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☆ Sharing the mental load: Men are talking about how they can take part
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-13 | by ( Madeline Holcombe | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

But slipping into habits like these can leave one partner feeling as if they are carrying the bulk of the mental load, he said. The father and content creator based in Marlborough, Massachusetts, has been sharing his experiences trying to divide the mental load — those tasks that take planning, preparation and keeping track to maintain the family — more equally with his wife. Men are starting to hold themselves accountable, and like Watson, going online to teach other men to take on more of the mental load. So many of them say, ‘This is exactly why I divorced my husband,’” referring to the inequality of the mental load one partner can experience in keeping a relationship or family going. “If mental load is universally understood, accepted and appreciated, I think we will live in a very different world,” Watson said.

Persons: CNN — Zachary Watson, ”, “, ’ ” Watson, Alyssa, Watson, ’, Eve Rodsky, Rodsky, Will, it’s, ” Rodsky, you’ve, ” Watson, Paige Bellenbaum, Bellenbaum, “ Let’s Organizations: CNN, Play Locations: Marlborough , Massachusetts, New York City, “

☆ 19 Best Gifts for the Tea Lovers in Your Life
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-02 | by ( Sarah Rose | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +10 min

For people who also drink coffeeSugar Wish The Coffee & Tea Sugarwish $45 at SugarwishThis Sugarwish coffee and tea gift box is a great option for anyone who loves coffee just as much as they love tea. Desains suggests a porcelain tea pot clad in stainless steel to keep a quality tea warm for hours. Alternately, make a tea concentrate by doubling the amount of tea leaves in hot tea, then pouring it over ice. For a twist on matchaIppodo Tea Genmaicha Green Tea $15 at AmazonIf you love matcha but want to try something new, you might enjoy this Genmaicha green tea from Ippodo Tea. It’s lighter than matcha and is made by blending green tea leaves with roasted rice, so it has a distinct flavor.

Persons: Sarah Rose, ”, “, Abigail St, Clair, St, Maria Uspenski, Tea Forte, Marmalade, Winter, Steve Schwartz, Ui, Kristen Chase, There’s, Ottilie Cunningham, Fortnum, Mason, Alex Monroe, Franck Desains, Waris, Elisabeth Noel Jones, Joshua Kaiser, Milwaukee’s Rishi, —, Cindy Sherman, Madame de Pompadour, French King Louis XV, Heidi Johannsen Stewart, Van, Brandon Friedman, Obama, ” Friedman, “ Matcha, Catherine Jue, Tekuno, Emeric Harney, Harney, ORLA KIELY, Ravi Kroesen, Smith, Orla Kiely, Jessie Dean, Katie Kitamura Organizations: Tea Bella Tea Company, Art, Mariages Freres, Desains, Amazon The, MET, Bellocq, Metropolitan Museum of, Amazon, 187th, Tea, Asheville Tea Company Locations: China, Tampa , Fla, Clair, Darjeeling, it’s, Boulder, Colo, chai In India, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Paris, Brooklyn, U.S, Iraq, Afghanistan, Dallas, San Francisco, New York, Portland ,, North Carolina

Ronen Zvulun/Reuters A woman mourns over a dead man at the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Gaza City on October 18. Samar Abu Elouf/The New York Times/Redux Palestinians wait to cross into Egypt at the Rafah border crossing in Gaza on October 16. Yousef Masoud/The New York Times/Redux Smoke rises after Israeli strikes on the seaport of Gaza City on Tuesday, October 10. Tamir Kalifa/The New York Times/Redux Palestinians walk amid the rubble following Israeli airstrikes in Gaza City on October 10. Erik Marmor/AP Six-month-old Sama Alwadia is rescued from the rubble in Gaza City on October 9.

