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☆ Argentina outclass Poland despite Messi penalty miss to advance
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Rohith Nair | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Despite the miss, Messi ran the show for Argentina in a match where the two skippers represented Barcelona's past and present. It's a dream come true," Mac Allister told reporters. But Argentina got what they wanted -- leapfrogging Poland to take top spot in the group and avoid an early knockout fixture against the mighty France. Poland, meanwhile, will be relieved to reach the last-16 for the first time since 1986. Reporting by Rohith Nair in Doha, Additional reporting by Andrew Cawthorne; editing by Pritha SarkarOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Manic Mexico exit on goal difference after late fight for survival
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Martin Petty | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"It's a hard blow, there are no words," said Mexico midfielder Edson Alvarez. DESPERATE BIDUrgently needing to beef up their goal difference, Mexico took the game to Saudi Arabia from the start and never stopped running, peppering the goal with long-range efforts in a desperate bid to wrest control of their own fate. Hirving Lozano found the net but his goal was disallowed and Mexico battled hard to get the decisive third but were denied constantly by the reflexes of Al-Owais in the Saudi goal. Substitute Uriel Antuna had a stunning late effort disallowed for offside four minutes from time before Al-Dawsari shattered Mexican hopes when he grabbed a Saudi consolation goal deep into stoppage time. "I always live the games to the maximum, always giving myself every game, every ball ... but well, the results didn't come."

☆ Canelo slams Messi over Mexico team World Cup jersey
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

The Argentina star may have gotten into trouble with the wrong person after moving the Mexican national team jersey with his foot while celebrating his team’s much-needed World Cup win against Mexico on Saturday. The Mexican boxer said on Twitter that Messi “was cleaning the floor” with the Mexican shirt. Messi was taking his right shoe off when he — apparently without intention — moved the Mexico shirt which he had exchanged with a Mexican player after Argentina’s 2-0 win. The 35-year-old Messi is trying to win his first World Cup title with Argentina. The win over Mexico kept the Argentines in position to advance to the knockout round.

☆ Layoffs Create Pitfalls for Finance Executives Looking to Cut Costs
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Jennifer Williams-Alvarez | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +6 min

They are increasingly looking to layoffs as a way to preserve capital, alongside other measures, such as hiring freezes. Finance chiefs play a key role in this by determining which costs to cut and setting companies’ financial targets, said advisers who work with companies during staffing cuts. Tech business HP Inc., ride-hailing company Lyft Inc. and tool-and-appliance maker Stanley Black & Decker Inc. have announced layoffs in recent months. Finance chiefs are increasingly part of the initial discussions about whether job cuts are needed, said Hardik Sheth, a partner at Boston Consulting Group, a management consulting firm. Some employees at Twitter, which recently cut roughly half of its workforce, are now pushing back against the dismissals.

☆ Carillion Liquidators Say KPMG Missed Red Flags in Audits of Defunct Construction Firm
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Jennifer Williams-Alvarez | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +4 min

Big Four firm KPMG LLP missed multiple red flags when it audited the financial statements of Carillion PLC, the liquidators of the defunct construction and outsourcing firm said. KPMG received £29 million from Carillion without qualifying its audit opinions over the course of 19 years, according to the liquidators. The construction company’s liquidators also reject KPMG’s argument that the value of the construction contracts was concealed. The Carillion liquidators will rely at trial on findings from the FRC’s investigation, the filings show. If there is no settlement between the liquidators and the audit firm, the case against KPMG could go to trial in or around 2024.

☆ Lionel Messi: Argentine receives warning from Canelo Álvarez
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Matias Grez | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Mexican boxer Saul ‘Canelo’ Álvarez has sent a warning to Lionel Messi, who he accused of disrespecting Mexico. “Did you see Messi cleaning the floor with our shirt and flag??? ?” Álvarez tweeted, apparently referencing a video in which Messi appears to kick a Mexico shirt that is on the floor during Argentina’s celebrations in the changing room. There is no indication that Messi kicked the shirt intentionally, instead appearing to do it accidentally as he took off his football boots. Canelo, don’t look for excuses or problems, surely you don’t know about football and what happens in a changing room.

