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Speaking alongside Netanyahu after talks in Berlin, Scholz said he hoped that a compromise on the reforms suggested by Israel's President Isaac Herzog was not off the table. Netanyahu visited Germany while protests erupted once again in Israel over the reforms by his far-right government that have triggered mass unrest in recent weeks. Netanyahu called criticism of the plans "absurd", assuring Scholz that "Israel will remain a liberal democracy". Netanyahu wanted the meeting with Scholz to focus on efforts to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. Netanyahu, who is on trial for corruption charges that he denies, says the judicial changes will strengthen democracy and boost business.

☆ How Can We Measure Droughts and Deluges? Weigh the Planet.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Mira Rojanasakul | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +15 min

Scientists have long cautioned that warming temperatures would lead to wetter and drier global extremes — increasingly severe rainfall, more intense droughts. km3/month Global intensity of wet and dry extremes 30,000 20,000 Wet extremes 10,000 -10,000 Dry extremes -20,000 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 km3/month 30,000 Global intensity of wet and dry extremes 20,000 Wet extremes 10,000 -10,000 Dry extremes -20,000 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 km3/month Global intensity of wet and dry extremes 30,000 20,000 Wet extremes 10,000 -10,000 Dry extremes -20,000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 km3/ month Global intensity of wet and dry extremes 30,000 20,000 Wet extremes 10,000 -10,000 Dry extremes -20,000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 km3/ month Global intensity of wet and dry extremes 30,000 20,000 Wet extremes 10,000 -10,000 Dry extremes -20,000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 Source: Rodell and Li, Nature Water (2023), based on analysis of NASA Grace and Grace-FO data. Europe July 2018–April 2021 Drought across Europe returned with the La Niña that lasted through 2022. Central Africa 2. Central Africa 2.

☆ Exclusive: Activist Legion Partners nominates 4 directors at Primo Water -letter
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Svea Herbst-Bayliss | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

NEW YORK, March 6 (Reuters) - Activist investor Legion Partners Asset Management is pushing for four new directors to join Primo Water Corp's (PRMW.N) board, arguing they could help the water company's share price triple over five years. Legion nominated experts in water delivery, beverage operations, marketing and capital allocation as director candidates for election to the U.S.-Canadian company's 10-person board to help reverse "chronic underperformance," according to a letter seen by Reuters. "Substantial shareholder-driven change in the boardroom is long overdue and necessary at the 2023 Annual Meeting in order for Primo to achieve its full potential," Legion's managing directors, Chris Kiper and Ted White, wrote to fellow Primo Water shareholders. Legion, which helped place directors onto boards at Bed Bath & Beyond and Kohl's, said it owns a 1.5% stake in Primo Water and has been an investor in the past. Primo Water offers home and office water delivery, water exchange, where customers return their empty water jugs and buy new ones at retailers, and water refill, its most affordable offering, where customers refill jugs themselves.

☆ Dutch warn against internet toll as EU looks to Big Tech to fund networks
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Deutsche Telekom (DTEGn.DE), Orange (ORAN.PA), Telefonica (TEF.MC), Telecom Italia (TLIT.MI) and other operators have long lobbied for a Big Tech contribution and have found an ally in Breton, a former chief executive at Orange. These companies account for more than half of data internet traffic, according to telecom operators. Adriaansens said the Dutch government had commissioned a study by economic consultancy Oxera which showed the drawbacks of such a tax. "I think that there is this concern that our infrastructure is not able to meet our expectations and our ambitions. According to Oxera's study, Europe's telecoms providers have not been burdened with higher network costs despite the strong growth in internet data traffic.

☆ Shamima Begum, British-born woman who joined IS, loses appeal over citizenship removal
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Sam Tobin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The British government took away Shamima Begum's citizenship on national security grounds in 2019, shortly after she was found in a detention camp in Syria. Begum would have to take the case directly to the Court of Appeal in London if she wishes to challenge Wednesday's decision, according to legislation which covers the tribunal. Begum, who is currently being held in the al-Roj detention camp in north-eastern Syria, argued that the Home Office failed to investigate whether she was a "child victim of trafficking". Judge Robert Jay found there was a "credible suspicion" that Begum was trafficked to Syria for the purposes of "sexual exploitation". But the judge ruled that a finding that Begum may have been trafficked was not enough for her appeal to succeed.

