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☆ Venus the Influencer? An Italian Tourism Campaign Prompts Backlash.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Elisabetta Povoledo | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

“Venus is back as an allegory of rebirth and renewal,” read a blurb on the company’s website. But some critics complained that turning the Renaissance icon into a modern-day influencer played into old stereotypes about Italy. (The campaign featured Venus as a hip fashionista, snapping selfies in Venice’s St. Mark’s Square, munching on pizza on Lake Como and posing in front of the Colosseum with a bicycle.) Undaunted by the criticism, Daniela Santanchè, the tourism minister, said she stood by the campaign, which officially begins in May. The German version has been taken down.

☆ The Maestro Wore Blue: Bringing Pizazz to the Pit at the Met
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Javier C. Hernández | Landon Nordeman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Yannick Nézet-Séguin, the Metropolitan Opera’s music director, dressed in a blazing sapphire jacket and trim black pants, stood before a mirror backstage on a recent afternoon and smiled. “Oh my God, it’s so good,” he said, waving his baton. His outfit was modeled on one worn onstage by a band leader in Franco Zeffirelli’s classic production. Could the golden braid that dangled from his right shoulder be fastened, so it did not create a distraction in the pit? Was the jacket comfortable enough to accommodate the sweeping gestures that the music demanded?

☆ China Says It Is Investigating Taiwan-Based Publisher on Security Grounds
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Zhu Fenglian, spokeswoman for Beijing’s Taiwan Affairs Office, said Li Yanhe was being investigated by national-security authorities. Photo: Chen Yehua/Zuma PressChina said it is investigating a Taiwan-based publisher for suspected national-security violations. The publisher, Li Yanhe, disappeared from view after arriving in Shanghai to visit family in March. Mr. Li, editor in chief of Gusa Publishing, is “under investigation by national-security authorities on suspicion of engaging in activities endangering national security,” said Zhu Fenglian, spokeswoman for Beijing’s Taiwan Affairs Office, at a routine briefing Wednesday. Ms. Zhu said Mr. Li’s rights would be respected but didn’t offer more details.

CNN —A Taiwan-based book publisher has been placed under investigation in China on suspicion of “endangering state security,” Beijing said Tuesday amid mounting concern over his disappearance. Li’s detention comes at a tense moment in cross-strait relations, and several Taiwan citizens have been detained in China on state security grounds in recent years. CNN has reached out to Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Office to inquire about Li’s citizenship status. One of them, Lam Wing-kee, has said he was kidnapped by Chinese “special forces” after crossing the border into mainland China from Hong Kong. Hong Kong used to be a hub for publishing politically sensitive books that would be banned in mainland China.

☆ China Detains Taiwan-Based Publisher in National Security Investigation
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Amy Chang Chien | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

TAIPEI, Taiwan — A Taiwan-based publisher who disappeared while in China has been detained for suspected violations of security laws, Chinese authorities confirmed on Wednesday, fanning concerns in Taiwan that Beijing is sending a warning to the island’s vibrant publishing sector. The publisher, Li Yanhe, widely known by his pen name, Fu Cha, is a Chinese citizen who has been living in Taiwan since 2009. His company, Gusa Publishing, is well known in Taiwan for books that cast a critical eye on China’s ruling Communist Party. Mr. Li had returned to China early last month to visit relatives but fell out of contact shortly after, according to his colleagues and friends. Mr. Li’s detention is “a strong blow and will have a chilling effect,” Bei Ling, a writer from China living in Taiwan, said on Wednesday.

Hong Kong CNN —A Taiwan political activist has been formally arrested on suspicion of “secession” in China, more than eight months after he was detained amid heightened tensions across the Taiwan Strait. Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council said they had repeatedly reached out to mainland authorities about Yang’s detention but had not received a direct response. In 2019, he became the vice chairman of the Taiwan National Party, a fringe political party advocating Taiwan independence. Handcuffed and escortedCCTV said Yang had long advocated the idea of “Taiwan independence” and founded the Taiwan National Party to push for Taiwan to become an independent, sovereign country and a member state of the United Nations. However, Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council reminded Taiwan citizens to evaluate the risks before traveling to mainland China, citing the “repeated occurrence of similar cases recently,” without elaborating on the incidents.

