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☆ ‘Expect Big Changes Ahead’: The Fortune Cookie Industry Is In Upheaval
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( Angus Loten | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Over the past two decades, Charles Li, the owner and chief executive of Chicago-based fortune-cookie factory Winfar Foods Inc., has drawn on Chinese proverbs and popular sayings to write thousands of messages that go into the wafers. Mr. Li says he and his 80-year-old father-in-law spend long hours coming up with lines that are clever but still brief enough to fit on a ribbon of paper. Winfar now supplies fortune cookies to more than 11,000 restaurants nationwide, and Mr. Li says he has had to bring in outside copywriters. “Writing fortunes is both fun and hard work,” he says, which itself sounds like something out of a fortune cookie.

☆ ‘Expect Big Changes Ahead.’ AI Is Coming for Fortune Cookies.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( Angus Loten | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

☆ WWE apologizes for using Auschwitz footage in pro WrestleMania promo
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( David K. Li | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

A view of the former Nazi concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz in Oswiecim, Poland, January 19, 2015. World Wrestling Entertainment inexplicably used footage of infamous Nazi death camp Auschwitz in a recent promotion, prompting the grappling giant to apologize Friday for the offensive gaffe. "We had no knowledge of what was depicted," the WWE said in statement to NBC News on Friday. The Auschwitz footage is now absent from tape of WrestleMania Night 1 and has been replaced with generic images of a jail with barbed wire. The son fought his father in this past weekend's WrestleMania and was beaten soundly by the old man.

☆ China is waging a war on its financial industry. Some high-profile bankers are ensnared
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Last Friday, authorities opened a similar probe into Liu Liange, former chairman of state-owned Bank of China, the country’s fourth largest lender. And in January, Wang Bin, who headed state-owned China Life Insurance from 2018 to early 2022, was charged by national prosecutors with taking bribes and hiding overseas savings. They include financial giants such as China Investment Corp, the nation’s sovereign wealth fund, China Development Bank, which provides financing for key government projects, and Agricultural Bank of China, another large state-controlled lender. “The current financial crackdown is a new wave of Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption campaign against the financial sector for consolidation of his power,” said Chongyi Feng, an associate professor in China Studies at the University of Technology Sydney. But the deepening crackdown on the vast financial sector could rattle investors.

☆ Multiple killed and injured after tornado slices through southeastern Missouri
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( David K. Li | Kathryn Prociv | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The tornado caused widespread destruction and killed and injured multiple people. A "significant" tornado tore through southeastern Missouri on Wednesday morning, leaving multiple people dead and widespread destruction as authorities warned of more twisters. Mike Parson posted an aerial picture of the devastation in Bollinger County, saying that "fatalities have been confirmed and others have been injured." There are at least "four weather-related deaths" in or around Bollinger County, Highway Patrol Sgt. The highway patrol has urged people to avoid the area as first responders work to find injured.

Seven Chinese firms including Chanson International (CHSN.O) and Hongli Group (HLP.O) have launched public offerings in March to raise a combined $82.3 million, compared with just four in the preceding two months. That will "reduce regulatory uncertainty" said Mandy Zhu, head of China Global Banking at UBS, and standardise domestic firms' international listings. "But we will abide by Chinese rules and carry out all follow-up work cooperation if necessary." Earlier in the week, steelmaker Hongli Group, food grain manufacturer YanGuFang International Group (YGF.O) and wheelchair-maker Jin Medical International listed in the U.S, also receiving tepid responses from investors. Reuters reported on Thursday that London is also courting new Chinese listings.

☆ Stocks making the biggest moves midday: Bed Bath & Beyond, EVgo, UBS and more
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Alex Harring | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

A Bed Bath & Beyond store in the Brooklyn borough of New York, US, on Monday, Feb. 6, 2023. Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. said it would shutter another 87 stores in addition to the 150 closures it announced in August. Juniper Networks — The cloud computing network provider added 1.3% on the back of an upgrade to outperform from in line by Evercore ISI. Crocs — Shares rose 3% after B. Riley initiated coverage of the stock as a buy, saying the shoe company is underappreciated. Interpublic Group of Companies — The advertising agency gained 3% following an upgrade to buy from neutral by Bank of America.

WASHINGTON, March 24 (Reuters) - Chinese-American citizen Kai Li, jailed in China on spying charges he denies, received a rare in-person visit last week from the U.S. Burns met Li on March 16 in a Shanghai prison, Li's son Harrison said. Li, a businessman, has been held in China since 2016 and was handed a 10-year jail sentence in 2018 for espionage. Burns wanted to shake Li's hand but Chinese authorities did not allow that, Harrison Li said. Burns has accompanied consular officers on prison visits to U.S. citizens held in China, a State Department spokesperson said.