☆ Consumer debt hits record $16.9 trillion as delinquencies rise as well
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Jeff Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Consumer debt hit a fresh record at the end of 2022 while delinquency rates rose for several types of loans, the New York Federal Reserve reported Thursday. Debt across all categories totaled $16.9 trillion, up about more than $1.3 trillion from a year ago as balances rose across all major categories. Auto loan debt delinquencies rose 0.6 percentage point to 2.2% while credit card debt jumped 0.8 percentage point to 4%. Student loan debt also increased for the month after staying flat during much of the pandemic amid government-backed amnesty for borrowers. Auto loan debt edged higher to $1.55 trillion while credit card balances rose to just shy of $1 trillion.

☆ 'Bellyaching': Democratic unity defending Biden begins to see defections
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Peter Nicholas | Peter Nicholas Is Senior White House Reporter For Nbc News Digital. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

WASHINGTON — A Democratic push to discredit the congressional Republicans who are launching a slew of investigations into President Joe Biden may be fracturing because of an unexpected obstacle: fellow Democrats. And former Vice President Mike Pence revealed this week that he, too, had discovered classified documents in his Indiana home. On Capitol Hill, House Republicans have opened an oversight inquiry into Biden’s handling of the records. (Both the White House and the Secret Service said they don’t keep such records for his personal residence.) The White House counsel’s office now has a communications arm to quickly respond to Republican allegations of presidential wrongdoing.

☆ Sen. Mike Braun's Indiana gubernatorial bid jump-starts the GOP's first open Senate seat race of 2024
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-26 | by ( Warren Rojas | Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Republican Sen. Mike Braun is running for governor of Indiana in 2024. He filed the paperwork to create the new Mike Braun for Indiana, Inc., campaign committee in late November and has since rolled out a promotional website. "I'm very confident Indiana will stay in Republican hands," Daines told Insider between votes at the US Capitol. And fortunately for the Hoosier State, we have a lot of talented people who might run for that seat," Young told Insider at the US Capitol. The Banks and Spartz campaigns did not immediately respond to requests for comment about prospective Senate runs in 2024.

☆ Europe condemns Elon Musk suspending journalists from Twitter, warns of 'red lines'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-17 | by ( Leila Sackur | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

Musk reinstated the suspended journalists early Saturday after a Twitter poll, but he had already drawn rebukes from the European Union and United Nations. “The EU’s Digital Services Act requires respect of media freedom and fundamental rights. officials have also estimated they will add more than 100 full-time staff by 2024 to enforce the Digital Services Act and other new rules on digital competition. “The Digital Services Act is unprepared for this kind of problem, because it’s not designed for that,” said Downing, speaking of Thursday’s suspensions of tech journalists. “There was never a conception that journalists would be banned from Twitter, because that’s not what Twitter does,” he added.

☆ Oil dips as dollar firms while more rate hikes loom
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Jeslyn Lerh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SINGAPORE, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Oil prices dipped in Asian trade on Thursday as the dollar firmed, while the possibility of further interest rate hikes from global central banks also heightened demand concerns. A stronger dollar weakens oil demand as it makes the commodity more expensive for those holding other currencies. Meanwhile, U.S. crude oil stockpiles rose by more than 10 million barrels last week, the most since March 2021, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said. U.S. gasoline stocks rose by 4.5 million barrels in the week to 223.6 million barrels, while distillate stockpiles rose by 1.4 million barrels to 120.2 million barrels. "Commercial crude oil inventories rose as refineries trimmed their runs," said Citi analysts in a note.

The UK government has promised to overhaul the youth gender care system, after it was deemed inadequate by England’s regulator of health and social care. They described a deeply flawed system that is now hobbled by a toxic political climate around gender care. The letter said a decision would be made at some point from early 2022 on whether the child “is likely to meet the access criteria” for gender care. The family has received no NHS gender care or mental health support since the referral, she said. These recommended supporting “identity exploration” and mental health treatment as the first steps to ensure that any psychological issues are addressed.

☆ India-China border clash video shows troops fighting with sticks and bricks
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Jessie Yeung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Though they’re separated by barbed wire, the footage appears to show Indian troops beating the Chinese soldiers with makeshift weapons, including what look like wooden sticks and metal pipes. In several instances, Indian soldiers can be seen throwing bricks or stones. Many of the Chinese soldiers, gathered on the other side of the wire, also appear to be holding long sticks or batons. Speaking to lawmakers on Tuesday, India’s defense minister accused Chinese troops of trying to cross the LAC, saying they were trying to “unilaterally” change the status quo. Later that evening in a statement posted online, the Chinese military’s Western Theater Command accused Indian troops of “illegally” crossing into the Chinese side of the border.

