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☆ ‘An Act of War’: Inside America’s Silicon Blockade Against China
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( Alex W. Palmer | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

With the Oct. 7 export controls, the United States government announced its intent to cripple China’s ability to produce, or even purchase, the highest-end chips. The logic of the measure was straightforward: Advanced chips, and the supercomputers and A.I. “The key here is to understand that the U.S. wanted to impact China’s A.I. The outcome will likely shape U.S.-China competition, and the future of the global order, for decades to come. No technology in the history of human civilization has ever matched the breathtaking ascent of computing power.

Persons: ”, Gregory C, Allen, ” Allen, C.J, you’d, would’ve, “, Chris Miller Organizations: United, Wadhwani, A.I, Technologies, Center for Strategic, International Studies, Evercore ISI, Moore’s, Fletcher School, Tufts University Locations: United States, Washington, China, Russia, Ukraine

☆ With actors poised to join film and TV writers on strike, Hollywood insiders lay out the dream and nightmare scenarios: 'There's going to be no cash flow'
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

For the first time since 1960, Hollywood actors and writers could be on strike at the same time. If the actors union, SAG-AFTRA, hits the picket lines, it would cause an even deeper disruption to the entertainment industry. Stakes were high enough with the writers' strike. The movement is having a moment, as has been evidenced by other unions — from teachers to truck drivers — joining Hollywood writers on the picket line. A combined writers' and actors' strike "could well go into the end of the year," Handel said.

Persons: Jonathan Handel, that's, Handel, —, AFTRA, it's, Paul Hardart, Bob Iger, Peter Chernin —, Fox —, Iger, Alan Bergman, Dana Walden, I've, he'd, Hardart Organizations: Hollywood, Guild of, SAG, WGA, Alliance, Producers, Netflix, Disney, Guild of America, Entertainment, Media, Technology, NYU's Stern School of Business, News Corp, Disney Entertainment, United Locations: California, Hollywood, United States

Thames Water, weighed down by 14 billion pounds of debt and under pressure over its environmental record, had told shareholders it needed 1 billion pounds to help fund its turnaround. British ministers have been monitoring Thames Water amid fears it could need a government rescue if shareholders refused to invest more. "Shareholders have also acknowledged that delivery of the turnaround plan is likely to require the provision of further equity support," Thames Water said. The 750 million pound investment is subject to Thames Water improving the business plan underpinning its turnaround, it said. Core earnings (EBITDA) fell 3% to 1.1 billion on revenue which grew 4% to 2.3 billion pounds.

Persons: Ian Marchant, Sarah Young, Kate Holton Organizations: Water, Thames, China Investment Corp, Thomson Locations: Ontario

☆ North Korea says U.S. has 'sinister intention' in rejoining UNESCO
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SEOUL, June 27 (Reuters) - North Korea criticised on Tuesday the U.S. plan to rejoin the U.N. cultural agency UNESCO as a "sinister" move to use an international organisation for the purpose of "realizing the strategy for hegemony". The Paris-based U.N. agency announced this month the United States intended to rejoin in July, calling it an "act of confidence in UNESCO and in multilateralism". "Clear is the sinister intention of the U.S. hastening the reentry into the organization ... The U.S. has an inglorious background of having withdrawn not only from UNESCO but also from WHO, the UN Human Rights Council and other international organizations," a statement released by North Korea's permanent mission to UNESCO said. The United States initially joined UNESCO at its founding in 1945 but withdrew in 1984 in protest against alleged financial mismanagement and perceived anti-U.S. bias before returning in 2003.

Persons: Joe Biden, Donald Trump's, Jack Kim, Ed Osmond Organizations: UNESCO, Wall Street, WHO, UN Human Rights, North, World Health Organization, United, U.S, Trump, Thomson Locations: SEOUL, North Korea, Paris, United States, multilateralism, U.S, Israel, Korea

☆ Daniel Ellsberg, Pentagon Papers leaker and anti-war activist, dies at 92
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( Kaanita Iyer | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Washington CNN —Daniel Ellsberg, a former military analyst and anti-war activist whose disclosure of the so-called Pentagon Papers revealed systemic US government deception about the Vietnam War, has died, his family announced in a statement. As part of his work with RAND, Ellsberg had access to classified documents that demonstrated how the US government had systemically lied to the public about the war, and Ellsberg felt compelled to reveal the information. In a letter to his friends that he shared on social media in March, Ellsberg reflected on his decision to leak the Pentagon Papers. “It was a fate I would gladly have accepted if it meant hastening the end of the Vietnam War, unlikely as that seemed (and was). “No organization really wants to show how the sausage is made or legislation is made, and they prefer to be the only voice on policy to the public,” Ellsberg told NPR.

