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☆ SVB's failure is being investigated by US authorities, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Zinya Salfiti | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Silicon Valley Bank's failure is being investigated by US authorities, the WSJ reported. The DOJ fraud squad and the SEC are looking into stock sales by SVB officers before the bank collapsed. US investigators are looking into stock sales made by executives at SVB Financial — the group that owns the lender — only days before the bank collapsed, the report said. From April to December last year, SVB didn't have a chief risk officer at work, Bloomberg reported Tuesday. The DOJ and SVB didn't immediately respond to Insider's request for comment on the probe.

☆ ‘Women are the true unicorns’: This millennial investor is breaking barriers in venture capital and betting on female founders
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Goh Chiew Tong | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

"One class I was taking was [about] venture capital and our professor was super well connected," she recalled. Women are the true unicorns in this venture capital world." In a venture capital industry where women make up less than 15% of check-writers, Sun stands out. Fundraising 'a moving bar'Sun decided to start her own venture capital fund when she realized that women founders' biggest pain point is "lacking capital to grow." Even so, companies founded by women are still receiving just 2.5% of all venture capital investments, according to PitchBook data.

SEOUL, March 8 (Reuters) - South Korea's government approved export licenses for Poland last year to provide Ukraine with Krab howitzers, which are built with South Korean components, a defence acquisition official in Seoul told Reuters on Wednesday. The comments are the first confirmation that South Korea officially acquiesced to at least indirectly providing weapons components to Ukraine for its war against Russia. Seoul officials have previously declined to comment on the Krabs, fuelling speculation over whether South Korea had formally agreed or was simply looking the other way. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said at the time that South Korea, a U.S. ally, had not provided any weapons. Kim said Poland would need further South Korean permission to provide any of those new weapons to Ukraine.

☆ CIA future will be defined by US technology race with China, director says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] The seal of the Central Intelligence Agency is shown at the entrance of the CIA headquarters in McLean, Virginia, U.S., September 24, 2022. REUTERS/Evelyn HocksteinWASHINGTON, March 8 (Reuters) - The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency’s future will be defined by America's ongoing technology race with China, agency director William Burns said on Wednesday during a Senate hearing. Burns’ remarks followed the release of the Annual Threat Assessment of the U.S. Intelligence Community, which pointed to China as the biggest national security threat facing America. “It's also the main determinant of our future as an intelligence service as well.”The CIA director was speaking during Congress’s so-called Worldwide Threats hearing, also featuring other heads of the U.S. intelligence community, including National Security Agency Director Gen. Paul Nakasone, National Intelligence Director Avril Haines, Defense Intelligence Agency director Lt. Gen. Scott Berrier and Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Christopher Wray. Gen. Nakasone, the NSA director, testified China's cyber operations have grown more aggressive recently.

[1/4] Ibrahim Kurt helps salvage belongings from a collapsed home in the aftermath of a deadly earthquake in Nurdagi, Turkey, March 5, 2023. This 20-year-long rapid construction came crashing down in just two minutes," said Hasan Bal, 52, a retired teacher who lost 10 immediate relatives in the magnitude 7.8 quake. The initial quake on Feb. 6 tremor sliced directly through Nurdagi, leaving it among the worst hit communities in Turkey's deadliest modern disaster. Residents say cheap credit had helped the town expand, reflecting a nationwide building boom that has defined Erdogan's two decades in power. Aslan said her family is thankful for a furnished container home where they live for now on the outskirts of town.

☆ Philippines to deploy underwater vehicle to pinpoint location of stricken tanker
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] A view of an oil spill at a beach in Caluya, Philippines March 4, 2023 in this still image obtained from social media video. A remotely operated autonomous vehicle would be deployed to help determine the exact location of the tanker, it said. Authorities want to know how much oil is inside and how to pump the remainder out and stop any leaks, experts said. The tanker's owner has contracted local agencies, Harbor Star Shipping Services and Malayan Towage and Salvage Corp., for the cleanup. If sea conditions are bad, it is also unsafe for our contractors to work," Rodrigo Bella, vice president of Harbor Star, told the media briefing.

☆ Leonardo DiCaprio was interviewed by the FBI over his relationship with a Malaysian businessman involved with the 1MDB scandal, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Leonardo DiCaprio and Kim Kardashian were interviewed by the FBI in 2018 and 2019, Bloomberg reported. The stars had received gifts from Jho Low, who is accused of masterminding the 1MDB scandal. Earlier, DiCaprio had to return a number of gifts given to him by Low, including an Oscar won by Marlon Brando. On Thursday, Bloomberg revealed previously undisclosed documents which show the FBI interviewing DiCaprio in 2018 about his relationship with Low. Representatives for Kardashian and DiCaprio did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment, sent outside normal working hours.

