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☆ ‘The Idol’ Series Premiere Recap: Does it Live Up (or Down) to the Hype?
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Esther Zuckerman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Season 1, Episode 1: ‘Pop Tarts & Rat Tales’In the background of an early scene in the new HBO series “The Idol” you can hear Fiona Apple’s 1990s hit “Criminal.” The pop star heroine of the series, Jocelyn (Lily-Rose Depp), is posing for her album cover. Areolas are not allowed per the nudity rider — a detail that neither Jocelyn nor her team seem to care about. As Apple’s track plays, two of the members of Jocelyn’s entourage describe her alternately as Brigitte Bardot and Sharon Tate — the latter reference, to the actress and Manson murder victim, is meant to make you shudder. Still, the use of “Criminal” stood out to me among the onslaught of cultural references Sam Levinson throws at the audience. (Levinson, who created the series with Tesfaye and Reza Fahim, wrote and directed Sunday’s premiere.)

Persons: Fiona Apple’s, Jocelyn, Lily, Rose Depp, Brigitte Bardot, Sharon Tate, Manson, Britney Spears, Tedros, Abel Tesfaye, Donna Summer, ”, Sam Levinson, Levinson, Tesfaye, Reza Fahim, “ I’ve, Mark Romanek, Apple, Angelou Organizations: HBO, Apple, MTV

☆ Barbie owes her existence to a 1950s German comic strip
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-03 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Barbie likely wouldn't exist if Mattel's founder hadn't stumbled across Bild Lilli, a plastic doll based on a comic strip. The first Barbie doll, from 1959, had Lilli's red lips, high blonde ponytail, and winged eyeliner. But these dolls had flat chests, big bellies, and squatty legs – they were built like overweight six- or eight-year-olds," Handler wrote. The newspaper began making Lilli dolls in 1955 because of the comic's popularity and to market the newspaper. "Here were the breasts, the small waist, the long, tapered legs I had enthusiastically described for the designers all those years ago," Handler wrote.

Persons: Barbie, hadn't, Ruth Handler, —, Ruth Handler —, Mattel —, Barbara, Handler, Lilli, SSPL, Axel Springer publication's, Reinhard Beuthein, Robin Gerber, Ruth, Gerber, Elliot, Frederic Neema, Mattel, Lobel, Greiner, Louis Marx, Marx, Fiona Hanson, Hausser Organizations: Bild Lilli, Service, Mattel, Getty Images, Hausser, Getty, Greiner, Hausser's Locations: Europe, Lucerne, Swiss, Los Angeles, Lilli, New York

☆ Dollar sags as chances grow for Fed 'skip,' debt bill passes
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Hundred dollar bills are seen in this photo illustraiton in Warsaw, Poland on Sept. 21, 2022. The Australian dollar surged after an increase in the minimum wage stoked bets for the central bank to raise rates again next week. The dollar index, which measures the U.S. currency against six others, has dropped nearly 0.8% this week, its biggest weekly loss since mid-January. Money markets are pricing in a roughly 29% chance of a hike, down from near 70% earlier in the week. The dollar was last up slightly at 138.74 yen.

Persons: Fiona Cincotta, let's, Patrick Harker, Philip Jefferson Organizations: Federal Reserve, Australian, City Index, Philadelphia Fed Locations: Warsaw, Poland, U.S, City

☆ Fed 'skip' chatter triggers dollar's biggest weekly fall since January
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Amanda Cooper | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The Australian dollar surged after an increase in the minimum wage there stoked bets for another raise in rates next week. The dollar index , which measures the U.S. currency against six others, has dropped nearly 0.8% this week, its biggest weekly loss since mid-January. Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker said on Thursday "it's time to at least hit the stop button for one meeting and see how it goes", referring to the June 13-14 Fed meeting. Money markets are pricing in a roughly 29% chance of a June hike, down from near 70% earlier in the week. Even if a hike doesn't happen next week, markets expect one by autumn.

Persons: Fiona Cincotta, let's, Patrick Harker, Philip Jefferson, Guy Miller, Christine Lagarde, Joe Biden, Monday's, Ray Attrill, Dhara Ranasinghe, Kevin Buckland, Mark Heinrich, Mark Potter, Andrew Heavens Organizations: Federal Reserve, Australian, City Index, Philadelphia Fed, Reuters, Zurich Insurance, European Central Bank, U.S . Senate, National Australia Bank, NAB, Traders, Reserve Bank of Australia, Thomson Locations: U.S, City, April's, London, Tokyo

☆ Nova Scotia: Why are wildfires raging in Canada's eastern province?
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Nia Williams | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/2] Smoke rises from a wildfire in Hammonds Plains, Nova Scotia, Canada, May 28, 2023 in this screengrab obtained from a social media video. HOW UNUSUAL ARE WILDFIRES IN NOVA SCOTIA? Atlantic Canada received low snowfall this winter, followed by an exceptionally dry spring. Weather forecasts show a period of cooler, wetter air is moving into Atlantic Canada on Friday, providing much-needed relief. The Weather Network's longer-term forecast expects Nova Scotia temperatures to be slightly warmer than normal for the rest of the summer.

