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☆ Mexicans Rally Nationwide Against President’s Electoral Overhaul
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-26 | by ( Juan Montes | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Protestors say that the Mexican president’s overhaul of election systems threatens democracy. MEXICO CITY—Hundreds of thousands of Mexicans rallied across the country for the second time in less than four months against President Andrés Manuel López Obrador ’s overhaul of the country’s independent election agency, saying it will cripple its ability to organize next year’s presidential election. In one of the largest protests against Mr. López Obrador’s administration, more than 150,000 demonstrators filled Mexico’s large Zócalo square and adjacent streets in the historic district of the country’s capital, a senior police official said. Protesters waved flags, umbrellas and banners with the distinctive pink colors of the National Electoral Institute, also known as INE. Others wore pink caps and clothes.

☆ UK issues export bans on every item used by Russia in war
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Britain marked the one-year anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine by issuing more sanctions against Russia, including export bans on every item it has used on the battlefield and import bans of iron and steel goods. It will also ban the import of 140 goods including iron and steel products processed in third countries. "Trade sanctions are working. UK goods imports from Russia have fallen by 99%, since before the invasion, and goods exports to Russia have fallen by nearly 80%," Business and Trade Secretary, Kemi Badenoch, said. The meeting of G7 leaders and Zelenskiy is expected to discuss further sanctions on Russia.

☆ G7 raises Ukraine support to $39 bln for 2023, urges IMF programme by March
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] FILE PHOTO-Flags are pictured during the first working session of G-7 foreign ministers in Muenster, Germany, November 3, 2022. Ukraine is hoping to clinch a $15 billion programme with the International Monetary Fund that will cover immediate financial assistance and support for structural reforms to underpin efforts at post-conflict rebuilding. "For 2023, based on the Government of Ukraine's needs, we have increased our commitment of budget and economic support to $39 billion," the statement said. The bloc's financial leaders have gathered in India's Bengaluru ahead of a meeting of financial chiefs of the Group of 20 (G20) nations. Japan's Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki also told reporters that the G7 needs to assess the effectiveness of current sanctions on Russia before deciding on further action.

☆ How China is helping to prop up the Russian economy through the war in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

China has been buying more energy from Russia since the Ukraine war started. Total trade between China and Russia hit a new record high in 2022, up 30% to $190 billion, according to Chinese customs figures. In particular, the energy trade has risen markedly since the onset of the war. Russian companies have been using more yuan to facilitate the increased trade with China. UnionPay, the Chinese payments system, has reportedly stopped accepting cards issued by Russian banks over fears of international sanctions, according to Russian paper Kommersant.

☆ Trump rape case: After 3 years, the former president finally agrees to submit DNA. Here's why it could be too late.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Ashley Collman | Laura Italiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Trump is now willing to submit a DNA sample for his civil rape case in NY, new court papers say. Trump's sudden willingness to submit a DNA sample — something requested by his accuser for three years — was confirmed in court papers Friday. Carroll's lawyers said they planned to respond to Trump's DNA offer later Friday. A photo from the lab report that Donald Trump rape accuser E. Jean Carroll submitted in January, 2020 as part of her defamation lawsuit against the former president. Letting Trump's DNA into the case would be an 11th-hour roll of the dice for both sides.

☆ U.S. to Remove Sanctions on Former Kazakhstan Subsidiary of Russia’s Sberbank
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Mengqi Sun | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +3 min

The U.S. Treasury Department said it would remove sanctions imposed on a former Kazakhstan subsidiary of Russia’s Sberbank because the entity is now wholly owned by a Kazakh company. The entity, previously called Subsidiary Bank Sberbank of Russia Joint Stock Co., is a commercial bank in Kazakhstan and was sanctioned as a foreign subsidiary of Sberbank last February, after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The unusual step made by the U.S. to remove the former subsidiary from the sanctions list highlights the impact of sanctions on Russia as Sberbank was forced to divest itself of some assets. PREVIEWThe U.S. imposed sanctions on Sberbank, Russia’s largest bank, in an effort to cripple Russia’s economy, military and elites after Moscow’s Ukraine invasion. The former Sberbank subsidiary is one of the largest banks in Kazakhstan and is seen as systemically important to Kazakhstan’s financial sector, a Treasury spokesperson said.

