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☆ China probes European pork prices after EU hikes tariffs on its electric cars
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-17 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

London CNN —Beijing has launched an investigation into prices of pork from the European Union, targeting a major EU food export just days after Brussels hiked tariffs on electric vehicles from China. A hike in import tariffs could be very costly for European pork producers if it ends up hurting demand in China, the world’s largest pork market and the main destination for EU pork exports. The EU is the second-biggest pork producer after China. According to EU customs data, the bloc exported more than €2.5 billion ($2.7 billion) worth of pork, including offal, to China last year. Beijing had been widely expected to use targeted measures to try to dissuade EU officials from permanently adopting higher tariffs on electric cars imported from China, a decision the EU must make by November.

Persons: Olof Gill, Gill, ”, Xu, Maisie Linford Organizations: London CNN —, European Union, China’s Ministry of Commerce, EU, European Commission, World Trade Organization, WTO Locations: London CNN — Beijing, Brussels, China, Beijing, Spain, Netherlands, Denmark, France, Europe

☆ Qantas CEO: ‘We let our customers down’ on airline’s canceled flights scandal
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-04 | by ( Maisie Linford | Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

London CNN —The boss of Qantas Airways has acknowledged the “anger” of thousands of customers who were sold tickets for already-canceled flights. Because not only (did) we let our customers down, we let our people down.”Last August, Australian regulators accused Qantas in a lawsuit of selling tickets for more than 8,000 flights that the airline had already canceled — affecting more than 86,000 customers. Qantas agreed last month to pay 120 million Australian dollars ($79 million) to settle the lawsuit. Of that, about 20 million Australian dollars ($13.3 million) will go to the affected customers. The remaining 100 million Australian dollars ($66.5 million) is a fine — the biggest ever for an Australian airline, according to Reuters.

Persons: Vanessa Hudson, CNN’s Richard Quest, “ It’s, ”, ” Hudson Organizations: London CNN, Qantas Airways, Qantas, Reuters, Quest Locations: Dubai, Hudson

☆ Inter Milan taken over by US investment firm Oaktree after Chinese owners fail to repay loan
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-22 | by ( Maisie Linford | Matias Grez | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —US-based investment firm Oaktree Capital Management said on Wednesday it has “assumed ownership” of recently crowned Serie A champion Inter Milan. Inter’s Chinese owner, Suning, failed to repay a loan now worth €395 million ($428 million) that was taken out to help finance the club during the Covid pandemic. In a statement, Oaktree said: “We understand the great responsibility towards the community and the historical legacy of Inter. Mattia Ozbot/Inter/Getty ImagesAfter contacting Oaktree for comment on Zhang’s statement, the firm referred CNN to its press release. “As new owners, we recognize our responsibility to Inter Milan’s community, history and legacy,” Oaktree’s Alejandro Cano said in a statement.

Persons: Suning, Oaktree, “, Howard Marks, Steven Zhang, Mattia Ozbot, ” Oaktree’s Alejandro Cano Organizations: CNN, Oaktree Capital Management, Serie, Inter Milan, Inter, Club, Coppa Italia, Champions League, Europa League, Juventus Locations: Italy, Oaktree

☆ McDonald’s buys all of its Israeli franchise restaurants amid damage from Middle East turmoil
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-04 | by ( Maisie Linford | Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

London CNN —McDonald’s will buy every one of its 225 franchise restaurants in Israel, it announced Thursday, just weeks after saying that the Israel-Hamas war was hurting its business. The fast food giant said it had struck an agreement with Israeli franchise Alonyal to buy the firm’s McDonald’s (MCD) franchise restaurants in the country. The vast majority of McDonald’s stores around the world are run by local franchise operators. Many McDonald’s operators in the wider region quickly distanced themselves from the Israeli firm’s actions. Franchise groups in Kuwait and Pakistan, for example, issued statements saying they did not share ownership with the Israeli franchise.

Persons: London CNN —, Omri Padan, Alonyal, McDonald’s, “, Chris Kempczinski, , Kempczinski Organizations: London CNN, Alonyal Locations: Israel, Kuwait, Pakistan

☆ Italy fines TikTok $11 million for failing to protect minors
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-14 | by ( Maisie Linford | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

London CNN —Italy’s competition authority has fined TikTok €10 million ($11 million) for failing to control the spread of content that it said threatened the safety of minors and other vulnerable people. The antitrust agency, AGCM, said Thursday that TikTok, which is owned by China’s ByteDance, had failed to take into account the specific vulnerabilities of adolescents using its platform, such as a tendency toward copying group behaviors. The trend involved TikTok users pinching their own cheeks to leave a lasting bruise, Reuters reported last month. A TikTok spokesperson told CNN that it disagreed with the AGCM’s decision. “We long ago restricted visibility of this content to (under-18s).”This is a developing story and will be updated.

