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☆ South Africa energy blackouts: Ramaphosa skips Davos to tackle crisis
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

London CNN —South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa was forced this week to cancel a trip to Davos by an escalating energy crisis that is inflicting rolling blackouts on the continent’s most developed economy. At peak times, demand in South Africa averages between 28,000 MW and 34,000 MW. Electricity theft, including by impoverished townships in South Africa, and non-payment by municipal customers have made matters worse. Despite an abundance of sunshine and wind, South Africa still derives about 80% of its electricity from coal. South Africa’s National Energy Crisis Committee, a body run out of Ramaphosa’s office, has proposed several measures to ease the crisis in the short term, including importing energy from neighboring countries and buying excess energy from private producers.

Many Germans viewed the end of the Cold War as the end of major conflict for the West. Germany has since become one of Ukraine's top military supporters, having spent 2.2 billion euros on weapons deliveries. 'EMPTY-HANDED' ARMYBeyond the immediate decision on tanks, Pistorius faces the mammoth task of upgrading Germany's military, the Bundeswehr, which army chief Alfons Mais, on the day of Russia's invasion, described as "more or less empty handed". Even before Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Germany was 20 billion euros short of reaching NATO's target for ammunitions stockpiling, a defence source said. Analysts and experts say Pistorius will have to find his own voice to push for more spending and an overhaul of Germany's defence and procurement systems.

☆ Trump's campaign plans to push Facebook to let him back on the site — and use House Republicans' power as leverage: report
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Chris Panella | Madison Hall | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Trump's campaign plans to leverage House Republicans' power to get his Facebook account reinstated early, according to NBC News. A Trump campaign adviser told NBC News that "keeping Trump off Facebook just looks political." Trump was suspended after the Capitol riot two years ago, with Facebook planning to review his suspension this year. A Trump adviser told NBC News that they plan to use House Republicans to pressure Meta into letting him access his account if Meta doesn't reinstate him. "If Facebook wants to have this fight, fine, but the House is leverage, and keeping Trump off Facebook just looks political," the adviser told NBC News.

[1/2] A man walks beneath electricity pylons during frequent power outages from South African utility Eskom, caused by its ageing coal-fired plants, in Orlando, Soweto, South Africa, January 16, 2023. REUTERS/Siphiwe SibekoSummarySummary Companies Power cuts to become less severe from TuesdayDepends on generators returning to service as plannedEskom tells politicians power cuts to continue into 2024JOHANNESBURG, Jan 16 (Reuters) - South Africa's state-owned power utility Eskom said it would shorten power cuts from Tuesday morning as 14 generators come back on tap this week, but electricity shortages look set to continue at least into 2024. The past week has seen some of the worst power cuts on record in Africa's most industrialised nation, at least six hours a day for most households and often as much as 10 hours. The company implemented power cuts on more than 200 days last year, the most in a calendar year. The utility said it had procured an additional 50 million litres of diesel, which would be used to manage pumped storage dam levels and limit power cuts.

Americanas on Tuesday disclosed that it did not pay interest due on Monday of more than 2 billion reais ($392 million) in local bonds. It made the disclosure in a filing responding to a question by securities regulator CVM, saying that it was allowed not to pay under the injunction. Fitch said that if Americanas formally announces a debt restructuring plan, its ratings will be downgraded to RD or D reflecting a default. Fitch said the retailer, backed by the billionaire founders of 3G Capital, has an unsustainable capital structure with the addition of an estimated 20 billion reais in previously undisclosed liabilities. The company last year paid 516.6 million reais in dividends related to the results in 2021, according to securities filings.

☆ NBA roundup: Joel Embiid, Sixers sink Jazz in final seconds
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

NBA scoring leader Doncic had a season-worst 15 points -- 19 below his average -- to go with 10 assists and six rebounds. LaMelo Ball's 31 points led the Hornets, while Terry Rozier posted 21 points and P.J. Mason Plumlee added nine points and 16 rebounds. Murray came back with four straight points. Naz Reid's 17 points and Jaylen Nowell's 16 points paced the Minnesota reserves, who combined to outscore the Cleveland bench by a 29-point margin.

