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☆ In Her Fiction, Ayana Mathis Refuses to Ignore Black History
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( Honorée Fanonne Jeffers | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

I, for one, submit that Black history will always hover over American literature, whether or not the author intends it to. Why is the boy running toward instead of away from Alabama, as so many Black folks have done since the Great Migration? — before jumping back a few years, to 1985, when Ava drags 10-year-old Toussaint into a homeless shelter in Philadelphia. The mother and son have been thrown out of the home they shared with Abemi, Ava’s abusive husband and Toussaint’s stepfather, in New Jersey. Mathis renders Ava and Toussaint’s time in the shelter in poignant, heartbreaking detail.

Persons: Ayana Mathis, I’m, Toni Morrison, ” Ayana, “, Hattie ” —, Mathis, Ava, Toussaint, Toussaint’s, Cass Organizations: Black Locations: Philadelphia, Dutchess, Ava’s, Alabama, Bonaparte, Ala, Ava, New Jersey

☆ Qantas CEO’s exit will barely reduce turbulence
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-05 | by ( Antony Currie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Alan Joyce, Chief Executive Officer of Qantas, speaks in front of a Qantas 747 jumbo jet, before its last departure from the Sydney Airport in Sydney, Australia, as Qantas retires its remaining Boeing 747 planes early due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, July 22, 2020. In July Canberra rejected Qatar Airways’ request to add 21 flights a week to key Australian cities. Gina Cass-Gottlieb, the watchdog’s chair, is targeting a fine of at least A$250 million ($162 million), she told ABC’s RN radio programme. Qantas customers can now get a cash refund, while credits issued by the group’s budget airline, Jetstar, now last indefinitely. On Aug. 24 Qantas reported record pre-tax earnings for the year to June 30 of A$2.47 billion.

Persons: Alan Joyce, Loren Elliott, Vanessa Hudson, Gina Cass, Gottlieb, Hudson, Richard Goyder, Buckle, Joyce, “, ABC’s, Una Galani, Katrina Hamlin Organizations: Qantas, Sydney Airport, Boeing, REUTERS, Rights, Reuters, Australian Competition, Consumer Commission, Virgin Australia, Regional Express, Qatar Airways, Jetstar, Thomson Locations: Sydney, Australia, Canberra

☆ In Detroit, a Tiny Home Generates a Big Controversy
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-04 | by ( Allan Lengel | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Tiny Homes, as they’re known, were built by a nonprofit group and have marble shower stalls, granite kitchen countertops and solar panels. They are intended for low-income residents who pay monthly rent of $1 per square foot, plus electricity, with the option to own the home outright after seven years. To date, there are 25 in a three-block area, occupied by residents that include seniors and people formerly homeless and incarcerated, and who earn as little as $7,000 annually. The first set opened in 2017, and construction is slated to begin this fall on a half dozen or so houses on a patch of empty land nearby. The project, which is owned and operated by Cass Community Social Services of Detroit, has been built through fund-raising from foundations and private donors, including rocker Jon Bon Jovi.

Persons: Jon Bon Jovi Organizations: Cass Community Social Services of Locations: Cass Community Social Services of Detroit

☆ Australian regulator seeks 'hundreds of millions' in fines for Qantas
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The maximum penalty Qantas faces is 10% of annual turnover, which was A$19.8 billion in the year to June, according to Australian consumer laws. Cass-Gottlieb said the ACCC would seek a fine for Qantas that was "significantly more than" the record A$125 million ($81 million) automaker Volkswagen was fined in 2019 for breaching Australian consumer laws. "We consider these penalties have been too low, we think the penalty should be in hundreds of millions, not tens of millions", she added. The regulator has said that Qantas kept selling tickets for an average of 16 days after it had cancelled flights for reasons often within its control. ($1 = 1.5420 Australian dollars)Reporting by Renju Jose in Sydney; editing by Miral FahmyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Loren Elliott, Gina Cass, Gottlieb, Cass, Renju Jose, Miral Organizations: Qantas, Sydney Airport, REUTERS, Rights Companies Qantas Airways Ltd, Qantas Airways, Australian Competition, Consumer Commission, Australia, ABC Radio, Volkswagen, Thomson Locations: Australia, Sydney, Francisco

☆ Regulators want to fine Qantas 'hundreds of millions of dollars' for selling tickets for thousands of already-cancelled flights
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-01 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

It's accusing Qantas of continuing to sell tickets for 8,000 flights that had been cancelled. And it's seeking a record-breaking fine in the hundreds of millions of dollars, per Reuters. AdvertisementAdvertisementQantas could be fined hundreds of millions of dollars for selling tickets for thousands of flights that had already been cancelled if regulators get their way, Reuters reported. AdvertisementAdvertisementThat amounts to 70% of cancelled Qantas flights where tickets were still sold or ticket holders weren't told for at least two days after the cancelation, the regulator said. "We think the penalty should be in hundreds of millions, not tens of millions", she added, per Reuters.

