DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

In a statement Tuesday, the agriculture ministry said 9.98 million animals had been killed this season, surpassing a previous record of 9.87 million that were slaughtered in fiscal 2020, during a previous bird flu crisis. The National Federation of Agricultural Cooperative Associations, known as Zen-Noh, gave a higher tally, saying approximately 10.9 million birds had been killed as of Tuesday night. “The market price is expected to soar.”The spread of bird flu has already pushed up egg costs around the world in recent months. In Japan, wholesale prices for eggs reached a record high last month as shipments dropped, according to public broadcaster NHK. Avian flu is caused by infections that occur naturally among wild aquatic birds, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

☆ U.S. small-business sentiment skids to half-year low
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Jan 10 (Reuters) - U.S. small-business confidence slid to a six-month low in December, according to a survey on Tuesday, which also showed that inflation and worker shortages remained major issues for firm owners. On net, about 43% of owners reported raising average selling prices, down 8 points from November and the lowest since May 2021. Forty-one percent of owners reported job openings that were hard to fill, down 3 points from November. "Overall, small business owners are not optimistic about 2023 as sales and business conditions are expected to deteriorate," said William Dunkelberg, NFIB chief economist. "Owners are managing several economic uncertainties and persistent inflation and they continue to make business and operational changes to compensate."

☆ Jobless benefits rolls grow but U.S. labor market remains resilient
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( Dan Burns | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Meanwhile, the number of people receiving benefits after an initial week of aid rose 41,000 to 1.710 million in the week ending Dec. 17. The latest report is the first since February to show them breaching the lower end of the 1.7-1.8 million trend that prevailed in the years leading up to the coronavirus pandemic, a level seen then as emblematic of a tight labor market. Reuters GraphicsAnd, while the figures for new benefits claims have been choppy in recent weeks, they have held well below the 270,000 threshold that economists see as a red flag for the labor market. The unemployment rate is estimated to have remained unchanged at 3.7%. "This dichotomy of demand cannot persist indefinitely, but it will help the labor market achieve a softer landing than it would otherwise."

☆ Brazilian soccer legend Pelé, winner of 3 World Cups, dead at 82
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( Scott Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Showing a natural skill for the sport, Pelé eventually joined a youth team coached by the former Brazilian national team player Waldemar de Brito. Keystone/Hulton Archive/GettyBy 16, Pelé made the Brazilian national team and was playing in the 1958 World Cup in Sweden. In the 1966 World Cup, Pelé played in only two of three games, scoring one goal, as Brazil was eliminated in the first round. In 1970, Pelé got World Cup redemption, going into Mexico with a Brazilian squad some considered the best team ever. He took part in World Cup draws, inaugurations and ceremonies and was involved in various Olympic opening and closing ceremonies.

Leaving parliament on Saturday, Rabuka told waiting media he was humbled to have become the prime minister of Fiji before being rushed away to be sworn in by the country's president. Biman Prasad, leader of the NFP and the new finance minister, said the incoming government would work for the Fijian people. The prime ministers of both New Zealand and Australia released statements to congratulate the newly sworn-in Rabuka. "We strongly value Fiji as a close friend and partner as we progress our shared priorities for the region," New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said. Anthony Albanese, Australia's prime minister, added in a tweet that he also looked forward to working with Rabuka.

Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama's Fiji First has not conceded defeat, while a coalition of three parties say they have a combined majority and have agreed on People's Alliance leader Sitiveni Rabuka as prime minister. In a statement on Facebook, Bainimarama said the military "has been deployed to complement the Police in maintaining law and order". Bainimarama has been prime minister for 16 years, taking power in a coup, and later winning two democratic elections in 2014 and 2018. New Zealand's Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta said New Zealand was "aware of the statement from Fiji's Police Commissioner". The prime minister must be voted in by more than 50% of lawmakers on the parliament floor.

WELLINGTON, Dec 23 (Reuters) - Fiji's Social Democratic Liberal Party (SODELPA) is due to meet on Friday to decide if its decision to form a coalition with the opposition stands, a move that comes after the Pacific country's military was called in to help police maintain law and order. Fiji is waiting for its president to recall parliament so lawmakers can vote for a new prime minister after a national election last week showed no party received a clear majority. SODELPA, a power-broker holding three seats in the hung parliament, supports policies favouring indigenous Fijians, and on Tuesday signed a coalition agreement with the People's Alliance and the National Federation Party. However, the SODELPA's board is to meet again on Friday, after the validity of the decision to back the coalition was challenged by the party's general secretary and Fiji's Supervisor of Elections. However, opposition parties accuse Bainimarama and his allies of stoking fears of ethnic trouble as a pretext to cling to power.