Persons: Washington CNN — Daniel Ellsberg, Ellsberg, ”, “, ” Ellsberg, “ Daniel, systemically, Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Robert McNamara, Lyndon B, John F, Ngo Dinh Diem –, Nixon, CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, “ It’s, Chelsea Manning, Roe, Wade, Patricia, Robert, Mary, Michael Organizations: Washington CNN, New York Times, Press Foundation, RAND Corporation, RAND, The New York Times, Times, Washington Post, Pentagon, Committee, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Harvard University, Marine Corps, Harvard, International Security Affairs, State Department, White House, WikiLeaks, NPR Locations: Vietnam, Kensington , California, Chicago, Detroit, United Kingdom, Amherst, Iraq

☆ F-16s for Ukraine: Kyiv would face big hurdles in using US-made jets
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Brad Lendon | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

CNN —Ukraine’s quest for US-made F-16 fighter jets received a big boost over the weekend when US President Joe Biden gave his backing for Kyiv’s pilots to be trained to fly them. In fact, one active duty F-16 pilot told CNN that expectations may be way too high. An F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter aircraft has its landing gear extended to land at the US military airfield at Spangdahlem, Germany. This is a multi-year process, and that’s just for the basic tactical unit of employment,” the F-16 pilot said. “To bring in Western aircraft, Ukraine might need to repave and potentially extend a number of runways, a process which Russia would likely detect.

It was against that backdrop that Biden and his fellow leaders entered three days of talks. Biden faces his fellow world leaders Friday in Japan under the shadow of a looming default on US debt, a scenario his advisers said risks subverting American leadership and sending the global economy into tailspin. The risk appears particularly acute as Biden works to rally fellow G7 officials behind a shared approach toward Russia and China. The conflict will be a key topic of discussion for world leaders Friday. Biden and fellow leaders were planning to discuss how much progress has been made on the battlefield, with an eye toward helping Ukraine regain territory and assume leverage in potential peace talks.

☆ China's mounting such a strong attack on the dollar's dominance that it's paying for almost all of its Russian oil imports in the yuan
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-11 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Much of the trade was done in the Chinese yuan, per Reuters. China has ramped up the use of the yuan to buy commodities such as oil and coal from Russia. The country has been using its own currency — the yuan — for almost all of the Russian oil it bought over the past year, Reuters reported on Thursday, citing multiple trading executives with direct knowledge of the matter. The executive was likely referring to Russian crude being subject to a $60-a-barrel price cap imposed by a G7-led coalition. To contextualize this, China imported $88 billion worth of major commodities including crude oil and fuel oil from Russia in 2022 — up 52% in value from 2021.

Indeed, the annual Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics report appears to show the pandemic was a trend-hastening event rather than a trend disrupter. A larger share of jobs reshuffled across occupations from 2016 to 2019 than was the case between 2019 and 2022, as the economy emerged from the pandemic. The highest rates of increased wages occurred in the lowest-paying jobs after the pandemic struck. The smallest median pay increases in that span came for management occupations, where the median wage rose by just 2.6% versus 8.6% in the three years before the pandemic. Some of the big occupation gainers reflect changes driven by the pandemic and other issues, such as the growth of the non-fossil fuel energy sector.

☆ UK's Bellway to buy back shares, hike social housing output
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Ajose Koilparambil | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Chief Executive Jason Honeyman told Reuters the company started hastening construction in its social housing programme in October after a demand slump. Honeyman said homes built in the programme would make up more than quarter of overall output in the fiscal year ending on July 31. Bellway, which builds everything from one-bedroom apartments to six-bedroom family homes and luxury penthouses, said there was a moderate improvement in bookings since January. Bellway shares edged up about 1% in morning trade. ($1=0.8121 pounds)Reporting by Aby Jose Koilparambil in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-PhillipsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ The State of Payment Methods: More Choice and Economic Changes Are Affecting Consumers Spend
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Insider Intelligence | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Although debit still reigns supreme, with consumer preferences moving toward digital, cash and checks will continue to be displaced in the US. But even though cash usage is dwindling, the Federal Reserve reports that 79% of US adults still hold cash daily. Cash and check usage may be dwindling, but debit and credit cards are seeing upticks among economic uncertainty. As consumers become more concerned about the economy and job security while also steadily adopting new digital solutions, we are seeing shifts away from traditional payment methods. Curious to learn more about the state of payment methods?

☆ The Biden administration is offering to pay Colorado River farmers to let fields go dry during a devastating drought. They're worried it's just the first step in losing their way of life.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-19 | by ( Ethan Dodd | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The Biden administration is paying Colorado River farmers and ranchers to let their fields run dry. Climate change has made the Colorado River the dryest it's been in more than a thousand years. Knowing they have to do something, Grand Valley farmers and ranchers want better compensation to make fallowing worth their while. At this better price they received enough applications from agricultural producers to cover the thousand acres Grand Valley offered, he said. Are you a farmer, rancher, or resident of the Colorado River basin concerned about water conservation?

