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☆ White House: Biden to discuss Ukraine with Brazil's Lula, India's Modi
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Asked if Biden would pressure or urge the two leaders to toughen their approach on China and Russia, Sullivan said, "I think pressure is just the wrong word. I mean, that's not how President Biden operates with these key leaders with whom he has deep relationships, like President Lula and President Modi." A White House spokesperson responded by accusing him of "parroting Russian and Chinese propaganda". Biden is slated to see Modi as part of a third Quad summit, along with the leaders of Australia and Japan on the sidelines of the G7 summit. Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt and Jeff Mason; Writing by Andrea Shalal and William MallardOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ 3 of our tech stocks are in the news. Here are the takeaways from the headlines
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Kevin Stankiewicz | In Kevinstankiewicz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Here's a breakdown of the news, and how the headlines impact our investment approaches to the companies. Morgan Stanley likes PANW PANW YTD mountain Palo Alto Networks' year-to-date stock performance. Despite concerns around overall tech spending, Morgan Stanley said that companies still want to streamline their cybersecurity spending. Meta's stock has, of course, been on a tear since bottoming under $89 per share back in November. (Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust is long PANW, META, GOOGL and AAPL.

☆ American consumers are growing worried about a US debt default
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( Bryan Mena | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

“If policymakers fail to resolve the debt ceiling crisis, these dismal views over the economy will exacerbate the dire economic consequences of default.”The latest survey showed that the university’s consumer-sentiment index fell by 9% in May. Monthly household spending growth tumbled to 5.4% from a revised 7.1% in December, according to the New York Fed’s Household Spending Survey, which is fielded every four months. Michigan’s report showed US household spending was flat in March from the prior month, after limping just 0.1% in February. Stack on top of that the Federal Reserve’s punishing interest-rate increases and still-high inflation, and consumers might just tap out. The Conference Board’s sentiment survey showed that consumer confidence worsened in April as Americans became more worried about the jobs market.

Some have sought to toughen existing work requirements for food and cash assistance, as well as adding similar conditions to Medicaid eligibility. Photo: KEN CEDENO/REUTERSWASHINGTON—House Republicans are pushing to require more people seeking federal assistance to find jobs, thrusting a long-running debate over aid for poor Americans into the middle of a battle with Democrats over raising the debt limit. In legislation that passed the House on Wednesday with only GOP support, lawmakers moved to toughen existing work requirements for food and cash assistance, while proposing to add similar conditions to be eligible for Medicaid, a healthcare program for low-income and disabled people.

☆ Chile's president Boric speaks out against violence in stadiums
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

May 1 (Reuters) - Chile's president Gabriel Boric criticised violence in stadiums after the derby between Universidad de Chile and Universidad Catolica was suspended on Sunday due to disorder, fireworks and noise bombs in the stands of the Estadio Municipal Ester Roa Rebolledo in Concepcion. The National Professional Football Association (ANFP) said they will reschedule the match without spectators, as they will also request a meeting with the President to work against violence. The governing body will also call an urgent meeting of Chilean football to speed up the work of security in order to toughen the penalties and punishments for violence in stadiums. Boric has condemned violence in stadiums before. He addressed the issue in relation to the serious incidents involving Colo Colo and Universidad Catolica supporters at last year's Copa Libertadores matches.

☆ Fed Says It Failed to Act on Problems That Led to Silicon Valley Bank Collapse
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Andrew Ackerman | Ben Eisen | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Illustration: Alexandra LarkinThe Federal Reserve’s banking supervisors failed to take forceful action to address growing problems at Silicon Valley Bank before it collapsed last month, the central bank’s top regulator said, signaling a broad push to toughen rules on the industry. Michael Barr , the Fed’s vice chair for supervision, said supervisors didn’t fully appreciate the extent of the vulnerabilities as SVB grew in size and complexity. When supervisors did find risks, they didn’t take sufficient steps to ensure the firm fixed those problems quickly enough, he said in a report Friday.

ALBANY, N.Y. — It was just four years ago that New York’s Democratic lawmakers celebrated a new law that eliminated bail for most misdemeanors and nonviolent felonies and, at the time, seemingly added a measure of new justice to a system long faulted for pre-emptively punishing the poor. On Thursday night, however, after months of grueling negotiations, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced that the state would scale back those changes — for the third time — after a sharp rebuke from New York’s voters and residents over a rise in crime. “It was very clear that changes need to be made,” the governor said. While judges will remain unable to set bail for a vast majority of misdemeanor and nonviolent charges, such a change could nonetheless have a dramatic impact, giving judges greater discretion to hold defendants — particularly repeat or serious offenders — before their trials.

