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☆ An A.I. Pioneer on What We Should Really Fear
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-26 | by ( David Marchese | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +13 min

Pioneer on What We Should Really FearArtificial intelligence stirs our highest ambitions and deepest fears like few other technologies. Can you explain what “common sense” means in the context of teaching it to A.I.? A way of describing it is that common sense is the dark matter of intelligence. I don’t know what “solving” should look like, but what I mean to say for the purpose of this conversation is that A.I. It’s common sense not to kill all the plants in order to preserve human lives; it’s common sense not to go with extreme, degenerative solutions.

☆ Australian stock exchange's blockchain failure burns market trust
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Byron Kaye | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +11 min

That 96% of that software is working," Hogben told a Stockbrokers and Investment Advisers Association conference, in footage seen by Reuters. More than a dozen brokers, other market participants and people directly involved in the blockchain project told Reuters the failure had shaken trust in the Australian exchange operator. After New York startup Digital Asset Holdings showed ASX executives a test transaction on its blockchain software, ASX in early 2016 signed the little-known company to begin exploratory work on an overhaul. From an initial plan to run about 12 of CHESS's 400 data transfers per transaction on blockchain, ASX decided the new system would include all 400 transfers, the person said. Its spokesperson told Reuters there was "no off-the-shelf solution available to meet the needs of the Australian market".

☆ 10 New Year's resolutions every leader should adopt in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Anese Cavanaugh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

When it comes to effective results as a leader, she says it's all about the "human stuff." Prioritize the human, be present with them, and see them, and create guardrails, agreements for performance, and clear expectations. If your intentions are clean and you're focusing on the right things, the truth works just great. Save yourself a ton of time, energy, and bandwidth to focus on the right things — as opposed to posturing, pretending, and evading hard truths. She's the author of "Contagious You: Unlock Your Power to Influence, Lead, and Create the Impact You Want."

☆ New York bans pet stores from selling cats, dogs, rabbits
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-18 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

ALBANY, N.Y. — New York on Thursday became the latest state to ban the sale of cats, dogs and rabbits in pet stores in an attempt to target commercial breeding operations decried by critics as “puppy mills.”The new law, which was signed by Gov. While that law requires pet stores to work with animal shelters or rescue operations, like New York is doing now, it does not regulate sales by private breeders. In 2020, Maryland banned the sale of cats and dogs in pet stores, triggering pushback from shop owners and breeders who challenged the measure in court. We’re not going to survive this,” said Ortiz, who considers the ban unfair to stores that work with responsible breeders. “One pet store near me, they get dogs from all over the Midwest and different large facilities, and you have no idea where they come from and who the breeder is.

☆ Werner CIO Looks to Outfit Company Trucks With AI-Enabled Tech
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Belle Lin | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +4 min

Mr. Mahon was hired in 2020 to help the 66-year-old trucking and logistics company modernize its technology—much of it built on legacy systems. Nearly 50% of Werner’s systems, data and applications have already been moved to the cloud from its data centers, Mr. Mahon said. Newsletter Sign-up WSJ | CIO Journal The Morning Download delivers daily insights and news on business technology from the CIO Journal team. While Werner is putting its costs “under the microscope heading into next year,” Mr. Mahon said technology is still an area of investment given its priority for company executives. “They understand that if we want to get to that stated goal of $5 billion in the next few years, and beyond that, we have to improve and increase our spend in technology,” Mr. Mahon said.

☆ Delivery drivers reveal their biggest complaints about customers and why most of them love working during the holidays
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Delivery drivers work double duty during the holidays, but enjoy the extra work due to higher tips. 1 headache reported by the delivery drivers is customers who intercept package deliveries. Food delivery drivers' biggest pet peeve while on the road is people who drive slow in the fast lane. Delivery drivers said Indiana was the worst state to drive in during the holiday season. More than 60% of delivery drivers said they dislike customers who request hidden drop-off locations and who request rush deliveries.

