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☆ Does British tourism really need the royal family?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Ross Bennett-Cook | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Love them or loathe them, the royal family are up there with red telephone boxes and scones when it comes to images of Britishness. The royal family does bring tourism to the UK. But if the royal family were to disappear, would the UK’s tourism industry suddenly implode? And while the international perception of Britain is certainly intertwined with the royal family, this does not tell us whether a reigning royal family is necessary for tourism. After all, the history surrounding the monarchy and places associated with them would still be here even if the royal family was not.

When General Motors began outlining plans in 2020 to fully switch to electric vehicles, it didn’t account for one critical factor: Many of the battery minerals needed to fulfill its plans were still in the ground. “I remember seeing a report from our raw-materials team at the time saying, ‘There is plenty of lithium out there. There is plenty of nickel’,” said Sham Kunjur , an industrial engineer now in charge of securing the raw materials for GM’s batteries. “We will buy them from the open market.”

☆ Futures edge higher in early hours on debt talks optimism
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SummarySummary Companies Futures up: Dow 0.32%, S&P 0.37%, Nasdaq 0.33%May 15 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures edged higher on Monday amid optimism that lawmakers will reach an agreement to raise the U.S. debt limit to avoid a catastrophic default, and ahead of speeches by Federal Reserve officials lined up through the week. ET, Dow e-minis were up 108 points, or 0.32%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 15.5 points, or 0.37%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 44.5 points, or 0.33%. Markets are waiting to hear them to gauge the pricing of rate cuts this year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) fell 1.1% last week, while the S&P 500 index (.SPX) fell 0.3% and the Nasdaq (.IXIC) rose 0.4%. Reporting by Shreyashi Sanyal in Bengaluru; Editing by Nivedita BhattacharjeeOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ In Los Angeles, an Indian Chinese Feast Celebrating Female Founders
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( Jean Trinh | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Before all of that, though, the women had some cooking to do, with help from chef Akilah York, whom Gao had hired to provide culinary back up. The goal was to kick back while shoring one another up. “We’re going around the table being like, ‘I see you. The guest Yasmine Khatib of the Los Angeles flower studio Yasmine Floral Design provided a trio of pastel arrangements: white vases filled with foxgloves, pincushions, peonies, poppies and alliums. And Shelley Kleyn Armistead, another guest and the chief executive of the Gjelina hospitality group, supplied the speckled white dinner plates from Gjelina’s kitchenware brand, Gjusta Goods.

☆ Who are zillennials?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Terry Ward | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Along the blurry edge at the cusp of the two generations, between Gen Y and Z, is where zillennials live. Zillennials straddle the generations of millennials, who are considered digital pioneers, and Gen Z, who are considered digital natives who never knew life before screens. While zillennials often feel they don’t fit in with either Gen Z or millennials, Dorsey said the middle zone they occupy has its own advantages. His firm’s research has shown Gen Z to be more connected to social causes than millennials, with zillennials similarly more interested than millennials when it comes to social issues. From a young age, zillennials have learned the effects of climate change, said Carr.

☆ With 'The Ferryman,' Justin Cronin explores a brave new dystopian world
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-07 | by ( Mike Calia | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

"I didn't sit down and say to myself, 'I'm going to write another dystopia,'" Cronin told CNBC in an interview Tuesday at a bustling lower Manhattan diner. There was a very specific arrangement, military and political, that's no longer there. Some point I'm going to do something else. As a writer, you need to walk a lot of different streets, in a lot of different ways, to know this stuff. Even where political will is absent, even where there are strong disincentives to change, things come along and make it happen.

☆ After 35 years in flight, the US military says it's done buying one of its most unique and controversial aircraft
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Stavros Atlamazoglou | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Since its first flight in 1989, the V-22 Osprey has provided a unique capability to the US military. One of them is the V-22 Osprey, a unique and controversial aircraft that has carried conventional troops and special operators around the world for two decades. US Navy/Vernon PughIn the three decades since its first flight, the V-22 Osprey has brought a distinct capability to the US military's aviation fleet, despite its troubled development. Conventional and special-ops missionsUS Air Force special tactics operators fast rope from a CV-22B during an exercise in the UK in April 2021. In August 2022, Air Force Special Operations Command grounded its CV-22s over issues with its clutch, which had caused several "safety incidents."

