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☆ Cost-of-living hit compounds UK gambling problems, charity warns
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, March 29 (Reuters) - Some Britons with gambling problems have used betting shops as a way to keep warm and have wagered their state benefits in an attempt to cover their bills as the cost-of-living crisis escalates, a charity warned on Wednesday. A new report from GamCare, which provides support to people with gambling problems, showed this group was far more likely than the general population to struggle paying for groceries or stay warm at home. The YouGov poll showed 20% of people experiencing gambling harms had struggled to pay for groceries, compared with 11% of the wider population. At the William Hill companies, multiple failures were found by the Gambling Commission, it said on Monday. GamCare said it had launched a new Money Guidance Service to help people with gambling problems to put their finances back on track.

☆ Republicans are more likely to go on a cruise right now than Democrats
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Hannah Towey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A recent survey suggests Republicans are more likely to take a cruise right now than Democrats. In a December 2022 survey of 1000 US adults, 35% of Republican respondents said they were "very comfortable" going on a cruise today, a level of enthusiasm shared by only 12% of Democrats. On the flip side, 40% of Democrat respondents said they were "very uncomfortable" going on a cruise ship, nearly double that of Republican respondents. Taking a cruise vacation wasn't always politically polarized — 16% of Democrat respondents said they had gone on a cruise prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, just a few percentage points less than Republican respondents. With this month marking three years since the onset of the pandemic, industry executives claim cruise demand has officially returned to 2019 levels.

☆ DeSantis' policies are controversial even among his supporters. They might come back to bite him, even in a primary
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Madison Hall | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

DeSantis supporters revealed they were less inclined to vote for him after learning about his policies. Diving into the poll's results, 40% of all respondents — over 620 respondents — said they "definitely" or "might" vote for DeSantis. The pollster then asked respondents about eight of the policies that DeSantis has championed as governor, but didn't note the relation to DeSantis. Looking at the poll's crosstabs, however, and it appears that DeSantis supporters were less likely to vote for him after learning about his policies. DeSantis' signature achievements are unpopular amongst the massesDeSantis, along with the Florida legislature, hasn't shied away from unpopular policies in the past.

☆ More millennials are turning 40 — and they're changing travel as we know it
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Monica Pitrelli | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

And they're bringing their tech-savviness, social consciousness and spending habits in tow, which is transforming a travel industry intent on staying ahead of the times. "When it comes to nearly all travel behaviors, millennials are the generation most likely to engage — and they do so often," said Lindsey Roeschke, travel and hospitality analyst at Morning Consult. Where millennials stayFrederic Lalonde, CEO of the travel app Hopper, said its customers are twice as likely to stay in a home than a hotel. "It's all driven by our primary users, who are millennials and Gen Z," he said at the Skift Global Forum 2022. Since 2019, Airbnb home rentals increased the most among travelers with children aged six and younger, according to the company.

☆ TikTok users are making fun of Congress members for their questions to app CEO Shou Chew
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-25 | by ( Ramishah Maruf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Meanwhile, TikTok creators are leading the way ridiculing members of Congress. “There needs to be an age limit in Congress,” one caption by user @rachelhannahh said about a clip of US Rep. Many of the TikTok video clips suggested Congress members don’t know how modern technology works. They believe members of Congress are detached from technology and unaware of how tech companies within their own country operate, resulting in easily mockable questions. “What color is the algorithm?” said user Christian Divyne in a video mocking some of the questions Congress members asked Chew.

The vernal or spring equinox of 2023 happens Monday, March 20. Technically, two things: Earth's tilted axis and the planet's orbit around the sun. How the spring equinox worksThe Earth orbits the sun once every 365 days and six hours. The spring equinox occurs when the sun's warming rays line up perpendicular to Earth's axial tilt:An illustration of the spring equinox. About 92 days and 19 hours after the spring equinox, the Earth will reach its summer solstice.