☆ Ryuichi Sakamoto, fighting cancer, livestreams what may be final concert
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Elaine Lies | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TOKYO, Dec 12 (Reuters) - Japan's Ryuichi Sakamoto, known for his electronic music, including the score for "The Last Emperor," on Monday finished streaming a concert that may be the last for the Academy-award winning composer, who is fighting stage 4 cancer. "My strength has really fallen, so a normal concert of about an hour to ninety minutes would be very difficult," he said. In 2014 he was diagnosed with throat cancer, which was cured after years of treatment. But in January 2021 he said he had been diagnosed with rectal cancer the previous year. In June 2022, he wrote in an essay that the cancer had spread despite multiple operations and was now Stage 4.

☆ Brokerage startup Bux is acquiring the retail-trading arm of Spanish rival Ninety Nine as fintech consolidation continues
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Bux, the online retail brokerage, has acquired the retail-trading arm of Spanish fintech startup Ninety Nine. Bux, a European rival to US retail brokerage Robinhood, has acquired the retail-trading arm of Spanish fintech startup Ninety Nine. Bux, though it raised an $80 million from investors in 2021, recently turned to crowdfunding with a campaign on Seedrs. Globally, fintech startups raised just $13.3 billion in the third quarter of 2022 taking funding levels back to pre-pandemic levels, per Dealroom. "Thanks to this acquisition, Ninety Nine users will have access to a wide range of services provided by Bux, such as investing in Spanish, European and US stocks, ETFs, cryptocurrencies, fractional investing and the Bux Savings."

☆ Biden signs bill averting rail worker strike despite lack of paid sick days
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Emma Kinery | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The initial agreement brokered by the Biden administration was accepted by all but four rail unions, who were holding out for guaranteed paid sick leave days. A strike by rail workers so close to the holiday season — and in a period of high inflation — could potentially devastate the economy. The House on Wednesday approved a separate measure that would have added seven days of paid sick leave to the contract instead of just one. He said has long been a proponent of paid sick leave, and will still work to make it a right for all workers, not just rail workers. "It's looking like the Democrats are standing with our members and making sure that our members get sick leave.

☆ A Microsoft Leader’s COP27 Takeaway: It’s Time for Companies to Get Things Done
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Dieter Holger | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +9 min

Microsoft Corp. President Brad Smith says there are plenty of emerging opportunities for business leaders to take climate action. The executive who has helped spearhead the tech giant’s sustainability efforts says companies need to step up and do their part. I thought some of the European companies were present but not with senior leadership, not with as many senior leaders as a year ago. But I think if you look over the next 30 years, companies are going to locate manufacturing where there is green energy. It really does serve the world well and our individual companies well if we can standardize some aspects of this.

☆ Tech companies begin rerouting critical chip supplies to trucks with rail strike looming
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Lori Ann Larocco | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Technology companies supplying critical semiconductor chips to the economy have started shifting cargo shipments from railroads to trucks with a national freight rail strike looming. The moves are being made, DHL Global Forwarding tells CNBC, in an effort to avoid any pre-strike rail preparations that would force freight rail companies to prioritize cargo. "This is tech cargo originating out of California," said Goetz Alebrand, head of ocean freight for the Americas at DHL Global Forwarding. "There are more trucks and chassis, but that does not mean there are enough trucks to move all rail cargo onto trucks," Alebrand said. Delays incurred by a rail strike would only add to the late charges shippers pay the railroads on late cargo.

☆ I'm a virtual assistant who makes $6,000 a month while traveling the world. Here's how I got my start.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( Lucie Grace | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Erin Morris, 32, is a virtual assistant who's worked in places like Northern Europe and Myanmar. She's held various jobs but says becoming a virtual assistant gave her true location independence. I came across the 90-Day VA course in an ad onlineI knew nothing about being a virtual assistant. You can specialize as a virtual assistant. Three months ago, I was charging $600 for a sales page, and now I charge $1,500.

☆ Chemicals industry warns that rail strike will shut plants and cost economy billions
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Lori Ann Larocco | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Ninety-six hours before a strike deadline, all chemical shipments are no longer moved. "We would expect a similar dramatic reduction in chemical shipments if an embargo were to take place this month." The start of rail strike preparation will depend on the voting results from some of the largest rail unions yet to ratify the labor deal recommended by President Biden's Presidential Emergency Board. If SMART-TD or BLET rejects the agreement, the strike date would be December 9, the day after their cooling-off period ends. BMWED has said it would extend its own cooling-off period to align with the new strike date.