Persons: weren't, Gina Cass, Gottlieb Organizations: Australian, Qantas, Morning, Reuters, Australian Competition, Consumer Commission, ACCC, Cass, Volkswagen

☆ Australia regulator sues Qantas alleging sale of tickets on cancelled flights
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( Byron Kaye | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Qantas aircraft are seen on the tarmac at Melbourne International Airport in Melbourne, Australia, November 6, 2018. REUTERS/Phil Noble//File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsCompanies Qantas Airways Ltd FollowSYDNEY, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Australia's competition regulator sued Qantas Airways (QAN.AX) on Thursday, accusing it of selling tickets to thousands of flights after they were cancelled, putting the airline at risk of huge fines and reputational turbulence. The airline kept selling tickets for an average of 16 days after it had cancelled flights for reasons often within its control, such as "network optimisation", the ACCC added. Qantas kept selling tickets to one Sydney-to-San Francisco flight 40 days after it had been cancelled, the regulator said. At the Senate hearing, Joyce confirmed Qantas had written to the federal government in 2022 asking it to deny a request from Qatar Airways, a Qantas competitor on international routes, to increase flights to Australia.

Persons: Phil Noble, Rico Merkert, Alan Joyce, Joyce, Gina Cass, Gottlieb, Byron Kaye, Poonam, Shailesh Kuber, Rashmi Aich, Gerry Doyle, Edmund Klamann Organizations: Qantas, Melbourne International Airport, REUTERS, Rights Companies Qantas Airways Ltd, SYDNEY, Qantas Airways, Australian Competition, Consumer Commission, ACCC, Sydney University's Institute of Transport, Logistics Studies, Australia, Senate, Qatar Airways, Qatar, Thomson Locations: Melbourne, Australia, Sydney, Francisco, Bengaluru

☆ Aussie regulator takes Qantas to court for selling cancelled flights' tickets
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Aug 31 (Reuters) - Australian competition regulator has taken Qantas Airways (QAN.AX) to court, alleging the flagship carrier in mid-2022 kept selling tickets for more than 8,000 cancelled flights for an average of over two weeks after the flights were called off. "We have commenced these proceedings alleging that Qantas continued selling tickets for thousands of cancelled flights, likely affecting the travel plans of tens of thousands of people," ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said. "However, this case does not involve any alleged breach in relation to the actual cancellation of flights, but rather relates to Qantas' conduct after it had cancelled the flights." ACCC said it would pursue orders including penalties, injunctions, declarations, and costs against the airline for its conduct after flight cancellations. Reporting by Poonam Behura in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber and Rashmi AichOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Gina Cass, Gottlieb, Poonam, Shailesh Kuber Organizations: Qantas Airways, Qantas, Australian Competition, Consumer Commission, Airlines, ACCC, Qantas Group, Jetstar, Thomson Locations: Australian, Bengaluru

☆ A Rollicking Tragicomic Tale of Unending Family Drama
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-12 | by ( Jen Doll | More About Jen Doll | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Each member of the Barnes family is facing inner demons, too, which we learn about through alternating chapters dedicated to each character. In Dickie’s sections, we flash back to his past days as a Trinity College student and the secrets he kept while there, which feed into his present troubles — there’s a blackmailer threatening to destroy him. Sweet PJ is targeted by a bully who claims his mother has been ripped off by Dickie’s garage — and then he’s targeted by someone even worse. This all may sound bleak, but Murray’s writing is pure joy — propulsive, insightful and seeded with hilarious observations. Through the Barneses’ countless personal dramas, Murray explores humanity’s endless contradictions: How brutal and beautiful life is.

Persons: Barnes, Dickie, Frank, —, Victor, Cass, Elaine, PJ, Murray, Barneses Organizations: Trinity College, Trinity

The logo of the ANZ Bank is seen at Lambton Quay, in Wellington, New Zealand November 10, 2022. "A substantial lessening of competition in home loans would have major flow-on impacts to Australians with a mortgage," he added. The companies said they would seek a review of the determination at the Australian Competition Tribunal, an offshoot of the federal court which oversees takeover rulings. Taking the deal to the competition tribunal would delay its completion to mid-2024, if the tribunal approved it, from the late 2023 timeline the companies gave when they announced it a year ago. The ANZ-Suncorp deal also needs sign-off from Treasurer Jim Chalmers who declined to comment.

