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☆ Striking writers and actors accuse NBCUniversal of blocking picket area
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] SAG-AFTRA actors strike against the Hollywood studios as they join the Writers Guild of America (WGA) on the picket like outside of Netflix offices in Los Angeles, California, U.S., July 14, 2023. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File PhotoLOS ANGELES, July 18 (Reuters) - Hollywood's striking Writers Guild of America (WGA) and SAG-AFTRA actors' union filed a grievance with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) against Comcast's (CMCSA.O) NBCUniversal on Tuesday, accusing the company of blocking a picket area. The unions said NBCUniversal infringed its freedom to picket and endangered its members by obstructing a public sidewalk next to the company's studio lot in California with an ongoing construction project. Hollywood actors joined film and television writers on picket lines for the first time in 63 years last week as they demanded higher streaming-era pay and curbs on the use of artificial intelligence. "We strongly believe that the company has fulfilled our legal obligations under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) and we will cooperate with respect to any inquiries by the National Labor Relations Board on this issue," an NBCUniversal spokesperson said.

Persons: Mike Blake, NBCUniversal, picketers, AFTRA, Mrinmay Dey, Baranjot Kaur, Juby Babu, Lisa Richwine, Shubhendu Deshmukh, Leslie Adler, Jamie Freed Organizations: Hollywood, Writers Guild of America, Netflix, REUTERS, Guild of America, SAG, National Labor Relations Board, Comcast's, National Labor Relations, Thomson Locations: Los Angeles , California, U.S, California, Bengaluru, Los Angeles

☆ Angelo Mozilo, Countrywide Financial's former CEO, dies at 84
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

July 17 (Reuters) - Angelo Mozilo, who propelled Countrywide Financial Corp into the largest U.S. mortgage lender before its crash in the 2008 financial crisis, has died, his family foundation said. Mozilo, 84, died of natural causes, the foundation said in a statement on Sunday. In 2006, when Mozilo was the chief of the mortgage lender Countrywide Financial, the firm originated $461 billion worth of loans -- close to $41 billion of which were subprime. Subprime loans were responsible for the global financial crisis. Mozilo had defended himself several times against accusations that he was a key architect of the 2007-2009 financial crisis.

Persons: Angelo Mozilo, Mozilo, Conde Nast, Shubhendu Deshmukh, Nupur Anand, Franklin Paul, Deepa Babington Organizations: Countrywide Financial Corp, Countrywide Financial, Bank of America, Bloomberg, Thomson Locations: Bronx, United States, Bengaluru, New York

☆ Four dead as boat sinks in Bangladesh's Buriganga river
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

July 16 (Reuters) - At least four people died after a boat carrying 20 people sank in Bangladesh's Buriganga river near the capital Dhaka on Sunday, a fire service official said. Most of the passengers were believed to have swum ashore as the water bus sank close to the bank, according to fire service official Anwarul Islam. Four bodies have been recovered and the rescue operation is ongoing, police official Sahabuddin Kabir told Reuters. Hundreds of onlookers gathered at the site as rescuers in multiple boats scanned the river with flashlights, according to a Reuters witness. Reporting by Ruma Paul in Dhaka; Writing by Shubhendu Deshmukh; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne and Emelia Sithole-MatariseOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Sahabuddin Kabir, Ruma Paul, Shubhendu Deshmukh, Andrew Cawthorne, Emelia Organizations: Reuters, Thomson Locations: Bangladesh's Buriganga, Dhaka

☆ McDonald's China owners Carlyle, Trustar plan $4 bln exit - Bloomberg News
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

July 13 (Reuters) - Carlyle Group Inc (CG.O) and Trustar Capital are planning to raise $4 billion from wealth funds to buy part of their stakes in McDonald's Corp (MCD.N) operations in Hong Kong and mainland China, Bloomberg News reported. All stakeholders are highly aligned on the process," McDonald's China said in an emailed response to Reuters on Thursday. The asset managers aim to reach an agreement with investors in the fourth quarter of this year, the report added. Carlyle declined to comment, while GIC did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Reuters had reported in April citing two people with knowledge of the matter that the U.S.-based private equity firm was discussing various options including setting up a continuation fund with financial advisers for its stake in McDonald's China.