Persons: uluations, –, Judith Tai Raanan, Natalie Raanan, ”, Ben Raanan, Benjamin Netanyahu, Maj, Doron Spielman, Rami Igra, Abed Khaled, Antonio Guterres, Amr Abdallah Dalsh, Ali Jadallah, Janis Laizans, Mohammed Dahman, Yoav Gallant, Gallant, Khan, Yasser Qudih, Ofir Libstein, Aza, Ronen Zvulun, Belal Khaled, Abed Rahim Khatib, Leon Neal, Hod, Alexi J . Rosenfeld, Ayal Margolin, Antony Blinken, Joe Biden, Brendan Smialowski, Biden, Netanyahu, Kenny Holston, Ariel Schalit, Mohammed Abed, Kfar Aza, Ilia Yefimovich, Mustafa Hassona, Mahmoud Khaled, Samar Abu, Fatima Shbair, Dor Reder, Violeta Santos Moura, Shir Torem, Wahaj Bani Moufleh, Antonio Macías, Macías, Francisco Seco, Mohammed Saber, Eli Albag, Liri, Mohammed Talatene, Sergey Ponomarev, Hatem Ali, Dor Kedmi, Mahmud Hams, Saher, Hatem Moussa, Abraham Cohen, Valentin Ghnassia, Ghnassia, Yuri Cortez, Yousef Masoud, Ibrahim Hams, Bashar Taleb, Baz Ratner, Jack Guez, Yahya Hassouna, Mapal Adam, Abed Zagout, Tamir Kalifa, Agha, Ibraheem Abu Mustafa, Reuters Itzik, Miriam Shafir, Dor Shafir, Savion Kiper, Maya Alleruzzo, Mohammed Salem, CNN Sergey Ponomarev, Eden Guez, Atef Safadi, Ohad, Mohammed Soboh, Said, Noam Elimeleh Rothenberg, Amir Cohen, Ilai Bar Sade, Erik Marmor, Oren Ziv, Majdi, Ramez Mahmoud, Roi Levy, Alleruzzo, Tali Touito, Jalaa Marey, Oded, Khan Younis, Ahmad Hasballah, Mohammed Fayq Abu Mostafa, Tsafrir, Ahmad Gharabli, Ilan Rosenberg, Eyad Baba, Itai Ron, Hadas Parush, Israel –, Martin Griffiths, Tamara Alrifai Organizations: Rafah CNN, Israel, Hamas, CNN’s, Media Offices, Palestinian Ministry of Health, United, CNN, Israel Defense Forces, CNN Aid, Humanitarian Affairs, Red, United Nations, Reuters Civil, Getty, Reuters Rockets, AP Israel's, Reuters, Regional, Al, Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, Israel's, Ahli Baptist Hospital, Israeli, Ben Gurion International, New York Times, Shifa, Palestinian, AP, West Bank, Aris Messinis, Haim, Mount, Mount Herzl Military, Nova, Anadolu Agency, Nova Festival, Ben Gurion, Rockets, Reuters Police, UN Locations: Gaza, Rafah, Israel, Egypt, Tel Aviv, United States, United Kingdom, France, Gaza City, El, Arish, Anadolu, Israel's, Khan Younis, Yehuda, Aqsa, Hod HaSharon, Kiryat Shmona, AFP, Al, Ahli, Sderot, Gan, Kfar, North Sinai, Samar, Samar Abu Elouf, Beit Kama, Haifa, Cyprus, Nablus, West, Lebanon, Kfar Saba, Israeli, Be'eri, Rehovot, Mount Herzl, Jerusalem, Kibbutz Be'eri, Modiin Maccabim, Kfar Aza, Ashkelon, Mount Herzel, Yassin, Palestinian, Beitar Ilit, Ramat Gan, Itai, Beit Hanun, Rishon Lezion

[1/2] A worker looks on at a construction site of residential buildings by Chinese developer Country Garden, in Beijing, China August 11, 2023. Non-payment would trigger cross defaults in other Country Garden bonds as is standard in bond contracts. Country Garden reiterated on Wednesday that it expects to be unable to meet all of its offshore debt obligations and hopes to seek a "holistic" solution to its difficulties. Shares in Country Garden have lost some 70% of their value this year but gained some ground on Wednesday, rising 2.7%. "I think Country Garden offshore US dollar bond pricing speaks for itself as to the current expectations," said Real Estate Foresight co-founder Robert Ciemniak who publishes on Smartkarma.