☆ Face to Face With Culture’s ‘Monsters’
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-23 | by ( Alexandra Jacobs | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

The stoops of brownstone Brooklyn, on which residents routinely leave freebies for passers-by, are a reliable metric of current literary tastes — and distastes. Nearby, someone had huffily discarded a copy of Mario Batali’s “Molto Italiano.” My shelf of scandal was getting more stuffed than one of his delectable vongole origanate. And she nonetheless wants to find a way to reconcile her appreciation of great art with the real-life misdeeds of its creators. Expanding on a popular essay published in The Paris Review a month after the exposure of Harvey Weinstein’s sexual predation, “Monsters” sustains an essayistic, sometimes aphoristic tone throughout 250-odd pages. Dotted with details of her particular milieu — the ferryboat, the crepe shop, the rock show that leaves glitter in the eyelashes — “Monsters” is part memoir, part treatise and all treat.

☆ Italy’s new tourism ambassador is Botticelli’s Venus, brought to life by AI
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Barbie Latza Nadeau | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

But a new marketing campaign by Italy’s tourism ministry has turned the ancient deity into a “virtual influencer”—with the help of artificial intelligence technology. “A Venus in the role of a modern influencer will lead every international visitor by the hand to discover our country,” the announcement from the Ministry of Tourism promises. Some are computer-generated, while others feature a human model whose face is never seen but who has the same long, wavy hair. “I’m 30—ok, maybe just a little bit older,” Venus says. “I’m a virtual influencer.”

☆ US bank run victims were bailed out in 3 days. In China, many have been waiting a year
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Selina Wang | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

CNN is not revealing the identities of the bank victims in order to protect their safety. Bank victims protest in Henan in July 2022. Experts say small banks in other parts of China could face the same crisis, as the world’s second largest economy faces a longer term structural slowdown. Some Chinese bank victims even say they’re living in fear of violent reprisals. CNN interviews bank victims in China.

☆ Naples Starts to Believe
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Rory Smith | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Goals scored hundreds of miles away have a notable effect, too. “If tens of thousands of people jump up to celebrate at the same time, we see it,” Bianco said. Her colleagues know to disregard these bits of data, of course, and she has not noticed anything particularly unusual over the last few months. Napoli has scored more goals. It is emblazoned with the words “Napoli Campioni.” He barks out the price and stretches out his hand, impatiently, to take the bank note.

☆ ‘Other People’s Children’ Review: True Romance
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Manohla Dargis | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

When a woman falls in love in the sensitive French slice of life “Other People’s Children,” you may fall, too. She also has time for other pursuits, including guitar lessons, which is how she meets Ali (Roschdy Zem), a car designer. Things between Rachel and Ali progress rapidly in brief, viscerally lived-in scenes humming with cheerful energy. Just 4½, Leila is a charming pixie and, after some friction, she and Rachel take to each other. She gets stoned, goes to parties, works diligently; at school, she flirts with a colleague and supports a troubled student.

☆ Chelsea: How American billionaire owner blew over $600 million but ended up with nothing this season
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Thomas Schlachter | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —“We’re all in – 100%,” US billionaire businessman Todd Boehly told Chelsea fans upon his arrival at the club in May 2022. Chelsea crashed out of the Champions League after losing to Real Madrid 4-0 on aggregate. Following the loss against Real Madrid, Chelsea captain Thiago Silva spoke candidly to reporters on the issues that come with this kind of spending. Besides Kai Havertz and Marc Cucurella, no Chelsea outfield player has started more than 20 games in the Premier League this season. The Blues are on course to have their lowest scoring season in Premier League history with their current total of 30 goals.