Disability Insurance Is Available at All Wage LevelsYou should opt for disability insurance if you're the sole earner in your family. Disability Insurance Can Help Parents Pay BillsWorkers with children should also consider disability insurance. Disability Insurance Is Also for Self-Employed WorkersSelf-employed workers or own small business owners may disregard the need for disability insurance. Disability Insurance Can Help with Nagging InjuriesDid you know just 14% of Americans have disability insurance? Disability insurance is one way to shield yourself financially to make wise decisions before a nagging backache becomes a permanent disability.

☆ Here's why Europe's new Russian fuel sanctions won't cripple Moscow
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-04 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

On Sunday, the European Union imposes an import ban and price cap mechanism on Russian fuel products, such as diesel. He noted that Africa has seen a recent uptick in imports of Russian oil products ahead of the new ban. Smith noted that it's difficult to confirm whether countries are re-exporting Russian diesel as product origins can be muddled by mixing supplies. Regardless of the price cap, buyers of Russian fuels will likely see discounts when the ban takes effect, Smith predicted. "You have countries, such as India, that's able to purchase Russian crude at a significant discount, and so they do it," he said.

☆ Two years on, Myanmar coup takes a 'catastrophic toll'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Reuters Staff | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

REUTERS/StaffJan 31 (Reuters) - Two years after Myanmar's military coup, a young factory worker turned resistance fighter mourns the loss of his leg in battle. The stories of four people reflect a crisis the U.N. special envoy last week warned was taking a "catastrophic toll" on the population. THE TEACHERA middle-school teacher has been living in a Thai border town since fleeing arrest in Myanmar last year. A slight woman with long black hair, she joined the civil disobedience movement (CDM) that sprang up after the coup. Her green and white uniform is safe in Myanmar, she said, neatly stored, in case of her return.

☆ Donald Trump argues in wild court filing that New York can't sue the Trump Organization because it doesn't legally exist
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Laura Italiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

NY's Attorney General sued Trump, his family and his business in September over an alleged pattern of fraud. In a response late Thursday, the defendants repeatedly claimed the Trump Organization can't be sued. 'Trump Organization' is branding shorthand, not a legal entity, they said repeatedly in 5,000 pages of response. The New York lawsuit names Donald Trump, Donald Trump, Jr., Ivanka Trump, Eric Trump, former company CFO Allen Weisselberg, its former payroll executive Jeffrey McConney, and entities under the Trump Organization umbrella. Read Donald Trump's response to the New York attorney general's massive fraud lawsuit here.

It is planning to develop a CCS hub in northern Alberta, expected to cost C$16.5 billion ($12.3 billion) by 2030. Trudeau told Reuters in an interview earlier this month Alberta was "hesitating around investing in anything related to climate change". Canada is the world's fourth-largest producer of crude, most of which comes from Alberta's oil sands. The oil and gas sector is the country's highest-polluting industry and needs to drastically cut emissions if Canada is to achieve its climate commitments. 'NO TIME TO SLIP'The Pathways Alliance has already said Ottawa's goal of cutting oil and gas emissions 42% by 2030, equivalent to a 35-megatonne reduction, is impossible.

☆ Feds arrest Russian man accused of on his crypto exchange
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Sean Lyngaas | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: 1 min

CNN —US authorities arrested a Russian cryptocurrency executive who allegedly exchanged hundreds of millions of dollars with drug traffickers and cybercriminals. Anatoly Legkodymov, 40 years old, was arrested in Miami on Tuesday night, the Justice Department said Wednesday. The US Treasury Department has labeled his cryptocurrency exchange, Bitzlato Limited, a “primary money laundering concern,” a move designed to cripple the exchange and cut off its financing. His arrest marks the latest effort by President Joe Biden’s administration to crack down on digital currencies that US officials say have for too long been a safe haven for fraudsters and drug dealers.

With the tax-advantaged investing component of a permanent life insurance policy, life insurance is the gift that keeps giving. Life insurance is more affordable than you may thinkPerceived cost is one factor that deters people of color from buying adequate life insurance. Unfortunately, we've seen licensed life insurance agents who still tell buyers term to whole conversions are "guaranteed," or rates will stay the same in those life insurance conversions. Life insurance doesn't have to cost a pretty penny, and life insurance is constantly changing. Permanent life insurance is generally more expensive than a term life insurance policy and can vary highly based on various factors.

