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☆ Brazil's government takes measures to boost consumer and capital market credit
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

BRASILIA, April 20 (Reuters) - Brazil's government announced a package of 13 measures on Thursday to ease consumer access to credit and reduce associated costs in the capital and insurance markets, a move the new leftist administration hopes will boost investment and revitalize a slowing economy. Brazil's Secretary of Economic Reforms, Marcos Barbosa, said the measures aim to strengthen the credit market in the long term, paving the way for the country's capital market to become as robust or larger than the 5 trillion reais ($988 billion) banking market. The package includes a decree to allow the issuance of bonds with an income tax exemption for investments in sectors such as healthcare, education, and public security. The government also plans to introduce legislation to enhance safeguards for minority investors in the capital market against harm caused by unlawful actions of controlling shareholders and administrators. Finance Minister Fernando Haddad on Monday had indicated that the package would also feature a measure to lower revolving credit card rates.

☆ America Is Back in the Factory Business
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-08 | by ( John Keilman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Production at U.S. factories rose last year, but few things were produced at a more furious pace than factories themselves. Construction spending related to manufacturing reached $108 billion in 2022, Census Bureau data show, the highest annual total on record—more than was spent to build schools, healthcare centers or office buildings.

☆ Millennials in their 30s are sitting in an economic quagmire that could stick with them through retirement
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Jason Lalljee | Madison Hoff | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

In the long run, this generation may also be hit by cuts in Social Security benefits. In the longer run, millennials' retirement may also be affected if Social Security benefits are cut. Millennials in their 30s are accruing debt faster than their peersWhile Experian and Credit Karma research show Gen X has the highest average debt, millennials still hold a lot of debt too — and are accumulating it faster than anyone else. Millennials face looming retirement insecurityIf all of that wasn't enough, millennials' retirement situation in the future could be different from Gen X and baby boomers. Additionally, millennials' retirement safety nets are likely to be affected if they can't get full Social Security benefits.

☆ Walmart to nearly double its U.S. health center locations in 2024
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

NEW YORK, March 2 (Reuters) - U.S. retailer Walmart Inc (WMT.N) said on Thursday it would open 28 new healthcare centers in the United States next year, including its first ones in Missouri and Arizona. By the end of 2024, the nation's largest retailer by revenue will have more than 75 Walmart Health centers across the United States, it said in a statement. Located inside Walmart Supercenters, the new Health centers will cover about 5,750 square feet and offer services including primary care, dental care, behavioral health, labs and X-ray, audiology and telehealth. The company operated 32 Walmart Health care centers at the end of 2022 and plans to open 17 more this year. Walmart will open the first of the new Health centers in the first quarter of 2024, and end the year with 10 locations in Dallas, eight in Houston, six in Phoenix and four in Kansas City, it said.

The city of Phoenix's aviation department, which runs the Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, has launched a childcare program for airport workers and plans to build a childcare facility on airport property. Since its launch, 37 airport workers have joined the program, which covers daycare costs partially. At Kelowna International Airport in British Columbia, Canada, construction is underway for a daycare primarily for children of employees who work on airport property. Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport is similarly weighing offering childcare on-site or nearby in a bid to offer attractive benefits to workers, said airport spokesperson Mindy Kershner. And then there are others - like Jared Barker, a 33-year-old baggage handler at Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport who quit and left the industry altogether last year after mass departures during the pandemic led to a heavier workload.

☆ An alligator rescued in Brooklyn's Prospect Park has a bathtub stopper stuck in her body
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-26 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A nearly five-foot alligator was found in a lake in New York City's Prospect Park. A bathtub stopper was found stuck in her body, but she is too weak to have it removed. The nearly five-foot alligator was found "extremely emaciated" in a lake in New York City's Prospect Park on February 19, the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) said. An alligator was found in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park Lake in New York City, on February 19, 2021. She is the sixth alligator to have been rescued in the city in the past five years, according to the Animal Care Centers.