Persons: Bill Blair, Michael Carter, Ellen Whitman, Whitman, Nia Williams, Michael Perry Organizations: REUTERS, Public Safety, Atlantic Canada, Halifax, Weather Network, Canadian Forest Service, Atlantic, Thomson Locations: Hammonds Plains , Nova Scotia, Canada, Nova Scotia, Nova, Acadian, Nova Scotia's, Halifax, Hurricane, Atlantic Canada, North America

☆ Explainer: Why are wildfires raging in Canada's eastern Nova Scotia province?
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Nia Williams | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

☆ Former Australian SAS veteran loses defamation case over reports of Afghan execution
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Byron Kaye | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The ruling marks a win for media outlets seeking greater accountability for Australia's military, typically bound by confidentiality. A 2020 report found credible evidence that members of Australia's Special Air Service Regiment (SAS) killed dozens of unarmed prisoners in the lengthy Afghan war. Roberts-Smith sued the papers for portraying him as someone who "broke the moral and legal rules of military engagement". The papers had reported that Roberts-Smith pressured a lower-ranking Australian soldier to execute an elderly, unarmed Afghan to "blood the rookie", said Judge Besanko, adding they proved that account true. "This case is an important reminder that we need courageous public interest journalism to help us get there."

Persons: Ben Roberts, Smith, Anthony Besanko, Roberts, Judge Besanko, James Chessell, Chessell, Arthur Moses, Besanko, inadvertentely, Fiona Nelson, Byron Kaye, Shri Navaratnam, Michael Perry Organizations: SYDNEY, SAS, Australia's Special Air Service Regiment, China, Victoria Cross, Australian, Sydney Morning Herald, Canberra Times, Nine Entertainment Co, Australian Centre for International, Thomson Locations: Sydney, Afghanistan, Afghan, Australian, Australia

☆ What can we expect from Turkey's election runoff?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-26 | by ( Reuters Editorial | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

PoliticsWhat can we expect from Turkey's election runoff? PostedTurks vote on Sunday (May 28) in a presidential election runoff between the incumbent Tayyip Erdogan and his challenger Kemal Kilicdaroglu that will decide whether the president extends his rule into a third decade. Fiona Jones reports.

☆ Eyeball to eyeball: Estonia stares down Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( Jill Dougherty | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

It sits high on the western bank of the Narva River, its 13th-century castle proudly flying the blue, black and white flag of Estonia. We think we know roughly what makes them tick.”Like parts of Ukraine, Estonia was illegally annexed and occupied by the Soviet Union. Estonians at the conference were adamant: Unless Russia is utterly defeated in Ukraine, there is no reason to expect Putin will change his strategic objective. Jill Dougherty/CNNSeveral Russians at the conference said they feel personally responsible for the horrors Russia is unleashing on Ukraine. What’s more, Vladimir Putin is winning support for the war from so-called “swing states” and nations in the Global South.

☆ Dollar gains as debt deal optimism fires up investors
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Amanda Cooper | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

That eased fears of an unprecedented and economically catastrophic default, leading markets to revise their expectations of where U.S. interest rates could go. "As far as expectations for a June rate hike are concerned, those have risen significantly in the last week. Against the yen , the dollar was down 0.4% at 138.19 yen, having risen to a six-month peak of 138.745 earlier on. Among other major currencies, the Australian dollar took some heart from a pickup in commodity prices like copper and iron ore. In China, the yuan slid to its lowest since December, at 7.0365 per dollar, as data offered evidence of a sputtering recovery in the world's second-largest economy.

☆ Google tells staff it's rebooting its annual 'Googlegeist' employee survey, which has been delayed due to 'layoffs' and an 'urgency around AI'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Hugh Langley | Rosalie Chan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Google's annual employee survey has been delayed. The company told staff this week that it's rebooting the survey to make it more regular. It hopes to have the new Googlegeist ready to go in a couple of months. Google's annual "Googlegeist" employee survey has always been a good way to read how employees feel about the company. Are you a Google employee with a tip?