Persons: Tingshu Wang, Cedric Rimaud, Garden's, China Evergrande, Robert Ciemniak, Clare Jim, Xie Yu, Scott Murdoch, Anne Marie Roantree, Edwina Gibbs Organizations: REUTERS, HK, Foresight, Data, JPMorgan, Mainland Properties, Thomson Locations: Beijing, China, HONG KONG, U.S, Hang, Hong Kong

LONDON (AP) — Shares in the troubled British lender Metro Bank bounced back by a third on Friday on reports that it has been sounding out bigger rivals to buy a chunk of its assets. Sky News reported that advisers to the bank have contacted Lloyds Banking Group and NatWest Group among others. But it stressed that “no decision has been made on whether to proceed with any of these options." Gary Greenwood, an equity research analyst for Shore Capital Markets, suggested that the business could struggle to find backers for a potential fundraising exercise. Political Cartoons View All 1202 Images“Metro Bank has been struggling for a number of years to establish itself as a profitable and self-sustaining bank," he said.

Persons: Gary Greenwood Organizations: Metro Bank, Sky News, Lloyds Banking Group, NatWest Group, London Stock Exchange, Shore Capital Markets, Bank Locations: Britain

☆ Morning Bid: Yen back near 150 as intervention chatter swirls
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Tokyo has not confirmed any such move to support the yen , with both Japan's finance minister and its top currency diplomat making no direct comment. Tokyo last intervened to buy yen in September and October last year, when the currency eventually slumped to a 32-year low of 151.94 per dollar. In Asian hours, the yen was back just below the 150 mark and last at 149.27 per dollar. They continue to sell bonds, sending yields higher with the 10-year Treasury yield at a fresh 16 year peak. The benchmark 10-year Japanese government bond yield also clung to a 10-year high.

Persons: Kim Kyung, Ankur Banerjee, Kevin McCarthy, Edmund Klamann Organizations: National Printing Bureau, Bank of Japan, REUTERS, Ankur, Reuters, U.S . House, Ofcom, Labs, Thomson Locations: Tokyo, Japan, United States, U.S, Germany, France, Italy

☆ Earth's mysterious core is weirder than you think, and we're only just beginning to uncover its secrets
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-22 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Earth's core has baffled researchers for decades, and it still contains many secrets. AdvertisementAdvertisementA diagram shows the Earth's magnetic field deflecting waves of energy coming from the sun. The strength of Earth's magnetic field in 2020, as measured by the European Space Agency's SWARM satellites. The Earth's inner core may be spinning and might sometimes flip backwardThe core itself is not uniform. A graphic showing how iron crystals may be distributed and moved around the Earth's inner core.

Persons: Andrew Z, Colvin, Lutz Rastaetter, Christopher C, Finlay, al, Edward Garnero, Li, Lindsey Kenyon, Samantha Hansen, Insider's Morgan McFall, Johnsen, Chris Panella, John Vidale, UC Berkeley seismologist Daniel Frost, LiveScience Organizations: Service, NASA, Modeling, NASA Goddard Space, Wikimedia, German Research Center, Geosciences, European Space Agency, Arizona State University, Lindsey, University of Alabama, University of Southern, Washington Post, UC Berkeley Locations: South America, Antarctica, University of Southern California, Banda

☆ All smoke and no FIRE: Early retirees open up about the struggles of ditching their paychecks in exchange for freedom and the new ways they're generating extra income
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-13 | by ( Laila Maidan | Kathleen Elkins | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

Members pose questions from how to save and invest to how to raise a family while on the path to early retirement. Early retirement doesn't mean never working againBut the FIRE movement can be more smoke than fire. Think about what's important to you and what you want your lifestyle in early retirement to look like, Cheng said. One message he shares with his community is that early retirement may not be the ultimate finish line for everyone. He also started coaching high school tennis and grew his online blog that offers tips on early retirement.

