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Showing posts from April, 2023

Huawei 1Q revenue edges up, profit margin narrows

Chinese tech giant Huawei says its revenue edged up 0.8% from a year earlier in the first three months of 2023 and the company was profitable BEIJING -- Chinese tech giant Huawei reported Friday that its revenue edged up 0.8% from a year earlier in the first three months of 2023 and the company was profit able. Revenue rose to 132.1 billion yuan ($19.1 billion), a company statement said. It said its net profit margin was 2.3%, down from 4.3% a year earlier. The company, headquartered in Shenzhen, near Hong Kong, has responded to U.S. sanctions that devastated its smartphone brand by expanding into serving hospitals, ports and other industrial customers. It gave no breakdown of sales by global region or Business line. It said spending on research and development increased but gave no details. Huawei Technologies Ltd., China's first global tech brand, has struggled since then-President Donald Trump cut off access to U.S. processor chips and other technology in a feud with Beijing...

Is the banking crisis over? Experts weigh in after First Republic Bank shares plunge

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A falloff in the share price of First Republic Bank plummeted renewed fears of a banking crisis. Turmoil in the financial system returned this week as shares of First Republic Bank, the nation's 14th-largest lender, plummeted more than 75%. The selloff took hold after the bank revealed that depositors had fled en masse last month after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, the largest U.S. bank failure since the 2008 financial crisis. The ongoing distress at First Re public rekindled questions about whether the banking industry has regained solid footing or teeters on the brink of wider failure. While the financial system remains under stress, experts said, the current unrest is unlikely to pose a systemic risk, since the damage is contained within a relatively narrow group of banks vulnerable to high interest rates and depositor panic. Customers line up outside of the Silicon Valley Bank headquarters in Santa Clara, Calif., March 13, 2023. Brittany Hosea-Small/Reuters, FILE Still...

Prince's Trust gala draws plenty of celebrities, donations

The star-studded Prince’s Trust Global Gala raised more than $1.7 million Thursday night at Casa Cipriani in New York City, as a wide range of grantees — past and present — explained how King Charles III’s charity has improved their lives NEW YORK -- The star-studded Prince’s Trust Global Gala raised more than $1.7 million Thursday night at Casa Cipriani in New York City, as a wide range of grantees — past and present — explained how King Charles III’s charity has improved their lives. “Luther” star Idris Elba revealed that without a grant from The Prince’s Trust when he was 17, he would not have been able to join the National Youth Music Theatre, which launched his career. “One thing The Prince’s Trust gave me was confidence,” said Elba, who mingled among celebrities including actress Sienna Miller, supermodels Kate Moss and Winnie Harlow and fashion designers Tommy Hilfiger and Michael Kors among others. “It gave me the confidence to believe in what I do, who I am and what I can be....

Food prices fall on world markets but not on kitchen tables

Around the world, food prices are persistently, painfully high A restaurant on the outskirts of Nairobi skimps on the size of its chapatis — a flaky, chewy Kenyan flatbread — to save on cooking oil. Cash-strapped Pakistanis reluctantly go vegetarian, dropping beef and chicken from their diets because they can no longer afford meat. In Hungary, a café pulls burgers and fries off the menu, trying to dodge the high cost of oil and beef. Around the world, food prices are persistently, painfully high. Puzzlingly, too. On global markets, the prices of grains, vegetable oil, dairy and other agricultural commodities have fallen steadily from record highs. But the relief hasn’t made it to the real world of shopkeepers, street vendors and families trying to make ends meet. “We cannot afford to eat lunch and dinner on most days because we still have rent and school fees to pay,” said Linnah Meuni, a Kenyan mother of four. She says a 2-kilogram (4.4-pound) packet of corn flour costs twice what she...

TV and film writers authorize strike over pay, other issues

Unionized film and television writers have voted overwhelmingly to give their leaders the authority to call a strike if they’re unable to reach an agreement on a new contract LOS ANGELES -- Unionized film and television writers have voted overwhelmingly to give their leaders the authority to call a strike if they're unable to reach an agreement on a new contract. In an email to members Monday, the negotiating committee of the Writers Guild of America said nearly 98% of the 9,218 votes were cast to authorize the strike, with nearly 79% of guild members voting. The guild is currently negotiating with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers on a deal aimed at addressing pay and other changes brought on by the dominance of streaming services. “Our membership has spoken,” the email said. “You have expressed your collective strength, solidarity, and the demand for meaningful change in overwhelming numbers.” The writers ' three-year contract expires May 1, and leade...

