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☆ Hasbro delays new Dungeons & Dragons licensing rules following fan backlash
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Sarah Whitten | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +10 min

CNBC obtained copies of Hasbro's reformed licensing agreements — open game license 1.1 and an FAQ section for OGL 2.0. Leaders in the Dungeons & Dragons community greeted the news of the delay with cautious optimism. The attempt to create a new game license comes as Wizards of the Coast looks capitalize on a surge in popularity of Dungeons & Dragons. Chaotic neutralThe reworking of Hasbro's open game license is not an unexpected move for the business, MKM's Handler said. There were growing concerns that the community would fracture if publishers were forced to move away from the Dungeons & Dragons game mechanics to develop their own gaming systems.

☆ Airbus withdraws from U.S. FAA Boeing safety culture panel
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Jan 13 (Reuters) - European planemaker Airbus (AIR.PA) said it had withdrawn from a U.S. government-named panel reviewing Boeing’s (BA.N) safety processes and how they influence Boeing safety culture after two fatal 737 MAX crashes in recent years killed 346 people. Congress directed the agency to appoint a panel by early 2021, but the FAA missed that deadline. Boeing last week declined to comment on the panel, but previously emphasized it has significantly reformed its safety culture after the MAX crashes cost it more than $20 billion. read moreIn May, the FAA opted to renew Boeing's Organization Designation Authorization (ODA) program for three years rather than the five years Boeing sought. The FAA continues to subject Boeing to enhanced oversight, inspecting all new Boeing 737 MAXs and 787s before they can be delivered.

☆ Italy's Meloni renews criticism of euro zone bailout fund
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ROME, Jan 12 (Reuters) - Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Thursday renewed her criticism of the euro zone bailout fund, a 500-billion-euro ($541.55 billion) facility held back by Rome's reluctance to ratify its recently-adopted reform. The ESM was created in 2012, replacing a temporary fund established in 2010, at the height of the euro zone's sovereign debt crisis. The ESM can offer a lifeline to euro zone governments cut off from markets, or lend to recapitalise banks and provide precautionary credit. The fund was reformed with a 2021 treaty that needs to be ratified by all members of the euro zone before it can enter into force, and Italy is the only country that is dragging its feet over the issue. New ESM tasks under the reformed treaty include providing a backstop to the Single Resolution Fund, which is responsible for dealing with failing banks in the context of the Banking Union.

☆ Biden's Education Department just proposed a new way to make monthly student-loan payments 'more affordable and manageable than ever before'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The Education Department unveiled additional details of its reformed income-driven repayment (IDR) plan. It would amend the REPAYE plan by cutting undergraduate student loan payments in half and prevent interest capitalization. One of those programs is the income-driven repayment (IDR) plan, which is intended to give borrowers affordable monthly payments based on their discretionary income with the promise of loan forgiveness after at least 20 years. "Today the Biden-Harris administration is proposing historic changes that would make student loan repayment more affordable and manageable than ever before," Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said in a statement. Rather than creating an entirely new plan, as a fact sheet said, the department will amend the Revised PayAs You Earn (REPAYE) plan, which was created in 2016 to calculate borrowers' monthly payments based on their discretionary income.

☆ Spain to ask EU for extension to Iberian gas price cap until end 2024
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

"We would like the gas cap to stay within the lower end of the range, about 45 or 50 euros per megawatt hour, extending it at least until the end of 2024," she added. Ribera said the EU's power grid needs to be reformed to reduce price volatility and make electricity cheaper. She added that mild temperatures in autumn and early winter had helped lower prices and support gas storage levels across Europe. Electricity prices in Spain have fallen steadily since they peaked in August, partly due to higher wind energy production. For a few days in October, the gas cap did not apply as prices were below the 40 euros ($42.70) per MWh mechanism trigger price.

☆ GM wants U.S. Treasury to reconsider tax credits for Cadillac Lyriq EV
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Jan 6 (Reuters) - General Motors (GM.N) said Friday it wants the U.S. Treasury to reconsider classification of GM's electric Cadillac Lyriq to allow it to qualify for federal tax credits. The Treasury and Internal Revenue Service did not classify the Lyriq as an SUV, meaning its retail price cannot be above $55,000 to qualify for up to $7,500 in federal tax credits. Legislation approved by Congress in August reformed the EV tax credit and lifted the 200,00-vehicle per manufacturer cap that had made Tesla (TSLA.O) and GM ineligible for EV tax credits effective Jan. 1. Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk tweeted this week the EV tax rules were "messed up." Last month, Treasury said it would delay until March releasing proposed guidance on required sourcing of EV batteries.