Persons: Carlyle, Mubadala, GIC, Shubhendu Deshmukh, Brenda Goh, Urvi, Rashmi Organizations: Carlyle Group Inc, Trustar, McDonald's Corp, Bloomberg News, Reuters, McDonald's, Shareholders, Mubadala Investment, GIC, Thomson Locations: Hong Kong, China, McDonald's China, U.S, Bengaluru

☆ Tesla starts to lay off some workers at China factory - Bloomberg News
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Companies Tesla Inc FollowJuly 7 (Reuters) - Electric car maker Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) is laying off some battery production workers at its Shanghai plant, Bloomberg News reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter. It was not clear how many workers may be let go, or the specific reasons behind the layoffs, according to the report. The layoffs were first reported by a local online news portal, Deep Analysis, on Thursday, which said that less than 1,000 workers were employed on the factory's two battery production lines. Tesla's Gigafactory Shanghai, its largest and most productive plant, employs around 20,000 workers, including those in assembly building the Model Y and Model 3. Reporting by Shubhendu Deshmukh in Bengaluru, Zhang Yan and Brenda Goh in Shanghai; Editing by Himani SarkarOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Tesla, Shubhendu Deshmukh, Zhang Yan, Brenda Goh, Himani Sarkar Organizations: Tesla, Tesla Inc, Bloomberg, Thomson Locations: Shanghai, Bengaluru

☆ Chinese spy balloon used US tech to spy on Americans-WSJ
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

June 28 (Reuters) - The Chinese spy balloon that passed over the U.S. early this year used American technology that helped it collect audio-visual information, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing preliminary findings from a closely held investigation. The findings support a conclusion that the craft was intended for spying, and not for weather monitoring as China had claimed, the report said. But the balloon did not seem to send data from its eight-day passage over Alaska, Canada and some other contiguous US states back to China, WSJ said. In February, the U.S. shot down the balloon, which had flown over sensitive military sites, sparking a diplomatic crisis. Reporting by Shubhendu Deshmukh in Bengaluru; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman & Simon Cameron-MooreOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Shubhendu Deshmukh, Muralikumar Anantharaman, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: Wall Street, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Thomson Locations: U.S, China, Alaska, Canada, Bengaluru

☆ Pakistan PM says first discounted Russian crude oil cargo arrives in Karachi
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

June 11 (Reuters) - Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday said the first cargo of discounted Russian crude oil arranged under a new deal struck between Islamabad and Moscow had arrived in Karachi. "Glad to announce that the first Russian discounted crude oil cargo has arrived in Karachi and will begin oil discharge tomorrow," Sharif tweeted. loading"This is the first ever Russian oil cargo to Pakistan and the beginning of a new relationship between Pakistan and Russian Federation," he added. The discounted crude offers a relief to Pakistan, which is facing a payments crisis and is at risk of defaulting on its debt. The country's imports of crude are expected to reach 100,000 barrels per day after the first cargo arrives on Monday.

Persons: Shehbaz Sharif, Sharif, Shubhendu Deshmukh, Jan Harvey, Ros Russell Organizations: Pakistan's, Sunday, Russian Federation, Reuters, Energy, Thomson Locations: Islamabad, Moscow, Karachi, Pakistan, Russian, Russia, India, China, Ukraine, Afghanistan, Iran, Rishab, Bengaluru, Shahid

An appellate authority at the Enforcement Directorate (ED) issued the so-called show cause notices under India's foreign exchange laws for alleged illegal remittances of 55.51 billion rupees ($673.2 million). India alleges Xiaomi's local unit made illegal remittances to foreign entities by passing them off as royalty payments. The notices were issued to Xiaomi and officials including the chief financial officer of its India unit, the ED said in a statement. The banks received notices because they allegedly allowed foreign remittances described as royalty payments without conducting due diligence and obtaining necessary documentation, the agency added. Court documents show Xiaomi's frozen assets are spread across accounts at various banks including Deutsche, Citi and HSBC.