SYDNEY, Dec 21 (Reuters) - Fiji's parliament has delayed its first sitting, where it had been expected a new prime minister would be sworn in to the Pacific islands nation for the first time in 16 years. People's Alliance leader Sitiveni Rabuka is expected to become prime minister, after three parties signed a coalition agreement on Tuesday after a hung election. The deal would dislodge Fiji First's Frank Bainimarama, who has led Fiji since a 2006 coup. read moreThe constitution requires lawmakers to elect the prime minister from the parliament floor if no one party has won more than 50% of seats. On Wednesday morning New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said New Zealand was yet to congratulate Rabuka as it waited until the "dust settles and there is finality over processes".

☆ Europe's car repairers call for competition rules rewrite
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Nick Carey | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

LONDON, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Europe's car repair and spare parts industry is calling for a rewrite of EU competition rules, arguing they allow carmakers and franchise dealers to disadvantage independent operators. The European Commission has recommended extending 2010's Motor Vehicle Block Exemption Regulation (MVBER) for five years when it expires in 2023, with some supplementary guidelines. Proponents of a rewrite say automakers restrict access to vehicle data, which can make repairs more expensive, while also dictating how repairs should be undertaken and with which parts. "However, the evaluation revealed that an update was necessary to reflect the importance that access to vehicle-generated data is likely to have as a factor of competition." "If the Commission has decided not to change the rules, we assume that the complaints made by the independent aftermarket were not sufficiently substantiated," a spokeswoman said.

☆ Fiji's ruling party leads provisional count after national election
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Kirsty Needham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Dec 15 (Reuters) - The ruling Fiji First party led provisional national election results, boosted by a 31.42% vote for Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama, with half of polling stations counted in the Pacific island nation after Wednesday's vote. He 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 provisional result showed Fiji First with 45.88% of votes at 7 a.m. Thursday, ahead of the People's Alliance Party with 32.66% of votes, while the National Federation Party had 9.29% of votes. On Thursday morning, Fiji's election commissioner, Mohammed Saneem, demonstrated to media a "double blind data entry" system being used to avoid errors in the final count. Australia's foreign minister Penny Wong told reporters Fiji's election appeared to have been conducted "peacefully and in an orderly manner".

☆ 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 —The family home of Iranian rock climber Elnaz Rekabi has been demolished, according to the pro-reform news outlet IranWire, after she rose to international prominence this fall for competing with her head uncovered. Some Iranian demonstrators saw Rekabi as a symbol of the national uprising calling for greater freedoms for women. Rekabi competed without her mandatory hijab at an international competition in Seoul in October, as anti-regime demonstrations calling for greater rights for women convulsed Iran. Rekabi garnered support from members of the public when she returned to Tehran in October. When she returned to Iran, videos posted to social media appeared to show her being greeted by crowds chanting “Elnaz the Hero” at Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport.

☆ Frappart ends 92-year wait for a female referee at a men's World Cup
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Manasi Pathak | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

AL KHOR, Qatar, Dec 1 (Reuters) - France's Stephanie Frappart made history on Thursday when she became the first woman to take charge of a men's World Cup finals game during Costa Rica's Group E match against Germany. Frappart, 38, led the first all-female refereeing team in a men's World Cup in the game at the Al Bayt Stadium alongside assistants Neuza Back from Brazil and Mexico's Karen Diaz. Frappart entered the history books when she became the first woman to referee a French Ligue 1 match in 2019, officiating a game between Amiens and Strasbourg. The same year, Frappart also took charge of the UEFA Super Cup between Liverpool and Chelsea, becoming the first woman to officiate in a major men's European match. "The men's World Cup is the most important sporting competition in the world," said Frappart, who was also the fourth official during Mexico's goalless draw with Poland at the Qatar World Cup.