☆ Some flight attendants have their attendance tracked by a game-like 'point system' that they say values efficiency over health
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Hannah Towey | Juliana Kaplan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

During a year marked by labor strikes and protests, flight attendants and rail workers told Insider that these points-based attendance policies create an industry culture that values efficiency over employee health and well-being. But workers say the point systems form the foundation of punitive attendance policies that force them to work while sick or dangerously fatigued. At American Airlines, flight attendants have pushed back on the system for years. "I don't think you'd speak to one flight attendant who thinks the point system is necessarily fair, or balanced," Anthony Cataldo, an American Airlines flight attendant of 33 years, told Insider. So we're on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year," a BNSF railway conductor of over a decade told Insider.

ROME, Dec 29 (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni took aim at the EU's financial institutions on Thursday, telling the European Central Bank (ECB) to be more careful in the way it communicates and saying the euro zone's bailout fund serves no useful purpose. Turning to the euro zone's bailout fund, Meloni gave no indication on whether Italy would ratify a treaty revamping the so-called European Stability Mechanism (ESM), and said she believed nobody would ever use the fund in its present form. It would also make sovereign debt restructuring in the euro zone more straightforward. Meloni, leader of the hard-right Brothers of Italy party, was strongly against the ratification of the reformed treaty when she was in opposition. Additional reporting by Alvise Armellini Writing by Gavin Jones Editing by Frances KerryOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ The Tom Brady of Other Jobs
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-24 | by ( Francesca Paris | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +17 min

Meet them, and decide for yourself:The Tom Brady of Paramedics Jesse Izaguirre, 70Gardena, Calif.Jesse Izaguirre loves working with younger paramedics. Hopefully never.”The Tom Brady of Bakers Helen Fletcher, 83Clayton, Mo. Chalk it up to a great big fib.”The Tom Brady of Artists Lilian Thomas Burwell, 95Highland Beach, Md. “I should’ve signed them.”The Tom Brady of Biologists Maria Elena Zavala, 72Los AngelesProfessional longevity runs in Maria Elena Zavala’s family. It didn’t vanish when they crossed the border.”The Tom Brady of Loggers Earl Pollock, 82Hamburg, Ark.

☆ Some flight attendants and rail workers have their attendance tracked by a game-like 'point system' that they say values efficiency over health
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Hannah Towey | Juliana Kaplan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

☆ U.S. lawmakers back key Boeing 737 MAX certification deadline waiver
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Congressional leaders attached thewaiver to a bill to fund U.S. government operations and to require new safety enhancements for existing MAX aircraft proposed by U.S. Cantwell's language requires retrofitting existing MAX planes with a synthetic enhanced angle-of-attack (AOA) system and the ability to shut off stall warning and overspeed alerts. It gives airline operators three years from the time the 737 MAX 10 is certified to retrofit existing MAX planes and says Boeing must bear those costs. Faulty data from a single sensor erroneously activated a software function called MCAS and played critical roles in both fatal 737 MAX crashes, investigations found. Boeing declined to comment on Monday, but Boeing Commercial Airplanes Chief Executive Stan Deal said last week the planemaker supported Cantwell's safety retrofit proposal.

☆ U.S. lawmakers back key Boeing 737 MAX deadline waiver
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The company had been heavily lobbying for months to convince lawmakers to waive the Dec. 27 deadline that affects its MAX 7 and MAX 10 airplanes which was imposed by Congress in 2020 after two fatal 737 MAX crashes killed 346 people in Indonesia and Ethiopia. Congressional leaders attached thewaiver to a bill to fund U.S. government operations and to require new safety enhancements for existing MAX aircraft proposed by U.S. Cantwell's bill requires retrofitting existing MAX planes with a synthetic enhanced angle-of-attack system and the ability to shut off stall warning and overspeed alerts. It gives airline operators three years from the time the 737 MAX 10 is certified to retrofit existing MAX planes and says Boeing must bear those costs. Boeing declined to comment on Monday, but Boeing Commercial Airplanes Chief Executive Stan Deal said last week the planemaker supported Cantwell's safety retrofit proposal.