☆ Barcelona ease to 3-1 victory over Real Madrid to win Super Cup
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Jan 15 (Reuters) - Barcelona were crowned Spanish Super Cup champions after goals from Gavi, Robert Lewandowski and Pedri earned them a 3-1 win over bitter rivals Real Madrid in Saudi Arabia on Sunday. Barcelona were dominant in every aspect of the game and took advantage of three mistakes by Real Madrid to score. Lewandowski extended the lead 12 minutes later on the counter when defender Dani Carvajal was caught out of position and left Gavi alone on the left wing. Real Madrid, who had no shots on target in the first half, spent most of the second in panic mode, trying to avoid a bigger defeat. Substitute Dani Ceballos lost the ball in midfield and Gavi sprinted forward and crossed for Pedri to fire point-black into the empty net.

☆ NHL roundup: Kraken use huge 2nd period to down Blackhawks
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +9 min

[1/4] Jan 14, 2023; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Stars center Tyler Seguin (91) and Calgary Flames center Nazem Kadri (91) look for the puck in the Calgary zone during the second period at the American Airlines Center. Flames 6, Stars 5Nazem Kadri, Rasmus Andersson and Chris Tanev collected one goal and one assist apiece as visiting Calgary rode a four-goal second period to a victory over Dallas. Bruins 4, Maple Leafs 3Matt Grzelcyk scored with 1:16 left in the third period to lift host Boston past Atlantic Division rival Toronto. Grzelcyk scored his second goal of the season and first since Oct. 28, firing a bomb from above the left circle with David Krejci screening Maple Leafs goaltender Matt Murray. Paul Cotter, Keegan Kolesar and William Karlsson scored goals and Logan Thompson made 33 saves for Vegas.

☆ South Africa's president says energy workers face so much danger that some wear bulletproof vests to work, days after a prominent CEO's poisoning was revealed
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Sawdah Bhaimiya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

South Africa's energy sector has been rocked by the poisoning of the CEO of its biggest provider. Eskom's CEO Andre De Ruyter had been leading a crackdown on corruption in South African energy. South Africa's president said this week that some managers in the sector wear bulletproof vests to work. His wife also has two protectors and his children go to school with protectors as well," Ramaphosa said in the address without identifying who the manager is, per South Africa's Times newspaper. Such thefts, De Ruyter said, have a major impact on the energy available in South Africa, which has faced rolling blackouts in recent years.

☆ Minority shareholders denounce Brazil's Americanas for 'multi-billion fraud'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Rodrigo Viga Gaier | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

RIO DE JANEIRO/SAO PAULO, Jan 13 (Reuters) - A group representing minority shareholders on Friday filed a complaint with Brazil's securities regulator against Americanas SA (AMER3.SA) after the retailer uncovered "accounting inconsistencies" totaling 20 billion reais ($3.89 billion). The Abradin association said it was denouncing Americanas for what it called a "multi-billion fraud," while also asking regulator CVM to investigate the retailer's auditor, PwC. Shares in Americanas plummeted more than 75% on Thursday, wiping out 8.4 billion reais in market value, after the company's chief executive Sergio Rial resigned, citing the discovery of inconsistencies. It's not easy to hide 20 billion reais," said Eric Barreto, a professor at Sao Paulo's Insper. Americanas has long been controlled by three Brazilian billionaires who founded 3G Capital.

☆ NHL roundup: Kraken hand Bruins first home regulation loss
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

[1/5] Jan 12, 2023; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Seattle Kraken goalie Martin Jones (30) reacts during the third period against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden. Jones logged 10 of his stops in the second period in his third shutout this season and 28th overall. Tyler Seguin scored his 10th goal of the season for the Stars and Oettinger made 29 saves. Kyle Connor scored the game-winning goal in the third period, while Dylan Samberg, Josh Morrissey and Karson Kuhlman also scored for the Jets. Victor Olofsson had a goal and an assist and Tyson Jost scored for Buffalo, which has lost three in a row.

SAO PAULO/MEXICO CITY, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Brazilian retailer Americanas SA (AMER3.SA) said on Wednesday its chief executive and chief financial officer resigned after the discovery of around 20 billion reais ($3.88 billion) in accounting "inconsistencies." Lojas Americanas CEO Sergio Rial departed less than two weeks after taking the job, when he replaced Miguel Gutierrez. Joao Guerra, a long-time Americanas executive not involved with accounting or financial management, will take over as CEO on an interim basis. The amount of accounting inconsistencies is larger than the company´s net equity, 15 billion reais, said Fabrício Gonçalvez, CEO at Box Asset Management. The amount is also almost twice Americanas' 10.7 billion reais market capitalization, according to Refinitiv data.