Persons: London CNN —, TikTok, China’s ByteDance, Angelica Chiara Yazbeck Organizations: London CNN, Reuters, CNN

☆ Fatal Houthi rebel attack may be a ‘red line’ in Red Sea shipping crisis
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-07 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

The deadly strike marks a significant escalation of the Houthi attacks on ships in the Red Sea and and comes despite a US-led naval coalition to protect the crucial waterway. Fewer ships appear to be transiting through the Red Sea and adjoining Suez Canal after the latest attack, according to maritime risks analytics company Windward. According to Windward, the number of bulk carriers anchoring outside ports to the north and south of the Suez Canal surged 225% Wednesday compared with the previous day. Windward data shows that last month the number of bulk carriers in the Red Sea was already at its lowest level in two years. Just 30% of the usual shipping capacity — including container ships, bulk carriers, car carriers, and tankers carrying oil and liquefied natural gas — is still passing through the Red Sea and Suez Canal, according to Sand.

Persons: Ami Daniel, ”, Peter Sand, “, Hapag Lloyd —, Christine Lagarde, CMA CGM, Stephen Cotton, Cotton, David Ashmore, Reed Smith, John Stawpert, ” Maisie Linford Organizations: London CNN, Liberian, ” Windward, CNN, Maersk, MSC, European Central Bank, Drewry, CMA, International Transport Workers ’ Federation, International Chamber of Shipping Locations: Red Sea, Iran, Suez, Africa, Windward, Red, Norway, Sand, “, London, Good, Gulf, Aden and Red, Aden

☆ Shopping online at 2 a.m.? That’s a red flag for buy now, pay later lender Affirm
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-16 | by ( Hugh Son | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Americans shopping online after midnight often make riskier transactions and are more likely to default on their loans, according to Affirm Chief Financial Officer Michael Linford. The fintech firm uses the hour a consumer attempts a transaction as a key data point to help determine whether to approve loans, Linford told CNBC in a recent interview. Other factors include a user's repayment history with Affirm and transaction data from credit bureau Experian. Shoppers could be inebriated or under financial or emotional duress and desperately seeking credit, Linford said. The buy now, pay later industry offers installment loans that typically range from no-interest short-term transactions to rates as high as 36% for longer-term credit.

Persons: Michael Linford, Linford, Max Levchin Organizations: CNBC, PayPal

☆ Fintech Lender Affirm Is Poised to Expand in a Higher Rate Environment, CFO Says
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-14 | by ( Kristin Broughton | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

‘Consumers who are employed are still going to consume, and they’re still going to need credit, and we’re there to meet them when they do,’ says Linford. Photo: Affirm HoldingsBuy-now-pay-later company Affirm Holdings expects demand for its short-term consumer loans to increase if interest rates stay high for an extended period, the company’s finance chief said. San Francisco-based Affirm is one of several buy-now-pay-later companies that expanded rapidly during the early days of the pandemic, fueled in part by a rise in e-commerce. But earlier this year, the company was one of many in the technology sector to slash costs, laying off 19% of its workforce, after higher interest rates pinched consumer spending. Affirm, which is hosting an investor forum Tuesday, makes loans to customers at the point of sale, with terms ranging from six weeks to five years.

Persons: they’re, ’, Linford Organizations: Consumers, Holdings Locations: San Francisco

☆ Affirm shares rocket 29% after better-than-expected results and strong guidance
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( Annie Palmer | In Annierpalmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Affirm Holdings Inc. website home screen on a laptop computer in an arranged photograph taken in Little Falls, New Jersey. Here's how the company did:Loss per share: 69 cents vs. 85 cents as expected by analysts, according to Refinitiv. 69 cents vs. 85 cents as expected by analysts, according to Refinitiv. Revenue: $446 million vs. $406 million as expected by analysts, according to Refinitiv. Affirm also gave strong guidance for the fiscal first quarter, projecting $430 million to $455 million in revenue, versus analyst expectations of $430 million.

Persons: Michael Linford, LendingTree's Matt Schulz Organizations: Deutsche Bank Locations: Little Falls , New Jersey, Refinitiv

☆ 'World's fastest accountant' Amo-Dadzie goes under 10 seconds in Graz 100m
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

June 20 (Reuters) - Eugene Amo-Dadzie calls himself the world's fastest accountant and the number-crunching British athlete put his money where his mouth is by scorching the track in Graz, Austria with a superb 9.93 seconds finish in the 100 metre run. The 30-year-old full-time accountant, who only started running seriously four years ago, improved on his personal best at the Horst Mandl Memorial last week to become the quickest 100m runner in Europe this year. "I got a really good reaction, a really good start and then it was like 'Do not let your foot off the gas'," Amo-Dadzie told the BBC. "I leaned towards the line, looked over, saw the time began with a nine and went crazy. "I still refer to myself as an accountant that happens to operate in the world of track and field."

Persons: Eugene Amo, Dadzie, Horst Mandl, Linford Christie, James Dasaolu, Zharnel Hughes, Reece Prescod, bloomer, Shrivathsa Sridhar Organizations: BBC, Woodford Green Athletics Club, European, Britain, Thomson Locations: British, Graz, Austria, Europe, Bengaluru

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