leg. According to Disney's official site, the Jungle Cruise ride is a guided tour of the theme park along a river. Their mother fell and fractured her femur, the lawsuit said, while Disneyland employees laughed at the woman. In the lawsuit, the family said Disneyland violated the Americans with Disabilities Act when they told the physically disabled Aguilar that a wheelchair-accessible Jungle Cruise boat was unavailable.

☆ 4 ways to pay for the climate crisis, according to Al Gore and other leaders at Davos
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Freya Graham | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Panel speakers said philanthropy is often overlooked when thinking about the climate finance gap and that it could act as vital leverage. Michael Wilkins, executive director and professor of practice at the Centre for Climate Finance & Investment at Imperial College Business School, welcomed the comments made by panelists at Davos. "Philanthropy has been crucial in research and development for climate finance and its development," Wilkins told Insider. "The private sector has to join the public sector," Gore said. The solution is not just about scaling up climate investment, though, according to Gore.

☆ Chelsea earn scrappy 1-0 win over Palace to ease pressure
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-15 | by ( Clare Lovell | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

It was only the second league win in 10 matches for the home side who remain in an unaccustomed 10th place half-way through the season. Today we had five young players in the starting 11, they are doing a really good job at the moment." "Today we are happy for the three points," said Potter, who took over from Thomas Tuchel in September. Palace are in 12th place, six points behind Chelsea. Before kickoff, former Chelsea players who had been coached by or appeared alongside Gianluca Vialli joined the teams to pay tribute to the former Italy international and Chelsea player-manager who died 10 days ago.

☆ Mahrez earns City win at Chelsea to narrow gap with Arsenal
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Jan 5 (Reuters) - Second-half substitute Riyad Mahrez earned Manchester City a 1-0 win at Chelsea on Thursday to move to within five points of leaders Arsenal in the Premier League. Mahrez got on the end of a perfectly placed cross from fellow sub Jack Grealish in the 63rd minute after 2022 champions City upped the tempo following a lacklustre first half from the visitors. Graham Potter's Chelsea, stranded in unaccustomed 10th place after some poor performances and a series of injuries, suffered more bad luck, losing former City forward Raheem Sterling and U.S. international Christian Pulisic to injury within the first 22 minutes. Their replacements and later young subs fought hard against a powerful City side and had some bright moments with 19-year-old Carney Chukwuemeka hitting the post in the first half but could not get past an experienced defence. Reporting by Clare Lovell, editing by Pritha SarkarOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ How Cerebral went from a hyped $4.8 billion mental-health startup to fighting for its survival
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Blake Dodge | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

It called itself the fastest-growing mental-health company. Some Cerebral clinicians told Insider they were uncomfortable treating the patients assigned to them and felt their licenses were at risk. In the past few years, highly funded startups have tried to disrupt mental-health care and struggled. Cerebral's next steps will dictate its future, and its story could influence what's ahead for online mental-health care. A former Cerebral provider told Insider the ban was frustrating because many patients who were improving on the drugs lost access to care at Cerebral.

☆ Why tech billionaires like Elon Musk, Bill Gates, and Jeff Bezos are all investing in biotech startups that want to link your computer directly to your brain
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Andrew Dunn | Hilary Brueck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Tech moguls like Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Bill Gates are investing in brain-implant startups. Through their venture-capital funds, Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates both recently backed the Brooklyn, New York, startup Synchron, which has tested its brain stent in seven humans. Peter Thiel, a billionaire cofounder of PayPal, invested last year in Utah's Blackrock Neurotech, an older BCI startup that has said it hopes to apply for Food and Drug Administration approval soon. That long-term potential has caught the attention of tech billionaires like Musk, Gates, and Bezos. No BCI startup has gone public, and most of their fundraising rounds have been modest compared with larger and more-mature biotechs.

While governments worldwide are grappling with high inflation and low growth, UK policymakers are still rebuilding fiscal and political credibility following the brief, chaotic premiership of Liz Truss. Worries about growth are leading some investors to limit their holdings of the pound and British debt. Reuters GraphicsForeign investors have traditionally been attracted by Britain's strong rule of law, stable governance and thriving financial and professional services sector. In the latest data, up to the second quarter of this year, FDI represented more than half the net outflow - a result of strong UK investment abroad but weak inward investment too. Stephen Welton, executive chairman of major growth capital investor BGF, said attracting foreign investment was like a global competitive sport - one that Britain had previously excelled at.

☆ How small-town Maine embraced a family that fled the Taliban
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Elyse Lightman Samuels | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +36 min

CAPE ELIZABETH, Maine — Last November, at about midnight, Omid was lying in bed in his new home in Cape Elizabeth, Maine — exhausted, but unable to sleep. On this night, and on many nights during Omid's first few months in Maine, Nasir was soon at his door. Omid's family arrived in Maine just before Halloween in 2021 and recently celebrated one year in Maine. Catholic Charities, the local refugee-resettlement organization in Maine, was working with Omid's family to help them resettle. After Omid's family escaped Kabul, members of his extended family came by to collect some of their more precious items, and gave other things away.

☆ Indonesia’s green step not yet a leap for mankind
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( George Hay | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

That’s where the private sector comes in, and why Just Energy Transition Partnerships (JETPs) are a potential game changer. More significantly, seven international banks, including HSBC (HSBA.L), (0005.HK), Citigroup and Bank of America (BAC.N), have promised to match that amount. International Finance Corporation figures show that “concessional” finance extended by public bodies at below-market rates can often attract 10 times its own level in private finance. The GFANZ working group will need to ensure Jakarta is sticking to its side of the decarbonisation bargain. The GFANZ group includes Bank of America, Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, HSBC, Macquarie, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and Standard Chartered.