☆ Huawei spin-off Honor launches $1,690 foldable smartphone in challenge to Samsung, Apple
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Honor launched the Magic Vs foldable smartphone globally in a bid to take on Samsung in the premium end of the handset market. BARCELONA, Spain — Chinese smartphone maker Honor launched its foldable phone globally on Sunday, as it looks to compete with Apple and Samsung in the premium tier of the market. Huawei sold Honor to a consortium of buyers that includes the government of its headquarters city, Shenzhen. Honor launched its first smartphone overseas toward the end of 2021 and has since moved aggressively to bring more models to countries outside of China. "Although Honor is operating as a completely independent entity, it still has to regularly explain that is it not part of Huawei.

☆ 5 times scientists thought they'd maybe discovered signs of extraterrestrial life but sadly didn't
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Extraterrestrial life could exist, but mysterious objects in the sky aren't evidence of aliens. Scientists have thought they were close to discovering alien life a few times — none of it via UFOs. As the US discovered a flurry of UFOs — officially called "unidentified anomalous phenomena," or UAPs — in early February, Google searches for "extraterrestrial life" and "are aliens real" spiked. There have been incidents in the past where some researchers thought they'd come close to discovering signs of alien life — or even extraterrestrial intelligence — but none were UFOs. They dubbed the first interstellar object 'Oumuamua, which is a Hawaiian term meaning "a messenger from afar arriving first."

☆ Credit Suisse shares plunge again on report of regulatory probe
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Olesya Dmitracova | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

London CNN —Shares of embattled Swiss bank Credit Suisse fell to a record low Tuesday after a report that regulators are reviewing comments the lender’s chairman made about the health of its finances. The bank’s stock plunged as much as 9% to trade at 2.52 Swiss francs ($2.73), before recovering slightly. Credit Suisse did not respond to a CNN request for comment Tuesday. The Swiss financial regulator, Finma, declined to comment. The rumors, which sparked a selloff in the lender’s shares, followed a series of missteps and compliance failures that cost Credit Suisse billions.

☆ A 4-foot-long alligator that was pulled from a lake in Brooklyn's Prospect Park may have been an unwanted pet, officials say
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( Sophia Ankel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

An alligator was spotted floating in Brooklyn's Prospect Park Lake in New York City on Sunday. The 4-foot-long alligator was pulled out by park officials and is being evaluated in the Bronx Zoo. It might have been an unwanted pet that was released into the lake, a park spokesperson said. The alligator was spotted floating in Brooklyn's Prospect Park Lake in New York City early on Sunday morning, Dan Kastanis, a spokesperson for the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation told Insider. Puelo said that when park officials arrived at the lake, the reptile "wasn't moving really at all."

Kazuo Ueda, a 71-year-old university professor who has kept a low profile despite strong credentials as a monetary policy expert, ticked some important boxes. While he was not even on the list of dark horse candidates floated by the media, Ueda was well known in global central bank circles. The bank's preferred choices were incumbent deputy governor Amamiya, as well as former deputies Hiroshi Nakaso and Hirohide Yamaguchi, given their deep knowledge on monetary policy. Matsuno said he hoped the BOJ works closely with the government and guides monetary policy flexibly, when asked whether Ueda's appointment could lead to a retreat from Abenomics. While he warned of the rising cost of the BOJ's yield control policy, Ueda has called for the need to keep monetary policy loose to ensure Japan stably achieves the bank's 2% inflation target.

☆ A Mexico soccer icon entered politics. Prosecutors say narcos followed
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Cuernavaca | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +27 min

Regional politicians, officials and military officers gathered in the Morelos state capital of Cuernavaca for breakfast in February 2022 to mark Mexico’s annual Army day. Mexican drug lords have a long tradition of buying off politicians in exchange for government protection of their illicit trade. Attempts to reach two of the alleged drug traffickers in the photo – Figueroa and Irving Solano Vera – were unsuccessful. Prosecutors in April asked the Morelos state congress to impeach Blanco so that he could be stripped of that shield. “He likes me very much because I’m not a politician,” Blanco told Reuters, in reference to the president.