☆ Israel's Herzog tries to prevent 'constitutional crisis' over judicial reforms
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-15 | by ( Dan Williams | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/5] Lightning strikes as Israelis protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's new right-wing coalition and its proposed judicial reforms to reduce powers of the Supreme Court in a main square in Tel Aviv, Israel January 14, 2023. REUTERS/Ronen ZvulunJERUSALEM, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Israel's president warned on Sunday that the country faced an "historic constitutional crisis" over a contested judicial reform plan, and said he was mediating between the relevant parties. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, now in his sixth term, wants to rein in the Supreme Court, which members of his religious-nationalist coalition accuse of overreach and elitism. This conflict worries me deeply, as it worries many across Israel and the (Jewish) Diaspora," President Isaac Herzog said in a statement. Judicial reforms, he said, had been sought by previous governments of various political stripes "and no one then thought about talking about an end to democracy".

☆ Israelis rally in three cities against Netanyahu legal reforms
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-14 | by ( Dan Williams | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/6] Israelis protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's new right-wing coalition and its proposed judicial reforms to reduce powers of the Supreme Court in a main square in Tel Aviv, Israel January 14, 2023. Among those opposed are the Supreme Court chief justice and the country's attorney-general. Channel 13 TV last week found 53% of Israelis were opposed to changing the court appointments' structure while 35% were in support. Critics of the Supreme Court say it is overreaching and unrepresentative of the electorate. "We promised the people change, we promised governance, we promised reforms - and we will make good on that."

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are sounding the alarm about how a nonfunctional House hurts national security. "If a national security crisis arises, the President of the United States is right down the street," he said. "I'm informed by House Security that, technically, I don't have a clearance," Gallagher, a former Marine Corps intelligence officer, told reporters. "I'm a member of the [House Intelligence Committee], I'm on the Armed Services Committee, and I can't meet in the SCIF to conduct essential business." "President Xi says, 'Our system of governance works because democracy don't,'" Bacon, a Nebraska Republican, told reporters.

☆ Iran says it foiled cyberattack on central bank
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 6 (Reuters) - Iran has foiled a cyberattack on its central bank, the country's telecommunications infrastructure company said on Friday. Anonymous and other global hacking groups threatened in October to launch cyberattacks on Iranian institutions and officials in support of anti-government protests and to bypass internet censorship there. Amir Mohammadzadeh Lajevardi, head of the Infrastructure Communications Company, said the central bank was targeted by a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack on Thursday night, the official IRNA news agency quoted him as saying. "These days, the largest volume of foreign attacks is against banks and financial institutions, internet providers and communications infrastructures, which have been repelled," Lajevardi said. The central bank said in September that a cyberattack briefly took its website offline.

☆ Ukraine's 'cat and mouse' battle to keep Russian missiles at bay
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Tom Balmforth | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

It is ground-based air defence units that shoot down the vast majority of missiles and drones, not ageing warplanes, Air Force spokesman Yuriy Ihnat said. "Air defences don't remain in one place: we can't cover the whole country..." Ihnat said. "So we usually know what objects are under attack, we can build around those objects some kind of air defence," he said. "Our Soviet air defence system is being depleted - that is the S-300 and the BUK, which are the foundation. Western air defence systems supplied to Ukraine have performed well, but supplies are far short of what is needed, according to both air force officials.

Nokia CEO Pekka Lundmark echoed that sentiment in a interview: "Our exit will be complete. "This will allow us to organise modern production of telecoms equipment in Russia," he said, without naming the operators or producers. Government programs to promote Russian equipment have helped telecoms operators become less reliant on Nokia and Ericsson over the past several years and Russian producers have increased their market share this year to 25.2% from 11.6% in 2021. Russian telecom operators stockpiled foreign-made parts in February and March ahead of sanctions, two of the industry sources said, but inventory will drop after Nokia and Ericsson pull the plug Dec. 31. Consolidation between Russian operators at the behest of the government might also allow them to share equipment and resources to make the networks last longer, industry sources added.