☆ Prince Harry's 'Spare' ghostwriter has written 3 other bestselling memoirs, including 'Shoe Dog' for Nike founder Phil Knight
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Nicolas Vega | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Prince Harry's bestselling memoir 'Spare' was ghostwritten by J.R. Moehringer, who has written a number of other bestselling memoirs. Prince Harry's blockbuster memoir "Spare" is already a runaway success, shattering sales records as readers rush to learn details both salacious and mundane about the British royal's life. American author J.R. Moehringer ghostwrote Prince Harry's memoir "Spare", as well as memoirs from tennis star Andre Agassi and Nike founder Phil Knight. Leonardo Cendamo | Hulton Archive | Getty ImagesThough he has not done any press for "Spare", Moehringer has opened up about the ghostwriting process in the past. He has ghostwritten two other bestselling autobiographies: 2009's "Open" for American tennis star Andre Agassi and 2016's "Shoe Dog" for Nike founder Phil Knight.

SAO PAULO, Jan 12 (Reuters) - Shares in Brazilian retailer Americanas SA (AMER3.SA) fell more than 75% on Thursday after its chief executive officer resigned citing the discovery of "accounting inconsistencies" totaling 20 billion reais ($3.9 billion). Rial attributed the inconsistencies to differences in accounting for the financial cost of bank loans and debt with suppliers. The outgoing CEO said Americanas would likely need a capital increase, though noted he didn't expect a short-term impact from the inconsistencies on its cash position. Analysts at Santander and JPMorgan, who rated Americanas "Neutral" and "Underweight" respectively, also forecast a major negative reaction to the news. PwC, Americanas' auditor, declined to comment on the accounting inconsistencies referred to by Rial.

Lawyers for rap legend Dr. Dre are demanding that Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene stop his using his music, after the controversial politician used the hit “Still D.R.E.”“I don’t license my music to politicians, especially someone as divisive and hateful as this one,” Dre, who was born Andre Young, said in a statement. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., on Capitol Hill, on Wednesday. The letter from Dre’s attorney, Howard King, dated Monday, demands that the Greene immediately cease and desist from using Dre’s music. "One might expect that, as a member of Congress, you would have a passing familiarity with the laws of our country. Music publication Rolling Stone reported that the recognizable “Still D.R.E.” beat was used in a video posted to Twitter, which appears to have since been removed.

☆ NBA roundup: Nets sneak by Heat in final seconds
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

The Nets, who have won 14 of their past 15 games, also got 13 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks from Nic Claxton. 76ers 123, Pistons 111James Harden delivered a triple-double with 20 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists, Tyrese Maxey had 23 points and visiting Philadelphia rolled past Detroit. Gary Trent Jr. had 19 points, Fred VanVleet had 14 points and seven assists and O.G. Anfernee Simons added 22 points, Josh Hart had 18 points, Jusuf Nurkic had 14 points and 18 rebounds and Jerami Grant also scored 14 points for Portland. Luguentz Dort added 18 points for the Thunder.

☆ Packers' Walker apologises for shoving Lions' medical staffer
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] Jan 8, 2023; Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA; Green Bay Packers linebacker Quay Walker (7) heads to the sideline after being disqualified for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty during the fourth quarter at Lambeau Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel via USA TODAY NETWORKJan 9 (Reuters) - Green Bay Packers rookie linebacker Quay Walker apologised on Monday after shoving a member of the Detroit Lions' medical staff, which led to his second ejection from an NFL game this season for unsportsmanlike conduct. Since then I've questioned myself on why did I do what I did when the trainer was doing his job!! "To the Detroit lions and to the entire training staff including the person I did that too. Walker was selected by the Packers in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft and led the team in tackles this season.

☆ The CEO of an African energy giant was poisoned with cyanide slipped into his coffee, just days after he resigned
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Sawdah Bhaimiya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The CEO of South Africa's biggest energy company, Eskom, was poisoned in December, the firm said. Numerous reports say CEO Andre De Ruyter had cyanide slipped into his coffee at the company's HQ. After drinking the coffee, De Ruyter became "weak, dizzy, and confused," EE Business Intelligence reported, citing an unnamed source. "This attempt on his life will be thoroughly investigated and those responsible must be charged," Pravin Gordhan, the government minister overseeing South Africa's energy sector told the Financial Times. Since taking over as CEO of Eskom, De Ruyter has attempted to crack down on corruption within South Africa's energy sector, EE Business Intelligence reported.

