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☆ UK supermarkets Tesco, Aldi and Asda are rationing fruit and salad vegetables
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Asda told CNN that it was temporarily limiting purchases of some items to three packs per customer. These include tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and lettuce. Morrisons told CNN that it had imposed a cap of two packs per customer on tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and lettuce. Sainsbury’s (JSAIY), the United Kingdom’s second-largest food retailer, told CNN it had no plans to ration the sale of fruit and vegetables. The high-end supermarket chain told CNN that it was “monitoring the situation” but had no plans to introduce rationing.

☆ UK business activity unexpectedly rebounds in February -flash PMI
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Andy Bruce | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"Much better than anticipated PMI data for February indicate encouraging resilience of the economy," said S&P Global Chief Business Economist Chris Williamson. "While many companies continue to report tough operating conditions, especially in the manufacturing sector, the broader business mood has been buoyed by signs of inflation peaking, supply chains improving and recession risks easing." Williamson added that the survey data boosted the likelihood of a BoE rate hike next month, something which most economists polled by Reuters already expect. The PMI for the services sector rose to 53.3 in February from January's 48.7, the highest reading since June last year. Factory activity continued to contract but at a much reduced pace, with the manufacturing PMI increasing to 49.2 from 47.0, close to 50, the no-change mark.

☆ Morgan Stanley says these stocks are making improvements on ESG that can also boost returns
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-19 | by ( Alex Harring | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Morgan Stanley honed in on publicly traded companies that are improving on ESG in ways that can boost shareholder returns. "We think ESG rate of change will be a critical focus for investors looking to identify companies that can generate alpha and ESG impact," he said in a note to clients in late 2022. Though he said both approaches to ESG screens can be useful, he specifically looked for companies doing under-the-radar ESG work. Eighty-percent of analysts rate the stock a buy, FactSet data shows. Roughly two-thirds of analysts rate the stock as buy or overweight, and the average price target implies upside of nearly 15%.

☆ A man who rates Google search results said he makes $3 less per hour than his daughter working in fast food
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Britney Nguyen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

A man who rates Google search results told the LA Times he makes $3 less than his daughter who has a fast food job. "There are times that I have seen some of the graphic content replayed in my dreams," Stackhouse told the Times. Stackhouse didn't tell the Los Angeles Times how much his daughter makes or what her role at her fast food job is. Four Sama workers told Time they were paid $2 or less per hour. Sama also works with Google and Microsoft, and told Time it would stop working with graphic content by March 2023.

☆ Americans are quitting plant-based meat due to high prices, worse taste, and questionable health benefits
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Jacob Zinkula | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

In 2020, retail sales of plant-based meat grew 45%, surpassing the $1 billion mark for the first time. Questionable taste and health benefits are scaring off consumersFirst, it's unclear whether the plant-based meat industry has a growing customer base. On the all-important issue of taste, many Americans say plant-based meat disappoints, and some experts think the industry's efforts to compare plant-based meat to the real thing is a losing battle. Additionally, while plant-based meat has environmental benefits, growing research suggests it may not be much — if at all — healthier than traditional meat, something consumers are beginning to suspect. It's also possible that cultivated meat — meat grown from animal cells in a lab — will prove to be the answer, though this innovation could face some obstacles as well.

☆ AMC Theatres shouldn't be charging more for the best seats — it should be getting rid of the empty ones
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-11 | by ( Travis Clark | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

AMC Theatres announced this week that it would charge more for the best seats in its auditoriums. Here's what it looks like on the AMC Theatres website for a screening at a New York City location:What the new seat pricing looks like on the AMC Theatres website. "This new initiative by AMC Theatres would essentially penalize people for lower income and reward for higher income." AMC's seat-pricing plan isn't going to help the theatrical business. Patrick Corcoran, spokesman for the National Association of Theatre Owners, told Insider in September.