Persons: Xiaomi, Aditya Kalra, Shubhendu Deshmukh, Shounak Dasgupta, Jamie Freed Organizations: HK, Deutsche Bank, HSBC, Citigroup, Reuters, Deutsche, Citi, Samsung Electronics, Thomson Locations: DELHI, India

April 21 (Reuters) - Paramount Global (PARA.O) has agreed to pay $167.5 million to investors to settle a case stemming from the 2019 merger of Viacom Inc and CBS Corp that created the entertainment company, a filing showed. Paramount and the investors agreed to the settlement reached on April 18, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing published on Friday. Paramount did not respond to a Reuters request for comment. Paramount reached a $122.5 million settlement in March with Viacom shareholders that also stemmed from the merger. Reporting by Shubhendu Deshmukh in Bengaluru; Editing by Leslie AdlerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ India avalanche kills six, injures 30 and traps many more - police
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Rescue team members search for survivors after an avalanche in the northeastern state of Sikkim, India, April 4, 2023. Indian Ministry of Defence/Handout via REUTERSGUWAHATI, India, April 4 (Reuters) - An avalanche in India's northeastern state of Sikkim on Tuesday killed at least six people, injured 30 and trapped many more, local officials said. All six dead were tourists and at least 70 people were feared trapped in the snow, rescue officials said. Rescue operations were on at the site, Reuters partner ANI reported on Twitter. An ANI video showed rescue workers and local residents crowding at the site of the accident.

☆ Facebook owner Meta planning lower bonus payouts for some employees- WSJ
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 28 (Reuters) - Facebook owner Meta Platforms Inc (META.O) is planning to lower bonus pays for some employees, and assess staff performance more frequently, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, citing an internal memo. The bonus multiplier for that grade has been cut to 65% from 85% earlier, WSJ said, adding that the company will also restart assessing staff performance twice a year. "We are making changes to our performance process, taking into account learnings and feedback over the last year while optimizing for the future. These changes are not related to workforce restructuring," a Meta spokesperson said in a statement to Reuters, without giving any further details. Reporting by Shubhendu Deshmukh in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Lavanya Ahire; Editing by Varun H KOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Softbank-owned Arm seeks to raise prices ahead of U.S. IPO - FT
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 23 (Reuters) - Arm Ltd, owned by Japan's SoftBank Group Corp (9984.T), is seeking to raise prices for its chip designs, as it aims to boost revenue ahead of an initial public offering in New York, the Financial Times reported on Thursday. The British chip designer recently notified several of its customers of a "significant shift" to its business model, the newspaper said, citing several industry executives and former employees. Arm intends to alter its royalty program, ceasing to charge chipmakers royalties for using its designs based on a chip's value, and instead charge device makers based on the value of the device, the report said. As a result of this change, Arm anticipates generating multiple times more revenue for each design it sells, since the value of an average smartphone far exceeds that of a single chip. Reporting by Baranjot Kaur and Shubhendu Deshmukh in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia Cheema and Varun H KOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Goldman Sachs prepares claims trading for wiped out Credit Suisse debt - Bloomberg News
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