☆ World Cup 2022: Argentina's route to title explained
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Dec 18 (Reuters) - Argentina won their third World Cup trophy after the final in Qatar on Sunday. Here is what you need to know about their route to the title:HOW DID ARGENTINA QUALIFY FOR THE ROUND OF 16? HOW DID ARGENTINA REACH THE SEMI-FINALS? HOW DID ARGENTINA REACH THE FINAL? * In the penalty shootout, Argentina keeper Emiliano Martinez saved Kingsley Coman's effort and Aurelien Tchouameni fired wide to give Argentina their first world title since 1986, and third overall.

☆ Stablecoins fall few cents short of respectability
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( John Foley | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

That will reignite the debate over how to regulate digital assets – especially when it comes to stablecoins, the most money-like part of the cryptoverse. Stablecoins are digital assets designed to have a steady value, usually by being pegged to a real-world currency like the U.S. dollar. For each dollar of stablecoin a user holds, there’s supposed to be a dollar, or something like a dollar, sitting in a metaphorical vault. And in the case of some so-called algorithmic stablecoins, what backs the stablecoin might be another digital token with no fundamental value. The total sum of major U.S. dollar stablecoins outstanding is just under $145 billion, according to CoinGecko.

Cyber Monday is a better day to shop for tech deals and smaller gifts; you'll also see slightly better online prices. The short answer is that Cyber Monday has better deals overall — but it's close. When to shop Black Friday vs. Cyber MondayShop Black Friday for major stores. The exception is Amazon, which tends to have better deals on Cyber Monday, as long as you're a Prime member. The exception is Amazon, which tends to have better deals on Cyber Monday, as long as you're a Prime member.

☆ European Space Agency announces first ‘parastronaut’
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

It’s the first time the space agency has established an astronaut reserve, which is made up of candidates who successfully completed the selection process but were not recruited. McFall, a British medic and Paralympian, said he felt compelled to apply when he saw ESA’s ad for an astronaut with a physical disability. McFall, a British medic, will become the first astronaut with a physical disability. The space agency has been closely involved with NASA’s Artemis mission to put humans back on the moon, and ESA hopes that the first European to set foot on the moon will be among this class of astronauts. The space agency on Wednesday also agreed on a new budget of 16.9 billion euros ($17.5 billion) for the next three years — an increase of 17% from 2019.

☆ Indigenous fashion designers, artisans challenge plagiarism on Mexico City runway
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( Aida Pelaez-Fernandez | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

MEXICO CITY, Nov 23 (Reuters) - Wrapped in colorful haute couture, artisans and indigenous designers took a Mexico City fashion event by storm, all while trying to carve out a sustainable future in an industry threatened by plagiarism, instability and lack of funds. World-renowned brands such as Ralph Lauren and Chinese fast-fashion company Shein have in recent months faced accusations of plagiarizing indigenous Mexican designs, threatening the country's ancient textile tradition. [1/10] Artisan Juana Bravo Lazaro from the Urupan indigenous community, attends the Original Mexican Textile Art meeting, in Mexico City, Mexico November 20, 2022. Plagiarism of ancient indigenous designs has drawn ire from Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. "They plagiarize designs from artisans and indigenous people from Hidalgo, Chiapas, Guerrero," he told a news conference last week.

☆ FTX spent $300mln on Bahamas real estate, 'substantial' assets missing, lawyers say
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

Crypto exchange FTX was run as a “personal fiefdom” of Sam Bankman-Fried, attorneys for the firm said on Tuesday, describing that one of the company’s units spent $300 million on Bahamas real estate. An attorney said the $300 million spent on real estate was largely homes and vacation properties for senior staff. At the hearing, an attorney for FTX also said that the company continues to suffer cyberattacks as bankruptcy begins, and that “substantial” assets are missing. Bankman-Fried, FTX and the Bahamas liquidators did not immediately respond to requests for comment. FTX said that it was communicating with U.S. regulators and bankruptcy court officials, but did not mention Bahamas regulators.