Persons: Lucy Craymer, Mick Keogh, Gina Cass, Gottlieb, Jim Chalmers, Byron Kaye, Himanshi, Stephen Coates Organizations: ANZ Bank, REUTERS, ANZ, Suncorp, ANZ Group, Australian Competition, Consumer Commission, Australian Competition Tribunal, Citi, Telstra, TPG Telcom, Thomson Locations: Lambton Quay, Wellington , New Zealand, Melbourne, Sydney, Bengaluru

☆ These are the 10 American states that are the most prepared for extreme weather
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( Scott Cohn | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

But NOAA puts the Ohio Valley at the low end of its Climate Extremes Index, which considers temperatures, precipitation, drought and hurricanes. 2023 Infrastructure score: 205 out of 390 points (Top States grade: C+) Climate Extremes Index: 8.7% Properties at risk: 2.1% Renewable energy: 12.3%8. 2023 Infrastructure score: 231 out of 390 points (Top States grade: B) Climate Extremes Index: 23.68% Properties at risk: 4.2% Renewable energy: 42.5%5. 2023 Infrastructure score: 254 out of 390 points (Top States grade: A-) Climate Extremes Index: 8.7% Properties at risk: 2.7% Renewable energy: 34.6%2. 2023 Infrastructure score: 193 out of 390 points (Top States grade: C) Climate Extremes Index: 19.78% Properties at risk: 9% Renewable energy: 84%1.

Persons: Jeremy Porter, they're, Porter, John Boyd , Jr, Seth Herald, Joe Biden, Adam J, Brian Snyder, Jim Mracek, Andrew Lichtenstein, Helen H, Richardson, Marshall, Jewel Samad, James McGath, Cole Ruud, Nicole Neri, Scott Olson, Biden, Daniel Acker Organizations: Street Foundation, The Boyd Company, Micron, CNBC, First, Atmospheric Administration, U.S . Department of Energy, Tennessee, NOAA, Seth, AFP, Getty, Volunteer State, Michigan, Dewey, Anadolu Agency, Great, Great Lakes State, FEMA, Green, Nebraska, Corbis, Cornhusker, Colorado Firefighters, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Denver Post, Centennial, Kansas, Oklahoma Electric, Sooner State, Energy Department, Washington Post, North Star State, Mount, Iowa, Bloomberg Locations: New York, States, Memphis , Tennessee, Tennessee, Ohio, Royal Oak, MI, Metro Detroit, Royal Oak , Michigan, United States, Great Lakes, Michigan, Vermont, Montpelier , Vermont, Nebraska, Cass County, Boulder , Colorado, Colorado, Dodge City , Kansas, Kansas, Moore , Oklahoma, Sooner, Oklahoma, Minnesota, Stillwater, Stillwater , Minnesota, St, Croix, Dakota, Salem , South Dakota, Mount Rushmore, South Dakota, Gowrie , Iowa, U.S

☆ A psychiatrist charges $700 hourly to Wall Street elites who are 'terrified of being exposed' for drug and sex addictions
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( Will Gendron | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Among high-powered finance executives, mental health struggles and addiction can be seen as taboo. Dr. Sam Glazer specializes in this clientele, charging $700 for a 45-minute session, WSJ reported. These executives are willing to spend on Glazer's expertise, who charges $700 for a 45-minute session, the Journal reported. "I've seen a lot of people who are high functioning in the upper levels of finance who are terrified of being exposed," Glazer told the WSJ. "They are completely honest with me in my office," he told Insider.

Persons: Sam Glazer, —, Glazer, Alden Cass, Cass, It's, Today undercuts Organizations: Morning, Wall Street, NYU, Deloitte, Finance, Today

☆ Australia's competition watchdog puts data brokers on radar
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File PhotoJuly 10 (Reuters) - Australia's competition watchdog on Monday asked consumers, businesses and other relevant stakeholders to provide their views about the business practices of data brokers in an attempt to regulate the country's digital platform services sector. Data brokers generally gather information like personal details of customers including their browsing and purchasing behaviour from a wide range of sources such as mobile applications, social media sites and card payment providers. The report will explore how third-party data brokers collect and use information to create products and services and if there may be competition and consumer issues arising from this, the ACCC said in a statement. The regulator's digital platforms branch has been conducting a five-year inquiry till 2025 to inquire into the markets for the supply of digital services. The report will focus on businesses that collect information from third-party sources and share or sell data to other organisations and, on the off chance that there might be competition and customer issues emerging from it.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, Gina Cass, Gottlieb, Rishav Chatterjee, Rashmi Organizations: Oracle Corp, New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, Australian Competition, Consumer Commission, Oracle, Thomson Locations: New York, U.S, Ireland, Australia, Bengaluru