The immediate outlook is less sombre: The economy is due to shrink by 0.2% in 2023, not 1.4% as previously thought. It also said Hunt's three-year business investment incentives would bring investment forward at a cost to later years. "We're on track to meet the - relatively loose, poorly designed - fiscal rule on paper only," he said. "It's even more important that the government builds on the measures presented today and produces a more comprehensive plan for boosting growth." ($1 = 0.8282 pounds)($1 = 0.8283 pounds)Writing by William Schomberg, Editing by Angus MacSwanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Americans broadly support Biden bailing out Silicon Valley Bank even if Washington can't agree if it was a bailout: poll
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Brent D. Griffiths | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Americans broadly support bailing out Silicon Valley Bank, according to early polling. Respondents were specifically asked if they supported or opposed the decision "to bail out customers who had deposited money with Silicon Valley Bank after the bank collapsed last week." Fifty-four percent said Silicon Valley Bank's collapse makes it at least somewhat likely that a broader financial crisis is afoot. Silicon Valley Bank collapsed late last week, becoming the second-largest bank failure in US history. Administration officials have stressed that the way Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank were rescued should not be considered bailouts by the 2008 standard.

☆ Some Republicans want Gen Z to retire later to avoid outright cuts to Social Security: 'Does it really make sense to allow someone who's in their 20s today to retire at 62?'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Jason Lalljee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Several Republicans have said recently that they want to raise the retirement age for younger generations. Social Security is rapidly approaching insolvency, with the Congressional Budget Office estimating that the fund will become unable to make all of its payments starting in 2033. Social safety net programs like Medicare and Social Security have been a partisan battleground for Democrats and Republicans for decades now, with Republicans eyeing big cuts for both programs. There are going to be no cuts in Medicare, Social Security." The White House has continued to criticize Republicans for not being publicly consistent about their goals for Social Security and Medicare.

☆ Daylight-saving time is one of the most controversial and impossible issues of our age
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Shayanne Gal | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

No policy — permanent daylight-saving time, permanent standard time, keep switching back and forth — is near a majority. Interestingly, respondents in the West are 14 percentage points more likely to prefer permanent standard time compared to respondents from the Northeast. When asked by the poll to rank those benefits, the ones favoring permanent standard time won out, big. The three most important values for respondents – keeping the time in line with circadian rhythms, promoting morning safety, and better sleep – are all specifically benefits of permanent Standard Time over permanent daylight-saving time. On a federal level, there have been political moves towards ending the status quo and pushing for permanent daylight-saving time.

☆ Britain to publish plan for asylum ban on Channel migrants
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Andrew Macaskill | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/2] Migrants leave a French maritime protection vessel, as the boat they were travelling in with 60 other migrants began to take water in the English Channel, in an attempt to reach Britain, in Boulogne-sur-Mer, France, November 29, 2022. The new legislation will mean that anyone who arrives on small boats will be prevented from claiming asylum and deported to so-called safe third countries, according to government officials, who asked not to be named. The court subsequently ruled it lawful in December, but opponents are seeking to appeal that verdict. It is expected the legal battle will end up in the UK Supreme Court and may not be resolved for months. Once the small-boat crossings have ended, Britain would be prepared to create more legal routes for asylum seekers, Sunak said last year.

☆ UK's FTSE 100 kicks off week on grim note; miners fall
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Johann M Cherian | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The export-oriented FTSE 100 (.FTSE) fell 0.2% and the more domestically-focussed FTSE 250 (.FTSE) was flat by 9:25 GMT. Copper prices were in the red as top consumer China set a lower-than-expected gross domestic product target of 5%. Flutter Entertainment Plc (FLTRF.L) rose 2.4% and Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings Plc surged 17.8% on price target raises by brokerages. Clarkson Plc (CKN.L) added 5.1% after the shipping services provider reported a strong annual profit. Reporting by Johann M Cherian in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Shailesh KuberOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ UK public inflation expectations rise unexpectedly -Citi/YouGov
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, March 3 (Reuters) - The British public's expectations for inflation over the coming year and five to 10 years ahead rose unexpectedly in February, U.S. bank Citi said after publishing a monthly survey conducted by market research company YouGov. The Bank of England closely watches surveys of inflation expectations as it believes they influence businesses' pricing decisions and the extent to which workers push for higher pay. However, Citi said public expectations for inflation in 12 months time rose to 5.6% in February from 5.4% in January, while expectations for the long term rose to 3.8% from 3.5%. Long term expectations had fallen during the previous five months. "Today's unexpected increase re-affirms continued upside risks that have stalked UK inflation expectations in recent months," Citi economist Ben Nabarro said, adding that food shortages had probably boosted perceptions of inflation.