March 19 (Reuters) - U.S. bank Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N) traders were preparing to take bids on claims against Credit Suisse Group's (CSGN.S) riskiest bonds, Bloomberg News reported on Sunday, citing people familiar with the matter. Clients were told in a message late Sunday that the New York-based bank would soon start trading claims in the so-called additional tier 1 bonds, or AT1s, according to the report. The Swiss lender's additional tier 1 shares with a nominal value of around 16 billion Swiss francs ($17.24 billion) will be written down completely after the Swiss government provided support for UBS' takeover of Credit Suisse. Goldman did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Reporting by Shubhendu Deshmukh in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi AichOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ FTX transferred $2.2 bln to Bankman-Fried via related entities, new managers say
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 16 (Reuters) - Bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX made transfers of about $2.2 billion to company founder Sam Bankman-Fried through related entities, the company's new management said. Overall more than $3.2 billion was transferred through payments and loans to company founders and key employees, FTX said in a statement on Wednesday. FTX filed for bankruptcy protection in November, saying it was unable to completely repay customers who had deposited funds on its exchange. FTX's new CEO, John Ray, has said his top priority was recovering assets to repay FTX customers. read moreReporting by Shubhendu Deshmukh in Bengaluru; Editing by Stephen CoatesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Magnitude 7.1 earthquake strikes Kermadec Islands in New Zealand - USGS
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

March 16 (Reuters) - An earthquake of 7.1 magnitude struck the Kermadec Islands region in New Zealand on Thursday, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said. The quake was estimated at a depth of 10 km (6.21 miles) USGS added. A tsunami warning was issued after the quake, the U.S. Tsunami Warning System said. Reporting by Shubhendu Deshmukh in BengaluruOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Meta exploring plans for Twitter rival
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

March 10 (Reuters) - Meta Platforms Inc (META.O) is exploring plans to launch a new social media app in its bid to displace Twitter as the world's "digital town square". "We're exploring a standalone decentralized social network for sharing text updates. A Twitter-like app would allow Meta to take advantage of the current chaos at the Elon Musk-led company, where cost-cutting has been rampant. Twitter has been struggling to hold on to its advertising base since Musk's takeover of the platform late last year. "They're just trying everything... at least with a mini blogging site like Twitter, there's some expectation that it could start to make money out of much quicker timeline than the metaverse investment."

☆ Meta explores decentralized social network app for text updates
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 10 (Reuters) - Meta Platforms Inc (META.O) is exploring a standalone decentralized social network for sharing text updates, a company spokesperson said on Friday, in what could be a direct competitor to billionaire Elon Musk's Twitter Inc."We're exploring a standalone decentralized social network for sharing text updates. We believe there's an opportunity for a separate space where creators and public figures can share timely updates about their interests," a Meta spokesperson told Reuters in an emailed statement. The report said Meta's new content app would support ActivityPub, the decentralized social networking protocol that powers Twitter-rival Mastodon and other federated apps. Meta's new app would be Instagram-branded and will allow users to register or login through their Instagram credentials, according to the Moneycontrol report. Reporting by Shubham Kalia and Shubhendu Deshmukh in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich and Sherry Jacob-PhillipsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Austrian army suspends Turkey quake rescue over security
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BERLIN/ZURICH, Feb 11 (Reuters) - The Austrian army has suspended rescue operations in quake-hit Turkey due to "an increasingly difficult security situation", its spokesperson said in a tweet on Saturday. Ministry spokesperson Michael Bauer tweeted that the Austrian Forces Disaster Relief Unit (AFDRU) was available for further rescue operations when the working environment became safe. "There is increasing aggression between groups in Turkey," he said. Turkish authorities have not commented on any unrest in the area, but President Tayyip Erdogan commented on the general security situation on Saturday, noting that a state of emergency had been declared and that there had been some looting. Some 82 rescue workers from Austria's armed forces have been in Antakya, Turkey, since Feb. 7 and their specialists have freed nine people from the rubble.

