Category: Business

CES 2023: Tech world to gather and show off gadgets

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Read time : 5 mins

Level : Intermediate

FILE – People walk across an empty booth spot during the CES tech show on Jan. 6, 2022, in Las Vegas. CES is returning to Las Vegas in January 2023 with the hope that it inches closer to how it looked before the pandemic. (AP Photo/Joe Buglewicz, File)

By HALELUYA HADERO AP Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — CES, the annual tech industry event formerly known as the Consumer Electronics Show, is returning to Las Vegas this January with the hope that it looks more like it did before the coronavirus pandemic.

The show changed its name to CES to better reflect the changing industry and the event, which had expanded beyond audio and video to include automotive, digital health, smart phones, wearables and other technologies.

Companies and startups will showcase innovations in virtual reality, robotics and consumer tech items to the media and others in the tech industry during next month’s gadget show and organizers say their goal is to draw 100,000 attendees.

That would be a marked contrast with the look and feel of the past two shows — the last of which saw a 70% drop in in-person attendance amid the spread of the Omicron variant. The one before that was held virtually, replacing in-person displays and meet and greets with video streams and chats. Continue reading

Historic biodiversity agreement reached at UN conference

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Huang Runqiu, left, President of the COP 15 and Minister of Ecology and Environment of China listens as Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change Canada, speaks during a press conference at the COP 15 summit on biodiversity, in Montreal, Saturday, Dec. 17, 2022. (Peter McCabe /The Canadian Press via AP)

By MICHAEL CASEY Associated Press

MONTREAL (AP) — Negotiators reached a historic deal at a U.N. 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 on the day the United Nations Biodiversity Conference, or COP15, is set to end in Montreal. China, which holds the presidency at this conference, released a new draft on Sunday that gave the sometimes contentious talks much-needed momentum.

“We have in our hands a package which I think can guide us as we all work together to halt and reverse biodiversity loss and put biodiversity on the path to recovery for the benefit of all people in the world,” Chinese Environment Minister Huang Runqiu told delegates before the package was adopted to rapturous applause just before dawn. “We can be truly proud.” Continue reading

Croatia to join Europe’s ID-check-free area, others to wait

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Read time : 6 mins

Level : Intermediate

A Croatian border police officer crosses the road at the border between Croatia and Slovenia at the Bregana border crossing, Thursday, Dec. 8, 2022. European Union countries are weighing on Thursday whether the bloc’s three newest members — Bulgaria, Romania, and Croatia — can fully open their borders and participate in Europe’s ID-check-free travel zone, but more delays to their entry appear likely. (AP Photo)

By STEPHEN McGRATH and LORNE COOK Associated Press

BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union countries agreed Thursday to allow Croatia to fully open its borders and participate in Europe’s ID-check-free travel zone, but Bulgaria and Romania were told that they must wait longer to be allowed in.

This triggered an angry response from Romania, which lashed out at Austria for blocking its bid to join the so-called Schengen area.

The world’s largest free travel zone, the Schengen area comprises 26 countries — 22 EU states plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. Almost 1.7 million people live in one Schengen country and work in another. Around 3.5 million people cross an internal border each day.

Austria, in particular, had objected to Bulgaria and Romania joining, citing migration concerns.

“When it comes to the accession of Romania and Bulgaria we are not united and that makes us very weak and that makes me also sad,” Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson told reporters after the decision, taken during a meeting of interior ministers in Brussels, was announced. Continue reading

Police raid more EU Parliament offices in corruption probe

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A man walks down stairs during a special session on lobbying Monday, Dec. 12, 2022 at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, eastern France. Four people have been charged with being part of a criminal group, money laundering and corruption in connection with an investigation into suspected influence peddling by a Persian Gulf country at the European Union’s parliament. (AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias)

By SAMUEL PETREQUIN Associated Press

BRUSSELS (AP) — Belgian police conducted more raids at European Parliament offices Monday as the legislature’s president pledged to launch an internal investigation into corruption allegations and the bloc’s top official called for the creation of an EU-wide independent ethics body.

Prosecutors investigating alleged influence peddling by a Gulf country at the European Parliament charged four people over the weekend with corruption, participation in a criminal group and money laundering. Parliament Vice President Eva Kaili of Greece was relieved of her duties.

The prosecutors declined to identify the country suspected of offering cash or gifts to parliament officials in exchange for political favors. Several members of the assembly and some Belgian media linked the investigation to Qatar, which is currently hosting soccer’s gala event, the World Cup.

Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has denied any wrongdoing. Continue reading

To Tip or Not to Tip? Survey Highlights Growing Confusion Over Tipping Etiquette

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Level : Advanced

By Andrew Herrig

While almost 9 out of 10 Americans consider themselves good tippers, etiquette surrounding gratuities is one of the great debates of the past few years. To quote Mr. Pink from Reservoir Dogs, “I don’t tip because society says I have to. All right, if someone deserves a tip, if they really put forth an effort, I’ll give them something a little something extra. But this tipping automatically, it’s for the birds.”

Restaurants, coffee, takeout, tattoos, and even wedding photographers have tipping options nowadays. So when is it appropriate to tip, and how much?

To Tip or Not to Tip

PlayUSA surveyed more than 1,000 Americans to determine the best and worst tippers and which industries receive the most tips.

86% of respondents in the survey believe that they are good tippers. 90% of women think they are good tippers, while 83% of men think the same.

