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☆ Visits to Zambia by Yellen, IMF reflect concern over stalled debt talks
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Andrea Shalal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Frustrated by the delays, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva arrived for separate visits in Zambia on Sunday. Both see a new sovereign debt roundtable - introduced late last year - as a way to make progress on long-stalled debt restructuring processes. Yellen told Reuters en route to Zambia she supported the roundtable as a forum for discussing general principles of debt relief. Yellen, however, noted rates were nowhere near those seen under Volcker and inflation was not out of control. "We're in a higher interest rate environment, and that's something that's linked to the strong dollar, and weaker currencies for many emerging markets, but also Japan and other countries," Yellen said.

☆ Here are the 10 best — and 10 worst — US states to start a new business, according to a new report
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( Lakshmi Varanasi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: 1 min

The 10 bestThe financial website WalletHub recently ranked the 50 states according to which ones were the best and worst for starting a business. runner of art/Getty ImagesWhere you start a business can make a big impact on how well it fares. A new WalletHub study evaluated states across three metrics: "Business Environment" looked at 14 factors ranging from five-year business survival rate to the average length of the work week. While "Business Costs" examined seven types of costs including office-space affordability, labor costs, and state and local tax rates. Here are 10 best states to launch a business, according to WalletHub.

☆ Forget Google Maps: Why Paper Map Sales Are Booming
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Kate Morgan | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

GET LOST The Map Shop, in Charlotte, N.C., sells a wide variety of unique geographic charts. This one shows all the rivers in the U.S., with each color representing a different river basin. IN THE 1880s, Iraqi archaeologist Hormuzd Rassam found a small carved tablet with an image of Babylon at its center, surrounded by a vast salt sea. Historians consider this tablet, roughly 2,500 years old, the earliest existing map of the world. Even “modern” maps look quaint today, when apps like Google Maps put practically every intersection in the world a click away.

☆ Federal government investigating possible human trafficking of children who cleaned slaughterhouses
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Laura Strickler | Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Julia-Ainsley-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +12 min

There is no indication DHS is investigating the company that hired the children, Packers Sanitation Services Inc., or PSSI, for human trafficking. The Labor Department’s Child Labor Regulations designate many roles in slaughterhouse and meatpacking facilities as hazardous for minors. The Labor Department says its investigation, which began in August, is ongoing as it scours company records from 50 locations. I don’t anticipate unless there are severe ramifications for this that it will actually change policies.”The Labor Department has issued no penalties or fines to date. Labor DepartmentQuestions about child labor at PSSI in Grand Island and Worthington are not new.

☆ China’s demographic decline can be boon, not doom
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Pete Sweeney | Thomson Reuters | Asia Economics Editor Pete Sweeney Joined Reuters Breakingviews In Hong Kong In September Previously He Served As Reuters' Chief Correspondent For China Economy | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Yet China’s demographic doom is not certain. It is hard to boost birth rates, but France and Scandinavia show it can be done. If last year’s population plunge inspires Beijing to smarten up policy, demographic stress need not augur economic decline. The birth rate was 6.77 per 1,000 people, down from 7.52 in 2021 and marking the lowest such reading on record. United Nations analysts project China's population will shrink by 109 million by 2050, more than triple the rate of their previous forecast in 2019.

☆ Make it easier to raise children, say many Chinese after population falls
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

"Our parents think if they have more children, they can get more care when they grow old. They think raising one child is already very tiring." China is one of the most expensive places to raise a child, beaten only by South Korea, according to the Beijing-based YuWa Population Research. In Australia it was 2.08 times, 2.24 times in France, 2.91 times in Sweden, 3.64 times in Germany, and 4.11 times in the US. By comparison, north Asian countries were the costliest, with Japan 4.26 times, China 6.9 times and South Korea 7.79 times.

☆ How China planted an FBI mole who was discovered only after gutting the CIA's vast spy network
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( James Bamford | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +25 min

At the time, four years after the handover from Britain to China, much of Hong Kong remained a world of neon and noise. "Five years ago, everyone looked down on you if you spoke Mandarin," said a Beijing executive living in Hong Kong. As soon as the Hong Kong Arts Festival ended, the Hong Kong International Film Festival began. In February 2006, Alex Ma, China's mole in the FBI, sent David photos he received from his handlers of five suspected human sources. Born in Hong Kong like Alex, Lee grew up in Hawaii and became a naturalized U.S. citizen.