☆ Spain approves mortgage support for more than 1 mln households
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Jesús Aguado | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

In Spain, around three-quarters of the population are homeowners, with most opting for floating-rate mortgages which are exposed to interest rate rises. Other countries, such as Hungary, Portugal, Poland and Greece, have approved different forms of mortgage support. Spain's banks will provide mortgage support for vulnerable families earning less than 25,200 euros ($25,815) per year through an amended industry-wide code of good practice. They will be able to restructure mortgages at a lower interest rate during a five-year grace period. Measures will also make it cheaper for families to switch from variable to fixed rate mortgage contracts.

NEW YORK/LONDON, Nov 22 (Reuters) - FTX has a total cash balance of $1.24 billion, a court filing by advisers on the stricken crypto exchange's restructuring showed ahead of U.S. bankruptcy hearings set for later on Tuesday. Its cash balance as of Sunday was "substantially higher" than previously thought, Monday's filing by Edgar Mosley of Alvarez & Marshal, a consultancy firm advising FTX, said. The details of FTX's cash balances came ahead of a hearing in Delaware on FTX's so-called first-day motions. FTX, led since the bankruptcy filing by new CEO John Ray, has accused Bankman-Fried of working with Bahamian regulators to "undermine" the U.S. bankruptcy case and shift assets overseas. Since the implosion of FTX, some crypto players are taking to decentralized exchanges known as "DEXs" where investors trade peer-to-peer on the blockchain.

☆ The death of Twitter won't be as messy as many expect. Here's what its demise could look like.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Jordan Parker Erb | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Today, we're talking about what the downfall of Twitter could look like — and it's probably not what you think. Reporting from my colleagues Matt Weinberger and Kali Hays suggests the site probably won't crash and burn in spectacular fashion. The death of Twitter won't be the dramatic explosion you might expect. A leaked email shows Twitter employees must send Elon Musk weekly updates of everything they've worked on. In other Musk news, the billionaire told Twitter employees that he's done with layoffs for now, and he tweeted Monday that the Twitter Blue relaunch is on hold.

☆ Collapsed crypto exchange FTX has about $1.24 billion of cash in total — but still owes at least $3.1 billion
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

FTX's vast web of entities had a total of around $1.24 billion in cash balances as of Nov. 20, according to a new court filing out late Monday. The filing was penned by Alvarez & Marsal North America, which is advising FTX on restructuring efforts after the exchange filed for bankruptcy protection earlier this month. The balances include FTX and its various "silos," ranging from the trading group Alameda Research to international subsidiaries. FTX's Japanese unit, FTX Japan K.K., has about $171.7 million in cash on its books, making it the third-biggest source of cash for the company. The cash is held by FTX and its affiliates with banks and other financial institutions, Mosley said in the filing.

☆ Spain's mortgage relief plans may mean higher provisions, Santander CEO says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MADRID, Nov 22 (Reuters) - Santander (SAN.MC) said on Tuesday that Spain's mortgage relief plans could lead to an increase in bad debt provisions and use up more capital reserves. The Spanish government and the country's banks on Monday reached an agreement in principle on mortgage relief measures, such as extending loan repayments, for more than one million vulnerable households and on help for middle-class families. Alvarez said even small changes in how a potential mortgage refinancing or extension is done could have an impact on capital consumption related to the bank's mortgage loans. Alvarez also said Santander had still not signed off on the mortgage support agreement though it planned to do so. The CEO also said care must be taken to ensure the support measures do not make access to loans more difficult.

☆ How Elon Musk’s Twitter Faces Mountain of Debt, Falling Revenue and Surging Costs
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Mark Maurer | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +10 min

Elon Musk says his $44 billion Twitter takeover might result in a bankruptcy filing. To make the deal work, Mr. Musk has been trying to add subscription revenue and reassure advertisers about the platform’s future. What’s more, the company’s debt stack now includes floating-rate debt, meaning that interest costs are set to rise as the Federal Reserve continues to increase interest rates. Twitter’s credit ratings, which were below investment grade before the transaction with Mr. Musk, have deteriorated further. For that, Mr. Musk would need to persuade potential investors that he has a viable long-term business plan, he said.