☆ Intesa Sanpaolo says most operations restored after ION ransomware attack
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Intesa Sanpaolo (ISP.MI) said on Thursday that most of its affected cleard derivatives operations were back up and running, after a ransomware attack at financial data company ION impacted operations at the Italian bank. ION Markets UK's cleared derivatives section was hit with a ransomware attack on Jan. 31. The attack rippled across derivatives markets, gumming up trading and clearing in exchange-traded derivatives at some of the biggest banks and financial institutions in the world, including Intesa Sanpaolo. Intesa said the situation was improving on Thursday, as ION scrambled to get its clients back up and running. "We promptly adopted measures to avoid fully suspending activities related to the exchange-traded derivatives segment," a spokesman at the bank told Reuters.

☆ Stocks making the biggest moves midday: CVS, Fortinet, Lumen Technologies, Alphabet & more
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Pia Singh | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading Wednesday:Lumen Technologies — Shares fell 22.5% after the cloud network data company reported a fourth-quarter loss of about $3.1 billion. CVS Health — CVS Health gained 4.6% after the company surpassed profit and sales expectations in its latest quarterly results. The New York Times Company — Shares for the media organization popped more than 14% after its fourth-quarter earnings beat analyst estimates. The company reported earnings of 59 cents per share, which was greater than a Refinitiv estimate of 43 cents per share. Fortinet posted earnings of 44 cents per share, while analysts expected 39 cents per share, according to StreetAccount.

☆ Stocks making the biggest moves premarket: Uber, Chipotle, Microsoft, Lumen and more
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Hakyung Kim | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Uber — The ride-hailing app's shares rose more than 7% after it posted fourth-quarter earnings that topped analyst estimates. Uber earned 29 cents a share, beating analysts' estimate of an 18 cent loss, Refinitiv data showed. This year's adjusted earnings guidance missed StreetAccount estimates. Fortinet — The cybersecurity company's shares rose 11% after it beat analysts' estimates in the most recent quarter by five cents a share, according to StreetAccount. Under Armour earned adjusted EPS of 16 cents vs a StreetAccount estimate of 9 cents.

☆ The college student who tracks Elon Musk's private jet is launching his own flight-tracking website
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Grace Kay | Taylor Rains | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Sweeney shares data that tracks private jets of celebrities, including Donald Trump and Elon Musk. Sweeney has used the ADS-B Exchange website to keep tabs on flights since he started tracking private-jet data back in 2020. ADS-B Exchange founder Dan Streufert previously said in a statement that the acquisition would accelerate the site's growth. It was built using the same open-source code that was used to create ADS-B Exchange. Still, the agency acknowledges that these are not a "silver bullet" and can be skirted via ADS-B Exchange.

☆ The billionaire CEO of tech giant Palantir skis for at least 5 hours a week, and has the same body fat percentage as prime Michael Phelps, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Palantir CEO Alex Karp is a fitness fanatic who skis for up to five hours a day. Axios reported he has just 7% body fat – similar to Michael Phelps' at the 2008 Olympics. Karp has been pictured at events in ski gear and sometimes exercises during interviews. Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps had a body fat of 8% around the time of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, when he took home eight gold medals. He's has been pictured at events in ski gear and sometimes exercises during interviews, like the one with Axios.

Moeller-Maersk and Mediterranean Shipping Co. created the so-called 2M alliance in 2015 to help them reduce costs by sharing cargo on major ocean routes. Rivals formed similar partnerships, creating the Ocean Alliance and THE Alliance. Global trade volumes fell 9.5% year over year in November 2022, according to London-based Container Trade Statistics, and global shipping rates have been sliding at a steep pace since early last year. He said the winding down of 2M raised questions over the future of the other two alliances, Ocean Alliance and THE Alliance. So the in-transit issues and all the penalties have pretty much faded away.”Target said in an email that it renegotiates its shipping rates regularly.

☆ Student who tracks Elon Musk's jet blasts sale of flight-tracking site he uses to keep tabs on aircraft
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Taylor Rains | Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Jet-tracking student Jack Sweeney is calling for people to boycott ADS-B Exchange. Sweeney uses the site to share flight data on celebrities, including Elon Musk and Donald Trump. Aviation data company JetNet said on Wednesday that it bought ADS-B Exchange, a free website that tracked thousands of commercial aircraft around the world. Sweeney uses ADS-B to follow certain aircraft, like those owned by Musk, Donald Trump, and Taylor Swift. He said he's looking for alternatives to ADS-B Exchange, like creating his own version or using another tracking websites, like Open Sky Network and airframe.io.