Persons: Rachel Covert, Isaac Mizrahi, Covert, That's, subreddit, Gwendolyn Merz, Merz, She'd, Marguerita Cheng, Cheng, It's, Michael Quan, Quan, Winnie Jiang, Sam Dogen, Dogen, Sam Dogen Dogen, Shan Fu, Fu, I'm Organizations: Financial Independence, Social Security, Lean FIRE, FIRE, Fortune, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Credit Suisse, Millennials Locations: NerdWallet, New York City, Mexico, Portugal, Asia

☆ Capitol physician says there's no evidence McConnell has had a stroke or a 'seizure disorder' after freezing episodes
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-05 | by ( Brent D. Griffiths | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The Capitol physician says there is no evidence Mitch McConnell has had a stroke. Congress' doctor also wrote there's no evidence McConnell has a "seizure disorder" or something like "Parkinson's disease." While not specifically mentioned, there have been a number of theories about McConnell freezing up during recent news conferences. "There is no evidence that you have a seizure disorder or that you experienced a stroke, TIA or movement disorder such as Parkinson's disease," Monahan wrote. Before he froze up during his most recent episode, McConnell was asked about his plans for the future.

Persons: Mitch McConnell, McConnell, Brian P, Monahan, Sen, Rick Scott of Florida Organizations: Capitol, Service, Republican, Republicans, Kentucky Republican, Senate GOP Locations: Wall, Silicon, Kentucky

☆ 'Not found': China's ex-foreign minister is gone but wait for explanation goes on
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-31 | by ( Yew Lun Tian | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

BEIJING, Aug 1 (Reuters) - Hours after China's top legislature convened a special meeting last week to remove foreign minister Qin Gang, photos and mentions of the 57-year-old started disappearing from his former ministry's website. China named veteran diplomat Wang Yi to replace Qin, but gave few further clues on the reason for the change. Foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning on Thursday said Beijing will release information in a timely matter regarding Qin and opposes "malicious hype". The foreign ministry removed all online traces to its former chief protocol officer Zhang Kunsheng who was found guilty of corruption and using his position of power to obtain sex in 2016. He then made a triple jump from director of protocol to U.S. ambassador and then to foreign minister and state councillor in five years, bullet-train speed by China standards.

Persons: Qin Gang, Qin, Gang, Xi Jinping, Wang Yi, Mao Ning, Ian Johnson, Wu Qiang, Wu, Xiao Yaqing, Zhang Kunsheng, Mao Zedong, Mao, Xi, Xi's, Alfred Wu, Lee Kwan, Yew Lun Tian, John Geddie Organizations: Foreign Ministry, State, Information Office, Council, Foreign Relations, Industry, Committee, Communist, Xinhua, Lee Kwan Yew, of Public Policy, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, China, Beijing, Washington, Singapore, Lincoln

☆ Best Gifts for the Tea Lovers in Your Life
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-29 | by ( Sarah Rose | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +8 min

For masterful measuringOMABETA Portable Kitchen Tea Scale $16 at AmazonAs with baking, you will get best results when measuring tea leaves by weight rather than the spoonful. “Some teas are tightly rolled while others are fluffy and light,” explains Ben Marcus-Willers, of Red Blossom Tea Company, a San Francisco-based tea company that sells to consumers as well as Michelin three-star chefs. Desains suggests a porcelain tea pot clad in stainless steel to keep a quality tea warm for hours. Alternately, make a tea concentrate by doubling the amount of tea leaves in hot tea, then pouring it over ice. Tea will always taste best fresh and warm, and its taste will change—“often for the worse,” Kroesen notes—as it cools.

Persons: Sarah Rose, ”, “, Abigail St, Clair, St, Maria Uspenski, Ben Marcus, Willers, Steve Schwartz, Ottilie Cunningham, Fortnum, Mason, Alex Monroe, Franck Desains, Joshua Kaiser, Milwaukee’s Rishi, —, Cindy Sherman, Madame de Pompadour, French King Louis XV, Heidi Johannsen Stewart, Van, Brandon Friedman, Obama, ” Friedman, “ Matcha, Catherine Jue, Tekuno, Emeric Harney, Harney, Ravi Kroesen, Smith, Orla Kiely, Jessie Dean Organizations: Amazon, Tea Bella Tea Company, Red, Red Blossom Tea, Michelin, Blossom, Art, Mariages Freres, Desains, MET, Bellocq, Metropolitan Museum of, 187th, Tea, Asheville Tea Company Locations: China, Tampa , Fla, Clair, Darjeeling, it’s, Boulder, Colo, Red Blossom, San Francisco, chai In India, Los Angeles, Paris, Brooklyn, U.S, Iraq, Afghanistan, Dallas, New York, Portland ,, North Carolina