☆ Geely shares jump after automaker beats revenue expectations for 2022
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Lim Hui Jie | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

In this article 175-HK Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNTwatch nowChinese automaker Geely beat revenue expectations for 2022, sending shares surging Wednesday. Geely reported its 2022 revenue surged 45.6% from a year ago to 148 billion yuan ($21.49 billion), while profit jumped 8.5% to reach 5.26 billion yuan. Analysts had expected Geely to report 135.4 billion yuan in revenue, according to a Refinitiv consensus estimate. Geely said total sales climbed 8% last year to over 1.4 million units. The company said its high-end models accounted for 23% of total sales in 2022, or 252,787 units.

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.

☆ Mistakes by the US's top spies allowed China to turn a deadly mid-air collision into an intelligence coup
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( James Bamford | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +36 min

On April 1, 2001, a US EP-3 spy plane collided with a Chinese fighter jet over the South China Sea. One of eleven left in the fleet, the tired 1960s-era spy plane bristled with porcupine-like antennas. Within minutes, however, the fighters had reached the lumbering spy plane, and while Zhao Yu hung back about a half-mile, Wang Wei rapidly closed in. In severe trouble, he immediately radioed the base, telling them he was unable to maneuver and being sucked in by the spy plane. "You are not allowed aboard the aircraft," Osborn said.

☆ From Tesla to under-the-radar battery stocks: Wall Street has a playbook for the EV boom
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Zavier Ong | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The bank's "Battery Electric Vehicles Basket" comprises several stocks across the EV supply chain, including automakers Rivian , Lucid and Li Auto . This may be the opportune moment for Chinese EV brands to knock on the doors of Europe." Among the Chinese EV makers, BYD, Nio and Xpeng are "the ones to watch," according to Bernstein. "We expect Chinese EV players to find better success targeting the compact, mass market EV segment that has so far been under-penetrated in Europe," the bank said. Tesla and under-the-radar plays Tesla is one of Deutsche Bank 's top picks in the EV space.

☆ Warren Buffett, BlackRock and Goldman Sachs find energy stocks irresistible even as 2023 proves another turbulent year for markets
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-18 | by ( Zinya Salfiti | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Energy stocks are emerging as a top favorite with Wall Street elites even as the recent string of bank failures spook markets. BlackRock and Goldman Sachs have also touted their preference for energy stocks. And one sector is emerging as quite the favorite with the likes of Berkshire Hathaway, BlackRock and Goldman Sachs - energy stocks. Goldman Sachs' chief US equity strategist David Kostin said last month it was time to turn to value stocks from sectors such as energy and healthcare. Economic uncertainty fueled by the banking turmoil has led to a jump in oil market volatility.

Baidu CEO Robin Li speaks at the company’s Ernie Bot launch in Beijing on Thursday. BEIJING—At an intimate event space in Baidu Inc.’s Beijing headquarters on Thursday, the Chinese search giant’s Chief Executive Robin Li sought to wow an in-person and online audience by introducing its AI-powered chatbot, Ernie Bot. Over half an hour, Mr. Li showed a series of prerecorded videos of the chatbot—the first real Chinese contender to ChatGPT, developed by San Francisco-based firm OpenAI—answering questions about Chinese literature, solving math problems and generating images and videos.

According to CNBC analysis of state media reports, 7.7 million people took the civil service exam in the 2023 application round, vying for more than 200,000 government jobs at the national and provincial level. Qilai Shen | Corbis Historical | Getty ImagesA record number of people in China took the civil service exam this year, as unemployment among young people soared. According to CNBC analysis of state media reports, 7.7 million people took the civil service exam in the 2023 application round, vying for more than 200,000 government jobs at the national and provincial level. China's National Civil Service Administration could not be reached for comment despite multiple attempts by CNBC. However, Xi and other senior leaders did not need to take the civil service exam to gain their current roles.

☆ Baidu shares drop to 8-week lows after company reveals ChatGPT rival
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Men interact with a Baidu AI robot near the company logo at its headquarters in Beijing, China April 23, 2021. During a livestreamed release event, Baidu CEO Robin Li emphasized the company's product — called Ernie bot — is not perfect. Baidu is prioritizing initial Ernie bot access for what it calls 650 ecosystem business partners, which include some media companies, banks and car firms. Within an hour of the Ernie bot announcement, Baidu said 30,000 corporate clients had joined the waitlist for access to the chatbot. Baidu's Li said Ernie bot had similar issues if used enough, and that it wasn't perfect.