☆ Explainer: Who is behind Hindenburg, the company that is shorting Adani?
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Carolina Mandl | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

NEW YORK, Jan 25 (Reuters) - Short-seller Hindenburg Research disclosed on Wednesday short positions in India's Adani Group, citing potential stock manipulation and accounting fraud in a report. WHAT IS HINDENBURG RESEARCHFounded in 2017 by Nathan Anderson, Hindenburg Research is a forensic financial research firm which analyses equity, credit and derivatives. On its website, Hindenburg says it looks for "man-made disasters," such as accounting irregularities, mismanagement and undisclosed related-party transactions. After finding potential wrongdoings, Hindenburg usually publishes a report explaining the case and bets against the target company, hoping to make a profit. HOW MANY COMPANIES HAS HINDENBURG TARGETEDHindenburg has flagged potential wrongdoing in at least 16 companies since 2017, according to its website.

☆ Rural China is running out of coffins because COVID-19 is rampant — and the cost of funerals is skyrocketing
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Rural areas in China are running out of coffins amid a COVID-19 outbreak, the BBC reported. There's no official COVID-19 death count or estimate in some rural areas in China. One villager told BBC that funeral industry workers were "earning a small fortune." One doctor who operates a small clinic in rural china told BBC that he is hopeful the worst is over and that most of the residents in his town had already caught COVID-19. But there is a concern that more COVID-19 deaths are still to come, the BBC reported.

☆ The Wall Street Journal ranked US airlines from worst to best. See the list.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Taylor Rains | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The Wall Street Journal has revealed its annual list of the best and worst airlines in the US. Delta Air Lines took the top spot, while JetBlue Airways lagged behind competitors. According to aviation data company Anuvu, which provided the numbers for WSJ's rankings, Delta had the best on-time arrival rate of 81.7%. Here's a closer look at the WSJ's list of the best and worst airlines in the US. Delta Air LinesDelta Air Lines.

☆ Hedge fund industry lost $125 bln worth of assets in 2022 - HFR
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Nell Mackenzie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Jan 20 (Reuters) - Almost $125 billion worth of assets, from performance losses and asset flows, left the hedge fund industry in 2022, Hedge Fund Research (HFR) data showed on Friday in the latest sign of the havoc that volatility wreaked on the industry last year. Investors rethought putting their money into hedge funds, leading to a net outflow of $55 billion in assets, making it the largest capital flight from the industry since 2016, HFR said. A sharp change from 2021, when the industry saw a positive $15 billion of net inflows. The only kind of hedge fund strategy that saw an increase of investor money was the $4.3 billion that flew into event-driven mergers and acquisition and credit funds. The size of the hedge fund industry grew in the fourth quarter to $3.83 trillion, a quarterly increase of $44 billion, HFR said.

☆ Commodities Warrant Cautious Optimism, Not Exuberance, in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Megha Mandavia | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Copper prices will benefit from new demand from clean-energy applications over the next few years. Commodities bulls have left the pen, ready for a long run. Odds are that 2023 will end with industrial-metal prices, at least, higher than they are now. Three-month copper futures are trading at $9,100 a metric ton on the London Metal Exchange, already up 9% in 2023 according to FactSet. And iron-ore prices rallied by almost 50% from early November to the end of 2022, according to CEIC, a data company.

☆ Companies’ Capital Spending Forecast to Slow in 2023 Amid Recession Fears
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( Kristin Broughton | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +8 min

Companies are expected to tap the brakes on capital investments this year as they assess the risk of a downturn and contend with higher financing costs. Capital spending in 2021 rose by 9% compared with 2020, the first year of the pandemic, EY said. After two years of spending heavily, some companies want to take a pause to digest the investments they’ve made, advisers said. FedEx Corp. last month lowered its capital spending forecast for the current fiscal year by $400 million, to $5.9 billion. The remainder said they don’t finance their capital spending plans through borrowing, or their borrowing isn’t sensitive to changes in interest rates.