☆ ‘Barbie’ Review: Out of the Box and On the Road
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( Manohla Dargis | More About Manohla Dargis | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

That’s a question that swirls through Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie,” a live-action, you-go-girl fantasia about the world’s most famous doll. The movie opens with a prelude that parodies the “dawn of man” sequence in “2001: A Space Odyssey” (with girls, not ape-men), and then shifts to Barbie Land, a kaleidoscopic wonderland. There, Gerwig sets the scene and tone with Barbie (Margot Robbie) — who calls herself stereotypical Barbie — soon floating out of her Dreamhouse, as if she were being lifted by a giant invisible hand. Written by Gerwig and her partner, Noah Baumbach, the movie introduces Barbie on yet another perfect day in Barbie Land, in which dolls played by humans exist in what resembles a toyland gated community. There, framed by a painted mountain range, Barbie and a diverse group of other Barbies rule, living in homes with few exterior walls.

Persons: Greta Gerwig’s “ Barbie, ”, fantasia, Barbie, George Bernard Shaw’s, Lerner, Loewe, “ Barbie, Gerwig, Margot Robbie, —, Barbie —, Noah Baumbach, Eero Saarinen Organizations: Mattel Locations: Barbie

☆ Christopher Nolan and the ‘Oppenheimer’ cast discuss the atomic bomb and its chilling echoes today: ‘Humanity can only deal with one apocalypse at a time’
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( Thomas Page David Daniel | Thomas Page | David Daniel | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

It would have seemed inconceivable then, but the atomic bomb did fade out of mind. And it’s precisely at this moment that Christopher Nolan is asking audiences to look it soberly in the eye. As the name suggests, Nolan has taken on the life of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the scientific genius and conflicted godfather of the atomic bomb. Cillian Murphy as godfather of the atomic bomb J. Robert Oppenheimer in "Oppenheimer." But even if a war involving a nuclear power hadn’t erupted in Europe in 2022, Nolan believes “Oppenheimer” contains crossover anxieties.

Persons: CNN —, Dimitri, Stanley Kubrick’s, Strangelove, Christopher Nolan, ” Nolan, “ Oppenheimer, ”, Nolan, J, Robert Oppenheimer, Cillian Murphy, Oppenheimer, –, Robert Oppenheimer ”, Kai Bird, Martin Sherwin, “, “ We’re, ” Murphy, McCarthy, Kitty, Emily Blunt, Jean Tatlock, Florence Pugh, Chris, Matt Damon, Leslie Groves, Spielberg, Ryan, ’, Chris Nolan, Robert Downey Jr, Lewis Strauss, Damon, it’s, ” Cillian Murphy, Melinda Sue Gordon, Universal Pictures Nolan, Murphy, Universal Pictures Kubrick, There’s, ” Downey, Knight ”, there’s, ” “ Oppenheimer ” Organizations: CNN, Manhattan, U.S . Atomic Energy Commission, Universal Pictures, Los Alamos, Manhattan Project, Trinity Locations: Cambridge, Russia, Ukraine, New Mexico, Europe

☆ Ocean exploration: The benefits and risks
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-24 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Ocean secretsA bioluminescent jellyfish is shown in an image taken during exploration of the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument. NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration/APThe deep ocean is an alien landscape that scientists have only just begun to understand. So much remains to be explored because reaching the bottom of the ocean is an incredibly difficult task. But the ocean depths have much to offer, including lifesaving compounds and the secrets of how life on Earth evolved. The event is nearly 10 months away, but people are already anticipating the total solar eclipse that will pass over Mexico, the US and Canada on April 8, 2024.

Persons: Miles, hasn’t, Jiang Feibo, NASA’s Parker, Ashley Strickland, Katie Hunt Organizations: CNN, Marianas Trench, NOAA, of Ocean Exploration, University of Cambridge, China News Service, CNN Space, Science Locations: Africa, Mexico, Canada, England, Trumpington, Germany, Rome, Lhasa, Tibet, Bermuda, France

☆ Opinion | It’s Not Possible to ‘Win’ an Argument With Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( Farhad Manjoo | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

But pretty much every expert I talked to said that none of the issues were likely big enough to have undone Bush’s win. Then Kennedy wrote a rebuttal to my rebuttal, which I, again, rebutted. Salon, a generally liberal-leaning publication, was deluged by letters from readers angry that I was defending Bush’s win. The other day I went back and listened to a debate I had with Kennedy on public radio’s “The Brian Lehrer Show.” Lehrer opened the program by asking Kennedy for his big-picture case. Such was his effort when we met on Lehrer: Kennedy offered an assortment of claims about the election that, in big and small ways, were unsubstantiated.