☆ 'The Queen of New York:' George Santos basks in rare praise as DC Young Republicans give him a hero's welcome
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

But on Wednesday, Santos received a warm reception at a DC happy hour for young conservatives. But he was still a star for the Washington, DC Young Republicans, a group that was taken over just a month ago by a cadre of self-described "ultra MAGA" young conservatives who emphatically align themselves with former President Donald Trump. —Washington, D.C. Young Republicans (@WashingtonDCYRs) April 27, 2023"Keep fighting for what you think is best, and for what you believe in," said Santos after speaking for less than 10 minutes. Perhaps owing to his precarious political standing, Santos has yet to break from party leadership on any major votes, contrasting with other New York Republicans who won Democratic-leaning districts last year. Attendees mill around before Rep. Santos' arrival.

WASHINGTON, April 26 (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives will vote on a Republican bill to raise the U.S. government's $31.4 trillion debt ceiling and slash spending on Wednesday, after days of negotiations to win the support of reluctant Republican lawmakers. A procedural vote to allow debate on the bill passed in a 219-210 party-line vote earlier on Wednesday. Republican critics including hardline House Freedom Caucus Chairman Scott Perry and Representative Nancy Mace said they had dropped their opposition to the bill. Bending to the far-right wing of the party, Republicans also accelerated some new, tougher work requirements for receiving Medicaid healthcare benefits for the poor. House Republicans are offering to increase Washington's borrowing authority by $1.5 trillion or until March 31, whichever comes first.

WASHINGTON, April 26 (Reuters) - A Republican bill that would raise the U.S. government's $31.4 trillion and slash spending took a step forward in the House of Representatives on Wednesday, after party leaders agreed to last-minute changes in the face of opposition. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy allowed overnight changes to the bill aimed at assuaging Midwestern Republican concerns about biofuel tax credits and conceding to hardliners' calls to toughen work requirements for some low-income Americans. McCarthy told reporters on Wednesday that the House would vote later in the day. Other Republican critics including hardline House Freedom Caucus Chairman Scott Perry and Representative Nancy Mace said they had dropped their opposition to the bill. House Republicans are offering to increase Washington's borrowing authority by $1.5 trillion or until March 31, whichever comes first.

WASHINGTON, April 26 (Reuters) - Republican U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said lawmakers would vote on Wednesday on a bill to raise the $31.4 trillion federal debt ceiling and slash spending, despite lingering dissension within their ranks over the measure. Another critic of the bill, hardline House Freedom Caucus Chairman Scott Perry, said he and other conservatives who had held out for changes to work requirements were ready to move forward. Representative Kevin Hern, chairman of the 175-member Republican Study Committee, welcomed the changes, which he said most Republicans would support. Bending to the far-right wing of the party, Republicans also accelerated some new, tougher work requirements for receiving Medicaid healthcare benefits for the poor. House Republicans are offering to increase Washington's borrowing authority by $1.5 trillion or until March 31, whichever comes first.

WASHINGTON, April 26 (Reuters) - Republican U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said lawmakers would vote on Wednesday on a bill to raise the $31.4 trillion federal debt ceiling and slash spending, despite lingering dissension within their ranks over the bill. Representative Kevin Hern, chairman of the 175-member Republican Study Committee, welcomed the changes, which he said most Republicans would support. Several House Republicans, particularly from Midwestern states, had rebelled against that provision. Bending to the far-right wing of the party, Republicans also accelerated some new, tougher work requirements for receiving Medicaid healthcare benefits for the poor. House Republicans are offering to increase Washington's borrowing authority by $1.5 trillion or until March 31, whichever comes first.

☆ U.S. Senate votes to overturn heavy duty truck emissions rules
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Rebecca CookWASHINGTON, April 26 (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate voted 50-49 to overturn Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rules that aim to drastically cut smog- and soot-forming emissions from heavy-duty trucks but the White House said President Joe Biden would veto the measure. The White House said the rule "cuts pollution, boosts public health, and advances environmental justice." The new standards, the first update to clean air standards for heavy duty trucks in more than two decades, are 80% more stringent than current standards. The new EPA rules target heavy-duty truck and engine manufacturers by tightening yearly emissions limits and changing key provisions of existing rules to ensure emissions reductions in long-term road use. The rule would reduce smog-forming nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions by as much as 48% by 2045, he added.