How people view their tipping habits also seems to differ by generation. 95% of baby boomers consider themselves good tippers compared to 84% of Gen X, 84% of Millennials, and 74% of Gen Z. Continue reading

FIFA threat makes World Cup teams nix ‘One Love’ armbands

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England’s Harry Kane gestures wearing a black armband with a sign “No discrimination” during World Cup group B soccer match between England and Iran at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha, Qatar, Monday, Nov. 21, 2022. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin)

By GRAHAM DUNBAR AP Sports Writer

DOHA, Qatar (AP) — FIFA’s threat of on-field punishment for players pushed World Cup teams to back down Monday and abandon a plan for their captains to wear armbands that were seen as a rebuke to host nation Qatar’s human rights record.

Just hours before the first players with the armbands in support of the “One Love” campaign were to take the field, soccer’s governing body warned they would immediately be shown yellow cards — two of which lead to a player’s expulsion from that game and also the next.

That changed the calculus for the seven European teams, which may have expected merely to be fined. The displays are a violation of FIFA rules.

No player had the “One Love” armbands Monday, although England’s Harry Kane wore the FIFA-approved “No Discrimination” armband that was offered as a compromise in the match with Iran. Continue reading

Sam Bankman-Fried’s downfall sends shockwaves through crypto

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Signage for the FTX Arena, where the Miami Heat basketball team plays, is visible Saturday, Nov. 12, 2022, in Miami. Sam Bankman-Fried received numerous plaudits as he rapidly achieved superstar status as the head of cryptocurrency exchange FTX: the savior of crypto, the newest force in Democratic politics and potentially the world’s first trillionaire. Now the comments about the 30-year-old aren’t so kind after FTX filed for bankruptcy protection Friday, Nov. 11 leaving his investors and customers feeling duped and many others in the crypto world fearing the repercussions. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)

By KEN SWEET AP Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Sam Bankman-Fried received numerous plaudits as he rapidly achieved superstar status as the head of cryptocurrency exchange FTX: the savior of crypto, the newest force in Democratic politics and potentially the world’s first trillionaire.

Now the comments about the 30-year-old Bankman-Fried range from bemused to hostile after FTX filed for bankruptcy protection Friday, leaving his investors and customers feeling duped and many others in the crypto world fearing the repercussions. Bankman-Fried himself could face civil or criminal charges.

“I’ve known him for a number of years and what just happened is just shocking,” said Jeremy Allaire, the co-founder and CEO of cryptocurrency company Circle. Continue reading

Twitter users can soon get blue check for $7.99 monthly fee

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People walk outside Twitter headquarters in San Francisco, Friday, Nov. 4, 2022. Employees were bracing for widespread layoffs at Twitter on Friday, as new owner Elon Musk overhauls the social platform. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

By BARBARA ORTUTAY Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Twitter has announced a subscription service for $7.99 a month that includes a blue check now given only to verified accounts as new owner Elon Musk works to overhaul the platform’s verification system just ahead of U.S. midterm elections.

In an update to Apple iOS devices available in the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the U.K., Twitter said users who “sign up now” for the new “Twitter Blue with verification” can receive the blue check next to their names “just like the celebrities, companies and politicians you already follow.”

But Twitter employee Esther Crawford tweeted Saturday that the “new Blue isn’t live yet — the sprint to our launch continues but some folks may see us making updates because we are testing and pushing changes in real-time.” Verified accounts did not appear to be losing their checks so far. Continue reading

European Central Bank pushes banks to speed up climate work

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FILE – A light installation is projected onto the building of the European Central Bank during a rehearsal in Frankfurt, Germany, Dec. 30, 2021. Inflation hit a new record in the 19 countries that use the euro currency, fueled by out-of-control prices for natural gas and electricity due to the war in Ukraine, the European Union statistics agency Eurostat reported Monday, Oct. 31, 2022. (AP Photo/Michael Probst, File)

By DAVID McHUGH AP Business Writer

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The European Central Bank is warning that many of the financial institutions it oversees are moving too slowly to shield themselves and Europe’s banking system from the impact of climate change, and it is setting new deadlines to meet those requirements.

The ECB said some progress had been made but that a review of 186 banks published Wednesday showed change was uneven and that “the glass remains half full,” top ECB official Frank Elderson said in a blog post on the central bank’s website.

The Frankfurt, Germany-based central bank for the 19 countries that use the euro currency set deadlines for banks to meet climate requirements by the end of 2024. Continue reading

UK leader in peril after Treasury chief axes ‘Trussonomics’

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Traffic outside the Bank of England, in the financial district in the City of London, Monday, Oct. 17, 2022. The U.K.’s new Treasury chief ripped up the government’s economic plan on Monday, dramatically reversing most of the tax cuts and spending plans that new Prime Minister Liz Truss announced less than a month ago. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)

By JILL LAWLESS and DANICA KIRKA Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — The U.K.’s new Treasury chief ripped up the government’s economic plan on Monday, dramatically reversing most of the tax cuts and spending plans that new Prime Minister Liz Truss announced less than a month ago. The move raises more questions about how long the beleaguered British leader can stay in office, though Truss insisted she has no plans to quit.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt, said he was scrapping “almost all” of Truss’ tax cuts, along with her flagship energy policy and her promise — repeated just last week — that there will be no public spending cuts.

While the reversal of policy calmed financial markets and helped restore the government’s economic credibility, it further undermined the prime minister’s rapidly crumbling authority and fueled calls for her to step down before her despairing Conservative Party forces her out. Continue reading