☆ 'Bregret'? Many Brits are suffering from Brexit regret
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Polling suggests that a majority of Brits now think that the U.K. was wrong to leave the European Union. NurPhoto / Contributor / Getty ImagesLONDON — Almost seven years and four prime ministers since the U.K. voted to leave the European Union, polling suggests public sentiment has turned against Brexit. "The second thing is the increasing number of leave and other voters who are coming to see Brexit as having had negative economic impacts." But longer-term factors played a role, and he suggested that a lengthy stagnation in living standards, partly caused by the austerity policies introduced by David Cameron's government, contributed to the anger unleashed across working-class communities in the Brexit vote. Brexit being 'redefined' Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson won a landslide election victory in 2019 with a promise to "get Brexit done," touting an "oven-ready" withdrawal agreement he had negotiated with the European Union.

☆ Tesla's investor day featured 17 execs, taking Elon Musk out of the limelight
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Lora Kolodny | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

In this article TSLA Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNTElon Musk speaking at Tesla Investor Day. The hours-long Tesla Investor Day on Wednesday evening left many shareholders and fans wanting more, however, and sent Tesla's stock price lower on Thursday, though analysts were positive on balance. Deutsche Bank analysts wrote in a Friday morning autos update, "Walking away from Tesla's investor day, we were admittedly disappointed with the overall lack of details on its next-gen platform, including launch timing, vehicle segments and price points, and financial implications. Team showingOne thing the Investor Day accomplished well was to turn shareholders' attention to the broader organization under Tesla's celebrity CEO. While the investor day highlighted Tesla's bench, diversity was not a strong point: Only two of the leaders who presented were women.

☆ Book bans and restrictions are a losing issue for Republicans
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Madison Hall | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Polling says books bans are popular with most GOP respondents, but it could backfire in 2024. But the issue could come back to haunt the GOP in the 2024 general election, with book bans remain unpopular with the general electorate. Independents don't like book bans. According to YouGov polling, 67% of respondents who voted for President Donald Trump in 2020 said they approved of banning books. "Did you ever think when you were teaching, you'd be worrying about book burning and banning books all because it doesn't fit someone's political agenda?"

☆ Britain's taxes will be cut 'as soon as we can afford to,' finance minister says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

U.K. Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt on Friday said that the government will look to cut taxes "as soon as we can afford to," amid pressure from some lawmakers in his own party to reduce the country's levies. The ruling U.K. Conservative Party has an electoral mountain to climb ahead of next year's general election, with polls consistently indicating a landslide for the main opposition Labour Party. Asked if taxes will be lower by the time the election rolls around, Hunt said "as soon as we can afford to, yes." In his Autumn Statement in November, Hunt delivered a slew of tax rises and spending cuts as he set out to plug a substantial hole in the country's public finances. The U.K. tax burden currently hits at a 70-year high.

☆ These savings accounts earn a 1,600% higher interest rate than traditional ones, but most Americans don't use them
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Mike Winters | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

High-yield savings accounts have become an even better place to park cash you might need in the near future, while still growing your money. For a $10,000 investment, that works out to about $400 in annual interest, compared with just $55 a year ago. Traditional savings accounts currently have an average APY of 0.23% — about 1,600% less than the rates offered by high-yield accounts. Despite the higher interest rates, only about 20% of Americans have a high-yield savings account, according to a 2020 YouGov survey commissioned by Red Ventures. For more on how to sign up for a high-yield savings account, CNBC Select has you covered.

