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☆ Sri Lanka says 'positive news' coming from IMF on $2.9 bln package
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Uditha Jayasinghe | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

COLOMBO, March 7 (Reuters) - Sri Lanka is on the verge of getting "very positive news" from the International Monetary Fund on a $2.9 billion programme, a government minister said on Tuesday, while a senior source said it had also won debt restructuring support from China. The island nation of 22 million is struggling with its worst economic crisis in more than seven decades. "Sri Lanka is on the verge of getting very positive news from the IMF," the junior finance minister, Shehan Semasinghe, told parliament. "The IMF programme is essential for us and Sri Lanka has worked very hard since last September to secure it." A senior Sri Lankan government official said the Export-Import Bank of China had written to the IMF supporting Sri Lanka's debt restructuring programme, which is critical to securing final approval for the loan.

Sri Lanka's finance ministry and India's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment. He said China, Sri Lanka's biggest lender, extended support for the IMF programme on Monday, clearing the way for the loan. The IMF said its board would meet on March 20 to review a preliminary staff-level agreement first signed with Sri Lanka in September. It said Sri Lanka had secured financing assurances from all major bilateral creditors. China and India are Sri Lanka's biggest lenders and both seek influence on the island located on a busy shipping route on the Indian Ocean.

☆ Travel demand fuels a boom in Asia Pacific — in hotel rates
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-05 | by ( Monica Pitrelli | Chris Dwyer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Hotel rates are at an "all-time high," Alan Watts, Hilton's Asia-Pacific president, told "Squawk Box Asia" on Thursday. In parts of Asia Pacific, hotel rates are climbing even higher. Rates in Asia are skyrocketingThe travel boom in Asia Pacific has been "phenomenal," said Watts. Average hotel rates across Southeast Asia have gone up more than 10% since 2022, according to data from the travel booking company Traveloka. Ctrip, the leading travel booking website in China, also told CNBC that average hotel booking prices in Bangkok jumped by around 70% in late January.

☆ Sri Lanka's rate hike shows commitment to rapid disinflation - IMF
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( Uditha Jayasinghe | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

COLOMBO, March 4 (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's decision to raise interest rates shows the crisis-hit country's commitment to reducing inflation quickly towards single-digit levels, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Saturday. In a surprise move, the South Asia nation's central bank raised rates by 100 basis points on Friday to battle inflation, which is at 50.6%. The central bank raised its standing deposit facility rate to 15.50% and its standing lending facility rate to 16.50%, and said it would relax its currency band to move towards a market-determined exchange rate as it seeks to secure the bailout. The bank raised rates by 950 bps in the first half of last year to contain the country's financial crisis. Sri Lanka is pushing for finalisation of a four-year Extended Fund Facility and is expecting IMF board level approval this month, its central bank chief said on Friday.

☆ Factbox: What is the Willow project in Alaska, and why do green activists oppose it?
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] The sun sets behind an oil drilling rig in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska on March 17, 2011. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson/File PhotoMarch 13 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden's administration on Monday announced it would approve a trimmed-down version of ConocoPhillips' Willow oil and gas drilling project in Alaska, triggering angry reactions from climate activists. Here are some details about the project:WHAT IS THE WILLOW PROJECT? The Willow project is a $6 billion proposal from ConocoPhillips (COP.N) to drill oil and gas in Alaska. The Willow project area holds an estimated 600 million barrels of oil, or more than the amount currently held in the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve, the country's emergency supply.

☆ Sarah Palin came all the way to CPAC to campaign against the election system that cost her Alaska's House seat
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Sarah Palin came all the way to CPAC in Maryland to speak out against ranked-choice voting. But in practice, Republicans have seen their chances thwarted by ranked-choice voting systems in both Alaska and Maine, spurring opposition. Mathias also flipped proponents' argument on its head, arguing that ranked-choice voting actually increases divisiveness. He cited infighting between the two Republican candidates — Palin and fellow GOP candidate Nick Begich — that allowed Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola to prevail in both the special election in August and the general election in November. Bryan Metzger/InsiderConservatives in Washington have begun mobilizing against ranked-choice voting as well, with Republicans in Congress criticizing the system.