☆ Analysis: Retailers turn to robots in cost inflation fight
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( James Davey | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

He estimates the retail industry is 40% automated, but sees that jumping to 60-65% over the next three to four years. The march of the robots can be seen in fashion stores and food shops globally as an industry that employs millions grapples with the cost of rising wages, energy and raw goods. While processes at online retailers are largely automated, vast parts of a traditional retailer's operations are still carried out manually, according to consultants at McKinsey. Looking at the fashion industry, McKinsey expects fashion companies to double investment in technology from 1.6% to 1.8% of their revenue in 2021 to between 3.0% and 3.5% by 2030. "Retailers are saying 'robots are the future,'" Michel Spruijt, Brain Corp's chief revenue officer, told Reuters, adding that the shift could "free up workers from tedious" tasks.

☆ Saudi Arabia's injured Al-Faraj out of the World Cup
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-27 | by ( Shady Amir | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Al RAYYAN, Qatar, Nov 27 (Reuters) - Injured Saudi Arabia captain Salman Al-Faraj is out of the World Cup after coach Herve Renard agreed to let him leave the camp, the Saudi Football Association said on Sunday. Al-Faraj was injured at the end of the first half of the historic 2-1 victory over Argentina in Saudi Arabia's first match in the tournament on Tuesday. He left the stadium on crutches, with an apparent leg injury, and Renard said he did not expect him to participate in any more matches at the finals. Saudi Arabia, who lost 2-0 to Poland on Saturday, are equal with Argentina on three points while Poland top the group with four and Mexico are last with one point. Saudi Arabia need to beat Mexico in the last match in the group on Wednesday to ensure qualification for the last 16, regardless of the outcome of the match between Poland and Argentina.

☆ Top US diplomat rips FIFA for punishing World Cup players who wear the 'One Love' armband promoting inclusion
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( John Haltiwanger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Blinken criticized FIFA for threatening to punish World Cup players who wear a "One Love" armband. "As national federations, we can't put our players in a position where they could face sporting sanctions including bookings, so we have asked the captains not to attempt to wear the armbands in FIFA World Cup games." The nations decried the FIFA decision as "unprecedented" and said they were "very frustrated." Fans wearing clothing featuring rainbows, a symbol of support for the LGBTQ community, have reported being prevented from entering World Cup stadiums in Qatar. FIFA, soccer's global governing body, previously said fans were "welcome to express themselves; they are welcome to express their love for their partners."

☆ World Cup teams abandon plan to wear 'OneLove' armbands
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

The captains of seven European nations will not wear anti-discrimination armbands in World Cup games after threats from FIFA to show yellow cards to the players. “As national federations we can’t put our players in a position where they could face sporting sanctions, including bookings,” the seven soccer federations said Monday in a joint statement. The climbdown after threats from FIFA came hours before England’s Harry Kane, the Netherlands’ Virgil van Dijk and Wales’ Gareth Bale were due to wear the One Love armbands in Monday’s games. The captains of Belgium, Switzerland, Germany and Denmark were also expected to wear the armbands in the coming days. “Our number one priority at the World Cup is to win the games,” the Dutch soccer federation said in a separate statement.

☆ Disabled Shoppers Struggle With Inaccessible Self-Checkouts
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Katie Deighton | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +8 min

Stores’ self-checkout machines can annoy shoppers with error messages about unexpected items in the bagging area and other hiccups. PREVIEWThe problem is spreading as companies continue to install self-service transaction machines around the world, some disabled people and disability-rights activists say. The Baltimore-based organization last year worked with McDonald’s Corp. to upgrade its self-service kiosks so that they could be used independently by blind people. Walmart said its self-checkout system was accessible because staff had been trained to help disabled customers use it. Steps toward potential regulationsThe U.S. is looking into the possibility of creating regulations for the accessibility of self-service checkouts and ordering systems.

☆ Seven European World Cup captains ditch OneLove armband following FIFA pressure
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Martyn Herman | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

FIFA has threatened to issue yellow cards to any player wearing the multi-coloured armband which was introduced to support diversity and inclusion. England captain Harry Kane spoke on Sunday of his desire to wear the armband in Monday's Group B opener against Iran. "I will not carry the confrontation created by FIFA onto the back of (Germany team captain) Manuel Neuer." FIFA launched its own captain's armband campaign ahead of the tournament to promote different causes for each round. According to FIFA rules, team equipment must not have any political, religious or personal slogans, statements or images, and during FIFA Final Competitions, the captain of each team "must wear the captain's armband provided by FIFA".