☆ Rugby league-'Marvel' coach Bennett hailed ahead of 900th match
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Ian Ransom | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Some 36 years on and seven National Rugby League (NRL) titles later, the 73-year-old supercoach will plot the Sharks' downfall again on Saturday when he coaches the Dolphins in his 900th championship match. Emotions may run high during the game, but the famously taciturn Bennett will likely have his usual poker-face on while looking to engineer victory. Tributes from players, fellow coaches and NRL head office have rained down on the luminary this week. No NRL coach has come close to Bennett's tally of games, with second-placed Tim Sheens, the 72-year-old Wests Tigers manager, yet to crack 700. He wandered into it when asked to mentor a junior side at Queensland's police academy after the team's coach fell ill.

☆ Panthers beat Maple Leafs to grab commanding 2-0 series lead
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Frank Pingue | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY SportsTORONTO, May 4 (Reuters) - The Toronto Maple Leafs were considered Stanley Cup favourites when the second round began but now have their backs to the wall and are staring at a 2-0 series deficit following a 3-2 loss to the Florida Panthers on Thursday. The Maple Leafs, who will play the next two games on the road, now face an uphill climb as NHL teams that have won the first two games of a best-of-seven playoff series have advanced 86% of the time. To be down 2-0 is not what we want but it's a long series and there's lot of hockey left," said Toronto forward Ryan O'Reilly. "We knew they were going to come out with a big push and they came out good," said Panthers forward Sam Bennett. But the Panthers roared back from a 3-1 series deficit to eliminate Boston and are now surprisingly in complete control while the Maple Leafs are reeling.

☆ Opinion | I Was Raped. I Didn’t Scream.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

To the Editor:I cannot begin to express my gratitude for Jessica Bennett’s May 2 Opinion essay, “Questions Not to Ask a Rape Accuser.”I didn’t scream when I regained consciousness while being raped by a boy who was part of a group of exchange students newly arrived in southern Vermont. I didn’t scream when the room began to spin. Awakening, pinned, I didn’t scream when I heard other boys pounding on the door. “They want their turn,” the boy on top of me said. I didn’t scream: To protect myself from further rape, I told him I liked him best and wanted only him.

☆ Gold hovers above $2,000 as Fed rate decision looms
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Gold prices held steady above the key $2,000 level on Wednesday, while investors turned their attention to the U.S. Federal Reserve's interest rate decision due later in the day. The Fed's rate decision will be announced at 1800 GMT. Bullion is known as a hedge against inflation and economic turbulence, but higher rates tend to dent zero-yielding asset's appeal. On the physical front, Perth Mint's April gold product sales slipped more than 6% month-on-month, while silver sales hit a six-month peak. Analysts have cut their forecasts for palladium after a 60% price fall, but rising vehicle production should limit any sell-off, a Reuters poll showed.

☆ An investment chief who manages $1 billion in assets shares 10 investments that will reduce your portfolio's volatility while this bear market lasts longer than expected.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( James Faris | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Here are 10 ways to protect against losses and volatility in this long-lasting bear market. "It went beyond dodging a bullet," Steve Sosnick, the chief strategist at Interactive Brokers, said of first quarter earnings results in a late April interview with Insider. Weaker earnings raise valuation concernsBut some investors aren't impressed by Q1 earnings — at least not enough to get bullish. Besides weaker earnings growth and lofty valuations, another risk for stocks is that upcoming quarterly results will miss higher expectations in a shaky economy. "We're still looking at fairly high-single-digit earnings growth for the next couple of quarters overall," Sosnick said.