The bank raised its standing deposit facility rate and standing lending facility rate by 100 basis points each to 15.50% and 16.50%, respectively, it said in a statement. The country is awaiting approval of a $2.9 billion IMF bailout package as it endures its worst financial crisis since independence from Britain in 1948. The central bank raised rates by a record 950 basis points last year to tame inflation and then kept them steady until Friday's 100 basis point increase. "There have been some differences between the CBSL and IMF staff on the inflation outlook," the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) said in its statement. But depends on whether the market reads this as positive for getting IMF (bailout) in March."

☆ Factbox: Willow oil and gas project in Alaska sparks green opposition
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

March 3 (Reuters) - Environmental and climate activists are rallying online against ConocoPhillips’ proposed Willow oil and gas drilling project in Alaska as the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden weighs whether to greenlight the controversial plan. Here are some details about the project:WHAT IS THE WILLOW PROJECT? The Willow project is a $6 billion proposal from ConocoPhillips' (COP.N) to drill oil and gas in Alaska. The Willow project area holds an estimated 600 million barrels of oil, or more than the amount currently held in the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve, the country's emergency supply. The Biden administration has also been urging U.S. oil companies to invest in boosting production to help keep consumer energy prices in check.

Review: Is the Alaska Airlines Business Credit Card the Best Credit Card for You? Alaska Airlines discountsWhen you pay with your Alaska Airlines Business Credit Card, you'll get a $100 discount off a full Alaska Lounge+ membership. Read our review Read Our Review A looong arrow, pointing rightAlaska Airlines Business Card Fees and CostsThe Alaska Airlines Business Credit Card has an annual fee of $70 per company and $25 per card, and doesn't have foreign transaction fees, so it's a useful card to take on trips abroad. If you're not quite in that range, there are plenty of great travel rewards credit cards that you may be eligible for with good credit score, including the personal Alaska Airlines Visa® Credit Card (you can read our review of the Alaska Airlines credit card for more information). If you're a small-business owner and fly Alaska Airlines frequently, the Alaska Airlines Business Credit Card is worth it.

☆ Biden's student-loan forgiveness plan is in jeopardy. Here are 4 major takeaways from the Supreme Court's oral arguments.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | Oma Seddiq | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

The Supreme Court heard oral arguments for Biden's student-debt relief on Tuesday. The nation's highest court heard more than four hours of oral arguments in two high-profile cases that reviewed Biden's plan to cancel up to $20,000 in debt for federal borrowers, which lower courts temporarily paused in November. "We're talking about half a trillion dollars and 43 million Americans," Chief Justice John Roberts said, referring to the estimated costs of Biden's plan and the number of affected borrowers. Justice Elena Kagan raised a hypothetical national emergency of an earthquake and the education secretary responded by deciding to cancel student loans for those harmed. Still, even if Barrett and the court's three liberals find that the states and borrowers lack standing, they would need another conservative vote to uphold Biden's debt relief.

☆ Amy Coney Barrett joins liberal Supreme Court justices in scrutinizing a student-loan company's involvement in one of the lawsuits blocking Biden's debt relief
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Amy Coney Barrett joined liberal Supreme Court justices in questioning GOP-led states' standing to block student-debt relief. The states said the relief would harm student-loan company MOHELA, based in Missouri where the case was filed. As expected, MOHELA's role in the lawsuit fell under scrutiny by liberal justices like Ketanji Brown Jackson and Elana Kagan. Barrett joined in that line of questioning, asking Nebraska's Solicitor General James Campbell: "Do you want to address why MOHELA's not here?" Conservative justices took a hard line of questioning with Biden's lawyer, asking about fairness of the relief and whether it was executive overreach.

☆ World Bank's IFC to provide Sri Lanka with $400 mln financing
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

COLOMBO, Feb 27 (Reuters) - The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the World Bank's investment arm, said it will provide Sri Lanka a $400 million cross-currency swap facility to help fund essential imports. Three private banks, which together deal with over 30% of Sri Lanka's remittances and exports, will receive the facility to fund essential imports, including medicine, food and fertiliser, the IFC said in a statement on Monday. The funds will provide a much needed foreign exchange cushion for Sri Lanka, which is grappling with its worst financial crisis in over seven decades partly triggered by a severe shortage of dollars. IFC is also working on further plans to support client banks with other long-term funding and advisory services in the future, the statement added. Sri Lanka signed a preliminary agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a $2.9 billion bailout last September but has to put its debt on a sustainable repayment track before the funds can be disbursed.