☆ Readers’ Picks: 12 Pride Anthems
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

“Smalltown Boy” is not necessarily about running away from a heterosexual upbringing but toward pride, freedom and acceptance. To me, “Holiday” was a metaphor for that place where I could live inside a bright, shiny rainbow. I took a few extra days of leave at the end, which happened to coincide with Seattle Pride. Diana Ross: “I’m Coming Out”My coming out song at the age of 38 was “I’m Coming Out” by Diana Ross. It may be rough, you may be alone, but you have that special song that the world needs to hear.

Persons: Bronski Beat, “, ”, J.P, Jack Terry, Northville, CeCe Peniston, CeCe, I’d, — Eric, Diana Ross, Harry N, Cohen, Cass Elliot, — Jared Schrock Organizations: Bronski, YouTube, Seattle Pride, Pride Locations: New York, Streeter, Alameda, Calif, Mich, Seattle, Kentucky, Pittsburgh

☆ Republicans Against Inequality
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( David Leonhardt | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Vance, the Ohio Republican, and Senator Elizabeth Warren, the Massachusetts progressive, have collaborated on a bill to claw back executive pay at failed banks. The two worked through the details through in-person conversations, weekend phone calls and late-night texts. Rubio this month published a book, “Decades of Decadence,” that criticizes the past 30 years of globalization. Tomorrow afternoon, these four Republican senators — Cotton, Rubio, Vance and Young — will speak at an event on Capitol Hill that’s meant to highlight the emergence of a populist conservative movement in economics. Cass is right about that: Income growth for most families has been sluggish for decades, trailing well behind economic growth.

Persons: J.D, Vance, Elizabeth Warren, Marco Rubio, Rubio, Todd Young, Tom Cotton of, Biden, — Cotton, Young —, ”, Oren Cass, Mitt Romney, Cass, ” Cass Organizations: Ohio Republican, Todd Young of Indiana, Capitol, Conservative, American Locations: Massachusetts, Marco Rubio of Florida, Tom Cotton of Arkansas

☆ Berkshire Hathaway Opens New Position in Capital One, Exits BNY Mellon
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Akane Otani | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Berkshire’s annual shareholder meeting in Omaha, Neb., was held earlier this month. Photo: Madeline Cass for The Wall Street JournalWarren Buffett ’s company spent the first quarter opening a new position in Capital One Financial and adding to its already large holdings of Bank of America and Apple . A regulatory filing released Monday showed Berkshire Hathaway trimmed its stakes in Chevron , General Motors , Amazon.com and Activision Blizzard , among other companies. It dumped the remainder of its stakes in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing , Bank of New York Mellon , U.S. Bancorp and RH , the home-furnishings company formerly known as Restoration Hardware.

☆ TikTok has a new program that will pay augmented-reality creators up to $50,000 per month
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Dan Whateley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

TikTok is earmarking $6 million to pay creators that make popular augmented-reality filters. Creators earn a base of $700 and up to $14,000 for effects that appear in at least 500,000 videos. TikTok launched on Tuesday a new $6 million rewards program for augmented-reality creators who use its AR platform, Effect House, a company spokesperson confirmed to Insider. Augmented reality has become an increasingly important feature for social-entertainment platforms like TikTok and Instagram as AR effects drive millions of video creations. AR creators can earn hundreds of thousands of dollars by making custom effects for brands and building out careers as augmented-reality developers.

The Boston Chase Sapphire Lounge will open on May 16, and if you have a Sapphire Reserve you get unlimited access. That's about to change with today's announcement of a new Chase Sapphire Lounge opening at Boston Airport on May 16, 2023. This is exciting news for Chase Sapphire Reserve® cardholders, as it's the first domestic Sapphire Lounge location. The food at the Chase Sapphire Lounge Boston is much more upscale than your average cheese and crackers at other lounges. ChaseChase Sapphire Lounge accessBank-branded luxury airport lounges aren't new, and the Boston Chase Sapphire Lounge looks to be just as good, if not better than competitors like Amex Centurion lounges and Capital One lounges.

OMAHA, Neb.—Every year, tens of thousands of Berkshire Hathaway shareholders make the pilgrimage to Omaha to hear the legendary investors Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger speak. Most are middle-aged. Some are college students.