☆ Nina Gold on creating film stars, audition tapes, and why she'll never act
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Thomas Page | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

This is the same Nina Gold who’s made a successful career casting some of the defining films and TV shows of this century. “I still don’t really understand what it is that makes acting good,” she says. For “Bad Sisters’” smarmy, abusive antagonist John Paul, Gold cast Claes Bang. For Gold and her team – rising to six people, depending on projects – it’s a lot of logistics and audition tapes. Gold cast Taylor-Johnson in his breakout role as John Lennon in “Nowhere Boy” (2009) at age 18-20, she guesses, but had been auditioning him since about the age of nine.

London CNN —The publisher of UK tabloid the Daily Mirror has apologized to Prince Harry for using unlawful methods to gather information about his private life. The pair has filed at least seven lawsuits against British and US media organizations since 2019, including Rupert Murdoch’s News Group Newspapers, according to Reuters. News Group Newspapers publishes the Sun and used to produce News of the World, which was shut down in 2011 over its own phone hacking scandal. A spokesperson for Mirror Group Newspapers said in a statement Wednesday that “where historical wrongdoing” has taken place, the group has taken “full responsibility” and apologized “unreservedly” for its actions. Mirror Group Newspapers “is now part of a very different company.

☆ Fund manager says she prefers Chinese firms with more domestic exposure
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailFund manager says she prefers Chinese firms with more domestic exposureFiona Yang of Invesco says geopolitical tensions between China and the U.S. remain a risk to market performance.

[1/5] Britain's Camilla, Queen Consort attends a Garden Party, in celebration of King Charles' coronation, at Buckingham Palace, London, Britain. When Charles' divorced first wife, the popular, glamorous Princess Diana, died in a car crash in Paris in 1997, Camilla bore the brunt of media hostility. That's the strength of love," Camilla told Charles in the secretly recorded telephone conversation publicised in 1993. From being able to appear in public together, to marriage and last year's approval from Queen Elizabeth to Camilla taking the title Queen Consort, their success is complete. Other surveys have also indicated only a minority thought she should be Queen Camilla.

☆ Consultancies are coming off a pandemic boom. Are they still worth hiring?
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Management consultancies helped design vaccination programs during the pandemic and are currently providing advice on how to rescue one of the world’s biggest banks. The $230 billion management consulting industry is a broad church: it includes companies offering everything from project management expertise to designing new organizational structures. Many big firms — think EY and KPMG — also conduct audits and advise on their clients’ tax issues, though these services are generally seen as distinct from their consulting work. In The Big Con, published in February, prize-winning economist Mariana Mazzucato and her co-author Rosie Collington argue that management consultancies “infantilize” governments by keeping them dependent on their services. Nearly 80% of firms surveyed globally have told the think-tank that consultants’ work is either of high or very high quality, she noted.

☆ Tiny Love Stories: ‘If Our Lives Were Novels’
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Echo ChamberWe are an echo chamber of the best variety, repeating niche platitudes back and forth until we tire of affirmation. There is so much solace to be found in the female spirit, in listening to Fiona Apple and smoking out the window of my Paris apartment. My friend doesn’t need to excuse her mistakes, nor I mine; we accept each other’s missteps and celebrate our imperfections. We visit the Louvre and have the same conversations we had in the pallid light of our Philadelphia apartment. I think if our lives were novels, we’d pick the same epigraph.

☆ Puerto Rico solar switch a life and death matter -US energy chief
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Timothy Gardner | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/4] Cars drive under a downed power pole in the aftermath of Hurricane Fiona in Santa Isabel, Puerto Rico September 21, 2022. Puerto Rico has not typically been a large focus of U.S. energy chiefs. Colon covets the solar power Granholm offered, as it could also lower electricity bills, typically twice those on the mainland. Granholm said some 400,000 homes need rooftop solar but the $1 billion is only enough for up to 50,000 homes. Puerto Rico only generates about 3% of its electricity from renewables and the rest from fossil fuels.

☆ U.N. weather agency retires Fiona, Ian as hurricane names after 2022 devastation
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] An aerial view of damaged boats and property after Hurricane Ian caused widespread destruction in Fort Myers, Florida, U.S., September 30, 2022. REUTERS/Shannon StapletonMarch 30 (Reuters) - Fiona and Ian have been retired as hurricane names by the World Meteorological Organization after devastating storms with those names killed dozens of people and inflicted billions of dollars in damage in 2022. The names are typically recycled every six years, and a total of 96 names have been retired. Going forward the name Fiona will be replaced in the rotation by Farrah and Ian by Idris, the U.N.'s World Meteorological Organization said on Wednesday. Hurricane Fiona struck Puerto Rico in September 2022, knocking out power to the entire island before slamming into eastern Canada, killing at least 31 people and becoming one of that Canada's costliest recent natural disasters.