☆ China has to figure out how to care for 400 million people over the age of 60 by 2040 — and it's off to a rocky start
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

By 2040, it's expected to have 400 million people above the age of 60 — more people than in the entire US. "It's obvious that relying on contributions from medical insurance schemes to fund age care services is not likely to be viable in the longer term," she said. Alzheimer's is quickly rising as a concern in China, Luk said. "Is China aging rapidly? Beijing has been pressuring the private sector into building daycare centers, wards, and other age care infrastructure to shore up gaps in local government finances, Gu said.

☆ U.S. imposes cyber-related sanctions on Trickbot hacking gang
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Raphael Satter | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/Kacper Pempel/IllustrationWASHINGTON, Feb 9 (Reuters) - The United States has imposed sanctions against seven leading members of a notorious Russian hacking gang known as Trickbot, the Treasury announced on Friday. The Treasury said the sanctions applied to Trickbot's senior figures and managers. Targets of such sanctions are generally barred from holding U.S. assets or transacting with American organizations. However the measure is often largely symbolic given ransomware operators tend to operate well out of reach of U.S. officialdom. Reporting by Susan Heavey Editing by Mark Porter and Frances KerryOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Summary Trickbot targeted hospitals during COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. saysSanctions could hit hackers' ability to move money-analystWASHINGTON, Feb 9 (Reuters) - The United States and Britain have imposed sanctions against seven leading members of a notorious Russian hacking gang known as Trickbot, officials announced on Friday. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement that the United States and Britain were "committed to using all available authorities to defend against cyber threats." Both Trickbot and Conti were accused by U.S. and British authorities of having ties to the Russian intelligence services. Sanctions tend to be largely symbolic given that Russia is already heavily sanctioned and cybercriminals based there tend to steer clear of the United States or Britain. He said that U.S. officials had been lobbying to get other countries to impose sanctions on cybercriminals.

☆ CVS digs into primary care with $9.5 bln Oak Street Health deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Feb 8 (Reuters) - CVS Health Corp (CVS.N) said on Wednesday it would buy Oak Street Health Inc (OSH.N) for about $9.5 billion in cash, expanding its healthcare services by adding hundreds of primary care clinics mostly for older people. Shares of the primary care firm rose 5% before the bell. The Oak Street deal echoes similar moves by rivals into primary care. Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA.O) and Cigna (CI.N) have made investments in primary care provider VillageMD, and Amazon (AMZN.O) announced a $3.49 billion deal last year to buy One Medical (ONEM.O) to expand into the space. UnitedHealth Group Inc (UNH.N) also runs urgent care, primary care and surgical care centers.

[1/4] A Laval city bus is seen crashed into a daycare in Laval, Quebec, Canada February 8, 2023. The bus driver, a 51-year-old employee of the Laval municipality's public transit system, was arrested for homicide and reckless driving, a police spokesperson said. Police declined to provide more details while they investigate and question the driver, who they said has worked for the transit system for 10 years and does not have a criminal record. The incident happened at about 8:30 a.m. (1330 GMT), when kids are usually dropped off by their parents at daycare centers. "No words can take away the pain and fear that parents, children, and workers are feeling – but we are here for you," Trudeau said.

☆ Why urgent care centers are popping up everywhere
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-28 | by ( Nathaniel Meyersohn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

And there are questions about the quality of care at urgent care centers and whether they adequately serve low-income communities. Additionally, passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2010 spurred an increase in urgent care providers as millions of newly insured Americans sought out health care. Private-equity and venture capital funds also poured billions into deals for urgent care centers, according to data from PitchBook. Equity concernsSome doctors and researchers worry that patients with primary care doctors – and those without – are substituting urgent care visits in place of a primary care provider. There are also concerns about the oversaturation of urgent care centers in higher-income areas that have more consumers with private health care and limited access in medically underserved areas.

