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☆ Euro zone inflation falls again in June as energy prices tumble
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

FRANKFURT, June 30 (Reuters) - Inflation in the euro zone extended its decline in June as the cost of fuel tumbled, more than offsetting an acceleration in prices for services, a preliminary reading showed on Friday. The data, pointing to only the smallest drop in underlying inflation, was unlikely to sway the European Central Bank, which has pencilled in a ninth consecutive rate hike for July and is eyeing one in September too. "Inflation is still high and sticky but momentum is moderating," said Frederik Ducrozet, head of macroeconomic research at Pictet Wealth Management. The euro zone unemployment rate remained at an historic low of 6.5% in May, Eurostat reported separately on Friday. Big differences remain between euro zone countries, with June headline inflation falling to as little as 1.6% in Spain and Belgium and 1.0% in Luxembourg while staying in double digits in Slovakia (11.3%) and close to them in the Baltics.

Persons: chalking, Frederik Ducrozet, Ulrike Kastens, Christine Lagarde, Neil Shah, Francesco Canepa, Catherine Evans Organizations: European Central Bank, Pictet Wealth Management, ECB, DWS . Services, Eurostat, Edison Group, Thomson Locations: FRANKFURT, Germany, Europe, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Belgium, Luxembourg, Slovakia, Baltics

☆ Pension reform defiance brings new blood to French trade unions
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Leigh Thomas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Interest is growing among younger and private sector workers, where unions tend to be less well represented. Vacheron said that more than 30% of the CGT's recent joiners were under the age of 35 while 70% were coming from the private sector, which traditionally is dominated by the CFDT. "Since the retirement reform is contested by the young and old, public and private sector workers, they see a utility in belonging to unions, unions are attractive," Vacheron said. "Unions are rebuilding themselves from the ground up through recruitment and not only street protests," sociologist Michel Wieviorka said. Labour relations consultant Stephanie Matteudi-Lecocq said that the momentum coming from pension reform pushback could ultimately put unions back on more solid footing in companies.

☆ Last time Trump lawyer Joe Tacopina called a rape accuser greedy and crazy he won. It's a different world now.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Laura Italiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

By the time he won an acquittal in a high-profile, 2011 Manhattan criminal trial, Tacopina had attacked what he called her "functional tolerance" for alcohol. She remembered in graphic detail being immobilized in her bed — too drunk to resist — as she was allegedly raped, she told jurors. "She called him a rapist," Tacopina told the jury in openings Monday. "I can dance backwards and forwards in four-inch heels," she told Tacopina when he questioned her dressing-room balancing act. "It caused me to realize that staying silent does not work," she told Tacopina of the courage she saw in that #MeToo wave.

Carlson, the highest-rated single host at Fox News, did not respond to multiple requests for comment. The decision to part ways with Carlson was made Friday evening by Fox Corporation chief executive Lachlan Murdoch and Fox News chief executive Suzanne Scott, a person familiar with the matter said. During his time as a prime time host on Fox News, Carlson ascended to become one of the most influential figures inside the GOP. In a text on Nov. 5, 2020 — two days after the 2020 election — Carlson wrote his producer Alex Pfeiffer: “We worked really hard to build what we have. Last month, she sued Fox News, Carlson, his executive producer Justin Wells and other figures, as well as Fox’s parent corporation.

☆ People think AI is to blame for the mysterious case of the Spotify song with 49 different names
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( Will Gendron | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

One Spotify user was recommended the same song under 49 different names and suspects AI is behind it. Turns out, AI-generated songs are taking over conversation in the music industry. Spotify user Adam Faze took to Twitter to try to find out. except every time I looked, it was a different song name and artist entirely." He decided to add each of these recommended tracks to a playlist, which now includes 49 "different" songs.

☆ The Russian air force's struggles in Ukraine reveal glaring problems in now Moscow trains its pilots
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Alex Hollings | Sandboxx News | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +35 min

Despite being bigger and more advanced than its enemy, Russia's air force has struggled in Ukraine. It's commonly said that Russian fighter pilots are not as well trained as their Western counterparts, particularly those from the United States. But however ineffective you may think Russian pilot training is compared to the West, the truth seems to be … much worse. A Russian air force pilot prepares to take off in an Su-35 fighter jet at Hemeimeem air base in Syria in September 2019. Put simply, the Gulf War air campaign creates a damning juxtaposition when compared directly to Russia's air campaign over Ukraine.