☆ More women describe having forced abortions in Nigerian Army programme
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +20 min

And both lost their pregnancies after they were taken into custody by Nigerian soldiers and given unidentified pills and injections. Nigerian military leaders previously have adamantly denied the existence of the abortion programme and the deliberate killing of unarmed children. We respect every living soul.”Asked about the military’s comments on the programme, Yau replied: “This happened to me, and they are denying it. After she was put into a room with three other pregnant women, Yau said, army personnel gave her pills and more injections. Reuters was unable to determine if this tally overlapped with others cited in its December story about the abortion programme.

☆ Premarket stocks: The FDIC could ask big banks to clean up $23 billion mess
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

While regional and mid-sized banks are behind the recent turmoil, it appears that large banks may be footing the bill. Ultimately, that means higher fees for bank customers and lower rates on their savings accounts. The law also gives the FDIC the authority to decide which banks shoulder the brunt of that assessment fee. Passing it on: Regardless of who’s charged, the fees will eventually get passed on to bank customers in the end, said Isaac. In 2021, Wall Street was estimated to be responsible for 16% of all economic activity in the city.

☆ Boao Forum: Li Qiang says China 'confident and capable' of hitting 2023 growth targets
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

The forum often promotes itself as “Asian Davos” and Li is tasked with reviving the world’s second largest economy at a time of sluggish growth. China, he said, will roll out new measures to boost domestic consumption and increase market access for foreign business while ensuring the stability of the financial sector. (Photo by AFP) / China OUT (Photo by STR/AFP via Getty Images) Stringer/AFP/Getty ImagesThe Boao Forum for Asia has been held annually since 2001, but was suspended in 2020 because of the pandemic. But the problems have been exacerbated by the Communist Party’s erratic and draconian zero-Covid policy, which ended late last year, and a sweeping crackdown on private business. To boost business confidence, China’s new economic leadership is trying to reassure both foreign business and the domestic private sector.

☆ The average Wall Street bonus fell by 26% last year
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Jeanne Sahadi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN —The average annual Wall Street bonus fell to $176,700 last year, a 26% drop from the previous year’s average of $240,400, according to estimates released Thursday by New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli. Rising interest rates, recession fears and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine hurt Wall Street firms’ bottom line. “A 26% decline brings the average bonus closer to what financial employees received prior to the pandemic,” DiNapoli said in a statement. In 2021, Wall Street was estimated to be responsible for 16% of all economic activity in the city. “While lower bonuses affect income tax revenues for the state and city, our economic recovery does not depend solely on Wall Street.

HONG KONG, March 28 (Reuters Breakingviews) - In the biblical parable of the prodigal son, a repentant wastrel returns home to a forgiving and beneficent father. In China, Alibaba (9988.HK) founder Jack Ma's homecoming and rehabilitation appears to be part of an official campaign to revive flagging private sector investment. However, if officials believe the mere sight of Ma in public will revive business confidence, that hope has a whiff of desperation. Ma the prodigal entrepreneur has returned, but perhaps not for long. Shares of Alibaba rallied as much as 4% in Hong Kong following the SCMP report before closing flat at HK$85.25 on March 27.

HONG KONG, March 22 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Time may be on Richard Li’s side. By cobbling together acquisitions, Li has built a brand to sell life insurance across Hong Kong, Japan and Southeast Asia. The value of new business – a measure of the present value of future earnings from policies signed - rose around 30%. Follow @KatrinaHamlin on TwitterCONTEXT NEWSAsian insurer FWD has made a fresh application for a Hong Kong listing, according to stock exchange filings published on March 13. A first attempt to go public in Hong Kong in 2021 was refused owing to concern over its dual-class shares.

☆ ‘Absolutely idiotic’. SVB insider says employees are angry with CEO
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Matt Egan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

“That was absolutely idiotic,” the employee, who works on the asset management side of Silicon Valley Bank, told CNN in an interview. By the close of business that day, Silicon Valley Bank had a negative cash balance of about $958 million. “People are just shocked at how stupid the CEO is,” the Silicon Valley Bank insider said. “There should be no mistaking that Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse was a direct result of the Fed’s persistent and excessive interest rate hikes,” they wrote. Of course, Silicon Valley Bank had more than a year to prepare for both of those issues.