☆ Doctors and Nurses Forced to Give Four Months Notice
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Aidan Pollard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Employees at Concentra must give 120 days' notice before they quit, Bloomberg reported. Doctors, nurses and physicians assistants have received threats of hefty fines for leaving early, according to Bloomberg. The FTC has proposed a rule banning noncompete clauses, which also affect Concentra workers, per Bloomberg. But as noncompete clauses and other restrictive measures become popular among corporations, regulators are firing up an effort to halt them all together. By ending this practice, the FTC's proposed rule would promote greater dynamism, innovation, and healthy competition," FTC Chair Lina M. Khan said in the release.

☆ Walmart raises minimum wage as retail labor market remains tight
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Melissa Repko | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Walmart said Tuesday it is raising its minimum wage for store employees to $14 an hour, representing a roughly 17% jump for the workers who stock shelves and cater to customers. Starting in early March, store employees will make between $14 and $19 an hour. About 340,000 store employees will get a raise because of the move, Hatfield said. Some of those pay increases will also go toward store employees who work in parts of the country where the labor market is more competitive, the company said. Target , for instance, announced in 2017 it would gradually raise its minimum wage and reached $15 an hour in July 2020.

☆ Small-town nursing homes closing amid staffing crunch
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( Tony Leys | Kaiser Health News | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +10 min

In Iowa, 13 of the 15 nursing homes that closed in 2022 were in rural areas, according to the Iowa Health Care Association. “We’ve had more nursing homes go bankrupt in the last year than in the last 10 years combined,” she said. Nationally, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services reported recently that 129 nursing homes had closed in 2022. In Iowa, Medicaid pays nursing homes about $215 per day per resident, according to the Iowa Health Care Association. Willett said a recent survey found that 72% of Iowa’s remaining nursing homes were freezing or limiting admissions below their capacity.

☆ Nanny sharing, co-parenting, and the YMCA are helping parents meet their childcare needs as costs rise and shortages persist
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( Jacob Zinkula | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

They're turning to a variety of options to get by, including nanny sharing and co-parenting. Unable to find or afford childcare, many parents are exploring all their options on the table. While she told Insider this is meeting most of their childcare needs for now, it's costing them $1,000 to $1,500 per month. Some families have tried "nanny sharing" — when two or more families hire one nanny to watch their children at one of their homes and split the expense. "It seems that it eases the cost a bit," said Wilson-Demarco, who says she knows some families that have nanny shared.

☆ They say it takes a village to raise children. But millennial mothers are taking to TikTok to say 'there is no village' as their childcare struggles persist.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-14 | by ( Jacob Zinkula | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

People say "it takes a village to raise" children. But many millennial parents are raising children without anything resembling a village to help them. "Stop telling us 'it takes a village to raise a child,'" one TikToker wrote in a video caption. New ways to find your villageWhile some politicians are advocating for legislation that could help make childcare more accessible and affordable, this doesn't help parents today. In the meantime, there are a few potential childcare solutions for families without a traditional village to help them out.

☆ Stocks making the biggest moves midday: Bed Bath & Beyond, Coinbase, Virgin Orbit and more
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Michelle Fox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Discovery — Shares of the media company jumped more than 6% after Bank of America added the stock to the "US1" list. Coinbase — Shares jumped almost 6% after the cryptocurrency exchange shared plans to trim its workforce by 20%. Bed Bath & Beyond — The retailer jumped nearly 19%. Frontline — Shares of the shipping company jumped 26% after Frontline announced that it was terminating a deal to combine with Euronav. Agilent Technologies — Shares rose more than 4% a day after the company announced a $2 billion share repurchase program.

☆ CVS Health in talks to buy Oak Street Health - Bloomberg News
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 9 (Reuters) - CVS Health Corp (CVS.N) is exploring an acquisition of primary care center operator Oak Street Health Inc (OSH.N), Bloomberg News reported on Monday citing people familiar with the matter. Shares of Oak Street Health rose 27% in after-hours trading after closing 4.25% higher at $22.57 on Monday, earning the Chicago-based company a market cap of $5.5 billion. CVS declined to comment while Oak Street did not immediately respond to a Reuters request. Oak Street Health runs primary care centers across United States for recipients of Medicare, the U.S. government insurance program for Americans aged 65 and older, and has private equity firms such as General Atlantic and Newlight Partners among its shareholders. CVS had also expressed interest in expanding into the primary care space, and was reportedly among the bidders to acquire primary care provider Cano Health before backing out.