☆ Here's why the world's biggest publicly traded hedge fund is cautious on stocks right now
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( Morgan Chittum | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Man Group's Mark Jones says he's cautious on the stock market right now. Stocks are facing deteriorating fundamentals, the Deputy CEO said on a recent podcast. "I think the risk-reward in equities is very, very tough at the moment," he said. Sign up for our newsletter to get the inside scoop on what traders are talking about — delivered daily to your inbox. The first reason to be cautious is stock fundamentals will likely deteriorate, Jones says, adding there's potential for further cuts in company earnings expectations.

☆ Gen Z is chalking up credit card debt and falling behind on their payments faster than any other generation, new report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Gen Z is chalking up credit card debt faster than any other generation, a Credit Karma report says. Those in Generation Z — born between 1997 and 2012 — are racking up credit card debt faster than any other generation, according to a March 16 report from Credit Karma, a California-based personal finance company. Millennials, meanwhile, had average credit card debt of $5,898 in the last quarter of 2022. This includes credit card, mortgage, student loans, medical loans, auto lease, or auto loan accounts that are overdue by more than 30 days, per Credit Karma. Credit Karma's report comes as the luxury market looks to tap Gen Z spenders as more in the cohort gain spending power amid high inflation.

☆ The good news is markets look resilient — but the bad news is just about everything else
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Wizardry aside, let's see why the stock market has proved so resilient this year, even though the economy's providing nothing to cheer for. DataTrek cofounder Nicholas Colas is chalking up stable markets to strong earnings. "The only explanation that makes sense to us for this conundrum of 'bad' news and stable markets is that US corporate earnings power remains resilient," Colas wrote in a Thursday note to clients. Even as markets act like everything's fine, there's still not quite enough optimism among investors to say that markets are nearing a peak, according to Ned Davis Research. A top-ranked stock-picker said January's hot CPI report suggests the stock market is far from the bottom.

Both men, who are part of the RNC team tasked with reviewing the midterms, confirmed the discussion to NBC News. “We had a little bit of a debate between me and Henry Barbour over candidate quality versus candidate support,” Bowyer, who is also chief operating officer of Turning Point Action, a conservative group, said. And what we control here at the RNC is money that comes in and money that goes out. Many in the party have cited candidate quality as the chief reason for a subpar performance. … When people say candidate quality, some perceive that as a code word for Trump endorsement.

☆ Elon Musk admits to making mistakes in his first 6 weeks of owning Twitter: 'Hey, I just got here, man.'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Sindhu Sundar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Elon Musk gave the "All-In" podcast a gently self-deprecating review of his tenure at Twitter. But he quipped that it would be "pretty embarrassing and sad" if the moves tanked the site. "In the beginning, we'll make, obviously, a lot more mistakes, because I'm new to — Hey, I just got here, man," he said on the "All-In" podcast show posted on Saturday. Musk also defended a new "views" feature that Twitter unveiled this month to show how many people saw a particular tweet, which many users criticized for cluttering the interface. And obviously, if I make a bunch of mistakes, then Twitter won't succeed, and that will be pretty embarrassing and sad."

☆ Jill Biden now ‘all in’ for second run at the White House, people close to her say
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Kate Bennett | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

Jill Biden is now “all in” on the idea, according to a person who works with the East Wing. Recent polling, however, suggests a large swath of the Democratic Party may not be eager to see the president run again. President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden arrive with Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff for a bill signing ceremony for the Respect for Marriage Act on Tuesday, December 13, 2022, on the South Lawn of the White House. “[Jill Biden] is the one more aware of how the last few years have affected Joe [Biden,]” noted a person with ties to the Biden family. Jill Biden is also the tender of Joe Biden’s legacy.

☆ China's Xi thanks late leader Jiang Zemin for ensuring party's survival from 'storms'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Li Xueren/Xinhua via REUTERSBEIJING, Dec 6 (Reuters) - Chinese President Xi Jinping paid tribute to former leader Jiang Zemin on Tuesday for ensuring the Communist Party's survival from "political storms" and reforming it to inject new vitality and modernise the country's economy. "In the late 1980s and early 1990s, serious political storms occurred at home and abroad, and world socialism experienced severe complications. Some Western countries imposed so-called 'sanctions' on China," Xi told an audience including China's top leadership and Jiang's direct successor Hu Jintao. But Jiang stepped forward to press reform and opening up, strengthen the party's ties with the people, engage in "diplomatic struggles" and upheld China's independence, dignity, security and stability, Xi added. Attendees at the ceremony all stood as Xi spoke, and wore white chrysanthemums, a traditional Chinese symbol for mourning.