☆ MSCI seeks feedback on Adani Group over Hindenburg report
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 28 (Reuters) - Index provider MSCI said on Saturday it was seeking feedback on Adani Group and associated securities and was aware of a report issued by short-seller Hindenburg Research. Adani Group did not immediately respond to Reuters request for comment. It has dismissed the Hindenburg report as baseless and said it was considering whether to take legal action against the New York-based firm. India's capital markets regulator was studying the Hindenburg report as it may help its own probe into offshore fund holdings of Adani Group, Reuters reported on Friday. Billionaire U.S. investor Bill Ackman on Thursday described the Hindenburg report "highly credible and extremely well researched".

“She wouldn’t be able to walk up to medical without help,” the former staff member said, referring to the office where staff medical professionals worked. James Shirey Jr., 14, died of complications from congenital adrenal hyperplasia, a genetic disorder, while at Diamond Ranch Academy in 2009. Diamond Ranch Academy disputed some of the lawsuit’s allegations in a court filing, and denied wrongdoing, but paid his family a $750,000 settlement in 2017. Diamond Ranch Academy was founded in 1999 by Rob and Sherri Dias. Dean Goodridge wants to see accountability for Diamond Ranch Academy, and any other facilities where children have died.

☆ Rogers' bid for Shaw boosted after court rejects antitrust effort to block deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Maiya Keidan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

TORONTO, Jan 24 (Reuters) - A Canadian court on Tuesday dismissed the competition bureau's effort to overturn an approval of Rogers Communications Inc's (RCIb.TO) C$20 billion ($14.9 billion) bid to buy Shaw Communications Inc (SJRb.TO). Rogers and Shaw shares extended gains on the decision, and both closed about 3% higher, while the benchmark Canadian share index (.GSPTSE) was flat. The Federal Court of Appeal in Ottawa swiftly dismissed the antitrust regulator's appeal to overturn a Dec. 30 decision by the Competition Tribunal to approve the deal. Justice David Stratas told the court that many of the points of law the antitrust agency had raised were "without merit." Shaw, Rogers and Quebecor said in a joint statement on Tuesday that "we welcome this clear, unequivocal, and unanimous decision by the Federal Court of Appeal."

☆ Lawsuits over Stability AI's Stable Diffusion could threaten the future of AI-generated art
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Asia Martin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Stability AI, the startup that makes the popular AI art tool Stable Diffusion, faces two lawsuits. The company's most well-known product is the controversial Stable Diffusion (also known as DreamStudio to users). Enter text into a search bar, and Stable Diffusion will, for a lack of a better word, draw an image to match, right on the spot. What's old is new againStability Diffusion released Stability AI in August, a time when the generative-AI market was starting to heat up. Mostaque's tweet added that Stability AI would offer "opt outs" and use alternate datasets and models with content licensed under the more-permissive creative-commons copyright process.

☆ Diners caught off guard as a GOP group aired footage of Breonna Taylor's death at a Kentucky restaurant
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Michelle Garcia | Michelle Garcia Is The Editorial Director Of Nbcblk | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

Diners at a Greek restaurant in Bowling Green, Kentucky, on Tuesday night were subjected to police body camera footage of the moment Breonna Taylor was shot and killed in her Louisville apartment in 2020, according to the local NAACP and restaurant patrons. The Tuesday night event took place in the balcony of Anna's Greek Restaurant, while it was still open to patrons unaffiliated with the event. According to the Bowling Green-Warren County NAACP and restaurant patrons' accounts online, the lights went dark, as patrons unaffiliated with the event heard and saw graphic descriptions of the incident that killed Taylor. Prior to the event, the Republican Women’s Club said in a statement that it invited Mattingly to speak at the event “to obtain a firsthand account” of the raid that resulted in Taylor’s death. Mattingly has the right to share his experience,” the group said in a statement to Spectrum News in Louisville earlier this week.

☆ China's property sector shrinks 5.1% in 2022 - NBS
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIJING, Jan 18 (Reuters) - China's property sector fell 5.1% in 2022 from a year earlier, value-added data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed on Wednesday, heaping more pressure on policymakers to revive the sluggish sector in 2023. The figures indicated that the property sector was one of the biggest drags on the economy last year. China's economic growth in 2022 slumped to one of its weakest rates in nearly half a century, hit by a property market slump and by pandemic controls and COVID-19 outbreaks that especially affected the second and the fourth quarters. Despite that effort, investment in real estate in 2022 was still 10.0% lower than in 2021, the first decline since records began in 1999, and property sales slumped the most since 1992, NBS date showed on Tuesday. Vice-Premier Liu He said at the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos on Tuesday that China would support healthy development of the property market as the sector was still a pillar industry for the economy.