☆ Austrian army suspends Turkey quake rescue
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, Feb 11 (Reuters) - The Austrian army has suspended rescue operations in quake-hit Turkey due to "an increasingly difficult security situation", its spokesperson said in a tweet on Saturday. Ministry spokesperson Michael Bauer tweeted that the Austrian Forces Disaster Relief Unit (AFDRU) was available for further rescue operations when the working environment became safe. News agency AFP reported clashes between unidentified groups, and that Austrian troops were sheltering in a base camp with other international organizations and were awaiting instructions. Some 80 rescue workers from Austria's armed forces have been in Antakya, Turkey, since Feb. 7 and their specialists have freed nine people from the rubble. Reporting by Shubhendu Deshmukh in Bengaluru and Riham Alkousaa in Berlin Editing by Mark PotterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Iran restricts supply of cheap oil to Syria, doubles the price for crude, Wall Street Journal reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Jan 15 (Reuters) - Iranian officials have told Syria they would now have to pay more for additional shipments of oil, which will double the price to a market rate of more than $70 a barrel, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday, citing people familiar with the matter. Iran has also refused new deliveries on credit and asked Syria to pay in advance for new oil supply, WSJ said. Reporting by Shubhendu Deshmukh in Bengaluru; Editing by Susan FentonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Twitter further cuts staff overseeing global content moderation, Bloomberg reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 7 (Reuters) - Twitter Inc made further staff cuts in the trust and safety team handling global content moderation and in the unit related to hate speech and harassment, Bloomberg news reported on Saturday. Workers on teams handling policy on misinformation, global appeals and state media on the platform were also eliminated, the report added. Twitter's vice president of trust and safety, Ella Irwin, confirmed to Reuters that Twitter made some cuts in the trust and safety team on Friday night but did not give details. "We have thousands of people within Trust and Safety who work content moderation and have not made cuts to the teams that do that work daily," she said via email. The company was also was hit with a lawsuit last month that claimed the social media company disproportionately targeted female employees in layoffs.

☆ Twitter further cuts staff overseeing global content moderation -Bloomberg News
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Jan 7 (Reuters) - Twitter Inc made further staff cuts in the trust and safety team handling global content moderation and in the unit related to hate speech and harassment, Bloomberg news reported on Saturday. At least a dozen more cuts on Friday night affected workers in the company’s Dublin and Singapore offices, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter. Twitter, owned by billionaire Elon Musk, did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Reporting by Shubhendu Deshmukh in Bengaluru; Editing by Leslie AdlerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Twitter back online after global outage hits thousands
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Reports of Twitter outages fell sharply by Wednesday evening, according to the website, with some users later commenting service had returned to normal. loadingDuring the outage, some users said they were unable to log in to their Twitter account via desktops or laptops. Hundreds of Twitter employees quit the social media company in November, by some estimates, including engineers responsible for fixing bugs and preventing service outages. Thousands of Twitter users were also hit by a global outages in February and July, before Musk's takeover. In July, a near 19-hour service outage at Canada's biggest telecom operator Rogers Telecommunications shut banking, transport and government access for millions.

☆ Twitter down for thousands of users - Downdetector.com
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Dec 28 (Reuters) - Twitter Inc was down for thousands of users on Wednesday, according to outage tracking website Downdetector.com. Over 10,000 users reported issues with accessing the social media website in the United States as of 7:40 pm ET. Some users also complained that their Twitter notifications were not working. Reporting by Shubhendu Deshmukh in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra EluriOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Crypto exchange Gemini trying to recover $900 million from crypto lender Genesis, Financial Times reports
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Dec 3 (Reuters) - Crypto broker Genesis and its parent company Digital Currency Group (DCG) owe customers of the Winklevoss twins' crypto exchange Gemini $900 million, the Financial Times reported on Saturday. Crypto exchange Gemini is trying to recover the funds after Genesis was wrongfooted by last month’s failure of Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX crypto group, the newspaper said, citing people familiar with the matter. Venture capital company Digital Currency Group, which owns Genesis Trading and cryptocurrency asset manager Grayscale, owes $575 million to Genesis' crypto lending arm, Digital Currency Chief Executive Barry Silbert told shareholders last month. Gemini, which runs a crypto lending product in partnership with Genesis, has now formed a creditors' committee to recoup the funds from Genesis and its parent DCG, the report added. Genesis Global Capital suspended customer redemptions in its lending business last month, citing the sudden failure of crypto exchange FTX.

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