☆ BLACKROCK: Here's how to survive a market that's underestimating the damage from a recession, and profit on the other side
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Marley Jay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Stock market investors haven't priced in a recession yet, according to BlackRock. The firm says investors are too hopeful about future rate cuts and aren't ready for falling profits. The firm's playbook lays out a multi-asset strategy for before and after an expected recession. The other — based on BlackRock's view that a recession is coming — is how much "economic damage" is reflected in asset prices. "We find that earnings expectations don't yet price in even a mild recession," according to a recent report from the BlackRock Investment Institute.

☆ Obituary: China's Jiang Zemin confounded doubters, mended U.S. ties
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

[1/5] A security guard stands next to a portrait of China's former President Jiang Zemin at an exhibition to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in Beijing, China, July 7, 2011. Under Jiang, China weathered the 1997-1998 Asian financial crisis, joined the World Trade Organisation in 2001 and won the bid to host the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. "Jiang Zemin was more ready to be natural, even though sometimes it could be perceived as vulgar, not very sophisticated." At celebrations for the 50th anniversary of the People's Republic in 1999, floats carried giant portraits of Mao, Deng and Jiang past Tiananmen Square. Jiang, like Mao, wore his trousers well above his waist and brushed his hair straight back.

☆ Taylor Swift slams 'outside entity' over ticket fiasco: 'I'm not going to make excuses for anyone'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Leslie Josephs | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

"I'm not going to make excuses for anyone because we asked them, multiple times, if they could handle this kind of demand and we were assured they could. The CEO of Live Nation's largest shareholder defended Ticketmaster on Thursday, chalking up the issues to Swift's popularity and bots. "It's a function of Taylor Swift. The site was supposed to open up for 1.5 million verified Taylor Swift fans," Maffei told CNBC's "Squawk on the Street." Maffei said Ticketmaster sold more than 2 million tickets on Tuesday and demand for Swift "could have filled 900 stadiums."

☆ RSV hospitalization rate for seniors is 10 times higher than usual for this point in the season
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Jen Christensen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

In the years before the Covid-19 pandemic, hospitalization rates for seniors were about 10 times lower at this point in the season. Based on best estimates, there are between 10,000 and 15,000 adult deaths in the United States from RSV each year and around 150,000 hospitalizations for RSV, Falsey said. Adults with weakened immune systems need to be careful in RSV season. Doctors’ offices have swab tests that can determine whether an illness is flu, RSV or Covid. Protective measures for this busy RSV season will sound familiar: Wash your hands frequently, disinfect surfaces, and wear a mask in crowded spaces.

☆ Carmaker Nissan just sold its Russian business for less than $1 to a state-owned company, chalking up nearly $700 million in losses as it exits the country
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Carmaker Nissan said it is exiting Russia and selling its operations to state-owned NAMI for under $1. The deal gives Nissan the option to buy back the entity and its operations within the next six years. The deal allows for the Russian operations to continue and preserves 2,000 jobs in the company. However, the deal gives Nissan the option to buy back the entity and its operations within the next six years, the carmaker added. Nissan suspended its Russian operations in March after the country invaded Ukraine on February 24, triggering sweeping sanctions against Moscow.

☆ Memes flood social media as anxious Mexicans process eerily timed earthquake
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( Brendan O'Boyle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

People gesture at an area cordoned off by police after an ornament fell off from a church during an earthquake, in Guadalajara, Mexico September 19, 2022. On WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook and beyond, anxious Mexicans found humor in the unexplainable - that an earthquake would strike just an hour after a scheduled earthquake drill in Mexico City and other major cities. "These Mexicans are hardcore, they do earthquake drills with live earthquakes," one meme said, showing an image of an impressed Barack Obama. Some memes cast a suspicious eye on official reports that the timing of another Sept. 19 earthquake was just a coincidence. One academic study released prior to the latest quake showed that three in 10 people who experienced the Sept. 19, 2017 quake suffered effects of post-traumatic stress disorder.

☆ How an underground market for used Amazon seller accounts is wreaking havoc
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-19 | by ( Jordan Parker Erb | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Nice :-)Today, we've got an inside look at a niche underground market for used Amazon seller accounts — one where fraudsters are wreaking havoc and raising questions about identity theft. People are being bombarded with return packages from Amazon customers. Insider spoke to six victims whose identities were used by fraudsters selling items like bargain-bin clothing and counterfeit goods. Angry Amazon customers are buying and then returning dodgy products — and in doing so, they're bombarding strangers with monthslong deluges of mystery packages. Inside the underground market for used Amazon seller accounts.

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