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☆ 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.

☆ Meet the 4 men tipped to run China’s economy
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Hong Kong CNN —The team of Communist Party officials running China’s economy is about to get a major makeover. They include the four men tipped to manage the world’s second biggest economy: Li Qiang as premier, Ding Xuexiang as executive vice premier, He Lifeng as vice premier and Zhu Hexin as the new central bank chief. That puts the 63-year-old in line to succeed Premier Li Keqiang when he steps down during the upcoming congress. Li would be the first premier since the Mao era not to have previously worked at the State Council, China’s cabinet, as vice premier, analysts say. Stringer/ICHPL Imaginechina/AP/FileThe 68-year-old would succeed Vice Premier Liu He, who led China’s negotiations with the United States during trade talks in 2018 and 2019.

[1/7] Farmer Wang Zhanling sits next to his wife in their house in Quansheng village, Heilongjiang Province, China, February 8, 2023. The state-run Chinese Academy of Sciences sees the pension system running out of money by 2035. "If the pension system does not change, this is unsustainable," said Xiujian Peng, senior research fellow in the Centre of Policy Studies at Victoria University in Australia. The province has the lowest birth rate in China, with just over 100,000 births in 2021 and 460,000 deaths. Many experts, including Macquarie's chief China economist Larry Hu, suggest implementing a unified national pension system, backstopped by the more resourceful central government rather than cash-strapped local administrations.

☆ China’s Li Auto drives a fine profit line
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

HONG KONG, Feb 28 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The $25 billion electric-car maker Li Auto (2015.HK) is in charging mode. On Monday it reported a net profit of 265 million yuan ($38 million) for the quarter ending December as sales of its family-friendly sport-utility vehicles zoomed 66% from a year earlier. What’s more, unlike other battery-powered groups, Li offers “extended range electric cars” that combine a motor with a smaller battery. Li sees the direction of travel and will soon launch 100% battery-powered products. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

Feb 27 (Reuters) - The U.S. Energy Department on Monday said it will lend Li-Cycle Holdings Corp (LICY.N) $375 million as it builds a battery recycling facility in New York set to become one of the country's largest sources of lithium by next year. Senator Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat who serves as Senate majority leader, had long advocated for Li-Cycle to receive the funding. Li-Cycle's Rochester, New York, processing facility is slated to open later this year at a cost of roughly $485 million. The Rochester facility will break down that black mass into lithium and other metals. The Energy Department in the past month has agreed to lend $2 billion to Li-Cycle peer Redwood Materials and $700 million to ioneer Ltd's (INR.AX) Rhyolite Ridge lithium mining project.

☆ Lithium-ion battery recycling company Li-Cycle scores $375 million conditional loan from Energy Department for Rochester plant
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Pippa Stevens | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Battery recycling company Li-Cycle said Monday it's secured a conditional $375 million loan from the Department of Energy to develop a recycling facility for key battery materials near Rochester, New York. The Rochester facility will significantly expand Li-Cycle's reach. "I think of course we need both primary, meaning mine sources, and secondary…every unit counts of lithium, nickel, cobalt. I think with the overlay of the IRA and the overlay of the corporate targets around sourcing for these materials, recycling is going to be very important." Li-Cycle said it expects the loan to close during the second quarter, with the company planning to initiate commissioning of the Rochester facility late this year.

☆ How entrepreneurs can use livestream shopping to make thousands of dollars
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Jennifer Ortakales Dawkins | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +16 min

Live shopping in the US is expected to become a $25 billion market in 2023. Livestream shopping has been popular in China for over a decade, where the industry was estimated to be worth $305 billion in 2021, up from $63 billion in 2019, according to Coresight Research. Virgile Ollivier, a cofounder and the CEO of Livescale, told Insider livestream shopping would soon become just as important for brands as social-media marketing. Livestream-shopping platforms pick up where Instagram falls shortApps focused solely on livestream shopping show a disconnect on traditional social-media platforms. Most sellers livestream at least once a week, at the same time so their followers always know when to expect a show.