SummarySummary Companies Fed rate decision due at 1800 GMTU.S. job openings drop in MarchMay 3 (Reuters) - Gold prices held steady above the key $2,000 level on Wednesday, while investors turned their attention to the U.S. Federal Reserve's interest rate-hike verdict due later in the day. The market mostly expects the U.S. central bank to raise interest rates by 25 basis points. "If the Fed were to surprise with a pause, this would suggest a deepening banking crisis and would likely send gold higher," said Clifford Bennett, chief economist at ACY Securities. Bullion is known as a hedge against inflation and economic turbulence, but higher rates tend to dent zero-yielding asset's appeal. Reporting by Ashitha Shivaprasad in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-PhillipsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Panthers stun Maple Leafs to draw first blood in playoff series
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Frank Pingue | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY SportsTORONTO, May 2 (Reuters) - The Florida Panthers spoiled the Toronto Maple Leafs' long-awaited return to the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs on Tuesday with a 4-2 victory in the opener of their best-of-seven series. From the moment Toronto sealed their place in the second round there has been a palpable buzz all around the city. The Leafs' win over Tampa Bay in the first round had snapped a 19-year playoff series win drought, which was the longest active such streak in the NHL, but the Panthers brought Leafs' fans crashing down to Earth at Scotiabank Arena. So I think those are the kind of things that just happened a step quicker tonight than it was in the previous series. The Panthers doubled their lead eight minutes into the second period when Sam Bennett tipped in Aaron Ekblad's shot from the point.

☆ Writers' strike support: Celebs stand in solidarity with TV and film writers
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Lisa Respers France | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —Several stars are vocalizing their support for TV and film writers. The Writers Guild of America (WGA) is currently on strike as they seek better compensation and other concessions from studios and streamers. “Everything changed with streaming and everyone needs to be compensated for their work,” actress Amanda Seyfried told Variety on the red carpet. “Whatever I can do to support the guild,” Fallon said. She also spoke on the Met red carpet about being a member of the guild.

☆ AMD beats on the top and bottom lines but is still a second-half story. Here's why
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Zev Fima | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

The good news: Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) first-quarter beat on Tuesday revealed a likely bottom in its struggling PC business. The not-as-good: The chipmaker won't resume the kind of growth we're used to until the second half of the year. Here's why: Management sees some "modest" data center growth in the second quarter, but demand remains suppressed as a result of ongoing cloud optimization efforts. Outlook AMD provided an outlook for the second quarter of 2023 that was slightly below expectations. Ultimately management expects sequential growth in client and data center to be offset by "modest declines" in gaming and embedded.

☆ An Island Utopia Where Nobody Dies and the Living Is Easy
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Chelsea Leu | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

THE FERRYMAN, by Justin CroninFor a science-fictional utopia created by a reclusive “Designer,” the world of “The Ferryman” bears a startling resemblance to the well-heeled strata of, say, San Francisco or New York. The art is bad, and no one seems to realize it. There’s something mildly intoxicating, in fact, about entering this utopia, called Prospera, because Cronin’s shrewd world-building allows us to have it both ways: We sink into aspirational fantasy even as we relish the author’s sly commentary on a certain species of coastal elite. (Prospera is an island, after all.) Rather than undergo the indignities of birth and death, old or infirm Prosperans are sent by ferry to a mysterious island called the Nursery, where their memories are wiped and their bodies rejuvenated, so they can return as hale 16-year-olds with new identities.

☆ Ex-Clinton pollster promoting DeSantis as a way to defeat Trump is 'dangerous,' Democratic group warns
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Nicole Gaudiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

An ex-Clinton pollster boosted Ron DeSantis and dismissed Joe Biden as the way to defeat Donald Trump. Mark Penn's commentary is "significant" and "dangerous," on Democratic group, Third Way, warns. Ron DeSantis — and dismissal of President Joe Biden — as the way to defeat former President Donald Trump in 2024 is "significant" and "dangerous," one Democratic group warned on Monday. "There is nothing 'dangerous' in questioning whether Joe Biden can beat Donald Trump," he added. "If we do get to the Biden/Trump rematch, I will surely be writing 'How Joe Biden can beat Donald Trump,'" he wrote.

☆ E. Jean Carroll and the Persistent Misperception That a Rape Victim Should Scream - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Jessica Bennett | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

“We have been up and down the mountain on the question of whether she went to the police,” he said.) Mr. Trump does not face jail. Ms. Carroll is seeking monetary damages and for Trump to retract the statements she believes were defamatory. This is one of more than a dozen sexual misconduct accusations against Mr. Trump, but the first one to be considered in a courtroom. That crime took place in a brothel, where Mr. Bedlow carried the woman by force, and which happens to be a few blocks away from the federal courthouse where Ms. Carroll is testifying.