☆ China has an inflation problem. It’s way too low
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

That’s raising the specter of a tailspin of falling prices and wages from which the economy may struggle to recover. “Our core view is that China’s economy is deflationary,” wrote Raymond Yeung, chief economist for Greater China at ANZ Research, last week, soon after China released its first-quarter GDP growth figures. Instead of spending money, people are hoarding cash at a record rate. “Even with a conservative estimate, 500 billion yuan in consumption vouchers will drive one trillion yuan in overall consumption, ” Li said in a video posted on his Weibo social media account on Tuesday. In return, the government could receive at least 300 billion yuan through taxes generated by the increase in spending, he said“So it only takes 200 billion yuan in spending for the central government to drive one trillion yuan in consumption,” he said.

☆ One of the most important conservative think tanks is changing its tune on the free market and state power to keep up with the 'New Right' ushered in by Trump and DeSantis
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-16 | by ( Ethan Dodd | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

A recent report published by the think tank outlines how government could play a greater role in the economy. The foundation is trying to keep up with American right's turn away from free markets with Trump and DeSantis. On the other side are libertarian conservatives like Sen. Rand Paul who opposes interfering with free markets. The Reaganite fusion of free markets, social traditionalism, and anti-communism "is fundamentally dead," Geoff Kabaservice, vice president of political studies at the market-oriented think tank Niskanen Center, told Insider. Heritage's president, Kevin Roberts, took over in 2021 and has aligned the think tank much more with the New Right, which is home to figures like Florida Gov.

☆ Previously homeless Detroit resident gets evicted from tiny home amid protests
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Jordan Hart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

On Tuesday, Detroit bailiffs arrived at Taura Brown's tiny home to evict her after a years-long battle. The legal battle has gone on since Cass Community Social Services (CCSS) decided against renewing Brown's lease at the tiny home in early 2021. Sammie Lewis of the Detroit Eviction Defense then organized members of the group to protest when law enforcement arrived at Brown's door, according to local reports. The Detroit Eviction Defense group is a coalition of tenants, homeowners, and other advocates fighting against evictions and home foreclosures in the Detroit Metropolitan area. Fowler provided 7 Action News with a longer statement on Brown's eviction.

☆ Australian regulator to monitor rapid growth in digital platforms sector
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 8 (Reuters) - The Australian competition regulator said on Wednesday it would probe the country's fast-evolving ecosystem of digital platform service providers as part of a five-year inquiry into the sector. "Interconnected products ... can provide consumers with a seamless experience that simplifies everyday tasks, but it's important that competition and consumers are not harmed as digital platforms invest across different sectors and technologies and expand their reach," ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said. ACCC also published an issues paper, seeking feedback from consumers, businesses and relevant stakeholders concerning the investment choices made by digital platforms and the potential effect on competition and consumers. This follows the ACCC announcing in January that it had conducted a sweep to identify misleading testimonials and endorsements by social media influencers across a range of digital platforms. Reporting by Riya Sharma in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-PhillipsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Artists and labels are sliding songs into augmented-reality filters on TikTok, Snapchat, and Instagram to promote music
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Dan Whateley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

AR effects are on the rise on Snapchat, TikTok, and Instagram, appearing across billions of videos. Artists, labels, and music marketers are finding new ways to promote tracks via these AR filters. "If you do come up with a cool AR filter, it's easier for the regular user to create a TikTok with than to create a dance." "Artists will hire AR creators to make effects for specific pieces of music," Chris Barbour, Meta's AR partnerships director, told Insider. As with any trend on social media, originality is important for helping an AR effect spread, Yoder said.

☆ JPMorgan downgrades C.H. Robinson, says transportation stock is more exposed to macro risks than rivals
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Hakyung Kim | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Robinson has a tough road ahead in 2023, according to JPMorgan. Analyst Brian Ossenbeck downgraded the stock to underweight from neutral. The analyst named rail congestion fees, truckload rate cycles and coal volumes as headwinds for the company in 2023 despite an improving industry outlook. Robinson is more exposed to broader industry and macro risks than some of its competitors, notably RXO. However, JPMorgan thinks that there are still significant downside risks to the stock despite its recent gains.

Feb 10 (Reuters) - U.S. diesel prices have dropped this month and could go lower, analysts said, an unexpected swoon that coincided with the start of a British and European Union ban on Russian fuel imports. Lower prices could ease inflation worries that have occupied investors. A relatively warm winter across the United States and Europe and lower commercial trucking activity lowered demand. “This week was supposed to be when diesel prices blew out to the moon, but that’s not close to what happened,” said Bob Yawger, director of energy futures at Mizuho. Diesel demand by truckers fell off at the end of this year as high inflation impacted U.S. demand for goods.

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