☆ Rio Tinto sees increased volatility as China reopens
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

MELBOURNE, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Rio Tinto (RIO.AX) on Tuesday said that China's reopening from COVID-19 restrictions is set to raise near-term risks of labour and supply-chain shortages, while it also flagged a strong start to iron ore shipments for 2023. Rio looks set to retain its crown as the world's biggest iron ore producer as quarterly iron ore shipments came in slightly ahead of expectations, near the bottom of the year's guidance. "It's good to see they made their iron ore guidance. Iron ore shipments for the final quarter of 2022 rose 3.8% to 87.3 million tonnes (Mt), bringing full-year shipments to 321.6 Mt, which beat a Visible Alpha consensus estimate of 320.2 Mt. Rio Tinto maintained its full-year iron ore shipments forecast of 320 Mt to 335 Mt.

☆ 'One of the best', Kyrgios ready for tilt at Australian Open title
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Nick Mulvenney | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Tennis great and compatriot Rod Laver said after the U.S. Open that only self-belief was preventing Kyrgios from joining the Grand Slam winners' club. "I'm definitely going to go into any tournament, the Australian Open, with confidence, and I think I've proven I can go deep at a Grand Slam. 47-YEAR DROUGHTHis best run at his home major was seven years ago when he reached the quarter-finals, with fourth-round appearances in 2018 and 2020 his other ventures into the second week of the Australian Open. Ash Barty last year rode a tidal wave of support to end the long wait for a homegrown singles champion at the Australian Open - a drought that stands at 47 years for the men's title. Unlike the now-retired three-times Grand Slam champion, Kyrgios has not always been popular with all of his compatriots as a result of his frequent clashes with officialdom and fans.

FAA officials said a preliminary review traced the outage to a damaged database file, but added there was no evidence of a cyberattack and the investigation was continuing. FAA officials said they were working to "further pinpoint the causes" so the problem can be avoided in the future. One issue airlines are facing is trying to get planes in and out of crowded gates, which is causing further delays. He described confusion as airline employees and many passengers were initially unaware of the FAA's moves and flight delays. The U.S. Travel Association, which represents the travel industry including airlines, called the FAA system failure "catastrophic."

☆ Venator Materials' investor pushes for board change amid plummeting stock price
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Svea Herbst-Bayliss | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

J&T wrote that it has tried to work constructively with the Venator board since May 2022 but has encountered "apparent delay tactics and gamesmanship." "We strongly urge you to immediately add myself and another independent director to be nominated by us to the Board," the letter said. Venator said it has an open dialogue with all shareholders and has worked to engage in "constructive conversations" with J&T. Venator was spun off from chemical company Huntsman Corp (HUN.N) and its share price tumbled 71% in the last 52 weeks. While Venator rivals have directors with broad experience, the Venator board's skills are focused mainly on the chemicals industry and have prevented it from creating "a go-forward strategy to restore confidence among investors," the J&T letter said.

☆ Airline passengers missed their flight after being locked in an airport corridor for half an hour: 'It felt like we were being held hostage'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Several Ryanair passengers missed their flight on Monday after they were locked in a corridor. A Ryanair spokesperson said "human error" had led "regrettably" led to the incident. A spokesperson for Ryanair told Insider that a "human error" had led to the passengers being unable to "exit the pre-boarding area doors" and "regrettably" missing the flight. "People were banging on the walls calling for help," Raval told MyLondon. "Ryanair provided affected passengers with overnight accommodation and moved them onto the next available flight," it added.

[1/6] Burning vehicles are seen blocking a road after drug lord Ovidio Guzman's capture, in Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico January 5, 2023. Defense Minister Luis Cresencio Sandoval told a news conference that security forces had captured the 32-year-old senior member of the Sinaloa Cartel. Ovidio, a fugitive since the previous arrest attempt, was now being held in the capital Mexico City, Sandoval said. The city's airport was caught up in the violence, with Mexican airline Aeromexico (AEROMEX.MX) saying one of its planes had been hit by gunfire ahead of a scheduled flight to Mexico City. "It's very important the government bear in mind that the weakening of the Sinaloa Cartel may also bring about an even greater expansion, a greater presence of the Jalisco Cartel."

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