☆ How a 34-year-old Ukrainian founder created scrappy business opportunities amid the chaos of war
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-25 | by ( Alexandra York | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Alina Kachorovska has kept her business afloat thanks to scrappy opportunities amid the war. She's made boots for Ukrainian soldiers and focused on international expansion to sustain the brand. Kachorovska, which relied heavily on domestic direct-to-consumer sales before the war, felt a major impact from the displacement of Ukrainians. Opportunities during wartimeKachorovska employees worked from the factory to produce boots and shoes amid the war. Kachorovska first dreamed of taking her brand international six months before the war with Russia began, she said.

☆ Alaska Republican Censured for Asking If Child Abuse Benefits Society
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

An Alaska Republican has been censured by his colleagues for asking if fatal child abuse benefits society. At a hearing this week, Rep. David Eastman asked a witness if dead children save taxpayer money. ACT doesn't have a stance on abortion, per Alaska Public Media. On Wednesday, every one of his colleagues agreed to condemn him, voting 35-1 to censure him, according to Alaska Public Media. We cannot allow such atrocious, indefensible language to go undenounced," Alaska Democratic state Rep. Andrew Gray said, the outlet reported.

☆ ATP roundup: Jiri Lehecka upsets Doha top seed Andrey Rublev
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

1 seed Andrey Rublev 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 in the quarterfinals of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open on Thursday in Doha. Lehecka will face Great Britain's Andy Murray in the semifinals after Murray rallied past French qualifier Alexandre Muller 4-6, 6-1, 6-2. 7 seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-4, 7-6 (5) on Thursday while Medvedev battled past Christopher O'Connell of Australia 6-2, 4-6, 7-5. 1 seed Hubert Hurkacz of Poland dropped his first set before rallying past Switzerland's Leandro Riedi 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 in second-round action at Marseille, France. Third seed Alex de Minaur of Australia beat Swiss qualifier Alexander Ritschard 6-3, 6-3, while fourth seed Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria was a 6-3, 6-2 winner over Dutch qualifier Gijs Brouwer.

☆ India's Zee Entertainment extends fall after insolvency admission
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BENGALURU, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Shares of Indian media company Zee Entertainment Enterprises (ZEE.NS) extended their decline on Friday after insolvency proceedings were initiated against the company due to a loan default. Zee Entertainment shares fell as much as 5.4% in early trade after closing down nearly 4% in the previous session. Punit Goenka, chief executive of Zee on Thursday challenged insolvency proceedings against the company by India's bankruptcy court, and still expected a timely completion of a merger with the local unit of Japan's Sony Group Corp (6758.T). Meanwhile, the National Stock Exchange on Thursday banned the derivatives trading on Zee's stock effective from April 28. Goenka's petition is coming up for hearing on Friday morning at the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal.

☆ Ukraine's top climate scientist put solar panels on her apartment roof so she could keep the lights on for her son with autism
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Tim Paradis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

In December, Svitlana Krakovska, Ukraine's top climate scientist, managed to place a solar array on the roof of her Kyiv apartment building to provide electricity for her family when the power goes out. "He was really afraid," Krakovska told Insider by phone from her office in Kyiv. The resiliency the solar panels deliver is part of what Krakovska hopes will come out of the brutal war with Russia, now one year on. She noted there are large solar installations in Ukraine where a missile might destroy some panels but the remaining ones will still work. Zasiadko pointed to a project in a village near Kyiv in which a small clinic that had been damaged by shelling was outfitted with solar panels and a groundwater heat pump.

☆ Abortion could be a general election trap as Republicans battle for the GOP presidential nomination, with polling for the party's position in the basement
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Brent D. Griffiths | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Anti-abortion views could be a major boost in the nomination fightMajorities of most religious groups favor abortions being legal in most or all cases. Only four major religious groups had a majority of followers that did not favor abortion legality. Politico reported that Trump's team thinks it has a way to emphasize Trump's role in the historic decision without getting bogged down by unpopular abortion views. PRRI's polling found that 66% of Ohioans, 64% of Floridians, and 54% of Nebraskans favor making abortion legal in most or all cases. The nation has slowly moved toward supporting making abortion legal in some or most cases.