During that same period, 29 states on average endured at least one federally declared disaster, according to the report by Rebuild by Design, a nonprofit that helps communities prepare for and recover from disasters. In 2021 alone, the U.S. suffered from 20 separate billion-dollar disasters. States that were hit with the most disasters include California, Iowa, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Tennessee, which each experienced at least 20 disasters during the last decade, the report said. However, states with lower disaster counts that received the most disaster recovery funding per person include New York, New Jersey, North Dakota and Vermont. Additionally, counties that on average experienced more than a disaster every year over the last decade are located in Kentucky and Louisiana.

☆ Midterm election results boost Biden 2024 hopes, strategists say
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Nov 9 (Reuters) - Encouraged by better-than-expected midterm results, Democratic strategists on Wednesday predicted U.S. President Joe Biden would run again despite exit polls showing two-thirds of voters, including 43% of Democrats, prefer he not seek re-election. Republicans and pundits alike continue to underestimate him at their own peril,” Jennifer Holdsworth, a Democratic strategist, told Reuters. Another Democratic strategist, Karen Finney, said the midterms result should mean that Biden "gets all the time he wants to decide" on what to do about 2024. Two thirds of midterm voters - including 43% of Democrats - would prefer that Biden not seek re-election in 2024, according to exit polling conducted by Edison Research. Reporting by Steve Holland and Jarrett Renshaw; Editing by Heather Timmons and Howard GollerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Czech proposed power revenue cap to bring much higher revenue than expected, minister says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The Industry Ministry has proposed caps ranging from 70 euros per megawatt/hour of electricity made at nuclear power plants to 230 euros for power made at some lignite plants. "As proposed, it will bring much higher revenue than 15 billion," Stanjura told reporters. Overall, he said the ministry's forecast of raising 100 billion crowns from the windfall tax and the revenue caps next year was conservative and final takings may be higher, he said. The company expected to be most affected by the revenue caps and the windfall tax is the majority state-owned electricity producer CEZ (CEZP.PR). The Czech revenue cap proposal goes beyond the EU agreement by suggesting validity from Dec. 1 this year until the end of 2023, while the EU agreement only runs until June 30, 2023.

☆ India's Aam Aadmi party set for big gains in Modi's home state
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Sumit Khanna | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SURAT, India, Nov 4 (Reuters) - India's Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), formed only a decade ago and having claimed power in Delhi and Punjab state, is set to be the biggest gainer in assembly elections in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state of Gujarat next month. AAP boss and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is known to have national ambitions. "Ninety-nine per cent I am going to vote for Aam Adam Party," said diamond worker Bharat Patel. "It looks like the surge of the Aam Aadmi Party is not going down," Yashwant Deshmukh, founder of polling agency CVoter, told Reuters. With pictures of Modi, the ruling party is underlining the advantages of having a BJP government at the state and nationally.

SummarySummary Companies Agnico Eagle, Pan American bid values Yamana around $4.8 blnGold Fields says it will continue working towards takeoverYamana shares jump 16%Nov 4 (Reuters) - Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd (AEM.TO) and Pan American Silver Corp (PAAS.TO) swooped in with a joint bid for Yamana Gold (YRI.TO) on Friday, in an attempt to scupper Gold Fields' (GFIJ.J) planned acquisition of the Canada-listed gold miner. The cash and stock offer, valuing Yamana at around $4.8 billion, would see Agnico and Pan American split Yamana's mines between them. Yamana shareholders would receive $1.0406 in cash, 0.0376 of an Agnico Share and 0.1598 of a Pan American Share for each share held. South Africa's Gold Fields had agreed to take over Yamana in an all-stock deal valuing it at $6.7 billion in May. Gold Fields will update the market on the status of its bid after the weekend, a company spokesman said.

What they want are signals on the pace of regulation that would allow company boards to plan their climate policy. The reality is that not enough has been done in the last 12 months – some would argue we have moved backwards," said Hortense Bioy, Global Director of Sustainability Research at Morningstar. Thomas Hohne-Sparborth, Head of Sustainability Research at asset manager Lombard Odier, said only a small portion of potential investments were credibly aligned towards net-zero. The biggest disruption since last year's Glasgow climate talks has been the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, a major oil and gas exporter. It can be less obvious for some shareholders, however, as this year's high oil and gas prices have rewarded those producing fossil fuels.