Persons: Kennedy, Kenneth Blackwell, Bush, Kennedy’s breathless, Brian Lehrer, ” Lehrer, Rogan, —, Lehrer Organizations: Democratic National Committee, Bush’s Locations: Ohio, Kerry

☆ French cave markings may be oldest known engravings by Neanderthals
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Made by dragging fingers across relatively soft rock, lines, swirls and dots on the walls of a cave in France are the oldest known engravings by Neanderthals, according to a new analysis of the ancient marks. The finding adds to a growing body of evidence that Neanderthals — who have been characterized as dim-witted cave dwellers — were creative beings and more complex than the stereotype suggests. Neanderthals’ ‘deliberate composition’To understand how the markings were made and whether they were intentional, the researchers made detailed 3D models of the engravings from photographs of the Loire Valley’s La Roche-Cotard cave using a process known as photogrammetry. Based on the shape, spacing and arrangement of these engravings, the team concluded that markings in eight panels in La Roche-Cotard cave were intentional shapes and patterns created by human hands. At some cave sites in Spain, there’s evidence — albeit contentious — that Neanderthals created abstract motifs and hand stencils.

Persons: Jean, Claude Marquet, Cotard, La Roche, JC Marquet Organizations: CNN, University of Tours Locations: France, La Roche, Europe, Bulgaria, Spain

☆ China eyes Blinken's visit this week with deep distrust toward the US
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( Nectar Gan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

“The coverage of Blinken’s visit in China is not nearly as extensive or enthusiastic as it has been in the West,” said Yun Sun, director of the China Program at the Stimson Center, a think tank in Washington. (Chinese experts say it was because the US failed to lift sanctions on Li, imposed in 2018 over China’s purchase of Russian weapons.) China cut off talks with US military commanders following former US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan last August. Zhao said China has adopted “a brinkmanship policy” to highlight the risk of military confrontation to the US. Wang, the expert at Peking University, said Blinken’s long-delayed visit is the “last chance” to repair ties with China before the US election next year.

Persons: Antony Blinken, Washington, Blinken, Qin Gang, State Department –, ”, Yun Sun, “, “ We’re, ” Daniel Kritenbrink, Trump, Wang Yong, Biden, Joe Biden, ” Wang, Tong Zhao, Lloyd Austin, Li Shangfu, Li, Nancy Pelosi’s, Zhao, ” Zhao, ‘, Blinken’s, Janet Yellen, John Kerry, Sun, ” lockdowns, Xi Jinping’s, Xi, Wang Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, China’s, State Department, Biden, China Program, Stimson, State, Peking University, Foreign Ministry, Carnegie Endowment, International, Defense Locations: China, Hong Kong, Beijing, Washington, East Asia, Taiwan, South China

☆ Analysis: Options investors guard against U.S. stock tumble, despite buoyant markets
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Saqib Iqbal Ahmed | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/2] Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., March 30, 2023. REUTERS/Brendan McDermidNEW YORK, May 10 (Reuters) - Options market demand for insurance against a stock market crash has soared to multi-month highs, even as equities have calmed down after a choppy start to the year. U.S. stock market volatility has subsided as the S&P 500 (.SPX) has logged a 7% year-to-date gain. Though stock market gyrations have subsided in recent weeks from levels hit during the regional banks crisis, investors see plenty of catalysts for volatility ahead. Institutional investors' stock exposure has inched higher after slumping in 2022 to a decade low, excluding the COVID-19 market crash of March 2020, Deutsche Bank data showed.