☆ These 10 Club holdings have been the biggest buyers of their own stocks
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Kevin Stankiewicz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +10 min

We then divided that by each company's average market capitalization throughout that same time period. These 10 stocks spent the most on buybacks in their latest full fiscal year relative to their average market capitalization over that same four-quarter period. Devon Energy's stock ended Tuesday at $61.98 per share, giving the company a market cap of $40.52 billion. As of Sept. 30, the company had $43.5 billion remaining on its $70 billion buyback program, which was authorized by the board in April. As of Sept. 30, Linde had $6 billion left on its $10 billion buyback authorization approved by its board in February.

☆ GM to roll put thousands of electric vehicle chargers in rural America
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Peter Valdes-Dapena | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN Business —General Motors is moving ahead with plans to install as many as 40,000 electric vehicle chargers in, mostly, rural parts of America. The chargers will have industry-standard J1772 charging plugs that can be used by most electric vehicles, not just GM (GM) models. Many GM dealership owners — these are independently owned businesses — own more than one dealership. Today, most electric vehicles in America are sold in coastal areas like New York and California. GM declined to say how much it’s spending on this particular program, but it’s part of an overall $750 million the automaker plans to spend on electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

☆ Treasury's Adeyemo says China continues to struggle with zero-COVID policy
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

NEW YORK, Dec 1 (Reuters) - U.S. Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said China was continuing to struggle with its zero-COVID policy and growth there been disappointing, while policies aimed at large-scale vaccinations had put the U.S. economy on a better course. Asked about unexpected protests springing up across China against further lockdowns, Adeyemo said the United States believed in the right of people to protest. "Today the U.S. economy is open. We have an economy that is growing robustly, and in China, they are still locking down because they haven't done the things that we did," he said. To view the Reuters NEXT conference live on Nov. 30 and Dec. 1, please click [https://www.reuters.com/world/reuters-next/]Reporting by Daniel Burns and Andrea ShalalOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Here's how investors should position themselves for success in 2023 as the US follows Europe into a recession, according to financial giant Macquarie
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Marley Jay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Its top experts explained what's worth buying in stocks, fixed income, and alternative assets. Globalization was an aid to economic growth over the last few decades, but it's fading, or even reversing. Meanwhile productivity growth is weakening, and the aging populations of many countries means there are fewer workers, which makes growth harder to achieve and sustain. Global Fixed Income Strategist Graham McDevitt says that bond yields are peaking and prices are attractive in a lot of fixed income sectors, but overall fixed income pricing "is much more aligned with a soft landing" than the recession Macquarie's experts expect. Lastly, in real assets, McCormack says he's bullish on infrastructure and agriculture assets, and positive on real estate to a lesser extent.

[1/7] U.S. Rep. Hakeem Jefferies (D-NY) walks on the day of House Democratic leadership elections on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., November 30, 2022. The vote by Jeffries' fellow Democrats also marked the rise of a younger generation of leaders in the 435-member House and the end of the Nancy Pelosi era. In 2007 she became the first woman to be elected House speaker. Jeffries, a 52-year-old New Yorker, will hold the position of House Democratic leader for the 118th Congress that convenes on Jan. 3. Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said he was not surprised that Jeffries, a fellow Brooklynite, was chosen.

☆ U.S. House Democrats set to elect Hakeem Jeffries as first Black party leader
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Richard Cowan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Jeffries, a 52-year-old New Yorker, is running for House Democratic leader for the next two years. If he is elected as expected during closed-door voting, he would become the first Black person to hold a top party leadership job in the House or Senate. "Meaningful policymaking and public engagement opportunities should be robustly distributed regardless of length of service," Jeffries wrote in a letter to fellow Democrats. Running for election as part of Jeffries' team are Representative Katherine Clark, 59, who is seeking the No. 2 Democratic whip job, and Pete Aguilar, 43, vying for Jeffries' current job of Democratic caucus chairman.