☆ Look for renewable energy companies with these 'structural tailwinds,' strategist says
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | 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 EmailLook for renewable energy companies with these 'structural tailwinds,' strategist saysDeidre Cooper, head of sustainable equity at Ninety-One, discusses what investors should be looking out for in the renewable energy sector against the backdrop of an energy price crisis, and how the U.S. has gained an advantage over Europe.

☆ Factbox: Some of South Korea's major disasters and accidents
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

South Korean leaders have pledged to change how the country operates after a series of major accidents and disasters tarnished the image of a nation that rose to wealth from the rubble of a war in a few decades. Here are details of some of South Korea's worst disasters and accidents over the last three decades:April 2020: Thirty-eight people are killed and at least 12 injured in a fire accident at a logistics facility construction site in Icheon near Seoul. January 2018: Forty-seven people are killed and at least 145 injured in a fire at a hospital in Miryang in the southeastern province of South Gyeongsang. February 2014: Ten people are killed and at least 105 injured when a gymnasium roof collapses after heavy snowfall in Gyeongju in the southeastern province of North Gyeongsang. October 2005: Eleven people are killed and at least 162 injured in a stampede at a stadium in Sangju, North Gyeongsang Province.

☆ Factbox: Some of the world's worst stampedes
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

April 1998: One hundred and nineteen Muslim pilgrims are crushed to death during the haj in Saudi Arabia. Feb 2004: A stampede kills 251 Muslim pilgrims in Saudi Arabia near Jamarat Bridge during the haj ritual stoning of the devil. Jan 2005: At least 265 Hindu pilgrims are killed in a crush near a remote temple in India's Maharashtra state. July 2010: A stampede kills 19 people and injures 342 when people push through a tunnel at the Love Parade techno music festival in Duisburg, Germany. Sept 2015: At least 717 Muslim pilgrims are killed and 863 injured in a crush at the haj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.

☆ Beyond Catastrophe: A New Climate Reality Is Coming Into View
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( David Wallace-Wells | Photographs Devin Oktar Yalkin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +53 min

Beyond Catastrophe A New Climate Reality Is Coming Into View By David Wallace-WellsYou can never really see the future, only imagine it, then try to make sense of the new world when it arrives. (A United Nations report released this week ahead of the COP27 climate conference in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt, confirmed that range.) A little lower is possible, with much more concerted action; a little higher, too, with slower action and bad climate luck. There were climate-change skeptics in some very conspicuous positions of global power. New emissions peaks are expected both this year and next, which means that more damage is being done to the future climate of the planet right now than at any previous point in history.

☆ America's 'Zoomtowns' are running out of water
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( Kelli María Korducki | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Remote workers aren't just driving up housing prices but also adding more of a burden to already water-strapped regions. Running out of waterAmerica's water crisis, which has been bubbling for years, has become dire. The lack of fresh snow means that less water makes its way into the river and its massive reservoirs — Lake Mead and Lake Powell — upon which the region depends for water. They found that statewide COVID-19 stay-at-home orders triggered "significant increases" in residential water consumption — a trend the researchers attributed, in large part, to remote workers. While population growth does increase water usage, it's (pardon the pun) a drop in the bucket of the bigger-picture crisis.

☆ Officer who responded to Uvalde shooting has been fired, first from Texas state police
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-22 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Department of Public Safety fired an officer Friday who was at the scene of the Uvalde school massacre and becomes the first member of the state police force to lose their job in the fallout over the hesitant response to the May attack. Nearly 400 officers in all eventually made their way to the scene, including state police, Uvalde police, school officers and U.S. Border Patrol agents. But the Uvalde mayor, parents of the victims and some lawmakers have accused the Department of Public Safety of trying to minimize its own failures. One of the state troopers put under internal investigation was Crimson Elizondo, who resigned and later was hired by Uvalde schools to work as a campus police officer. She was fired less than 24 hours after outraged parents in Uvalde found out about her hiring.

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