☆ The scarcity economy has made life harder on Americans. Some are calling for an 'abundance agenda' to make college, housing, and healthcare more affordable.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-15 | by ( Jacob Zinkula | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

The costs of healthcare, housing, childcare, and college have soared in recent decades. Some say an "abundance agenda" is necessary to boost supply and bring down costs. In short, the abundance agenda works by increasing the supply of the things people need, and ultimately making essential goods and services less expensive for American families. But childcare, healthcare, college tuition, and housing costs, for instance, have risen 115%, 130%, 178%, and 80%, respectively, well above inflation. He thinks the abundance agenda — or something like it — will be something many politicians campaign on someday, which he says would be a win for all Americans.

☆ South Koreans are the world's biggest spenders on luxury goods
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Lee Ying Shan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Handbags displayed in a Chanel SA store window at the Avenuel department store, operated by Lotte Shopping Co Ltd., in Seoul, South Korea, on Tuesday, Dec. 14, 2021. Whether it's calf-leather Italian Prada bags or classic, checkered British Burberry trench coats, South Koreans are the world's biggest spenders on personal luxury goods per capita, Morgan Stanley said. The investment bank estimated South Korean total spending on personal luxury goods grew 24% in 2022 to $16.8 billion, or about $325 per capita. Luxury brands have also highlighted strong sales in Korea. Moncler said its revenue in South Korea "more than doubled" in the second quarter compared with before the pandemic.

☆ As latest short squeeze unfolds on Wall Street, here's what that means and who could be next
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Samantha Subin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Traders are once again piling into stocks with high levels of short interest, and several companies could prove the next targets of the latest frenzy unfolding on Wall Street. As another short squeeze unfolds now on Wall Street, CNBC Pro used FactSet data to search for the next potential candidates. Silvergate's short interest as a percent of float recently stood at nearly 61%, the highest among all the stocks included in the screen. Popular online used car retailer Carvana has 58% of shares sold short. Beyond Meat and Weber are two other potential short squeeze contenders that sold off sharply in 2022, with about 40% and 32.4% of their respective shares sold short.

While Budapest and Warsaw are haggling with the bloc over rule-of-law strings attached to billions worth of pandemic recovery funds, Romania has already drawn down over 6 billion euros in grants and cheap loans. Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca has said the government aims to tap more than 10 billion euros a year, equivalent to about 4% of GDP, of about 90 billion euros of EU funding available to Bucharest through to 2027. RESHORINGCompanies reshoring from Russia and Ukraine to nearby low-cost manufacturing hubs partially helped push foreign direct investment to 9.39 billion euros in January-October, the largest 10-month figure since Romania joined the EU. "We are optimistic that investment will rise in coming years, also encouraged by EU funds," said Alex Milcev, head of Tax and Legal at E&Y Romania. And relations with the EU are not always smooth: in December, Austrian opposition over unauthorised immigration kept Romania out of Europe's borderless Schengen area.

☆ Brazil protests expose lack of U.S. risk premium
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Robert Cyran | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Like the United States, Brazil was until recently led by an autocratic president who refused to concede electoral defeat. It’s perhaps no surprise that Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index scores Brazil at 38, below the global average, where 100 reflects a society nearly free of malfeasance. The United States scores substantially better at 67, but still below other developed nations. But if investors ever decide to demand a risk premium, it has a long way to fall. The Brazilian real weakened roughly 1% against the U.S. dollar in spot trading, while the benchmark Bovespa stock index fell 0.5%.

☆ How 'Real Housewife' Jen Shah's fabulous life came crashing down
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Stephanie Clifford | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +43 min

The woman wrote to the judge overseeing Shah's case that she'd had to remortgage her house, almost divorced, and "thought about ending my own life." The couple decided that he should get his degree while Jen Shah dropped out of college to work. (Shah told a judge at her 2022 plea hearing that she had been treated for "alcohol and depression" two years prior. Koa Johnson, Jen Shah's former fashion designerWhen Sharrieff Shah did participate in filming, he quickly became a fan favorite, calm and sensible. Once the show aired and Jen Shah developed a fan base, her behavior became more dramatic, Johnson said.