☆ This TikToker went to the White House with Selena Gomez to talk about mental health. He shares the exact 2-page media kit he uses to pitch brands.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Shriya Bhattacharya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Jorge Alvarez started posting on TikTok in April 2021 because he wanted more Latinx representation. He shares the 2-page media kit he uses to partner with brands like BetterHelp, Dove, and Taco Bell. Jorge Alvarez started posting mental-health content on TikTok last April because he didn't think there was enough Latinx representation on the social-media platform. Since he started posting consistently, Alvarez has made $30,200 through brand collaborations and speaking engagements, according to documentation verified by Insider. Here is what the latest version of his media kit looks like.

☆ Which to Choose: Medicare or Medicare Advantage?
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-20 | by ( Paula Span | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +13 min

Which to Choose: Medicare or Medicare Advantage? Medicare Advantage plans, like traditional Medicare, are funded by the federal government, but they are offered though private insurance companies, which receive a set payment for each enrollee. The proportion of eligible Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans has hit 48 percent. Which is better: Medicare or Medicare Advantage? Credit... Kenny Holston for The New York Times Unlike most Medicare Advantage plans, traditional Medicare does not include drug coverage.

☆ Holiday shoppers aren’t in a rush. What that means for retail stocks
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-20 | by ( Christina Cheddar Berk | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

If you're a retailer, and it's the holiday season, the thing you most want consumers to feel is a sense of urgency. Unlike last year, holiday shoppers don't need to fear empty shelves at the store. Walmart said it saw more shoppers with incomes above $100,000 ring up items in its stores, drawn in by less expensive groceries. He suggests investors position themselves in discounters like Walmart or Family Dollar or in luxury stocks like RH or Lululemon . She explained that many shoppers perceive Target as a place where "you go in for two items and come out $150 later."

☆ Grindr Plans to Focus on Monetization, Subscription Prices After Going Public
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Jennifer Williams-Alvarez | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +6 min

The company will list on the New York Stock Exchange under a new name, Grindr Inc.Vanna Krantz, Grindr CFO. Ms. Krantz said she plans to review subscription prices, which currently start at $19.99 a month for paid accounts. Once the company is public, Ms. Krantz will be responsible for further building out Grindr’s finance function. Ms. Krantz said she would focus on further improvement when it comes to forecasting. The year-over-year loss was largely driven by one-time costs associated with going public, such as legal, consulting and audit fees, Ms. Krantz said.

☆ Angela Álvarez, 95, wins best new artist Latin Grammy in a history-making tie
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Marysabel Huston-Crespo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —Angela Álvarez made Latin Grammy history on Thursday by winning the award for best new artist at age 95. She was discouraged from pursuing a career in music by her father but found joy performing for her family. Over the years, she sang for her family about her life and developed a collection of songs she composed. At the encouragement and support of her grandson, she eventually recorded and released collection of her songs in 2021. The Latin Grammy nomination came as a surprise to her, Álvarez told CNN en Español last month.

☆ Latin Grammy 2022: How to watch and what to expect
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Marysabel Huston-Crespo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

The 23rd Latin Grammys will be presented Thursday at the Michelob ULTRA Arena at the Mandalay Bay Casino and Resort in Las Vegas. His critically acclaimed album “Un Verano Sin Ti,” also a history-making Grammy nominee, is nominated for album of the year category at the Latin Grammys. That song is nominated in three categories: record of the year, song of the year, and best urban fusion/performance. HBO Max will also stream the ceremony in Spanish. (TNT and HBO Max, like CNN, are part of Warner Bros.

☆ Breakingviews: FTX affords a turning point in venture governance
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Liam Proud | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The new chief executive of the collapsed cryptocurrency exchange, insolvency veteran John Ray, uncovered giant financial gaps and signs of looting. Ray’s first in-depth account, submitted to the court on Thursday, reveals a brazen lack of controls and governance. Financial statements dated to Sept. 30, when founder Sam Bankman-Fried was in charge, contain no record of customer liabilities at either the U.S. subsidiary or the international division. Many of the FTX corporate entities never had board meetings. Ray also criticised his predecessor and FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried for making “erratic and misleading public statements”.

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