☆ As African kids died, doctors fought for ban on toxic Indian syrup
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Maiden Managing Director Naresh Kumar Goyal told Reuters he had "not done anything wrong" and did not respond to further questions. In December, India’s health regulator said it did its own tests and found no toxins in the syrups. Yet even as the doctors’ evidence of toxins mounted, Gambian government officials told Reuters they wanted more proof. “We took their histories and asked them if they took the drugs, and we just knew” that the syrup was the culprit. If tests for toxins had been done in late July or early August, a sales ban could have saved dozens of children, she said.

☆ L&G looks overseas to fight Brexit discount
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

That’s partly due to its concentration in the life sector – Wilson sold out of general insurance in 2020. L&G’s investment management unit has benefited from an international drive, with non-UK assets accounting for 43% of new money last year. On the life insurance side, some 39% of L&G’s gross premiums were booked overseas in 2022, with the U.S. a particular focus for Brexit-backing Wilson. The less L&G looks like a British company, the more attractive it will be to shareholders. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

☆ She was weeks away from maternity leave at Twitter. Then Elon Musk took over
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +14 min

Twitter now reportedly has fewer than 2,000 employees following more cuts late last month, down from around 7,500 before Musk took over. CNN“We were on the Twitter-coaster, the Elon Musk chapter, for seven months,” Ali said. De Caires is one of the former Twitter employees taking legal action against the company following mass layoffs after Musk took over. Jeff Chiu/APInstead, Twitter employees say they heard very little from their new leader in the days immediately after his takeover. Attorney Shannon Liss-Riordan is representing around 1,500 former Twitter employees taking legal action against the company following Musk's takeover.

☆ China's Li Keqiang announces lowest GDP target in decades amid major economic leadership overhaul
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Hong Kong CNN —China’s outgoing Premier Li Keqiang has announced the country’s lowest GDP growth target in decades, highlighting the domestic and global challenges the world’s second largest economy still faces despite its decision late last year to ditch draconian anti-Covid measures. It fell well short of the official growth target of “around 5.5%.”“Having declared the end of pandemic, the leaders are sticking to the slowing GDP growth path in the long term by lowering annual GDP target gradually,” said Ken Cheung, chief Asian foreign exchange strategist at Mizuho Bank. “Moreover, China has been downplaying the numeric GDP target and shifted to balance the quality since President Xi’s era,” he said. Premier Li also said the government would only raise fiscal spending by 5.6% this year, which is lower than the growth of 6.1% in fiscal spending in 2022. “After three years of pandemic [measures], it could be more than desirable for governments, especially the local governments, to restore fiscal resilience,” said Citi analysts.

☆ How Chili’s Is Prepping for Tough Times, Starting With the Fries
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( Heather Haddon | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

When Kevin Hochman became CEO last June of the company that owns Chili’s Bar & Grill, amid a labor shortage and escalating costs, he started looking for bottlenecks in the kitchen. There, he learned about Chili’s french-fry problem. Fries were delivered in their own metal baskets, driving cooks and dishwashers crazy. They had to be lined with paper before each serving and cleaned afterward, some 40 million times a year. In short order, Mr. Hochman scrapped the baskets for fries, advancing his grand ambitions for the Southwest-style restaurant chain: improve service and boost profits.

Hong Kong CNN —China has set an official economic growth target of “around 5%” for 2023, as it seeks to revive the world’s second largest economy after a year of tepid growth because of pandemic measures. The new figure was released Sunday alongside the opening of the annual gathering of the National People’s Congress (NPC), the country’s rubber-stamp legislature, in a government work report. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang speaks during the opening session of China's National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Sunday, March 5. Ng Han Guan/APMoody’s Investors Service has since raised its China growth forecast to 5% for both 2023 and 2024, up from 4% previously, citing a stronger than expected rebound in the short term. Global growth will likely slow from 3.4% in 2022 to 2.9% in 2023.

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