☆ There wasn’t a single bank robbery in Denmark last year
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

London CNN —The number of bank robberies in Denmark fell to zero last year, as beefed-up security and reduced use of cash in the Nordic country make holdups less lucrative. In 2021, Denmark had just one bank robbery, according to data from Finance Denmark, an industry group for lenders. Increased camera surveillance, improved alarm systems and stronger cooperation with the police have helped to bring the number down, according to Michael Busk-Jepsen, director of digitalization at Finance Denmark. Of around 800 bank branches in Denmark, only about 20 still have staff handling deposits and withdrawals, Busk-Jepsen told CNN. Cash withdrawals have fallen by about 75% over the last six years, Bloomberg reported, citing central bank data.

☆ As child vaccine rates slip, local health officials fight misinformation
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( Lauren Sausser | Kaiser Health News | Lauren Sausser Covers Health Across The South As Part Of Khn'S Southern Bureau. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +9 min

So the Health Department conducted something called an online “sentiment search,” which gauges how certain words are perceived on social media. An analysis conducted by KHN and The Associated Press found local health department spending dropped by 18% per capita from 2010 to 2020. To that end, the health department has partnered with local leaders and groups to encourage vaccinations. — Phil Maytubby, Oklahoma city County health departmentThe more than 3,000 public health departments nationwide stand to benefit from a unified message, he said. In late 2020, the foundation, working with other public health groups, established the Public Health Communications Collaborative to amplify easy-to-understand information about vaccines.

☆ Hit by climate change, farmers in Cambodia are risking everything on microfinance loans
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( Jenni Reid | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

The loans are also seeing farmers put assets including their land up as collateral, even when the loans are high-interest and have short repayment windows. Taylor Weidman | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesNGOs estimate around 167,000 Cambodians have sold their land to pay microfinance loans over the last five years. A 2016 book published by the World Bank argued microfinance loans had reduced poverty and increased incomes in Bangladesh, and banking giant HSBC still promotes its funding of microfinance in the country. But the World Bank, an early and longstanding advocate of microfinance, has also been warning for years of risks including overindebtedness and the growing commercialization of the industry. In the capital Phnom Penh, she added, she commonly meets people working seven days a week to pay off spiraling MFI loans.

☆ Synthetic Meat Will Change the Ethics of Eating
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Virginia Postrel | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Acentury ago, “a chicken in every pot” was an ambitious political slogan. Americans will consume nearly 100 pounds of chicken per capita this year, according to the National Chicken Council, up from around 67 pounds in 1992, when chicken first surpassed beef. Behind chicken abundance is the efficient production that critics call factory farming. Bred for maximum meat in minimum time, confined to crowded sheds, and subjected to assembly line slaughter and disassembly, chickens destined for mass consumption endure short, unhappy lives. Although automation is improving conditions, chicken processing may be the country’s worst job: smelly, noisy, bloody, cold and injury-prone from slippery floors and repetitive motions.

☆ Google tells employees more of them will be at risk for low performance ratings next year
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Jennifer Elias | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

CEO of Alphabet and Google Sundar Pichai during press conference at the Chancellery in Warsaw, Poland on March 29, 2022. More Google employees will be at risk for low performance ratings and fewer are expected to reach high marks under a new performance review system that starts next year, according to internal communications obtained by CNBC. In a recent Google all-hands meeting and in a separate presentation last week, executives presented more details of its new performance review process. Under the new system, Google estimates 6% of full-time employees will fall into a low-ranking category that puts them at higher risk for corrective action, versus 2% before. Some employees believe new performance review system might be a way for the company to reduce headcount.

☆ Analysis: Italy's cash payments U-turn is all gain, no pain
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Valentina Za | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Italy is scrapping from the draft budget a provision on retailers who refuse card payments that limits fines to transactions worth more than 60 euros ($64). A one percentage point increase in the use of cash leads to a 0.8-1.8 percentage point rise in undeclared value added tax (VAT), Italy's central bank found. "The government's U-turn on card payments marks a victory for consumers and the country," Italian consumer group Unione Nazionale Consumatori President Massimiliano Dona said. Nearly 73% of respondents in a 2022 survey by The European House-Ambrosetti's Cashless Society wished to reduce cash payments to improve speed and security, up from 60% in 2020. To defend the plan, the government has criticised the cost of digital payments saying cafe owners can hardly accept cards for 1.1 euro a cup espressos.