Nov 10 (Reuters) - Origin Energy Ltd (ORG.AX), Australia's no.2 power producer and energy retailer, backed an A$18.4 billion ($11.8 billion) non-binding buyout offer from a consortium led by Canada's Brookfield Asset Management, the companies said on Thursday. The deal sent Origin's share price soaring nearly 40% in early trade to A$8.14. Origin opened its books to the consortium after it raised its offer to A$9 per share in cash, a near 55% premium to Origin's last close of A$5.81. The bid from Brookfield comes after it was rebuffed earlier this year when it led a $3.5 billion takeover offer for Australia's top power producer, AGL Energy (AGL.AX). Under the indicative proposal submitted on Thursday, Brookfield would acquire Origin's energy markets business, while MidOcean Energy, the other consortium partner, would take control of Origin's integrated gas business, including its 27.5% stake in Australia Pacific LNG (APLNG).

☆ Guest view: Climate finance club hands over baton
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Huw Van Steenis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

A year after financial institutions joined forces to lower carbon emissions as part of the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero, the initiative faces criticism from all sides. But the initiative is starting to hit the limits of what financial institutions can achieve through voluntary cooperation. Chief executives of financial institutions worry that participating in GFANZ opens them up to accusations of anti-competitive behaviour and litigation risk. It’s for politicians to set the legislative framework and financial institutions to abide by it. This could double or treble by increasing development banks’ capital, by changing their capital frameworks and mandates, or through smarter public-private partnerships.

☆ 'The old UK growth model is dead': What a long-term weak pound means for Britain
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Jenni Reid | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

watch nowA historically weaker pound on a medium- to long-term basis has a variety of impacts on the U.K. more broadly, economists told CNBC. But, Portes said, the weaker pound is not in itself an issue for the fiscal planning the government is currently doing, with a much-anticipated budget due Nov. 17. 'Growth model is dead'According to Blyth, beyond the pain suffered by households, the higher prices caused by a weaker currency will have deeper and longer-lasting effects. The potential upside to exports was negated by Brexit, he said, pointing out that the U.K. economy had declined from 90% to 70% of the size of Germany's since the 2016 vote. It means that the old U.K. growth model is dead," Blyth continued.

☆ Factbox: COP26 a year later: Where do last year's climate pledges stand?
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Nov 1 (Reuters) - A year ago at the U.N. climate talks in Glasgow, Scotland, countries, banks and business leaders announced a slew of climate plans and pledges. METHANE PLEDGETo date, 119 countries and blocs including the United States and the European Union have joined the COP26 pledge to slash methane emissions 30% from 2020 levels by 2030. And China could also give an update on its plan to begin monitoring methane emissions - a promise made under the U.S.-China agreement announced in Glasgow. The group now counts more than 550 members, including most of the world's leading banks, insurers and asset managers, with collective assets of more than $150 trillion. read more And last week, climate activists criticized GFANZ for dropping a requirement that its members sign onto a U.N. emissions reduction campaign.

☆ New Amazon ads presentation shows how the tech giant is pitching its NFL audience as superior to network TV's
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Amazon is touting its exclusive NFL "Thursday Night Football" deal to boost its growing ad business. In a presentation, it said its football audience is younger and watching longer than TV networks' NFL viewers. Amazon's exclusive deal to stream the NFL's "Thursday Night Football" has pushed it into the mainstream of sports. It's also using NFL to sell its broader advertising business, which at $31 billion is one of its fastest-growing businesses, citing Nielsen, Amazon internal data, and other sources. Danielle Carney, director of ad sales for NFL Amazon Ads, made the pitch to advertisers at UnBoxed22, Amazon's showcase for vendors and advertisers, held in New York October 25-27.

Race to Zero members agree to "phase out development, financing and facilitation of new unabated fossil fuel assets, including coal," in line with science-based scenarios. Environmental advocates are concerned that GFANZ members won't be held to that standard or others without their commitment to Race to Zero. The change comes amid tensions between GFANZ and Wall Street firms over how far they should go in their climate commitments. GFANZ said its affiliation with the United Nations will continue. United Nations climate chief Simon Stiell will join a group responsible for setting its strategy and priorities, and monitoring progress, GFANZ added.

☆ New Amazon presentation touts NFL success to fuel its growing ads business and shows how it's drawing younger audiences than linear TV
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

☆ Former BoE, BoC Governor Carney: UK crisis shows risk of policies at cross purposes
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Julie Gordon | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

OTTAWA, Oct 20 (Reuters) - The political crisis in the UK shows the importance of fiscal and monetary policies not working at cross purposes, particularly in the current economic environment, said former Bank of England Governor Mark Carney on Thursday. "The UK experience underscores that it's counterproductive for fiscal and monetary policies to work at cross purposes," he told a Canadian Senate committee. "Colloquially, if one foot is on the brake, and that's monetary policy," then the other should not "stomp on the gas." "One of the lessons is that sound monetary and credible fiscal policy will be rewarded, but mistakes will be punished," Carney said. Carney, Bank of England Governor from 2013 to 2020 and Governor of the Bank of Canada from 2008 to 2013, noted the importance of an independent central bank, along with inclusive policy, saying the UK tax cuts mostly benefited the wealthy.

☆ Central banks get sucked into financial black hole
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-14 | by ( Edward Chancellor | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Central bankers around the world want to bring inflation down by returning interest rates to “normal” levels. As a result, the average UK mortgage has grown to 3.4 times average income, up from 1.5 times in the early 1980s, according to housing analyst Neal Hudson. But it’s left many homeowners extremely vulnerable to higher interest rates. As a result, the government’s fiscal position is more exposed to interest rate fluctuations. As a financial black hole opens up, central banks will be forced to stop tightening.

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