☆ The State of Payment Methods: More Choice and Economic Changes Are Affecting How Consumers Spend
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Insider Intelligence | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

☆ Will AI Kill the Radio Star?
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Spencer Jakab | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Whether it is musicians or talking heads such as Joe Rogan, yesterday’s radio stars have mostly become streaming and podcast stars. Video didn’t kill the radio star—it just wounded him. MTV launched its service in 1981 with The Buggles’ prophetic hit. Young people were soon glued to the cable sensation as VHF dials gathered dust, hastening the decline of over-the-air TV. More than 40 years later, video streamers such as Netflix are now choking cable to death with penetration soon expected to drop below half of U.S. households.

The country buys about 17 million tonnes of mostly GM yellow corn from the United States each year, mostly for animal feed. Mexico will still prohibit use of GM corn for human consumption, such as flour, dough, or tortilla made from the grain. About 20% of Mexican corn imports from the United States is white corn for food products. It will still move forward with its plan to ban imports of the herbicide glyphosate, with a transition period in effect until March 31, 2024. The United States had given the Mexican government until Tuesday to explain the science behind its proposed bans.

Some Chinese youth who spoke to Reuters reflected the sense of frustration. But China's Gen Z has its own characteristics that present a dilemma for Xi, some analysts said. A survey of 4,000 Chinese by consultancy Oliver Wyman found Gen Z to be the most negative about China's economic outlook of all the age groups. FIXING THE YOUTHIn a New Year speech, Xi acknowledged the need to improve the prospects of China's youth, without mentioning the protests against his zero-COVID approach. Making housing more affordable could mean allowing a sector responsible for a quarter of China's economic activity in recent years to collapse.

☆ An unexpected force may be speeding up glacier melt across the globe: colorful algae blooms
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Now he sees bright pink and red algae blooms every year. Dr. Matt DaveyScientists like Maréchal think these algae blooms are getting larger and more frequent as rising global temperatures melt glaciers worldwide. Glacier algae seems to be booming, but scientists have a lot to learnResearcher Matt Davey samples snow algae at Lagoon Island, Antarctica. Ice algae and snow algae are different types of microorganisms, and different fields of study, but they both affect glaciers. A strip of "blood snow" filled with red algae cuts across a dark bloom of purple algae in Greenland.

Hunt, reminding lawmakers of his own past as an entrepreneur in marketing and publishing, made accelerating economic growth a priority in his budget speech to parliament on Thursday. Britain is badly in need of a growth fillip. It also cut its growth forecast for 2024 to 1.3% before a better couple of years thereafter with growth at 2.6% and 2.7%. It said Hunt's plan to cut public investment from 2024 would probably weigh on productivity growth - key to an economy's long-term prospects - beyond its five-year forecasts. "I have tried to avoid anything that damages long-term growth," Hunt told the BBC.

Canada now expects to welcome 465,000 new permanent residents in 2023, up 4% from a previous target, and 485,000 in 2024, up 7.5%. "This year's immigration levels plan will help businesses find the workers they need," said Fraser in a statement. He added the new targets would also allow Canada to fulfil commitments to help those fleeing violence and war in their home countries. A record number of Canadians are now retiring, hastening a mass exodus of Canada's most highly skilled workers and leaving businesses scrambling. In a statement on Tuesday, the Business Council of Canada called for "bolder targets" in economic immigration.

☆ U.K.'s Sunak face Parliament for the first time as prime minister
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

Rishi Sunak faced the opposition in Parliament for the first time as Britain’s prime minister Wednesday, seeking to provide assurances that his new government would offer economic stability and continuity after his predecessor’s tax plans triggered market tumult. He also quietly reinstituted a moratorium on fracking that was part of the Conservative Party’s 2019 election platform. “We will have to take difficult decisions to restore economic stability and confidence,” Sunak told the House of Commons. Sunak is seen by Conservatives as a safe pair of hands they hope can stabilize an economy sliding toward recession — and stem the party’s plunging popularity. Sunak brought in people from different wings of the Conservative Party for his Cabinet.

☆ Asian shares track Wall Street higher as jitters abound
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-14 | by ( Stella Qiu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) rose 1.6% in early Asia trade. Offshore, risk appetite is already softening, with U.S. S&P 500 futures sliding 0.1% while the Nasdaq futures falling 0.2%. Wall Street had a volatile session, after initial sell-off on the data proved short-lived with technical support and short-position covering helping stocks stage a strong rebound. Futures have also suggested that rates would now peak at 5%, bringing them to levels not seen since 2007. read moreOil prices fell in early Asian trade.

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