"The bank run has abated for the moment, but that might be contingent on what the Fed signals today," said Adam Button, chief currency analyst at ForexLive in Toronto. "The risk is that the (Federal Open Market Committee) shatters the fragile calm in markets today... by acting too aggressively." The Fed meeting concludes on Wednesday with the 2 p.m. EDT (1800 GMT) release of a policy statement followed half an hour later by a news conference by Powell. Christopher Wong, currency strategist at OCBC, said the focus will be on how the Fed communicates its forward guidance, in particular "the higher for longer" rhetoric. The Japanese yen weakened 0.20% to 132.80 per dollar, while the Australian dollar rose 0.07% to $0.667.

☆ Dollar eases as investors ponder outlook for Fed rates
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Amanda Cooper | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Markets are pricing in about a 15% chance of the Fed not increasing rates, with a roughly 85% chance of a 25 basis point hike, according to the CME FedWatch tool. Just a month earlier, the market was pricing in a 24% chance of a 50 basis point hike. The Fed meeting concludes on Wednesday with the 2 p.m. EDT (1800 GMT) release of a policy statement followed half an hour later by a news conference by Powell. "This wish list should see dollar trade on the softer profile and risk proxies trade steadily". The euro was last down 0.4% against sterling at 87.81 pence, while gaining 0.2% against the dollar to trade at $1.079.

☆ World stocks cautiously higher ahead of high stakes Fed decision
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Dhara Ranasinghe | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/5] A man shelters under an umbrella as he walks past the London Stock Exchange in London, Britain, August 24, 2015. Data showing British inflation unexpectedly rose to 10.4% in February boosted expectations for a quarter point rate hike at Thursday's Bank of England meeting, lifting sterling. While London's FTSE stock index dipped (.FTSE), European stock markets more broadly edged higher (.STOXX) while Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) added 1.3%. The spotlight was firmly on the Fed, which concludes a two-day meeting later on Wednesday. "Plus, delivery of a 25 bps hike still means the Fed is tightening, there is likely at least another hike to come."

☆ Oil rises 2% in retreat from 15-mth low as banking fears subside
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Arathy Somasekhar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"Fears of a banking crisis and a recession have eased, brightening the oil demand outlook at least for now," said Fiona Cincotta, Senior Financial Markets Analyst at City Index. Wall Street indexes also closed sharply higher on Tuesday as fears over liquidity in the banking sector abated and market participants eyed the Fed. Meanwhile, U.S. crude oil inventories rose by about 3.3 million barrels last week, according to market sources citing American Petroleum Institute figures. OPEC+ sources told Reuters the drop in prices reflects banking fears rather than supply and demand. The CEO of energy trader Gunvor, Torbjorn Tornqvist, said he expected oil prices to move higher toward year end as rising Chinese demand tightens the market further.

☆ UK inflation sucker-punches the BoE, while sterling bulls cheer
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Amanda Cooper | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

British consumer price inflation (CPI) rose to 10.4% in February from January's 10.1%, above all economists' forecasts in a Reuters poll and almost back to where it was in December. "Core CPI missed by 0.5% - that's one of the biggest, if not the biggest misses on CPI in the recent series of inflation data. "The market is going to be second-guessing (the BoE) right now - it's difficult to assume there's just one more rate hike left in the tank," she said. RLAM's Nicholl noted recent data, such as employment, business activity and manufacturing, had shown strength, and consumer spending has held up. Derek Halpenny, EMEA head of research for global markets at Nomura said January and February's combined annual inflation rate of 9.67% makes for a "mildly supportive" outlook for the pound.

☆ Laid-off Google employees may not get paid out for approved maternity or medical leave as severance terms deadline looms
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Jordan Hart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Former Googlers are pleading with execs to compensate them for approved paid time off following mass layoffs, CNBC reported. The "Laid off on Leave" group said they've sent three letters to CEO Sundar Pichai and company leaders. In a statement to CNBC, a Google spokesperson emphasized the existing severance package mentioned in Pichai's January memo to staff. Others reported having their access to Google's on-site One Medical facility cut off the same day they were laid off. The Laid off on Leave group reiterated this notion in their letters to the C-suite execs, and referenced Google's original core value, "Don't be evil."

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