☆ China is still racing to develop its own mRNA jabs. But they won't use foreign vaccines to fight COVID because of 'national pride,' says South Korea's top vaccine maker.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

It hasn't yet approved any mRNA vaccines. But SK Bioscience says China is unlikely to source foreign COVID-19 vaccines, due to "national pride." SK Bioscience has developed its own COVID-19 vaccine, which is now being used in South Korea. "China has administered 3.4 billion doses of COVID vaccines for its people, covering over 90% of its population," said Liu. Even so, Chinese drugmakers are racing to produce mRNA vaccines against COVID-19.

☆ CFOs Ponder Their Pricing Power as the Economy Cools
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Jennifer Williams-Alvarez | Dean Seal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +7 min

After a year of significant price increases, companies are trying to figure out how far they can go in 2023. However, pricing experts said, consumers and businesses will likely pull back on discretionary spending and will be less tolerant of price increases as they become mindful of their budgets. The Katy, Texas-based retailer takes an item-by-item approach to price increases. Customers haven’t balked at higher price tags, Ms. Huber said in late October. Still, the company said the aggressive price hikes in 2022 haven’t yet had a significant impact on consumers’ behavior.

☆ I'm the senior director of a $5 billion data company — here's how a mix of programming and leadership courses skyrocketed my career since college
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-07 | by ( Julia Pugachevsky | Read More | Read Less | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Focusing on hard skills like data analysis as well as management helped me move up in my career. But what really put my career on a rocket ship was taking online courses from platforms like Coursera, edX, and LinkedIn Learning. For anyone looking for a big career jump, here are four lessons I learned from taking online courses — and how to make the most of online learning. Taking management courses helped me advance much faster. Mike CrabtreeBecause of taking online courses, my career advanced very quickly in a short amount of time.

☆ Marijuana might hurt Elon Musk's productivity, but legalization has helped US workers find jobs and earn higher wages, a study finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Jacob Zinkula | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

But a new study found legalization has had a positive impact on Americans' employment and wages. While 68% of the public supports legalization, the authors noted that there is disagreement about the impact it could have on workers' productivity and well being. Elon Musk in 2018: "I'm not a regular smoker of weed...I don't find that it is very good for productivity." The authors speculated the boost in the agriculture sector is tied to the introduction of the cannabis industry. Given marijuana legalization is a relatively new development, the authors said it will take time to decipher any long-run impacts on labor market performance, despite the positive early indicators from their research.

☆ PC giant Dell will reportedly stop using Chinese chips as soon as next year, and it shows how Washington-Beijing tensions are forcing companies to diversify their supply chains
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Dell is planning to halt the use of Chinese semiconductor chips by 2024, per Nikkei. The PC giant also plans to slash the amount of other made-in-China parts in its products. It's not just made-in-China chips made by Chinese companies. Other than chips, Dell has also asked suppliers of other electronic parts — such as modules and circuit boards — to ramp up production capacity in countries outside China, per Nikkei. Even tech giant Apple was burned late last year when its iPhone output was hit by the country's zero-COVID drive.

☆ M&A Is Expected to Pick Up in 2023 as Companies Adapt to Tougher Conditions
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Kristin Broughton | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +8 min

But many companies adapted, structuring deals to sidestep market volatility and minimize financing costs. Deal advisers expect M&A to pick up in 2023 following last year’s slump, though when that will happen remains an open question. That is especially true in the technology and healthcare sectors, where deals for high-growth companies are most common, she said. In addition to macroeconomic pressures, companies faced a tougher regulatory environment in 2022, with antitrust enforcers globally applying greater scrutiny to large transactions. Demand for such facilities in the U.S. jumped 17% in 2022 through Dec. 29 compared with the full-year 2021, to $317.3 billion, according to Dealogic.

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