☆ Historic biodiversity agreement reached at U.N. conference
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

Negotiators reached a historic deal at a United Nations biodiversity conference early Monday that would represent the most significant effort to protect the world’s lands and oceans and provide critical financing to save biodiversity in the developing world. The global framework comes a day before the U.N. Biodiversity Conference, or COP15, is set to end in Montreal. China, which holds the presidency at this conference, released a new draft earlier in the day that gave the sometimes contentious talks much-needed momentum. The most significant part of the agreement is a commitment to protect 30% of land and water considered important for biodiversity by 2030. “The new text is a mixed bag,” Andrew Deutz, director of global policy, institutions and conservation finance for The Nature Conservancy, said.

☆ Candidates empowered by labor shortages are ghosting prospective employers. Here's why.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Stephanie Stacey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

In an October survey by ZipRecruiter, 21.6% of respondents said they'd "ghosted" a prospective employer during their latest job hunt. Kelly added that he thought labor shortages in both the US and Canada were empowering workers to cut off communication. Before accepting a job, Gray always checks out company reviews on sites like Glassdoor and examines the social-media profiles of the senior-leadership team. Gray once ghosted a prospective employer after an initial interview. She told Insider she's trying to become a "reformed ghoster" and make a conscious effort to offer specific feedback if she felt a prospective employer wasn't the right fit.

Policymakers hope an ambitious deal can spur nature conservation in the same way that an international pact in Paris in 2015 helped mobilize efforts to limit planet-warming carbon emissions. However, the text mentions only that $20 billion to $30 billion per year comes from developed countries by 2030. "Probably we will have to reach an agreement between $30 billion and $100 billion," Colombia's Muhamad told reporters. The draft deal does not mention setting up a separate facility. Lastly, risks from pesticides and highly hazardous chemicals would be reduced by at least half, but the text does not address slashing their overall use.

Under the deal agreed by negotiators from EU countries and the European Parliament, the EU carbon market will be reformed to cut emissions by 62% from 2005 levels by 2030. If fuel prices are as high in 2027 as today, the introduction of the carbon market would be delayed to 2028. If its CO2 price hits 45 euros ($47.62), then extra CO2 permits will be released into the market to attempt to tame prices. The price of EU carbon permits has soared in recent years, boosted by the expectation that tougher EU emissions targets would curb the supply of CO2 permits in the scheme. The benchmark EU carbon price closed trading at around 84 euros per tonne of CO2 on Friday, roughly ten times its value five years ago.

☆ EU reaches agreement on pivotal carbon market deal, Czech EU presidency says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRUSSELS, Dec 18 (Reuters) - European Union negotiators reached agreement early on Sunday on overhauling the bloc's carbon market, the bloc's main policy tool for fighting global warming, the Czech EU presidency and the European Council said. Meeting that goal will require the EU carbon market to be reformed to cut emissions faster, which it does by requiring around 10,000 power plants and factories to buy CO2 permits when they pollute. Negotiators were at odds over how quickly to end the free CO2 permits the EU gives industries to protect them from foreign competition. Those permits will be wound down as the EU phases in a carbon border tariff designed to prevent domestic firms from being undercut by overseas competitors. The provisional deal still needs to be formally adopted by the European Parliament and the European CouncilReporting by Sabine Siebold; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Michael PerryOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ European Union reaches agreement on pivotal carbon market deal
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-18 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

European Union negotiators reached agreement early on Dec. 18, 2022 on overhauling the bloc's carbon market, the bloc's main policy tool for fighting global warming. European Union negotiators reached agreement early on Sunday on overhauling the bloc's carbon market, the bloc's main policy tool for fighting global warming, the Czech EU presidency and the European Council said. Meeting that goal will require the EU carbon market to be reformed to cut emissions faster, which it does by requiring around 10,000 power plants and factories to buy CO2 permits when they pollute. Negotiators were at odds over how quickly to end the free CO2 permits the EU gives industries to protect them from foreign competition. Those permits will be wound down as the EU phases in a carbon border tariff designed to prevent domestic firms from being undercut by overseas competitors.