☆ South Africa’s Eskom says police investigating alleged poisoning of CEO
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

Cape Town Reuters —South African power utility Eskom on Sunday said police were investigating whether an attempt was made to poison its outgoing chief executive officer, Andre de Ruyter. Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan also told Reuters on Sunday the alleged incident “will be thoroughly investigated” and anyone responsible charged. After officially taking charge in January 2020, De Ruyter led a company-wide clampdown on corruption and organized criminal behavior, including sabotage of infrastructure, at Eskom plants. “Eskom cannot comment further on the poisoning incident involving the group chief executive, which occurred during December 2022, as the matter is subject to police investigation,” the utility’s head of security said in a statement. The alleged cyanide poisoning was first reported by specialist energy publication EE Business Intelligence on Saturday.

☆ South African utility says police are investigating the alleged poisoning of its CEO
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Andre de Ruyter, chief executive officer of Eskom Holdings, at a conference in October 2022. South African power utility Eskom on Sunday said police were investigating whether an attempt was made to poison its outgoing Chief Executive Officer Andre de Ruyter. Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan also told Reuters on Sunday the alleged incident "will be thoroughly investigated" and anyone responsible charged. The alleged cyanide poisoning was first reported by specialist energy publication EE Business Intelligence on Saturday. The South African police services did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment.

☆ South Africa's Eskom says police investigating alleged poisoning of CEO
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-08 | by ( Wendell Roelf | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan also told Reuters on Sunday the alleged incident "will be thoroughly investigated" and anyone responsible charged. Faced with political pressure, De Ruyter resigned on Dec. 14 after failing to solve a crisis in Eskom that has led to record power cuts in Africa's most industrialised economy. After officially taking office in January 2020, De Ruyter led a company-wide clampdown on corruption and organised criminal behaviour, including sabotage of infrastructure, at Eskom plants. The alleged cyanide poisoning was first reported by specialist energy publication EE Business Intelligence on Saturday. Reporting by Wendell Roelf in Cape Town and Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo; editing by Barbara LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ NBA roundup: Hornets come out firing, blow out Bucks
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Tyrese Maxey led the Sixers with 26 points and Tobias Harris had 22 points and 11 rebounds. Romeo Langford added 15 points for San Antonio, with Malaki Branham hitting for 14 and Jeremy Sochan 10. Daniel Gafford had 15 points and nine rebounds, and Kristaps Porzingas added 14 points and 10 rebounds. John Wall had 14 points and eight assists, and Moses Brown produced 14 points and 11 rebounds. Bam Adebayo recorded 21 points and 11 rebounds and Jimmy Butler added 20 points and six assists for the Heat.

☆ Amid the largest layoffs in Big Tech history, startups are having unprecedented success hiring top talent. But founders are still skeptical about hiring Big Tech employees.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Rosalie Chan | Katie Malone | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Startups have had unprecedented success hiring top tech talent upending a decades long power imbalance. Suddenly, several thousand quality tech workers were job hunting, and it didn't seem like Big Tech would be hiring them back anytime soon. But lately, things have been changing, and his startup has become more attractive to former Big Tech workers, he said. "Just because they come from Big Tech companies does not mean they're quite suitable for my needs." Still, recruiters told Insider, startups rarely judge tech workers solely on whether they've worked at a Big Tech company or a startup.

☆ Pro athletes compartmentalize emotions. That doesn’t mean returning to the field after Hamlin’s collapse will be easy.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms | Elizabeth Chuck | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

“We see injuries week in and week out, but something like that, you’re talking life-and-death situations. It kind of hit a little different.”To play professionally, athletes must be highly skilled physically as well as mentally, sports psychologists say. Some NFL players say they are struggling to do that after Hamlin’s collapse on Monday night. After an ambulance raced him off the field, the game resumed before a shocked crowd. Once they step out onto the field, they may find their ability to play is as strong as ever.

☆ Buy these 30 stocks that are all on track to outperform a 'flattish' market in 2023, according to RBC, which says it's safe to bet on Facebook parent Meta this year
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Marley Jay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

RBC says its list of 30 favorite global stocks has steadily outperformed over the past 3 years. The group is made up of Global Head of Research Graeme Pearson, Head of US Research Mark Odendahl, Head of Canadian & APAC Research André‐Philippe Hardy, and Head of European Research & Global Head of Research Product Management Michael Hall. Painful as that is, its benchmark, the MSCI World Net Total Return Index, suffered an even bigger loss of 18.4%. Since the end of 2019, the firm adds that the top 30 list "has delivered a total return of +23.2%, above the benchmark at +15.6%." The 30 stocks are ranked here from lowest to highest based on the total return (share price and dividends) that RBC expects them to deliver in 2023.

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