☆ In San Francisco, a Troubled Year at a Whole Foods Market Reflects a City’s Woes
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-30 | by ( Thomas Fuller | Sharon Lafraniere | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Police described theft as rampant at Whole Foods, with thieves walking out with armfuls of alcohol, at least at the start. Chief Scott said that plainclothes officers were sent there and security improved over time, but seemingly not enough for the company. Mr. Peterson could see the 2,000-unit Trinity apartments, the high-end complex that Whole Foods had hoped would be its customer base. Across the intersection, security guards stood sentry in front of the Orpheum Theater, where “Pretty Woman: The Musical” was playing. Mr. Peterson said he understood why Whole Foods had closed the store.

☆ Fact Check-Video features deepfakes of Nancy Pelosi, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Joe Biden
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

(Editors note: Paragraph 11 contains language some readers may find offensive)A video with clips of Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and President Joe Biden that have been digitally altered is being shared by users who believe it to be real. The video includes clips from the documentary Pelosi in the House, made by Pelosi’s daughter Alexandra (here). We’re at [redacted], which has facilities for the House and the Senate to meet. Project Veritas and James O’Keefe, both mentioned in the video, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Audio tracks appearing to be the voices of Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and President Joe Biden were added onto various clips.

☆ Stetson Bennett Faces a Long Wait at the NFL Draft
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Andrew Beaton | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Over the last couple of years, there has been exactly one name from college football that even people who don’t pay attention to the sport have heard over and over: Stetson Bennett IV. The former University of Georgia walk-on, who left to play at a junior college and returned to lead the Bulldogs to consecutive national championships, followed one of the most improbable career arcs in college football history. Bennett won’t have to pay for a meal at Weaver D’s in Athens, Ga., ever again.

☆ Amazon Advertising talent is being poached for C-suite roles at other firms. Meet 10 former execs who jumped to companies like TripleLift and LoopMe
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Lauren Johnson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A number of Amazon ad execs have taken top tier jobs at giants like Walmart and hot startups like LoopMe and TripleLift. They're bringing deep experience at Amazon Advertising building businesses from scratch to their new roles. In recent years, Samba TV, Cooler Screens, Walmart, and Netflix have all hired former Amazon Advertising staffers to crucial, revenue-driving roles centered around advertising. He said Amazon's ad execs have both relationships with advertisers, retail expertise, and operational experience in standing up an ad business from scratch. Insider identified ten former Amazon ad execs who have moved into C-suite roles.

☆ Jane Roberts, who is married to Chief Justice John Roberts, made $10.3 million in commissions from elite law firms, whistleblower documents show
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Mattathias Schwartz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +20 min

Jane Roberts was paid more than $10 million by a host of elite law firms, a whistleblower alleges. At least one of those firms argued a case before Chief Justice Roberts after paying his wife hundreds of thousands of dollars. And I realized that even the law firms who were Jane's clients had nowhere to go. Mark Jungers, another one of Jane Roberts' former colleagues, said that Jane was smart, talented, and good at her job. But whether that committee has the authority to discipline Thomas or any other Supreme Court Justice remains a matter of murky constitutional interpretation, to be ultimately decided by the Supreme Court itself.

☆ Asian shares sink on banking jitters, US economic concerns
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Stella Qiu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) were 0.3% lower on Thursday, while Japan's Nikkei (.N225) lost 0.4%. Data showed that new orders for key U.S.-manufactured capital goods fell more than expected in March, suggesting that business spending on equipment was likely a drag on economic growth in the first quarter. Wells Fargo lowered its forecast for U.S. GDP growth by 100 basis points to a 0.8% rise. The dollar index , which measures the currency against six major rivals, dropped to 101.4 on fresh concerns over a U.S. slowdown. U.S. crude futures edged up 0.3% to $74.5 per barrel, while Brent crude futures rose 0.5% to $78.09 per barrel.

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