☆ Analysis: Scotland's Sturgeon bows out at 'critical moment' for independence fight
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Alistair Smout | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

While Sturgeon said she was "firmly of the view that there is now majority support for independence in Scotland", the polls suggest there is more work to do. In the aftermath of the court ruling, some polls showed a majority support for independence, but that has recently come down back towards 2014 levels. "If that stops being the case, then that really could knock them back, and really could damage the cause of Scottish independence." "The movement has been left with no clear strategy for independence," Salmond, who now leads the Alba party, said. "Voters see no clear successor to (Sturgeon) - it illustrates how dominant a figure she has been for so long," pollster Mark Diffley said.

☆ The Democrats' latest strategy is making Marjorie Taylor Greene the face of the GOP
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Madison Hall | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

But that could come back to haunt Republicans as Democrats increasingly try to paint her as one of the faces of the party. And while many Republicans came out against the plan, Democrats — especially President Joe Biden — have used it as a cudgel against the GOP. And while Democrats lost control of the House, they lost far fewer seats than expected, partly due to utilizing Scott's messaging against the GOP. Democrats can use Greene to their advantageNow as Greene continues to gain power and authority in the GOP and Congress, Democrats have the opportunity to use her own actions and words against the GOP as a whole. There's the possibility that giving Greene larger platform could backfire on Democrats.

☆ Americans are pessimistic. With 2024 looming, Biden can't afford to squander the State of the Union.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Brent D. Griffiths | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

His State of the Union address will likely highlight his administration's wins thus far. Biden has some real wins to tout — but he's running out of timeTonight, Biden will have the best opportunity of the year to bridge this divide. True, fewer Americans are watching State of the Union addresses than in the past. Presidents are supposed to say the state of the union is strong, while the opposition party casts a more dour outlook. Even as Americans are largely satisfied with their quality of life, they're still pessimistic about the general direction of the country.

☆ What is Bank of England watching as it considers peak in rates?
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Andy Bruce | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

At a news conference on Thursday, BoE officials outlined the economic indicators they will be watching most closely as they weigh up whether to raise rates again, or leave them at 4%. Official wage growth data also shows record growth in private sector earnings, excluding the coronavirus pandemic period when pay was distorted by government support. Long-run inflation expectations, as measured by the Citi/YouGov survey, have returned within touching distance of their pre-pandemic norm of just above 3%. The strength of inflation in services - which largely reflects domestic price pressures, unlike goods which are typically imported - is one source of unease. Members of the Monetary Policy Committee see that data as a gauge of underlying inflation in the economy.

☆ Fact Check-Screenshot of Fox News broadcast claiming white women are the greatest threat to world peace is altered
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A Fox News graphic presenting results of a survey on the greatest threats to world peace has been digitally altered and shared on social media. In the edited version, the graphic lists “white women” as the biggest threat. Examples of the doctored graphic can be seen here: (here), (bit.ly/3WSkOdl), (bit.ly/3XS9ChZ), (bit.ly/3RjiP0h), (bit.ly/3HM67nT). Donald Trump, who was president of the United States at the time of the broadcast, was voted the biggest threat, and his headshot featured on the left side of the Fox News graphic. The unedited graphic shows Donald Trump was voted the biggest threat.

☆ Elon Musk is the 'enemy' inside Tesla, a top Wall Street analyst warns
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-28 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Houchois called Musk "the enemy" inside of Tesla, in an interview with Yahoo Finance. "We've published research many times in the past where we say the enemy is inside of Tesla," Houchois said in an interview with Yahoo Finance after the carmaker's earnings call. So he is the person who is going to decide, can I do SpaceX, Tesla, Twitter?" Some Tesla investors have also been critical of Musk as Tesla's stock has plunged over 20% since the Tesla CEO took Twitter private in late October. Last month, Tesla investor and former self-proclaimed "Elon fanboy" Leo Koguan said on Twitter that Musk has "abandoned" the company and Tesla needs a new CEO.

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