☆ Sen. Mike Braun filing to run for governor of Indiana kicks off the GOP's first open Senate seat race of 2024
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Warren Rojas | Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Republican Sen. Mike Braun has filed to run for governor of Indiana in 2024. "I'd say here in 10 days to a couple of weeks," Braun told congressional reporters of his current timetable. "I'm very confident Indiana will stay in Republican hands," Daines told Insider between votes at the US Capitol. And fortunately for the Hoosier State, we have a lot of talented people who might run for that seat," Young told Insider at the US Capitol. The Banks and Spartz campaigns did not immediately respond to requests for comment about prospective Senate runs in 2024.

☆ FTX would still be solvent if 'SBF was as good at running a crypto exchange as he was at bribing media': Musk
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( Britney Toh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Musk tweeted Wednesday FTX would still be ok if SBF was as good at leadership as at 'bribing media'. He was responding to a tweet which questioned whether SBF will continue to fund certain media outlets. Musk has been hitting out at the media after reports surfaced SBF may still own a stake in Twitter — which Musk robustly denied. He seemed to be referring to FTX investing in media outlets during the three years that Bankman-Fried, or SBF, was CEO. SBF/FTX do not own shares in Twitter," Musk tweeted Wednesday.

Criticism has grown of the bank's efforts to mobilise sufficient support for developing countries to shift to clean energy. The World Bank Group provided $31.7 billion in climate finance to countries in fiscal year 2022, its highest total to date. He later clarified his remarks and said it is clear greenhouse gas emissions are causing climate change. The World Bank uses cash from wealthy nations to offer loans and grants to poorer countries - offering a major route for climate finance to the developing world. We've engaged robustly and will continue to do so with a range of folks at the World Bank," she said.

☆ Oil prices could once again soar to $125 a barrel in 2023 if China ends its COVID-19 lockdown policy, Goldman Sachs says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Matthew Fox | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Oil prices could once again soar to $125 per barrel if lockdown policies in China come to an end, according to Goldman Sachs. The bank sees Brent crude prices rising to at least $110 per barrel next year as supply risks remain. "Our China economists believe recent headlines simply mark the start of a multi-month preparation period for reopening," Goldman said. There are still plenty of concerns about demand for oil as China continues with its COVID-19 related lockdown policies. Such a move in Brent crude oil prices would represent potential upside of 29% from current levels.

☆ Analysis: Sanctions fail to halt North Korea's accelerating weapons programs
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( David Brunnstrom | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Biden administration officials concede that sanctions have failed to stop North Korea's weapons programs - but they maintain they have at least been effective in slowing North Korea's nuclear program. The Security Council has imposed sanctions on North Korea since 2006 to choke off funding for it nuclear and ballistic missile programs. However U.N. experts regularly report that North Korea is evading sanctions and continuing to develop its programs. Some critics like sanctions expert Joshua Stanton fault both the Trump and Biden administrations for failing to exert maximum pressure to stop China allowing North Korea's sanctions evasion. He rejected the idea that Washington should recognize North Korea as a nuclear-armed state.

☆ Quick and stealthy new Covid-19 variants are poised to drive a winter surge
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Brenda Goodman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

CNN —A flurry of new Covid-19 variants appears to be gaining traction globally, raising fears of a winter surge. As the US moves into the fall, Covid-19 cases are dropping. But virus experts fear that the downward trend may soon reverse itself, thanks to this gaggle of new variants. Lumped together, the variants accounted for almost 1 in 3 new Covid-19 infections nationwide last week, according to the latest estimates from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The updated bivalent booster vaccines and antiviral drugs like Paxlovid are expected to continue to be protective against severe outcomes from Covid-19 infections caused by the new variants.

☆ How to Gift Money for Weddings, Christmas, Birthdays or Any Occasion
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: +8 min

A sentimental card or letter can smooth over the transactional rough edges of a cash gift. If you’re sending money electronically, it’s great to note in the card the method by which you’ve sent money: “Check your Venmo for the gift that accompanies this card UNLESS YOU HATE MONEY,” or similar phrasing of your choice. Don’t even give them a gift card, which limits where they can redeem it and adds the pressure of an expiration date. And even if you feel annoyed by an overt request for a monetary gift, don’t decide to opt out with the gift of nothing. If you’d like to receive cashEmbrace transparencyMaybe people used to pretend they didn’t need money or that gifts didn’t…cost money, but those days are happily behind us.

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