The presidency of the Montreal summit is held by China, which is responsible for releasing the draft text, based on the last two weeks of negotiations, as the best compromise for parties to discuss going forward. However, the 30-by-30 target does not contain a global goal and makes limited mention of the ocean, which could leave international waters unprotected. Financial mobilization has remained another key sticking point at the talks, and the draft puts forward allocating $200 billion per year for conservation initiatives - a target seen as critical for the successful implementation of any deal. The draft does not mention setting up a new facility. Lastly, the text does not address slashing the use of pesticides but does say that the risks from pesticides and highly hazardous chemicals should be reduced by at least half.

BRUSSELS, Dec 17 (Reuters) - European Union negotiators were set on Saturday morning to resume efforts to reach a deal on overhauling the EU carbon market, the bloc's main policy tool for fighting global warming, after a first round of talks failed on Friday. Meeting that goal will require the EU carbon market to be reformed to cut emissions faster, which it does by requiring around 10,000 power plants and factories to buy CO2 permits when they pollute. Negotiators are at odds over how quickly to end the free CO2 permits the EU gives industries to protect them from foreign competition. But EU lawmakers want to exclude private consumers from the new CO2 market, a stance opposed by EU countries. If approved, the revamped carbon market will form the centrepiece of a package of 12 new EU policies designed to cut planet-heating emissions faster.

☆ Europe's biggest climate policy heads for final-hour talks
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Kate Abnett | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"It is the biggest environmental and climate law that Europe ever dealt with," the European Parliament's lead negotiator Peter Liese said. Officials from EU countries and the EU assembly, who must both agree the final law, said it was unclear if a deal would be struck, given the large number of unresolved issues. Negotiators are at odds over how quickly to end the free CO2 permits the EU gives industries to protect them from foreign competition. EU lawmakers want 50% of free permits phased out before 2030, with the rest gone by 2032 - far earlier than the 2036 end-date countries support. Negotiators have already agreed parts of the carbon market reform, including to expand the scheme to cover shipping and increase CO2 costs for airlines.

☆ Brazil's spending package affecting inflation expectations, says central bank
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRASILIA, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Brazil's central bank already believes a recently proposed spending package is partly affecting closely watched inflation expectations, said the bank's chief Roberto Campos Neto on Thursday. We see it in implicit inflation and in the structure of long-term interest rates and, when that happens, expectations are always contaminated," he said, adding long-term inflation expectations were in part affected. For its current inflation projections, the central bank has considered a fiscal expansion of 130 billion reais next year extracted from market estimates, said Campos Neto. The central bank held interest rates at 13.75% this month, after a September pause to an aggressive tightening that lifted rates from a 2% record low in March 2021 to battle inflation. Campos Neto pointed out that coordination between fiscal and monetary policies is "very important," and the central bank needs proper conditions to lower rates.

☆ Fiji national election a tight race in early provisional counting
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/2] Voters queue at a polling station to vote during the Fijian general election in Suva, Fiji, December 14, 2022. Bainimarama is in a tight race against another former coup leader and one-time prime minister, Sitiveni Rabuka, whose People's Alliance Party has formed a coalition with Fiji's oldest political party, the National Federation Party. The election office said result updates were put "temporarily on hold" shortly before 11 p.m., and later said its election results app, used by the public, had errors. Bainimarama's Fiji First supporters campaigned on stability and progress, while the opposition said national debt was too high and questioned the state of democracy, he said. A multinational observer group led by Australia, India and Indonesia includes 90 election observers who are also monitoring the national vote counting centre.

CNN —United Nations member states have removed Iran from a key UN women’s rights group just months after it joined. The Commission is the premier UN body for promoting gender equality and empowering women. Iran condemned the US resolution, calling it an “illegal request” and said it weakens the rule of law in the United Nations. Iran had only just begun its four-year term on the 45-member Commission on the Status of Women – which was created to advocate for gender equality globally – after being elected to the body in April. Reacting to news of Iran’s removal from the body, Louis Charbonneau, UN director at Human Rights Watch said it was a “welcome step,” but remained a “far cry” from true accountability.

☆ Democracy remains vulnerable despite a good year
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Hugo Dixon | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

PARIS, Dec 12 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Aristotle said there are three good forms of government – monarchy, aristocracy and constitutional democracy – in which the rulers act for the common benefit. Rich democracies face two main threats: an external one from autocracies, such as China; and an internal one from demagogues. Both autocrats such as Chinese President Xi Jinping and demagogues such as former U.S. President Donald Trump have had a bad year. The world economy faces a tough decade. Until democrats provide some answer to this, they will be vulnerable to new waves of autocracy and demagogy.

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