Nov 21 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday turned away a challenge to a 2018 Seattle law requiring hotels to pay for health insurance for low-wage workers pursued by a business group that argued the measure violated a federal law that regulates employee benefits. The justices declined to hear an appeal by a group called the ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC) of a lower court's ruling that upheld the law. Democratic-governed Seattle's law requires larger hotel operators to provide up to $1,375 a month in insurance benefits or direct payments to workers. ERIC is a nonprofit organization based in the U.S. capital representing large employers in their capacity as sponsors of employee benefit plans for their nationwide workforces. The group sued Seattle in 2018 in federal court, arguing that the law was barred by the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), which preempts state laws that attempt to regulate employee benefit plans.

☆ Younger Chinese are spurning factory jobs that power the economy
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( David Kirton | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

For his father's generation, factory work was a lifeline out of rural poverty. For Zhu, and millions of other younger Chinese, the low pay, long hours of drudgery and the risk of injuries are no longer sacrifices worth making. Factory bosses say they would produce more, and faster, with younger blood replacing their ageing workforce. But offering the higher wages and better working conditions that younger Chinese want would risk eroding their competitive advantage. Yet young workers are vital to keep production moving.

CNN —The captains of several European teams will not to wear “OneLove” armbands at the World Cup in Qatar due to the danger of receiving yellow cards. “FIFA [football’s global governing body] has been very clear that it will impose sporting sanctions if our captains wear the armbands on the field of play,” the joint statement read. The countries said they were “frustrated” by what they described as FIFA’s “unprecedented” decision to sanction the captains should they wear the armband. ‘Everyone is welcome’In the buildup to the World Cup, Qatar – where homosexuality is illegal and punishable by up to three years in prison – has come under criticism for its stance on LGBTQ rights. Prior to countries announcing their captains would not wear the armband in Qatar, FIFA brought forward its own “No Discrimination” campaign and said all 32 captains would have the opportunity to wear an armband linked to the campaign.

☆ Seven European World Cup captains ditch One Love arm band under FIFA pressure
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"You don't want the captain to start the match with a yellow card. "This is completely against the spirit of our sport, which unites millions of people," the KNVB said in a statement. According to FIFA rules, team equipment must not have any political, religious or personal slogans, statements or images, and during FIFA Final Competitions, the captain of each team "must wear the captain’s armband provided by FIFA". Wales said the countries involved had been prepared to pay fines that would normally apply to breaches of kit regulations, but sporting sanctions had been a step too far. "As national federations, we can’t put our players in a position where they could face sporting sanctions including bookings, so we have asked the captains not to attempt to wear the armbands in FIFA World Cup games."

☆ 'We are very frustrated': World Cup teams in Qatar ax pro-LGBTQ armbands after FIFA threat
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Natasha Turak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The European teams competing at the 2022 Qatar World Cup walked back their plans to wear "OneLove" armbands in support of LGBTQ rights during the tournament, they announced Monday, after warnings from international soccer governing body FIFA that they would be penalized for doing so. In an unprecedented move just hours before matches began, FIFA warned it would issue a yellow card to any player wearing the armband. "As national federations, we can't put our players in a position where they could face sporting sanctions including bookings, so we have asked the captains not to attempt to wear the armbands in FIFA World Cup games." The teams from England, Wales and the Netherlands were all slated to play on Monday. "We are very frustrated by the FIFA decision which we believe is unprecedented," the teams' joint statement added and pledged to express their support for inclusion by other means.

☆ Seven European World Cup captains ditch OneLove arm band following FIFA pressure
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Martyn Herman | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

England captain Harry Kane spoke on Sunday of his desire to wear the armband in Monday's Group B opener against Iran. FIFA launched its own captain's armband campaign to promote different causes for each round during the tournament. "This is in line with Article 13.8.1 of the FIFA Equipment Regulations, which state: 'For FIFA Final Competitions, the captain of each Team must wear the captain's armband provided by FIFA.'" According to FIFA rules, team equipment must not have any political, religious or personal slogans, statements or images, and during FIFA Final Competitions, the captain of each team "must wear the captain's armband provided by FIFA". Wales captain Gareth Bale had been planning to wear the OneLove armband against the United States later on Monday.

Search resuls for: "National Federation"

25 mentions found