☆ Hydrogen, fully electric, or both? Heavy-duty trucking has some big decisions to make
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( Anmar Frangoul | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

In Sept. 2022, it said it would begin testing fuel cell electric trucks in what it called "commercial traffic" from 2025. It's therefore no surprise that alongside hydrogen, battery electric vehicles are also being considered for trucking. Other companies like Scania and DAF are also operating in the battery electric space. "Which zero-emission technology out of battery electric and hydrogen will prevail in the long-haul segment is less certain," T&E adds. Within the EU, for example, efforts are being made to create the conditions that would enable hydrogen trucks to travel long distances.

☆ Opinion: Gun control after Louisville shooting has a chance
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Max Burns | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Meanwhile, Democrats — once wary of mentioning gun control at all — have finally rediscovered their voice. See heated gun control discussion between lawmakers in the halls of Congress 01:19 - Source: CNNDemocrats’ rising confidence in fighting for gun reform comes against a backdrop of tireless coalition-building from gun safety activists and community organizers across the country. Everytown credits at least 51 pieces of state-level gun safety legislation passed in 2022 to their state-by-state strategy. Over the summer, an NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll found that 59% of American adults think it’s more important to control gun violence than to protect gun rights (35%) — “its highest point in nearly a decade.” These figures have surely factored into Democrats new assertiveness on gun control. “Republicans look completely unreasonable when they won’t even discuss background checks, gun safety measures like storage or red flag laws,” Del Percio warned.

☆ There's no clear sign of a US credit crunch yet, a top Fed official says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Zahra Tayeb | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

There's no clear signs of a US credit crunch yet, according to Fed official John Williams. We haven't seen any clear signs yet of credit conditions tightening and we don't know how big those effects will be," he said. The collapse of SVB and Signature Bank has stoked fears that lending standards to obtain a loan will become harder. We haven't seen any clear signs yet of credit conditions tightening and we don't know how big those effects will be," he added at a New York University event Monday. Other commentators have blamed the Fed's aggressive interest rate hikes as a key factor in the collapse of SVB and Signature Bank.

☆ There's no reason for the US to fall into recession unless the Fed messes up, Mohamed El-Erian says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Zahra Tayeb | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Mohamed El-Erian said the US economy can avoid a recession unless the Fed makes another policy error. "There's no reason why we should fall into a recession other than getting another Fed policy mistake," he said. REUTERS/Jason ReedMohamed El-Erian says there's no reason for the US to tip into recession unless the Federal Reserve miscalculates what it needs to do again. "There's no reason why we should fall into a recession other than getting another Fed policy mistake," he said. Those tighter credit conditions — a credit crunch — could end up dragging on economic growth alongside Fed rate hikes.

☆ Australia may inadvertently fuel cyber crime, says data theft victim service
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Byron Kaye | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

SYDNEY, April 5 (Reuters) - An Australian government-backed service for victims of identity theft blasted a plan to toughen privacy laws amid an explosion of online data theft, saying it would spur compromised companies to pay ransom and invite more hacking. IDCare, a non-profit that helps internet crime victims, said by making it easier for regulators to fine companies for poor data security and failing to criminalise ransom payment, Australia may inadvertently fuel a cyber-crimewave. Canberra raised the maximum fine to A$50 million ($34 million) from A$2.2 million for companies that fail to stop data theft after the first major attack in October, when some 10 million customer accounts at No. DEMAND SPIKESince Australia made it compulsory for companies to report data breaches in 2018, IDCare's submission said community demand for its services had rocketed. ($1 = 1.4806 Australian dollars)Reporting by Byron Kaye; Editing by Praveen Menon and Sonali PaulOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Inside Nike: Sources share claims of sexism, cheating, abuse at the world's wokest brand
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Joshua Hunt | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +51 min

The conservative blowback came as no surprise to Parker, who told Nike's board of directors to expect some short-term backlash. In late 2014, the BBC sent a film crew to Portland to interview several former Oregon Project employees. "He would be at the side of the track calling out runners' splits but wouldn't call Kara's out," Adam Goucher told me. When people asked why she left the Oregon Project, she said it was a "personal decision." "I don't think it has anything to do with who the CEO is," Goucher told me.