☆ Premarket stocks: Why the market is obsessed with unemployment
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Stocks plunged earlier this month after the closely watched November jobs report showed a resilient labor market. They fell again on Thursday when weekly numbers showed the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits fell, indicating a still-tight labor market. “There’s an imbalance in the labor market between supply and demand,” he said, adding that it will take a “substantial period” to fix that imbalance. That path to the Fed’s 2% inflation target is through the jobs market. “There will be some softening in labor market conditions,” Powell said.

☆ Russia's military needed up to 72 hours to approve a strike — making soldiers hit Ukrainian targets too late: report
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-18 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Russia's military generally needed up to 72 hours for approval to attack new targets, per The NYT. Despite Russia having more military equipment than Ukraine, Ukrainian forces were more agile. Instead of attacking the new targets, Russia largely bombarded the old locations no longer being used by Ukraine. Per US officials who spoke with The Times, up to "60 percent of Russian cruise missiles missed their intended targets." The slow decision-making of the Russian military effectively shredded their plans to seize the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv and several other cities early in the conflict.

☆ Take Five: Keeping the lights on
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

1/PICKING A (JAPANESE) PIVOTEven the uber-dovish Bank of Japan has not been spared from investors trying to pick central bank pivot points. France is striving to avert power cuts, and Germany is bleeding cash to keep the lights on. Thursday has meetings scheduled for Indonesia - where the central bank has just seen growth added to its mandate - as well as Egypt, which is in line for support from the International Monetary Fund. Expectations of a softer dollar as the U.S. economy slows have sparked optimism about emerging markets, which should also benefit from China easing COVID-19 restrictions. Emerging markets interest ratesCompiled by Karin Strohecker, Graphics by Sumanta Sen and Vincent Flasseur, editing by Barbara LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ VIEW Bank of England raises rates to 3.5%, says inflation has peaked
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

LONDON, Dec 15 (Reuters) - The Bank of England on Thursday raised interest rates by a widely expected 50 basis points (bps) to 3.50%, in its ninth straight increase - and its eighth this year. UK rates began rising in December 2021, making the BoE the first of the world's major central banks to kick off a monetary policy-tightening cycle. MONEY MARKETS: Interest rate swaps showed investors expected rates to peak at 4.46% by next August, compared with an anticipated terminal rate of 4.53% just before the decision. Their own numbers have been pointing to a recession for a little while, and they've still materially hiked interest rates. EDWARD HUTCHINGS, HEAD OF RATES, AVIVA INVESTORS, LONDON:"The Bank of England duly delivered on financial markets expectations of a 0.50% hike.

☆ Russia discusses debt, energy stability with Venezuela
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

CARACAS, Dec 14 (Reuters) - Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak met on Wednesday with Venezuela's oil minister in Caracas, where they discussed oil market volatility and the status of Venezuela's outstanding debts to Russia. "Oil- and gas-producing countries are the solid keystone of our trade and financial cooperation, which continues showing its resilience despite sanctions and pressure on Russia and Venezuela," Novak said. Moscow is negotiating a debt restructuring deal with Venezuela, Russian agency Interfax said on Wednesday, citing an official from Russia's finance ministry. The two countries signed a total of 11 agreements covering everything from medicine supply to oil well services, Venezuela's oil ministry said in a statement. Europe introduced an embargo on purchases of seaborne Russian oil starting this month, trying to cripple Moscow's military efforts in Ukraine.

☆ Britain braces for winter of strike action as nurses walk out
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Sarah Young | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Unions are seeking double-digit pay rises to keep pace with inflation that hit 11.1% in October, the highest in 41 years. Union estimates forecast more than 1 million working days will be lost in December, making it the worst month for disruption since July 1989. Walk-outs in rail by RMT members, which started in June, are the union's biggest action for over 30 years, while for nurses, it is the first ever national strike action in the Royal College of Nursing's (RCN) 106-year-old history. MORE PROMINENT UNIONSThe walk-outs end decades of relatively stable industrial relations in Britain, compared to European neighbours such as France and Spain. "I think the world that we're in is one where we get more prominent union activity," Pickering said.

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