☆ Options investors guard against US stock tumble, despite buoyant markets
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Saqib Iqbal Ahmed | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

☆ Amazon plans more warehouses and higher headcount in Europe
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Helen Reid | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BARCELONA, May 9 (Reuters) - Amazon (AMZN.O) plans to open new warehouses and hire more people in Europe, an executive said on Tuesday, even as squeezed consumer spending forces the tech giant to cut costs globally and lay off some employees. Amazon has invested 142 billion euros ($156 billion)in Europe since 2010, and its growth in the region was boosted in recent years from COVID-19 lockdowns driving shopping online. The expansion is part of Amazon's push to increase efficiency by cutting delivery distances and making fulfilment centres more automated. "The ability to have a collaborative deployment of AI is really a key strategic element for us," Perego said. ($1 = 0.9084 euros)Reporting by Helen Reid in Barcelona; Editing by Andrea RicciOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Fintech firm Klarna overhauls its app with a TikTok-like discovery feed as A.I. hype swirls
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

According to David Sandstrom, Klarna's chief marketing officer, the firm took inspiration from Chinese tech platforms, which he said have mastered the art of algorithm driven-shopping. The Klarna app has been redesigned to tailor product recommendations to users based on their shopping habits using artificial intelligence. Klarna and other buy now, pay later products proved popular during the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, buy now, pay later has come under scrutiny from regulators because of fears that it is pushing some consumers, particularly younger people, into arrears. In the U.K., the government has proposed new rules aimed at adding some friction to the process of applying for a buy now, pay later loan.

☆ 4 ways artificial intelligence is being used the music industry, even as a debate swirls around AI-generated songs
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Nhari Djan | Dan Whateley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Our list of music startups making AI tools showed the technology can be used in all aspects of the industry. Here are four takeaways on how AI is being used in the music industry right now. Insider recently highlighted 13 music startups using AI to innovate in the industry, based on a mix of nominations from readers and industry experts as well as our reporting. But some founders whose startups are building AI-powered music tools said their products are made to work with the traditional music industry. Here are four ways music startups are using AI tools to innovate in the industry:

☆ Thick sandstorms shroud Beijing and several provinces in China
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BEIJING, March 22 (Reuters) - Capital Beijing and several provinces in China will be affected by thick, dense sandstorms that will severely affect visibility, Chinese weather authorities said on Wednesday. The Central Meteorological Observatory issued yellow warning signals from Wednesday to early morning Thursday for Shaanxi, Shanxi, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning, Shandong, Henan, Jiangsu, Anhui and Hubei provinces. Many areas will have low visibility, weather forecasters said, cautioning drivers on speed. China has a four-tier, colour-coded weather-warning system, with red representing the most severe warning, followed by orange, yellow and blue. Beijing, which was also issued a yellow sandstorm warning, has experienced sand and dust storms over the past several days, causing pollution levels to drastically increase.

☆ Gold pauses rally as traders seek clarity on banking crisis
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Gold retreated on Thursday from a safe-haven-driven rally, which sent prices to their highest since early-February, as traders sought more clarity on the financial sector after Credit Suisse became the latest focal point for fears of a banking crisis. Spot gold was down 0.3% at $1,912.48 per ounce, as of 0328 GMT, after rising more than 1% on Wednesday. Swiss regulators pledged a liquidity lifeline to Credit Suisse in an unprecedented move by a central bank. Gold competes with the dollar as a safe store of value, and gains in the currency make bullion less attractive for overseas buyers. Spot silver slipped 0.4% to $21.71 per ounce, platinum was 0.3% lower at $959.52, while palladium gained 1.3% at $1,465.91.

☆ Ukraine vows not to give up on Bakhmut amid constant Russian attacks
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Oleksandr Kozhukhar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

After Russian gains in recent weeks, at the culmination of a winter offensive, Ukrainian troops have been reinforcing positions west of Bakhmut in apparent preparation for a possible retreat. "I told the commander in chief to find the appropriate forces to help our guys in Bakhmut." "If everyone is coordinated, without ambition, screw-ups and tantrums, and carries out this work, then we will block the armed forces of Ukraine. [1/7] A Ukrainian serviceman carries a shell for a 2S5 Giatsint-S self-propelled howitzer before firing towards Russian troops outside the frontline town of Bakhmut, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Donetsk region, Ukraine March 5, 2023. Ukraine and the West describe Russia's actions as an unprovoked war of aggression aimed at expanding territory.

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