☆ Gisele Fetterman says she faces the same 'vicious attacks' that Meghan Markle, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Jill Biden do as women in the public eye
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Talia Lakritz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

In an Elle op-ed, Gisele Fetterman detailed the scrutiny she experiences as a politician's wife. When her husband, John Fetterman, sought treatment for depression, she faced "vicious attacks." When John Fetterman checked himself into Walter Reed hospital to receive treatment for clinical depression in February, the attacks "exploded," Gisele Fetterman wrote. Despite the constant criticism, Gisele Fetterman said she doesn't want to grow a thicker skin because empathy "drives my career and provides me with purpose and hope." Gisele Fetterman and John Fetterman met in 2007 while he was serving as mayor Braddock, Pennsylvania, and she was working as a nutritionist and food justice activist.

☆ Senate Democrats led by Elizabeth Warren press federal bank regulators to implement stronger capital requirements
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Chelsey Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats are pressing federal banking regulators to toughen bank capital requirements following back-to-back congressional hearings where officials testified about the failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank. "We write to urge you follow through with establishing strong capital requirements that protect consumers and taxpayers, and preserve the safety and soundness of our banking system," Warren, along with Sens. Under the "stress capital buffer" implemented at the time, the capital requirements for banking firms is determined annually according to supervisory stress tests. The lawmakers urged regulators to enforce strong capital requirements to fend off aggressive lobbying from Wall Street and safeguard against more bank failures. "In order to prevent future bank crises and protect working Americans, I urge your agencies to quickly implement strong capital requirements and resist industry pressure to weaken or delay these requirements."

☆ Bank of England tells regulators to move fast on LDI reform after mini-budget crisis
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LONDON, March 29 (Reuters) - The Bank of England on Wednesday told regulators to move fast to toughen rules for funds used by Britain's pension industry which nearly collapsed last year after former Prime Minister Liz's Truss's "mini-budget." But the BoE's Financial Policy Committee called on pension regulators to act "as soon as possible" to mitigate the risks posed by liability-driven investment (LDI) funds. The FPC also said there is a need to toughen resilience of money market funds, used by companies for day-to-day financing, and UK regulators will publish a consultation paper on MMF regulation later this year. The FPC stressed that "all UK banks" have been assessed on their resilience to moves in interest rate rises, including the impact on their holdings of net open bond positions. (Reporting by Huw Jones and William Schomberg)((uk.economics@reuters.com; +44 20 7542 5109))Keywords: BRITAIN BOE/Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ In Paraguay, calls for change test Colorado Party's political machine
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Daniela Desantis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

ASUNCION, March 28 (Reuters) - Paraguay's ruling Colorado Party - a conservative political machine that has dominated government in Asuncion for some eight decades - could be facing a major challenge at the ballot box next month. Many voters say they feel it is time for something new. Pena may also be impacted by a U.S.-led graft probe into Horacio Cartes, a former Colorado president who led the country from 2013 to 2018. However, the Colorado party retains a powerful election campaign machine and supporter base that goes back generations. Adelina Caceres, director of a public school in the town of Guarambare, on the outskirts of the capital, said she supported the Colorado party mainly because "her grandfather had been Colorado," and despite being often frustrated by them.

WASHINGTON, March 27 (Reuters) - Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL.O) asked a U.S. federal judge on Monday to dismiss a Justice Department lawsuit alleging that the search giant illegally abused its dominance of online advertising. The government, which filed the ad tech lawsuit in January along with eight states, had argued that Google should be forced to sell its ad manager suite. It also said that the government's estimate of Google's ad exchange as having "more than 50%" of the market fell short of the 70% needed to allege market power. The company also said the government was wrong to assert that Google's acquisitions of DoubleClick and AdMeld, both more than 10 years ago, harmed competition. The Justice Department's ad tech lawsuit follows a separate lawsuit filed in 2020, at the end of the Trump administration, that accused Google of violating antitrust law to maintain its dominance in search.

The Fed raised its benchmark overnight interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point on Wednesday, the ninth straight policy meeting that ended with a rise in borrowing costs since the current tightening cycle began in March 2022. "It's really ... a question of not knowing at this point," Powell told reporters after the meeting. This is 12 days ago," that a pair of bank failures reshaped the financial landscape facing the central bank, with potential implications for the real economy and the path of inflation. The U.S. Senate Banking Committee is holding hearings on the bank failures next week. "The challenges facing the (Federal Open Market Committee) today ... take on a particular aura of complexity."

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