☆ Over 1,400 flights canceled as major winter storm threatens to produce historic snowfall
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Chantal Da Silva | David K. Li | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Rush hour traffic travels southbound on Interstate 35W in Minneapolis as a winter storm hit the Twin Cities Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023. The National Weather Service issued winter storm, blizzard and high-wind advisories for swaths of the western and the north-central U.S., with up to 2 feet of snow expected in some areas through Thursday. 'Numerous weather hazards'Residents warned to 'limit travel'"We're working to ensure we're ready — and Minnesotans have a part to play, too. Schools across the state also announced closures, with Minneapolis Public Schools saying on its website that all its buildings would be closed "due to the upcoming winter storm." Heavy winds and power outagesCalifornia is also facing winter weather, with winds that began Tuesday expected to bring possible rain, snow and hail to parts of the state.

☆ China's millennial managers are confronting a pissed-off wave of Gen-Z staff out to 'rectify' the workplace
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Cheryl Teh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

China's Gen Z is out to "rectify" the workplace, and they want their millennial bosses to give in. The Weibo hashtag "The post-2000s generation is rectifying the workplace" is a forum filled with Gen Z rage. The hashtag documents Chinese Gen Z rage in all its varied formsIt is unclear exactly how the hashtag started. At times, the posts on the Gen Z workers' threads devolve into rants about their "evil" millennial bosses. The rumblings from Gen Z, however, stand in stark contrast to narratives about Chinese millennials that have dominated popular culture.

☆ EV maker Nio to build 1,000 battery-swap stations in China in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SHANGHAI, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Chinese electric vehicle (EV) startup Nio Inc (9866.HK) plans to build 1,000 battery-swapping stations in China in 2023 to bring the total number of such facilities to 2,300 by year-end, its Founder and Chairman William Li said on Tuesday. The move marks an expansion of its plan in December of adding 400 such stations this year. Li found more of them are needed to improve user experience after his trips to northeastern China and lower-tier cities in Zhejiang, he added. Battery swapping allows drivers to replace depleted packs quickly with fully charged ones, rather than plugging the vehicle into a charging point. Nio is among the few EV makers that are betting on battery swapping as one of the major power solutions for electric cars.

☆ Starbucks’ new drinks have a spoonful of olive oil in every cup
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Danielle Wiener-Bronner | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

There’s an Oleato latte with oat milk and olive oil, an Oleato ice shaken espresso with oat milk, hazelnut flavor and olive oil, and the Oleato golden foam cold brew, made with a version of Starbucks’ sweet milk foam infused with two olive oil servings. Starbucks Oleato drinks are made with exra virgin olive oil. Coming full circleLast year Schultz met olive oil producer Tommaso Asaro, who introduced him to the practice of consuming a tablespoon of olive oil each day. “He thought it was a little strange.” Asaro is the chairman of United Olive Oil, through which Starbucks is sourcing its olive oil. Howard Schultz and Tommaso Asaro, chairman of United Olive Oil, which produces the Partanna olive oil that Starbucks is using for Oleato.

SYDNEY/HONG KONG, Feb 20 (Reuters) - New rules laying out how Chinese companies can list outside mainland China will often mean getting a nod from several domestic government agencies, potentially making for a lengthy approval process, investment bankers say. On one hand, the rules provide clarity after a regulatory crackdown by Beijing since mid-2021 that has slowed U.S. listings by Chinese firms to a trickle. Those hoops, combined with U.S.-Sino tensions over a multitude of issues from suspected spy balloons to trade friction, means a rush of Chinese firms seeking initial public offerings in New York is unlikely. Last year, U.S. listings of Chinese firms were worth less than $230 million, according to Refinitiv data, a massive drop from $12.9 billion in 2021. "I don't think an overseas listing for the start-up would get the Chinese regulatory nod due to data security.