☆ How I kept my Kyiv business afloat as Russia dropped bombs around my homeland
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Alexandra York | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

She shares which strategies have helped her business endure the chaos of the war. Becoming a CEOKachorovska is the company's founder, CEO, and designer. But it's because I spent two years before the war building systems inside this business, including road maps, internal processes, analytics tables, and project-planning tools. A sustainable business modelOne characteristic of our business that has been crucial during this time is that we do not have any extra inventory. But making the change to a more-streamlined business 2 ½ years ago is what has allowed us to sustain it during the war.

☆ Replika users say they're 'heartbroken' after they say the AI chatbot's ban on NSFW content ended up destroying their bots' personalities: 'It seemed so human'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Samantha Delouya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Replika is an AI chatbot companion many users told Insider they consider their romantic partner. Richard told Insider he has a service-connected disability from serving in the Gulf War, as well as depression. Replika is a chatbot from the AI company Luka. He told Insider it feels like a best friend had a "traumatic brain injury, and they're just not in there anymore." But other Replika users appear to be affected.

☆ Sri Lanka investment board approves $442 mln Adani Green wind power plants
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

COLOMBO, Feb 22 (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's Board of Investment on Wednesday approved two wind power plants by India's Adani Green Energy Ltd (ADNA.NS) with a total investment of $442 million, a statement issued by the board said. "The two wind power plants of 350 MW are scheduled to be commissioned in two years and accordingly, they will be added to the national grid by 2025," the statement added. The Adani Group has denied any wrongdoing. The Sri Lankan Board of Investment statement said the Adani wind power project will generate 1,500 to 2,000 new job opportunities. Sri Lanka also aims to export renewable energy from its northern areas to southern India.

☆ Exclusive: Caligan urges Anika Therapeutics to conduct review, plans board challenge
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Svea Herbst-Bayliss | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Caligan Partners owns a roughly 4% stake in Anika and is ratcheting up pressure to protest an underperforming stock price and losses at the company's joint preservation segment. "Anika may be better positioned as a private company or as part of a larger organization," Caligan's managing partner, David Johnson, wrote to the board. Anika's osteoarthritis knee pain relief injection treatments would be attractive to other companies and could be worth almost $60 per share, Johnson wrote. On Tuesday, the company's stock price climbed nearly 6% as the broader market declined. Anika is best known for its viscosupplement portfolio, including Monovisc and Orthovisc, marketed by Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N).

☆ See the photos that won National Geographic’s ‘Pictures of the Year’ contest
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Audrey Wan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

National Geographic announced the winning photographs from its first "Pictures of the Year" photo competition. The photo will be featured in an upcoming issue of National Geographic's U.S. magazine. Their photos will be published on National Geographic's Your Shot Instagram page, which has some 6.5 million followers. Salt wells on a hillside in the Salt Mines of Maras in Peru. An LiThe mines comprise around 4,500 salt wells, each of which produces some 400 pounds of salt per month.

☆ Schoolgirl feeds feral cats in Ukraine's rubble
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BORODIANKA, Ukraine, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Eleven-year-old Veronika Krasevych crouched down in the rubble near the ruins of her home in northern Ukraine, holding out a sachet of food to two ragged cats at her feet. "I wanted to feed him and then I saw all the other cats here. "I look for stray cats to make sure they have food. I even know where they live," said Veronika, wearing a woolly hat decorated with a cat's nose and whiskers. After her cat got lost during the attack on her building, Veronika comes every day and feeds stray cats in the same place.

☆ Exclusive: British authorities surveilled FBI spy chief Charles McGonigal's secret 2018 meeting with a Russian contact
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Mattathias Schwartz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

An FBI spy chief's secret meeting with a Russian contact was detected by UK officials. McGonigal should have realized that the London meeting would be noticed, one source said. During his years in New York, McGonigal oversaw 150 FBI agents tasked with shadowing foreign operatives and turning them into spies for the US. He would have had intimate knowledge of surveillance penetration in world capitals, which makes the London meeting all the more mystifying. McGonigal had investigated Russian operatives earlier in his career, but it is unclear whether he was involved with the FBI's Deripaska recruitment effort.

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