Kansas has new anti-ESG law amid raft of culture war vetoes

Kansas officials won’t be allowed to use environmental, social and governance factors in investing public funds or deciding who receives government contracts TOPEKA, Kan. -- Kansas officials won't be allowed to use environmental, social and governance factors in investing public funds or deciding who receives government contracts because the state's Democratic governor is allowing a Republican measure to become law without her signature. Gov. Laura Kelly's decision Monday came after she vetoed more than a dozen other anti-transgender, anti-abortion and culture war measures approved by the Republican-controlled Legislature. She nixed a bill Monday that would have allowed parents to remove their public school students from lessons or activities that offend them and another measure that Kelly said could have led to prison terms for some people helping immigrants living in the U.S. illegally. The new anti-ESG law, taking effect July 1, is part of a larger push from conservat...

NATO chief: Ukraine’s ‘rightful place’ is in the alliance

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg has defiantly declared that Ukraine's “rightful place” is in the military alliance and pledged more support on his first visit to Kyiv since Russia’s invasion just over a year ago KYIV, Ukraine -- NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg defiantly declared Thursday that Ukraine’s “rightful place” is in the military alliance and pledged more support for the country on his first visit to Kyiv since Russia’s invasion just over a year ago. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged Stoltenberg, who has been instrumental in marshaling support from NATO members, to push for even more from them, including warplanes, artillery and armored equipment. The Kremlin has given various justifications for going to war, but repeated Thursday that preventing Ukraine from joining NATO is still a key goal of its invasion, arguing that Kyiv’s membership in the alliance would pose an existential threat to Russia. NATO leaders said in 2008 that Ukraine would join the alliance one day, ...

EU moves to contain internal quarrel over Ukrainian imports

The European Union is moving to contain an internal quarrel over some member nations temporarily banning imports of Ukrainian farm produce BRUSSELS -- The European Union moved Wednesday to contain an internal quarrel over some member nations temporarily banning imports of Ukrainian farm produce, trade embargoes that threatened to highlight divisions within a bloc that desperately wants to show unity with Ukraine as it confronts Russia. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wrote a letter to the leaders of Poland, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia and Bulgaria with a set of proposals that she said "responds specifically to the concerns of front-line member states and stakeholders, including farmers, and will allow us to react even quicker in the future." The letter acknowledged the issues that farmers encountered after the EU lifted duties on Ukrainian grain to ease ex ports when Russia's war in Ukraine choked off shipments through traditional routes. Relaxing the t...

Music to Trump's ears: Whitewashing Jan. 6 riot with song

A song featuring ex-President Donald Trump and a choir of prisoners charged with crimes related to the deadly Capitol insurrection briefly took the No. 1 spot on iTunes last month, edging out Taylor Swift WASHINGTON -- The song is simple and tinny, but that hasn’t stopped it from being embraced by former President Donald Trump and his allies in their campaign to rewrite the History of the deadly Capitol riot. The tune, “Justice for All,” is the Star-Spangled Banner, and it was sung by a group of defendants jailed over their alleged roles in the January 2021 insurrection. Recorded over a prison phone line, the national anthem sounds more like a dirge than celebration and is overlaid with Trump reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. Despite its low fidelity, “Justice for All” has garnered a lot of fans. Trump, a Republican, played it at a recent rally in Waco, Texas, as images of Capitol rioters flashed behind him on a big screen, and the $1.29 song last month briefly vaulted to No. 1 on iT...

Twitter begins removing blue checks from users who don't pay

This time it’s for real This time it's for real. Many of Twitter’s high-profile users are losing the blue check marks that helped verify their identity and distinguish them from impostors on the Elon Musk-owned social media platform. After several false starts, Twitter began making good on its promise Thursday to remove the blue checks from accounts that don't pay a monthly fee to keep them. Twitter had about 300,000 verified users under the original blue-check system — many of them journalists, athletes and public figures. The checks began disappearing from these users' profiles late morning Pacific Time. High-profile users who lost their blue check s Thursday included Beyonce, Pope Francis and former President Donald Trump. The costs of keeping the marks range from $8 a month for individual web users to a starting price of $1,000 monthly to verify an organization, plus $50 monthly for each affiliate or employee account. Twitter does not verify the individual accounts...