Prime Trust made $650 million in wire transfer deposits into the Binance.US account during the quarter, the bank records show. The Binance global exchange, Binance CEO Zhao and Prime Trust did not respond to detailed questions about the transfers. Among the dealers on Binance.US was Merit Peak, according to company messages, the trading firm managed by CEO Zhao. From January to March 2021, the account records show that Merit Peak received 89 transfers from the Binance.US SEN account totalling $404 million. These transfers often immediately followed a deposit into the Binance.US account by Prime Trust, the crypto custodian firm for Binance.US client funds.

☆ Crypto giant Binance moved $400 million from U.S. partner to firm managed by CEO Zhao
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

The Binance.US account was registered under the name of BAM Trading, the U.S. exchange's operating company, according to the records. Prime Trust made $650 million in wire transfer deposits into the Binance.US account during the quarter, the bank records show. A Binance.US spokesperson, Kimberly Soward, did not address Reuters' questions about the transfers detailed in the bank records. The Binance global exchange, Binance CEO Zhao and Prime Trust did not respond to detailed questions about the transfers. The Binance.US account records reviewed by Reuters detail each transaction between January and the end of March 2021.

☆ Worried residents near Ohio train derailment report dead fish and chickens as authorities say it's safe to return
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Aria Bendix | David K. Li | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Drone footage shows the freight train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, U.S., February 6, 2023 in this screengrab obtained from a handout video released by the NTSB. For days, authorities have been telling residents of the area around East Palestine, Ohio, that it is safe to return home after a 150-car train carrying hazardous chemicals derailed Feb. 3. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources said the chemical spill resulting from the derailment had killed an estimated 3,500 small fish across 7½ miles of streams as of Wednesday. For some people who live near the derailment site, the reports continue to spur fear that they and their animals might be exposed to chemicals through the air, water and soil. The Ohio Department of Agriculture said the risk to livestock remains low.

The company sold 10 million American depository receipts (ADRs) at $19 apiece, according to its regulatory filings, and shares closed at $21.05. The deal is the biggest from a Chinese company selling shares in New York since LianBio (LIAN.O) raised $334 million in October 2021, according to Refinitiv data. Chinese company listings in the United States ground to a halt in 2021 after the debut of ride hailing giant Didi Global Inc (92Sy.MU) in June of that year. As a result, Chinese listings in the United States dwindled and mainland regulators also moved to draw up new guidelines governing companies selling shares overseas. Chinese companies raised nearly $230 million in U.S. listings in 2022, according to Refinitiv data, representing a massive drop from $12.85 billion a year earlier.

☆ Amazon is the latest threat to Facebook as ad targeting suffers
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Jonathan Vanian | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +11 min

"So many people start their shopping on Amazon," Hassett said in an interview. People take selfies in front of the logo of Facebook parent company Meta on November 9, 2022 in Menlo Park, California. Liu Guanguan | China News Service | Getty ImagesFor Loftie, Amazon and Google provide better value because a shopper is showing intent by searching for a particular item. "In the near term, we expect Meta ad share to decline further in '23 given macro headwinds and the pivot to Reels," they wrote. Rachel Tipograph, CEO of marketing technology firm MikMak, said there are other unforeseen costs tied to Amazon advertising.

October 2022 Wang Linfang,92, molecular biologist Four members of China’s two most prestigious academic institutions died in October – in line with the average in recent years. October 2022 Wang Linfang,92, molecular biologist Four members of China’s two most prestigious academic institutions died in October – in line with the average in recent years. Zhang Guocheng, 91 Zhao Zisen, 90, developed China’s first practical optical fiber Tang Hongxiao, 91 The obituaries began accumulating. October 2022 Wang Linfang,92, molecular biologist Four members of China’s two most prestigious academic institutions died in October – in line with the average in recent years. October 2022 Wang Linfang,92, molecular biologist Four members of China’s two most prestigious academic institutions died in October – in line with the average in recent years.

☆ Mark Zuckerberg is finally embracing his new role as Meta's Chopper-in-Chief. Here are the plans he just laid out to further cut costs in 2023.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Kali Hays | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The company is canceling multiple data center projects. Canceling multiple data center projectsMeta has also been canceling multiple data center projects, and incurred $1.3 billion in charges related to that. Li said the same operational "scrutiny" being applied to other areas of the company is going toward data centers as well. The company did not disclose which current data centers are being closed or affected by the design changes. "And we are going to optimize our overall approach to building data centers."