☆ How Can We Measure Droughts and Deluges? Weigh the Planet.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Mira Rojanasakul | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +15 min

Scientists have long cautioned that warming temperatures would lead to wetter and drier global extremes — increasingly severe rainfall, more intense droughts. km3/month Global intensity of wet and dry extremes 30,000 20,000 Wet extremes 10,000 -10,000 Dry extremes -20,000 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 km3/month 30,000 Global intensity of wet and dry extremes 20,000 Wet extremes 10,000 -10,000 Dry extremes -20,000 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 km3/month Global intensity of wet and dry extremes 30,000 20,000 Wet extremes 10,000 -10,000 Dry extremes -20,000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 km3/ month Global intensity of wet and dry extremes 30,000 20,000 Wet extremes 10,000 -10,000 Dry extremes -20,000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 km3/ month Global intensity of wet and dry extremes 30,000 20,000 Wet extremes 10,000 -10,000 Dry extremes -20,000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 Source: Rodell and Li, Nature Water (2023), based on analysis of NASA Grace and Grace-FO data. Europe July 2018–April 2021 Drought across Europe returned with the La Niña that lasted through 2022. Central Africa 2. Central Africa 2.

☆ SVB collapse could add to China stock investors' anxiety
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-12 | by ( Summer Zhen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

SHANGHAI, March 12 (Reuters) - China stock investors, already disillusioned by Beijing's lower-than-expected economic growth target for the year, will be further disheartened by the shock collapse of U.S. lender SVB Financial Group, market participants said. The market mood could be damped further following Friday's sudden collapse of start-up focused lender SVB (SIVB.O), which stirred heated discussion over the weekend in China about its fallout. But many Chinese tech start-ups, especially those with dollar funding, have opened U.S. accounts at SVB. He is cautious about tech stocks that could be impacted by US-China frictions. Still, domestic A-shares will likely outperform offshore China stocks, which are more vulnerable to potential spillover from the SVB collapse, analysts say.

At some Silicon Valley Bank branch locations in California, depositors gathered early Friday to attempt to get their cash out, fearing it could be inaccessible in the coming days. It has had financial relationships with a who’s who of Silicon Valley firms over the years, including Snapchat's parent Snap Inc (SNAP.N). A locked door to a Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) location on Sand Hill Road is seen in Menlo Park, California, U.S. March 10, 2023. A Silicon Valley Bank spokeswoman didn't immediately respond to a request for comment sent Friday. As of Friday, FarmboxRx’s funds were still tied up with Silicon Valley Bank.

Li Qiang is set to be confirmed as premier by China’s legislature on Saturday. China’s incoming premier, Li Qiang, is showing he is more than the mere loyalist to Chinese leader Xi Jinping that many expected him to be. Since rising to No. 2 in the Communist Party hierarchy last fall, Mr. Li has played leading roles in freeing China from zero-Covid and refocusing the government on economic growth, according to people familiar with the matter. Those moves have kindled cautious optimism among entrepreneurs, investors and political analysts that he may be able to exert a moderating influence on his boss, Mr. Xi.

March 10 (Reuters) - The sudden collapse of Silicon Valley Bank on Friday sent shockwaves through the startup community, which has come to view the lender as a source of reliable capital, particularly for some of tech’s biggest moonshots. It has had financial relationships with a who’s who of Silicon Valley firms over the years, including Snapchat's parent Snap Inc (SNAP.N)Snap declined to comment. A Silicon Valley Bank spokeswoman didn't immediately respond to a request for comment sent Friday. Uncertainty swept through Silicon Valley as startup founders and venture capital firms worried they could, among other things, fail to make payroll. As of Friday, FarmboxRx’s funds were still tied up with Silicon Valley Bank.

☆ Sea sails past growth vs. profitability debate
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BENGALURU, March 8 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Singapore technology giant Sea (SE.N) on Tuesday reported its first ever quarterly profit, beating regional tech firms like GoTo (GOTO.JK) and Grab (GRAB.O) to the punch. The almost $1 billion swing from a fourth-quarter loss in 2021 to a $423 million profit in the final three months of last year is largely down to cost cuts. The company run by Forrest Li slashed sales and marketing expenses alone by $745 million, a whopping 62% drop. Whether that’s sustainable is unclear, though Li pointed out that the company had sold, closed or downsized a number of non-core operations and investments. It’s a welcome sign that upstart tech companies don’t always have to sacrifice profitability for growth.

☆ What to expect from China's 'Two Sessions' meeting kicking off this weekend
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

BEIJING — The Chinese government is set to announce its GDP target and new premier in coming days as part of its annual meeting. Known as the "Two Sessions," the parliamentary meeting gathers delegates from across China to discuss and approve national priorities. This year, the meeting is set to formalize government titles for the new premier, vice premiers and heads of different ministries. Xi is set to gain an unprecedented third term as president at the parliamentary meeting. The upcoming meeting is also set to review a "reform plan" for the ruling Chinese Communist Party and state institutions, state media said.

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