☆ It's about to get even harder to find affordable childcare
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Jacob Zinkula | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Childcare providers may be forced to raise prices even higher to stay afloat. Childcare is going to "become even more unaffordable for the middle class families"For parents who manage to find childcare, it's likely to cost them heavily. "Now that childcare funds are going to start fading away, the cost of childcare is going to go up again and become even more unaffordable for the middle class families," she said. Declining enrollment numbers would then create yet another obstacle for childcare providers — thousands of which have already closed over the last few years. And it's not just childcare providers that would feel the pain.

The updated Covid booster shot is proving to be effective at keeping people — especially older adults — out of the hospital, according to two new studies published Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Full coverage of the Covid-19 pandemicBoth studies looked at the impact the updated Covid booster shot has had since it was first recommended by the CDC on Sept. 1. Those who had received the updated booster were 84% less likely to be hospitalized with Covid, compared with people who had never had the Covid vaccine. The effectiveness was nearly identical — 83% — for people who had their last Covid shot more than a year ago. "There are 28 million people over the age of 65 that are eligible for this updated booster shot but haven’t gotten it," Link-Gelles said.

☆ As more men leave the workforce, women are stepping in to fill those jobs
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Vanessa Yurkevich | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

And that is reflective of new trends developing both for men and women in the labor force. In recent months, more men aged 30-44 have been dropping out of the workforce, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Although more men are stepping out of the workforce to take care of children post-pandemic, it’s still only in the single digits, according to economist Richard V. Reeves. The data showed that the total number was skewed more towards women than men, since so many women assumed caretaker roles at home when daycare centers and schools closed during lockdowns. Since then, men and women have gained back all the jobs lost.

☆ 'This is a crisis.' Why more workers need access to retirement savings
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Lorie Konish | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

As many as 57 million Americans lack access to a workplace retirement savings plan, said Ed Murphy, president and CEO of Empower, a provider of retirement services. "If they don't access through payroll deduction, they just flat out don't save." The lack of retirement plan coverage presents an opportunity for the financial industry and government to work together to find solutions, Walsh said. California is one of a handful of states that has implemented automatic individual retirement accounts to help bridge that gap for workers who lack access to retirement plans through their employers. Those that opt out are required to begin offering their own retirement plan, per California rules.

☆ What is Strep A, the common bacterium that has killed 6 children in the UK?
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Hafsa Khalil | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

London CNN —Health officials in the United Kingdom are advising parents and schools to watch for Strep A infections following the recent deaths of six children. While there is no vaccine to prevent Strep A or iGAS infections, antibiotics are usually effective at treating them. The increase in iGAS this year has particularly been observed in children under 10, the UKHSA added. For children aged 5 to 9, there were 1.1 cases per 100,000, compared with the pre-pandemic average of 0.3. The last period of high infections was between 2017 to 2018, with four children under 10 dying in the equivalent period, the statement added.

☆ In L.A., Kenneth Mejia is the 1st Asian American to hold citywide office and 1st Filipino elected official
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Claire Wang | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Kenneth Mejia, an accountant and leftist community activist, made history in Los Angeles when he declared victory in the city controller race Tuesday night, becoming the city’s first Filipino elected official and the first Asian American to assume citywide office. He held a 21-point lead over City Councilmember Paul Koretz when Koretz conceded Wednesday. “We have a very diverse population in L.A. and I feel very proud and honored to represent that community,” Mejia, 32, told NBC Asian America. Tenants Union, Mejia ran on a progressive platform centered around decriminalizing homelessness and holding the police and other city departments accountable. “I want to use the office to show how the status quo is not working for everyone,” he said.

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