☆ Philadelphia Eagles player indicted on rape and kidnapping charges days before he’s set to play in the Super Bowl
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( David K. Li | Austin Mullen | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Philadelphia Eagles guard Josh Sills looks on during training camp on August 7, 2022 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia PA.An Ohio grand jury indicted Philadelphia Eagles backup offensive lineman Joshua Sills on charges of rape and kidnapping, officials said Wednesday. He was ordered to appear in court Feb. 16, which would be four days after the Eagles play the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl. Sills played in just one game this season, getting into the Oct. 9 Eagles win against the Arizona Cardinals. The Philadelphia Eagles said in a statement Wednesday they were monitoring the case. Sills, a native of Sarahsville, Ohio, played collegiately at West Virginia and Oklahoma State before joining the Eagles as an undrafted free agent.

☆ Tourism is roaring back in China. But the $6 trillion consumer market is digging itself out of a deep slump
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

He's hopeful business improves this year – and allows Rêver to recoup the roughly 35% in revenue it lost last year. Within a retail sales slump of 0.2% to 43.97 trillion yuan ($6.28 trillion), catering sales dropped by a steeper 6.3%. He expects 7% year-on-year growth in retail sales. Hainan's recovery plansHainan, a tropical province aiming to be a duty free shopping destination, announced a goal for 10% growth in retail sales this year. That's after its retail sales fell by 9.2% last year.

"I feel violated," White told NBC News on Friday. “You know how they say ‘stranger danger?’ That’s the way I feel.”The men have been coming to White's door hail from all over Texas. The men she's spoken to have been honest about why they're at her door. In one incident captured on her doorbell security camera, a man said he was there to "meet someone" named "Rhonda." White said she's been overwhelmed by the support she's received from neighbors and former co-workers who live nearby.

Five former Memphis, Tennessee, police officers are in custody in connection with the death of Tyre Nichols, jail records show. They “were found to be directly responsible for the physical abuse of Mr. Nichols,” Davis said in a video statement Wednesday night. A "confrontation" followed, the department said at the time, and officers pursued Nichols when he fled on foot. Tyre Nichols in the hospital. Five Memphis police officers were fired in connection with a traffic stop that led to the death of Tyre Nichols.

Northern California prosecutors on Wednesday filed seven murder charges and one attempted murder charge against the man accused of gunning down farm workers Monday in the quaint oceanside town of Half Moon Bay. The San Mateo County Coroner's Office has named six of the seven victims: Zhishen Liu, 73, of San Francisco; Marciano Martinez Jimenez, 50, of Moss Beach; Aixiang Zhang, 74, of San Francisco; Qizhong Cheng, 66, of Half Moon Bay; Jingzhi Lu, 64, of Half Moon Bay; and Yetao Bing, 43, whose hometown was listed as unknown. Chunli Zhao being arrested on Monday in the parking lot of the Sheriff’s Office Half Moon Bay as a suspect for the mass shooting earlier that day. Zhao worked at Mountain Mushroom Farm, one of two agricultural businesses where workers were killed on Monday afternoon, authorities said. Zhao was arrested about two hours after the shooting as he sat in his parked car outside the sheriff's substation in Half Moon Bay.

The slayings of seven people, gunned down in a small Northern California city, was an act of "workplace violence" that victimized members of the "migrant community," officials said Tuesday. Suspect Chunli Zhao, a 66-year-old resident of Half Moon Bay, worked at Mountain Mushroom Farm, one of two agricultural businesses where workers were killed on Monday afternoon, authorities said. Zhao was arrested in the parking lot of a sheriff’s substation in Half Moon Bay shortly after the attacks. “Jill and I are praying for those killed and injured in the latest tragic shooting in Half Moon Bay, California,” President Joe Biden said in a White House statement issued Tuesday. The Half Moon Bay slayings were in the middle of a horrific 72-hour period of gun violence across California and the nation.

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