Tokyo CNN —Police in Japan’s capital are urging people to moderate their alcohol consumption this holiday season following an increase in deaths of drinkers hit by vehicles after falling asleep on the street. As of November 25, 10 people had been killed in such accidents this year, Tokyo police said in a recent Twitter post – representing 22% of all pedestrian deaths in the capital. Japan has a relatively low level of alcohol consumption, according to a 2021 OECD study, which factors in the impact of the pandemic, but social drinking is commonplace during festivities. Alcohol consumption in Japan waned during the pandemic, with restrictions hitting the business of bars and other places selling drinks. In a post on its website last year, it called excessive alcohol consumption a “major social problem” that persisted despite the recent slowdown in consumption.

☆ States with more abortion restrictions have higher maternal and infant mortality, report finds
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Doha Madani | Doha Madani Is A Senior Breaking News Reporter For Nbc News. Pronouns | She Her. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

New research released Wednesday adds to a growing body of evidence showing a link between more restrictive abortion policies and higher rates of maternal and infant mortality. According to the report, states that heavily restricted abortion access in 2020 had maternal death rates that were 62% higher than they were in states where abortion was more easily accessible. "Then, on top of all that, you're adding this variation in abortion services, reproductive health services, by states," Zephyrin said. Their report isn't the only one that has documented a correlation between abortion restrictions and higher maternal and infant mortality. And then you have these further restrictions on reproductive health care," Zephyrin said.

☆ The top 10 cities that offer homebuyers the most bang for their buck—none of them are in Florida
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( Celia Fernandez | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Hartford, Connecticut is No. The housing market is in flux right now — thanks to high mortgage rates, and persistent inflation — and homebuyers continue to be priced out of bigger cities. Amid rising costs in 2023, housing markets in affordable, mid-sized manufacturing hubs will continue having an influx of homebuyers. As a result, Connecticut has the highest number of insurance professionals per capita in the U.S., according to Connecticut Insurance Department. When it comes to the housing market, Hartford, CT, is somewhat competitive, according to Redfin.com.

Dec 12 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to consider how strictly to interpret the landmark Title IX civil rights law's protections for gender equality in college sports in a lawsuit challenging Michigan State University's elimination of its women's swimming and diving team. The high court rejected the university's appeal of a lower-court ruling in favor of former members of the team who say MSU violated Title IX by not providing enough opportunities for women athletes to participate in sports. At issue is how to determine whether a school has met a key benchmark in assessing if it provides equal opportunities to participate under Title IX, the 50-year-old law credited with expanding access to sports for female student-athletes. He said no court had ever held a gap of less than 2% violated the law. In a petition to the Supreme Court, MSU argued the 6th Circuit's approach was "unworkable" and conflicted with how every other federal appeals court that had examined the issued had approached Title IX.

☆ These 7 states are the safest in the country for identity theft and fraud
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Tom Huddleston Jr. | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Residents of Montana and Arkansas experience less identity theft — or other types of fraud — than the rest of the country. Montana residents were least vulnerable to identity theft and other types of fraud — recording the second-fewest identity theft complaints per capita in 2021, with just 106 complaints per 100,000 residents, according to the report's analysis of Federal Trade Commission data. By comparison, Rhode Island recorded the most identity theft complaints per capita, with 2,857 reports per 100,000 residents in 2021, according to FTC data. Here are the seven least vulnerable states for identity theft and fraud, based on NerdWallet's rankings:Montana Arkansas Indiana Maine Wyoming Oklahoma WashingtonCases of fraud, including identity theft, have risen in recent years, spurred partially by the Covid-19 pandemic and an uptick in data breaches flooding the black market with stolen personal information. Earlier this year, the FTC reported that consumers filed more than 5.7 million fraud reports in 2021, roughly a quarter of which were identity theft complaints.

☆ These 7 states face the highest risk of identify theft and fraud
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Tom Huddleston Jr. | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Online fraud cases, including identity theft, have hit all-time highs in recent years — which means you're likely more at risk than ever of having your personal information targeted by hackers or other bad actors. Consumers filed more than 5.7 million fraud reports with the Federal Trade Commission last year, including nearly 1.4 million reports of identity theft. Online fraudsters can seek you out anywhere, but identity theft and fraud are more prevalent in some states than others. Here are the country's seven most vulnerable places for identity theft and fraud, according to the report:Washington D.C. Delaware Louisiana Rhode Island Colorado Pennsylvania GeorgiaWashington D.C. tops the list as the place with the most online fraud and identity theft. The rankings give the most weight to the number of identity theft and fraud complaints per capita, as well as the average losses for the victims of those complaints.

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